Monday, July 11, 2011
Triunfo del Amor #162 7/11/11 ♪♪If I only had a heart (check), da noiv (check), a brain (working on it)♪♪
little Juan Pablo makes a fashion statement;
Xi and Gui are closer to being unmasked;
Fabián finally realizes that Luci is smokin’ hot;
Fer and Max set the groundwork for an Os victory (Go Team Os!);
there’s a hint of trouble for Cruz;
and María begins to feel the pull of family.
Reprise: María is ready to hear the truth.
In the visiting room at the reclusorio, Fausto tells María that it was Bernarda de Iturbide who killed Tomasa. That woman – the woman who claims she is acting in the name of God -- is evil incarnate. Does María really want to know everything she has done, as horrifying as it may be? Yes, she does. To defend herself and her father, she has to know the enemy. Fausto begins:
Ella mató a golpes a Tomasa.
(She beat Tomasa to death.)
Triunfo de Moda at the New Casa Victoria?
The fashionista gang – Vic, Pipino and Toni -- is excited about Pip’s idea of bringing Mexico itself to the world stage with their fashions. For the big biennial show, Victoria wants to collaborate with the great designer Armando Mafud, a man known for combining the flavor (sabor) and color of Mexico with the glamour and sophistication of international fashion.
Mr. Mafud has been waiting in the reception area and now Luci escorts him into the office. He smiles graciously while Pip dances and fawns over the dignified 60ish gentleman. The ladies look pleased.
[BTW, Armando Mafud is a real person, a Mexican designer born and raised in Oaxaca, son of Syrian immigrants. He practiced dentistry – yes, dentistry – for ten years and then turned to fashion design. Google him and you’ll find lots of his stuff.]
More video evidence?
Angel, a guy on the Televisa lot, runs to catch up with Osvaldo. There’s a cassette in the viewing room that Os needs to take a look at, he says. It’s important. Os is kind of busy right now but promises he’ll look at it later.
Who let you in?
Max can’t figure out why Ximena is in his office. Is she looking to steal their designs for Casa Bernie? Not at all, she says. She only wants to see him. After all, they do have a child in common. Puhleez. Max blows that pretext off with a recital of the sad history of little Osvaldo. Bottom line: she gave up any rights to little Os long ago.
Xi switches tactics from wheedling to needling.
She can’t understand why – after all she did to try to save their marriage -- he traded her in for a simple little nothing (simplona, literally simpleton, simple soul) like María Desamparada. Better a simplona than an asesina, retorts Max. Xi is incensed. Who’s been spreading lies about her?
She thought-bubbles: Grrr....that damn Guillermo!
Max thought-bubbles: If she only knew it was Fausto ...
The devil is in the details
Indeed. Back at the reclusorio, Fausto is making like Placido Domingo, singing out for María all the details of Bernarda’s evil past. María finds it hard to believe that a MOAP (Mother-of-a-Priest) could be so wicked. But the pieces all fit together:
So she meant to burn all those people alive when she set the fire at the old vecindad ?...
...Just like she killed my parents, confirms Fausto sadly.
Now María is truly appalled:
¿Quemó vivos a tus padres? Ay, Dios mio!
(She burned your parents alive? Oh my God!)
But there is something else María has to know, something crucial – so she can take precautions:
Doña Bernarda...ella fue quien se robó a tu hijo.
(Doña Bernarda... she was the one who stole your son.)
Così fan tutti – Así son los hombres
All that evil got you down? Let’s pause for a little Milagros-Don Napo shtick about the silliness of men. Napo goes off to bathe and change out of his schmatas (fachas) so he can accompany the gussied-up (arreglada) Mili to Casa Victoria. While Mili waits for him, she sits on a bench and shares a laugh with a real person extra (Is it me or are they giving more lines to real folks lately?). The three J’s (Jarocha, Joel, Jarocha) dance on tirelessly in blissful hypomania.
Si la belleza doliera, usted andaría en un grito.
(If beauty hurt, you’d be walking around screaming (in pain))
Napo finally steps out all duded up in a suit and tie, wet hair slicked back, and he and Mili exchange piropos (flirty compliments). Juanjo and Chente rib Napo on his new look.
Helping is different from interfering, right?
Fer phones Max. Yes, it’s true that their parents are adults and the kids shouldn’t meddle in their lives but she has an idea...
Who cares what they’re saying? Check out little Juan Pablo!
Oh man! In his little plaid shirt and baby jeans, he looks just like tío Cruz. Precioso, ¿no?
Ok, back to business:
María, with aforesaid bebé in arms, reports back to Max:
Bernarda was the person responsible for little JP’s secuestro.
Max is incensed and wants to confront the Bernster immediately but María argues that she’s the one who should do it. Alone. As strange as it sounds (parece mentira, literally, it seems like a lie), having her official apellido makes her feel, somehow, more powerful. She’s ready to stand up to anyone now. She hands over little JP to his papi and leaves to confront the BernMonster in her lair.
After she leaves, Max snuggles little Juan Pablo and vows that Bernarda will pay for all the harm she’s done.
Luci can’t help falling
Pipino has sent Luci and Fabián to look for some accessories in the storeroom. There’s one box left to check and it’s on the highest shelf. Brushing aside Fab’s offer of assistance, Luci, wearing absurdly high heels, climbs up, stumbles and falls – right into Fabián’s arms. Are you okay? he asks, his face inches from hers. Music swells. ♪Bésame♪...
And he does.
La Desamparada vs La Demente
All haughty sarcasm, Bernarda spews venomous lies and distortions designed to make María doubt the truth about her parents’ history and the Bernster’s crimes. María hangs tough.
To Bernie’s rant that calling a priest “papá” is heresy, she counters that when she was conceived:
Mi papá era apenas un seminarista y no había hecho sus votos.
(My dad was only a seminary student and hadn’t taken his vows.)
When Bernie mocks María for her naivete and tells her Victoria is manipulating her like a puppet, María replies:
Aquí la única manipuladora es usted!
(The only manipulator here is you!)
Bernarda’s pretense of affection, says María, kept her from seeing the type of woman la Demente really is: Malvada. Perversa.
Bernie goes all Miss Piggy, feigning wounded innocence: Wicked? Perverse? Moi? Where did those accusations come from?
From Fausto, María says. He told her the whole story.
Luci and Fab are still on the storeroom floor.
Looks like Fabián’s kiss is being returned. With interest. And it looks like Fabián is finally coming to his senses about the lovely Luci. He realizes now that she’s the one he loves. He can’t live without her! He begs her to come back home. He’ll be waiting for her tonight – and if she doesn’t come back... Well, he’ll have to resign himself to losing her.
What’s truth got to do with it?
Bernarda, undaunted by a little thing like the truth, rants on about her God-given authority to punish sinners. She is Bernarda de Iturbide, Mother-of-a-Priest – and her son is practically a saint. And now that María carries the proud Iturbide apellido, she’d better make sure her behavior measures up to it.
María has no intention of changing her behavior. Why should she? She’s never hurt anyone. As for Bernarda – the list of her crimes is enormous. For starters, she’s the one who ran over María and Victoria. That’s why Victoria lost her daughter. That’s why María grew up in an orphanage.
Close-up of Bernarda giving a little harrumph headshake and twisting her lips.
Things are looking rosy at Casa Victoria
The great Armando Mafud has signed on for the biennial show. His designs will be featured in the first phase, but in the second and third phases Pipino will be in charge with both Victoria and Toni contributing their design talent. It’s going to be a real team effort.
Here’s what comes out of Bernarda’s twisted lips and even more twisted mind:
She accuses Victoria of using Bernie’s own favorite strategy – repeating a lie so often that it becomes a kind of truth.
Bernarda uses what she overheard in the rat-infested warehouse and what she heard and observed on Gui’s doctored film to challenge the truth of Victoria’s story. She even accuses Vic of arranging the mother-daughter kidnapping just so she could look like a hero when she came to María’s rescue.
But Bernarda takes it too far. Eventually our feisty heroine connects the dots:
Just a darn minute there, Señora...How do you know what Victoria told me when she and I were alone together?
That’s what I’m talkin’ about, insists the Bernster. What she told you were the same. old. lies. As I said, repeat a lie often enough and it becomes the truth.
María and Bernarda, eyeball to eyeball. Has Bernarda planted a seed of doubt?
Ximena knows the death scene by heart
Ximena seems to be making the rounds tonight. She has found her way to Guillermo’s theater and now sits alone in the darkened hall watching the actors rehearse, mouthing Desdemona’s lines along with Leonela; she clutches at her own throat when Guithello chokes Leo’s Desdemona. Bravo! she cries and applauds enthusiastically. Gui leans in her direction: Stick around after rehearsal, he tells her. He has something very interesting to show her.
Casa Victoria looks to the future
Vic has a project in mind – don’t talk about it yet, ok? – but after the big show, she’d like to start a new line for young women. María would be in charge of it and they’d name it after her -- "María Desamparada"... Having María working with them would be a way to keep her close without putting too much pressure on her.
Pip loves the idea. Toni thinks it would be even better if Fer were included – besides, that way María would have a hard time refusing to sign on.
...While María gets another job offer
Listen lady, says María. I’m not here to talk about you or me or Victoria. I’m here to ask a question: Why did you steal my son?
This question triggers another Bernie rant that culminates in a shouted challenge: What motive could I possibly have to steal my own great grandson?
That, says María, is what I want to know. Why are lying? Why don’t you assume responsibility for what you’ve done? How can you live with yourself after all the harm you’ve done?*
*Rhetorical question: A question to which no answer is expected, often used for rhetorical effect.
Usted tira la piedra y esconde la mano.
(You throw the stone and hide your hand, you do harm and then act innocent.)
The ever magnanimous Bernie is willing to overlook what her granddaughter has just said. Obviously, María is confused. And it must be hell working for Victoria. Say – why not come work for abuelita at triple the salary? Bernie will treat her like a queen!
No dice, Bernie. María won’t betray Casa Victoria or go back on her word. Never.
María leaves Bernarda alone with only her pectoral cross to keep her company. She hasn’t thrown her last stone...
Now comes the real drama
The rehearsal is over and Gui and Xi are alone in the theater. Guillermo shows Ximena the cellphone video. Yup, that’s Xi pushing Linda Sortini into the great beyond. Xi grabs for the phone and the two struggle in their usual creepily erotic way. I’ve got you in my hands, says Gui. Xi thought-bubbles: Memo to self – Must kill Guillermo.
Other dramas are being staged at the Televisa lot
Fer, now walking with more confidence, showing just a bit of stiffness in her gait – say what you will about his ethics, that Dr. Voice sure has a way with a scalpel! -- goes up to Osvaldo and gives him a big hug. She’s come to invite him to dinner at 8 at the restaurant they like so much. He accepts happily but then has to split. He has a busy afternoon ahead.
As soon as Os walks away, Fer calls Max. With a conspiratorial smile she reports:
Todo salió bien. Ahora nada más te toca hacer tu parte, ¿no?
(Everything went well. Now all that’s left is for you to do your part, ok?)
Antonieta’s sweetness -- a welcome antidote to Bitter Bernarda
Toni holds little Juan Pablo and talks to María about the past. She tells her how she, Vic and María lived together in a rooftop room. Early every morning she and Victoria would set off to work carrying María in her cajita (literally, little box). In the workshop, María was very quiet, as if the sound of the sewing machines put the little girl to sleep.
Toni adds dreamily:
Ay María, eras una bebé tan querida. Practicamente tenías dos mamás porque tú también eres parte de mi vida.
(Oh Maria, you were so loved as a baby! And you practically had two mothers because you're part of my life too.)
She reflects: Those were difficult times, it’s true, but there was no sacrifice Victoria wouldn’t have been willing to make for you.
A Heri hug
Max walks into Victoria’s office just as she and Dr. Voice are breaking away from a fairly restrained hug hello. Max – going along with Fer’s Parent Trap plot -- invites his mother to dinner at 8 at their favorite restaurant. He pointedly excludes Heri from the invitation. She accepts but after Max leaves she smiles apologetically at Heri. Dr. Heri understands. Vic and Max need some alone time, time to clear the air and dispel doubts.
Who knew he even had a father?
The new old guy in the vecindad takes a call for Cruz. It’s his father, he tells him. Cruz picks up the receiver: ¿Cómo está pa?
His expression turns serious...
Another visitor for Fausto at the reclusorio
Now it’s Max’s turn to question Fausto. What happened to the woman who had been taking care of the stolen baby for Bernarda? Max learns that Alonso gave her enough money to escape from Bernie’s clutches. The last he heard, she was living in a little town just outside the city, San José Actipan.
The Screen Actor’s Guide to Murder
Rule one: Don’t do anything hinky when the cameras are rolling.
I guess this page is missing from Gui’s copy because the film clip that the Televisa guy, Angel, has been so anxious to show Osvaldo clearly demonstrates that Os’s recent “accidental” fall was no accident. Gui deliberately loosened the line holding Osvaldo and caused his fall.
Os asks for a copy of the film so he can study it more closely but Angel can’t let him have it – it would cost him his job. That’s ok, says Os, he’ll figure out what to do about this.
♪♪How many little stars...♪♪
María comes back for little Juan Pablo, and finds Victoria, rather than Toni, holding her son. Vic is singing him the lullaby she used to sing to María (Cuántas estrellitas...), and María’s eyes fill with tears. She steps away to regain her composure. When she comes back a moment later, Padre Juan Pablo has joined Victoria and now he is holding his grandson. María reflects:
Esta es mi familia, la familia que me dio Dios y de cual no debería renegar – sobre todo no debería renegar de mi madre.
(This is my family, the family God gave me, and I shouldn’t turn my back on them – above all, I shouldn’t turn my back on my mother.)
Sweet William Levy in a kayak!
Labels: triunfo
OK, so why haven't we seen Cruz's father yet? Why was he not even previously mentioned? Is he going to pull some kind of reverse snobbery on Cruz and disapprove of Fer?
It looks like all the evildoers are finally being set up for Karmageddon; love the buffer images of Bernarda in the flames of hell.
It looks like Maria is ready to forgive and accept Victoria... and it's about time because they need each other to fight Bernarda. I think Maria realizes that her Abuela Infernal is batshit crazy. She needs to tell Victoria and JP about what she knows.
When is Max going to marry Maria. That should be #1 on his list not getting his parents back together.
The only reason I watch this train wreck is for Daniela Romo, she is the very best Villianess I have ever seen. She is fun to watch. I hope she is not like her character in real life.
I hope Cruz doesn't get bad news from his dad, may he is calling to tell him he has won the lotto.
Rosemary
I was a bit worried that Maria was going to believe Burnie's crap about Vic making it all up. I'm glad her brain was actually functioning last night. Now, can someone work on putting the bat in jail and getting Fausto out? I would say that should be everyone's number 1 priority.
1) Put Burnie in jail so that she doesn't continue to try to kill, kidnap and torture everyone they know.
2) Put Gui and Xi away for their crimes.
3) Get Fuasto out of jail.
4) Max marries Maria so that she and her baby, and Max and his baby can..
5) Move into a larger home in a better neighborhood. (I am going to give Fer and Nathi a pass on this moving thing because they are living where their husbands have the means to support them. Not so in Maria and Max's case.)
6)Check in on Alonso to see how he's doing and if he needs any help in his final days.
7)Meddle in the love lives of Vic, Os and Heri. (Don't think this needs to be done at all, but if we're prioritizing, I would put it last on the list.)
Find out what Gui did with Ofelia's body! It has bothered me for a long time. I am surprised no one has missed her.
Rosemary
My VCR cut out before the final scene so maybe Maria is softening. If she who is such a chip off the old Vic block can forgive maybe her mother can and did as well and in the end there will be one big love fest of Sandovals plus one Padre.
Love how clear thinking Toni is when Vic came up with the idea of the children's clothing line to be run by Maria and her BFF suggests it would be better with both girls. Brilliant idea.
I had a LFMB Aldo flashback when the idea for a clothing line with the flavor of Mexico came up. God knows that show played that one out for all it was worth.
Now of course we get a TdA free day just as thing start to look interesting. ;-(
Rosemary
The final capitulo already been decided 2 weeks ago.Since Mexico started way before us.
I hate that we have to wait so long for the end due to the copa stuff
NovelaMaven thanks for the great recap
rosa
Talk about good typecasting: Roberto D'Amico, who is the bishop in this series, was also the bishop in FELS.
Max & María's boda is last on the list, it will be the last episode in true novela style.
This novela is just ridiculous. Salvador Meh-jia is an idiot!
Belinda
We are all wondering the same thing. Even Dr. Know it All hasn't mentioned him. Apparently everyone in this area has the attention span of a gnat. If it isn't all about me it doesn't matter.
My personal choice is that he is off in Buenos Aires with that hot assistant learning to dance the tango and waiting for the "miracle" TN cure.
La Paloma
Actually Xi mouthing the words was hilariously unreal. She is a model who spent most of the TN high on booze and pills and then doing the nasty and i do mean nasty with Gui and we are supposed to believe she has Otelo memorized? Even Leo a trained actress was working from the script the other day. Can't remember if she was also mouthing Otelo's lines as well but it was over the top, as usual.
When I watched this one online, I fast-forwarded through the Milagros part. Apparently, I missed nothing important.
I agree that the producer of this show is an idiot. I will not watch another of his TNs. I am DVRing Alborado, because you folks said it was so good. That one will be my next one.
Cindy
Urban: Like you, I'm mystified by the choice to bring Cruz's father into the mix at this late date.
Rosemary: Maybe you're right and Papa Robles is calling with good news -- we've been faked out before.
Vivi: I like your list of priorities. Of course, once Bernarda is put out of commission, no one has anything to struggle against. Game over. So I'm betting she won't descend into her fiery pit until the very end.
Dani: I was also struck by Toni's good sense and sensitivity in suggesting the inclusion of Fer in the new line at Casa Vic. Sometimes having two moms isn't such a bad thing -- especially if your first mom is still using her Empathy Training Wheels:)
I also thought of Aldo in La Fea when I heard the 'sabor y color de México' line. Still, not a bad plug, considering the international exposure this show is going to have -- Mexico has been hurting in the image department and even small things can sometimes help.
La Paloma: what can I say? That scene got to me too. I'm easy.
Who wouldn't want to wear a line of clothing called María Desamparada? (QTH?)
So are Fer & Max doing their own Parent Trap thing?
I'm glad Fab & Luci are finally making progress.
Doris, you put it in context. Who wouldn't want to wear clothes with that label????
I'm going to miss this foolishness while hoping that the next stop on the novela train has something better to offer.
BTW, has anyone mentioned what I perceive to be an age gap between Dona Milagros and Don Napo. I'm guessing he's younger by a decade or two and IMHO it shows. Thoughts?
1. Ingenue -- from late teens (think Alison Loz) to mid-30's (think Adela Noriega or Silvia Navarro)
2. Young mothers of ingenues -- mid-30's to 50's + (Mónica A, Victoria)
3. Older -- may be mothers of ingenues, grandma's or even great grandma's, depending on the demands of the plot -- Between 50 and death.
This is one example of TN unreality I enjoy and I've always admired the willingness of Televisa to give work to octogenarian actresses.
I am currently hooked on Damages, with Glenn Close. I'm catching up on past seasons through Netflix. I just learned that GC is 64, though she plays a character in her 50s. Good for FX for creating a leading character who isn't youthful and hiring mature actress for the role. It doesn't happen much US TV.
Don Napo may be 10-15 years younger than Milagros but so what? It happens often enough in life.
To a person, my Spanish speaking patients love this show. When I told a lady this morning that I'm getting weary of TdA and am glad that it will end soon, she seemed so disappointed. She is very fond of Ozzy and will be very disturbed if he doesn't get back with Vicky. She did agree with me that Dr. H is a self-centered know-it-all... I put her on team Os.
Carlos
I
What I will say about that series is that I think the writers got lazy after a subplot involving one of the guys and the female villain got really popular. They probably decided to redeem Princessa and let her stay with Martin and then wrote the rest of the series to favor Eduardo. They also created a more age-appropriate lady for Sergio.
I watched the remaining episodes of TdA yesterday from the same user at the site. I will not post spoilers, but I am in the process of writing my comments on the events to be posted in their own time.
I don't care how they come to the conclusion that multiple endings are clever in my mind it speaks to sloppy writing. A good story should have a logical progression and if the writer doesn't know how it ends he/she should take up another profession.
What should have happened was for the voting to have begun after about the sixth week and have it continue for 6-10 weeks. The writers could have responded to trends in the voting or allowed all three galans to have an equal shot until the last five episodes and then shoot three different sets of the last week for different countries. What did happen was that the Swept Away dynamic between Princessa and Martin got so popular the writers got lazy and finished the story with the two of them getting together while the younger of the other two guys got the title character.
This also insured that Pablo Montero would end up typecast as Petruchio-type guys in romantic comedy relationships (FELS and TdA).
So Vic choosing to be alone (but having a good friendly relationship with Os) or Vic choosing to start over with Os are the only options that make sense in my mind. Dr. Heri is bad/sloppy/lazy writing to me.
Dr. Voice is sloppy writing. It is as if the writers decided to throw him in as competition for Os and to give Vic a chance to, if she chose, give Os a taste of his own medicine. You are right other than pain and grief they have nothing in common and those aren't the greatest things to build a relationship on.
Cindy
PS: Carlos, my two Mexican hair dressers do not like this show.
I'm sorry but I had to delete your comment because it was close to being a spoiler. I know you were trying to be careful with your wording, but still...
Please, everyone, if you've watched the ending online, please avoid discussing it here.
Thanks for understanding.
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