Caray, Caray!

FLOR SALVAJE

I was going to give this one a week. It turns out to be fairly interesting. One hopeful sign is that it's based on a novel by an excellent writer: Laura Restrepo. I have read two of her novels in Spanish: Dulce Compañía and Delirio. Restrepo has won the Sor Juana Inez de la Cruz prize and the prestigious Alfaguara prize.

Because of how much I liked the adaptations of La Reina del Sur and Doña Bárbara, I give extra "points" to TN's based on novels written by respected writers.

I haven't read La Novia Oscura, the book this TN is based on. I read a tiny Wikipedia thing that said it was based on a town where prostitutes serviced oil workers. That's not a spoiler for anyone who's seen the first week. The difference seems to be that the book is written from the point of view of a journalist who comes to write about this. That aspect appears to be missing from the TN.

So, I'll do a mini-recap in another post below.
 

FLOR SALVAJE - Viérnes

PART ONE

Sacto (Californese for Sacramento) does the usual galán thing and kisses Amanda against her will. As usual, she rather likes it. He tells her he only needed to kiss her to verify that he's falling in love. She gets in the boat to cross the river.

Rafael Urrieta is grilling Zahra, the madam, about what she did to make Amanda hate him. He knows she went away with Sacto. Zahra says that Sacto is merely like a brother to her, and she left because she's afraid of Rafa. We find out that Zahra and Rafa had a relationship in the past.

He makes a violent threat about burning down Los Cuatro P's if Amanda isn't returned to him. He says he'll knock down all the little casitas he ordered built, the ones in which they do "business".

We get more back story during a conversation between Olga and Zahra. Zahra met Rafael just when he arrived to marry Catalina. Four days after the honeymoon, she was his lover. She says he was a normal man until the oil was discovered. Olga wisely says: "Give a man power and you'll know who he is." Zahra replies: "Give a man love and you'll know who he is". Olga insists that Rafa would sacrifice Zahra in a NY minute; look at what he did to his most loyal peon, Barba Roja, now in jail after confession to Rafa's crime.

We find out what happened to at least one of Amanda's sisters. An evil woman comes to Mariano to complain about a rebellious worker. It appears that, when Mariano in his capacity as Jefe Civil takes charge of kids without parents, there's a dirty deal where the social workers turn them over to this creature, who puts them on a chain gang to work in corn fields.

Meanwhile, Dudi, Sacro's friend, is telling him he shouldn't have been involved. Sacto is talking about the love of his life when Rafael comes up behind him and asks him who he means. Sacto is ready to tell the truth, but Dudi keeps interrupting him. Dudi winds up telling Rafa that she went to Timotes (the town across the river).

The Cuatro P's are rehearsing, and Rocío doesn't really have the moves down. She tells the others she needs to dance for the exposure in order to get more "clients". The Argentinian blonde shows up (sorry I haven't got all their names straight yet) and tells them Rafa is going to shut the place down if Amanda doesn't turn up.

Amanda tells the policeman who tries to grab her that she's the mujer of Rafael Urrieta. This guy shows her where the girls are picking corn in the hot sun, and she spots Ana right away. She starts a fire as a diversionary tactic and runs off with Ana and another girl.

We find out pretty soon that Amanda got the guts in the family. Ana whines and complains the whole time they're running and even blames her sister abandoning them. They beat down a guard, take his rifle and use it to shoot off the chains (I know, corny).
 

FLOR SALVAJE
PART TWO

Back at the club, the Argentinian figures out that Rafa brought Malicia to his hacienda so his wife could see and hear. Malicia figures out how she was used.

Rocío says that Rafa and Mariana are desgraciados and the perro fiel Clara starts a fight to defend her man.

Sacramento tries to swim across the river to find Mandy and almost drowns. The "ferry", a tiny boat with a canopy on it, picks him up. Before he left he borrowed Dudi's father's gun, wrapped it in plastic, and brought it along.

The other poor girl, who tells Ana she wished she had such a sister, has been shot. Ana and Amanda manage to escape and get to the town. Ana doesn't know where the other two sisters (Susana and Beba) are. We get a scene of the littlest one Beba scrubbing a floor, while her older sister comforts her and says she's sure Amanda will save them.

Mariano calls Rafa and tells him he knows where Amanda is and why she's there. Rafa smailes fondly, realizing she's not off with a man but trying to find her sisters. He says she needs a man to help her. He tells Mariano if anything happens to her he'll kill him.

Sacto has just arrived in the boat and sees Amanda and Ana on the shore. The "ferry" pilot doesn't want any trouble with the police, but Amanda shows him a wad of money. Zahra apparently gave her an "advance".

We see Rafael cleaning out Catalina's bedroom of all her clothes. He tells the maid to give them to charity. He's apparently getting the room ready for a new occupant.

Just when the little boat lands, Rafa rides up with a big smile telling her he's been waiting for her. Sacramento is ready to draw his gun, but Amanda prohibits him from doing such a thing. Rafael tells her he'll help her find her other sisters and support them, but she knows the price. Amanda: Acepto. He murmurs in her ear Soy tu dueño.

Sacto walks up and tells him not to lay a hand on her. Amanda saves his life by saying he's a silly kid who thinks he's her brother.

We find out that Zahra and Penélope (Sacto's mother) were friends and that she entrusted Zahra with looking after him. We don't yet know what happened to her. Zahra took him to the church to be raised there by the priests.

Rafael introduces himself to Ana, who flirts with him. Amanda tells him she'll tear out his eyes if he even looks at her sister. Rafa tells her the more fierce she is the prettier she is.

The gals at the club, plus Piruetas, are getting ready to drown their sorrows when Rafael shows up smiling and buys them all a drink. Mi fiera regresó, he says. Malicia is NOT happy.

Amanda has taken her sister to Zahra's. Zahra has Olga take Ana off for the same de-lice treatment Amanda got. While Amanda is telling Zahra her name: Amanda Monteverde, Ana comes back and says she wants the same kind of work her sister has!
 

MI CORAZÓN INSISTE - Viérnes

PART ONE

Sorry, guys. My powers of synopsis are not with me today. Both mini-recaps were too long for one post.

Débora shows up at the cop shop, angry to find Lola there, and asking why, oh why Andrés went to Marcelo's office.

The thoroughly rotten Ramón is talking with Tiberio and tells him that Andrés being in jail for murdering Marcelo works out well for them. He says Débora (pretty but not knowledgeable about business!!) will have the control of the Palacios business's shares. And, of course, she will turn to her papá for advice.

I'm kind of disappointed in Tiberio's acid scars. They should have gotten the make-up man who worked on Gato Fierros after Teresa shot him in the face (La Reina del Sur).

Lola, at home with Etelvina, finally notices Agapito's awful decoration scheme. She tells Etelvina she can have the portait of her sister for her very own, and to put back the furniture that was there before.

Soledad is bound hand and foot and with a harness around her neck at the foot of Tiberio's bed. He wants her to eat something.

Débora goes to Tiberio whining about the fact that Lola got away completely and Andrés is in the slammer. He tells her deudas tienen una fecha de caducidad. Y estamos a mano. Debts have an expiration date, and we're even.

Deb tells him that since she can't have Lola in prison she wants her six feet under. She augments her rottenness by pointing out that Lola's death will cause Soledad to suffer, a benefit to him. Tiberio tells her she has a sick fixation on Andrés and that she's used up his patience. If she doesn't shut up, he'll shut her up forever. He tells her she's a hysterical obsessive, but an interesting specimen. She finally seems afraid of him.

Boy Mercado is in a bar negotiating with a guy with his hair slicked back and a pony tail. This guy tells him he wants something special. He is Fulgencio López, the nice cop that Adela spurned in the restaurant. He arranges a "date" with Adela.
 

Thanks, novelera. I totally missed Sacramento's telling Amanda, "Soy tu dueno" and am sorry I didn't notice it. What a sweet, tender moment. Sacramento has fallen hard and fast.
 

MI CORAZÓN INSISTE – Viernes

PART TWO

Daniel wakes up with an aching head and a curvy woman in his bed. He sees the news about his father.

Talk about obsessives. Correa shows up while the coroner is explaining to Rodrigo that it appeared the knife wounds in the stomach were odd. I think he said a second person was involved. Correa accuses Rod of trying to do something to the body to hide his son's involvement. Rod grabs him by the front of his shirt, enraged.

There's no bail for Andrés. He has to await trial in jail. Débora actually prays. Funny!

There's an excellent acting scene with Soledad and Tiberio. She again says she doesn't fear him. He ruined her life and stole her innocense. He snarls that he does know a way to hurt her; he'll kill Lola in front of her. She tells him she can't believe he'd be such a monster as to kill his own child.

He doesn't believe her and says she's saying this to protect her child. Tiberio tells her he loved her. (¡Qué! He sold her to other men.) She says she loved him too, but wanted to run away because of what he did to so many women. She says she hid her pregnancy and the fact that he was the father from him. If he doesn't believe her, he should have a DNA test. He looks like he's starting to believe her.

Daniel remembers the awful things he and Marcelo said to each other the last time he saw him.

Mario, the head of the detective squad, blows off Correa's complaints that Rod was not to work the case. He asks if he has children and when he hears not, tells him to come back when he has some.

Tiberio tells his guys to watch Lola day and night.

Lola and Chabela work out that the trap was for her, not Andrés. And who hates her that much? Why Débora!

Camilo resigns his job as an associate prosecutor. I didn't even know he was one. He's decided to defend Andrés.

Apparently Adela has already had a "visitor" that day, but Boy Mercado tells her to spruce herself up and do her best "work" because a major narco is coming to see her. He threatens to harm Pepe if she tries to quit the life.

Daniel shows up at the prison red eyed and unshaven and accuses Andrés of murdering his father.

Fulgencio López waits for Bobby to drive off and goes up to see Adela. He promises her he'll protect Pepe. They hug, and she seems to believe she'll get out of this.

Débora shows up again to nag Tiberio. He tells her he's not the genie with a lamp to grant all her wishes. He says he never married because he gets tired of women pretty quickly. And he's very tired of her. He pretty much tells her she'll die if she comes back again without his permission.

López is telling Bobby how great Adela was. After he leaves, some guy comes up and said that guy busted him a while back; he's a cop.

Tiberio is waiting in a car while his thugs grab Lola.
 

FLOR SALVAJE-
Thanks for the recapette, Novelera. I will try and post some myself. So far, I like this novela ok. Don't you think that some of it is shot in the same place as parts of Doña Bárbara? The scenes on the river. The town with the pedestrian bridge.

The blond supposedly Argentinian prostitute (besides the mate she served Amanda, she did some of the soft j's that they use in Argentina) is played by Geraldine Zivic & her character's name is La Mina.
 

FLOR SALVAJE - Viérnes

Gillie, it wasn't Sacramento who whispered Soy tu dueño in Amanda's ear. It was Rafael Urrieta, after Amanda had promised to be his mistress to save her sisters.
 

FLOR SALVAJE

Good job novelera with the first week recaps.

I'm liking this one too after taking a break from novelas. Looks like maybe I should have stuck around for La Casa, the bits and pieces I've been seeing look pretty good lately...

A couple of years ago a Mexican friend lent me a copy of La Novia Oscura. I never gave the book a chance as I was reading other stuff and it still sits on the shelf but it was interesting when I saw during the opening credits that the show was based on the book.

Did you notice all the Toyota Tundras when the Petroleros came into town..Telemundo must have esclusivity with Toyota with all of their novelas.

This guy Raffa who supposedly used to be a decent guy is pretty ruthless. Doesn't seem to matter who, what, or why, if he feels crossed he just goes right to "te mato". haha.

Even with El Jefe Civil, the guy he pays to keep things in order for him--he tells him that if anyone lays a hand on Amanda, "te mato". lol.

You kind of get the feeling already though, the fact that Zhara was in love with Rafa and how she knew Sactos mother and all that, I won't be surprised if Rafa ends up being Sactos father ;) When Amanda returned and related the fact that Raffa was there waiting for her and Sacto at the puerto, Zhara was super emotional wondering if Sacto had confronted Rafa.
 

FLOR SALVAJE

Thanks,novelera for clearing up who said "Soy tu dueno" to Amanda. Guess I did not read carefully enough, and I was confused about what "dueno" meant.
 

MI CORAZON
THanks, Novelera, for the roundup.
One thing I still don't understand is the logic behind Ramon's statement to Tiberio, "Now that Marcelo is dead, Deborah will have control of the Palacios shares of the business".
Que? Wouldn't those shares go to Daniel?
J in Oregon
 

CORAZÓN - Viérnes

J in Oregon:

Yeah, that ownership is kind of confusing. I was thinking that, since Sofía either sold or gave Andrés control of her voting shares, that Andrés had the second largest block of shares. Marcelo had some, but he's dead. Daniel had less than Andrés and Marcelo only gained control with the ones Andrés sold to the Panamanian "investor" who turned out to be Marcelo. After Andrés accepted the money for the sale, Marcelo said he owned what had been sold. He used Tiberio's money to buy them. But he needed Daniel's shares to get the controlling interest.

So, Marcelo's shares probably revert to the company since he's dead. Andrés maybe now has the largest block. I don't know why someone's shares would revert to their spouse if they're incarcerated, but this is, after all, telenovela logic.
 

MI CORAZON
Ah, okay, thanks for tracking the whole shares thing. Maybe this would be a good time to bring out the foil beanie? Can we use that on this show?
:o)
J in Oregon
 

MI CORAZON:

Thanks for the recap, Novelera. As to the shares, I think Daniel is still the key. The shares from Marcelo might actually go to him, but he's currently too drugged out to do anything. And Andres is in jail, so maybe Debora can control her husband's shares? Still, I think Daniel is the key to everything. He's currently mad at Andres (again). But if he ever goes totally on the side of good, Tiberio, Ramon and Debora will have one two few allies.

This show has had a fairly high body count. First, there was Laura (Andres and Daniel's mother), in the plane crash. Then Chabela of a heart attack. Lola's two husbands, Rugeles and Apolo, both died. And now Marcelo. All this has happened within a few months. And before it's over, will Tiberio join them? What about Debora? (probably loony bin for her :) It's amazing the show still maintains some comedic elements with all this going on.
 

LA CASA DE AL LADO:

I wish more people were commenting on this, it's such an incredible show. Thanks for the minicap, NovelaMaven.

The actor playing Javier has to win an award for this. He's fearful, distressed and small when threatened by Adolfo, but instantly reverts to Mean Macho at the sight of Pilar. Why can't Pilar tell her kids the truth? They want to know if she's leaving "Dad" for Gonzalo. She never answers. She should say "I'm leaving because your father had an affair and got Ignacia pregnant, wrote sick emails on Diego's computer, and physically and emotionally abuses me every day. I don't love him anymore. Yes, I have feelings for Gonzalo, and he's supported me and even defended me from some of the cruel things your father has done. But the main reason due to what your father has done to ruin our marriage." I'm not sure if that would work, but it's better than silence.

Matias has told Rebeca all about Adolfo's past, and Javier's involvement, and how Adolfo tried to run him down with his car in the parking garage.

Emilio told his Dad he won that money gambling, and Renato was upset. Emilio then went back to the game, lost everything including his motorcycle, but grabbed some money anyway, and zoomed off on his cycle. The other players may not let this slide.

Gonzalo had to sneak out of the hospital, since no relatives had come to pick him up. His side is still very tender, and when Renato, overcome with stock losses, betrayals, etc., has a heart attack, Gonzalo tried to catch him on the way down, but fell himself, due to his stitches from the gunshot wound (I'm glad they remembered this).

Carola is drinking, drugging and clubbing again. This has two results. One, she hallucinates that Adolfo is there (and of course she still loves him!), and too, after a fight at the club, she staggers out, and falls on her face, now bloody. She doesn't even know her Dad's in the hospital.

Hilda admitted that the money from the safe was stolen by "Rosa, the sister of Adolfo", but that she helped.

While some shows have endless dialog, the action in LA CASA is off the charts!
 

MI CORAZON:

I meant to say "One too few allies."
 

LA CASA DE AL LADO -- viernes

Hombre:
"Emilio then went back to the game, lost everything including his motorcycle, but grabbed some money anyway, and zoomed off on his cycle. The other players may not let this slide."

You bet they won't let this slide. They'll come after him and beat him to a bloody pulp, maybe even kill him. And everyone will assume that Adolfo did it.

Carola wakes up and finds a rose in her bed and a note that says something like "I like girls who enjoy danger" (I don't remember the exact words but it was a reiteration of what had happened in the past.) I thought this scene was real and showed that Adolfo had actually been there. Do you think that was a dream sequence? It's getting harder and harder to tell...

Hombre, absolutely in agreement about Pilar. She needs to tell those kids the truth about their father even if it takes a while for them to accept it.

I'm still looking at Gonzalo as the third brother but perhaps only Adolfo and Mabel have the evil gene; and Gonzalo and Leonardo -- and maybe Igor, the father -- are kinder, gentler members of the family.
 

LA CASA - VIÉRNES

I am watching this but, for some reason, it doesn't inspire me to write about it.

Hombre, one thing I remember is that when Matias told Rebeca about the scary scene in the parking garage, I'm pretty sure he didn't tell Rebeca it was Adolfo. He said "they", the indefinite "they" that we also use in English when we aren't assigning specific blame. As in, "they" caused the housing bubble to burst with mortgage speculation.

Maybe he didn't really see who was driving? I was listening carefully for him to tell her it had been Adolfo. Unless I missed it, I don't think he did.

NovelaMaven, if Gonzalo is a "kinder" member of the Mora family, why would he show up calling himself Ibañez? I still think he's going to end up being the good guy. Doesn't there have to be ONE?
 

LA CASA -- viernes

Novelera, I meant "kinder and gentler" ironically. Adolfo's willingness to take the lives of countless innocent people in a highrise hotel fire earns him a special place in hell. Gonzalo may be looking to get even with the Conde family but not as ruthlessly. Or he could indeed be the one honest man:)

BTW, I didn't hear Matías say that it was Adolfo who tried to run him down either.
 

LA CASA

Regarding the awful hotel fire, I don't think anyone has mentioned the scene in Igor Mora's room, where Adolfo (still think of him as that, and not Ismael) congratulates the guy he paid to set fire to the hotel in Orlando (I think). He then told him to go ahead with the plans for the Conde Hotel in New York. This guy is truly crazy, willing to sacrifice maybe hundreds of innocent people to get his revenge on Renato Conde.

I think this would be a decent novela if it went on for another couple of weeks. We already know who the bad guy is. We already know why he did it. He was exposed as an embezzler by Renato. I suppose we're meant to wonder who he'll kill next, but I don't care much.

And, yes, Hombre, why in blue blazes doesn't Bug-Eyes (Pilar) tell her children why she's leaving. If she goes back there Monday or the next day because of those two brats I will truly be disgusted.
 

LA CASA-
I agree with Hombre that this is an exciting novela, and it's too bad that not more people are commenting on it.

Doin't forget that not only is Adolfo trying to get even with the Condes because of their discovery of his stealing mney, but I thought his prime motivation was to get even for what the Codnes did to his dad --Igor Mora.

Maybe Gonzalo is the third hermano, and his task is to seduce and marry Ignacia and leave her for Pilar, and then to leave Pilar --getting even with both families. I thought it was interesting when Pilar was so distraught and asked him to stay with her, he felt the need to back up Ignacia at the hospital. That doesn't bode well foer their reltionship. Who's side is he on?

Also, I am still thinking --and hoping--that matias turns out to be a good guy.

Novelera, as I wrote sometime last week, I think this is going to be like ALGUIEN AND donde ewsta elisa --where you know who the bad guy is and it becomes about watching him cause havoc, death, while he fools the other characters.
 

Corazon
Thank you so much for clearing it up for me. I thought Daniel no longer had any shares in the company, I can't remember what Andres cut him a check for? So I too naturally assumed Debora was in charge.

Flor
Taped this and watched it this weekend, definitely a feel of Dona Barbara. I feel also that Sacramento is the son of Rafael. The actor who plays Sacramento has turned in a great performance, but I think the actress playing the madam is magnificient. She looks familiar to me, but I can't seem to place her. I think it's been a great week, but then they had to throw in a whiner! whine whine whine, I hope it doesn't take too much away from Amanda. I will continue to tape this and watch later on because I am captivated by La Fuerza del Destino.

La Casa
Still trying to catch up but have to agree with everyone here, why can't she just tell her children about their father? It's not like in this TN or in true life what he did is not going to be revealed? I was surprised to find out that Javier and Ignacia were a real life married couple.
 

LA CASA -

Thanks for the clarifications, such as that Matias didn't actually name Adolfo (and may not have seen him) as the driver of the car.

As for Igor Mora, I think what Renato did to him was accuse him of stealing from the company, brought him up on charges, he had a stroke, wife left him, and it turned out he hadn't stolen. But was all that before "Adolfo" came on the scene? In other words, were there 2 instances of defalcation (the one blamed on Igor Mora and the one Adolfo admitted to) or just one? Could it be that Adolfo took the money that Igor was blamed for?

Or maybe there WERE two incidents. And Adolfo didn't just HAPPEN to fix Javier's car. He set it up to run into Javier, planning this thing all the way back to 6 years ago.
 

LA CASA:

Pilar and Javier's kids don't know the HALF of what Javier has done. Besides the affair with Ignacia (which I don't think they know about), and the emails to Diego (which they do), WE know the following:

-He had an affair with their aunt Rebeca, too.
-He's had numerous escapades in gentlemen's clubs with women.
-He was stealing Renato's money, but let the blame fall on his accomplice, Adolfo
-He faked an overdose of pills and a hospitalization to get pity
-He very likely destroyed Pilar's office, possible twice
-He still hates Diego, and thinks he's the son of Pilar's former patient (which he may be)

Have I left anything out?!

If only these kids knew, they might be more understanding of Pilar's behavior. But somehow they keep catching HER, and not HIM.
 

LA CASA

Hombre, Thanks for updating Javier's curriculum vitae for us. Quite the prince, isn't he?

I'm pretty sure there were two separate episodes of embezzlement:

1. Years before "Adolfo" appears on the scene, Renato -- egged on by Eva -- ruins Igor Mora's life with a false accusation.

2. "Adolfo", with Javier's help, really does steal Renato's money (and of course, his daughter) as part of his planned vengeance for #1. When Javier leaves him twisting in the wind, he becomes another target for Adolfo.
 

LA CASA

And to add to Javier's list --

Wasn't he responsible for Ignacia's kidnapping back when she was pregnant? (And possibly, although we don't know for sure, responsible for murdering the guy he hired to do the dirty work when someone -- Gonzalo? -- caught a glimpse of his face?)
 

CORAZON - lunes
In this episode go into very familiar novela plot territory.

Tiberio's goons grab Lola but only take a snip of her hair. Obviously, this is to do a DNA test. Based on years of watching CSI, I don't think you can do a DNA test on hair alone. It's when hair get pulled out and there is some of the root and scalp tissue that a DNA test can be done but whatever.

Etelvina thinks that witchcraft is the explanation for the attack.

Camila tells Lola that she can't visit Andres in jail because it would hurt his case.

Two weeks go by and it's time for Andres' trial. (This is fastest arrest to trial time in history). Andres has decided that he was all wrong about Lola and he just needs one look from her and he will know everything is all right. Camilo promises him that Lola will in the courtroom on the opening day of the trial.

Meanwhile, the police are getting ready to make a raid on Adela's crib to arrest Bobby. (They waited two weeks to do this?) Of course, when they get there, Adela and Bobby are gone.

In her new digs, Bobby injects Adela with something, probably heroin, to get her addicted and keep her in line.

Pepe drives Lola to the trial. On the way she faints and he takes her to the hospital. We all know what is the most common cause of fainting on a novela - pregnancy! Sure enough, Lola is preggers. As usual, she is astonished that this happened after having unprotected sex with Andres. But she is happy; Pepe is happy; Etelvina is ecstatic. Lola warns them not to tell anyone else about the pregnancy.

So,of course, Lola arrives at the courthouse just as the court proceeding is ending. Andres will have zero tolerance for excuses - Lola has let him down.

At the trial, Andres has to wear his orange prison jumpsuit, which would never happen in real court proceeding.

Tiberio gets the result of the DNA test and finds out that Lola is his daughter. He can't understand why Soledad didn't tell him about this when she was born. Soledad, although she is still a prisoner and has to wear a dog collar, is very well groomed and made up, explains about how she hid baby Lola from Tiberio.

Dani just wants to cash in the stock he inherited from his father and get out of town. Ramon tells Tiberio how with this and with Andres in jail he will be able to control Exportex with Debora's shares.

Tiberio summons Debora. She wants him to get Andres out of jail and incriminate Lola for the murder of Marcelo but Tiberio says that he isn't going to do either of those things and if Debora lays one finger on Lola, he will kill her.

We have the trial with all the witnesses sitting in the courtroom listening to others testify. This would also not happen in a real trial. It doesn't seem to go too well for Andres.

It looks like we will get the verdict tomorrow.
 

LA CASA DE AL LADO – lunes

Javier catches Rebeca packing a suitcase for Pilar. He sneers, leers, and grabs at her, and pulls off his pants (which makes him seem ridiculous rather than menacing), but she escapes.

Even as Renato lies on his deathbed in the hospital, his kids find time for their hobbies:

--Emilio shows Ignacia his discovery that Rosa Munita Yen is an anagram of “Soy una mentira”. (Aha! I knew it!) Now they know Rosa is a fake.

Hilda urges Emilio to leave that house full of crazies and come away with her – they have enough money! -- but he confesses that he gambled it all away. The last straw for Hilda?

--Carola, the morning after the night before, is surprised by Adolfo showing up in Gonzalo’s apartment. Before long he’s on top of her and they’re both ripping off their clothes. An insistent knock on the door interrupts them...

--It’s Ignacia, doing her favorite thing – bursting in hysterically and screaming her version of “Attention must be paid!” Where’s Gonzalo? Carola, who has hastily hidden Adolfo in the bedroom and pulled her shirt back on, manages to get rid of Ignacia by telling her Gonzalo went after Pilar.

Ignacia bursts in on the still pantless and now very drunk Javier and insists he go after Pilar. He’s not in the mood.

Pilar, stuck in the hotel with her two bratty kids, still hasn’t told them the truth about their father. Will Gonzalo come through for her? She’s not sure and neither are we. (Will someone please get this woman a social worker or give her the number of the domestic violence hotline?)

Eva’s lonely vigil in the hospital is interrupted by a brief visit from Matías. But she is alone again for the news that Renato has only hours to live. She sits at his side and begs his forgiveness. Despite having a ventilator in place which, outside of novelaland, would make speech impossible, he manages to croak out an audible “no” just before he heads for that penthouse suite in the great beyond.

The Conde children – and Gonzalo – get to the hospital just after Renato’s death.

Eva seems truly stricken by guilt and grief. Emilio tries to be a man for his mother. Ignacia clings to Gonzalo. And Carola goes back alone to Gonzalo’s place and orders take-out ... coke.

Adolfo, back in Igor Mora’s room, curses Renato’s death – it wasn’t in his plans.

Rosa shows up. He orders her to get back in the Conde house and do what he has ordered. But they KNOW me in that house, she protests. Adolfo – the man-whore! -- tries to romance her into submission while papa Igor watches balefully.

Why isn’t Carola at Renato’s burial? Because she’s on the floor of the apartment surrounded by empty vodka bottles and lines of coke.

Matias has kept his own vigil. When Javier stumbles out of bed in the morning, he finds his assistant waiting for him. Javier has put his pants back on and he’s ready to get that bastard Gonzalo...
 

Corazon

Thank you Jean for your recap, I did not make it home in time to see it. From what you write it seems they got lazy and messed up with the timeframe. I had no idea it was the actual trial, I thought this was the grand jury meet first. Oh well bigtime murder trial over and done with in one episode, kind of sloppy.
 

CORAZON:

Nellie, I think they did actually have a preliminary hearing, in which they said the trial would be in 2 weeks, then a montage of people doing things for two weeks (such as Lola not visiting), then the trial. But great recap, Jean, you captured all the silliness perfectly!

BTW, NJ Sue said she thought Andres had given Daniel a check a while back. He did, it was his "inheritance", not the shares (Andres was some kind of custodian or guardian). Right now it's better for Ramon and Tiberio for Andres to be in jail. And now that Tiberio knows Lola is his daughter, he won't kill her. Everything's going wrong for Debora. But I bet she won't be down for long.

That was funny when Camilo proved the killer was left handed. But the prosecutor happened to have two baseballs handy. He threw one to Andres, who caught it with his right hand. Then he threw the second, and Andres caught it with his left hand. Ahah! So he COULD have murdered with his left hand. Yeah, right. But I do predict he'll be found guilty.
 

LA CASA:

Thanks, NovelaMaven. That was pretty abrupt for Renato to just die. Too, bad, Adolfo/Ivan! Now how can he get revenge on Renato? I guess he'll just have to kill everyone else.

How many people did Javier try to molest? First Rebeca, then Ignacia, now he's after Pilar. With those cool white jockeys, he's irresistible, right? :) Truthfully, I think he and Ignacia deserve each other. Neither of their spouses loves them, so why don't they just let Gonzo and Pilar go?

Adolfo also uses his good looks, and it actually works, with both Carola and Rosa. How despicable of him to paw Rosa in front of his Dad, telling her "the old guy is more dead than alive, just ignore him".

Matias was trying to get back in Renato's good graces by getting Javier to do fraud. But what's Matias going to do now, since Renato's dead? I hope he'll try to solve the mystery, since everyone else seems so inept.

I think Hilda was finally showing (the top she was wearing seemed to stick out a little).
 

Hombre

Thank you very much. The prelimin must have happened when I was only listening to it rather than watching. Thanks for clarifying.

Is anyone wondering if Tiberio would have been "slightly" different if he knew about Lola? Would he have had a chance to turn his life around, as we can see he does care for her, or is this just wishful thinking on my part.
 

FLOR SALVAJE - LUNES

I can see that Ana is going to be intolerable, maybe for the whole show. Maybe we won't have to see too much of her. At least Amanda doesn't buy into it. She tells Ana she's NOT going into the Cuatro P's line of work. And Zahra really shuts her up, telling her if she doesn't get back there and get de-loused she'll take her back to where she was found. This works beautifully.

Dudi is another pain. Don't know why Sacto is friends with such a loser. He tells him all women are the same. Doubt he has any basis of comparison considering how unattractive he is.

Rocío (La Trepadora) is very brave and confronts Rafael about Amanda. She tells him he could be in trouble if her family appears, plus accuses him of convincing an innocent person to be a prostitute.
I'm sure she has taken these risks because she loved Emilio (Amanda's brother) and wants to protect his sister. He, predictably, threatens her.

Amanda tells Zahra something about how her brother was murdered, her mother killed herself, and her sisters were dragged off. And she also tells her she said she'd be Urrieta's woman if he got her sisters back.

Zahra, definitely a good person, asks why she's sacrificing herself. She asks what she feels for Sacto. And she also tells her that, for this life you need an empty heart. Amanda admits she feels something for Sacto, and Zahra tells her to keep him at a distance or Rafa will kill him.

Correcaminos tries again to get Sacto interested in her instead of la huesuda (bag of bones). Ana shows up and throws herself at Sacto.

Amanda tells Sacto to stay away, and swears she'll never love anyone. Sacto goes to Piruetas for advice on how to win a woman. Piruetas is gorgeous. All he'd have to do to win me is show up.
Piruetas tells him you first have to make a woman laugh. He advises him to pretend to be her friend.

Rafa wasn't just cleaning out Catalina's room, as I had thought. He brought her clothes to Amanda. Eeeww!

Luisa, a maid or something at Urrieta's hacienda, has been helping Catalina, bringing her better food. She also wants to meet Rafa's new woman. Luisa looks pretty scared about this.

On the pretense of checking to see if Catalina's shoes are too tight, Rafael strokes Amanda's calf. She jumps all over him, saying: sisters first, then hanky panky. She also tells him, if she gives in first, he just might not even try to find them.

Sacramento follows Piruetas advice, saying he's going to be her brother from now on. She's overjoyed, and she also tells him about the pact she made with Urrieta. He offers to get the girls, but she says that, without Urrieta's protection, the Jefe Civil would just grab them up again.

Said Jefe Civil is in the process of trying to get all of Clara's savings from prostitution. He brings her a "diamond" ring but carefully doesn't promise matrimony. I'd bet the farm on cubic zirconium.

Sacto takes out the gun he didn't yet give back to Dudi and asks for Rafael Urrieta at Los Cuatro P's.
 

MI CORAZÓN INSISTE - LUNES

Thanks Jean, and Hombre for the recaps of last night. I'm very disappointed Lola is pregnant. I had actually forgotten they got it on when Andrés had left Débora. This was before she faked the pregnancy. The timing is kind of weird because wouldn't Lola be showing by now. I thought Débora was wearing smocks.

Yes, Tiberio has Soledad dolled up in a red dress and even stroked her face.

Andrés has pulled another switcheroo and realizes he treated Lola badly. But he doesn't seem to go on to the obvious: if Lola is innocent of pushing Débora, then Débora fell down on purpose.

The scene of Bobby injecting Adela was truly sad. I guess it WAS too early in the novela for López to really have rescued her.

Etelvina surprised me by being overjoyed about Lola's pregnancy. No moralistic lectures about her being unmarried whatsoever.

Danny can get hit by a bus real soon, and I won't mind. His testimony against his brother was unforgivable.

I was also saying: Say what? He's being tried in an orange jump suit?
 

MI CORAZÓN INSISTE - LUNES


Nellie: I too am hoping Tiberio will soften up a bit now that he knows Lola is his bio-daughter.

novelera: I'm not ready to give up on Daniel yet; he's really too handsome to be the bad guy.
 

Nice job novelera. I like la trepadora, the girl has some guts eh.

There doesn't seem to be too many different story lines at the moment, seems like they need some more drama, some more suspense.
 

CORAZON - martes

As we expected, Andres was found guilty of 1st degree muurder in the death of Marcelo. It didn't seem to be made that clear but I guess Tiberio's guys paid off the the security guard to change his testimony and say that it was Andres who knocked him out.

Everybody is destrozado with weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth (except for Lola, of course.)

Vicky and Ramon console Debora on the conviction of Andres by pointing out that she'll have all of Andres' stuff - his house and his shares in the Exportex.

Danny sells his shares in Exportex, blows off Sofia and apparently leaves town.

Tiberio appears to be stalking Lola.

Andres beats up the dominant inmate in the prison.

That was about it.
 

MI CORAZON -

Good concise summary, Jean. I also noticed that Andres got life in prison as his sentence, although Camilo is going to appeal.

Mario, the head cop, now is siding a bit more with Correa, and tells Rodrigo (as to Soledad) and Fulgencio (as to Adelita), to stop using cop time to solve their "personal" cases. (But don't the cops want to stop Tiberio? Find a kidnap victim? Stop the prostitution ring? It's not just a personal thing.

Debora didn't seem all that happy about the money she's getting, which isn't surprising, since she's always been somewhat rich. She just wants the one thing she can't have - Andres.

The next big question is whether Lola will tell Andres about the baby. If this is a typical novela, I'll predict no, at least for a while. I can see her just about to tell him, when Debora bursts into the cell, with her typical Debora whine, and Lola won't be able to bring herself to be so "unjust" to "poor Debora".

Of course, eventually Andres will find out. But we have to suffer a bit first.
 

LA CASA:

Things were bad for just about everyone in this episode. Javier pulled his martyr act, making Andrea hate Pilar, and as usual, Pilar said nothing. Javier even called his son Dieguito, although I don't thing the boy's buying it.

Eva's mad at Gonzalo, Ignacia is mad at Gonzalo (but still wants him back, and is livid at Pilar).

Carola doesn't want to be sent to rehab, she just wants Pilar to listen (but Pilar can't, she's destroyed by Javier's tricks and Ignacia's hate).

Hilda definitely wants the divorce from Emilio.

Javier gets a weird envelope, which turns out to be from Renato ("in case you've received this, I'm dead. Open the little envelope and read my Will in front of the family"). I thought Javier would just open the little envelope, but no, he calls the family together, and tonight we'll hear Don Renato's will. Who's gonna take over his vast empire?

Meanwhile, Adolfo/Ismael gives Rosa a mission at the house. We find out that Adolfo dumped Lydia (who's still alive but hidden, BTW) for Rosa, and when Lydia balked, that's when Adolfo cut her face. Ick. Anyway, Rosa goes into Ignacia's workshop, does some kind of painting, but on the way out, she runs into Hilda!
 

CORAZON -
I agree with you Hombre. If this novela follows the classic plot pattern, Andres won't find out that Lola is expecting his baby until much later. Of course, Debora will find out and we can imagine how she will react when her rival is carrying Andres' baby and she is barren.

We'll have the usual 6-month time jump forward so that Lola can go immediately from 'not-showing' to 'about to deliver.' The finale of the novela will probably revolve around a baby snatch or something similar. It would be nice to have it play out differently but it usually doesn't.

I know - if I wanted different, I should be watching Casa. But I started late and 10pm novelas are too late for me to watch regularly.
 

LA CASA DE AL LADO -- martes

Thanks, Hombre. Do you think there's something fishy about the envelope? After all, if Javier was Renato's personal lawyer, why wasn't he holding this information? Or could it be yet another dirty trick of Adolfo's?

Did you notice the guy watching Emilio at the funeral? His welching on his bets is going to catch up with him and fast.

Was that really the infamous Mabel at Renato's funeral -- or did Eva just imagine her?

Ignacia has officially taken over Pilar's place as the most insufferable onscreen presence with her one-note performance of self-centered despair. By the way, Andrea seems to have been taking emoting lessons from her. She could easily edge Iggy out of first place, given a little more facetime.

GENERAL

Speaking of different, here's a posting from over at La Pola:

"For anyone who is interested, it looks like La Hija del Mariachi will be rerun starting Monday, August 15 at 8:00 a.m. (Eastern time) on Telefutura. It stars the same actress that plays La Pola, along with the actress that plays the teenage Catarina. It is my favorite telenovela, the only one I am aware of that is actually a musical. If you like mariachi music, you will love this. During the earlier rerun, someone even posted a translation of all the songs on Telenovela World."

Kayzie

-----------------

That's why God invented DVRS, my friends.
 

LA CASA:

NovelaMaven, I also thought the envelope could be a trick by Adolfo. As to Mabel, I think it was Eva's imagination. The women of that family (Eva, Carola, Ignacia) seem to do a lot of imagining, and it's hard to tell what's real sometimes.
 

LA CASA:

And someone's after Carola, too, her drug dealer, who wants to be paid.
 

Corazon

This TN has lost some of its punch.

I thought last night they were telling Lola she had no right to withhold the baby news from Andres, and that's why in the previews she's at the prison? or was the entire thing previews.

It appears new baby daddy Tibero is stalking his daughter Lola. But when is he going to think his daughter is nuts always talking to herself when she's with Chabela?

How can Debora's parents trust her? Aren't they afraid they too will be killed if they do something she does not agree with. I can't remember Debora's reply when Andres told her she was really a widow, and therefore she should get the divorce.
 

CORAZON:

Nellie, you're right, they told Lola she shouldn't keep the baby news from Andres. But we're guessing she won't be able to get the words out. The previews seemed like a tease.

I think Debora told Andres she didn't want to get divorced, but I was sort of zoning out at that point, too.
 

CORAZON: I forgot that part. Andres did ask Debora to divorce him but she refused.

FLOR SALVAJE: Sacro seems to have a death wish or be so stupid and stubborn that he wants to confront first Rafael and then he ends up shooting Mariano but not fatally. He is about to be sent to prison in Timoteo when Rafael gets to play the nice guy and lets him go. It's not clear that he has learned anything about real life.

Zahra is very caring of Sacro but it appears that she isn't his mother. Rather, his mother was a colleague of Zahra's, named Penelope, I believe.

It's not clear why Rocio didn't get farther away from her home town. It's definitely a disadvantage as a prostitute to have to wear a headscarf and sneak off every time Mariano comes to town.

Amanda's deflowering is set for the next day although we haven't seen the other sisters produced yet.

I'm sure there was a lot more but that's all I remember.
 

FLOR SALVAJE - MARTES

Jean, I'll go ahead and put this up. Before I got it posted I saw yours.

Sacramento asks for Don Rafael Urrieta, and when he doesn't seem to be there, sits at the bar to wait, ordering a whole bottle of aguardiente.

Correcaminos sees the gun in his waistband and tries to chill him out. He and Mariano, the Jefe Civil, have an exchange of insults which results in El Jefe deciding to arrest him for not respecting the law. Wow, we're definitely not in Kansas here, folks.

After sucker punching Sacto, Mariano pulls out one of those nasty telescoping steel batons to hit him with.

Zahra tells Amanda what she did by telling Sacto her plans to be Rafa's woman. She drove him to a desperate act.

Sacto pulls a gun on Mariano and shoots him (a slight wound, darn!).

Mariano tells him he's going to die today after Sacto surrenders the pistol to two other cops.

Amanda goes after Rocío, blaming her for her brother's death. Somehow I think these two will end up friends. Rocío tries to tell her that it wasn't her fault her evil brother did what he did. Amanda tells Rocío she spent years under a bridge, almost never sleeping to protect her 3 sisters.

Rafa finally shows up and Sacto, still defiant, tells him he can take better care of Amanda and her sisters than Rafa. Rafael is more amused than anything and despite Zahra's protests, he allows Sacto to be taken away and handcuffed in a room awaiting removal to Timotes and likely being killed "trying to escape".

Correcaminos confronts Amanda, blaming her for what happened to Sacto.

Rafa apparently isn't saving himself for Amanda. He selects La Mina, and she tells him she never wanted marriage. She's a prosti for the sheer pleasure of it and for the money. They jump into bed.

Amanda bursts right into the room where Rafa and La Mina are "in progress". He gets up nude, causing Amanda to cover her eyes. She asks him to save Sacto from Mariano, and he refuses. She asks if she's going to be just another one of the prostitutes or his exclusive. I don't quite see how this moves the ball, but it does.

The next morning Rafa tells Mariano that the whole town is asking about Sacto and the church will stand up for him. Mariano tells Rafa that he, Rafa, ran all the priests out of town at gunpoint. But, Rafa says, I'm not running for public office. Religious believers vote.

Rafael asks Mariano what he did with the two other sisters. Mariano says they went to foster homes according to the law. Rafa just stares him down. He says he knows the majority become slaves, even chained up. Rafa calls him an ideal policeman and writes a check for his campaign. Sacto is saved.

Amanda, with a cold face, tells Sacto to thank Rafael. Rafael says Sacto should thank Amanda and una cosa es amor de familia y la otra es pación desfrenada entre un hombre y una mujer. Love of a family member is one thing but unrestrained passion between a man and a woman another. And he plants a very passionate kiss on Amanda right in front of Sacto. Amanda pushes him away, saying Not Here.

When Rocío tells Clara that the "diamond" doesn't mean anything, Clara storms out to catch Mariano and have him see Rocío's face. Mariano was angry before when Rocío said things about him and has wanted to give her a piece of his mind. Of course, she is terrified because he's her evil brother.

Sacto is finally disillusioned with Amanda and tells her to leave him alone.

The thoroughly rotten Ana asks her sister how she did it; i.e., get two men so passionate about her. She says Amanda will live in a hacienda and marry Rafa. She's completely jealous.

Now Amanda is told she only has 24 hours to get ready to "please" Rafael. What happened to waiting until her sisters are found? They weren't explicit, but I guess saving Sacto moved up the deadline.
 

LA CASA - MARTES

Good grief! That was the weirdest scene inside a church I've ever seen. It wasn't the funeral, only a velorio, but still.

Ignacia is completely selfish, making a scene in front of everyone. Carola isn't much better, and then Eva jumps into the act, going after Gonzalo. For the Conde women it's me, me, me all the time. And, speaking of Gonzalo, why in blue blazes didn't he just walk out of there after Pilar.

Rosa, who seems to date back to when Adolfo was a mechanic, and stole him away from Lidia, calls him Adolfo. When was he Ismael? He seems to have been Adolfo for a really long time.

Igor Mora managed to choke out: Tú, malo to his prize hijo and just about gets choked out for doing so. I have a feeling Igor Mora may somehow recover and spill the beans on Adolfo.
 

Flor - Yours is much better than mine. I didn't want you to think that you had to do it every day!

In English, a Correcaminos is a Roadrunner (the bird).
 

MI CORAZÓN - MARTES

Débora, as usual, is not playing with a full deck. She seems to think Tiberio can get Andrés out of prison. He tells her the whole thing was her plan, and if it turned out badly, oh well. I think the scenes with these two are fascinating.

Ramón is the ultimate scumbag, grinning like a Cheshire Cat after Andrés' conviction, telling Lola to look on the bright side, she'll be able to save Vicki and himself from being poor in their old age. Gah!

Excellent acting by the guy playing Rodrigo. I could totally feel his pain at having his son convicted.

Tiberio and his "employees" see Lola going into a baby store.

Andrés is understandably in a state of deep depression. And he offered to give Débora a power of attorney over his finances without her even asking!
 

FLOR SALVAJE

The scene last night when Sacto gave his money to Amanda to help her get her sisters was bittersweet as Rafael shows up at the same moment with the girls and basically says he's got it all under control, Sacto has to leave completely dejected, feeling like he can't win.

I thought the scene between Rocio and her brother back at their house was really good. So much emotion, really good acting by both. I still don't know the whole story behind killing "el indio" and especially the way that he had it done, but we saw an entirely different side of him when he finally had his sister in the house. His claim of doing her "an obra de caridad" was like wow, really?
 

Corazon

Are the writers recycling? How many times will Lola and Andres deny their love? Every 3 weeks? I don't even watch this for them anymore, I've lost interest. I'd rather find out what is going on with Tiberio and Debora. I can't imagine what's going to happen, as there are @74 episodes left (if they stuck to the 130).
 

CORAZON - miercoles

Lola visits Andres to tell him about the baby and he puts on an Academy Award winning performance about how he blames her for all the bad things that have happened to him and he never wants to see her again. Chabela suggests that he is faking it and Lola challenges him to look her in the eyes and tell her that he doesn't love her and he does so. She leaves dejected without having told him about the baby. Then she is basically attacked by Debora in the waiting area. She tells Debora that she has won - tu ganaste - and leaves.

Rodrigo resigns from the police force so that he can spend all his time proving that Andres is innocent and trying to find Soledad. Lopez is named as his replacement.

Correa is disappointed in not being named as Rodrigo's replacement and he offers his services to Tiberio. He fills Tiberio in on Rodrigo's history with Soledad.

Tiberio confronts Soledad with the info he got from Correa. She tells him that Lola doesn't know about her past life as a prostitute. She begs him to take out his rage on her and not on Rodrigo or Lola.

Adela is now a heroin addict.

Ramon's plan to control Exportex runs into a big problem - Debora doesn't trust him and insists on reading anything that she signs. She reminds him that she is the president of the company.

Andres gets into a fight in prison and is put into solitary.

Finally, Lola goes to see Rodrigo and Camilo and tells them that she is pregnant - by Apolo!
 

FLOR SALVAJE

I agree with you about the scene between Rocio and her brother in last night's episode, Rand. It was interesting that Mariano apparently didn't blame Rocio for what happened. She tells him that she has been in a convent and is becoming a nun! Mariano is going to be pretty surprised when he finds out what she really is doing.

I also like the scene of the naming ceremony.
 

MI CORAZON:

Thanks for the recap, Jean. Yes, they're recycling. This is the second time Rodrigo has left the force. He'll probably be back.

And yes, since Lola and Andres never really trust each other, Andres has to tell her he never wants to see her again, and she has to pretend the baby isn't his (when actually, if she had told him, he would have instantly changed, forgiven her, and everything would be way better (although he'd still be in jail). Sigh.

Others have said this, but I agree that Tiberio doesn't look that bad, and he shouldn't say that Soledad ruined his life with that acid.

How come Adelita is an instant addict, but all the others girls seems fine (and sort of happy)?

Correa is an idiot. He has no idea that Tiberio is the head of the white slave operation, or that he has Soledad prisoner. He's definitely gonna end up dead or in jail (probably dead, just before he decides to change his ways and call the good cops.)
 

LA CASA DE AL LADO:

And that's it for phase 2. Remember, phase 1) no one knows who the bad guy is, 2) WE know, but the characters don't, and 3) they find out, but can't stop him. Ignacia is confronted by an evil dvd from Adolfo, then by Adolfo himself, saying Renato didn't just die, Adolfo KILLED him (not true, though), and he's gonna kill every member of the Conde family!

But first things first. Javier, bursting with happiness that he'll control Renato's empire, calls everyone together to read the will. And the winner is?.......Gonzalo! What?! Yes, Gonzalo inherits all of Renato's money, companies, etc. No one's happy about this, not Javier, Emilio, Eva or Ignacia. Just about every one of them threatens to kill Gonzalo. Carola just wants $15,000 (to pay off her drug dealer).

But Rebeca and Matias are working with Gonzalo, so maybe he'll be able to turn around the stock plunge, the company, etc. Still, Eva (and many of us) don't completely trust Gonzalo, and some of us think somehow he could be the third brother! Eva asks Matias to investigate Gonzalo. This is a total conflict of interest, but that hasn't stopped Matias before, and I'm glad he's doing it, since I want to find out that stuff, too!

Javier and Pilar? Andrea succeeds in going to live with Daddy, who promptly tells her to shut up and leave him alone. Hmmmm.

Hilda saw Rosa lurking, and Rosa tells her to keep quiet. Why do YOU want revenge? asks Hilda. Well, they didn't do anything to ME, but to someone close to me, the Condes were horrible! Rosa tells Adolfo on the phone that Hilda won't talk, they don't have to kill her. But I don't know. And Hilda's divorce? Nibaldo says yay, Yolanda says nay. Hilda doesn't talk, just wants to fade away!
 

I had to stop watching Triunfo del Amor because I no longer get Univision. At first I was disappointed, but now I am hooked on La Casa de al Lado! I think Gonzalo is the only good guy in this, but who knows! Now that Eva has asked Matias to investigarlo, maybe we'll find out more dirt on Gonzalo besides the fact that he cheated on Ignacia with Pilar. The only parts I'm tempted to fast-forward are Pilar-heavy scenes because she's spinning her wheels much of the time. But, I end up watching the scenes for Javier!
 

Corazon
Hombre, the only surprise in last night's episode was that Correa had not already aligned himself with Tiberio and team. I thought for a long while he was a crooked cop, but it turns out he was just an idiot. I too wonder how long he will last.

I wish some TN's would figure it out to keep the "lovers" away does not enhance a storyline (Zorro), it just gets boring. Why can't it be that the two of them team up and continue to fight to make it right.

I just hope there is more Tibero and Debora.

I have to agree how did she become such an addict so quickly, unless there is a time jump only for this storyline.
 

FLOR SALVAJE - MIÉRCOLES

Rand and Jean, thanks for your comments about last night's episode. It was definitely an interesting one.

I was also completely surprised by Mariano's reaction to seeing his sister in their home. It was VERY surprising Emilio's picture was still in her bedroom. Here's how I'd analyze it. Mariano and Rocío appear to come from a comfortable home. There was something shocking about the father's death, but either they didn't say or I didn't catch it. Mariano adores his sister (I didn't think he had it in him to love anyone.). He said her return would bring the alma back to the house. I think Mariano is devoured by ambition. Amanda's family are apparently more mestizo than Mariano and Rocío's. So Mariano's pride and ambition would not permit his sister to be involved with someone he thinks is "indio" and poor. I had expected him to blame his sister also for the involvement, but apparently, once Emilio had been murdered, he was ready to forgive and forget. But she ran off.

Zahra's "preparation" of Amanda was interesting. Having her stand in freezing water to help prepare herself for "being with" a man you don't love. And she wants her to modulate her voice.

The journalist who's come from, I think, the capital to do a story on Nueva Esperanza is an interesting addition to the plot. The gringos and Rafa seemed to be somewhat forcing the petroleros to appear as happy worker bees for the photographer. Pretty funny when the photo journalist was asking them what they'll do with the riches. Share them? The gringo managed to come up with a clinic they'd built. Peter, the gringo, is afraid the reporter will bury them. But Rafa isn't worried.

Mariano Guerrera called the bank to see if Señorita Clara Cifontes made a deposit to his account. La muy estupida did it.

Piruetas tells Clara to take the ring to El Turco to have a look at it. Clara angrily tells him the ring is worth more than he'll make in a year (or his life, can't remember).

The reporter hired Sacto to take him around the town to get some pictures. Sacto tells him to stay away from la calle de consuelos because the women there are like the sirens. (Ulysses ordered his men to put beeswax in their ears so they couldn't hear the music as they sailed by the rocks. His men tied him to the ship's mast so he could hear the enchanting tunes but wouldn't be able to swim ashore.) Right after this the reporter seems smitten with Malicia

Piruetas doesn't like Amanda's initiation dance since it is indigenous in style, but Zahra does and she thinks Rafa will as well.

Zahra warns her not to fall for Rafa, because once he's got you eating out of his hand, he loses interest. Amanda replies that he'll never get tired of her because she'll never love him.

Olga tries to drag Ana to school, but Brigida, the Religious Instruction teacher, won't let her attend. This Brigida was shown before scorning the P's in the street. So she feels like the town's moral authority.
 

FLOR SALVAJE - GENERAL

I am enjoying this novela, especially since Mi Corazón Insiste seems to be about to drag a bit.

I've been posting longish comments each day, but there haven't been a lot of other comments to bounce off. I'll likely finish this week and then just limit my comments to Mi Corazón, which is pretty active comment-wise right now. I'm mildly interested in La Casa de al Lado and enjoy others' comments a lot.
 

Flor Salvaje

thanks novelera!
you covered quite a few details that I had missed.

I too loved Zahra's coaching, such a caring person, and she knows her business well.
(hot milk and honey for a soothing voice, was it)
and Amanda choosing her name, Flor Slavaje.
and the other girls welcoming the competition, "not".

Correcaminos attraction to Sacramento is also fascinating to watch.
(Angeline Moncayo is one of my favorites)

and so nice to see Amanda reunited with her sisters
so cruel that Rafael did it in a way to make Sacramento look so useless, though Amanda was deeply touched by his efforts.

Amanda has been so totally involved making sure her little family survives, that being young and a virgin, I don't think she has a clue as to what a love is between a man and a woman. I think she totally loves Sacramento more than anyone outside of her family, as a friend, as someone she can always trust, as the brother she lost, and maybe as a man, if she only knew what that was. I can see that as she becomes a 4P's girl, that seed, that the others have long ago discarded, may well come back to destroy her.

btw, I hope there is a doghouse out back where they can chain Ana to, she's nothing but trouble.
 

FLOR SALVAJE - MIÉRCOLES

One other thing. Have I remembered this correctly? I sort of remember Zahra showing Amanda her new casita. I had thought that, when Rafa was taking the clothes from Catalina's bedroom, that he was readying it for Amanda. But apparently she's to have the same status as the other P's, living in a casita, but exclusive to him.

Also, Sacto's description to the photojournalist about the colors of the focos (light bulbs over the doors of the casitas was interesting. The colors vary by how expensive the woman is. The ones from far away (La Mina - Argentina) are paid more because apparently the petroleros value foreign women more than the ones from their own country. And, we've seen them turning on the light bulbs when they take a man into their casitas as a sort of "occupied" sign.
 

CORAZON - jueves

Big day of revelations. Maybe this isn't going to go the way I predicted.

Lola gets an anonymous (but it has to be from Tiberio) delivery of photos of Soledad in provocative poses.

Lola takes the photos to Rodrigo who fills her in on Soledad's sordid past. Lola makes the big leap herself - the evil guy who kidnapped Soledad and made her a prostitute is her father.

Tiberio bugs Lola's phone and finds out that she is pregnant.

Andres gets out of solitary. Sofia goes to visit him and tells him that Lola is preggers with Apolo's baby. He doesn't believe it. He wants Lola to tell him to his face that the baby isn't his.

Debora finds out about Exportex's smuggling activities. She leaves a letter with her lawyer to be revealed if anything happens to her or to her family and then warns Tiberio of that fact.

Lola has a big conversation with Sofia in the driveway of her house. Debora sneaks up on them and she finds out that Lola is pregnant with Andres' baby.

Debora is literally rigid with fury at this news. One again, Ana Layevska was great.

Adela gets an opportunity to escape from where she is being held but she doesn't take it.

Rodrigo is going to look for the suborned security guard in Mexico.

Lola is told that there is some information (I don't remember exactly what it was) about Tiberio's operation in Panama so she decides to go there and investigate - with Etelvina!

I know we don't mention the previews but it looks like now that all this knowledge has been shared, we are going to leap to the end of Lola's pregnancy.
 

MI CORAZON:

Jean, great recapette! You covered just about everything. There was a scene where Camilo kissed Sofia, who returned the kiss for a bit, then rejected him (again). And Tiberio threatened Soledad that she'd never see her grandchild.

I agree that Ana Layevska is wonderful. What a great villain, head of company, etc. She really stands up against everyone. And yet, she's also human (unlike some villains). Her portrayal really brings this complex character to life.
 

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MI CORAZÓN INSISTE - JUEVES

Thanks, Jean. That was an excellent recap of all the big revelations last night. I was also SO surprised Andrés didn't believe that baby was Apolo's for a minute. He had been so bitter lately that I was sure he'd swallow it.

The acting in this one is very good. Rodrigo is just excellent. And Tiberio shows his conflicted feelings so well. Some part of him still loves Soledad, witness his jealousy about Rodrigo.

Well, I'm putting my recapping eggs in the Flor Salvaje basket this week, so I'll get to it.
 

LA CASA DE AL LADO:

Wow! This had to be one of the most thrilling episodes ever!

We begin with Adolfo threatening Ignacia. "Why should I forgive you? he bellows. You said I should die!" Yeah, but you slept with my sister, she meekly replies. Does he care? No, he menaces her, and she's afraid for her life. But Emilio bursts in, the guys fight, and Adolfo falls head over heels down the famous staircase of doom. I'm thinking "now you'll REALLY be paralyzed, you bum!" He looks dead. But he BOUNCES UP, chokes Emilio, and flees! Whooaa!

Meanwhile, Hilda has confronted Rosa, who ends up saying "trust me", you have to meet this guy. The guy is....Adolfo, who sweet talks Hilda. But, but, stammers Hilda, you fooled us all, you lied to us all. Yes, but with good reason, he counters. Just be our spy and help us get revenge on that terrible Conde family. Amazingly, she apparently agrees!

With that evil Adolfo around, they should call the cops, right? Well, not really. Eva has just the person to take charge. Javier. Emilio's taken in by him, but Carola is laughing (as are we), about this latest "superman". Of course, this completely shuts out Gonzalo, who was supposed to be in charge of everything.

Pilar had been disappointed that Gonzalo wouldn't just leave town with her. She felt it was over. But little Diego, in one of the most thrilling performances I've seen by a kid, says, No, Ma. You've got to fight for your love. If you want to be with Gonzalo, so do I. Pilar is blown away! And by the end of the episode, she and Diego have moved in with Gonzalo. Take that, Javier!

When Carola sees the dvd Adolfo sent to Ignacia, she recognizes the room where it was recorded. It's that asylum. She and Emilio go there, and run into Rosa! They follow her, Adolfo's under the bed, Carola chases Rosa, but Emilio recognizes the patient as Igor Mora!!!!!!

And wait! At the very end of the episode, Rebeca has made a phone call, yes it's going as we planned. She was talking to Matias, right? Uh, she goes to a hotel room, Nibaldo says here he is, and it's Renato, who has FAKED HIS OWN DEATH!!!!! OH...MY...GOD.
 

MI CORAZÓN INSISTE

this is why I love telemundo novelas. not a lot of estupidezes, some, but not a lot. most plots move along pretty quickly, w/ unpredictable outcome.
 

LA CASA DE AL LADO -- jueves

Yes, Hombre, it WAS a fabulous episode. And your breathless minicap did it more than justice.

Renato faked his own death! That's a game-changer, isn't it? When you think about, Adolfo has done a lot more harm to Renato than Renato has done to Adolfo (unless, of course, there's some new reveal lurking around the corner.)

Who really is the hunter and who really is the prey?

Like you, I also loved Diego's conversation with his mother. Another nice small moment: When Andrea barks an order out to Rebeca and the latter looks at her coolly and says: Javier Ruiz.
 

FLOR SALVAJE - JUEVES

PART ONE

We again see Amanda embracing her two remaining sisters. It appears that Beba, the youngest, is traumatized and doesn't speak any more.

Zahra asks Rafa if he wants her to prepare Amanda any more for the "big night". He says no. But he does want the night to be special. He wants the bar closed to only his special guests. He wants Amanda bathed with flowers and honey, as Zahra herself used to do. Lots of pain on her face at this. (Wouldn't you be all sticky bathed in honey?)

Correcaminos finally gets Sacramento in bed. It looks like the "saint" is into it.

Excellent scene between Mariano Guerrero and his sister Rocío. She wants to know where Emilio's family are. He doesn't know or care, he says. He tells her the mother burned herself up and the father took off. He pretends to know nothing about the girls. She tells him Emilio was more of a man than he is.

The 4 P's are gossiping about Sacto being with CC (I'm tired of typing Correcaminos). Malicia comments that maybe now CC, the Mexicana, won't cry all the time. Clara says she's buying a wedding dress.

Mariano tells Rocío he's marrying a rich widow named Lourdes. I suppose that was the woman she saw him in bed with. He wants Rocío to meet her. He tries to give her money, but she won't accept; she only wants him to leave her alone. He gets tears in his eyes and says "For the memory of our father". She still refuses. He finally says, since she's going to be a nun, he wants her to pray for him. He wants God to forgive his sins and thinks a nun will have an "in" with the deity. She leaves in disgust.

Urrieta interrupts CC and Sacto pounding on the door. He wants him gone today or he'll kill him. He now calls Amanda Flor, instead of Fiera, and says even though Flor thinks of him as a brother, he has a hunch Sacto doesn't feel the same way. Then he gloats that tonight is the big night for him.

Sacto thinks of a plan, taking Amanda to see what Rafa has done to Catalina.

Peter (the gringo) and Rafa talk in the bar about the reporter, while waiting for the show. Rafa says the first article appeared and it's not bad. Rafa says he's going to watch the guy (Enrique) and find out everything about him.

Sacto grabs Amanda and tells her he'll prove to her that él es el mismisimo demonio. Zahra is also in favor of Amanda knowing Rafa's true nature. Amanda agrees to go, but wants Sacto to leave her alone after this. He commandeers Dudi's motorcycle.
 

FLOR SALVAJE - JUEVES

PART TWO

Olga tells Zahra she wants Amanda to see Catalina's condition because she really wants Amanda to leave because she still loves Rafa.

It turns out that the self-righteous teacher is the mother, Brigida, and the daughter is Manuela. I thought Manuela was the head of the school. Anyway Zahra gets right in Brigida's face, saying the school is free and the girls can go. Ana pipes up that her older sister is the mujer of Don Rafael Urrieta and she better not mess with them.

Rocío seeks out Abelardo, the Monteverde girls' father. He's got a new woman and refuses to help at all. She tells him he'll never be happy because of ignoring his children.

When Amanda and Sacto arrive at Rafa's hacienda, they approach Luisa, the maid. But there's a scary moment because Rafa is there, and wants his best suit ironed.

They finally get into the calabozo (prison cell or dungeon) and are nearly choking from the smell of the body part in the box. Catalina recognizes her dress and realizes who the young woman is. She tells her not to do it. She's chained, fed only bread and water, and he brings women there to have sex in front of her.

Amanda/Flor tells Sacramento she's still going through with it because of her sisters. When she is hugging the two younger ones, Ana makes a snarky remark. Susana tells her "Don't be mean; where would we be without Amanda." Ana grudgingly says: "It's true" and goes to join the group hug.

Amanda is frightened and asks Olga if the first time is painful. She replies that only if you aren't in love. Well, then, she says, I'm going to suffer because I don't love him.

Sacto IS going to leave. He spent all his cash on a pair of sturdy boots and bids farewell to Dudi, who has lent him a mochila (day pack).

The photojournalist has been invited to Rafa's private party at the 4 P's. Enrique tells him he's the big cheese around here. Rafa replies that he's dueño de nadie pero servidor de todos. Hah!

Sacto goes to say goodbye to Amanda. I should have known the deflowering wouldn't happen on a Thursday, much less the big initiation show!
 

FLOR SALVAJE_
Excellent recap, Novelera. I find that I can watch a novela like Mi Corazon Insiste while I'm painting the kitchen and still be able to do a recapette from memory, no problem. But shows like Flor (and La Reina del Sur) are more complex and dense and to be able even to do a recapette, I have to watch more carefully - but I still need to paint the kitchen. So I do appreciate your effort at recapping Flor.

I agree with you totally about the scene with Mariano and Rocio. What I don't understand is whether Mariano is marrying one of the prostitutes who pretending to be a rich widow. I guess I wasn't really paying attention when that part of the plot was set up.

Mariano's insistence that his sister not get involved with an 'indio' or any lower class person is rather surprising since he is a working guy. It doesn't seem like there any upper class types in the area before oil was found. Even Rafael made his fortune in the oil boom, right?

Sticky honey - LOL. I guess whatever Rafi has in mind is what he did for Zahra when they became lovers and of course, he couldn't care less that he's hurting her.

The kid who plays Amanda's youngest sister sure is cute.
 

FLOR SALVAJE -- general

Novelera, thanks for the terrific summaries you've been writing. Even though, up to now, I haven't commented, I've been reading and enjoying each one.

As hard as I try to stay away from this show -- the story of a South American whorehouse owned by Bluebeard doesn't sound so appealing does it? -- I just keep coming back. (Well at least for now.)

I like the cast a lot, especially the Venezuelans and the rhythm of their speech. And of course it's always fun seeing familiar faces in very different roles and contexts.

Zahra -- It was driving me crazy trying to remember where I had seen her before. I did a little research and found out the actress Norkys Batista was "La Chiqui Lorenz" in the Venezuelan novela "Mi Gorda Bella" that "Llena de Amor" was based on. She was the fresa played by Altair J in the Mexican version.

Catalina, the wife chained in the dungeon, was in the Mexican "Llena de Amor" playing the snooty Cristal, Altair's best friend.

One of Flor's sisters is also in "La Pola" where she plays the younger Catarina.

When Rocío and Flor's father were in the tavern together, the woman watching them so carefully (maybe his current wife?) was "Rosa Munita Yen" from "La Casa de al Lado".

And then there are the cast members from "EL Clon" that you have mentioned before: Dora/Olga, Cristina/La Mina, Alejo/Santiago, Said/Emilio.

So for the moment, I'm in. But just for the moment... :)
 

FLOR SALVAJE - JUEVES

Jean, I just assumed that the woman Rocío saw Mariano having sex with was the prospective bride, Lourdes, the rich one. We don't know that for sure. The other reason I suspected the woman in his bed was the rich widow is that she was not all that attractive and looked to be at least in her 30s if not 40s. We certainly haven't seen her as one of the 4 P's.

I suppose Rocío will tell Clara about Lourdes, and Clara won't believe he's going to marry someone else. She's been so nasty to Rocío that I'd just keep my mouth shut and let her find out the hard way.

Thanks for the kind words, NovelaMaven. I've read some gripes about this novela elsewhere, mainly we don't want novelas about prostitutes. People also complained about La Reina del Sur being about drugs, but that griping went away fast after the quality was so apparent.

I think the acting is good in this one, and I'm clinging to the idea that Laura Restrepo wrote the novel. There's definitely a message in this novela about the corrupting effects of the oil extraction on the people of the town. And, like Jean, I think the scenery reminds me of Doña Bárbara.
 

Thanks for the recap of that awesome episode, Hombre! I can't believe that Renato faked his death! He didn't even use the same doctor that Javier did. I can't wait for tonight's episode.
 

LA CASA -Thursday

Thanks for the terrific recapette, Hombre. I agree --it really was quite an episode.

About Hilda's agreeing to spy for Adolfo --he reeled her in by saying how awful the Condes had been to her, and how wonderful she and her aunt had been to Leonardo. Hilda really is an inarticulate dummy. Having seen her in EVA, where she played a very different character, I must say she is doing a good acting job.

I also found it interesting that when Emilio was in the room, and Adolfo was under the bed, Igor Mora referred to his son as MALO!!

Although last night was very exciting, it was the first time I found it unbelievable. First of all,
We saw Renato die. How could he have faked that given what we saw--that Eva was there when he died. What did he do --hold his breath? Also how could Adolfo fallen down ALL those steps, not be hurt, and have the strength to practically choke Emilio to death? Give me a break!

One other thing. Eva tells Javier that she saw mabel. So obviously Javier knows that Adolfo is Igor Mora's son, and not a mechanic that he met and mentored.
 

novelera, awesome job with the recaps!

And novelamaven..stick around here with us ;)

I agree about the scene last night with Rocio and Mariano, really good again and really has me trying to figure it all out. Those two are great actors. I'm still confused though why such a brutal killing of Emilio, I mean if he insisted that his sister not get with an indio, or anyone of a lower class for that matter...doesn't a beating usually come first? And then if it comes to having to get rid of the guy, usually it's a little cleaner than burying a guy to his neck?? Wow.

One thing that bothered me was when Flor returned from the calabozo and saw her sisters and heard the news about the school she was all smiles. I had a hard time with that after what she had just witnessed. I gotta think that would have hit a little deeper than that and no matter what deal she made she'd be reconsidering. I mean, really?? Dude's wife is chained up in a dungeon with human body parts in a box and her new steady is the one behind all of that??

I love the way Flor talks, love that accent. She already looked good but she cleaned up even better :)
CC tries a little too hard I think with the Mexican slang, pero bueno...
I like the thicker Argentina accent that La Mina is bringing in this one but her character always seems to be kind of a payasa in the background. Didn't really like her in Ninos Ricos or El Clon either.
My favorite right now is La Trepadora, Rocio is beautiful top to bottom and those scenes with her brother are powerful.