Caray, Caray!

Songs I hummed to myself while writing this: "Beat It" - Michael Jackson, "Mamma Mia" - ABBA, "Back To Black" - Amy Winehouse.... But on to the excitement of the evening, we have our own unrepentant Mamma who beats backs until black but don't worry, we still can't see any hoochie coochie mammas with dangling bangles. Life is still so very strange in FELSLand:

Gabi demands that the Tweedles marry her daughters immediately then hurries home to lock said damsels in her room since they seem to escape from their own rooms so easily. First she slaps them silly as if they weren't silly enough already. Juan has a fever from being the whipped; Gabi has a fever from being the whipper. Franco and Oscar question Juan on his plans since he submitted to this senseless thrashing. He insists he did it because he is in love. Gabi delivers the one week until the wedding or a life time in the convent threat. Juan tries to make sense of now loving the woman whom he once swore as his mortal enemy. He calls for an end to the rancor, vengeance and hatred. Franco and Oscar look on uncertainly.

One by one Bernardo's daughters run fond ancient memory movies of life with Papa complete with Disneyesque sparkle stars as he spends time to teach them truck driving, horse riding or walking on top of stone walls and hands out sweet gifts with little angel motifs. We've seen these scenes before but perhaps extra memories just cost too much to film. Let's hope these weren't the only good times they had. At least Mamma Gabi isn't shown with sparkle stars added to her slaps or pulling their braids. In fact there don't seem to be any memory movies of her except in her own head. The girls pray to have Papa guard and protect them. Sofia in her own new life asks him not to abandon them.

Armando and Feo show up at the Tumbao to enjoy Maracuya's red bustle and grind number looking on with dangerous dark hats among the happy straw sombreros.

Finally Oscar and Franco are doing a bit of work to bring the bakery back to it's former glory. Eva shows up and is treated to sneers but persists to tell them that Sarita and Jimena are on the one week plan down the marriage aisle. They suddenly forget about insulting her but over at the Tumbao, Armando grabs a sparkle festooned sleeve of Maracuya's growling that he doesn't take slights well. She smacks him a good one as she assures him she does what she wants and no one has any say to the contrary. This is the only smack I have enjoyed this week. Maracuya looks better every minute.

While still showing the edge of the exotic club decor, we strangely find Padre Tadeo accusing Feonando of rummaging (hurgar, but look, a bonus phrase: this works with nariz if you want to talk about picking your nose) through his papers. Feo nahnah's him but PaddyTaddy says he not only isn't afraid of his words, he suspects the worst (love the way he can softly roll the rrrrrr in peor, he likes it too so does it twice). Where was I, oh, Feo will find out what is worse. They continue to stare and sneer each other down but the cigar smoke must be the winning blow if PT's face is an indication. Feo does look uncertain or is it just stupid? The market boys look on in the shadows.

Juan is panting and raving in pain. Sofia worries about Juan's rising fever and rushes out to seek cold water presses.

Abuelo Augustin arrives in the office alone for once with the files. Not much of interest emerges from his search but Gabi's certificate of health from the clinic doctor (remember Doctor Matasanos (quack)?) She enters trying to grab the certificate and slap him at the same time. Eva intervenes with pleas for no more hitting. Gabi swats at her ineffectively but is closer to the mark with her cutting remarks of Eva's bad mothering and the loose morals of her bad daughter. Eva just can't take any more soooooo......

Thanks to all the telenovela gods for letting me be the one to report that finally Eva gets to tell Gabriela that her lost child was fathered by none other than the greatest lover of this entire TN = Don Bernardo.

Somehow, Oscar and Franco stroll into Gabi's bedroom to surprise the viewers and the girls. Did Eva have a secret key? Were there new ropes to this balcony? Never mind, the kissing and planning of elopement/girl robbing goes into hyperdrive. Juan's raving goes into hyperdrive too. He rants about his love of Sofia and his need to avenge his sister. He swears to get revenge for her to an anxious looking Sofia who says tranquilo another two hundred times. The cold presses aren't working, Sofia knows she must go out into the very dark very scary night to seek the doctor....

Fer watches from behind a tree with evil glttering in his eyes as the insult shouting crowd of peasant women gather to stone the luckless pregnant Sofia for her sinful ways. Once again this baby is threatened. Didn't we (I'm including Juan here) warn her against just this kind of risky behavior? Once again Adela Noriega is to be stoned by a well paid crowd of poor women only too amused to have something to do besides watch FELS on the tele every night. (Some of you may remember the first time was when Adela as Alfonsina, the poor girlfriend of Maricio Islas as Alejandro, the rich son of the hacienda in El Manantial. It must have been a bit of deja vu for her).
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Padre Tadeo appears in the nick of time to give an impromptu sermon who without guilt can cast the first stone. The abashed women reluctantly lower their polished but big, mean stones and abandon their stiff memorized speeches about casting this shameless sinner out of their village. Whew, we just brushed past another menace to the Reyes baby. The doctor miraculously shows up just after that so Sofia doesn't have to go searching any further in the big scary dark. Doctor, priest and American Girl Doll all zoom back to minister to the still raving Juan. The doctor has fever reducers and antibiotics, the priest has advice and comfort, Sofia is full of love and concern.

We get to luxuriate in the scene with Gabriela hearing all the wonderful details of Don Bernardo fathering Eva's child who is not a whore anymore than his other daughters. Eva tells of her lifelong love of Bernardo while Gabriela pulls her famous swooning scene dropping to the office floor. Eva yells for Rosendo, Oscar uses the famous credit card routine to unlock the bedroom door, the girls break up their little elopement planning meeting to rush to BadMom's side. Rosendo carries the unconscious seldom serene body of Gabi onto the sofa. Even Abuela Augustin doesn't know if it is sincere or not. Meanwhile back in the bedroom Franco and Oscar have to decide how to get out.

Paddy Tad points out that the women were not of this pueblo, surely there were brought in to assault (agredir) her.

Sofia wants to know why Juan's mad ravings were all about no more vengance. PaddyTad says ask Juan when his teeth stop chattering with fever.

Armando pays off the rocker women threatening them to keep quiet. He joins Feo in the truck who tells him every day he wishes more fervently he could help PaddyTad meet his maker.

Gabriela wakes up and she is babbling incoherently. Eva looks worried that she will find her tongue too soon to blame her confession on the newest spell.
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In Gabi's highly luxurious bedroom the boys discover Libia's picture in the nightstand by Gabi's bed and debate how to confront her about it, down below, the good doctor seems to take Gabi's fainting seriously, Gabi wants to go to her room after she hisses to the room that she has received horrible news, another betrayal. Eva wants to tell all but Gabi isn't about to give her a chance to detract from her moment of star showing. The girls worry about what is in the bedroom, and storm the door to urge them with many pauses for kisses to clear the room for the fainting mom to enter. Oscar and Franco disappear like cat burglars. Perhaps brick laying and bread baking are not their best talents.

Eva tells Augustin about her blurted paternity confession to Gabi causing her fainting spell. Augustin thinks his granddaughters aren't fools (everyone is entitled to his opinion) but Eva as usual fears the girls will hate her when they find out the truth about the new sister.

Back at the tiny bedroom, this time it is Sofia on the floor sleeping after watching over Juan all night. Sofia apologizes about her MadMom again as they awake and renew their pledge to guard their love.
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Big menacing snake sounds tell us that FeoFerd approaches with the rain sound sticks and many hissing sounds. Feo sneaks into Padre's office but Padre apparently hears all the hissing. PT menaces right back that he is on to Feo and knows he was behind the hiring of the stone workers to attack Sofia. Feo decides that the priest must be really bored and counters with an invitation to come to BadLove cantina for a little fun and relaxation with the girlies there. Don't you have a fear of God? No you don't do you. But one day you will pay for your wickedness.

Gabriela pours on the pity party with the vulnerable Sarita and Jimena who kiss away her tears as though they weren't dealing with a sociopath. She assures them that if they continue seeking Sofia, they will kill her. (If only it was that easy, we could all go see Sofia)

Maracuya shows up at the BadLove bar quickly slipping behind the bar to teach the barboys how to make a mojito, so famous in the Carribean, these grinning bartenders seem really surprised but ready to learn. She will show them how easy it is. You can see how easy it is too: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mojito

Off on tour we have the cowboy cutie singing his love song with a choral response off stage (is it Rosario?) moments later in the animal fur booth she pets the picture of her son. He promises to love her and her son and give her the total family she craves.

Maracuya admires pictures of Rosario in the BadLove hall way and teases the barboys to find out who is her boyfriend. They can only tell her that she is in love wlith one of the Reyes brothers...
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Oscar and Franco tell Juan that they wonder what Gabi will pull next. They tell him of finding the drawer (cajon) in her room with the picture all gnarled and wrinkly (arrugada) of LIbia.
Juan flashes back of the sheriff's announcement and the river pool scene of him finding sister Libia's body in the light. The burial scene in the cave with the thorn self-castigation as they form a cross with blood and sworn vengeance. Back in reality, Oscar chews the dolly's hat, then the boys collectively remember the gun loading from the trunk of the parents, swearing to destroy the loved ones of Bernardo, the riding across the fields to the Hacienda. The boys have to decide what to do with their vengeance now; now that things have changed. Will they betray Libia's memory or avenge her death? All this thinking hurts.

Eva with Sofia who tells of the Padre rescue that save her. Eva tells her the bad news of her mother's fainting spell upon learning of Bernardo's additional fathering activities. Eva even takes the blame on herself for the fainting.

We end with tomorrow's promise that Juan will punch a few lights out of Feo and vice versa, but watch out Juan! - Momma's got a brand new gun.

Labels: Fuego