Pablo Illanes

Pablo Andrés Illanes Tapia (born March 12, 1973) is a Chilean writer, screenwriter, journalist and film director, principally known as the creator of various successful telenovelas, including , , Alguien te mira, ¿Dónde está Elisa? and Conde Vrolok. Biography Illanes studied journalism at Diego Portales University. After establishing himself as a film critic in Wikén, the weekend supplement of the newspaper El Mercurio, and at the defunct TV station , he wrote his first telenovela, Adrenalina (1996). It was aired on Canal 13. The telenovela generated controversy for its storyline based on fleeting teen romances at a high school in the "barrio alto" (upper district) of Santiago. His second telenovela, (1997), was the most watched telenovela of the decade on its channel. His initiation as a screenwriter came later, with (1999), which did not generate high television ratings but was lauded by critics; it became a cult classic, and would be reaired on two occasions. After (2001), a series which obtained weak ratings and critical reviews and caused a temporary pause of telenovela production on Canal 13, he reestablished himself with the successful Machos (2003), co-written with Coca Gómez and Sebastián Arrau. The telenovela had a broad social impact and generated substantial ratings, and won several awards including two Altazors. It was extremely successful and would eventually be rebroadcast in Spain and various Latin American countries including Uruguay, where it was greatly popular.