Caray, Caray!

the tv schedule is showing Santa replacing Reina for a second hour on Friday, only.
(gran final of Bella Calamidades on Friday / Avenida Brasil the following Monday)
 

Santa viewers: I will be away for the next three weeks so this is my last Monday recap until Jan 28

Lunes – Part 1

Elisa comes to work with Alicia at the Cano house. She wants to know why Alicia decided to reveal herself to her family so quickly. Alicia tells her how she met Inés while she was buying clothes. She doesn’t trust Inés but let herself be convinced to participate in the big reveal we saw last week. Elisa asks how it went. Alicia replies that Babs is an empty-headed bimbo who only thinks about her own beauty; Bert is as cold as a snake. She says that these people think that everything can be arranged with money and they tried to blackmail her into leaving. What about Santi? asks Elisa. Santiago comes in at that moment and wants to know what they are saying about him.

Tránsito thinks that it is a good idea to go see Vicky and tell her that Patricio said that he would get out of jail and kill Tránsito, Vicky and Ivan. Vicky doesn’t think that Patricio will be getting out of jail anytime soon and says that Ivan won’t be a target because he is busy with other things. She had hoped to spend the little time she has left with him but that isn’t going to happen. Tránsito is surprised that anything could be more important to Ivan than Vicky. Vicky says that Ivan’s drug-addicted cousin Daniela is taking up all his time. Tránsito is surprised since Daniela has a family but Vicky replies that Daniela’s family have washed their hands of her and Ivan is such a good person that he is helping out. Tránsito points out that this is partly Vicky’s fault since she hasn’t told Ivan that she has terminal cancer but Vicky nobly says that she wants Ivan with her because he wants to be there not out of pity.

Alicia tells Elisa that she doesn’t have any opinions about Santi because she just met him. Elisa suggests that she invite Santi to dinner so that she can get to know him. Elisa will make the dinner so at least it won’t be pizza. Alicia agrees to this and asks Santi to be there. He agrees and says that he doesn’t have anything else to do. He gets a call from Inés during this conversation but he doesn’t take the call. He tells Alicia that he hopes that little by little she will trust him.

Meanwhile we see Inés leaving a message on Santi’s phone. She wished he had picked up. She wanted to hear his voice for the last time and say goodbye but he has never been there for her. She tells him that she is in the basement of the house where Willy was held.

Mara suggests that Arturo call Pancho and get protection while he is transporting this large amount of cash out of the bank. Dumb old Arturo refuses to believe that Lisette was faking her grief about the baby being sick. He says that he saw her crying and suffering. Mara replies that she saw Lisette laughing and plotting with the nurse. Who does he believe? Arturo reaffirms his love for Mara but he can’t believe that Lisette would put the life of her baby at risk. What an idiot!! Couldn’t he even have googled this supposed doctor who requires to be paid in advance in cash?

 

Part 2

Alicia marvels to Elisa at the luxurious furnishings of the Cano house. She spent half her life in prison and the other half in poverty. Elisa says that Alicia didn’t come to the Cano house to live in luxury but to experience the joy of family life and so she suggests that Alicia invite her other siblings to the dinner she was planning with Santi [what a bad idea!]. Alicia thinks that her siblings will reject her but Alicia says that you don’t know until you try.

Ivan finally convinces Daniela to go into the rehab clinic.

Paula has gotten the bills for Willy’s hospitalization and she doesn’t know how she will pay them. Begoña tells her to calm down – she is pregnant. Of course, says Paula, it’s George’s baby and runs out of the house.

Alicia invites Babs to dinner for her first night in the house. Babs insists that Fran be invited. Babs goes to tell Fran about the invite and Fran replies that she would starve to death rather than eat with Alicia. She says that she only has one daughter – Babs. If Babs accepts the invite, she will disown her.

Santi gets the message from Inés and he runs out of the house.

Elisa has finished making the dinner. Alicia tells her that she spoke to Babs and Santi and she sent Bert an invite by text. Alicia wants Elisa to stay but she won’t.

Bert gets the dinner invite from Alicia but at that moment Santa comes to Bert’s office. She says that he told her that he was on her side so here she is. He assumes that she wants to be with him but she wants his help to get revenge on Inés for shooting Willy, the father of her child.

Santi finds Inés hanging from the rafters. He grabs her and begs her to forgive him. He calls for help but of course no one is there.

Pancho is desperately looking for Inés while Lucy suggests that Inés should be in a straightjacket in an asylum. Then he gets a call from Santi on Inés' phone telling him what happened and asking him to call an ambulance.


 

Part 3

Bert isn’t too enthusiastic about going after Inés for Santa. Then he gets a call from Pancho who thinks that maybe he would want to know that his half-sister has tried to commit suicide. Bert inisists that Santa come to the hospital with him.

We see a bunch of anonymous letters being delivered to Santa, Paula and Babs.

Paula shows up at the Cano house. She bursts in to Babs’ room and says that she is the only one who can help her with the bills for Willy’s hospitalization. Babs points out that she and Daniela are George’s only heirs. Paula claims that her baby has a right to some of the inheritance. Babs replies that there is no proof that George is the father and that furthermore she doesn’t care about Willy. Then Paula taunts Babs with the fact that she was the only person that Willy didn’t bonk because he recognized that she was evil inside. Babs slaps Paula. Paula tells Babs that she’ll never get over the fact that Willy was the only man who rejected her. Alicia overhears this.

Nobody comes to Alicia’s dinner. She flashes back to Santi swearing to come.

Santi is not happy to see Santa with Bert at the hospital and he asks how long she has been betraying him. The doctors are trying to revive Inés.

Bert tells Pancho that Santi had the opportunity to save Inés’ life but he didn’t do anything. Inés seems to have been revived.

Babs has a dream that Willy comes to have sex with her. She tells him that she wants more than sex, she wants to be loved. Willy replies that he couldn’t love anyone like her and leaves. Babs wakes up.

It’s the next morning. Arturo is at the bank to get the money. A guy with a motorcycle is waiting for him outside the bank. Lisette calls him and warns him not to just take off with the money himself.

Babs comes down early all tarted up. She tells Alicia that she is going to resolve the worst error of her life.

Bert arranges to pay Willy’s hospital bills but doesn’t want anyone to know that it was him. Bert gets an anonymous letter, too.

Santa goes to see Begoña and asks for her help in getting willy’s love back. She hates it that willy cares more for Santi than for her. Begoña points out that is not surprising because Santi has never let willy down or promised him things that didn’t happen or yelled at him. Begoña gets a call from the hospital that Willy’s bills have been paid.

The police find the empty vial in NarcoGuy’s cell. It was careless of Bert to leave it there.


 

Part 4

Arturo comes home and sees Lisette talking on the phone to one of her friends. She is laughing and saying that her baby is very cute, etc. She hardly appears to be the distraught mother. Arturo does not reveal himself and flashes back to Mara’s warning.

The anonymous letters are very mysterious. One says, “abandoned,” one says “Friday” and one says “factory”.

Bert takes his anonymous letter, which says, “5 o’clock” to Pancho for testing. This is so that he can be present when the report on the substance in the vial is given to Pancho. Bert casually asks if NarcoGuy is in Federal prison and Pancho tells him that NG is dead and based on the report he has, the death was all part of a plan.


 

Thank you, Jean.

This whole rob the money from Arturo scheme is sad. I haven't watched in months, but Arturo is just as dumb/naive as he ever was. I cant believe Mara has stuck around.
 

Oh, how are Elisa and Alicia connected?
 

Santa

thanks so much Jean!
there were so many little twists and turns here that I wasn't really getting it all,
your recap really connected the dots for me.

like I wasn't getting that Elisa was cooking dinner, which brings up the point that there are no servants in the Cano household, (the last we heard George put Barbara in charge of the kitchen), and I imaging the Cano's swing by the McDonald's drive-thru everytime they go out.

which brings up this other thing the author does, no cars, people just appear at different places.

and I guess another reason Pancho is behind in his cases is that he is also the 911 operator.

when I saw the 'new' Cifuentes find the magic potion vial, I started thinking like maybe the drug has slowed down Franco enough that maybe he is still alive, and surely they will dig him up, and what an odd twist it would be if he wasn't there.

and the empty jail cell had me worrying that Patricio escaped, whew, not his cell.

and the way Santiago laid into Santa, who came with Humberto, wow she couldn't even say anything, and left, while he went to look in on his 'wife', Ines. (interesting how the bad guys are always the center of the action/attention, and it just sucks everyone else right in)

 

Jean, that's a beauty of a detailed recap you are leaving us with. Thanks so much. Have no fears -- I'm sure we'll still be in Marrero when you get back. :)

Sara,

Alicia, recognizing she was a tad rough around the edges when she got out of prison, put an ad in the paper for an etiquette coach. She hoped that with a little polishing, she'd be Cano-ready.

By one of those amazing tn coincidences, Elisa, now broke and on the outs with Mara, answered the ad. Alicia hired her. Elisa is responsible for Alicia's make-over and has become a sort of life coach for her. Often her advise is quite sage. Not last night though…

The only satisfaction Alicia got out of the disappointing evening was seeing Paula tearing into Barbara. Maybe Alicia will seek out Paula as a new ally...
 

Thanks, NovelaMaven! I loved the scene between Paula and Barb. Top notch verbal sparring.

Deb- I had the same thought when I saw the empty cell.
 

PS not having much of a back story I felt kind of bad for Alicia getting stood up for dinner.

Bert is only her half sibling, right?

Oh and how does the person leaving these notes expect them to connect the dots? Maybe Bert and Santa will connect, but that still just leaves them with viernes a las 5:30.
 

Sara,
Even with the back story, I felt bad for Alicia. No matter how hard her shell may be, the Canos still manage to get to her and wound her over and over.

Yes, Humberto and Alicia are both Francisca's children, but Bert's father was Vicente (you remember, the guy Bert beheaded?) while Alicia's father was Gaspar ((you remember, the guy George/Jorge finally snuffed out after many tries (you remember George/Jorge, the guy Santa killed in self-defense, right?))

Complicated? Meh. Not so much.
 

Santa
Great Jean tks

deb
"when I saw the 'new' Cifuentes find the magic potion vial, I started thinking like maybe the drug has slowed down Franco enough that maybe he is still alive, and surely they will dig him up, and what an odd twist it would be if he wasn't there."
I'm a little worried about you, you are beginning to sound like the writers. nada, nothing, zip, cero, 0 would surprise me! I hope todos are enjoying the locura as much as I am.

We are going to see Willy Sr. next episode in Reina as a Colombian drug lord.

 

NovelaMaven-Really not too complicated when you consider I haven't watched in months.

I'm pretty sure there was suspicion from the beginning that Gaspar was too nice to be Bert's dad. And I do remember Jorge/Georgie making attempts on Gaspar's life.

Variopinta-it's pure locura which I always find easier to swallow than other insulting absurdities I've seen. The scary part is that even after a long absence (or maybe because of it) it seems almost as if the writers knew they were heading here from the beginning.
 

Thanks for the recent, Jean, wonderful job, we'll miss your recaps for the next few weeks!

It seems amazing that Ines could have survived a hanging for at least a half hour, maybe more, but I guess it's better for the story that she did. Now, she may be in coma. Wonder if she'll be different when she wakes up.

I think the notes were written by Alicia, at least that's what was hinted at, but I may be wrong. I have a feeling all the parties will, in fact, get together before Friday and piece it all together. I mean, they see each other daily, and as someone pointed out, are able to teleport to each other's location at will.

Sara, you're right it's amazing Mara has hung around this long, but much of the time, she was in jail, convicted of killing her customers by arsenic poisoning (although really Hortensia did it, and admitted this on her death bed). So Mara lost all her money, and now works in the same restaurant cleaning the bathrooms. Don't know if you missed any of that.

And yes, Arturo is dumb. In fact, most of the characters on this show are either dumb or naive, including Vicky, Art, Pancho, Barb, Paula and who knows how many more. They make us audience members look like geniuses!

Happy new year, everyone!
 

Thanks Hombre. Since I haven't seen it in a while I didn't realize these characters saw each other often. I do now remember about Mara and the arsenic poisoning. Elisa showed up around that time, right?

Am I sick for kind of hoping Santa ends up with Bert? I think it might just be the Carlos Ponce affect.
 

Am i the only one who thought the kiss between Willy and Babs was hot?

And is this the end of Franco?

At this point Alicia seems more like the protagonist.
 

I know I feel more sympathy for Alicia!
 

Sara, YES, it IS the Carlos Ponce effect and you're not the only one who has this sickness.
For a while there I thought "no way" because Bert is just too evil, but now I see Santa is changing, so... who knows, really?
 

SANTA DIABLA... Thursday (epi 98)
part 1

*casa Paula
as Begona learns that Willy's hospital bill has been paid anonymously,
(we see that Humberto paid it)
Santa sees another anonymous note, by the under-the-door deliveryman,
to Begona,

*jail
Humberto gives his note to Pancho,
who gets the toxicology report on the vial found in Franco's cell,
Pancho realizes Franco's plan to stage his death in order to escape,
they head to the cemetery to dig him up,
Humberto , who looks worried, follows.

*casa Victoria
Victoria is jealous Ivan is spending so much time with Daniela,
Ivan tries to explain, she is my cousin,
he takes her to the new house,

*hospital
Barbara visits the unconscious Willy,
as Diabla watches from afar,
(this was a great scene, I wish I could have followed it better)
Barbara has become obsessed with Willy ever since he rejected her,
with tears in her eyes she talks about how pretty she is,
and takes his hand touching her face and skin making her point,
why did he sleep with Santa, Ines, and even her daughter,
and not her,
she pleads with him,
why,

and what is Diabla thinking as she watches,
(who was always the ugly duckling)

*bank
Arturo picks up the cash for his son,
the bank manager is worried,
leaving with his big bag of money,
the Padre catches up to him, also worried,
as Lisette's gunman on a moto appears,
and takes the bag,

*in a park
Lisette and the gunman meet up,
she is totally stressed,
he hands her the bag,
and she moves off telling him not to watch,
it's full of paper,
(I was hoping there were a few of those exploding dye packs in there)
she accuses him of stealing the money,
wow, this guy looks dangerous, and Lisette is really pushing him,
but she figures it's Arturo, and he must know,
(oh what will she do now)

*bank
Mara joins Arturo and the Padre,
Arturo shows the Padre the money tucked into his belt,
under his shirt,
whew!

*hospital
as a teary eyed Barbara rushes out,
she meets Paula,
who asks again for help with Willy,
no, George had no money,
and no way will I sell the house, she leaves,
a following Alicia walks up and introduces herself to Paula,
(is she recruiting a new army of anti Canos)
they chat,

*Ivan's new empty house
Ivan has bought the new house, shows Victoria the deed,
it is in both of their names,
everything I have is yours,
from my heart to my hands,
Victoria is overwhelmed,
they kiss
the pillows and champagne on the floor await them,
as the clothes come off,

*rehab center,
Daniela is going nuts, screaming for Ivan,
as they restrain her.

*hospital
Santiago is at Ines' side,
who did this to you, he wants to know,
I was there alone, she finally says,
it was all your fault
a sentimental Santiago is taking this hard.

 

SANTA DIABLA... Thursday (epi 98)
part 2

*cemetery
they open Franco's coffin,
everyone gasps from the smell,
yep, Pancho says,
someone betrayed him and he was buried alive,
(the coffin lid is totally scratched up)
Humberto, behind a tree looks not-so-worried.

*hospital
Diabla returns to Willy's room,
and has her chat with the unconscious Willy,
about how he had all of the girls,
but has suffered so much from the Cano's (like she has)
and moves in for a kiss,
as Santa walks in,
(I'm really impressed with how glamorous this actress can be,
and yet in the blink of an eye, she's on the darkside, a darkside we can almost see)
were you going to kiss him, Santa asks,
(and another interesting conversation follows)
as the two Diablas clash,

*casa Cano
Francisca gets her under-the-door note,
as Barbara is returning, and shows her the one she got,

*church
Arturo gives the Padre the cash,
he calls Lisette, where are you, I want to talk,
she has been home all day (not),
says a worried Lisette.

*casa new Ivan
after beautiful love making, Victoria has some pain,
Ivan sees the red marks on her breasts,
Victoria uses his phone call, from the rehab center,
to avoid the questions.

*police station
Pancho is on the phone with ?? the guy that did the autopsy,
he is furious the drug wasn't detected,
Lucy marches in,
we are getting married this same time tomorrow,
blah, the cake..blah, blah the guests, blah, blah..............................
(wow she talks fast)
and leaves,
Pancho just puts his head down on the desk

*hospital
a thoroughly depressed Santiago leaves Ines,
and runs into Alicia, she calls him a traitor,
ah, the dinner he said he'd go to, but Ines almost died,
doesn't matter, Alicia says,
what? Santiago leaves.

*casa Paula,
she gets the news Willy's bills are paid,
could it have been Barbara?
and a speech therapist shows up to work with willy,
what? Begona and Paula look at each other,

*casa Cano
Humberto, Barbara, and Francisco compare anonymous notes in the office,
Barbara gets a call from the rehab center and leaves,
as Santa arrives,
(no need to open a door for just one person)
alone in the office Humberto moves in for a kiss,
what are you thinking, I just came by to ask you a question,
and be honest, did you pay Willy's bills,
I don't want to be in your debt?
ah no, Humberto says,
she sees the Cano's anonymous notes, and pulls out the Martinez ones,

Begona, Paula, Santa, Humberto, Francisca, Barbara
ven, viernes, fabrica, 5o'clock, este, abandonada

(oh, and earlier Santa asked Diabla about the notes,
and she said I don't do anonymous things,
I like to be up front)

so is tomorrow the Viernes of the notes,
there is an extra hour replacing Reina.

 

Thanks deb. You've distilled at all down to its essence...my kind of recap. I liked the line about recruiting Paula for the antiCano army.
 

Thanks Deb, for the great recap.

I guess I was wrong and Franco is dead ...unless somehow he got rescued and there is some other body in the coffin. Did Pancho tell the other cops to bring the body in or did they rebury it? It would be interesting if the police found that no autopsy had been done on Franco but they probably won't.

Why is it necessary to have an anonymous note puzzle? Why not put "come to the abandoned factory this friday at 5" on everybody's note? Is there only one abandoned factory in Marrero?

Now that Arturo and Mara have figured out that Lisette was going to try and steal the money, can they make the extremely logical step and figure out that the baby isn't really sick? If they had already made that jump, why take the money out of the bank in the first place?








 

Great recap, Deb!

Jean, wise words about making the logical jump that the baby isn't sick. But I don't think Art and Mara (or Padre Milton) are really thinking ahead that far (gotta admit, though, Art surprised me with his plan). At this point, the money is in Padre Milton's office, just waiting to be robbed again. Art should put the money in a safe place, like maybe....a bank!

So Alicia said she didn't plant the notes, but who else could have? New character? And besides, what's with that speech therapist. I don't trust her one bit.

I sort of thought Ines would tell Santi, yes, Santa was with me, and made me do it. But she actually told the truth, while at the same time trying to guilt Santi out.

That rehab center isn't too great if they have to call Ivan every time the patient screams for him. Do they even no how to wean people from drugs at all?

In answer to your question, Jean, yes, Marrero has only one abandoned factory. And one hospital. And one cafe, one bookstore, and one of lots of other things, such as that Klever Bank (great name).
 

Un preguntito-Does vieweville know what Victoria suffers from? Or are we wondering just just like Ivan?

Hombre-I'm laughing about your comments about the Rehab center and the Marrero community.

Jean- I think Pancho was yelling at someone about how there was no autopsy and he plans to get to the bottom of it.
 

Sara,

Yes, apparently Victoria has advanced stage breast cancer, and the doctor has told her that there's little that can be done.
 

Thanks very much, deb, for the great recap. There were a number of interesting developments. I was somewhat surprised when Pancho et al. opened Franco's coffin and found that there was indeed a decaying body inside. I can imagine a scenario where he nonetheless has escaped, but I don't think there's a beanie in the world that could be tightened enough to make that acceptable. So yes, Franco is dead, and good riddance. There are still more than enough bad guys in Marrero (they're apparently the only thing that Marrero has more than one of).

I used to enjoy Lucy, but increasingly she's like fingernails on the blackboard for me. I did catch a little of her rapid-fire commands to Pancho: we're getting married tomorrow no matter what, and it doesn't matter if I don't have the great wedding of my dreams, and it doesn't matter who is able to come, the only one who definitely has to show up is you.
[I half expected Pancho to think about Ulises as soon as Lucy left, but all he did was put his head down on the desk, and we weren't privy to any thoughts he may have had. I still think he may show up at Ulises' sooner rather than later. Regardless of Pancho's sexual orientation, a marriage to a screwball shrew like Lucy would be horrific.]

I was about ready to throw something at the television when Arturo seemed so unconcerned about a possible robbery and gave one of his insufferably dumb grins to Padre Milton. For once, the grin was deceptive. For me, Lisette's furor at being conned was the best moment of last night's episode. But she certainly isn't going to accept defeat without a fight.

Jean, you make some very good points about the mysterious notes and about taking the money out of the bank. [Also, belated thanks for your wonderful recap of Monday's episode.]

Hombre, I too don't trust the speech therapist.

I can't believe that any epidosde of Santa Diabla is more worthy than one of La Reina del Sur, but for better or worse, we've got two hours of Santa tonight, while Teresa Mendoza has a long weekend to figure out how to deal with the latest bad guys (I'm not watching the novela this time around, but I caught the last minute or two last night before Santa Diabla came on).
 

Thank you, Jean!

Clearly I am a TN character because when the speech therapist showed up I was like "gorsh, that sure is nice of someone to pay for that." Ha!
 

Ay por dios...

mil gracias a JUANITA.
 

Santa

thanks all!

hmm, I'm thinking the new speech therapist is from the kinder/gentler Humberto, who's working on his image for Santa. what struck me is how creepy it must be for her walking into this little Martinez house, with these suspicious/traumatized ladies, not knowing all they/we have been through.

the whole Arturo/Lisette money thing is a bit much, the Padre has control of all of the money, yet he turns over that control to Arturo to can get the cash, and bring it back to him, what? (even though he went to the bank as well), and who pays cash up front for 'legal' medical services? but I love watching Lisette who totally gets into these things. (she was on a later talk show last night and I didn't recognize her at first with her shorter hair style)

I'm really liking how Pancho isn't the usual clueless cop, he actually gets right on this stuff in a very admirable way, but somehow his cases don't go full circle.

I guess one way to look at the notes is who didn't get one.

 

Maybe it's Santi who sent the notes because he's really a bad guy? Or maybe I'm just trying to justify my interest in Humberto. I know he's a decapitating, burying-alive murderer, but darned if he isn't the more interesting and likable choice here.

Kelly
 

" I know he's a decapitating, burying-alive murderer..."

I feel the same way. I don't care what he's done, either. He looks and sounds sexy. I'm officially a Carlos Ponce junkie.
 

Thanks Deb. This was wonderful.

Like Sara, I particularly liked your speculation that Alicia may be recruiting an army of AntiCanos.

(Oh and Sara, you look different today. Did you get a haircut or something?) :D

Juanita, you cracked me up with this line:
There are still more than enough bad guys in Marrero (they're apparently the only thing that Marrero has more than one of).

Hey -- I've been saying all along that Humberto would have his day. It won't last, it surely won't end well, but we knew it was coming!

I thought I heard Pancho order Franco's body to be exhumed so the cause of death could be determined.

And I don't trust that speech therapist either. Hasn't Begoña learned better than to invite complete strangers into her house? [ok. clearly not. This is a lesson that no one on a telenovela ever learns. It always reminds me of the classic SNL skit with the shark at the door.]
 

Santa

any thoughts on an Alicia/Willy hook up?
they have both suffered so much,
alone,
and are being totally ignored by everyone,
this could go anywhere.

 

NovelaMaven-It's not a new haircut. I hear ascots are all the rage this year, so I bought one. Amazing what a change one little fashion accessory makes!

Deb- I can sort of see an Alicia/Willy match up. The problem is that the little I know of Willy (He's a womanizer...oh and did he fake his death or was he somehow unable to let Santa know he was really alive?)makes me not like him and ever since NovelaMaven posed her question about Alicia as prota and can't help but want better for her.

This show really messes with my idea of "right" and "wrong". Kicking myself for not keeping up with it better.
 

Santa

Sara- Willy was pronounced dead (from being attacked by hired assassins) at the prison he was being held at, on Humberto's trumped up charges, but was then smuggled to Vicente's cabana basement where he was held in chains, with what ever brown bag meals Vicente would bring him, for over 2 years until Ines found him, who forced him to make her pregnant, then accidentally shot him, the first time.

the thing with Alicia/Willy is their relationship could run anything from redemption/forgiveness/bliss (maybe Willy's recent run of near death experiences have changed him), to the reining King and Queen of terror in Marrero, after all Humberto is having a pretty good run lately, this can't last long.

 

My mom cancelled our Dish service. So im hoping somneone keeps recapping. :(
 

Novela- I watch via the telemundo app on my iPad. They upload the videos a day later but they are usually up by the time I'm up each AM (usually 5AM CST).
 

Interesting and strange episode in so many ways! I will have the double recap up as soon as I am able.
 

Santa

wow!
I could watch another hour,
the madness keeps on coming.

Alicia, with her eye patch, prison and all, is it possible
Willy is the first guy she has ever kissed?

and how long has Willy been back with the living,
before he is planning his new conquest?

such a strange character Willy is, he really hasn't done anything wrong, he really didn't deserve all the bad things that have been done to him, but there is something about him that makes it all ok,
and the women keep lining up.

 

This comment has been removed by the author.
 

NM. Looks like you covered the main points. Maybe more recap would be mostly repeat? Hmmmm..
 

Mena,

Mostly repeat? I don't know. Your recaps are usually quite detailed whereas what I put down is bare bones. It's your call.

If you want to leave it as is, fine. (Though please chime in with additions or corrections.)

If you want to work on a full recap, that's fine too. I know lots of folks appreciate the details within what is always a beautifully written piece. In fact, I'd be happy to delete my bullet points once you have posted your stuff.
 

I don't remember Ulises ever meeting Begoña. Huge surprise for me, I thought is was Humberto.
So we have
viernes
jail - Begoña
church - Babs
ven
fabrica
5 o'clock
abandonada
a las - Pancho
was that este for Fran?

come to that abandoned factory, church, jail at 5 o'clock this Friday
 

Ugh. Sorry to ask another question, but who is Ulises again?
 

Hi Sara,

Ulises is Victoria's kid brother. He used to live in New York but moved back to Marrero after his (same sex) lover betrayed him.

He still lives in the family home in Marrero with Victoria.

He and Pancho have become friends. Pancho seems to enjoy his company a lot more than Lucy's, though that isn't saying much.
 

BTW, the ascot is just magical. Magical.
:)
 

Thanks NovelaMaven. I have another question I meant to ask after deb explained about Willy. Has Ines had two children or has Willy been shot twice?
 

Sara,

Inés has been pregnant twice, both times by Willy, but has only given birth once.

The First Time:
Her father (Vicente) had her hospitalized and had the pregnancy terminated against her will. He tried to convince her she had never been pregnant.

The Second Time:
Everyone thought Willy had died in jail after being attacked by other cons. But when Vicente learned Willy had survived the beating, he took him as his own prisoner, keeping him locked in the cellar of the cabana for a couple of years (?).

Inés found Willy just at the time she was trying to trap Santi with a fake pregnancy. So she used Willy to make her fake pregnancy real.

As far as I can recall, Willy has been shot only once but he sure has been through a whole mess of stuff.

Does that make sense? (Really?)
 

Of course it makes sense! It's a novela! I knew about the second pregnanacy, but not the first. Even before I stopped watching the first time it was clear that Ines had a somewhat dubious mental health history. Forced termination and then convincing someone they were never pregnant would do it.
 

Santa

so many things go on in this novela it's hard to keep track,

but Willy was shot twice by Ines, both times with a borrowed Pancho's gun,

first time in the cabana basement, then Ines took him somewhere with Lucy's help, took out the bullet and sewed him up. Lucy helped him to recuperate, fell under his spell, and helped him to escape to the Trebol de Oro.

second time, when Ines shot Santa, but Willy step in front and caught the bullet, from which he is currently recovering.

 

Doh!

Thanks, Deb -- how could I forget about the other shooting?

Got that, Sara? Inés shot Willy twice!
 

I could really make a dirty joke. But I won't.

I appreciate everyone clearing things up for me. I'm going to try to keep up with Santa's antics when work starts up again on Monday.

What is it about Telemundo novelas that I can't seem to resist? (Even when I know I can barely keep up with the two novelas I'm already watching.)
 

I am watching ep 100 right now. When Alicia broke into Bert's office and hacked his computer did she say he was broke and someone was stealing from him? The app doesn't seem to have captions.
 

I could be wrong but I think she said something like:

It looks like Bert was completely broke and then all of a sudden he got a whole bunch of money!

He must have stolen it from someone -- who???

Thanks for reminding me of that scene, Sara.

As for your earlier question:
"What is it about Telemundo novelas that I can't seem to resist?"

I don't know what the hook is for you. And they're not all the same, of course. But there is a certain subset that really get to me -- the suspense or mystery novelas. They are so game-like; they are so superficial and stylized, that I don't get upset when terrible things happen. I just enjoy the crazy -- often laughable even when ghastly -- twists of plot.

Plus I like so many of the actors in the Telemundo studio.
 

Thanks! Now it makes sense. The words I caught didnt jibe anyway. I should wait until I'm completely awake before I watch.

Right now I'm sure a part of the appeal for me is the complete novelty, but I will say I'm enjoying the actors.
 

I think Bert's newfound money was from his deal with Franco, whom he then double-crossed. So Bert has Franco's money, and Pat's threats to tie Bert to Franco just might work. Bert's been using the money for good deeds, such as Willy's medical bill and willy's speech therapist. But this can never make up for all of his crimes (and the new ones to come, probably).

I also like Telemundo novelas, which in general are a little less sappy and saccharine than the ones on Univision. And the "good guys" often have major weaknesses, and are tempted to get evil (like Santa in this one). And so many things happen, these shows seem to be less repetitive than some I saw on Univision. Of course there are always exceptions.
 

So far for me Telemundo shows TN's that are different. I'm sure there will be a bad one coming.
Televisa is the same ole, same ole, one cliche after another, only the location & actors are different. All the writers have a cliche list that they check off.
 

I definitely agree that a lot more happens every episode. It seems like there isn't much filler...even if it means things getting crazy (which is by no means a complaint.)

There definitely seems to be a bit more originality.

And this may be weird or stupid, but I'm finding that I enjoy the diversity of accents. I don't feel like that is as evident in Televisa novelas. It's seems to me there are two accents: standard Mexican and Naco. (Perhaps I just can't pick up on the subtleties.) I am enjoying the different cadences in Santa.
 

I should clarify: two types of accents in televisa productions.
 

Santa Diablo – Capitulos 99 and 100 # 1.3.13

Part 1

Rewind from Thursday: Santa asks Bert if he is the one who paid the hospital bills for Willy’s care. He asks if it matters. Santa replies she does not want to owe or be in debt to Bert for anything. After Santa’s response, he denies paying the bills.

Diabla fingers Santa‘s wedding ring from her marriage to Bert and she plots. Alicia demonstrates how emotionally damaged she really is by her unwillingness to forgive Santi for standing her up at the “family dinner”, even when she finds out his reason: Inés was trying to kill herself. Alicia retaliates by cutting the brake lines on his old pick-up, hoping to cause a crash. She also plants Santa's wedding ring (from Humberto) on the passenger seat of the pick-up.

Lisette furiously frets with Petra. She cannot imagine how Art might have learned about her scheme to rob Art of their baby’s trust cash. Art comes home to Horti’s house - REALLY PO’d. Arturo fires Petra, reams out Lisette, and takes his baby from Horti's house. Lisette begs and pleads that Art has it all wrong and that she is a wonderful mum who could never do such a thing as he accuses her of. He tells her there is a witness to her plotting the crime and cell phone records of calls to her accomplice. He is dismayed that she plotted to possibly kill he and Padre Milton for her ambition. He warns Lisette that he will see her in court and jail if necessary and that she is banned from seeing the kid. Lisette is hysterical saying she will die without being with the kid.

Santa and Bert discuss the mysterious letters from an anonymous person. Santa wonders if it is Alicia who is sending them because she has not received a letter. Regardless, Bert plans on being at the event to see what it is all about.

Druggie Dani is in rehab writhing and hallucinating. Barbara yells at Ivan for not being available by phone and daring to spend time, instead, with Victoria. Barb accuses the pair of being ridiculous. She wants to remove Dani from rehab to save her from her suffering. Ivan explains that rehab is saving Dani’s life and saving her from Barb herself. He tells Barb she is blind to her daughter’s life threatening addiction and that Barb will be responsible for Dani’s death if she doesn’t wise up. Later that night, stupid Barbara returns and bribes someone at the rehab center, dresses herself and her hallucinating daughter in white scrubs, and tries to 'liberate' Daniela. Daniela has a melt-down -- even in her madness, she realizes what Barbara is doing is wrong. Iván is called, again. He reminds Barb that Daniela is of age, and signed herself in. Barb is lucky they aren't pressing charges. But she is banned from the rehab center.

The speech therapist reports to Willy’s family that she can help Willy. The family worries about paying her. She tells them not to worry as everything is already paid for. Later that day, the speech therapist reports back to Humberto. (So he DID hire her.) Willy's prognosis is excellent.

Elisa pays Alicia a visit and discovers no one in the Cano family showed up to the dinner party, not even Santi. Elisa asks why and Alicia explains it was because Santi was busy trying to keep Ines from killing herself. Elisa, stunned asks if Alicia can show some understanding based on this reasonable explanation for Santi’s no show? Nope, replies Alicia, there are no excuses anymore for any Cano. Alicia’s plan for the family begins now. Elisa is unsuccessful in trying to show Alicia there are people Alicia can count on and Elisa wonders who Alicia’s real war is with – Santa or Santi. Elisa leaves and Alicia assures Elisa there will be no violence and declares Elisa a true friend.
 

 

Part 2

Pancho comes to visit Ines at the hospital and bring her home. Ines pulls the same guilt crap on Pancho, trying to make him feel responsible for what she did. He is dead to her, she says. Ines tells Pancho that his time would be better spent doing his police work. Inés gives George's cell phone (which she found when she broke into the Diabla house) to Pancho (or to Santiago in Pancho's presence?) and says it is proof that Santa killed George. She calls Santi, who also was handed a guilt trip by Ines and asks him to come and get her. Inés moves into the Cano mansion, although no one wants her there. Santi realizes how she manipulated him into feeling guilty for her attempted suicide. He tells her he is offering her a room at the inn, nothing more

Willy is attended to by a nurse and he opens his eyes. Que milagro! The second time in the capitulo, Alicia has come to visit Willy for a second time. She plants a smooch on a seemingly sleeping Willy. Willy opens his eyes to Alicia's kiss and considers how to use her emotional vulnerability and CanOdio to his advantage.

Back at the Cano place, Alicia is plotting against Santi and his old truck as she fingers Santa’s ring and imagines it would be very easy for him to have a mechanical failure and ……. Inside the Cano place, Fran discovers Santi is bringing Ines to the Cano place to live. Fran wonders if Santi feels guilty (duhhhh?). Alicia spies on the two during this exchange. After Santi leaves, Alicia calls Santa to suggest that Santi better drive carefully because something could happen to him during his travels. Santa figures out what Alicia is up to and tries to warn Santi. He doesn't take her call. She tries to enlist Francisca's help but just triggers a FranRant. Predictably Santi crashes through a roadblock but is not seriously injured. Santa rushes to his side. He accuses her of causing the accident. He finds her wedding ring in the truck and considers it damning evidence. [What a moron.]

Over at the now nearly empty Robledo house, Lucy calls her only friend in town, Transito, to invite her to this one-person wedding affair. As she talks, she sees one of the mystery letters flying under the door. She goes to the door to investigate and finds Uly at the door. She wonders why he is sending letters to her fiancé. Lucy drops the news that she and Pancho are getting married in 24 hours. He denies being the deliverer and leaves. As he walks away from the house he calls someone to report that he “was almost caught”. He is instructed to deliver a letter to Alicia at the Cano mansion and he worries that it will be a tricky mission. We have now found out that Ulises has been writing and delivering the anónimos (Lucy actually spotted him delivering one to Pancho). Meanwhile, Lucy is walking around like one half of the couple on a wedding cake. Will the other half of the couple show up?

Art asks Mara to help him care for the baby. She agrees, but insists she will not take the place of his real mumsy, Lisette. Mara, left in charge of baby, calls her ma for help when the kid won't stop crying. Elisa and Lázaro take one look at the baby and declare that there ain't nothin' wrong with him -- he's just teething. That 50 cent diagnosis? He has none of the signs, says Laz. Get a second opinion, says Elisa.

Lisette goes to Bert to complain about losing the baby. Bert shrugs and said her plot was always a risky one. Bert reassures Lisette that she hired a pro who won’t squeal on her about the attempted robbery. Bert’s phone rings. Patricio calls Humberto, says he's Franco's associate and needs his help in getting out of prison. Bert hangs up calling Pat an imbecile.

Begona and Santa argue about Willy Jr’s future. Santa wants his affections for her back. Paula barges in to report that Willy Sr has awakened from his coma. Santa sneaks over to Willy Jr’s room and declares her motherly love for him as Willy Jr pretends to be asleep. After Santa leaves, Begona frets about Santa’s future.

 

Part 3

Santa goes to visit Pancho at his house and pleads with him to protect Santi against Alicia Cano. WTQ? Santa has to explain who Alicia is and where she came from. Pancho and Santa then discover that they have both received the crazy anonymous letters. Santa explains to Pancho that she and Bert have discovered that the individual words on each of the letters, when put together, spell a message about a meeting on Friday in the abandoned warehouse at 5 pm. She and Pancho dash off with Lucy right behind them.

Alicia pays Bert’s office a visit to snoop around on his computer. She thanks the spirit of George for having provided her with Bert’s passwords. She exclaims how she is surprised to see that the supposedly bankrupt Bert now has millions in his account. She is not surprised given how corrupt all the Cano’s are.

Uly sneaks into the Cano mansion to plant the letter for Alicia. He manages to place it on Bert’s desk in the Cano office. He sneaks out and later, back at home, he calls mystery person that the mission was accomplished. His call is to none other than Begona. But Begoña (Begoña???) is the one behind the scheme. Why? She tells Uly to deliver a letter to Ines and to deliver it to the Cano mansion because that is where Ines will be living.

One by one, everyone, for various reasons convenes at the Cano place. Begona argues with Fran and Fran plants a THWACK on Begona’s face. Bert comes home and Fran complains about Ines coming to live at the house. Pancho and Santa arrive to see all the anonymous letters laid out together. Santi manages to pull Santa out of public view to plant a smooch and discuss their conflicted (dysfunctional) relationship. Even though Santi thinks Santa has turned evil and kidnaped and tortured his mother and is responsible for George's death and is messing around with Humberto, he can't stay away from her. He pulls her toward him for a passionate kiss. Bert, of course, walks in. Bert wants to know if Santi is jealous of his supposed relationship with Santa. Santi runs upstairs to mope. Lucy shows up at the Cano place and reports that she knows who delivered the letters. She reports that it was Uly.

Bert and Santa descend on Uly’s house to discover it is, indeed, Uly who has been delivering the letter. He claims he does not know who the person is who is instructing him or why, just that his only job is to deliver the letters. WTQ?

Tránsito has a terrifying nightmare about Pat coming after her.

Later, back at the Cano house, Bert finds Alicia’s letter on the desk. He explains to Alicia how it is part of the message about a meeting on Friday in the abandoned warehouse. Barb barges in to talk to Bert. After he leaves, Bert’s phone rings and Alicia answers. It is Pat again and he instructs Alicia to tell Bert that he must help get him out of jail or Pat will spill the beans on Bert. Alicia is intrigued with this news.

 

HI All Readers, TNers, and Lurkers,

As duty calls, I went ahead and posted a recap. I folded in Novela Maven's earlier recap of the same two caps in order to put that info into a broader context. So between the conversations and the recap info, I hope we are all up to date on those crazy kids in Marrero!

Happy New Year and Dia de Los Tres Reyes for those who celebrate.

 

Thanks so much, Mena, for this masterful and detailed recap of the double episode on Friday. (I can't believe you managed to weave in my earlier bullet points (now deleted, BTW) -- Hah!)

So is Alicia going to become Patricio's ally? Ugh.

Is Pancho going to marry motormouth Lucy? Double ugh.

Are Victoria and Iván going to put some curtains on those windows?

Is Santa ever going to see Bert as a good guy?

Stay tuned.
 

Santa

thanks so much Mena!

I don't know why Arturo took the baby and left, it was his house, but I liked that Mara is keeping him straight, saying it's not their baby, Lisette is the mother.

interesting that when Paula gets the news about Willy being conscious, she asks Santa if she will come with them to the hospital, Santa grabs her purse and leaves to where ever, (this guy, father of her son, took a bullet meant for her)

interesting scene where willy's eyes open after Santa leaves him.

also interesting to see how vulnerable Diabla is, as noticed by Willy, after she kissed him.

Ulises and Begona, it will be interesting to see what their connection is.

watching Barbara sneaking the zonked out Daniela out of rehab(torture) central, made me wonder if sometimes these actors start laughing and can't stop,

with all that has happened, Santiago pulls Santa close, because he needs to be close to her, and her toughness melts, great scene!

and Humberto/Santa, anonymous note detectives, they work well together,

 

Thanks so much Mena! I guess it's because I have watched that much, but I still prefer Bert and Santa over Santa and Santi.