Amor a la Mexicana
Maite Perroni, Alejandra Guzmán and Laura León unlock new season of ‘El Juego de las Llaves’
Maite Perroni, star of “El Juego de las Llaves,” sums up the provocative Spanish-language series in just a few sentences.
“We’re gonna have sex. We’re gonna have drama. We’re gonna have comedy,” she says. “At the end, that’s life. Sometimes there’s a happily ever after, and sometimes it’s not like that.”
The show delves matter-offactly into a variety of sexual discussions that aren’t often seen on mainstream shows or, if they are, frequently played for broad comedy. The first four episodes of Season 2 are now on Pantaya, a premium Spanish-language streaming service.
“El Juego de las Llaves” translates to “The Game of Keys,” the springboard for all the action. During a party, four couples switch partners after dropping their keys in a glass jar. (It’s a throwback to ’70s swingers parties.) But what should be a fun, temporary romp has longlasting consequences for some of the participants.
Perroni is Adriana, a woman whose content, if boring, marriage is upended by the game during Season 1. She’s now a bit lost and living with a friend but determined to be more sexually adventurous.
“I think people doubted I could do this because, ‘Oh, she is always doing soap operas. Will she be able to do this?’ But I wanted to be Adriana,” Perroni says. She’s starred in a string of traditional telenovelas and was part of the record-breaking Mexican pop group RBD.
“I love it. Since the first time I read the script, I felt so committed to it because I thought it was very necessary.”
“El Juego de las Llaves” takes the seeds of traditional relationships and turns them inside out. The characters explore polyamory and throuples, BDSM, bisexuality and the coming out process. An unemployed character finds his calling as a stripper. Others meet up at leather bars. It’s all done smartly and with a sense of humor.
“It’s a conversation we need to have. We are talking about different ways of living love,” Perroni says. “But at the end, the most important thing that we are talking about is who you really are. Are you being the real you, or are you just being the consequence of what everybody told you that you have to be?”
The series has already been picked up for a third season and is attracting more big-name talent. Among Season 2’s new faces are a pair of Mexican icons: rock singer Alejandra Guzman as the free-spirited Astrid and entertainer Laura León as Gloria, a meddling mother who wants her daughter to get married. Heartthrob Cristian de la Fuente also debuts as Adriana’s suave new lover.
León has released several albums and is a veteran of novelas, including the classic “Dos Mujeres, Un Camino” alongside Erik Estrada and the late Selena, who played herself in a few episodes. León spent time living in Houston and says the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic prompted her to take the role.
“I can’t sit still. Don’t keep me still because you’ll kill me,” she says. “I still feel like I’m 15. I’m an extremely active woman. I love my work. Thank God the opportunity came to work with this production. We have the opportunity to see different concepts of life, different ways of thinking.”
Her Gloria is an elegant, seemingly conservative woman who wants the best for her daughter but goes about it in the wrong way. Guzmán’s Astrid is the opposite end of the spectrum, a sexy, confident woman who celebrates her body and her sexuality. She’s a fairy godmother of sorts who pushes others out of their comfort zones.
“I’m the sensai of the ‘Juego de las Llaves.’ I teach them how to do it,” Guzmán says. “I love my character. It’s got a little bit of me in it.”
She hasn’t acted in several years, but Guzmán had a very personal reason for returning to the screen.
“I want my mother to see the whole ‘Juego de las Llaves’ because I want her to be proud of me as an actress,” she says with a smile. “I’m the only one that said, ‘No, no, no, I better do music because all my sisters are actresses. Not another one.’ And here I am.”
Onstage, Guzmán is a fearless performer, imbuing her songs with urgency and passion. Her first album “Bye Mamá” was released in 1988, and she’s since been known as Mexico’s queen of rock. She’s releasing a new single, “Quiero Mas de Ti” in a couple of weeks.
Despite her brash confidence, Guzmán says “El Juego de las Llaves” challenged her with “the most difficult thing that I’ve done in my life” — a nude scene. But true to form, she eventually embraced it.
“I’m proud of my scars, and I’m proud of my body the way it is now. I love myself now better than I did before. I want to show people who feel strange about something on their body that there are no limits. You don’t have to live traumatized,” she says. You know that they are conquistas de tu pelea (conquests of your fight). That’s something to be proud of.”
That’s ultimately a reflection of the show’s overall message — not just acceptance, but celebration of self, no matter how messy things get.
“I think we have to respect our lives, our decisions. In the end, you are the only one that knows what you want,” Perroni says. “I’m very proud to be part of a show like this. We wanna share it with the world.”