Caray, Caray!

Welcome Jody to the PEAM TEAM. Thank you so much for presenting our third night. So far so good on the humor and script, I am enjoying each night.
 

Jody: Thanks so much for this fab recap. I changed my mind about Rogelio and Pati they really are perfect for each other. They are also very funny, all the covering up they do, lol.

Fern is just a horn dog, lol. I am glad Jessica hoisted him up on that lift, sort of like hoisted by his own petard so to speak, lol. Maybe when Chucho joins the secretaries he can keep Fern in line, lol.

Those guys are so funny, I remember one from Amorcito (Cecilo) and the other from Al Diablo con Los Guapos as (Morgan). The other I haven't seen before. I like Xochi, she is a hoot and boy did she fall hard for Chucho.

I worry about Chatita with her memory. Wasn't she talking to her dead husband's picture, or was that her son?

Vero is just over the top with the money. I don't know the exchange rate for pesos and dollars but wasn't that a bit over the top? It seemed like so much money. I think Chucho will pay her, but what Vero is asking is sooo much money. I loved the oragami bird that Chucho gave to Valentina. So sweet.

Can't wait for tomorrow to see Chucho's first day on the job : )
 

Thank you, Jody!! Excellent storytelling.

Those expenses were OUTRAGEOUS. It's about 13 pesos per dollar. Jesus can try, but there is no way he can cover even half of that. I don't think even Alma could pay for all that with her high salary. Vero is just tormenting him.

What exactly does he have against secretaries? Pretty rude to say all that in front of all the secretaries, even if he did acknowledge to Xochi that he was rude. But Alma still wants to find him and apologize. Rogelio who?
 

Good job, Jody. Welcome to all the craziness this tn will be offering us.

It was funny when Pati was telling Alma her tio died and Alma had heard that it was her tia that was very sick. Pati had to keep covering, telling her that it was tia's husband who died, his heart gave out and she was at the funeral and Alma volunteered to come be with her.

Madelaine, Cecilio from Amorzito is Ricardo Fastlicht. Isn't one of the other guys at the cafeteria table one of the "chos" from Amorcito?

Mads, are you sure you don't mean all the Uncovering that Roge and Pati do? [Sorry folks, I just can't bring myself to call him Rogelio.]

More tomorrow.
 

Julia--I don't think it's in Chucho's nature to be rude outright, but he is a guy in a male chauvinist world, so of course he'd be prejudiced against being a male secretary and he did feel Alma had hoodwinked him, so he was a little steamed.

Of course, it's all a set up to have all the secretaries trying to sabotage him in the next 1/3 of the show.
 

Yep; the guy with the headphones was Moncho in Amorcito and Rocky/Morgan in Guapo. He is one of my favorites. He and our Pati were both in Llena de Amor and they were hysterical.
 

Anita: Lol'd. My comment about Rog and Pati was done with a wink and a snort, lol.

Julia: Thanks for the exchange rate, that is way toooo much money!
 

Can you believe this Veronica? With a a world who has named a new Papa dedicated to helping the poor, the writers (yes I know written last year) have cast this selfish, vapid woman with no soul. She just doesn't fit into the modern world. Let's hope that step-dad Elias is a good human being. Veronica is on my evil and useless list. I defy them to make her sympathetic.
 

I was thinking about Vero's hyper health food obsession. Yes, she goes overboard. But considering that TNs usually insert plenty of preaching in their plotlines (respect women, wear seatbelts, clean up after your dog), it seemed strange that they would ridicule someone who doesn't eat junk food. My cynical side wonders if that storyline was suggested by the sponsors. I suspect that in Mexico their sponsors include co's like Bimbo and Pepsico, companies who don't want Mexico to eat healthier.

On another note, I expect that one preaching point in this show will be that scty's are valuable employees too. But scratch the surface and you see that the writers disrespect sctys too. Alma said that Chucho had all the qualifications to be an executive scty. As if, anyone who had worked in finance, could certainly handle something as mindless as scty work. In reality, in addition to technical skills, a good exec scty needs to be unflapable under stress, good judgement in handling unexpected situations, very well organized, and able to present a professional, high-class image at all times. In Chuco's short meeting with Alma, he proved pathetically unqualified in three of those four criteria.

 

Thank you, Jody, for your great recap! This episode fell rather flat for me except for FC's acting. They sure do like their split screens and digestive noises!

Jarifa
 

Thanks, Jody!!! You cleared up the appearance of Ricardo Fastlicht (*my* telenovio...I have weird tastes), Ricardo "Moncho" Margaleff and Gilberto (All from AC, interesting.) Anyhoo, I hadn't quite caught who they were, but now I know.

Night three was a little slow, but I still enjoyed it.

Vero showed a little more affection to her daughter, so that was good. I just didn't like that she acted like Chucho and intentionally ignored his child for 6 years. She's harping on him to pay the support for the years he wasn't there...but he didn't even know he had a child! And wow! Valentina has a pretty posh life.
 

Jody, loved the title. Enjoyed every word of your wonderful recap as well. Favorite lines were: "bubble bath...bucket bath" and "magazine picture perfect condo". You really conveyed all of the action perfectly ("storms the halls").

Vero is so stone cold and humorless it's incredibly easy to dislike her. I did sigh with a little relief that she does deign to favor her daughter with some affection. But. Cheryl said it best: "With a a world who has named a new Papa dedicated to helping the poor, the writers (yes I know written last year) have cast this selfish, vapid woman with no soul:". Exactly.

Anyone who has ever been a secretary or done admin work knows what an incredibly difficult, demanding job it can be (as you noted Paula H).

Add me to the list of those who love Ricardo (I thinnk that's his real name - Rocky in Guapos). Hope he gets much more screen time.

Thanks again Jody.

Diana
 

Good work, Jody.

I was thinking the same thing about Vero. She's a rhymes-with-witch for not only demanding that Jesus pay all that back child support but for a child she never told him about. I don't approve of deadbeat fathers but Vero is being monumentally unfair and unnecessarily greedy. How long has she been married to her current meal ticket, anyway?

Sorry for that rant, but greedy women like her give women in general a bad name.

Alma's fiance is another piece of work. I'm sure Jesus will have his number fairly soon.
 

Jody- Thanks for joining the team of regular recappers here. Great job!

Of the four office guys, three of them were in Amorcito-- Cecilio, Moncho, and Padre Tio. Hard to recognize the Padre without his collar. He's the guy who made the falling entrance.

Jesus really stepped in it with the other secretaries. It's going to take him a LONG time to earn their friendship after talking down their job like that.

As for Veronica...what can you say. She obviously still has some feelings for Jesus and she's punishing him. It doesn't seem legal at all to me that 1) he has to pay back child support for a child she never bothered to inform him that he had, and 2) he shouldn't be responsible for exactly half of all those ridiculous expenses when Vero and her husband are making WAY more money than he does/will. That couldn't possibly hold up in court, could it?

Then again, if he takes Vero to court, then his criminal record for money laundering will come out and his chances of getting to spend time with Valentina will diminish-- especially if Vero has anything to say about it.

Not sure why Roge (nice one Anita) even wants Alma, when he has such a good time with insatiable Pati.
 

thank you cheryl for posting for me. thanks to everyone for the comments.

Thanks Sara for the actors' names. I recognized Rocky right away - I just couldn't remember his real name. The 3 musketeers of the finance dept. are Gilberto, Ricardo and Julio. (Ruben Cerdo is Gilberto; Ricardo Fastlicht is Ricardo; Ricardo Margaleff is Julio).

oh, and if you miss an episode, episode highlights are on uvideos (univision's website) and complete episode repeats are available on hulu.com/latino. here's the direct address for the listing: http://www.hulu.com/porque-el-amor-manda
 

Thank you, Jody, for the recap. I liked your touches of irony. I am struggling with this show. I think Colunga is a good actor and I love his character. He seems well suited for comedy- not in the exaggerated funny way Jaime Camil does, but in a more subtle and endearing way. But I'm not responding well to anyone else on the show (except Vero's husband Elias). This seems like a Latin version of Who's the Boss? Colunga is as relatable as Tony Danza, but Blanca Soto is no Judith Light. She's so stiff. And although I'm relatively new to the TN scene, I'm already tired of the plot device where the heroine is blind to all the betrayal around her. It's insulting. I forgave it in Lucero's character in PESE because, well, she is just so darn likeable. I'm not having that conflict here. I hate the scenes with her fiance and her supposed best friend laughing together while Alma is on the phone with one or the other. It's one thing to fall into something wrong because you're pulled there, it's another to think it's funny. It's not.

I agree with Sara and Diana that it was a relief to see Vero show some genuine affection to her daughter. I did warm up to her a bit because of that.
 

I'm not that well versed on Latin American accents, but might the finance guy that fell be Argentinian? If so I suspect he'll be portrayed as full of himself.

The novio & Patti schtick, I'm not liking at all. Not just for the reasons you folks cited. But because so far, they've only had one scene:
A. Hanky panky in a beautiful place.
B. She wants more, more, more.
C. Alma calls and talks to one, while the other teases, and the one on the phone tells the other to be quiet.
D. Alma finishes the call and looks sad and lonesome.
EVERY SINGLE ONE of their scenes so far has been that exact same scenario!

 

I still find Pati and Rogelio entertaining. They are just so inept at their cover-up attempts, plus the stuff they say is so goofy. Also, so far I don't have any real attachment to Alma, so I don't feel too sorry for her. She seems sweet, but she hasn't endeared herself to me much yet.
 

Eek! Sounds like I missed a good one, character development-wise, except for the last few minutes with Chatita and the soup, and Rogelio and Pati still goin' at it. I'll have to catch up this weekend. Thank you, Jody, for covering it - these characters are being fleshed out at a good clip, and I would have a hard time keeping up if I didn't have good recaps in addition to watching every episode. Thanks for the tips on where to watch missed eps, too.

Things will probably slow down in a few weeks - they usually do - but until then, we are learning a lot about these characters each night.

Digestive noises? Again? Have I ever mentioned how much I hate goofy sound effects? (I'm sure I have. But do I say it often enough?)

Paula - good point about the portrayal of the secretaries/administrative assistants. The message I see in most TNs is that when clerical workers have any brains and ambition at all, they are quickly promoted. In other words, nobody needs a smart receptionist/secretary/assistant! (I won't even TOUCH the myth that good workers always get promoted.) The writers bend over backwards to emphasize what great human beings the pink-collar workers are, and how they deserve support and respect and yadda yadda yadda, but at the same time they are usually portrayed as scatterbrained gossips.

Regarding the food - yeah, you might be right. I imagine Vero's turning point/transformation to a fun-loving, laid-back gal will be marked with some sort of dietary indulgence.

I wonder how long Rogelio & Paty will carry on before Alma finds out. I'm with Bill in that I'd like Alma to be a little less oblivious. And yeah, that repeated scenario that Paula described - the ineptitude is funny in one way but it's not helping my efforts to like Alma.
 

Vero's money-grubbing attitude - without having actually seen this yet, I can only guess that this is less about money and more about her desire to scare him off and get him out of her life.

She's going to try to overwhelm him with financial threats; then when the timing is right, she'll say "of course, if you don't want to be a part of Valentina's life, we can just forget the whole thing. But then you'd better not come back here or see Valentina ever again."

You'd have to be a particular type of stonecold bitch to think Jesus would agree to that, but Vero just might be that type.

Or maybe she really is that greedy. We'll see!
 

Thank Jody. I really enjoyed this.

There's a detail that I haven't heard mentioned by anyone & I wonder if I heard it wrong. I thought that when Val came home she was excited to find her Papa home early -- She thought it was Elias. But when she found out it was Chucho she was not happy. I thought that when she & Vero were talking & Chucho was listening from the hall that Val indicated that she didn't want to be pushed into spending time with her newly arrived Dad. Did anyone else get that impression?

Güera
 

Güera, yes I got the same impression which I thought was so incredibly normal.

Bill, off topic: have you seen Judith Light in the new Dallas? She has a vey interesting roll.

Jarifa
 

Julia I think you've helped me realize why I'm not more of a Blanca fan. I have trouble feeling an attachment to her characters.
 

I too don't feel a connection with Alma. I didn't feel anything for Blanca Soto's character in El Tal either until about the last three weeks of that TN. There is just something off here, I guess it's her see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil type of character. I wish she would get angry or shout or laugh, something. Maybe later on she will. Jesus on the other hand I had an instant connection with! I wonder why? As Mads blushes.
 

Alma seems to be floating through life in her luxury bubble. The secretaries have indicated they adore her, but we haven't seen her connect with them. She's had a few very mild sniping sessions with Fern and some calm, superficial conversations with a few other people. Even when she goes home, she's in her beautiful but rather sterile and anonymous apartment, staring. Maybe she'll develop more of a personality and some interests but I don't think we've seen much yet.
 

Sara--The world just isn't very fair. I think Chucho would be liable for all six years of back child support in court, at least in US.

We've had court cases decided where a sperm donor was liable for child support, and one case I recall (probably on Montel or Oprah) where the putative father didn't know he had fathered the child of a woman until they did DNA tests showing he was the father and not her husband. He was also charged with child support and the kid was much older.

I want to name Amorcito Corazon's super secretary, Susy, as Secretary of the Year. Now *she* had a pretty hard job keeping all those hyper professional and metiche people from making worse trouble.
 

Vivi--Maybe Alma doesn't know how to have fun and with her working long hours, Roge doesn't have to, eh?
 

LOL, Mads! How can you resist a man who looks that good in a bucket? (I love that he took his bath from a bucket, too.)

I've never seen Blanca in anything before. So far I'm underwhelmed. I wouldn't say she's awful, but that's because she's not sticking her neck out enough to be awful. I'd like to see her try to emote. (Maybe she already tried emoting, and it didn't work out very well?)

Hopefully she will improve (sometimes it seems to take a few weeks for the actor to relax into the role). If not, then I'll just be glad the rest of the cast seems solid.

Valentina - I can imagine her apprehension about Chucho. She seemed excited to meet him at first, but she must be aware of the tension that his arrival has brought into her home.

It occurred to me a few minutes ago that when he promised to bring her a chocolate bar, she must have been very confused. On the one hand, chocolate is very popular and people seem to like it. On the other hand, Mommy says chocolate is evil, so why is this guy trying to poison me??
 

Thanks Jody...you did a great job on this, especially highlighting the contrasting scenes of Alma's luxurious bath/morning routine and Chucho's lamentable one. The writers seem to love these flips...contrasting two highly different meal scenes, bedtime scenes etc.

Like Ithabill and Guera, I was pleased to see a perfectly normal hesitancy by the child to relate to her strange new dad, and surprised at how reasonable and affectionate Vero was in that scene.

But now we're understanding why she's been reasonable about letting Jesus see his daughter...it's part of her shakedown setup. I suspect she's not going to let Elias know Chucho is contributing financially, but instead will keep all that extra loot for herself. She clearly doesn't work outside the home.

And normally, infidelity scenes really touch a sensitive nerve with me, but somehow Roge and Patti just crack me up. And at present, Alma isn't really suffering. She's a bit lonely after work, of course. But lots of folks are, without infidelity being an issue. And she's already daydreaming about Chucho. So you could say she herself is emotionally unfaithful. And we know they'll be happily together in the end, so what the hayride....
 

Jody: Thanks for the great recap.

Couldn’t decide whether Vero was trying to test Jesus’ commitment or was trying to drive him away for good.

Vivi: I agree about Roge re: why would he want Alma when he has such a good time with Pati. I wondered if he actually loves Pati—as far as someone like him can love.

Thought last night’s ep was slow. Only characters I have any feeling for are Jesus and Alma. Not like AB where I started out being interested in lots of characters. I know. I need to give it more time.

I like BS as Alma. I don’t notice the non-good acting from her. Maybe I’ll notice it when she has a dramatic scene (even though comedy is supposed to be harder than drama).

Nanette
 

I think maybe Rogelio likes danger and getting away with something. Otherwise, why would he be involved in dirty dealings with Yuri when he has a good day job? He probably likes the excitement of sneaking around with Pati. It wouldn't be as much fun if they didn't have Alma to hide it from.
 

Thank you, Jody
What a fabulous job you did and such a smooth read.
Thank you for taking Wednesday night!
 

Thanks for the recap, Jody. You sure had a lot to deal with! Lots of new characters and lots of action.


 

Typo in my previous post I meant "role" not "roll"

Jarifa
 

p.s. I loved how offended Fernando was when Alma suggested that who knows, he might really like the secretariO, too! Very shocked for a man in a pink outfit!
 

Judy B., you know what time it is.... March Madness is here. I hope you have your dancing shoes on, this year could be anyone's year to go home the champion.

I know you and Guera are locked in on your teams. The Ohio St. Buckeyes and Guera's Syracuse Orangemen have not played as well as they did last year. My VCU Rams don't have the "chip" on their shoulder as they did in 2011....Everyone knows who they are now.

We will find out Sunday who the dancing partners are.

P.S. I am not following the Telenovelas at the moment, somebody please let me know if Mayrin Villanueva , or Cecila Galeano is currently on a Telenovela.....I'm Just Saying..

Anon#1
 

Thanks, Jody. I, too, am unimpressed by Alma. She is rather bland. I did get a kick out of her taking her desk items out of Fernando's hands. Captain Sharkbait was a big fan of this actor when he played soldier Frank in a past novela [Duelo]. I've seen him in several novelas but never in a comedic role. He played a good guy doctor in Corazon Salvaje. He seems to like the colored bottoms fashion trend [red the other day and pink in the last episode. TbLMOE is charming me in this role.I would gladly let him use [share?] my shower.
 

In TERESA, Alejandro Avila played a buffoonish but lovable (and lovesick) mariachi. I really liked him in that role. He's a good actor, although here he's playing it kind of broad -- hopefully he'll settle down later.
 

I'm a little confused. Does Alma work for Roge or vice versa? Does Pati work at Avon, too ? [Hub's grandma was an Avon lady. When we first started dating as teens, she came to our house to sell my mother Avon [but actually she was checking us out !!].Ding dong..Avon calling. That's what goes through my head whenever Alma calls Roge or Pati.
 

I believe Alma and Fernando work for Rogue and are equally ranked. Patilicious does not work.
 

Hey Lee...I know, your heart (or some part of your anatomy) belongs to Mayrin...and the VCU Rams of course. Syracuse is playing Pitt today. I'm sure Güera is watching. Our Buckeyes have been up and down this year but my heart belongs totally to Aaron Craft...the finest smartest straight-A academic defensive player anywhere. But how far the team will get in the NCAA is anybody's guess.

Sorry about the off-topic y'all. It happens. Occasionally we get into recipes also.

Blue Lass, agree that Alejandro Avila was great in Teresa and also fine in LQNPA as a serious doctor. He does both villains and second-tier heroes well.

But I agree with everyone else that last night was a bit slow compared to the first two nights. Plot line inched forward but a lot of rehash on characters.
 

I am enjoying Alejandro Avila a lot, but I hope he stops with the Snidely Whiplash mustache molesting.

And I am so in love with Kika Edgar.
 

I also found the Alma taking things out of Fernando's hands scene funny.
 

Dislike:
-Fernando's constant mustache-twirling and Miami Vice clothes -ugh!
-Alma's (or Blanca's) stiff, beauty pageant strut (someone else mentioned this also) with the stuck-out chest and pompis
-Those gross digestive noises - totally unnecessary
-Rog and Pati's constant pawing at each other and thinking it's funny to cheat on his fiancee/her best friend - pretty gross and not really that funny
-Veronica's holier-than-thou attitude toward Jesus when SHE was the one that withheld the info

Like:
-Jesus
-Chucho
-TBLMOTP
-FC
oh, too repetitive? Sorry! LOL
 

Thanks, Jarifa. I will give it a try.
 

Thanks Jody, very well done.

I'm liking Alma, but a few feathers would do wonders for her.

I'm also confused about the Pati/Rog/Alma thing... do they really need Alma?

I want so badly to like Veronica but she is making it so very difficult.
I think that a couple of beef tacos and a Carta Blanca might help...

or maybe she needs a high colonic.

Carlos
 

Maybe Alma is a business genius and Roge needs her for her acumen. The voracious Pati does not seem to be interested in any business except monkey business. The wild monkey love is starting to get old for me. Carlos~~~I would have thought that Passionate Pati or Ample Alma would have been more your type than Vinegary Vegetarian Veronica. You are a constant source of surprise for me. Guess who I am liking ?
 

...and...so far, so good...no casually draped cardigans over those broad, manly shoulders. Keep up the good work, Chucho. You are no CoyBoyToyRoy. You are a JOY.
 

Thanks, Jody for a great recap. Good to see your work again. I'm standing on the side of the pool, dipping a toe in the water and trying to jump in. Love our galan, FC, and a few other characters, hoping to warm up to the others. Thanks for all the comments, too.
La Paloma
 

I think Paty is great eyecandy for Roge and even our Carlos but she is sparing with the brain cells. Roge may need her badly to save Avon from ruin since he seems to ignore it.
 

I meant to say Roge needs Alma to run Avon certainly not PatiCakes she is best at managing the bedroom.
 

I hope to catch up tonight with this epi. So far it seems Roge has dual identities, doing the good guy bad guy in one person. Is he trying to impress someone with his fiance routine? He and Pati may need her to keep the spark in their relationship?ICK.

Alma is a bore so far. I guess Chucho will have to bring out the best in her.
Though Vero is mean, exploring that family could be fun!
 

Sorry I'm late to the party today... on the road.
Thanks Jody for the excellent recap.

Carlos, do you know how much your eyes water when you snort bourbon out your nose? High colonic indeed!

I'm kinda liking Alma. At least Blanca doesn't look stoned like she (and most of the cast) did in El Tal.
 

Oh, and yes, whoever asked, this is my granddaughter Aly wearing her telenovela beanie.