Luis Gerardo Méndez always knew he wanted Belinda to be part of “Mentiras, La Serie,” a new Prime Video series based on the hit Mexican jukebox musical “Mentiras, El Musical.”
“Beli and I connected early on,” Méndez, who stars in and executive produced the show, tells TODAY.com.
Prior to working together on “Mentiras,” which translates to “Lies,” they co-starred in another Prime Video drama, “¿Quién Lo Mató?” or “Who Killed Him?”
“I remember walking down a hall together and it was like an elevator pitch. In a minute I told her about (‘Mentiras’) and she said, ‘I’ll think about it, but it sounds really cool,’” Méndez recalls. “I couldn’t believe she agreed until the first day she was on set.”
Set in the ‘80s, the eight-episode series centers around four women — Daniela (Belinda), Dulce (Diana Bovio), Yuri (Regina Blandón) and Lupita (Mariana Treviño) — who are all connected to the recently murdered Emmanuel Mijares (Méndez). After they are summoned to a mysterious mansion, two discover that they were married to him, while the other two have secrets of their own when it comes to Emmanuel. Additional twists and hilarious turns ensue.
“Mentiras El Musical” was created by José Manuel López Velarde. The musical’s — and now the show’s — success stems from the incorporation of hit Spanish pop music of the ‘80s, the likes of Amanda Miguel’s “Él Me Mintió” and Daniela Romo’s “Mentiras.” After the series was released June 13, the soundtrack debuted on Spotify’s Top 10 albums worldwide list, and at a July 10 screening, Méndez and Belinda were surprised with plaques celebrating 100 million streams.
Adding an extra element of nostalgia for viewers, the characters’ names are inspired by iconic Mexican singers Dulce, Emmanuel, Mijares, Daniela Romo, Yuri and Lupita D’Alessio.
“(Luis) hooked me with his passion when telling me about the project,” Belinda tells TODAY.com in an interview that has been translated from Spanish to English. “And then I read the scripts and began immersing myself in the story.”
Méndez, who has been working on bringing the show to life for years, recalls studios telling him musicals don’t sell. He remembers attending the 2009 opening night of “Mentiras, El Musical” in Mexico and being instantly captivated by Mariana Treviño, who played Lupita in the original musical, and her presence onstage.
“‘Who is this amazing actor, I need to be her friend and I need to work with her,’” Méndez tells TODAY.com. “That is my first memory of the musical…”
By 2015, the two would co-star in the hit Netflix series “Club de Cuervos,” delighting audiences with their exaggerated and over-the-top performances as wealthy, arrogant siblings fighting over their father’s soccer team.
Since the show ended in 2019, fans have been longing for a reunion — and this was it.
Chatting with TODAY.com, Méndez and Belinda spoke about the incredible production, the challenges of securing the rights to the popular songs, re-creating those hits while staying true to the original material and more.
This interview has been edited for clarity and translated from Spanish to English.
Luis, did you hand pick the cast for this show?
Luis Gerardo Méndez: Oh, yeah. What was most important was the adaptation, which was very complicated and took about four years. To create the scripts, we first needed the rights to the songs — and they were the most popular Spanish songs of the ‘80s, which was tough.
But when it came to the casting, I knew I couldn’t do it without Mariana Treviño, who played Lupita in the original musical. She wasn’t sure about returning to the role and opening Pandora’s box again (but she did). And the other person we always wanted was Belinda.
I found out we were working together on “¿Quién Lo Mató?” and I feel like we instantly connected. There’s people you meet and you just know who they are, what they’ve been through, what their goals are, what they like, what they don’t — and that’s what I felt (with Belinda).
Belinda, you’ve been acting since you were a child but have been focusing on your music career. How do you choose which acting projects to take on?
Belinda: The truth is, I have been sent a lot of scripts and been invited to be part of a lot of movies and shows. But I am very picky. I’m very specific in what I decide to take on.
But I loved “Mentiras” because it was a great challenge for me, not only as an actor, because this character has a wide range, but because it’s just me in a room with three incredible actresses and Luis Gerardo.
Luis Gerardo Méndez: She was holding her own alongside Mariana Treviño, Regina Blandón and Diana Bovio, who are masters of comedy. I think the great surprise was that Beli is not only an extraordinary singer and actor, which we knew, but she’s very funny and she can do comedy very well.
One thing that has done very well is the soundtrack. People have been obsessed with it.
Luis Gerardo Méndez: Not even in my wildest dreams did I imagine it would turn out so good, but it did. It’s been crazy. The songs have millions of streams on Spotify.
We had a feeling that it was going to work out but the response has been very overwhelming and kind, and we are very grateful because no one imagined it.
Was there ever any pressure to re-create these iconic songs?
Luis Gerardo Méndez: I never thought about that. I never thought about being nervous or needing to be at the same level as (singers) Mijares or Emmanuel, because I knew I was never going to be them.
These characters are singing about something very specific that they are going through at that moment. The great thing about “Mentiras” is the characters don’t sing just to sing. The characters sing so that the story advances. When the character can’t express what they are feeling with words, they start to sing. So it’s not me singing like Mijares, it’s me singing as my character Emmanuel. It’s not Belinda singing like Amanda Miguel, it’s Belinda singing as Daniela. And Belinda did brilliant things with her songs, like “De Color De Rosa.”
Was it always the plan to make the show look like a play and not like a television show?
Luis Gerardo Méndez: We always want to pay homage to theater and wanted it to feel very theatrical. The references we had when creating the show were “Moulin Rouge,” “La La Land” and even “Barbie.”
But we also didn’t want it to be like we just filmed the original musical. We wanted to have that essence, though. Antonio Muño-Hierro, the production designer, had this brilliant idea. He said, “What’s the series called? It’s called ‘Mentiras’ (‘Lies’)’. So let’s show viewers that everything is a lie. That the sets are also fake.’”
And that’s why there’s these moments when (surprise guest) Daniela Romo says, “Everything is a lie,” and pushes the house down and you see that you’re in the Mijares household, but behind that is Daniela’s house. For me, that was beautiful. I grew up in the world of musical theater, and it’s a love letter to theater, and that’s what makes it so visually stunning.
Belinda: It’s incredibly well made. It had a large budget for the sets, everything in general was well-designed, the aesthetic, cinematography, every detail was outstanding.
I think it will set a precedent, and people will be like, “Let’s make a series like ‘Mentiras.’” It will be the example for many other people, and that’s what’s incredible.
