Sony Pictures Television: With the death of Fernando Gaitán we have lost a great talent in the industry

After the death of the Colombian scriptwriter and producer Fernando Gaitán (Café Con Aroma de Mujer, Yo Soy Betty, La Fea), last Tuesday January 29, Ana Bond, SVP and general director, International Production for Latin America and US Hispanic at Sony Pictures Television, company with which Gaitán had recently signed —at NATPE— a content development agreement, expressed:

“At Sony Pictures Television we join the family and friends of Fernando Gaitán with our most sincere condolences, as well as a country that is mourning today, and the thousands of followers in the world who admired his career and enjoyed his creations. We have undoubtedly lost a great talent in the industry. These last months, I had the opportunity to meet the person behind the genius, I witnessed the great passion he put into his work, and the vision he had with his new project; a vision we shared and dreamed together. Our commitment now is to honor his memory, and we have been working to make the last of his works a reality,” said from Miami Ana Bond.

Gaitán died in Bogota of a heart attack at the age of 58. Gaitán produced some of the most successful telenovelas on Colombian television, including Yo soy Betty, la Fea, considered by the Guinness World Records as the most successful telenovela in history, since it was aired in more than 180 countries, dubbed into 15 languages and had 22 adaptations around the world.

In the past, NATPE Sony Pictures Television announced the signing of a content development agreement with Gaitán, who had worked exclusively with Colombia´s RCN for many years. The Colombian writer, journalist, scriptwriter, playwright, and producer had more than 30 years of experience in the industry, with more than 80 productions, as a producer, scriptwriter, and advisor.

In 2006, Gaitán launched on RCN his new telenovela called Hasta Que La Plata Nos Separe, that turned out to be a huge success, achieving excellent rating figures and several adaptations in other countries. Gaitán was named VP for Products at RCN Televisión in 2009, and 2010, barely a year after his promotion, he led RCN to become the channel with the highest rating in prime time, recovering the edge the channel had tried but failed to position itself at since 2008.