Belascoaran is a series of Netflix based on the fictional detective created by Paco Ignacio Taibo II. Each episode is inspired by a different novel of the saga published by the Mexican writer, where a peculiar investigator from Chilango must solve some of the mysteries and cruel criminal acts that plague the then Federal District in the seventies.
Héctor Belascoarán Shayne is a man who lives in Mexico City. He is miserable with his comfortable suburban life and decides to give it up altogether to become a freelance detective. His first case involves the deaths of several women in the city at the hands of a serial killer. During his investigation, he meets the girl with the ponytail, who eventually becomes his fem fatale. He works in an office with the help of his landlord, the hilarious and eccentric plumber Gómez Letras.
Héctor also makes enemies for his work, especially Paniagua, a corrupt member of the capital’s police who constantly interrupts his investigations and threatens him for sticking his nose where he doesn’t care. This is the narrative configuration presented by the novels of Belascoaran. The Netflix series faithfully adapts Taibo’s story, and although some licenses are given in the structure of the script, the essence does not change. But then, is it worth watching? Okay; We leave you three reasons why it would be worth doing it.
1. Classic detective story
Belascoaran it employs various tropes of an old-school detective series and still manages to make them feel fresh and fun. The jazz-heavy score and having Hector occasionally narrate in deep language are parts of the series that make it charming.
Also, the fact that the work is set in the seventies allows Héctor to still be a classic detective, pipe, magnifying glass and gloves. Away from new technologies, he solves hair-raising cases with a theoretical and empirical method based on observation, deduction and knowledge of certain contexts.
This allows Héctor Belascoarán to be shown as a brilliant and intelligent detective, and at the same time, as a man of action who is not afraid of blows and bullets, solving cases in the pure style of iconic characters such as Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes, Arséne Lupin of Maurice Leblanc or Father Brown of Chesterton.
2. Humor, mystery and action
The script is extremely entertaining, with the respective doses of mystery, action and humor distributed throughout the story. There are many references to famous fictional detectives and their creators, as well as the cases they solved, making it interesting for fans of classic detective stories.
The comedy aspect of the series is handled well and never feels over the top. A good balance is struck between the humor and the drama of solving a serious murder case. Héctor only jokes when necessary and does not alter the tone of the series. In addition, a large part of the jokes are left to the eccentric plumber Gómez Letras, who, making use of trickery and Chilango ingenuity, manages to get more than one laugh out loud. “Allow me to tell you about you, well, go ahead and…”
In that sense, Netflix has done a great job with the adaptation, since the work of Paco Ignacio Taibo II is characterized by oscillating between the tone of mystery presented by murder cases and the sparkling and incomparable humor of Mexicans in each situation of that absurd daily life in which we live.
Image: Netflix
The only complaint here is that each episode is based on a different novel in the series with a running time of close to 90 minutes, so they feel like feature films rather than episodes. It is a difficult task to see all three in a row, and perhaps it would have been worthwhile to segment the chapters in another way.
3. The cast
Luis Gerardo Mendez he is very charismatic in his role as Hector, an intelligent detective and a normal individual with good instincts and a nose for details. Méndez leads the series in a performance that makes the character quite entertaining, and although his chilango tone does not completely convince me, his performance in general is outstanding.
Secondly, Irene Azuela and Paulina Gaitan They are the support women in Héctor’s life, playing Elisa and Irene respectively. Azuela is the supportive older sister who helps Héctor in times of need and offers a different perspective on things, while Gaitán is the love interest, with a strong personality that perfectly complements Héctor’s.
Image: Netflix
Highlight of course Silverio Palacios, who is the main comic relief of the series in the form of Gómez Letras, Héctor’s plumber and tenant, and later his assistant. He is eccentric, hilarious and shines on screen. Without a doubt, my favorite character from Taibo’s works and now from the series.
Lastly, the effects and editing department deserves credit for the superb way certain information is displayed on screen as the story progresses. The DF of the seventies is magnificently portrayed in its fashion, food, transportation and cultural elements in general. A hit of nostalgia for the residents of the capital who walked the streets of the country’s capital.
Image: Netflix
Usually, we can say that Belascoaran is a wonderful detective series that presents a charismatic and interesting protagonist who generates empathy and proximity. The acceptable adaptation in these episodes definitely guarantees a crack in the other books of the series and the continued appearance of this intuitive investigator in the future, unless Netflix decides otherwise.
Have you seen Belascoarán on Netflix?
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Belascoarán: 3 reasons to watch the new Mexican Netflix series