Caray, Caray!

Jean, you aren't supposed to have a life when Mario is on TV!

Alot happened in this week's episodes--especially Friday. I was on the edge of my seat! PJ/S is definitely changing his attitude and the story should start moving along swiftly now.
 

Busy week is right, Cindy. Friday in particular was really a treat. I really appreciated Mario's work in those episodes. He was truly riveting. I'm looking forward to more of that!

Gaetana cracked me up with the outfit she wore to take Salvador on their first visit to the bar. I couldn't help but think of the Carol Burnett parody of Gloria Swanson in "Sunset Strip". If Gaetana was on speaking terms with Walter from the Donoso house, the two of them could go to Halloween parties as Norma Desmond & her butler, Max. ;-)

I know daytime dramas & advertising have always gone hand in hand, but I haven't seen product placement used so obviously in a telenovela before this one. Isabel loves to flash her Maybelline mascara; we've had a couple of JCPenney logo shots so far, and on Friday, the Splenda bag - facing front & center on the kitchen counter - cracked me up. I remember seeing outtakes from the Mexican broadcast of "La Fea Mas Bella" and it was super-prevalent in that show. Mercifully, they cut most of it out for broadcast in the US.
 

Off-topic but related:

The anonymous poster who called me on the carpet for a biased comment I made last week unwittingly set me on a quest to find an interview that I remembered seeing long ago on YouTube. It's a PDG-era talk show appearance by Danna Garcia where she says wonderful things about working with Mario. It put the Lorena Rojas interview in perspective for me. The link is below, followed by a translation.

Again, thanks to the anonymous poster. After watching this interview again, I realized the unfairness of my negative attitude (I blame it on an unholy convergence of PMS, the Dow's worst week in history and the negative election campaigns that can't end soon enough), and my compass has since been reset. Digging up this interview was a good exercise for me, both linguistically and psychologically. Enjoy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qYEYuuu7KA&feature=related

Translation - (My apologies for any minor errors. I couldn’t always discern the exact words being used so corrections are appreciated.):

Danna: “The slogan for “Pasíon de Gavilanes”, the telenovela, was invented by Mario Cimarro; it was, “Even the most macho cry for love.” Focusing on Mario’s character, the personality of Juan Reyes, he’s very macho; big, strong, speaks rudely, does hard work in the fields, and falls hopelessly in love. In Mario’s scenes as Juan, with other characters he’s rude, but with Norma he’s a like a sugar cube; he just melts for love.”

Host: Danna, not just what is Juan Reyes like, but what’s Mario Cimarro like, the real person, the human being?

DG: “I can say beautiful things about Mario; he was my best friend on the novela. We made a great team from the beginning. We had the good fortune to be able to talk a lot about our scenes. We became good friends. The reserved man that is Mario is a man of few words, that speaks to practically no one. He’s very professional; he arrives on time & knows his lines. But he’s a very reserved person, very quiet. He doesn’t speak about his private life. A good friend.”

DG: “With Mario everything was so easy to do. He’s such a gentleman; so professional, so respectful. At no time did I ever feel uncomfortable; nor did he, I think. We became good friends, as I said, and that’s very, very important; to be a team for the taping. If we weren’t, the results wouldn’t have been what we got.“

(The host then says something about “those kisses”, but I can’t nail down her exact words. Danna attempts an answer but it seems there's an edit done here, as she gets cut off & then goes in a different direction.)

DG: “Mario must have measured 'a 95'" (or "195"?- weighed 195? Idiom? Chest measurement in cm? - MC). "He’s a bull; I say he’s a bull. He has that back…I used to hug him in the show, and my hands couldn’t meet! He’s a very big man, very attractive. He has a fantastic build, as you can see. He’s an excellent person. He’s very given to the people, the tech teams. He was friends with all the guys that work behind the cameras. He’s very detailed; a very good partner.”
 

Those product placements are pretty funny. I haven't seen too many novelas but I know Victoria was big on that. They would show a long scene with the maid using Scrubbing Bubbles! And characters lovingly using certain hand lotions.

Thanks so much for the Danna interview, Marie--that was really interesting! Okay, now I want to marry Mario. Haha! He really does sound nice, according to Danna. (Btw, your post about the Lorena interview didn't bother me at all. I can see both sides.)

Speaking of Danna, I do miss her on PdG and LT. I recently download a ton of pictures--she is just so beautiful to look at, and inspires me to continue doing my workouts to keep in shape, like her. (There was a time when I was skinnier than her!) I found a bunch of pictures on the Danna Garcia dot com website, including alot of screen caps of Norma that her fans had posted, and some from LT. There are also many modeling pictures, magazine covers, etc. Some of the clothes she wears are too revealing for my tastes, and normally I would raise a fuss about anybody wearing them, but she manages to pull off a look that is sexy but not "sleezy", if you know what I mean. There are also alot of pictures of her in cute, modest outfits which I love. I showed my husband my Danna Garcia file of photos, which he enjoyed, but for some reason he doesn't care to see the ones of Mario--I can't IMAGINE why! Lol.
 

Marie your Carol Burnett;Gloria Swanson reference had me hooting....so true ;))
Thank you for the Danna interview and translation, that was very kind of you. I love those two actors chemistry on camera its magic...but I also love Mario and Lorena's too...super charged and over the edge!..again thanks..
BTW that black shirt Mario put on in Fri.'s episode was beyond scrumptious. I've piccies of him in it but having him move around in it is a lot more facinating....(zug-zug) lol...