“¿TE ACUERDAS?” SERIES · MEMORY
What happened to Verónica Castro, telenovela queen
At nine o’clock at night, the whole house would go quiet. Your mom would drop whatever she was doing, your grandma would settle into her chair, and someone would turn the TV volume up. Verónica Castro’s telenovela was starting.
If that was your era, I don’t need to explain who she was. Mariana, from Los ricos también lloran. The Rosa salvaje who sang Aprendí a llorar. The host of Mala noche… ¡No! who sat even María Félix across from her. Verónica Castro WAS Mexican television.
What happened to her? Short answer: she’s alive, she’s 73 — she turns 74 this October 19 — and she’s been retired from the cameras since 2019. But in 2026 she stepped onto a stage again, and not to act: in June she was crowned Reina Estrella Aliada at the Mexico City Pride March, in front of the Palacio de Bellas Artes, before thousands of people.
From San Rafael to the queen of telenovelas
She was born Verónica Judith Sáinz Castro on October 19, 1952, in the San Rafael neighborhood of Mexico City. And here’s a detail almost nobody knows: she earned a degree in International Relations at UNAM, with a thesis on international television organizations. The queen of telenovelas understood TV better than anyone — from the desk.
She started in fotonovelas, was a hostess on En Familia con Chabelo, and in 1970 won “El Rostro del Año” (Face of the Year). Then came the takeoff: Los ricos también lloran (1979–1980) turned her into an international phenomenon, with Rogelio Guerra as the leading man and her singing the opening theme. The telenovela aired in South America, Europe, and even the former Soviet Union.
Mariana, Rosa and Leonarda
After the boom came El derecho de nacer (1981–1982) and, in 1987, the most talked-about comeback: Rosa salvaje, with Guillermo Capetillo. The comeback had a backstory: Televisa had blacklisted her for five years because she worked in Argentina and Italy. She came back, and she came back big.
In 1997 she made Pueblo chico, infierno grande, playing Leonarda Ruán, a production by her brother José Alberto Castro that stirred controversy because the story was the love between an older woman and a younger man. Verónica never ran from uncomfortable roles.
And between one telenovela and the next, hosting: Mala noche… ¡No! (1988), the show the press called “the Mexican show of the decade”; La movida (1991), where she interviewed María Félix; and years later, Big Brother VIP.
The 2019 farewell
In 2018 Netflix brought her back as Virginia de la Mora, the matriarch of La casa de las flores. It lasted one season. When they offered her a return for just a few episodes, her answer was one for the books: “They’re calling me to do just a few episodes and appear with only my voice. So I said no to that. It’s all or nothing… It’s a definitive no.”
On September 12, 2019 — her saint’s day, the day of the Virgin of Guadalupe — she posted an Instagram video with the song Alguna vez, by her son Cristian, and wrote: “I can’t take the aggression and the mockery. I say goodbye to what I loved so much, my profession. For 53 years I gave my life… I’m exhausted from so much evil and… I want my peace.”
Days earlier, Yolanda Andrade had publicly declared that she had symbolically married her in Amsterdam years before. Castro denied it. The retirement arrived with the scandal still fresh.
The hard part, told without gossip
In October 2022, two YouTube hosts accused her of having had sexual conversations with underage fans. Her lawyers — the firm Schütte y Delsol Gojon — denied everything, said the calls were made with the parents’ permission, and announced legal action for moral damages. As far as we know, no lawsuit was ever filed and there was no verdict. We’re telling this because it’s part of the public record, not because we’re interested in gossip.
What she’s doing now: the queen without a crown… until June
In 2025 she reiterated there will be no return in front of the cameras. She said she feels at peace and is focused on writing and producing content “from another place.”
But hosting pulled her back for a while. On June 4, 2025 she was the host of the tribute to Marco Antonio Muñiz at the Auditorio Nacional — her compadre Coque Muñiz invited her — and she introduced Mijares, Pedro Fernández, Ednita Nazario and Gilberto Santa Rosa, among others.
For her 73rd birthday, on October 19, 2025, she celebrated with a lunch at the Hacienda de los Morales in Mexico City, with friends like Maribel Guardia and Laura Zapata. She sang Macumba. Her son Michel said a biopic is off the table for now.
And on June 27, 2026 came the image nobody expected: Verónica Castro, 73, crowned Reina Estrella Aliada at the Mexico City LGBT+ Pride March, in front of the Palacio de Bellas Artes, before thousands of people. Milenio reported she had been away from big events for years and that the return was deeply emotional. The queen without a crown got one back, even if only for a day.
If nostalgia got you, make a plan out of it
Verónica taught us that a good story is watched as a family, with the TV on and the house quiet. This weekend, apply the same logic: check the guide to free events in LA and Orange County or the one on free museums in Los Angeles. Real plans, no spending, so your kids get their own seven-o’clock evening in front of something worth it.
SOURCES CONSULTED ON OCTOBER 3, 2026Verónica Castro biography (Spanish Wikipedia) →
Verónica Castro’s triumphant return to hosting at the Auditorio Nacional (TVyNovelas, June 2025) →
Verónica Castro, crowned Reina Estrella Aliada at the 2026 Mexico City Pride March (Milenio) →
Verónica Castro breaks her silence about her retirement (El Fonógrafo, July 2025) →
Her 73rd birthday celebration at the Hacienda de los Morales (lado.mx, October 2025) →
Her exit from La casa de las flores: “All or nothing” (FPP, 2019) →
Her retirement announcement in September 2019 (ABC Color) →
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