Jimena Argüelles of Non Stop México: “We Made Quebranto With The Best”

A crew of excellent professionals—but above all, wonderful people—was what made it possible to shoot such a complex and challenging series as Quebranto for Disney+. So said Jimena Argüelles, Head of Production at Non Stop in Mexico and executive producer of the series, which premiered last Friday, August 15.

“When Disney called us with such a powerful story, of course we wanted to be part of it. It was a matter of finding each piece, because it’s a very particular story. We needed to have the gears for the perfect machine. Together with the director, Bernardo de la Rosa, we began planning. Since it was such a complicated story—in the drama, the thriller elements, the special effects, in everything—it was very important for us to have not only the best at what they do, but also to build a crew made up of excellent professionals and excellent people,” Argüelles explained.

The approach taken by both the director, Bernardo de la Rosa, and Argüelles as producer was to build a team that worked like a family, so the story could be told as it should. “And I think we achieved that, honestly,” Argüelles said.

The series follows Miranda, a young woman adopted by an Argentine family, who suffers from anxiety disorders. She attributes her mental health struggles to the anguish caused by not knowing her origins. She returns to Mexico to search for her roots, only to discover that reality is not what she thought. Miranda decides to infiltrate the heart of a criminal organization in Mexico City, alongside Javier Lara, the patriarch’s nephew, and under the protection of Leo, a former member of Mexico’s special security forces. In this case, the search for truth comes at a very high cost, and Miranda must choose between light and darkness, forgiveness and punishment, the love of someone willing to die for her and the love of someone willing to kill.

PRODUCTION VALUES

The series boasts high production values, particularly the cinematography by Rodrigo Rocco Rodríguez. Argüelles highlighted the excellent production design, led by Sofía Guzmán and her large team. Together with art directors Juan Garces and Wuicho Aquino, they pulled off the period transitions featured in the series.

“I think the biggest challenge was how to differentiate the time periods. There’s a lot of shifting between past, present, and semi-past. So the challenge, also for the makeup design led by Elenita (Elena López Carreón), as well as for cinematography and production and art design, was how to make the audience’s eye clearly understand the timelines. It turned out really well. You can easily tell when the story jumps back and forth in time. That was one of the biggest challenges in telling this story correctly.”

SHOOTOUTS AND CHASES

She added that although more and more action series are being produced in Mexico, they’re still not the norm. “We had very complex scenes, from fires to shootouts and chases. The complexity starts in the planning, because it’s not the same to film two actors talking in a room as it is to shoot a chase scene with bullets flying. It takes much longer and requires lots of rehearsals and stunts,” she explained.

For that, they relied on the right equipment, such as mobile cameras to follow the actors—particularly a skater dolly or skateboard-mounted camera, which Argüelles praised as extremely effective. They also worked with top-notch effects specialists and professionals for the action shots.

IDEAL CAST

Casting director Emilie Morán was in charge of assembling the talent. According to Jimena Argüelles, she and her team have a keen eye for selecting talent and understanding character needs.

The series stars Tini Stoessel (Miranda), Jorge López (Javier Lara), and Martín Barba (Leo). Special guest stars include Antonio de la Vega (Emiliano), Rafael Ferro (Martín), and Otto Sirgo (Santiago). The cast also features Daniela Peña (Gabriela), Lucía Gómez-Robledo (Victoria), Sebastián Silveti (Gerardo), Jyasú Torruco (Diego), Karla Garrido (Sara), Rebeca Manríquez (Elena), Areli González (Silvana), Daniela Vargas (María José), and Albi De Abreu (Rafael). Quebranto was written by Andrés Gelós, Natacha Caravia, and Andrés Pascaner.

“We also worked hard on building chemistry among the actors. With the Lara brothers, for example, we really focused on making sure that bond was there. It was also important that they looked like a family. It was a fairly long process, but very rewarding. There’s so much Mexican and international talent. For us, it was not only important to select amazing people, but also those who were truly talented and could bring something unique to their characters,” she explained.

BETWEEN ARGENTINA AND MEXICO

The series was filmed both in Argentina and in Mexico. Non Stop originated in Argentina and has offices in Buenos Aires. That’s why, for Jimena Argüelles, shooting in two countries was relatively simple. “Non Stop has been in Argentina for many years and has an incredible, very solid team,” she explained. “It was a very smooth process. Rocco, Bernardo, I, and of course Tini, went there. Everything was ready, set up to keep the same quality we had been working with. We filmed in Corrientes, in many outdoor locations, and in the subway,” Argüelles said.

“The truth is, without the fine-tuned teams we worked with, this series would not have been possible. Now it’s in the hands of the real owners—the audience—and we just hope they like it and enjoy it.”