La CQ is a comedy about eight students at a middle school, and the show leans into its premise rather than dressing it up with extra layers. The show follows Ángel Del Río, Clara Licona, Beto Bautista, Monche Barragán, Jenny Pinto del Rostro, Danny, Adriana Del Río and Roque Villalón as they face bullies, love, homework and the usual chaos of adolescence. It is a simple premise, and the show mostly sticks to it.
The series premiered on 6 August 2012 on Cartoon Network Latin America, and it ran for five seasons with 102 episodes before ending on 1 March 2014. It was recorded at RCTV Studios in Caracas, Venezuela, and it is a co-production between Televisa and Cartoon Network, which makes it the network’s first local original live-action co-production. The show’s success spawned a sequel, La CQ: nuevo ingreso, which premiered on 9 December 2024.
Eight Students, One School
The eight main characters are distinct enough to anchor the show for five seasons. Emiliano Flores plays Ángel Del Río, the team captain and Clara’s boyfriend, with a kind of handsome charm that the show leans on heavily. Alejandra Müller plays Clara Licona, the new girl at La CQ who starts dating Ángel secretly at the end of Season 1.
Benny Emmanuel plays Beto Bautista, the smartest student in the school, while Harold Azuara plays Monche Barragán, the naive class clown who tells nonsensical jokes and spies on the cheerleaders. Fernanda Urdapilleta plays Jenny Pinto del Rostro, the mean cheerleader captain who bosses around her cousin Danny. Ferny Graciano plays Danny, Augusto Galindez plays Profesor Mitocondria, Jocelin Zuckerman plays Adriana Del Río, and Luis Fernando Ceballos plays Roque Villalón.
The show also features recurring characters including Carlos Arraiz as Eleuterio, Antonio Delli as Director Osvaldo Pinto Baldomero/Dios, and Guillermo Canache as Entrenador Gordillo.
- Eleuterio, played by Carlos Arraiz, appears as a recurring character in the series.
- Director Osvaldo Pinto Baldomero/Dios, portrayed by Antonio Delli, is a recurring figure in La CQ.
- Entrenador Gordillo, played by Guillermo Canache, is a recurring character in the show.
These supporting figures give the series a sense of place beyond the eight friends at the center of the story.
A School With a Name
The show is set at Constantino Quijano. The premise is that the eight students at the school are the ones who make up the titular group. The show follows them through their middle school years.
The school is a place of conflict and friendship. It is where the students face bullies, love, homework and the usual chaos of adolescence.
The Comedy Works
The show is a comedy, and it is a comedy about secondary school. It follows the eight students as they experience conflicts throughout their middle school years. The show is about the value of friendship and being a team.
The show’s appeal rests on its cast, its setting and its willingness to treat middle school as something worth watching. The show follows eight students at a middle school as they face bullies, love, homework and the usual chaos of adolescence.
The Sequel That Follows
In June 2024, it was announced that a sequel series with a new group of students was in production. The series, titled La CQ: nuevo ingreso, premiered on 9 December 2024.
The original show ended on 1 March 2014, and the sequel began more than a decade later. The sequel is a new group of students at La CQ, and it is a continuation of the world that the original show established.
The Verdict
La CQ is a comedy about secondary school, and it works because it is honest about the subject it is exploring. The show follows eight students at a middle school as they face bullies, love, homework and the usual chaos of adolescence. It is a comedy that sticks to its premise and trusts the audience to enjoy it.
The show’s success at the time is worth noting. It was the first local original live-action co-production between Televisa and Cartoon Network, and it ran for five seasons on the network’s Latin American channel. That is a strong run for a show that never pretended to be anything more than what it was: eight friends, one school, and the chaos of growing up.
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