Caray, Caray!

Thanks very much, Jean, for the summary of Friday's episode of "Reina." One of the things that the episode brought out was how difficult Teresa found the decision to sleep with the chief of police. She had turned him down quite blatantly when he had made the moves on her earlier at Yamila. IIRC, she told him she wasn't a prostitute, she slept only with those she wanted to, and he wasn't her type. Period. So now, even in the face of almost certain death if she were to allow herself to be deported to Mexico, Teresa takes a while to decide to agree to the chief of police's offer.

One question. When we first see Santiago in the telenovela, he's transporting tobacco and wishing he could transport hashish and other drugs, which pay a lot more than tobacco. I hadn't realized that by Friday's episode he has made the switch to hashish. Is it clear that that's the case? Is that why those hoody guys are looking for him?

BTW, I don't know whether my Spanish is getting better or worse, but I'm now finding the slang more of an obstacle than I did at the start.
 

REINA - general

Oops, I forgot to put a heading on my previous comment. Oh well.... I'm writing again to say that Telemundo has its own forum for Reina, and there's a brief thread there that offers some definitions for some Spanish (as opposed to LatinAmerican) slang. Two people contributed to it. Here's what's listed:

Currar: Trabajar, es un verbo coloquial como o sería chambear. Igualmente existen la palabra curro que es trabajo.

Ostras: es un palabra que se utiliza en lugar de Ostias, ya que la segunda es una blasfemia que se suele usar cuando algo nos sorprende, nos llama la atención o es algo fenomenal como: Ostia/ Ostras, no me digas que perdió el Real Madrid, cuando nos en enfadamos: Déjame en paz, ostias o cuando es algo bueno Bisbal es la ostia.

Gilipollas: está seguro que la conocen es un insulto muy usual en España, Gilli significa tonto y pollas es pene, por lo tanto se usa para las personas que solo piensan con la entrepierna.

Caña: Se puede referir a multitud de cosas, en el contexto en que lo usan se están refiriendo a una cerveza es similar a las pintas (pint en inglés) que toman los ingleses, son cervezas de surtidor, las que vienen en botella se llaman botellines. También con caña te puedes referir a un pastel hecho con masa de hojaldre y relleno de crema o chocolate.
Y por último la expresión de alegría "esto es la caña" que sería algo similar a "esta de pelos".

Tío/a: además del hermano/a de tu padre se usa como la palabra Güey, " este tío me ha engañado".

Sudaca: es una expresión que en un principio tenia cierto grado peyorativo para referirse a los Sudamericanos, ahora creo que el termino a perdido en parte ese tinte de despreciativo hacia la gente de Latinoamérica aunque todo depende del tono en que se use.

Moro: esta palabra creo que aun no ha salido pero seguro que saldrá en los próximos capítulos, al igual que la anterior es una palabra peyorativa para referirse a los magrebíes, los marroquíes en su mayor parte.
----
chungo: difícil, complicado.

Flipar: alucinar.

trepa: trepadora.

follar: joder, pero solo se usa para el acto.

chiringo: también se dice chiringuito son bares que se encuentran en la playa muy comunes en la costa mediterránea, son conocidos por ofrecer platos típicos como paella, pescados a la plancha o fritos.

carallo: es una palabra en gallego que es una lengua similar al portugués que se habla en la región de Galicia, significa carajo.

pirarse: largarse

I found this somewhat useful (re Gilipollas, for example) so I thought I'd post it here.
 

REINA- Spanish slang and accents!
Thanks, Juanita, for that list of slang from Spain, No wonder I'm having so much trouble understanding the conversations. I thought it was just the accent that was difficult, but of course it's the unusual words too! Whenever Teresa speaks it's such a relief to hear a sentence I can understand!

Martha
 

LA REINA - VIERNES

Juanita, mil gracias for the list of Spanish slang. Gilipollas was driving me nuts.

I don't think they've shown Santiago and his partner running hash yet. It seemed to me they'd just gotten back from a successful tobacco (cigarettes?) run to Gibraltar when they go to Yamila to unwind. By the way, that was funny that Santiago's partner (does anyone know his name?) didn't get it that the younger B girl was expecting payment.

I really love Fátima, corny though the plot point of a good-hearted prostitute may be. I loved when she was so taken with Santiago's sexiness that she said she'd me dejo atar la pata a la cama. Let him tie my foot to the bed.

Another word that baffled me and that was used twice was culebrones. The online dictionary says this means soap operas.

The plot against Teresa by Ali and Sheila was really nasty. During the phone conversation Ali had with the Guardia who was his primo, it was stated that this Guardia stole the two kilos of hash from the store of seized drug evidence and planted it in Teresa's apartment.

I can't get over Said from El Clon (Jaime) lisping out that European Spanish. I replayed it every time he spoke!

Is my memory faulty or is Dris Larbi in the telenovela more hard hearted than in the book?
 

HEREDEROS - VIERNES

It appears to me that the writers are having Paula and Julieta switch roles. Julieta is getting nastier and Paula is getting nicer.

I thought the scene with Gaspar and Juan was very well acted. Gaspar was his mother's favorite, and the others apparently teased him about it. Juan simply cannot accept that any of his brothers don't feel the same strong love and loyalty toward Emilio that he did and still does. He has a blind spot there.

The big reveal was Gaspar leaving his dying father (in a wrecked vehicle?) alone as payback for making his mother unhappy.

Poor Jonny! I really like this character. Apparently he screwed up somehow and a cow got mastitis. He lost his chance for a promotion and raise; then snotty little Consuelo threatens to leave him if he doesn't start supporting her in the manner to which she's accustomed.

Even though she won't admit it to herself, Rosa, almost in spite of herself, has good taste in men. Miguel and Jonny are both very kind men.
 

LA REINA - VIERNES

Jean, I forgot to thank you for your excellent recap of Friday's episode. Very well written indeed!
 

LA REINA - VIERNES

Aha! I googled Juan Pablo Raba (Jaime) and discovered that he was born in Colombia of an Argentinian father and Colombian mother. He went to Spain to live with his father and attended school. Doubtless this is where he learned that European Spanish accent.
 

REINA -- viernes

Jean, thanks for the superb summary of Friday's episode.

Juanita, the list of slang you posted is great. Thank you!

By the way, about ostras/ostias, I came across the expression 'tener muy mala hostia' in the book and it means something like, those are really bad guys or they have a mean temper. Hostia, with 'h' is the word that means 'host', in the religious sense, as in taking communion.

Nice point about how hard it was for Teresa to sell herself for her liberty. I kind of think she was weighing her options and looking for any other out before accepting the police chief's proposition. It wasn't so much 'death before dishonor' as 'do I have any other choices?'

Novelera, Santiago's pal is Lalo Veiga. And Dris Larbi is a pretty heartless -- though slick -- operator in the book.
 

GENERAL

Buenos días a todos!

Here's a comment from a new member of our community, and an old cyberPal of mine, Rand. (The original is on last week's page.)

Hey guys,

I've been enjoying this blog, thanks to NovelaMaven for showing me the way over here ;)

You recappers do a great job!

Lately I'm watching Los Herederos and La Reina. Aurora...eh no. Is there a worse show?? I can't remember the last time I didn't have the tv on telemundo during that time slot.
Permalink posted by Rand : Sat Mar 05, 05:26:00 PM EST

And my reply:

Hola Rand! Bienvenido, amigo!

Since Jean posted a new page for the coming week, I’m going to copy your comment and paste it over there:
http://tinyurl.com/5ulrg7a

To find the most current page (we put up a fresh one late Friday or early Saturday), go to the main blog page:
http://caraycaray.blogspot.com/

Scroll down the left-hand column to “Mundo de Telemundo” (If you see Fernando Colunga, you’ve gone too far. Back up a couple of spaces.)

If you click on “Discussions”, you’ll get to a page of “Delicious” bookmarks. The topmost is typically the most recent entry.

You can also click on “Experimental Telemundo recap feed”. This will bring you to an internal blogspot bookmark listing from which you can get to the current (or any archived) page. [This “experimental” bookmark is replacing “Delicious” at this blog overall but Jean and I continue to leave a duplicate bookmark at Delicious because some people or systems or computers have trouble displaying the “Experimental” one. Clear as mud?]
 

GENERAL

I second NovelaMaven's welcome, Rand. I hope you'll visit us often and comment on La Reina and Herederos, the two that I am watching.

I believe you show good taste in skipping Aurora. The usual Telemundo/Univision practice of having novelas run past the hour gives me a couple of minutes of Aurora before my DVR shows Los Herederos, and I'm usually left gobsmacked. Say what? People appear to die, get frozen, live, get frozen again with great regularity.
 

REINA -

I'm back from La República Dominicana (had a wonderful time), and I just finished watching all five episodes of La Reina. Wow! This is a great show, and Kate del Castillo is amazing.

I was really mad at Ratas (Ramiro) acting like such a baby, complaining to his Mommie how much he was suffering in prison. I'm sure as soon as he gets out, he'll revert to macho mode, and kill everyone he thinks has crossed him.

Juanita, thanks for the vocab. For those whose Spanish is still a work in progress (like me), I'm going to give a little English translation of some of the new words.

Currar - to work. The normal word is trabajar, and in Mexican slang, it's chambear, so now we know one of the ways they say it in Spain.

Gilipollas - seems to mean someone who thinks with what's between his legs, rather than with his brain.

Cañas - beers

Sudaca - Sheila used this insult, meaning "South American" several times to refer to Teresa.

Follar - the f word. The funny thing is that Telemundo didn't bleep this out, possibly because in Mexico they say joder (and several other things), but they probably don't use this way of saying the f word too much.

Culebrones - This was used to tell Fátima to not be so melodramatic, Don't make culebrones, like a soap opera.

I also noted an expression of Sheila, who said "Que me juego el cuello", literally, I'd play my neck, meaning, I'd bet my life (or my a**) (that Teresa had something to hide).
 

GENERAL -

As we've seen, many spanish speaking countries (just like english speaking ones) use different words for things. In the Dominican Republic, I wanted a wash cloth. I asked the maid for a paño para lavarse (that's what my dictionary said). She drew a blank, then said (in Spanish), Oh, you mean a "facial". I couldn't find any dictionary which said facial meant washcloth, but it does in R.D.

Also, the word for a (drinking) straw, in the dictionary was pajita, but when I said that, the waitress thought I was nuts, until she realized I wanted a "sorbeto". I guess this is like a sipper, since sorbar means to sip.

It was fun!
 

GENERAL

Hombre, welcome back! The DR sounds like a great place to vacation.

Your tale of misunderstood words reminds me of a funny story my years and years ago Italian teacher told me. After arriving in the US, and proud of her hard-earned English skills, she went to a restaurant. The salad was served and the waiter came near with a container of something and inquired: "Dressing?" She was completely baffled and wondered how she'd failed to be properly dressed.
 

REINA

Not watching this at all (not a fan of Kate Del Castillo, nor unglamorous settings), but now that I read Juan Pablo Raba's in it, I'll check it out.
 

GENERAL

HdM/ novelera: funny about misunderstood words/phrases/slang. when I first stepped on US soil in '79, I didn't know what 'to go' meant when ordering at fast food joints.
 

LA REINA - GENERAL

I found an interesting interview with Humberto Zurita on the Telenovela World site:

http://enfoque.msnlatino.telemundo.com/
 

REINA - lunes

Can anyone explain what was happening with Santiago in tonight's episode?
 

It was pretty obscure. The book explain why Santiago and Lalo Veiga had to leave Galicia. Santiago was evading a Customs vessel that was pursuing him by zigzagging through mussel barges. A spotlight, allegedly from Santiago's boat, was turned on the Customs boat causing it to crash into a barge and leaving one Customs agent dead. The Customs officers swore to get even and Santiago and Lalo decided that the Mediterranean around Gibralter was a better place. What happened in Galicia has nothing further to do with the story.

Last night, some Galician guys take Santiago and Lalo back to Galicia where they have to defend themselves against killing someone. I didn't really pay that much attention.
 

REINA - lunes

Thanks very much, Jean! I had forgotten about the reason for Santiago's leaving Galicia for Gibralter, but what was most puzzling to me last night was the bit about the guys taking Santiago and Lalo back to Galicia. There was some discussion about Santiago's father, which I didn't understand, and then a lot of other stuff that I understood even less! :-) Who was the older guy in Galicia who was addressing/accusing Santiago? How was the situation finally resolved? It was very discouraging--they might as well have been speaking Hungarian, for all I understood.
 

REINA - Monday

Here's how I understood the Santiago situation: Santiago's family was part of the Galician mafia, headed by the chunky guy with white hair. Although Santiago's father served the chunky guy faithfully, he died in poverty (misericordia). Therefore, Santiago decided to strike out on his own. But the son of Chunky, the main mean guy who roughed up Santi and Lalo, reminds Santi that you can never leave the mafia - you can only be "thrown out" (echado). So they want Santi to redeem himself by doing one risky drug run for them (which looks like a trap).
 

REINA -

As for Teresa, things were really bleak. After having to humiliate and prostitute herself for Marcelo ("the most powerful man in Melilla"), she's out of jail free. This surprises Jaime and Santiago (who remarks that he thought he had found love, but maybe not).

In the meantime, Sheila and Ali got into Teresa's apartment, stole all her cash, her emerald necklace from Guero, even her photo of Guero, I think. Teresa is royally po-ed. She tells Dris Larbi it's one of two people who must have planted the drugs and later robbed her. After calling Don Epifanio, who tells her it couldn't be anyone from Mexico, because she'd already be dead, she realizes it's Sheila, and she's ready to give that beatch a little payback!
 

REINA -

Here's one more word they've used several times: Pasta, meaning money. The normal word is dinero, and that's what Teresa uses. In Colombia, they usually say "plata", which literally is silver. Some Mexican slang calls it "lana", literally wool. If you think about it, "pasta" is just like one of our words for money - "dough".
 

LA REINA - LUNES

Hombre, thanks for the Galician mob explanation. I came to the same conclusion. Didn't they call themselves something like Club Bernas?

Boy, we know we're not in Televisaland anymore! They'd never show someone about to go down on an evil fat guy. Those several scenes with Marcelo Cáceres were SO disgusting. And, while he found her sexy, a big part of the whole thing was humiliating her and having his revenge because she wouldn't go for him in the bar when she first started working there. I sincerely hope that's the last we see of that guy -- maybe until she gets her revenge on him (not a spoiler - just hoping).

I think Ahmed saw Sheila hide that emerald necklace.

That was a sweet scene with Santiago and his mother. It seems the Galician mob is like the Sicilian one: the sweet, stay-at-home wives don't really know what's going on.

Another great scene with Humberto Zurita: Teresita, olvidate de México porque México se olvide de ti
 

HEREDEROS

There was a lot of the same stuff, but a few new developments.

I guess it's a really bad thing to leave your father to die alone, but for a while there they were insinuating he'd killed him. Maybe that he would have survived if Gaspar had called for help? Or did they mean he provoked the accident?

Eleuterio had some good advice for Lupe: mal hijo = mal esposo.

We had waaaay too many bitchy conversations with Rosa and Sofía.

What was up with the chains? I couldn't figure out who was chained.

Jonny finally found his backbone. He told the material girl that if she kept up her trying to get him in debt or demanding a better lifestyle, she'd never see him again. Yay!

I think one of the things that makes this novela not so great is the big contrast between this one and La Reina del Sur. So far La Reina has been superb!
 

I so totally agree, Novelera. Herederos is all the worse by comparison with Reina. Reina is so intense - I dream about it. I can barely stay awake during Herederos.

HEREDEROS- The hermanos dead mother is played by the actress who was Dr. Silvia in Clon.

Just as it seemed very out of character for Efrain to burn down the del Monte barn, so it seemed out of character for Gaspar to have just walked away from his father. Another warning for Guadalupe - a guy that is that devoted to his dead mother is not going to be a great husband. It was maybe not surprising but unfortunate that Lupe forgave Gaspar.

Who is this chained up person? Very weird.

Miguel is being very hard on Rosa. Not that she doesn't deserve it but there is going to be hell to pay when Rosa eventually finds out about Miguel and Sofia.
 

LA REINA - LUNES

Hombre, I have a slight correction to your comment about the Galician mob. Santiago said that his father died in miseria; misericordia means mercy. Miseria means poverty.
 

REINA - lunes

Thanks VERY much, Hombre de Misterio, for clearing up the misterio about Santiago and what took place in Galicia. I was able to follow the parts of the episode that focused on Teresa, but not the Galicia thread.

Once again, I was immensely impressed with the excellent job Kate del Castillo is doing. Her facial expressions and body language powerfully conveyed her disgust and humiliation without her having to say much at all.

Novelera, I too think I saw Ahmed observe Sheila's taking off Teresa's emerald necklace and hiding it after Teresa returned. I can't wait for payback time.
 

REINA -

Thanks, Novelera for the correction. The good thing is, by my making the mistake with miseria (poverty) and misericordia (mercy), NOW I'll really remember them the next time I hear them!
 

HEREDEROS -

Sofia is really in a bad position now, with Jose threatening to reveal the fact that Paula may be Gonzalo's daughter to Paula hanging over her. I sort of think she should just tell Paula the truth (whatever it is, since she said she wasn't SURE who was Paula's father). But it's unlikely she'll tell for a long time, however, because that would wreck the story. It's more likely that Paula and Juan will get together, be just about to get married, and THEN the truth will come out and wreck the story!

BTW, I really think Julieta and Pedro and a good couple. They're both so earnest and soft spoken. Likewise, both Juan and Paula are egotistical and leaders. They deserve each other. It's too early for all this to work out, though.
 

REINA -

Okay, we know some more names. The mafia guy is something like Joaquin Pernas (not sure of the spelling). His son is Siso. Last night Pernas made a big deal of how his word was his bond, that everybody knows they can trust him, as he explained how Santiago and Lalo will go in the fast boat to pick up the cocaine, and then they'll be free of the Galician mafia forever. Clueless Siso wondered why Dad was being so nice to these bums. Answer? He wasn't. Despite his "word", he has a diver fiddle with the boat so that gasoline is leaking, and he's called the equivalent of the Coast Guard to turn in our handsome duo. Can they escape?

After recovering her photo of Guero, the emerald necklace given by Epifanio and half the money (Ali has the other half), and after putting a big scare into Sheila, Teresa seems to be doing better. She's even met a REALLY powerful guy, Abelkeleh (sp.?) Chaid. Colonel Chaid (as well as Marcelo Casares and even Dris Larbi, I think) are all involved in human traffic (like selling women as slaves), and also hashish, which is where the real money is. Teresa seems to want to get in on this.

Unfortunately, she still has to deal with Sheila, Ali, and a nosy neighbor.
 

LA REINA - MARTES

Ahmed DID see the necklace thus leading to Sheila's beatdown. It was also stated that Sheila had a history of stealing from the other girls.

Stupid Sheila puts the photo of El Güero and Teresa out in plain sight.

I actually believed the white-haired Don when he made that big speech about his word being his bond. I thought his son, Siso, who seems to violently hate Santi, was going to set up the trap.

Speaking of the Galicians, the way they speak sounds more like Portuguese than Spanish. They said mais instead of más, which is Portuguese.

That was a touching and well acted scene when Teresa finally breaks down in tears and confides in Fátima. It was very funny when Fátima was trying out her Mexicanismos with Teresa: güey, cuate.

Thanks, Hombre, for clearing up what the camera kept showing: something bubbling and a hose on the boat. But, I thought Santiago really checked that boat out first.
 

HEREDEROS - MARTES

I don't like José very much, but I give him props for putting a spoke in Sofía's wheels again and again. The woman is insufferable.

I agree that Pedro and Julieta make a good couple. But she still isn't over Juan yet, and tells Pedro she's afraid of breaking his heart.

By the way, these people apparently didn't get the memo that nobody, and I mean nobody, can kiss outdoors in this novela without being caught and castigated. Rosario gets a nasty outburst from her father when she's caught kissing Amador. And Julieta and Pedro get thrown out of their cottage by Juan for doing the same thing: outdoor kissing.

Boy, Juan sure is a dog in the manger, isn't he? He doesn't really love Julieta, but he feels possessive about her anyway. Ugh.

Speaking of Miguel, the father of all the girls, they're turning him into a payaso (clown). I'm rather tired of all his revenge tricks on Rosa. And he treats his daughter's like they're 10 years old, ordering them to their rooms over and over, whether they are married or single.

Sofía is the very definition of the term: jugar chueco (play dirty tricks). She's constantly trying to get an ally to mess with the Del Montes. She's tried each of the brothers, I believe, except Juan. She's tried Modesto and now Efraín. I can't stand her.
 

REINA - martes

Thanks so much, Hombre, for your very helpful explanation of what was going on with Santiago last night. I saw the diver in the water, and I saw something pouring out of the boat, and I knew that Santiago was being double-crossed, but I still couldn't put the pieces together. Duh.

I know that Santiago is supposed to be an exceptionally skilled boat driver, and I'm hoping (perhaps even assuming) that he'll somehow manage to out-maneuvre the Guardia in spite of the problems with the boat and fulfill his end of the deal.
 

LA REINA - MARTES

Juanita, I had the very same problem figuring out what was going on in Santiago's boat as you did.

Don't worry, the little scenes shown over the names of the cast, when the La Reina del Sur corrido is playing, show Teresa and Santiago making love, so I don't think he's going to die or end up in the slammer.

This novela is SO exciting and well done!
 

REINA -

Novelera, I think Santiago checked out the boat BEFORE leaving Galicia. But while the boat was being loaded with cocaine at the other side (Gibraltar?), that's when a diver (probably from one of the other boats) snuck into the water and probably opened the valve.

Santiago is definitely having a bad day, with his mother having a heart attack (I can't remember if Siso or someone scared her).

Teresa's opening up to Fatima was moving. But remember, she's not supposed to trust anyone. While I don't think Fatima would knowingly betray her, it's possible that down the line someone could threaten her, and Teresa's hiding rom her Mexican past could be in danger.
 

HEREDEROS:

Getting harder for me to watch this one. From the very beginning, the voice of Mario Cimarro is irritating, Marlene Favela isn't good looking enough for the role and there's no chemistry between them. Super boring.

On the other hand, don't know if I've seen anyone more beautiful than Lupe and I enjoy her scenes with Beatriz and her Dad.

A few weeks ago I was laughing out loud when I watched Rosa's transformation with Jonny en la casa. I like her, she's a pretty good actress! From "este hombre de muerto" every other sentence to ga ga for jonny, lol.

Novelera, you're right about Miguel, puro payaso ese.

REINA:

I too liked the scene with Teresa and Fatima, but speaking of her trying to hide from her Mexican past, I wondered from the beginning why when people asked her who she was, she responded with her real name, and then even emphasised "Mexicana".
 

Oops, I meant "muerto de hambre", she just used it again only this time with Rosario! lol
 

REINA -

Okay, now I understand the boat thing. They cut a hole, and water was getting in. They also cut the line to the bilge pump or sump pump (bomba de achique), so water would slow the boat down. Santiago fixed it, and when cornered, he let all the water be pumped out. At the last minute, with no water left, they took off, and outran the Civil Patrol.
 

HEREDEROS

I'm going to stick with my theory that the main characters in novelas have to have someting personally likeable about them to make a story work. They need to have some quality that we admire in them. In this novela the main characters are not just boring, they are despicable (additionally, they seem to be very uncomfortable around each other). We have to shift our interest to the supporting actors and this usually isn't enough to make a story watchable over the long run. I again ask the writers to give us back our heroes and heroines- they are the foundation of a good story.
 

HEREDEROS

I forgot to mention in my last posting that it is being suggested that the man in chains, and perhaps the voice on the phone, is Emilio Del Monte, on whose death the novela is premised. If he is alive, this should shake up this novela and send all the plots into a tailspin.
 

REINA - miércoles

Thanks once again, Hombre, for your extremely helpful explanations.

Well, it looks as if the way has been cleared for Santiago and Teresa to get together. He apparently is free of the Galician mafia, and she is no longer being sought as Sheila's assailant, thanks to Sheila's saying it was Ali who hit her. And even better--Jaime (who I continue to think of as Said from "El Clon") has learned that his fellow Guardia is Ali's cousin, and he now recognizes that much of what has happened involving Teresa was a put-up job. He seems clearly to be an ally: it looks as if her momentary drunken fling with him is paying unexpected dividends.
 

REINA - Wednesday

I agree, Juanita, who knew Teresa's fling with Jaime could actually turn into a plus? Ali has now called his cousin Youseff, the bad cop, who has been told by Jaime to stop harassing Teresa, and said they'd better leave town, because Sheila could also reveal they stole the drugs from the police inventory and planted them.

Teresa isn't totally in the clear, since Marcelo Casares is mad at her for basically telling the truth, that he's a slime. Fortunately Teresa has Colonel Chaib on her side now. The big party promises some more action.

I looked on the map, and Galicia is on the northwest coast of Spain, far, far away from Melilla. But now that Santiago's Mom has died, and there's nothing tying him to Galicia (and the Pernas family still wants revenge), I guess he'll pick Melilla as his new base (or how else could he meet up again with our feisty heroine?!)
 

HEREDEROS -

I know I'm in the minority, but I really like Paula. Sure, she's been conniving a bit, but she hasn't killed anyone, beaten up anyone, set fire to anything, trashed someone's house (actually most of these things were done by OTHER characters, often against HER). Originally, she came here, because she felt hurt and abandoned by her father, and wanted what she felt was rightfully hers. What's wrong with that? Then, when she fell in love with Juan, she was far less interested in the money, and is truly trying to win his love (and succeeding). As for her looks, I happen to think she's a real doll, just super beautiful, but with a twinkle in her eye, and a touch of vulnerability.

When she finds out that Emilio was not her father (we think), she'll be destroyed. But she'll keep fighting.

As for sparks between her and Juan, I sure see them. He fights every opportunity to give in to his desires for her (and I think they are not just physical, but real love, which he never really felt for Julieta), but the attraction is just too strong for him to stop.

I understand I'm in the minority, but this is my opinion.
 

REINA

I think this story is addicting. Good quality action! Want More!

HdM... Thanks for the explanation on the bilge pump. I got lost on the bomba part. Oh and, you mention the character Marcelo Casares which confuses me, would you mean Manolo Céspedes? What am I missing here?

On the bad cop, Youseff, nasty guy. I was trying to figure out who this was, and would you believe Juan David Agudelo. (who played Fernando, the druggy friend of Natalia in el clon) wow! The only way I made the connection was by following his name from the cast. But, I still could be wrong, such completely different characters! Both he and Juan Pablo Raba (Jaime) are Colombian actors, but I guess Raba was raised in Spain.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juan_David_Agudelo
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juan_Pablo_Raba
 

LA REINA - MIÉRCOLES

Yes, thanks Hombre for the technical explanation of how the clever Santiago got away from the Guardia Costera. At first I thought Santi was running south. But then I saw him approaching the Don and Siso and realized he was smarter than that. The old guy had no choice then but to honor his "word" to free him if he delivered the cocaine.

I watched Teresa completely humiliate Cáceres about 3 times. Wow, that was fun.

Kate really knows how to show the wheels turning in Teresa's head. She mentioned, I think to Dris, that Coronel Chaib was both intelligente y poderoso. As she was in the book, she's a very good judge of character.

Santiago and Teresa seem made for each other. Both are clever, quick thinking and decisive. Both demonstrate (as Güero said) understanding "the situation". Flashbacks often annoy me, but when she was running from the evil Youssef, the scenes of her running from other dangers with Güero's words in her mind were very effective.

I was so relieved that Said, I mean Jaime, showed up and caught on to Youssef's game. I don't think the schmuck had any idea his boss knew Teresa. But the guy then managed to steal a doctor's uniform and discover that Sheila had ratted out Ali.

Santiago promised his dying mother he'd go straight.

I can hardly wait to see tonight's scene with Chaib and Teresa. Interesting that he recognized her by her eyes only when she was wrapped up in the shawl.
 

REINA -

Deb, I'm not positive of the names, but I thought the "chief of police" guy who got Teresa out of jail in return for her sexual favors was named Cásares, and I think his first name was Marcelo. I don't recognize the fellow you mentioned. But 1) I haven't read the book, and 2) I'm going from the captions, which could be wrong.

BTW, I was also thrown by the word bomba, which had me thinking bomb, but also means a pump. As you probably know, firemen are bomberos :)
 

HEREDEROS - MIÉRCOLES

I guess I'm somewhere between Rand and Hombre about this novela. For some reason I keep watching.

The most annoying one for me is Cimarro. I think Marlene Favela is managing to make the switch to a more sympathetic character. I loved Marlene in Zorro, where she played a very sympathetic character, so her haughtiness and scheming in this one was a shock. I do think she's beautiful.

¿Qué? Pedro and Julieta don't have two cents between them to rent a nice house. The one Paula and Sofía were in seems available now.

I think most of the characters in this novela were in special-ed classes in school. Dumb and dumber. Beatriz can't seem to get it that the real father of her child, biological or not, is Efraín. Lucas seems brain damaged, shocked, shocked that Paula and Juan are hooking up.

There's a little law of unintended consequences going on here. Efraín and, I guess, Amador hire some thugs to beat up José. But they do it in front of Beatriz' house so she lavishes caresses on her wounded guy!

Juan is a huge hypocrite. He is all over Julieta for having a relationship with Pedro, while he's doing the same thing with Paula.

So glad Julieta caught Miguel. Here's another hypocrite. Rosa's fall from grace was decades ago, and he has an ongoing affair.
 

HEREDEROS -- Jueves

Sofia is human garbage. There is going to be serious hell to pay when Rosa learns the full truth. Not that she's any angel either because she treats her family badly, but it takes a special kind of evil to aggressively pretend to be the friend of the woman whose husband you're boinking. I don't blame Jose a bit for wanting to get back the money Juan feels obliged to pay to get rid of her.

If Gaspar walked away from Don Emilio after the accident and didn't actually see him die, he could have faked his death (like Don Julio in Eva Luna) to see how it would all shake out. If I'm right he will be enraged at Sofia's deception and a few other things as well.

Paula still gets no sympathy from me except with regard to her mother's deception. She set out to steal Juan from Julieta and had the temerity to taunt her over it and make life miserable for her. Not to mention flirting with all the brothers while attempting to turn them against each other.

BTW, Marlene Favela has had some bad plastic surgery. She had her nose made shorter which may have improved her profile a little, but does nothing positive for her full-face shots. Not to mention the overly collagened lips. That looks obscene to me.
 

REINA – jueves

A few observations:

First, it’s going to be interesting to follow the photo of Teresa and el Güero:
• It’s so precious that when she is fleeing for her life in Culiacán, she still takes the time to break the glass and remove the photo from its frame so she can keep it with her.
• It’s one of the few personal items – maybe the only one from her former life – that she displays in her apartment in Melilla (in a new, more modest frame).
• When she’s ransacking Teresa’s apartment, it catches Sheila’s attention, and arouses her jealousy. She steals it.
• Sheila’s possession of the photo betrays her guilt.
• Teresa recovers the photo and sets it out in her apartment.
• After making love to Santiago, she turns the photo backwards so el Güero is looking away.
• Santiago, left alone in Teresa’s place, takes down the photo and studies it.

Second, the erotic scenes in this novela are wonderful. They are tasteful, charged, believable, and always integral to the story.

Third, although I’m not watching Herederos, my recording of La Reina always catches the last few minutes of that show. So in the earlier show I get to see these posed head shows of blank-looking, beautiful people. And it’s hard not to be struck by the contrast between that and what follows: the amazing cinematic composition and acting in La Reina.

I don’t know if the level of quality will be maintained, but so far this show is the most brilliant thing I’ve ever seen on Spanish language tv – in terms of acting, writing, and visualization.
 

REINA - Thursday

Last night was a very exciting and satisfying episode, with Teresa connecting with Santiago, Jaime getting killed by Youseff, Ali and Youseff fleeing with drugs hidden in their jeep, getting past the border guards, only to have them recognized as they zoomed off into Morocco, the guards shooting, killing Ali.

The scene at the start, with Teresa begging Coronel Chaib to believe her, followed by the other girls as witnesses, and even Casares being convinced, was also good to see.

NovelaMaven, your point about the photo is well taken. I'll be keeping an eye on that little piece of Teresa's past.

BTW, she now has 2 people still alive, who've sworn revenge on her: Ratas Ramiro in Mexico, and Youseff in Morocco. It's only a matter of time before they return to confront her.

In the meantime, her business prospects (and love life) seem to be looking up.
 

LA REINA - JUEVES

Wow! Teresa and Santiago: Hot, Hot, Hot!!!!! I was a bit surprised they jumped into bed so quickly; but they did. That was just perfectly acted, perfectly filmed lovemaking. Her calling him Güero slowed things down momentarily, but she so beautifully and honestly told him what Güero meant (not in his European vocabulary). And she told him that was in the past.

Another word I had to look up: chanchullos. Darn, I forgot who said it to whom. But it means something someone is doing that is shady.

I'm going to miss Jaime.

So, is Chaib Suleiman? This character was mentioned as the big narco in charge of all of the trafficking in Melilla.

I'm not sure the human trafficking that Cáceres and Chaib are doing is necessarily sexual in nature. Could be. But it could also be similar to the kind of things the Chinese Snakeheads do. They smuggle people from poorer countries into places where they can work in exchange for a huge price. Sometimes this is paid outright and sometimes worked off.

Teresa is very ambivalent about drug trafficking. Her ears perk up when Ahmed or someone else tell her about who the big players are. But she definitely did not like hearing from Sheila and the other gal (the third one - not Fátima) were saying about Santiago's trafficking. They think it's drugs; so far it's only tobacco, I think.

And I agree with all of you that this novela is fabulous, simply fabulous.
 

HEREDEROS - JUEVES

Urban A, I'm so with you about Sofía. The actress is doing a good job, but the character is despicable. Last night I could have strangled her when she tried to hang on to Miguel. He tried to leave Rosa and go live with her, but she wouldn't go for it then. She didn't want any strings. But when the guy tries to do the right thing, she's pouting and clinging. ¡Ya basta!

Pedro continues the low IQ behavior of the whole cast by being completely surprised that Julieta is jealous of Juan and Paula declaring themselves.

For once Berta gets kicked out of participating in a family discussion. Yippee!

Could this plotting be more frustrating? Juan and Julieta are trying to repair some of the damage they've done to each other, maybe work back to friendship. Enter Paula. Bye bye one decent moment. This novela seems to be produced by the Televisa cookie cutter writers; i.e., every possible plot advancement is interrupted by the villain or someone showing up or overhearing, etc.

Boy, Gaspar is changing fast. Guadalupe seems to sense there's something dark there that she hadn't noticed before. Now I'm wondering if these two will make it.

Something I've been thinking for a while: the big change to El Gavilán seems completely ridiculous to me. This is, I thought, a little pueblito near the hacienda. But they've got a full-scale disco scene going on, plus go-go girls leftover from the 60's. Every time they show that place I cringe.
 

I've been so busy the last few days that I haven't had time to comment.

HEREDEROS- As far as I can tell, the maybe reincarnation of Emilio del Monte is the only plot development so far that wasn't in the Chilean original. Let's hope it makes Herederos more interesting. Even though it is on at 9pm, I keep dozing off during it but that doesn't happen when Reina comes on at 10.

Amador was sure radiating guilt and confessing his involvement in Jose's beating to Rosario was probably not a good idea.

REINA - I finished reading the book. So now I understand some things that have happened. Yes, indeed, keep an eye on that picture.

In the book, it is made clear that Dris is trafficing in women. It said that the girls in the bar changed over every couple of months.
 

REINA -

The third girl's name is Soraya.

I sort of thought that the guy Santiago met in the streets of Melilla at night (another guy with a cap and a beard) was Suleiman. But it's true Chaib has also been said to be in charge of a lot of things.
 

REINA - jueves

I wish I had something useful to add about last night's episode, but I don't. I continue to be VERY impressed with this production, and I'm very grateful to Hombre de Misterio, NovelaMaven, Novelera, and Jean for giving me some of the tools I need to keep abreast of what's happening.

I don't recall this being mentioned here, but on the Telenovela World forum, someone posted a message recently saying that "La Reina del Sur" topped Univision and English-language broadcast networks in the adults 18-34 demo in its time period Tuesday. I don't know whether Telemundo has had other programs that have done this well...I rather doubt it. Like NovelaMaven, I've been blown away by the excellence of this show. (I'm also hoping that if "Reina" continues to do well, "CarayCaray" may see the wisdom in the future of having recappers for at least some of Telemundo's TNs.)
 

Great comments by everyone here!

I agree with you all, Reina is something special for sure, I love it. So far like you all have said, the production feels more like cinema and the acting has been outstanding. When I'm at the gym I'm finding myself hurrying so I can get to the cardio rack by 8:00 so I don't miss anything!

I have to admit though, it's been the most difficult to understand with the different Spanish accents and slang but I'm adapting pretty fast.