Einmal Hexe ...

Gosh this looked like it would be magical. A black witch in 1600s Columbia (mind blown) casts a spell to avoid being burned at the stake and ends up in 2019 Columbia with the promise that if she gets an emerald to a witch there, that witch will end her back in time to before her love was killed in the 1600s. So Carmen does so and ends up in 2019. All is well but for the fact that soon after arriving and finding the witch to send her back, that witch disappears and is presumed dead. How does she get back now?

There are several problems with this series that might not bug you but bugged me. (1) for some reason, everyone on the show has the dialog dubbed. This makes everyone sound ridiculous. You will have an obviously latino man speaking like a white car commercial from the 1970s. It is horrible; (2) There is way too much talking about the baddie. They must say his name a zillion times but a lot of the story doesn't seem to advance the ball toward finding him; (3) there is just a modern day problem with this show... Carmen is a slave in 1600 and is in *love* with the slave master's son. It is hard for anyone in modern day to root for them to get together in the 1600s. You kind of want Carmen to stay where she is.

I do want to give them credit for doing a good job with someone from the 1600s coming to 2019. Carmen has problems adjusting but they are not over done. She learns fast and makes friends. I would put this in the watch for later queue.

Siempre Bruja is more of a teen telenovela than anything else. It's beautifully filmed in Cartagena, Colombia. I did enjoy the colorful landscapes and old Spanish fortress city. But teen dramas aren't really my thing. But I can see how many young people would liking this film a lot. I was hoping it had more of a comedic edge like Bewitch or a darker comedy instead of a Beverly Hills 90210 melodrama feel to it. It certainly makes me want to travel and visit this old city, its newer modern cityscape and experience the music, dance, colonial history and the street food vendors!

One of the reasons why I really love Netflix so much is that they bringing more international programming like this to the United States and to the rest of the world. I love their originals, but I also love this culture sharing that Netflix provides that Over-The-Air television has always failed to provide in the past. Hopefully this streaming company might do more than just entertain us, but break the American bubble of isolation and make our country a more internationally and culturally aware people.

This Colombian series opens in seventeenth century Cartagena where slave Carmen Eguiluz is about to be burnt at the stake for witchcraft. This is largely inspired by the fact that she is in a forbidden relationship with the son of wealthy Spanish family. The execution appears to take place but then she walks out of the sea... in the twenty-first century. We later learn she has made a deal with immortal wizard Aldemar... if she can save somebody for Aldemar she will be able to return to her own time and have her relationship. He warned her that there is a dangerous wizard who will try to stop her and somebody is murdering women accused of witchcraft. Once in the present she quickly makes friends and learns about freedoms she couldn't dream of before. Most of her problems seem to be sorted as the first season ends but more appear in the second season... Carman's friend Johnny Ki manages to use a time portal and returns with a seventeenth century pirate and a would-be witch is threatening Carmen's safety through her actions.

It must be said that while this series is quite fun it is also rather lightweight. Its cast are mostly good looking young people and even when major characters appear to be in dangerous situations nobody is likely to think they won't get out of it; the only question is how. The acting might not be the greatest but it is decent enough. The stories, which are season long rather than episodic, are fun. I think I preferred the second series slightly more; it is just as light weight but Kobo the pirate is a fun addition to the cast of characters. The city of Cartagena is a fine setting; modern but with a real sense of history. Overall a fun watch; it might not be a must see show but it passes the time nicely. The conclusion of the second season leaves an opening for further stories; if we get another season I'll watch it.

These comments are based on watching the series in Spanish with English subtitles so I can't comment on the quality of the English dubbing.

Really liked this. Held my interest and binge watched almost in one night. Likeable characters and good story. Hope we get to see more.

Solid production values for this first ever Columbian TV series I've watched. Initial episode was totally entertaining from the stake 'burning' to Carmen's arrival at a carnival atmosphere beach side celebration. characters and story held my interest. Look forward to further episodes with this charming, Colombian witch!