Caray, Caray!

[This was one of those annoying episodes that advanced the plot not at all. In fact, you could summarize the whole thing in about two sentences: (1) As news of Maite’s arrest as a prostitute spread though the pueblo, people said either (a) I knew she would end up like this or, (b) I can’t believe she ended up like this, depending on their previous attitude towards her; and (2) Adolfo’s death seemed to have had major psychic consequences. All of a sudden everybody had something important to say to or about Adolfo and many had nightmares or other intimations of his death but most people don’t know about it yet. That will be tonight’s episode. Ok, here we go.]

Federico’s attack leaves Adolfo dead or unconscious but still twitching on the ground. Federico drops the tire iron in horror. “What have I done?” he says.

Jacinta feels like she is suffocating as she is psychically aware that Adolfo is dead or dying. Remedios helps her to sit down. Jacinta asks if Adolfo has come back. Remedios says no and she does not expect him tonight. She explains that Adolfo found the letter with Maite’s address and is probably in Mexico City at this moment with her. Jacinta hopes this is not the case because, if so, there will be serious consequences for Maite.

Federico covers up his crime by putting Adolfo in the car, weighting down the gas pedal with a rock and sending it into barrels of something flammable that are conveniently at hand. Spectacular explosions ensue and if Adolfo wasn’t dead before, he sure is now.

Jacinta has sent for all the newspapers and finds the story she wants – Maite’s name is among those arrested for prostitution. She calls her lawyer and says that now she has the proof about Maite’s character that can derail the custody suit.

Victor calls from Turkey (!) where his mother had an operation. She is holding her own. Maite tells him that everything in Mexico is great, except for one little thing she won’t mention. “Take care of your mother and don’t worry about a thing,” she says.

Jacinta is sharing the disgraceful news about Maite with Manola and Gustavo. “No podemos tapar el sol con un dedo,” she says. “You can’t block the sun with a finger.” [I guess the equivalent in English would be, ‘You can’t make a silk purse out a sow’s ear.’]
Gustavo can’t believe Maite would have done such a thing. Manola says that there will be gossip in the pueblo and Jacinta says that she won’t try and stop it. She’s not going to protect a shameless hussy like Maite. Gustavo is worried about Valeria. “So am I,” says Jacinta but it’s God’s will. I just hope the scandal dies down before she makes her first communion.” Manola asks to take the paper with her. She wants to read it more carefully later – just to be well informed, she says. Jacinta says, “Sure, take it.”

Valeria and Juanita have a conversation that is way beyond their abilities as actors. They say their lines without any intonation at all so it is almost impossible to understand. Thank God for the titles. Not much info though. Valeria knows her mother is alive and that Jacinta doesn’t like her. She is going to ask her father to look for her when he comes back.

Gustavo’s driver finds that there is brake fluid under his car. “There could have been an accident,” he says. Manola looks guilty? hopeful? disappointed?

The Mother Superior (MS) says to a nun that Valeria needs her mother. The nun says that no one has heard from Maite. The MS says that Remedios has told her that Maite is ok and is staying away from the Valladolid family. The nun suggests that Jacinta was at fault in this and the MS says that Jacinta is only trying to protect Valeria.

The driver interrupts Gustavo who is yakking to Manola about buying some more cows to tell him that the brake line has come loose. “At the speed you drive, we could have been killed without brakes,” says Manola as if getting an idea.

Maite looks at her pictures of Valeria and saying that soon they will be together.

Jacinta talks with the priest and a woman. She modestly accepts praise for being such a good Christian and then when the priest leaves shows the newspaper article about Maite to the woman.

Valeria is worried about her father. Remedios reassures her and proposes that they decorate a cake that her father will like. But Remedios too has a bad feeling about Adolfo. “Surely, if something bad had happened, Federico would have contacted her.”

Gossipy ladies in the pueblo discuss Maite’s run in with the law and sympathize with Jacinta in having such a disgraceful daughter in law.

Federico arrives back at the hacienda. He has a flashback of killing Adolfo. Jacinta and Remedios come in and ask about Adolfo. “He’s not back yet?” says Federico. “Something terrible happened.” His story is that when Adolfo found out about Maite’s new profession, he went crazy and drove off in the car. Federico couldn’t follow him on foot so he caught a bus back to the pueblo expecting to find Adolfo at the hacienda. “Maybe something happened to him,” says Jacinta. “Oh no,” says Federico, “I’m sure that he just went somewhere to drink.” “From your lips to God’s ears,” says Jacinta, “because if anything happened to him, it’s Maite’s fault.”

Alone with Jacinta, Federico basically repeats the same story adding that seeing Maite in the brothel had turned Adolfo against Maite. “He will never return to her,” says Federico.

Now fat ugly guy and Unibrow are talking about Adolfo. Unibrow says that Adolfo isn’t a bad person. He just has a terrible mother who makes him do bad things. “True,” says fat ugly guy, “but Adolfo isn’t a child. There is no excuse for the ‘marranada’ or ‘disgusting thing’ that he did to Maite.” “I could forgive what happened,” says Unibrow, “but not what they did behind my back. They betrayed me.” “Whenever you talk about Maite, you get mad,” says fat ugly guy. “You understand perfectly why," says Unibrow. "Even though Maite deceived me and is in my past, she is still the most important person in my life and because of that I feel guilty about Nutria.”

Valeria has helped make a cake for her father. Remedios puts it on the table. Jacinta and Federico come in so that everyone is there when the Commandante comes in to tell them that Adolfo died in an accident on the highway to Mexico City.

Valeria is inconsolable, Federico manages some crocodile tears. "We were like brothers," he sobs. Jacinta says that it wasn’t an accident – Maite killed Adolfo. Then she whacks the cake that Valeria has decorated with her cane and cries to God. [As dramatic scenes go, cake whacking is not that moving.]
Jacinta tells the portrait of Pedro that their son is dead. She admits to herself that she was never loving or tender with Adolfo.

Maite talks with Magdalena about, what else, Adolfo, while Jacaranda listens outside the door. Maite doesn’t care that Adolfo thought she was a prostitute. She doesn’t care about him at all. Magdalena would have given anything to marry Adolfo but life didn’t turn out that way. It turns out that she too had a nightmare when Adolfo died that Veronica would end up alone in the world. “Don’t think ugly thoughts,” says Magdalena. “Magdalena wants Maite to promise to take care of Veronica if something happens to her.” Maite tries to reassure her that everything will be ok. When Valeria comes to her, she and Valeria will be like sisters… Magdalena thought bubble: They ARE sisters – both daughters of Adolfo but I don’t want to tell his wife that.

Jacinta runs to her chapel with her hair all messed up. This time she addresses the crucifix, not the weird painting. She first berates God for taking her only son. Hasn’t she done everything God asked her do, etc. Then God appears to smite her with a bad headache.
She collapses onto the ground begs forgiveness.

Remedios tries to comfort Valeria.

Veronica is sent off with Jacaranda who breaks her doll and then says that Veronica must spend all night in the closet as punishment. Veronica steals a ring and hides it in the doll.

Federico congratulates himself that the police believe that Adolfo’s death was an accident. He is now free to manipulate the accounts of the estate and win over Jacinta but Federico is not a cold-blooded murderer yet. He keeps saying, “Adolfo, what have I done?”

Jacaranda counsels Magdalena to seek out Adolfo and tell him that her child is his. Thought bubble: Maybe he will take her and the brat out of here.

Cayetano and Nicolas are having the same conversation as everyone else about how bad Maite is. The cook at the hacienda calls to tell them about the accident.

Magdalena writes to Adolfo that they have a child.

Jacaranda discovers that the ring is missing and accuses Veronica. She denies it and Jacaranda is about to beat her with her shoe when Elvira comes in. The TiVo stopped here. Why does anyone think this woman should do child care?

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