Friday, June 21, 2013

Qué Bonito Amor #49 (Mex 73-74.1) Thursday 6/20/13 Que Bonitas Preparaciones

Isa gets a little revenge for Paloma's expulsion by tying that creep Vanessa's shoelaces together while Vanessa is occupied mocking Paloma.  Roddy helps out by smooching Paloma in front of Vanessa.

Maria shows up at Ruben's office trying to convince him to accept payment on the loan.  OG gets a look at her and shows just enough interest in her that Ruben calls off the business deal.

JA and Justo say their goodbyes and JA finally agrees to forgive his father.

Amalia isn't happy to hear about Paloma getting expelled and uses it as an excuse to angrily shoo Paloma and Rodrigo out of the house.  Once they're gone, she admits to Isa that she got rid of them so she could keep working on Paloma's surprise quinceañera.

Paloma and Rodrigo hang out in a park riding bikes and just generally enjoying their teenage luuuuurve.

Justo gives Fernando a check, which kind of pisses JA off until he realizes he can use the money to pay off Ruben.  Once that's taken care of, he wants to use the rest to help fund Paloma's quinceañera.

Ruben reacts predictably when JA pays off the loan and Fernando tells him to stay away form Maria.

Maria is busy preparing the patio of Doña Prudencia's to be the location for the quinceañera.

Susanito presides over the quinceañera committee meeting of bar staff and barrio peeps.

Fernando and Maria have a little devotional moment with St. Jude.

Amalia and Isa shop for ingredients to prepare Amalia's great-grandmother's (bisabuela) mole: chile pasilla, chile mulato, chile ancho, almendras (almonds), ajonjoli (sesame seeds), pasitas (pasas, raisins, little raisins), canela (cinnamon), chocolate (my reason for living).

Maria and JA buy a medal of the Virgen for Paloma.  They buy it off a nun who says it's been blessed by the bishop, so it's supercharged.

JA is serving as sous chef for Amalia.  He has to use a metate (http://www.rachellaudan.com/2009/11/why-didnt-mexico-abandon-the-metate.html) to grind up the chiles.  Old school.  Proper use of the metate isn't just rolling the pin, there's a bit of a crushing or scraping action to it.  Amalia's great-grandmother's secret is to grind the other ingredients in with the chiles instead of adding them after the chiles are all ground.  It's hard work, even for our resident beefcake.  Everyone agrees it tastes great.

Even Fernando is impressed, after he tastes it.  JA leaves Fernando to enjoy the rest of his dinner while he leaves on a mystery errand.

I'm ignoring Mancia as she continues to complain about the corruption of Susanito.  She pulls it together to finish cooking.

Remedios is on cake decorating duty.

Paloma comes home to find the house full of food, effectively spoiling the surprise, but Isa tells her they're throwing her a surprise party anyway.  Paloma refuses to have the party since Rodrigo won't escort her.

Mancia gets her incense on for a successful party, but she pulls the "Death" card again and flips her wig. Note: she's willing to burn/invoke all kinds of stuff--ruda (rue), perol (a two-handled bowl?), albahaca (basil), incienso (incense), romero (rosemary), manzanilla (chamomile), perejil (parsley)--but she draws the line at cilantro!

Justo gets back home and tells Altagracia that their boy has finally become a man.  And a Mexican.  I'm sure it's unrelated that Altagracia gets a sudden severe headache.

Wendy visits Michael in prison and gives him the news that Santos is in luuuuuurve at last.

Maria and Amalia try to convince Paloma to have the party for their sakes.  Isa tries threatening her with punishment for being wasteful.  They eventually talk her into it.

Altagracia has an inoperable aneurism and she doesn't have long to live.  That sucks!

The pension is all decked out, which surprises the hell out of Roddy.  He had no idea all this was going on and says he wasn't invited since he refused to be Paloma's escort.  Prudencia, Remedios, Irasema, and Susanito are all left scratching their heads.

Baritono and whatsherface are making something with nopales.  A punch, I think.  Meanwhile, Ana and one of the saucy wenches make tortillas and rajas poblanas (poblano strips).

Wendy gets home from visiting Michael and finds out her mother is dying.

JA pays OG a visit in his hotel room.  He doesn't believe OG's threats to his family and gives OG a good hearty punch to the face when OG basically admits to killing Bruno.

Tomorrow: the promo monkeys promise us that JA and Maria are finally going to get it on.  I'm not holding my breath.

Labels:


Comments:
It's been one of those strangely busy weeks where I know I've been busy because I haven't been able to catch up on watching all the episodes or reading all the recaps, but I really don't have any clue what I was doing that made me so busy. No new auditions or releases of any previous work yet.

See you in the morning.
 

No te preocupes; merde happens!

I realized last night that the nighttime meeting and different camera angle made me think that Ruben had a second office. Of course if he did Maria would be the last to know about it.

How is Jorge Alfredo going to explain the payment of Maria's debt to that snake? Very smart of him to take Fernando along as an eyewitness; this way Ruben can't deny it later. As much as he wants to get this ape off Maria's back was it really smart to pay it off 100% and use up all the money his father gave him?

What he needs now is a numbered bank account.
 

Thanks 5ft Latina!

I wanted to ask, is quinceañera really is such a big deal in Mexico or Latin America or is it just as exaggerated as many things in this novella?
Maria's family cannot pay the rent and have debt and may have to move to an even smaller apartment, but they all go way out of their financial options just so they threw this party, Maria even considered borrowing money for it.

Why don't they just drop the idea? What if Paloma miss the party?
I'm not familar with this custom so I do not understand the big upheaval around this.
 

Irisz- It's a HUGE deal in many parts of Mexico and among Mexican-Americans (more recent immigrants). It varies in other LatAm countries. I went to so many quinceañera parties for school friends growing up in L.A. The parties and prep can be just as big as a wedding. The dresses are even more fussy than wedding dresses. It seems like Paloma's party will be a much simpler affair than the usual.
 

Kat- Thanks for the recap. I saw the last 10 minutes with all the food preparation. So it seems that tonight there will be a party AND Santos and Maria will get busy. I'm in!
 

Irisz- Wikipedia breaks down the tradition across LatAm well: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quincea%C3%B1era

Note how Mexico has the longest/most detailed entry.
 

I've seen articles online critical of this custom as it is often as expensive or more so than a wedding. Also, the the age of majority is 18, it is meaningless as a celebration into adulthood. One author sarcastically stated that it is virtually a license to engage in sexual relations.

The age of consent in Mexico is not clear-cut and varies by state and some circumstances.
 

hello, hello....been on the sidelines reading all and watching the novella.....I must say the recapps are great and the cappers even better.....doing a good job....thanks.....I am ready to abandon ship on this one....the love love love and kisses of the galan and maria are really boring now....toooooomuch.....it seems like such along time and nothing is really happening.....the fighting between coloso and Santos is too much.....they need to start doing something else.....we will see tonight.....with mom possibly passing/Santos will have to go back to L aye.....maybe he can get something done...... love the music......love it.....BNinCA
 

5ft - Terrific recap. Thanks for the detail and vocab on the food.
 

Was there any mention of Santos' personal assets being seized or frozen? I don't recall Justo saying anything about it and I don't think he has any signing power over them. He should, however, petition for it.

However, this being a novela only just approaching midpoint, we can probably expect that this will not be resolved until the last week.
 

Here comes Amalia accepting Santos' money/help again.

I'm sure Maria won't use any birth control so EMBARAZO ALERT (just like naive virgins in other novelas)

I wanted to give Justo a hug last night after he found out the news on Altagracia. This will probably make Santos come back to LA for sure.


 

After last night the name of this should be changed from QBA to Everybody Cooks. I've seen a lot of novelas where we see food and cooking but never on this scale.

As for Quince's being a big deal they certainly are in Tucson which has a huge Hispanic population.

So now of all the mothers in this Gracia is going to be the one to die? So unfair. This to me sets up Santos returning to LA, I can't see him letting his mother die and not be there. Then he probably gets caught, can't get back to the DF and fulfills Amelia's prediction that he will leave Mari and forget all about them. Since it looks like they do the deed tonight Maria of course will get first time out pregnant. Lord I hope they don't go this route.

I'm not even going to think how JAntos found out what hotel OJ was staying at much less how he got into his room. He does get big props for hitting OJ especially after the idiot taunted him about not being man enough to do it. Justo isn't the only one who is going to see that casual fun loving Santos from LA has turned into big bad JAntos from the DF.

I will say I was highly amused when Ruben picked up on OJ's attraction of Maria, stepped in front of her to block the other man's view and then called off the deal. OJ's protesting he was Italian it runs in the blood made me laugh. Having married not one but two Italians I can say he is correct, they do flirt.

Justo knew that Santos wouldn't take the money and gave it to Fernando in case his son ever really needed it. Fernando telling JAntos he had it surprised me but JA;s overreaction annoyed me. It's all well and good to want to make your own way but it never hurts to have a safety net especially in this case. In any event the money was put to good use.

Mancia and the death card - I don't know why this always happens when some novela character reads the tarot cards. I've got five decks of them and numerous books on the meaning of the cards. The death card signifies the end of something in life and when it is reversed it means a change. No interpretation I've read say it means someone is going to die. It's actuallly a good card to find sometimes.
 

Ms. 5Ft Diva--Gracias for the recap. Being strangely busy helps sharpen recall, so this was a good recap for us.

Loved how you ignored Mancia. And JA serving as sous chef. And Remedios on cake decorating duty. You are able to say so much with few words and get a laugh out of me every time.

I was surprised to see Ira on the barrio peeps committee. I gues Pru and Rem talked her out of leaving.

I felt sorry for Rodrigo who isn't going to attend the party because he wasn't invited. We know HE turned Paloma down, but I thought he took dancing lessons from his mother (was strangely creepy to me), but found out Paloma had cancelled her party. NOW no one thinks of him?

I'm so annoyed by the lack of continuity in this production. They assume we know where everyone is in their sidestories. They spent 1 min. on Ana's trashed apartment and the next minute they're busy cooking. El Baritono and Elvira's friend are back in town being very cozy in his apt. What does Elvira think of all this....

Speaking of Ruben's office, it's pretty large to accommodate a conference table or something is amiss. I recognized the NYC-highlights-in-words poster on the wall, but I thought it was behind his desk. Maybe the prop dept. forgot to take it down for the OJ-Ruben-Maria scenario. Maria did say that R's secretary told her to go right in, so it's either the same one or very close (if it is a conference room). And, we've seen the outside of his office building several times. That is certainly not his hideaway office in the strip joint. Man, I'm confused.

ITA, how on earth did Santos get the directions and into OJ's room, unless Arnold helped.

Decie girl--thank you for the info on the death card. I guess for tn telenovela fortune tellers it only means one thing.

Since we're down to noticing minutiae, here's one:

In the scenes with Maria, JAntos and St. Jude, a close-up, JAntos' face wounds shows them about healed. The mark on his lower left cheek had faded and the scratches on his nose were pretty much gone. Yet, when he and OJ had their close-ups during the fight, the red mark around his neck was very pronounced and the marks on his cheek & nose were back again.

Yes, irisz, I've known families of modest means who have gone into debt to throw a big Quinceañera party. They not only have to keep up with the Joneses, but have to do them one better or people will talk behind their backs.

 

I've been to Quinces where there is a celebratory mass, complete with 15 couples walking down the aisle (the quinceanera sits/kneels with her chamberlan at the place where the bridal couple would be), followed by a huge reception, dinner (accompanied by mariachis) and dance that includes a choreagraphed dance with all 15 couples plus a father/daughter first dance, followed by dancing to a live band. (Hmmm ... those sweet sixteen parties on the reality shows aren't that farfetched after all.) Families do go into debt, but sometimes they get sponsors for every expense (madrina/padrino de limo, pastel, libro/rosario, comida, musica-banda, musica-mariachi, guest book, other entertainment, booze-for adults of course, etc, etc).
 

Yeah I was also confused with Rueben's office. The first times we saw his office it was large and light but then we get the scene with him and OJ and it looked small and dark. I assumed obviously incorrectly that the first meeting was in the strip club office and that he held his legit business meetings in the big office. Last night it looked like the two offices had morphed into one because Maria certainly wouldn't know about the strip club.

I was a little confused about all the angst over Ana wedding dress and why the thugs would have ripped up her closet. I was amused however when her friend said the Mariachi boys would have it fixed up in no time.

I'm not letting the weird blips in the story annoy me too much because this story is relaxing after LP's intensity and violence and sometimes I just watch for the sheer relaxation.
 

Too much time wasted on the boring, schmoopy teenagers. Blech!

And no Coloso/JA fistfight? Yay!
 

Anon at 3:11--And don't forget the silly handcart loading with refrescos and Lalo.

Anon at 2:53--Thank you for reminding me of the other Quinceanera activities. Now that I recall, when I was invited to the Quinceanera of a friend of a friend, it started with Mass at Church.

Ana was remembering that the wedding dress was the one she had on when her fiance left her plantada at the altar. You're right about the angst--if it caused her so much pain, she should have burned it or put it in a consignment shop long ago.

 

I think there is some footage missing from the last few nights that we can't catch up with.

And, sadly, I think Maria will end up embarazada, just like poor Maria Desamparada in TdA. I hope Santos doesn't go back to El Lay because who else is going to protect Maria? Fernando can't do it all by himself.

It's time we saw a new chick on the horizon for Oscar.
 

Urban

I agree but this being Novelaland Maria will end up preggers, JA will have to go back to LA and Maria will be left to fend for herself against Ruben. I hope it won't go that way but I just can't see JAntos not rushing home to his mother. Oscar needs a new lady to remove him from moping about the one he can't have but on the other hand he would be a buffer between Ruben and Maria. And of course the Mariachi boys will be all over taking care of her and probably cursing JA since they don't know his story. I had really hoped Mejia would do something truly novel and keep the lovers together to solve their problems but sense it won't happen. Que lastima
 

If that happens I hope Santos can send his dad to tell Maria what's gone down. If he returns to El Lay he will be arrested by the Keystone Kops and it will take a long time to prove he's innocent. That will give Ruben lots to time to do serious damage.
 

Urban

Lots of time for Ruben to do damage and Amelia to rag on endlessly about I told you so. I knew he was going to just leave and disappear forever. And God help us all the wenches and Ana will be beside themselves. One thing does remain true Fernando knows the whole story and should be a voice of reason while all the rest lose it. If it happens I truly feel sorry for Isa who so desperately wants a father and needs an admirable male in her life.

You know the problem with having watching TN's for more than 10 years - you know how the pattern works and here we are agonizing over what has yet to happen. LOL
 

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