The thing about Violetta that is not talked about and that I absolutely ADORE about that series is how it portrays fatherhood. It makes my heart ache that it's so overlooked, so I'm gonna talk about it.
The thing about fathers in media is that they are often strong and reliable, but distant, overprotective or just straight up neglectful. They are usually showed as someone, who wants to connect to their child, but lacks the emotional intelligence to do so. The role of caregiver usually rests on mother's shoulders, she is the supportive one, who notices when their child is feeling off and then nudges the father to take action.
It's different in Violetta. First of all - German. He is very overprotective and makes a lot of mistakes, so on the first glance he is just like most of the fictional fathers. But the biggest difference is that he cares and actively tries to show that care to people around him. A lot of times, when there is a family without a mother, the father becomes emotionally distant from their child and I love how this is very much not the case in this series.
What I find the most endearing about Germán is how he notices when Violetta seems off and can recognize when something is not okay and take action immediately. He knows when to put his overprotectiveness aside and focus on Violetta. He gives good advice! He gives her physical affection!
And his relationship with Ludmila... I am in the middle of s3 and I already cried like 4 times because of them. This man experienced so much pain, was burned so many times, and yet he has so much love inside of him that he wants to give it to this sad, young girl, who was always mean to his own daughter. Without hesitation he opens up his arms and his heart for her, offering advice, listening ear and affection. He not only bought her a part of the satellite she told him about once, but he also read about it, did research, so he could talk to her in her language. When she told him about Voyager 1 he had no idea what she was talking about and a day later he was telling her facts about it, that she didn't know about.
I think this is very important, because their plot turns around the usual trope of "cold and distant father vs warm and supportive mother". It's so rare to see the father be the soft, gentle and affectionate one, especially to the ones not related to him.
And on the other hand we have Gregorio, who breaks yet another stereotype. While in many media, when a man learns that he has a child he didn't know about, he becomes defensive. They don't believe it, act as if it's not true, try to run away from the responsibility. And here we have a man, who was always cold and angry and mean, who learns he has a child.... and the first thing he does is look for that child. Gregorio tries to contact his ex wife, looks for the person who might be his son. And when he learns that it's Diego, he embraces the responsibility and tries to connect with him.
He is not afraid of the responsibility, he is frustrated with the fact that he didn't get a chance to be a father. And even though it was not his fault that he and Diego didn't have a relationship he still apologizes, shows remorse and tries to build the relationship with him.
And in season 3 we see how much joy and pride he takes from being a father and taking care of his son. He is supportive, tries to give advice, cares for the person he only just met. He accepts him without hesitation.
I love how fatherhood is shown in this series, because it is a perfect example, that fathers can also be gentle, present and caring at the same time as strong, reliable and masculine. Because love and tenderness is not a weakness, it's their greatest strength, that did not only help them, but also many, many people around them.
