It’s hard to believe it’s been 15 years since the teen telenovela “Rebelde” first aired on Televisa. At the time, who would have thought that the Mexican soap opera would become an international sensation? As a refresher, “Rebelde” was a Spanish-language soap that ran from 2004-2006 for three seasons. The story focused on Elite Way School, a prestigious Mexico City prep school. The plot revolved around a group of students trying to form a pop band (RBD). At the time, Rebelde” was Touted as “Beverly Hills: 90210” with songs.  The show was so successful that it had teens wearing loose dress-ties and short plaid skirts all across Latinidad. “Rebelde” paved the way for “Gossip Girl” and “Pretty Little Liars”, and the legacy definitely lives on. 

On Sunday, Twitter user @EseGueyBeto revealed that his cousin threw a “Rebelde”-themed going away party, proving that the dearly-departed teen soap is still very much a part of the zeitgeist.

@EseGueyBeto posted a video of the “Rebelde”-themed party, and it did not disappoint. The 16-second video shows a group of people by a pool dressed up in very authentic-looking Elite Way School uniforms. The party-goers wear maroon blazers, unbuttoned dress shirts, loosened dress ties, and skirts short enough to shock your abuela. “Dawg my cousin from Mexico had a going away Rebelde party,” @EseGueyBeto captioned his Tweet.  “I just know Mexican Twitter is here for this”. And boy, was he right. 

@EseGueyBeto followed up his Tweet with another video of the party-goers group singing “Sálvame” while waving sparklers in the air. “The answer is yes,” @EseGueyBeto said. “They did play sálvame at the end of the night”. As he also eloquently put it, everyone was ready to create a “whole ass fire hazard” in order to “be on their feels for sálvame”. Can we blame them? That definitely looks like a party we would have loved to be invited to. 

Currently, @EseGueyBeto’s tweet has racked up over 23,000 retweets and almost 80,000 likes.

Latinos flocked to the Tweet to express their admiration for the theme party. One glance at the thread shows that the video has sparked quite a few people’s imaginations — people were planning on stealing the idea for everything from quinceañera themes to Halloween costumes. The tweet reignited peoples’ interest in the rousing discography of RBD and brought a much-need dose of nostalgia to Latinos who came of age in the early 2000s. 

On @EseGueyBeto’s Twitter thread, “Rebelde” fans from all over the world are coming together to reminisce about the good-old-days, sharing their memories from 2004 and revealing how much they loved the show in their youth. It seems that the great uniter amongst Latinx countries is actually the love for “Rebelde” (the Spanish language is a close second). 

The Twitter thread seemed to reanimate RBD’s dormant fandom, and people responded to the Tweet with unparalleled enthusiasm. 

It seems that the phrase “absence makes the heart grow fonder” is ultimately true. We don’t know if the desire to attend a “Rebelde”-themed party would’ve been as strong among Latinxs back in the early 2000s, but it seems as if the passage of time has made the show a hot commodity. Back in the day, many Latinxs thought of “Rebelde” as a silly telenovela without much substance. Now, people idolize the show because it reminds them of simpler times.

This Latino made it clear that @EseGueyBeto’s tweet inspired him to throw his own party.

We have a feeling that we’re going to be seeing a lot more “Rebelde”-themed parties on the internet from now on. 

This Latina was filled with Mexican Pride at seeing a bunch of people dressed in Elite Way school uniforms.

If this doesn’t make you proud of your heritage, we don’t know what would.

This Latina was impressed by the realism of the party-goers’ outfits.

Back in the day, that forehead star was the epitome of cool. Now, our feelings are a little bit more mixed on that particular fashion statement.

This Latina explained that “Rebelde”-love was not just reserved for Mexicans.

Even though “Rebelde” was actually a remake of an Argentinian show for Mexican audiences, its appeal was widespread across Latinidad. And let’s be honest: soapy teen dramas are a universal guilty pleasure. 

As for us, we’ll definitely be keeping an eye out on social media for the inevitable “Rebelde”-themed parties that will be sweeping the nation in the next coming months. Here’s to hoping that we’ll be attending some of our own!

Family can be a great source of many things. They can bring us love and support as well as a sense of belonging. Our familias are often our first introduction to relationships and can be a mirror in which we reflect upon ourselves. They can also be a source of some telenovela sized drama. 

Every family has their secrets but some are wilder than others. We asked our FIERCE readers to dig all the family skeletons out of their metaphorical closets and they were quick to spill the tea. Here are some of the most shocking and scandalous family secrets they shared with us. 

1. The hidden family.

“Um, that my father fathered several more children [than what] we were told. I think we now have like 12 half-siblings now, only knew if half of them. He’s in his 80s but still, it’s for sure weird. 😣” — @misslopez_if_youre_vasty

2. *Queue the novela music.*

“That my sister almost married our half brother ( not 100% confirm ) and when he found out he went and married another girl with the same name as my sister but different last name he just change the last name at the church.” — @karo056186

3. Romantic entanglements.

 “My husband’s brother left his girlfriend for her sister… who happened to date my husband back in the day. They’re married with a baby now.” — @thahomieguera

4. A grandfather in all but blood.

“That my grandfather (May he Rest In Peace ❤️) wasn’t my biological grandfather. I always wondered why my mom told the doctors that diabetes didn’t run in the family when it was the reason he passed away. 🤦🏻‍♀️” — @ivonlabombon

5. A secret straight out of the closet.

“My moms neighbors tea… the wife thought her husband was cheating so she asked my sister to give her a ride to follow him.. turns out he had a male lover ….now the lady blames my sister for giving her a ride like that’s the problem… and her closet gay husband stayed living there like nothing happened.” — @fitmomofdolls

6. Just plain scandalous.

“That my tia stole my abuelita’s will from my moms room in mexico and that she claims she doesn’t have it cause she left more for my mom and wants my abuelito to write another one with more dinero for her!!!!!” — @mishygoldfishy

7. Definitely a premise for a Lifetime Movie of the Week.

“My mom’s cousin had a boy when she was young while still in Central America. When she immigrated over to the states she had to leave him behind temporarily while she got her life together. My aunt met a man in the US and made a life here. They had 3 daughters. During that time her son grew up and I’m sure became super resentful toward my aunt. At some point my aunt put papers in for her son and brought him to the states. Him and the oldest daughter got SUPER close to the point where it got hella weird. She fell for her brother and they tried to run away with each other. I believe there plan was to go back to Central America. Mind you she was still a minor. He ended up ditching her at the border.” — @pessiyerez

8. Throw the whole dad away.

“So 7th grade. My dad looked me in the face on the way inside our apartment and said ‘Hey! Its time for me to go. I’m leaving your mom next week.’ 🤷‍♀️” — @kelly_a_stackhouse

9. This tia sounds cool af.

“That one of my mother’s older sister’s owned a brothel in Guatemala in the 70s. And would get her military boyfriend to beat the shit out of any of the men that mistreated her ladies. 🤷🏻‍♀️” — @pixelatedgum

10. Lost a tio and gained an hermano

“My uncle was actually my brother….he was raised by my grandma and my mom played along. My mom was young so my grandma didn’t want my mom’s reputation to be ruined. One xmas when I was 15 my step-dad told my brother my mom was his mom. We didn’t believe it but then our mom confirmed it. We talk about it all the time, how we use to call him Tio but now it’s bro.” — @arco___iris___

11. Say a rosario after reading this secret.

“That my grandma thought my grandfather was cheating and so she cheated him with their church’s reverend.” — @grestmarie

12. The literal definition of “primo-hermanos.”

“That someone’s prima’s daughter was pregnant by their son’s father🤷‍♀️ now they’re literally ‘primo-hermanos.’ — @_lilasthebest_

13. Fame doesn’t mean much when you’re a cheater. 

“My grandma dated Freddie Fender back in the 70s, she went to SPI to watch him play.. well she ended up finding him w/ another woman. She was so angry at him she threw his keys in the ocean and left his ass there…men ain’t shit 🙌🏼” — @taramdelagarza