Caray, Caray!

Jardinera:

I can't wait for your take on this epi. This one I really enjoyed : )
 

Can't wait for this one, Jardinera. I just watched it this morning because I was out last night.

I hate that we're now facing a pregnancy alert and a separation that will give Amalia, Oscar, and -- worst of all -- Ruben ammunition to use against Jorge Alfredo. I hope he at least explains to Maria that his mother is in the hospital. We know how Amalia will spin this if Maria is pregnant.
 

Jardinera

My thoughts exactly on why the casting of Roddy. Great minds think alike. I could only think if Thursday's epi could have been subtitled Everyone Cooks this one could have been Everybody Sings.

Frick and Frack make Derecho and Curtis looks like geniuses. I too wondered if they would recognize JAntos or if OJ would rat him out under his own name. I thought he was blaming the attack on Ruben which is fine with me since that would take the focus off Santos.

Loved Roddy stepping up and singing right under the nose of his own father who was noticeably taken back and then proud. For what it is worth Coloso did try to make a connection with his son who in addition to sharing vocal talent is equally stubborn. However Roddy did blurt out that Gloria is dying which really shook up Oscar. Later on I was very surprised to see that he still had a picture of Gloria after all these years. Deep down he must still have some feeling for her if his tears are any indication. Must admit to tearing up myself.

I also thought it fun to watch Fernando's reaction to Ana and her "date". She was so sticking it to him with all that flirting and who among us hasn't done the same thing. Fernando is usually so cool but even Oscar who is vastly self absorbed noticed and called him on it

Urban

You and I share that same sense of dred of what is likely to happen although the previews seemed to indicate that Amelia was telling Maria to marry him so maybe she had done yet another flip flop. Poor Santos has to take the train and then smuggle himself across the border. You'd think that Justo might have thought of arranging for a private plane or something but he is so worried I guess it slipped his mind.



 

DecieGirl: "I could only think if Thursday's epi could have been subtitled Everyone Cooks this one could have been Everybody Sings." LOL! ITSA! I just left out DnC. A waste of my very valuable time this week.
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I still have to watch the Televisa streaming version to see how badly they censored their love-making scene. I also get Hulu-plus now and may have to check there as well. Amalia will be be a real pistol-packin' mama if Maria is left preggers once JAntos leaves to sneak back into the country.

I didn't catch more than the train-hopping scene from the avances.

 

Preggers? Other than TN custom, do we have any indication that Maria might be pregnant? Was there something in the advances?
 

I hate this episode. Altagracia is dying and it's so sad, but screenwriter added to this painful part a fiesta. I really couldn't watch it. And for was something bad in all this. Justo paid for this fiesta and noone asked: where he got that money. Fiesta was really big. And after all this Maria decided at last to make love with JA. It looks for me as she paid for fiesta in her own way.
Want a miracle for Altagracia.
Alegria
 

Anon

Absolutely not but in Novelaland the innocent girl has her first experience, lover leaves for some reason and voila pregnant with months of TN angst to play out. I am keeping my fingers crossed that that doesn't happen this time. It is so trite and so unfair. JAntos and Maria should have time together after the inevitable boda before the little ones arrive. We also already have one unwed member of the family with child and two would be over kill. Only time will tell.

I will say that Justo's scene did also cause me to tear up. It is so obvious how much the parents loved each other and why Santos will be the same kind of husband. I hate the idea of Gracia dying before she has a chance to meet Maria and to see her grandchild. It seems so needless cruel.
 

I think that Oscar and the other guys contributed to the fiesta; he did previously promise to do this.
Gloria and Oscar have to talk about what really happened 16 years ago. She has no idea that her father kept them apart.

Roddy will get over this. And it may occur to Oscar that it would be more than a little icky for Paloma to be his nuera and his cunada at the same time.


 

Jardinera:

Thanks so much for this fab recap. While this epi had wonderful, music this wonderful Quince, it was bitter sweet.

I too was amazed when Rodri opened his mouth to sing. What a voice and I liked that Oscar had that duet with him. They sounded really good together. I am glad he gathered the courage to go and dance with Paloma and be her chamberlain. They are so sweet.

Altagracia, so sad. She has been through so much already and now she is dying. I hate that the writers did this. It's almost like a huge anvil for Santos/JA. I hope he doesn't get caught.

Poor Maria. I hope there isn't a pregnancy, but with these writers it is almost a given. I just hope Fernando can protect her from Rueben.

I too wonder how much deep down, Oscar feels for Gloria. He's kept her picture and now keeps her necklace in a prominent place, and not in the drawer. I think he's loved her all along, and his behavior could stem from her Papa keeping them apart. I bet if her Papa hadn't kept him from Gloria, he too would be a one woman man. He puts up a big bluster, but deep down I think he is a decent guy. I know he has been harsh about accepting the parentage of Rodri, but I think that stems from the past with Gloria's Papa. Just my opinion.
 

Justo doesn't know that Santos paid off Maria's debt & for Paloma's party with the money he left Fernando. Justo could just assume that Santos would either buy a plane ticket or rent a private plane with the money he left for him.
 

Jar--What a night indeed and what a great description of everything. I wish you had gotten the whole love scene last night, but they are doling out the goodies very stingily.

At least, from what the avances showed, Maria knows he's leaving and is there to say goodbye. I have a feeling they didn't have time to get married, even por el civil.

Altagracia's aneurysm sure came on fast and will kill her in a few days? In fact it looked as though she died at least once. So often the writers have to do this if the actor portraying the character leaves for a valid reason. Unless they can't substitute, they eliminate or they just disappear. (Remember when we got a substitute for Adriana in CME, and we ended up liking her better?)

Gracia couldn't just disappear so I'm sorry to see her go via stage death. She was the only one in LA who kept the faith that Santos was innocent. She deserves to see him happy with Maria and a family.

The instant Roddy opened his mouth to sing, along with the rest of you, I figured that's why he won the audition. He's just a nice, sweet boy, but he has enough of his dad's AND his mom's stubborness showing through.

Anon at 4:54--Let me add to what Decie said (since it's the gospel truth). On top of that "first" time, neither one takes the trouble to use birth control--they always get swept away by the moment.

UA, agree about how the fiesta was paid for. I also think the barrio folks contributed their time, talents and ingredients to the fiesta. JA probably arranged for the Cinderella-like net "pumpkin" carriage, the military school color guard and a few other things.

I wonder where Coloso keeps his horse.
 

Anon207--There's NO way JA can get back to the states on a plane, commercial or private without documents--unless he plans to turn himself in at the border. If he does that, he won't get to see his mother again. I just hope we don't have to watch him dying of thirst in the desert for 3 or 4 episodes before a good Samaritan finds him, uses his/her cell phone to call Justo and has him picked up.

Oh, well, I guess we'll just have to wait and see, no?

 

Santos and Maria cannot get married before he hops that train since if he signed using his false name the marriage would be invalid, not to mention he'd have to tell her his real identity and why he's really in Mexico. That would put her into danger he feels, according to what he told Fernando a while ago.

BTW--anyone know how long he's been a fugitive and living in Mexico? Has it been a full year or only 6 months or what?
 

Anita: Boarding that horse? LOL! Good question! Is he good buddies with the carriage owner in the plaza? I guess we only need to adjust our beanies minimally to suppose Oscar's made enough money to keep it at the same stables the dude who lent the horse to JAntos that time he and Maria rode together? Beautiful horseflesh.... I wanna know where he learned to do those fancy prancy tricks with the horse....
 

Jar--Duh, my beanie slipped over one eye. Of course he can't get married without proper documents. Ruben is probably the only one in the bunch who can refer him to a forger. And we know how that would turn out.
 

Jar--We need Pablo to do a timeline for us. But I don't think it's been a year--the kids haven't had a vacation from school yet (you can't count getting expelled). But there have been a lot of hospitalizations, so I would guess 6 mos. but not more.
 

Military school? Yet Rodr had the same uniform. in Amor Bravio the orphan adopted by Vivi and Rafa was honored by a lead role in some military maneuvers in some sort of uniform. Is it possible that many/most Mexican schools have some sort of uniform and military training, or is this just a TNism?

no idea how Justo expects Jantos to return. The price of the ticket isn't the issue, its the price on his head.

But what is Altagracia doing in bed at home, anyway? If the aneurism didn't already have a catastrophic rupture killing her immediately, shouldn't she be under constant monitoring ready for emergency upon rupture while top consults on possible stents, grafts, etc are ongoing.

Were we told that some doctor declared her aneurism inoperable after what, an initial consultation? this is not an historical story, she is not on some remote hacienda, she is in LA! Lord knows Televisa hash enough hospital sets to recycle cheaply.
Chris in FL
 

Realism is not a specialty of this show. If it were, Gracia would be in a hospital and the American scenes would be in English. So of course Santos would be able to get back on a plane. But the excuse he'll give to go on the Death Train is he has no more money.
 

Yes! It is high time the US scenes were done in English with subtitles. Telemundo is equally guilty of this one.
 

Chris in FL: "shouldn't she be under constant monitoring ready for emergency upon rupture while top consults on possible stents, grafts, etc are ongoing" -- My first thought, also. The doc, tho', had pretty much given up on her (like with my mom who lasted 2 days at most) and I assume she'd rather die at home....think hospice in stead of hospital-ity. Still for me it was a 2 hanky scene, though Whining Wendy was a waste of that woman's remaining oxygen. --I like the actress, but I hate the directors los Mejia use. Gawd only knows where they dig some of these beauts up.
 

Anon 207: Correctamundo! And, why use a plane when we have The Death Train for JAntos to avail himself of......
 

There is no getting around it, the only way that Santos can get back to LA is via the Death Train and a sneak across the border. He has the double whammy of being wanted and having no documentation. Border security has been really tightened in Calif pushing the crossings further east and through the deadly deserts of Arizona which unfortunately has a more porous and longer border.

Either Santos is going to get across quickly or be caught at the border. Either way there are interesting story possibilities and either way Maria probably won't know what happened setting up all kinds of weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth in the DF.

I too have been wondering about the time element. It has to be several months, not just because of the hospitalizations which could have been days, but also the two trials again perhaps less than a week or two. The kids are still in school, Wendy doesn't look overly pregnant so who knows.
 

Late coming on here to thank you for the recap, Jardinera. Especially enjoyed the big reveal of Rodri's singing talent. Enjoyed both his solo and the duet.
La Paloma
 

Fernando has the contact information for Justo, so unless Santos is captured and prevented from contacting his parents (which would be the case if the Mafia gets him before immigration or the LAPD do) he won't "disappear." One thing will be certain, which is that if Maria is pregnant she will not be able to tell him. Parallel to Gloria's situation.
 

We're almost half way through this now. We have still to meet the Mafia Grandfather.


 

Jardinera - Terrific recap. I wouldn't be able to keep up without it.

My favorite part was Rodrigo putting on the uniform and taking the song from his dad.
 

Jar--Do we even care who Mafia Padrino is?

I'm more interested to find out if City Girl (forgot Elvira's friend's name) is going to be happy living out in the country in a small pueblo with El Baritono. If she can forget about sushi and take-out Chinese, there may be hope for her.
 

Anita

City Girl's name is Dani the only one of Trampira's friends who name we keep hearing and her story on the rancho if we see it should be fun.

Urban

The fact that Fernando has Justo's contact information is a good thing because he can keep in touch with Santos in the event the annoying/predictable pregnancy takes place and he can keep him up to date with the DF goings on. I am hoping that JAntos will have enough common sense to show Maria how to keep in touch with him really give himself a chance to keep in touch with her. That way she is not left in the dark if contact is lost.

I am curious about one thing. I thought the message from Justo only said come back immediately it's urgent. I don't seem to remember him saying Gracia was dying. Santos needs that piece of info to pass on to meddling Amelia so that she doesn't immediately and predictably leap to the conclusion that he is running off as she feared.
 

I sure picked a bad time to go out of town and miss the last two episodes. Thank gawd for OnDemand and that they actually posted these episodes promptly. And thank you, Jardinera and Paquita for the wonderful recaps which were my lifeline!

“Jerk-Boy’s Jerkwad of an emotionally stunted baby-daddy” *giggle*

I think Coloso’s feelings for Gloria were real and still exist. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be fondling that medallion and reminiscing the way he has been. He IS a good guy, if you dig down deep enough. Even JA has said so. His main problem is his immaturity. Maybe he’ll even take up with Gloria once she comes back, if she’ll have him. He does need another woman to come along to help him get over Maria or this storyline is never going to progress beyond the wash-rinse-repeat vortex we’ve been spinning in for weeks. I’ve always felt that by the end, JA and Coloso will end up friends or at least on good terms, and he will be the big brother that Maria would like him to be.

I love the relationship between Justo and Altagracia and I am seriously annoyed that they are killing her off before she even gets to meet Maria.

“Aw, nothing like an all-in-the-family get together. I can certainly remember neighborly neighborhood parties like this one....” LOL! Ain’t that the truth.

I don’t think this story would hold up to a timeline. Santos has journeyed to a magical place, where time expands and contracts and we would hurt our heads if we thought too much about it. It sees like at least 6-8 weeks have passed, more if you think about the trials in California, but if you took a close look, we have not seen nearly that many days and nights go by. Me, I’m clamping down the beanie and not going any where near that QBA quagmire, thankyouverymuch.

Anita, City Girl (I think it’s Daniela) and Bart are going to need a whole dump truck of pixie dust to make that marriage work. Talk about a couple not knowing each other at all, and talk about both of them taking on more than they can handle. I can only hope that we see them ride off into the sunset to live happily ever after and we don’t have to see the proverbial love fly out the window.

Amalia fears JA will go back to LA because that is exactly what HE has said he will do. Repeatedly and frequently. Jus’ sayin’.
 

Caroline

JA has said he would go back to LA but also return. That's the part that Amelia is either chosing to forget, doesn't believe or doesn't remember. All of his actions in any event point to a return. He would never have taken on the role of Papi to Isa if he planned to skip off on the Death Train and never retrun much less give maria a ring. The only kind of guy that would do that is Ruben. Things are getting good now.
 

DCG, I think she's taking a reasonable 'trust but verify' approach. Since she knows he has lied or not told the whole truth about where he has come from, she knows that he may not be able to keep his promises to return. His intentions may be the best, but whether he can actually follow through remains to be seen. I'd be seeing things exactly the same way, myself, and if Maria weren't so naive, so would she.

And I think we all expect that he really will get stuck in LA for some time, so Amalia will actually be proven right, short term. Long term, since I think we all know he will return, she will not be right. However, Maria's heart will be broken for a good long time while JA is stuck in LA and she doesn't know a happy ending will eventually happen. That heartbreak is what Amalia (and ALL moms) want to avoid. As she has said again and again, she wants to like him, but he's hiding things and she doesn't want him to hurt her daughter. Her instincts about him are spot on.
 

Carolina

Amelia's instincts may be in the right place but I question her judgement of people in general. She should be telling Ruben to get out of her house and Maria's life. He is a married man who obviously has a more than passing interest in her daughter. Yes, she thinks they owe him money but she should be more attuned to his real motive. Why would a wealthy man be so interested in helping her poor little family? But she never questions it.

More egregious to me is her believing Concho's lie about Pedro. She had years of proof of his devotion to her and their daughters and no evidence that he was cheating. Concho who she thought was a long time friend spins his lie and she immediately believes it and becomes embittered. That one lie is what I think drives her behavior towards JAntos as much as what she knows and senses. She is trying to protect Maria from being hurt but in doing so she is not allowing the woman to truly be an adult.

In any event TN's being what they are she will have all her worst fears realized in the short term which is I guess what the story is all about.
 

Hmm. Actually, Amalia did clearly and directly tell Ruben that she didn't like a wealthy married man hanging around her daughter and when he said he was getting divorced, she said that only made things worse. No, she hasn't followed up with more than that, but since they do owe him a huge amount of money, and since Maria doesn't want anything to do with him, she is wise not to pick a fight with him. Remember, she doesn't know what we know about him - that he owns a strip club that is a front for something far worse than that, kidnapped and tried to kill JA, killed the henchman, etc. I do think she would be more antagonistic towards him if Maria were falling into his trap, but why go looking for a fight if he's not getting anywhere anyhow.

As for Concho's lie, we didn't see what he did to make her believe it, so we really can't assume anything. What we have seen is that Concho is pretty slimy (and she made a good judgement of that when she rejected his love years ago) and Amalia has not been presented in a negative way or as a fool, just as his victim.

Amalia is a Mexican mom. In her culture, her job as a mom extends far beyond the time when moms in our culture usually think their job is done. This is not keeping Maria from being an adult. It is simply how they do things in their culture. She did tell Maria that she respected and supported her decisions. I really don't get the antagonism toward her. Maria and her have an open and honest relationship. Everything she has done has been out of love for her daughter and concern for her well being and in keeping with the expectations of her culture.

ITA that the twists and turns of the plot are what make it a TN. Also, conflicted characters like Amalia hold our interest in the story. I am waiting to see more signs of how she will be dealt with in the end. At this point, I see no reason not to think that she'll end up happy to have gained JA for a son and once he clears his name, she'll be solidly on his side. Time will tell. :)
 

Amalia not following up was the right thing until Ruben decided not to stay away from Maria. She needs to remind him.

As for what Concho did, I hope we find out. While I'd like to think it was nothing worse than the dynamic of Oscar/Maria/Jorge Alfredo, I think it was. It makes me wonder if he is Machiavellian enough to plan this adequately so that after Pedro's murder she would stay away from him, lessening the chance of her finding out that Pedro owned half the bar. I also wonder whether he had anything to do with Pedro's murder.

Carolina, my issue with Amalia is that the tendency to hover over a teen or adult offspring is how it can easily erode the confidence of said offspring. Small case in point from my teen years over something very trivial:

One of my chores was to dry the dishes as my mother washed. Whenever I would pick up a heavy platter or a delicate wineglass she would almost yell "Be careful; don't drop that!"

I was never clumsy as a child, but this was leading me to believe she thought I was. One day I just put it back and told her "If you think I'm not careful enough to handle this the right way, I shouldn't be drying the dishes."

That stopped it, but I didn't think of this until I was almost out of high school.

Amalia needs a life.
 

Urban

You are right Amelia does need a life. Up to this point her whole life has revolved around her children and now they are growing up and inevitably away from her. That is very hard for her to recognize and to accept. If Pedro hadn't died perhaps she wouldn't hover so much, who knows. Caro is right about it being a cultural thing and it certainly is not exclusive to Mexican moms. I've had two Italian mother in laws and believe me Amelia is small potatoes compared to the second one.

In any event as hovering and possessive as Amelia is she doesn't hold a candle to Mancia. Amelia has had to spread it out over three while poor Susanito gets the full 100 percent. Maria is stronger than he is for that reason and she is trying to create some separation Poor Sue hasn't got a chance.
 

I think Amalia would have a life if she had her health. And most parents do have some difficulty in seeing their kids take flight from the nest; that's pretty normal, I think.

I don't have any experience with Italian moms, but they certainly are legendary. Actually, IME, it just us (and a few other cultures) who are the weirdos in thinking kids are raised and should be left to make their own mistakes once they're out of high school. For many years when I taught university age ESL my students from all over the world told me, again and again, two things. They were surprised (and dismayed) at how uninvolved American parents were in their children's lives, and how much they were supported and loved by their parents and how they couldn't imagine living without their parents' advice and support for the rest of their lives.

Functional parents prepare their kids to thrive in their culture, whatever it is. That means different things in different cultures. In our culture, we need to be independent and parents who don't teach kids independence are not doing their jobs. Cultures where families are all-important don't need to be nearly as independent. But they do need to know how to do things that we don't need as much, like how to listen to advice and make life decisions, like who to marry, in a way that doesn't cause disharmony in the family. There isn't just one way to raise kids or treat adult children that is correct universally.

UA, I get where you are coming from. There's a lot of us who are walking wounded from things our mothers did to us. But I see a lot of love, support, and concern in Amalia's actions, even if she has sent mixed messages from time to time. Mancia and Lourdes I see as toxic moms, but not Amalia.
 

Mancia needs a giggle jacket and a padded room.