Saturday, November 21, 2009

Sortilegio #33, 11/20/09: Going 90210 in Mexico

Capítulo 38 (esmas)


As Viewerville returns to sleepy Saqui, it’s dinnertime at the Samaniego’s. Mary Jo tells Pedro and Paula that in no time things for them will be just like old times, just as if they’d never left. Paula lets out with a snide “not ‘everything’,” but MJ ignores her. She tells Pedro she wants to visit her mother’s grave the next day with both of them. Pedro looks a little pale himself, like he has a few secrets of his own that he’s been hiding.

Back in Merida, Raquel, Bruno the Buzz-Kill and his team of top-flight attorneys are discussing the rather disastrous results from the meeting earlier that day. Bruno isn’t happy that things are not going the way he’d planned. (I guess El Bruto is not up on his
Burns, let alone his Steinbeck.) The lawyers say they thought that the division of the fortune was worth thinking about, but nobody thought Victoria would actually fight them in court because it would mean destroying her good name. Bruno isn’t bothered about Victoria’s threats to fight them in court. He says he knows that she’s just lying, hoping to see who will give in first about naming him president of the construction company; but he wants to be president and that’s that.

At Casota de Locos, Alex goes upstairs to speak with Vicki. The meeting’s been on his mind, too. He tells her he doesn’t want to fight this thing in court because it will force her to have to bring up her past. She admits she was only threatening as a way pressure Bruno. Alex thinks Bruno is too obsessed to see things her way. Bruno will obviously do whatever it takes to get what he wants. Vicki agrees, but she thinks he won’t take it that far. (Damn, will somebody take the blinders off this woman?) She says he’s essentially just pulling their chain to see who will give in first. Alex says he isn’t as confident as she is but he hopes she’s right. He would rather leave it to a vote of the partners and thinks they can count on Dr. Hernan and Lic. Alvarez’s votes. (Think again, Sweet Cheeks.) Vicki trusts Hernan’s vote but none of the others. Alex plans to start the paperwork divvying up the inheritance, but as for the presidency, he will give it up only if it avoids her having to go to court and air her dirty laundry in public. She says no, that his father wanted it for him. She would rather wait and see what happens. (Wise up, Alex. Bruno fights dirty. Didn’t you learn anything from playing football with that jerk when you were kids? Guess that's a rhetorical question.)

Across the way in their chalet, Roberto has been waiting up for Raquel and he’s seething. He’s been feeding that anger with liquor – a muy bad combo. He screams at her that she didn’t tell him about the meeting that afternoon at Lombardo, Inc. to discuss the inheritance. He wants to know why he was left out. She hams it up and says it’s because he wasn’t invited. “I’m your husband and I have a right to be there! There’s a [marriage certificate] that says I am.!” Raqui laughs in his face and says if he’s her husband he sure doesn’t act like it. This enrages Bobo even more. Raqui turns her back on him and starts to walk off to bed. (Bad move.) “That thing is a useless piece of paper! What counts are deeds [hechos].” Bobo throws a punch out of nowhere and knocks her onto the couch. He rips his belt off and whips her a time or two with it. He jumps her. “You want ‘deeds’, then ‘deeds’ are what you’ll get!” In between rough kisses and slaps he tells her he’s not going to let her get away wrecking his chances by saying they haven’t had marital relations.

Somehow in the melee Raquel’s back up again and trying to race away. Bobo rips away the bottom of her dress and throws her back onto the couch. She screams he’s gone crazy and says if he tries anything with her she’ll accuse him of rape. He pins her down again. He tries kissing her. [Muy unsexy—or is it?] She’s screams she doesn’t want to. There’s more rough and tumble. Bobo says to shut up and enjoy it. “—Or is there another man now?” She screams she’s going to divorce him. He keeps her pinned down and says she can complain all she wants but in the end he’s in his rights to take her. So, Viewerville settles in for a little on-screen Taming of the Shrew. Suddenly Raquel is into it. Amorous congress fills the screen. “That’s how I wanted you!” We fade away to brilliant white light…… Once the deed is done, Bobo throws Raqui the rest of her dress and tells her to cover herself, but she likes being half nekkid. He doesn’t agree and storms out of the place. She watches him leave and sighs. “Geez, you like the game rough!” (I guess kinky is as kinky does.)

Back in the main house, Alex is unable to get to sleep. In Saqui, Mary Jo and Paula can’t get to sleep that night, either. Pau gets out of bed and talks MJ into letting her look for work instead of returning to school since, in a couple of months, MJ is not going to feel like working much and she won’t be able to hide her pregnancy. “You know that bosses don’t like pregnant women working for them and they’ll force you to quit your job.” “—You’re right. Ok.” She tells Pau she wanted her to have more opportunities but Pau says it can’t be helped. They share a sisterly hug. (Viewerville pauses for a comunal “Aw-w-w!”) Just then Pau’s cell rings. Alex explains he called on Pau’s cell because MJ hasn’t been answering her own. Pau forces Mary Jo to speak to him “in case it’s something important.”

MJ answers. “What do you want?” [Dime.] Alex says he knows it’s late but was wondering how she was doing and if they’d gotten back alright. She gives him an indifferent “Yeah, fine. Thanks.” He tells her he had a horrendous day. (And?) She gives him another cool, flat “I’m sorry to hear it.” He asks if she isn’t curious to know why. (It’s not her problem anymore, dude. What did you expect?) She tells him he knows they’ve split up so not to call her again and clicks off. He thinks to himself that it doesn’t matter whether she’s innocent or guilty. He’s not giving up. (Why is the male ego always the size of an 18-wheeler? Hubby takes umbrage. He says it’s Alex’s wallet that’s the size of an 18-wheeler, not Alex’s ego. I definitely disagree.)

Paula scolds Mary Jo for being so rude, but MJ says she doesn’t want anything more to do with him. “If he called it means he still loves you!” MJ says it doesn’t matter. Pau says she’s either a big liar or a big fool, because she’s going to think differently once that baby is born. MJ says she won’t be the first single mother to make it through without a hitch. Pau says sure, she can just imagine her sister wrapped in a shawl with the baby tied on her back and hawking candy on a street corner somewhere. (From the mouths of babes --and baby sisters.....Viewerville gives a high five to practical Pau.) MJ should squeeze Alex for some quick cool cash at least! MJ needs some down time, though. She’s not interested.

Bobo and Ulises meet for drinks later that night. Bobo confesses to Uli that he just raped Raquel. Uli is confused because he thought Bobo wasn’t attracted to her. Bobo says she doesn’t do a thing for him. (Amazing how these two are just cool as a cuke over this.) He explains it was only because he got angry when she accused him of not “acting” like her husband and complying with his husbandly “duty”. He attacked her and the b!tch actually liked it! She really upset him when she mentioned the Big D, aka, Divorce. It makes him suspect she’s got another love interest somewhere or other. Uli plays innocent and suggests that a divorce will net Bobo a good bit of cash. Bobo says he’d rather wait till the inheritance is settled because then you’re talking some real money. Uli thinks even so, it’s better to get what he can when he can, because the inheritance dispute might never get resolved and “a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.” [Or, as they say in Mexico: a bird in hand is better than 100 flying.]

The next morning MJ, Pedro, and Pau visit the supposed gravesite of the girls’ mother. Pedro, hiding his angst, walks off while the two girls lay flowers. FF>>

Back in Merida, Uli gets an unexpected call from Elena. (Nice shower ensemble. Didn’t realize the guy had such nice pecks, even if he is a slimy, soapy SOB.) She tells him she has a couple of important things to discuss with him. No, it’s not about Sandra and no Sandra hasn’t returned home from school in Spain.

When the Samaniego’s return from the cemetery, MJ decides to ask Doña Berenice for her old job back. Pau and Pedro say they’re both going to look for work too. Papi P says he’s learned his lesson about selling stolen merchandise and will see if somebody needs a bookkeeper. (Yawn. Viewerville looks at its watch.) Before he leaves them he tells Mary Jo that Alex asked him to see that she goes to see a doctor because she looked so pale. Mary Jo promises that she will. After Pedro leaves to find work, Pau asks MJ how many months along she is. MJ tells her three. Pau’s worried she’s going to show soon. MJ is convinced that first-time mothers [primeriza] always show later. (Sayz who? My belly was there, right on schedule.) They head over to see Doña Berenice.

Berenice is on crutches. She tells Pau and MJ that the girl who was working for her was a thief and the new girl is dense. MJ asks for her old job back. Bernie asks why now if she’s married to a rich man. Pau gives Bernie a quick line about MJ’s husband turning out to be a mean drunk. Bernie can relate. They all sit down for a chat, woman to woman.

In the meantime, Pedro finds his old business partner’s wife hawking tablecloths or some such to tourists in the plaza downtown. Her hubby’s doing fine across the border, she tells him, helping to harvest tomatoes. He sends her quite a bit of money back every month. He’s not coming back, but who cares, since he’s doing his part. Pedro says good-bye and sends his regards to his old pal. He starts to look for work but is disheartened by what he sees and eventually ends up carrying people’s bags to their cars for tips. (I guess it’s easy money for a guy with “a problem past”. There’s certainly no need to interview or to lie about what he’s been doing since his last “real” job. Maybe he should just hold up a sign at some intersection "Will work for money" like they do up here. Those guys make some real cash and nobody ever gripes if they don't show up.)

In downtown Merida at Lombardo, Inc., Fernando and Alex are discussing their personal problems uh-gain. Nando wonders if it’s going to be a problem for him to call and talk to Vicki. Alex says it shouldn’t be. Alex mentions his phone call to Mary Jo the night before and how cold she was to him. Nando reminds him not to forget that he threw her out of the house. (No duh!) Blockhead Alex insists he had proof of her infidelity. (Does this mean he was actually hoping she'd apologize to him during some pillow talk?) Fernando says it was only the keys for a room that supposedly this Mario Aguirre reserved. By the way, he says, Mari and his secretary continued looking for that Aguirre guy and found he’d also been registered at another hotel then left. Apparently there was somebody else who’d been asking around for him also, but they couldn’t say who. Alex says that doesn’t mean anything. (Yeah, why confuse him with facts?)

Talk turns to what Fernando’s P.I. has turned up about the judge in Saqui. Nando says apparently the guy spoke to some of the judge’s friends and he’s pursuing his hobby of taking wildlife pictures while on safari or some such. Alex laughs and says he had to have robbed someone to get the money to do that because that kind of sport isn’t cheap. “Bruno had to have paid the guy a fortune for what he did.” (Apparently Alex is having a hard time connecting the dots. Why am I not surprised?) Fernando asks if this means Alex has come back around to thinking Bruno was behind this whole thing. Alex says considering how Bruno’s pursuing the business with the will and the way he’s treating his own mother, he thinks he’s capable of anything. (Okay, Alex. What’s so hard about A+B=C? Pardon me. Another rhetorical question.)

In the meantime, Dr. Hernan pays a visit to Vicki and confesses his amorous interest in her. He was worried that she might actually be interested in Fernando. Vicki says Raquel misinterpreted what she saw and that it was simply her way of expressing caring and friendship with Fernando whose younger sister was causing him problems. Raquel simply ran with the gossip to her brother. Hernan explains that it’s been ten years since he got divorced and he feels too much time had passed. He could never tell her about his feelings before because he was just too much of a coward, he says, and he doesn’t want to lose a chance with her now. She says it’s not the right time to talk about this with him and pretty much gives him the brush off. “You see what my kids are like.” Hernan tells her that children eventually go their own way and a person is left alone in life. Vicki doesn’t have to answer him now, but he’ll be there to support her if she needs him, especially once the gossip starts if things do go to trial. She says thanks, but Alex is her support and she sees herself as a strong woman, strong enough to take whatever comes. (Viewerville cringes to see the way this old guy begs. Hie thee to a good whore-house, Hernan. Vicki’s a lost cause.) Her cell rings just then. It’s Nifty Nando-a-no-no. She ignores the call and turns off the phone.

Uli meets with Elena in her hotel room. He says it had to be something really important for her to travel the same day to talk with him. She says it is. It has to do with the Samaniego family. Uli’s all ears. She explains she took advantage of Jorge (her current husband, #3) flying to a conference in Vancouver to come see him and to discuss the Samaniego’s and Sandra with him. It seems Elena’s dead husband legally registered Sandra with his last name. (This gets complicated, so be patient with me here. Uli’s an insider and already knows these other people from way back when he dated Sandra. I never had the ...er...pleasure.) Uli figures then that she was married to Pedro Samaniego and had twin girls. Elena admits it. She says she knows Uli is a shameless opportunist and she doesn’t want him to go telling her husband (Jorge, hubby #3) much less “the old man”, her father-in-law (from hubby #2) Don Porfirio, about it. Uli replies that a woman has the right to divorce and remarry. (Aye, there’s the rub!) Elena admits she never divorced Pedro. Duhn-duhn-duhnnn! (Bigamy must also be a crime in Mexico. Maybe it's even trigamy in Elena's case.) Uli asks if Jorge and Don Porfirio know this. She says no, they do not, although, her dead husband (hubby #2, Cristobal) did. Uli wonders what the problem is then.

Elena explains that when she and Cristobal were married outside of the country, they registered Sandra under his name and so they all then had the same last name of Bettencourt. Don Porfirio (her ex-FIL from hubby #2, Cristobal’s daddy) has always believed that Sandra was his grand daughter and if he found out the truth, Sandra would be disinherited and the subsidies would stop coming for Jorge’s clinic. “That would be disastrous.” (Why would the ex-FIL be subsidizing hubby # 3’s clinic? Viewerville stops to adjust the beanie antennae a bit more.) The wheels start turning in Uli’s head. This is right up his alley and he’s all smiles.

Back at the Samaniego’s apartment, Paula is asking Mary Jo what they’re going to tell their father. MJ says she’ll say that she went to get some blood taken and found she’s a bit anemic. Pau says they should tell Alex. MJ asks her what for? So he can accuse her of having somebody else’s kid? No way is she opening herself up to that. Pedro comes home all smiles. MJ and Pau tell him that Berenice gave them both a job at her store. He tells them he’s able to make some money carrying bags to cars for people in the plaza. Pau rolls her eyes. She is less than excited to hear it’s come to that. (Well, girl, it beats the alternative. At least he’s not selling hot merchandise that he got through some five-fingered discount.) Pedro is a happy pappy. “Work makes the man!” He’s no spring chicken he tells MJ, and he’s glad to take what he can get at this point.

Back at the hotel, Uli tells Elena that when he asked Mary Jo about her mother she told him she was dead. Elena says she would have been too small to remember. She was only three. (Excuse me while I tighten the beanie another notch and adjust the antennae a bit more. It’s too incredible to believe that a sharp, attractive woman like Elena ever let herself get anywhere near a bed with a smurf like Pedro, let alone marry him and then do the deed twice and have three kids with him.) Uli wants to know why she didn’t take all three girls with her. Elena says she’d planned to leave Pedro with all three of them, but Sandra got sick so she couldn’t make it to the church to meet up with Cristobal. He came to get her and Sandra started crying. He was so touched by the little girl that he put her in his arms and decided to take her with them. (So, where was Pedro? I guess the heartless, self-serving b!tch left them alone in the apartment for him to find later.) Afterwards Cristobal legally registered Sandra as the two's daughter.

Uli tells Elena that Mary Jo is different from Sandra. She’s just a normal girl, not a whacked-out party girl like Sandra is. He mentions MJ has had problems with her husband and that she’s likely to be getting divorced. Paula, he says, is more daring and lively. He likes all of them, including the old man. Elena laughs and says Pedro’s not such an old man. He says he appears to be. Uli then asks about Porfirio and she tells him he’s got cancer. “Ah, so he’s dying and Sandra’s going to inherit.” Elena says essentially, yes, and that’s why she doesn’t want him to get wind of this. “Let’s cut this short. [Abriviemos.] How much do you want to keep quiet?” Uli says he doesn’t want anything –for the moment. He’d rather marry Sandra. “Ah, you want it all, eh? Well, let’s see if she wants to.” Uli says they both know she’s always been in love with him; that he left her because of all her partying and problems. He can win her back, he says. Elena’s fine with that. Uli has a final question for her. He wants to know what she feels for the others she left behind. Elena gives a flat “Nada.” Nothing at all. That works for Uli.

Meanwhile, in downtown Merida, Katia is enjoying being part of the new Cool Clique. She is having Cokes with Meowra and Lis. Katia says she has been thinking about her brother and Vicki. She tells Mau she thinks Raquel is a bit deluded [alucinar grueso]. She can’t believe her brother would ever be attracted to somebody like Victoria. Meowra says why not? The woman is still very beautiful. Besides, Mau always suspected something a bit odd there. Mau really wants to dig for dirt about Alex, though. She asks Katia if Nando has said anything to her. Katie says he’s not opened his mouth [una tomba” = shut tight as a tomb]. Lis says the one who’d know would be Raquel, but she’s not said a word to them, either. Lis asks her big sis if Raqui’s having an affair with Uli now. Mau isn’t talking. Lis figures if she is then Lis at least has a chance with hunky hubby, Roberto. (¡Qué 90210!) Katia is drinking this all in along with the Coke. She says the one she’s hot for is Bruno. Meowra snickers and asks if they really think either Roberto or Bruno would look twice at a couple of brats like Katie and Lis. Katie objects and says she’s nearly 18! Lis says she’s 21, and besides, Alex threw Mau under the bus for a menial. That’s proof age has nothing to do with it. The two girls have a big laugh at Mau’s expense.

Raqui is back at Uli’s again and complaining about what happened at the meeting with the lawyers the day before. Uli asks her what Bobo thinks of all this. Raquel doesn’t give a flip what he thinks. Their relationship was over [hacer pedazos = blown to bits] a long time ago. She says it’s time she gets a divorce. Bobo doesn’t want one, but she’s going to have to force it sooner or later. She takes off her wedding rings and offers them to Uli. “What do you say. Do you want to marry me?” He’s sorely tempted to keep the rings, but then he remembers his little chat with Elena earlier. He hands Raquel back her rings and fudges a bit. “It would be bad luck because Roberto’s my friend. Anyway, it’s a bit too soon to start thinking about a wedding.” (My dinner is doing a tap dance in my stomach about now.) Raquel says she’s thinking ahead. There are too many scandals with her family right now. (--And marrying Uli wouldn’t be another one?) “--What? Don’t you love me? Or am I just another affair for you?” Uli is a survivor. He knows just what to say. He starts kissing her and telling her how much he loves making love to her. Raqui suddenly squeels and pushes him off. She runs over to pull out the new lacy bustier she just bought. (Could she be any more domestic than that?) She asks him if he’ll do the honors or if she’s got to put it on herself. (Hard choice. If it were laced up with peso’s he wouldn’t have to think twice. As it is…..) She giggles. (I gag.)

That night Meowra’s back at the Pink Palace and gives the brooding Alex a call to invite him to a party she’s giving the next evening. Alex is bummed out and sitting on the floor next to his bed, moping. He says he’s not up for it. She coaxes him, saying he’s got to get out and see his friends again. It will do him good. Alex can stay a while and then leave if he wants. She’s even ordered his favorite wine for him. He says fine. He’ll come. After Alex hangs up Zeke knocks at the door. Chucho’s there to speak to him, Zeke says. Both men are knock-me-over-with-a-feather impactado to see the Great One so down in the mouth and brought so low by the modest and mousy Mary Jo. (Note the ominous cymbals crashing in the background when they look at him.) Chucho’s going to be leaving the next day. Alex tells him he wants a full rundown on everything, especially Sra. Mary Jo. He wants to know what she does and who she sees. Chucho promises not to take his eyes off her. He thanks Alex again for everything he’s done for him. Alex says there’s no reason to thank him. He saved his life. (Dunno. Maybe Chucho’s feeling extra guilty for not telling Alex the truth about Mechita’s brother.) Chucho says good-bye and leaves.

Across the hall in her room, Vicki is listing all of Hernan’s good qualities for Felipa. Felipa wonders what’s up with that. “Are you trying to cover up what you really feel for young Fernando?” Vicki doesn’t deny it. Felipa tells her better keeping no company at all than keeping poor company. Vicki insists that Hernan is a worthwhile option. Felipa says she doesn’t see why since it’s Fernando that floats her boat. Vicki’s still attractive and looks much younger than her age. Why sleep with an old man? Vicki says the kids would object to a younger man and her friends would look down on her, too. Felipa tells her she should do as she pleases. Her kids are a couple of ingrates. Anyway, no reason she and Fernando couldn’t go off and live in another country, happy as clams. If she had her druthers, she wouldn’t think twice about choosing a babe like Fernando. (It sounds like Felipa must have been one hot-to-trot babe herself back in the day. Makes you wonder what skeletons the old gal has in her closet, doesn’t it?)

Back in Saqui, MJ and Pau are in bed when Pau’s cell rings again. She says it’s Alex. MJ refuses to talk to him. She just wants to forget about him. Pau is like, who are you kidding? She tells MJ she’s never going to forget Alex because he’s the father of her child. Mary Jo flops over onto her pillow and bawls. Alex keeps waiting for someone to pick up the phone. Pau waits and winces. Eventually Alex gives up and gets ready for bed.

The next day Mary Jo and Paula are hard at work successfully talking a willing customer into buying out half the merchandise in the store. Pedro’s doing his part by schlepping heavy bags for tips in the plaza.

At Fernando’s place, Katia is admitting she faked her good grades while she was in boarding school in the states. She and her friend changed them in the computer. (Ah, I can relate to that! That’s why the Good Lord gave moms hair dye along with their prematurely graying hair.) Nando says if she doesn’t want to go back to school she’ll have to find a job. She whines that she doesn’t know how to do anything. He says she obviously knows how to use a computer. She has a fit and screams that he’s angry at having to take care of her. (She is a drag AND a handful, isn’t she? Delightful.) As her brother it’s his duty to! He says that’s exactly why he’s doing this and then heads out the door for work. She gripes to herself about what an ogre he is.

At Lombardo, Inc., Alex tells Fernando he’s not been able to speak with either Paula or Mary Jo. He suspects they don’t want to talk with him. (I can’t imagine why not. Alex made his bed but now he finds it’s too lumpy to sleep in.) Nando says he can’t leave things like they are. MJ’s pregnant and he needs to find out how she’s doing. Perhaps he can talk to Pedro. Alex doesn’t think Pedro knows yet, but either way, he says, he’s sent Chucho to Saqui to look into things for him. The Samaniego’s trust Chucho and the old guy would be more likely to tell Chucho than him. Alex wants to know how things are going for Fernando. Nando tells Alex that his sister won’t go back to school so he needs to find her a job. She knows computers, speaks English, and gets along well with people. He wonders if the company could find a place for her. Alex says she can work with Mari. He wants to know what’s the news with him and his mother. Nando says he called Vicki the day before but she didn’t answer. He figures she doesn’t want anything more to do with him. Alex doesn’t know what to say.

Meanwhile, Chucho shows up at Pedro’s and the two men start cutting up like old times. Pedro wonders what he’s doing there. Chucho says he got bored rolling around in that big house and decided he’d had enough of Zeke. With his nephew working in the States now, he thought of his only true friend, Pedro. The family is like his own to him so he thought he’d take his few pesos and head for Saqui. Pedro says he’s welcome to stay there, but Chucho says he’s not there to scrounge [gorrear] off them. He’s got a good bit of money from Alex and will get him a room and see what he can find to do around there. Pedro says at their age it might be difficult for him. Chucho says he can keep up with the best of them. He turns the conversation to asking about how Pedro’s daughters are getting along.

Pedro tells him that Mary Jo and Pau both got jobs at the store where Mary Jo worked before and that all in all, life’s not been bad despite leaving the Lombardo’s. Chucho’s glad to hear it and the two celebrate his visit with a couple of cold ones.

That night the party’s just getting’ started at Pink Kitty’s Cat-house. It looks like everybody who’s anybody in that crowd is there. Alex arrives and Mau, dressed in mah-h-hvelous mauve, heads over to greet him, all smiles. She kisses him hello and says she didn’t think he was coming. He looks around to see who’s there and says that he always keeps his word. She says, sure, but she knows about the problems he’s had. He frowns when he sees Bruno there. Mau notices and asks if he’s upset she invited Bruno. He says it’s her house and she can invite whoever she wants. Besides, they do live together even though they try to avoid each other when they can. She tells him to try to put it all in the past. He says that’s easier said than done. She pulls him behind a pillar and leans against it, in full flirt mode. “You’re right. For example, I’ve never stopped loving you. Do you remember all the good times together?”

Alex admits to Mau that those were fun times. It was more than that for her, she says. She could never forget. They shared everything together. People used to say they were made for one another. Alex says they once told him the same thing. She caresses his face and asks if he knows why. She moves in closer and trifles with his chin and beard. “For a couple to work they have to be brought up the same, like you and I were.” She moves in for The Kiss. Contact! Alex doesn’t flinch an inch. (You’re such a slug, Alex.) Bruno glances over as he walks by the pillar and notices them kissing each other. He smiles big time. Happy Days are here again! Let the good times roll!

Labels:


Comments:
Jardinera, thanks for the great recap! LOL, but I'm with your husband on Alex's ego-issue...

My fave line...hmmm...can't pick one! Love how uou spelled "uh-gain".
 

Loved the recap Jardinera. Alex is sliding down the slippery slope of skankdom playing tonsil hockey with RaMaura. That was such a gross looking kiss and Bruno was eating it up. Another note. Why is Alex surprised that MJ doesn't want to speak to him right now. He tossed her out of his house and told her he was glad she wasn't pregnant with his child before he found out she is pregnant with his child. From the looks of the previews for Monday she and her unborn child are in danger. So we know now that MJ has a twin sister who is a partygirl. How long will it be before Useless uses this information to really cause problems for our star-crossed lovers. Just speculating of course. How long will Useless juggle Raquel and Roberto. I can't wait to see their faces when the ish hits the fan for sure LOL.
 

How in the world can Katia call anybody menial. When was the last time this skank in training looked in the mirror. She's the one who looks like she been around the block a few times. Up and down the expressway dozens of times at that.

The nerve.

Why am i not surprised that Vicki still her demon spawn will not follow through with his threat of dragging her name through the mud.

Alex don't even offer giving up the presidency for her because she's not worth it.

Alex even though you were justified in your anger with MJ because she kept lying to you.
You at least have to expect the reception she's given you since you threw her and her family out of your house.

Please go home and use some disinfected liquid on your lips after you let stank Maura kiss you.

By the avances for Monday maybe MJ being attacked will be the incentive for Alex to bring her back.
 

"Going 90210 in Mexico" ...That is exactly what we have now, not a fun episode, but thanks for a recap that was chocked full of information Jardineria.

Anon. :"Up and down the expressway dozens of times at that.". Hilarious and true.

I have more to say tomorrow when I'm off of the phone and on a computer.

Don't like the looks of the previews......

Sandy in TN
 

Anon: Please go home and use some disinfected liquid on your lips after you let stank Maura kiss you.

And

when was the last time this skank looked in the mirror

LOL! hahaha. Too funny.

Alex, I know you're not in love with Maura, but really you can do better. Maura is too undeserving of you.
 

Wow, Jardinera, that was a masterpiece! You covered all the bases and filled them with snark.

I especially loved the "East of Eden" and Robert Burns references. How perfect.

The truth about MJ's twin was waaaay more complicated than I had suspected. However, if Uli has matrimony on his mind with Sandra, then perhaps my nightmare scenario of Sandra being used as a stand-in for MJ, thus fooling Alex, may not come true.

I fully expected Bruno (maybe he still will) to whip out his cell phone and take a picture of Alex and Maura smooching for MJ's benefit. He looked delighted, but just telling MJ about it doesn't seem like it would work. I doubt she'd believe anything he said.

I was a bit disappointed with the length of the kiss. Guess Alex is still a bit of a tomcat.
 

You know in my lifetime i have met a lot of Katia's sitting around discussing someone's looks or background. It never fails to amaze me when i look at the person in question degrading someone else how they don't measure up not only in the looks department but over all attitude.

Like I said the nerve. Who was that called her a heifer in training(HIT).

I would venture to say this heifer has graduated.
 

I am totally confused about what Elena said she been married three times. Pedro is her first husband right. Cristobal his her second who died from cancer. She never divorced Pedro though. Now she married to a Dr. jorge. Somewhere she had twins with Pedro took the sick one with her and left Pedro with MJ. Where in the heck did Paula come along and i thought MJ was at least four or five years older than Paula.

Someone help me i am so confused.
 

Anon, that's hilarious. Saturday are my work days...but here I am reading your posts and ROFL. Patrons are going to think I'm crazy.

Novelera, ITA. Disappointed that Alex would stoop to Maura's level...

Alright, enough posts for me right now. I got to get back to work. Can't wait to come back and read what y'all said.
 

Blogger doris. said...

Thank you for the excellent recap, Jardinera. Good snark, too. :oD

So, how much does Viewerville want to bet that Raqi ends up preggers and doesn’t know who the father is???
Eeeew.

Roberto has fallen, crashed, and burned in my opinion of him for hitting Raquel and using a belt on her. He is so low, he has to look up to see out of the gutter.
 

Anon. 5:30PM - Elena's family history....

Pedro is Husband #1. Elena never divorced him.

Cristobal is Husband #2. She married him without first divorcing Pedro. That's committing the crime of bigamy.

Jorge is Husband #3. Elena, still not divorced from Pedro, married him after Cristobal died. This is another illegal act of bigamy.

Don Pirforio is Cristobal's father and believes he is Sandra's legal grandfather. He is dying of cancer and will leave Sandra all of his money.

Mary Jo thought she was five when this all happened, but apparently she was only three, according to Elena, and doesn't really remember anything properly.

Paula must have been a baby when Elena abandoned them and took off with Cristobal and Sandra.
 

Love all your nicknames both for people and places, Jardinera. And the "yawn, viewerville looks at its watch" was great.

I admit, with great shame, that I don't want to watch this unless there's some hot romance going on with Alex and Maria José. And I certainly don't want to watch him kissing Maura. I recorded this but suspect I won't watch. Thanks for the link to the Burns quote, though. We say these things but so often I assume they go back to Shakespeare when they don't. Funny, witty AND educational. Gracias, amiga.
 

So who is lying under the tombstone in the graveyard? Did Pedro have a fake funeral after Elena left with Sandra ... still confused. Didn't anyone in the burg know about this?
 

Jardinera i got all that from your wonderful recap. I thought there's was a five year age difference between Paula and MJ. Sorry the writers totally messed up this part for me at least.

To have Elena marry three men and never divorced the first one. I know the legal system in Mexico isn't like our own. Wouldn't someone at where they apply for marriage certificates at least be able to verify and check she wasn't married two extra times after Pedro? Still not divorced from him at that.

Are we not suppose to use logic. Also are suppose to believe Mj is only three or two years older than Paula? I thought Paula was 20 years old or at least 21. Now i am supposed to believe MJ is 23 or 24.

When i believe it was mentioned before when they first met Alex and MJ that she was either 25 or 26 years old.
 

Anon- I think we'll have to wait to find out more about how the whole Elena thing went down from Pedro. It was interesting that was Elena was surprised to hear Pedro described as being old. Apparently, the years have not been kind to him- likely the accident he had that ruined his knee, lost him his job, and put his family in dire financial straights aged him.

So if MJ (and Sandra) were three (let's say close to four) when Elena left, and Paula was a newborn, it still makes sense that MJ would still take on such a big burden as the mama of the family. I have a friend who is just a few years older than some of her siblings, but with a working single mom, she was the one that took responsibility for cooking, cleaning and taking care of her siblings from a very early age (8 years old). So while she was acting like a little adult from 8 on, her siblings got to just be kids and never took on the kind of responsibilty she did when they reached that age and older. If we assume Paula is a around 19-20 (in college), then MJ is about 22-24 years old, and has been playing mama for a very long time. I found it very touching that she was so sad that Paula was not going to have the opportunity to do better than she did- to finish college and get a good job.

Did anyone notice that Bruno was at the party with Katia? That can't be good. And yes, he did look very pleased to see Alex and Maura playing tonsil hockey (shame on you Alex!).

MJ continues to look very happy back in her old life, in her old job. At least the "I left the mean drunk husband" story would still hold up once everyone in town (minus Pedro) sees she pregnant.

-Vivi in DC
 

Anon. 6:07PM. The age thing frustrated me also. That's why you need one of doris' belief beanies. We all have one. You simply adjust them every so often when the writing defies logic so it doesn't wreck the story. ; > )
 

Jardinera: Fabulous recap as usual.

Two very awful thoughts came to my mind after this episode. One, is JB playing Sandra the wild child and dancing like Shakira. The other is Katia working alongside Mari, falling in love with Bruno (if not already) and spying for him. The union of Katia and Bruno would produce a super-Demon baby who could kill with a look.

Anybody else having trouble understanding Uli and a couple of others in this novela?
 

Vivi DC: ITA with what you've reckoned. The years have not been kind to Pedro, that's for darn sure. MJ and Paula make a believably loving pair of sisters. It was a good scene.
==========
Cielo: Hubby's got a thing about women and the size of men's wallets. He says they equate it to the size of various other things masculine..... This just added to that for him. LOL!
============
Pirate Babe: Tonsil hockey! LOL! Watching Alex sucking face with Meowra definitely made me want to hawk a loogie.
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novelera: I keep having the same nightmare scenario about Evil Twin Sis getting together with Bruno, but also being competition for greedy Uli wouldn't be a bad story line. Bruno needs someone who isn't afraid of him and who knows how to double deal as well as Bruno does. Having the goods on Bruno will be a plus, also. Yeah, that could lead to some great fireworks before this thing is over.
 

doris: did you notice how hungry Raqui was the past few times we've seen her eat? If she is preggers, that would have been my first clue.
===========
JudyB: You would not have appreciated the sick sex between Roberto and Raquel, then. So, it's just as well, amiga!

===========
Pasofino: Wow, Katia is under age. If she does hook up with Bruno he could go away for years on just that crime alone. I'd be there with his bags packed full of jail-house orange jumpsuits for him!
 

Thanks, Jardinera; another great and LOL funny recap. Kind of a confusing and unpleasantly revealing episode really. And 90210 describes it well.

I had high hopes for Bobo and didn't like the revelation of his brutish side. Also unpleasant to hear that Sandra, who is "identical" in looks to Mary Jo, will be coming on the scene to further complicate things for the estranged lovebirds (my guess). Plus this will no doubt assist Bruno in his nefarious schemes and discredit MJ even more.

Then loyal, reliable, sweet old Hernan reveals his love for Vicky and I just felt sorry for him. Timing is everything and after ten years he has definitely missed that boat.

Alex's far-too-lingering kiss with MauMau was the final and worst revelation. That was pure ICK and he lost major good guy points with it. What was he thinking? And of course Bruno saw and will certainly make hay with it.

Too bad all around. As someone said on MEPS once, "the plot sickens."
 

Pasofino JB couldn't pull it off because she doesn't have the curves or body like Shakira. Funny thought though.

It would serve Ferdumbo right if Katia does end up with Bruno. That's what he gets for all of his non support he gave Alex. I don't want to see that heifer with Bruno because he would probably use her to spy for him like you said Pasofino.

She so does deserve a jerk like Bruno though.

Alex has finally disappointed me with kissing Maura. I hope he doesn't follow thru like she wants though.

Would not be surprised if Bruno took pictures of them kissing each other too.

Since Raquel and Useless i believe are having unprotected gag me with a spoon sex she will probably turn up pregnant.

I get the feeling though Useless is still going to use MJ in his plot to get the money from Sandra's grandfather. So far no one knows where the heck is Sandra.
 

Alex is going to let the board decide who will be president, that very same board that was about to throw him out before for being loco w/o his even being there????? Oh yeah, leave it to them, they really are looking out for the best interest of the company.

Anyone notice the cow motif on the kitchen chairs in Saqui? I think they got those from the employee break room at Grupo Lactos.

I guess Raquel likes her sex rough or just maybe any way at all. She said it was estupendo, how about you, to which Roberto replied fenómeno, before storming off.

Tks for helping me out, now I know why all the men aren't flocking to my door to express their love for me, too afraid of rejection. Maybe now they think Victoria was a "loose woman" & they should take their best shot.

Great recap Jardinera, tks mucho
 

Judy I agree about not wanting to watch unlesws alex and mj are having a romance and I did not like the kissing with maura either. I know it is a novela and in the end Alex and mj get toghter; however, I still react as if it is really happening, so I have to close my eyes on some scenes and if I know in advance from previews, I won't watch it at all. I got so upset in La Fea, when La fea had another boyfriend and each time they kissed I would get so upset. I stopped watching novelas years ago because of this. Then I started learning spanish and startd wathching these Novelas, i which I started with La Fea and the one that came on right before that, And you know, I still lose sleep over them. I still have to turn the sound off sometimes and I still have to close my eyes or turn the tv off and I am in my 60's DUH. Oh. Can anyone tell me what Mexico 90210 is???
 

Jardinera, LOL about your hubby-comment!

Alex certainly disappointed me. MJ is pregnant with your child, hombre! How can he say he's going to get her back and be kissing Maura. Ugh.

Roberto, disgusting. I was shocked and outraged. For a second, I felt sorry for Raquel. Then she acted like the skank she is and enjoyed it. Double ugh.
 

The problem with any substitute-Sandra-for-MJ plot is that MJ is pregnant and Alex knows it. Unless it happened real soon, the lack of a belly would reveal which twin were which.

It's possible the scene in the avances could mean she loses the baby, but I don't think that's likely. Many TN heroines are told to maintain "estricto reposo" to keep the kid in place, but few of them actually miscarry.
 

I think if they put sandra in the novela to make problems for the lovebirds it is Alex being discredited, because it will be him seen with this woman, just as he was seen with maura. Regarding Raquel I think she decided to relax and give in because she thinks she might be pregnant and if she is, there would be no way she could say it is her husbands. NOw she can.
 

How come Paula have the same mom as MJ, when the mother left with MJ twin.

Does MJ knows she has a twin sister, or does she think the twin is dead?

What about Pedro is all of this. This story line is confusing.
 

Don't forget to visit my telenovela blog from time to time.


http://telenovelashunks.blogspot.com/
 

I think repugnant Raquel likes it rough and remember she told Useless she wants to divorce Roberto for him.

I think Raquel has fallen in love with Useless but Useless is playing both sides like Roberto. Useless is waiting to see if Sandra turns up and he can marry her. His fall back is Raquel divorces Roberto. She gets more money from the inheritance Antonio left and he marries her.

I think Useless wants the Sandra scenario to happen more anyway. Raquel is too much drama.
 

MJ does not know she is a twin only their mother Elena and Pedro know that. I'm as confused as you are about the logic and age difference between Paula and MJ. So don't stressed on it. I guess we have to over look it.

Jardinera I am laughing with Cielo de Levy about your hubby comment.

Alex you better redeem yourself on Monday. That kiss was too long for my liking.

They should have done that scene before he found out MJ was pregnant. Now it makes him look callous.
 

Anon. 6:51PM. Read my post below. In between the snark I hope you can tell it was the first of a great many high-school soap operas shown on prime-time TV. It followed a set of rich kids living in Beverly Hills through highschool, college and then as twenty-somethings.
============
HGR: I couldn't get Beverly Hills 90210 out of my head watching those rich babes and Katia together. Yes, the high school show that made flashy, cashy, trashy teens and teendom (and later twenty-somethingdumb) the new normal. The sassy soap that wouldn't and couldn't just die! Gawd how I hated that show... AND the way my daughter loved it. I hope somebody has finally jammed a wooden stake through its heart, but I thought they tried to revive it this past year or so. Hope I just dreamed that. LOL! 6 ; > }
 

Useless really has a lot of balls in the air right now (and a lot of balls in general). He's got the Maura deal with Mario Aguirre (and he would also be sleeping with Maura if she gave him an opportunity), sleeping with Bobo, sleeping with Raquel and laying the groundwork to be her hubby #2, blackmailing/making a deal with Elena, planning to win back Sandra so he can marry her for her fortune, and he would also be sleeping with Lisette if he had more time and her sister hadn't warned her off him. How does this guy do it? I shudder to think what he and Bruno could accomplish if they actually worked together.

-Vivi in DC
 

Vivi too funny yes Useless does have too many balls he may just hook up with Bruno if the Sandra avenue doesn't happen.

I someone said Katia is under age and Bruno is taking her out. Are we sure she under age or not. If Bruno looks likes he's going to hook up with that heifer. So then Ferdumbo can have him arrested for having sex with a minor.
 

I doubt anyone checked when Elene married for the 2nd time, or even the 3rd.

Does anyone check here, in the U.S.? I doubt it. Too much bother. They don't even require blood tests anymore to get a marriage license here, which you'd think NOW, more than ever, they would.
 

Doris really they don't do that over here. I have a feeling we have a lot of Elena's running loose then
 

Didn't Katia say she was seventeen or was it Maura who said she was seventeen and that M's sister is 21. That makes Katia old enough.
 

Great recap, really funny! I have wondered before if Paula has a different mother, but then what happened to her if so?

I hated that scene with Alex and Meowra, terrible that he went with that.

I was surprised by Roberto acting like that all of a sudden, bizarre. Since I couldn't understand the Spanish well enough I thought maybe their sex was just like that. But if he was really being nasty and mean, ugh.

I don't know how or if I can get closed captions on my system, so I just have to try to understand. So these recaps are wonderful to have. Thanks.
 

Variopinta: Oops! Sorry for missing that last part of the scene. Thanks for filling it in.
=========
 

Thanks, Jardinera for a truly great re-cap.
Pedro the Smurf! You cracked me up. I know it is hard to believe that Elena and Pedro were ever together, but I was once married to a smurf and had three great children with him. It can happen.
As to Roberto's bad behavior, I guess we had to have this rough roll in the hay as a plot device so Raqui can get preggers—I am just guessing you understand—and not know the identity of the baby's father.
And Elena! What a beast! It made me so sad when Uly asked her what she felt for her other children and she said "nada".
Does anybody else suspect that she has had intimacy with our blonde gigolo?
Lord, this novela could be a Greek tragedy.
 

Pasofino: Katia got kicked out of school in the States and it sounded like it was only a couople of weeks before she would have graduated. She told Mau and Lis she was almost 18. Lis jumped in and said well, she was 21. Maura is Big Sis and a she's couple years older, like MJ. Paula is around Lis's age I believe.
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Ivy: Welcome! Closed Captions are easiest to get if you have a button on the remote marked just for that. Otherwise, you will have a push-button for a drop down menu on the tv for adjusting sound or audio or visual, colors and such. It should be one of those options you'll have to explore if you haven't got the manufacturer's manual for the set.
 

Jardinera654 said HGR: I couldn't get Beverly Hills 90210 out of my head... [snip] Gawd how I hated that show... AND the way my daughter loved it. I hope somebody has finally jammed a wooden stake through its heart, but I thought they tried to revive it this past year or so. Hope I just dreamed that. LOL! 6 ; > }

If anyone did jam a wooden stake through the heart of Beverly Hills 90210, then they must have failed to cut off its head, because the CW network did revive it, just last year. This version is simply called 90210, and is in its second season. I believe a few of the cast members from the original have appeared in the new production, but I don't think they're regulars. (As if that weren't enough, the CW has also dragged out and dusted off that other 1990s juggernaut, Melrose Place. Ick.)


Incog
 

Elna june sonoma: I bet you did have some great kids! Guess I'm just a smurf myself and really like taller guys. Hubby's 6'2" and I'm 5'2". I can walk under his arm without a problem. LOL!
As for Elena, I was thinking the same thing for a bit about her and Uli hooking up, and wouldn't doubt it was Elena who set him on the road to early manhood..... OMG. Just the thought of it....
 

Sandy Tn: Oops! My bad! I missed your comment earlier. Will wait till you can get back to us again.
; ? )
 

Incog: OMG! Like Freddy Krueger and those dreams you can never be sure you've woken up from!!
 

EWWWWWWWWWWW just why did you guys go their with that image now of Elena and Useless.Yech!

Yeah the Beverly Hills 90210 has been revived, i don't even glance at it all. I'm surprised it's getting a second season.

Funny i don't even watch american shows at all right now. Now they are bringing back Melrose Place? I guess no one has any original ideas.
 

Anon:
On the Ulysses and Elena pairing...I know, it is tacky but I couldn't help myself. As I re-watched the episode I saw Useless and Elena in her hotel room, I saw the camera zoom into Elena's cleavage, I saw Ulysses' eyes zoom into her cleavage and I made the inevitable leap.
After all, Useless isn't picky about the gender or character of his bed mates, why should he care about Elena's age or her status as the mother of his girlfriend?
 

LOL, I'm back and now grossed out on the Useless and Elena thing as well. Where's my barf bag when I need it? Elna, I think that cleavage was impossible to miss.

That makes the third skank in the show if I'm not mistaken.
 

So, is it possible that Pedro isn't actually MJ & Paula's dad, since Elena was surprised to hear Useless call him "old" ? I don't follow this TN too closely, so maybe that's crazy, it's just the first thing that popped into my head when Elena said "Pedro's not old"

JEN
 

Still on my phone in a motel in Douglasville, Georgia!!

This TN is really going to the dark side with all of these mix and match sexual relationships. I'm
little surprised because they seem to want to cross EVERY boundry in the space of a few weeks. Why don' we just get it over with and have Chucho and Pedro in a flirtation. I'm trying to be new age tolerant, but this show is pushing the limit.

Sandy on TN
 

Sandy, LOL!!! ITA though. This show is starting to take everything to the extremes.
 

Ok Sandy come back from ledge Chucho and Pedro flirting with each other. Now I need a strong drink to get that image out of my head. You have just topped the Elena and Useless image.
 

Jen: Welcome! Your guess is as good as any. The writers really have us stumped this time. Maybe the reason MJ looks so different from Pau and Pete is because she really isn't his, like others have suggested. She and Pau could be half-sisters, or maybe not sisters at all if Elena fooled around on the sly all the time and just used Pete for the pesos he brought home.
 

SandyTN: I'm hittin' the hay, but I'll be gigglin' all the way.
 

Half-sisters is my guess because I don't think Elena would tell Useless they were both her daughters if they weren't. But you never know, everything obviously doesn't make sense all the time in novelas
 

Cielo de Levy you have it wrong very little does make sense. A whole lot of it does not make sense.
 

You're right, Anon. And I was wrong with my skank count too. There's Raquel, Katia, Elena, and Maura.
 

Cielo de Levy we should also include Lissete too. Even though she's not getting any action it's because her older sis Maura is putting the kibosh on her would be Skankism.
 

Definetely, add Lisette to the list...lol and Useless too!
 

Cielo de levy go to William's page their a new update.
 

Thanks, Anon. I'm about to drive home, but I'll look at it asap! :)
 

Anon, just checked it out before I got in the car. I think I'll buy those dvds...love looking at the pic of him in that purple shirt. Super cute.
 

Elena looks fairly tall. MJ and Sandra could have taken after her tallness, while Paula took after Pedro's smurfiness.

Elena looked like she was "playing with herself" while on the phone with Useless.

Elena born in 1964? Seriously?

I don't think Alex was kissing on Maura, she was devouring him while he just stood there. Just look at the freeze frame at the end of the episode: her lips were all over his. He just wasn't that into it like she was.

What purpose would it serve for Burno to take a picture of Alex/Maura kissing to give to MJ? Alex has already thrown MJ out of the house and she's back in her little town. Burno doesn't know that MJ is pregnant so as far as the Merida bunch is concerned MJ is history.

If MJ is shanked in the back, she'll probably be on bed rest for a while. But if Chucho is spying on the Samaniegos like he's supposed to, Alex will know. What will come of that?

Bed rest is probably a way for JB to not have to put on the pregnancy pad. Enter: Sandra.

Burno will find out about Sandra and use her against Alex in some fashion.


Finally, Alex SHOULD give the presidency to Burno and watch while he destroys the company's reputation with building apartments on quicksand and what not. The board will be BEGGING Alex to come back.

~~I will figure~~~
 

I will figure, interesting thoughts you got here...I'm sure Bruno would ruin the company in 5 minutes. It still bothers me that Alex let Maura all over him like that. Remember when she used to kiss him in the beginning, and he was all, "don't do that, I'm married." I wished he'd have said that again.
 

Yeah Maura was being the agressor with the kiss but Alex should have either told her no or stop it after she put her stank lips on his.

I so want Alex to take his share of the inheritance pick up shop and go elsewhere. We all know that won't happen, it would serve that board of directors what that's exactly what they need is someone to bring scandal and lawsuits up the wazoo like Bruno would.

Then they could run fast enough begging Alex to comeback and take charge of running the company again. If I was Alex i would tell them hell no, they got the person they wanted. All these years he's kept the company solvent and flourishing and they want ti hand it over to person expelled from college. Not qualify even to build a lemon aide stand or my qualifications.

That's all wishful thinking huh.
 

Cielo De Levy i wish the same that Alex did do that. Now he's separated from MJ so i guess he can't use that line anymore. He did say he didn't care anymore whether she was innocent or not. He was going to get back to together with her.

I think her being stabbed from one of the robbers on Monday show, will be the incentive for him to make that move.
 

Anon, it is wishful thinking...sigh...things are moving fast in this show though...she'll get stabbed on monday, and I'm sure our knight in shining armor will put aside his doubts and see her (not a spoiler).
 

Anon. 1: 24AM --
"All these years he's kept the company solvent and flourishing and they want ti hand it over to person expelled from college. Not qualify even to build a lemon aide stand or my qualifications."

This is the best argument for Alex's attorneys in court and for Vicki, Hernan, or Alex himself to make if it comes to something as foolish as allowing a vote of the suborned board members! You put into words what I was thinking of but couldn't.
 

OT
I'm watching La Usurpadora - 1998
with Fernando Colunga sigh (He ages so beautifully, more guapo now)
Gabriela Spanic (twins, one evil, one good)
Erik (that guy is always working, not sure if he's good or bad)
Jacinto
Liliana (she looks so different, long black hair, she is one of the bad ones)
Several other handsome men.
Raquel (I don't think I've seen a novela w/o her)
It's pretty good, but the usual estupidez. The good twin takes the place of the bad one, but the husband (Colunga) doesn't get it yet, even though she won't sleep with him, although she has fallen in love with him.
No subtitles, so I'm missing quite a bit.
 

Folks: Please remember Melinama's got the Squidoo page for gossipping about personal lives of the actors. I've had to delete a couple of comments and I really hate to do that to anybody. (Just click on the yellow boxes on the orange sidebar.)

Thanks!
 

Burno getting expelled from college doesn't really matter as far as business is concerned. Plenty of people are business savvy without having a college degree.

Burno is not one of them, and the apartment/quicksand incident that Burno was in charge of should be Exhibit A as to why he shouldn't be the president of Lombardo Construction.
 

Jardinera, another magical work from my favorite rep. Even though I didn't comment last week, I read and enjoyed your great recap as well (believe it or not) as every last comment. Caray Caray and your recap and Hombre's recap of un Gancho were the high points of a miserable weekend of flu which hit me in a foreign land (well, OK, Waco), and defeat of my Baylor Bears at the hands of the Texas Longhorns (not unanticipated but painful) Thank goodness, Tamiflu knocked it out fairly rapidly.

I love the actress playing Elena. She has this earthiness and sensuality that comes through loud and clear to masculine receptor sites. She and Raquel, while maybe not the most beautiful of our skanks, certainly get their messages through to the intended recipients.

Carlos
 

I an hoping that our friend Sandy in TN is back with us today, from Georgia, because I would like to discuss her excellent point of yesterday,

"This TN is really going to the dark side with all of these mix and match sexual relationships.... I'm trying to be new age tolerant, but this show is pushing the limit".

What is the point of all this debauched sexuality? I think, Sandy, it may not be new age at all, but rather old age, as in ancient Rome. I keep expecting one of Maura's partys to turn into a full orgy.

Are the writers suggesting (in a rather cartoonish fashion) that the idle rich are parasitic dirt-bags, that the love of money is the root of all evil, that Alex is redeemed by being a working stiff (albeit a CEO) and that for the rich all that lies at the end of the line is to have indiscriminate sex and fiddle while Merida burns?

Maybe Team Mexitrash is intended as a parody? Just a thought...
 

Jardinera, sorry I keep forgetting I can comment on that other page. No need for you to apologize. :)

Carlos, glad you're feeling better and I am LOL at: She and Raquel, while maybe not the most beautiful of our skanks, certainly get their messages through to the intended recipients.

I am certainly not the intended audience because I can't stand either of those women, but at least you men have something to enjoy on the show since Alex is the main thing we ladies see, and nobody seems to find MJ's character too attractive. Let me just say though, despite all of my MJ you're stupid comments, I still like MJ and think she is a great deal more attractive than the rest of the girls. Guess I'd have to be a guy to understand.
 

Elna, that's an interesting thought about the writers' implications...hmmm...Never thought about it all actually serving a function like that, but it sounds like it makes a lot of sense. It's all so allusive...thanks, I feel like I've learned something and that makes me respect the writers,who we're always criticizing, a little bit more.
 

Sorry folks, I'm watching Tues episode and I'm not getting why Chuco doesn't tell anyone what he saw - about the guy getting up. No entiendo.
 

I went back and read The Tuesday and Wednesday recaps. It seems Chucho didn't understand that the two accidents were one. Dios mio, please give that guy a brain.
 

Before, didn't Chucho tell Pedro about seeing a guy get up after being hit by a car...?

I'm confused too, now.
 

OK. Confusion reigns. I REALLY don't get Chucho now. So he NOW doesn't know the two accidents are one, or he did not know before?
I thought he decided not to tell Alex because Paula was alright and did not go to jail.
And he is now a spy for Alex in MJ's house?
Huh?
 

LOL, Elna, I think he didn't know before that the two accidents were one, and somehow he figured it out while talking to Meche...so I guess by the time he found out, he pitied Meche too much.

What I said about him telling Pedro, I guess he didn't know then eithet that it was one accident, and Pedro is just like Chucho se he couldn't put the two together either.
 

Yikes, too many typos. Either* and so* are the corrections.
 

The guy playing Chucho almost always plays a sagacious almost mystically wise peasant in these shows. Not this time around, I guess.

Carlos
 

Anon. 11:30AM - I don't disagree totally. You have a great point but my thoughts were that it shows he's not disciplined enough to carry through with an intended plan. It's one thing to flunk out, another to quit of one's own volition and a then quite another to be expelled with cause. What did he do afterward? Nothing constructive, pardon the pun, with his life. The business with the project on quicksand or whatever it was is another point to strengthen their arguments. He was given the position as V.P. on a pass so to speak and simply because he was a part of the family. We don't really know why he was named Veep otherwise or if that would be pertinent to the plot. Anyway, JMHO. : > )
 

OK, Cielo:

Your kid has a car accident. She supposedly hits and possibly kills a man and then leaves the scene.

The same night, your new best friend witnesses an accident, a miracle, when the man who was hit by a car, gets up and runs away after an accident.

Someone find me a beanie right now.
2 + 2?

Now we know why Pedro failed as an accountant.
 

Elna, haha. It's ridiculous how Pedro can't put the facts together. I want to slap him into reality. Wake up, Pedro! You don't understand anything. THE FACTS ARE RIGHT THERE. How can he not connect the dots? Hmm...was he drunk when Chucho told him? I hope he was because otherwise, he's just a bigger failure than I thought.
 

Carlos: Sorry you're under the weather as opposed to being outside and in it. As for the flu, tsk,tsk! I was forced to take both types of vaccinations (as a person in an out of hospitals attending to the needs of patients in my way) and I hope it was worth the angst I felt, particularly considering the practically non-existent data re: the current H1N1 vaccine. Anyway, at least your eyesight didn't fail you and you could continue your blogging hobbies.

Elena is a tart anyway you slice it, huh? Hubby thought she reminded him of Root. (I had to giggle at that.)
 

I have to get a life. I am thinking about this too much. I can't get over the lack of, as Carlos said, sagacity, displayed by our two darling older dolts.

I have no hope for Chucho as a spy for Alex. If I were to give him a secret agent handle it would be Dos Equis.

All right, I'll go now...
 

Hehe, bye, Elna. I think I'll resume my life as well, though it is extremely hard for me to not read comments for more than 5 minutes. Nonetheless, here goes my attempt to do the load of homework that I need to get done. Have fun talking guys, I'll be reading but not commenting for a change.
 

Elna June: LOL! Dos Equis! I sort of think Chucho will tell Alex everything in his folksy way. He's a great character and the actor makes you totally forget the sophisticated characters he's played before.
 

Thanks Jardinera for responding to Anon 11:30 i was going to post almost what you said but i am having connections problems.

Let me add this on does everyone remember when Bruno, Ale, MJ and Vicki and Ferdumbo where at the dining room table.

Alex had told Bruno to take Ferdumbo along with him next he wanted to scout land to build on. Bruno took exception to this suggestion.

His response so what if they or cannot build on the land. I can always bribe the officials if i need to. Alex's response that is not how my father built this business. He built it on honesty and integrity.

Bruno hearing Antonio name got angry and left the table. Vicki just gave Bruno a look and ignored the comment.

This is why Bruno is not in charge of the company. Not because he got expelled from college. He is not competent nor qualified to run a big corporation like Lombardo Constructions correctly.

Chucho did tell Pedro about the guy he saw lying in the street. When he got up and ran away when Chucho asked him if he was alright.

The next morning when he told Pedro about what he saw, it started a discussion between the two about ghosts.

Chucho did not put two and two together, that it was connected to Paula until he had talked to Meche at the hospital.

When Meche had told him that Gabriel said he was hit but did not see the driver. When Pedro told hom Paula is on probation that's when he decided to be quiet about it.
 

Carlos i am so happy you guys are satisfied with the your eye candy.
 

Thanks, Jardinera, for your excellent, as always , recap. OH NOES you din't , Al !!! You are a big disappointment to me. I thought that you were sooo ooo ooo in luvvve with MJ...AND , you just found out that she is expecting your bebe, and there you are at a par-tay kissing that rich, vapid tart Maura. Not nice. The look of glee on Burno's face was dreadful. I was waiting for him to whip out his cellphone and take a picture of that kiss to taunt poor MJ with.
 

"Are the writers suggesting (in a rather cartoonish fashion) that the idle rich are parasitic dirt-bags....
Maybe Team Mexitrash is intended as a parody? "

Spot on!
I think they are more a caricature of the idle rich, with the moral lesson to viewerville in Mexico being that hard work and living an honest life (such as their own) will make you happier and a better person than the dolts of Team Mexitrash. Really,,, who would want to be one of them? Can you imagine any of them donating money, or even picking up a hammer, for Habitat for Humanity?
 

Susanlynn: Why do these galans find it so easy to forget the mujer of their life and start smoochin' the pretty babes without a second thought as soon as they think they've been had? You'd think it would take more than 24 hrs. to mourn the loss, now wouldn't you?
 

elna june sonoma said Your kid has a car accident. She supposedly hits and possibly kills a man and then leaves the scene.
The same night, your new best friend witnesses an accident, a miracle, when the man who was hit by a car, gets up and runs away after an accident.
Someone find me a beanie right now.
2 + 2?


I think at this point it's an established fact that nobody on this show can add at all. MJ probably isn't three months pregnant, but three weeks. Or maybe 87. (They're so close, it can be hard to tell.)


Incog
 

Incog said, MJ probably isn't three months pregnant, but three weeks. Or maybe 87. (They're so close, it can be hard to tell.)

LOL! Hahaha. :-)
 

Thanks as always Jardinera for keeping me updated. I always enjoy the weekend recaps.

I haven't been following Sortilegio as I always leave my travelling to November/December. We have a lot of holidays in November and the auto companies shut for a week around Christmas. I've been in NY - now off to Cancun for Thanksgiving and then Berlin, Prague etc in December.

Heavens only knows why I'm going to Cancun! I see there was nothing there till the sixties! But fortunately there are a lot of Maya architectural sites nearby so I'll camp out there. I had melanoma so the sun is a no-no for me and I've discovered I've become allergic to alcohol so hanging around the pool and drinking all day is no longer possible.

Thanks to all for the weekend entertainment.

Lynne
 

A man is a man is a man, "If I'm not near the girl I love, I love the girl I'm near".

Hombre, Carlos, care to jump in here, I'm sticking up for you guys, sort of.

Alex threw MJ out because he thought
she was a liar, cheater but he loves her anyway. But he is still a red blooded male & I don't think Maura is too hard to take in THAT department.

Can anyone say what Chucho means when he says aflojese los apreturas
which he says all the time
Aflojese=loosen
apreturas=to be in a fix
maybe loosen up or look on the bright side, things will get better. I don't think it's a modismo, I think it's a Chuchoism, like when he says carnicas.
 

Variopinta asked Can anyone say what Chucho means when he says aflojese los apreturas
which he says all the time


Basically he's saying "Go ahead, loosen up and tell me all about it." (Alternatively, "Go on, get it off your chest.")

Since he's always saying it, I guess he's so loose himself, that's why it took him so long to figure out the guy he saw get up and run away after being hit by a car wasn't a ghost.


Incog
 

Jardinera~~~Right on. I think these novelas are supposed to make us appreciate the flesh and blood hombres in our own lives. I value loyalty and faithfulness , and these galans often seem to have feet of clay as soon as they think their one-true-loves have cuckolded them . [I've never forgiven Manuel for taking up with his barracuda of a housekeeper Antonia after he threw Matilde out after falsely accusing her of being pregnant by AdolfoSolis in Amor Real. After that and his rough handling of Matilde, her tia, and his own mamacita, , I could never see him as a hero. [Word identification : ''carla'' ...heh !!!]
 

Variopinta,

A man is a man is a man, "If I'm not near the girl I love, I love the girl I'm near."

Hombre, Carlos, care to jump in here, I'm sticking up for you guys, sort of.

I've been married for 39 yrs. By and large it suits me. Especially since the Lovely Linda has over the years made herself more or less indispensable. So thanks, but no thanks.

Carlos
 

Carlos: Don't worry! We won't tell la mujer de tu vida about Root, Elena, Denia, Raquel....
 

Lynne: Enjoy your travels!
 

Thanks for the recap, Jardinera. I especially appreciate your explanation of Elena's various husbands, which had me a bit baffled.

Variopinta, apreturas can mean conflicts, so you (and Incog) are right, it just means loosen up, loosen your tie, etc.

As for what I think (as a man) about Alex kissing Maura, I missed the end of the episode, so I didn't see it, but from the description, maybe he's just slow on the uptake, and at the start of tomorrow's episode, he'll push her away. If not, I'd say he's not representing males fairly. If he didn't know MJ were pregnant, I'd feel differently, but he does. And he says he's not going to give up on her.

He's really very impulsive, getting into physical fights all the time, changing back and forth as to whether he believes MJ. He seemed more rational at the start of the novela. But he is apparently fairly young, and maybe this is normal for a guy in his twenties. Come to think about it, maybe neither he NOR Bruno should be head of this huge company. Maybe they should turn it into a stock corporation and hire a competent management team (just kidding, what fun would THAT be?) :)
 

Jardinera, hmmm, this stuff is all confidential...isn't it? No problem, Linda has an entire room devoted to Elvis. I can get away with dreams, it's real life that gets dicey, so once again...pass.

Carlos
 

Carlos ~~ Linda is a girl after my own heart...an Elvis fan. My sister who is 8 years older than I am introduced me to him , and I, in turn, introduced him to my daughter and her friend when they were teens. We used to have Elvis movie marathons . [My fav is Blue Hawaii. I could watch it over and over.] Hub's attitude seems to mirror yours. I've seen mujers flirt with him , but ...he knows me and my zero tolerance attitude. Enough said. Al is dead to me after that kiss...Hub could expect more of the same . It makes things...simple.
 

Elna June......“I think.... it may not be new age at all, but rather old age, as in ancient Rome. I keep expecting one of Maura's partys to turn into a full orgy,” I hadn’t thought of it that way, but you make a good point. Yes, your comparison of Rome/Sorti-Merida ( I doubt the people on Sorti really represent Merida!)makes me think of the expression, “Everything old is new again.”

Elna June....“Are the writers suggesting (in a rather cartoonish fashion) that the idle rich are parasitic dirt-bags, that the love of money is the root of all evil, that Alex is redeemed by being a working stiff (albeit a CEO) and that for the rich all that lies at the end of the line is to have indiscriminate sex and fiddle while Merida burns?” Another good point, there is a definite and strong suggestion from the Sorti writers that hard work is important. I loved that wonderful smile MJ gave Paula when they completed their sale in the shop, it was heart warming. I would stress the word “idle” rich because I imagine acquiring the fortune in the first place requires a lot of work, little idleness. Also, the writers are being fair about it, it looks like poor ole Pedro has some funky skeletons in his closet as well, and he is as poor as a church mouse.

susanlynn...I agree on you comment regarding our husbands, after watching novelas and Mad Men, I’m never going to say anything about socks or other stuff on the floor ever again!

I have a general question for anyone and everyone, when is one too old to show BIG cleavage? There has to be some cut off point for that, don’t you think?
 

Sandy, I think it's a bit tasteless to show off cleavage at the viewing at the funeral home (of the deceased that is, especially of the more senior variety). Otherwise, if you've got it, well you know...

Carlos
 

Hi everyone. Finally checking in. Great recap Jardinera. I didn't get the Elena/Useless part at all. You really explained it for me. How confusing. What the heck is up with Bobo? I didn't expect that at all. And I was just starting to kind of like him. Alex, Alex, Alex. You should have never gone to the party. Our HIT Katia and Bruno hooking up...like that was not expected. I see trouble brewing. Haven't gotten to finish all the comments yet. Will check back later.
 

Carlos ~ HAH....I'll have to insert a codicil in my will to that effect.
 

Sandy~~Yes, that Don Draper is a mega-cad, verdad ???? Hmmm... Is Mad Men on tonight ? I love that show, but the characters are just plain scary.
 

Carlos,

Glad you're back from the "foreign" land and feeling better...never thought I'd say this but, what I'd give to have Gardenia back. She was a blessed saint compared to the "skanks" on this show. At the time, you were seeing things more clearly that I was!
 

Carlos and Sandy:

"Otherwise, if you've got it, well you know..."

Well, I AM relieved! I can whip out my bustier to wear on Thanksgiving after all. My 30-somthing year-old children shouldn't mind, now should they?

ROTFL
 

Susanlynn,

OT: On Mad Men, yes, they started on the "dark side" and have stayed there. My husband and I watch the show together and he read somewhere that there are a million bloggers who comment on the show..
 

Elna June,

Wear your bustier with a really short skirt and cowboy boots sorta like Taylor Swift...your children will love it!!
 

You all have me ROTFLOL! I'm glad Carlos approves of us who have a bit of the bloom off our rose petals going décolleté. I'll remember that the next time I venture to Vegas. Has Victoria worn any low cut necklines at all in this novela?
=========
Hombre: Glad you're here to second the opinion of all those of us who are ready to crash Maura's party and toss a bucket of cold water on Alex.
 

I'm cracking up at all your comments, and thanks for the detailed recap Jardinera, esp. the rundown of Elena's marriages, that was hard to follow!

I don't know if it's just me, mabye you have all discussed this already but I can't hear the dialogue half the time on this show, the sound is so bad, so much background noise, it makes me wish for the days of that stupid bubbling fountain on FELS!

I'm also very dissapoinpointed with Roberto, yuck, I actually liked this guy, to me he was a kind of useless opportunist but with something of a heart, who might reform and help the good characters eventually. Now I don't know.

My take on the ambisexual sluttiness of these characters is that yes they are there to schock and entertain but also to reinforce the morality tale: idle rich=bad, humble hardworking poor= good just like every other Telenovela. (maybe this goes back to the Mexican revolution??)

We have had plenty of gay characters, mostly conforming to tired out negative stereotypes, like mincing effeminate fashionistas(looks like there's one on Gancho..I'm not watching) but some who haven't, which is to the writers' credit. These guys don't even identify as gay, but maybe bring to light the grey area where a lot of assorted hustlers, opportunists and just plain old closet cases reside.

At first I liked the idea of these attractive "normal" acting guys being shown in a relationship with each other, but my idealism can't cloud the facts, these characters are meant to be scum.

I guess I'm not going to get a redeemed Roberto coming out of the closet, becoming an honest man, getting a job and settling down with a nice working class dude. Now that **would** be a scandal!

Randy Sea.
 

Wow, I just caught up on a whole weeks episodes, and the thing I'm most glad about is that I fell asleep for the last 10 minutes of this episode. I so do not want to see Maura kissing Alex. Ugh...
Thanks for the great recaps everyone!
 

Randy Sea, I always enjoy your clever input and insights, but for crikey's sake would you lay off of Lalo (la Quita to be exact), he's one of the sweetest most guileless most colorful characters on our delightful little show. Stereotype? To be sure. But in this epic of mirth, the only non-stereotypical normal character is also the most boring...Tano, you know who you are. So either watch with us awhile or back off our guys.

Respectfully,

Carlos
 

Thanks for the recap Jardinera. Your title captured the sleaze factor of this episode.

I appreciate your explanation of what Elena and Useless were discussing. I too shuddered when she said she felt nothing for her family. And it seemed she was being overly flirtatious with Useless in ways that implied intimacy tome.

I was really disappointed with Bobo. Where the heck did that come from? And the belt when he was attacking his wife? ITA with Sandy, we've taken this dark turn I guess for shock value but really for me its TMI (too much information).

ITA with Hombre that Alex will have an epiphany that Maura kissing is wrong after a 10-20 sec lip lock. It seems galans typically have this problem with the hot-to-trot hussies that are after them. These men typically "realize" the wrong woman is kissing them after they've been playing tonsil hockey for good while. Somehow the protagonistas usually don't have this problem and repel unwanted kisses from even occurring.
 

Carlos, you're right, where would they get any characters for these shows if there were no stereotypes or caricatures?

And I have to admit that I only saw a moment of your show and the sound wasn't even on as I was sighing and rolling my eyes, point taken, okay, backing off ;)


Randy Sea.
 

RandySea: Hi there! Missed you for a while I think. Glad to have your input although we may come from differing points of view. Uli is scum no matter who he ends up with. Bobo is scum to me now because he actually did rape his wife and was so cool about it once he was back with Uli. These guys are a couple of opportunistic creeps and are definitely made for each other IMNSHO. FELS had a good couple and the humor was due to natural misunderstandings rather than by using an effeminate like La Fea did. This novela I believe simply gives us a third type of "combo" is all. I appreciate its presentation because it has avoided showing us the lurid parts of their relationship that the majority of us would simply rather not see. We can imagine it and that's generally enough to get the idea across.
===========
Karen: TMI, yep! This one has definitely been pushing the envelope. The cringe factor is high with this one and had me wondering if I could watch it, let alone recap it. I hope Carla knows when it's time to pull back a bit.
============
Carebear: 5 episodio marathons are the worst. Glad you managed to survive it. : > )
 

Randy Sea, un Gancho al Corazón is a romp. It would make Moliere proud. Come watch and join our little study group. I guarantee that you won't be disappointed. Since I'm recapping tomorrows show I had a preview this afternoon. My chest is still recovering from the laughter.

Carlos
 

Hi, Randysea. I've missed you and hope that you'll join us in this novela and keep commenting. I agree that the novelas use lots of stereotypes. I had high hopes that Roberto o o was going to turn out to be a good guy despite his sloth , but that attack on Raq really shocked me. Bleccchhhh. I have no idea where this character is headed now. He seems to be part and parcel of the Mexitrash tribe now. Que lastima.
 

Jardinera, most excellent recap, amiga! I was so darned busy this weekend, it took me a while to get to it, which made me most unhappy. But I knew it would be there waiting, and you did not fail to disappoint. My most humble thanks for being so thorough, I knew exactly where to fastforward without missing a beat. 90210 indeed, LOL

...but as for the presidency, he will give it up only if it avoids her having to go to court and air her dirty laundry in public. Uh, Al, have you lost your ever-loving mind? You would rather your precious madre be sitting on a curb penniless and begging for food, rather than a little humiliated but well-fed? Dude. Get a grip! That's just stupid.

Okay, just what the hell was that, Raquel?? I was actually horrified for you when it started, but then, in true Raquel fashion, you turned that around real quick, didn't cha? Rape + Smackdown = Stupendous? Pardon me while I blow a few chunks this morning.

OMG, Alex--stop calling MJ. Stop it! Don't be such a glutton for punishment. I know that's pretty much what you've been conditioned to do your whole life--let people kick you when you're down, but for the love of Evita... You have enough problems right now. No one wants to give you any credit for still caring about MJ anyway, sheesh... *fastforward*

Nando reminds him [Al] not to forget that he threw her [MJ] out of the house. You could at least end that statement with on MY advice, right, Fernono? Man, every time you say something like this, I want to stick you in your jaw.

Vicky and Hernan... *fastforward* MJ and Paula... *ugh, definitely fastforward*

So, why did our hero start out so darned smart, only to now sort of semi-disintigrate into this pit of dumbassitude concerning El Bruno, El Vicky, and El MJ? Like he just can't add 1 + 2? Just look to those monkeys banging on keyboards--er, I mean scriptwriters. They need filler, they need to stretch the story, so what do they do? Hit Alex with a stupid stick, thus his revelations come slower. Great.

Cripes, can Elena's history be any more convoluted?? Seriously. Why does there have to be a hubby #3 at all? Why can't hubby #2 still be the current one? (Talk about some great drama that would create between him and Pedro!) And did I read this right--only three years separate MJ and Paula? MJ was only three years old when Elena and Sandra left, which means Paula was just out of the womb or something? Is that the kind of mama b!tch we're dealing with here? Elena laughs and says Pedro’s not such an old man. LMAO! Just 'cause there's snow on the mountain top doesn't mean there ain't a fire in the furnace. LOL!

Geez, MJ, is there anyone you don't lie to? And anything you don't lie about? You are our heroine, and heroines have to lie sometimes, but good gawd, you lie like you breathe. That's what effed you up all these months in the first place!

Team Mexitrash and HIT... *fastforward*

Raq and Oil Slick... *OMG fastforward*

Vicky and Felipe... *FASTFORWARD!*

Alex calls MJ uh-gain... *MUTE, take my time paying my water bill (potty break)*

Alex says she [HIT] can work with Mari. Noooooooooo! Hell no! *deep depression*

Now where did I put that Zoloft...
 

Ahhhhh! Party at the Barbie Dream House! A chance for A-rod to get out of the Casa de Locos and quit his moping. It didn't bother me one bit to see RaMaura liplock with him. Why? Because for one thing, that's about all it amounts to and that's about as far as it will go. Heck, it was good to see the man smiling for once. Even if they were to go as far as to become lovers again, he'll never love or marry her because she's not MJ, she's just a trifling tramp. And for another thing, if Joan of Arc, in her saintliness, declares she no longer wants him, will no longer speak to him, and damn sure won't forgive him ev-vah, then Al can be with whoever the heck he wants. He doesn't have to wait on a woman who has made it quite clear she won't come back to him even if he were to come to get her. I mean, honestly! He needs to see their baby safe and cared for, but that's as far as that goes without MJ releasing the stranglehold on some of her sainthood. Forgiveness goes both ways.

Oh my--looks like Monday we're in for a drive-by stabbing. Not good! Oh, man, not good at all.

Well, time to settle in and read the ton of comments from over the weekend. Morning, mates. :)
 

First Queen Victoria, and now Papi Pedro. Why don't any of these people tell their kids the truth about their other parent? Is something in the water down there?

It's pretty disgusting when you think about it.
 

Good morning everyone. I looked ahead to Thursday and there is no show. Do we want to have another general discussion or just forget it because we will all be in a L-tryptophan stupor from turkey day?
 

Connie: I like the idea of a comment spot for Thursday for those of us junkies suffering WL withdrawal along with the food OD and football blahs.
: > )
===========
Steph: "They need filler, they need to stretch the story, so what do they do? Hit Alex with a stupid stick, thus his revelations come slower." Yep, and I know you've got a point about Alex and his new-found freedom to use Mau as his sexual ego massage, but you'd think if MJ were the love of his life that it would feel like a death in the family. Mourning the death of a loved one should last at least a little longer than a case of the flu. LOL!
 

Any suggestions for questions to ponder for Thursday along with our general discussion?
 

Stephe- Who did MJ lie to in this episode? She hasn't told her papa she's pregnant, true, but everyone in town will know soon enough. And it was Paula who made up the lie about the abusive husband- which is way easier to explain than all the craziness they've experience the last 4 months in the Casa de Locos. I also don't think she said she would never forgive Alex, did she? She just reminded him who broke up with whom, and good for her. I would have hung up on his butt too. Even as cute as he is. :)

-Vivi in DC
 

Yes... the collar of that blouse Elena was wearing, and the way it seemed to juggle her cleavage, looked most unfortunate.

Hey, Sandy in TN, you were in my neck of the woods this past weekend! :) (sort of)

Ohhhhh. I am so not wanting to see MJ get knifed. It's going to be horrible. I may be hard on her, but I do care for her and no matter what, the woman doesn't deserve that.

Elna June said: Are the writers suggesting (in a rather cartoonish fashion) that the idle rich are parasitic dirt-bags...and fiddle while Merida burns? Like others have said, that is really interesting to think about! Well said. And btw, you wear that bustier and wear it proudly! I do. Ha.

It's nice to see some commenters I have not seen in a while. Glad y'all chimed in.
 

I noticed Elena's weird shirt/cleavage situation too. What was up with that?
 

...L-tryptophan stupor from turkey day? LMAO Connie you are killing me! I'm all for whatever you and everyone else want to do on Thursday.

Point taken, Jardinera. LOL! But you have to admit, whenever MJ pushes Alex away, he always reacts badly because he's so in love with the woman. He ain't thinking straight, he's got no love, he's feeling like he's right back where he was before he met her. Just all alone. Pobrecito.

That's who I was talking about this episode, Vivi. The lying to Pedro (because she doesn't trust him not to tell Alex about the baby, I'm sure). And Paula told Bernie the drunk husband lie, but MJ didn't seem to mind. Why not "things just didn't work out between me and my husband" and leave it at that. Geez. I don't recall which episode, but she said she never wanted to see him again and she's making good on that. She wants to forget he exists and just be a single mom. I'm going by her actions and deeds, and I tell you, if I wasn't sure those two knuckleheads were going to get together happily by the end of this thing, I would be all for cracking some heads. Know what I mean? LOL! Oh well, all we can do is wait, I guess.
 

Cleavage: I just hope Elena's family doesn't bury her in that dress, I agree with Carlos, that would be a tough sight to see.

Why is MJ the only one who is being held responsible for her "lies", this is the most lying bunch of people that I have ever seen. I hope the Town Fathers of Merida weren't rocked to their zapatos when they saw the show. Melrose Place, Peyton Place and Beverly Hills 90210 combined ain't nothing compared to this!!

Alex, you're a GALAN and there is some responsibility that comes with that, no kissing rameras!
 

LOL at Sandy's cleavage comment!

I will say that, to MJ's credit, all of her lies were to protect people.
 

Stephe, yes, I'm from Douglasville and at 18 moved to big time Atlanta, hence my understanding of MJ's plight!! By the way, thanks for all your clever lists, rants and comments in general, most of which agree with!

Stephe: "I will say that, to MJ's credit, all of her lies were to protect people." If bad guys come to our doors and ask, "where is the rest of your family?", we're not obliged to be truthful and say, "they're under the floor boards in the barn!!" ...we're allowed to lie in some situations and I'm giving MJ the benefit of the doubt because of the"family protection" that you describe. In her case it's a slippery slope though!
 

Same here, Sandy. You keep those great comments and insights coming, you hear? :)

Well, I'm off for coffee and writing. Laters!
 

"I hope the Town Fathers of Merida weren't rocked to their zapatos when they saw the show." Lol Sandy! :) They're not making Merida look like the place to come visit, are they? Unless you like debauchery.

I'm really not bothered by Useless and Bobo being bi-sexual. What I am bothered by is the fact that they are on the down-low and not honest with their female partners about swinging both ways. And that rape/rough sex scene was so crazy and out of nowhere, that I didn't know what to think! I felt like the writers were trying to tell us something about these two people and their relationship, but I couldn't figure out what the heck that is. Maybe that they both need to be put in mental asylum. I like the comparison to the elite of ancient Rome.

-Vivi in DC
 

Although it's stupid that they broke up in the first place, I'm actually quite proud of MJ for sticking to her guns and not being wishy washy about it like Alex is being. I mean, he threw her out of his house, called her a scam artist and basically called her a whore (implying that her falling in love with him and making love to him was all part of an act), told her he was glad she was not having a child of his, and said he never wanted to see her again. She was just throwing his own words back at him when she told him she never wanted to see him again at the police station the next day when he was making puppy dog eyes at her (I mean, the man can't even stay committed to the concept of a break-up for an entire day!).

Then he has the nerve to call her in the middle of the night, not to apologize or try to work things out, but to vent about the horrible day HE has had. Excuse me, but I wouldn't want to be anybody's emotional booty call either. Sure, she has her moments of sadness (because she does love the guy), but life goes on. Got to get a job, makes some plans for the future and being a single mom, etc. For all the criticism of MJ not having a backbone, I think she's showing plenty here.

This is not to excuse all the errors committed (on both sides) that got them to this point. But I think MJ is handling the break-up way better than Alex.

-Vivi in DC
 

Vivi: I completely agree with your last comment, and will add mine, Alex intimated to his "friend" Fernando that he's not sure that the baby is his! That is a great way for Baby Alex to enter the world.

I wish MJ had been able to see that Alex, in his way, was looking out for her, but given the set of circumstances she faced, she did what any STRONG mujer should do, get on the dern bus and head for Saqui.

Mis dos centavos anyway...now I'm gone for the day!!!
 

Connie: I like the idea of a comment spot for Thursday for those of us junkies suffering WL withdrawal along with the food OD and football blahs.

ITA! :)

Stephe: Nando reminds him [Al] not to forget that he threw her [MJ] out of the house. You could at least end that statement with on MY advice, right, Fernono? Man, every time you say something like this, I want to stick you in your jaw.

Firstly, welcome here, Stephe. :) Secondly, Fernando is a dimwit and a headache. He's completely unaware that he HELLA instigated against MJ! Now he's like, Alex you're miserable and it's all your fault. I'd hate to have him as my BFF. It's hard for me to give him any credit for standing up for MJ now. It's too late.
 

You guys are killing me, Stephe always lol at your comments. Cielo de Levy, Fernono does not know when to keep his big fat trap shut at all.

As for MJ yes we can give her credit for not being wishy, washy with her decision to stay separated from Alex.

Like someone said maybe MJ is like this because she thinks she never deserved Alex. The other part is in the back of her mind it's possible she believes Alex was still using her to get back at Bruno. Include also what he said to her when he threw her out of his house. I don't blame her.

Alex is still unsure what to believe but regrets what he said and did to MJ.The poor boy does love MJ and has fallen hard for her. Doesn't help he really has no one and let's stress no one to turn to. He needs someone to guide him and help him see that a lot of lies are being told to him.

Some by MJ most by Bruno and team Mexitrash. Stephe was right about Fernono's advice and insidious suggestions about MJ. I think one of the reasons Alex keeps pushing Fernono toward his step mom is to keep them both out of his business.
 

Nicely put Anon...ITA. Pobrecito Alejandro doesn't really know what to do at this point. There's too much to worry about and the problems keep on increasing.

MJ, okay yeah she thinks she didn't deserve Alex, he was using her, etc. What bothers me about her though is that she doesn't acknowledge her mistake of lying to him. He over-reacted, yes, but she gave him a reason to react...sigh...can't wait to see them together again...I'm stressing over the stabbing already. LOL I'm going to have to spend a good five minutes counting all the white hairs this is giving me.
 

Cielo de Levy that's what upsets me about MJ is she's in denial about her part in the break up. Maybe she was exposed to too much Vicki that's why she's in denial about her lies.

I do know it takes two to ruin a relationship. So both are to blame.
 

LOL, Victoria, Victoria...I don't think I need to or want to add anything about her...ITA, both are at fault.
 

So many weeks to thank you Recappers for and Commenters too. I'm keeping up with you but so busy here.
Excuse my jumping around responses.

Vickie IMO, is enjoying the adoration of a young man. That's all. And he is a little too fervent about Alec's fatherhood so I think he will get his feet on the ground before he asks Bruno for his mother's hand. If the telenovela rule requires one man to every woman, how about that nice secretary of his.
Some weeks ago we(?) discussed the sex and love manly view being 'its two different things'. So I guess Alec is living his world view and will eventually deliver the famous line, all together now, 'I NEVER LOVED HER'.
Bruto was not the only one enjoying the fall of Alec. Did you catch the blurred character Roberto watching in the background?! He has always been creapy because of the way he looked at Paula. Don't go in to the woods with that guy.
Carlos, cleavage and funeral viewing? Maybe it simply serves to celebrate life, i.e. I ain't dead?

BTW, I caught a chef cooking Mexican street food and he was finishing up preparing Canicas!
 

This comment has been removed by the author.
 

What are Canicas? I think we talked about it before but I just can't remember.
 

The literal translation of carnicas turned out to be marbles. So I personally took it to be like the saying 'easy as child's play'. I can't remember either how the blog translated that.
 

I have been enjoying the artwork and appreciating the opportunity to see a country I probably not see in person. Bring it on Carla and Crew! And that painting of three children that Vicky bought for the upstairs wall!? LOVE THAT with the crying baby boy on the right and the oblivious baby girl on the left, with a boy in the center smiling.
Thinking on crying baby boys...I doubt Victoria truly ever protected Alec from Bruno. Holding a hurt child and applying bandaids or dentist trips to replace a tooth does not equate to protecting. And we've all seen how Vicky chooses to ignore bruses he caused a woman. It has little or nothing to do with Bruno never wanting to share her with other people. Yep, he is a psycopath. But she is not gulilty of that. I find her guilty of not protecting people from her misfit child.
 

Bonney- I like that painting as well, and now that you describe it, it sounds like Vicky's three children- happy boy, crying boy, indifferent girl. Hmmm... Are we being sent some sort of message through the art in the house?

-Vivi in DC
 

Bonney, you're right:

he[bruno] is a psycopath. But she is not gulilty of that. I find her guilty of not protecting people from her misfit child.

I don't blame Vicki for Bruno's actions either. I do blame her for not protecting Alex enough from Bruno's actions, which maybe made it easier for Bruno to hurt Alex.

You guys are good. I didn't even notice the paintings. :)
 

Oh-oh-oh, I just remembered some other channel surfing trivia. I think it was a weekend Mexican arts show that was paying tribute to a Mexican artist. His work with some city planners was to take a hill side neighborhood of poor citizens and revitalize the houses. He painted the houses -yep skittle colors just like his OIL PAINTINGS! And the results looked oh so just like the inside of the Lombardo's.
Well I just happen to love color, the more the merrier. But it turns out the poor people in that city on the hillside now take great pride in their neighborhood and love it! It was reported that they now take trouble to keep their surroundings clean. I'm sorry I can't give you the artist's name. ...but I just bet Carla knows it.
 

Alex if you give up the presidency for this heifer your intelligence will be considered lower than Team Mexitrash, Vicki and Fernono combined.

Vicki,Vicki what can i say about you that i already haven't covered.

It's time for you to suck it up or Woman up and take your medicine like the rest of us big girls.

From the the beginning it has always been about you. You have selfishly used Samuel, Antonio, Hernan, Fernono and Alex.

Hiding behind all of these men seeking their approval of your wrong actions and their protection.

Using each and everyone of them because you don't want to take responsibility for what you did. Wanting each one of them to absolve you of your shame.

As a result you have sacrificed your children upbringing because of the guilt you carry.

Would Bruno still have been bad if you tried to discipline him? Probably but Vicki you never tried.

Would the twins have been self centered and self involved like they are now if you had laid down some ground rules and most importantly told them of their true parentage when they were young. Who knows.

I do know you have but your self worth and image before your children. Even before your great love for Antonio.

Yes Bruno is responsible for his actions but you are an accomplice because you saw with your very own eyes how he was as a child.

You have thrown poor Alex and his childhood under the bus, and now the poor guy has a shot at being happy with MJ you want him to suffer because you refuse to deal with the reality your precious son Bruno is a psychopath.

All because you would hate to hear people calling you a Ramera. A wife who cheated on her husband with a married man and got pregnant too.

Vicki you're not the first woman this has happen to. You most certainly won't be the last.

GROW THE HELL UP. And face the music. Most importantly stop being selfish.
 

Bonney churros--good to "see" you!
:)
 

Hi Susanlynn,
I have been watching but only seem to have time to comment on the weekend. (Sun. and Mon. for me) Being on the west coast and not being able to read or comment at during the work day makes it hard.

I do appreciate the recaps for the days I miss though!
---------
you go! Anon.
You really let Vicki have it above, and I think your're right.

I have another one for her:

Vicki you have a bad wig!

There I feel better.
 

I am still sitting here stunned by Raquel's reaction to her partial beatdown/sexual assault. Don't get me wrong--Bobo totally hit me out of left field and is in the gutter now as far as I'm concerned, but damn... "That's how I wanted you!" she exclaims. "Estupendo!" she glows. Am I the only one even more disgusted by her behavior than by his? Seriously?

I congratulate MJ for being much stronger than a lot of novela heroines I've known. It's been refreshing to see a woman so at a disadvantage stand up to even the villain. ALL the time! And she has every right to get on with the business of living, to start over after being dumped on her own. But I honestly don't know what people want out of Alex. I can't figure it out. If he tries to make amends for his stupid mistakes and show any caring for MJ, it's you deserve to be ignored, brushed off, told off. If he goes the opposite way and leaves her alone, it's how could you? Heroine dumps on galan: okay. Galan dumps on heroine: no way!

It's always been that way in fictional romance all around the world, I think. Different rules for each side, who can get away with what and who can't, even in books, in many cultures. Strange, but interesting.

I guess I'm just an odd bird. I don't just want Alex to fight for MJ. I want MJ to "fight" for him, too. When RaMaura kissed Al (and make no mistake, SHE kissed HIM and he stood there and took it with his needy self), that's what lit a fire under me--I wanted MJ to find out about it, get pissed, and come and tell that tramp "you are NOT getting my husband, you hear me?" Al would practically melt at her feet if she did that. But unfortunately, that wouldn't happen--MJ would just use the incident to withdraw from Al even more, to my and Paula's dismay.

One-sided stuff and only the galan chasing the heroine doesn't do it for me in the romance department. I keep hoping for a more satisfactory novela in that respect. Does anyone have any suggestions for a good novela where the heroine fought for the galan as well? I'd really like to check it out...
 

Stephe, I was shocked by Raquel's reaction too. WTH was that?!

I want MJ to try to make the relationship work as well. She's just giving up on it completely. Really girl, you're gonna let go of that guy? He's hot, smart, sweet (yeah he has moments of anger), and loving. I won't include rich since it bothers her...sigh...
 

Raque's reaction - that's why I thought maybe that was just their way of playing. But pretty shocking to see Bobo act like that. Thanks Jardinera for the suggestion on the closed captions. I tried but it still won't work, so I may have to just keep improving my espanol enough to understand more. Thanks to you all I can get what I missed. I love all the comments, great stuff!
 

Stephe you're right MJ is like oh well i was married to a rich handsome guy who would have given me the moon. Now we're separated back to my usual life of taking care of my family.

It's like she wasn't all into as Alex was or gave all of herself in the relationship. So maybe that's why it seems she not as broken up about their breakup as Alex.

I agree Maura did kiss Alex and he wasn't into as much as she was. I so wanted to see him say no thanks I'm good.

Raquel is just one sick heifer, i don't care how long you have been without sex. No woman in her right mind would get her jollies off being treated like that.

I would love to see a heroine fight and chase after her man instead of always the guy doing the chasing for a change.
 

The Raquel/Roberto scenes were very troubling, Roberto actually hit her with his belt... Carla Estrada is most likely pleased as punch with any buzz the scenes may have created, but I think that whole episode ignores the real life beatings that many women have survived.I'm sure sex offender defense lawyers loved the under currents. Add in the Uli-Roberto- Raquel stuff, Sorti is giving trashy US movies a run for their money.
 

We had two girls on the good side chasing after our galan in MEPS- Gardenia and Erika. It wasn't a pretty sight. Maybe girls chasing after guys just look pathetic and that's why they don't do it in novelas. I'm just happy we don't have a girl crying her eyes out every minute over a man, which is the the usual with novelas.
 

Ivy, my closed captions wouldn't work for a long time, no matter what I did. Couldn't figure it. Then one day, boom. They worked.

I still don't know what happened, and I keep in mind that any day they could disappear again (it HAD to do with my station affiliate, I mean what other explanation is there?). I feel your pain. :(
 

When Roberto hit Raquel with that belt, I flinched and couldn't believe it. Both characters have left a really bad taste in my mouth with that whole scene. Novelas are fiction, but victimization has been totally glorified.
:(
 

Anon Mon.4:27, you said a mouthful! And I totally agree with all you said!!! I'm starting to think that Felipa is acting as a facilitator too as she keeps encouraging Vicky to 'go-ahead fall in luv with a boy again cause you don't need to be adult about love choices.
And isn't this egg-actly how she got to this point alREADY!
Now Vicky is becoming so whiney, like a little teenager - to be nearer to her boyfriend's age - and I've had enough of her. As Stephe said, WOMAN UP!
 

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