Caray, Caray!

Finally, Feo puts two and two together. But is his math correct?

Juan tells his brother he had planned to tell Sofía "everything," but instead Sofía wanted to talk about Libia (reminder, she still doesn't know Libia was Juan's sister). Juan fills his brothers in on everything that Sofi told him last week, and they all concur that Bernardo had been telling them the truth about really being in love with her.

Sofía invites Rosario to come to the hacienda to chat with her and Eva. Rosario is surprised by the invitation, thinking she won't be welcome there, but Sofi assures her that her mother and sisters aren't home. Nevertheless, Rosario tosses a few nervous looks over her shoulder as they go into the parlor, leaving the front doors wide open for all kinds of pirates, wild animals, and large insects to sneak in.

Jimena and Sarita come home just moments later. Sarita begins to question Jimena on how she spent her time in town while Sarita was visiting their dear old mom, but before Jimena can answer, Sarita sees her rival in the other room.

Rosario, Sofi, and Eva are just sitting down when Jimena and Sarita confront them. "Why is that ...she... in our house?" Sofi coolly says she invited her, and doesn't see why it should bother them. They can sit down and join in if they want. Sarita says she is offended by Rosario's presence and will throw her out if she doesn't leave. Eva defends Rosario; Jimena wants to know why; Sofi takes it upon herself to announce that Eva is Rosario's mother.

She doesn't say "we think" or "Eva thinks" or "we have reason to believe," she just blurts it out as fact. Eva beams proudly. Everyone else just looks uncomfortable.

Father Tadeo goes for a walk, blessing random bystanders on the way, when Feo intercepts him and asks if he's on his way to visit the Reyes brothers in jail. Tadeo says he's sure that it's Feo's fault they're in jail, and foolishly asks how he engineered it. "Dear Father, you always blame me for every bad thing that happens," Feo chuckles.

Tadeo says he knows Feo feels invincible, but he's been writing to his superiors and they know all about his misdeeds. "You'd better repent before it's too late; evil has overpowered your heart to the point where it seems you enjoy it. May our Lord have pity on you." Feo kisses the Padre's hand and laughs. The Padre kisses his cross and leaves.

Suddenly Feo stops laughing and grimaces horribly. Is it appendicitis? Sadly, no, it's a flashback. (I guess some people don't take to them well.) He's remembering sitting in his car and watching Juan and Sofía come out of the bakery together. A look of sudden realization and shock crosses his face.

The tolling of the church bell brings him back to the present. He steals into the Padre's office and rifles through all the papers, cabinets, and drawers. Finally he finds an interesting-looking envelope; it's the rejection of Tadeo's request to annul Sofía's marriage. Feo mutters that the Padre is still trying; if he succeeds, Feo reminds us, he'll have to leave the hacienda.

The Padre is at the jail, telling Dimples, Fuzzy, and Crumbs that they don't have to worry; the police chief is is trying to get to the bottom of Petra's murder. To Juan, he adds, "As for you, little boy, I'm glad you got what you deserved for not heeding me. You should think before you act!"

"But I couldn't control myself," Juan replies weakly. Tadeo mocks him, then tells him he doesn't think Feo suspects anything about Juan and Sofía. "I just ran into him and he didn't say anything about it." Juan's not sure that means anything; why would Feo mention something like that to Tadeo? Tadeo says it's because he knows a lot about Feonando. "Too much," he adds uneasily.

Feo's now at the hospital, where he is scolding Gabi for slipping up in front of Sarita. She says she knows it was stupid, but it was because of the blow of discovering that Sarita knows who the father of Sofía's child is. "I know too," Feo says tightly.

Tadeo tells the boys not to lose faith. Franco says that indeed, they have not lost faith; the proof is in Oscar, who wants to become a priest! Juan goads Oscar to either tell the padre it's true, or admit he was just joking.

Not meeting the Padre's eyes, Oscar says yes, it's true, he wants to enter the seminary. (Oscar doesn't see the Padre making faces at Juan, signaling that he's willing to go along with the joke.)

The Padre excitedly says that's great, he'll write to the seminary himself in support of him. "I'll do it right now!" he says, leaving quickly; Oscar calls him back. He says the Padre is always busy with the parishioners and he doesn't want him to neglect those duties; maybe tomorrow instead. The Padre says never put off for tomorrow what you can do today! He doesn't want to prevent so many souls from enjoying the privilege of Oscar's blessing.

Juan asks the Padre to watch out for Sofía and his child, and not let anything happen to them. Padre leaves. Oscar tries to call him back again, but is unsuccessful. Juan teases him, saying Oscar will wear a great fancy cassock and baptize Juan's child. Juan and Franco laugh hysterically all over their cell.

The miraculously healed Gabriela jumps out of bed, begging Feo to tell her who the baby-daddy is. Feo admits it's only a suspicion; he'd prefer to confirm it before telling. She jumps up and down and tries to shake him by the lapels with her tiny hands. He tells her to calm down or she'll make a mistake; she's already made a big one. Just wait until he can eliminate the doubt, and then he'll tell her right away. She agrees to this, but asks that this not cancel their plans to prevent the bastard's birth. Feo agrees that the one has nothing to do with the other. Their plan will come to fruition as soon as possible.

He takes her hand, pulls it to the place on his chest where most people have a heart, then kisses it. She stares lovingly at his bruised face as if hypnotized.

Finally, back to the parlor, where Sarita and Jimena are now sitting, stunned. "I would never have imagined that Rosario was your child," Jimena says. (The captions say "Mamá" rather than "Jamas," but I hear "jamas"; besides, Jimena usually refers to her mother as "mi Mamá," not just plain Mamá. Anyway.) Eva, still beaming, says although it seems impossible, they're blood relatives.

"And how come we didn't know?" Sarita asks in a hostile tone. Eva stammers; Sofía says it's a long story, and now is not the time to tell it. The important thing is that Eva is part of the family, and therefore she has every right to invite her daughter over for a visit. She asks if they object.

Jimena says they have no objection, being that she's Eva's daughter. Sarita clearly disagrees, and drags Jimena out of the room.

Feo finishes kissing Gabi's hand. She pokes at a bruise near his mouth, as she has seen women lovingly do to their lovers in movies. He gets up and says he actually came over to discuss something else with her that could affect their future plans. "By chance, I discovered the existence of a document where Father Tadeo asks the Ecclesiastical Court to authorize the annulment of my marriage to Sofía."

She angrily asks who authorized Tadeo to do that; he's taking liberties he doesn't have. Feo agrees and that's why he wants to teach the "padrecito" a lesson. She nods dumbly.

Quintina and Grandpa are at a store, scoping out furnishings, including a "classic"-style sewing machine, for the cottage. (They seem to disagree on who the sewing machine is for; I'm not sure who wins.)

Eva tries to cheer Rosario up about Jimena and Sarita, saying they're nice girls, but they're jealous of Rosario, "and you know why." Rosario wants to leave. Sofi asks her not to and even says "this is your house." (Feo lurks in the foyer, noticing their conversation.) Sofi says her sisters will have to find out about the parentage that unites them. Give them some time to get to know her, and eventually they'll end up liking her. Rosario doubts it. "Jimena and Sarita aren't like you."

Feo comes in - I don't think he heard the thing about their shared parent - but he looks mighty displeased to see Rosario and Sofía holding hands.

Sarita is still PO'ed about Rosario and rhetorically asks Jimena why Eva never told them about her, especially knowing the problems they've had because of that showgirl. "What else could she be hiding from us? Maybe Eva knows a lot more." Jimena tries to get her to stop this and reminds her that all Eva's done was care for them and love them. "Not so much, because she knows I hate Rosario and she should have told me she was her daughter. You better than anyone know what we've suffered because of that woman. But fortunately, I've forgotten about Franco. But you, you're still in love with Oscar." Jimena agrees, but says she'll have to forget about him forever too, because he's going to become a priest.

Feo makes his grand charming entrance into the parlor, pretending to be happy to see Rosario, and giving the good news that Sofía's mother is getting better. "I had hoped all the news would be just as good, but there's some very bad news, too, or should I say more annoying, Juan Reyes, that deadbeat bricklayer, tried to break into the hacienda; he fought with Rosendo and some other people who detained him and put him in jail. Oh well, he can keep his brothers company. Nice to see you."

Feo puts his hat back on and leaves, not bothering to watch Sofía's reaction. (Or Rosario's, for that matter; she looks like she's already guessed what happened.) Sofía tells Eva she wants to go see Juan in jail. Eva says she can't do that, or "Fernando and the whole world will immediately know the truth and it will be very dangerous for you." Confused, Rosario says she doesn't mean to be nosy, but she doesn't understand - why Sofía's urgency to see the Reyes?

"Rosario, you are my sister, so I'm going to be frank with you; I'm going to tell you something very sensitive." Rosario begs her not to tell her anything compromising. She grabs her bag and flees.

Feo grabs her right outside the door, demanding to know what she's doing with Sofía. She explains that Eva went to see her at the cantina, and Rosario tried to get her to go someplace else to talk, and then Sofía took them to the house. She didn't know they were going there (FIB! FIB!); if she had known, she would have refused. Feo asks Rosario what Sofía said after he left. She says Sofi didn't say anything; to avoid problems, Rosario left.

Feo calls for Rosendo to give Rosario a ride home. Rosario asks Feo what she was supposed to do when Sofía insisted that that she come to the house? He tells her to come up with some reason, but don't come back. He gives her a yucky kiss, and she runs to Rosendo's truck.

At the hospital, Raquel is telling Gabi how happy she is about her miraculous recovery. Now they won't have to postpone the weddings! Gabi agrees, and wants the kids to get married as soon as possible. Raquel complains that her nephews want to move out, so she's going to have two cottages built, just like the one Gabi got for her father. Gabi says she understands the nephews' motives, but no, they can't wait that long, for two cottages to be built! "The kids have to get married as soon as possible. As soon as possible!" She gives Raquel a scary, bug-eyed scare.

And now we're back to the humble pueblo, where a new club, the Tumbao (I believe that's the name of a Cuban rhythm), is all furnished and almost ready for business. Octavio's boyfriend (I don't know his name) is gloating about how great the place looks, exactly as they had imagined, the decorators got it just right. Octavio is happy with it too, but they note that Benito's been moping. Octavio teases that Benito's in love with Eugenia. Benito smiles sheepishly.

Eugenia is at the diner, where Hortensia's younger son, Rigo, is gazing reverently at her while she appears to be pouring his orange juice and rearranging his salt. Hortensia and her older son come by, and the two of them note that Rigo seems to be smitten with Eugenia. Hortensia says they don't know anything about her, or where she came from.

Benito tells his brother and brother-out-law that he loves Eugenia, but his aunt and uncle (we still haven't met his uncle, have we?) won't allow it. "But your tíos aren't the ones who have to marry her, right?" asks the boyfriend. "You have to fight, boy; there's no worse fight than the one you don't have." Octavio tells him to make the same kind of pact with Sarita that he did with Jimena; then he can go look for Eugenia. Benito says he's tried, but he can't find her.

The boyfriend says they'll help him look. But for now, they need to decide who they're going to get to open the place with them. They need a good variety. Octavio helpfully says it has to be someone strong and spectacular. Someone who'll get people to come in.

"Strong and spectacular," boyfriend says, stroking his chin thoughtfully. (Don't tell me: Niurka?)

Now Hortensia, Rigo, and a bunch of other people are preparing for the Good Friday passion play; someone tells Hortensia that she should be proud that her son has been chosen to portray Jesus.

Hortensia leads the procession, followed by a float carried by several men, including Rigo. (He stops and stares for a moment when he gets to where Eugenia is watching.) Next is a group of people carrying flowers, and the crowd follows as the procession winds through the streets. (I notice that Eugenia doesn't wander far from Rigo.)

Here is a series of photos depicting a more elaborate Silent Procession in Oaxaca; google "mexico good friday silent procession" without the quotes for LOTS more info.

They walk through the produce market, then around a corner down a side street that seems to be lined with tourists, some holding cameras, and there's untidy graffiti all over the side of the building. This momentarily disrupts the illusion of the timeless fantasy world and hurls us back into the icky 21st century.

Sofía is pacing in her bedroom telling Eva she has to go see Juan. Eva says they need to be careful; she'll go to the jail instead. Sofía tries to argue; Eva says she's agreed to Sofía's other meetings with Juan, but she has to be prudent.

We're at the next stage of the Good Friday ceremony. Rigo, as Jesus, is wearing a crown of thorns, carrying a heavy cross, and getting flogged and taunted "die, Jew!" by Roman guards. Hortensia, as Jesus's mother Mary, is crying. A sobbing girl in the crowd (Eugenia) uses her fresh white scarf to dab his sweaty, bloody face.

Jesus/Rigo falls; his older brother helps him up and carries the cross for him for a while.

Finally, Jesus/Rigo and two other men are "crucified" - tied to crosses with little foot pieces so they don't dislocate their shoulders - Jesus says "Father, I entrust my spirit to your hands" and dies. Everyone in the crowd weeps with raw grief.

Cheer up. Grandpa and and Quintina are speeding down the road - she on a motorcycle, he in the sidecar, both of them wearing their bomber outfits. He's saying he's glad she went shopping with him. She talks about smart shopping techniques, and I'm sure this is the remains of a former product placement ad that we've been spared. I think he expresses some doubt as to whether some of the furnishings will go well together, she thinks she's very good at decorating, he says she should have seen the amazing decor at Louis XV's palace, then there's something about volcanos being filled with snow... I don't know what they're talking about... I think the point of this scene (besides to lighten the mood and advertise some store) is to remind us that Grandpa and Q are like twins separated at birth. They sing happily.

They're missing the Good Friday Mass, which is just ending. (It's being given by someone other than Father Tadeo. I don't know who this guy is.) Now everyone's dancing in the street. Rigo spies Eugenia through the crowd, but is too shy to approach; she seems to be the only person not dancing.

Someone blows up an effigy of the devil with fireworks. (One of the websites I found said that sometimes it's Judas instead of the devil, and sometimes it's a politician or other unpopular public figure.) Rigo and Eugenia are still making eyes at each other. Vicente Fernandez is singing his lungs out. Aerial antennas on the rooftops remind me again of the real world. More firecrackers, spinning things, and little devils.

We're having too much fun here, so let's go back to the hacienda, where Feo asks Eva where she's going. He offers to take her into the pueblo, since Rosendo is driving "that... Rosario?" (he acts as though he's not sure of her name) home. Eva tries to get out of it, but he insists. Sofía sees them leave, and realizes that Eva was right - Feo would have caught her.

The firecracker party is over, and there's another silent procession (in regular clothes) carrying the Jesus float back to the church. (I see people watching the parade out of their windows. I have to say, again, that it's both jarring and really cool to see the real world intrude on our fantasy.) Hortensia and her peeps are proud and say their pueblo is picture-perfect for fiestas. An older man says that hopefully their children will carry on their traditions. Rigo says they should feel honored to participate. Older brother says young people should not forget their roots. (Thank you for the public service message.) They applaud themselves.

Eva gets to the jail and explains that Sofía wanted to come see him, but Eva wouldn't allow it. Juan says he's there for assault, but he didn't act rashly. He fell into Feo's trap - Feo set him up, provoked him - Juan did what happened next, and then when he got to the hacienda, Rosendo and the dogs got him.

Eva is both surprised and unsurprised to learn that it was Feo's doing; she explains that Feo himself brought her into town, but she didn't tell him she was coming to see them. Franco thinks Feo knows, though; he doesn't do anything without a motive.

Oscar tells Eva that they're worried Feo might know about Juan and Sofía. She doubts it, but Juan urges her to warn Sofía to be very careful and not trust "that beggar;" he doesn't want anything to happen to her or their child.

Sofía is telling Grandpa that Juan's in jail because he tried to get into the house. Surely he had something urgent to tell her, or this wouldn't have happened.

Grandpa says maybe so, but Juan's so impulsive, who knows why he's in jail. He offers to go into town and find out. She tells him Eva already went, and she'll soon have news. Grandpa says in that case don't worry; Juan's crime can't be too serious; they'll pay a fine. They'll just wait for Eva and find out what happened.

"I don't know what I'd do without you," Sofía says.

"With all that's happened, we haven't had the chance to talk about what Feo told you about mortgaging the hacienda," Grandpa says. Sofi says she told Feo that there was no way she would let him mortgage their property... but truthfully, it's so bad that Grandpa will have to sign those documents.

Grandpa says he'll do it. However, there are some conditions: first, they have to plant corn on the property between their place and the Uribes'. It's the foundation of their diet, and if they dedicate themselves to that crop with love, it'll be good for them. She loves the idea and thanks him for being on her side.

He says he wishes that Sarita could be convinced that he's not responsible for her grandmother's death. It hurts him that she treats him that way. She tells him not to worry.

Feo is sucking on a cigar at the bottom of the stairs. "You'll pay, Sofía. You'll pay, and not only with the life of your bastard, but with your own life as well."

Next time:
An adorable snake frightens Mr. Ed, who throws Sofía. Feo gloats.

Labels: Fuego