''Ciudad Bendita'' is a

Venezuelan Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

telenovela produced and broadcast by Venevisión and distributed internationally by

Venevisión International Cisneros Media (abbreviated as CM, formerly known as Venevision International) is an entertainment company that broadcasts Spanish content in the United States and in other locations around the globe. CMD is a Spanish-language Entertainment com ...

. The telenovela is an original story written by

Leonardo Padrón Leonardo is a masculine given name, the Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese equivalent of the English, German, and Dutch name, Leonard. People Notable people with the name include: * Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519), Italian Renaissance scient ...

. Marisa Román and Roque Valero star as the main protagonists. Since January 9, 2012, the telenovela has aired in Venezuela through cable channel Venevision Plus to repeated 4pm at 11:30 pm. It is considered a most successful telenovela written by

, after '' Cosita rica''.

Plot

Set in the heat of a popular market, Ciudad Bendita tells the love story between two peddlers, two losers, two people of the heap, as anonymous as any. Bendita Sanchez has a detail that obscures her beauty: a limp. On a bus trip back to

Caracas Caracas (, ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas, abbreviated as CCS, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the ...

she meets Juan Lobo, an ugly man that dreams of becoming a musician, and he instantly falls in love with her. However, Bendita happens to love another: Yunior Mercado, a

metrosexual ''Metrosexual'' is a portmanteau of '' metropolitan'' and ''sexual'' coined in 1994, describing a man of ambiguous sexuality, (especially one living in an urban, post-industrial, capitalist culture) who is especially meticulous about his groomin ...

playboy, and only views Juan Lobo as a friend despite his composing of various songs to win her favor. Ciudad Bendita is a great tribute to unrequited love, as well as the story of a country, a people, an entire community living on poverty, and a handful of survivors who dream of learning the key to happiness in the muddy streets of a Latin American city.

Cast

Starring

* Marisa Román as Bendita Sánchez * Roque Valero as Juan Lobo

Also starring

* Juan Carlos García as Yúnior Mercado * Alba Roversi as María "Maga" Gabriela *

Nohely Arteaga Nohely Coromoto González Arteaga (born December 5, 1963) is a Venezuelan actress recognized internationally for her starring roles in telenovelas during the 1980s and 1990s. Filmography Telenovelas * María Laura (1983) - RCTV * Chao, Cristina ...

as Magaly de Mercado / Doble M * Gledys Ibarra as Mercedes Zuleta / La Diabla * Yanis Chimaras as Guaicaipuro Mercado / Puro * Beatriz Valdés as Trina de Palacios * Caridad Canelón as Peregrina de Lobo * Henry Soto as Kike "Kikin" Palacios * Carlos Cruz as Baldomero Sánchez *

Carlota Sosa Carlota Sosa Pietri (born 21 February 1957) is a Spanish-born Venezuelan actress known for her participation in various RCTV Radio Caracas Televisión (RCTV) was a Venezuelan free-to-air television network headquartered in the Caracas neigh ...

as Julia Barrios de Venturini * Lourdes Valera as Francisca *

Luis Gerónimo Abreu Luis Gerónimo Abreu Ascanio (born 7 September 1972 in Caracas, Venezuela) is a Venezuelan actor known for his performance in telenovelas. Biography Luis Gerónimo Abreu was born in Caracas on 7 September 1972 to Luis Abreu, an actor and theater ...

as Jorge Venturini / Grillo * Milena Santander as Prudencia Barrios * Guillermo Dávila as Macario * Manuel Salazar as Rotundo Quiñones *

Daniela Bascopé Daniela Bascopé (born Daniela Bascopé Van Grieken on 11 April 1982) is an American born Venezuelan actress and singer known for her roles in various telenovelas and films. Biography Daniela began her career in the performing arts world with a ...

as Fedora Palacios * Elaiza Gil as Mi Alma * Ana María Simón as Mediática * Andreína Yépez as Zulay Montiel Barranco * Alejandro Corona as Etcétera * Jessica Grau as Marugenia "Maru" Torrealba * Yván Romero as Kenny G * María Cristina Lozada as Consuelo * Carlos Villamizar as Robinson Sánchez * Freddy Galavís as Ismael Lobo * Mirtha Borges as Bertha * Pedro Durán as Cafecito * Humberto García as Fausto * Martín Lantigua as Tobías * Jean Paul Leroux as Jerry Colón * Anastasia Mazzone as Kimberly Mercado * Laureano Olivares as Julio Augusto Sánchez * Susej Vera as Valentina * Josemith Bermúdez as Tiki * Antonio Delli as Gonzalo Venturini * Erika Pacheco as Vera * Adriana Romero as Yamilé * Paula Woyzechowsky as Rosita * David Garcés as Ricardo * Simón Rojas as Cheo

Special participation

* Carlos Montilla as Darwin Manuel

References

{{Venevisión telenovelas in 2000-2019 2006 telenovelas Venevisión telenovelas 2006 Venezuelan television series debuts 2007 Venezuelan television series endings Venezuelan telenovelas Spanish-language telenovelas Television shows set in Caracas