La Catrina (educational program)

La Catrina is an educational mini television series made for Rinehart and Winston Inc. for its level III Spanish programs by David Curland. It follows the voyage of Jamie Gonzalez, a Latina high schooler, into her roots in Querétaro, Mexico. It spawned a sequel, La Catrina: El Ultimo Secreto for Rinehart and Winston's Spanish level IV program. The story revolves around her attempts to discover and execute the will of her wealthy great-grandmother which leaves her all of the property that the villain, Don Silvestre Aguilar, currently occupies.

There are also short, textual versions of both La Catrina and its sequel (similar to readers) meant to be read in conjunction with the shows.

Plot
La Catrina is an educational Spanish soap opera. It focuses on Jamie Gonzalez (a high school graduate from Los Angeles, California), who spends the summer in Querétaro, Mexico. Upon arrival, she surprises her new Mexican family (the Navarros) who, mistaking her name to be "Jaime", expected a boy (Jaime is a masculine name in Spanish). After some consideration, the Navarros decide that it would be scandalous to keep Jamie at their house because Carlos, their son, is very attracted to Jamie and they would be sharing a bedroom. Therefore, Jamie is sent to the Linares house, where Carlos's friend, and ex-girlfriend, Maria lives. Maria and Jamie become very good friends. In addition, Jamie and Carlos fall in love.

Besides wanting to improve her Spanish and enjoy the culture of Mexico, Jamie has another mission: to find more information about her great-grandmother, doña Josefa de Gonzalez (otherwise known as La Catrina). Throughout the series, Jamie discovers that there is more to her ancestor than she previously believed and uncovers some dangerous secrets along the way. Don Silvestre Aguilar, threatened by the inquiries Jamie is making and worried about losing his political campaign, uses his extensive power in Querétaro to put a stop to Jamie's investigation. Will Jamie be able to win back what is rightfully hers?

In the second season (El Último Secreto), Jamie discovers that she has another gripe with Aguilar: the man also has property of her mansion, of which Jamie had no previous knowledge. The whole cast of characters does not reappear in this sequel while other new characters are introduced.

Criticism
This educational soap opera is aimed to help for Spanish children. The acting portrayed by the characters overall has been criticized. One example of the paucity of depth in the acting is due to the cheesy soundtracks for the characters which unfortunately does not portray any form of characterization (Don Silvestre Aguilar – "villain" music, Jamie – lively music, Carlos – crazy music). Another factor is the weird close-ups of the characters at random times and the general audio does not have an isoblated background, which implies it had been shot with a camcorder and a bad effects team, which it probably was.