Caray, Caray!

LA REINA - VIERNES

Thanks, Jean, for putting up the weekly El Mundo de Telemundo link. And thanks also for the well-done mini-recap of last night's episode.

Hombre, you were right that the guy in the street was Suleiman. I had managed to forget that entire conversation he had with Santiago and Lalo.

Speaking of Lalo, could he have been more annoying during the meeting with Dris and Chaib? He kept interrupting and interrupting, trying to convince Santi to go for the big bucks.

Abdelkader Chaib is a VERY mixed bag as a human being. He seems to be chivalrous toward women, but demonstrates no humanity whatsover when looking over the human cargo in that pen. He mentions that the children pay as well. And, after the sinking of his patera, his only concern was for the loss of the pilot.

There were some excellent, well acted scenes between Teresa and Santiago. He appears to be a fairly old fashioned man. He admitted to being worse than jealous - a Galician - when they were in her house. And he doesn't like a woman right in his face criticizing his behavior.

Teresa said to him Los narcos traen una sentencia de muerte bajo el brazo cada vez que salen a la calle (drug traffickers carry a sentence of death under their arm when they walk out into the street). Very well said.

Teresa also told him that while today he is worth a lot to those bosses, tomorrow he'll be worth zero. And the difference between she and those guys is that starting right now he has zero value to her.

Santiago is full of hubris when he tells Teresa that what befell Güero won't happen to him because he's smarter. Teresa tells him that Güero said the same thing.

Thanks, Jean, for clearing up what happened to Fátima. I knew she was raped and became pregnant with Mohammed, but I couldn't figure out who did it.

I can hardly wait until Monday!
 

HEREDEROS - VIERNES

Yes, not much happened. José wants Simón to have his name, but he doesn't really have the kid's best interest at heart or he wouldn't want Efraín completely out of his life.

Speaking of Simón, Melinama (Chapel Hill Fiddler) commented quite a while ago about a child in a novela that she jokingly said they must have drugged. He never seemed to demonstrate any emotion. Simón is sort of like that. He just sits there. Unless they do a million takes and choose the one where he isn't screaming and trying to get out of that high chair!

Sigh! Sofía shows up for dinner at Casa Millan smirking for all she's worth. What is wrong with this woman?

Looks like Paula might have crossed a line with Juan. He seems to have twigged that Paula has been pushing Pedro toward Julieta for her own reasons.
 

LA REINA DEL SUR

Lady watchers got a real eye-popping treat on Thursday with a sizzling Iván Sanchez (Santiago) shower scene. First of all, the guy was nude - his front barely covered by his towel at times. Then the towel was so thin wrapped around him that when he walked out of the shower (toward the camera), well - not much was left to our imaginations! The whole thing was really beautifully shot - kudos to Telemundo. (And a TN rarity - usually the galán wears underwear in the shower in TN world LOL!).

This followed a pretty steamy and long romance scene between Santiago and Teresa.

Do I remember anything else?.....

I just started watching this week. I guess I needed a break after Alguien and was glad to skip the Mexico violence. The settings and actors on this show are fascinating. So many different Spanish accents! It's wonderful!

Many people post that Kate del Castillo is giving an amazing performance. From what I saw this week she is indeed marvelous in this role.

Audrey
 

REINA -

Thanks for the excellent summary, Jean. Here are a few more details of what Fátima said. She's worried that the people who raped her could find out that Mohamed was the son of one of them. If they did, they'd take him away, and she'd never see her son again. Also, her plan is that her cousin could act as the husband to Fátima and Teresa (she tells Teresa that even 4 wives is not unusual in Morocco, and they'll have to be veiled, because of the Muslim rules in Morocco). Also, the reason Fátima can't work in Morocco is that the only thing she knows how to do is to be a prostitute, and prostitution is illegal in Muslim Morocco. So it looks as if Fátima, Teresa and Fátima's cousin (whom we haven't met yet) are thinking of crossing the border, snatching little Mohamed, and bringing him back.

As for the money offered Santiago, he currently gets 5000 euros per month with his tobacco smuggling. But Chaib offered him 8,000 euros per run, which could be 100,000 euros a month, if he'd transport people (and later drugs). That's a lot of money, and Santiago is tempted.
 

LA REINA DEL SUR

Thank you Jean for summarising the main details of La Reina Del Sur.

Yep, lady watchers really did get an eyeful, and what an eyeful it was. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I want more, lol. Even the lovemaking scene was done so well. Nothing that made me cringe as I usually do when watching other novela couples in the same situation.

Teresa really doesn't want to get too involved with another man that will end up dead because of being in the drug business like Guero was. She doesn't want to go through the pain of losing a loved one again.

Margaret
 

REINA -viernes

Many thanks, Jean, for the mini-recap of Friday's episode. It provided much-needed help.

I'm finding it interesting to see how the telenovela is altering the novel. For example, I don't think the business with Fátima and her child are in the novel. Frankly, I find it a bit of a stretch for Teresa to offer to help get Fátima's son out of Morocco. Part of the point, I guess, is that it gives Fátima a chance to clue her in to how different laws and customs are in Morocco (and, of course, she clues the TN audience in as well--though those of us who watched "El Clon" are of course very knowledgeable already :-) ). But while this is information that Teresa will need to know, my sense is that this sub-plot was added more for the sake of added excitement and suspense, rather like the much-extended chase scenes near the start of the TN. I guess we'll see.
 

LA REINA

I'm wondering how Fatima will get into Morocco and then out again. If she is working her 'debt' off to Dris, wouldn't he have her all her papers (which I presume would be passport, visa, etc), and it seems like he didn't want to help her as yet. So would that mean that she will have to smuggle herself (and with the others) into Morocco and then back out again. If this is the case then it won't be an easy task.

Margaret
 

Thanks, Jean, for the fine resumé of Friday’s action and for filling in some of the details that eluded me. And thanks to Novelera, Hombre, Audrey, Juanita and Margaret – interesting and helpful comments all!

Novelera, I’m not sure Chaib is a mixed bag as a human being. I think he is pure evil with a patina of good manners. How else can we make sense of his callous attitude toward the warehouse full of Africans or his reaction to the loss of one of his shipments. (He was indifferent to the loss of human life, including his pilot’s. He’s just upset that he’ll have to replace him.) And he is far more powerful than Dris Larbi so he could have helped Fátima if he chose to, and found a way to soothe Dris’s ruffled feathers.

I thought it was interesting to watch the three men – Cáceres, Chaib and Dris – observing Teresa and Santiago’s argument/mating dance at the bar.

Cáceres looks on with pure resentment and jealousy. Dris’s concern is how these two loose cannons might affect his business. But Chaib seems above it all: he is entertained by the spectacle. Teresa interests him. He enjoys seeing her stand up for herself and he recognizes that she is smarter than the people he usually deals with. He also enjoys seeing the powerful effect she has on the people around her, her careless sexual magnetism and personal charisma.

Juanita, I was also thinking that we Clon veterans were on familiar ground when Fátima was talking about the role of women in Morocco. :)
 

Once again, this spot serves viewers so ably and entertainingly. Feel I've already watched Friday's episode, and when I do it'll be clearer and more interesting because of Jean's recapita and fill-in comments, especially by Novelera and the Mysterious Gentleman.

Juanita,I've read the book also (twice in fact). I'm enjoying the stories that weren't in it but stick pretty close to how and why Teresa becomes La Reina.

It does change her somewhat into less of a loner and a woman more concerned with women's issues. And that's okay. That the book's author has worked with the TV scriptwriter shows by how well the new stories blend with the old ones. Lois
 

Thanks, all for the nice comments! I enjoyed watching the show on Saturday afternoon instead of what for me is past bedtime. Welcome Audrey. Even the violence in Mexico in the early episode was not that graphic. Suspenseful but not especially graphic.

Margaret, I agree, I wonder how Fátima is going to go to Morocco. She told Teresa that her papers were bad forgeries. They might pass muster with the paid off officials in Melilla but were not good enough to cross the border with.

Yes, I got the Clon flashbacks too.
 

LA REINA - VIERNES y MÁS

I enjoyed hearing from less frequent commenters. Welcome, Margaret. If you've commented before I don't remember it. And I agree completely about the excellence and believability of Santi and Teresa's lovemaking scene.

And, Audrey, I was trying to restrain myself from commenting about Iván Sanchez' body, but my, my, my - that getting out of the shower scene was something else. The other thing I noticed, after he got the towel in place, is how he moves. He strode into the sala like a big cat, all grace and male beauty. Frankly, one of the things I like about him is that, unlike some other galáns, he seems unconscious of his male beauty. Now, if he'd only shave! Perfection!

NovelaMaven, your comment about Chaib caused me to re-think my own. He probably is 100% evil.

For some reason it crossed my mind that he and Dris Larbi could be gay. Neither of them seem interested in the females, except as sources of income. And Chaib openly said he wasn't interested in Teresa as a woman. And the scene where they performed their Muslim ablutions before eating, then sat close together while doing so was rather intimate.
 

LA REINA

I'm commenting on my own comment! Must be too much coffee. Anyway, I hope no one found anything homophobic about my vague feeling that Chaib and Dris could be gay. I certainly do not equate evil and gay.

And I thought of one more thing about Fátima and Teresa's conversation. It was kind of amusing when Teresa said: my people are experts at crossing borders.
 

@novelera - I don't think it came across that way, but remember that in Arabic culture it's not unusual for men to get quite a bit more touchy-feely with each other compared to Western. For example, holding hands between grown men is part of the culture.

These are two fascinating bad guys, and I'm real curious what else is disclosed about them.

Audrey
 

LOS HEREDEROS

This novela has not been holding my interest. The rather unlikeable Juan blows hot and cold with Paula, dissing her one moment and presenting her to his brothers as his significant other the next. Yet Juan still seems to be unable to let go of Julieta at some level, and poor Julieta is a lost lamb at this point not to mention the pathetic Pedro. Paula can't seem to stop herself from meddling at every turn.

IMO this one is a real snoozer!

Audrey
 

REINA

Novelera, like Audrey, I didn't find your suggestion about Dris and Chaib at all homophobic. And I too was amused when Teresa tells Fátima that Mexicans are experts at border crossing. Indeed, I burst out laughing.
 

HEREDEROS -

Audrey, I agree that this novela is missing something. It has handsome and beautiful actors, but no stabbings, no killing, no poisoning, no cutting the cables on someone's brake fluid, no amnesia, no switched babies, only one child (who's so well behaved you almost don't notice him), and very little comedy (just a little with Miguel, Jonny and that family). Gustavo died, but as far as we know, it was just an accident. Lupe's mother came and went, and we never found out why. They keep talking about the judge's decision to give possession of the house to Paula, but that seems forgotten now. No one is pregnant currently. We had some scene of someone who could be Emilio, but that hasnt' come back yet.

In other words, it's got NUTHIN!
Unless something happens soon, I may stop watching.
 

LA REINA - VIERNES

About Chaib, someone who deals in people smuggling can't be too good a person. I also agree that Chaib is fascinated by Teresa. She is someone different from the usual in that she is feisty she is not from those parts but from Mexico and she is smart and speaks her mind without fear. She intrigues him and he is amused by her. He probably sees her potential as someone he can use later on.

Novelera - "The other thing I noticed, after he got the towel in place, is how he moves. He strode into the sala like a big cat, all grace and male beauty. Frankly, one of the things I like about him is that, unlike some other galáns, he seems unconscious of his male beauty."

Novelera I totally agree with your above description regarding Santiago. I like his hair and his beard though, makes him more sexy.

Novelera I didn't find your comment regarding Chaib and Dris homophobic either. Also this is my first time commenting.

Margaret
 

LA REINA

Margaret, there is a definite split in the opinions of the females on Caray Caray. Some of us loathe the stubble, often verging on a real beard. Some of us do not like it at all.

My long time favorite, Fernando Colunga, fondly known on Caray as TBLMOE (the best looking man on earth) is always clean shaven, unless they show him (Pasión, I think) laid up for weeks after being shot or stabbed with a sword.

The stubble appears to be winning, as nearly all younger actors in TNs sport about a two-day growth. Sanchez has even more.

I fall into the camp of those who view the stubble as detracting from the handsome features of our galanes.
 

LA REINA

Whoops, I meant to say some of us loathe the stubble and some of us find it very sexy.
 

Novelera, I have also noticed that in receht TN's the fashion appears to be the unshaven look for our heroes. Generally, I also hate the unshaven look and even any type of beard. I love the clean shaven look in the men that I drool over, but sometimes there comes along on the screen such a sexy specimen of a man, and he has a beard and wild hair, and well, I just can't help myself, I swoon. Not too many men can carry that look off. Ivan Sanchez does, imho.

Margaret
 

GENERAL (hot guys)

I'm not even watching this novela, but you all's comments about this man have me panting. :) I must take a peek at the show just to see him.
 

I put a picture of Ivan Sanchez (just a headshot, unfortunately) that was on TW into to the post. Enjoy it ladies.
 

REINA - Monday

So the quest to rescue Fatima's son Mohamed begins. The cousin idea is forgotten, Teresa and Fatima are going to go alone. Fortunately for them, Santiago's going with them. Why?

Santiago grudgingly agreed to transport a bunch of poor people to somewhere in Spain. Teresa said that made him a "pollero", which is someone who charges money to get people across the border, as in Mexico. He had 3 conditions: 1) radar, 2) life preservers for the people and 3) no kids under 15. Sulieman agreed to all three, but it turned out there were some kids. But the mother pleaded with Santi to take them, as the other country would be a better life for them (wouldn't they be enslaved, though?). On the water, at night, the coast guard approached, Lalo stepped on the gas, and 2 kids fell overboard. Santi jumped in and saved one, but the other drowned (and the authorities later found the body). Santi was destroyed. Although he did get the rest to the other country, got back and got paid, he felt terrible about the kid who died, and turned to Teresa for comfort. So now he's going with her.

They cross the border to Morocco, but just inside, the border guards question Fatima, and find that she has 2 ID's, a (fake) Spanish one and a real Moroccan one. The guards say Teresa and Santi are okay to go, but they want to hold Fatima, even though Santi remarks why do they care if she has a fake Spanish ID, when she's now in Morocco? But the guards don't care, and now, Teresa and Santi somehow have to rescue Fatima.
 

REINA -

Also, in leaving, Teresa got Dris Larbi a bit mad at her, the nosy neighbor Carmela is still spreading untrue rumors, Sheila still seems jealous, and I'm not sure Chaib is too happy with what she's doing. In other words, she burned a bunch of bridges. But now she may have to "unburn" them.
 

Good summary, Hombre.
Since we saw Chaib approching the border checkpoint, we can guess that he is going to be involved in rescuing Fatima and the kid mission.

Santiago appartently thought that transporting humans rather than drugs would be more acceptable to Teresa but she didn't like that either and the Pateras/Pollero confusion with the Spaniard and the Mexican not understanding each other's word for the same activity. I thought people who took illegals over the American border for money were called 'coyotes.'

Santiago insists on going with Fatima and Teresa on the rescue- the-kid mission because he knows that 2 women shouldn't travel alone in Morocco.
 

LA REINA - LUNES

Excellent account of what happened, Hombre.

Jean, I have also heard pollero. The idea is that the poor souls trying to cross the border are like chickens.

Teresa, at least in the telenovela version, is an interesting mixture of pragmatism and altruism. I couldn't figure out why she wanted Ahmed to bring the books to her before going off with Fátima. But she made sure Dris agreed, in front of witnesses, that she had paid herself and Fátima for the night before and that's all. She doesn't trust Dris as far as she can throw him.

I didn't realize it was Lalo's fault the kids fell off the boat. I was so caught up in the moment that I didn't even notice what happened clearly. It was such a well filmed scene that I felt as if I were in the boat myself. And Iván Sanchez did a fabulous job of acting, overcome with grief and guilt about the kids.

I loved it when Fátima brought the coffee to help sober up Santiago and said that it was strong and blacker than the soul of Dris Larbi!

Another new phrase. Suleiman tells Chaib that Santiago has sworn he'll never do more trafficking of people. Chaib is unconcerned, saying ya picó el anzuelo - he's already taken the bait.
 

HEREDEROS - LUNES

I'm also about ready to quit this one. The same crap over and over. Pedro drinks. Pedro quits drinking. Pedro drinks and broods.

Beatriz hopes José will be her life partner. José dashes her hopes. Over and over. Wow, Simón actually smiled last night! They must have lightened his dose of Valium.

One thing I wonder: where in the heck does Sofía get all this money she bribes people with?
 

HEREDEROS -

Good question, Novelera, I was also wondering about Sofia's seemingly limitless money supply. I have some other questions, too.

- How does Modesto get his hair to stay like that?

- Does Miguel realizes he always parks on the wrong side of the street?

- Where does Rosa get all that red eyeshadow?

- Why don't they have any priests or dogs in this show?

- Why didn't Miguel delete Sofia from his contacts on his cell phone after they broke up?

- If Gaspar was adopted, why is he so sensitive about how Emilio betrayed his mother? It was his adoptive mother, right?

- If Guadalupe is so up to date with facial beauty products, how come both her hair and everything she wears are just about the least appealing a person could have? (in other novelas, she looked WAY better).

Seriously, though, one of the problems with this novela is that there are no real heroes, and no real villains (okay, Sofia, but she's nothing compared to your typical telenovela villain). Maybe the writers are showing us all the subtle nuances of each character, how each has some good and some bad. But for this show, it sort of makes each character bland, when I'd like to see bold.
 

HEREDEROS

Good questions, Hombre.

There was one dog sighting. I believe they showed Juan just once with a German Shepherd. I don't miss the self-righteous priests at all!

I had the very same thought! Miguel is playing with fire having Sofía show up on his phone when she calls him. He really is a wimp. He should tell her to go ahead and tell Rosa. I think she's bluffing.

We don't know exactly how old Gaspar was when he was adopted. He could have been very small. And, when he made the big confession about leaving Emilio to die alone, he emphasized how close he was to his mother. Even though adopted, he seemed to adore his mother.
 

HEREDEROS

That last comment was me!
 

REINA

Variopinta posted this over on Triunfo del Amor, citing it as the reason TDA has been showing 2 hour shows (9-11pm): http://bit.ly/eMKqfa

Watch the video at the end, even if you don't read the article. Kate speaks English in it.
 

LA REINA - GENERAL

Thanks, Vivi, for posting that link to the Today show with Kate del Castillo.

I had been storing up some Triunfo episodes on my DVR thinking I might get around to watching some of it.

But this just makes me furious. Univisión (or I should say Televisa) cannot manage to come up with anything new and fresh. All their novelas are refritos.

So they try to make it impossible for their viewers to see anything as good as La Reina del Sur on another network by trying to program an overload of crap at the same time period.
 

Great questions about Herederos Hombre.

I think with Lupe the idea is that she's the simple, innocent girl. Works for me though, even with that hair and the way she dresses, she's still the best looking on the show ;)

I'm pretty sure I heard the guard telling Teresa and Santiago to leave last night speak bad Spanish.

Great comments by everyone!
 

REINA - lunes

Many thanks, Hombre, for your helpful account of Monday's episode. And thanks, too, to Novelera for explaining the origin of "pollero."

Novelera, I didn't think that it was Lalo's fault that the kids fell overboard. The boat clearly had to get away from the coast guard, and the way to do that was to accelerate rapidly. Indeed, I'm not sure, but I think Santiago yelled something like "hold on tight," which would suggest that he too thought that sudden acceleration was needed. So yes, Lalo was the one who made the boat speed up, but I wouldn't say that he should be blamed for the kids' falling overboard.

I don't remember the book in detail, but it seems to me that the telenovela is schmalzing the characterizations up a bit. First, of course, there is Fátima, the prostitute with the heart of gold. Then we have Teresa willing to burn all her bridges to help Fátima get her son out of Morocco. And finally we have Santiago not wanting to deal in human traffic and jumping into the water to try to rescue the two kids who fell overboard, and being totally devastated when he saves only one. I think neither Teresa nor Santiago showed that sentimental nobility of character in the novel. I'm not criticizing the telenovela, just noting what seems to me a significant departure in characaterization.
 

LA REINA - Monday

Jean, thanks for posting the pic of Ivan Sanchez. What beautiful bedroom eyes, sigh.

Hombre thanks so much for your summary of events. Very helpful.

I was surprised that Fatima, Teresa and Santiago crossed the border legally into Morocco. Wasn't that a bit silly, since they knew that Fatima's papers were fake. Now it looks like Chaib will come to the rescue and I wonder what he will want in exchange.

Juanita, thanks for that info on the Santiago and Teresa characters in the book. I haven't read the book, but intend to read in the future. I was thinking that myself when watching Santiago and his reaction to the drowning of the child if maybe Telemundo was making the characters more palatable for TV audience and not how they were portrayed in the book. Santiago's pain/reaction seemed over the top considering the work he does and who his 'acquaintances' are.

Margaret
 

REINA - martes

Well, this was certainly a suspenseful and action-packed episode. Thanks to the intervention of Chaib, who almost magically appears on the scene, Fátima is permitted to enter Morocco in spite of her questionable papers. Once at the place (orphanage?) where her son Mohamed is, she first tries to pretend to the director that she and Santiago are husband and wife (and that both are the parents of Mohamed), but she is told that she needs to produce their marriage license and Mohamed's birth certificate (I think). Clearly, she needs a different approach.

Approach #2 is that Santiago will sneak into the orphanage at night and take Mohamed out. That actually works. However, in the meantime, Ali's cousin Yussef, the policeman who tried unsuccessfully to arrest Teresa back in Melilla, spots Teresa and Fátima sitting in a car (they're waiting for Santiago to bring Mohamed). Yussef approaches the car with a gun, knocks out (or causes to faint?) Fátima and handcuffs and abducts Teresa. He takes her to some place where he handcuffs her to a fence and then starts to torture her for revenge (after which he plans to kill her).

Since this is a telenovela, Santiago, Mohamed, and the revived Fátima look for and find Yussef's car, and Santiago goes in to rescue Teresa. I'm not making this sound very suspenseful, but I certainly was at the edge of my chair, especially during an unusually convincing fight scene between Santiago and Yussef. They struggle over Yussef's gun, which finally goes off. Yussef is apparently killed.

The three musketeers and Mohamed then try to make their getaway, but their car won't start. They switch to a truck (though I'm not sure exactly how that all happened). I think only Santiago is visible--the others are hiding in the truck. Santiago drives toward the border, only to find a police roadblock.

Tune in tomorrow, same time, same station, for the next thrilling episode. :-)
 

REINA - general

The last two nights, I've watched my recording of Reina rather than watching it "live" at 10 p.m. Both days I've noticed that the screen will suddenly go black for a number of seconds. Just when I fear that I've totally lost the rest of the episode, it will come back, then go out again, and then come back. Has anyone else had this experience? I'm curious as to whether the problem is with my equipment (TV and/or VCR) or with Telemundo.
 

HEREDEROS- Virtually everybody except Juan finds out that it was Sofia who paid for the hit on Jose. Sofia give Modesto the $$$ to bail Efrain and Amador out of jail after Juan declines to do so.

Julieta goes to the dark side by drugging Paula's horse. She does it in such a clumsy way that Johnny and Juan find out about it right away.

Paula gets thrown from her horse but Juan finds her and declares his eternal love for her in a scene so awkward and unromantic it was painful to watch.

Mysterious chained up guy is Emilio del Monte or at least it's some guy named Emilio. For some reason, his face is not being shown. Some simple and generous campesinos take him in.

We've already seen Emilio in flashbacks so what is the big deal about showing his face unless, of course, it isn't really Emilio del Monte but someone whose voice is the same because Modesto recognizes it when he calls.

There was some other stuff but it wasn't that interesting.

REINA-

I gotta say that I really don't like this rescue the kid in Morocco storyline. I've never watched a novela made from a book that I have read and I understand that they have to add storyline to make enough episodes for a novela but this story seems uncreative and inconsistent with Teresa's personality.

Chaib simply orders the guards at the frontier to let Fatima through. He asks for a kiss from Teresa in return and she gives him a peck on the cheek! There's a lot still owing on that account!

Is Fatima's kid living on the street? No, he's in a nice orphanage that won't release him to a woman claiming to be his mother without proper documentation of his birth, her marriage and proof that he will go to a good home, which probably doesn't include living in a bar in Melilla with a bunch of prostitutes.

Of all the small towns (and that is how Fatima described where her kid was) in Morocco, this one happens to be where Yousef is making a drug deal in a restaurant where he sees Teresa in a car waiting for Santiago and Fatima. What a coincidence.

Santiago steals the kid from the orphanage. It was funny that he took the wrong kid first.

Juanita has ably described the rest of the episode while I was typing this.

She didn't mention that Chaib, Caceres, Suleiman and Dris are planning to export the hashish harvest for which they need boat pilots. Chaib doesn't think Santiago will participate since he is on an adventure in Morocco with Teresa.

Also, Dris tells Lalo's preferred hooker, Soraya, to pump him for information about Santiago.
 

HEREDEROS-

Hombre, I don't know how Modesto's hair stays that way but my guess is that Telemundo hoped that Herederos, its remake of a Chilean novela, would be a hit the way Pasion de Gavilanes was. The similarities between the two are pretty obvious: The ranchero setting; an elder brother named Juan played by Mario Cimarro; what appears to be the same house as the Elizondo hacienda in PdG used as the hacienda in Herederos and Eleuterio’s bar is called El Gavilan.

PdG also had less of the typical novela plot devices and not very evil villains. But it was well written and there was a lot of chemistry between the main love interests. There were also an unusually large number of ‘good’ minor characters who had entertaining stories– Martin; Leandro, Ruth, Pepita, Eva, Panchita, Benito, Melisa and Quintina.

I'm in for the duraton on this one but the eye candy is about the only real pleasure.
 

HEREDEROS -

Jean, good point about the similarities to Pasion de Gavilanes. I only saw that on DVD, and can't remember it too well. I do know they remade it on Univision as Fuego en la Sangre, which was just over the top silly (but sort of fun in a trainwreck way).

Several things on Herederos just don't add up to me, such as:
- Don Emilio not being dead. We'll have to see what "really happened" on this one.
- Good characters doing bad things. I was a little surprised with Efrain and Amador going along with beating up Jose, but Julieta drugging the horse makes no sense. She said to herself "that'll teach her a lesson". Right.

Rand, as for Lupe, I agree she's really pretty, and supposed to be a simple country girl. But I'd like her to update her image, the way they did with the bar (which gets bigger and glitzier every episode!).
 

REINA DEL SUR -

Juanita and Jean, thanks for the summaries (and Jean, you make some excellent points about the coincidences).

Juanita, my broadcast has also gone black for a few seconds here and there the last few nights. So it may be something from Telemundo to the satellite. I don't think it's your equipment.

I got so worried I'd miss something that I started watching it on the computer at the same time (you can do this at planetfools.com, just click on online tv, then US stations, and telemundo is there).

We keep wondering how Teresa is going to pay back Chaib for saving her over and over. Well, (judging from the previews, but without giving away much), I think we'll find out tonight, and I think it has something to do with Santiago.

The girls on the show must really be living from "paycheck to paycheck" since when Soraya went one night without income, having been ordered by Dris to please Lalo for free, she wanted some money from the cash register, saying she didn't have anything for food.
 

REINA - martes

Jean, I definitely agree with you about the improbability of Yousef's coming upon Teresa and Fátima in Fátima's small town. Indeed, I agree with just about every point you've made! It looks as if it's beanie-tightening time.

Hombre, thanks for the added details and also for the feedback about the blackouts. I'm relieved to know that it's Telemundo's fault, not mine. I'm also pleased to know about planetfools.com.
 

LA REINA - MARTES

Excellent comments, Juanita, Jean, and Hombre about last night's episode which was, indeed, loaded with telenovela coincidences. But I think we have to accept this as going with the territory.

Say what? Chaib, Dris, and Cáceres are drinking some "liqueur" (that's what I heard, anyway) and toasting to Allah. I know they're not exactly good Muslims but sticking a finger in the eye of your God seems odd to me.

My impression of Santiago (the telenovela version - not much point in comparing him to the character in the book) is that he got into his father's trade, but his heart isn't in it. They alluded to the fact that his father was part of Clan Pernas and had died violently, I think. So Santi grew up in the life and went along to get along. But his conscience won't accept the really bad things that go with that life, and he hasn't apparently prepared himself to do anything else.

Point in fact was his extreme guilt over the death of the child. And then, in I think the only time I've seen so much of it in a TN, he is stricken with remorse over killing an extremely evil guy who was about to torture and kill the love of his life.

I think Dris blames Santiago for Teresa being ready to spit in his eye and then quitting her job.

The scene with Santi trying to find the right kid, dressed in a hajib was pretty funny. But it was hard to enjoy it knowing that Youssef was in the process of grabbing Teresa. I personally am glad to see the end of that guy. He gives Gato Fierres a run for his money in the evil department.
 

HEREDEROS - MARTES

Hombre and Jean, I enjoyed your comments about the latest developments.

I'm pretty sure it is Emilio del Monte. I've seen that actor in other telenovelas. And they showed that video after his supposed death and naming Paula as an heir. What they showed of his face - jaw, lips moving - looked like that actor.

The despicable Sofía was trying to brazen it out with Beatriz and was willing to let Efraín rot in jail.

The supposed personality change of Juan after definitely deciding how much he loved Paula was beyond weird. He started grinning a lot. Maybe they're getting feedback about his grumpy demeanor thus far.

José is a snake. But it backed him up a bit finding out it was Sofía who paid for the beatdown. People are beginning to wonder why she'd do such a thing and maybe asking questions about what he'd done to provoke it.
 

AURORA -- This week and general

Catalina needs to be taken out. Federico as well. Both are toxic to everyone else. Catalina has the wrong kind of an eye on Martin and Cesar's life isn't worth a dime as long as either of them are alive.

Daniela is some piece of work. She has just as few scruples as her worthless mother. Aurora needs to put her foot down and toss her out on her arse into the nearest dumpster. BTW, the actress who plays her mother looks familiar. What was she in before?

Martin's determination to have no emotions beyond dedication to his work is very self-destructive as well as hurtful to those who care about him. He is becoming too much like Gustavo and may be on his way to becoming a mad scientist.

I don't know how many others are watching this, but it's really bothering me that nobody is talking on normal phones even in offices. Surely the clinic would have landline phones for security reasons and in case of power outages.


HEREDEROS -- Lunes y Martes

If this is truly Don Emilio he has a lot of explaining to do and a big mess to clean up.

I agree with all the previous comments on how this story keeps dropping the ball.


REINA -- This week

I love the location shooting and the beginning of the Santiago/Teresa romance. He is one fine dude.

Colonel Chaib is interesting, like a Mafia boss in a military uniform. Probably a total sociopath.

I just ordered the book, which I should have by Friday.
 

REINA -

Novelera, about the drinking, you're right. I think they said they were drinking licor de higa, or fig liqueur.
 

LA REINA - MARTES

I must say that this side story with Fatima getting her son out of Morocco was slightly unbelievable and forced. How lucky was Santiago to find Yusef's car almost instantly to be able to save Teresa. Must be a really, really small town.

Hombre, I wouldn't think the 'girls' get to keep much of the money they make in that establishment, and this why Soraya had to ask Dris for more.

Margaret
 

La Reina

Good night Yousef!

I was wrong in an earlier post when I guessed that this actor was Juan David Agudelo. I recently discovered that his name is actually Álvaro Benet. Good actor!

http://www.entreactores.com/alvarobenet/


Aurora

Daniela's mom is being played by Rosalinda Rodriguez
Perro Amor...... Benny's mom, Rocky's aunt.
Dame Chocolate.. OMG, aunt of Rosita
 

LA REINA

I haven't really looked up all the cast names, but, at least to my admittedly not great ear for the language, the ones who speak Arabic sound very convincing.
 

REINA -

Margaret, I actually think Santiago and Fatima drove around all night looking for Teresa. They finally spotted the car in the morning. But still..

BTW, I think after killing Youseff, Santiago took his truck. But who knows where he got the keys (Youseff's pocket?)

As for the Arabic, it sounds good to me, too. But of course I don't actually know any Arabic. You know how when they speak English it often sounds awkward? I wonder if a fluent Arabic-speaking person would find their Arabic similarly awkward.
 

REINA - martes

Hombre, did you (or anyone else) spot the little woman who played one of the servants in El Clon?

I'm sure that many of the extras are locals who speak the local dialect of the Arabic of north Africa. But as for the featured players -- yeah, who knows? Lalalalala!
 

LA REINA

Hombre, you're right, it did look like they drove around all night then found the red car in the morning. This whole side plot was a bit disappointing to me and I got a bit sarcastic.

Margaret
 

REINA – miércoles (en breve)

Santiago maneuvers the truck away from the Moroccan police checkpoint. He pulls over on a back road and Teresa, Fátima and Mohamed get out of the back for some fresh air, water and to come up with a new plan. When they decide to ditch the cargo, they discover they are carrying 500 kilos of hashish (chocolate) buried in the smelly tuns of fish meal (farine de poisson). Teresa phones Chaib for help – he can have the drugs; just get them safely out of Morocco.

Chaib has been expecting the call – he knows everything that goes on, he tells Teresa. He agrees to the deal although Santiago is unhappy at the missed opportunity to profit from the drugs, doesn’t trust Chaib and is jealous of the way Chaib looks at Teresa. Chaib carries out his promise and delivers them all safely back to Melilla. He promises Fátima he’ll work on getting papers for Mohamed.

Dris hires Teresa back at Yamila – in her absence, the accounts were a mess. She even negotiates a raise and lodging for herself, and a waitress job for Fátima; and Fátima gets her apartment back for herself and Mohamed.

Soraya reports back to Dris with the dirt that bigmouth Lalo spilled on Santiago – that he’s accused of killing a cop in Galicia.

Sheila, finally out of the hospital, is thrilled to hear that Youssef is dead. Girlish bonding.

Santiago brings his toothbrush to Teresa’s place. We get an artful nude shot of him in her bed. Sweet pop music.

Their romantic idyll is shortlived.

After two weeks, he is frustrated because he can’t get work, not even as a tobacco runner. Santiago resists all of Teresa’s rational arguments against getting involved in the narco world. Finally, she makes a decision: He saved her life. She owes him. So if he wants to be a narco, she’ll show him how.

Teresa asks Sheila to do her a favor….

Santiago shows up at Yamila and the b-girls, Teresa, Dris and Ahmed are gone. He asks Fátima where everyone is.

We get the answer to his question – at one of Coronel Chaib’s famous parties! Chaib gazes appreciatively at Teresa arreglada and tells her she ought to dress like that more often.
 

REINA - miércoles

Muchas gracias, NovelaMaven, for the helpful synopsis of Wednesday's episode. I confess that I'm not sure how Teresa is going to show Santiago how to be a narco. She knew rather little about the details of that life when she was with el Güero. I assume she's planning to make use of (and be made use of by) Chaib, but her plan isn't yet clear to me.
 

REINA - Wednesday

Thank you NovelaMaven.

I'd like to know how she will show him as well. From what I understood in Mexico she was only the girl of a someone in the drug business.

She went to Chaib's party so maybe she wants to take advantage of the fact that Chaib is attracted to her so that Santiago can get what he wants and be part of the drug business that he so much wants to be a part of.

Why wasn't Santiago finding any work. Has he been blacklisted.

So cute when Santiago put his toothbrush in its place in the bathroom. He was so happy. Although I must say I wish I was in Teresa's shoes when she was watching him sleep in the nude (sigh).

Margaret
 

REINA- Thanks, Novelera, for the nice recaplet of Reina. I don't really have much to say about the episode, which was really just wrapping up the rescue-the-kid story and preparing for the next chapter of the novela.

HEREDEROS- Paula finds out that Emilio del Monte is probably not her father. Sofia is still holding out on telling her that Gustavo is her father. In tried and true novela fashion, Paula leaves town without telling Juan what is going on.

Juan almost certainly will conclude that Paula doesn't love him and predictable complications in their relationship will ensue.

Emilio tells Modesto that what happened to him was all Gustavo's fault. If we recall back to when the chained up guy was first shown, his captors were reading the account in the paper of Gustavo's death. It was certainly not made clear at the time, but I'm guessing that Gustavo was paying them to hold Emilio and now that Gustavo is dead, the payments would stop and they just let Emilio go.

Should we assume that no one knew about the safe behind the mirror in the house? If they knew about it but didn't have combination, they could have had the lock drilled out after Emilio was supposedly dead. Anyway, there are piles of cash in the safe and the real question is why Modesto decided to take a bus to go fetch Emilio and not rent a car or use one of the cars on the estate.

Paula meets up with a girlfriend in the city and explains, for our benefit, how she went from cold goldigger to nice person and now hates the things her mother has done but still loves her.
 

REINA -- miércoles

Margaret, Santiago isn't exactly looking for honest work. He rejects Teresa's suggestion that he could be a fisherman.

He burned his bridges with the middleman of contrabandistas, Suleiman, when he beat him up in his fury and grief over the drowning of the kid.

Now, he's probably willing to go back to his much less profitable tobacco running, but he's become untouchable.

It seems clear that Chaib has plans for him, though.

Too bad Santiago's not as smart as he is pretty -- he'd invest in some fishing nets and forget the crazy get rich quick/get killed quicker schemes that his even dumber friend Lalo Veiga is so hot to sign on for.
 

REINA - Wednesday

I thought it might be because he beat up Suleiman but was not sure.

At this point Santiago is coming across as weak, whiney and a hothead. Teresa is obviously the strong one in this relationship. She is confident and goes after what she wants. Santiago could learn from her.

Margaret
 

REINA -

Thanks, NovelaMaven, for the summary, which covered just about everything. Santiago sure is great at driving things (boats and trucks). The other day, after he saved the one kid, the next thing we knew, he had reached the target country. This also happened way back when he had to outrun the coast guard with the broken sump pump. And yesterday, he had just pulled off the road, when Chaib said you have to get to Nahor, which I control. Next scene? Nahor, Morocco.

It's a good thing little Mohamed doesn't speak Spanish, with all the drug deals those adults were talking about right in front of him. But since Fatima's now a waitress, she won't have to hide her job description from him.

I definitely liked Teresa's party outfit.
 

HEREDEROS -

Paula's friend said that Paula had always been good and kind. Paula admitted she had done lots of terrible things when she first came to the Del Monte place. This is true, since most of our commenters have not had a very high opinion of her. The writers are definitely trying to make her look better, and Julieta look worse.

To me, Jose is sort of the villain now. He still wants to double cross his brothers for money, he's cruel to Beatriz while demanding sex, and his high and mighty attitude towards Efrain and Amador (actually his attitude towards everyone) is not getting him any points with me.
 

LA REINA - MIÉRCOLES

Jean, it was NovelaMaven, not me who posted the nice recap.

Another new word for me when they were discussing the drugs hidden in the barrels: un alijo de drogas is a shipment or consignment of drugs.

I love it when Teresa gets all Mexican on Santiago. She got right in his face and told him nos van a hacer cantar rancheras, nos van a robar, y nos van a matar. I assume cantar rancheras means torture them until they tell everything.

Yeah, Lalo is a major idiot. He tells a prostitute Santiago is wanted for murder.

I thought Teresa said there were 200 kilos of hashish to Santiago and then told Chaib there were 500.

I guess I have to re-think my theory of Chaib being gay. He's been very insinuating with Teresa. He said to her, softly, I don't know what you give this Gallego to keep him eating out of your hand. But he also said he only wanted a woman who wanted him as well. And he told her he doesn't understand what she sees in Santiago, when she could aspire to much better. (He hasn't seen the shower scene like we have!)

Santiago is letting the testosterone in his body short out his brain cells. He's still resentful that he didn't get to sell those drugs, despite Teresa's clearly pointing out that he needs to let it go. The drugs never were theirs, they bought their way out of Morocco with them, and they'd never have been able to sell them without getting killed in the process.

Sheila is turning out to be lots of fun. I love the expression she used: casi me fue por otro barrio or she almost died. And she now calls Teresa Norteña.

You can see the future Reina happening when Teresa resolutely tells Santiago she'll help him become a narco, but he better not complain afterwards how she does it.
 

HEREDEROS - MIÉRCOLES

Something is finally happening in this novela!

Jean, thanks for your explanation of how Gustavo was identified as being involved with the chained Emilio.

José isn't as smart as he thinks he is. He's probably just blown his $7 million because Paula is unlikely to be abiding by the one-year contract knowing she's someone else's kid.

It was great to see Sofía finally brought down. But she still lied to her daughter once again, saying the other sperm donor would have been a one-night stand, leaving Gustavo out of the equation.

I liked Paula's relationship with her friend. Do we know her name yet?

I kept expecting someone to grab Modesto's bag when he kept falling asleep on the bus. I don't think we really know how far Emilio is from La Arboleda. But that seemed like a pretty long bus ride.

Do we think Berta overheard?

I thought Paula was going to again let Sofía get away with her larcenous ways. She started out just crying. Finally, at the end, she told her she never wanted to see her again.

Cimarro is a pretty lousy at hitting the big bag. He better stay away from real boxers.
 

REINA:

I liked the scene when Teresa negotiated with Dris for her job and apartment and those of Fatima too.

Usually Dris comes off as overacting to me, but in that scene he seemed genuine, I kind of smirked when he said "when do you start"?
 

LA REINA

Hello everyone, especially Margaret, an LVO buddy!

I'm watching this as well. I'm a tad behind but should be caught up by the beginning of next week.

They seem to be filming "full speed ahead" without redoing little mistakes, which is common in novelas I know, but I had to laugh when the police dog seemed to take a bite out of the border patrol's leg right at the end of the scene when Ale and Joseph were escaping and crossing into Morocco last week. Also, Santiago kinda tripped on a shoe in one of his and Teresa's super romantic love scenes! These little blips make for fun viewing.


Thanks for the mini-recaps and all language and customs explanations, this looks like a fun ride.
 

HEREDEROS is only novela I had time to watch last night. There was quite a lot of action for this novela.

We get the back story on Emilio. After Gaspar abandoned him after the car accident, Gustavo found him and held him, chained to a bed, for more than a year.

The reason we don't see his face is because it's scarred and he is going to get plastic surgery to repair the scars and change his appearance so that he can return to La Arboleda without being recognized. (What is he going to do about his voice that Modesto recognized right away on the phone?) Apparently, Emilio doesn't have much longer to live and he wants to repair some of his errors.

Emilio seems to have a soft spot for Paula and he reacts badly when Modesto tells him that Paula was not well received by her 'brothers.'

Just when the campesinos who helped Emilio are facing eviction for lack of money, Modesto appears like Santa Claus with gifts and a bank account in their names that will support them for several years. All thanks to Emilio. Then Emilio gives Modesto a car (a Toyota, naturally, since they are sponsors of the show) so that he doesn't have to take the bus anymore. What a nice guy!!

In a rare display of energy, Juan tracks Paula to wherever she was by reporting his car as having been stolen. Apparently, the car had LoJack or similar service. He shows up at Paula's apartment, declares his love and takes her back to the hacienda.

Paula asks a few questions about whether Juan has ever told a big lie but she does not tell him about the doubts about her paternity.

Just when Juan actually has good cause to fire Julieta as the ranch's vet, he doesn't do that. He merely makes her promise that she won't try and harm Paula again. Julieta promises but it is pretty clear that she has her fingers crossed behind her back.

Jose makes a new deal for a percentage of her inheritence with Paula in return for not disclosing to Juan that Emilio probably isn't her father.

Then Jose tells Juan that it was Sofia who hired the goons who beat him up. Juan calls a family meeting and with Paula's acquiesence, tells Sofia to leave the hacienda. Mother and daughter have a tearful farewell.

Guadalupe has gotten a letter from her mother. She tears it up in front of Eleuterio while begging him to accept her marriage to Gaspar.

That was about it, I think.
 

HEREDEROS - Thursday

Good summary, Jean! We may never see these characters again, but for the record, Paula's best friend was Adela, and the campesinos were Angel and Magda. I liked how when they were praying for food, the first thing they received was a flat screen TV! (but they did get that bank account, too :)

I was hoping Paula would tell Juan the truth, and not take Jose's deal, but of course that would make the novela way too short. Wonder what the new Emilio will look like (a new actor?).

It definitely looks as if Berta and Modesto will eventually be an item.
 

REINA - Jueves

We had a very positive show last night (just in time for more things to go wrong tonight). Teresa, showing she's not as super morally good as we might have wanted, slept with Chaib, and in return, Chaib gives Santiago the hashish transfer job Santi wanted. Santi gets totally drunk, is very upset at what Teresa did. She tells him deal with it, I'm a whore, and you're a kept man (she uses the word chulo, and the English titles said "kept man"). She says, but you're MY chulo! A little sexiness and they're back in business. For two weeks, everything goes great. He does the drug runs in the boat, gets lots of money, and gives it to Teresa to manage, telling her it's THEIR money, he wants to be with her forever. He gets her to say "I love you".

Unfortunately, Dris Larbi is jealous. He likes Teresa, too, even though she told him "I'll sleep with anyone I want to, but you're not on the list!" At a cafe, Santi, Lalo, Teresa, and a few of the other girls are having a good time. Someone mentions the location of tonight's drug run. Santi says "no vayas pregonandolo", or don't go around broadcasting it. But Dris overheard, and this could be trouble.
 

REINA - jueves

Muchas gracias, Hombre, for your helpful remarks about this episode.
As usual, the person with the big mouth is Lalo Veiga, Santiago's fellow smuggler. He's also the one who told Soroya that Santiago killed a policeman in Galicia. This time, he gives Dris the information he needs to alert the coast guard about the shipment of hashish that will take place that night. From the avances, it looks as if Lalo has been captured and is being beaten up. My guess is that Santiago got away, but I'm not at all sure.
 

REINA -- jueves

Hombre, thanks for well-written summary of last night's action. It's interesting that the English captions are being so prissy. I'm sure you know that in this context, 'chulo' means 'pimp' (one of those words best left to native speakers since it often means 'cute, adorable' -- ¡te ves tan chula!)

Thanks for your helpful comment Juanita. I wasn't sure who exactly Dris was selling out Santiago to, but it makes sense that he was alerting the coastguard. (And just for the pleasure of it! Unlike Chaib, Dris hasn't learned to focus on the practical and forget the sentimental.)

It's true that Santiago has coaxed a couple of "Te quiero's" out of Teresa, but I haven't heard any "Te amo's". I liked what Santiago answered when she said:
"Te quiero Santiago."
He answers: "Eso me lo creeré cuando no vuelva a ver nunca más la foto del muerto." (I'll believe that when you never again look at the dead guy's photo.) The photo again!
 

REINA - jueves

Thanks very much, NovelaMaven, for writing out the remark that Santiago made to Teresa about when he'd believe her. I knew he was talking about the photo of el Güero, but as is often the case I missed just enough of the words to fail to understand what he said. One of these days . . .

To be honest, I'm not 100% sure it's the coast guard that Dris tipped off (as opposed to other uniformed entities that patrol the waters), but that seemed the most likely.
 

REINA - Thursday

Hello Sandy. Good to see you posting here. As you know I started watching La Reina coz I am a big fan of Kate D.C. So far this has been pretty good and I am going to keep watching. The added bonus in watching La Reina is that I just discovered Ivan Sanchez who plays Santiago, and boy is he gorgeous. I hope you are enjoying this as well.

Thank you Hombre for the summary.

I was not expecting that Teresa would sleep with Chaib. I thought she would have gotten out of it somehow with some excuse. But I suppose that was the price she had to pay to get Santiago into the business. Santiago got over it though pretty quickly after his initial anger.

Margaret
 

LA REINA - JUEVES

This was an excellent episode. Dris Larbi surprised me by the plot twist that he's obsessed with and jealous of Teresa. Up until now my impression was that he only saw dollar signs (honest cashier and bookkeeper)when he looked at Teresa. He's now very sinister.

The scenes at Chaib's house were very interesting. Chaib has Cáceres down cold. He still has a thing for Teresa and is very jealous when he sees her interest in either Santiago or Chaib.

Kate del Castillo was magnificent in all scenes last night. The trite thing would have been for her to appear disgusted at going to bed with Chaib. But he's not a disgusting person and it appeared they both enjoyed the experience.

Chaib said he envied El Gallego for having Teresa's love. He asked in a vulnerable way why she never loved HIM. She was very diplomatic, saying it was her Indian blood and stubborness that would make them a bad combination

Chaib is the consummate pragmatist. He told Dris that Santiago is a good pilot and that he would have ended up employing him anyway. So why not take advantage of the opportunity to bed such a beauty?

The dustup with Santiago and Teresa when she returns home was so well acted by the two of them. She was great! She knocked him back on his heels by reminding him she'd given him what he wanted. Yes, I'm a whore, but you're a pimp, my pimp. Chulo means pimp instead of kept man. A kept man could be kept with his wife's wages as an insurance agent. But a chulo implies the woman is in the oldest profession.

Then she smoothed over his male pride by telling him all the things she loved about him: his eyes, his rear end, and that he made love to her better than anyone!
 

REINA -

Thanks, all for the explanation of "chulo". I also looked it up and found pimp, along with a bunch of other meanings. I record while I watch, and I can go back and switch between no captions, spanish captions and english captions. So the english ones said kept man, but pimp makes much more sense.

In a way, I'm glad that both Teresa and Santiago are doing some bad things. Remember before the show started, we were speculating whether it would glorify drug trafficking? We're already seeing some of the downsides, and I'm sure we'll see more. We're rooting for Teresa, but as we saw last night, she's not Ms. Perfect - she's doing what she has to do, to survive.
 

REINA

Thanks for the explanation of certain dialogues and words, NovelaMaven, Hombre and Novelera. Didn't quiet get what they were saying after the mutual slaps, just that Santiago finally accepted what Teresa did for him and they made up.

Hombre you are right, these two are not perfect and that makes more sense considering their environment, and this makes their characters so much more realistic.

Teresa must be a real maths wiz. She doesn't need a calculator. Chaib was impressed.

Margaret
 

HEREDEROS - JUEVES

I'm a bit tired of the game of not showing Emilio's face.

Paula looks a lot better than I would after staying up all night drinking tequila!

I'm confused about the timing here. Emilio was tied to a chair for a year? I thought Paula and Sofía just got off that small plane a few months ago at most. Why would Gustavo have waited so long to produce Paula?

Gotta admit I enjoyed Sofía finally getting SOME of what she deserved. She tried to milk Paula's soft heart for all she was worth, but got nowhere. I don't think she'll disappear though. She's still Rosa's "socio" in the Almacen. I'd be thrilled if she just stopped putting the moves on Miguel. Probably too much to hope for.

Looks like they're planning some villainy for Julieta.

I agree, Hombre, Modesto is charming Berta in spite of herself.
 

LA REINA - JUEVES

Hombre, I just remembered. They actually used the word for "kept man" the night before when Santiago was griping to Teresa about not having any work. No me criaron ser un mantenido. She had told him before that they had a roof over their heads and food on the table. She would have been happy to support him working at Yamila forever.
 

REINA: Jueves

The scene with Santiago and Teresa in the apartment was one of the best I've seen in a novela. I had it on DVR and I watched it several times. When he gave her the money and then told her why, the look in her eyes was amazing...
 

REINA - general

There's an interview in English with Kate del Castillo at http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/watch_with_kristin/b231560_remember_when_shane_murdered_pilar_with.html. If that link is too long to work here, try this one: http://tinyurl.com/4jjxdto
 

REINA - viernes

I haven't been put off by the violence up til now, but tonight's episode was almost more than I could handle.

As was clear from last night's episode, Dris has alerted the Moroccan coast guard to the fact that a shipment of drugs will take place at a specified location. And indeed, as Santiago and Lalo are loading the hashish onto their boat, the coast guard arrives and starts shooting. Santiago and Lalo try to escape in the boat, but Lalo is apparently hit by a bullet and falls overboard. Santiago feels he has no choice but to continue to try to outrun the coast guard, thereby leaving Lalo in the water. He succeeds, but Lalo is captured by the coast guard and tortured. After much torture, Lalo provides both Santiago's name and the fact that they were working for Coronel Chaib. As Suleiman later says to Santiago, the Moors could make even a mute person talk. Viewers who wish to avoid scenes of violence should probably fast forward through all scenes with Lalo after he's captured.

At Suleiman's insistence, Santiago flees to Algeciras for a month until things calm down. Before he leaves, he asks Suleiman to tell Teresa what has happened. He also asks Suleiman to ask the Coronel to get Lalo out of the Moroccan prison. But that's the last thing the Coronel will do. He's furious that Lalo implicated him. He breaks off all business with Teresa and adds terribly to Lalo's torture. I'll leave it to someone with a stronger stomach to provide the specifics. Suffice it to say that what earlier seemed like the Coronel's pragmatism is shown here to be something much colder and more heartless.

Soraya is devastated by what has happened to Lalo, and she tells Teresa and Fátima that she is sure it was Dris who ratted on Santiago and Lalo. She explains what she saw when she, Lalo, Teresa, and Santiago were sitting around talking and drinking, and Dris overheard Lalo talking about their drug-running plans. Teresa confronts Dris. He accuses her of having forgotten that she owes her life to him. She tells him that she hasn't forgotten, and that she pays her debts, and this one has now been paid. (Or something like that.) She also tells him that unlike the other women who work for him, she's not afraid of him and she's not afraid to die.

After a month, Santiago returns. He convinces Teresa to leave Melilla and come with him (to Algeciras, I think). She agrees, one one condition: that she works with him smuggling drugs.

I fear this account is rather jumbled and probably not all that accurate. However, I'm confident that some of the other, far more capable viewers will provide needed additions, clarifications, and corrections.
 

REINA - general

There's an interview in English with Kate del Castillo at http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/watch_with_kristin/b231560_remember_when_shane_murdered_pilar_with.html . If that link is too long to work here, try this one: http://tinyurl.com/4jjxdto.
(I would have sworn that I posted this earlier, but it seems to have disappeared.)