Caray, Caray!

Well, we were lulled into thinking this telenovela might start being fun, but tonight was another evening of non-stop sabotage, both on the part of Sara and her evil "aunt" Barbara. (Hey, maybe Barbara is her real mother? They sure have a lot of traits in common.)

First rehash: confrontation between Bruno and Alonso. Alonso looks better when he's mad. Bruno looks like....well, have you noticed?...he has a cat's ass mouth just like Paula from Juan Querendon. That prissy little mini-mouth with those shaggy eyebrows makes him oh-so-unattractive.

Segundo rehash: Profesor Hawt catches Lorena speculating on how he seduces so many women with his cooking skills, and adding that his next book should be called "Casanova with a Skillet". He pretends to be super-offended but is actually amused. I'm liking how this relationship is playing out so far.

Next scene: Diana and Vasco drop the bomb on her folks. They're going together. Zulema and Omar look cattle-prod stunned, but come around finally after some dithering about them being cousins, in a sense, and "too soon" etc. Both parents offer their congratulations

A brief flash to Arturo and Barbara in bed. Mercifully brief. However we learn that the job offer is a lock (provided Arturo doesn't mess up the interview) because Barbara, pretending to be a secretary, has called and told the other candidate his appointment is in the afternoon...not 11 am as previously arranged. See why I think she could be Sara's actual mom?...their modus operandi is the same.

Sneaky Sara arrives in the midst of the congratulations and asks what's up. She pretends to be thrilled. Well, actually, she IS thrilled, figuring this latest development will really sink Vasco's boat with Granny Hortensia. Or better still, Gran will be so upset she'll have a heart attack and Sara can cash in pronto without having to wait years for an inheritance. This gal certainly knows how to look on the bright side.

She's gloating in her naco bedroom when Chalo calls. Whaddya want? she snarls. He objects to her tone and she grovels a bit, saying she was studying. He wants to give her the news about Alonso's dad being the one who hit him. We don't hear all the conversation but she's smiling so we know there are more evil plans afoot.

Alonso and Dad have a terse morning chat. Pops tells him he's planning to sell the car to the son of a friend. Alonso says they'll talk later.

More parent/child chat...this time between Paula and Bettina. Bettina is ratting out Jaqui's fear of ghosts in the apartment; and Paula assures her it's because Jaqui has a guilty conscience, or else she's doing it so she can cling even more tightly to Bettina's dad.

More parent/child...happier this time. Rosy, Maruja and Julian arrive at the Casa Pobre so Maruja can meet Zulema. They get on like a house afire, agree to "tutearse" now that they're going to be "consuegras" (co-mother-in-laws) ,provided Julian gets a real job. Lots of nice things are said about the kids and Rosy protests that they are going to make them blush with all these compliments.

Now to the pseudo-sisters. Sara is trying to make nice with Diana but Diana sees right through her. Various veiled insults are ladled out...how nice that Vasco wants to take you on...and with the paquete! So noble! "You think of the baby as a paquete?" snaps Diana. Sara tries to cover up, but not too hard. I guess she figures she has nothing to lose from gaining Diana's enmity 'cause hey...Diana's got no money or power.

Sara is struggling with a bracelet when Omar comes in to ask for computer help and she snaps at him "WHAT DO YOU WANT!?" A little slip from the bad seed. Omar and Diana exchange looks.

Barbara is temporarily out of the hotel and Arturo's bed and has time to ream out Jaime again. What! Not getting up and going to breakfast!? Jaime does his usual "Leave me in peace" and of course she starts in again, ending with the usual, What about what this is doing to ME!? He suggests if it bothers her to see him this way, she can move to the guest bedroom. More sturm und drang about that.

While this tender marital scene is unfolding, Hortensia is grilling Arturo. He lays on a lot of blah blah blah about administrative skills, team leader of a unit, strategic planning...zzzzzzzz as far as I'm concerned, and Hortensia plays it cool. She wonders why he changed jobs so often (doesn't like to stagnate, looks for challenges is the reply) so she finally lays down the zinger. If you were in my place, would you hire someone who had no experience in the field of food management? Impactado look from Arturo. break to ads

Well, if you were hanging by a thread, fear not. Arturo argues that administrative skills function well in any environment and while he's not experienced in the food industry, he's not exactly starting from zero either. Hortensia greets this with a nice poker face. Tells him she'll decide after she conducts the other interview.

Lorena's in Zully's kitchen helping out again and telling them about her fiasco the night before with our yummy professor. Julian is there mixing up spices...mom asks for tarragon and he brings her cardamon ; and they give him a little lecture about seasoning food, while Lorena vows to keep her mouth shut around Prof Ernesto from now on ("calladita se ve más bonita). The doorbell rings, it's Alonso, wanting to take her out to the movies that night. She can't go 'cause she has to study super hard for the ogre's class. He's understanding (and that's why she loves him) but he vows to make up for lost time next date.

Prof Ogre is at a bookstore, flogging his wares and sister Sylvia comes up to tell him the books are selling like hotcakes and she's got him lined up for some show called Cooking Around the World. She's also of the opinion he's the best-looking chef in Mexico. Hear hear!

And now a little background to help us understand why he's a super-grump. Seems his dad was horrified by Ernesto's interest in cooking. For Dad's generation, no man belonged in the kitchen. Twas his dream that Ernesto become an economist like his padre and for that reason he sent him to Paris to study. But instead he went to the best cooking school and had to hide his books on cuisine when Papa came to visit. Ah, if only Dad could see now what a success his son is! But alas, he died, thinking his progeny was a good-for nothing ("muerto de hambre")

With regret, with great regret!, we leave Ernesto and here's skanky Barbara again, waylaying Vasco outside work because she doesn't want to be around "Esa"...."esa" being Diana. Naturally she goes ballistic when she finds out they're going together. First she accuses her of latching onto Vasco 'cause he's a hot catch and she slaps her. Vasco says Don't do that, she's pregnant! Now Mom's really steamed. So you got pregnant just to ensnare my son! No, Mom, it's someone else's baby!

Okay, total hysteria and how can you do this to ME!? And honestly, Vasco, that isn't the best way to break the news about your relationship with Mom....d'ya think!? At least Mom also imparted the knowledge that Jaime is depressed and Vasco is planning to visit Pop after work.

Hortensia is stalking around the office like an old lioness. Sneaky, smarmy, sabotaging Sara has just slipped in that Vasco is involved with her "half-sister". Hortensia's beginning to think there's a curse on her (couldn't happen to a more deserving person). First Omar lets her down, Jaime is a weakling and now Vasco! History repeats itself...except Granny Hortensia ain't gonna let it happen! No how no way.

After ads, the scene opens in Jaqui and Dario's apartment. She's oohing and aaahing over her "preciosa" wedding dress, chortling that it was worth the enormous amount of money ("dineral") she paid for it. She'll be the prettiest bride ever, even if she can't get married in church. Dario arrives and she's annoying and clingy about the haunting of the apartment and wants him to take her to the print shop for the invitations and then to meet her a half hour later( after the meetings he's anxious to get to) for dinner. He's cranky and evidently finding her every bit as annoying as we do!

Stalker Paula is lurking outside, hiding behind cars, waiting for a chance to get into the apartment again and find his financial reports. She hears Jaqui whining for Dario to shut her car door and pitches her own personal tantrum. "Aren't you going to shut my door, Dario"!!!! Just listen to her....while I....I waited on him hand and foot! When she gets into the apartment, she's even angrier. Discovering the high-priced wedding dress, she remembers how he gave her "two pesos" (read a trifling amount of money) so she could buy her dress at the open air flea market in Mexico City.

The hapless candidate for Jaime's job (the one Barbara misled so he would fail to come at appointed time) is arguing with the receptionist and demanding to see Hortensia. Said lady arrives, mad as hell, and says he already wasted her time by not showing up at 11 am as agreed. And she's certainly not going to waste any more time on him!

Now a setup scene. Smarmy Sara finds Lorena at school loaded down with books. Lorena confides how demanding the ogre is and how she has to study super-hard for his class because of that. You can see Sara's evil mind going into overdrive.

And speaking of evil minds, here we are again with our gruesome twosome. Arturo is massaging Barbara's toes (ugh, I hate even remembering this scene) when the phone rings. Good news, he's got the job. However Barbara is too busy being miserable over Vasco's romance to gloat much. Arturo promises by the end of the massage her worries will be over. (thank God we don't have to see any more.)

Now a quickie with Ernesto....scene, I mean. He's working over the nervous maid, noting the lampshade is turned wrong, the phone is badly placed...she's vacuumed twice?....sure doesn't look it!...runs his finger along a table and sniffs "Dust!" (I'm suddenly not so charmed by this guy anymore. No wonder his exes are all exes!) Then he adds that he wants everything super shiny clean for tonight....and has left some lunch for the poor, beleaguered housecleaner. (And she's better not spill a drop, I imagine.)

Back to Lorena and Sara....and you've gotta be getting a sick feeling in your stomach....'cause Lorena's asking Sara if she'll help her with some graphs for the ogre's class. And of course Sara is only too glad to help....forget the computer lab....I'll lend you my laptop! (now we get a closeup of smarmy Sara's evil smirk. )

A bunch of ads to give us time to worry about what Sara's hatching.

Now Paula is back home, gloating with her sometime-partner-in-crime Greta about her foray into the apartment. Greta figures she ripped up the wedding dress or burned it, but Paula is way too subtle for that. She used her sewing skills to discreetly loosen the dress in strategic places so Jaqui won't realize the disaster until she tries it on (or wears it for the ceremony perhaps?) Sounds diabolical anyway.

And she's found out about Dario's hidden money. And while she can't let on how she knows, she has the ammunition now to get a better settlement.

Dario and Jaqui are back after a yummy Chinese dinner; he's settling in man-style with the TV and the remote when there's a blood-curdling shriek from the bedroom....and not the sexy kind. Jaqui's found her cosmetics in the wrong drawer and is convinced the ghosts have been at work again. Dario's about at the end of his rope, threatening to put her in an insane asylum ("manicomio") rather than take her on a honeymoon. Poor babe tries to calm down by taking some pills but even they are not in the right drawer. (I have this experience of things not being in the right place either but it ain't ghosts, it's failing brain cells.)

Our young couple is doing much better. Rosy is helping Julian bone up (no pun intended) for his sports quiz program with much kissing going on after each right answer.

Omar is also studying, on the computer, trying to upgrade his skills (we still don't know what profession he trained for before). Zulema joins him and he notes that she looks "down". She explains that after missing all those years with Sara, she almost never sees her now. And what's more, her intuition, her heart, tells her there's something wrong with their daughter. Something just doesn't fit. (Okay, like Fuego said in her recap last week, they're catching on to stuff but they'll ignore it until months and months and months have passed.)

Our lovely threesome, Hortensia, Barbara and Sara are back at Evil Acres discussing the horrible developments with Vasco. Sara advises them to give it time. Perhaps it's just a passing infatuation. No reason to come down hard on them.

Whose side are you on!? snaps Hortensia. Just then the hapless maid is walking through with a tray containing two cups. For whom? For Señor Jaime. Why two cups? Vasco is with him. Why didn't Barbara know? I just got here myself (knowing smirk from Sara).

Hortensia barges in and yells at Vasco for his unseemly alliance. You just don't know what "love" is, Grandmother. Don't know.! she yelps in outrage....and yet I loved you so much! Funny way of showing it, he replies.

That tears it. Hortensia is definitely disinheriting him now, and Sara, hiding behind a door, has heard all she needs to... and gloats again. Hortensia rages on that Diana and her charlady of a mother will never see a peso of HER money. And starts in on Jaime to be a man...be a father!....and talk his son out of this. Jaime says quietly (but firmly) that he supports Vasco.

After Barbara and Hortensia storm out, Jaime explains to Vasco that he's thought a lot during these last few days and Vasco's happiness is all that matters. Tender father/son smiles. Beginning of redemption for Jaime no doubt.

Barbara's in full whine/shriek mode over her son (and possibly her) losing out on the inheritance. You can't leave everything to Sara, she protests, you've said yourself you don't trust her. Crusty old Hortensia assures her she can do anything she wants. But as long as Barbara doesn't let her down, no worries on her end.

Back at Casa Pobre, Zulema wants to bring Diana an evening snack but she's not hungry. The baby, the baby! protests Zulema. Then Diana tells her about the icky confrontation with Barbara (so like Hortensia's reaction to the Omar/Zulema romance) but adds that Vasco defended her. Diana's wondering if they should keep on with the relationship....especially if Mom and Dad are still planning to pursue criminal proceedings with Hortensia and Jaime.

Zulema says they will....when they have enough money for a lawyer, but that shouldn't impact Diana and Vasco's relationship. Hmmmm....interesting reasoning here. Especially now that Vasco and Jaime are reconciling. Oh well.

Now Hortensia has summoned the lawyer again who's concerned about all these will changes. If I wanted your advice, I'd ask for it, snaps our sweet granny. And so on with the plans to disinherit Vasco.

And we end with the awful scene where Lorena, having stayed up most of the night to do a fabulous report for Ogre, leaves the computer in the hands of Sara while she goes to get them a cup of coffee. Sara pretends she's going to print out the report for Lorena while her friend does the step 'n fetch thing; but of course instead she wipes out the whole text and file and pretends that it was some mistake on Lorena's part.

Oh no!!!! And only an hour to go until class. Tears and terror on Lorena's face. And now she'll lose her scholarship!!!! THE END
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Vocabulary, such as it is , is embedded. And your recapper is depressed. I'm sure I'm going to have one of those "come to the end of the semester and unprepared for finals" nightmares tonight. Ever have those? And it's been years!!!!

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