Mexico’s political past plays a major role in the second season of Las Azules. Set in the 1970s, the crime drama centres on four women who join the Mexican police force at a time when female participation in the institution was itself groundbreaking. The new season, however, also explores some of the country’s darkest historical episodes, including the 1968 Tlatelolco massacre and the 1971 Halconazo massacre.
For creator, writer and director Fernando Rovzar, revisiting these events involved a responsibility that went beyond creating a period crime series. It required confronting themes of violence, institutional authority and accountability, while examining how much Mexico has evolved since that era.
In an exclusive interview with India Today, Rovzar discussed the challenge of depicting the massacres, the responsibility that comes with fictionalising painful historical events, Mexico’s political transformation and his belief that forgiveness cannot exist without first acknowledging wrongdoing.
A wound Mexico must eventually confront
Rovzar says one of his primary responsibilities was portraying the show's female protagonists authentically. “I think that the biggest responsibility that I felt was portraying these female characters honestly,” he said, crediting the series' writers' room, which included both men and women, for helping bring their stories to the screen.
However, his sense of responsibility also extended to those affected by Mexico's political violence. Rovzar pointed to the more than 350 students killed during the 1968 Tlatelolco massacre and the more than 100 people, with estimates ranging from 150 to 200, who died during the Halconazo massacre in 1971.
He said researching these events forced him to confront the lasting impact they continue to have on Mexican society. “I think that I really wanted to portray the survivors of that with honesty, and I wanted to do all the research that I could in order to understand that this is a wound that Mexico eventually has to face,” he said.
According to Rovzar, acknowledging the truth is necessary before a society can move forward. He argued that Mexico needs its government to recognise what happened and accept responsibility for it.
“There’s no forgiveness if there’s not an acceptance first,” he said.
When fiction reflects political reality
The political events depicted in Las Azules are more than just historical background. Rovzar believes storytelling can help audiences engage with difficult realities in a way that may otherwise be challenging.
“The responsibility came in the form of the true story, and I think that the fiction, the fictional characters and the fictional story became a way for us to navigate the reality,” he explained.
Ultimately, Rovzar said his greatest responsibility was toward the people who experienced those events and their families.
“My biggest responsibility was just to make sure that whoever is still alive who lived through it, or whoever has family members who went through it, watches the show and feels that we portrayed it in a respectful manner,” he added.
Las Azules Season 2 is available on Apple TV Plus.
