El Puntero

El Puntero was a 2011 Argentine miniseries, produced by Pol-Ka and starred by Julio Chávez and Gabriela Toscano. "Puntero" is a word from Argentine slang for a man who works as an intermediate between poor people and political parties, in a clientelist relation. The miniseries received the Golden Martín Fierro Award.

El Puntero (2011) is an Argentine national-television political drama miniseries created by Adrián Suar and produced by Pol-Ka Producciones for eltrece. Julio Chávez stars as Pablo Aldo 'Gitano' Perotti, a neighborhood intermediary who works between impoverished residents and political parties, and Gabriela Toscano plays Clarita, a character drawn into the same web of favors. Rodrigo de la Serna appears as José María Lombardo, with Luis Luque as Levante, rounding out a cast that moves through the networks of local power. The engine of the series is the everyday machinery of clientelism: a broker who trades jobs, aid, and loyalty for votes, and must keep his community and his party patrons both satisfied while the ground beneath him shifts. Told as a single self-contained limited series of thirty-nine episodes, it unfolds with the texture of Buenos Aires barrio life, its backroom meetings, and the quiet bargains struck at kitchen tables. Its tone is tense and morally grey, grounded and sober rather than flashy, with a steady undercurrent of dread about who really owns a neighborhood's loyalty. Fans of The Wire, House of Cards, and Narcos will find resonance in its close look at institutional corruption and the people caught inside it.

• House of Cards (US)shared political drama focus on clientelism and urban machine politics with a morally compromised protagonist
• The Wireshared grounded crime drama tone exposing corrupt local power networks among the poor
• Narcosshared Latin American miniseries form with socially engaged drama about power and inequality

Created by

Adrián Suar

Release Date

2011-05-15

Episode runtime

55 min

Rating

8.2 / 10 (32)

What is El Puntero about?

An Argentine miniseries following a neighborhood puntero, a political go-between caught between the poor who depend on him and the parties that control him.

What is El Puntero like to watch?

Ember's analysis rates the pacing of El Puntero as measured, its intensity as moderate and its storytelling as layered.

Is El Puntero violent?

Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in El Puntero as mild.

Which shows are like El Puntero?

Shows with a similar feel include House of Cards (US), The Wire, and Narcos.

How long is El Puntero?

El Puntero: 1 season, 39 episodes.

Is El Puntero still running?

No, El Puntero has ended.