Caray, Caray!

Thank you for the recap, Sylvia!!
I watched the first two episodes when hey first aired in Mexico, but I think I'm willing to give it another try now when I can chit chat with you about it.

I've been watching tns for 20 years, but I've never had so much fun with them as I do now. Honestly, I don't know how I did it before!
 

Adriana Noel, you are very welcome! You're up late. My excuse is I'm jacked up from doing the recap. Wow, 20 years, you must be an expert. I agree it is much more fun to be part of a "language study group" than watching alone. Do you have a favorite telenovela from the past 20 years? What really sticks out for you? My first telenovela was Alborada and I think it's my favorite.
 

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Well, Sylvia, I'm not up late, I'm up early! :) I'm in Europe, so my hours are completely different from the rest of you.

I started watching with my mom when I was about 10 and kept doing it faithfully until a couple of years ago. I moved out of my country (Romania), came to France, kind of lost touch with tns until a while ago.

Some of my favorites...There are many, I must warn you, but I really loved MALA MUJER - my very first tn and then KASSANDRA (both from Venezuela), ESMERALDA, LA USURPADORA, LA MENTIRA (all from Mexico), MUNECA BRAVA (Argentina), BETTY LA FEA (the original from Columbia), O CLON (again, the original from Brazil).

The last 2 tns I watched and adored were AMOR BRAVIO and PASION PROHIBIDA (Telemundo).

Back in the day I used to watch a lot of tns, but now I'm very picky, I've seen all the possible stories so I'm mostly interested in the prota's chemistry, the hero's hunkness, how many times he takes his shirt off... you know, the important stuff.
 

Cap'n Sylvia, thank you for an enjoyable cup of coffee with your hysterical recap.

Some of my favorites were, "Cap’n Hawt", and "Fulge’s cogs and sprockets start turning". But was totally ROTFL when I got to "then she gets to keep his smelly old boat" (I was wondering why ever in the world she would want it?!?) and "backstabbing BFF MyYaya".

This TN looks like it is going to be a hoot, thank you Cap'n Sylvia!

 

What a treat -- Cap'n Sylvia is back! I have missed your witty, snazzy way with a story and let me tell you, you do not disappoint.

'“Don’t play around with love,” she warns as she excessively fondles his bulging biceps and who can blame her? After all, she IS the director."

"They do the “Call me Captain,” “Oh I keep forgetting” minuet."

""You just don't understand," the spoiled brat wails. (That would be Estercita, in case you didn't know which spoiled brat I meant.) "

Obviously I could just keep quoting line after line, snickering and savoring as I go. But I am late for a very important date (and probably won't be back until this evening). So let me just say what a joy it was to read another Sylvia special.

My lord, woman, how do you make it look so easy?
 

Just a question, when they say Madrano (talking about Fulge?) they mean Godfather in the real sense or in the Mafia sense in this TN?

Did anyone notice that little scene with Mercedes talking to Jose on the iPad? She sure had great reception and everyone looked fabulous. When I use FaceTime on my iPad I look bloated and about 100 years older.
 

Sylvia, I've missed you. Welcome back! Navigating the swelling seas of love and treachery would not have been the came without you Cap'n...

What a marvelous recap. Perfect proverb.

In addition to what Emarie and NovelaMaven have mentioned, I also loved "Hystericita", "He basically unravels her lying story, slaps her around, calls her names, and leaves her sniveling on the floor" and "odor of sainthood".

Although lacking in interpersonal skills (as you noted yesterday), due to her professional background, I assumed she was a savvy businesswoman, experienced in dealing with situations requiring skills and finesse. That was hardly the case with her childish, petty antics regarding Dam's contract. Add immature to the list.

On the flip side, Dam is doing nothing to increase the value of his stock. Smirking and self confident, he might try just a bit to stop taunting Marina. No one likes to be made a laughingstock. He needs to put his man pride aside and accept the fact Marina is his boss. Period.

Loved Mercedes' song. Haunting and lovely.

Adriana Noel, welcome! I don't believe I've seen your posts before so very glad you are here.

Sylvia, thank you again!

Diana
 

Thank you, Sylvia for an excellent, witty and thorough recap.
I loved the description of Fulgencio getting the truth out of Ester. His nickname Foolgencio is so appropriate.
Your character insight is so dead on. " Hystericita, I mean Estercita, kvetches to Mayuya"- hilarious
Your side comments had me rolling on the floor.
This storyline is heating up.
BTW- I just noticed Levy's hair-LOL. I was too busy looking at his tattoo. (Yeah right). ;-)
 

Well done and welcome back to recapping Sylvia!

I know Estercita is not the most likeable person, but I felt terrible for her last night when Foolgencio was slapping her around. It's obvious that it's not the first time he's done it. He only seems to be nice and doting to her in public, but it's really all about his public image. So everyone thinks Ester is a spoiled princess who has it all, like her frienemy Mayuya. Plus, she didn't intend to have Damian accused of rape.

I am glad that Marina will clear that up quickly and possibly earn points with the Capitan, or General, or juaever! :)

I am liking this more than I thought I would. The combination of great vet actors, fresh faces, Monica Miguel's great directing (I too noticed her fondling of WL), and the human trafficking story have pulled me in. And Ximena is doing just fine for her first acting job. I hope it can continue to hold my interest.
 

Diana- In case she can't com back to answer, Adriana is one of our Corazon Indomable recappers, plus she has recalled a few Telemundo shows- currently Marido en Alquiler. She's a fab recapper, and somehow manages to get us timely recaps despite the huge time difference.
 

That's recapped not recalled. Silly tablet.
 

Thanks for the recap, Sylvia! I love your name for Esthercita- Hystercita. So so so true. However, like @Vivi, I do feel sorry for her. Fulgencio is an atrocious father, so her poor home life could explain her behavior. She's looking for the love and attention that she doesn't get from her abusive daddy and weak-willed mother.

Diana, I agree completely with your assessment of Damian. His disrespect for women is such a turn-off. I hated how his crew just walked out of Marina's meeting. But I think that when Marina saves him from the rape charges he'll strip off that over-masculine exterior and show a softer, more sensitive side ;)
 

We also know that Damian isn't a complete and utter misogynistic pig based on the affection and respect he has for his madrina. I predict that she and Marina will form a close relationship at some point, making her the token "nana" figure in this TN.

Did anybody else notice that funny portrait of Fulgencio in his office?
 

Cap'n:

You have certainly not lost your touch. This is a fab recap, thanks so much!

I too love the nicknames you gave Hystercita for Estercita and Foolgencio for Fulgencio, they are perfect.

Diana:

I so agree with what you said about the Capitancito putting his pride aside and realizing his boss is a woman, and also what you said about Marina. But even though she doesn't like him right now, she is going to bat for him.

Emarie:

I wondered about the term Madrano too and the mafia. I too noticed the IPad face time. I like the fact they are using technology in this TN.

Vivi:

I'm with you about Estercita, I did feel sorry for her. Between her screechy Mama and her face saving Papi no wonder she is the way she is. At least she told Marina the truth, I wasn't expecting that at all.

I like the character of Mercedes. I too loved the song, it was haunting and the backflashes of what had happened to her. She is one strong lady.

That Olinto is quite the chisme guy isn't he? He knows everything about everybody. I hope his loose lips don't sink ships ; )
 

@Vivi
Actually with the Univision recaps it's quite easy, because the shows are already on line.
With Telemundo it's a little bit tricky, but I'm several hours before you, so when you go to sleep I wake up, watch my shows and write the recaps.

WL is the BOMB, but I hate this new hair... Muscles are fine and all but I do need a pretty face, too, I'm picky like that.
Ximena impressed me in her first episodes, maybe because I expected her to be really bad.

When I saw the tablet I almost fell of my chair (so to speak); back at Corazon Indomable, we always complain how out of touch with technology the characters are: they send telegrams!!!

The correct term for godfather is Padrino, but I must have skipped the part where they mentioned him, because I don't remember the context. But, in tns padrinos and madrinas are very common, so I'm going with the NOT mafioso kind... for now.

 

Tks Capt Sylvia, good to have you aboard.

Hard to understand why Monica Miguel would associate herself with Mejia.
If this TN rises above the usual Mejia dreck it will be due to her.
She looks like she lost a lot of weight.

Dos cubanos in this TN, Cesar Evora & Wm Levy.

I'm liking it so far & Ximena is good for her 1st TN.

 

Wow, what a treat it is to once more have the opportunity to enjoy a Sylvia recap. I knew it was you at the title. What fun.

I had really low expectations for this TN because I don't think that a single positive thing was said about this show here before it arrived. Why were there such low expectations for Marina? I don't recall having seen her in anything before this.

Also, I thought I had read that Sylvia Navarro had signed on to play the bad girl in this... or was that some other TN?

I love the way you use the language so uniquely, Sylvia. This skill is perfectly demonstrated by:

" Jazmin and Lazaro gaze at each other with intrigued trepidation."

Excellent.

Carlos

 

By the way, these days whenever I see that playful smile that William Levy flashes, I'm almost expecting the camera to pan over to a lady M&M.

Carlos
 

@Carlos, I believe Silvia Navarro was actually in the running to be the protagonista. It was between Ximena and her and the role ultimately went to Ximena. I was disappointed at first, but Ximena seems to be doing a fine job.
 

Carlos: Oh my heavens, too funny! Yes, that M&M commercial is priceless. "Is your brain made of chocolate too"?

Still chuckling.

Diana
 

@ Carlos, @ Marie

Yes, Silvia auditioned the same day as Ximena, they took pictures together and all. But from what I read in the interview about her audition, Silvia was never really interested in the part, because of the break she decided to take - and besides, I don't think she has an exclusive contract with Televisa anymore.

La Tempestad was supposed to be a huge hit and the ratings it gets are just mediocre. I read an article before the tn started in Mexico that both WL and XN were asked to take acting classes after shutting began, he because of the strong Cuban accent and she because of her lack of acting skills.

Personally, I thought she was fine, but let's see how she continues.

What I find funny is the fact that I heard all these complaints about La Tormenta in Mexico and we actually like it, and Corazon Indomable is a huge success there and we think it's idiotic (even with all the good acting).
 

His Pepsi commercial is a hoot too. :-)

Carlos- You are late on the gossip. Silvia Navarro, and just about every actress in Mexico, tried out for this. Since she doesn’t even have a contract with Televisa anymore, I'm not sure how serious SN was about it.

The surprise about Ximena is due to this being her fist time acting, ever. She's a former Miss Universe. Given former beauty queen Blanca Soto's acting talent, the bar was set low for Ximena. Plus, the reviews coming out of Mexico have been scathing and this tn is not doing well in the ratings there. But there have been plenty of cases that we've seen here where something has done badly in Mexico, but done well here and in other countries. I believe FELS is an example of that.
 

Adriana- We were writing the same things at the same time. :)
 

Vivi, I can see that :)
What can I say, great minds think alike and apparently obsess over the same things, too.

And talking about FELS, I thought it was terrible, especially since I've seen it shortly after the original, Passion de Gavilanes. Mario Cimarro and Danna Garcia lit up the screen, Adela Noriega (who has always played her parts on the safe, "good girl" side) and Eduardo Yanez - not so much.
The only thing I liked about FELS were Jorge Salinas and crazy Luciafer... I forget her name...AH....
 

I like that this TN has a legal bidness at least. I have learned so much about other bidnesses from other TN's. Let's see, Tequila, Habanero Peppers, Growing that plant that makes Canola oil, a Dairy, Movie Makeup to turn you into someone else, Real Estate, Bodyguarding, Avon, Public relations, and now a Fish processing plant ; )
 

Even the worst TN, ie FELS, there is good acting due to ability.
Diana Bracho & Guillermo Garcia Cantú were excellent as the antagonists.

I don't know how much choice actors have when they are under contract. But Silvia Navarro would be nuts to take a Mejia role, well anyone would, except for the paycheck & the exposure.
 

Oh, how could I forget about the Avacadoes, lol.
 

Variopinta:

I really think Meija is an evil genius. He produces these in such a way that, even when you get tired of the storyline, he has already hooked you and you cannot look away. You must watch ; ). Plus the ability to snark on these is wayyyyy too tempting ; )
 

Cap'n Sylvia

maah-velous!! such a fun, fine recap and title. everyone else already mentioned fave snarks, and ITA with all esp "....she excessively fondles his bulging biceps and who can blame her? After all, she IS the director." ; "Hystericita." thank you!

Tablet jefa

I'm lol with your "I just noticed Levy's hair-LOL. I was too busy looking at his tattoo. (Yeah right). ;-) "

Carlos

WL's smile gets me everytime. I simply stare at him and smile back, looking loca while watching sola.

Bailey Marie - yes, I did notice Fulge's portrait.

Emarie - precisely for the reasons you mentioned, the last facetime with my son who is currently overseas, I put my sunglasses on, telling him the glare was bothering me. and I refuse to facetime with anyone else.

Vivi - have you seen WL's Sabritas commercials too? love them!

Adriana Noel - aaaahh!! so excited you're here. should be a fun ride. I am just now watching Pasion de Gavilanes, and am loving the 3brothers esp Michel Brown.


 

Thanks for the great comments y'all.

Adriana Noel, I'm so glad you've joined us here. Thanks for the background on your telenovela watching and on yourself. How interesting.

Emarie and others, I didn't catch the madrano or padrino thing with Fulgencio. It seems that right now Hernan is "in charge", but Fulgencio is 100% alpha male and I think Hernan is right to be nervous.

Interesting chisme about WL and XN having to take acting classes. Wonder if it's true? I have a hard time understanding him sometimes but I think it's because he mumbles. I can usually understand Cesar Evora just fine. Actually, I think they are both doing just fine.

I can't imagine ANYONE winning a role over my fave Silvia Navarro. Just sayin'.

I for one was shocked that Estercita admitted the truth to Marina. I really felt sorry for her when she wailed to Marina "You don't understand!" because Marina really does NOT understand. (And why should she?) It will be very interesting to see Marina and Fulgencio go head to head.

Carlos, your mention of the M&M is hilarious. I've always loved your one-liners.
 

Oh, and I wanted to say it is GREAT to see some of my old pals here along with new friends. It's fun to snark with everyone again. It makes learning Spanish so much more fun.
 

Bailey Marie- yes, I noticed the portrait. It gave me flashbacks of Kendra Ferreti in Amores Verdaderos.
Wow- these comments are so informative, I'm gaining so much background knowledge without having to read a gossip magazine. Thanks to all!!!
 

Count me among those who are soooo glad to see Cap'n Sylvia back in the saddle again. Love the Breton quote (and the disclaimer) but it's true, ever since the Garden of Eden, just about every disaster has been blamed on womankind. And God help you if they decide you're a witch to boot. But since the plot of this show also involves disrespect and abuse of women, that's a fine quote to start the recap.

Along with favorite quotes already mentioned, I liked "M and D glare lustfully at each other" and "heavy gazing ensues". Yep, vintage Sylvia all the way.

Just saw a few minutes of this but plan to go now and watch the recap or find it on the computer. Such fun!
 

Hi! Haven't watched any of the episodes yet (will do so soon) so really appreciate the great recaps, so thank you, recappers! I can only do one TN at a time so I'll be watching when Cielos ends, which is Monday.

Just want to say that I'm so glad Laura Carmine has a role in this. Although she played a bad girl on Amor Bravio as well, there's something about her that makes me somewhat sympathetic to her, so I think that's great acting!
 

Shallowgal, what can I say, I'm here, too, always searching for the next Bruno & Bianca, I guess (sigh).

Marta, I saw a few episodes of Laura Carmine's tn "Quien eres tu" where she plays the heroine, with Julian Gil as her pair.
I never would have thought it possible, but they made a very hot couple together, to bad the tn didn't have that much success (remaking the Usurpadora yet again - no bueno!)
 

Adriana - I did see a few episodes of Quien eres Tu? and I agree they were a hot pair. I switched over to Cielos pretty early in the game because I found it more interesting, although I'm pretty sick of all the bloodshed and almost can't wait for it to be over at this point!


 

ITA about Laura C. and Julian Gil in Quien Eres Tu? Too bad it was cancelled. I hope she gets another chance at a protagonist role—although she got to play both a good girl (with a dark past) and a bad girl (with an even darker past) in that one.

MartaNY- Cielos is excellent, but there is a reason why I can't ever watch two narco-novelas back to back. I need to cleanse my palette of the violence. As excellent as La Reina del Sur was, I could not watch it because I had just watched another narco-novela.

 

The Soup had a spoof on Amores Verdaderos. Tell me this didn't happen, Frankie & Niki are having a picinic, a girl playing a sax or trumpet & an owl lands on Frankie's arm with a ring, ¿Qué what?. ¡no puede ser!


 

Variopinta- You must go an read Aribeth's AV finale recap. It has a pic of the owl scene. Thanks for letting up know it's on the Soup. Looking forward to seeing Joel's take on it. :)
 

I happened to enjoy the short-lived Quien eres Tu? as well. it's the only time I liked Julian Gil in anything, and my first time seeing L Carmine - she was good.

Adriana Noel - I am enjoying XN/WL chemistry.
 

Thanks Sylvia great snark!

I loved all the side comments and witty remarks.

I saw the first few episode at the original MEX broadcast but did not follow, but now looks like a fun groop here.

HATE WL hair (wig), please make him cut it and have him a 'do' similar to what he had in Cuidado.

shallowgal- Loved the Sabritas ads, my personal fave is played at the airport.
 

Vivi
I gave up on AV, what is your opinion, scale of 1-10, 10 being best?
FELS being 0
The only thing I missed was Marcelo Cordaba.
 

Adriana Noel, Kassandra! What a blast from the past, I watched that when I was 8/9 and LOVED IT, La Mentira is also a favorite of mine and that's because I love Kate Del Castillo!
 

Variopinta- That’s hard to quantify. I would have to break it into parts.
1) Plot- 4
2) Pacing- 2 in the beginning; 7 later on
3) Chemistry between lead couple(s)- Younger Couple – 7; Older Couple -9
4) Chemistry among the cast- 7
5) Villains- 2
6) Wardrobe- 9
7) Recaps/Recappers/Commenters- 10
8) Marcelo Cordoba- 10 :)
 

Vivi - Yes, Cielos is excellent, great actors, and a pretty interesting plot. I totally get what you mean about these narco-novelas. I'm done with them for now....unless an actor or actress I really like happens to be in one. It was Fernanda Castillo that brought me over to Cielos, and the role she played was so different from Amor Bravio. She was really incredible, and I say "was" because her character, Monica, has joined the DEP crowd.
 

Vivi
Read the AV recap
I don't remember comeuppance by wolf before. Saw the actress on a talk show & they show her bloody. Glad Salsero found redemption. Anibal with a pig tattoo.
I wasn't impressed by any of the acting in what little I saw. I liked EY in Destilando amor, that was my 1st TN, but my 2nd Pasión & I fell for Colunga.
 

Variopinta, if you liked Destilando Amor, you would have loved Cuando seas mia with Silvia Navarro and Sergio Basanez (at Azteca) - these 2 have a chemistry almost as hot as Silvia and Cristian dela Fuente (which for me means A LOT!)

I can't watch narco - novelas, I couldn't even watch La Reina del Sur even if I do love Kate del Castillo, because for me telenovelas are mushy stuff with silly plots and hot shirtless men - I can't take a narco-novela seriously, because I keep waiting for the campy stuff to happen.

Eli, I think we are about the same age (I'll be 29 this month), because I was about the same age as you when I watched Kassandra. Oh, Osvaldo Rios in all his glory... and do you remember Randu? I remember we used to watch with some neighbors (imagine a Mexican vecindad, only a little bit more stilish) and they were all smitten with him.
La Mentira I guess is my absolute favorite tns... Whenever I come upon old clips, I still get the same thrill as before. Guy Ecker has a tn coming up soon with Televisa, he is older, but he's still a hotty.

For those who liked Quien eres tu? (and how many you were!) - the tn is still on line for whoever wants to see it - spoiler alert - it has a happy ending :))
 

What is with all the bad wigs on this show? Damian's is the best of the lot and that's saying A LOT! Estercita's is horrendous and doesn't even fit right. Her face looks like she's poking her head between the curtains on stage. And her friend MyYaYa's or whatever is not far behind. Daniela's everyday wig looks pretty good, but the one she wore when singing was - yikes!
 

Adriana, I have never seen La Mentira but it is always mentioned as one of the best telenovelas ever.


 

Adriana- we need to be cyber friends,lol. We are about the same age, although I'm a bit older *sniff,sniff*, I will be the big 3-0 come November. I don't remember all the details of Kassandra but i remember that she was beautiful and pretty clothes!

La Mentira is my favorite, I still watch it on youtube, next LRDS and Amor Bravio.
 

Sylvia, you should really go back and watch it on line, if you have the time, it was filmed in 1998, but it still looks amazing.
Guy Ecker at his finest and Kate del Castillo as a dool, playing one of the smartest tn protagonistas ever.
If you've seen Cuando me enamoro with Silvia Navarro and Juan Soler, than you basically know the story, but Cuando changed stuff, making things more complicated.
La Mentira was only about 100 episodes long (if that), but it was amazing to watch.
 

Sylvia, get on it! It's on youtube and worth the watch!
 

Eli, ha! I read your comment and already have Cap 1 from youtube open on my laptop!
 

Eli, I approve of all your choices :))
Amor Bravio is another sickness I have (as I guess you can tell by my avatar), I discovered when it had already started airing in Mexico for several months and I watched as much as 7-8 episodes back to back during the weekends.
I'm dreading the big 3-0, too, even if I still have another year to go..Don't worry, come November, I'll try to cheer you up... and maybe we get lucky and WL has one of his shirtless days.

What does LRDS stand for?
 

Sylvia, yey!!!
Enjoy!
 

Thank you for the recap Sylvia!! I loved the nickname "Hystercita"!!
 

LRDS = La Reina Del Sur
 

Awesome Sylvia!

Adriana- I'm actually glad to be done with my 20's...it was a bad decade, and I'm happy because this year my birthday falls on Thanksgiving, yay! And it stands for La Reina Del Sur
 

Anon 05:16:00 PM EDT

funny you mentioned the bad wigs. last night, my cousin was watching with me, and said the exact same things.
 

Amazingly entertaining recap of Epi 3. Thanks, Sylvia!

BTW, WL will cut his hair around Epi 40, and he will look better than ever! But for now, even with the wig, he is really something....and I don't even understand most of what he says in LT...I just look at him and enjoy!

I think Ximena is beautiful and a good match for WL...we can't have him with just an ordinary-looking woman, after all.....she is doing a good job on LT....some other good actors there too....love Cesar Evora...he is very easy to understand for someone with limited Spanish, like me.

Thanks again for a great recap, Sylvia!
 

Lainda - yes, WL really is something... lol! my first tn, CCEA, I just stared at him too. had to learn some spanish since then.
 

I am so happy that you're back, Cap'n! I love recaps that don't take the show seriously.

I also love when the male lead is almost always shirtless. Let's hope this TN works out for me.

Cynderella
 

Great recap, Sylvia...thanks so much!!

This is my first WL novella and I totally agree with Lainda that Ximena is a beautiful match for him. It's a drag when the leading man is prettier than the leading lady.. These two are well matched an this should be great fun!!! El capitan cracks me up the way he poses. Do you think those are hair extensions on him? The perfect cliche novella. (Is that redundant?). Gertie
 

Cynder, the good news, when the Capitan's shirt isn't off, it's usually wet. Rowr!

Gertie, I'm an autotonsorialist (can I tell I get dictionary.com word of the day?) and am the last one to know about hair styling. But judging by the comments his hair is extensions or a horrible wig. Luckily it's easy not to notice his hair.
 

I think they are hair extensions. WIlliam Levy said in an interview that he had to get to the set two hours earlier for them to get his hair ready for the filming of the novela.
 

Good grief! That's fascinating. Thanks Mauricio. Funny to spend so much time for THAT look.
 

autotonsorialist...one who cuts their own hair!

Cap'n Sylvia had me scrambling for my dictionary on that one ...but well, well worth the conversation.

Wow...two hours for the captain's scraggly, ocean-air look!! Thank god he is gorgeous any way.

His t shirts *do* look wet all the time. Very very thin and almost see-through and wet as if he is sweating in the humidity. I wonder if there is a set-costumer who runs around spraying his t shirts with an atomizer? I'd LOVE that job!
Gertie
 

I love it!!! Hystericita!!! :) I love that May is her frenemy! May will help lead her down the path for sure! A little disappointed that Marina was not savvy about the contract when she helped to run a major hotel! Yes, I want to be the costumer who sprays those shirts too! ;)
 

This is the best recap I have EVER read. Anyone can re- hash what happened in an episode, but the sarcasm and snark here is phenomenal. You have a real gift, thanks for letting us enjoy it!

-CA lurker