Why using Colombian talent was key for Netflix’s adaption of ‘One Hundred Years Of Solitude’

There were three rules to follow before Netflix could adapt One Hundred Years Of Solitude, Colombian literary giant Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s magical-realism masterpiece about the rise and fall of the Buendia family, spanning the early 1800s to the 1900s. “It had to be in Spanish,” says Francisco Ramos, the streamer’s vice president of Latin American content, who began negotiations with the late author’s family back in 2018 after Netflix acquired the rights to the 1967 novel. When Marquez’s widow Mercedes Barcha died in 2020, his sons Rodrigo Garcia and Gonzalo Garcia Barcha became the gatekeepers.

“I didn’t think we could tell it in a three-act structure so we felt it was an episodic in Spanish,” Ramos says. “And of course, they felt very strongly that we should shoot in Colombia. So did we.”

With that, the streamer embarked on one of the biggest productions Latin America has ever seen. As well as accessing Colombia’s production incentives, it partnered with frequent collaborator Dynamo Producciones (Narcos), shot in 15 towns, and employed a cast of mostly emerging actors, a crew of hundreds and more than 20,000 extras.

Ramos, who assumed his role in 2018, hired Jose Rivera, the Oscar-nominated screenwriter of The Motorcycle Diaries, to figure out the screenplay, and set him to work during the pandemic until production began in mid-2023. The first season of eight episodes will debut later this year and pre-production on season two is underway.

Rivera is Puerto Rican, and Ramos later brought in Colombians for rewrites in order to capture the nuances of history, language, character and dialogue; Natalia Santa headed up the writing team. “We felt there was something special about having [Colombian writers] adapt a novel that is so integral to them,” says Ramos.

“The people are very good at what they do, very passionate,” he adds of the production’s Colombian crew.

The guidance was more emotional when it came to picking the directors. “They had to be people who loved the book,” says Ramos. Laura Mora, who is Colombian and directed the 2022 San Sebastian Golden Shell winner The Kings Of The World, directs three episodes of season one (4, 5, and 6), while Argentina-born Alex Garcia Lopez directs five (1, 2, 3, 7 and 8).

Production began in May 2023 and continued until December. Netflix, Dynamo and the project’s executive producers, who include Marquez’s two sons, found a swath of locations across biodiverse Colombia, taking in the Andean forests to the west and the shores of the Caribbean Sea in the north.

The production headed to Alvarado in the Andean plains region of Tolima to create the fictitious town of Macondo, the beating heart of the book where the multi-generational saga plays out. Crews built a lifesize set that transforms over time from a small settlement to a bustling community. “We don’t normally build backlots in television,” says Ramos. “In Latin America you do that for big studio films or big studio series. Our Macondo is massive, beautiful, a character… it’s true world-building.”

Eugenio Caballero, the Mexican production designer of Roma and an Oscar winner for Pan’s Laby­rinth, created the initial designs for Macondo. He was unable to be on set when production started, so Barbara Enriquez — with whom Caballero shared an Oscar nod for Roma — took over as head of department.

Period details

Four different versions of the town were built to reflect the passage of time, with the building exteriors made from an iron skeleton coated in a rice husk and a metal mesh

covered in soap and water-based adhesive.

More than 200 Colombian artisans filled the large, life‑size Buendia family home and buildings in the town with furniture made from preserved wood dating back to the period. They sourced and made baskets, hand-crocheted bags and musical instruments originating from Indigenous communities such as the Wayuu, Chimila and Kamsa.

Colombian department heads included Catherine Rodriguez for costume design and Juancho Valencia and Camilo Sanabria for musical design, while Helmut Karpf oversaw make-up and hairstyling. Local production services company Dynamo helped with every aspect of the project. This included processing the paperwork required by Colombia Film Commission to secure the CINA transferable tax credit, which applies to 35% of in-country spend, and selling the credit in Colombia. “The incentives really work,” notes Ramos.

“This is a beautiful, rich country and they were smart to boost the orange [creative] economy,” he adds. “We are committed to Colombia.

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