Pasión de Gavilanes review: a 7.7/10 telenovela that understood its own machinery
The Reyes brothers ride into a murder charge, and 270 episodes later the genre still hasn’t shaken them off. Pasión de Gavilanes premiered on Telemundo on 21 October 2003, written by Julio Jiménez and produced by RTI Colombia with Caracol TV. It is a Colombian telenovela, and it knows exactly what it is.
Trailer, via newtranslations17.
Julio Jiménez Builds From Las aguas mansas
Jiménez did not start from nothing. Pasión de Gavilanes reworks his own 1994 telenovela Las aguas mansas, also produced by RTI. The bones are the same: the Reyes-Elizondo’s idyllic lives are shattered by a murder charge against Eric and León. That premise drives the first season, and it is a clean engine.
The cast carries it. Mario Cimarro is Juan Reyes. Danna García is Norma Elizondo. Juan A. Baptista and Paola Rey play Oscar and Jimena.
The Reyes and Elizondo Families, Ranked
The show’s real asset is its family math — two households, one accusation, and a romance for every pairing the writers can justify. Ranked by how much of the show’s weight they hold:
- Juan Reyes and Norma Elizondo — the central pull, and the reason the first season moves.
- Oscar Reyes and Jimena Elizondo — the second engine, steadier and less feverish.
- Franco Reyes and Sarita Elizondo — the third brother, the third sister, the third promise.
- Gabriela de Elizondo, played by Kristina Lilley — the parent who makes the murder charge land.
- Rosario Montes, played by Zharick León — the outsider who keeps the town talking.
Michel Brown rounds out the brothers as Franco. Natasha Klauss is Sarita. The symmetry is not subtle, and it does not need to be.
Two Seasons, Twenty Years Apart
Telemundo announced a second season on 12 May 2021 at its upfront for the 2021–2022 television season. Production started 18 October 2021. The season premiered 14 February 2022 and ended 31 May 2022. It takes place 20 years after the original events, which premiered 23 years ago.
Here is the schedule as it actually ran:
| Run | Premiere | Finale | Network |
|---|---|---|---|
| Season 1 | 21 October 2003 | — | Telemundo |
| Season 2 | 14 February 2022 | 31 May 2022 | Telemundo |
The gap is the whole story of the revival. Sebastián Osorio plays Erick Reyes Elizondo. Juan Manuel Restrepo plays León Reyes Elizondo. Bernardo Flores plays Juan David Reyes Elizondo. Camila Rojas plays Muriel Caballero. The second season hands the name to a new generation and asks the audience to follow.
Where the Revival Lands
It half works. Twenty years is enough time for the children to inherit the feud, but not enough to make the inheritance feel earned. The revival leans on recognition — the same surnames, the same houses — where the first season leaned on the charge against Eric and León. That charge was a plot. Nostalgia is a mood.
The first season remains the argument for the show. It ran on Telemundo from 2003 and built its reputation on a simple collision: a family accused, a family accusing, and six young leads paired off with mechanical precision. Cimarro, García, Baptista, Rey, Brown and Klauss were the product, and the product worked.
A 7.7 Out of 10
Pasión de Gavilanes holds a 7.7 out of 10 audience score on TMDB, drawn from 2,133 votes. The first season is the reason. It is a telenovela that understood its own machinery — the murder charge as ignition, the double family as fuel, the pairings as payoff — and ran it for 270 episodes without losing the thread.
The second season is the caveat. It arrives 20 years after the original events, it announces itself as a continuation, and it spends its run trading on the first season’s equity rather than building new stakes. That is not a failure. It is a smaller thing than the original, and it knows it.
Watch the 2003 run. Treat the 2022 run as an epilogue.
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