Caray, Caray!

Santos and Cecilia go to see the woman who accused Antonio of rape, Matilda. He asks why she didn't report the crime earlier (the baby is a year old). The woman is uncooperative.

The Altamira vaqueros go to see Antonio and try to cheer him up with the news that Santos and Cecilia have gone to Pilar to try and help his case. But when Federica shows up, they all beat a hasty retreat.

Maria Nieves has fallen for Altagracia, one of the terneras. He can barely speak in her presence though and the other terneras enlist him to help them move furniture.

DB wonders what she should do when Marisela reveals what she said to Santos. She tells Eustaquia that her only hope is to marry Quitadolores. Eustaquia thinks that is a crazy idea and that Santos won't lift a finger to stop it.

Lorenzo returns to Altamira and tells everyone that Marisela ran away from El Miedo and might be in danger. Everyone agrees to go looking for her.

Meanwhile while riding furiously, Marisela has flashbacks to various evil things her mother did to her. She decides to go to the Virgen de la Corteza [Virgin of the Tree Bark] to ask for help for her and for Santos.

Santos goes to El Miedo to demand that DB tells him what she did to make Marisela run away. DB says that she didn't do anything. Santos says: "If anything happens to Marisela because of some harm you did to her, I swear you will regret it. I will hate you with the hatred that only a Luzardo knows how to do. You think you know my bad side[fiera, literally "wild beast]? You haven't seen anything."

Marisela runs into Don Incarnación. She convinces him that everyone at Altamira knows where she is and has no problem with her being so far from home near nightfall. He puts her on the right road to the Virgen de la Corteza and as she rides off, he says that the Altamira folks are not taking very good care of this girl.

A rattlesnake spooks Marisela's horse and she is thrown off landing face to face with the snake. She manages to grab it before it strikes and throws it away. Even though she has hurt her foot in the fall, she decides to continue to the Virgen. Then it starts to thunder and rain.

One of DB's rapists, Chepo, aka the Illuminado, gets hassled by the authorities in wherever he is and decides to hide out for a while in Progresso with his buddy, Quitadolores. Bad idea.

Don Encarnación comes to Altamira to tell Santos about his encounter with Marisela. The search moves to the site of the Virgen de la Corteza.

Juan Primito brings the news to El Miedo. He causes some confusion by initially reporting that Marisela is with the Virgin, which sounds like she is dead, but then he clarifies that he means she has gone to the Virgen de la Corteza.

Marisela finally finds the shrine where miraculously some candles are burning even though it's pouring rain. She kneels and prays. She says that she is asking for many things: first to help her father, let him laugh again and not go back to drinking. Then she prays that Santos doesn't fall into the hands of that viper [víbora], DB. "Don't let her do the same thing to Santos that she did to my father," she says, "Save him, Virgencita, because that woman is very bad and he is good and.. it's true, you know I love him so much and I don't want anything bad to happen to him. Protect him. Protect my Santitos."

Then she asks the Virgin to make Santos realize that she isn't a child but a woman and not to make her feel so lonely. She says she doesn't want to continue feeling this way.

Finally, she asks for a sign that the Virgin is with her and it arrives - Santos comes out of the fog and finds her. "My sign!" says Marisela.

She and Santos embrace.

DB watches with anger and frustration.

Meanwhile, Pernalete send Josefa to offer Antonio a choice - either he marries Federica or he rots in jail. He replies that he will never marry Federica.

Labels: barbara

Permalink posted by Jean @ 10:27 PM