Caray, Caray!

Have you noticed that Hasta que el dinero is a role-reversal novela? It takes all the usual novela characters and swaps their genders.
* The rich, spoiled, undisciplined, irresponsible, inconsiderate one is a woman.
* The rich one’s evil, conniving, secretly-low-class gold-digger love interest is a man.
* The Sweet Young Thing (SYT), from low-class origins but with a heart of gold and a strong work ethic, is a man.
* SYT’s love interest is honorable and nice, but a definite second-stringer. Comparable to Santiago in Pasión, Adolfo in Amor Real, or Patricio in Tontas.
* SYT is dazzled by Rich One from their first encounter onward, and doesn’t even notice how sangrón she is. Neither does her wealth matter in his attraction to her.
* Rich One starts with a very low opinion of SYT. With Rich One's shallow values system, she doesn't see SYT's good heart.

On with the show.

Papa Jorge wants to bail out the almost-newlyweds by selling the house, but they say he mustn’t do that. Isn’t that sweet of them? Especially considering that Ale already gave the deed (escritura) to the bank as collateral for her overnight loan, a loan which is now more than a week old. Ale swears that she will not give Rafael any rest until he pays.

In her room, tucked in for the night, Ale asks Marco, essentially, “Do you still love me?” She lists all the things she’s lost in the past week – her looks, her wealth, her health. She’s feeling low, but he consoles her, his love is true and he will be by her side forever. Reassured, now she can rest. Marco slips out and takes a call from the same shyster he’s spoken to before, and I still can’t figure out what their game is. Maybe it hasn’t been revealed yet.

Rafael is home, explaining to Mama Leonor that the reason no one has hired him is because he doesn’t wear elegant clothes. He believes the rejections have nothing to do with his lack of skills, lack of education, lack of class, lack of professionalism, lack of experience.. the list goes on and on.

Ale and Marco are with her family at breakfast. Azucena, the maid, tactfully reminds el patrón that it will soon be payday. Or perhaps, as it has been for the past four months, no-pay day. Later the family worries that if they cannot make payroll this month, they might lose her.

Rafael goes to a series of job interviews. At the art gallery, he shows off his lack of art knowledge, offends the proprietor by grabbing her elbow, and convinces her that he is the quintessential naco. When she asks if he knows very much about art, Rafael borrows a well-known Mexican schtick.

Have you ever seen El Chapulín Colorado, the red-spandexed superhero of Mexican comedy? Someone will say to him, “Chapulín, cantas bien?” Our superhero answers, “Sí, sí, yo canto, pero no que digan, ‘QUE BRUTO! este tipo, que bien canta!’" (Yes, I can sing, but not so well that people say, “Ohmygosh, that guy sure can sing!”)

At the airline, the manager tries to conduct the interview in English. He addresses Rafael in normal conversational English, and Raf gives him a blank stare. So the manager drops it down a notch, hoping Raf can understand simpler English. No-go. Finally the manager asks, Do – you – speak – English? Still no reaction from Rafael, so the man tries, “Habla usted inglés?” Rafael answers, “Sí, sí, hablo inglés, pero no que digan, QUE BRUTO...” You get the idea.

Note how poorly the manager speaks Spanish. That’s to tell us that he’s a gringo. The problem is, his accent in English is even worse than his accent in Spanish!

Alejandra wants to accompany Marco when he takes Pop to the cardiologist, but Marco insists that she stay home and rest. What a considerate fellow. In a pig’s eye. The doctor warns Marco that they need to take good care of Jorge, follow the doctor’s instructions, keep him from stress, etc., or he will die. Kind, compassionate Marco just wants to make sure the geezer survives the wedding. The doctor worries about Jorge, while Marco worries about the wedding date. When they return home, Marco gets another phone call from the mysterious stranger, and the music plays so loudly that I understand even less of their conversation. One thing that is clear – Marco tells the stranger that since Ale didn’t get the apartment, they have to live with her family, and he has to tolerate these people that he can’t stand.

Marco tells Alejandra that the doctor said her father could die at any moment, and therefore they should get married as soon as possible so Pop will be around to see it. Just another example of Marco the considerate. e.g. he considers how much money she will inherit. Ale can’t bear the thought of getting married looking like this, but Marco reminds her how happy it would make her father, the man Marco said he can’t stand.

At Rafael’s house, they are coping as best they can, given their economic state. With their TV gone, Mama and Sister are forced to call a friend and listen to their novelas over the phone, from the friend’s house. Gee. I’m glad I’ve never gone to extremes just to be able to watch a novela. No, not me. That must’ve been my evil twin. In a pig’s eye!

Rafael’s buddy José has a lead on a well-paying job for him. All he needs to do is drive down to Acapulco. There is of course some problem with the legality of the cargo, but for a high-paying job, let’s not quibble, eh?

The banker calls Alejandra wondering why she hasn’t paid her loan yet, considering that he holds the deed. She promises to call him later, a promise she has no intention of keeping.

Thank you, Hombre d'M, for help with this part. The bookkeeper-type who handles the household accounts comes to Ale’s house with more bad economic news. There's not enough money to pay the bills (utilities, etc.). Marco is aggressive with him, and the guy leaves. Jorge assures his daughter that she shouldn’t go back to work until she is healthy. He can sell their house and they can move someplace less expensive. If only he could find the deed. The one the banker holds as collateral for Ale’s “overnight” loan.


Meanwhile, Ale’s boyfriend Snidely Whiplash reminds himself that he just has to endure these disgusting people “until it’s mine, all mine!”

I welcome any corrections. I probably misinterpreted some things, so please correct me.

Labels: dinero