The central characters and 4/6 RBD band mates. From left to right: Roberta, Diego, Mia, and Miguel.
Rebelde (English: "Rebel") is a Mexican Telenovela series produced by Pedro Damian for Televisa which premiered on Canal de las Estrellas on October 4, 2006 and concluded on June 2, 2006 for at least three seasons and 440 episodes. The series is a remake of the Argentine TV series Rebelde Way.
The series focuses of dozens of teenagers who attend Elite Way School. However, few even graduate since they are persuaded by The Lodge a secret society whose purpose is to conserve the purity of class. Six teenagers: Mía (Anahi), Roberta (Dulce Maria), Miguel (Alfonso Herrera), Diego (Christopher Von Uckermann), Lupita (Maite Perroni) and Giovanni (Christian Chavez), despite there differences, discover something that would unite them – music.
The series received critical acclaim and was a major success for both Televisa and Cris Morena. The series caused the rising fame of the main six teenage actors in the show and a band featured in the show, RBD became an actual phenomenon even after the show ended.
This series provides examples of:
- Abhorrent Admirer: Celina to some characters.
- She falls in love with Miguel, but contrary to what one might expect, he is kind to her, even though the feeling is not reciprocal.
- When Celina believes Leo is in love with her, the first thing she does is arrange an appointment in a room where "no one ever goes." Leo (who is not in love with her) sincerely asks what is the reason for the meeting. She says she loves him, and without giving him time to respond, she kisses him so hard that they both fall to the ground, with Celina on top of Leo and continuing to kiss him for a long time.
- Abusive Parents: Celina's mother is an unpleasant woman who is ashamed of her daughter and publicly humiliates her for being fat.
- Academy of Adventure: Downplayed compared to other series, considering it did deal a lot with real issues most teenagers go through, but it did allow from time and time again more fantastical storylines, like a mystical cult called allowed to patrol around the school and scare the becados/scholarship students.
- Berserk Button: Insulting Celina for her weight, and getting between her and any possible boyfriend she may have.
- Betty and Veronica: Max is Archie, Celina is Betty and Sol is Veronica. Celina (Betty) is fat, delicate, sensitive, kind and insecure. In contrast, Sol (Veronica) is thin, beautiful, seductive, extremely arrogant, spoiled, unpleasant and full of self-esteem. Max is initially interested in Sol for her physical beauty and considers Celina just a friend, but after Sol rejects him several times and he realizes she has no interest in him, he gets to know Celina better and falls in love with her thanks to her personality.
- Beware the Nice Ones: Celina is a Nice Girl, but she can beat you up if you piss her off too much. Mia, Lupita, Vick and Sol found this out the hard way.
- Birds of a Feather - They can be compared and contrasted:
- Miguel and Roberta instantly become fast friends due to being more laid-back and down-to-earth when compared to Mia and Pablo, who were initially much more shallow and superficial. They also share a love for justice and for helping the downtrodden.
- Roberta and Diego initially bond over having troubled relationships with their parents (of different kinds, but still valid). They also dislike the rigid environment of the school and find freedom and solace in music.
- Mia and Roberta both grew up without an important parental figure in their lives, and due to their parents' sheltered upbringing they ended up being a little spoilt. The two also ended up being lied and cheated on by their loved ones, and that parallel allows them to grow closer. And at the end, they turn into step-sisters.
- Diego and Mia have been childhood friends since they were young, with both growing up in wealthy privileged families where they feel misunderstood/infantilized by their parents. They both also have a tendency to drink when overwhelmed with their emotions, underscored in the first season trip to Cozumel. Also initially both their fathers are the most opposed to them singing in the band.
- Big Eater: Celina eats often, especially when she is sad or angry.
- Butt-Monkey: Celina is apparently the only fat girl in high school, considers herself ugly, is humiliated by her mother and most of the boys she falls in love with consider her ugly and unbearable. And when she finally has a boyfriend, Max, Sol, one of her best friends finally shows who she really is, and tries to steal Max from her. Oh, and she gets pregnant from Max.
- Chubby Chaser: Max, the only boy who really falls in love with Celina.
- Clingy Jealous Girl:
- Celina has never dated before the beginning of the telenovela, so she reveals herself to be a very paranoid and possessive person when dating. When she suspects that Lupita is flirting with Miguel (which isn't true), she immediately confronts her and tells her to stay away from him.
- Sol is initially not interested in Max, but when she finds out that Max is in love with Celina, she immediately goes out of her way to break up the couple and seduce Max. Celina at risk on one occasion. She lies that Celina and Mia are a couple and even puts Celina's life at risk on one occasion.
- Forceful Kiss: Celina does this to Leo when she thinks he is in love with her. The two even fall to the ground, with her on top of him and continuing to kiss him.
- Green-Eyed Monster:
- Celina becomes this when she suspects some girl is flirting with the boy she's in love with.
- She threatens Lupita for suspecting she is interested in Miguel.
- She beats Mia when she suspects she is having an affair with Miguel.
- She torments Sol after she tries to steal Max from her.
- Also Sol when she finds out that Max is in love with Celina.
- Celina becomes this when she suspects some girl is flirting with the boy she's in love with.
- Lovable Alpha Bitch: Mia may be a bit shallow and judgmental, but she does have a good heart underneath it all. Specially for her best friends Vick and Celina.
- Love Triangle: Max initially falls in love with Sol, but when he realizes that she clearly wants nothing to do with him other than a mere casual relationship, he falls in love with Celina, who in turn can hardly believe that this handsome guy is interested in her.
- Ms. Fanservice: It's a mexican telenovela, after all. All the female characters wear some very short miniskirts for a school.
- New Year, Same Class: Come season 2 and 3, new year of school, and most of the original cast is still around.
- Parents as People: The show showcased a great variety of parents. While there was a long list of genuinely abusive parents (Celina's mom), there were also very doting and caring parents who never the less had their flaws.
- Spoiled Sweet: Mia is initially a little superficial, and her father does pamper her a little too much, but she's shown to have a good heart underneath it all. She shows it the most with her best friends Vick and Celina.
- Stout Strength: Celina is fat and quite strong, as her physical fights with Mia, Vico and Sol prove.
- Teen Pregnancy:Celina ends up pregnant by the end of the series.
- Those Two Girls: Celina and Vico, but not as prominent compared to other examples. The two mainly stand/follow this trope when they have to play up as Mia's sidekicks.
- Weight Woe: Celina has a lot of self-doubts concerning her weight, constantly comparing herself to the skinnier girls of the school and feeling ugly. It doesn't help that she gets bullied for it by everyone.
