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Kassandra: The peacekeeping telenovela in Bosnia

In 1997, the Latin American telenovela Kassandra was hugely popular worldwide, including in war-torn Bosnia. When it was broadcast, it helped keep the peace there.

In the early 1990s, the soap opera or telenovela craze was sweeping the world. One of the most popular was Kassandra made in Venezuela, about a girl switched at birth and raised in a travelling circus.

The show was broadcast all over the world, including Bosnia. In 1997, ravaged by war, people found escape in the make-believe world of Kassandra.

When supporters of Washington-backed president Billiana Plavšić took over a local TV station and turned the show off, there was outrage. The United States State Department was so worried that the loss of Kassandra could hurt Plavšić's popularity and even undermine her government, they hatched a plan to get it back on the air.

Johnny I’Anson speaks to the star of Kassandra, Coraima Torres, along with Tony Paez who distributed the show across the world.

(Photo: Coraima Torres and Osvaldo RΓ­os. Credit: Circulo Rojo)

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