Caray, Caray!

Scene opens with Maximo, Angel and Emilio are discussing. Emilio is telling them of his plan to bring Flor to the hacienda for the party with the hookers. Angel protests and Emilio insists that “that girl needs a lesson.” Maximo lights a cigar and asks him what he’s thinking of doing. Emilio says that he wants his friends to enjoy the natural beauty of the place, the river and a certain Wildflower. (Flor del Campo). [I don’t think this can be translated in any way that doesn’t sound ominous for Flor/Alina] Angel protests loudly and says that he’s not going to let him and his friends have their fun with this poor girl. Angel stalks off, coughing. Maximo says, “What happened ? Sounds like he’s mad.” Emilio says “My brother thinks it’s going to be a disaster, but he doesn’t even know my friends really well.” Maximo says, “Leave it to me, your friends are going to have a really great time.”

Thelma and Orlando are back at her apartment. We left her in the last episode in confusion at his telling her that the waiter who impregnated her was mentally retarded. Orlando says, I can’t believe you didn’t notice.” I was totally drunk off my ass,” says Thelma. I didn’t realize anything. Orlando says, “I imagine that this piece of information must cause you a lot of grief.” “You know, I wonder if the child you carrying will be mentally retarded like his father?” Thelma says. “Enough! You love torturing me.”

Luba is scolding Gaspar for being away. Gaspar presents her with a yellow and blue plaid flannel coat with a blue satin lining. She is enchanted and immediately becomes sweet. She tries it on. It sure looks fetching with that Mexican peasant skirt and blouse and that thing that looks like a pair of castanets around her neck. I can just see her, wearing it over that getup, smoking one of her doobies.Gaspar reaches into his bag and pulls out another present, a pink off-the-shoulder bridesmaid’s dress for Flor. Or at least it looks like a bridesmaid’s dress. Gaspar holds it up and Luba immediately turns serious. She explains that that stubborn Flor got herself hurt by going to the hacienda. She takes off the overcoat and hands it to him. She goes to check on her at the back of the cave.Flor isn’t looking so good. She complains of a fever. Luba goes to get her cures. Flor says she heard voices. “Did Emilio come back.” No Luba tells her. But Gaspar is back! Flor is happy to hear the news. She wants to see him but Luba tells her to stay put, she’ll return with the medicine.

Emilio goes to see Angel who is painting, wearing a hoodie like the Unabomber. “Why did you get mad?” asks Emilio. “Because you want to hurt that girl.” “But who is going to hurt her?” says Emilio, “I never said that.” Your friends will have their fun with her says Angel. No says Emilio, I wouldn’t permit that. Emilio says “I want Flor to realize that what she’s doing is wrong.” [I am assuming he’s referring to the reputed stealing and begging that OTHER PEOPLE have told him that she does. Uh, huh, you want to bring her to a house full of hookers and teach her she should be leading a clean and upstanding life? I’m sorry, but this makes absolutely NO SENSE at all. Or I’ve really missed something here]Angel counters, “When your friends drink, they don’t respect anyone.” Emilio shoots back, “they respect ME. They will not do anything unless I say.” Emilio tells Angel to stop worrying about this girl. Think about it. Flor is going to have advantages now that we are here. [I listened to this last sentence a bunch of times and since Emilio used the verb alegar, I think, he meant that she was going to get educational opportunities from their being there. If anyone can help me out, I’d be much obliged.]

Back to Thelma and Orlando. Orlando says, I’d better go.” “I have a lot to do.” Thelma still wants to know where Emilio is. “We have a deal. You have to wait” He says touching her face. She turns away angrily.

Adela meets with Soledad. Adela tells her that Don Loco is meeting with Hugo about the Cane Fields. Soledad wants to know if Adela has seen Alina. Adela says yes, and she’s fine. Did she tell you why she didn’t leave? Adela doesn’t know . Soledad, asks her if it’s true and says “you aren’t deceiving me?” Adela is nervous but grabs her hands and swears she’s not. I’m not sure what Adela’s up to here.

Luba is taking care of Flor/Alina’s wound. Luba is telling Flor that Emilio didn’t seem like that great a guy to her. She explained that she lied to him and told him that Flor was bad, a thief who was going to rob the hacienda, etc. because she was worried that he was a pal of Don Loco’s and that he’d tell him that Luba had befriended her. Flor shrugs. “Big deal,” she says. “Let him think what he wants. He’s not the same man that I knew. “ “The man I fell in love with I will keep here in my heart.” “ It was all so fast.” Luba is pleased with the progess her wound is making.

Emilio and Angel go back to talking about Flor. Angel says she’s just a poor girl. Emilio disagrees. “She’s not a poor little thing, she became like a fury when I tried to help her.” Angel says, “but you said she looks like Alina.” “Yes,” says Emilio, “but Alina is dead.” “And this girl is so different.” Angel says, but you have to understand, this girl didn’t have the same upbringing as Alina.” “No, says Emilio, YOU have to understand. They are very different.” He leaves in a huff.

Thelma is sobbing to her Aunt Rebeca that she’s been impregnated by a mentally retarded guy. That’s what Orlando told her. And he has no reason to lie. [Yeah, I’d trust a guy with his own transparent agenda against my lover.] Rebeca says “you’ve got a problem.” “But there’s not too much you can do, at this point, at least, unless you don’t want to marry Emilio.” “But that’s what I want most! “ Sobs Thelma.

Back at the cave, Gaspar presents the pink bridesmaid’s dress to Alina. She’s enchanted. Gaspar tells her he has a secret. He begins to tell her about his night of passion with his Munequita until Luba interrupts. She tells him to go eat and that Flor has to eat too. She hands her a plate. Luba tells her not to go back to the hacienda. Flor disagrees. She has to go back to talk to her mother. She wants to tell her that Emilio has changed.

It’s night and Santos and Rosita are meeting again secretly. Santos is talking about getting some money together so that they can marry soon. Rosita is not in such a big hurry. Santos doesn’t want her to have to work at the hacienda anymore so that she doesn’t have to be around that lech, Don Maximo. He likes it even less now that Emilio is there too. Santos tells her about the plans to bring the ladies of the evening to la Rinconada hacienda. Rosita is shocked, "to la Rinconada!" Yes, says Santos. I don’t want you to be there.

Emilio has an orange flashback about Alina/Flor in the cave, at the moment that he discovered that she wore the silver heart pendant that he gave to Alina. “Why can’t I stop thinking about Flor? He asks himself. Alina is dead!”

Alina/Flor is talking to Luba about Emilio’s noticing her heart pendant. “Are you sure he saw it?” asks Flor. “Yes says Luba.” “And he said it didn’t belong to you.” ”You’d better take it off so that he doesn’t see it again. He’s going to try to take it back to give to the Patron.” Flor refuses at first. “This pendant is mine. He gave it to me.” Luba says, “Flor, I know it’s yours. But if he sees it again, there are going to be problems.” Flor reluctantly gives her silver heart to Luba for safekeeping. She has an orange flashback of when Emilio gave it to her. She asks Luba to take good care of it. Flor says, “When I ask for it back, you will give it to me.”

Jose is still imprisoned by the drug runners. He holds a little picture of Mariana and Marianita. He has an orange flashback of the last time they were together on the day he left. Marianita tells Mariana that her little sick friend Estrellita asksed about her papa. Mariana asks if he told her anything. She says no. But she wants to know when she is going to see him. Why can’t they go look for him. Mariana puts her off and Marianita says that she’ll take all her medicine and do all her radiation treatments and THEN they can go see him.

Back in the drug runner’s jail, Jose is sitting with his hands bound. Aldo comes in and says he will take a letter to mail for Jose. He gives him paper and pencil and Jose quickly writes something and Aldo takes it but is intercepted by the drug runners. They take the letter and warn order him at gunpoint not to do it again. They can’t risk anyone finding out where they are.The stagecoach full of hookers in their short skirts and boots is on the muddy road to the hacienda. It gets stuck and Coral gets them all out so that the men can push. Lots of whistles and cat calls.


Back to the Rinconada and Emilio walks into Angel ‘s room. [Where in the heck did they find a yellow suede military old style jacket? You’d have to be confident of your manhood to wear something like that out in the country!] He touches the portrait that Angel has been working on of Flor. Angel comes in. “So when she did pose for you?” Emilio asks. “No,” says Angel. “I did it from memory.” “She left that much of an impression. “She’s a sweet girl,” says Angel. “Sweet!?” says Emilio. “How do you know if you don’t even know here?” There’s a knock at the door. “Come in.” coughs Angel. It’s the maid, Vera. She announces that Emilio’s guests have arrived. He tells her to show them to their rooms. He’ll be there to greet them in a minute. When Vera leaves, Emilio turns back to Angel and says “I hope you’ll behave well with my friends.” Angel tells him not to worry. After Emilio leaves, he turns to Flor’s picture and thought bubbles, “I won’t let anyone make fun of you.”

Maximo sneaks up behind Rosita while she’s cleaning and grabs her around the waist and begins to assault her. She tries to fight him off. Angel happens to come into the room at that moment and asks what’s going on. Maximo lets go of Rosita and she runs out of the room. “What bad timing you have, nephew!” says Maximo, annoyed. “You were going to take that girl by force, eh?” says Angel. Maximo gives a look of consternation. “What are you going to tell me about women?” “I know what I’m doing.” (Yo se mi cuento.) Angel looks troubled as Maximo walks away.

Emilio is necking with Coral. She’s wearing a short denim skirt and a fetching white blouse tied up like a halter top. He asks her if she likes her room. She thinks it’s great but she’d be happy to be in a hut so long as she could be with him. She tells him that there are four girls with her. She says she tried to get five but the four she got will liven things up, or something like that.

Looking way over dressed, in her pink bridesmaids dress and bare feet or maybe sandals, Alina/Flor is handing out cough syrup to a bunch of little kids brought by the Priest. The priest thanks her and says she should be resting. She says no, who else would give the kids their cough medicine? [I Dunno, maybe the Priest? Luba? Geez, I hope that’s only a cold and not tuberculosis.] Gaspar gets in line on his knees and pretends to be one of the kids in line. When Flor gets to him, she laughs and says, Gaspar! you don’t have a cough! [Yuk Yuk Yuk]


Maximo is talking to Emilio in what appears to be the study of the hacienda rinconada. [Aside: I love these telenovela rich guy studies, with their huge desks and fancy furniture. Oh, and ubiquitous cut crystal decanter full of brandy and matching glasses! I aspire to an office like that some day. Emilio’s even has a globe. Sorry…back to the story.]

Maximo asks if they should invite Don Alvaro Montellano to the fiesta. Emilio says, hey why not. He really seems to hate this illegitimate daughter of his. He has people shooting at her with shotgun pellets. He makes her live in a cave with a witch and mentally retarded guy. [Idiota, in this case I think is the more scientific definition, person of a certain low IQ]. “Nephew,” says Maximo, “that doesn’t prove that she’s his bastard daughter.” “I’m sure she is,” says Emilio. “And knowing that he hates her, you still want to bring her to the party?” asks Maximo. “Yes, I do.” Says Emilio. Maximo puts down his glass of brandy. “I think you like the little thief!” “I will admit she’s pretty” says Emilio. “And she looks like a woman I once knew.” “I’d like to bring her to the fiesta to teach her a lesson but I doubt she will come.” “Oh, no,” says Maximo. “She’ll come. I will arrange it.” “Tonight this party will have Alvaro Montellano and Flor del Campo.”

Maximo goes to Don Loco’s place to invite him to the fiesta. He tells him he has to go to the party because Emilio believes that Alina is dead. If he doesn’t come, Emilio may start thinking that maybe she’s not….[Please, somebody, does this make any sense at all? Maybe it doesn’t have to since Maximo only has to convince Don Loco who is already off his head paranoid.] Maximo also asks if Don Loco reached an agreement with the authorities. Loco says yes, it was expensive but in the end, they made a deal. “Convince yourself, Maximo. Here in Sierra Escondida, I am in control.” Says Don Loco.

Elsewhere at Don Loco’s, Soledad is lighting candles in front of a statue of the Virgin Mary. Alvaro enters and she gets up and walks away. He announces that they are going to a party at the Rinconada Hacienda. And she’d better behave. And remember, to say that Alina, their daughter is dead.


Thelma and Orlando are talking. Thelma asks what his game is. Orlando says he’s doing it to eliminate a powerful rival. “That’s all.”


Rosita and Alina are walking along the river. Alina in her pink dress and Rosita in blue. Rosita is complaining about how Don Maximo tried to rape her again but that Angel saved her. Alina asks, why don’t you leave that place? “I need the money ” Rosita says. Alina says, “I don’t know what to tell you Rosita.” Rosita says, hopefully she and Santos can marry and they can leave that place forever.

Emilio comes to Luba’s cave looking for Flor to invite her to the fiesta. Luba’s rude to him. At first she says that Alina’s doing badly and has a high fever. She’s sleeping. When Emilio pokes back the curtain to see and she’s not there, Luba feigns surprise and chagrin that she’s gone again. Emilio goes out saying he knows she hangs out around the river.

He meets up with Angel who is just arriving on horseback, coughing his head off. Emilio is ticked. He tells Angel that she’s not there. Angel barely gets a word out for all the coughing. Emilio knows why he is there, to warn her to stay away from the fiesta. He orders Angel to come back with him to La Rinconada. Emilio accuses of him of betraying him. Angel gets more worked up and coughs some more but he manages to get out that he thinks that Emilio is doing worse by trying to take away someone’s freedom. And he’s used to getting away whatever he wants. “We’re not going to argue here” Says Emilio. “Let’s go back to the hacienda.” They mount their horses.

Alina/Flor is walking with Gaspar and she tells him that she used to wear dresses like that when she was Alina Montellano. Gaspar tells her she looks like his munequita. Alina says she’s not, that the muequitas walk like this. (She does a little hip swiveling sexy walk which makes me think that she has figured out that by munequitas, Gaspar means prostitutes.) Alina asks him how he knew this dress would fit her so well? Gaspar says his munequita had one just like it, only red. [As I recall, Thelma’s dress was a evening length sheath with a slit up the thigh and a cleavage revealing halter top. I think it had rhinestones too. The pink dress that he got for Alina is a tea length off the shoulder number with a tight bodice and cap sleeves. It resembles Thelma’s dress as much as Bo Peep’s outfit resembles Marilyn Monroe’s dress in “The Seven Year Itch.” ]

Gaspar points at her breasts and she slaps his hand away embarrassed. Gaspar wants to tell her about his night of passion with Thelma again but he admits that his mom doesn’t want him talking about it. “Well then, we won’t” says Alina.


Soledad and Adela are talking, with Soledad sitting at her dressing table getting ready for the party. Adela is telling her how beautiful she looks. She should always fix herself up like that. Adela tells her she should have fun tonight. Ifigenio, from la Riconada told her that some friends of Emilio are there and some girls. “Oh, how nice!” Says Soledad,” I’ll be able to talk to some ladies.” [Somehow I don’t think Coral and her Friends are what Soledad is thinking of.]
Meanwhile, Coral and her friends are cavorting around a room getting ready for the party. One of them is complaining about how far away they are and that there isn’t even phone service. She’s glad they are getting paid.


Gaspar and Alina approach Don Loco’s hacienda. She asks him to ask for Adela and if Adela isn’t around, to ask for Nora. Gaspar gets distracted. “Nora’s pretty!” says the now girl crazy Gaspar. Alina is exasperated and tries to get him to repeat her instructions but he’s all confused. She sends him off finally hoping he’ll get it right. She wants to talk to her mom, but also wants to know if her dad is around.


Emilio and Angel are back at the hacienda, fighting about Alina/Flor. Emilio challenges Angel’s manhood. Angel shoots back,” is that what it means to you to be a man? Hanging out with a bunch of dancers and taking advantage of a innocent girl?” They start yelling. Angel starts coughing but manages to say, that he’s more of a man than he is. He says he’s made a decision. He’s breaking all ties with Emilio. He’s leaving him alone with his friends. He starts up the stairs, coughing all the way. Emilio gets even madder. He yells after him, “the sooner the better.”

Maximo is talking to Ifigenio and Castulo, two workers at the hacienda. He says he’s going to give a present to his nephew Emilio. He’s going to get Flor del Campo to the fiesta. He hands them a stack of cash. He sits them down to hear his instructions.Don Loco is talking to Hugo back at his hacienda,

Don Loco is getting ready for the party. He is worried about having accepted the invitation and having told the lie that Alina is dead. “What if they see Alina? asks Hugo. Don Loco spritzes himself with cologne. Hugo says he probably won’t see him, he’s leaving very early in the morning for the Cane Fields. Don Loco tells him to send Mariana money, but to tell her not to ask for more, that he’s not rich. [I guess not after paying all those bribes!] Also, to tell her not to come to the hacienda under any circumstances. “Tell her that I’m always travelling, it’s hard to find me,” etc. Hugo agrees and reiterates that he’s loyal to Don Alvaro. Don Alvaro says something like, and I expect you to continue to be. Alvaro returns to grousing about the party and his wife.

Nora and Gaspar are talking. She tells him that the Senora isn’t at the hacienda, they left she doesn’t no where.

When Gaspar goes, Sergio goes up to Nora and asks her why she was talking to “that guy.” He sounds jealous. Nora takes the opportunity to taunt him by saying that Gaspar is very handsome (“bien guapote.”) “Too bad he is bad in the head.”

Two men show up in brush where Alina is waiting. Donkey goes after them defend her and the men beat him with sticks and rocks until the poor dog is lying on the ground. They grab Alina screaming about Donkey and carry her away.

Emilio, in his bathrobe is getting ready for the party. Maximo comes in and announces that Flor will be at the party. Emilio asks how and Maximo is evasive. With the help of some freinds, they’ve assured that she’ll be there. “You know, says Emilio, I’ve been thinking about giving up the idea in order to make peace [presumably with Angel]. Maximo gets mad that Emilio is backing out. Maximo says there’s no going back now. Emilio agrees and says he’ll be glad to see the look on Don Alvaro’s face when he sees his bastard daughter. They talk about how Angel will react and Emilio remarks that Angel is really worked up about this girl. Maximo says “Ah, Angelito likes the girl!” He puts his arm around Emilio and says, “That’s good, because I was starting to think…no, forget it.” He says, and laughs. He walks away calling, “THE GOOD NEWS IS MY NEPHEW LIKES GIRLS!” [I guess if you’re a guy and you aren’t assaulting the staff and visiting the whorehouse every night in Sierra Escondida, you must be gay.]

Gaspar finds Donkey and cries that he’s dead. He carries him back to the cave.

Angel and Emilio are chatting before the fiesta. [At least Emilio got rid of that yellow suede jacket and is now in a linen jacket and nice white shirt. It’s now Angel who is looking artistic in a dark blue jacket with a lot of buttons. ] Angel is still argumentative. He tells Emilio, “I don’t think things are going to turn out the way you planned. Alvaro Montellano has already arrived with his wife.” Cue the ominous music. Emilio is impactado. [Why I’m not exactly sure. It’s not like he had the arrival of Alina, Don Loco and Soledad timed to the minute.]


Gaspar arrives at the cave and tells Luba that some men carried off Flor and killed Donkey. Luba takes a look at Donkey and says he’s not dead! She can cure him! Back to the tense conversation between Emilio and Angel. It turns out that Emilio was impactado because he didn’t think that Soledad was going to be there. He is still thinking that Flor is the product of some hanky panky by Don Loco and one of the local girls. He didn’t want to bring Dona Soledad into it. He’s sure that she won’t be happy to see Flor. Angel shakes his head. “Flor isn’t coming.” Angel says, “That’s what you think.” Uncle Maximo “assures me that she will says Emilio.” “Tonight she will take the place of honor at the dinner table.”


Alina/Flor is in a storage room by herself, crying about Donkey. She has an orange flashback of the men beating him. Santos enters. She cries out ‘Santos! “Where am I?” Santos explains that she is in the basement of La Rinconada. “What am I doing here?” Santos says that Don Maximo ordered that she be brought there. “WHY?” So that she can be with his nephew Emilio. “Don’t worry” Santos assures her. “I’ll be watching and I’ll make sure that nobody does anything to hurt you.” She tells him tearfully. “They killed my dog!” Santos shakes his head. “Desgraciados!” Back to the Cave. Gaspar storms off to try to save Flor. Luba tries to stop him but fails. She prays to the picture of the Virgin to take care of Gaspar. He’s capable of killing the Patron!


Back to Angel and Emilio arguing. “It’s too late to change my plans” says Emilio. “I know” says Angel, coughing. “But be careful that one day this doesn’t all come back to haunt you.” [I couldn’t quite catch the next phrase. Something like “to become embittered” or to purse innocent girls.”] Angel says “so what I told you did sink in.” “You love me, even when I tell you the truth. I love you too, you are my brother, my only family. It hurts me that you are about to do an injustice to Flor.” Angel grabs Emilio’s shoulder for emphasis. “One day you are going to regret this injustice.” Emilio retorts, “What injustice?” “So you’ve turned into stone?” says Angel. “ I hope you haven’t fallen in love?” “Fallen in love?” asks Emilio surprised. “With who?” Angel shrugs? “I don’t know, with some honest girl.” “Did you think I was going to say…” “Flor? Asks Emilio. “And why not,?” asks Angel. Emilio’s getting angry at this point. “You are already so obsessed with her you don’t even want the suggestion that you might be in love with her” Angel says. Emilio tells Angel to get out and after he does, he says to the air, “I am not in love with Flor.” He throws something at the door for emphasis.

The girls are sitting around moping with Coral. Coral warns them that if they don’t play nice, they won’t get paid.


Angel goes down to receive the guests. He’s talking to Soledad. Soledad tells him that “before she died” her daughter told her a lot about Emilio. She’d like to talk to Emilio alone, if possible and asks Angel if he can make it happen. She wants to talk to him without her husband around. She explains that Alvaro doesn’t like it when she talks about Alina. Angel nods.V


Vera the maid brings a bunch of makeup, a comb and a mirror to help the unenthusiastic Alina pretty up before the fiesta.


Gaspar is at the Don Loco’s Hacienda, he is intercepted but demands to see Flor. He pushes off the two men and Adela approaches him and she tells them to let him go and to let her talk to him alone. After they leave, she swears to him that Flor is not there.

Angel is still talking to Soledad. He tells her that maybe she should tell her husband she’s sick and go home. Really, she shouldn’t have come. This party is only for the men. At that point, Emilio walks up to Soledad and welcomes her. Soledad tells him that she really wants to talk to him about her daughter Alina. Just then, across the room, Don Loco calls out—go ahead Soledad, we’re all listening.


Luba is back at the cave praying and stirring one of her potions. Gaspar goes back to the Cave, crying that he doesn’t know where Flor is.


For Soledad, the jig is up! Soledad makes some small talk and retreats. Don Loco comes up to her and grabs her arm and walks her out when Emilio offers to show her the garden.
Angel notes Soledad’s strange behavior and how she seems to be afraid of her husband.


Alina/Flor is talking to Vera the maid. Vera is telling her that Don Maximo brought her especially to please his nephew Emilio. Alina says, “he could have asked.” Vera tells her he probably wants her to meet his friends. Alina complains that she doesn’t want to meet them and she turns to leave. Vera tells her not to, that for sure they will stop her.


Emilio is showing Soledad and Don Loco the view and points out how they will be building a highway through there. Don Loco not fond of that. He says that they don’t need such modern things. [Yeah, how are you going to be able to kidnap people and hold hostages when cell phones and roads are easily accessible in Sierra Escondida?]


Emilio lets the couple go on ahead while he consults with one of the workmen. He confirms that they have Flor, she’s in the basement of the Hacienda.


Don Loco harasses Soledad about her attempt to talk to Emilio about Alina. They go back to Emilio and all three head back inside for the party.


Back at Luba’s cave, Luba and Gaspar are having a frantic conversation about Flor’s whereabouts. Suddenly it dawns on Luba where Flor is.


Santos arrives at Rosita and her Daddy Braulio’s house. She says that Flor needs their help.
Back at the Rincondada they are serving dinner, with Angel, Maximo, Soledad and Don Loco at the table. Emilio, sitting at the head of the table announces that he has decided for the occasion to invite a local girl, humble of origin to dinner. Don Maximo interrupts to say not to expect a fine lady. Emilio says she’s “like a Cinderella” and it’s good for her so that she can learn to comport herself like a lady. Soledad also begins to interrupt but Don Loco cuts her off and explains that since the death of their daughter, his wife has become “embittered.” [Yeah, guy, she oughta be bitter at you for locking her up for 2 years]. Emilio calls to Santos to bring in the girl. It’s Alina, in her pink dress and her hair combed for once. Don Loco and Soledad are impactado. Everybody stands up.

Labels: duelo