• Television The world boom of Turkish soap operas: audience success and Erdogan's political weapon

A few years ago, snacks were reserved for the Latin American soap opera in the afternoons,

Pasión de Gavilanes

or

Loving You So Frijolito

, they were the perfect excuse to reunite families.

Now the schedule is night, and the soap opera, Turkish.

But the phenomenon is similar.

Murat Evgin

is in charge of putting that soundtrack and he is the first to do it in Spanish.

Turkish series already have a Castilian accent.

This singer, of Turkish nationality, composes the songs of

Elif

and

Omer stolen dreams,

two of the most acclaimed soap operas in Spain and began composing in adolescence.

At 21 he already had an album of his own making.

"At that time I was very idealistic, I tried to escape from the commercial and I wanted to stay true to my style.

Later I realized the difficulty of living from music

", declares the singer.

That is why he began studying film at university and that opened the doors to his current passion: composing soundtracks for different films and series.

"I didn't have a big record company backing me up and these projects helped me make room for myself," he explains.

Putting music to a production of this type takes a lot of work behind us, according to the composer: "I read the script, I fragment it and decide how to give it the rhythm. It can be exhausting because they last a long time and it is a great job for the whole team" . In addition, aware of the success of both soap operas in Spain, he

decided to translate two

of

Omer's

main themes

,

to further introduce the viewer to the plot.

"Many Spaniards saw the series with the songs in Turkish and could understand the meaning, but

now they understand the lyrics,

" he says about the passage of the lyrics into Spanish. The translation and recording process was very complicated for him, since he was alone during confinement and he hardly knew Spanish. The help of his friends, Gizem and Thair, added to his speed in hitting the record button and running off to sing into his studio microphone, made this adventure possible.

For the composer, the idea of ​​singing in Spanish was a surprise that gave him life and has ended up becoming a continuous weekly Spanish grammar lesson. "I like it a lot, I have always thought that it is

the most romantic language when it comes to singing

, because language has its own melody inside," he explains. Therefore, his intention is to translate

Elif's

songs as well

.

On the success of this Turkish format in Spain, Evgin associates it with the similarity between both societies: "We have many things in common, in the way of expressing our feelings, culture, dance, art ... Both countries have influences Arabs, our music is similar and television is similar,

I think that's why we enjoy sharing our stories

. " It also speaks of internal emotionality and the need to express it as a connecting link.

It is common to question whether the way of life of these soap operas reflects the Turkish reality or not. Evgin is clear that his country is certainly not the reflection that is projected abroad: "This country has a very modern side and many people here want to live like in Europe; however,

when European directors come to Turkey, they only film their side. more traditional

", defends that just as Spain is not only flamenco and paella, Turkey has much more behind the tourist myth.

"They

have

also

asked me if it is a strategy financed by the president

. I think that, if the Government wanted to finance television series, these would be more historical and traditional," he adds.

Although the influence of the Erdogan government is evident in the scripts of the series, even going so far as to censor parts of the series or fine their creators.

A declared fan of Latin soap operas and proud of the tour of the Turkish versions, he continues to learn languages ​​and compose

singles

, with his eyes on the international horizon.

Waiting for the Covid to abate, which in his opinion has given a different meaning to the word

'freedom'

in each country.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

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