'Ingobernable's Emilia Urquiza Is A Force To Be Reckoned With

Fans of political thrillers will want to clear their calendars for this weekend, because the 15-episode Season 1 of the Netflix series Ingobernable begins streaming on March 24. The trailer alone left me on the edge of my seat and I already have so many questions — needless to say, I'm counting down the minutes until I can begin a marathon session. The plot centers around Emilia Urquiza, the first lady of Mexico who makes the unprecedented decision to divorce her husband, Diego Nava, because she believes he doesn't have the best interest of the country at heart. She plans to fight for peace and equality and — by the looks of the trailer — is a total badass. But is Emilia Urquiza from Ingobernable a real person?

The series is pure fiction and neither Emilia nor Diego is based on a real person. And, it seems like her plans to save the country may have to wait — shortly after announcing the divorce, Diego turns up dead and Emilia is the prime (and seemingly only) suspect. Emilia's forced to go on the run and an entire team is in hot pursuit — but, according to the Ingobernable trailer, she "knows how to hide." What else do we know about the character of Emilia Urquiza? A featurette released by Netflix gives us a few clues.

Although it's unclear how much they'll be featured, Emilia has two children — a girl and a boy. She disappears to protect herself, but Emilia finds ways to communicate with her kids by sending them video messages telling them it hurts to be apart, but it's necessary. Although she's "presumed guilty," it appears that Emilia actually witnessed her husband's death — a woman is shown declaring that "she's the only person who knows what happened, so we have to find her." If she knows who killed her husband, why doesn't Emilia go to law enforcement? I can't wait to find out.

Diego is murdered (or, perhaps, fakes his own death for a sinister purpose) early in the series, but it looks like he'll be featured in flashback sequences that depict the breakdown of their marriage. It began with a promise to always listen to one another and be equals, and concluded with Emilia telling her husband that he has betrayed her and the entire country. According to Kate del Castillo, who plays the first lady, there's a strong focus on the status of women: "Ingobernable talks a lot about the power women have, and of this oppression we've lived in as women, simply because of the fact that we are women."

The actor also noted it's the first time she's seen a Latina first lady depicted in this manner — and the series sends an empowering message to all viewers: "If you always think of yourself as a victim, then nothing happens. I think we are in a moment in time when a lot of bad things happen, but we get through it and we fight. And we fight to not be silenced," del Castillo said.

Emilia Urquiza may be fictional, but she's an important TV character. As del Castillo pointed out, Latina first ladies get precious little representation on TV and in movies — and, in Ingobernable, the show belongs to Emilia rather than her husband.