Caray, Caray!

Santa Diabla, Monday
Part 1 of 2
Franco2/Rene says he really is the double -- and he has the scars to prove it. The corpse, in contrast, has none.

Santa allows Rene to stay in the Diabla house.

Arturo hires a PI to investigate Lisette: Find out how she got that custody order so fast and find the guy she hired to rob him outside the bank. The executor of his son's trust has approved the expense.

Inés is too spooked to stay in the Cano house so at her urging, Santi takes her to the cabin. She offers him a glass of juice before he leaves -- in a toast to her daughter whose existence she now recognizes -- and they both drink. Then Inés falls in a dead faint to the floor. Santi follows suit seconds later.

Later we see both Santi and Inés tied up in the rat-infested cellar where Willy had been imprisoned previously.

Lisette visits Victoria's oncologist and, pretending to be her sister, wheedles out of her that Victoria has terminal cancer. She later reports back to silent Petra. She is upset that Victoria is hiding her illness from Iván.

Santa is inexplicably turned away from yet another nursing job. But now we know why. Her interviewer phones Bert to confirm that per his orders (and money), no lab or hospital is going to hire Santa Martínez.

Bert gets another distorted-voice call. This time we see it is Ulises on the other end of the phone. Did Bert get the "gift"? The voice knows he used the sword to kill Vicente. Confess, Humberto!

Ulises then calls someone else -- we don't yet know who -- to report in. He's about to send the video to Francisca, he says. What should he and Begoña do next?
 

Part 2 of 2
Santa brings Rene some food at the Diabla house. He gets scared by someone knocking at the door, thinking it is Franco's men. But it is Paula and she is there to see Santa. She is upset because Willy and Humberto have been fighting over her.

Paula is stunned by Rene's appearance. She doesn't believe his story of "doubles."

The Rehab Center calls Barb to invite her to a family meeting for Daniela. Fran is horrified at the idea of going. Barb is unwilling to go alone. She is tired of being blamed for Daniela's problems.

While Victoria is dusting, she doubles over in pain. But she dissembles when Iván enters the room. He is on his way to the Rehab Center for Daniela's meeting. But he is concerned about Vic. She isn't eating well. He'll fix something for her. And Daniela? Her family will be there, for sure her mother.

Barb steps out of her room to get a cream for Alicia (she herself doesn't need it but...you know) when her phone rings. Alicia answers, pretending to be Barb. It is the Rehab Center, wondering where she is. Alicia says she is too busy -- she is having her hair done -- and no one else in the family can come.

Daniela waits hopefully. She is sure her mother and Iván are on their way. But finally her therapist breaks the news that no one is coming.

Francisca gets a phone video that shows Alicia brandishing a weapon, (I think). She immediately turns to Alicia and accuses her of killing Pancho.

Santa shows up at the Cano house and wants to know why Bert and Willy are fighting.

A friend of Lázaro's has a great job for Mara as a manager of a chain of restaurants. The only problem is that the job is in Canada. And she has to decide right away. Mara is very reluctant to leave Arturo in the lurch.

Iván's book -- his and Victoria's book -- is a success! The two have little time to enjoy the moment. Lisette is at the door with the baby. She manages to get Victoria alone and tells her she knows everything: Victoria is sick and she is concealing her illness from Iván.

A nurse enters an apparently empty clinic room. Daniela springs out of the bathroom where she has been hiding, and attacks the nurse.

Alicia shows up at the Martínez house just as the speech therapist is leaving. Willy Jr asks Alicia about her eye. Willy Sr tells his son he is being impolite. But Alicia doesn't mind. She likes people who speak frankly. She introduces herself to the boy. They seem to take a liking to one another, though the boy's father doesn't approve.

Inés is panicking. When she sees rats, she screams hysterically. Santi tries to calm her by talking to her. They both remember drinking juice before they passed out. The juice must have been drugged. Santi suspects Alicia at first, though Inés insists Santa is the culprit. Then Santi decides it must have been a man. And they both have a lot of enemies, starting with Willy. Suddenly Inés falls silent.

Inés? Inés? Santi looks up and sees a figure in black looming over him. The figure strikes him with a poker and he falls unconscious.
 

Thank you NovelaMaven. I haven't finished watching, but thanks to your recap I won't panic if I don't get to it. Everything I need to know is here.

I love silent Petra.
 

Oh and who knew it was so easy to get medical info from doctors?
 

Was it Ines planning the basement situation? She could have been faking being chained up and she knows how to drug people. Also she's crazy.

The rest of it could be Pancho since he's the only known by both Ulises and Begonia. Or fake Franco is real Franco, but then why waste time with all this? He'd just kill everybody and move on.

So complicated! I meant to ask, did Petra actually say a word a couple shows ago or did I imagine it? I hope they let her get in a word before all this is over. "Rooosebuuuud", then nothing

Kelly
 

Santa

thanks so much NovelaMaven!

I thought Paula brought up a good point when she asked Santa why she was hanging out with all of the bad guys, like Franco and Humberto.

and Santa even acts like she likes Rene, (this will drive Humberto nuts), but I guess with all of her current husbands and boyfriends so stressed out maybe it's just nice for her to be with someone new.

so who is Ines' new person-in-black, hmm, and here I'm thinking that since no one actually lives at the cabana Ines must have made the orange juice, and they did seem to make it clear that it wasn't Humberto.

and who is mystery person number 2, that Ulises and Begona, for some unknown reason, do exactly what he says. (I wonder what felipe would sound like through one of those distortion phones)

the old theory of sticking some one in rehab, feed them drugs, and everyone forgets about them, doesn't seem to always be the best remedy for the patient, I hope Daniela doesn't kill that nurse.

ah yes Canada, would this be like a chain of Snowshoe Sam's Burgers and Brew, maybe Santa could find work there as well, as a hockey therapist, eh?

 

Great recap, NovelaMaven. Many thanks! I missed a minute or two at the start and assumed I'd missed nothing important, but your recap proved me wrong. I knew nothing about the scars that Rene had and that Franco lacked, and I came in toward the end of Arturo's conversation with the PI, and I wasn't wholly sure who he was.

The telenovela left me with questions even about the part I DID see. I'm wondering who knew about the Robledo cabana and had both time and motive enough to drug the juice before Ines and Santiago arrive. When Santiago accepted the juice from Ines, I thought "Oh, Santi, do you never learn?" I was sure he was about to be drugged again by Ines. I was stunned when both of them turned out to be drugged and then confined in the cellar. The person most likely to have knowledge of the cabana and the cellar is Willy, but I'm not sure he was available to do this, nor would he have had any idea that they were about to go there, unless, of course, Willy was hidden away somewhere in casa Cano and overheard Ines tell Santi she wanted to go there. I confess, though, that I so distrust and dislike Ines that I'm still not sure this isn't some scheme of hers, perhaps in conjunction with someone else.

Other questions remain as well. I still can't figure out how Ulises (or anyone else) knew that Bert killed Vicente, nor how he did it.

Nor do I know who Ulises and Begoña are working with. My guess is that it's the arisen-from-the-dead-for-the-2nd-time Pancho. This time, he has enough sense not to be seen after "dying."

I found it interesting that Willito (Willy Jr.) and Alicia took a liking to each other. Willy Jr. seems to be a barometer of other characters' worth. This makes me wonder whether in fact the plan of Willy Sr. and Alicia to use each other for revenge may wind up Bringing Them Together. But, then again, my guess for who's responsible for Ines' and Santi's current predicament is Willy Sr. (though I suppose it could be Bert, who seems to have a hand in lots of nasty stuff).

My beanies have proven useless to cope with this crazy telenovela, but I've gotta say that it's keeping me watching.
 

Thanks, NovelaMaven!

I sort of think there's just one mystery person. And if it's a man, I can't think of anyone else but a)someone new, or b)Padre Milton! Yes, he knows lots of secrets, could be working with Begoña and Ulises, but could he drug people and hit them over the head! I guess not. For that matter, I doubt Pancho (if he's alive) would do it. Maybe SiFuentes is not dead? Okay, thinking way back, Carlos??? Unlikely.

I agree, Sara, that doctor should not have given Lisette the info. Why not ask for ID?

Bert continues to do one bad thing after another, now preventing Santa from getting a job. The weird thing is, it's working. He certainly is smart, dodging problems, coming up with schemes.

I'm not convinced that Rene is not Franco. If a plastic surgeon was good enough to change a face, he could also hide scars on the dead guy, and put some on Franco.

I guess if willy likes Alicia, we should, too, since kids always have that sixth sense in these shows.
 

Why would Bert keep Santa from working? Is he just trying to keep her dependent on him?

It would be a hoot and a half if the mystery person was Padre Milton.
 

This thing is so insane, it could be anyone. Sooooo I'm really going outside the box, it's Willy Jr. he is really the bad seed.

It's very hard to figure how Ulises is mixed up in this & his connection to Begoña. Seems the vengeance is directed to more than just the Cano's.

I don't think we are finished with Patricio yet.
 

Now that I've gotten to watch the whole thing I have to say I feel kind of bad for Daniela.
 

Sara, you mentioned the other day that you were enjoying the different accents on this show. I knew about a few of the cast members, but several were new to me. So I did a little digging and here is what I found. (It's not complete -- I got bored after a while.)

Gaby Espino (Santa) -- Venezuelan
Carlos Ponce (Bert) -- Puerto Rican
Lincoln Palomeque (Willy) -- Colombian
Ximena Duque (Inés) -- Colombian
Aarón Díaz (Santi) -- Mexican
Wanda D'Isidoro (Barbara) -- Venezuelan
Frances Ondiviela (Victoria) -- Spanish
Ezequiel Montalt (George) -- Spanish
Maki Soler (Alicia) -- Argentinian
Beatriz Valdés (Begoña) -- Cuban
Roberto Mateos (Patricio) -- Mexican
Lis Vega (Lisette) -- Cuban
Zully Montero (Hortensia) -- Cuban
Virna Flores (Paula) -- Peruvian
Eduardo Orozco (Arturo) -- Venezuelan
Alberich Bormann (Iván) -- Mexican
Kenya Hijuelos (Lucy) -- Mexican
Raúl Izaguirre (Vicente) -- Mexican
Jeirmarie Osorio (Mara) -- Puerto Rican
Gilda Haddock (Francisca) -- Puerto Rican
Raquenel (Tránsito) -- Mexican
Javier Valcárcel (Pancho) -- Cuban
Ana Osorio (Daniela) -- Venezuelan
Jorge Eduardo García (Willy Jr.) -- Mexican
Fred Valle (Gaspar) -- Puerto Rican
Luis Caballero (Carlos) -- Mexican
Gledys Ibarra (Elisa) -- Venezuelan
 

Santa,

alone, Franco/Rene answers the door,
it's the pizza guy,
dinner time at the Diabla house. lol!

 

Great list! Thanks NM!!
 

Interesting list, NovelaMaven. Thanks muchly. I only wish my Spanish were good enough to be able to distinguish one accent from another on this telenovela. I certainly was able to hear (and fail to understand) Lincoln Palomeque's Colombian accent when he played a Colombian drug dealer in La Reina del Sur. But my impression is that most of the characters in Santa Diabla try to downplay their native accents. Though perhaps if my Spanish were better, I'd hear the accents anyway. Oh well, in any case, many thanks.
 

Wow, I can't believe it. For once something I said may have turned out to be true. Yesterday afternoon, writing about the situation of Inés and Santiago in the Robledo cellar, I said "I confess, though, that I so distrust and dislike Ines that I'm still not sure this isn't some scheme of hers, perhaps in conjunction with someone else." One point for me. :-)

 

Juanita- I don't know that I recognize accents either. The rhythm seems different with these actors and the accents seem softer somehow. Meh. Maybe I'm nuts. Lol. And I didn't mean to imply that Televisa only uses Mexicans; it just seems their native accents get a little stifled.
 

Good for you, Juanita. Me, I never doubted that Inés would turn out to be involved but I was surprised that Humberto was her accomplice. (I shouldn't have been. I took my eye off the ball!)

I am fascinated by dialects though not particularly gifted in identifying them. I'm fairly certain, though, that Univision demands a 'neutral' Mexican accent from its non-Mexican players (unless, of course, the role specifically asks for a European or a Colombian, say).

Telemundo actors probably do play down their native roots to some extent, but they aren't working quite so hard to obliterate them. They may pronounce their final d's and t's, but they hold onto their own cadences.

[One of the reasons I enjoyed La Reina del Sur so much was for its attention to linguistic authenticity. They even went so far as to dub in the voices of some Colombian actors with the appropriate Spanish dialect when they had to film those scenes in the studio in Colombia with locals.]
 

SANTA - Martes - Part 1

In another shocking episode, some questions are answered, but many more remain shrouded in mystery.

Before we get to the shocks, let’s check in on some of the side stories. A lot of this will be out of order, and also additions and corrections are welcome.

Lisette tells Vicky she knows all about the cancer. She won’t reveal how she found out. She tells Vicky it’s cruel and selfish of Vicky to do this do Iván, who will be crushed when he finds out. But Vicky answers that she’s going to die anyway, and wants to have just a little more loving time with Iván, doesn’t want him to pity her and be all upset, since he’s so happy now. And since she has so little time left, what’s the difference? Lisette says when was your last mamagram? Um, never, I don’t know about those things. Well, continues Lisette, didn’t you do a simple self examination? Again, Vicky never heard of that (Lisette’s sort of giving us a public service message here). In the end, Lisette tells her you’re just going to have to tell Iván. Now. Iván comes back in the room, and both ladies are on their best behavior. Lisette says she’ll be visiting a lot, and they both smile. But we know Vicky is going to have to tell Iván after Lisette leaves.

I don’t think we ever find out if Mara will take the job in Canada. I hope she doesn’t.

Daniela proves to be just as good at sneaky plans as the other cast members. After knocking out her nurse, she switches clothes with her, remarking to herself it worked for Mom. She ties up the nurse, now barefoot, dressed in Dani’s clothes, and asks her how many pills should she give her to knock her out but not kill her. The nurse first doesn’t want to cooperate, but when Dani says I’ll give you the whole bottle, the nurse holds out three fingers, and Dani gives her three pills. She then tentatively walks out, dressed in a nurse outfit. And it works! Before you know it, she’s out the door to freedom!

Willy tells willy to take some clothes to his Grandma, or something like that, to get him out of the house. He then asks Alicia how’d it go with Barb, and Alicia says it went great, Barb likes me now, and she’s looking for a boyfriend. Willy wants Ali to introduce HIM as the boyfriend, and for now, Ali just tells Barb she knows a perfect guy. Back in the little house, Ali and Willy feel the attraction, and go into a clinch. Just as clothes are starting to come off, in walks Santa! She’s mad, says Alicia has to leave, and Willy is so irresponsible, wasn’t he supposed to be watching willy? Willy says you’re jealous, right? No way, says Santa, we have a bond that’ll last for ever, our son. But I don’t love you anymore, and I’ll never love you. Guess who heard this last part? Little willy.

Santa gets a cellphone video (we know it’s from Ulises and Begoña, still working for some unknown boss), and it shows Alicia with a weapon. She goes and shows this to Fran! So we’ve had incriminating videos showing Alicia, Inés, and I think Bert. Whoever’s in charge wants everyone to suspect other people, but why?
 

SANTA, Part 2

Santa is going to let “Rene” live at her new place (the one she got with Alicia, who now lives at the mansion). Paula thinks Santa’s crazy, shouldn’t trust this guy, who could be Franco. I agree. We see a shot of Rene, and so far, nothing gives away if he’s legit.

Lucy visits Ulises, and yells at him what was going on between him and Pancho, but he won’t say. She hears a noise (it’s Begoña), but by the time she gets to the kitchen, there’s no one there. But the door is wide open, and Lucy knows Ulises is hiding something.

Okay, now for the wild stuff. Someone predicted it, that in that cabaña there was no intruder, it was Inés HERSELF! Yes, she drugged Santi’s juice, but she just faked her own fainting. She then somehow got Santi down the stairs, and chained him to the post, facing away from her. While he was out, she dressed up in a black robe and hood, and a demon mask. Disguised like this, she hit Santi over the head with a tire iron! Santi knew it was a woman, but he has no clue who it really is, as he keeps pleading with the “intruder” not to hurt Inés!

After hitting Santi, Inés realizes they were both supposed to be hurt, and she’s fine. So she goes upstairs, and runs right into the wall!!! This gives her a big red bruise on her forehead (and maybe a headache), but she’s tough (and insane), goes back downstairs (leaving her cell phone upstairs by accident) and fake chains herself up again. This time Santi can see her, and begs her to stretch, maybe she can reach the tire iron sitting on the floor. She can’t. He’s all bleeding, and he passes out again. She resolves to cure him, but first has to blindfold him. When he wakes up, she’s dabbing at his wounds with her trusty first aid kit. She doesn’t hear the phone ring upstairs. It’s the gardener.

Santi can’t tell who is tending to his wounds. He keeps pleading, in the dark, for the intruder not to hurt Inés. There’s a noise upstairs. Inés goes up, and yes, it’s the gardener, come to trim the bushes. He hears a noise downstairs (Santi), and gets suspicious, goes to check it out. Inés sees him go toward the door to the basement, takes out a revolver, and calmly shoots him in the back, DEAD!!!!! Yes, Santi heard the noise, but Inés is not too perturbed, as our loca goes down to tend once again to her “precioso”.

She also gets a call from Bert, and I think somehow he’s also included in her macabre plans. Please add or correct what I forgot. One thing we can all agree on, this show is NUTS!
 

Many thanks, Hombre, for yet another terrific recap. Yes, I think we can all agree that this novela is NUTS, almost as NUTS as Inés. Even though I'd predicted that the business in the Robledo cellar was her plot, perhaps in conjunction with someone else, I was nonetheless stunned when that turned out to be the case. I can see Bert's motivation for doing this more than I can see Inés's. Bert recognizes that Santa wants Santi, not him, and chaining Santi in the cellar of a house almost noone knows about might (at least in Bert's demented mind) leave Santa open to loving Bert. But what Inés gets out of this is less clear. If she "rescues" Santi, then Bert loses out. So how/why the two of them are plotting together is a mystery to me (as is so much else about this novella).

I'm still betting on Pancho as the third person along with Begoña and Ulises, and probably the leader.

One possible correction: I think that it was Francisca who came to Santa's house and showed Santa the video, rather than Santa showing it to Francisca.
 

Many thanks, Hombre! Iloved "but she’s tough (and insane)."

Good call, Juanita!
 

Thanks HdeM for the recap...

A few additions to add more info to the insanity (if that is possible).

Lisette is coming over to Vicky's side and she told Ivan that she now knows how much Vicky loves Ivan and that she will do what she can to support them... She seems to be softening, at least seems to in front of the two of them.

Willy told Jr to go take a bath to get him out of the way. That is why Santa was extra mad at Willy for being so irresponsible while taking care of Jr. He could have walked in on the Willy and Ali. Ali says that Jr is too polite to walk in when a door is closed to do so without knocking.

Ines is nuts and didn't just walk into the wall, but deliberately slammed her head into the wall and had tears in her eyes after she did it. When the gardener comes over, he sees a mask on the table and asks if she just had "a party". Santi yells for help so the gardener goes to see what is up. Ines shoots him and gets a little distraught - just for a minute. Then after she shoots the gardener in the back, she chides him for not listening to her warning to not go down there ....

This was a creepy episode, just plain creepy.

 

Thanks so much, Hombre. Yup. NUTS. That's why we love it so much, right?

I never loathed Lisette more than when she was telling Victoria that her cancer was her own fault. Grrrr. And this is the "kinder, gentler" Lisette, mind you.
 

We were gaining some sympathy for Lisette before, but she trashed that, I don't trust her one bit.

Crazy, loca, nuts, insane, & copied from word ref, demente, perturbado, desequilibrado, alienado, chalado, chiflado, lunático, maniático, esquizofrénico, ido, majareta

But I love it!

Another actor that can bring it on w/o a lot of hoopla like Humberto, is Oleg in Reina. They show feelings or lack of with just an expression.
 

NM - oh yes, I thought the same thing when Lisette was telling Victoria that the cancer was her fault. WTQ? So Victoria says yes I was too busy taking care of the house, my brother died and I was being tortured by Patricio so I didn't have time for a mammogram or for a self-check. Lisette was definitely blaming the victim.

I am all for prevention but can anyone blame Victoria?
 

I thought that Lisette ripping into Victoria was just a heavy-handed PSA. Could be wrong. I'm not really sure what to think of Lisette's motivations at this point. She's had moments of humanity, truly cared about her kids (in her money grubbing way), and seemed to really feel for Victoria. But she also seemed to smirk at the doctor's office when she found out the women stealing her money, I mean her son, was going to die of cancer.

I didn't get the impression that Humberto knew what was happening in the basement. It wouldn't be the first time that Ines has gone rogue. And boy, will Pancho be crushed when he finds out what she did and that his game here may have triggered an extra round of crazy from her! (I'm still assuming he's alive. He's the only one, besides Victoria, that Ulises would do all this for).

Kelly
 

By the way Carlos Ponce was born in Puerto Rico but his parents were Cuban and he moved to Miami when he was still a kid. His accent is probably a mixture of Cuban and Puerto Rican.
 

This comment has been removed by the author.
 

Variopinta,

I totally agree that "Another actor that can bring it on w/o a lot of hoopla like Humberto, is Oleg in Reina. They show feelings or lack of with just an expression." YES!! I was overwhelmed by the performance of Alberto Jiménez, who played Oleg (and, I confess, I sort of fell in love with Oleg :-) ).
 

Kelly, I agree that Lisette's ripping into Victoria was a heavy-handed PSA. I find most telenovela PSA's rather annoying, but few seem to me as mean-spirited as this one. I long ago stopped liking Lisette, but this scene put her into an even lower circle of hell. IMHO, Inés will be at the very bottom, all by herself.
 

SANTA, Miércoles, Part 1

This was a very entertaining episode, we finally find out stuff, and one scene was so funny I keep laughing just thinking about it!

As usual, my recap is out of order, and might omit things. Corrections are welcome. It turns out that almost everyone in our cast in working on some PLAN. Yes, nobody’s just living their lives, they’re trying to change their world.

PLAN A: Arturo has hired a detective to check out Lisette, and the report is in. First of all, the reason why Lisette was able to get a court order so fast, granting her custody rights to little Felipe, is that BERT made a call to a judge! Yes, Mara and Art had consulted Bert to help THEM, and he stabbed them in the back. He’s working with Lisette! (we knew this). Art is furious, Mara is despondent, but the detective says there was no bribe, so they can’t sue Bert. It’s frustrating though. Second, the detective could not prove that Lisette hired the guy who robbed Art of the (phony) money. So really there’s no way Art can get custody, without a long court battle.

Oh yes there IS a way. Art says he’ll kidnap the baby! Mara doesn’t like this, they could go to jail. Later, Elisa and Lázaro tell Mara to fess up about her new job. She admits to Art she was offered a job as manager of a chain of restaurants, but she’d have to move to Canada. Right away. Of course, she can never leave Art alone, so she’ll turn down the job. But when the two of them are alone again, Art says don’t you see, it’s perfect! You take the job in Canada. I’ll kidnap the baby, and join you in Canada. We’ll never get caught! It’s all set. I know this guy who flies a cargo plane, and he’ll take me and the baby. Mara wavers for a bit, then says honey, if we go, we go together! Chances this “plan” will succeed? Zero.

PLAN B: Daniela has gone to Lisette’s house, she was the only one who backed her when Dani was trying to visit Iván in prison, she needs to stay. And don’t tell my Mom, and don’t tell Iván. Lisette reluctantly agrees. Chance this “plan” will succeed? 5%?

Meanwhile, Lucy has started drinking and Tránsito tries to get her to snap out of it. Vicky hasn’t told Iván about her cancer. The clinic calls Barb about Dani escaping. She blames Iván, he blames her, Fran tells Barb to grow up, Iván goes to look for Dani in drug alley.

PLAN C: Here’s where it really gets interesting. Last we left off, Inés had Santi tied up in the basement blindfolded and bleeding a bit. We see her flashing back to how she did it all. She pretended someone was spying on them to get Santi worried. She even made her own footprints, that Padre Milton saw. Before she got Santi to the cabaña, she drugged his juice, being careful to tell the glasses apart, so hers would be okay. We know the rest - he collapsed, she got him downstairs, tied him up, pretended to be chained herself, and smacked her own forehead to show she was also being attacked. So now, she’s in the basement, as Santi calls to her, Inés, are you okay? She screams, ah, oww, stop, no, aaaaaaahhhhh, smiling away as she does this! Santi yells out to the “intruder”, please don’t hurt her. Inés gets up, smashes a big piece of wood against the table, yelling out in fake pain, laughing her crazy head off, as Santi, blindfolded, continues to yell out that they shouldn’t hurt her! I’m LOL, as Inés snaps the chains against her pole, and goes on and on, pretending she’s being tortured! In a quiet moment, she tells Santi that if she gets killed, remember, she’s always loved him, more than life itself. She then calmly goes upstairs, gets rid of the gardener’s body somehow, telling him he’s to blame, and cleans up all the blood, even cleans the juice glasses. She’s a pro!
 

SANTA, Part 2

Back in the “real world”, Paula visits Rene, tells him she’s not falling for his act, he’s Franco, right? He’s bare chested at this point, asks her to “feel his scars”. She allows her hand to touch his sexy chest, and for a minute there, she almost falls for it. She finally pulls away, you’re trying to seduce me, right? It won’t work. Or will it? This could be Plan D.

Santa tells willy that although she doesn’t love Willy like before, she still likes him as a buddy, and he’s a great father. They’ll always be there for the kid. Santa, willy and Begoña hug.

Bert is worried that Santi has disappeared. He tells Santa, who is surprised that Bert cares. Bert also wonders where Inés is. His phone rings. It’s Inés, who tells him, don’t tell anyone you’re talking to me. I kidnaped Santi, but you can’t tell anyone. We’re here in the cabaña. If you do what I say, it’ll work out for both of us. Bert pretends he’s talking to a client, so Santa won’t know. Before the call, he had said Alicia must be behind Santi’s disappearance, let’s go file a complaint against her with the police. But now he tells Santa, I changed my mind. Let’s not get the police involved. Let’s just check out the cabaña. Maybe Santi is there. And Alicia knew about it, right? Santa thinks this is weird, but she goes along with it.

So they go to the cabaña, and Bert allows Santa to suggest looking in the basement. He tells Santa we could find Santi there, or maybe Santi and Inés are having sex down there, and just didn’t answer their cells. Santa doesn’t like this last possibility. But down the stairs she goes, and there they are, Santi is tied to one post, blindfolded, and Inés is tied to another post, also blindfolded. Santa and Bert rescue them, and Inés yells out, SHE’s the one who tortured me! It was Santa Martinez! Chances of this plan working out? Pretty good, like 50%, at least for a while.

PLAN E: Ulises meets with Begoña, they discuss the next phase of their plan, which is sending a letter to Bert. This letter is going to look as if it’s in Vicente’s handwriting. How is that possible? Because Pancho is ALIVE!!!!! Yes, as some of us guessed, he’s alive. And he’s the mysterious voice guiding Ulises and Begoña. In fact, he set it all up. He pops up in Ulises’ house, and recalls how it all happened. He was almost sure that Bert killed Vicente, but he had no proof. He decided that Begoña and Ulises, who didn’t know each other, were probably the two most trustworthy people in Marrero, and also, would never be suspected. He introduced them, told them he’d have to fake his death. Begoña got some fake blood. And so far, they’ve pulled it off! The notes, the video, everything is designed to get the truth out, but most of all, to make Bert confess! Pancho might never be able to prove Bert’s guilt, so that’s what they need. Pancho can forge Vicente’s handwriting, and they’ll send him a note, looking like it’s from Vicente, that’s going to rock Bert’s world!!!!! Then, maybe Bert will slip, and let out that Vicente can’t be alive, he KILLED him! Chances for this last plan? Excelente!!!!

 

Hombre, super job! Thank you so much.

Let's not forget Plan F: Patricio manages to steal a pen from his legal aid lawyer. We know he will use his mad skills to turn it into a deadly weapon and …
Chance of success: pretty good, though maybe Patricio will, in his attempt to break out, end up getting taken out. I'm tired of his menacing mug and Victoria has enough to worry about.

No surprise about Pancho, but still nice to see him.

"Rene" is looking creepier and creepier.

I find myself actually rooting for a successful international abduction. Go Arturo! (What has this show DONE to me?)

Inés, Santi, Santa, Bert -- Drawing room comedy. In a sótano. Wow, Ximena Duque really puts it out there -- I bet some of those bruises are real!
 

Best episode yet! Ines may not have much success in the long-run with any of her Trap Santiago plans, but big A plus for effort. Enjoyed her whining and crying about being hurt while casually playing with the chain links, lying on the ground with a pillow under her head and feet up the wall, generally just having a nice time with her crazy.

But I really loved Humberto's (or maybe Carlos') cara de "what the $%^& is this *#&@?" when he walked down to the basement.

Then I realized that he has to tell people that his sister is married to his brother. Poor guy.

Kelly
 

Hombre, chances that this is an absolutely stupendous recap: Excelente! I especially enjoyed your odds-making, in particular Arturo's hair-brained scheme to kidnap the baby and flee to Canada. I agree that the chances of this plan's succeeding are ZERO. As for Mara's decision that the three of them will do this together....Words fail me even more than brains failed her.

Inés' plan to incriminate Santa depends on Santa's being alone during the time that Inés and Santi were in the cabaña. Was she? Of course, for a while she was with Bert, but he's involved in this plot as well. I imagine that Santi will believe Inés, in part because the person who hit him seemed to be a woman and in part because he's a hopeless fool. And so if Santi turns against Santa, that opens the way for Inés to try to get him back. And if Bert supports Santa and tells her he believes her, that's a way (in Bert's mind, at least) for Bert to win Santa. I'm wondering how Inés's scheme will come undone, as it surely will. Hmmm...in addition to Bert, Willy, willy, and Begoña (and Francisca?) may have seen Santa during the time she was supposedly torturing Santi and Inés.

Hey, I'm on a roll: first I predicted that Inés planned the plot in the cabaña, and then I predicted (along with some other commenters) that Pancho was alive and was the leader of the plot that involved Ulises and Begoña. Two in a row! That's my all-time record. :-) What are the chances of my adding to this streak? Um, based on past performance, slim to none. Oh well....
 

wow Hombre, you are are SO good at making sense of all of this!

ah and plan G,
as Transito tries to get Lucy to her room (yuk, a room in a whorehouse) a gun falls out of her purse, well, not really a plan yet, just a drunken wild woman with a gun.

hmm, with Pancho on the dead list (say, why didn't we realize he wasn't at the morgue) the police seem to have been written out of the story.

"Wow, Ximena Duque really puts it out there -- I bet some of those bruises are real!"
haha NovelaMaven!

 

Thanks, NovelaMaven and Deb for Plans F and G! Amazing, so much happened I forgot all about Pat's pen, and Lucy's gun. The action is really heating up!
 

¡Superior! Hombre

I salute those that thought Pancho was alive. Do any of the graves in Marrero have bodies in them?

All I can say is Carlos & Ximena must laugh their asses off after going home after a hard days work. Ximena really brings off the crazy.

Apparently we are headed that way with Humberto also.

You sure can't deny that this TN is DIFERENTE.


 

"Do any of the graves in Marrero have bodies in them?"
haha Variopinta!

the Padre is going to flip when he sees yet another dead person walking around! It's been nothing but loveless marriages and undead funerals for him, but it is all confidential, right Padre?

 

SANTA DIABLA... Thursday (epi 109)
part 1

*cabana sotano
Ines and Santiago are rescued, by Humberto and Santa, respectively,
Ines accuses Santa of doing this to them,
but there is no proof, Santiago reminds her,
(I would think Santi would have recognized the heels poking out from under the disguise)
Santa rushes Santiago off to the hospital, but Ines stops her,
and Santiago decides he won't leave Ines,
after all she got the worst beating (not)

Santa leaves alone with Humberto following.

*Trebel de Oro
drunk Lucy gets her gun back,
Transito wonders if she shot Pancho.

*casa Ulises,
Pancho, Begona, and, Ulises go over their plan,
so far, so good,
(the idea is to get Humberto to confess, since they have no proof),
and we see flashbacks of fabrica fright night,
[the police were in on it, Ulises locked them in, Pancho was wearing a patch on his chest that simulates being shot, in the dark he shoots in the air, and hands Begona the gun who ditches it],

*the next morning

*casa Lisette
Daniela wakes up to a breakfast prepared by Lisette,
but gets sick,
novela Lisette has an idea what this means, pregnant?
and with more probing Daniela remembers the zombie party,
but can't remember if they had sex.
(this is a good case for abortions)

*casa Cano
Santiago (clean and without so much as a bandaid), Ines (with a red forehead), Francisca, and Barbara talk to a police officer about the missing Daniela,
he wants a picture,
a spaced Barbara isn't paying attention,
and is having trouble following the conversation,
but finally goes off to find a picture,
Ines grabs one off a close end table, which will work just fine.

*new casa Ivan
Victoria is in pain, but goes off to make tea,
Ivan is puzzled/concerned.

*casa Paula
Franco/Rene walks up as Paula is leaving
(shouldn't he be worried that the police/someone might see him)
I'm not Franco, I don't have a gun, frisk me...
Paula resists the idea remembering fingering the scars on his naked chest,
He invites her for a walk to the cemetery.

*casa Lisette
Lisette arranges for a pregnancy test,
and later for some std testing,

Daniela hands the test to Lisette to read the results
yep, POSITIVE,
Daniela is just too crushed for words,
(and no drugs in sight)

*cemetery
(are those the two gravediggers that buried Franco alive)
digging a new grave, but it's lunch,
and they leave,
Franco/Rene with Paula tagging along,
opens the coffin, Paula gags,
see, that's Franco.

*casa Cano
Alicia gives spacey Barbara the address for her new dream man.
(how long has it been for Barbara)

Humberto grabs Ines and demands to know WHAT THE.....
how do you expect this plan will ever work...
oh it will work Humberto, Ines pleads,
you just have to play along,
no, no, no, Santa is innocent and I won't let you...
what about Santa, a newly arrived Santiago asks.

meanwhile outside the entry Santa grabs Diabla by the throat,
and demands to know if it was her, that kidnapped Santiago and Ines.

Santiago persists,
as Ines launches into, it was Santa,
and heads down the stairs,
followed by Santiago, and Humberto, picking up Francisca along the way
and out the front door,
where Santa is currently throttling Alicia,
(Ines proves her point)

 

SANTA DIABLA... Thursday (epi 109)
part 2

*the streets of Marrero
Patricio is being transferred in a patrol car,
one officer on each side of him in the back seat,
a third driving,
with the pen he stole from the lawyer,
he stabs in the throat, first one then the other,
as the car hits a tree,
grabbing a gun Patricio shoots the driver,
then the other gasping officers,
loses the handcuffs and runs off in his orange suit.
(this guy REALLY scares me)

*in a park
Barbara is following her directions to meet this perfect guy,
as a handsome jogger runs past, is it him?
nope, as Willy grabs her from behind.

and starts laying on the Willy moves,
a suspicious Barbara, keeps starting to leave,
but the ice is melting, candles are being lit,
and flower petals tossed around in her head,
they kiss, and kiss, and Barbara leaves in heaven,
Willy smiles into a chuckle.

*casa Cano
Santiago breaks up Santa and Diabla,
what's this, Ines sees a letter in the flower bed,
(is it the letter Pancho wrote in Vicente's handwriting),
Ines flips and comes at Humberto for killing Vicente
as all eyes turn on him,

Humbert trying to get a handle on things grabs Ines,
and it's back into the house,

Santiago is aghast that Humberto killed Vicente,
he didn't do it, Santa tells him,
how do you know, he replies,
and why are you sticking up for Humberto,
(and once again Santa is on the wrong side of the fence)
Santiago leaves,
as Alicia tells Santa, you're losing him, you know.

Ulises, behind a tree, reports back to Operation Humberto headquarters,
Pancho gives the news to Begona
(it's a thumbs up moment)

in the office Humberto tries to calm an irate Ines, as Francisca zeros in,
Ines calls Humberto a monster,
(I think I had the same look as Humberto, Ines is calling someone a monster ???)
he grabs her and threatens to expose her plans, if she doesn't stop,
Ines stomps off,
Francisca reads the letter,
and in the now quiet room, she asks Humberto,
did you kill Vicente?,
(wow, how is he going to get out of this one)
yes,
it was me,
I killed him.

*casa Franco/Rene (formally Santa's, formally Diabla's)
Franco/Rene and Paula return for some juice,
and F/R breaks out the family pictures
this is what I used to look like, and here is my mother,
that I never saw again,
desperate house(not-a)wife Paula is touched,
(will there come a day when he calls her Margarita)

*casa Cano
so you killed your father, and Franco, and...
(Gaspar was always my father, Vicente was a coward),
Francisca asks Humberto, and when did this all start,
Humberto shifts the blame to her and the Willy thing,
(and the mother/son chat is on)

but now someone knows, probably the same person that wrote the letter, he says,
as Francisca's eyes squint,
(I think there is a death ray in there somewhere)

Santa comes back inside, drops her purse on the table and walks on,
Ines sneaks in and puts THE mask in her purse.

Santa arrives at the office where Francisca promptly throws her out,
don't talk to Amanda like that, Humberto tells her,
(Humberto always calling Santa, Amanda doesn't help his plea for sanity)

as Santa gets in his face,
YOU killed Vicente?

 

So Santi is back to being stupid. He give Santa grief about Humberto and then defends the woman who drugged him, faked a pregnancy, faked an identity, and abandoned her kid. Way to pick a side, Santi.

But Lisette, gold-digger that she is, proved to be mom #2 of this show! No one can Mom #1 from Elisa, ever, but her support of Daniela earns her points. And considering that she didn't abandon her kid for some vengeance scheme, and when she did sell her womb for money she took Ivan to the mansion to live, and probably spends more time with him than Santa spends with willy, she wins the mom war. Not that the parenting is spectacular in Marrero, but still.

Interesting thought on Franco. Paula once mentioned that the scars still can't prove which one is Franco/Rene. Hopefully she keeps that in mind.

Kelly
 

Wow, deb, muchas gracias for another delightful recap. I loved so many of your comments, especially "Paula is touched,
(will there come a day when he calls her Margarita)" and
"(I think I had the same look as Humberto, Ines is calling someone a monster ???)" In an interesting comment, Kelly talked about the "mom war," but I think it's trumped by the "loco/a war" and perhaps even more so by the "clueless war." After all she's been through, why does Santa leave her purse where anyone can do whatever they want with it, such as putting the mask inside? But as clueless as she is, I think Santi is worse. As Kelly points out, he "defends the woman who drugged him, faked a pregnancy, faked an identity, and abandoned her kid." And those are only the things he already knows about!

Deb, I also liked your comment that Francisca's "eyes squint,
(I think there is a death ray in there somewhere)." I'm wondering which of them (Humberto and Francisca) will do the other in.

Kelly made a good case for Lisette as Marrero mom #2, but even though there's not much competition, I'm not so sure her motives toward Daniela are maternal. I couldn't shake the feeling that Lisette was prying and getting off on Daniela's account. Why should Lisette keep demanding more details? What difference does it make how many druggies had sex with Daniela? To me, Lisette's conversation with Daniela was half PSA and half voyeurism. And yes, deb, I agree with your comment "(this is a good case for abortions)," especially in light of the diseases the druggies are likely to transmit. I can't recall a telenovela that actually dealt reasonably with abortion. Indeed, I can't offhand think of a character who actually had one, especially not a character who wasn't shown to be outright evil. This telenovela has been different in a number of ways, but I'd be surprised if it showed Daniela deciding to have an abortion, going through with it, and surviving.


 

Great recap, Deb! I also liked the death ray part, and the description of Barbara's inner mind melting with flowers.

Juanita, I agree, Dani probably won't have an abortion, although there's always the stairway of doom scenario (or a car accident). I did see a few novelas which had abortions, one was Sin Senos No Hay Paraiso, where the main character had one after getting forced to have sex with two druglord henchmen. She wasn't evil, but she made a lot of bad choices, and paid for them. I think I remember one other, also on a druglord show.

I also think Lisette is improving her image a bit.

For all of us who haven't been too keen on Santa and Santi, this episode was a scream! They're both such doofuses, and they're getting what they deserve because of it. Even though I like them more than some commenters, I'm especially enjoying Santa's stupidity, such as being caught throttling Alicia. And now the mask is in her purse!

Crazy...but fun!
 

A big thank you to all the recappers this week, I tried to stay away mostly because I hadn't yet watched. Now I'm up to date with the show and the recaps. And I also had a great laugh reading all your comments.
The crazy keeps on pouring.
Fun fact: they started airing teh show back home and my mom started warching it because she loves Carlos Ponce and I had already mentioned her how great the tn is. She's the type of person who always reads the last page of a book wanting to know the end, so she keeps asking me for spoilers, but I won't ruin it for her because watching spoiler free is too much fun.
Imagine she just found out Begonia is Santa's mom and she is so excited by this twist... hahaha.

Ines being "beaten" to death by "the woman" and all she has to show for it is a red forehead? And then she keeps blasting Santa, who just stares at her??
There is stupid and then there is S&S Stupid. Seriously, how dim can these two get?

Someone mentioned Bert's face while going down teh stairs in teh sotano - truly priceless. Ines is in a league of her own when it comes to being crazy.

Could Rene be the real deal? Paula doesn't seem to be quite the "Margarita" type, so maybe he's genuine?
Paula doesn't have a very good history of keeping a clear head when it comes to men (remember that Ricardo guy and George), if she falls for Rene, then it's a sign - he's Franco!

Willy bringing on the magic and all it took him were 5 minutes in the park to have Barbie eating from his hand. Is his end game just turning her on until she goes crazy and then rejecting her, or does he plan to give her some lovin' and THEN push her to the curb? Either way, I'm betting he ends up with Alicia, the "ugly" sister.

Arturo is another idiot. Why doesn't he go to a judge with the padre and they both talk about the fake ilness and all the lies Lisette told? If he ends up in jail, his pretty face will be toast.


 

I don't watch this but read the recaps faithfully every day. Is Paula still pregnant?
 

Deb, you are amazing! I am late to the party and my favorite lines have been noted. Still, I can't help repeating this one:

Will there come a day when he calls her Margarita?

I don't think Lisette does anything without ulterior motives. Sometimes her evil machinations may end up doing good, but she is basically out for herself and her gene pool.

I think in gritty TelemundoLand, women do sometimes have abortions. I don't expect Daniela's mommy dearest or grannie to tell her that a child is always a blessing. (Although who knows what Ivan will do. If we're looking for the most maternal figure, I nominate him.)

Please, writers:

Don't let Lucy kill Pancho.

Have someone shoot down that bad bad bad man in the orange jumpsuit!

I had to chuckle over the Rene/Franco thing when I read this piece in the NYT today. It is about people who go to plastic surgeons asking to be made into doubles of their favorite celebrities. The doctors agree that such a thing is completely impossible.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/16/fashion/Plastic-surgery-celebrity-makeover.html?_r=0
 

Anon, yes, Paula is still pregnant with George's baby.
 

Santa

thanks all, so much fun reading all of your comments!

ah yes, Paula's pregnancy, and why is she single, maybe someone should warn Rene, Paula's boyfriends don't live very long.

in Pasiones Prohibida, a novela so different in so many subtle ways, Bianca, pregnant from her much older husband, had an abortion for no other reason than she wasn't ready to go that route.

 

Many thanks, deb and Hombre! I will have to catch up this weekend, but I have your recaps to keep me up to date in the mean time. Sounds like I am in for a wild ride.
 

Santa Diabla

últimas semanas

 

And we know últimas semanas can be up to seven weeks (Univision), but hopefully more like 5 weeks for Telemundo. At some point, they go to últimos capitulos, I think.

BTW, after watching last night's show, I felt there is a chance Rene is really Rene, not Franco. After all, this show has surprised us many times, and it would be nice if Paula ended up with a guy who really liked her, and could help her raise the baby.

But I'm not counting on it.
 

Lucy, lucy, lucy

take a deep breath,
and relax,

does any one live there?
 

Santa Diabla Capitulo 110

Part 1

Rerun from the night before: Santa looks for Bert and the truth about whether he really killed Vicente. Ines sneaks the creepy “kidnapper’s” mask into Santa’s purse when Santa isn’t looking. Fran and Bert have a heated debate about how Bert has evolved into the killer he has become. Santa barges into the middle of this debate. Despite Fran’s demand for Santa to leave, Santa insists on knowing the truth from Bert. Did he kill Vicente?

The new stuff: Santa presses in her questioning of Bert. Did Bert really kill Vicente and offer to defend her so she would take the fall for him and end up in prison? Bert dodges the question and says “you can doubt whatever words of mine you want, but don’t ever doubt I love you – even though you married me to avenge Willy’s supposed death and then traded me in for my brother Santi.” Yessirree, Bert has shown nothing but selfless love and devotion where Santa is concerned. On a side note, Bert lies to Santa that he did not kill Vicente.

Mara and Elisa discuss Mara’s pending trip to Canada to begin her new job as restaurant manager. Meanwhile, Art makes plans with an old friend to fly he, Mara and the baby to Canada in a small private plane. Art’s pilot friend is okeedokee with doing this favor, but tells Art he will need the permission from the baby’s mom to be able to fly to Canada since Mara is not the baby’s mother. Seems there are these pesky border control agents in Canada that look for these kinds of documents on a routine basis.

Barb comes home from a walk in the park with Willy with a big smile. Fran wants to know why Barb is smiling – after all, Barb’s daughter Dani is still missing drug addict. Barb refuses to let Fran rain on her Willy parade and tells Fran that it turns out that life is full of surprises sometimes, marvelous surprises. Seems Barb in woefully insensitive to the nature of Fran’s recent little life surprises.

Pat has escaped while being transported to federal prison and shows up at Trebol del Oro with a gun. He confronts a terrified Transito and reminds her of his promise to return and find her. While she quakes, Pat assures her that he has no plans of wasting a bullet on the likes of her as long as she does not rat him out. Instead, he suggests that if she turns him in, he will escape again and return to Trebol del Oro and murder Transito in a more gruesome and torturous way than she can ever imagine. Transito is convinced. He instructs Transito to find a way to find Bert and get him to come to Trebol del Oro. Transito does just as she is told.

Paula and Franco2 talk about their respective family histories. Franco2 tells Paula he can never go home. Paula tells Franco2 about being abandoned by her baby’s father and his subsequent demise. Franco2 appears moved by her sad tale and moves in for a little smoochie consolation. Paula jumps up, insulted by Franco2’s assumption that she is in need of his type of sympathies. She storms out and leaves Franco2 behind looking ever so slightly sheepish.

 

Part 2

Santa, after having been lied to by Bert, returns home. Santa looks around for Jr and while she is in another room, Jr digs through her purse and discovers the cool mask that Ines has planted there. He puts it on along with the hood from his hoodie. By chance, Santi shows up at Santa’s house to further discuss his ridiculous suspicions of her involvement in his and Ines’ “kidnapping”. He is welcomed by a newly masked and creepy looking Jr. Santi is cara impactada and recalls the encounter in the basement with the masked ‘”kidnapper”. This must be proof, Santi seems to reason, that Santa is the one who drugged, dragged, chained and beat both he and Ines.

Mara packs and Lazaro reports that her new boss will pay for her ticket. Mara replies with “thanks but no thanks” to him. She explains that Art is planning on having a friend fly them to Canada in a private plane. Elisa is no dummy and questions the plan. Why would anyone turn down a free ticket for an expensive private jet ride to Canada? Hmmmm. Afterwards, Mara shares her doubts with Art about his plan. Art figures the best plan would be for Mara to pretend to be the baby’s mom in order to bypass the pesky Border Patrol regulations. Mara is not as sure as Art about this plan.

Lisette (not one to keep a secret) pays Barb a visit. She explains to Barb that Dani is at her house. She further explains that Dani, in addition to needing to recover, is pregnant. Barb storms off and out of the Cano place. While she leaves, Transito comes in the door to the Cano house. Transito explains to Bert that he needs to come to the Trebol del Oro because someone is looking for him there.

While Santi is still cara impactada about the mask Jr is wearing, Santa emerges from the back of the house and sees Santi has come to pay her a visit. Santi assumes that the mask that Jr is wearing is proof of Santa’s guilt. He wonders how Santa could have been so cold to have kidnapped he and Ines. Santa looks at him as if he is loco and asks if he is serious. Viewerville rolls its collective eyes about how Santi has caught such a serious case of the stupids too. Santi believes that Santa’s hate has made her crazy. Santi continues to lecture Santa that her hatred has not just injured her enemies, but has also injured the people that she supposedly loves. Santi says he tried to get to her heart and turn her away from her anger, but has apparently failed at his efforts. Santa replies that if she is so rotten, perhaps Santi should leave and that their love is done. Santa admits that all these mistakes are, indeed, her fault. Santi switches crazy gears and then asks how Santa can give up their love in the blink of an eye (or something like that). He demands she look him in the eye and swear she does not love him. She does and he leaves. Santa falls into a puddle of tears crying and lamenting that she doesn’t deserve Santi’s love.

Ivan paces in his new house and worries about Vicky’s wellbeing. The doorbell rings and it is Barb. She barges into the house and smacks Ivan – THWACK! – and accuses him of impregnating his very own cousin, Dani. Caras impactadas on the part of Ivan and Vicky. Barb rants on about Ivan’s alleged crime against Dani. She leaves and Vicky asks Ivan if it is true that he impregnated Dani. WTQ? Ivan cannot believe Vicky would distrust him and Vicky soon realizes the error of her doubts. She urges Ivan to go look for Dani and help her. Smoochies all around. Viewerville wonders how Vicky got smarter and Santi got dumber.

 

Part 3

Bert and Transito return to Trebol del Oro to a waiting Pat. Bert, apparently unfazed, seems more annoyed by the trap he has walked in to. Pat is angry that Bert set him up for legal assistance but never followed through in any meaningful way. Bert learns that Pat was paid visits by Bert’s “assistant” – the lady with the eye patch. WTQ? Bert explains to Pat that he has no assistant, but realizes it was Alicia who was pretending to be this assistant of his. Bert deduces that this is how Alicia learned about his “alleged” crimes. Pat tries to cut a deal with Bert. He will not rat out Bert IF Bert goes into business with him. Pat can be Bert’s hit man – the guy that gets his hands dirty – and Bert can protect Pat. Win / win, it would seem.

Back at Santa’s, she cries and Begona tries to console her and convince her that she is really an okeedokee person. Begona assures her that everyone makes boo-boos in life, but are all able to emerge from their mistakes. Santa cries that Santi has every reason to hate her. She reflects that she emerged from jail as Diabla2 and felt powerful at the time. She gained what she wanted but that it has not been worth it. Begona isn’t having the same pity party as Santa and demands Santa stand up and follow her. Begona is going to show Santa that she will soon be able to clear her name once and for all. Santa is unconvinced but follows Begona’s instructions.

Lucy shows up at the Robledo place, wearing black, moving in the dark and smashes the holy heck out of the place. She swings the bat and swears she hates Pablo and hope he rots in hell!

Barb has now barged into Lisette’s house. Ivan shows up and Barb demands he leave and that she needs to see her daughter Dani. Lisette discovers that Barb mistakenly thinks that Ivan impregnated Dani. An insulted Lisette is never a pretty sight and she kicks Barb out of the mansion. Barb swears this war is not over as she leaves. Dani eavesdrops from the stairway and after Barb is gone, runs to Ivan and hugs him. Ivan comforts Dani. He asks her who the father is and Dani is not too quick to answer.
Santi, back at the Cano place, sees Alicia and accuses her of multiplying Santa’s hatred many-fold. He kicks her out of the Cano place.

Over at Uly’s house, Pancho and Uly are discussing “The Sting”. The door knocks. Uly opens to discover Begona and……. Santa. Santa enters and discovers that Pancho is alive. Begona explains she brought Santa because Santa must see that they are all trying to prove her innocence. Cara impactadas all around. Viewerville is left wondering how Santa will become part of “The Sting”.

 

Thanks, Mena, excellent recap!

I still can't get over how Santa doesn't really defend herself about what happened with George. One time, she told Santi that George was choking her, and it was in self defense, but in this latest conversation, he just asked How could you kill George, just take his life? and she didn't really answer, just said she's made mistakes. Hopefully, by getting in on the sting, Santi will wake up.

I think Pat is underestimating Bert. Sure, Bert will go along with him for a while. But Bert has no qualms about murdering people when they're no longer needed, and he could easily kill Pat and even make himself look like a hero! That's because Pat is an escaped con, and Bert could "save" Santa from him, or something like that.

Barb sure is an idiot, blindly assuming Ivan is the father.

Mara was worried that since the baby is white, people would doubt that she's the mother. Art said no, he could resemble me. True, but when you combine that with Mara's nervousness at breaking the law, I'm not too happy about their chances. Art said the pilot suspects nothing, and Mara said we'd be getting him in trouble, too. Right again. But as for what will really happen, I have o clue, and trust that it'll be something wild and crazy, as it always is on this show.

Bert did, in fact, double cross Santa, and got her in jail to pay for his killing Vicente. It was only LATER that he developed feelings for her. He has mistreated her many, many times, and his recent "love" seems to me more like obsession, doesn't want to lose out to his brother. He's a cool character, but he really is scum, a total liar, and does not deserve Santa.
 

Tks Mena

The kid comes out with the mask on, I told you he was the bad seed.