As an 10-year-old, Brian Quijada had a nightly family ritual: dinner and a telenovela.

The program of choice was “La Mentira” — “The Lie” — a Mexican soap opera about a man trying to uncover the events leading up to his half-brother’s suicide, complete with twists of love and tragic surprises along the way.

The telenovela inspired him, the UI junior recalled.

“It was one of the first few times where I was able to experience a character development subconsciously,” he said.

Now, he is living his very own novela. Well, he’s at least acting in one — albeit with quite a different plot line.

Quijada, along with of an ensemble of 14 actors, will participate in a two-month, Spanish-language radio novela sponsored by the UI College of Public Health. It’s the first endeavor of its kind at the UI.

The novela, which is geared toward 18- to 30-year-olds in Iowa, tries to educate people on women’s reproductive issues and family planning, said Shelly Campo, a UI associate professor of community and behavioral health who leads the program. And it’ll do that in a more tame fashion than traditional telenovela drama, focusing on three women and their husbands.

Quijada — a native of the leafy Chicago suburb of Highland Park, Ill., and of Latino descent — will play Gilberto, the husband of janitor and immigrant Olga, who’s keeping an ominous secret from him.

Tony Meneses, a UI theater graduate student and the project’s director, recommended Quijada audition for the lead role — one that’s finally in his native language.

“He was very pleased,” Meneses said. “To be an actor acting in another language is very exciting for him. It would be a challenge for him, too.”

But Quijada is not new to challenges.

This past spring, he starred in a UI play called Intimate Apparel where his talent transcended ethnicity by playing a role designated for a person of Barbadian descent.

“There were questions being asked if a Latino-looking man can play a Barbadian role, but it didn’t stop them from enjoying the show,” the wavy black-haired Salvadoran said.

This type of “different” is something Quijada deals with daily.

“Usually, I’m the Latino in a cast of all white people, or I’m usually separated apart,” Quijada said, adding he doesn’t feel uncomfortable being one of few Latinos in the UI theater department.

“He’s a very wonderful actor to be with, but he’s not cocky,” said UI theater associate professor Tisch Jones, who directed Quijada in Intimate Apparel. “He’s a very nice person.”

Ultimately, Quijada said, a Spanish-speaking role will allow him to better express his true emotions to the audience.

“It’s a privilege to be working on something like this,” he said. “For some people who know a different language, it provokes a different feeling when you’re speaking that language. There’s a certain swagger.”