Caray, Caray!

Urban:

Thank you for this marvelous recap. I always like reading them. They have everything and you never miss a thing!

I had to laugh at Rueben's face, when JA pulled that photo out of the envelope and the picture didn't match his face, priceless!

I am glad Ana didn't find the rest of the picture. I still don't like that she is going to show it to Maria. Ana is a little busybody. I am glad, though, that Ana was curt with Fabian. There is just something about him, I know he is a great friend of Reuben's, but Fabian strikes me as being worse.

Concho had me laughing too. All that begging on his knees and his English is so darn good, lol. Glad Maria is back.

I too think Lourdes will take Concho to the cleaners.

I really do get a kick out of Derecho and Curtis, they are too funny. I like how they almost feel down the stairs at the club.

I hate Bruno's attitude. That hoity toity attitude bugs me. He isn't all that. I don't blame JA for not forgiving him. Bruno really doesn't deserve it. I think even if Bruno were to tell, and I don't know if he has, Derecho and Curtis how it really was, they wouldn't believe him. They just want to bag Santos come hell or high water.

Poor Irasema. I am glad Pru and Remedios always give her such good advice. I also love that rendition of Amoracito Corazon they play in the background.

So I wonder what Reuben is planning for tomorrow. He will never stop until Maria is his. I am really hoping there will be so many obstacles in his way, this will never happen. One can hope : )
 

Based on the avances I think he is hiring a hit man. He has to know by now that Maria loves Jorge Alfredo.

I will also guess that kidnapping might be a backup plan. He might threaten to kill Jorge Alfredo if he doesn't give Maria up or Maria will have her Tosca moment. The latter would make more sense despite it not being original because Jorge Alfredo has proven himself as a fighter. He won't cave.

As to what role Fabian will play in that I have no idea. He might get dragged into it because the disclosure of their involvement with the strip club would bite both of them in the tuchas, but he hasn't been on board with the whole stalking of Maria.

It would be interesting to see their reactions if either of them were to find out his true identity. Fabian would probably insist that Ruben back off while Ruben is just arrogant enough not to.

I hope Fernando has the contact information for Santos' parents.

Ana is a metiche and the discovery of that photo will not be a good thing.
 

UA...perfect recap and what a beautiful fan!!

Somewhat OT, but pertinent to your great discussion a week or so ago about story ideas for new novelas. I'm thinking adaptation of one of Isabel Allende's novels. What do you think?

My goal this summer is to read her latest novel both in English and Spanish so that I can continue to improve my Spanish skills. She was interviewed on NPR recently which made me think of one of her novels being adapted for television.

Love the fan!!

Fatima
 

I'm not familiar with it but I'm sure it would work.

My fan collection grows every summer. Dollar stores are so good for that.
 

Is it Dollar General where you find your fans?

Fatima
 

A more action packed epi then I would have thought. We did get the laugh with the stunned look on Ruben's face. Maria is still annoying. She demands to know the truth, throws the papers at JAntos and then eats crow. She has so little faith in him I wonder why he puts up with her.

I was worried about nosy Ana picking up that poster but the really damning info she didn't get. I think she was surprised because I suspect she thought she was going to get something that involved Fernando. All she has now is dressed up JA.

Fernando didn't like it at all when Fabian the not so Fab was coming on to Ana. He seemed upset and even more so when he was back in the dressing room. Definitely he has feeling for Ana. And Fabian saying he isn't like Ruben - oh puleeze he's worse. He slams the low class nacos but is all up in the face of a pretty girl. PIG

So now we know for sure that OJ and Ruben are in business together or at least are friends. That does not bode well for JAntos as both of them want him out of the way.

Poor Michael sitting in prison with a hit out on him and now he knows for sure that OJ was behind it.

I'm wondering if when Lourdes goes after Concho's money and the club, the truth about Pedro being a part owner will come to light. She's a shrew and Concho is obviously going to be glad to see the back of her and their tramp spawn.

Bronzo is sure full of himself. Lecturing Santos about how can he hang with these people in this awful place. Loved Santos telling him they were his people and he was going to go to LA, then come back and marry Maria. I guess that pretty much tells us in the end he will stay in Mexico, hopefully not in a dumpy barrio.

Wonder how Amelia will react when she finds out that JAntos is not a criminal. I doubt she will feel any remorse and will just go on about her feelings as a mother.



 

Fatima:

OT: They made one of Isabel Allende's books into a Hollywood movie, "The House of the Spirits", too bad they didn't have Latino/a actors in it. I love her books. I have read two, "The House of the Spirits, and "Portrait in Sepia" both excellent books.
 

Madeleine: Thank you so much for the information! I will see if it is on Netflix. Really appreciate it!

Fatima

P.S. I, too, wish they would use the Latino actors in these types of movies. Thank you again!
 

UA, Anita, Ellie, Paquita, 5 Ft, Jardinera - I'm always lagging behind on QBA, but I do enjoy your recaps.

Never expected it, but Concho is one of my favorites. Loved him begging Maria to come back and letting his wife have it. Also love it when he slings the English.

I'd feel better about Maria questioning Santos, if she made everyone else scram while she did it. Having Ruben and the others there to see Santos sweat was just wrong.

So Derecho and Curtis were indeed tasered on stage. That's more than strange, but oh well.

 

Thank you UA, for yet another amusing and illuminating recap.

So glad that JAntos skeetered free of all those cops. They make me nervous. But it looks like it’s out of the frying pan and into the fire for him next. Is this now the stage of the story when bad things start to happen?

I can explain the tasering. It’s this little Mexican party joke kind of thing. I’ve seen it a couple of times. If I remember right, it’s supposed to measure your passion or something like that and it just gives you a little tingle, not half electrocutes you. But then, maybe DH and I just don’t have the passion that Curtis and Derecho have to light the thing up. I did have to feel for blondie Curtis getting singled out and dragged up on stage for entertainment purposes. As a tall/ blonde/blue kind of a person, it happens to me a little more often than I like when I travel.

I understood that when Ruben was grinning and talking on the phone, it was OJ who was telling him he was coming to Mexico.

I’ve been waiting for the word ‘marry’. What JAntos said to Bronzo was the first that we’ve heard it, or at least that I’ve heard it (I know I miss stuff sometimes). BODA! BODA! BODA! I do love me a boda, even when I have to wait months for it. :)

Speaking of Bronzo, he really was a turd to JA about working in that bar. I wouldn’t have shaken his hand good bye, either. He’s looking like such a loser the last few epis, I’m thinking he might be living under the shadow of an anvil. Would they kill him off without reconciling with JA?
 

Fernando definitely did not appreciate another man making a play for Ana. And that man being Fabian, whom he can't stand, only adds fuel to the fire. Oh, yes, he (Mil) luurrves her!

Whoever was waiting for Alejandro Ruiz to make an entrance ... he's heeeeree! None other than the new mariachi looking for a job - El Siete Mares.

It's time Maria calls Ruben to meet at her home with Amalia and have Coloso there too. Then she should just say, "Okay, all of you, yes Jorge Alfredo has a secret - he told me he does but I told him to tell it to me when he's ready. I love him. Got that? I love him, so even if he's a thief and a murderer, I'll stand beside him forever, so stop all your nonsense and leave us alone! Ruben (don't use Don, he doesn't deserve it), go back to your wife or at least your children. Get out of my life! Oscar, stay away from me, I love you like a brother and that will never change. Mama, I love you, but stay out of my personal life. No matter what any of you has to tell me or show me about him, I'm not interested. Punto y final!"

Then the story can go on with the OJ and Godfather business and all the rest.
 

Michael should go to his buddy the warden and tell him about the hit on him. Then they should either set a trap for OJ or pretend Michael is in such trouble with the warden that he won't be left alone and is always guarded by two or three guards. They can pretend to "isolate" him and give him a comfortable cell right next to the dental office.
 

I am wondering if in the end, JA and Maria will be running the bar. Amelia could end up owning all of it if Concho is ruined by his divorce, and they'll still have the mariachi lifestyle but a better income.

Or Concho could need to sell his half, and JA could buy it from him.
 

UA, Coloso sang the same song he sang at his house the first time he thought he had got JA and Maria separated but they were together again...
and JA sang 'Que de raro tiene'.
It is very reflective of Santos' story and that is why he chose that song, because Bruno was there.
I borrowed B's translation from the LHDM forum...

¿QUÉ DE RARO TIENE? / Martín Urieta


A los que al contemplarme rodando en el fango quisieran llorar...
A los que se pregunten porque mi talento no pudo triunfar...
A los que me juzgaron sin darme derecho siquiera de hablar...
A todos los que quieran saber mi tragedia, la voy a contar:

Yo siempre sostuve que no hay en el mundo ningún otro ser
que tenga belleza, de pies a cabeza, como la mujer...
Ellas son la vida, la chispa divina, la razón de ser --
¿Qué de raro tiene que me haya perdido por una mujer?
¿Qué de raro tiene que me esté muriendo por una mujer?

A los que como amigo ayer me tuvieron en un pedestal...
A los que me quisieron allá cuando tuve familia y hogar...
A los que me olvidaron apenas mi estrella dejó de brillar...
A todos los que quieran saber mi tragedia se las voy a contar:

Todas las mujeres ejercen en mi alma un raro poder...
Aquellos que tengan el mismo problema me van a entender:
Una cara hermosa y un cuerpo de diosa me hicieron caer...
¿Qué de raro tiene que me haya perdido por una mujer?
¿Qué de raro tiene que me esté muriendo por una mujer?


LOOSE TRANSLATION:

WHAT IS STRANGE ABOUT THAT?

To those who wanted to cry upon seeing me deep in the mud...
To those who ask themselves why my talent couldn't triumph...
To those who judge me without even giving me the right to speak...
To all who want to know my tragedy, let me tell it to you:

I always said that there is no other being in the world
who is beautiful, from head to toe, as is a woman...
They are life, the divine spark, the reason to be --
Why is it so strange that I should have lost myself for a woman?
Why is it so strange that I'm dying for a woman?

To those who, yesterday, as a friend, had me on a pedestal...
To those who wanted me there when I had a family and a home...
To those who forgot about me as soon as my star stopped shining...
To all who want to know my tragedy, let me tell it to you:

All women exercise a strange power over my soul...
Those who have the same problem will understand me:
A pretty face and the body of a goddess made me fall...
Why is it so strange that I should have lost myself for a woman?
Why is it so strange that I'm dying for a woman?


LOVED LOVED the appearance of Alejandro Ruiz as a new character, always admired him as actor...

btw, i thought when Ruben was on phone toward end of ep, he said the name 'Guiliano'... could this be an unrelated 'Giuliano' or is it an even worse anvil for JA?
 

I love Alejandro Ruiz and am really curious about how they are going to weave him into the plot. I've seen him do all kinds of parts, never knew he could sing or if he can. At any rate he might distract Trampira from JA.

I was thinking that one of the reasons that Bronzo is so appalled by JA living in the barrio and associating with poor people is that it is a reflection of his own background. He sold his soul for money and can't understand why Santos who had everything can live like he is. You see the same kind of overcompensation in OJ. The flash clothes, the ritzy apartment listening to classical music to give the appearance that he is from a better background.

I am wondering how JA and Maria will end up. JA will have his status and fortune back and his high class family. I can't see them staying in the barrio. JAntos wants to help Isa and give her better things and a better life. It should prove very interesting to see what happens.
 

Decie Girl, I agree that JA will want to help Isa and all of the family to have a better life, an easier and more stable life. But I think he will permanently reject the life of status symbols and what he has said he used to do, waste money on frivolous things. I think he has changed his priorities permanently. And I don't think Maria wants or would be comfortable to live in the world he came from. Maybe they'd live in a nice house in but still in the barrio. I can't see them in a millionaire's mansion.

They are both such do gooders. Maybe they will open a school for music training or some other way to provide help to people in the barrio. I could see them owning the bar, but not turning into Concho and Mirna. Maybe they'd have someone like Fernando and Ana doing the actual managing. I don't know. But it was good to hear him tell off Bruno. :)
 

Carolina - Thanks for explaining the tasering cause all I could do last night was shake my head.
 

When Santos first came to work at the bar, each mariachi said where he came from and what he wanted out of life (help old people, a women's shelter, etc) - I think Santos will use his fortune to make all their dreams come true.
 

Anon

I too think Santos will use his weath to help all of his new fasmily members reach their dreams. I can't see Maria and Amelia swanning around like Lourdes does but JAntos comes from a prestigious family and once his true story comes out there will be security risks. He would never want the Mendoza's to be at risk and the I think they will have a nice house and be comfortable. The girls including Maria can got to good schools, Amelia casn have decent medical care and He and Maria can use what they have to help others via foundations and the like. That is of course if they survice OJ and Ruben's dirty deeds, Oscar's jealousy and who knows what. LOL


 

I have no doubt that Santos will not go back to the carefree bachelor life his father was criticizing in the opening episode. He no longer cares about having the coolest apartment and the hottest car. However, he won't live in abject poverty nor will he allow Maria or her family to.

I just hope he doesn't invite Amalia to live with them after he and Maria get married.
 

At the rate that JA has been adopting kids lately, he'll have to open an orphanage.

Good point about the security concerns. They would definitely have to make some lifestyle changes just to stay safe.

Since both Maria and JA have traditional Mexican values, that would pretty much preclude having their single, ill mother/MIL live apart from them. Even not such traditionalists would think that was strange and unacceptable. It's just the way it is in that the culture. Plus we've already got Isa calling JA papa. She's not going to want to live apart from him and her second mom, Maria. I really can't see anything but the five of them all together at the end, unless Amalia dies first.
 

Considering what a metiche Amalia is I can't see that arrangement working out. While Santos still lived with his parents they were not interfering in his life or his relationships and despite Justo's disapproval of Santos' playboy life he treated him like an adult.

Which isn't what Amalia does with Maria, who has assumed responsibility for the entire family.

We still don't know where Isabel came from, so this is a mystery that needs solving. We also have no backstory on Oscar's family. He has thus far only mentioned his mother once. It will be interesting to see which way the competition goes and what will finally happen when Oscar realizes that he is Rodrigo's sperm donor.
 

You see Amalia one way and I see her in another. It's a difference of opinion, not a matter of being right or wrong. I think her behavior has been in keeping with a traditional, Catholic culture where multiple generations live together, good girls don't have sex before marriage, there is a double standard for men and women's sexual behavior, mothers continue to advise and protect their children well into adulthood, marriage partners have to be approved by the parents, and family comes first.

I might see her behavior differently if she were an American mom, but she isn't. Within the context of her culture, she's being a normal mom.

We may disagree about that, but I would hope that we can do so respectfully.

Justo disapproves of Santos? All I've seen is both of his parents were delighted to learn that he's in love and before that, bugging him to settle down and asking him when he was going to get married, which isn't exactly treating him like an adult - to an American. To a Mexican, though, I’m going to venture to say that it is pretty normal.

 

Justo did disapprove, but didn't make a federal case out of it.

It will be interesting when he finds out what Santos' life has been like since he fled to Mexico how he reacts to it and how Justo and Altagracia react to Maria. My guess is that Altagracia will love her while Wendy will be bitchy. Justo is the one I can't figure out here.

What I'd love to know more about (but they might not tell us) is how it is that Bronzo (great one!) is Wendy's second shot. What went wrong the first time and what was that loser like?
 

I guess I just didn't pick up on any disapproval. He does seem more like the distant dad busy with his job and not so involved with his kids. I also didn't pick up on Santos being a playboy. To me, that brings to mind images like OJ, with the scantily clad chicks climbing all over him, or at the least, a womanizer. I think Santos probably dated, probably had a sex life, probably was serially monogamous, but just never found the right woman to fall in love with. Maybe his parents thought that was being a playboy, but I think is was and always has been a 'good boy'.

Justo is hard to get a read on. He's really, really smart, that's for sure. If he accepts that Santos has been permanently changed by his experiences, being betrayed, becoming poor, and embracing his Mexican roots, then I think he will accept Maria. If Justo doesn't 'get' what has happened to Santos, he might not take to Maria.

I think Wendy being divorced was nothing more than a plot device to allow her, as a divorced woman, to be sexually active with Bruno and get pregnant, without the violating the sensibilities of the Mexican viewers who expect brides to be virgins.


 

But Camila wasn't a virgin in AB and we got the impression that she may even have lived with her first fiance. Not that Augustina approved, of course, but Camila was very much her own person. That can't be all that uncommon.

The fact that Santos grew up mostly in the US also needs to be considered. Which raises the English-language issue again, but never mind.

I think that Justo is smart enough to understand what a life-changing experience this all is for Santos. I'm guessing that Justo might come from old money so he might even -- due to having lived in the US -- admire Santos' ability to make the best of his adversity. He would be even more the Golden Child for that, which will make Wendy bitchier than ever.
 

AB and Camila broke a lot of molds. I thought that most TN heroines were virgins until married, but you're the one with the encyclopedic knowledge base, not me. :)

Santos should be bilingual and bicultural, but they are playing fast a loose with all aspects of that, I think, in their efforts to entertain us.

Agree about Justo. I also think that he may have learned his lesson about being supportive to his son, after being so wrong about suspecting his culpability in the money laundering.
 

Gracias, UA. I'm a fan of you and your fans :) So excited to see some new Mariachi blood showing up. And that ridiculousness with the police sketch was just unforgiveable. They dragged that out for far too long!