Mariano Varela of Claxson and Yulgok Media: “Menem Is A Totally Commercial Project That Attracts Different Audiences”

Mariano Varela, creator of Menem, general manager of Claxson Interactive Group, and founder of Yulgok Media, said on PRODUprimetime with Ríchard Izarra that the series is a “totally commercial project, with many elements that attract different audiences: those who lived it and those who didn’t.”

For Varela, the project exceeded his expectations “because of the talent and the enrichment that developed: you create a dynamic and surround yourself with super talented people. Everyone contributes, and a virtuous cycle is created where you’re constantly surpassing yourself,” he said enthusiastically.

Varela highlighted that the Menem project allowed him to step out of his executive roles and “start from scratch to write, throw out ideas, and do something completely different.” He said it was like “releasing a solo album where I want to be both the director and the janitor at the same time, with another group of people who push me, who take me out of my comfort zone,” he explained.

The executive, who has lived in Miami for more than 15 years and can be identified in his professional career with three major milestones so far: first, a dot-com website in the 1990s; second, the distributor and producer Claxson, which he still manages; and third, the super-series Menem.

MENEM IS A TOTALLY COMMERCIAL PROJECT

Asked about his commercial vision, Varela explained:

“I started working as an advertising copywriter when I was 18 years old. I still consider myself an ad man in terms of how I see life, things, creativity—where I can combine commercial and creative aspects. I can’t imagine a creative development that doesn’t have a commercial side.”

He noted that he was able to dedicate himself to creating Menem, a process that took about six years, while also running Claxson thanks to the strong team at Claxson and his production company Yulgok.

For Varela, Menem gave him the satisfaction of carrying out a project he thought was very difficult, very challenging, with many “no’s” at the beginning. “And what I value most is that—I set out to do it against all odds. I proved to myself that I can follow a dream and make it happen. And I get a lot of satisfaction from the people, the pride that everyone who participated in this project feels: director Ariel Winograd, when I see the actors posting on social media, when I exchange messages with Leo Sbaraglia or Juan Minujín and I see their satisfaction and pride in being part of this project. That’s what I like the most.”

He pointed out that with Menem they achieved something different: “consciously or unconsciously, but we achieved something different, with a tone and narrative, with an editing style that at times is almost frenetic, but it pulls you along and then slows you down—it’s like a roller coaster. You go along with a story that takes you toward satire, and suddenly you’re hit with a blow, like a tragedy. I think something innovative came out of the way the story was told.”

He explained that the Menem series had a very large budget because it was a 10-week shoot with incredible talent. “I have to thank Amazon a lot. They supported us in every way: financially, in the way of working, with the team we wanted. It was a big project that had a lot of support from Amazon, at a time when it was difficult to produce in Argentina. We wanted to make the series entirely in Argentina. Today, a lot is filmed in Uruguay, in Colombia, but not so much in Argentina. We all wanted to make it in Argentina. Even in that, Amazon supported our initiative. I’m grateful they let me carry out this dream project with total freedom,” he said.

NOW THERE IS MORE BALANCE ACROSS LATAM

Asked whether Argentina is still at the forefront of production, Varela said: “Argentina had a rich history in pay-TV development. Twenty years ago it was the country with the most subscribers in all of Latin America. Fiction was exported, Argentine telenovelas have a history, a rich tradition of content development, and professionals in the pay-TV industry. I lived through that boom period in Argentina. Today I see things as much more balanced across Latin America. In Spanish-speaking markets, I see very good projects in Mexico, Colombia, Chile, and Argentina. I see major projects and producers from all over Latin America. Today I see things much more balanced, and I see talent emerging from everywhere.”