Tuesday, October 04, 2011

Teresa Mon 10/3/11 #151-152 El Fin, From Shark to Phoenix

Parte 1: How and Why The Playboy Got Played; Prison Payback;  and Art Takes a Flyer


Our She-Devil in a blue dress has just finished shoveling what’s left of her latest victim, Fernando’s, manhood out the door of the house he’d foolishly bought her, and walked triumphantly to the top of her grandiose staircase to survey her domain: “Ser or no ser, y ¡yo soy!”  [To be or not to be, and I am!]

She walks back to her old bedroom and grabs Arturo Bear.  Yes, she misses Art terribly.  He’s the only thing that would make this scene perfecto.  (Viewerville would actually love to see those fabulous pecs and shapely buns of his jumping into the sack one last time.  Sigh!)  She races over to the desk drawer with the diamond engagement ring (is it #2 or #3?) he’d given her on their honeymoon in Paris.  She slips it on her finger and looks over at Arturo Bear.  “—I’ll get you back Arturo, if it’s the last thing I ever do!”  (Team Teresa sucks it in cuz we know our gal’s got spunk, but Karma has a mind of its own and it is about due to knock Teresa back on her assets.)

Meanwhile, at Lucia’s, Curly Locks and Art are canoodling on her couch.  She’s settled for a boarder sans benefits but still hopeful that he will get the cobwebs out of his head and come back from his trip ready to get serious with her, to formalize their relationship.  Art is a gentleman.  He says he can’t promise Lucia anything, but he won’t deny himself a chance for happiness again, either.  Ok with Lucia.  Just like Aida, this gal is happy to take Teresa’s leftovers.  She gives him a smooch and leaves to get something at the drugstore.

In the vecindad, Juana and Refugio return to Casitita Chavez and share a big cry over Tere’s abject rejection of the two of them and her roots.  How ungrateful to deny the person who gave her life!  Juana finally has to admit that Tere is just like Refused says: MALA!

Art’s got his bags packed when the doorbell rings.  Guessy whooooo!  Teresa races into the room.  He tells her he’s tired of her games and to get lost.  She tells him she’s not going to marry Fernando after all.  “--What??  Didn’t he fulfill one of your little whims? So now you’re here to make him jealous?  Or did he finally realize who and what you really are and tell you to go to Hell?”  No, she says, she broke it off with Fern because she is in love with him.  She lays a major lip-lock on the poor guy, and he seems unable to resist in the end.

Back at the Chavez apartment, Refused tells Aurora and Mariano how Teresa denied her existence to the Spanish society reporter right in front of her!  Shameless wench!  It frightens Refu to think what Teresa might do for money now.  She’s exchanged love for money a few times, yes, and was always ashamed of coming from the barrio, but to refuse to acknowledge her own mother—the one who gave her life!  Aurora says she should have told the reporter the truth there and then.  That wasn’t all!  She did the same to Juana and said she was her nanny, her housemaid!

Teresa tells Art she’s come into money now and hopes the two of them can live the life they deserve.  It was unfair for him to have lost his fortune over Saenz.  Art didn’t fall off the melon truck yesterday, he says.  He knows she must have finagled it from Fernando.   How could she come there expecting he’d appreciate something like that?  “—Did you expect me to enjoy the two of us living off that?  You’re worse than I thought!  Just get out!  Get. Lost!  I don’t ever want to see you again!”  Lucia walks in just as Tere is begging him again and saying they still have time to start over.  No, he says, she had plenty of opportunity but she squandered it!  Money is all that matters to her and she can share it with some other guy, but not him!  He throws her out and slams the door shut. 

Lucia grabs him and hugs him, all smiles and freckles.  She now knows that he has truly gotten over Teresa, or he wouldn’t have been able to do what he just did to her.  He’s facing the door rather than Lucia, and fighting back his tears.  On the other side of the door Teresa is also fighting back tears.

Juana goes back to her place now and cries on Cutberto’s shoulder about the way Teresa treated her.  What did she do wrong?  She loved her too much and it blinded her to things that she should have recognized, says Buttberto—a tactful way of saying “I told you so.” Aurora is there also and tells her that she has her for a daughter now.

Back at the Casota, Teresa jumps on her big bed and cries all over Arturo Bear. Sooner or later she’ll convince him to come back to her.

Across town, meanwhile, at the women’s prison, some crazy inmate--OMG!  IS THAT GEMA?--wants protection money from Genoveva AND her peroxided locks.  Gen’s tried to buy her off.  It’s not working.  (Now what does the loca really plan to do with those trimmed tresses?  Sell them as decorations?  Ugh!) Out come the scissors and snip, snip, snip!  So it goes for the vanquished and vain ‘Veva.

As for Ruben, we see he’s gotten one big bad beating.  He would try paying for protection, but he hasn’t been able to speak to his daughter yet.  (Viewerville thinks it’ll probably be a cold day in Hell before he ever gets Aida to visit him there again.) Ol’ Bigote’s quivering whiskered lips are whistling past the graveyard this time.  Fito’s friend says he won’t ever forgive him for knocking off his bud.  One of the other inmates flips open a jackknife and smiles evilly at Rube.  Fito’s buddy tells El Bigote to say “Hey” to Fito for him and the guy with the knife lunges at Ruben and it’s “Bye-bye, Bigote!”

Meanwhile, Nando visits Oriana in her hospital room.  He gets on his knees and whimpers that she was right. (Whimper, sob.) “--Teresa is the worst of all women!  She isn’t going to marry me! (Sob.) She only wanted my money. (Sob.) She took the house I’d bought for Louisa and sold off half my companies I put in her name.  (Sob, sob.)  She’s left with half my fortune!  Forgive me for not listening to you! (Whimper, sob, sob.)”   Once again, Team Teresa gets to do a happy dance cuz odious and arrogant Oriana is unable to scream back “I told you so!” the way we all know she’s dying to.  (Insert various snickers here.)  Life isn’t all bad.

Next stop for Teresa is Aida’s. Aeeeeda doesn’t want that rrrrrrata de vecindad in her house.  Tough. She’s there to give Aeeeda some sad news.  “—Yeah.  You’re dad died.” Aeeeda is suck it in impactada.  “—You’re here to make fun of me?  At this time?”  Tere didn’t want her to get such bad news over the phone, she demurs.  She wanted to deliver it personally.  “--Oh, and he must have suffered a lot, because he was knifed!”  Doesn’t she have any sense of respect for the dead, screams Aeeeda? “—You’re such a waste, such a waste, Teresa!”  You’re so wrong, says Tere.  She’s better than Aida as a woman and financially.  See, you don’t live by your own means.  You live off your mother’s money, and besides, you’re a convict’s daughter!” Teresa wrinkles up her nose.  “--I’m not going to lower myself [rebajar] dealing with you any longer.” 

Just as Tere turns to go, in walks Aur-Mar.  “—Oh, you’re getting married soon.  When do I get my invitation?”  Mar tells her not to be such a smart-ass.  They were going to invite her to the wedding, says Aurora, because Juana and her mother wanted her to be there, but not now—not after what she pulled in front of that reporter!  She didn’t lose just one mother, but two, says Mariano.  (Two sticks in the mud, the prisses!)  They walk over and make a big show of comforting Aida.  Tere shrugs like could care.

Art stops by Juana and Buttberto’s to discuss the possibility of adoption, but they’ve apparently had to gossip about Tere first.  Juana was so deceived by her lies all this time.  Yes, says Art.  Teresa is beautiful and talented, but she lost her usefulness when put up against her ambitions.  As for the adoption, if they stay together over the next three years, then they could adopt.  Juana says that’s ok.  Buttberto and she have a lifetime together.  Smooch. (Gag.)

Back at Teresa’s manse, Nando comes racing in, demanding to know how she could have sold off his businesses like that!  No, no, she corrects him.  You put them in my name.  If you want to go to court, go ahead, but you’ll lose.  It was to be a wedding present to her, but of course, she didn’t tell him there wasn’t going to be any wedding!  No, she did it for both their sakes, she corrects.  He could go back to his mother again and smooth things over.  As it is the guilt over what he did to her is killing him.  Also, in part, because she realized she didn’t love him enough.  He races over to her.  “--Don’t say that!  Keep the money.”  He doesn’t give a flip, he loves her.  Please, just stay with him.  “--Don’t leave!”

Meanwhile, Arturo is driving through the countryside, remembering all his trials and tribulations with Teresa. 

Back at the Casota, Teresa is disgusted with Nando.  “You have no dignity!”  Wake up and smell the coffee, she tells him.  Assume responsibility like a man for what’s what in his life.  His mother was right about him and worrying over him.  He’s weak, immature, easily influenced [manejable], used to the good life and women!  Well, now life made him pay the price!   “—The hunter is now trapped.”  Esperanza walks in unseen at this point and hears the rest of the conversation. 

Teresa continues the sermonizing.  “—I could never live with a weak man like you!  There’s nothing more to say!  Don’t come back trying again.  And if you want to fight me in court, go ahead!  But I warn you.  You. Will. Not. Win. So, he says, all that mattered was my money and now that you have it you’re getting rid of me [deshacer].  Yep, that’s human nature, she says.  “--Each one to his own.  You did the same to Luisa—and so many other women--getting what you wanted from her and then getting rid of her.  So, don’t play the victim with me!”  She pats him on the shoulder like a good boy.  “--Now get lost.”  She dismisses him with a snicker and a giggle or two.  He’s red-faced and practically paralyzed from the humiliating put-down he just received.  (Whoooeeyyy!!  She is gooood!  All the women he treated like that would be jumping for joy to see a sister turn the tables on the dude this way.  Think about it!)

Espe races in, shocked to hear that she took money from Fer and won’t give it back!  She told the man she loved him, even.  How could she?  No, says Tere.  He gave it to me without considering the consequences.  Anyway, he has as much or more than I, and so does his mother.  Not to worry.  Look.  He wanted to buy my love this way.  Espe is flabberghatsted.  “--You are wicked!”  “No!  I did the right thing!  I can’t marry him--because I love Arturo!!  I just have to find a way to get Arturo back now.”  Espe screams in frustration that she left Art for Nando.  She’s sure she lost Art forever by now.  No, says Tere.  He still loves me and sooner or later he will come back to me. 

Maybe not, sports fans.  Art has had a bad wreck out in the boonies of Mexico. Seems he lost control, tumbled down a cliffside and been thrown out of his car.  He may have already joined Armie and Pat Pal inside the pearly gates. 

Tere tells Espe not to play the innocent with her.  She did the same with Rubigote, using him to help pay the expenses at home.  (She’s got a point there.)  Later, Hernan came along and he had money also.  She just never knew how to ask for enough so she settled for a little.  No, says Espe.  She fell in love and never got involved for what she could get out of it.  Don’t be such a hypocrite!  Anyway, she had Espe come by to give her the news that Rube was dead.  Really, says Espe?  Tere loses patience and says now she has no reason to ever go back to that disgusting neighborhood.  She’s on a totally different level now and if they don’t want to recognize it then that’s tough.  Espe takes offense and rushes angrily out of Teresa’s. 

Reina walks in just then with news that a policeman—a state trooper—is there to see him.  He tells her that there’s been a car accident on the highway.  They found only the driver’s license.  She grabs it and sees it’s Arturo’s.   She panics.  What’s happened?  The trooper tells her the car flipped over and rolled.  [volcarse]  He’s nowhere to be found. 

She leaves with the trooper and goes to the scene of the accident wanting to help them look for him.  Apparently, an old man and his son or grandson, found him and brought him to their hut.  The old guy sends the younger one off--by burro—to get the police and some medical help.  It doesn’t look like Art has long to live according to the old guy.

Tere’s beside herself.  Where could he be?  The first trooper says he’s covered a lot of ground and found nothing.  A second one shows up saying there’s a rancher on the road who says they found a blond man who’s hurt and he’ll show them the way to the little ranchito up the mountain.  Hurry and get an ambulance here!

Back in the city, Fer makes another visit to his mother’s at the hospital.  She’ll get better and he must also.  He’s got to mend his broken heart and his wounded ego.  If she weren’t this way he might have just up and died.  But he won’t, because she needs him. 

The paramedics and helicopter arrive at the little hut to take Art off the mountainside.  The old man tells Tere how he found Art and brought him there.  Tere thanks him.  (Wait a minute!  Did Viewerville hear right?  She really did thank the old farmer!  And she sends a prayer of thanks Heavenward.  Team Teresa begins to see a bit of light at the end of the tunnel.   We may be on to something here!)

Aeeeeda returns with Mayra from the funeral. Too bad Daddy wasn’t the man he always pretended to be.  Oh, seems Ramon and Aur-Mar, Hernan, Espe and Roddy went also.  Ramon thanks her for bringing laughter back into his son’s life.  He hopes that soon somebody will do the same for her.  They’ve all made nice-nice.  Aeeeda tries to feel a bit of something for her little half-brother. 

That night Aurora’s there telling Aeeeda that Art’s in the hospital and Mariano’s taking care of him.  They’re doing all they can to save him.  Aeeeda says Art’s a good guy and doesn’t deserve what all’s happening to him; the only thing bad he did was to marry the wrong woman.  Does Lucia know?  Yes, says Aurora.

Lucia makes a tearful phone call to Luisa and says she needs to get back there right away.  Art was in a bad car accident!

At the hospital Tere races over to Mariano for news.  No, he hasn’t regained consciousness.  Save him please!  Whatever the cost!  Doesn’t matter.  He has lost a lot of blood, says Mar.  You never know.  He’ll do what he can—but for him, not for her.  (You petty jerk, Mariano!  You know she’s suffering.)   He told Lucia.  “--If you have anything to say to him, you do it now.  He may not survive the night.”  Teresa fights the nervous breakdown that any other woman in the same situation would have suffered by now as she mulls over what Mariano has just told her.

~~~~~~~~End Part 1 of at least 3~~~~~~~~



Dissing the Diva -- Parte 2

Teresa sneaks into the IC area to see Arturo, knowing it maybe for the last time.  “Don’t die.  I love you more than anything in the world.  If you die I’ll go crazy!”  Lucia walks in on her and tells her she doesn’t belong there.  Sorry, I brought him in here and I told Mariano I’d handle whatever he needs.  Lucia gets snitty.  You leave or should I get them to throw you out?  (Art’s machine starts to race now.  He must hear the two of them fighting over him.  Definitely something to live for, right buddy-boy?)  “—I only want Arturo to be saved.”  “—You talk like you actually care, and even if you do it’s too late.  He doesn’t want you now.”  Tere leaves.  Lucia hovers over him.  “—My love.” 

That night Lucia runs into Luisa in the hospital hallway on her way out.

In the vecindad, Buttberto’s throwing a surprise birthday party for Juana.  He rattles on to Refused. “—It should cheer her up after what Tere did to her.”  Oops.  He stuck his foot in his mouth aaaa-gainnnnn! Ramon, Pati, Johnny, Espe and Hernand and the baby are also there.  Juana loves the surprise. 

Back at the hospital, Lucia tells Luisa how Teresa wouldn’t stop till they finally found Arturo.  Luisa says at least she’s done one good thing in her life, but probably only because she felt guilty.  Lucia mentions that she came back in to see him after and stuck around.  Seems she isn’t going to marry Fernando but she has part of his fortune now, she says.

Teresa shows up at Juana’s birthday party (tho’ how she found out is anyone’s guess).  Mama tells her she’s not wanted and not to call her Madre anymore because her parents are dead, remember?  Just leave and don’t come back.  Teresa notices suddenly that everyone in the room has turned their back on her.  “--It was only for an interview.”  Sure, but Refused never thought she’d object to recognize her like that to her face!  Oh yes, she understood why: because Tere doesn’t love her.  She only loves and thinks of only herself.  “--Go ahead and refuse to accept those of us who live here and do honest work, those who’ve always offered their affection and their support.  So you studied hard and got out from under.  Look, I don’t have long nails and fine hands—I worked washing other people’s laundry to put food on the table for you.”  Tere says she didn’t think it would matter so much to her.  Sure not, says Refused.  “Don’t step foot in here again and don’t come near me!”  (Viewerville, especially Team Teresa, has already gone through their first box of Kleenex.) Refugio walks into her room and bawls herself silly, then prays to the virgencita to save her daughter from eeevil and to see the light.  

Outside, in the living room, Buttsy tells Tere she’s nothing here now so she’d better just leave, but she tells Baboonface to shut it!  Her mama will get over it.  Espe says she doubts it.  Anyway, what’s she doing in the vecindad?  She wants nothing to do with any of them; she told her so herself.  She wants to laugh at them, says Johnny.  Pati says she admired her for her hard work and all the things she’s gotten from it, but she doesn’t understand how she could deny the woman who gave her life.  Teresa sneers back at her.  “—Stay out of this!”  Tersa walks over to Juana and wish her happy birthday.  “—Since when does an employer come to her maid’s birthday party?”  Tere begs her not to act this way.  She could expect it from her mother, but not from her.  “—You are blind, Tere!”  “--Why did you come?  To hire a driver like Johnny, or a seamstress like Pati? Or a 5th rate mariachi?”  Juana now knows who Teresa really is!   Why is she ashamed of her humble origins? Juana’s ashamed of her and she regrets having ever given her the love that she did!  She gave her so much love and support and she wasn’t worth the effort.  Teresa only loves herself! Juana then throws her out of the apartment.  Get out!  Don’t come around and never say another word to me!  Tere tries to at least leave her gift for Juana. Juana refuses it.  Take your present!  I don’t want it.  Juana slams the door behind her.  As Teresa falls to her knees in tears she hears Juana sobbing through the door.  (Time for kleenex box #2.)

Back at the hospital Luisa has a shock thinking she just saw Fernando.  Lucia mentions then that Oriana suffered a serious stroke.

A bit later, Teresa runs to Armando’s graveside again to cry.  This time it’s that nobody understands her and all have turned their back on her.  She’s so alooooooone!!!!!  All she ever wanted was to escape their poverty and to give her parents the best.  Now that she has her money, Papito’s not there to enjoy it.  It didn’t do Arturo’s health any good either! Ohhhhhh!!!!!  I’ve suffered so much! 

Meanwhile, Luisa goes to visit La Odiana.  Fernando walks into the room just then.  The nurse has to take her for some tests.  Nando says visit her whenever you want.  He asks to be forgiven for being such and idiot.  “--Believe me, I’m paying dearly  [con creces] for it now.”  That’s his problem, Luisa says sweetly.  However, she’s happy to see him for a moment, cuz she’s got something important to tell him.  She’s sticking close to his mother now, because she’s going to be having her grandchild.  Yep.  She’s preggers.  Fernando is thrilled to hear it!  (At least for Mama’s sake, we suppose.)

Teresa sneaks back into Art’s IC room again.  “--I’m still here for you, Arturo.”  She takes off the oxygen mask and kisses him gently on the mouth.  “—I love you.  I love you.  I love you!”  She starts to tear up again.  “—I know I’ve hurt you greatly and that now I can’t expect you to forgive me.  But please!  You have got to get well!  Even though it might not be for me.”  (I’m getting close to needing a third box of Kleenex.)

Back in Odiana’s hospital room, Nando steps in it again.  “--Is there anyway, Luisa, now that you’re having our child, knowing how much you loved me, that you could put your resentment aside and we might have a future together?”   “--Stop humiliating yourself further,” she says.  She loved him like nobody else in her life and would have done anything for him.  Not now.  He cheated on her and he’s such a wimp (tiene poco hombria) in the end.  She doesn’t want or expect anything from him or her child. 

In the waiting room, Lucia sees Tere and asks why she keeps hanging around. Tere spits back at her.  “—You can’t stop me, either!”  Mar comes out and says Art’s coming to.  Lucia races in to see him and leaves Tere standing there. 

In the meantime, Luisa tells Odiosa that she’s pregnant.  It won’t be easy, she says, but La Odiosa has to get better for her grandchild.  (Perhaps she’ll walk again, but part of Viewerville hopes speaking isn’t part of the repair package.)

At the same time, Grumps gets back from visiting his daughter, and stops in at Refusio’s with Pati and Johnny for tea.  Pati’s mama is better now and getting over her depression after all these years.  She wants Pati to visit her.  Yes, he’s happier these days.  He knows now that Johnny isn’t the useless jerk he always thought.  (Yeah, just slooowww!)  Johnny’s proven that he really does love his granddaughter.  So, Grumps is giving Johnny the keys to the auto repair shop.  It’s his to run.  As for Pati, he’s enrolled her in and pre-paid her way through the best high-fashion design school in all of Mexico.  Pati’s ecstatic! 

Back at the hospital, Lucia moons over Art as he regains consciousness and calls out for Teresa.  (Sorry, Freckle Face.  Them’s the breaks!)  “--The only good thing Teresa did was to rescue you, but you’ll forget her.  I love you Arturo!”

Mariano is in the waiting area with Teresa, telling her Art was lucky to have survived.  She smiles and is grateful.  Mar says it’s the first time in a long time he’s seen her worried about anyone other than herself.  Aurora walks up to them.  (Snooty and cold as ever.)  “--She’s lost another boyfriend.  He wants nothing more to do with her.  You’re all alone, Teresa.”  Mar tells her that her money’s wasted.  She’s done so many things wrong. Perhaps she can start over, with someone else somewhere else.  They leave her to her thoughts and walk off.  (I think to myself they need to take that stick out of their backsides.)

A few days later, Aur-Mar visit Refu with the news that Art’s getting out of the hospital and Luisa’s pregnancy is going well.  She asks if they’ve heard from Tere.  Aur says she’s happy Art’s better, but she’s never going to change her ways.  That’s what bothers me, says Refu.  They’re getting married the next day and Mar wants Refu to give him away. 

That night, Tere gets a surprise visit from Aeeeeda.  “—Oh, what’s this?  You’re not going to call me Rrrrrata de Vecindad?”  Nope.  She’s making the effort to change her ways, unlike Tere.  She’s not going to continue trying to get back at Tere all the time.  She’s going to have nothing to do with her.  It’s the only way she’ll be truly free of her.  “Santa Aida?”  No, Aeeeeda got what she wanted.  Everyone now sees Teresa for who she really is.  Of course, she can’t help but rub Teresa’s nose in the fact that everyone is happy to be going to The Big Wedding the next day while Tere’s been blackballed.  She’ll miss seeing Aur-Mar happily wed and Lucia arm-in-arm with Arturo.  Oh, and BTW, did she find out that Luisa’s expecting Fernando’s baby?  “--Boy this big house is so lonely!  Just like you, Teresa.  All alone.”  “—So are you, Aida!”  “--Wrongo, Teresa.  I have friends and my mother.  You’ve lost yours and all the men who loved you, your godmother and even your mother.  You’ve got money and this house, but nothing else.”

The Big Wedding Day arrives.  Hector and Buttsy make nice-nice cuz, Juana, says Buttsy, can give Aurora away since she’s like a second mother to her. 

During the ceremony, Tere manages to sneak in and stands behind the pillar; she looks on at the assorted misfits and finery, including Lucia with an affectionate, kissy-face and smiling Arturo on her arm--and then she spies a very pregnant, single-mom-to-be, Luisa—Ahh!!  They’re both so pretty in pink.  Rats! (Yes, Luisa’s decided to stay a single mom, despite Arturo’s druthers, we learn.) 

We’re spared the reception, but not the honeymoon suite scene.  (Yawn.) FF>>

Later on, Aeeeda stops by to make nice-nice with Espe and the baby cuz they aren’t to blame—as she says--for anything her crazy daddy did.  FF>>

The next night Tere knocks on Art and Lucia’s door again.  She tearfully tells him she really is sorry.  Really, really she is!  It’s too late for that Teresa, he says. No, it’s never too late, she cries.  “--I swear that I’ve learned my lesson!”   She’s pleading with him.  “--I swear I have!  I will change!  I want us to spend the rest of our lives together, growing old together like you always wanted.” “--I said it’s too late.  You’re wasting your time.”  He tries to slam the door in her face again but she’s too quick for him and races inside.  “--What there is between us is very strong.  It’s love and it is forever and always!  I love you and I know you love me.  You don’t know how worried I was, or how anxious I was, when you had your accident.  There I realized how I could never live without you.  Then yesterday I saw you with—Noooo!!!!  You can’t go out with Lucia.  You and I love each other and we are going to start over again.”  “—And what about Fernando’s money?”  She’s ready to change for him, she says.  She’s going to show him.  She’s ready to give it all back to him.  She swears it!

Meanwhile, back in Acapulco with the honeymooners, we get more smoochies and promises to make each other happy daily, for life.  We also learn that Aurora’s waiting to have kids till she’s done with her specialty.  (Yawn.)  FF>>

Unfortunately for Teresa, Art doesn’t believe her.  It’s over, can’t you understand, he yells at her.  No, she says.  It’ isn’t!  “--We’ll start over again and this time it will be without lies or tricks.”  “--For that, you’d have to begin by giving back Fernando’s money.”  “--I told you I’m going to do that!”  “--I don’t believe it.  And, please don’t waste my time.”  She promises again to give it all up.  For him!  He says he knows her too well and she won’t.  Even though she might, he’s committed to Lucia now.  Lucia’s been great to me.  Curly Locks struts in just then, in a hot red number.  (Team Teresa curls their lip and growls.)  “—You heard him, Teresa!”  Sure, she heard him, she sneers back.  “--I heard what a marvelous woman you are and how swell you’ve treated him.  The only thing I didn’t hear was that he loves you!”  She walks over to him and whispers in his ear.  “—Think about it, my love.  We can still be happy.”  With that she walks out of the apartment and into the night.

~~~~~~~~~~~~End Parte 2~~~~~~~  




Parte 3

Can’t Buy Me Love; Or The Road To Redemption Is Paved With Good Intentions

Art is all shook up.  You can see him vibrate on screen.  He apologizes to Lucia and asks her to forget everything Teresa said.  Freckle Face would like to, but down deep she knows he’s never really gotten over Teresa.  “—What Teresa says is the truth.”  “Love” is a very large word, he says.  Its something that comes along with time.  Perhaps it could happen to us.  She asks him if he’s sure about that, because for as much as she’d like to take the next step in their relationship (uh…bunking with him) something is always stopping him.  Truth is, she says, he hasn’t been able to forget Teresa.  He looks over at her guilty as charged.  Outside the door, Teresa steadies herself against the door and takes a breath in between uncontrollable sobs.
Lucia tells Art that his silence tells her all she needs to know.  He disagrees.  He can’t continue to be tied to some ghostly past either.  She’s the reason he’s still standing on his feet.  He has a great affection for her, and he’s very grateful for all her support.  (Yep.  That and 5 pesos might buy you a cup o’ joe.)  He doesn’t want to give her the brush off just yet.  She doesn’t want to wait much longer for things to change for the better with him, either.

The next day, Teresa has summoned Fer and wants to give him back his money—all of it. She’s throwing in the house, too.  He says angrily that he doesn’t understand her.  She only got close to him, trampling over everything and everyone to get it.  Now she throws back the only thing that was really ever important to her.  Why?  (Hmmm.  How about the simple challenge you and it presented—especially after the way his mama continually harassed her—for starters?  Anyway, this end of Viewerville  always thought your mother was the brains behind the empire rather than you, Studly.)   She tells him the only thing that should matter to him is that she’s giving it all back to him.  Simply put, she didn’t marry him so now she wants to give it back. 

He refuses to accept it.  When’s she going to learn that all the money in the world can’t buy her love?  Keep the money.  What good are all those millions of dollars if he can’t have what he wants?   He wants her.  “—Well, you will never have me!”  Well, then, he says, her punishment is to be just like him: to be with plenty of money but to be without love.  He turns on his heel and storms out of the house.  She is stunned.  She plops down on the staircase, crumples up the check and then rips it to pieces.  He’s definitely wounded her.  She lets out another heartfelt sob.

Back at the vecindad, Juana and Buttberto are taking a trip back to see his family again in Zacatecas.  They want Refu to cheer up.  Why doesn’t she come with them?  No, she’s hoping that Teresa might realize how wrong she has been and come back to her.  Juana says she’s still heartbroken over the whole experience herself.  Buttsy wants to change the subject.  He says they’re still newlywed without the burden of kids and able to enjoy themselves for a while longer.  Oh, how happy he is with her whether they have kids or not, he has her.  (Double-ugh!)

Back at Lucia’s, Art tells Luisa that he’s come to accept the closing of the circle/cycles—that’s the way life is.  He’s going to begin enjoying life without feeling obligated or tied down to anyone or anything.  (Ruh-roh!  Has he finally come to love Lucia?  Say it ain’t so!!!)  Lucia arrives with the invitations for her art exhibition.  Happy, happy.  Joy, joy!  (Gawd how I always hate this 3’s Company atmosphere with these three.)  She’s finished his portrait specially now since they postponed it while he was sick.  (Visions of Teresa, tricked into giving away all her goodies and stopping to buy his portrait for over her mantelpiece.  Spare me!)

Meanwhile, Teresa’s gone to Pat Pal’s foundation and offered to donate all of Fernando’s millions to the organization she’d always despised.  Is she sure she wants to donate all of that money?  Yes, she’s sure this is what she wants to do.  Course, in the end it proves darn hard letting go of that check, but she does.  One more thing, she tells the new representative and hands her over a folder.  She’s giving the house away to them as well if the person she’s first signed it over to doesn’t want it. 


On her way out the office in a three-hanky scene, Teresa runs into Arturo.  What is she there for, he asks her.  She’s fulfilling her promise to him, she says.  She’s given away all of what she had.  She can start fresh with him again.  He asks her if she really thinks handing over a sum of money makes any real difference, cuz he doesn’t.  We have to recognize our mistakes and assume the consequences.  She tells him they know she did this all for ambition’s sake, but now she’s once again the same as she was when they first met.  She’s got nothing.  And, there’s nothing keeping them from being together again.  She’s going to ask forgiveness from her godmother and from her mother.  But first and foremost, she needs him to forgive her.  He refuses her.  He says he can’t forgive her.  Why not, she asks, totally panicked.  He still loves her and he has to remember everything they’ve been through together, what they both felt for each other. 

Teresa starts to pull Arturo towards her, but he resists.  “—You hurt me too greatly, Teresa!  You had plenty of opportunity to change your ways but you squandered them all.”  She swears it won’t be like that again, ever!  Nope, he says.  It’s just too late.  He doesn’t trust her now.  She’ll always give the least she can while getting the most she’s able to from something.  She’ll never change.   He walks away, sorely tempted, but still smarting from all he’s been through with her.  “—Don’t leave like this, Arturo!  Don’t leave, please!”  (Damn, I’m fresh out of hankies and Kleenex!)  Teresa can no longer control her tears and breaks down. 

Next stop is Juana’s.  Teresa walks in while Juana’s packing.  She refuses to accept Teresa’s apology.  Teresa trampled on her love and trust.  It can’t be gotten back.  She never knew how to appreciate what Juana gave her freely.  Juan throws the bit about the wedding dress finally back at her.  She and her mother had worked so hard--night and day--on that dress.  Why wouldn’t she wear it?  And, then she used her, bringing her to Arturo’s while she was still in love with Mariano.  Later, she tried to make her believe that she was divorcing Arturo because he was a no good drunk when really she was stealing Fernando from Luisa!  She knows she loves her.  No, says Juana.  LoveD you.  I would have given my life for you!  But you didn’t know how to value that.  All this time you thought so little of me!  Oh how you hurt me with everything you did!

Teresa swears that she’s changed!  “--Oh what can you change, huh?  Well, if you have, then perhaps you won’t do to other people what you’ve done to me.  You’ve lost my affection!”  Tere begs to turn back time.  Nope, can’t do that, says Juana.  “--Your ambition had no limits.  You lied, you cheated, you took advantage of every one of us who loved you!”  Oh why can’t anyone believe her now?  It’s impossible for them to, says Juana.  Everything you say or do is going to make me trust you less.  You frighten me, Teresa! 

Across town at the Ledesma’s, Hernan comes home with the news that Hector’s made him the new assistant director at the hospital.  Esperanza’s got news of her own.  She’s pregnant again.  Happy, happy, joy, joy!

Teresa walks in on Refu while she’s praying for her.  She Knew her mother still loved her.  No, says Mama.  She’s only praying for her because she doesn’t frighten her anymore.  The only thing she feels for Tere is pity.  What does she mean by that?  Despite being beautiful, intelligent and loved, she didn’t know how to take proper advantage of any of it.  "--You did things all wrong."  Yes, says Tere with tears still streaming down her face.  "--You were right and I was such a fool!  If I’d only listened to you I’d still be with Arturo, but I’ve lost him forever."  She’s on her knees now, hugging her mother for all she’s worth. 

Refu says yes, the same as you’ve lost all that’s been important to you in life.  No, says Teresa.  Not you, mama.  You still love me, mommie.  She will always, says Refused, but that doesn’t mean she’d stop pointing out her mistakes or separating herself from Tere.  "--You don’t change."  Yes, she has, insists Teresa.  Mama says that a change is demonstrated through deeds, done daily.  "Perhaps your being here and feeling so badly, it is your first step in making that change.  But I’m not going to accept you with open arms, not until I see a real change in you."  Teresa begs her not to treat her this way.  Refu says she’s only her mother when it suits her.  No, Tersa, you’ve got to learn that it’s not like that.  Because I gave you life and I deserve some respect.  Yes, weeps Teresa. “-- Yes, yes!  Forgive me, Mama!  Forgive me!!!”  Refugio can’t forgive her yet, It’s too soon and she’s still too hurt, she says. 

At the hospital once again, Fernando visits Mama Shark and tells her she was right.  What he felt for Teresa was not love.  His only consolation is that she’s not happy either.  Today he realized just how worthwhile a gal Luisa really is.  He’s happy that she’s going to be the mother of his child, though marriage isn’t really for him.  His nature is to want to stay free. 

Back to the honeymooners in Acapulco.  (Gawd, my insulin levels are in the red zone about now.)  They have so much in common.  They share the same point of view,  though they might disagree from time to time in the future.  This nasty, unpleasant realization makes them promise to fight for their happiness no matter what!  They kiss on it.  (Blech!) FF>>

Teresa, meanwhile, is more distraught than ever.  She races back to her fathers graveside.  She’s always been able to see her way through things clearly before.  Not this time.  She cries that she disappointed all the people who used to love her and believed in her.  She wasted every chance to change her ways.  She regrets all the horrid things she did to those around her.  Nothing matters anymore—nothing except Arturo!  She doesn’t know what to do!!!!!   

Teresa returns home to her casota and Reina is waiting for her.  She’s quitting.  Her bags are packed.  “Good-bye” is what she says, but “Good Riddance” is what she’s thinking!  The house is like a tomb.  Dark and empty.  She remembers all the parting shots people she’d hurt had thrown at her on their way out the door.  She remembers in particular what Luisa told her that day: “--for all the money you might have, you’ll never be happy!”  She takes out her wedding photo of Arturo and remembers Fernando’s and Mama’s last words.  Mariano’s and then Aida’s.  It’s all Teresa can do to make her way up that staircase and to her bedroom.

She looks over at the Mariano and the Arturo Bears.  She throws the Mariano Bear onto the floor, clutching the Arturo Bear.  She only loves Art.  Suddenly she spies the jewels she’d stuffed into Mar Bear.  “--Of course.  No one loves me.  They’ve all turned there back on me.  Tomorrow, though, I’ll begin again.   I will start all over!”  She crawls over to the desk drawer and takes out Arturo’s wedding band from the drawer.  “--Arturo!  Arturo!  Arturo!”  Suddenly she thinks she hears something outside the window.  She looks over and imagines Art’s standing there on the balcony.  No, it’s just her imagination.  She hugs Arturo Bear to her again and closes her eyes.  The camera pans to a pair of men’s boots and a dark pair of suit pants.  It is him, isn’t it?

Teresa looks up.  There’s Arturo staring down at her, red eyes bleary from all the tears still streaming down his cheeks.  She grabs his legs and hugs him, calling out his name repeatedly.  What are his intentions?  Is he so hurt and mistrustful that his jealousy has eaten him alive and he’s now come there to shoot her—or himself, or maybe the both of them--hoping to put an end to his misery?  He bends over and takes her arms, gently lifts her up and hugs her close.  She’s so relieved he’s come back after all.  The two first simply enjoy the sensation of once again being in each other’s arms.  Then, as the theme song reaches it’s crescendo, he bends a bit more into her and kisses her, softly, tenderly at first but, finally, with passion!  Viewerville knows what he’s thinking:

TERESA!!!





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Comments:
Jardinera, part one was great. I am eagerly awaiting the rest. Thanks so much for being such a great team player on Team T. I'm glad I can still enjoy your 'caps over on LFDD.
 

Jardinera: Your first installment was superb (as always). I don't know how you managed to do it but "shoveling what’s left of her latest victim, Fernando’s, manhood out the door" was the perfect way to begin this! I had to smile in spite of myself. It's evident your heart is in every word you write. Gracias - you are amazing.

I totally agree that Mariano was totally out of line with his scathing "He’ll do what he can—but for him, not for her". As you noted: "You petty jerk, Mariano! You know she’s suffering". How quickly he forgot that he is free because of Teresa.

And, Aurora, you are NOT Refugio's daughter. Do something constructive and work on them them reconciling, rather than pulling them further apart.

This was the most excruciating telenova episode I've ever endured. I was literally on the edge of my seat and up until the very last 10 seconds was berating myself for watching this at all. Simply agonizing.

Some of the worst moments were Refugio's rejection of Teresa - not once but twice! I couldn't beleive my eyes. Espe could forgive Aida, but Teresa's own mother couldn't forgive her? Teresa deserved a good slap and a scathing lecture but Refugio's heart must be made of stone. I could understand Juana's rejection somewhat but not Ref's. The T"shunning" scene was devastating. Ack.

Again, the last 10 seconds gave me hope. How things will work, how and if other relationships will be repaired is questionable. But, I know that as Art and Tere are together, all things are possible.

I didn't always get to read the recaps but what I did read was always wonderful and insightful. Thank you to the marvelous recappers for their time and effort. Thank you also to the commenters. I wish you all the very best and hope to see more recaps (and comments) from you in the future.

Diana
 

Jardinera, what a special start to the last episode recap! Loved your reference to a "sermonizing" Teresa! You have to have been REALLY bad to deserve a Teresa sermon! 

On the Refugio rejection of Teresa's second begging request for forgiveness, I feel vindicated, Refugio is one cold acre mom, maybe we finally have an accurate insight into the "loving/Christian"  home Teresa grew up in!

Did anyone else see Don Franscisco's (?) program with many of actors and alternate endings? 
 

Thanks Jardinera for sending us off in style. Look forward to your Part 2.
I stuck through the whole two hours, even surprised myself, more for curiosity on the build up and what ending we would get. Should have known we'd get the "lover's unite" version. Oh well...it's just me, but I really don't like the idea of them reuniting. To me, though lots of tears were shed and she went through some major humiliations ( mostly deserved), I just didn't get the true sincerity that what she had been was gone and she was taking on a new attitude/life, despite turning over all the money. (That delayed holding of the check was too funny.) The way she snipped at the maid at the end sort of lent to that as well. Maybe I "heart" Arturo too much and wished he could move on and find real happiness elsewhere.

What a ride! Thanks to all our fabulous recappers and all the great commentors. This has been really fun...it's so much better when a TN is done well. (Cough, hello Mejia, cough)

A special note of condolences to Sharkbyte - sorry Aurora went thru with the wedding. If you could avoid the screechy tendencies, Aeedddaaa is still available though.
 

Thank you Jardinera for a priceless recap. Can't thank you and all the recappers enough for all of the time and energy you give to craft writings that are usually much more interesting than the actual show!

Teresa is by far a bad, complicated and flawed character ...but, it is amazing to me how many of the so called "good" characters also have somewhat faulty characteristics themselves (with extremely short memories!). Just seem oh-so-quick to beat down other characters when they are not currently in favor with them. Just sayin.'

Gracias!
Lady Lisa de Saint Helena
 

Eagerly awaiting the next installment, Jardinera, even if we disagree on the main points.

I watched Don Francisco (although I normally can't stand him) in hope of seeing the alternate endings. I also went to the website and voted.

Teresa did not deserve to get Arturo back and she richly deserved the shunning she got at Juana's home. Denying Refugio in front of her and thinking that this wouldn't hurt showed that she never gave any consideration to her mother's feelings. Telling the reporter that Juana had been her nanny was what made Juana's light bulb go on.

I particularly liked how Juana let her know how much it hurt that the bridal gown she was making for her was dissed in favor of a big-name designer's gown. There was no excuse for that.

Isn't Mariano a pediatrician? He sure can't be a brain specialist because Arturo had to have suffered some serious brain damage to go back to this narcissistic sociopath at the end.

More later; I have to go to the store. This cold weather is inspiring me to make soup from scratch.
 

Love the recap so far. My TiVo didn't record the final, can you believe it! It recorded the two hours but I guess the end ran a little long so it got cut off. Anyways, I couldn't believe it and I forgot about Don Francisco so I went to the Univision site. There you can see all three endings and vote for your favorite.
 

They showed the other two endings on Don Francisco. Neither one of them would have made sense IMO:

If they hadn't shown any of the Fernando scenes after Teresa took his money & threw him out of the house, the "Fernando busts in & kills Teresa" ending would have made sense.

The "Teresa works in a cube as a secretary" ending didn't make sense either b/c I can't see Teresa working in a cube as somebody's secretary, unless she had been disbarred.

In defense of Refugio:

I didn't get the sense that Refugio slammed the door shut on any reconciliation between her and Teresa. Juana did, but Refugio didn't. She's not going to welcome Teresa back with open arms...how does Refugio know that Teresa is sincere? The girl has lied to and about Refugio for the past 20-something year. Refugio didn't disown Teresa, Teresa disowned Refugio. She told Teresa it would be little by little, she'd have to see if Teresa truly changed. Refugio has NO evidence that Teresa has changed. Is she just coming around because there's no Arturo, no Fernando, no Luisa, no friends & no money? And when she gets some money again and high class associates, will she disown her roots & her mother again?

Refugio cannot afford to open her heart again so easily to a lying, thieving, cheating, mother-disowning daughter. If you hate the vecindad & the people in the vecindad then leave & don't ever come back.

Teresa truly is alone, with no one but Arturo, because the vecindad folks will never trust or deal with her again, and the high class folks have surely heard of what she pulled with Arturo/Fernando/Luisa and will never trust, accept or like her.
 

Scorecard of what happened to the characters:

Teresa: lost all her family & friends, voluntarily gave up money, alone with Arturo in the end.

Arturo: can't get rid of Teresa fever, goes back to her in the end

Luisa: embarazada, wants nothing to do with Fernando but wants to care for Oriana

Fernando: lost 1/2 his money, rejected by Luisa, vows to take care of Oriana. I think Luisa was the only woman Fernando would have married, but now that she's rejected him for good, he's resigned himself to being alone w/a bunch of bedtime buddies to past the time away

Ruben: Shanked & killed in prison

Genoveva: Gema's b!tc# in prison

Esperanza: Embarazada

Hernan: Assistant director of the hospital

Mariano/Aurora: married, want to travel b/f having children

Johnny/Pati/Grumps: Grumps made Johnny manager of the auto shop, is paying Pati's tuition at sewing school. Grumps & Refugio seem to be friendly...hmm...

Aida: forgave Esperanza, gave up revenge against Teresa, going to Spain with Mayra

Juana/Cutberto: vow to stay together for 3 years to adopt, rejected Teresa for the final time

Oriana: sitting in the hospital bed mute & paralyzed, only able to communicate with her eyes
 

ITA with everything you said Anon207. Refugio did not close the door forever. She just told Teresa that she has to earn her trust and forgiveness, and that happens with deeds and time.

I don't think Teresa has really changed. She's just lonely. But if Art thinks he can accept her as she is, more power to him. I just see some really awkward family dynamics between Art, his wife Teresa, his sister Luisa, her baby-daddy Fernando, and the grandma of her child Oriana. It would seem that Ter and Art would have to move away somewhere, maybe Europe. Art would have to visit Luisa, the baby and Oriana without Teresa. And perhaps there would be a very shame-faced Fernando in the corner being ignored by everyone except his child. That kid is going to be confused about why all the tension in her (I believe Luisa said "niña" in the scene prior to the wedding) family.

Great first part Jardinera. Can't wait for the rest!
 

Jardinera, your recap part one is just superb. Your style and way with words definitely does this telenovela justice and in fact ratchets it up a few notches.

I also loved how Teresa stuck it to the womanizer Fernando, however her method which included breaking Luisa's heart was muy mala. Teresa has a hard time with the notion that the end doesn't always justify the means.

I didn't blame the vecindad folks for shunning Teresa. She selectively did it to them quite frequently so it served her right to get a taste of her own medicine. I laughed when Reina quit, even the hired help couldn't stand her.

Still, it was a great finale, Angelique Boyer gave it her all, and it was nice to get a bit of hope for the future.

Thanks Jardinera! I can't wait to read the rest of your recap later tonight.
 

daisynjay and I had the same thought, though Jardinera hasn't gotten there yet recap-wise: it didn't feel for the most part like Teresa was sincere about wanting to change her ways (there were a couple of moments, but it definitely wasn't consistent). So it certainly didn't feel like she earned her happy, or at least content, ending with Arturo--even though there was no doubt in my mind they were going there from the moment Arturo mumbled her name while in his post-accident state.

And maybe it's just me, but she really shouldn't have been wearing the Eyeshadow of Evil throughout the whole thing. It really didn't help her case.

That said: our little Sharkita was definitely marinating in schadenfreude by the end of the show, and that was quite welcome IMO. Particularly from Juana and Refugio (mad props to Cynthia Klitbo for rocking her end of it). But I suppose they couldn't let the protagonista go away completely empty-handed and karma-heavy (unless it's Rubi), so...
 

I've been skulking on this website for almost a year and have never commented, but I just wanted to say thanks to all the recappers... all of you do such a great job.

I've really enjoyed this novela and was Team Teresa. Even as a Teresa supporter I could understand everyone's shunning EXCEPT her mom! It broke my heart as a mother to watch Teresa beg for forgiveness and be rejected.

There are so many other points that should've covered and analyzed in this great story but several of you have already covered them. Thanks again to everyone's witty, wonderful recaps, y'all do an amazing job and I really appreciate it
 

I watched Don F. It was good that he got so many of the cast, even via sattelite from Mexico. Still can't say I like his style of interviewing and I think he ticked Aaron (Mariano) off with a too personal question. I did like that he showed the two alternative endings. I like the end we got best, even though I would have preferred that Teresa ended up alone- no Art, no anybody.

I like what Silvia (Refugio) said. She made a point that this is not the end of these people's lives. She thinks that if Teresa has actually changed, in the future Refugio would open her heart to Teresa again. But she did seem to think it was over between Teresa and Juana, and I would agree. Although Juana considered herself Teresa's "mother", the fact is that there is a type of unconditional love that does not exist between her and Teresa, that does exist between Refugio and Teresa, no matter how hard Refugio is on Teresa.

So considering that this is not an end point but a new beginning for our heroine and other characters, to me, if Art can take Teresa back (and so soon!), then I can see Luisa taking Fernando back some day. I think this experience has marked Fern for life and perhaps made him into the mature and loyal man he wasn't when he was with Luisa. And there will be a child that ties them together forever. That's a stronger link than Art and Teresa have. If there is hope for Teresa, then I think there is hope for all our characters (except the ones who are dead of course).
 

daisynjay, funny you mentioned Teresa's eye shadow. I was very impressed at how it stayed intact throughout all her weeping and wailing. In fact, having worked with epoxies quite a bit, my theory is that her mascara is actually colored epoxy and not makeup at all. That was the only explanation I could think of.

Anonymous, thank you for chiming in! I agree that all the Teresa recappers are top notch. Refugio's shunning of Teresa was definitely painful to watch. Talk about tough love, sheesh. I think she reached the point where Teresa's words meant nothing and she is going to require actions. But if we know our Sharkita it's only a matter of time before mama relents.
 

Oh, I had a good chuckle when they showed us Gema harassing Roots in prison and taking the blonde remnants of her hair. Would love to see a few months later with Geno sporting a short dark brown wig. LOL! Gema probably has a black market weave/braiding/hairpiece biz in prison.
 

I had a good chuckle when Don F asked Anglique if she was ambitious and she said NO! I'm a hard worker.

I also thought it was cute that Gloria Trevi sang "Hembra Mala " dressed as a bull fighter and her back up male dancers wore female Flaminco costumes. GTdid say that the song was written as Hombre Mala!

Hi VIVI, I'm at BWI as usual!
 

OK! PARTE 2 IS UP! Parte 3 is on the boil.
 

Gracias, Jardinera!
I read the last recaps and the hundreds of wonderful comments. (I loved the GWTW references that many commenters talked about.) Congratulations to the recappers and the commenters.

(I didn't follow the show, after recapping the first episode and watching the first 5 episodes I realized I wasn't that mad about the story and the characters, but it was a remarkable show indeed. And the last episodes were really good.)
 

Hmm, where can the characters go fro here?

Arturo/Teresa: must move away from Mexico for a fresh start

Luisa: raising little Fernandito/Fernanda, taking care of Oriana, NOT getting back together with Fernando

Oriana: Mute & paralyzed for the rest of her life, being taken care of by Luisa with occasional visits from Fernando. Did Oriana go through with naming Luisa in the will?

Fernando: having been burned by Teresa & rejected by Luisa (who IMO was the ONLY woman he would have married), does not open his heart to any other women, goes back to playboy ways, the only woman in his life is Oriana, & doesn't get close to Fernando Jr./Fernanda b/c it hurts to see what he lost

Esperanza/Hernan/Rodrigo/NuBaby: happy, especially since there is no Ruben to get in the way

Mayra: happy with her new man & writing books

Aida: running Mayra's business interests (I laughed when Teresa taunted Aida about only having Mayra's money...did she forget she only has money b/c of Arturo?)

Refugio: the vecindad mother, cares for Pati/Johnny, friends (or more?) with Grumps, fond of Aurora/Mariano & playgrandmother of Pati/Aurora's eventual children

Juana/Cutberto: never adopt, but "mother" of Pati & Aurora, playgrandmother of Pati/Aurora's children.

Hector: doting grandfather of Aurora/Mariano's child

Martin: meets up with Aida in Europe...they end up getting together
 

Anon207, I completely agree with your assessment of Refugio's reactions. She will needs lots of proof of Teresa's sincerity before forgiving her. Teresa has pulled so much crap one can't blame anybody for refusing to believe she's changed.

I don't.

The hesitation in handing over the check (which a friend of mine said reminded her of Ghost) said it all to me. She was betting $300MM on getting Arturo back. I can't believe she didn't hold at least 10% of it back in case she didn't get Arturo back.

I won't argue whether Fernando deserved this; he did. But Luisa didn't deserve the consequences. We don't know whether Fernando would otherwise have been faithful to her; there are guys like him who get the wild oats out of their systems and settle down. Frankly, I'm surprised that he didn't have a light bulb moment in which he realized that the moment they were introduced and she knew he had twice the money Arturo did (or whatever was said at the time) she wiggled her assets at him.... while on honeymoon with Arturo.

I agree with the comments that Fernando killing Teresa would have made a lot more sense if his unwilling exit from the house was his last previous contact with her. I also think that the killing was not well thought-out. It should have been more personal, like a strangulation.

To me, the only ending of the three that made sense was the one where she starts over again and wiggles her assets at her new boss. Starting from the bottom makes sense because she would have to prove herself to a company that doesn't know her. At that stage she wouldn't be able to rely on a good reference from Arturo.

About Genovenom: I'm willing to bet that kidnapping another woman's baby puts a female inmate in a very low position on the prison food chain.
 

This recap rocks Jardinera. What a finale. Teresa ended up being shunned by everyone in the vecinidad and they literally turned their backs on her. Her mother and Refugio refused to forgive her and said that she would never change.

I was getting a bit irritated by how sanctimonious everyone acted with her. It took Teresa almost losing Arturo for good to realize how much she loved him and she was willing to change for him. I was surprised when she donated all the money and the house to the foundation. LOL when she couldn't release her grip on that 300 million dollar check. However, she did what she said she would do. She gave up everything for Arturo.

Loved loved when Teresa said to curly locks, "I heard what a marvelous woman you are and how swell you’ve treated him. The only thing I didn’t hear was that he loves you!" Boom Boow Pow!!!! Right in the kisser. Lucia knew she told the truth because Arturo said he cared for her but not once mentioned that he loves her.

I was really nervous at the end. Even Reina left and Teresa was all alone in that big house. At first when they showed the polished shoes enter the room, I thought it was Fernando and that he was going to kill Teresa. However, it turned out to be Arturo and he forgive Teresa and they reunited. Can they be happy thought? He will never trust her again. Where will they live? What about the exhibition at the gallery he was supposed to go to? What about Luisa? What about the mysterious paper he signed without reading it? What about the ring Fito kept? There's still so many unanswered questions.

By the way if anyone watched Don Francisco last night, he showed the other two endings. One was a doozy.
 

The discussions these past few days have been fascinating. Wasn't watching at first but you all have caught me up in the swirl.

Have to agree with UA...the ending that made the most sense was Teresa starting over and vamping a new boss.

The best predictor of future behavior is past behavior.

Plus, a truly repentant figure doesn't waltz in and whine "perdoname perdoname". If you're truly sorry and recognize the harm you've done, you ask "How can I make amends?". The demand to be forgiven just so the culprit can feel better about himself just adds insult to injury.

The recappers and commenters on this have just been outstanding. This telenovela has generated the most interesting discussions imaginable and you've all defended your positions well. Thanks to the writers and to all of you for a great ride.
 

I also agree that the love scene between Mariano and Aurora was a snoozer.

I want to take this time to thank all the recappers for a fine job. I want to thank Aribeth who kicked off the first recap, Jardinera, Paquita aka Frances, Samantha, Sharkbyte, Elvira, Kristoise, and also SandyTN, and Julia. Well done everyone. I have really enjoyed your recaps, humor, and screencaps. I also want to thank all the commentators for thought provoking commentary and great debates. Good job everyone. I salute you.
 

Jardinera, thanks for the fabulous send-off. Appreciate all the detail, especially about the money.

I was expecting to see Ter down on her knees begging Refugio for forgiveness but thought like all moms Refugio would cave easy. But Refugio is one tough cookie, just like her daughter. After all the years of lies and manipulations, I can see why she would hold out for some real genuine effort on Ter’s part to change, not just nice words. She knows her daughter is a master persuader when it comes to mere words. Ter, you should start visiting mom regularly just to say “hi,” have a meal, and give her a hand with the dishes. Simple things like this will help build that relationship, if you really want it now that you have Art back.

For me the strongest scene last night was Juana’s rejection of Ter at the birthday party. It felt real. Great performance from Cynthia. I like Aurora and Mar but they sure were preachy last night. I know they were angry about Ter’s treatment of Juana and Refugio, but it’s too bad they went out like this on the last episode.

I feel for Luisa. There are going to be some really awkward family get-togethers if she and Ter don’t mend. I can see Luisa doing the right thing and trying to support Art in his decision but at the same time not wanting her hija to be close to her tia. If Ter is serious about her redemption, it’s going to take years to win everyone over. Ter, do some pro bono work in the vecindad.
 

SOOOOO GOOD! The episode, and the recap! Although I disagree with you, Jardinera; I still have no sympathy for Teresa and I love Mariano and Aurora. But I love the way you write about it!

I really enjoyed the scene with Juana shaking the case of beads at Teresa and letting her have it. That was a long time coming.

It was funny that Rubigote got shivved and Geno got...her hair cut.

I'm a little disappointed that we never found out for sure about Paloma's and Arturo's child. I'll just imagine that Arturo eventually goes to Spain and does some detective work and learns whether the kid is alive or really dead (or, I suppose, never existed).

I thought Arturo going back with Teresa was more a miserable-together-ever-after than a happily-ever-after. He looked more resigned to his fate of being damaged and never getting over her than happy. And, like y'all have mentioned, AWKWARD family dynamics.
 

What a great and unconventional ending to a TN! Although I personally thought Teresa was going to off herself after being rejected by everyone and as someone said earlier "ser o no ser yo soy...sola". Heartless maybe but you couldn't say it wouldn't have made for an interesting ending not to mention she deserved it after all her scheming and coniving. Also, because I never liked the Teresa character...someone you love to hate I guess ;)
 

"I thought Arturo going back with Teresa was more a miserable-together-ever-after than a happily-ever-after. He looked more resigned to his fate of being damaged and never getting over her than happy. And, like y'all have mentioned, AWKWARD family dynamics."

I saw that look too Julia. I thought is this a happy ending? Arturo couldn't shake the "Teresa effect" like Mariano did. Lucia wasn't the person who could make Arturo forget Teresa. She was only the rebound girl. Also, we have to take into consideration the song, "A Dónde Vamos A Parar?" I remember Jarocha explaining that it's not a happy song.

Another thing that worries me is that Arturo never sought professional help for his alcoholism. We all saw what happened when he lost control before and how Teresa even set up him by getting him drunk and staging that scene that he was abusive to her. As you mentioned, it would be awkward whenever Arturo brings Teresa around Luisa after how she betrayed her.
 

Here's the lyrics to "A Dónde Vamos A Parar?"

Ya ves, siempre acabamos así
Solo haciéndonos sufrir
Por no evitar discutir
Por no evitar discutir.

Por qué, ya no podemos hablar
Sin una guerra, empezar?
Y la queremos ganar
Y la queremos ganar.

A dónde vamos a parar?
Con esta hiriente y absurda actitud
Démosle paso a la humildad,
Y vamos a la intimidad,
De nuestras almas en total plenitud.

A dónde vamos a parar?
Cayendo siempre en el mismo error,
Dándole siempre más valor, A donde vamos a parar?
A todo, menos al amor,
Que no nos deja separar.

Tal vez, por lo que fue nuestro ayer
Nos cuesta tanto ceder
Y eso nos duele aprender
Y eso nos duele aprender.

A dónde vamos a parar?
Con esta hiriente y absurda actitud
Démosle paso a la humildad
Y vamos a la intimidad
De nuestras almas en total plenitud.

A dónde vamos a parar?
Cayendo siempre en el mismo error
Dándole siempre más valor
A todo, menos al amor
Que hoy no nos deja separar.

English translation
Where are we going to end?

You see, we always end up like this
Just making one another suffer
For not avoiding to fight
For not avoiding to fight.

Why, cant we talk anymore
without a war, starting?
and we want to win it
and we want to win it

Where are we going to end?
with this hurtful and absurd attitute
lets give way to humility
and get to the intimacy
of our souls in total plenitud

Where are we going to end?
always falling in the same mistake
giving always more value to everything, except love
that does not let us part.

Perhaps, for what our yesterday was
its hard for us to give in
and that hurts to learn
and that hurts to learn

Where are we going to end?
with this hurtful and absurd attitute
lets give way to humility
and get to the intimacy
of our souls in total plenitud

Where are we going to end?
always falling in the same mistake
giving always more value to everything, except love
that today does not let us part.

Sorry if translation is a bit off.
 

Here's the ending of the 1989 version of Teresa (with Salma Hayek).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NbR3Uk0VFfQ

It seems she was forgiven, too, that's why I was sure that the new version will have a similar ending. But the finale of this Teresa seems to be much more lighthearted.
 

I wish someone would give me three hundred million dollars and a house to spite me.
 

PARTE 3 IS UP Y'ALL!
 

I saw all three endings on the internet and I could have sworn that that the "Arturo comes back to Teresa" ending we saw last night was NOT the one I saw.

The one we saw on TV had them kissing as FIN flashed up on the screen.

The one I saw on the internet had an Arturo voice-over as he was kissing Teresa about making her fall in love with him and then destroying her like she did to him, while she's kissing him thinking everything is lovey-dovey and then FIN? flashed up on screen.

I'm wondering if I imagined that ending I saw on the internet?
 

Many thanks to all the recappers for their hard work! Your efforts are much appreciated!!

Ditto and ITA with Anon207 and Judy B comments about Refugio. It took a lot for Refugio to be strong and let Teresa earn back her respect. Teresa spent years bankrupting their trust and it will take years to rebuild.

Teresa's pain was more about losing Arturo than recognizing and being accountable for the repeated harm she directed at everyone. It was a lie that 'she didn't mean it' or that it wasn't intentional.

Arturo is such a dysfunctional, weak man, with very low self-esteem. There are many ways to love someone and Teresa's way hurts...
jb
 

Jardinera - great job on this recap! It had me on the edge of my seat all over again.

As much as the MarAura scenes made my FF finger itch, it did its job for me... by contrasting Teresa & Arturo's relationship. The talks and honesty they should have had in the beginning, that maybe they can have now. Still. Yawn.

Also, Aida's changes were another contrast to Teresa, that changing is a series of steps. Though, Aida has much less to atone for to everyone but Teresa herself.

Can Ter really change? Who knows. The last hour was the firt time she actually had a desire to change and made small steps to do so. I agree with previous posters - Teresa has to get to the point of saying 'what can I do to rebuild trust' instead of begging for forgiveness (which is another level of selfishness).

But I am glad they had many Arturo scenes. They should've had him shirtless for at least one. Come on. :)
 

I love that this novela was not formulaic. Up to the very end I didn't know what would happen. I thought Fernando might kill Teresa. I thought she might throw herself over the railing. I wondered if Arturo might strangle her. It's interesting to have everything not end in a cheesy fairytale fashion (although I love those endings, too!)

Teresa was not redeemed. She might be taking the first steps toward redemption, but where we ended she was still all about what SHE wanted (forgiveness, company, romance) and she didn't seem to understand the pain she'd caused everyone else.

Anon, interesting that there was a voice-over on the internet ending. Isn't that the same thing Arturo thought-bubbled when he originally found out Teresa had used him and he planned to get even? Didn't he already sort of do that? By now he knows that she is in love with him (as much as she can love anyone, I guess) and she's been destroyed. What's left to do? I wonder if that was originally in the show, if they edited it out to give a 4th ending, one that seems potentially happy.
 

Had to chime in again Jardinera - parts 2 and 3 were also masterful! I just loved your dramatic style of writing and wonderful comments. Thank you for making this finale especially memorable.

Diana
 

I for one, admit my guilty pleasure that Art and Ter connected again on the finale... Once I saw that Ter displayed tremendous character growth when she gave up the 300 million check (lol)... I felt for sure her character could be redeemed as she had completely given up her goals/ motivation = conflict and could achieve her heart's desire.

That was also a similar type issue that (at least I) I had with GWTW with Scarlet's and Rhett's final parting...no satisfying or at least clear ending set in concrete.

Ever since I had read in a Margaret Mitchel Bio that "Scarlet" (the later sequel by Alexandra Ripley) had been written with some of Margaret Mitchell's personal notes written way back for a possible up in the air sequel (she never finished) I really liked how the later miniseries hammered out the deep rooted conflicts between Scarlet and Rhett...not everyone loved the book or miniseries, but I liked it.

The other alt endings didn't feel quite right to me, although my husband voted for the Fern shooting as a fitting end to the mala sharkette. LOL

Aurora and Mariano...ZZZ. So glad these two were just secondary characters!

Thanks again awesome recappers and wonderful comentors... enjoyed everyone's point of view. This show has been a fun ride.

Lady Lisa de Saint Helena
 

Although Mariano's and Aurora's honeymoon was snoozy (although I do like them, it was boring), I did appreciate how Aurora's face was all red from Mariano's stubble. That's a bit of realism rarely seen in telenovelas! (Mariano, dude, time to shave!)
 

FANTASTIC recap Jardinera as usual! Thank you for all you hard work and commitment to this blog!

My heart was racing the entire 2 hours, I ate a huge bag of Trader Joe's popcorn, a chocolate bar and most of my fingernails last night!

I have to admit I was doing the happy dance at the end, being a team Teresa member I agree that Arturo seemed to know he was doomed with his love for her, hopefully both of them will go to therapy and their love will be healthy and stronger.

I also think once she has a child her heart will warm and she will really realize what sacrifices and love her own mother had for her. Motherhood does change you, Refugio will be so happy with a grandchild she will let Tere back in her own heart.

Louisa who really was my hero last night will probably accept Teresa back but never let her guard down. I don't think she will ever get back together with Fernando, but will probably be glad deep inside knowing that if he was so easily tempted to cheat on her now what about years later when the marriage gets routine.

LOVED how Fernando didn't want the money back from Teresa and Teresa didn't want it...I yelled 'GIVE IT TO ME..I"ll take it !" Must be nice to be able to throw away $300 million just to teach someone a lesson..wow!
The scene when Teresa had a hard time handing over the check to the Paloma foundation was pretty funny, I thought she said something important about the house, not just that she included it? Anyone catch that?
Personally I think I would have snatched it back and decided to move to Paris with the money, learn from my errors and find a new hunk! Artie was hot but not $300 million worth of hotness... But hey that's just me...

I agree with Mariano and Aurora being bland and lack chemistry & spark. He is always the brooding James Dean character. The few times he did smile it seemed strange
Regarding Aurora I know this is only a TN but really, can you imagine still hanging all over you x best friends mother, aunt, friends & relatives in her old home while she is having problems with them. They are HER family and will always be no matter what the circumstances. Seems to me Aurora needs to get her own group of friends and family herself and stay out of Teresa's. It's like she jumped in her shoes. even as far as marrying her old boyfriend Mariano. Kinda creepy weird to me, I myself wouldn't like it from both Tere and Auroras position.

Also, all the lecturing from Mariano and Aurora to Teresa was getting old. They should mind their own business and not talk about her. Who told Aida about Art being in the hospital? Who told Aida about Teresa not marrying Fernando and taking his money? Who told her about Tere disowning her Mother and Juana? Telling Aida who is Tere's arch enemy anything regarding Teresa is just malicious gossiping, adds fuel to the fire and is none of Aida's business! Problems within a family should be kept in the family I think. When my in laws have a problem I keep all my opinions to myself,because blood is indeed thicker than water, and I'll end up the bad guy.

The writers did a great job on this one, it brought out so many emotions and strong opinions. I want to thank all our wonderful dedicated re-cappers and entertaining commentators...it was a blast !

I will miss you all and this TN ! If you get bored hop over to Cuando which has been very entertaining, except for the fact that the men are not worthy of going shirtless.

OHHHH this is true...just happened...as I am writing this the phone rings and my caller ID says 'UNIVISION" my heart stopped for a sec and I thought maybe I won a date with Sebastian or guest spot on a new TN !
but I came down to earth, my hubbie does work for Uni * TM now and then and they were calling him....DARN...a girl can dream...gotta improve my Spanish...darn
 

I have to say, I was disappointed in the ending. I agree with Judy B, that a bunch of sobbing "perdoname's" do not constitute a change in personality, and Teresa did not express an interest in what those she'd offended might need or want from her going forward.

Poetic justice for Oriana whose angry voice is forever silenced.

A wedding in the future for Refugio? Maybe Grumps? Ramon?

Is there a reason Juana couldn't try IVF? I kept thinking that would be a really selfless thing Hector could do for her. Probably isn't covered by insurance.

Esperanza is going to have her hands full with another little one so quickly. Good luck to her!

Jardinera, thank you for a fine final recap for this interesting telenovela, and all your previous ones. All you recappers and commenters have addicted me further to my already slightly out-of-control novela addiction. You are fun to read! Thank you!
 

BRAVA, BRAVA, Jardinera!!! Reading your description of that final scene gave me goose bumps!! Wonderful recap!

A little yuk, yuk from my cronies and I as we watched last night – Pati is enrolled at FIDM (Fashion Institute De Mexicio)!!!

When Arturo crashed his car, I got really angry thinking they were going to kill him off. After all the comparisons to GWTW, I wondered if we were going to get an ending more similar to Wuthering Heights where our star crossed lovers meet in the afterlife on the moors! So glad that didn’t happen. I was convinced Teresa would end up alone like one of the endings we saw on Don Francisco (oh, Christina, please come back!) I was totally shocked when the camera panned up and it was Arturo! I thought for sure she was still hallucinating and he would turn into Fernando, coming to kill her. When Arturo helped her up and the music started, we all cheered! It was completely unexpected (for me anyway). Through this entire last week, I kept thinking there was noooo way Arturo would come back to her after all the stunts she pulled. But after all her efforts to change, I’m glad that they ended up together. As others have said, it will be challenging but it’s a good beginning for them. I wouldn’t be so sold on their reunion if Teresa had kept the house or maybe some of the money. She gave it all up. And we all know how hard that was for her! The death grip on the check was hysterical.

As for Refugio’s forgiveness, IMO, Teresa already has it. Refugio, as much as I disliked her throughout most of the novela, is a loving mother. Seeing her daughter suffer is more difficult than anything she herself has suffered. She’s already forgiven Teresa in her heart. Great scene when Teresa is kneeling before her and Refugio struggles to restrain herself from hugging her back. WOW – hankie moment.

I totally agree with everyone here about the sanctimonious attitude everyone has toward Teresa. Please! Suddenly everyone has to preach. Give it a rest. The only ones who truly deserved to give her a dressing down at this point were Refugio, Juana, and Arturo. Mariano and Aurora really got quite the holier-than-thou attitude in this finale.

I’m so impressed with this novela. It’s the first one I’ve watched where the wedding wasn’t the gran final spectacle. I’ll say it again, I was totally shocked at the ending – but I was happy for Arturo and Teresa. Only another shot of Arturo’s shirtless body would have made it better. Maybe the scene could have been shot in Cancun, Teresa in her bikini (for the guys) and Arturo shirtless for us girls. Ay Papi!!
 

Wasn't it operatic the way everyone turned their backs on Teresa at Juana's party? I expected a smoke machine to come on.

And I couldn't help noticing that Teresa wasn't too impactada to change into a nifty little leather busca-esposo number before she went off with the state trooper...that's our girl!
 

Blue Lass, I was thinking the same thing...the way everyone pointedly turned their backs felt more like a stage play than a "real" television drama. I was almost expecting them to break into a musical number.

And the outfit...did she make the police wait until she could get to the boutique for a woodsy-search-and-rescue outfit? And those boots! There is a time and a place for flat shoes, dearie...although maybe she has Barbie-doll feet by now.
 

In agreement with my Caray friends that the Teresa's "redemption" was too quick!  I wanted her to change after the light- filled death of Armando. But isn't that just like a novela? The powers that be think that we'll flip to another channel if a character turns from bad to good! Bad must equal ratings! 

ITA with all the funny comments on the three hundred million dollars. At least Teresa will get a humongous tax break, not that she needs it, she's broke! 

So nice to see JudyB and Aribeth. I've missed you both.  Hope to be together again on a novela soon. 

Yes, all rancor between Teresa and Refugio should be forgotten when there is a little nieto on  the way.  Maybe the baby will take after both women; bright and hard working like Ter but HONEST and unselfish like Ref.....and a mini-" hunk of burning love" like Arturo!   
 

I think Grumps is more Refugio's speed. I don't think Ramon would go anywhere near Refugio in a romantic manner.

Speaking of Ramon, I know he was super glad Teresa was never his daughter in law.

Mariano's had passion & excitement and excitement with Teresa & it got him nowhere. He had drama and tension with Aida. He's probably ready for quiet & boring with Aurora.

Aida is BFFs with Mariano & Aurora, who are at least cordial with Luisa, Lucia & Arturo. So yeah, they are going to talk about Teresa, who has given the town so much to talk about. They are under no obligation to keep quiet about Teresa.

The only way for Teresa/Arturo to have peace in their marriage is to move far away, away from Luisa, away from the vecindad, from the high class people, from everyone.
 

I'm so disappointed in Arturo. He ended up being THE JERK of the novela. Even a bigger one than Fernando and that, I think, says it all. If he thinks he deserves nothing better than spend the rest of his life with this narcissistic whore then he deserves what he gets. What an extremely weak person with absolutely no self-esteem. But they will never be happy together because they DO NOT love each other. This sick relationship between them is NOT real love. I will never buy that.

I don't know if Teresa changed or not, it would be too soon to say. Actually I don't think it's that simple... This girl has serious mental problems and needs to get a lot of professional help if she really wants to be a better person. But to be honest I'm not very optimistic... In real life (not in telenovela land) people usually don't change, let alone someone with the level of evilness Teresa has.

Kudos to Cynthia Klitbo for her scenes in this last episode. What an excellent actress she is! No wonder she's so famous and respected in Mexico. Could someone please tell me what she and Silvia Mariscal said on Don Fransisco regarding the Juana/Teresa relationship? That it was over forever? I did watch it but I missed that part.
 

Could someone please tell me what she and Silvia Mariscal said on Don Fransisco regarding the Juana/Teresa relationship? That it was over forever? I did watch it but I missed that part.
--------------------

I think SM said the Juana/Teresa relationship was over forever because although Juana saw Teresa as her "daughter," she didn't have the same type of unconditional mother's love towards Teresa that Refugio did.

Which is interesting, because what if Juana & Cutberto do adopt, and they have a child just like Teresa...or Fito or Ruben? Will Juana unconditionally love that child, even though she didn't give birth to him/her, or would she shut the kid down like she shut Teresa down?
 

Thanks all! Glad you enjoyed the read along with the ride. This is one telenovela that has had me in its grip from day one. They don't come around that often like that--you know, the kind that if it were a book you wouldn't be able to put it down. (Just like GWTW!) I would wake up some mornings not realizing that I was wondering what would happen next in this silly show, and I was soooooo worried that Teresa would never get back with Art, or would be killed by Fernando in the last scene.

I couldn't ever totally hate Teresa. I understood much of her motivation and perhaps something deep down related to the ostracization aspects of her life and her battles with bitchy babes like Aeeeeda, Odiosa and Genovenom. Yeah, she seemed at times like a sociopath, but maybe she was just like they said: purely selfish to the hilt. -- I loved the fact that despite all the Hell she went through (mostly of her own making) that she got back at those who'd done her the most wrong--most of all Oriana. Cosmic justice! Speaking of which, nothing was made of Paulo's class schedule, the ring Fito extorted from Tere, or the car she was forced to let him steal from her.

I also like the way she made a pig like Paulo and a playboy like Fernando suffer for their male chauvinist attitudes. She gave as good as she got from those kind and that was refreshing to see in a telenovela heroine.

Just some of my rantings.....
 

Jardinera,

The last act was left for you and your writing shone with brilliance.
I am still enjoying your informative and humorous comments on DA. I marvel at your tenacity and dedication.

Aribeth, so good to hear from you; I was wondering where you have been. Enjoying your boy EY on DA.

I loved this ending! was agonizing
throughout until the last 10 seconds when Arturo leaned down and lifted up Teresa into his arms
and the music crescendoed magnificently into El Gran Final.

Pirate Babe, thanks for the lyrics. I see hope within: "Let's give way to humility and get to the intimacy of our souls in total plenitude." Absolutely on point and poignant beyond measure.

(To be continued)
 

I think SM said the Juana/Teresa relationship was over forever because although Juana saw Teresa as her "daughter," she didn't have the same type of unconditional mother's love towards Teresa that Refugio did.

Thanks, Anon. I don't agree with Silvia though. Yes, Juana is not Teresa's mother but she DOES love her unconditionaly. She still does, I'm sure of it. So IF Teresa has really changed I could see her forgiving her, even if it took her years to do so.

As for Cutberto and Juana, if they ever adopt, I think she will have the tendency to spoil the child while he will try to avoid that as much as possible. In that aspect these two have always been polar opposites. Hopefully the kid won't turn out a second Teresa, what they'll have to go through if this happens! Juana doesn't deserve it a second time around.
 

Teresa is a narcissist and a sociopath. She will never change. People with these two conditions never do because they fail to see that there is anything wrong with themselves.

She should never have a child. People like this cannot be good parents. Teresa's only motive for having a child would be to hold onto Arturo; after that it would be nannies and boarding schools.
 

hey everyone, I believe that teresa did change. Teresa had always chose love over money, always, but this time she chose love. Money was all she ever cared about, and letting go of 300 million dollars and the house, for someone who's money driven and extremely superficial , that takes a lot. Considering she did not look back, it's some sort of reformation.
I absolutely loved how it ended. I think the moral of this novela is forgiveness, that love can overcome anything. ( I'm a christian) therefore I'll compare it to god's unconditonal love, that if you are really remorseful then you deserve to be forgiven. if we had more love in this world, it definitely would be a better place lol. As for aurora and mariano yeah it's understandable that they were angry at teresa for hurting refugio and juana, but it was juana and refugio's battle to fight. The only reason these two ingrates got married is because teresa opended her mouth about ruben and genoveva killing fito, otherwise mariano would have been in jail, but then again aurora had always been ungrateful and mariano never had a mind of his own.
trust is earned, it also takes time to heal, so i agree on how refugio treated teresa, eventually their relationship will improve. Juana, on the other hand encouraged Some of teresa's behavior, because she always supported her decicions, good or bad therefore I think she over did it. I get that she's mad, But if she really loved teresa like a daughter, just like refugio, she would have asked for some time, time to see a change instead of permanent closure.
I will miss this novela, especially my girl teresa. I loved everything about her, especially when she was bad, it was fun to watch except the part about refugio and luisa, other than that ser o no ser my girl is !
 

Pirate Babe, Sandy, Floridia:
When I read the tons of intelligent, entertaining, insightful comments at the last recaps I realized how much, much, much I missed those times I spent here recapping and commenting on shows. The team is fantastic! But: since April I've been recapping CS09 in Hungarian (all 135 episodes), and it's a time- and brainkiller (though very entertaining) task. No room for more other telenovelas, it's enough to deal with Mejía's absurd ideas. :) And I enjoy watching the pure, sweet character of Boyer. She and Sebastián Zurita were very lovely together, I'm so sorry that Seb was fired from Angelli Nesma's next telenovela.

CS's going to end soon so I'm looking forward a new (hopefully not Midnight) TN Club at Caray. We just need another good show.

I'm glad you like DA! It wasn't my cup of tea, but the music, the scenery and the actors (especially Sendel) were great. "Aaaaaay Gaviota, tu sigues creyendoooo, que el amor regresará a tu corazóóóóóóóón..."
 

And to be on topic: I don't know exactly how many ugly things Teresa did, though I read about some of her sins. I don't know a) if she deserved a new beginning with Arturo or not, b) if she changed or not, c) if she was a sociopath or not.

All I remember is that in the spring I was very happy because of the ending. Because I liked the finale of Salma Hayek's show and hoped this show wouldn't become Rubí 2.0. Plus I'm a sucker of redemption/prodigal son stories, I even rooted for Boobsenda's wellbeing in CS. However, when I watched the last episodes they seemed to be rushed and often over the top - I mean, the ser o no ser scene at the end of the previous episode was epic, badass, cool (et cetera) but was it necessary? It made Teresa look like she was a truly evil, unredeemable villana. In. The. Penultimate. Episode.
Therefore the ending with Teresa's sudden change and Arturo's return seemed quite unsatisfactory.
 

Teresa can change for the better.
Up until now, she has been focused on improving her life through financial gain. However, in an instant, she renounced her wealth for a more valuable commodity.
She is very young, and she accomplished a great deal through self discipline alone. When she puts her mind to it, she achieves her goals.

Many people experience life changing events where their behavior makes a sharp turn for the better. She and Arturo do not need to leave the neighborhood, but they need to branch out and find new friends; she and Aurora weren't all that close anyway. She can continue to see her mother, help her out when needed and gradually their relationship will improve. Understandably, her mother needs to see more evidence of change.

Art and T. can work together to
rebuild the business, and she can get involved in selfless community projects. Eventually they will have children and be welcomed as an entire family by Refugio.

Marriage is for better or for worse. Many couples have come to this point - albeit for different reasons, but if they love each other, they can work to make the marriage successful and happy.
Teresa still has a lot to learn.
Arturo is a sensitive man with strong values of decency and fair play. They can work off each other's strength with time for passion in between. Many children
are egocentric and do not appreciate their parents until after they have had children of their own.

Re - Juana, I'm going to be harsh with her. She was a very NEEDY, gullible, indecisive, cowardly
woman who was wearing blinders for years. If she knew Teresa intimately, she should not have been fooled by her. Teresa manipulated her as if she were the child. She should have known in the first place that T. would not want to wear a home made bridal gown. I know many women who will wear only designer clothes, and Teresa is a perfect example.
I cannot forgive Juana for stringing along Hector all that time; that was one of the saddest points of the novela for me.

As far as Johnny and Patty, that whole segment was definitely a FF
throughout and especially took too much prominence in the last chapter.

Vivi, I agree that Don Francisco
made an extremely inappropriate remark when he touched on the subject of Aarón Diaz and Kate C.
and referenced it to this novela.
I was glad that Aarón quickly
told him as much. DF crossed the line between tv and reality....
although AB's life seems to be
the classic example of life imitating art at this point.

Thanks again to Jardinera and to all of the recappers who contributed so much to our understanding and fun
throughout these many months.

Keep in touch!
 

I feel terrible for Arturo. Very sad ending.
 

Thank you, Jardinera for an excellent recap. Well done as usual. :)

Susanita
 

On love - many couples marry young and marry for sexual attraction and passion; I know I did. My marriage withstood the test of time, but I barely knew my husband when I married him...the same for one of my daughters and for many other people I know. They "fell in love" and got married soon after. Mature love comes later, but you need to start somewhere, and why not have it be with mad, passionate romance? In general I don't see novelas offering a time frame to develop deep, mature love.
Most of the protagonists fall in love at first sight although this novela was different in that regard.

Similarly with the aspect of a character's change or redemption, the constraints of the novela did not permit it. Teresa demonstrated a remarkable change in values in a very fast about face. If she can do that, she can
work on other areas. I agree that
counseling would be an excellent idea for both of them individually and as a couple.
 

Anonymous,

I see that we have a meeting of the minds on several aspects:
the fabulous ending, Teresa's transformation in a brief time, and on some of Juana's behavior.

I, however, am glad this is over; I need to move on.
 

I recorded Don Fransisco but haven't watched it yet; I generally can't stand him so I'm curious to see whether the interviews are any good at all. I liked Cristina only slightly better; she also had a tendency to make totally inappropriate remarks. I remember when the cast of ENDA was on, she was basically needling Allison Lozz for any details of her sex life. Poor girl was only like 17, and so flustered! Fortunately Sebastian Zurita was sitting right there and did a great job of jumping in and derailing that line of questioning.

I also recall an episode of Cristina with Chef Hawt and Doc Wooden actors from QE, when she made much of the fact that both were expecting babies with their novias and, OMG, maybe they were conceived, like, the same night! Neither actor quite seemed to know what to say to that.

Why do these interviewers keep saying these things? Why don't they just ask for funny anecdotes about things that happened on set or stuff like that? I'm sure it would be more entertaining for the viewers.
 

Jardinera, a wonderful, thorough and well-written recap. Thanks for your recaps and to all the other 'cappers for some magnificent work.

It was satisfying to see Teresa dealing with the bitter medicine of rejection. Now, as to whether she truly changes, I'm not sure. Earlier, she kept talking about how she had to control her emotions, her love for Arturo when she was seducing Fernando. So, maybe they can be happy in their own sick way. Especially if they don't try to have family holiday gatherings.

I did like Aurora's upswept wedding hairdo. It showed her lovely face to its best advantage. The honeymoon was ff.

Very impressed with Refugio's moment with the sobbing repentant Teresa, moving her hands almost into an embrace, then pulling them back again.

Teresa has a long way to go and she's only taken a first step. Let's hope there's no children--she would be one beotch of a stage mother if the little one had dance or singing lessons.

A wild ride of a TN, with excellent discussions.
La Paloma
 

Thank you so much for this great recap Jarinera. I have really enjoyed all of your recaps and your humor! You are awesome!

If anyone is interested, I uploaded photos from the Grand Finale to the Teresa Photo Montage.

As an added bonus, I've included photos from the Univision interviews with the cast, plus photos from the alternate endings!

The photos can be viewed at this link
 

Thanks to all the recappers, all of you are great, and thanks to the commentors. This has been really fun!!
 

Thanks, Sharkbyte !

Tremendous amount of work with your montage. Really enjoyed it.

Very appreciative of your contributions. How was your big party?
 

Have you seen the Teresa Bloopers? Here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wTUQ4Fb60o Too funny!
 

Thank you Jardinera for a marvelous recap and thanks to all the recappers for your hard work.
I am so going to miss watching this-I'm in withdrawal already! It was the best one I've seen to date.
 

Floridia, the party went well, very well indeed. A good time was had by all. Despite that, no one was arrested, that I'm aware of anyway. We certainly made enough noise to get arrested.

As a result of said festivities, I had a HUGE headache pretty much all day today. I'm just now starting to feel human again.

Absolutely nothing was left over. Everything was gone - everything - including a box of ice cream sandwiches that was NOT intended for party guests, but apparently, that didn't stop anyone.

I found the empty box stuffed in the dishwasher, of all places. And I found ice cream sandwich wrappers scattered all over the frackin' place.

I think I need to get more mature friends. I might need to grow up as well. Hahahah just kidding... that'll be the day!!
:^)
 

Sounds like your guests also drank the bar dry!
 

kabityleA big thank you to all the fabulous recappers, I've loved all the snark, wit and of course the comments.

I wasn't satisfied with the ending, but I didn't expect to be, I was on the fence most of the time, Teresa was a character I loved to hate, but also had a great set of ovaries (balls) on her.
 

I wonder who Teresa gave the house to? Arturo or Luisa?

Will Refugio be able to maintain the apartment by herself? I can't see her accepting help from Teresa.

Did Cutberto move into Juana's apartment?

Is Grumps now living with Pati/Johnny?

Does Johnny/Esperanza's mother know a) she was pregnant with Rodrigo b) she got married to Hernan?

What happened to Aurora's dream of being a teacher?

I thought Aida did graduate and was an abogada as well. Now I'm hearing that she didn't graduate? Did she or didn't she and why was she telling that accountant guy she was her mom's abogada?

I wonder if the cops ever found out about the fraudulent business dealings of Genovenom & Rubes?

What now happens to Luna Turquesa? Two of the investors went to jail and one died there. One investor swindled the other and a group of investors spread rumors about the construction being faulty & fraud.
 

Wow, wow, wow! What a recap! Jardinera that was AMAZING! I loved it all, especially that last scene!

TERESA!!

I'm sorry I missed today, I was extremely busy all day long. I couldn't even eat anything until 6pm.
But this recap was so much worth it. Thank you so very much for all the work you put into this story Jardinera. I'm so very glad that you had fun with it. I agree that this novela had something special in it. I'm always sad when those end. I hope to read more of your recaps in the future. I've been missing the ones from LFDD because I can't find the time but you've gone past the time when I jumped ship on that story. I was back at the last weeks to see how it ended so maybe I'll have time there to comment again.

I'll bring more thoughts tommorrow night.

Jarocha
 

Thank you so much for this recap, Jardinera! You did an absolutely marvelous job and it was a toughie, being two hours and the finale!

I watched this finale with my mom, who has off-and-on followed this story. We even had a special "pre-Teresa finale party" of sorts! LOL. I had to translate everything for mom because she doesn't understand Spanish except for "no puede ser" and "te amo"!

We both agreed that if we kept our beanies on tight, that we could accept that Teresa would change and would repent sincerely. This was just the first step. We thought that Professor Hottie (my mom only knows him as "Professor Hottie" as I don't refer to him as "Arturo" LOL) would have to take time to really trust her, it would take time for them to mend, but eventually it would happen.

My thought was that Teresa was really scared by what happened. That would be the thing that would straighten her out. I think because of the constraints of the time given (they crammed everything in at the last minute) that they couldn't show Teresa reforming completely, but she did give the money back, so she put her money where her mouth was (literally!), so that is a good start.

I just think it would take TIME. Lots of it. If she consistently behaved differently, if she remained just "scared" enough to not fall back into old habits, then it would work.

We really liked Professor Hottie and it was clear that he was never going to get over Teresa. My mom said she thought that if he didn't stay with Teresa, he'd never marry again. So for his sake, I hope for the best. We saw the other two endings on YouTube (the satellite dish was crapping out during Don Francisco) and thought that the ending we got was our favorite. The least favorite was where Fernando kills her.

Thank you again to all the other recappers and commenters. This has been one helluva ride, hasn't it? What a great novela. I'm going to miss it.
 

Jardinera, thanks from a member of Team Teresa for your fabulous recap of a 2hr finale. You made it seem so easy. And thank you for your amusing weekly recaps as well. I appreciated all the recappers and the talented writing.

Anon, I agree, Tere finally learned to love something more than herself and money and all it brings. She had it all, though attained ruthlessly, and gave it all up for Art. Art's hoping she has really changed and is willing to take that chance again. Okay, he's dysfunctional but he would regret it if he let her go. Of course, as Jardinera says, he doesn't realize that Tere has done some very mala things but then, what could be worse than breaking Luisa's heart and leaving him for Fer's money. A dilemma.. don't know how Teresa will handle all the secrets she has and if she'll tell Art about her involvement with Fito and so on, that is if she has developed a conscience.

Well, I guess Tere has her revenge on Aeeda and Oriana and at some point I hope she develops some sorrow for them. And Teresa finally understands that love is not unconditional and that she does have to earn her mom and Juana's love again. I don't know if the sermonizing smug honeymooners or Espe are inclined to forgive Teresa but Mar, Espe and Tere were childhood friends. Maybe these friendships can be mended or maybe not.

Anyway, it was a unique novela to say the least and I enjoyed the recaps and all the diverse comments. Til we meet again over another good one.

GinCA
 

Hi, Aribeth. Nice to hear from you as I enjoyed CS 2009 and your recaps. I've been watching the rerun of DA like Floridia has but have to take a short break from Rodrigo's estupidez. Wonder how your fellow recapper Jeri is doing? Teresa was an angst filled novela but a great one.

GinCA
 

GinCA:
Our dear Jeri's well. She had many things to do but she followed Teresa and liked it very much. She's looking forward a new show with Rullí.

Rumor says he'll be one of the protagonists of Carla Estrada's telenovela, but I'm not sure about it. Nowadays the whole project is a big hot mess, I'm afraid there's a chance that it'll be cancelled.
 

Enjoyed the recaps immensely. The ending was an anti-climax for me, writers were trying to hard to get the finale, Arty and Teresa together. It would have been better, for me at least, if Tere had been killed by Fer. She does not deserve anyone's forgiveness and definitely does not deserve Arty.I did not see anything indicating that Tere has changed. So she tried to grovel with mama dearest but that is about it. She acted like she was entitled to the forgiveness she sought. I have no apologies to the people she hurt or at least to Luisa. .

Arturo lost my respect there a little bit! Man should have had a bit of pride. I would have preferred him ending up with Lucia than walk back into the arms of that ungrateful woman, Tere.

Love Mariano and Aurora - they suit each other. And I think he was being honest not petty by saying he will do what he can for him not her. What pettiness?! I call it the cycle of Karma starting to form!

Lastly, I love love the recaps and look forward to the next telenovela!

Esse
 

I agree Esse. Also, remember Teresa seemed relieved to have her little bear full of the goodies she stole.
 

Angelique Boyer is such a great actress and a lovely woman. That being said, Teresa has to be one of the best bad girls on TV. There were times I enjoyed watching her and times she made me cringe. The girl is so malicious and conniving, she lies and uses people and then tosses them aside like so much garbage. I was actually shocked that Arturo would take her back; hasn't the poor guy suffered enough? And I'm talking about the stuff he KNOWS about, not about the things she's hidden from him. I don't think Teresa has changed a bit; she's just good at begging and wheedling her way back into people's good graces. No matter what they try to tell her, it's always, "No, no, no! (insert handy excuse here)." She doesn't LISTEN. She couldn't take Arturo's "NO!" for an answer, and kept bugging him till he gave in. If this novela had a continuation, they'd still be fighting and she'd still be scheming and fooling around on him. This is not a healthy, loving relationship we have here; it's more like a sick co-dependency.

I think it served her right that everyone turned their back on her; she sure did it to them often enough! Didn't she tell her parents that she didn't want them living at her house with Arturo? So it wasn't the first time she treated her mother like dirt, and Refugio is right to exercise some tough love. It's the only way to get it through Teresa's head that she means business this time. Teresa played Mariano like a fine tuned violin, always promising to be with him, always getting his hopes up. So I don't blame him and Aurora for being a little preachy; she WAS married while she was stringing him along and throwing her weight around with Aurora when Aurora was getting close to Mariano again. As for Fernando, what POSSIBLE reason, what EXCUSE could she have for fooling around with her husband's best friend? Money? That's worth putting her sister-in-law through hell and ending their friendship for good? That's worth losing Arturos' trust forever? Nope. I don't care if she gave the money to charity; just the fact that she held on to that check spoke volumes...this girl ain't changed a darn bit. It's all an act. She will find another sugardaddy when Arturo's back is turned and HERE WE GO AGAIN. I can't imagine there being a happy future for them. I wish they would make "Teresa, Part II" so we can see Arturo finally wake up, realize what a gullible idiot he's been and throw Teresa out of the house like he should have in the first place.

This is one of the BEST telenovelas I've seen. I'm going to miss watching it. I don't like a lot of what Teresa has done, but she is a fascinating character to watch. Esa Hembras Es MALA!!!
 

If this novela had a continuation, they'd still be fighting and she'd still be scheming and fooling around on him. This is not a healthy, loving relationship we have here; it's more like a sick co-dependency.

Exactly. ITA.
 

FYI

SOME OF NOVELA'S STARS WILL BE
ON EL GORDO Y LA FLACA TODAY.
 

First I would like to thank Jardinera for a brilliant recap. (also to thank the stars she is a Teresa fan so the recap wasn't slanted anti-Teresa).

To all of you who say Arturo is a fool----> let us not forget he is no saint without his own flaws. Arturo is a man half-complete and ser o no ser, Teresa completes that man. No other pairing had the same chemistry and intensity as those two. Arturo was only "alive" when he was in scenes with Teresa. He was "dead man walking" with everyone else. Think about it...

For a bit at the ending I thought maybe they were going to have Teresa kill herself. The way she was hearing everyone's words to her and the dark house and her dejected climb up those stairs scared me. I thought oh no, they are going to have her commit suicide! That would be one hell of a way to end this. Since there has been surprises at every turn. glad the writers didn't go that way, too dark an ending.....


I am very happy every character's story was completed. I am happy with the ending for each of them. Most particularly with the way they made Teresa face every maldita she caused.

And I am extremely happy Arturo forgave Teresa.
 

Forgot to sign my name

Diann
 

I don't think Teresa's friendship with Mariano & Aurora will be repaired, and it shouldn't be repaired. Teresa is Mariano's ex-lover and for that reason alone she needs to steer clear of them both for their sakes and her marriage to Arturo's sake.

She's lied to and about Mariano too many times for him to ever trust her, and she's lied to and dissed Aurora, too. If Teresa cares about Mariano & Aurora, she'll never deal with them again.

Esperanza & Teresa are on two different levels now, AND Teresa basically called Esperanza a money grubbing ho just like her, so I don't think they'll be BFFs anymore either. They'll still have to deal with each other b/c of baby Rodrigo but beyond that I don't see the de la Barreras & the Ledesmas hanging out anytime soon.

Teresa's friendship with Luisa is over forever. She shouldn't even try to repair that friendship. It's broken forever, it's in the trashcan (like Luisa said). Just be nice & polite to Luisa for Arturo's sake. Don't try to talk to Luisa, don't try to explain...just don't. When Luisa comes to visit Arturo, greet her politely and leave the room. If he goes to visit her & her baby, don't tag along. Just leave Luisa alone.

Now that he's back with Teresa, Arturo needs to steer clear of Lucia and he needs to get some friends---the friendship with Fernando is over forever.

As for Fernando, he needs to analyze why he jeopardized his childhood friendship with Arturo for Teresa. What resentment does he have for Arturo that would lead him to stab him in the back? Why is he so weak and easily manipulated? Is that someone who should be in control of all these multimillion dollar businesses?
 

Anon207, I completely agree with you on your analysis of the old friendships going forward. Even in real life, people don't invite friends that have such bad breakups let's say to a small barbecue. Hours and hours are spent on seating social"enemies" separately at wedding parties!

On Fernando, he was a successful investor in many businesses, I doubt that his money, if unwound from all Oriana's " safety measures" will be turned down after his nasty breakup. Speaking of that, with Oriana's stroke, it will be big mess unwinding the mess that the businesses are in!
 

This was deleted from my last post:

I told my husband that "Fernando" turned down the $300 million dollars that "Teresa" tried to return and he said..... WHAT?   I'm still thinking  about Teresa's tax liability!!

Good point on anon's post of last night, from hear on out,  Refugio needs to work very hard or depend on Teresa or friends for her living, something that she won't want to do! 
 

Here, not hear!
 

daisynjay – Aurora made a mistake hooking up with Mariano – she could have had ME!!
:^)

I thought the finale was good, but not great. There was too much repetitiveness for my taste. There were at least two scenes with Teresa crashing Lucia’s place, ending with her crying at the door. Those scenes could have been combined into one. She cried twice at Armando’s grave and also did that in previous episodes. I could go on, but then I would be repetitive.

I thought the Juana character was boring throughout the novela, but really liked her in the finale.

It didn't seem believable that Fernando wouldn't want his money back.

I thought Arturo’s car crash could have been used more effectively in the story. It seemed anticlimactic.

Speaking of anticlimactic, Mariano and Aurora were boring. I thought at the honeymoon, we would see AnaBrenda prancing around in a bikini or lingerie, but NOOOOO. I’m thinking of filing an official protest.

WRT the ending – As Teresa climbed the stairs I thought she was going to jump off the second floor railing and splat to her death. I don’t know if I would have liked that ending, but it would have been at least somewhat logical.

I thought Arturo coming back to Teresa was lame. I can see why the writers did it and why some people would like it. However, as a guy, it’s unpleasant for me to watch another guy being so damn whipped and pathetic over a chick.

I remember once when I was sort of that way about a chick. My friends HATED it. I was insufferable. And I felt the exact same way when I’ve seen my friends overly-infatuated with a chick. But once I opened my eyes about that damn chica, there was NO WAY I’d waste another second thinking about her, much less get back together with her. Teresa is a sickness for Arturo, just like she was for Mariano. That broad must be pretty awesome in the sack to be able to trap a man like that.

ITA with everyone that Fernando shooting Teresa would have made more sense if the scenes after their initial confrontation were deleted.

The ending with Teresa working at the cubicle seemed plausible to me. Predictably, my friends and I were whistling and yelling at the TV when she was unbuttoning her shirt to keep going! The silly chica that calls herself my girlfriend swatted my head. Luckily, I was sufficiently numb from Margaritas that I barely noticed.
 

Aribeth & GinCA,

Glad to hear Jeri's doing well.
I have become a fan of Rulli now; knew nothing about him before -
he's good looking, but it's more about his acting for me.

I agree about the stupidity of
Rodrigo in DA, but he is very funny,and the scenery and music are terrific, and I'm enjoying the
corporate shenanigans of the Tequila industry.
 

I agree with those who feel Juana will eventually forgive Teresa. Unlike Refugio, Juana was totally blind-sided by Teresa so now she's wondering if their whole relationship was a lie and if Teresa was just using her all the time. I don't think Juana and Teresa will ever go back to the closeness they had before because Juana has lost her innocence, but they can be friends if Teresa continues to try.

Hello Aribeth and all the LVO crew. Glad to hear Jeri is doing well. I'm watching DA too; look at it this way, if Rodrigo didn't do some pivotal dumb things, this fun TN would've been over long ago. I'm loving it.
 

Lisa, thank you for the Teresa bloopers, they were the perfect treat!

It must be hard for the writers to give closure to every characters life in 1 1/2 hours of film.
Wish there was a Teresa: The Sequel

I did watch Don Francisco and loved Angelique with her lighter hair color. At first I thought it was Jessica Alba.

My only highlight on Teresa ending is
that I wont have to watch the commercial for Conch face cream...it was on EVERY commercial break! They must have spent a fortune for product placement.

Thanks again to everyone!
 

UA, Anon207, and Sharkbyte: ITA with all of the points you have made to date.

The most powerful moment for me: The Shunning. It could have ended right there as far as I was concerned.

Excellent novela. Hope we see more like it.

Susanita
 

"I thought Arturo’s car crash could have been used more effectively in the story. It seemed anticlimactic."

I thought that too. One minute, Arturo is driving and remembering all his moments with Teresa and the next minute his car is crashed and he's lying inches from it unconscious. We didn't even get to see him go off the side of the road LOL.

I think it would be every interesting to see how Teresa and Arturo would interact with Luisa and Lucia. Did he break it off with her before he went to the house to reunite with Teresa or did he leave her waiting for him at the exhibition.

I agree that Arturo would need a new set of friends. Mariano and Aurora would lecture him on why he would even think to take Teresa back after everything she's done. Mariano was also willing to take Teresa back when he showed up at the house after Arturo found out about their night of passion. He really is in no place to judge.

I still want to know where will Teresa and Arturo live. He most certainly wouldn't bring her by Lucia's to stay there with him and Luisa. What about the money Teresa stashed in other account? She could possibly pawn all the jewelry she stuffed in the Mariano bear. I wonder how will she explain that to Arturo LOL. Will she tell him everything with no more lies or tricks like she said?
 

I thought about you Diann in those final scenes when Arturo entered the room. I really didn't know what would happen or if Teresa was imagining him there. When he bent down and lifted her up and they hugged, I was very surprised. I thought he would never forgive her like he told her at the foundation. I'm glad he changed his mind. It makes for more interesting story then the other two endings.
 

Here are some of my thoughts about Teresa:

What I especially liked:

1. Hot Chicas! (I know, it’s shocking)
2. I loved the scenes where Teresa and Aida would square-off in their one-on-one confrontational dialogues. There were some real zingers in those arguments and I often got a good laugh from them. The performances of the actresses were perfect.
3. Teresa’s and Arturo’s epic battles. Both actors deserve a lot of credit, but especially Rulli.
4. Hot Chicas!
5. Oriana’s and Teresa’s snippy remarks, jabs, and arguments. I loved hating Oriana. The actress that played Oriana, Raquel Olmedo, did a great job. When Oriana first came on the scene, she was very convincing as a snooty rich old snob, except for her wardrobe. Not that I give a damn what she wears, I just expected a billionaire snob to dress fancier.
6. Aida’s snips and snide remarks (minus the screechiness). I thought it was funny the way she would burst into a room with her loud “HOLAAAA!!!” I also thought it was funny how she kept calling Esperanza a “gata” and my favorite catch phrase of the whole show had to be RRRRRRRRRRRATA de la vecindad!
7. Hot Chicas!
8. Great acting – too many examples to mention, but Angelique, Margarita, Sebastian, and Raquel had some outstanding moments. Rulli was the best actor in this novela. As much as I hated the Ruben character, I have to hand it to Manuel Landeta, he was convincing and is obviously a very skilled actor.
9. Hot Chicas!

What I didn’t like:

1. Grumpy Gramps and his story lines.
2. Slugberto’s mariachi singing. The Aflac duck sings better than Frogberto.
3. Refugio’s hyperventilating – please, just die already, or buy an asthma inhaler.
4. Ramon and his “advice”. If he wrote an advice column it would be called “Ask Mr. Obvious”.
5. Hernan looks like a platypus. If he wore little black glasses, he’d look like Professor Peabody on the old Rocky and Bullwinkle cartoons.
6. Aida’s screechiness – She’s hot, but I’d only date her if she came with a mute button.
7. The vecindad characters and scenes were sometimes drab and seemed like filler. That wasn’t always the case, but I guess it just seemed that way too often, particularly with the older vecindad characters. Maybe the vecindad crew was more interesting in the beginning when Teresa lived there?
8. Bad acting – I’m not saying Fabiola Campomanes is a bad actress, I just thought when she had some good material, her performance seemed mediocre (for example, when Aida harassed her at the hospital and her confrontations with Ruben). I thought some of Daniel Arenas’ scenes looked forced; particularly when he had to cry or show deep emotions. Next to Rulli, I guess everyone looks amateurish.
9. I rooted for Mariano and Aurora to get together, but when they did, they turned out to be quite boring.

I started following this novela somewhere after the midpoint. I got bored watching TV one day and started flipping channels. I stumbled across Univision and there was Aida and Teresa having it out on a sidewalk in the vecindad.

I was stunned at how beautiful Angelique Boyer was; I couldn’t take my eyes off of her, and Margarita Magana was hot too.

I became curious about what these chicas were saying because they were really going at it! I didn’t understand Spanish well enough to follow along as they talked way too fast for me to keep up.

That’s when I started searching for English language episode summaries. After days of searching, using every combination of keywords I could think of, I finally found Caray.

IMO Teresa was a fine novela. Overall, I really enjoyed it. This was the first time I have ever watched a telenovela and I never thought in a million years that I would EVER watch one.
 

Great summary Sharkbyte. Rulli stole this novela and he should have won at the premios. His scenes with Angelique Boyer were riveting. I could not take my eyes off the screen whenever they were together. Their first scenes together crackled with an underlining sexual tension. That's what sold me to this show and why I watched it daily. Usually in some novelas I've watched, they start to drag a bit and I lose interest and stop watching. Teresa is one of the few novelas I have watched from the beginning to the end. I miss this show and am already in withdrawal. What am I going to watch now?
 

Once again, thanks to everyone for such great comments on the finale and for your kind words. Will see those of you who continue on with LFdD, and hopefully on future telenovelas.
 

Sharkbyte: Agree. Rulli was simply outstanding in this role. He kept me coming back for more, especially on those days I wanted to check out.

I realise that what is done is done, but as Pirate Babe said (and we have all said at one point or another) Rulli was robbed at those Premios.

Colunga did not have the material in STuD to have warranted receiving that Premio. I love Colunga, but his performance in STuD does not in anyway touch the outstanding performance by Rulli.

I hope that Rulli is given another opportunity at a WELL WRITTEN TN. I hope he is never, ever wasted in a Meh-jia production; NEVER.

I also realise that for many, the female protagonist is the 'one and only' star, but in my view, Rulli was THE star in this TN.

I wish this man the very best in what will surely be an outstanding acting career for many years to come.

Susanita
 

the novela ended and arturo never found out that the other bear was from mariano lol.
 

My thoughts about Rullí's acting:

Mónica Miguel. I became obsessed with the telenovela directors because it's a proven fact that a telenovela actor/actress who has a little bit of potential (and let's be honest, 90% of them are mediocre) will shine if he/she works with a talented director. And then the same person will become the most boring, wooden/overacting wretch if he/she has to work with a bad script and a bad director. This is what happens to those ones who participate in Mejía's shows, poor guys struggle and try to survive. That's why I say that a Mejía/Lartilleux/*insert random trashy producer's name here* show is the best way to test someone's talent. If an actor/actress manages to act naturally and convincingly in a badly directed/written show then I say that person is really remarkable.

On the other hand, producers like Estrada and Castro choose their colleagues and directors very carefully so it's easier for an actor to shine in their shows.

Rullí is okay, his work is acceptable, he can be charming and convincing, but he isn't the most charismatic guy ever. I heard he was fun and adorable in Gancho but in my opinion he was boring as hell in Pasión. I didn't follow Teresa but watched many of his scenes on youtube: he was really good there. But would he have been so outstanding without the meaty material, aka the tortured soul he played and the help of the director?

I believe he has potential but I also think that Arturo will be the highlight of his career as protagonist. Unless he gets another great character... But the really well written and complex characters are usually given to bigger stars.

***

And of course in another world the award would've given to him. Fernando is lovely and cute and hardworking and committed to acting and yaddayaddayadda but Amor real, Pasión and Alborada were the highlights of his career.
 

I think it would be every interesting to see how Teresa and Arturo would interact with Luisa and Lucia.

Luisa would be very cold with Teresa. Lucia would make a gracious exit stage right.

Did he break it off with her before he went to the house to reunite with Teresa or did he leave her waiting for him at the exhibition.

Lucia knew that Arturo wasn't that into her and that he was into Teresa. That's why she kept clinging to him with the "mi amors"


I agree that Arturo would need a new set of friends. Mariano and Aurora would lecture him on why he would even think to take Teresa back after everything she's done.

I don't think Mariano & Aurora would ever go near the Barreras again. They don't have ANYTHING in common. So they might whisper among themselves about Arturo/Teresa but they wouldn't actually say it to them. They're finished.

Mariano was also willing to take Teresa back when he showed up at the house after Arturo found out about their night of passion. He really is in no place to judge.

Another reason why the Sanchezes will stay far away from the Barreras.


I still want to know where will Teresa and Arturo live. He most certainly wouldn't bring her by Lucia's to stay there with him and Luisa.

They need to start fresh in a brand new house. The house will probably go to Paloma's foundation b/c neither Arturo nor Luisa would want it, if either one of them was the person Teresa wanted to give it to.


What about the money Teresa stashed in other account?

She could start by giving that money back to Arturo so they can have a fresh start in a new house & preferably in a new country where no one knows them.

She could possibly pawn all the jewelry she stuffed in the Mariano bear. I wonder how will she explain that to Arturo LOL. Will she tell him everything with no more lies or tricks like she said?

I doubt seriously she would tell him about Fito/Paulo/blackmail and all of the people Paulo's death would matter to are out of the picture. Rubes is dead, Roots is in jail and Aida left the country. The only way I could see her telling Arturo is if Fito kept her car (which I doubt) and the police tracked the car back to her, and she could wiggle out of that b/c Fito was a drug dealing, violent criminal. It would be her word against Fito's and Fito is dead.
 

We've talked a lot about GWTW and Teresa, maybe too much. I couldn't help but notice the very strong similarities with the ending of GWTW and Teresa, except that "Rhett" (Arturo) took a tougher Teresa (Scarlett) back. 

White breezy sheers - Foggy Atlanta evening

Dramatic staircase

Crying "I'm sorrys" and begging.

A reference to "tomorrow" by both Scarlett and Teresa. 

To me the setting and mood of both endings were very similar, with a different outcome. 

The beauty of the Teresa ending is that everyone in viewerville can have their own interpretation:  they lived happily ever after........or the relationship would never last, divorce court in one year! Without the tres anos despues, we can form our own scenarios! 

Aribeth I agree with your last post on the importance of the production team. I think that most would say that Rulli was just mediocre in Gancho. 

Jardinera, Floridia, I liked both your posts of yesterday afternoon. 

This has been a fun ride, hope to see everyone again on the next interesting novela!  Hasta luego! 
 

"We've talked a lot about GWTW and Teresa, maybe too much. I couldn't help but notice the very strong similarities with the ending of GWTW and Teresa, except that "Rhett" (Arturo) took a tougher Teresa (Scarlett) back.

White breezy sheers - Foggy Atlanta evening

Dramatic staircase

Crying "I'm sorrys" and begging.

A reference to "tomorrow" by both Scarlett and Teresa.

To me the setting and mood of both endings were very similar, with a different outcome."

I had a GWTW vibe there too with the ending and especially the "I'll start over tomorrow" vow. SandyTN.


Anon207, thanks for answering my questions about where Arturo and Teresa goes from here.

My word verfication is "scari" LOL.
 

Jardinera, thanks so much for the wonderful recap. That was yeoman's work. I watched on justin.tv at my hotel, but the connection was so poor that it was 4-seconds-on, 4-seconds-off for two hours. But still I couldn't look away! I did miss a lot of dialogue, though.

I know what you mean about the "crema de concha nacar" ad, Elle. One of the things I like about watching Spanish-language tv is that my phrase recall is improved so much...but I could do without that one.

Well, I'm off to CUANDO. Hope to see some of you there!
 

Aribeth: I would agree that the production team is key. I think that it is a 'given'. Rulli was fortunate to have had said production team.

No argument with you there. However, I'd like to think that his career won't 'end' as a protagonist(figuratively, not literally) with "Teresa".

I hope he has the good sense to search out a good production team and to stay away from known disasters.

If he really is a good actor, then I would have to think that he would do a personal retrospective of his own work in order to guide his future choices.

Susanita
 

Susanita: I honestly wish him luck and I'm sure he'll play protagonists for a long time. But will he ever get such a complex, memorable role again? That's the question.
For example, René Strickler is a good actor, but after EPDA and Ramona he had to become a side character (except in Piel de otono). And after twelve long, hardworking years he became one of the most important character of Para volver a amar and he was even nominated for the best actor award - at 49. This is a great achievement for someone who's talented but isn't a chick magnet/or the king of ratings/or the best buddy of a Televisa manager. But it's hard to get good roles, and even René had to work with Mejía, Lartilleux and Luis de Llano Macedo.

If it's true that Carla Estrada wants to work with Sebastián again (in the primetime!)... then whoa. Estrada hired Cuaohtémoc Blanco and María del Carmen Pena, the writers of El manantial and Mi pecado, and they are really good. But I hear she didn't like the scripts they wrote + many actors said they didn't want to participate in the show so I'm worried about the project.

Have you read what Álvaro Cueva (a Mexican critic, he's sickeningly in love with Estrada, but he knows much about television and telenovelas) about Teresa before the last episode?
http://foro.univision.com/t5/Comunidad-de-Telenovelas/ALVARO-CUEVA-NO-ME-VAYAN-A-CASTIGA-A-TERESA-POR-FAVOR/td-p/416655950

"Sebastián Rulli ya no es sólo un galán, es un señor. Hizo una transición que me recuerda la de muchos grandes ídolos de la pantalla como Rogelio Guerra o como Julio Alemán."

"Sebastián Rullí isn't just a protagonist anymore, he's a gentleman/master. He made a transformation that reminds me of many great idols of the screen like Rogelio Guerra and Julio Alemán*."

(* Aribeth is in love with Sr. Alemán.)
 

Aribeth,

Por supuesto, me too!
Adore Julio Alemán!
Also like Rogelio Guerra.
Thanks for that terrific reference.
You always offer fascinating insights into the world of telenovelas. And now I like Rulli; I realize how important the directing would be; he took the direction well and scaled the heights as a result.

Today on Gordo and Flaca Aarón Diaz
said that this would be the first and last time he would discuss on TV his personal life with Kate D. (Love her father too!) He said it is not his style, but since Lili is like a godmother to him and he has been friends with Raul for a number of years, he would agree to discuss the subject. Briefly, he said that they have an excellent friendly relationship unlike many couples who separate. He also strongly but pleasantly denied having a personal relationship with Ana Brenda or any other gal on the novela Teresa.

Pirate Babe,

Agree completely with your last comment re the riveting sexual tension.
 

RIP, Steve Jobs, an amazing, inventive mind. Thanks to him we are all blogging and having great fun ..an enormous legacy too numerous to note here.
With great fondness and appreciation.
 

Aribeth: I so very much appreciate that link! Wonderful! I have to agree with the writer's sentiments...

...and add me to the list of admirers of Sr. Aleman! I love, love that man with the beautiful voice and his impeccable diction.

When I hear him speak, Spanish becomes an even more beautiful language that it already is!

Mil Gracias, Aribeth!!!

Susanita
 

Susanita:
"When I hear him speak, Spanish becomes an even more beautiful language that it already is!"

I agree so completely! :) He and Enrique Lizalde have so remarkable, enchanting voices and they know how to use their talent... They remind me of Alan Rickman and Ian McKellen.

Floridia:
Oh yeah, Eric del Castillo is adorable, too.

***
Poor Steve Jobs. :( Que descanse en paz.
 

Aribeth: So nice to see you!

By the way, I wanted to comment on your director's comment that I feel is absolutely right.

A director can change everything but the best actors can shine through everything. Case in point: Silvia Navarro. She wasn't just great in MEPS, which was directed by Garcini, but also, she was in his crappy opera prima "Cabeza de Buda" which was as stupid as it was boring and it made me realize what a talentless hack he truly is.

And yet, Silvia was fantastic in Cabeza de Buda. Her character was one we weren't supposed to really root for: bitchy, egotist, superficial and an overall bad influence and an example of the kind of life our main character was supposed to get away from. But she stole the movie. She had better chemistry with Kuno Becker than the "lovely angel" he fell for in the end, played by Irán Castillo, she was the most REAL and profound of all the characteres and she made you CARE for this woman who, with anyone less talented, wouldn't have had any depth (just like the rest of the characteres in that pretentious movie).

Now, the one good thing I can say about Garcini is that, he did realize the wonderful job Silvia did in Buda and may have pointed Nicandro Díaz to the right direction on who should be the heroine on MEPS.

As for Rulli, I do think he can go on to have a better career. He did have his moments on Gancho, especially at the begining, where he was pretty cute (I especially remember when Mauricio and Constanza went to couple's therapy and they had to put themselves in the place of the other, he was hilarious in that scene). So I think if the material is good, he can be up to snuff, if he isn't given anything to work for then he hasn't. But I really hope he takes this experience as Arturo as something positive and he gives his all to the rest of his characteres, so he can rise above the crappy material that he surely will have to work with in the future if he is asked for Mejía, Lartilleoux, etc. I certainly think he had moments when he even rised above the material here in Teresa and that's why we where all so taken by him.

Angelique has a bright future in her hands not only because of the chops she is displaying at her oung age (23 to me is pretty young, she has at least 15 years available for leads) I think Televisa has been looking for a new generation of stars for a while, and with this telenovela and its success (mostly in Mexico, I'll admit that) she has become one of the chosen ones for that new generation (and I believe she would still be one of them without all those backstage issues).


Jarocha
 

Thanks again, Jarocha, for the cultural spin you are always able to provide us!
 

Boyer is talented, she didn't need to hook up with the director.
 

Here's a look into the mind of a real-life Teresa. I wonder how many little sharks are out there circling the stock exchange.

http://www.learnvest.com/money-tuneup/career/money-mic-i-want-to-marry-a-millionaire/?utm_source=outbrain&utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=lifestyle_marryrich
 

Jarocha darling, I'm so glad to see you too! :) I hope your studies are going well in Mexico City.

Silvia Navarro is very talented. She's fantastic. On the other hand, Garcini is crapastic. I remember how bad was the directing of Sonadoras and Las vías del amor. And I'll never forgive him that he made the actors of CS09 look like talentless idiots in the first month. Fortunately later they got used to his style.

"I think Televisa has been looking for a new generation of stars for a while"

Yeah, Televisa definitely does that because it lost too many young(er) actors like Eugenio Siller, Ana Layevska and Sara Maldonado and people are still keep leaving the company. And the older generation, the golden boys and girls of Televisa like Colunga, Noriega, Lucero, Salinas, Yanez, Soler (et cetera) can't play youngsters forever.

The problem is that nowadays it's very hard to become a big star either in Telenovelaland or in Hollywood. People come and go, they become famous for a while but after three-five years they fade. In the last 10 years Televisa should've raised new stars but they failed. And why? I don't exactly know. They tried. There were many candidates but those people either lacked the charisma of the previous generation (*coughlevycough*) or they were very unlucky and got stuck in stupid, bland supporting roles - because producers don't dare give them a chance. (-> hence the migration to Azteca and Telemundo)

And I really can't tell what will be happening to Angelique later. Sure, she became a star and an "It Girl" thanks to Teresa but from what I heard and saw of the Mexican audience it's really easy for a woman to lose the audience's good graces. Yadhira Carrillo was a gem but she hooked up with Whathisname (Lety Calderón's husband) and what a surprise, she became persona non grata. And people hated Susana González because of her affair with Santamarina and they didn't want to see her in Pasión.

Angie became famous thanks to a femme fatale role and she hooked up an old, powerful producer. Now she has a chance to play an innocent, strong, virtuous character again in Sólo tengo ojos para tí, but her participation is already tainted by malicious rumors (i.e. "she and Castro" wanted to get rid of Zurita, aka her former boyfriend and the original protagonist of the show"). Being considered a golddigger isn't the best thing when one wants to become the new star of the primetime - that timeslot that has been ruled by cute sweethearts like Lucero, La Noriega, Ruffo, Arámbula (2000-2003), Rivera and Navarro for a very long time.
 

Jarocha y Aribeth,

Thanks again for your insights
and wealth of knowledge in this area. I'm still a relative newcomer - only about 3 years,
and now I've got some big projects coming up, so may not be watching often.

Thanks again to all recappers and commenters. Very impressive people.
You've helped me while away the hours with a delightful diversion.
 

Finally watched the other two endings on my lunch hour today -- my favorite was ol' Teresa vampin' the cubicle farm. That seems the most realistic. Of course I use the term "realistic" loosely. ;}
 

Aribeth: I think Angelique has the advantage that Castro is single. As long as he isn't married then the talking will have to eventually die down. Maybe in a year or two when their relationship will be over or stable enough to not matter.

People act as of Castro was hideous just because he is older but he is not. He is actually an atractive fellow in real life. And it isn't like Castro has all the power in the world to do what he wants. I actually think he doesn't have that much clout on Televisa. Or else he wouldn't always be given such terrible timeslots after working for that company for over two decades. Look what they did to his sister Verónica, she was the biggest star for two decades and suddendly she was worthless to the company.

Horacio Villalobos once said: "Televisa hace todo lo posible para que te pongas su camisa y luego te la arrancan a patadas". I think that's true since Emilio Azcárraga Jean took the company after his father's death. That's why I think they can't keep their young stars anymore.

We had a closed off market until 1986 and we actually didn't start to open up the media until 1994, as part of our NAFTA agreement (but only to the US and later Spain) Azteca didn't start to create novelas until 1996 so they (along with Telemundo after it got here) were the biggest source of novelas from the rest of Latin America. Once Azteca was established as a novela producer they stopped showing the novelas from other countries.

As you see, there was no need to keep the talent from leaving because there simply was no other choice but to work on Televisa if you wanted to be an actor and have a permanent job. When Azteca appeared on the scene there was a huge leak of talent (Ana Colchero, Rogelio Guerra, Fernando Luján, Angélica Aragón, the Bichir brothers -only Odiseo stayed, etc.) so Emilio Azcárraga Melmo worked hard to keep the image of the company as a "family" since it had been created by his father Emilio Azcárraga Vidaurreta with the help of the ruling party at the time: the PRI.

Televisa was supposed to be big because they were made to sustain the PRI in power and to show propaganda and nationalistic displays every now and then (I still remember the messages from the government or the party every night when I was a child). Every other media not owned by Televisa was owned by the government so Televisa's job was to put on the image that they were an example of autonomy and private success, still, everybody knew that when the government would say jump they would say: how high? But it was nice to live under the illusion.

When there was no way to stay as a closed off economy, the government started selling all their enterprises (they had more than 2300 at one point) and private investors bought two channels and created TV Azteca. In its beginings Azteca was pretty reactive and became the biggest critic of the regime (see "Nada Personal" or "Demasiado Corazón", where the villains were corrupt officials of high levels) or the way our society had stalled under it ("Al Norte del Corazón" about the illegal immigrants, "Mirada de Mujer" about machismo and the submisive role of the woman).

When 2000 came, and the PRI was beaten for the first time in 72 years, Azteca lost the reason to exist and Televisa lost the support of the party in government and the man who had kept the company in line for the last four decades. His son, spoiled and unexperienced had to deal with the new era of the Mexican media. He hasn't been able to deal very well.

Now Televisa is behind the campaign for the PRI for 2012. They have worked hard to create the image of PRI's candidate and they even gave him a popular wife and the oportunity to represent a real life Telenovela. And the PRI will be back in 2012 (unless a miracle happens and Mexico City's mayor, from the PRD gets ahead), so maybe a new era for Televisa will begin then.

Jarocha
 

Jarocha:
Castro is definitely not my type at all, but I'm sure many others find him attractive, and he must have an interesting personality. After all, he's an artist, a leader and a businessman. I can see why Angelique fell for him.
I don't think either he was that powerful - he must have some power and authority bust he was banned from the primetime after Sin pecado concebido and he surely doesn't have the influence to get rid of Sebastián Zurita, the protagonist of another producer.

Oh yes, Emilio Azcárraga and his son! It's so great to learn about the history of Televisa. There was an interesting comment on this topic at Telenovela-World a few weeks ago:

"Televisa went down the pooper because Azcarraga died. Then Azcarraga JR. took over in 1998. This promted a complete shift in the network altogether. Producers Florinda Meza and Jose Rendon were suddenly gone. Carlos Sotomayor and Lucy Orozco (both are Ernesto Alonso's protogeé's) were soon to follow. Suddenly, Humberto Zurita and Christian Bach and alot of other veterans like Angelica Aragon and Marta Aura left the network to join Azteca (something Televisa never recovered from!) Azcarraga JR didnt know how to manage actors and which ones to throw away and which to keep. Im surprised he didnt rid Carla Estrada and Ernesto Alonso but I figured they had a big say in the network and since they were the best producers at that time, JR. had no say over what they did.

Then one of his ideologies was, "there wont be any divas, everyone will be equal." While that sounds nice & fair it isnt realistic. Carla And Ernesto used Adela and Yadhira in El Manantial/ La Otra and then again AR/AEMP; and where the divas of 00. Athough, his philosophy definitely subtley creeped in somewhere around 2006.

Then comes the really awkward remake period in 2006-now.

This is why veterans like Kate del Castillo & Yadhi left Televisa and are doing different things. Adela doesnt even want to come back after that failure of Fuego en la Yawn which she probably regrets. Who can blame her??" (Paul)

***

"As you see, there was no need to keep the talent from leaving because there simply was no other choice but to work on Televisa if you wanted to be an actor and have a permanent job."

Yes, and if you left the company before 1996 you were treated like dirt. Lucía Méndez, the queen of Telenovelas and Yanez, the golden boy and Alonso's protegé went to the young Telemundo to make Marielena (a huge success) and their name + their former shows were wiped out of Televisa's family Bible. Adela Noriega, who for some unknown reasons didn't work after Dulce desafío (1989), followed them and made Guadalupe in 1993 (even bigger success). But after 1996 she was allowed to return and restart her career.

Those were strange times. Like the last 60 years in my country.
 

Aribeth and Jarocha: The insights you continue to offer in terms of the background story at Televisa and your beautiful country are a gift! Thank you so much!

These are the things that I love to know and understand as there is always a 'back' story.

I am intrigued that you both feel that the PRI will, once again, come back into power.

Should that come to pass, how do you see that impacting Televisa?

Given that the politics of the country does influence happenings at Televisa, do the political leanings of the actors ever come under scrutiny there (at Televisa)?

Do the actors feel that they must toe the political line in order to either get ahead or just maintain their status within the company?

As we all know, there are politics within every company, but given the history behind Televisa's creation (and Azteca's as well) are the actors more aware of the social politics in terms of how this can affect this career.

By direct extension, I assume this would hold for the producers and directors as well?

Look forward to hearing your thoughts.

Susanita
 

Aribeth,

Agree about Castro but evidently Angelica Rivera found him attractive for quite a while. Must have lived with him for years, but later her marriage with him was brief. Did you live in Mexico? I think you said that your first language was either German or Hungarian. In any case,
thanks to you and JAROCHA for the fascinating intrigue behind the facade.
 

Susanita:
Thank you. :)
However, Jarocha is the Mexican lady here, I'm just an oldschool European kid. :) In my country (Hungary) telenovelas were very popular in the 90's and I grew up watching Yo compro esa mujer, Esmeralda, La usurpadora, and tons of Brazilian shows. And when I grew up I realized I still enjoy them so I started to read telenovela sites.

I also adore Jarocha's insights, she knows so much about the world of telenovelas, and since she's Mexican, she offers wonderful informations about her country, too. I didn't know much about the connection between the company and PRI but I'm not surprised, it sounds very similar to the Hungarian media in the era of socialism between 1949 and 1989. (And to be honest, it hasn't changed much since, there are many channels and parties here but when a political party wins the elections, many people in the media who were close to the former government lose their jobs. "still, everybody knew that when the government would say jump they would say: how high" -> yeah, that sounds very familiar)

What will be happening if PRI wins? I guess there will be tons of patriotic shows with governmental support. But that will make them completely dependent of PRI (again), and it won't solve their old problems a.k.a. the lack of new stars, the bad scripts, the expensive yet cheap looking shows. (And I love CS09 - but it represents the dozens of problems Televisa has nowadays.)
Look at China. I like many Chinese actors and movies and I don't care about the propaganda, but it's quite saddening that the actors _have to_ participate in certain big budget movies supported by the government if they want to get more jobs in the future. Do we want this system in Televisa? Not really.
 

Floridia:
No, I never lived in Mexico but I would love to visit that beautiful country. :)
 

Aribeth: The thing with Adela Noriega, everybody who was alive in México between 1988 and 1994 believes she was the mistress of Carlos Salinas de Gortari. Only her fans refuse to think so. I can't say it is false but I know when everybody believes that an actress and a politician (especially during the PRI era) are having an affair, it has always turned out to be true. Especially since it is known that Televisa would provide beautiful actresses to be part of cocktails or private parties with the politicians.

Susanita:We have three main parties anyway: PRI, PAN, PRD. The PRI had the government from 1938 to 2000, PAN from 2000 to 2012, PRD has never had the presidency but they were the biggest contender in 2006 against PAN (they lost for 0.5% of the votes) and will be the biggest contender against PRI in 2012,they have had the government of Mexico City since 1998, that single aspect makes them always a big contender even if they haven't reached the power at Federal level yet.

Actors are contracted to be part of propaganda today but it's mostly PRI and PVEM, the "green" party (which is a sham party made for the young that only works to to back everything the PRI says, nobody who actually knows even a little bit of Mexican Politics takes them seriously). Maité Perroni is the image of the PVEM and the PRI has had many stars doing the promos (this last sexenial it was Lucero, before her it was Angélica Rivera but she retired when she married Enrique Peña Nieto, who's candidate from the PRI for the 2012 elections).

The PAN doesn't really use stars, they are pretty right wing and they have the entrepreneurs, the PRD has the left wing intellectuals. Each party has a specific image to go with it. PAN and PRD would lose credibility to their followers if they started using actors for their campaigns.

If the PRI wins, then Televisa will have more govenrment subsidies, they probably will get legal help for their projects and they would probably become the officially unoficial government media. Again. I don't know if that would translate to quality but it will definitely translate to power.

Jarocha
 

Aribeth,

Thanks for replying.

Jarocha,

Fascinating but quite complex;
I had no idea about the star connections. I only came to know
AR from watching DA, and then I read about her fairy tale, real life wedding to a widower who
is considered a top contender
for the Presidency. How do people feel about her and this alliance?

Thanks again.
 

Most here people love the fairy tale story. I don't really care much one way or the other. I don't like Peña Nieto, he is a puppet of the party, he might be pretty but he has no real charisma and I don't think he has what it takes to become a president and his homophobia turns me off of him. I could have had more respect for the PRI if they had chosen Manlio Fabio Beltrones, the leader of the party at congress, as their candidate. That man has brains and a real sense of the country's needs. Peña Nieto has nothing but good looks and a good marketing team.

Jarocha
 

Jarocha:
Yes, I know about that rumor and I can imagine it is true. Why not, a pretty, famous, 20 years old actress dating a rich, charismatic, 20 years older guy (who can help her in so many ways)? Hey, Boyer is doing something very similar.

I find this story very fascinating, especially since some say Adela's two nephews are her sons, not her sister's. (However, in 2004 one of the kids was ten years old - and in 1993-1994 she was shooting Guadalupe. But nevermind, the "secret lovechildren of a politician" myth sounds much more exciting.)

So, again, interesting story and it may be true. But where are the proofs? I know we are talking about the beginning of the 90's so I'm sure there aren't any paparazzi photos and sex videos, but there must've been at least a few photos of them. You know, participating in coctail parties and other social events. Or reports of witnesses who saw them together at coctail parties/visiting each other. (Though... on the other hand, Adela is the master of disappearing even nowadays. If she doesn't want to be seen she won't be seen. But now she's over 40 and she lives in the United States where nobody really cares about who she is. But at the beginning of the 90's she was a young girl, a television star and she was living in Mexico. It sound impossible to hide her love live so perfectly for 4 years.)

And why didn't she make telenovelas/movies by that time? Is Gortari some kind of despot who doesn't let his woman work? Or wasn't she that mad about acting and she was happy for finding a supporter? Or was she persona non grata for some reasons?

Thank you for telling us about the Mexican political parties. It's very interesting. Obviously politics is the same all around the world.
 

Aribeth,

According to Wiki, A. Rivera is 41 and her new husband 45. Perhaps
some of the most beautiful actresses do not wish to play old women as do J. Andres y S. Pinal.

Jarocha, I'm not planning on blogging much more, but I want to give my email to you and anyone who'd like to keep in touch.
1sfr@comcast.net.
Last year I retired from teaching and now am about to do some writing. If you have an opportuity to travel, Mexico is near Miami.
I am about 1 hour/20 minutes north.
I have a spacious condo with a lovely water view. I can sleep six comfortably - more if necessary
on air mattresses. You are welcome to bring family or friends. Perhaps Vivi or Aribeth or even Sandy of TN could join us or anyone else who so desired...too many names to mention. I've grown accustomed to all of you. Telenovela reunion! I'm flexible.

I am fascinated by Latin American politics because my youngest child had a passion for it and completed all required courses.

FYI - Florida Atlantic University has a campus in Boca Raton and another near me where the Honors College is located. I took a Spanish class there last fall.

Two of my sons and 3 grandchildren live near me; my daughters live in Tampa and Tallahassee.

All the best ....
 

Floridia:
Yes, Angélica and her husband are at the same age. (Almost.) I'm not surprised at that she decided to retire, she didn't make many telenovelas in the last 16 years anyway. (1995 La duena, 1997 Huracán, 1998 Ángela, 2001 Sin pecado concebido, 2003 Mariana de la noche, 2007 Destilando amor.) La duena and Ángela are wonderful shows and she was lovely in Destilando Duermo, too. :) Oh, and from what I saw she was an awesome villana in Mejía's crazy Mariana de la noche - btw, she played the rival of Alejandra Barros, aka Alejandra from LVO. :) But it was obvious that she was more into her family, her former husband José Alberto Castro and their children.

But I was referring at Adela Noriega, who didn't make any telenovelas between 1989 (Dulce desafío with Eduardo Yanez, Chantal Andere, Ana Patricia Rojo, Angélica Rivera and Enrique Lizalde) and 1993 (Guadalupe with Yanez again + Salvador Pineda, Zully Montero and Miryam Ochoa). She was only 20-24 by that time and rumor says she was the lover of a married politician called Carlos Salinas de Gortari who was 21 older than her, oh, and by the way, he was the president of Mexico. (Gossip number one, the secret love life of Santa Noriega.)

She's such a mystery girl, and since she's one of my favourite telenovela actresses, it'd be nice to know about those years. Because even if she was the girlfriend of a politician, why the heck didn't she get any acting jobs? We are talking about one of the biggest juvenil stars of the era, who won awards, who had successful shows, but stopped making telenovelas when she was 20, and no, she didn't go to university. Some say she was pregnant and her beloved nephews are her sons, but she firmly denied those accusations. (And one of the boys looks too young to be hers. She definitely wasn't pregnant in Guadalupe.) And why did she leave Televisa in 1993, risking the punishments of the company (i.e. she won't get a job again).

This story/mystery sounds awesome, dirty and interesting, but I haven't seen any proofs yet. Only rumors.

***
I sent you an e-mail. :)
 

I don't believe the story of the nephews (there are definitely exaggerations there, like that Gortari asked a whole wing of the hospital to be evacuated for her to have the children, crazy stuff) and I'm usually very doubtful of any kind of gossip that hasn't been comfirmed but I do believe the Gortari rumour.

Before 1993, when TV Azteca was born, there was no other private media but Televisa and they were canoodling with the government. So no evidence could ever be find, especially since Gortari was married. Besides that, this was a guy that sent the voting ballots to be burned the night before the winner of the presidency was announced, changed 8 governors, 10 Supreme Court Judges, arranged NAFTA, started the privatization of the country and sold more than 100 enterprises to his family and friends (one being Telmex which marked the real starting point of the empire of one Carlos Slim), caused the 1994 peso crisis and almost changed the constitution to get reelected again. And lets remember also that there was a huge rumour for years that Edith González had an affair with Santiago Creel and there was no evidence of that either... until she admitted her daughter was his. And that was after the days when the press started becoming intrusive in peoples lives, there was more private media and the change had arrived at federal level. Same thing with Érica Buenfil and ex-president Ernesto Zedillo's son.

I think everybody can believe whatever they want, it doesn't really matter and it never has. Of all the Gortari gossip out there, this is the less significant one.

Jarocha
 

Jarocha:
Fantastic informations. Thank you for sharing them. Since I studied law I find extremely fascinating and frightening how fundamental principles and rules can be changed overnight if it serves a few specific groups' interests. For example, now we have a brand new constitution (the last one was made in 1949 and it was completely rewritten in 1989), because we needed it sooo much. *sarcasm*

You live in a wonderful country with rich culture, traditions and an interesting history. But I see you also have very deep societal and economical problems and I hope the new generations will be able to solve them.

Before 1993, when TV Azteca was born, there was no other private media but Televisa and they were canoodling with the government.

Well, tienes razón.

***
Oookay, as for telenovelas, here's my wishlist: I don't care if telenovelas aren't Emmy/Oscar/Golden Globe materials. They are melodramas, they have their own place in the order of the universe. I love ovet the top, crazy telenovelas with lots of slaps, shouting and kissing. But I really wish to see shows that
1. are based on coherent, interesting scripts
2. have entertaining characters who don't change their personalities in every 20th episode
3. and aren't extremely booooring.*

My main problem with the so-called "well-written, outstanding" gems of the last years is that they were freaking, unbearably tedious. They were way too long, or the pacing, their rhythm was bad, or the main characters/actors were "meh". Yes, it's a very subjective opinion because all shows have committed fans and many critics liked them.
And even the trashy-but-fun guilty pleasures were slow borefests. I'm sorry, but in 2003 Entre el amor y el odio was at least quick and entertaining. The new ones should be used by scientists to cure insomnia.

More wishes:
4. Give young, promising actors well written roles. I can't believe there aren't any charismatic guys and girls in Televisa.
5. Give the older generations well written, important side characters, villain, mother, uncle roles. Because I. so far people are more interested in them than the unknown young kids, and II. they deserve these roles.

* And please, someone tell María Zarattini that she writes adorable side characters and her dialogues are good but most of her female protagonists suck hard.
 

Aribeth:

María Zarattini's female characteres do suck. I've only ever liked Oriana from La Jaula de Oro alot and that's because she had real traumas that made her actions believable. I know Carlos Moreno wants to remake that one and he has said he wants Silvia Navarro for the role. I think that's a great story and Silvia could be great but Carlos has the tendency to take pretty serious novelas and add circo qualities to them and his productions have always lots of vivid colors. I don't know if I would like to see that happen to De Pura Sangre/La Jaula de Oro. That story needs to be dark and Oriana needs to be seriously damaged.

The Estrada producction could be very good or very bad. I don't know, I had great expectatives when Cecilia Suárez was chosen, she'd only go back to novelas with a brilliant script and a fantastic character. Once Suárez dropped out my expectatives went down again. All that gossip about Maité Perroni doesn't give me much either.

Who's next? lets see, Castro is getting nice enough ratings for La Que No Podía Amar but that one is definitely a circo. I go from liking it alot to being upset about it every week. Jorge Salinas keeps me watching in part but I hate how his character is so weepy. José Ron is just not leading material and Ana Brenda is so boring when she is with him, those two try so hard but there's not a ounce of chemistry between them, she does have it with Salinas though.

Larrosa is so erratic and he has failed again.

Nicandro only makes good novelas for kids, his adult ones are so boring.

Lucy Orozco is supposed to be back... since two years ago.

Maybe Roberto Gómez could bring the surprise.

Jarocha
 

Aribeth,

Didn't get the email yet, but happily received Jarocha's.
I'll keep looking.

More fascinating info from you both! You both have encyclopedic minds re telenovelas.
 

Aribeth: I am so sorry, but thank you for reminding me that you are not a native of Mexico! The sad thing is that I KNEW this, but you and Jarocha offer such incredible insights into what I find a most fascinating medium in the TN.

Jarocha: The political issues and how they intertwine with the very TN and the TN actors that we love/hate absolutely fascinates me!

Am I surprised that so many in the stratosphere of political power in your country have been charmed by some of the beauties of the TN?! Absolutely not!

The infos re Angelica Rivera and her new husband are very interesting from a political standpoint. Do you feel that some of his popularity is because of his marriage to La Gaviota?

Also interesting are the infos re Maite Perroni and the work she has done on behalf of that off shoot party of the PRI. She might be the ingenue du jour right now, but I'm still not impressed. I (and probably many others) was dumbfounded when she openly admitted that she was not allowed to sing 'live' when she was a member of RBD (that is the correct name of that group, yes?) The other members sang live, but not her!

I'm also laughing at "Santa Noriega". It's funny, but that is how I have always seen her in my eyes and I don't even know that much about her (other than she cries at the drop of a hat just like Ruffo).

What is Gotari up to these days? Is he still influencing things behind the scenes?

...and Vicente Fox...how does he rate with the Mexican people?

Susanita
 

Jarocha:
"María Zarattini's female characteres do suck."

Absolutely. :D

In 2008 and 2009 I watched Amor real, Pasión, Alborada and Corazón salvaje 1993 and Sortilegio in a row, and gosh, I got so fed up with the female leads. (And I hated how the Juan/Mónica romance started in CS93. It has nothing to do with the spirit of the book.)

"but Carlos has the tendency to take pretty serious novelas and add circo qualities to them and his productions have always lots of vivid colors"

I like vivid colors and I think it's very creepy (in a good way) when a dark story takes place in colorful, cheesy, happy-go-lucky enviroment. However, I agree that we don't need too many circo elements.

"The Estrada producction could be very good or very bad."

Very bad, I'm afraid. I also had very high expectations because of the writers, and I was curious about Carla's ideas, but judging from the reports (Estrada can't stand the script, stars don't want to participate in the show and Suárez said goodbye) it will be a mess. Or it will be cancelled.

"lets see, Castro is getting nice enough ratings for La Que No Podía Amar but that one is definitely a circo."

Yes, it is, but Jorrrrrgeeeeee... Yummy. :) But I try not to root for the Ana/Rogelio ship because I think one day Castro will turn Rogelio into a cardboard villain. It's like The Phantom of the Opera: ladies, don't root for Erik/Christine because it'll break your little fangirl heart. :)

I wish Orozco returned but it seems she was kicked out of the company eleven years ago. Will Azcárraga and Mejía let her make a new show again?
 

This comment has been removed by the author.
 

Just was able to watch the finale this weekend. I am satisfied with the ending--happy to see Tiny Terror and Professor Hottie together. Though it was fast (by telenovela necessity), I found Teresa's realization believable. Of course, as her mother said, in real life it would need to be backed up by how she lives her life day by day.

I personally found the cubicle ending unbelievable. Teresa is a lawyer, why would she be in that type of job? If she had started over, I see her as a fantastic divorce attorney. She would have to begin with everyday divorces, but I see her soon representing the big-time people--like wives of soccer stars. Teresa would get the "goods" on these tipos and squeeze them for everything they're worth.

Thank your Jardinera for doing a fantastic two hour recap. I enjoyed it immensely. Paquita, thank you for doing double work for many weeks, you brought us a lot of pleasure. Sharkbyte, loved your recaps. Don't be a stranger, you have a fan base here. Elvira and Kristoise, you are masters at storytelling.

I am enjoying the info about Mexican politics and its relationship to showbiz.

Go, Team Teresa!!
 

AnonoOne,

I loved the ending. I recorded it
and frequently play the last few minutes. Once Art bends down and the music begins, it's ecstasy pure and simple - not many moments like that in most novelas.

I remember watching MEPS; the lovebirds get married and go up in a balloon; ironically for me it was a big let down....

I agree with your comments. Most people have stopped blogging and moved on. I check in from time to time.
 

Grumps (Guillermo Zarur) died back in August. That's so sad.
 

Aribeth and Jarocha, I enjoyed your discussion on TNs and Mexican politics. I've been out of blogging distance for some days and thought I'd check for any more Teresa comments, but never imagined to find a discussion on my favorite TN actress, Adela Noriega. Thanks for the background. I hope she finds a good script soon.
 

Susanita: Vicente Fox was seen as a harmless idiot by most. Everybody kept thinking it was his wife actually who was running the country instead of him as he ALWAYS put his foot in his mouth. Calderón is smarter than him but he is arrogant and his arrogance has made him make much worse mistakes.

Aribeth: I sent you an email today. I'm also all about Rogelio/Ana Paula, Gustavo is so boring. I can't not ship, even if he is going to turn into a villain, sigh. Gustavo is such a boring goody two shoes.

Jarocha
 

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