Aquí No Hay Quien Viva

Aquí No Hay Quien Viva. (Here no one can live) Spanish Dramedy taking place in an apartment building, Desengaño 21, in Madrid. The series focuses on the entire community: three apartment floors, with two apartments each. Plus, the doorkeeper's lodge in the ground floor and the business locale (Most of the time a video rental club). As the cast's lives crash with each other, Hilarity Ensues.

The show won numerous awards in it's home country and was the third most watched show of it's time. The populatiry warranted 8 different versions across the globe, with a US version greenlighted for 2011. (Though the original is considered the best.)

The show ran for five seasons, totalling at 90 episodes. (Though the third season was so long, the DVD release split it in two and some consider the show to have six seasons)

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Characters include:

• Emilio and Mariano in the doorkeeper's lodge: Emilio is the overworked doorkeeper, often taken for granted and abused by the community. He has an on-again-off-again relationship with Belén. His father, Mariano, recurring in season 1, moved in after his wife kicked him out, much to Emilio's dismay.
• Marisa, Vicenta and Concha in Apartment 1-A: Radio-Patio, this nosy trio is not only in charge of finding out everyone's dirty laundy, but also putting it out for the entire building to see. Vicenta, aloof and has been a virgin forever; Marisa, her older sister and polar opposite: raunchy, alcoholic and a smoker; and Concha, and old grouch and obnoxiously loud woman make up this elderly but deadly trio.
• Mauri and Fernando in apartment 1-B: A gay couple, at first they try to hide their relationship. (Claiming to be friends, much to Mauri's discomfort) After Fernando comes out, he gets a job offer in London and is briefly absent. Meanwhile, Mauri has a short relationship with Lucía's brother, Diego, and has a baby through artificial insemination with lesbian friend Bea. When Fernando comes back they get back together and eventually marry.
• The Cuesta Family in apartment 2-A: Juan Cuesta is the president of the community, a position he takes too seriously. His wife, Paloma, is loud and outspoken. After she falls into a coma, Juan begins a relationship with a nurse, Isabel, who was living in 2-B, and she moves in. His two children, Jose Miguel, average but gifted kid with a quick wit, and Natalia, sarcastic and deceivingly sweet, who has the looks to bribe guys by seducing them.
• Various owners in apartment 2-B: The apartment is inhabited by Armando, Concha's son who lives there with her and his children in season 1, then the Ruiz family in season 2, when Isabel moved in with her husband, a sleazy man that went from riches to rags. It is then rented by Nieves, Juan's sister, after she moved out of Juan's apartment, and she begins a relationship with Andrés to try to make Isabel mad and jealous. It is also rented by Carmen and Bea, Diego and Roberto, and the Heredia family afterwards.
• Lucía in apartment 3-A: Lucía moves in with then boyfriend Roberto. Even though they got engaged, they decide to postpone it and the relationship becomes on-and-off, further complicated by another suitor (and ex-boyfriend), Carlos, who turns the relationship into a Love Triangle. Both boyfriends lived with her at one time or another. She also had a relationship with a man called Yago, an ecologist, whom she cheats on with Roberto, ending the relationship. She eventually leaves, and never chooses between any of the men in her life. Her father moves in during the last season while they reform his household.
• Belén, Alicia and other housemates in apartment 3-B: Concha is the owner of the apartment, but she rents it to Alicia and Belén, who often struggle to pay the rent. Belén often works crappy jobs and Alicia is an aspiring actress. After Alicia leaves for New York, Belén has several housemates, including Bea, Mauri's lesbian friend; Carmen, university professor and Emilio's ex; Lola, police officer; Ana, flight attendant and Bea's girlfriend; and Maria Jesús, Belén's mother, who moves in after her husband kicked her out.
• The Attic: During the first season it was sort of a deposit, then it was rented by Roberto and later by Pablo and his father, Andrés. After he moved out, Paco lived there with Pablo.
• Video club Paco, struggling filmmaker works here. It is later bought by Carlos, and he retools it so it's also a karaoke by night and Natalia starts working here too. When Lucía's father moved into her apartment he bought the video club.

Tropes used in Aquí No Hay Quien Viva include:

• Aesop Amnesia
• All Lesbians Want Kids: Bea, a lesbian, is inseminated with Mauri's sperm.
• All the Good Men Are Gay
• Alpha Bitch: Alicia.
• Armoured Closet Gay: Fernando, during season 1.
• Ascended Extra: Emilio's dad, Mariano.
• Bad Dreams
• Beware the Nice Ones
• Bittersweet Ending: The Series Finale. Despite their best efforts, Desengaño 21's terrible state is demolished anyway, forcing the residents to move out, and possibly never see each other again. And yet, the sendoff manages to be pretty touching, with the residents moving on with their lives, some with a happier ending than others.
• Born in An Elevator
• Bratty Teenage Daughter: Natalia Cuesta
• Butt Monkey: More or less every character at least once, but Juan Cuesta, Emilio and Paco are the main examples.
• Call Back
• Catch Phrase: "¡Un poquito de por favor!" ("A little bit of please!") "¡Váyase señor Cuesta, váyase!" ("Leave Mr. Cuesta, leave!") among many others.
  • Parodied: On one episode, when they needed passwords, they used their catch phrases.
• Cat Fight: Lucia and Natalia
• Character Development
• Closet Key: Mauri to Diego, Bea to Ana
• Cloudcuckoolander: Vicenta, sometimes Isabel
• Coming Out Story
• Continuity Nod
• The Couch
• Crowded Cast Shot: The neighbor community meetings, specially the emergency ones. Only property owners are allowed, they still get pretty loud and hectic though.
• The Danza: Isabel Ordaz playing Isabel Ruiz and Daniel Rubio playing Daniel Cortés.
• Did Not Get the Girl: This is how Emilio and Belen's relationship ends.
  • The same goes to Roberto and Carlos, which sends them into a deep depression. Roberto manages to get over it and starts making caricatures abroads, while Carlos eventually goes to a psychiatrist.
• Did You Just Have Sex?: Constantly invoked in the video club by the guys
• Dropped A Bridge On Her: Paloma, who falls from her apartment window and is put in a coma. After negotiations with the actress completely failed, she was killed off for real
• Do-It-Yourself Theme Tune: The opening sequence has the characters parodying this, lip synching the a cappella theme. Dancing included. [1]
• Elevator Failure
• Erotic Dream
• Fire-Forged Friends: Carlos and Roberto started out as love rivals for Lucía, but after she dumps them both, they're forced to live together and eventually become close friends.
• First Girl Wins: Male example. Fernando is Mauri's first Love Interest, and the one he ends up with.
• Flying Under the Gaydar: Mauri isn't actually very flamboyant, but during the first season, he is constantly told by Fernando to watch out for his mannerisms, for fear of being outed. The couple also tried to pass as football fans so Armando (who already knew they were gay, as their bedroom is below his) wouldn't suspect.
• Foreign Remake: The show has been remade in France, Greece, Portugal, Italy, Argentina, Colombia, Chile and Mexico.
  • Effectively making it a Multinational Show
  • A US version was just greenlighted by ABC, with Ben Silverman and Sofía Vergara as executive producers
• Friends Rent Control: Averted with Belén and Alicia
• Gilligan Cut: Used a bazillion times, and more than half are with Emilio and Belén. One says "We are not going to have sex again! Never!" Cut to both sighing satisfied in bed
• Girl Posse: Lucía, Belén and whoever she's rooming with. Also, Radio-Patio: Marisa, Vicenta and Concha.
• Good Old Ways: Community president, Juan Cuesta, insists on running the building with the good old ways, and opposes any changes to the community agreements, even if they are years old.
• Gratuitous English
• Groin Attack
• Has Two Mommies: Ezequiel (2 Mommies and 2 Daddies)
• He Who Must Not Be Seen: Paco's girlfriend, Lourdes. Of The Ghost variety.
• Hot for Student: Carmen for Emilio
• Incompatible Orientation
• I'm a Man, I Can't Help It
• Lipstick Lesbian
• Loads and Loads of Characters
• Local Hangout: The video club
• Love Letter Lunacy
• Love Triangle: The main one is Lucía/Carlos/Roberto, once Lucía was even engaged to both of them. (Later, also Yago), Juan/Isabel/Andrés, Mauri/Abel/Diego, and Belén/Carlos/Emilio. Also, Belén/Emilio/Rocío and Belén/Emilio/Carmen, in both relationships he cheats on his girlfriend with Belén.
  • Carlos and Roberto are pretty much the Betty and Veronica to Lucía.
• Lottery Ticket: Rare example in that the ticket is legit and it gets cashed. The prize money is later stolen though, but, even more surprizingly, the police catch the thief.
• Maintain the Lie
• Make Up or Break Up
• Memetic Mutation: See Catch Phrase. "¡Váyase, señor Cuesta, váyase!" is a mutation of what José María Aznar was telling Spanish Prime Minister Felipe González for some time before the elections that gave Aznar the power.
• Naked People Are Funny
• No Bisexuals
• No Periods, Period: Averted.
• Nosy Neighbor: Pretty much the whole building!
• Platonic Life Partners: Mauri and Bea, being a gay and a lesbian respectively. They are each other's closest friend, and even have a child together. In the finale, they decide to live near each other with their partners, both because of their son and their strong friendship.
• Put on a Bus: Many of the residents.
  • The Bus Came Back: Fernando.
  • Bus Crash: Paloma.
  • Put on a Bus to Hell: Carlos.
• Race For Your Love: Well, sort of. Carlos races to Lucía's and Roberto's wedding to tell her Roberto cheated on her the night before.
• Running Gag
• Second Love: Juan and Isabel, to each other.
  • Mauri tries this with Diego. It doesn't work out, and Mauri gets back with his First Love Fernando.
• Straight Gay: Fernando and Diego. Mauri is a mix of this and Camp Gay.
• Shout-Out
• Sorry, I'm Gay
• Title Drop: Done in jest during the first season, but heartbreakingly delivered by Marisa in the final episode.
• True Companions: The videoclub guys, consisting on Paco, Emilio, Mariano, Jose Miguel and Carlos; with Roberto, Alex and Pablo later joining the group.
  • The residents of Desengaño 21 in general. Despite being the go-to example of With Friends Like These..., when things get serious they're there for one another. Especially evident in the finale, when the building is going to be demolished and they have to part ways.
• Transsexual: Raquel, formerly Raúl.
• Tsundere: Belén, Carmen
• Two Lines, No Waiting: Might dwell into Third Line, Some Waiting
• Vacation Episode: Also doubles as both a Beach Episode and a Pool Episode
• Welcome Episode: The first episode is when Lucía and Roberto move into their new apartment.
• Wedding Day: And how! There have been many wedding episodes, although they mostly end in disaster.
• Will They or Won't They?: Emilio and Belén, as part of their incredibly rocky relationship. They don't.
  • There's also Mauri and Fernando after the latter goes back from England. They do.
• Your Cheating Heart: So many, many times.