How the classic One Hundred Years of Solitude turned into a screenplay

For Camila Brugés, co-writer of the show, the intensity of this book-to-screen process was akin to working on a doctorate in screenwriting. “It is also a joy to spend so much time digging into a novel that has such wisdom. It is humbling. Even though we were exhausted, we also gained so much from this exercise,” says Brugés. The series was developed by a group of screenwriters that included Brugés and Santa.

Behind the scenes shot of the founders exodus, led by José Arcadio Buendía and Úrsula Iguarán as they travel across a river in search of the land to build Macondo. (Photo: Mauro González/Netflix © 2024)

The Nobel laureate’s 1967 novel follows cousins José and Úrsula, who get married against their parents’ wishes and leave their village to embark on a journey in search of a new home. Accompanied by friends and adventurers, their voyage culminates with the founding of a utopian town on the banks of a river of prehistoric stones that they baptize Macondo. Several generations of the Buendía lineage will shape the future of this mythical town, tormented by madness, impossible loves, a bloody and absurd war, and a terrible curse that condemns them, without hope, to 100 years of solitude.

The book has been hailed as one the greatest literary works as well as a leading example of the magical realism genre. While working on its script, Santa recalled the team having several rounds of discussions decoding magical realism. “It was a term that was coined after he wrote One Hundred Years of Solitude. Some thought it was a conversation about time. For others, this was about magical aspects which were very luminous. What we arrived at was that magical realism is the juxtapositions of mystical, spiritual and supernatural aspects of life occurring with absolute normalcy in day-to-day life,” says Santa, the writer of 2017 movie The Dragon Defense and series Crime Diaries: Night Out (2019).

In the novel, Brugés saw magical realism as something normal and not a fantasy. “No one in Macondo stops on seeing a spirit. They are just there. Every department of production was working on creating that vibe. It had to have a sense of reality and not feel weird or Harry Potteresque,” says the writer, known for Secrets of Paradise (2013) and Frontera Verde (2019).

The hardest part for the screenwriters, however, was to retain Marquez’s tone on screen. “It was also challenging to depict the magnificence and rawness he uses to portray the violence, war and history of our country. Mainly for that reason, we decided to use the voice-over of the narrator to present the poetry and literary style,” says Santa.

Shot of the afternoon where Jose Arcadío Buendía takes his son, a young Colonel Aureliano Buendía to discover ice, brought to Macondo by the gypsies. (Mauro González/Netflix © 2024)

During the writing process, Brugés recalls they all experienced mixed emotions. After writing and focusing on the process of adaptation for so long, we have lost the idea of how big, important and beautiful this series is. As we are nearing the release date, I realised that it’s a great thing,” says Santa.

When asked if they would take on the responsibility of adapting another novel by Marquez for screen, both sounded wary. “I am done with Garcia Marquez,” says Santa, in jest. Though Brugés is reluctant to work on the adaptation of another novel by Marquez, she is open to giving his short stories a shot. “They are amazing and easier to approach. They are about 15 pages long. After doing such an extensive job and trying to get into Marquez’s head, this should be easier.”