After dissecting the crime that shocked Spain in 2013 with the documentary ‘The Asunta Case: Operación Nenúfar’, the other Netflix series of only 3 episodes in which Rosario Porto and Alfonso Basterra participated, Ramón Campos (Bambú Producciones brain) dusts off a murder with touches of fiction. Definitely, Netflix has known how to take advantage like no one else of the growing popularity of true crime. Not for nothing has it been the platform for so many documentaries and fictions based on real events. Among them, the recent ‘The Body on Fire’ or ‘Dahmer’. Now, ‘The Asunta case’ part of the truth to adapt it to the cinematographic medium and, as demonstrated by the resemblance of its actors to the characters on which they are based, the national production is already one of the most powerful on Netflix in recent years. Also, one of the most risky. According to our review of ‘The Asunta Case’ on Netflix, where Candela Peña and Tristán Ulloa shine in a series that fails to be perfect for a reason, “it shows well how life continues to happen while a case like this is gutted in a court or in front of public opinion“.
The miniseries starring Candela Peña and Tristán Ulloa compresses into six episodes one of the most dramatic and shocking events in the Spanish black chronicle. It was in 2013 when the country witnessed a crime originating in Galicia. Specifically, in a ditch in Teo, where the lifeless body of Asunta Basterra. The girl, of Chinese origin, was murdered by her adoptive parents according to the 2016 ruling that sentenced Rosario Porto and Alfonso Basterra to 18 years in prison. In the role of matriarch, Candela Peña shines as the inseparable protagonist of an unrecognizable Tristán Ulloa. A duo that displays savagery, tenderness, unknowns and a lot (but a lot) of pain. The cast of the series, where Netflix even recorded an alternative version of ‘The Asunta Case’ that exonerated Rosario Porto and Alfonso Basterra, is completed with actors such as Javier Gutiérrez, María León and Francesc Orella.
Once the ending of ‘The Asunta Case’ has been analyzed and explained by the creator of the Netflix series himself, one of the (innumerable) unknowns that arise after learning about the case is: What has become of those involved? Let’s start with the character of Candela Peña, protagonist in the series. Rosario Portoalso known as Charo or Charito, was born in Santiago de Compostela in 1969. A lawyer by profession and adoptive mother of Asunta, she was sentenced to 18 years in prison for the murder of the girl along with Alfonso Basterra, who was her ex-partner at the time. However, she was unable to serve her sentence. In 2020, and after several suicide attempts, she was found hanging in her cell. Since she reported the girl’s disappearance, she has been in the spotlight for her continued inconsistencies in her story. During her intense and long trial, she always remained steadfast in her innocence. Finally, and after a controversial transfer of her body, She was buried next to her daughter’s ashes. Asunta.
For his part, Tristán Ulloa plays Alfonso Basterra (Bilbao, 1964), who worked as a journalist before being sentenced to 18 years in prison. From Bilbao he moved to Galicia, where he formed a family with Rosario Porto and her adopted daughter until their emotional separation. Although there was no evidence that he was in the house where his daughter was murdered, he was considered a fundamental piece of the crime because he was in charge of buy the drugs that were found on Asunta’s body. As stated by the creator of the series, Basterra (like others involved in the case) has held conversations with members of the production to advise the process. Until today, He has never admitted responsibility for the crime. and remains in the Teixeiro penitentiary center, in A Coruña. In 2031 he will have served his sentence.
Caught between music and cinema, from Vigo she came to Madrid to study Journalism and Audiovisual Communication at the Carlos III University. Legend has it that she preferred to skip classes to go to a premiere although, if you ask her, she will deny it.
She came to the Fotogramas editorial office as an intern, after delving into music and film journalism, collaborating in media such as Milana magazine. She has interviewed personalities such as Jonás Trueba or Irene Escolar and her most valuable asset is a guitar pick. She lives in love with Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Nora Ephron. If you can’t find her, she’ll be watching some Kurosawa movie. It doesn’t matter when you read this.
