Caray, Caray!

After Thelma gave birth, Singing Aunt Rebeca said it was "the most beautiful baby I've seen in my life." Doctor Vasquez also assured the worried Thelma that the baby was fine. Thelma looked at the baby, cried, and said, "He's beautiful."

Her aunt gave her the baby. Thelma reluctantly took it and cried some more. (Yes, I know it's hard to believe, but this wasn't a dream sequence. Thelma actually behaved like a human being! Yesterday I was sure she would name the baby Maldito Estupido, since those are her two favorite words, but maybe not.)

In jail: Elias insisted he had the right to make a phone call. Alvaro's pet policeman just laughed at him. Elias said Alvaro could pay off the whole world, but he would find someone to listen to him. The cop kept laughing.

Meanwhile, Luba, Gaspar, and Alina took the unconscious Emilio to the cave.

Soledad begged Alvaro (aka Don Loco) to tell her the truth about where Alina was. Don Loco said he would find Alina and all the hatred would be forgotten on her wedding day, he and Soledad would be happy again, bla bla. (Even he doesn't seem to believe this rubbish.)

Hugo woke up, still trapped in the hole. He tried to climb out and I thought maybe he, unlike Hapless Emilio, would be able to escape, but no! He was reduced to yelling, "Auxilio! Auxilio!" ("Help! Help!") Maybe that should be the name of this show.

At the cave: Alina kissed the still-unconscious Emilio, saying, "I don't want you to die." He woke up and said, "Alina" (that's pretty much all he ever says). Alina said, "If you knew how much I love you..." and Duhmilio asked, "You love me?"

Alina assured him that Luba would save him with her herbs again. Duhmilio was surprised to hear that Luba had saved him once before, asking, "When, Alina?"

She explained how she and Luba had sneaked into his house at night to nurse him through his previous gunshot wound. Duhmilio apologized for treating her badly, saying, "I am an impulsive man, and proud."

Alina said their love was impossible. Emilio said, "If we love each other, we have to fight." He informed her that her father had shot him (again).

Elsewhere: The old white-haired guy who hates Luba told a friend that he would find Luba and kill her son just as she had killed his son.

At Dr. Z's house: Santos heard Castulo's voice echoing in his head, but didn't remember whose voice it was. He told Dr. Z he was afraid.

Back in Hugo's hole: Hugo hit on the idea of using stones to build some steps. (At least he has ideas, unlike most of the other characters on this show.)

At La Rinconada: Susi visited Angel and told him to be patient, his health would improve and he would be able to marry Flor in a few months. Angel said he was no longer thinking of marrying Alina.

Orlando rode his horse around looking in vain for Alina and Emilio. Nearby, Don Loco also rode around looking for Alina, telling himself he couldn't let the girl go free, he had to keep her under guard.

Back at the cave: Luba told Alina to leave while she treated Emilio, but Alina refused. Luba tore open his pants leg to reveal the bloody wound, disinfected it with alcohol, and sterilized a knife.

Outside, Gaspar was worrying about whether Orlando would shoot him again. Don Loco rode up and said he would pay Gaspar to help him find Flor. Gaspar asked if Don Loco wanted to save Alina from Orlando, and Don Loco said yes, "He isn't trustworthy."

Poor Gaspar beamed innocently and said Alina was in the cave with his mother, then asked for money. Alvaro rode off without paying him, but Gaspar skipped away happily.

In the cave, Emilio said he didn't care if he died as long as Alina was by his side, then passed out. Luba told Alina, "I'm not going to lie to you. He was outside a long time. The wound is infected." She said she thought he would die.

Alina cried and Luba told her to pray. Alina said, "I can't stand to lose him."

Suddenly Don Loco's voice called from the front of the cave, "Luba!" Alina went out to meet him, saying, "Here I am. You're looking for me, right?" She said she was there because she had nowhere else to hide and didn't intend to marry Orlando.

Meanwhile, Luba gagged Emilio and warned him not to let the patron hear him because Don Loco would kill him and Alina.

Don Loco seemed pleased by Alina's docility. He said he would start a rumor that she had gone to San Mateo. Then he noticed blood on Alina's clothes and asked about it. She looked very nervous but explained it away by saying (I think) that Luba had smacked her and given her a nosebleed.

While Luba poured liquor down Emilio's throat to keep him quiet, Alina told Don Loco she wasn't interested in Emilio anymore. Smugly pleased that everything was going according to his plans, Don Loco left the cave.

At La Rinconada: Airhead Vera told Jaime that they could trust Thelma because "now that she's a mother, she's going to change." Jaime was skeptical.

Meanwhile, Dr. Vasquez told Tia Rebeca that it was natural for Thelma to have postpartum depression and it would pass. The baby started crying and Thelma crankily asked her aunt to quiet it. The aunt warned her to act like a good mother so Emilio wouldn't reject her.

At the construction site: Sergio for some reason told Engineer Nuñez that Elias was in jail for trying to rob Don Loco's hacienda. (I guess Sergio just wanted to gloat.) Engineer Nuñez said Elias wouldn't do something like that.

After Sergio left, Nuñez told himself, "I can't leave things like this. I have to help Elias."

Back in Hugo's hole: His plan to climb out of the hole didn't work. He fell down again, and then finally spotted The Mystery Box. "What is this? A buried treasure."

Hugo opened the box and it cast a glowing red light onto his face! (For a moment I thought it would be like "Raiders of the Lost Ark" and his face would melt, but no.)

The viewer didn't get to see the box's contents, but Hugo immediately said, "It can't be!"

He mused, "If Alvaro finds out that I know his secret, I'm a dead man." He tried again to climb out of the hole, and again failed.

At La Rinconada: Orlando came home and Vera told him that Thelma had given birth. Orlando looked shocked. Didn't he notice that Thelma was pregnant? Did he not know what that meant? I think maybe someone needs to talk to Orlando about the birds and the bees.

Meantime, Thelma held her baby and gushed, "He's precious. His little hands. He has my nose." (Wait a minute --I still can't believe it -- this is Thelma?? Maybe I'm having my own dream sequence.)

Tia Rebeca found Thelma's whip hidden in the baby clothes and lectured Thelma about it, then said she would hide it in Thelma's underwear drawer instead, because no one would look at a lady's underwear. Poor Singing Aunt; she lives on her own planet.

Orlando came into Thelma's room and complained that he couldn't find Emilio and Alina. Thelma began to cry and said it wasn't fair, her baby had been born but no one cared about anything except Flor!

Back at Hugo's hole: Nora came along, saw Hugo, and pulled him out. (She spends a lot of time pulling people out of animal traps, doesn't she?)

Hugo gratefully snarled, "Listen, you never saw me with this box, do you understand?" He grabbed her face threateningly. Too bad his own face didn't melt when he opened that box.

Nora went home and Adela asked her what was wrong. Nora said, "He threatened me, Adela, this man threatened me. I can't say anything; I can't!"

Adela said, "I want to help you, like you have helped me," and promised not to tell anyone what Nora said, so Nora explained that she had saved Administrator Hugo and his Mystery Box. In a flashback, Adela remembered Luba telling her about the box.

At Casa Loca: Don Loco told Soledad, "I found your daughter. She was in the church talking to the priest." He said Alina wanted to find a man who would accept her even though she was the daughter of a foreman.

Then he started again telling Soledad he wanted to win back her love so they could be happy like they were before etc. etc. Soledad said, "I'm never going to go back to loving you, Alvaro."

After he left, she yelled to herself that she hate! hate! hated him! and wished she could talk to Adela.

Outside, Engineer Nuñez rode up and asked Don Loco to drop the charges against Elias. Don Loco, of course, refused.

And at the show's end, without explanation, Emilio and Alina were shown cavorting naked in the water near a waterfall. Wow, Luba's herbs sure worked fast! (OK, I know it was a dream sequence, but what about Thelma cooing over her baby -- DID I dream that?)

Personal note: As I mentioned before, I will be on vacation for the next two Thursdays and unable to do my recaps. I will not have any Internet access, so I would appreciate it if someone could post a note on those days and let the commenters fill in the rest. I'll be back to recap the May 24 episode!)

Words from this episode:
cazadores = hunters
piedras = stones
plomazo = shot wound
nariz = nose
cura = parish priest

Labels: duelo