Casi Ángeles (English: Almost Angels) is an Argentine teen telenovela by Cris Morena which was aired by Telefe. Its first broadcast was on 21 March 2007 and it ended on 29 November 2010, with a total of 579 episodes divided over four seasons. It is considered one of the most successful Telenovelas in Argentinian television history. A star-studded soap-opera, Casi Ángeles stars Nicolás Vázquez, Emilia Attias, Mariano Torre and Teen Angels (Juan Pedro Lanzani, Mariana Espósito, Gastón Dalmau, Nicolás Riera, María Eugenia Suárez). Also due to the success of the show, the pop band Teen Angels emerged, composed of Juan Pedro Lanzani, Mariana Espósito, Gastón Dalmau, Nicolás Riera, María Eugenia Suárez. The show can now be watched on YouTube.
It gave rise to the emergence of the pop band Teen Angels, made up of Mariana Espósito, Juan Pedro Lanzani, Nicolás Riera, Gastón Dalmau and María Eugenia Suárez. In 2011, Rocío Igarzábal, who was a member of the main cast of the telenovela and had participated in several songs, replaced Suárez. In the series, Rocío was part of the group Man, which made up their competition. Along with her, that group consisted of Agustín Sierra, Candela Vetrano, Pablo Martinez and Maria Del Cerro. The group released five studio albums and two live albums, counting four theatrical seasons performed at the Gran Rex in Argentina, touring concerts along the interior of Argentina, some Latin American countries, as well as Israel.
Production
The series was mainly filmed in Pampa Studios, located in Buenos Aires, although also some takes were shot in the street. During the end of 2008 the cast and production went on to film the first 5 episodes of the third season on location, to be more specific, in different points in the provinces of Mendoza and San Juan. Also, to record the last episodes of the same season, the team went to San Pedro, a town in Buenos Aires. Towards the end of the last season, the actors Peter Lanzani, Pablo Martínez and Rocío Igarzábal, recorded in the ruins of Villa Epecuén.
Plot
Casi Ángeles is the story of a group of homeless and/ or orphaned children and teenagers who are exploited and forced to steal for Bartolomé Bedoya Agüero (Alejo García Pintos) and Justina Merarda García (Julia Calvo). However, everything changes when Cielo Mágico (Emilia Attias), acrobat and dancer, and Dr. Nicolás Bauer (Nicolás Vázquez), an archaeologist, enter the kids' lives. Cielo, through her music, her love and her kindness, and Nicolás, with his fatherly nature and dreams, give the children the chance to believe in joy again. They both keep important secrets that, when discovered, will change everyone's lives forever. This is a story packed with magic, love, music, songs, dances and competitions. Nonetheless, there is a mystery within the house and their relations, and it involves every single one of them. Their individual and group stories have to do with the secrets protected by the hidden portal in the clock inside the Inchaustis' mansion and the special connection that everyone has with it and each other. As a magic object, this portal has chosen each and every one of the Casi Ángeles with the utmost care, and everyone thus has a mission. Discovering this mission will be the meaning of this action-packed adventure.
Seasons
Season 1; The Eudamón Island (2007) The story begins when Ángeles Inchausti, aka Cielo Mágico (Emilia Attias), a circus acrobat, and Nicolás Bauer (Nicolás Vázquez), an archaeologist (obsessed with finding the Eudamón Island), arrive at the Inchausti Mansion. In this mansion, the evil Bartolomé Bedoya Agüero (Alejo García Pintos) serves as director of the BB Foundation, a foundation for orphans which he uses as a façade for his fearsome plans. In this house, the orphaned children are exploited by Bartolomé and his housekeeper, Justina Merarda García (Julia Calvo), by being enslaved to work and steal, while they are heavily punished if they don't do as told. Fortunately, his plans are threatened with the unknown appearance of the heiresses of the house, Ángeles and her little sister Luz Inchausti. Cielo and Nico will help and rescue these kids, discovering in the meantime the dark secrets that the Inchausti Mansion hides, linked to Cielo's past and the Island of Eudamón.