Caray, Caray!

Yes, you got it right! This is the place to discuss SANTA!
 

I've been watching this show for at least a couple of months and have quite enjoyed it and found it more interesting than what's going on with the shows on Univision. In fact, the only show I'm keeping up with on that network is "Porque El Amor Manda". "Santa Diabla" doesn't seem to get stuck on one thing and drag it out like Maricruz did on "Corazon Indomable". True, Santa is looking to get revenge on the Cano family for the murder of her husband, but we don't hear the word "VENGANZA" out of her mouth in EVERY scene like we heard out of Maricruz's mouth. The show moves right along and it's also nice to see Aaron Diaz back in a novela after starring in that steaming turd called "El Talisman".
 

Welcome British Comedy Fan. Many of us here are Univisión refugees who have vowed never to go back, some go back and forth and some just visit occasionally. Santa has some flaws but it moves along briskly and the story takes unexpected turns, which counts for a lot in my book. You may wish to declare whether you agree with the pro-Santiago/Aaron Diaz sensitive hero party or with the anti-Santiago/Aaron Diaz weepy wimp party. Welcome again and I look forward to reading your comments.
 

Yey! We graduated to having our own thread!
Thank you, Jean and NovelaMaven; you two ROCK!
Keep the comments coming, gang, this tn deserves all the atention.
 

The recap isn't up yet, but I was scratching my head that Hortensia and Petra could just walk into Mara's cafe in the middle of the night and put drugs in the sugar, or whatever. Wouldn't the door be locked?

I continue to wish Santi would tell all to Pancho, although I guess his not telling keeps a lot more story lines going.

And why wouldn't Paula confide in Santa that Bert is threatening to put her in jail? Santa could then PRETEND to be falling for Bert for real.
 

SANTA DIABLA – Monday Part 1

It’s very exciting to post the first recap on our new dedicated weekly Santa comment thread. We should certainly generate enough comments to merit a weekly page. I tried a new recapping method this time. I have trouble finding a happy medium between a full recap that takes a couple of hours to do and a from-memory one that takes less time but is necessarily incomplete if it relies on my memory. This time I made little voice memos on my phone about what was going on in each scene just to remind me. We’ll see how it goes.

Vicente, Santa and Santi are yelling at each other, well, mostly Santa and Vicente, in the hospital. Pancho tells them to quit or he’ll have them thrown out. Vicente objects to Santa’s presence but Pancho reminds his Dad that he has some ‘splainin’ to do about the dungeon in the basement of the cabaña.

We switch to the very boring looking party that Franco/Sebastián (F/S) has thrown. A whole suitcase of money seems like a lot for the services of half a dozen hookers but whatever. Babs is definitely not having a good time. She tells F/S that she is from a prominent family in Marrero and doesn’t want to be around prostitutes who will have sex with anybody for money whereas she will do it for free. F/S says that if anyone has insulted her, he will throw that person out. Babs admits that no one has insulted her but she doesn’t feel well and wants to go home. F/S tells her that she is home. It’s a palace – she is the queen. She can send for her stuff or just buy new stuff.

As we saw on Friday’s episode, F/S has had Babs call Santi and invite him to the party. He doesn’t want to come until F/S gets on the line and says that he will kill Babs if Santi doesn’t show up and by the way, there’s a car waiting for him outside the hospital. Santi excuses himself from Vicente and Santa and leaves the hospital.

Meanwhile, Pancho gets a call that the prison nurse has been taken into custody. He leaves the hospital, too, telling Vicente to call him with any news about Inés.

We see Daniela in her pj’s apparently getting ready for bed. There is a scary shadow hand outside her door but it’s only Ivan. Daniela is delighted to see him. Ivan tells her about how Horti took his manuscript to read. Daniela has visions of Ivan as a famous author but Ivan is not so sure. Daniela wants to celebrate. Ivan says that he has to leave. Daniela leaps up and kisses him. Ivan seems to respond and then breaks away and says that he’s not going to live in the Cano house and has to leave. Daniela is crushed and immediately turns to her drugs for solace.

 

SANTA DIABLA – Monday Part 2

Pancho interrogates the prison nurse. At first he clams up but finally he admits that Willy did not die in the prison infirmary but he won’t identify the “higher ups” who told him to pretend that Willy did die. At this moment, Santa bursts into Pancho’s office and begs him to help her get Willy’s body exhumed. Pancho hastily takes her out into the hall. Santa says that she is going crazy with all the signs and hints that Willy might be alive. She begs Pancho to help her. Even though Pancho now knows that Willy did not die in prison, he isn’t going to tell Santa that. He tells her that he will investigate and find out what happened.

Bert tells Paula that she has to make Santa fall in love with him or he will have her sent to jail. Paula doubts her ability to do this and is surprised to find out that Bert loves Santa.

Babs tells F/S that she can’t live in his house because of her family. No problem, replies F/S, your family is here and Santi walks in. F/S won’t let Babs greet Santi. F/S takes Santi to one side and tells him that he has to work for him or Babs will die. Santi hesitates and F/S’s goons start to drag Babs off but of course, Santi relents.

Bert is hitting the bottle again. He flashes back to his (fake) wedding with Santa. He delivers that stock novela villain line: If I can’t have Santa, neither can anyone else.

The evil abortion doctor comes in and tells Vicente that Inés has to stay in the hospital. She has serious complications of her pregnancy. Vicente asks hopefully if Inés might lose the baby. The doctor replies that it is quite likely that she will lose the baby. Vicente can barely hide his glee. “You asked for this, Inés," he says.

Santa comes home and finds Paula there. Paula dutifully starts to suggest that the Plan of Vengeance against Bert maybe doesn’t make sense. Santa asks if Paula has lost her mind and Paula pretty quickly gives up on that topic. Santa tells Paula to prepare herself for a big shock. Willy may have deceived them and all that they have been fighting for was a lie. She says that somehow she will find out the truth.

Horti and the evil nurse apparently just walk into Mara’s café after it is closed. Doesn’t anyone ever lock a door in this novela??? Horti does what she came to do while evil nurse guards the door.

Pancho has Excedrin headache #27 – too many cases to investigate. There’s Dad and the basement dungeon, his brother in law shooting at people and Willy supposedly being alive. What can he do? He can’t investigate 3 crimes at once!! Cifuentes advises him to concentrate on Willy’s supposed death. Pancho agrees and says that finding out about Willy’s supposed death might lead them to find out who was held in the basement dungeon. [That is quite a leap. Pancho has no reason to suspect that there is any connection between the basement dungeon and Willy. In fact, when he was first shown the dungeon, he told Cifuentes to take samples of the blood to see if it matched the dead guy they found in the woods. Wait a minute, that’s another crime that the police are supposed to be investigating!]

 

SANTA DIABLA – Monday Part 3

Santi comes home. Pancho tells him that Inés might lose her baby. Santi gets that deer in the headlights look. Pancho goes on to say that these things happen for a reason. Then he wants to talk to Santi about something else. He tells Santi that Willy isn’t dead. [Again, that’s quite a leap. All Pancho really knows is that Willy didn’t die in prison. He could have died in the intervening 2 years.] Now Santi thinks that Willy’s fake death might be related to the guy in the basement dungeon. [Santi might be able to make the connection because he knows that Inés had a photo of Willy but so far he has not remembered that fact.] In spite of the fact that Santa is going crazy with doubt about Willy, Pancho does not want Santi to tell her about Willy being alive until he has more information.

Santi goes upstairs and finds a picture of Vicente in Inés’ photo album. He flashes back to Inés demanding that Vicente tell him about the father of her baby, the father of the baby that she had to abort and the guy who was in the dungeon. Later, of course, Inés denied any connection between her pregnancies and the prisoner in the dungeon.

Vicente is sitting by Inés’ bedside. Inés is asleep. He tells her that he promised her dead mother that he would watch over her and he has kept that promise. He says that it is ok if she loses the baby. Even if the baby is born, there was no way that the child was going to grow up with Inés. He would never let a child of Willy Delgado pollute their family.

Vicky is in bed alone. She flashes back to Patricio catching her going through his clothes and overreacting, shall we say. Patricio comes in the bedroom with his briefcase of money and stashes it in the wardrobe. Vicky sees this but pretends to be asleep when Pat is looking at her.

Bert has a dream about kissing a bikini-clad Santa in the pool. Then he wakes up on the couch next to the empty whiskey decanter. Francisca comes in and asks what is up with him and where did he get the briefcase of money that he brought into the house. F/S must buy briefcases by the dozen. She says that she is worried that she can’t reach Babs who didn’t spend the night in the house.

The next morning Elisa wants to go to the café with Mara. Elisa seems nervous. She doesn’t want to be alone in the house but she doesn’t want to be in Mara’s way. They are interrupted by a telephone call from Lázaro. He claims that his car is broken and he can’t afford a taxi. He wants Mara to come pick him up. She agrees reluctantly. Lázaro apparently has something planned for Mara when she gets there.

Arturo is having breakfast in the kitchen of Vicky’s house. He tells her that he can’t find a job. Once an employer sees his crutches, it’s all over. [Someone should tell him about the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which prohibits employment discrimination against handicapped people, assuming that Arturo isn’t applying for jobs that require walking, like being a mailman.] But Vicky is distracted. She goes up to call Patricio to breakfast. Pat is not in the bedroom so Vicky opens the wardrobe, finds and opens the briefcase of money. Vicky runs downstairs. Pat appears and says that he thought he heard Vicky calling him.

Santi is sitting with Inés in her hospital room when she wakes up. He tells her that she might lose the baby. He is quite surprised when Inés announces that she doesn’t want to have this baby.

 

Jean - Very entertaining recap Jean. The story is great and the beanie tightening moments actually add to the entertainment in my view. Here are my dos centavos for the day...

Excedrin headache, yessirree. Doesn't Pancho have a team of detectives he can assign cases to? In fact, these cases have some form of conflict of interest for him .... Brother-in-law Santi's problems, kidnap victim in Daddy O's house etc.....

And I agree with HdM. Why doesn't Santi just tell Pancho what is going on and go undercover or something? He has zero to lose as NarcoMan keeps threatening him at every turn - you run, they die, you deny my request they die, when you die, they die and on and on he goes!

I am on the SAnti / Aaron team - well sort of. I like his ethical and sympathetic nature, but I think it would be more appealing if he turned it into getting the bad guy - Narco dude - at his own risk. I would like to seem him more be resourceful rather than reactive and submissive.

Dear Writers - Please don't go to the Dani and Ivan storyline. I like them much better as distant cousins and friends.

I found the Horti / Petra scene amusing. Horti is wearing the usual bright colors and white outfit and Petra has on her bright scrubs, but they both were wearing black gloves...nothing too obvious there.

Last commentario! Arrggh, Eliza. What happened to the strong woman we were introduced to? She can't handle Lazaro? I want the old Eliza that threw Vicente off her porch with a vase full of water!

That is it for now! Thanks again Jean. Great entertainment. "F/S must buy briefcases by the dozen." LOL






 

SANTA --lunes

Jean, I guess your new method worked out because your recap is fabulous. I always love the way your logical mind exposes the absurd assumptions under which the characters operate.

And then there are your throwaways like this:

"Vicente asks hopefully if Inés might lose the baby."

So understated. So perfect.

Thank you.

Oh and BTW, I was liking Santi a little more in this episode. If only he could learn to stop making that sneery face -- or at least to save it for times when he really means to sneer.

 

Wow, we have our own thread! The wkly thing is great, easier to look at comments from the day before.

Pancho is still very careless with his gun. When the guard came in to be interviewed about Willy, Pancho put his gun on the desk. A bad guy could grab that.
 

I always forget sth. Vicente is worried about a desgraciado bebe of Willy in the family!!!!????, this is Vicente we are talking about. There must be more to the Vicente/Willy story than just Willy being married when he had the affair with Inez.
 

SANTA: I've been thinking the same thing, Variopinta. Vicente's hatred of Willy has got to have more to it than just social class differences.
 

Idea, maybe Vicente's wife had an affair with Willy's padre???
 

Great recap, Jean! I loved it.

Variopinta I agree with what you said about Pancho and the gun. I was also worried the guy would grab it. And has Pancho ever heard about giving immunity to witnesses to get them to testify against the big fish? Guess not.
 

I forgot something from Monday's episode. Tránsito brings some food to Willy's room at the Trébol de Oro but he's not hungry for food and he and Tránsito get it on. Willy's a horndog but at least Tránsito gets one pleasurable sexual experience.
 

Hello, and my greetings to everybody from Toronto, Ontario, Canada! I am a longtime 'lurker' and first-time poster here on 'CarayCaray', and first off I'd like to say how happy I am to finally 'meet' you all! You really have no idea how thankful and grateful I am to you all for what you do here on this site... To whit, I lived in Central America for 7 years, but then returned to Toronto 2 years ago (and have pretty much absolutely HATED life ever since!). Thankfully, as of this coming Saturday I am going to be moving BACK down to Central America... and I can't f**king WAIT!! (lol)

Strange though this may sound, Telenovelas were instrumental in my learning Spanish, and I give full credit to them with helping to give me the desire to both learn and improve my Spanish abilities, as well as give me enough confidence in same to enable me immerse myself more completely in the culture that I was living in and to, subsequently, create a career and a life for myself as a Canadian guy in Central America! I'll never forget what got me started... I was getting some dental work done in a small town in Panama and, every time I went in, while the dentist was working on me her attention always seemed to be diverted to whatever was going on on the screen of the little tv that each room was equipped with ('for the patients', of course!). She would have the drill buzzing away just outside my mouth, and I would be looking at it, WONDERING when the hell she's just going to GET ON WITH IT... and then would look up at the two hygienists that were assisting her- and they'd be looking at the screen, too! Of course, I would look... and usually I would see something that would make me wonder "what the hell is going on THERE??". I remember distinctly, to this day, the exact time when the worlds of 'bewildered, yet curious Gringo patient' and 'knowing and experienced Latino(a) professionals' met and became one... Dr. Gomez had filed down the end teeth that would provide the foundation for my new bridgework and- having had most of the left side of my mouth whittled away to nothing, she paused with the drill spinning away and was transfixed to the screen. I looked at the two hygienists and they were staring at screen, one with her mouth actually agape. The novela (I found out later) was 'Tierra de Pasiones', and it was the exact scene when the evil Marcia takes her sister Paola out for a fun day on the boat and the proceeds to shoot her through the head, then wrap her body in chains and throw it overboard. I saw that (and, if anyone remembers that novela, you may recall the rather freaky, intense, pounding music that was played whenever grisly acts of infamy were committed) and remember, thinking to myself "okay, I don't know what's just happening here... but I gotta find out, because this s**t looks intense!" The dentist then explained to me what was happening and I was hooked ever since. From that day, if I would go into a restaurant and 'Tierra' was playing (as it frequently was), I would experience a strange sense of pride at being able to sit down with the staff and the proprietors, and be able to communicate- to the best of my abilities- my part towards whatever it was that we were just watching. I'm not sure if this all will sound strange to you all but, really, being able to do that was a BIG part of helped me to cross a threshold (that, I'm sure, probably existed for the most part just in my mind) of feeling like an 'outsider' and being able to feel more like 'one of the gang'. And I can't imagine how it would ever have been possible for me to ever immerse myself in the culture and the community enough to be able to be where I got to had not that threshold been passed. So, you see, the Telenovela (not all of them, mind you!) holds a special place in my heart... :-)
 

And, even since I have been back in Toronto... with nobody around me that I can 'practice' with to prevent my Spanish from getting rusty (along with, admittedly, NO desire whatsoever to try and go out and meet Spanish speaking people here JUST for the sake of it), it has been to Telenovelas that I, once again, turned. Oh, the derision that I got from people I knew when they would catch me immersed in an episode in my computer, or when I would relate to people that would inquire as to my television preferences, what I was watching... "you actually watch those 'Mexican Soap Operas'??", I would get. I would, of course, immediately launch into a passionate rebuttal, with an explanation that Telenovelas are absolutely, unequivocally NOT 'soap operas', and that there are some very real and defining differences between the two... but, inevitably, I would realize that the other party just either wasn't bright enough, or didn't care enough, to pay much attention to what I was saying so, after a while... I just shut up, content to let the joy of the Telenovela be mine and mine alone or, if not 'alone', then at least free from the unwarranted scorn and derision of the ignorant gringo!!

Unfortunately, being up here in Canada, there is either nothing or next-to-nothing available, and I'm talking no Telemundo, no Televisa, no Univision, Azteca- NADA! There seems to be ONE 'Spanish' channel (TVN), yet it's programming is a mishmash of everything, it seems... and my inquiries as to Telenovela availability when I have TRIED to get some sort of concrete answers, were without exception met with a rather stunned, subdued, ignorance by the operators on the other end of the line. Thank God for the internet.... AND (this is where you all come in), thank GOD for you all, too!
 

For I quite a while ago tried to look for some sort of online community or forum for Telenovelas, as well as general info sites for them as well. A lot of what I found (info-site wise) were rather out-of-date, alas, and when it came down to forums I admit I had more luck... but it didn't take me long to realize that the crew on here were just what I was looking for!
For whatever it's worth (and, admitting that this is JUST my opinion (and so as such worth no more than the opinion of anybody else)... the forums that were Spanish-language based seemed to be populated by (here's me at my cattiest) a bunch of undersexed, romantically-parched, love-starved women whose posts and comments to me reeked uncomfortably of desperation. To them, the IMMEDIATE 'love triangle' of every telenovela was their primary, if not sole, focus. Characterization, plot development, acting, writing, sub-plots... none of these seemed to matter or even register with them. They just wanted 'hero' and 'heroine' to get together, for 'villain A' to be punished and for there to be a big wedding at the end. Nothing against these people, but this is just not for me. Even the one other English-language Telenovela forum which I found and frequent (as a 'lurker', of course) was more of the same. I would read some of the comments... how, within the first 40 or so capitulos of a 'revenge-themed' Telenovela, these people would start whinging "I'm sick and tired of and all the horrible things that are going on! This novela is depressing and I refuse to watch it anymore!!" and think to myself "Are these people missing a chromosome or something? Are they really that clueless about who good 'drama' works??" Then, I came here. And I haven't looked back!
I love how you all can mock the inanities going on at a certain time, yet still 'love' while 'mocking'. That other forum I was referring to was filled with posters who it seems can barely put a sentence together properly, decrying how 'stupid' every single telenovela and character is. There IS a lot of ridiculous or at times downright unbelievable goings on in either the plot, production, or presentation of these Telenovelas we have here, but to that argument I have to think back to many of the works of Shakespeare, especially his earlier tragedies, as well to the 'Revenge Tragedies' of the Jacobean era (with playwrights that are venerated both by history and by us today such as Middleton and Webster)- take a look at the plot of Middleton's "Women Beware Women"- hell, I think even 'Corazon Valiente' would pale in comparison!!

No, but your site here, and you all are so wonderfully informative and- even at your most frustrated (and/or frustratING)- there is hardly ever any sense of sanctimoniousness or arrogance, or dismissiveness towards those that are enjoying the show, or the actors, or the show itself. I like that. This site feels like a site for people who love Telenovelas and would like to share that with others who feel same, or that's what I get from it anyway. And, please let it be said... that you all have no idea how grateful I am, both for it (this website), and for all of you who combine make it everything that it is.

With my continued best regards to all...

Stevey :-)
 

SANTA DIABLA, Martes, Part 1

Inés tells Santiago that she doesn’t want to have the baby. That’s crazy, he replies, and I don’t want to hear you say that ever again. She seems to consider telling him why, but demurs. He leaves (he’s one busy boy).

Santi first goes to meet with the male nurse who was the last to see Willy at the prison. Santi tells him he knows the guy told the police that it was a sealed coffin, that Willy was not dead, and that “higher ups” ordered him to do it. But who? The nurse is mum at first, but Santi threatens him a bit (he also says Willy was his brother!), and when Santi shows him a picture of Vicente Robledo, the nurse says, yep, that’s him. He paid me to do it!

Pancho has also been doing some questioning. He brings the thug who previously said Santi shot him back in for questioning. Pancho points out the guy’s long record, he’d better tell the truth. And sure enough, when Pancho shows him the picture of Navarro, the guy admits, yes, THAT’s the one who shot me.

Transito gets to have some hot sex with Willy. Good for her!

Lázaro has been waiting for Mara, on the pretext that his car broke down. Mara told Elisa she had to handle the café, so Elisa went to help Lázaro with his car. In reality, Lázaro’s motor HAS been running, he’s set up a romantic dinner to surprise Mara. Elisa arrives instead, they both fumble for words, but Laz likes Lisa, and pretty soon they’re lickin lips! Just before things get too heavy, Elisa pulls away, we can’t do this, you’re the only man in the WORLD who is prohibited to me, my daughter’s boyfriend!

Mara’s at the café, everything seems to be fine, until a man keels over at his table. Then another. Then a kid gets sick. Something’s wrong with the food! All the customers leave, yelling about lawsuits, as Mara looks destroyed, and Hortensia, cleverly disguised with sunglasses, smiles in the corner, gloating away. Putting that substance in the sugar was sure sweet!

Bert visits Santa, gives her a new car. She’s not impressed, doesn’t he get it? She hates him! He says what if I say I’m sorry? Nope. How about if I get down on my knees? Nope. How about if I get all the members of my family to say they’re sorry? She’s waffling. You want justice? How about if I get you justice, so all the members of my family pay for what they did? Santa’s waffle iron has blown a fuse, her mind is exploding, this does not compute! She had questioned willy again about his father, and willy says yes, I did meet with him, but he told me not to tell anyone. Now she’s REALLY going nuts. So she asks Bert, is Willy Delgado alive? Do you know anything about this? Bert is stunned, no way, Willy is dead. He’s dead, damn it! He stumbles away, Santa tells Begoña she believes that Bert does think Willy is dead. So if he’s not, he’s fooled us ALL! It’s sort of ironic that she’s getting furious at Willy for tricking them! (he didn’t really).
 

SANTA, Part 2

Barb is very nervous at Franco/Sebastian’s house. She asks him if she’s allowed to call her mother. He makes fun of her. What, you need to ask me if you can call your Mommy? Go ahead. But don’t call Santiago. Or else. He also gives her a big emerald ring, which calms her down a bit. She calls Fran, tells her she’s fine, but she’s not coming home for a while, and can’t say where she is. Fran knows she’s with Sebastian, and says watch out for that guy. Barb also asks about Santi, and Fran thinks that’s strange, she never cared about him before. Barb finishes off with Mom, don’t call me, I’ll call you.

Pat’s another one for being mean to women. Holding the briefcase which Vicky found, he demands to know if she really slept, or was she snooping around? She weakly says I was sleeping. Ulises is offended at how rudely Pat is treating his sister, and stands up to Pat, cut it out, bud. But Pat shoots right back, oh, it’s all so easy for you and your family, who inherited this place, which was sent from heaven, or was it hell!? After he leaves, Ulises wonders what Pat has to do with his and Vicky’s inheritance. When Arturo shows up, they kid each other like pals, until Art asks what did you do in New York? Ulises was an actor. Well, why did you leave, running from a girlfriend or something? Ulises gets angry, you don’t want to KNOW about me in New York!

Bert goes to the church to berate Padre Milton. You know the truth, Padre, is Willy Delgado alive? Padre continues to respect the seal of confession, as Bert gets more and more incensed. Then Vicente shows up, and Bert turns on HIM. Is it true Willy Delgado is alive? Did you double cross me? Vicente waffles, and Bert takes that as a yes. I’ll KILL you! he roars, as the Padre tries to get these guys out of the sacred church. They’re both revealing all sorts of crimes in their arguing, and the Padre gets an earful.

Inés, after a few flashbacks, tries to get out of the hospital, pulls off her IV and wires, but only makes it two steps, collapsing on the floor.

Santiago is given a mission by FS. Go to this upscale hotel. Go in, find this woman, she’s your contact. Santi enters the hotel, finds the woman, who shows him a duffel bag full of bills. I think Santi was going to deliver jewels or drugs in exchange. She asks if it’s his first job, which it is. Well, she has LOTS of experience, she says, and frankly is tired of it. She proposes a deal. Let’s split this money, and double cross the bosses. Santi doesn’t go for this. The woman says you have no choice, and points a gun at him. But Santi grabs the gun and the bag, and runs out. He beats up two of her security guards, and rushes up the steps of the hotel. At the top, he hides for a second until they pass, then runs DOWN the steps. But he’s cornered. He holds the money bag over the edge, saying I’ll drop it, as the woman and the two guards points guns at his HEAD!!

(I have a funny feeling this whole thing is just a test for him, but we’ll see).
As always, corrections and additions are welcome.
 

SANTA -- martes

Hombre,
Great job and lots of zingers today. Just to mention a few --

"Hortensia, cleverly disguised with sunglasses"

"Santa’s waffle iron has blown a fuse"

"Padre continues to respect the seal of confession, as Bert gets more and more incensed."
(not sure if this was intentional but it sure is funny.)

It's amusing how happy we all are for Transito. It's about time she had a little fun.

Ulises' prickly reaction to Arturo's innocent question fuels the suspicion that he left something worse than a love affair gone sour in New York.

Am I the only one who finds Lázaro annoying?

And poor Mara. She just can't catch a break, can she?

Thanks again, Hombre!
 

GENERAL

Stevey,

I'm so glad you found a kindred community in this blog. I enjoyed your reading about your personal telenovela 'awakening' and look forward to your comments in the future.

BTW, a lot of folks around here watch their novelas online. Telemundo is pretty good about posting their shows the next day. (I've found Univision a little less reliable.) You sound very resourceful so I'm sure you'll figure it out.

Welcome!
 

Santa

great recap as always Hombre!
and some great lines,
(I actually wrote down the same ones as NovelaMaven)

I'm glad the bad guy changed his story because it seemed odd that Pancho was allowing Santiago to walk around after shooting someone.

(and what's with all the flashbacks)

what a disaster at the Cafe!
(and Reinaldo in "Marido" thought he had it bad with rats)

Santiago was pretty clever in making the Willy/basement connection, but now he is off on other matters, and he isn't telling anyone.

Franco's sure having fun playing with the Cano's, Barbara is easy, just give her a big gem, of course he gets them all back when he is done with her, I wish they would explain more about Santiago's chores, I too think it is a test, but I was wondering if it was money laundering, where he delivers the money to Humberto, (what? they both say), any way Preciosa wasn't there for his wife who is on her own abortion mission.

Papa Vicente surely isn't bonding with any of his kids, (what me lie?, I only did this for you). I'm thinking he has a moral twist in his character that showed when he insisted Santiago/Ines get married after he found them together and that his hate of Willy is that he sees him for what he is and for being married when he was romancing Ines, I can't help but feel sorry for that wife he had, (did she kill herself?, I'm guessing).


 

SANTA

I'm gonna guess that there is some incestuous connection between Ines and Willy. That's why Vicente gets apoplectic at the thought of Ines carrying Willy's baby.

Do Willy and Ines have the same mother? The same father?

As much as Vicente despises Willy, he sure went to a lot of trouble to keep him alive. Yes, in a way his torture was worse than death. But Vicente is rather risk-averse for a bad guy. It would have been much easier to kill Willy -- unless something was holding him back. Something like the fact that Willy is his son (or his stepson)?
 

Great recap, Hombre. I loved the little zingers, too.

My questions are: Does Lázaro live in an empty restaurant? This is the second time he's met or tried to meet Mara there.

Why is the prison nurse still working there? Shouldn't he be fired or at least suspended for falsifying the report of Willy's death?

Does anyone else think that the anvil may be about to fall on Vicente? So many people have motives to kill him that it would be the perfect novela crime.

I agree that Santi's job is probably a test. I kind of like Franco/Sebastián. He clearly enjoys playing with Santi and Babs.

Did I hear right that Arturo is applying for a job in his mother's bookstore?

I agree that Ulíses definitely has left some secret in NYC and really, how could he not, since this is a novela?

Pancho has a great interrogation technique: he just asks the question a couple of times and the person confesses.
 

SANTA

About Arturo…
No, he's not applying for a job at Mom's. He thinks his many years working at Mommy's bookstore -- or managing it, I think -- qualify him for work elsewhere.

Maybe he's applying for retail management jobs or jobs in the editorial world.

He may have a bit of a problem getting a good reference from his previous employer, however.
 

Does anyone else think that the anvil may be about to fall on Vicente?

I do, the minute Santa threatened him in the hospital, I figured his novela days were numbered. So I expect to see Santa in the mandatory jail uniform that every "good girl" goes to.
 

Jean,

Yup, I think the anvil is over Vicente and presupposed it in my Friday recap!

And yup, fancy jewels seem to do wonders for Barb's nervios. She knows something is wrong with this guy, but keeps backing down. Narco guy was really enjoying himself when she asked permission to call her mother back. He threw his head back so far that all we saw was his dental work.
 

I can't decide which is worse, Vicente for Inez' abortion,( her choice),locking someone in a basement for 2 years or Hortensia causing illness to several patrons, possibly even death, causing her own son's injuries (trying to kill Mara).
Yet another reason not to use sugar.
 

This comment has been removed by the author.
 

First of all, WELCOME, STEVEY!
I live in France and only watch on line, too. I started watching as a kid, with my mom and I've been hooked ever since.
I agree with you this is the best telenovela site/ blog there is, I know a few others, too. I started lurking sometime last year and finally started posting in January - now I don't even think I'd be able to watch without the Caray gang.


Vicente is surely on his way to a better world and after Santa threatened him, now Bert did it, too. Maybe they both get arrested and fall in love in jail - this is me beating a dead horse, but I can't help it.
The only character who is more all over the place than Vicente right now is Santi - poor guy, working for the Mafia, in love with Santa, married with Ines, unborn baby, investigated by Pancho... am I forgetting anything? Maybe he should get some scenes at the Trebol, too... but wait, Willy is already there, getting plenty of action.

Good for Transito, she nailed the biggest man whore in Marrero... at least we know he can give her a good time.
Pancho I believe was the one to tell Santa that the reason Willy didn't fall for Barbara's advances was because, like any predator, he needs a weaker victim, which Barbie was not. When he met Santa, she was very young and inexperienced, Ines and Daniela were teenagers, Lucy is much younger, too. But Transito has been around the block once or a hundred times - maybe she ends up being "the one" for him.

NovelaMaven, the moment the scene changed after Ulises found his gf in bed with someone else and then we saw him run out of the building, I had the feeling something was very wrong - I think he killed them both.

Lazaro is beyond annoying and so is Elisa - and I'm not saying this just because she's hooking up with her daughter's bf... wasn't she supposed to only be visiting Mara? Now she lives with her full time?

Santa is for now upset with Willy, but when she finds out he was locked up, she'll change her mind... and then I suppose she'll change it one more time when she meets all of Willy's girlfriends.

 

Wecome, Stevey!

Adriana, as for Willy with the young girls, I agree, but what about Begonia?

I sort of think Elisa SHOULD go with Lazaro. They're attracted to each other, and Mara wants to go with Arturo anyway. Remember when Lazaro first appeared, many of us thought he was older, maybe a friend of Elisa's.
 

Stevey, I really enjoyed your posts about your telenovela watching history. Welcome, welcome, welcome! I'm not watching Santa Diabla, but luckily clicked on the link for that novela and thus saw what you wrote. I'm mostly watching Marido en Alquiler and, just now, rewatching La Reina del Sur.

I agree that Caray, Caray IS a civilized and pleasant site to visit. And I also agree 100% about some of the other sites that consist of constant griping, sometimes about the appearance of one of the characters or their perception that the galán is not hot enough for them.

I also get some sneers, especially from a certain person in my Advanced Spanish class whose lip curls when the three of us in class who watch telenovelas comment about something we're watching.

I give a LOT of credit to my increasing comprehension of spoken Spanish to telenovelas. A person in that same class (We keep taking the class over and over - more than 10 years by now.) recommended watching Spanish telenovelas to practice listening to spoken Spanish. They didn't tell me, of course, that I might form an addiction!
 

Hombre, I had forgotten Begona! How could I? Maybe the forbidden fruit, the fact that she tried to resist him was what made him go for her.
Or maybe he was bored one day, while Santa was at the market... the guy has to be a sex addict or something.

Stevey and Novelera - if I had a peso for all the eye rolls I got for watching tns... then I'd have enough pesos to fly to Mexico to see Silvia Navarro's new play, with Ivan Sanchez!!!
Aside from my mom, nobody that I know watches tns, my husband always laughs at me, but he got used to it by now, and with others I don't even bring it up anymore, what would be the point?


 

Willy is really a horndog, turning down Barbara puzzles me. He didn't seem to care about age, boink anything that he could. Maybe it was Daniela being the daughter,in the same house, but then how to explain Begona. Barbara is gorgeous. ORRRR, maybe just to give the novela traction.

Maybe Willy & Barbara are related???? But Daniela is her daughter, so that would make them related.

This novela can make you crazy. Love it.
 

SANTA DIABLA, Miércoles, Part 1

The surprises continue. The writer of this show keeps throwing us new twists. We were right about one thing, though. Santiago’s adventure in the stairwell, with the bag of money, WAS a test. Franco shows up, claps his hands, good job, Santiago, you stopped four of my people. Guns are lowered, the woman smiles. Santi doesn’t.

Back at the church, Bert and Vicente continue yelling, Vic wondering “how did you know?” (that Willy is alive), and Bert saying I remember that phone call where I asked if he was dead, and you said yes. How could you betray me like this? I’ll KILL you! Vicente’s plea of “but you’re my son” falls on deaf ears. We later see the fallout from this scene. Vicente realizes the jig is up. He has to leave town, forever. He asks Pancho, you aren’t going to go against your own father, are you? Pancho had just asked him point blank if he put Willy Delgado in that basement, and Vicente doesn’t deny it. Also, Santiago confirms it, having told Pancho he talked to the male nurse, showed him Vicente’s picture, and nurse admitted Vicente paid him to have a sealed coffin, and deliver Willy to him. Pancho tells his Dad sorry, but I have to follow the law. Vicente is desperate, and he goes to tell Inés in her hospital bed, he’s leaving forever. She tells him he can’t leave, if he leaves, she’ll KILL him! Hmmm.

And Bert? He meets with Franco, and tells him there’s a problem. This guy who was supposed to be dead (Willy) isn’t. Can F/S eliminate him? No prob at all says F/S, and gives Bert a gun, in case HE wants to do it. Before Franco came in, Bert had been drinking a bit (he’s doing that a lot these days) and thought he saw Willy appear behind his desk. But that was a dream. Or was it? Turns out that Willy IS in the office, has snuck in, and hears Bert telling F/S they’re going to kill him. He also hears something else. Bert’s having a party. Yes, he’s inviting everyone, including F/S. The purpose? Bert wants his whole family to apologize to Santa, because he loves her. In the shadows, Willy observes, his face showing the confusing series of emotions from these revelations.

Bert needs Santa to come to his party, of course, so he enlists Paula to make sure of that, with the usual threats. Once again, I think Paula should tell Santa the truth, that SHE’s being threatened, but no, she cooks up something about George and Barbara’s divorce, she needs Santa at the Cano home. Santa doesn’t want to go. But she has just told Begoña to take willy to the park, as bait for Willy, in case he really IS alive. Little willy had told her he met with Willy in the park. Begoña doesn’t want to go. If he shows up, what do I DO? I don’t know, says Santa, but you have to go. Okay, then YOU have to go to the Cano’s house for Paula. It’s settled. The next day, Begoña does take willy to the park. Will Willy be there?

We see Santiago putting flowers on a grave. It says, Alicia Cano, 4/29/83. This was his twin sister, I think, who died in childbirth (or DID she?).
 

SANTA, Part 2

Daniela stills wants Fran to help get Iván to live at the mansion. Fran again asks Bert, who is still surprised she wants this, but he has other things to talk about. He wants the whole family here tomorrow night. The occasion? We’re all going to apologize to Santa for what we did to her family! Francesca thinks he’s nuts. Willy abused Dani, and.....Bert cuts her off. Mother, you’re starting to believe in your own lies. Amanda is not the enemy. Our enemy is Willy Delgado. Huh? Yes, Mom, Willy Delgado is still alive!

Up the steps, George almost falls out of his hiding place. He’s been filming all of this on his iphone!!!! We later see him to go a bank, get out a safe deposit box, and put in a dvd of this latest recording, along with all sorts of other things he’s filmed! He then calls SOMEONE, and says I got another recording for you, and this one’s the juiciest yet! Who could he be calling???

Mara cries to her mother about the poisoning at the café. She begs Pancho to help her. She can’t understand how this could be, did anyone die? Pancho says 7 people got sick, 2 are in critical condition, no has died...yet. Mara calls attorney after attorney, no one will take her case. Elisa then gets on the phone, makes a call, you HAVE to help us? Could she be calling Vicente? He is a lawyer, but as we know, he’s trying to disappear.

Padre Milton also visits Pancho in the station, I’ve got a lot to tell you, about Vicente, Bert and Willy Delgado!!!! So much for the seal of confession, although I don’t think that argument in church was covered under the usual rules.
 

SANTA, Part 3

Victoria is distraught (her usual state), and goes to visit Tránsito in the bordello. She wants Tránsito’s help with Patricio. She saw Pat here, with women, he must have been lying. Tránsito says I warned you about him, get away! The truth starts spilling out. Tránsito tells Vicky that Pat abused her, beat her, terrorized her. But what does he do, traffic in drugs, traffic in human organs? Tránsito doesn’t answer this one, but tells Vicky Pat is a liar, and he’s very violent. Violent? Maybe he DID kill Carlos, and maybe you just said he was with you as an alibi! Tránsito’s silence speaks volumes. Vicky looks across the smoky room, and there’s Pat NOW, kissing some hookers! She’s going to KILL him! No, wait, says Tránsito, he’ll kill us BOTH! You’ve go to leave town. I can’t, says Vicky, this town is my whole life. Then you have to do EXACTLY as I tell you. Listen closely. Tránsito goes over to Pat, takes him upstairs for some nookie, as Vicky sneaks out.

She arrives at home, the doorbell rings, and it’s Iván! He just couldn’t stay away. And with what she’s just found out, Vicky doesn’t resist. They start to kiss, when Ulises arrives, what are you two doing? They say they can’t help it. He says, look I have nothing against you, I totally support Iván, but Pat could arrive home, so you really have to be careful about this. I think he has a plan, too.

Iván is having second thoughts about his book being published. Wouldn’t it embarrass Victoria? It has all his private thoughts. Don’t worry, says Hortensia, we’ll just change the name. Lisette says see, nothing to worry about. Iván gives the okay. How come I sort of think Horti will “forget”to change the name? She tells Lisette, I reward good, but when someone crosses me, they get PUNISHED (such as Mara). She smiles smugly.

The cliffhanger. I can’t remember! Someone knocks on the door to someone’s place. We wonder who it is. Willy? Vicente? I can’t believe I forgot who it was. Help!
 

SANTA -- part 3 b

Hombre, if I remember correctly --

Santa watches Begoña and willy leave for the park. She sits down anxiously, as if she is waiting for someone. [We wonder if she deliberately sent away her mother and son so she could be WillyBait.]

There is a knock at the door. Willy?

Thanks for another fine recap, Hombre. More later...
 

Great recap, Hombre!! The cliffhanger was when Santa was in the house alone and someone was knocking on the door. She thought it might be Willy.

So Pancho is going to do apply the law to his father but not arrest him right then and there, thus giving him the opportunity to escape (or be mysteriously murdered).

Wasn't Vicky wearing the ugliest dress ever made? I know she's supposed to be dowdy but that ghastly little lace thing on the front of the skirt looked like someone read a pattern wrong.

Otra vez, Vicky. You find out that you are married to the guy who killed your brother and is a super dangerous guy and you can't get up the courage to leave town or go to the police?

You forgot the scene where Inés knocks out the nurse and presumably escapes from the hospital so that she can be a suspect in the upcoming anvil hit on her father.

No tomb of a twin sister who supposedly died at birth is going to be shown on a novela without a reason. Dollars to donuts she is alive.

It would have been easier for George to have hidden cameras placed all over the house for his spying purposes. In addition to wondering who he called, I wonder why the director had Bert's head hidden by a lamp in George's video. It's not something that would happen by accident. It looked so weird.
 

Santa

thanks Hombre, great recap!

I think Santiago said at the beginning, that he goes to his sisters grave on their birthday, and plays that song "Santa" that Willy wrote, so I'm guessing that one year has passed since the story began.

Did Pancho tell Mara, it doesn't matter what poisoned the people, what matters is that it happened here and you are responsible.

G-Cano is a pretty strange place these days since Humberto is the only one that works there, and he doesn't have any work.

It's strange that Willy is like a fugitive, wanted by everyone, (has he ever done anything illegal?) I'm sure he would have told someone he was alive if he hadn't been chained up eating brown bag lunches.

speaking of hidden cameras, what about the one in George/Paula's room, former Francisca's room.

ah, and George sends his video of Humberto/Francisca saying Willy is alive, to Barbara, what?
(so who doesn't know now, besides Daniela)

Pancho has Vicente cold on keeping Willy captive in his basement for over 2 years, and Vicente is insulted his son would act this way toward him, and walks away, what?

and how many times does Victoria have to go to the Trebol de Oro and see Patricio, before... it's odd that she doesn't tell Ulises what she knows.

I miss Lucy, standing in the middle of other people's scenes, adding her facial comments.

wow, a frantic very pregnant Ines on the loose smashing people,

and a smiling Transito brings Willy his breakfast, but he is not there. (I was thinking he was staying in her room but now I wonder if all of the rooms there look alike)


 

Thanks for the recap Hombre - it helps to recall the developing and important details.

Deb, I was thinking the same thing about the G-Cano firm. How odd that only Humberto is there and people seem to be able to come and go with or without being noticed.

I sure hope that Horti doesn't end up messing with Ivan and NOT changing the names in his book in order to create some more chaos.

So the list of people that could cut the anvil hanging over Vicente's head include: Santa, Humberto, Willie, Ines, and now Narco guy's hired help. The only ones that care to save him would be Elisa (she could use his services for a few things) or Fran (who shares a kid with him) or Pancho (who wants him in jail, but not dead). I suppose the story could become a new version of "who shot JR" if Vicente ends up dead.

The writers are still dumping out more secrets to be revealed. This is my kind of cliff hanger TN.

 

Could Alicia be someone we already know or is she a new character? There are no women Santi's age in the show, right?
Adriana Noel
 

AN, I was thinking about this too. There is an assortment of hookers,but I hope that seems too far-fetched for the writers!
 

A book publisher is going to enter into a contract with Ivan, not Horti, unless she has obtained the rights to publish the manuscript. Oh wait, that's the real world. On a novela, I'm sure that Horti can get Ivan's manuscript published without his participation and I'm sure Vicky's name is not going to get changed - what fun would that be?
 

Willy did what he was originally accused of, sexual advances with an underage girl. Not sure if they actually had sex.
 

Mena - "an assortment of hookers" - LOL - how could I forget those - that means that Santi would be involved with the prostitution ring, too, exactly as I said the other day - the one story where he has no stakes in 'for now'. Poor guy...

Variopinta - I got the impression that Willy and Daniela DID have sex - I remember being very shocked about it because I was under the impression Dani was only 14-15 at the time; also, we've seen flashbacks of them in a car and they were pretty hot and heavy, sex was definitely implied
 

SANTA DIABLA... Thursday (epi 70)
part 1

*Paula's old house
there is a knock at the door,
Santa is alone, cringes, Willy ??? and opens it,

it's Santiago,
(our action/adventure hero has stopped by for a little break)
my life is a disaster, he says,
I just want to feel safe in your arms,
they hug, kiss, and kiss some more,
Santa leads him to her bedroom,
they make love,

Humberto shows up, in timid/humble mode,
knocks lightly, enters,
he sees Santiago's sax, what?, moves to the bedroom, and...
sees them together,
his eyes flash red,
but he leaves quietly, till he goes out the front door,
SLAM!
Santa and Santiago are on there feet looking around,
what? who?

*park
Begona and willy are strolling along looking for Willy,
willy indicates where he met with his father,
(I think Willy is the last person Begona would want to run into)

*police station
the Padre has stopped by to chat with Pancho,
he relates the Humerto/Vicente argument,
and compares it with Santa's news conference,
they conclude Humberto didn't know Willy was alive,
but Vicente did.

*Franco's
Franco has bought Barbara some new clothes for the party tonight,
party? she asks,
yes, at your family's house,
what? (this overrides her loss of not being able to do the shopping)

*casa Cano
the caterers are in full swing setting up,
when George walks in, what's this?
Paula mentions the party,
in MY house, George yells, smashing things,

Paula calms him down,
George thinks, this party would be a good time for....
he moves away and calls his anonymous friend,

*hospital
finally Ines gets a visitor,
Pancho has stopped by, but where is Ines?
next Santiago arrives in a huff,
Pancho wants to know where he's been,
but Santiago answers in that quiet voice,
that never answers any of Pancho's questions,
they decide Ines went home,
(but we see her on the dark stairs in the basement, hmm, looks like Vicente may have cleaned up the blood but nothing else)

*casa Vicente
Vicente has arrived home to pack,
it's now or never, he says,
(but there is another shadow in the dark house with him,

*casa Mara,
frantic Mara is finding no help anywhere,
Arturo appears, she dives into his arms,

*Cafe
Elisa meets with Lazaro,
she wants Lazaro to go to Mara and comfort her,
as the conversation goes along Lazaro points out,
but I don't love her, I love YOU,
ut oh, Elisa is backpedaling like crazy,
she throws out that she is with Vicente,
Lazaro storms out, to go talk with him,

*casa Hortensia
Hortensia is enjoying the newspaper article on Mara,
Lisette casually asks for some money,
Hortensia says NO more,
(I didn't really get all this but it sounds like Lisette and Arturo are out of the will, and ??, I don't think anyone has named the baby yet, he isn't going to get anything until he is of age, and did she say there is a also big surprise in her will for Lisette/Arturo)

*casa Victoria
Patricio sneaks into her/his room (do they sleep together)
and hides his gun in his shirt drawer, and leaves,
Victoria has been watching from the shadows,
(and there are lots of shadows tonight)
takes the gun out, and keeps it,

*casa Vicente
all packed, Vicente goes to Ines' room, to leave her a note,
his clothes spill and as he gets things in order,
he senses someone behind him,
he turns,
screams,
and a sword comes down upon him,
(we see Vicente, lying in his blood, in the shadows)


 

SANTA DIABLA... Thursday (epi 70)
part 2

*Paula's old house
Paula swings by to pick up Santa,
she notices how nervous Santa is,

(this was odd, the conversations of Paula/Santa, Pancho/Santiago and Humberto/Francisca, are interlaced together)

*casa Cano
Humberto is talking to his mom, setting the stage for the party,

Daniela is in the kitchen checking out the food,
George comes sneaking in the service entrance and runs upstairs,
where were you, she asks, but no answer,
(and upstairs there is a shadow of another person)

*church
Begona stops by to see the Padre, but he's not there (and where is willy)
and as she leaves, in he comes,
where were you Padre,
oh, out, taking care of things
(wow, no one has an alibi for tonight)
the Padre notices a blood stain on Begona's clothes,

they talk about Willy,
she flashes back to when they were alone, Willy pulls her close,
lips almost touching, Willy edges her on, she succumbs, and she moves in for the kiss...

*casa Vicente
Elisa arrives, (was she following Lazaro over or did she just want to talk),
the door pushes open, she goes in, it's dark and shadowy inside,
Pancho arrives, gives her the third degree,
Elisa is too embarrassed to explain why she is there,
then Santiago arrives, rushes upstairs to look for Ines,

*casa Cano
(wow, the night is getting darker, the shadows are growing, and the storm gets worse)
Daniela is still in the kitchen, she senses something,
turns,
it's the ghost of a very pregnant Ines, standing in the rain, lightning flashes her outline,
no wait, it's the real Ines, ooooooo.....
(I don't know why Daniela didn't run screaming, but she didn't)

*casa Mara
Arturo has listened patiently to all of Mara's troubles,
later he tells her that when he was in a coma,
it was thoughts of her that made him want to live,
they move close, closer, and kiss, now a desperate kiss,
and as Mara is trying to get his shirt off,
they hop, hobble, skip, stumble their way to the bedroom, him on crutches,

*casa Vicente
before Santiago gets to the top of the stairs, he gets a call, it's Daniela,
Ines is here, she says,
he tells Pancho and they are off,

*casa Cano
Daniela has gotten Ines into her bed,
tells her Santiago is on his way,
but Ines sees someone standing in the shadows outside the door,
Daniela looks, but doesn't see anyone,
the storm is getting worse, the lights go out...
and come back on,
and we see that shadow of a person again,

the house is darker tonight, but better lit downstairs,
where Humberto is welcoming guests,
Franco arrives with Barbara, Francisca hugs her,
but Daniela, her daughter stands off,
Barbara runs to her, but stops halfway, looks to Franco to see if it's all right, then continues,
don't I get a hug, Barbara asks,
you ABANDONED me, Daniela says,
for THIS guy that you/we don't even know,

*Trebel de Oro
Lucy has arrived with a late night snack for Pedro,
Transito knows what she is up to,
but wants to know what she is hiding about him,
they go upstairs,

*casa Cano,
George strolls into the party,
Francisca tries to be nice, but George isn't having it,
(maybe because Huberto called him Jorge)
Francisca heads upstairs,
Barbara goes after her, but Franco stops her,
and he goes instead, (with a mean glance towards George),

[I didn't get this last part, but does George throw everyone out,
like right now, into the storm?]

as the lightning flashes...


 

SUPER Recap, Deb, of a wild episode both of action and weather! Lots of suspects for Vicente's death. Where did the sword come from? Not your usual murder weapon. I don't recall anyone mentioning having a sword before unlike on CV where the Robert Mateos character was fooling around with a sword before he cut off the head of one of his employees.

In their conversation, Horti told Lisette that she had changed her will and had not left her money to either Arturo or Lisette. Lisette assumes that she left it to her grandchild. Horti says no, if she did that, Lisette could spend it all before the kid grew up. Horti says that they will just have to wait until she dies to find out the person to whom her money was left [let's hope that happens sooner rather than later] and everyone will be very surprised when her will is read. [The obvious real-world solution would be for Horti to leave her money to be held in trust for the grandchild and maybe that's what she's done although it shouldn't be very surprising. The surprise might be the identity of the trustee, who controls the $$ while the grandchild is a minor.]

And yes, at the end of the capitulo, George announced that all the Canos had to leave his house tonight in the terrible storm.
 

Thanks, Deb, terrific recap!

I sort of thought at the end, George said he'd throw them all out in the storm unless they showed him a little respect.

As for Horti's will, and the surprise, my guess is that she's leaving her money to Ivan, her latest protege. But that'll probably have to change, too.

Just think how many people can't talk, because if they revealed they'd be killed or sent to jail. We have Transito and Vicky, tormented by Pat, Paula, tormented by Bert, Santiago and Barbara, tormented by Franco....maybe more.

If they ever find out that Vicente's dead (and I'm assuming that sword did its job), Pancho sure will have a tough time solving the crime, with all the suspects. Yes, not only was Padre Milton not in his office, he came back in washing this hands. Guilty :)
 

Maybe this turns into a Murder in the Orient Express kind of story - with all his enemies taking a stab at Vicente - he has it all deserved, after all...
If Horti changed her will, can she drop dead now?
So now Lazari is in love with Elisa? WTF! I always thought he was better wuited with her than Mara, but that's still pretty icky.

So I guess Santi and Santa are still a thing - oh, well, the heart wants what the heart wants, I guess.
 

I just rewatched the last moments of last night's show.
Francisca admits that they should have asked George before scheduling the party. It is his house. George says that finally someone is treating him with the humility and respect he deserves. Then George offers a toast to the Canos - so broke that they don't have two dimes to rub together (English version of the Spanish expression - so poor that they don't have a place to fall down dead). Francisca walks out of the room, Babs starts to after her & Franco/Sebastián says that he will go [weird]. Bert starts to say something and George tells him not to dare to say a word. Then George says, "Esta misma noche los Cano tienen que largarse de aquí con lluvia y tormenta". "This very night the Canos have to leave here in the rain and storm."
 

SANTA -- jueves

Thanks Deb. I always love your blank verse recaps.

Adriana, it's funny you mention "Murder on the Orient Express." The writer of this novela, "El Chascas," has talked about being a big fan of Agatha Christie. I can see that in his stuff. But as I said the other day, I also see some David Lynch.

El Chascas as the love child of Agatha Christie and David Lynch, maybe?
 

Depending on how cleverly the mystery is resolved, this plot may harken back to Agatha Christie or David Lynch but the build up of enemies for a character, the murder, many suspects without alibis and an innocent person convicted of the crime has been the staple plot device for American soap operas both afternoon and evening (remember "Who Shot JR."

Hombre- I also thought that Ivan will be person to whom Horti leaves her money.
 

NovelaMaven, you're so kinky!
This writer impresses me very much, the fact that he gets me to watch SD every day when I don't even care about the protas is a first for me. Tns are not known for their exciting plots, but this particular story is pretty great on its own.
 

I also wonder if Willy is the person that George has been communicating with. It's hard to imagine who else it could be.
 

Now THAT'S a venganza. Also a horrifying murder. But mostly venganza. Way more effective than Santa's long con, with the bonus of giving everyone nightmares for weeks.

So who did it? Seems like it's either the priest who went Old Testament on Vicente, or Begona who couldn't have done this on her own. Both? Willy?

I do feel sorry for Daniella though. Can Elisa please adopt her? Kid needs a parent, a real one this time.

Kelly
 

Whew, again! This TN keeps me on the edge. I will get the recap up as soon as I can. Meantime everybody take a deep breath and exhale! Nighty night and sweet dreams! Yikes, after that episode of who beheaded Vicente.
 

...and Jose Ignacio Chascas Valenzuela tops Renato Conde's faintly-assisted suicide on La casa de al lado (so to speak) with last night's episode. :) That said, the identity of the "Santa Diabla Ninja" can still be a few people:

1. Big Willy, the most direct victim of Vicente's machinations in recent history. And since the show's been so hardcore about nuking his halo, let alone his constantly looking like he's one step away from hacking someone to bits with a machete anyway, why not? He's got to get out of the way of Santa and Santi besides...
2. Bert, a long-term victim of Vicente's (and Francisca's) machinations. And he threatened him before anybody else did.
3. Begoña, who would have done it in a fit of vengeful passion. (As a maid she'd have to have decent arm strength. Badumpbump.)
4. Lazaro--not my theory, but I like it because it fits into the whole everybody's-got-issues air of the show. Elisa did tell him that her heart belonged to Vicente, after all, and he's the only character we haven't seen since then...
5. Padre Milton. Yeah, he's the most out of right-field possibility, but still.
6. Francisca, having her own Begoña-style fit of passion. I don't see it, but this is Telemundo we're talking about.
 

Begonia is also the person most likely to know how to properly plate a head and dress the table with it's blood.

And what about Ines? She maybe pregnant but I still wouldn't put decapitation out of her reach.

Kelly
 

This episode has been HEART STOPPING!
It started like the best of mystery novels (Agatha Christie, indeed), with all the usual suspects coming together during a storm. Their faces when discovering what the menu for the night was - PRICELESS.
And, just as I thought I was going to have a heart attack watching - here comes the dearly departed, our one and only Willy Delgado, devoted father and husband, teacher of music and lover of women everywhere.
With only 70 episodes in, I wonder what will the writer pen next to keep the shocks coming - as far as I know they are still filming.
 

Oh, and watching this from my phone really made me get into some new tn watching positions, if I may call them like this - in the middle of my bed, clenching to the screen, knees to me chin - watching exciting stuff on TV or my laptop will never feel the same again.
 

Have we ever had a priest murder anyone in novelaland?

I think Will Sr. wanted Vicente to suffer longer, not a quick death.

My money is on Ines, but only a peso, she is crazy, Vicente caused her abortion, locked up Will SR.

But how did Begoña get blood on herself?
 

It could also be a character we haven't met yet, such as Alicia, Santiago's sister, if she isn't dead, or the dead wife of Vicente, if SHE isn't dead. Or it could be George. He keeps talking about how much power he has. It could also be Patricio, who is definitely a killer, but has no motive, as far as we know. How about the male nurse, who's in trouble now. But it's more likely one of the ones Bill listed.
 

Last I knew George didn't have any beef at all with anybody in the Robledo clan, but he's also the one with the secret ally on speed-dial and he's got one murder under his belt already. He might be more of a dark horse than Lazaro is.

Variopinta: if memory serves Begoña said to Padre Milton she got blood on her shirt while chopping up some meat. And that said, Telemundo goes and gives away stuff again in their promos:

Nueva etapa!

This may eliminate both Begoña and Francisca from the running--unless Francisca is La Reina del Sur de Marrero, she couldn't pull that off.
 

SANTA

there is a picture summary of last Friday's show posted here,

http://foro.telenovela-world.com/n4/read-t.php?f=1403&i=12467&t=12467#reply_12467


 

SANTA -- viernes

Deb, I checked out your "Photo Summary" and it is fantastic! Thank you so much!
 

My vote is on Pancho as the killer. Cop who hangs around a bordello, ignored by his father, trying to get close to a nephew noone cares about. My vote is on him.