MovieChat Forums > Gran Hotel (2014) Discussion > Yon González

Yon González

posted 10 years ago by wendycscott9
22 replies | jump to latest

I just discovered a series Yon did starting 8 years ago called El internado (The Boarding School). He's just a kid in this, very cute, and it's a long series, so if you like it you'll be able to do so for a long time. It got a good review over on the IMDb board for this series. It's showing on Netflix, so enjoy! I haven't really started watching it myself, just the first few minutes, but I intend to. Not sure where this takes place yet. It says San Antonio, but I'm pretty sure that isn't in Texas. Just scrolling ahead looking to be sure it's our Yon González, I also found the actor that played the Secretary of Industry in Grand Hotel is in it. I almost didn't recognize him because he was so much younger. I just finished the last Velvet episode available, so this gives me something else in Spanish to practice with.

[–] lfeisee 10 years ago

Definitely watch it!! it doesn't take place in San Antonio it takes place in a boarding school outside of Madrid.. it is beautiful! and it is addictive.. as I said before this is where Yon shows his true versatility and talent as an actor. There are a few familiar faces.. you will see Don Benjamin, Sofia, Laura and of course Yon.. The acting is superb and the story line is extremely interesting. I highly highly recommend it. :-)

[–] wendycscott9 10 years ago

I've been kind of caught up with Poldark lately, but I have seen the first episode of this and will watch the rest. It's always great to watch shows from Spain. Who knew 14 months ago I'd be able to watch a Spanish show and be familiar with so many of the actors? Marta Hazas is a busy lady! She was also Clara in Velvet as well as Laura in Grand Hotel. She's awfully good, isn't she? :) I look forward to seeing the others you mentioned. I knew it wasn't San Antonio, btw. It just started out at a mental hospital by that name somewhere in Spain.

[–] guersonweb 10 years ago

I'm on season 5 of El Internado and it is very addictive!! Yon González' character really grows after season 1 and he does a terrific job. The other young actors are all very good too. I love that Luis Melo, who was in a spanish series I used to watch, is also in it.

[–] lfeisee 10 years ago

And if you've watched Grand Hotel you will recognize a couple of other characters.. Sofia, Don Benjamin and Laura are also in El Internado.. :-)

[–] wendycscott9 10 years ago

Well, so far, I've seen Laura/Amelia (Marta Hazas) but not Sofia (Luz Valdenebro) or Don Benjamin (Manuel de Blas). It's a pretty good show though a little creepy. I'm just starting the second season. I like that there are kids in it who speak Spanish nice and slow so I can understand what they're saying. 😊 Also, Elsa (Natalia Millán) played Gloria in Velvet, and I've seen the first two seasons of that. Who knew a year ago I'd be so familiar with Spanish actors? But it's really kinda fun, and it's an encouragement to keep studying my Spanish.

[–] guersonweb 9 years ago

In terms of Spanish, the difference between El Internado and the other shows is that because the main characters are teenagers in today's world, there is a LOT more slang and cursing :)

[–] wendycscott9 9 years ago

Oh yeah! I'm finally starting to learn all the swear words. LOL Not that I'd use them, but it's nice to know what they are. I had a conversation with someone who was telling me her husband speaks Spanish but when he swears, he uses English. If he ever swears in Spanish, she just laughs because it all sounds so pretty. When you compare English and Spanish swear words, English is a lot more emphatic sounding, imho. ::snicker::

[–] lfeisee 9 years ago

Keep it up Wendy.. season 2 is a bit better, but season 3 starts the ball rolling, and by season 4 you won't be able to stop because you'll be on a wild wild ride.. and Yon's role becomes really meaty and good in season 3.. just trust me on this one.

[–] wendycscott9 9 years ago

Oh, I trust you. :) I'll continue watching it as long as it's on Netflix.

[–] mparker-25889 9 years ago

Wow, it was so difficult to find others interested in El Internado. I just finished the series on Netflix and it was great. I love Fermin, Marco, Hector, Jacinta, Ivan and cried like a baby in two episodes. The IMDB board on El Internado is not busy at all and when I finished watching it, I decided to begin Gran Hotel. I just watched the first episode and will try to sort out all the character and continue watching. I noticed the actor who played Saul in El Internado and look forward to seeing other familiar faces. Happy to find other fans of these Spanish shows. I live in NYC and no one I know heard of these shows.

[–] lfeisee 9 years ago

I love El Internado! And there are many more who do as well. You should check out the Facebook group Yon Gonzalez-USA (with the hyphen). A great group of people who all have watched or are watching Yon's various series. It's a discussion board. Also, you may want to check out yongonzalezinternational.com there is tons of info and subtitled video interviews and translated articles about Yon and also his various series.

[–] mparker-25889 9 years ago

Thank you, I will. I just started Gran Hotel and really enjoy it. Loved seeing Saul from El Internado. Yon Gonzalez is so handsome, and the actress who plays Alicia is beautiful.

[–] wendycscott9 9 years ago

Not only is Amaia Salamanca beautiful, she's a terrific actress. I've seen her in another show called Velvet, and what a b....! LOL Watching Grand Hotel was what got me interested in Spanish, and I've been trying to learn it for the past year. It's good for me and makes me feel connected to the world. With so many Spanish speakers, it's just fun to be able to speak it with them though I'm not quite there yet except for ordering in Mexican restaurants. I live in an area that's half hispanic, so it comes in handy although almost everyone speaks English as well. Who knew a year ago I'd be doing as you are and recognizing Spanish actors in different productions? If you have Hulu, there's one called El tiempo entre costuras, which they translate as The Time in Between. It took place in Spain and Morocco the late 30s. It's main lead male, Peter Vives (very cute), ended up in Velvet. You'll see Marta Hazas in Grand Hotel's third season, Velvet, and El internado. I remember when I first started Grand Hotel, I didn't recognize a soul in it. Now they're like old friends I see everywhere. One of these days, I hope to get to the point where I can watch without subtitles. What's great is now Netflix has Spanish subtitles available as well, even on some movies, very handy for learning it. The Spanish subtitles seem to be exactly what people are saying, so it's great. BTW, Grand Hotel, El internado, and Velvet were all created by Ramón Campos, so you will see a few similarities in style and some plotlines he seems to like though each show is still quite unique. Welcome to the new world of Spanish TV. I've just gotten started myself, but it's always pretty amazing!

[–] mparker-25889 9 years ago

Thank you Wendy for your post. After Grand Hotel, I have Velvet lined up. I hope Netflix adds more of these type of titles with my new fav actors. Unfortunately, I don't have Hulu. And yes I notice the styles are similar and love the music score in these show, very dramatic.

[–] wendycscott9 9 years ago

Lucio Godoy wrote the music for both Grand Hotel and Velvet. The Velvet music cracks me up though. I won't tell you why, but come back when you've seen a few episodes and we can talk about it. It was partially the music of Grand Hotel that roped me in. Anytime a show has a beautiful score, I will be that much more obsessed with it. It happened with Poldark, too, my latest obsession (as you can see by my new avatar). What gorgeous music! If they ever put out a CD of Grand Hotel's soundtrack, I'd buy it.

[–] mparker-25889 9 years ago

Yes Poldark was great and the actor is really gorgeous too. But I am a fan of the original Poldark with Robin Ellis (proud owner of the DVDs) - but I did enjoy the new version and was happy to See Robin Ellis appear as the judge.

[–] wendycscott9 9 years ago

I was a fan of the 70s version, too, but this new one really got under my skin even more. And don't even get me started about Aidan Turner! LOL I didn't even recognize Robin Ellis the first time through when he played Rev. Halse. 40 years is a long time, Ross. LOL Glad to find another Poldark fan here though. I think those of us who like historical fiction enjoy both shows like Poldark and Grand Hotel, although Grand Hotel isn't really historical except it is set at a time when they have lots of new advances in technology, and that's kind of fun to see them introduced into the hotel, starting with electric lights in the first episode. 💡

[–] mparker-25889 9 years ago

Why isn't his name on the cast of Gran Reserva? I am hoping that it will be on Netflix.

[–] lfeisee 9 years ago

Yon was only in 13 episodes of Gran Reserva and I think he started in Season 2..

[–] wendycscott9 9 years ago

Ifeisee, I finally finished El internado about a month ago. I have to say, it was great for learning Spanish since generally speaking they spoke slower than they did in Gran Hotel, plus it had more modern useage and I finally learned some of the swear words LOL though I most likely won't be using any of them, especially since it was confusing how the same word would be translated in different English terms, but I found the story so far-fetched as to be completely unbelievable, plus they kept killing off characters I had grown to care about, which ticked me off. The two little girls were supposed to be so smart, but they kept saying and doing incredibly stupid things, which had me holding my head at times. And I much prefer Yon Gonzalez as Julio in Gran Hotel to the bratty teen he played in El internado. There were so many times I was yelling at the screen "Yeah, right!" that it got to be almost funny. And compared to the ending of Gran Hotel, which was satisfying and delightful, this was not what I was expecting or hoping for. I guess there are different strokes for different folks, but this was one series I can't recommend other than as a good way to listen to Spanish and learn a few idioms.

I went back to Gran Hotel and am now into the second season (for the 12th time), and it's amazing how much Spanish I'm really catching now compared to when I first watched. As fast as they speak, I'm able to pick up a lot of it. Perhaps El internado helped me do that, I don't know. I think Ramón Campos has improved over the years. I also tried to watch Gran Reserva, but I didn't find it interesting. I've since dropped Hulu. I pay enough for TV and certainly have enough to watch without it. It was nice being able to watch Gran Hotel's first season on Hulu, however, because they didn't have the cuts they made on Netflix. Too bad they can't get the rest of it. But Hulu only has English subtitles, and having the Spanish subtitles is a huge help if one is trying to learn it. Thanks for your encouragement. Siento no poder darte una mejor informe.

[–] lfeisee 9 years ago

Thanks for keeping me posted. LOL! yes, there are different strokes for different folks. I loved Ivan. I loved that he was this bad boy with a heart of gold.. and Yon played his character so beautifully. Anyway, I do have some additional news. I don't know whether you have read the novel La Catedral del Mar (Cathedral of the Sea) by Ildefonso Falcones.. it is an excellent excellent book that chronicles the life of a fugitive serf in 14th century Barcelona. Arnau the main character is amazing! he is a principled yet flawed man with tremendous passion and energy. He goes from being a serf to being Bastaixos (the stone carriers who built the Cathedral of Santa Maria), to being a successful moneychanger and a Lord.. An amazing character set in an amazing period. This book is being turned into a 7 part mini series and Yon has been cast as Arnau. They begin filming in March and the series will air sometime this year. I think it will be amazing. I thought you might be interested. :-)

[–] wendycscott9 9 years ago

Oh, I'd definitely be interested in something like that! I love historical fiction. I wonder how long it'll be before it'll be shown in the US. I do have a player now that will play European DVDs, but unless it has English subtitles, I doubt it would be understandable. If you ever find out it's playing on some station we could watch it on, I'd certainly be interested. It would be nice seeing Yon play a role like that. What he did in Gran Hotel was still relatively modern.

Maybe I'll see if that book is available in our local library. It would probably be good to try to read some novels in Spanish. I actually have a Danielle Steele novel in Spanish called Asuntos del corazon, but I haven't felt like I'm quite ready to read it. Anyway, her novels are always so tragic, I'm not sure I want to. LOL Still, it would be good practice.