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Yahayra Films: Guadalajara is an ideal location that combines the metropolitan city with the Mexican colonial past

June 7, 2023

Maribel Ramos-Weiner

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For Lifetime, Yahayra Films, and VIP 2000 TV, Guadalajara has been the ideal location for the production of Amores que Engañan and Amores en Navidad.

“All the big companies are now producing Guadalajara, including Netflix, making it the second city to film in Mexico, bringing a sense of pride to the city,” said Sofía Garrido, General Producer of Amores que Engañan and president and owner of Yahayra Films. She emphasizes that Yahayra Films has been producing here for several years now with a crew that is like family. “Our crew is immovable, they have been with us for years.”

She added that Guadalajara combines the same geography metropolitan city with Mexican colonial architecture. “We have small towns close to the city, there are magical towns, UNESCO world heritage sites, where we have access to film.”

Juana María Torres, executive director of Original Production at Lifetime, pointed out that, at the architectural level, “it is a privilege” to be able to record in Guadalajara. “You find colonial architecture with modern buildings. There are Barragán houses, an architectural style that is not even found in CDMX with natural spaces where we have the privilege to record. Sofia has found locations that are out of the ordinary.”

Carmen Larios, Senior VP of Programming and Production for A&E and Lifetime, added that they have found in Guadalajara two environments: “a wonderful agave field that gives you a nostalgic Mexico location, and also the urban environment. So we can say this happened anywhere in the world, it could be in Los Angeles, anywhere.”

She added that they have also recorded in modern shopping centers, and clinics, which resemble international locations. “It is wonderful because Guadalajara is not as chaotic as CDMX. It would be impossible to go to two locations on the same day in CDMX with the magnitude and the scenes of Amores que Engañan. Guadalajara offers that duality of a modern city and a colonial city with a more rustic touch,” Larios pointed out.

“Even in this season, we recreate Miami, because we have an episode where the mother lives in Miami and the parents take the children to Mexico. We had already done it in Amor en Navidad. It is a city that allows you to fake what a US metropolis would be like, but it also has a Mexican part. We are in love with Guadalajara,” commented Roxana Rotundo, CEO of VIP 2000 TV and Chairwoman of the board of directors of the Worldwide Audiovisual Women´s Association (WAWA).