Caray, Caray!

Welcome to the Hacienda del Fuerte


[Posted for Alexandra by Jardinera654 for your reading pleasure]

A disoriented horse is caught in the middle of a herd of cows running crazy. And no, this isn’t Lion King: The Hacienda Version, but a terrible nightmare. Rogelio Montero wakes up all sweaty and shirtless (yummy!) in the middle of the night, screaming louder than Darth Vader: “Noooo! Noooo!”.

He has a look of despair, breathing heavily. Poor thing! Luckily, his sister Cinthia comes to the rescue. She tells him to calm down, giving him a glass of water and asking him if it’s the same nightmare that he always has. Rogelio answers her with another question: “Why do you ask me if you know it is?” Cinthia tries to hug him, but Rogelio tells her repeatedly to let him; he’s not in a mood for a free hug. Close-up on his anguished face.

Meanwhile, in Tuxtla Gutierrez, Ana Paula enters her house, calling her aunt. But surprise-surprise, Don Maximo was waiting for her, with the smile of a pervert upon his face. For the Corazon Salvaje fans out there (No, no, not that 2009 crap, but the 1993 version which I love with all my heart), Don Maximo was Don Guadalupe Cajiga. Back then, he had an interesting moustache. And hair.

Back to our house. Ana Paula asks him where his aunt is. “A neighbor called her”, he says. “But I’m happy to see you” – I bet you are! Perv. “You’re as beautiful as always, girl”. Perv. Too bad you sir don’t seem to have found the Fountain of Youth. Ana Paula strikes back: “Keep the compliments for yourself and tell me what you are doing in my house, when there’s nobody home?” Don Maximo reminds her that in fact, it’s his house and that she shouldn’t forget that she and her family owe him money, because of the many months of unpaid rent. But Ana Paula tells him that they will give him all his money back, since she’ll have a job soon and she’ll give him her entire salary. Uh-oh! It seems that this is an offer that Don Maximo will have to refuse. Horny Maximo wants to be paid in kind and by “kind” I mean “sexual favors”. Of course he grabs her like an animal and Ana Paula is struggling to get rid of him.

Back to La Hacienda del Fuerte, Rogelio pumps his arm with a dumbbell. Now this would make a good TV commercial! His foreman Efrain comes in and Rogelio asks him what is he doing in the house, since he should check on the pawns. Efrain knows his duties, but he wanted to let him know that there are some problems in San Gabriel with the payments, since los Gonzalez didn’t pay the forage. Uh-oh! Well, at least we can safely assume that he doesn’t want to be paid like Don Maximo. Rogelio tells him to go and charge them and if they refuse to pay, he should let him know, so that Rogelio can take matters in his own hands.

In Tuxtla, Ana Paula’s brother Miguel is at work in a carpentry and asks his colleague Pablo to lend him money, since he always has some. Well, he has “because he always takes risks” and that he’s doing this job just to keep his mother calm. But of course, “there is a much easier and faster way to get money, so join my business.” Miguel doesn’t want his business, he wants money! He only gets a: “Think about it!” in return. Miguel tries to work his charm with another employee, but he is told to take more care of his money. Captain Obvious strikes again! Miguel of course can’t save more money, since he is also paying for his sister’s studies. Third time's the charm, maybe? No, his boss isn’t impressed either and sends him back to his workstation.

At their house, Ana Paula still tries to get rid of Don Maximo, who tells her that he’ll forget about their debts if she succumbs. “No, viejo asqueroso!!” She manages to break the bear hug, but she just turns him on with her bravery. “Me encantas, maldita!” Too bad she’s immune to his charms. He asks her what she’ll do to him and she takes a bottle of glass and breaks half of it on the table and keeps the other half in her hand, to defend herself. I don’t know what Maximo was thinking, but he attacks her yet again and of course his hand has a rendezvous with Ana Paula’s weapon. “You cut me! You cut me!” “Let’s see if with this you understand that I’ll never pay attention to you!”. Run Ana Paula, run! He’s gonna kill you! She runs outside and in that moment, her aunt Rosaura arrives, asking her what’s going on. She tells her about Don Maximo who tried to take advantage of her, but Rosaura isn’t that convinced: “No, child, how can you say that?” “Because it’s the truth!”. Ana Paula tells her about the injury she provoked him in self-defense and that he’s like crazy, trying to kill her. Rosaura tries to calm her down, but she’s more concerned about the cut, asking how serious the injury is. Ana Paula doesn’t know, she saw blood, like we all did, but she doesn’t know. Of course the lovable and understandable aunt wants to get back in the house with Ana Paula, so that she can check on his injury, but Ana Paula doesn’t want to see that man again. Rosy insists, telling her that she might get them into serious trouble. Well, my sixth sense tells me that you get into more trouble for attempted rape than for acting in self-defense, but aunt Rosy knows best.

At the hacienda, Rogelio is in his office, holding his trusty companion in his hand. I know what you’re thinking, but please leave your kinky thoughts aside – I was talking of course about his whip. “Didn’t I tell you to speak to my veterinary?” says Rogelio to his two workers who are there with him. “I called him, patron, but he was at the San Javier ranch.” Rogelio is unimpressed; he needs the certificate which attests that his livestock is free of brucellosis, because he needs to transport them. “I’ll see what we can do”, replies the worker. Rogelio can’t believe what he’s hearing. He doesn’t care about what they have to do, but he wants that certificate no later than tomorrow on his desk, if they want to keep their houses. He puts his whip to work, hitting the desk and telling them to leave. His sister Cinthia brings him coffee. She asks him if he managed to continue sleeping after the nightmare. “Of course I didn’t get more sleep. And it’s better that way, since it seems that I’m the only one working here. I do everyone’s work.” Since he’s in a bad mood, Cinthia thinks she’d better go to the village. Rogelio angrily grabs her arm and asks her what she wants to do there. “Take some fresh air, because here, the air is contaminated”. Rogelio threatens her: “Be careful of who you hang out with! Don’t be too late! You know I don’t like being alone.” Uhmm…Rogelio, ever considered checking dating ads?

We are back again…not to the future, but to Tuxtla. Daniela (Dany), Ana Paula’s best friend and Miguel’s friend sees him walking on the street and asks him what’s wrong, because he looks sad. He explains that it’s because of his financial situation and tells her about Don Maximo who threatens them that he’ll throw them out of his house. She offers him some money, but he refuses. Eventually, she manages to convince him to take it, since this is what friends are for. It’s not much, but better than nothing. He thanks her, holds her hand and she leaves. He sees a pawn shop across the street and if you think he is going to pawn his mega-super-duper expensive necklace, well, you’re wrong. He wants to pawn his watch, which probably, by the looks of it, cost less than the 100 pesos Dany gave him.

Don Maximo, still inside the house, calls some Fidencio guy, asking him to hurry up, because he wants to leave the place, but his friend seems to be stuck in traffic. Rosy enters and sees his bloody hand, telling him that she feels embarrassed for what happened. “I brought Ana Paula with me to clear things up. I am sure that this was a misunderstanding.” “No no, there is no misunderstanding”, says Maximo. Rosy brings inside by force a reluctant Ana Paula and Don Maximo continues with his bragging: “This girl went crazy! Look what she did to me”. Rosy assures him that Ana Paula will take care of his wound, since she’s about to become a qualified nurse. But of course, she refuses; she doesn’t want to touch that man ever again. “Ay por favor”, says Rosy, even though Ana Paula tells her the guy was all over her. Rosy surely loves her niece! Throwing her in the mouth of the lion just like that…ugh. Miguel arrives in the nick of time, asking what’s going on and Ana Paula explains him the whole situation. Miguel tries to attack Don Maximo, but referee Rosy intervenes, telling him not to do it, because Ana Paula cut him deeply. “We don’t need more trouble”, she says. Don Maximo’s men arrive to the scene too and he orders them to evacuate the family. Rosy tries to reason with him, going outside to talk, while Miguel hugs her sister. It seems that Rosy had a deal with Maximo and she asks for more patience, assuring him that despite the fact that Ana Paula is a bit stubborn, she’ll eventually be more reasonable. He doesn’t let her fool him, so he gives them an ultimatum: if Ana Paula doesn’t apologize, he’ll become her enemy.

In San Gabriel, Efrain and Cinthia meet. “How is the patrona? Or can I call you Cinthia here?” “Stop fooling around”, Cinthia tells him. “When we’ll be alone and you will ask me to give you a kiss, I will repeat your words.” He grabs her waist, but she tells him to calm down or else they’ll be seen. We have a dangerous liaison here!

At the hacienda, Hugo, Rogelio’s helper, gets him in the car. Rogelio’s clothes are black. His hat is black. His whip is black. And of course, his car is black. Too bad he doesn’t have black glasses or else he would look like a mob. But you’d better get used to this color. Hugo tells him that this hacienda is every day bigger. “That’s right! And have no doubts, I will keep making her grow! Let’s go.”, says Rog. However, he sees his workers playing a game which involves tossing coins in the air and guessing whether it will be heads or tails and he screams at them, telling them to load the truck instead, or they’ll face the fury of his whip.

Back in Tuxtla, Miguel meets up with his friend Pablo and asks him again for money, telling him that they have just been thrown out of the house. Pablo tells him again that there is an easier way to get money and he shows him the store behind Miguel. “This is the job, are you in or not?” Miguel is in! Oh no! Pablo tells him to enter the store and wander around, playing dumb. Well, Miguel does that, but he doesn’t really excel at not looking suspicious. Luckily for him, the clerk wasn’t watching. His masked friend enters the store with a gun which he points at the clerk and he pushes Miguel forward to grab the money, but the store clerk bends to get his gun too and Pablo shoots Miguel in the arm instead.

In the meantime, Ana Paula is having a magnificent garden party. Well, not really, they took all their stuff outside. She speaks to her caged pigeons, telling them that she hopes that Miguel will find them a place where to sleep tonight and store their stuff. He did find one, Ana Paula. It’s called jail. Aunt Rosy blames Ana Paula for everything, because she treated Don Maximo so badly. Her niece can’t believe Rosy defends that guy after what he did to her. “How could I not defend him?”. Thinking twice, Rosy attempts to choose more…ehm, appropriate words and tells her niece that she’s just too beautiful and that’s why men are after her. “I realized that Don Maximo liked you, but from that to trying to force you to do something like this…no, I think it was a misunderstanding.” “No, it wasn’t and I am going to denounce that man.” The aunt tries to convince her that things can be solved differently, but Ana Paula can’t believe her ears. Rosy explains that Don Maximo has money and it’s not good to have him as an enemy. Dany rushes in, crying and she tells them she just found out from Doña Lupe that Miguel was taken to the police station. When it comes to newsflashes, no TV channel can beat a curious neighbor. Ana Paula is impactada. “What?? Why??” Dany doesn’t know, but the ma’am saw when they took Miguel away and he was a bloody mess.

Ana Paula & Co. rush to the police station and she asks what happened to his brother Miguel Carmona Flores and where he is, while a man called Bruno is spying on them from behind. An employee tells them that Miguel has been charged with armed robbery and that he has been shot. Ana Paula can’t believe it! “My brother isn’t a delinquent!”. Suddenly, she and Bruno aka Prince Charming make eye-contact. Romantic music starts playing. Gah, again one of those cheesy meet cute moments. Camera focuses on Ana Paula. Then on Bruno. Then back to Ana Paula. Back to Bruno. Back to Ana Paula. Back to Bruno, who comes closer. Back to Ana Paula. Come on, just kiss already and get a room, damn it! Back to Bruno. Is this ever going to end? Oh, thank God, Bruno has a tongue. “Don’t worry, *I will help you!”. Back to crying Ana Paula. Back to smiling Bruno. Back to smiling and crying Ana Paula. For the love of God, please stop!

Finally, after the excruciating stare-off, we return to the Hacienda. Cinthia is at the barn, talking to her horse Paloma and she wonders why she went to the village, since it’s as horrible as the Hacienda: there’s nothing new there. Efrain surprises her and tells her she’s right. “We could have taken advantage of that time here, together. It’s not late though.” They start kissing passionately.

At the Police Station, Bruno tells her that he’s a lawyer and that he’s at her orders. “Thank you, but I don’t have money to pay you”, says Ana Paula. Rosy agrees that he can’t help them, unless he is a public defender. And whoaaa! Ana Paula just found Wonka’s last Golden Ticket. He is in fact a public defender. And a handsome one, I might add. Everyone feels relieved. Rosy thanks him and he introduces himself as lawyer Bruno Rey, giving her his business card. Ana Paula is back to her speechless mode, so Rosy has to tell him her name. Miguel is brought handcuffed and Ana Paula is worried because of his injury, but the officer tells her they already took care of it. Just when you thought things couldn’t get worse, Don Maximo appears there too, wanting to denounce Ana Paula for assassination attempt.

At the Hacienda, things get steamy between Cinthia and Efrain, but she tells him that it’s enough. “What? We won’t see each other only when you’ll want to!”, Efrain tells her. “Don’t you understand that I’m with you only for fun?”, says Cinthia. “One of these days I’ll forget everything and put you in your place, chula (cutie).” “Well, but don’t forget that I’m the patron’s sister and you’re only an employee”. She gives him a smooch, but all of a sudden, Consuelo the servant calls her, telling her that the patron is looking for her. Consuelo leaves and Cinthia tells Efrain, who was hiding behind a wall, that they are not equals. “We aren’t, but you do like me!” He grabs her for another kiss.

At the Police Station, Miguel explains that he didn’t know that the other guy had a gun, otherwise he would have never accepted the job and he swears he won’t do it again. “Yes, but you are his accomplice and you have to pay for it!”, says the clerk. Where did he come from?? “I swear I won’t do it again!”. The officer tells him he’ll have to make a declaration and tell who the other one was. Maximo mocks them. Bruno has a talk with Rosy and Ana Paula, telling them that he’ll solve the issue with Miguel, but he first has to take care of Don Maximo. Ana Paula explains what happened and Bruno goes to speak with Don Maximo, asking him how much money they owe him. “Almost 7000 pesos! But it’s not only about the money. That girl tried to kill me and she has to pay for it.” Just like all the clever lawyers, he pulls out his ace, telling him that the fact that he tried to take advantage of a woman could cost him between 5 and 10 years of prison. Maximo chickens out and he agrees not to declare against her if they pay him the debt.

Ana Paula can’t believe that some random stranger wants to help them. “Don’t be so negative!”, says Rosy. Didn’t our mothers always advise us to never trust strangers? Hmm… “This lawyer is like an angel fallen from the sky”, she continues. “Enough! He’ll surely want something in exchange!” Miguel apologizes to Ana Paula, saying he didn’t want to cause her trouble. “But you did!”, says Rosy. “I only wanted to help!” “Help? This is no way of helping!”. For the first time in this episode, aunt Rosy is right.

Miguel is taken away and Bruno tells them that he solved the Maximo problem and that he gave them more time to pay the debt. Rosy is impressed with his kindness and Ana Paula thanks him, saying that she can’t pay him enough. He’ll see what he can do with Miguel, while Jesse and Joy’s song “Corre” starts in the background. Love the song, you’ll hear it often throughout the telenovela.

Still in Tuxtla, Rosy visits Miguel at the hospital and Bruno shows up, asking about him. She says he’s better and thanks him again for everything he has done for them, wondering how much they will have to pay for his services. “Nothing and don’t worry for the money you owe Maximo; I’ll take care of it!” “Just like that? And what do you want in exchange?” “I want to do a different kind of business with you!” Oh-uh, it was too good to be true!

At the University, Ana Paula and Dany are happy with their exam results and of course, Ana Paula got slightly better grades than her friend. Ana Paula says she feels better now, after yesterday’s madness and Dany says that they were lucky that Bruno showed up. Ana Paula agrees, wondering why she initially didn’t have a good feeling about him, but he eventually proved to be a kind man. Dany is happy that Miguel didn’t spend his night in prison, but recovering in hospital instead. She calls him ‘Luis’ – don’t ask me why, must have been a brainfart or maybe she just has too many boyfriends and mixes their names up. Ana Paula again is worried that this is too good to be true and that there must be some hidden intentions. She gets back home and speaks to her Romeo and Juliet – her two pigeons. Oh how romantic! On a second thought, from so much sugar I could end up suffering from diabetes. Rosy arrives with Bruno and Ana Paula asks if something happened to her brother. “No, don’t worry!”, Rosy tells her. And of course, she leaves to let them talk in private.

Bruno has an offer which she can’t refuse, telling Ana Paula that it’s a solution for most of her problems. We’ll see about that! She doesn’t understand, so he asks her what would she think of a trip far away from the city? “What??” “Don’t worry, don’t worry, listen to my whole offer. We would go together and…” “Oh yes, of course, I knew that you’re just like all the others! You can’t trust anyone! I knew you will come up with such a thing, but over my dead body!” “For God’s sake!” “You won’t take advantage of me like that miserable Don Maximo wanted to! You too tried to lie to me!” “No, no, no, it has nothing to do with it. Listen to me! I spoke to your aunt and she completely agrees!” Ana Paula is impactada and she leaves to talk to her, but puf!, the aunt is nowhere to be found.

At the hospital, Dany is in Miguel’s room. And that’s about it. What was that about?? Back to Bruno who was left in the house waiting. Thankfully, Rosy returns asking what Ana Paula said, but Bruno tells her she didn’t even let him finish. Back to the hospital, Miguel is happy to see Dany there. But in her opinion, being there is the normal thing to do. She tells him he scared them a lot, but he replies that his sole intention was to get more money. “Yes, but stealing?” “Don’t mention it anymore. I blew it, but you know that I’m not a thief.” Well, you didn’t become one just because your friend had a gun, Miguel. Dany apparently knows that and Miguel assures her that when he’ll get out, he’ll work more than ever; after all, he owes her 100 pesos. Bet he will get a good job, with his shiny record. Ana Paula enters the room, asking them if Rosy didn’t show up there. “No, what’s happening?”, asks Miguel. She tells him that he’ll need to get out of the hospital, because Bruno is paying for it and it seems that he’s just like Don Maximo. “What happened? Did that miserable do anything to you?” “No, no, but he said I should go on a trip with him and that aunt Rosy agrees”. “No, no, our aunt wouldn’t do such a thing!” She swears he won’t leave with that guy. “No, of course not! We’re leaving the hospital right now!”, says Miguel, ripping his perfusion off and trying to get out of bed. Rosy arrives with Bruno and Miguel threatens them. Rosy of course will allow it; after all, Bruno is such a good man. Ana Paula is still in disbelief, saying that he has other intentions, but Bruno tries to reason with her, telling her that his only intention is that she gets a job as a nurse, which will be magnificently paid. “What did you say? A job?” “Yes, that’s right! Paula please, at least I deserve that you listen to my offer.” Miguel still has his doubts. “Don’t listen to him, Ana Paula. He takes you on a trip – then what? Who will take care of you?” Rosy again tells Miguel not to be so distrustful and she gets very defensive of Bruno: “He took you out of prison, he solved the problem with the owner – he proved to be a good man!” Random thought: Rosy and Bruno would make a cute couple. Bruno just needs a minute to talk to Ana Paula and if she doesn’t like the offer, she can feel free to refuse it.

On the corridor, Bruno tells her that a proof of his good intentions is that he lied to her and that in fact he isn’t a public defender, being the only thing which crossed his mind in order to help them, because he knew that otherwise, she wouldn’t have accepted it. “Then I owe you a fee?” Haha poor family, in this rhythm, they’ll end up owing money to the entire city. “No, I helped you because I wanted to and because I think you’re the ideal person to work with my boss.” “With your boss? You mean that the job isn’t for you? “No, you would work as a nurse for my boss. But believe me that it’s something formal and a great opportunity.” Problem is, Ana Paula only gets her title in a week. Not for Bruno, he tells her that he won’t ask for any certificate, since she already did some practice at the hospital and he is sure that she could handle it. She is unsure; first things first, she needs to find out more about the patient and to think about her family, since it’s hard to leave them, especially now. But Bruno tells her that precisely because of them, she should accept this opportunity. “The bad thing is that there is no time and you’ll have to make a decision today or else I will have to hire someone else.”

Rosy tells Miguel that it’s a great opportunity for her. “But she was never far away from us!”. Oh come on, Miguel, don’t be so selfish! After all, she is doing this to repair the damage YOU caused. “But it must be really nice to travel to other places and especially making money!”, says Dany. Miguel is disappointed, since Dany is Ana Paula’s friend and therefore, she should support HIM. Wait…what? If she is her friend, why should she support her brother’s ideas? Warning: Miguel’s neurons are malfunctioning. Rosy tries to convince him the Kleenex way: “Son, you know I’m old and sick; I don’t want to die without seeing that you and Ana Paula have your future assured. You two are the only ones who count for me.” Ana Paula enters the room. She didn’t accept the offer yet, still needing some time, because she is full of doubts. Rosy says that people seldom stumble across such a good opportunity, not having to spend money for a rent or food and Ana Paula agrees too that the payment is very generous. Selfish Miguel says they will have to pay food and rent anyway there. Yes, Miguel, but money doesn’t magically fall from the sky, you know. Dany is the brightest of the bunch, saying she’s got nothing to lose by trying. Ana Paula says that the contract is for a year. “And where would you have to go?” asks her brother. “To a Hacienda called ‘del Fuerte’. That’s where I would live”. Oh yeaaah, that’s more like it!

We are back at the Hacienda. Efrain tells Rogelio that he had to go to the San Javier ranch for the veterinary, but he eventually gave him the certificate. Rogelio is pleased to see that at least Efrain is doing things right there and he doesn’t want to see the other inept men again. Efrain wants to tell them to leave the Hacienda, but that’s not enough for Rogelio – he wants them completely out of San Gabriel and tells Efrain to forbid Pancho to rent them the houses. Efrain still has something to tell his patron; the Gonzalez didn’t pay the forage yet. Oh-uh! Rogelio is someone you don’t want to mess with and you know it’s bad when he has the whip in his hand. He wants to have them there and by the looks of it, things will stop being PG-13. “Condenados hijos de la fregada!”, says Rog.

Rosy still is trying to find the right words to convince Miguel, telling him that his sister’s contract will be very clear and such, but he believes Ana Paula should think more about it. However, Ana Paula is decided – she will take the job at the Hacienda.

Back to Rogelio at the Hacienda, where he’s talking to the two Gonzalez. “So just because I’m in a wheelchair, you thought you could fool me?” “No patron, but we didn’t have money.” “Oh don’t say! And how do you pretend to pay me then?” “Well, I don’t know. We really don’t have money, so you tell us.” Hm, another two who think that someday money will fall from the sky? “I should tell you? Well, if you don’t want to pay, it’s very easy. At least I’ll take it out.” Let the lashing begin! He might be in a wheelchair, but those two guys have nothing on Rogelio; with a few whips (‘fuetazos’), he puts them to the ground, telling them that they will pay him. The nanny/servant Maria shows up and screams frightened, asking him to stop. He tells her not to interfere or else he’ll forget who she is. One of the guys stands up and for a moment there, I thought he was going to hit Rogelio from behind. Please don’t touch my Rogelio! He’s not bad, he’s just bad-ass.

We are in Tuxtla. Seriously, no need to keep writing it on screen, we already recognize the view. The Carmona family (Ana Paula & Co.) + Bruno is home again and Ana Paula is happy that she’ll leave knowing that her brother was released from hospital. Miguel tells Bruno that even though he doesn’t like that her sister is leaving with him, he is very thankful for what he did. Bruno tells him to be careful, because even though he was released on bail, the trial is still in progress. Rosy invited Bruno to take a seat and since he doesn’t want to, she insists. Isn’t she lovely? Bruno wants to show to the entire family Ana Paula’s labor contract.

At the Hacienda, Cinthia and Efrain found a cozier place to get their freak on and to continue with the kissing – her room. She tells him that it’s risky for them to be in her room, but he proves he’s a gentleman, telling her that he would prefer to be in her bed instead. “You are really daring!” “That’s why you like me! Come on, let’s do it!” And they start doing it, but their moment of glory is cut short when her brother shouts her name. She tells Efrain to leave, pushing and showing him until he exits through the window, like a true Romeo, while Rogelio knocks on the door angrier than before. She asks what’s happening; he is angry that it took her so long to open and asks what she is doing. “Nothing, I just didn’t want to be bothered, that’s all.” “Why?” “I took a nap because I have a headache!” “What you need to do is to occupy your time with something. I want you to help me arrange some papers in my office. Let’s go.” “But can’t Maria help you??” “I want YOU to do it. Let’s go.”

At the Carmona’s, Dany is hurt that she and her best friend have to separate and Ana Paula tells her not to start with it or else she’ll cry. “Moreover, I’ll write to you!” “You’re right and you know what? It’s a great opportunity, but we’ll miss you anyway at the graduation party.” Ana Paula asks Dany to take good care of her pigeons, since her aunt doesn’t like them. Dany wishes her the best of luck; she hugs her, then leaves.

At the Hacienda, Cinthia and Rogelio are having dinner and she asks him when he is going to have a new nurse. “Is it so hard for you to help me?” “You know I don’t say it because of that. You need someone qualified who can assist you and take care of you just like you deserve.” “If you would have wanted to, you could have studied nursing.” “I am your sister, not another employee of yours!” Maria the nanny/servant gets in between, telling them to stop arguing. “You two have to get along, you only have each other.” “Yes, yes, that’s right!”, says Rog, taking Cinthia’s hand. Since they’ll always be together, it would be better for them to leave peacefully. “What are you trying to tell me? That the years will pass and I will grow old here in this hacienda?”, says Cinthia.

In Tuxtla, aunt Rosy tells Ana Paula that she was hurt because of her lack of confidence in her, since the only thing she always did was taking care of her and her brother. Ana Paula asks her for forgiveness and Rosy forgives her because he loves her, after all, she sees her like a daughter and Ana Paula replies that for her, she is also like a second mother. Hugs again, but Rosy rolls her eyes.

Back to our hacienda, where they still argue. “Even if you don’t believe me Rogelio, I will find a man to get married with and I will form my own family”. Rogelio laughs, he has no doubts that she will, but in that region there is no man worthy of becoming his brother in law. “Then let me go to some other place, let me know different people of my age, of our social status”. It’s a no-go with Rogelio. He won’t allow her to leave San Gabriel. “One of these days I will escape and you will never see me again.” “If you’ll dare to do it, I will drag you back.” Rogelio just ruined Cinthia’s dinner; she leaves, while Maria tries to stop her with no luck. “Rogelio, don’t be so hard on your sister!” “Don’t start!” “Think that Cinthia isn’t a girl anymore; she dreams of getting married, of having children. For her, it’s difficult to live in such a place, far away from everything.” “She should better get used to it, because neither I nor she will leave this hacienda, not even when we’ll be dead, because we’ll be buried right here.”

Another day in Tuxtla, as Ana Paula prepares to leave. Miguel tells Bruno to take care of her, since she is the person he loves the most. Bruno tells him he has got nothing to worry about. Ana Paula tells him she’ll miss him. Hugs 3.0

Ana Paula and Bruno arrive at the Hotel Km 64. Thank goodness it’s not called 69, or else Ana Paula would be in deep trouble. She asks why did he stop the car there, but since it’s raining from hell outside and it’s already dark, it’s too dangerous for him to keep driving. Of course, they’ll have to spend the night at the hotel. Oh-uh, Ana Paula is not too keen on the idea. Never mind, Bruno gets outside anyway and he goes to the reception with Ana Paula. Wondering how come they aren’t wet, since it was raining heavily, but oh well… The receptionist asks if they want a room and before Ana Paula can answer, Good Guy Bruno tells them that they want two rooms. Well, it’s not Ana Paula’s lucky day, because they’ve only got one room left. See, even the destiny wants to get these two in a room together. But Bruno is a caballero and tells him that the room is for the miss and that he’ll sleep in the car or if the receptionist will let him, he’ll sleep on the sofa. “I know that little by little, I will win your confidence!” “Yes and with everything you do, I am more convinced that you are trustful.” “I hope that soon enough you’ll call me by my name and consider me your friend. Friends?” “Friends!” And a hug….aaa, I mean handshake.

A new sunny day. Ana Paula and Bruno are walking and she asks him if there still is a long way to go. “No, not that much, only a few hours left.” But my gut tells me that they would arrive sooner if they would get in the car already. She tells him how much she would have loved to bring her two pigeons Romeo and Juliet. He didn’t think she was so romantic. Wonder why? Maybe because she injured Don Maximo in a way that would make The Bride from Kill Bill proud? But yes, she tells him she always liked that story and that it’s sad to see that the real love between two people can’t happen because of life. “I hope that won’t be your case. Nor mine. And that we’ll be very happy with the people we’ll fall in love with.” says Bruno. Ana Paula smiles and agrees. Bruno kinda leans there for a kiss, but not so fast, young man. Just because Don Maximo didn’t have your charm…or your hair, it doesn’t mean that for you she’ll fall that easily. Ana Paula tells him that they can get back on the road whenever he wants to, but Bruno still has something to tell her. “Paula, you are a very beautiful woman.” – oh wow, this is the first time someone tells it during this episode…NOT. “I would like you to be dressed differently when we’ll arrive at the hacienda.” “Differently in what way?”, she asks. The horrifying thought of being asked to wear a bikini in front of Señor Rogelio Montero was probably running through her head, but no, Bruno only wanted her to look more professional, wearing her uniform.

They are back on the road again…well, it’s more of a country road and she once again behaves like an impatient girl, asking him when they are going to arrive. It’s not because of impatience, but because of curiosity, she says. Yeah, right! Bruno stops the car and tells her that this is the only way to the hacienda and they can consider themselves lucky, because it’s a sunny day and when it rains, it’s hard to get through. He takes her on some cliffs to show her the vast land of the hacienda and it’s a lovely sight. Ana Paula agrees with me. Finally, they arrive at gates of the Hacienda del Fuerte. They get out of the car and Bruno tells her that they have phones there, but they don’t always work, especially when it’s raining, so it’s difficult to communicate; therefore, when she needs to make a call, she has to go to the store in San Gabriel to make it.

A worker opens the gate, Ana Paula gets back in the car with Bruno and she asks him the million dollar question: “Do they have Internet here?” Well, Bruno will have to disappoint her, because the hills surrounding the hacienda block the signal. A satellite dish would be needed, but the patron won’t allow it, thinking that his workers will stop focusing on their jobs, talking and sending messages instead. “Then he must be used to being isolated.”, says Ana Paula. “That’s right; his life is only here at the hacienda.”

They finally get out of the car and Ana Paula is all smiles. He asks Bruno what’s the name of el dueño de la hacienda (Landlord). “His name is Rogelio. Rogelio Montero.” Tell me you didn’t read that name channeling a James Bond voice!

A few meters away from them, Efrain tries to calm down a savage horse, while Rogelio tries to convince a boy called Margaro (Margarito) to get close to the animal and act like a man, even though he’s just a child. “In a hacienda, there are animals and you have to treat them well, so come on!” “But I am afraid, very afraid” replies the boy Margaro. “Nothing happens, nothing happens, hombre! Do what you’re being told to or else I’ll whip you”. Ana Paula can’t contain herself: “LEAVE HIM! LEAVE HIM! How can you do this to him? He’s just a boy!” “And who the hell are you?”, asks Rogelio. “My name is Ana Paula Carmona and I won’t allow you to scare a child!” “You have no idea who you’re talking to, right? I am Rogelio Montero, the owner of this hacienda!”

And so, the first episode ends with what seems to be the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

Labels: no-podia