Caray, Caray!

No, I didn't forget to change my placeholder title. I thought this was a good time to use the slogan of the product that is better known for its headache-inducing ads than for its effectiveness as a headache remedy.

So Ofelia and Eva are at the Tumbao for the new act's opening night. Pedro and Rosario show up a little late. Rosario is flustered and says someone was following them in a truck. His Royal Hotness Pedro tries to brush this off, saying they were probably just mistaken.

The show begins. The new singer is introduced as Margarita, Goddess of the Cumbia. Ofelia takes one look and thought-bubbles "It can't be! It's Rosario's real mother!"

Grandpa rehashes with Sofi and Juan about the (invalid) land transfer between Raquel and Gabi in exchange for something very valuable, and the possibility that "something" might have been a newborn girl. Sofi gets upset, because she is sure that that baby was her. (Huh? Wouldn't the land be getting traded in the opposite direction?)

At the Tumbao, Rosario notices Ofelia's sudden discomfort, but Ofelia says she's okay.

Meanwhile, at the Tough-Luck Bar (hello! karaoke!! is anybody listening??), Coyote invites himself into Feo's office and says he heard that Feo tried to hurt the Reyes. He warns him that if he doesn't be a good boy, he'll pay the consequences. "Be very careful, don't mess with those boys - especially not Pedro Reyes." He takes one of Feo's finest cigars, tears it in half, and throws it into Feo's hat.

Everyone is enjoying the Cumbia goddess's show, but as Margarita scans the crowd, her eyes meet Ofelias'. Margarita is discreetly impactada. She also sees Rosario holding hands with another woman (Eva).

After the show, Ofelia visits Margarita backstage, who is still recovering from the shock. Margarita says they have lots to talk about. "What do you want to talk about? Your kid? At last you remembered her!" Of course Margarita has a great excuse for her lengthy absence: she was young and she wanted to succeed. She had big dreams, and having a little girl got in the way. That's why she left her.

Ofelia reacts to this unabashedly selfish explanation by explaining that she raised Rosario herself after that, and never told her about the past. "Can you imagine how she would feel if she were to find out that you exchanged her for fame and success?" Marg says that was years ago, and she's had time to think about it and learn that she was wrong.

Ofelia says it's too late now, and Margarita should go back to where she came from and forget them. Marg says she didn't come out here looking for her child, much less to screw up their lives. It was just a coincidence that she got hired to sing here, but now that she's here, she wants to meet Rosario. Ofelia says she doesn't deserve to see her. "You can't stop me," Marg declares. Ofelia promises that if Marg tells the truth, Rosario will only end up hating her. (This is just like inviting her to lie instead.)

Juan vents to his brothers about his frustration over how Gabi is the cause of all their misfortune, and it's her fault Libia died, she's somehow guilty of their parents' deaths, and Juan wants to get even - but he doesn't know how, any more than he can forget that she's the mother of the women they love. They're trapped between love and hate. Franco suggests that they continue investigating and then decide between love and vengeance. Juan says they've already decided on love, but he can't forget revenge, else he feels like he's compromised the justice of everything and everyone they've lost.

Feo shows up where Luisito is playing with the pretty maid. He tries to befriend the kid with a bag of gifts, including a slingshot (I wonder if there's a rattlesnake in that bag too, it seems to suit Feo's personality for a good gift for a child). The maid watches nervously. Feo thought-bubbles that he doesn't have any feelings or fondness for the child, but he can still use him to control Rosario.

At first his clumsy efforts at amiability seem to go nowhere, then the kid finds a pebble and Feo shows him how to launch it. Rosario shows up and isn't happy with this scene. Feo pulls her aside and says that if she doesn't resume singing at the cantina, he'll have no choice but to take away her child again. She says she won't allow it. He responds by pulling out her mug shot and calling her "75089," saying the authorities might let him have Luisito if he tells them what she did to end up in prison. "You decide," he snickers.

Sofi and Jimena talk about how they never thought they'd end up as housewives. Sofi loves it. Jimena says it's fun for now, but she doesn't want it to become routine and boring. Sofi says she loves Juan so much that taking care of him will never be a chore for her, and insinuates that Jimena doesn't really love Oscar. (Disliking housework - or expressing worry that someday you might get tired of doing it - means you don't love your husband?) Instead of being offended, Jimena says she loves Oscar with all her heart, but she's not going to lose sight of reality - she doesn't want it to get monotonous. Sofi assures her that true love can do everything. EVERYTHING!

Grandpa is sitting out on the trail in his wheelchair. (Someone walks by carrying a coa - the tool used to cut the leaves off the agave - see? I did learn something from watching Destilando Amor.) Rosendo shows up riding Mr. Ed. (For a moment I thought the horse's real name was "Cuaco," but it turns out that's just another word for "horse.") Rosendo tells Grandpa the horse has been sad ever since Sofía moved out. He misses her.

Feo comes along in the truck and gets out to yell at Rosendo for taking the horse out (some time ago, he had tried to get rid of the horse because it was "dangerous"). Mr. Ed gets very jumpy. This reaction is not lost on Grandpa. Finally Rosendo gets down safely and Feo drives past, honking the horn obnoxiously.

Grandpa notes the ugly way Feo and the horse looked at each other. He thinks there must be a serious reason behind that. He says horses can perceive the personalities of the people they deal with and know who they're dealing with. "He doesn't like him," is all Rosendo can say about the horse. Gramps spells it out a little more: the horse used to belong to Bernardo and now he doesn't like Feo.

Ugh, how many more puzzle pieces do we need to figure out this picture??

Oscar reviews Bernardo's letter and wonders where those papers are hidden. Jimena catches him and tries to grab the letter. She thinks it's from a woman. She says he's been acting weird lately and doesn't want him to cheat on her again; if he does, he won't see her again. She marches out.

Grandpa puts on his deerstalker cap and visits Nabor in jail to ask about that fateful day of Bernardo's death. Nabor admits he was very drunk, but he perfectly remembers what happened. He's virtually certain Bernardo was already dead when he hit him.

Sofía lectures Jimena on the importance of trusting her husband. Surely he has an important reason for not wanting her to know something! Jimena says she's worried about a repeat of his previous infidelity.

Juan lectures Oscar on the importance of not fighting with his wife. He'll lose everything. Oscar explains that it was about the letter, and she thought it was from another woman. Juan says he's going to have to explain it. Oscar doesn't want to do it, but Juan doesn't want to do it - anyway, Oscar's the one who found the letter.

So Oscar shows the letter to Jimena. She recognizes her father's handwriting. He explains how he found it. Seeing as how upset she was to read it, he asks her not to tell her sisters about it. Tonight he'll go back and continue looking for the incriminating papers. She apologizes for doubting him, and he promises he'll never cheat on her again. He says they need to have a little cowboy like him, or a little china doll like her.

Sofi and Juan shop for baby clothes. Sofi wants pink stuff, Juan wants blue clothes, yawn. He likes a little baby cowboy outfit. She likes something in bright pink.

Juan assembles a crib. Despite Quintina's "help," the project is finally finished. Sofi comes home just as they're painting it a nice gender-neutral white. I guess it was supposed to be a surprise. Sofi is thrilled. They stand around admiring it for a while.

Rosendo tells Sofi and Juan that Grandpa is visiting Nabor in jail, and also Feo doesn't want them nosing around that tree. Juan says that's fine, it won't stop him from fighting for what's his.

Rosendo describes to them the altercation with Mr. Ed and Feo. Mr. Ed wanted to attack Feo. Rosendo and Grandpa thought it was as if the horse... Rosendo is at a loss for words. "As if it wanted to accuse him of something," Sofía finishes.

At the cantina, Rosario tells Eva she won't be moving in with her after all. She's going to go on living and singing here instead! Eva tries to take the news gracefully, but she is obviously hurt. After she leaves, Ofelia says she knew Feo would never let her go. Rosa's sad to have broken Eva's heart. Ofelia says it's for the best, because in any case, Eva's not her mom.

Rosa excitedly realizes that Ofelia must know about her real mother after all. She tries to get her to say more, but Ofelia clams up.

Eva reports Rosa's sudden change of heart to Sofi and Juan. She thinks Rosario was behaving oddly, and is suspicious that something else is going on. Sofía and Juan agree to talk to her.

Sarita and Franco come back from the doctor, where Franco has been told that if he takes care of himself, he'll soon be fully recovered. He offers her a drink to celebrate. She tries to discourage him, thinking it will harm him, and thinks it smells horrible and doesn't want any. Franco pours some down her gullet.

Some time later, they've both had a few more. They dance clumsily to Franco's "Piquito de Oro" song and she pours one down his gullet.

Grandpa is still wearing the deerstalker cap and playing noisily with his crime scene map in the hacienda study. Feo shows up, and Grandpa confronts him about Bernardo's death. Feo repeats the old story that Nabor hit him and killed him. He tells Feo that Nabor was pretty sure that Bern was already dead when he hit him, and since Feo was the last guy who saw him alive, Grandpa thinks it's safe to assume that Feo killed him. (Great, I hope Grandpa put up some good protection money for Nabor, or the guy's going to end up with an Efferdent sandwich.)

While Feo is thusly occupied, Oscar sneaks into Feo's room and opens the safe, using skills he learned from... ?

Sarita and Franco are still drinking enthusiastically, although Sarita is spilling almost as much as she's pouring. He asks her if she's ever done anything risky. "What do you mean by 'risky'?" He whispers something in her ear. The suggestion that we don't hear shocks and delights her. They celebrate with another drink.

Oscar has found big wads of pesos and dollars in Feo's safe and assumes Feo's been stealing from Gabi. He also finds some impressive jewels, which he admires and puts away. And he takes out the special little box in which Feo has hidden Libia's (mother's) necklace, but before he can open it, a loud argument between Feo and Grandpa tells him it's time to go. He puts the unopened box back in the safe.

Grandpa is yelling "let me go" as Feo wheels him to the front door with great force. Grandpa is calling him a murderer and a coward, scolding him for picking on an invalid, "but of course that's what you would expect from a murderer." Feo threatens to break his face. Rosendo stops him. Feo sends the inquisitive maids into the kitchen.

Instead of sneaking out the window as I thought Oscar would do (perhaps he has no way to lock the window behind him, therefore it might be obvious someone had broken in), Oscar has to go down the main staircase. Rosendo is telling Feo that Grandpa is an old man and deserves respect. (Grandpa indicates his agreement by spinning a noisemaker.)

Feo spots Oscar on the stairs and threatens to have him arrested as a thief. Grandpa says no, he just came in to get some of Grandpa's things from his old room. Feo gets behind Oscar, who is still near the top of the stairs. "Real gallant with an old man," Oscar mocks. When he turns his back to Feo (BIG MISTAKE!), Feo kicks him! (Hey, I thought snakes had no legs!) Oscar tumbles all the way down the stairs, but fortunately ends up with only a nosebleed and some bruises. And maybe a neck or upper back injury, although he seems okay for now

Now here comes Gabi to add her two cents. First she kicks out Rosendo. Grandpa tries to explain that he and Oscar are here to prove that Feo is trash and Bernardo knew it. That's why Feo killed him.

Gabi is shocked. Grandpa says he even has a letter from Bernardo saying that Feo is an evil dude. Gabi wants to see the letter. Oscar foolishly tells them it's at his house. Feo mutters to Gabi that it's all a lie to prejudice her against him. Oscar says Bernardo knew that Feo was a damned venomous snake.

Gabi defends Feo, distrusts them, and doubts the existence of the letter. She damns the day they showed up at her house, dedicating themselves to destroying her family. Grandpa says Feo is putting her life in danger; he has no boundaries and no scruples. Feo says Gramps is the one who's not welcome. Gabi agrees. She tells him to abandon the hacienda (I think she means the whole property, including the cottage) tomorrow morning - FOREVER. Grandpa says he thanks God that her daughters are free of her. He twirls his noisemaker at them as Oscar wheels him out.

Sofi and Juan meet Rosario in her dressing room, trying to find out why she suddenly wants to live and work at the cantina again. Is she or her son in danger? She's not eager to talk. Juan and Sofía offer their support and protection. Who's threatening her?

There is a ruckus in the hallway; Ofelia has lost the battle. Margarita bursts in, staring at Rosario and finally smiling. Rosario smiles too.

Oh no! How many mother-figures can one woman take??

Sarita and Franco are muy impactados to wake up cheek-to-cheek in front of a roaring campfire, very hung over. They can't remember what happened or what they were doing there. But then they find a piece of paper that explains everything - it's their marriage certificate!

"We're married! Legally married!"

Mexico airdate: 22 de Mayo

Next time:
Juan tells Sofi about Bernardo's letter.
Feo (acting like a jerk) looks at some legal papers and says "when the snake is cornered, it strikes."
Rosario gapes.

Labels: Fuego