Caray, Caray!

Alina has snuck into the hacienda to see her mother. She noisily runs down the stairs as Don Loco hears "something suspicious" and yells for Adela. Luckily Adela arrives with a candle. She sees Flor/Alina hiding but doesn't rat her out to Don Loco. Adela helps Flor escape through the kitchen.

Mexico City - The doctor tells Mariana that her daughter Marianita has come out of remission and must undergo chemotherapy treatment. We see a pale Marianita asleep with a bandana on her head. Malena says Jose seems to have forgotten he has a daughter. Mariana is sure something has impeded him, sometimes she thinks that maybe he is dead. Mariana says she has to see her brother, she's out of money. Malena warns her against this, doesn't she remember Don Loco told her never to go to Sierra Escondido? Mariana says it's time her brother knows she has a daughter by Jose Gomez.

Puebla - Thelma runs home in a dither. Auntie wants to know what happened. It looks like Thelma's going to jump out the window, hurrah!! But no, it's a shower, not a window, and we can see through the clouded glass that she's removing her clothes. She scrubs and scrubs.

Mariana and Malena argue about going to see Don Loco and asking him for money. Mariana says she's willing to risk her brother's wrath in order to save her daughter from cancer, after all Marianita is his blood, no? If she loses Marianita she doesn't want to live.

Thelma the Repugnant cries to her Auntie that "he was repugnant." Auntie says she warned Thelma not to go to that dangerous place. I imagine any place is dangerous if you add a bottle of tequila to the mix. Thelma vows to forget "that night" and never drink again.

Meanwhile Orlando sits on his bed and thinks to himself "So Thelma went to that place and ended up making love to a waiter; yep, that was her face I saw at the Devil's Cave."

Emilio is doing pull-ups and aha! We catch him with his foot on the ground giving himself a little boost. Orlando shows up and smugly asks how his romance with Thelma is going. He wonders if it would bother El Capitan if Thelma were with another man. Emilio says "If you know something tell me." Orlando laughs it off, "No no, who would believe that Thelma could betray you? She's crazy for you." Orlando challenges Emilio to one-handed pull-ups. Any guess who will win?

Rosita, Flor's beautiful friend, is standing by the river. She disrobes and steps into the water. Don Maximo is hiding on the shore drooling and twisting his moustache. After she swims and puts her clothes back on Don Maximo sneaks up behind her and attacks her. He wants her to be his, all his. Rosita screams and struggles. Flor and Tonqui the wonder dog hear her screams and run to her aid. Flor demands that he let her go, "Sueltela!" Don Max tells her to mind her own business and to shut up the dog or he'll put a bullet hole in him. Tonqui barks viciously and bares his teeth. No snoring for this doggie! Rosita pushes Maximo into the water. He swears at them as they run away. I liked this scene a lot, I had to rewind it a couple of times. Tonqui's teeth look very sharp.

Angel shows up to visit Emilio at work. He says his Dr. told him he needs a change of air so he's moving to Sierra Escondido. In the next scene Emilio's commander, General Ochoa, tells Emilio that they're opening a base in Sierra Escondido and Emilio will be stationed there.

Mariana is at Marianita's bedside in the hospital. Marianita is asleep and another young child, pale and with a bandana and IV unit, arrives and speaks to Mariana. She also has cancer but the Dr. loaned her his coat so she is a doctor now. She has come to cure Marianita of cancer. They will get well together and play together. Her name is Estrellita and she's going to get well so she can become the best doctor. Sad violin music closes the scene. Seconds later we are interrupted by...

Coral's muscular calves dancing to the beat of drums. Gaspar shows up at the Devil's Cave. Lucas the owner is surprised, he thought Gaspar was going home. Gaspar would rather stay and wait for his munequita in the red dress. Lucas tells Gaspar she's a little out of his league, (Esas pulgas no brincan en tu petate = Those fleas don't jump in your bedroll.) Lucas doesn't know who the lady is. She was obviously a society lady. (Snort!) That's how those rich dames are, just looking for an affair. Gaspar sticks out his bottom lip but his eyes look like he's about to crack up.

Emilio is at a stop light, not singing for once, and a girl approaches selling bouquets for the poor. He stares at her necklace, or maybe down her blouse because he is a hopeless horn dog. He has a flashback of..."Alina," he asks? But no, it's not Alina. "Why can't I get her out of my mind? I must remove Alina from my heart."

Luba and Flor are picking flowers on the river bank. Luba wants to show Flor the seven flowers...Passion flowers, Chamomile, and she must go to the other side for the the others. Flor tells Luba to be careful. Luba laughs, she's crossed the river a million times. Of course she puts two feet in the river and immediately does a face plant. She gets swept downstream as Flor shrieks for help and runs along the river. Flor finally finds a big stick and tries to help Luba but all we see are Luba's boots sticking straight up out of the water, like when we were kids and used to do handstands in the pool. Flor pokes at Luba who is finally able to grab the stick. Flor pulls her to shore and Luba is saved!

Don Maximo is telling his foreman Braulio not to forget to give his nephews their money. He pulls a rosebud out of the vase and caresses it. Rosita...get it? He tells Braulio that he's noticed Braulio's daughter has become very insolent. Braulio looks unhappy with this conversation. Don Max asks if she's got a boyfriend. Braulio says she's very enthusiastic about that guy Santos, one of the coffee plantation workers. Don Max cackles and Braulio looks even more unhappy. The patron says, "Look Braulio, don't you want Rosita to marry a rich guy...like me?" Braulio says with all due respect Don Maximo could be Rosita's grandpa. Don Max gets mad and orders Braulio to talk to Rosita on his behalf. After Braulio leaves Don Maximo french kisses the rosebud.

Poor Gaspar is roaming the streets accosting women in red dresses and crying out for his baby doll.

Thelma and Auntie discuss their money situation. They are getting low on funds. Thelma says she's having dinner with Emilio that night and she will think of something to convince him to marry her. Soon she'll be Mrs. Valtierra.

At dinner that night Thelma tells Emilio she no longer wants to be his lover, she wants to be his wife. He is impactado. The camera pans down and rests on her cleavage. Which reminds me, her character is such an extreme skank that I wondered if the actress looks like Thelma in real life or if she is actually a nice girl-next-door made up to look like a clap trap. All I can say is do a Google image search on the actress Fabiola Campomanes and you'll get an eyeful just like I did! OK, back to the recap.

Rosita is making out with Santos and they stop to discuss his mother. He just got back from visiting her in San Mateo, she's doing just OK. He really wanted to bring her back with him but whenever he brings up the subject she gets very nervous and says she'll never return to Sierra Escondida. She used to work at the Valtierra Hacienda, later, when she became pregnant, she went to live in town, that's where Santos was born. Rosita asks him did his mother never speak of his father? Santos replies, not much except to say that he died in the mountains.

Luba is recovering in the cave while Flor tends to her with herbal remedies. Luba caresses Flor's head and says she has learned the secrets of the herbs well. Flor saved her life and she will never forget it. Flor tells Luba to rest and tries to kiss her forehead but Luba turns away. "Forgive me," Luba says, "but life has been very surly to me."

Emilio tells Thelma he's never lied to her. He's sorry for her pain but he never wants to marry her or anyone. He has to leave Puebla soon by orders of General Ochoa. Thelma says she could go too but Emilio says in his upcoming situation he must behave with discretion. He tells her three different ways he doesn't want to marry her. He suggests she stop wasting her time with him.

Estrellita asks Marianita if she wants to play doctors but Marianita doesn't feel well. Estrellita says it's because of the super-hero rays that they are getting, called chemotherapy. Estrellita tries to cheer Marianita up with a little joke, what did one flea say to the other flea? Are we going to jump or should we take a dog? Marianita smiles. These kids are really cute and this story line is starting to concern me.

At the plantation Flor is curing the locals with her herbs. In every new scene her pants are more tattered, her hair is messier, and her face gets dirtier. Rosita flirts with Santos and tells Flor that they are in love. Flor says she was happy with Emilio when they were at the beach. He will always be in her heart. Rosita says she she's going to help Flor escape from Sierra Escondido. First she should take Flor to the river and give her a bath. I know at least gentleman who would like that very much, not counting Don Max.

At the military compound in Puebla Orlando tells Emilio that Thelma is inside talking to General Ochoa. Emilio looks all UH OH. Thelma friendlies up to the General and tries to get the location of Emilio's new assignment out of him but Ochoa tells her it's top secret, he won't tell her.

Gaspar is outside the military compound eating an ice cream cone and looking for his baby doll. He looks and looks but can't find her anywhere. As he walks away Thelma strolls onto the street. She sees Orlando and she agrees to see him later. She staggers across the cobblestones in her high heels and gets into the very car Gaspar was looking just a few moments ago. Whew! Another close call.

Flor tells Rosita she can't leave without her mother. Rosita has a great idea, "Didn't you tell me your boyfriend was in the military? He can help you free your mom." Flor says no, he's forgotten her, it's been two years since she left with no explanation. He must hate her by now. Of course we know that Emilio still thinks about her a lot, in between having sex with Thelma every day and Coral every night. Rosita is determined to help Flor escape.

Rosita and her father Braulio are eating and Braulio is about to ruin the meal. He tells her that Don Maximo has been very good to him, promoted him, and given them a nice place to live. Rosita frowns and says they have earned everything fair and square. Braulio tells her Don Maximo wants to marry her and she almost loses her lunch. She would rather die than marry that old fart. His money can't buy happiness. Santos is poor but she loves him. She doesn't care how rich Don Maximo is, she will NEVER marry him!

Orlando asks Thelma what was she doing the other night in the Devil's Cave. Thelma is impactada. After the commercial she swats his hand away and tells him he was crazy drunk. He says he saw her leaving the private chambers and he knows she made love to one of the waiters. Would she like for him to track this waiter down and confirm it?

Angel and Emilio are talking about how boring life might be in Sierra Escondido. Emilio says maybe he'll invite Coral and some of her amigas to come down and entertain them. Angel doesn't think that's a good idea, Uncle Maximo might be bothered by having women in the hacienda. (Only if he's at the whorehouse paying instead of getting it free at home.) Emilio tells Angel not to forget that they are the true owners and can do what they want. Angel says he's not into Emilio's scene, he's happy with his painting.

Thelma tells Orlando she was desperate when she went looking for Emilio at the Devil's Cave. She drank too much, passed out, and that guy took advantage of her. Orlando asks why didn't she report him? Thelma answers that she wanted to avoid a scandal. She begs him not to tell anyone.

Don Maximo surprises Don Loco with an after hours visit. There is something Don Loco should know. He just found out that there is a change of authorities in San Mateo. He will have to win over these new guys if he doesn't want them messing around in his...business. Don Loco says he will have to pay them off. Hopefully they won't be too difficult to persuade because otherwise he'll be in a mess. The people of Sierra Escondido might lose their fear of them and anyone could help the bastard and her mother escape.

Santos tells Rosita he'll help Flor but they have to be very careful. Don Loco is capable of killing them, he is a real nut case. Rosita says no s**t, he forced his daughter to live in a cave with that witch. Flor's real name is Alina Montellano but that loco claims she's not his daughter. Santos says he'll do what he can to unite Flor with her mother. He'll do it for Rosita because he loves her.

Flor talks to Tonqui and tells him she has to talk to her mom. She'll escape and return for her (mom? Luba?) and Tonqui too. If she escapes maybe she can meet up with Emilio. She has a flashback of a long kiss with Emilio..."Emiliooooo," she sighs.

Emilio is complaining to everybody he sees about Thelma wanting to marry him and now it's Orlando's turn. The writers are very heavy-handed and obviously think we don't GET THE HINT that Emilio doesn't want to marry Thelma and that sometime very soon he will be forced to do just that. Yes we get it, now let's move on.

Flor and Tonqui are sneaking around the hacienda waiting for Santos to get Rutilio drunk.

Thelma tells Auntie that Orlando knows everything about "that night." Auntie is worried he will tell Emilio but Thelma says no, Orlando hates Emilio. If he had the chance he would kill him. Auntie crosses herself.

It's nighttime so of course Emilio and Orlando are at the the Devil's Cave. Emilio toasts Orlando, his best friend, while Coral's muscular butt gyrates in the background. Orlando tells Emilio he can count on him for anything. Gaspar wanders into the bar still looking for his baby doll.

Luba is having a nightmare. In her dream a young man dressed in white stands before her. She chants and brushes him with herbs. She is like Naty but way more dangerous because she's got black boots and a knife. She holds the little green bottle and says "Drink this sacred potion, big boy" then she blows smoke in his face. Suddenly she wakes up and cries "I don't want to remember, help me Madrita, I don't want to remember this dream!"

Rutilio is drunk and asks Santos to guard the door while he takes a leak (or something). Flor runs into Soledad's room and they embrace. She tells Soledad that in a few days they'll make their escape with the help of Santos and Rosita. Flor says she despises Don Loco. Soledad, reminding us that she is Mrs. Loco, tells Flor "Don't say those things; don't forget, good or bad, he is still your father." Flor says she resents him and she wants to get out of Dodge. Soledad says she's sure Elias would help them if only he knew.

Some guy, the boss maybe, is telling Elias he did good work in Canada and the clients love him. Elias wants to take a few days off to visit Sierra Escondido but the boss says there is too much work right now that has to be done before any little trips. Elias tells Blanca they will have to wait. They look concerned.

Days later - Thelma comes home and is having a hissy fit, throwing things and stomping around the house. Auntie tries to calm her and says she's acting crazy. Thelma says, "I am crazy, I'M PREGNANT!"

plomazo - bullet hole
una aventura - an affair
lana - wool but also slang for money/dough
zafado - nut case

Labels: duelo