Caray, Caray!

Sorry this is so late in posting. I just got carried away after so many of us could see this might be a turning point in the novela.


Here is the recap schedule for this week and next week (note the slight deviation).

Week 20 (Feb 2-6)
Capitulo 93 Mon Feb 2 (space for guest recapper)
Capitulo 94 Tue Feb 3 - Lila
Capitulo 95 Wed Feb 4 – Corazon Salvaje
Capitulo 96 Thu Feb 5 - Anita
Capitulo 97 Fri Feb 6 - Kelly

Week 21 (Feb 9-13)
Capitulo 98 Mon Feb 9 Anita
Capitulo 99 Tue Feb 10 - Lila
Capitulo 100 Wed Feb 11 – Corazon Salvaje
Capitulo 101 Thu Feb 12 - (space for substitute or guest recapper)
Capitulo 102 Fri Feb 13 - Kelly

This is based on no interference with Univision programming.

I will be away from Feb 11-22, with minimal access to the internet and probably no cable.

If someone would like to volunteer for Thursday of Week 21 and Thursday of Week 22, please advise (I didn't post week 22 yet).

 

Anita, thank you for this most excellent review of the key relationships and dynamics that brought us up to this point and framing the trajectory of the action going forward. I would love to read a similar review/projection on Juliana, Jorge, Caro and Elo but this is already quite impressive and informative.

Thank you!
 

Thanks!
 

Lila--Thank you. I started the post late with no ideas. I didn't intend to get into this much detail, it just got out of hand and found I was running out of steam and time to cover everyone thoroughly.

I did sort of touch on Juilana. Jorge, Caro and Elo I see as catalysts to facilitate others actions or reactions, but they are certainly worthy characters. I see Hector, Nora and Salvador in even lesser positions. I don't think we've heard or seen the last of Salvador, unless he's gone on to some other telenovela.

I wonder if Ivan is just going to disappear for a few episodes or if we will see him interacting with his amiga up norte.

Speculating on Florencia--I kept this back until we were certain she had died and her remains had been found. I thought it was interesting that they had entirely different actors for all the flashbacks EXCEPT Florencia. She was, of course, played by Karyme with a hideous wig of loose blondish hair. Granted Amaya was supposed to look just like Florencia and that's how Mauro saw her in the lobby of the office building. If she were to be alive and come back, how would they have handled that? Surely we would have needed an emotional reunion and lots of catching up between mother and child and not just Mauro. So why not just use a different actor for the younger Florencia. For that alone, I never thought Flo was alive...but I did hold out just a little hope, for awhile.
 

Hi, Anita. I commented at length once about my favorite novela (a Brazilian one) where the main portagonists were twins played masterfully by one actor. I know it's possible, not easy, but I was so impressed by this show I thought that if anybody could do it, the QA crew could. But, alas, it was not to be.

Your review is WONderful, Anita. Feel free to get carried away! And you're right, Jorge, Juli, Caro and Elo are detectives, catalysts, and bonding agents combined! The best friend ands and family members anyone could want!
 

Sortilegio also used the same actor, Jacqueline Bracamontes to play separated twins who had entirely different personalities. It sort of worked, since one was a druggie, but luckily one on the twins didn't live long enough for them to be together.

La Tempestad was another recently broadcast tn where Ximena Navarette did the twin thing with the two girls having opposite personalities. They were required to be in the same scenes at the same time, so of course they used back shots with a different actor facing the one who was speaking. They were almost believable, too, since the "lost" twin was homeless and had a drug problem.

I'm sure there are many more out there. It would be fun to start a list of twinning novelas. Oh, remember Pasion had the blacksmith brothers? OK, to make it harder, we shouldn't list the ones where there are real twins playing twins, like there is in Mi Corazon right now.

Maybe I'll suggest it to Urban Anthropologist for one of her weekenders.
 

Anita, I could take on the 12th.
 

CS--Are you sure? That would be two days in a row for you. I'm not going to discourage you, though. Our readership goes up when we have recaps to offer.

 

Also, Abrazame Muy Fuerte with all it's faults had Helena Rojo's magical performance as twins.
 

I got this Anita. I have done Hasta two days in a row before so there's nothing to worry about.
 

Lucrecia has really gone further into covering her tracks so far.
 

Wow, Anita. Thanks for starting us off this week with such a wonderful assessment of where our main characters stand. This is indeed a turning point in the story for a lot of our characters, not just our main couple.

My first introdution into tn twins played by the same actor was Corazon Salvaje. But there was also La Verdad Oculta where a fabulous older actor played two roles- a poor actor, and the rich guy he resembled. Then he had to play the poor guy pretending to be the rich guy when the rich guy died. It was amazing. You would really think they were two different people.
 

Quiero Amarte on Monday, February 2nd, 2015

Lucio is letting it out to the Therapist about what he remembers between Lucre and Omar's coitus (I know I'd be scarred for life if I walked in on... that.) Lucio says he doesn't wanna rip anyone's heart out and hyperventilates (he's so full of love.) Elo smiles at him. Thr doctor says the cat's out of the bag; little guy's been being blackmailed.

Lucre online chats with WhoreAssio about money and leaving the country. 

Flavia smacks Ulises a good one fot having cheated on him with Mari. Flavia says Ivan is a million times better than Ulises and calls him out on having been behind the coffee spoiling. FlavGirl is on a roll here as she crutches away.

Ivan and Mariana talk about Ulises steaming their clams. the way he does and kiss (I don't blame her for taking the chance.) Ivan talks about his pretty femme friend on the other side and reassures Mari that he only has eyes for her. Mari blissfully tells him that she got a scholarship and in euphoria, they give each other a beautiful long canoodle.





 

Elo and Juli sit down because boy does she have news.

Amaya and Caro talk about their current dilemma(s,) you know, BFF stuff.

A lady is talking to Max while he is playing Amaya's voice in his head. She asks Max if the plans she had laid out are ok and Max just approves them without having heard a word. She asks if he is OK and he has a, "Where Do I Begin?" expression.

WhoreAssio begins to get rough and handsy with Amaya while screaming about Las Vegas and leaving him to take care of Valeria on his own when Max comes in to stop this madness and promises to fire Whore's SorryAss the next time he gets like... that with Amaya. He leaves and our fave couple hold each other.

Cesar is on the phone with his right hand man asking that they sabotage err... change Amaya's flight around

Ivan (whose lisp is on fleek) vents to Jorge that he is sure Ulises is behind the spoiling of the coffee beans and that they're bringing him down ASAP.

Ugh-lises is ordering his henchman around as usual and saying Cipriano is in-training of becoming one of them(eeevvviilll!!!)

Ivan is saying goodbye to everyone in a tender departure scene and a girl says that they will all protect Mariana. Jorge says he will protect the family as if it were his own. Mari and Ivan walk away together and we cut to commercial.
 

Lucero played triplets in Lazos de Amor. This scene was pretty outstanding at the time it aired:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=c1Yjw3uRJd4
 

Anon- Yes. I've seen scenes from Lazos, though that was before my tn watching days, and Lucero looks like she did an amazing job as triplets.
 

Big question is does Mauro know psycho Lucrecia killed Florencia ?
 

Absolutely not, Steve. He thinks Florencia is still alive. Lu has led him to hold out hope for her return and the Guatemala trip is just the latest in her cruel taunting and punishment of Mauro for daring to love another woman and, according to her, for Florencia having been an instrusive force between them for 35 years.
 

Anita,

Thank you once again for your attention to this novela and for your writing skills. I especially like your impassioned plea to the director/producer to save this tn from derailment.

From my point of view, this is also a turning point for me. I hate what transpired yesterday in the last scene. The integrity of the novela has been compromised. It has gone the way of all flesh and scores of other poor quality, unimaginative novelas.

Amaya should have become the head of an A team. This intelligent, creative, professional woman lowered herself to level D abandoning all sense of reason, and crushing the man she loves. There is no acceptable excuse. Writers, shame on you. The magic is gone.

Vivi, thanks for mentioning one of my two favorite novelas, La Verdad Oculta. That tn maintained integrity until the very last day when the villain went off the deep end and ruined it for me.

Disappointed, Disheartened, and Disillusioned in Florida ...
 

CorazonS--Thanks for the recap, I wasn't expecting it and am certainly grateful.

Oh, DDDF, don't leave us. It will get better. Into each life a few storm clouds (and snow storms) must come and replaced by sunshine and warmth.

A few additions of my own, just in case you want to know.

In Jan 7th episode--I have to admit to going back to watch more carefully, the ones I missed while away and then did a marathon catch up, before deleting them.) Cipriano is in his bodga with the robber guys. They have the costales of coffee on the floor. One of them gets dumped out. The cherries are RED--these are the ones they just stripped off of Max's plants. One of the guys says he's tired, BUT--they have to "poner a secar todas las cerezas antes de ceñir..." To translate loosely: they have to dry all the cherries before... (I think there are a couple more words missing, but I deleted it). Ceñir means to gird, surround, hem in.

The point is these are still fresh and they know they have to be dried. So, the stacks of stolen coffee or the ones bought at a higher price must be already dried.
 

Floridia, thank you for saying what I felt but didn't want to say. Essentially this is why I freaked out on the board over the weekend. The "strategy" of pretending to be Cesar's woman to make Max hate her so she could seek justice against Lu came from out of left field. It makes no sense whatsoever. She doesn't want to hurt Max by making him a party to sending his mother to prison, a goal she will eventually achieve, but she's going to add to that the crushing pain of making him think she's a fickle dipstick who did a flip flop within the course of a few hours beause she's in love withhis brother? Not only his brother, but the brother with whom he is a bitter rival and whom she knows to be an odious, cold, calculating partner of his perverse mother? So it's ok to add that tremendous hurt to exposing his mother as a monstrous murderer?

It's easier to pretend to be Cesar's lover than to pretend fondness for Lucrecia? They could have so written it that she feigns a growing closeness to her suegra and in the course of that finds out evidence which leads to Lu hanging herself. This plus important evidence and proof from Elo and Juli and help from Caro and Jorge...

I'm not bailing but I am disappointed. Amaya's phony smarming up to Cesar just didn't ring true to her character. The way this looks today, it would be ok if Amaya did expose Lu, Lu andCesar get the anvil of death, Amaya and Vale leave D.F. and start a new life elsewhere and Max marry Connie like he planned and live happily ever after.

I have to see how this shakes out. See you all later this afternoon or early evening in my recap!
 

Back to the episode.

Lucrecia has two important phone calls. In the first, she is actually talking to Humberto Reyes, the fake doctor. She told him to get out of town and not to pester her anymore. She gave him plenty of money to live on comfortably for a long time. He whines that he'll be a fugitive from justice and won't be able to return to Mexico. She sneers and hangs up.

In the second one, she's talking to her investigator who is actually in Guatemala spying on Mauro and HIS investigator. Luce tells him to stay until Mauro leaves. They have a short conversation about "the woman" and she assures him that Mauro will never see her, ever--just as Cesar walks in. Lucrecia tells him she swore she was never going to tell him about her first murder until he was at the head of the empire, but she confesses it all now. BAD MOVE, Luce (on your part).

Whoracio is pithed and screaming at Amaya because his trip to LV was cancelled. She swears she had nothing to do with it. When Whor confronts Cesar, Cesar says too bad (sucker), it was Daddy's decision and we don't go against daddy.

Later in the garage, Cesar calls to bump Amaya's ticket to first class to sit with him. Then he calls someone named Saul and tells him that Carolina can't go. He wants Saul to break it to her gently and tell her that there was an error in the registration and her name was left off and they'll make it up to her next year. The creep wants some alone time with Amaya. Ick.

Lastly, we go back to Coffeeville. In the scene where Ivan is turning over his responsibilities to Jorge, he is trying to convince him that the stripping of the coffee plants, **the theft of the bags** and the inundation were all perpetrated by the same folks. Jorge doesn't believe him.

Anyway, the point I wanted to make is that Ivan just discovered the theft from their bodega when he was doing a tally of all the bags they had and which ones were ruined. Jorge finally agrees to investigate.

Oh, and Ivan tells him to find out *who* was on the grounds of the finca that weekend. Jorge doesn't think that will help, but Ivan insists. (We know it was Cippy.)

Amaya really thinks she can handle Cesar at the expense of Max. She has an inkling of how manipulative and evil Cesar is, but she really has no idea who she'll be dealing with.

I loved it when Flavia told Uli off. He said he was glad to see the last of her and she said, not so. She'd be taking Ivan's place and she'd be keeping a sharp eye on him.
 

Thanks Anita and Corazon! I didn't watch yesterday's recording because I wasn't ready yet to watch Max's heartbreak. We are definitely at a point in the story that makes the viewer bite our nails, and want to slap a few characters around. Amaya is playing a dangerous game, AND breaking Max's heart in the process. I can't say I agree with her methods, but I very much hope she's successful at bringing Lu and Cesar down. I hope that the writers don't drag out this heartbreak, deception and misunderstanding between the two main lovers too long.

Yay! So glad to hear that Ivan is really questioning all the "bad luck" and has gotten Jorge to question it too.
 

So, Cesar has managed to bump Whor and Caro from the LV trip and now he and Amaya are traveling alone? Yikes!
 

. . .the point I wanted to make is that Ivan just discovered the theft from their bodega

YAAAY! Finally the theft is discovered! That conversation between Ivan and Jorge was REALLY important but I was so bummed by Amaya's unholy alliance with Cesar that everything kind of shrunk in comparison! Good job, Ivan! Thanks, Anita!
 

YIKES! indeed! Cesar would not think twice about forcing his carnal "charms" on Amaya or using one of his readily available poisons to slip her a mickey to get the job done.

Amaya. does. not. know. who. she's. playing with!
 

I made an Ooopsie, but the outcome is the same. Luce was texting back and forth with Reyes. She only had one phone call--the investigator in Guatemala.
 

Is it bad that I am still enjoying this novela immensely even with this brand new direction?

I've always been the viewer that have always been behind the protagonist that seeks revenge and puts that first before love.

I think Amaya's plan has it kinks but it's not completely farfetched. She's going to go to the ends of the earth to destroy Lucrecia and if she stays with Max that will destroy him in the process.

"When you begin a journey of revenge, start by digging two graves: one for your enemy, and one for yourself.”

This way Max will be betrayed and heartbroken, yes, but eventually he'll move on and be free from all this especially while her plan is underway.

Maybe with Constanza maybe not but still not in the direct line of fire if and when Amaya's journey of revenge destroys Lurcrecia.

Why Cesar? Well, it's a small step to making Lucrecia's life miserable and puts her in the best spot to get the evidence she needs and not have to worry about destroying the person she's worth because she doesn't care about Cesar at all.

I, for one, am still excited about these turn of events.
 

Thanks for sharing a different point of view, Superalfie! Gee, be cool if you could guest recap sometimes! Anyway, I want to get excited again, it's just that Cesar is so evil, perverse, and manipulative: Amaya will NEVER have the upper hand with him nor know what cards he's playing. He's just SO underhanded and everybody knows it. It still seems unnecessarily cruel to use throw him, of all people, in Max's face as a part of her plan. I think she's barely going to escape with her life from his clutches once he gets his hooks into her.

I'm holding out hope that what Cesar suggests is that she pretends some other man has come between her and Max. Slim chance, though.

We shall see!
 

*" . . to throw him, of all people, in Max's face. . ." strike "use."
 

Superalfie--Good for you! It's always energizing to find more points of view. Yours definitely has merit. I guess we're mostly hung up on Max--we don't want to see him hurt.

So far, he's kept his head and is trying to figure out what triggered this change in Amaya. If he's as smart as we think he is, he's not going to believe this "another man in my life" business for one minute.

I don't think he'll just step back out of her life and leave her to this new man, especially when he learns it's Cesar. He'll think she's lost her marbles. Maybe at some point they will join forces to bring Cesar down and in the process Luce comes down.

I did enjoy Amaya laying it onto Cesar nice and thick, how he was her angel, showing up whenever she was in need and acting so sincere.

Cesar and Lucrecia are going to be at loggerheads, though. They both swore over their dead bodies--one that Cesar was going to make Amaya his wife and Lucrecia that she was not going to become his wife.

Max's pain aside, I think we're in for great theater. Deception is the name of the game.
 

Superalfie- I can definitely see your point of view. And I tend to agree that a storyline/shift in plot that causes the viewer pain is not necessarily a bad thing. The fact that we care enough about the character of Max to be worried about how hurt he is going to be by Amaya's plan, means that the writers have done their job. And Amaya certainly has more reason to want/plot revenge than most tn characters who do the same (I really can't understand 99.9% of the revenge plots against La Gata).
 

Amen, Anita! It will be such justice if they do each other in!

Hey! Did y'all see how genuinely repulsed Cesar was to learn that not only had Lu killed Florencia but had been cynically leading Mauro on wild goose chase for over 30 years! I think he really WAS repulsed!

What if CESAR becomes an ally with Amaya to bring Lu down. . .you know, in a more willing way. The only problem is he can't be trusted: he admired the cool and calculating way Lu murdered his own biological father, thought about what a wonderful world it would be without Max and then bought ricin!

Again, however we feel about the dumping of Max and hookup with Cesar, it will not be boring!
 

"(I really can't understand 99.9% of the revenge plots against La Gata)." HA! That's cause it's 99.9% nonsensical!

Couldn't resist. Amaya sure does have the best reason for "mis planes" that I've EVER seen!
 

I don't understand 99.9% of ANYTHING that happens on La Gata
 

Don't think Amaya cozying up with Lu directly would work. Too much chance of Amaya suffering a tragic accident if she spends much time with Lu. But yes, both not trusting Max enough to confide in him and abandoning him for Cea Slug are hard to stomach. Still getting at Lu through Cea makes some sense -- and it would be difficult to see Max approving of the intimate sacrifices entailed by that part of her plan.

I haven't caught up on recent epis, who knows about Const's condition and who the daddy is?

That was a nifty summary Anita. Maybe I will just skip a bit and join the party from here.
Chris in FL
 

Chris- The baby is Max's. Connie broke up with Sal. Max has offered his support as a co-parent, but NOT as her husband/man. Connie is freaking out about being a single mom. Everyone knows about the baby at this point.
 

Chris--Even Mauro knows. He called Consta from the airport and is pledging his support for the baby and the mother. He genuinely liked Consta, although he knew after Max met Amaya that that love was stronger than anything he had for Consta and sort of told Max to follow his heart (but refrained from saying dump Consta and take up with Amaya).

Hey folks--we can't rule Uli out of Cesar's plans. At one point Cea Slug (GREAT Name, Chris) looks at us and says he and Uli may end up allies so he doesn't want to go after him (this was around the time Cesar fired Ivan to get Uli's coffee).

It takes one to know one, eh?
 

Thanks for the support everyone!

Lila, I wish i could but its never clear what week Ill be up to date and what week Ill behind at least a month :/

I'm glad everyone knows about the baby and that its not some big secret, etc.

Amaya has the underhand in this game so far though. Sje knows how evil theu are and exactly what they want from and exact from her. Shes molding them like putty.

Will the plan go off without a hitch. Mever does but hopefully its more wins than losses.
 

Upperhand***
 

Watching "your" man make plans to raise his baby with someone else can't be easy.

So Amaya's rejection of Max is both a very plausible cover, but also probably giving voice to some hurt feelings over his playerman dogliness. Yeah she is "protecting" the man she loves from the campaign to expose his mom, but she is also withholding affection from the man who (kinda) cheated on her.
I know she was "sparing" him then with her happy family routine, but at some level he failed a test by letting a little thing like Whoracio stop his pursuit of her.

Hmm, Amaya's new direction, deceiving others for their own good isn't so different than her old direction. Not a productive or attractive way of dealing with tough issues, but true to her character.
 

Anonymous,

You are right! I was thinking about that earlier today. Amaya actually made a mess of her relationship with Max from the beginning. He felt the deep connection between them, and he gave her several chances to tell him the truth.

Then they got together and made a pact to share all the good and bad things in their lives.

He tells her right away about Constanza's plight while she
begins her campaign of deceit.

I continue to be thoroughly disgusted with her actions.
With her cockeyed scheme for vengeance, she becomes a weaker character with each step she takes.
She is paralyzed by tunnel vision. She does not confront the whole picture. She avoids, complex, critical thinking.

 

Okay, guys, here it comes. This was the second of two snow days (14 inches) and I was all set to cozy up to my recording and --NADA! Had to look for the episode elsewhere. As usual, feel free to correct, add or subtract. The last scene especially I couldn't hear well so help me there and, as always, with the coffee stuff.

I see some new comments I hope to get to tomorrow. I guess the snow party's over and it's back to work tomorrow!
 

QA 2-3-15 #94 Pt. 1

We revisit the “Dear John” luncheon. Max wants to know what has happened. Amaya tells Max he was going to find out sooner or later and that in the name of the love they shared it’s better she tell him instead of hearing it from someone else. “There’s another man in my life and for that reason I can’t marry you.” Max absolutely does not believe her and refuses to accept it. She wants to know why not, it happened with him and Constanza. With Connie it was completely different. He and Connie were wrapped up in an impossible dream but they were at our best moment, we were about to marry. Amaya acknowledges that this is true but it happened and she can’t marry him knowing she feel s this way. With a huge sigh, Max stretches, swallows and steels himself. He asks who it is. Amaya says she won’t tell him.

Ivan and Mariana continue their tearful goodbye. He walks toward the bus and then runs back for more hugs, kisses and te amos.

Amaya says she has no reason to lie. She was young when she met Whoracio, was frustrated during much of the marriage and never thought anyone else would provoke in her the feelings he did in her. She says obviously she was wrong. Max says he can’t believe she is telling him this. What Max is hearing is so shocking at this point his main reaction is disbelief. She doesn’t want to make the same mistake he was about to make with Connie. Max says he can’t believe this is happening and he’s not going to accept it. “Well, you’d better, because we’re through. I’m sorry. I hope you come to understand and forgive me. “ She leaves the table. Max sits alone at the table, stunned.

Ivan and Mariana finally part as he boards the bus. This touching scene is being closely watched. It’s one of Uli’s flunkies. He calls Uli to report Ivan’s departure and Mari’s emotional state. The flunky report that Mariana is awash in tears. Uli is confident this will pass and he’ll be right there to console her.

Over at the Montesino compound Elo has walked Lucio back over to his house. She leaves him to go clean a stain from her blouse. Lucio goes inside his house to draw and paint.

In the living room of MM Cesar is still fuming over his recent discovery about Lu killing Flo. He lets her know he is not pleased. When will she stop surprising him? It makes him lose confidence in her, makes him feel unbalanced to know she has secrets from him and that she is so ruthless. Why didn’t she tell him? Luico, on the way to his room, hears Lucrecia declare “Florencia esta muerta” (Florencia is dead). Cesar tells him to beat it and Lucio heads upstairs. Lu wonders if he heard anything. Cesar doesn’t care. “What’s important now is what else are you hiding!” He barks at Lu!

Lucio goes to his room and repeats “Florencia esta muerta” aloud in short panting breaths over and over. He leaves his room and goes to Flavia’s. It is empty.

 

Pt. 2

Lu actually Cesar to stop judging her: Having a mother like her has given him many benefits. He tells her that she always justifies everything. He calls her a killer and asks why he’s been so cruel with “mi papa.” Why? To keep him by her side Lu answers. The ends justify the means, never forget that. He says no, he is going to keep it in mind. She whines,” hijo,” and reaches out to touch Cesar. He remains stonily still and stares at her . She sits down. He says there is a part of him that admires her cold blood but he hates that she deceived him and hid the truth from him. She protests that this fit both their interests. He hopes in the future their interests don’t conflict again because he is capable of surprising her. He goes off upstairs. Lu looks frightened.

Lucio is still repeating that Florencia esta muerta, he goes into Cesar’s room and gets a bunch of papers from Cesar’s desk and leaves the room repeating that he now has papers to draw on. Among the papers is the DNA report Cesar had done which showed that (the late) Omar is his biological father. Cesar runs into Lucio in the hallway and calls him an imbecile. Lucio drops the papers, Cesar kicks them around and doesn’t seem to recognize the papers as his own and walks away leaving Lucio to gather them up. Lucio puts the papers on his bed and closes the door. Lu is calling him from outside his room. After Lucio leaves we see that right on top of the pile is Cesar’s DNA test.

Back in his room now, Cesar walks in circles in his room and talks to himself about how he is going to overcome Lucrecia If she can be heartless in her pursuit of what she wants, he’s going to be the same with her. “Your tears don’t move me. I’m going to surprise you. I’m going to win.”

We are now at El P. in one of the warehouses. Flavia is beginning her work as a manager. I know she was assertive with Efrain, not exactly sure what the issue was. I think she is making a careful accounting of the coffee they have just bought from Uli and there is some difference over the weight of the coffee bags? After Efrain and Uli’s guys leave Jorge observes with pleasure how she handled the matter and tells her as much. She won’t stand for anymore injustices from Uli. What he did to Ivan is shameful. Jorge thinks Ivan will be able to return soon.

Meanwhile Cippy Cup is selling off Delore’s things and other items from the house. Baldomero asks if he bet the house. Cip denies this, he just offered the house as a guarantee against a loan he took out but won’t say to whom. With the earnings from these sales he’s going to play again and with those winnings he’ll get the title to his house back. Efrain just shakes his head.

Back at the warehouse Jorge includes Flavia in referring to “our product” because now she’s involved in every phase of the process. Flavia shares with Jorge that she never wanted to be involved in the family business because she thought it was man’s work but seeing first Juliana and then Amaya working at Nescafe showed her that working in coffee was for women. Jorge says it’s not a question of gender but of passion and he hopes she comes to love the lands in the coffee plantation like all of them. “Echale ganas! “ (Keep up the good work!) he says encouragingly as he leaves. Flavia gets a call. It’s Sal calling to ask how her foot is. He is surprised she is still in Chiapas. Well, stuff happens, Flavia says.

 

Pt. 3

Efrain chastises Cip for risking his house. He advises he take a loan out on the house and then he can pay on it as he completes his work. Cip says what if he dies before he can pay it off. That doesn’t sound like good deal to Cippy! In a little bit his pockets are going to be full of money again. Baldo doesn’t know why he wastes his time worrying about Cip and trying to give him advice which he totally ignores. He shakes his head and walks away.

Sal again on the phone with Flavia. I think he expresses concern about her going overtime with getting her degree. She knows that is not what he’s worried about and asks if he is in Chiapas to verify something about Connie. Yes, he wants to see if Max has changed his mind about her and her baby. “Everything’s the same; don’t call me again, I’m not going to be a source of information to you on the woman that you betrayed my brother with!” She hangs up on him.

Connie and Nora. Nora says it’s good that the Congress has started to get her mind off her love life. Connie says she has not been able to get Salvador out of her mind. Nora looks like she’s got an instant Excedrin headache. Connie says she’s not thinking of getting back with him just that Sal recommended a professor Najera who was a great author whom she had to invite to the Congress and Sal was right. She misses working with Salvador and their friendship.

Now to another set of sister/friends. Amaya and Caro are in Amaya’s office in Nescafe. Amaya cries to Caro about the lies she told Max and having hurt him so much. She feels cruel. Isn’t that what you were aiming for, Caro asks? Maybe one day you will tell him the truth. No, this will never happen. When he finds out the evil of his mother, her life and that of the Montesinos will take different paths. Most probably their lives will never coincide again. Caro asks the questions many of us wonder about. What about the partnership? This can be resolved. Are you going to give up your mother’s lands? She doesn’t know. Right now she’s just going to take it a step at a time.

Connie comes from the bathroom and tells Nora she has seen blood.

Amaya continues. She knows she is in a nest of vipers and it’s very dangerous for her and Vale and she has to find a way to keep her out of harm’s way. Caro says yes because now there’s no turning back. She’s going to go pick Val up from soccer practice and then she has to get her passport and get her things ready for the Vegas trip. Caro tells her she is not going to Vegas. Amaya asks why. The organizers called and told her there was a mixup and there’s only room for her and Cesar. Amaya is very sorry to hear this. She wanted Caro to go with her. Caro did too, not only for the convention but to spend time with Amaya, for mutual support. Caro needed a change of scenery because she still feels the effects of the break up with Jorge. They lament how things have changed seemingly from one moment to the next. Not long ago they were both in Chiapas with novios who were best buds and now. Caro says everything was happiness and now it’s all sadness.

Max has left the restaurant and is walking , still stunned. He sits down with Amaya’s words ringing in his head when the phone chimes. It’s Jorge. Ivan has left but he wanted to tell Max he is pleasantly surprised with the vigor and skill with which Flavia is picking up the work at El P. Great, Max answers flatly. Jorge notes his tone right away and asks what’s wrong. Max tells him Amaya has broken up with him. Jorge asks if it was because of Connie and the baby. Max says no, she has another man in her life. Jorge is shocked.

 

Pt. 4

Amaya asks Caro if she talked to Cesar to try to intervene. Caro did, with him and with his Secretary and neither could do anything. Amaya is so sorry. Amaya doesn’t know how she’s going to be able to pull it off faking with Cesar and hiding her sadness when she doesn’t have the mind or heart to do anything at all. They hug as Amaya cries.

Jorge says; don’t tell me she went back to her ex? Max says no, it’s somebody else that displaced him in her heart and for that she wants to break up. Max does not have the mind or heart to do anything either. His energy is just completely drained. “I don’t know what I’m going to do without her.”

Connie has gone to the Hospital Continental. Nora and Manuel stand as she comes back into the waiting room. She had an ultrasound and the Dr. comes out to talk to them. It’s not separation of the placenta, the most serious reason for spotting, but he recommends she take it easy for the next few days.

Max calls Juliana and gets her voice mail. He leaves a message that perhaps she has noticed he is not at soccer practice, he couldn’t go, he spoke with Amaya and “none of your suppositions were true. She left me because she has another man, in short, call me when you can. I just want to talk to you.” He wipes away a tear.

Nora asks the Dr. if she’ll have to take complete bed rest. She’s concerned because this is the first day of a convention that she is in charge of. Manuel sighs. The Dr. says he is not suggesting bed rest but just to take it easy and be calm for a few days. Connie smiles and nods her understanding. She asks the Dr. if she could lose her baby. He doesn’t want to alarm her. For now no, she is not in danger of losing the baby but if things get more complicated the possibility exists. Thus it’s best to take all precautions.

Juli is driving and about to fall asleep at the wheel! She opens the window. She’s approaching the soccer field! She is totally out of it and headed toward Amaya and Vale walking hand in hand! She stops just in time! Juli gets out and profusely begs their pardon and says she doesn’t know what happened. She asks over and over if they are ok. Amaya assures her they are and asks her to relax. “Tranquila.” Amaya says we’re fine but you’re not. It’s not normal that you should fall asleep at the wheel. Juli admits with alarm that she is not well, she’s very tired, weak and sleepy. Amaya tells her she shouldn’t drive this way. Juli agrees and continues to apologize. Amaya calms her and tells her that she needs to be checked out by a Dr. Juli agrees.

Manuel comforts Nora and encourages her to follow the Dr.’s orders for her own and the baby’s good. Connie swears she will and now that she is in danger of losing it she sees how important the baby is to her. Nora asks is she serious. Yes, she wants the baby to be born healthy and be by her side all the days of her life. They are all glad. She’s sorry that she ever thought that it might be better that the baby die, not by active means, but natural means. She doesn’t know what came over her. “Today everything has changed for me.”

 

Pt. 5

Amaya insists that Juli not drive. She agrees after some argument at first. She won’t drive til she sees a Dr. Amaya offers to pick up Alan and take them home. Juli says not to bother, Max can take her home. Vale tells her that Max didn’t come to practice. Juli is surprised and wonders if something happened. Amaya says she knows why he didn’t come but deflects the speculation by offering to help Juli. Vale walks away with Juli to go get Alan. Amaya rubs her forehead with worry and fatigue.

Still in a fatherly embrace Connie tells Manuel she wants to be the one to raise and educate her child. Nora gives a huge sigh of relief and tells Connie she doesn’t know the great joy it gives her to hear her talk this way. Manuel is moved to tears. Thank you for this present he says. It’s a present for me, too, Connie responds. He tells her she has to tell Max and Amaya immediately of her change of plans. He offers to do it and she says she will, don’t worry. More hugs.

Mauro is waiting at the hotel in Guatemala and runs out expectantly when he sees a long-haired blond woman running through the rain. He walks past a couple kissing. He sees another strawberry blondish woman and touches her shoulder. She turns and of course it is not Florencia. The woman’s companion comes up and they run off together. Poor Mauro. He does not have to wish it would rain. He reenters the hotel, wet and disheveled. The detective who told him about the lead is there. He tells Mauro this is why he didn’t want him to come until he had verified that it was indeed Florencia. No, Mauro wanted to be the first person Florencia saw when she returned to the town. The Detective tries to tell him he is not so sure Florencia is going to return nor if it’s really her. Mauro states even a slim chance is worthwhile. The Detective says something could have happened to change her mind. He advises Mauro to return to Mexico. The whole thing could take a lot of time. The Detective offers to stay in Guatemala.

Back at MM, Cesar orders a big bouquet of flowers, chocolates and Champaign for Amaya’s room – only the best! Lu wants to know who he was talking to, he blows her off. She tells him it’s time for din din. He doesn’t want to eat at the house. Who are you going to eat with? What’s it to ya? Don’t talk to me like that. He tells her don’t try to socialize with him; he’s not in the mood. Lu offers her old saw: Everything I’ve done I’ve done to secure your place in this family! He doesn’t like the way she manages things. She doesn’t understand his objectives. He tells her she is an obstacle in the fruition of “mis planes”. As Cesar exits, he spits at her to leave him in peace! Elo comes from the kitchen carrying a tray of food and taunts Lu about having fought with her favorite child. Lu tries to deny it but Elo insists. Lu is going to end up alone. Very alone. Elo goes upstairs. Lu stands alone in the foyer.

Amaya, Juli, Alan and Vale arrive at Juli’s at the same time as Max. Alan runs to greet him and asks why he wasn’t at practice and that they missed him. Max says he couldn’t. Max offers flat greetings to Amaya and Val who pipes up that they brought Juli and Alan home because Alan’s mother can’t drive. “She almost ran over us at the soccer field!” Max is concerned and asks what happened. Amaya tries to leave. Julie invites them to stay for dinner and tell Max what happened. Amaya quickly begs off and looks on unsmiling and awkwardly as Vale kisses Max goodbye. Max and Amaya exchange strained goodbyes, Amaya and Vale leave. Juli sends Alan to bath and wants to know right away what’s up with him and Amaya. Didn’t you guys straighten things out? No. He called her and she didn’t answer so he came to her house. “Amaya and I broke up for good. It had nothing to do with my mom or Connie.” Then why? Amaya is in love with another man. Juli is incredulous!

 

Pt. 6

As Amaya and Vale walk she asks if Amaya is angry with Max. Max and I broke up and we’re not going to marry. She wants to know if she’s going to get back with Whor. No, get it out of your mind. Why? Because I didn’t divorce him because of Max but because we had lots of problems. Max had nothing to do with our divorce. Vale doesn’t get it. She wants to know if she can tell her dad. Amaya doesn’t care. Sooner or later he’s going to find out. She has to talk to Whor anyway to arrange care for her when she goes to Vegas for a conference. Val says Whor will be glad that she’s not going to marry her coach. Boom. Vale asks if Amaya is sad. Amaya says yes. Vale hugs her.

A quick stop over in El Deso. Efrain tells Uli that Flavia is being very strict about the weight of the bags of coffee. Nobody has ever done so. I’m not sure what he proposes but he says if Flavia wants war, she’ll get war.

Jorge continues to congratulate Flavia on her efficient and hard work. She makes a statement which indicates relishes getting back at Uli. Jorge lightly scolds that this shouldn’t be her motivation. She’s off to bed. Gilberto(?), Ivan’s assistant, comes in. Jorge asks who came to the finca on the day [I didn’t get what day he asked about here] Gilberto answers nobody, why? Jorge answers because if someone stole coffee then the flooded warehouse could have been purposeful. Gilberto can imagine who that could be. It’s very risky. Jorge answers that’s why he wanted to know who was at the finca. Gilberto answers nobody besides Cipriano. Jorge asks again for clarification. Yes, Cipriano, Mariana’s dad. He was here talking to Mariana. This gives Jorge pause and you can hear the wheels turning!

Ivan has arrived in the town where his new job at his friend’s coffee plantation and is met by his friend, Jessie(?) She hugs him very enthusiastically. She wants him to come and stay at her finca. He had thought he would stay at a guest house in town. She won’t hear of it.

For some reason there is no sound in this portion of the recording. Max is back home. He collapses on the bed on his stomach and grabs his pillow. Cut to Amaya in bed sobbing hard. Split screen of them both sobbing.

Morning dawns and we're in the Montesino Mansion. Max is having breakfast with a color-coordinated Cesar and Lu. Max may not be attending the launch of the “Despierta a la Vida” campaign. Genoveva will be in charge. Elo asks if Amaya also designed this campaign. Yes, Max answers with lidded eyes. Lu says something about yes, she designed the campaign and she and Max are novios. He announces that they are no longer novios. Elo looks very surprised. "Amaya broke up with me and there won’t be a wedding." Just then Connie walks in. "What do you mean there won’t be a wedding? What happened?" she asks with a subtle Mona Lisa smile.

 

Thanks so much, Lila. This was an excellent recap and I appreciate that you hunted down the video to give it to us.

I'm saving watching this week's episodes until this weekend and then I can ffwd through the painful parts. Although it all seems painful right now. I'm out of town the rest of the work week, but looking forward to reading the recaps in the evenings at my hotel.

I'm surprised Amaya's radar didn't go off when she learned Caro's reservations had also been cancelled like Whor's. She's going to have to become a lot more suspicious minded if she intends to play this game with Cesar and Lu. Always start at a place thinking that NOTHING is accidental or coincidence.
 

You are welcome Vivi and Thank you! Vivi, you hit the nail on the head about Amaya's radar. She does NOT have ANY idea who she's dealing with. Only Cesar's involuntary bodily functions are unplanned, everything else is carefully weighed, measured and calculated. He has killed yet but he admires his mother's ability to murder in cold blood and has entertained murdering his own brother and mother!

If this is painful, Vivi, the Vegas trip has got to be excruciating! Enjoy your trip, be safe and we'll see you in comments!
 

Hi, Chris! Good points about the danger of getting close to Lu but Cesar is not much better. He is vile and totally manipulative: Amaya was told this by Juliana, Max and she's got a recording of him plotting with mommy! I doubt they will do it but according to how is character has been written thus far, he would totally force himself on her sexually and make it look like she "was asking for it" and SHE has given him the ammunition to make Max and everyone else believe him!
 

Yes, Anita! We have feared a Cesar/Uli collabo for some time and I think it will happen!
 

Hi, Superalfie! I apologize if I seemed to call you out yesterday. Everyone should feel welcome to join in the discussion without feeling like they might be expected to recap. Sorry. And we do want people to add different perspectives, it adds to the fun of the whole thing!

Like your take on her having the upperhand. I'm going to try to look at it like that. It's just, well, I'm repeating myself, it's the Cesar factor!


 

Wow, Anon and Floridia, you make excellent points as well! A closer examination of Amaya's actions from the beginning make her seem manipulative and dishonest herself and makes Max look like her victim! Mauro and Max end up being the two who really believe in and are committed to this "great love" between Max and Amaya. It would have been so interesting to see what would happen if she hadn't driven a Mac truck over Max's heart but found a way to work with him to bring the truth to light!

Lots of irons are still in the fire: Lucio knows Flo is dead; Elo and Juli know of Lu's years-long emotional abuse and blackmail of Lucio, joined by Cesar; the DNA report will soon be discovered, probably by Elo; Caro and Amaya know Lu killed Amaya's family and that she and Cesar are partners in crime. I don't think Amaya and Caro know whether Cesar knows of these murders. . .anywhoo. . .lots of shoes left to drop.

I still hope Max and Connie don't marry. Max needs to take a page from Juli's book and walk away from any intimate relationship for a while. He can still co-parent but he doesn't need to marry Connie. I also fear that psycho Sal will come gunning for him if he does!
 

Lila--A masterful job. Thanks for going the extra mile for us. Sorry you have to go back to work! We're bracing for more cold temperatures, but no sign of snow in the mid-Atlantic.

OT: Our local radio station will airing an interview with Deborah Voigt on her opera career and the issues she's had in controlling her weight. I'll be back afterwards (I need to wash dishes, too.)
 

Lila,

Thank you for being so conscientious with regard to your recaps. They represent many hours of your time. I appreciate you and your efforts.

Even though I am disgusted with Amaya, I will continue to watch the tn, but she is not going to get any break from me. I have indeed turned on her.

Huge weakness in plot: Cesar's leaving the DNA results in plain sight. Doesn't make sense. He didn't want anyone to see them ever. He should have shredded them immediately.

Questions:

Does Lucio know who Florencia is?

I thought Lulu said that Flo was the first person she killed? Does she mean in person with her bare
hands?

What about David?

Thanks again, Lila
 

Anita- I'm listening to that interview right now.

Floridia- I think Cesar does believe he destroyed the results. From what I remember, that part of the DNA report slipped out and onto his floor when he went to confront Lu about it with the first page. He destroyed that page. Page two got shuffled around a few times by the maid, who stuck it back into the pile of papers on his desk-- not in plain view, amidst other papers. I'm guessing that's the pile Lucio dug into.
 

Floridia et al--

We're pretty certain Lucio does not know who Florencia is, unless he overheard Mauro at some point. We don't think so. He's going to blurt it out to Elo or Juli--WE HOPE. If Cesar or Luce hear him, he's in for another round of torture at Cesar's hands.

Cesar was not so much shocked that Luce had killed anyone (he knew about Omar) as he was more repulsed by how she had been torturing Mauro over Florencia all these years. To his credit, he has some decency (?!@**$%&^?) with respect to his so-called father.

He was doubly pithed at her for not sharing, that much I will grant you. Now he has learned of her duplicity and untrustworthiness and called her out on it and he'll be on guard.

YES, Luce was probably referring to bare-handed killings. She probably meant that she had whacked someone and watched her die. I think Dolores was only the second.

She offed David (with the explosion and subsequent fire), Omar (with poison), and Emma (with quick acting poison that mimicked a heart attack). These she didn't kill bare-handed, although she was present when Emma collapsed and she grabbed the vial of poison.

Vivi--you recall the DNA results report perfectly. We discussed this at the time because the maid put it in a red folder after she had knocked it off the desk in his bedroom and didn't know where it went. We surmised it was going to be important or they wouldn't have shown it in such detail. We couldn't stand that the revelation didn't come right away. So most of us have forgotten. Tee Hee, good for Lucio although he didn't know what it was.

Cesar was kicking the papers around on the floor as Lucio was trying to pick them up. How childish is that.

If Lucio does use the sheet with the DNA results for a picture of a sketch, everyone in the two houses are likely to find it:
Luce, Cesar, Mauro (if he gets back in time), Max, Juli, Elo, Alan or possibly even Vale or Amaya.

Anon at 6:20 last night--I don't understand this sentence of yours. I hope you will come back and explain it to me:

"I know she was "sparing" him then with her happy family routine, but at some level he failed a test by letting a little thing like Whoracio stop his pursuit of her."

Are you talking about Max letting a little thing like Whoracio stop his pursuit of her? Or are you talking about Jorge and Whoracio?

1. Max & Whor - I thought Max really manned up and told the Whor never to treat Amaya like that again (in their little office confrontation yesterday or the day before) or he'd be run right out of the company. Whoracio stormed off with a "you'se the boss" and Max says "dammm right."

2. Jorge & Whor - This isn't over yet. Juli isn't taken by Whor at all and I think she said as much to Jorge. Jorge can sense she's not ready for a declaration of te amo from him, but she knows he querers her a lot.

So, Flavia isn't the only one we're going to see sliming all over Ivan. I wish I could yell and tell her hands off.

The hired man who showed up as Ivan was leaving is named Heriberto (it's almost as bad as Hortensia as a name).

 

Thanks, Anita. I knew it wasn't Gilberto but I used that instead of just calling him "assistant dude." :D

Also, what was the time frame that Jorge referenced when asking if anyone had been at the finca? I didn't quite understand what he said despite playing it over and over.

And yes. Ivan is a target over his heart and this new chick - Jessie - has Cupid's bow and quiver! That much is abundantly clear! Will she suceed in getting Ivan to fall? Doesn't seem to be a good move profesionally to seduce your finca manager. . .wait a minute, these kind of relationships are the basis of the story! Nevermind!

Floridia, I will look forward to your comments even more: Amaya has disappointed you and you're going to call her on it! You go, girl!

Well. Back later. Gotta cook and looks like my silly DVR IS taping this time! See y'all later!
 

Lila--At first he was asking Jorge to find out what outsiders had been at the ranch the weekend before. I think he said "fin de semana pasada." It could have been for the whole week. In any case, it was to include the time period from the stripping of the coffee plants to the inundation.

Jorge didn't think one had anything to do with the other, but Ivan managed to persuade him. I can't remember if someone came up with Cippy or if that's just in my head. Maybe it was Heriberto or Hector.

Lila, you asked about Flavia and the coffee bags. Yes, she was weighing them very carefully and was finding that many of the bags were light. Efrain complained to Uli about how strict she was being and they'd have to be more careful. This is when Uli said if she wants war, she'll get war.
 

I can't wait for the Fiesta (and Jose's little caper). I guess we have to wait for Mauro to return. Will Amaya still be here or will she be on her way to LV with Mr. Cea-Slug.

Oh, today's episode will have some back and forth with Max and Consta. Must go watch now.
 

Anita,

I think Anon: 6:20 was referring to the time period when Amaya was pretending to be happily married to Horacio. Anon can of course explain the line of thought followed.
 

Floridia--I think you are right. That period was a long time ago from where we are now--eliminated from my mind, obvio. Thanks, that all makes sense now.

Would love to hear from Anon 6:20 anyway.
 

So Suckerfish Connie is back? Gag. I can't stand her. I'm hoping beyond hope that they avoid the whole getting married for the sake of the baby thing. Partly because that's just a bad idea, and partly because Constanza is such a whiny, spoiled brat, that I really don't want her to get her way.

At least we know Cesar has some standards: Thou shalt not murder anyone who's murder serves no purpose for Cesar. It's weak, but it's more morality than we get from Lu.

Wouldn't Lucio know that his dad was in Guatemala looking for Florencia? They maybe edit things for him, but it doesn't seem like they hide everything.

Kelly
 

Kelly--My thought is that they leave Lucio out of a lot of family goings on. I don't think he knows about Max's baby on the way, nor his breakup with Amaya. Of course we don't know what goes on between him and Elo all the time. Right now, Elo, Juli and Max are consumed by his regression and subsequent breakthrough with the hypnotist.

About Florencia--Mauro only told Flavia recently about his great love affair with Florencia. At that point Max and Juliana knew, but we didn't see him sit down with Cesar or Lucio to tell them. We only saw him in that heartwrenching scene telling two-faced Luce.

The way Lucio was repeating Florencia esta muerta over and over, I don't think he was associating it with anyone he knew. He's very sensitive about the people he cares for (and the ones who hurt him) and he demonstrates it through his painful broken hearts drawings.

CorazonS--Were you going to give us a short reprise of yesterday's action? I know you covered Monday for us, unexpectedly (see schedule at the top).

If not, I'll try to incorporate some of the highlights in my recap for today. Let us know.

 

There were some pivotal elements in Wednesday's episode. I will post a short recap in a little bit. Then I'll start work on another pivotal episode--today's. Wowzeee! Mauro going viral. Good thing he doesn't belong to the equivalent of a gun club.

 

Oh, I'll leave you with these new personalities.

The Way Up North Finca owner is named Cecilia, or Cecy. That's why it sounded like Jessie. She's played by Marlene Kalb.

Her one staff person we met is Tadeo. He's played by Miguel Martinez.

Tia (Lejana) Beca is played by Tina Romero.


 

Quick Recap for Wed Feb 4 (Cap 95) - Pt 1

Whoracio is at Amaya’s to pick up Vale’s suitcase. She’ll be staying with him while Amaya is in LV. The Whor is still pithed at Amaya, thinking she’s to blame for his trip getting cancelled and he makes sure Vale knows it, too. When alone, Vale drops the Big Breakup Bomb (BBB) between Max and Amaya on Whoracio. It apparently doesn’t mean Amaya is going back to her daddy. She really likes Max but was mean to him for her daddy’s sake. Vale doesn’t know why they broke up.

Vale leaves and Amaya comes back into the room. Whoracio needles her, thinking she’s the dump-ee, but she sets him straight, she’s the dump-er. He thought he knew her better than that—giving up a Montesinos. He wants details. She sends him packing. As he leaves, he suggestively suggests getting back together. She says never—even if he was the last kiss on earth. (I’m pretty sure she said ‘beso.’)

Max takes Consta to the garden to talk privately. After that, he’s taking Juli to the doctor’s. Consta is besides herself. If she had a tail, she’d wag it for Max. She tells him she’s changed her mind about giving anybody her child to raise. Now she wants to get back with Max for the baby’s sake. Max says he doesn’t love her. She says she’s never stopped loving him. She thinks he could love her again, if given the chance. She kisses him lightly on the cheek (since he didn’t offer her his lips) and she does a flirty thing with her eyes.

Consta runs off to tell Manuel the good news. He’s happy she’s changed her mind, but won’t help her with Max. That’s ok, she just wants him to support her when she announces to all the Montesinos about her new attitude. Oh, and she wants to go to the Fiesta, too.

Luce and César are left together in MM. Luce is gleeful knowing the poison they put in the car seems to be having an effect. She wonders if César had anything to do with the BBB. He says she’s giving him too much credit-no, he didn’t.

Manuel and Geno are singing the same song—but a slightly different tune. Manuel swears he will tell Consta and José about them the week after the Fiesta and at the same time set a wedding date. The icing on the wedding cake is that he will hire José at his publicity agency, to make sure he has a future. Meanwhile, José and The Coates (great name for a band) are checking their sound equipment. José doesn’t like that the coates will be packing heat.

Amaya tells Caro she’s changing her will so Vale inherits, Mariana is protected and Caro is the executor. To keep Vale out of harms way while she carries out ‘mis planes,’ she’s going to send Vale to the States to boarding school—where she wanted to go last year, but Amaya didn’t have the money.

Later when she meets with the notario (similar to an attorney in Mexico), she gives him a sealed letter to be given to the police in case anything weird happens to her—an accident or unexplained death. The notario is concerned. Is she being menaced? No. This is just a precaution.

 

Wed Feb 4 (Cap 95) – Pt 2

At the Way Up North Finca, Iván is outdoors on the cell phone, talking to Mariana. She fills him in on all the latest news from back home. Cecy comes up behind him and interrupts his call. She tells him a Tía lejana (distant) of her mother’s broke her legs and is getting bored in her room. Maybe Iván could carry her Tía Beca (Radar Alert) back and forth to meals. Iván says sure thing. Meanwhile, back at El P. Hector laments to Jorge over Iván’s departure. He hopes it won’t be like his wife, Rebeca, who abandoned them (Radar in Range—Bingo! We’ve got a hit.)

Cecy is telling Tía all about the new administrator, Iván whose come from El Paraiso. Tía Beca realizes this is the son she walked away from. She’s happy to have him close to her, but doesn’t want him to know who she is. At first she doesn’t want to see him, then admits, they won’t be able to keep it up forever. Cecy is upset that she’s attracted by her cousin and has to keep hands off, but then realizes he’s a distant cousin, so hands back on.

Uli shows up at the El P. bodega to complain to Flavia about their treatment of his shipments. He thinks they are doing it just to fregarme (annoy me). Flavia points out she’s not one to mix the personal issues with business. The weight was a problem, but Uli says that won’t be a problem from now on because all the costales are coming directly from his finca. Flavia says not so fast, buster. There is another problem. Uli’s beans are not of good quality and won’t pass muster for their products when being graded. Uli is pithed and says he’s going to break the contract, so there! Jorge arrives just then and lets him know he’ll have to pay a whoppin’ big penalty—or didn’t he read his contract before he signed it. (Apparently not, so he’s quick to blame Cippy for giving him poor grade coffee beans. This is going to cost him a lot extra to buy new bags that will be good quality. Now he’s triply pithed. He tells Effer to hop to it.)

Max and Juli are at the doctor’s office. He needs the results of the tests before he can make a diagnosis, but it sounds like depression. Max interjects that she may be depressed because she lost her husband several months ago, but falling asleep at the wheel of her car is something brand new. The doc asks about other medications—none; toxic substances in the house—no; is anyone else affected—yes, a little, her son Alan. The only thing they have in common is living in the same house. (Drat—no one brought up the CAR.)

Meanwhile Whoracio is in César’s office turning over a report on Juli’s work assignments. César mentions she’s sick and probably won’t be coming to the office for awhile, so he’ll take over all her assignments—and she’s not to know about it. The Whor thought-bubbles to himself that it’s strange, first Cesar wanted him to get close to Juli and report on her movements and now he’s taking over. (Don’t I wish Whor was on the good guys’ side—we’d have César unmasked many episodes earlier, no? No.)

Jorge and Flavia have a little after-Uli-Bodega chat walking back to the ranch house. When she calls home and can’t reach Max, she tries Elo and finds out Juli is sick and almost ran over Amaya and Vale. (Jorge gets all out of sorts at the news, even though he was the first to suggest she go to a doctor because she felt tired and listless.) Jorge admits to how he feels about Juliana. Flavia, with a change of heart is willing to help him.

Amaya and Mauro run into each other at the elevator. She doesn’t say anything about her and Max’s BBB. Mauro tells her the Guatemala trip didn’t work out but he hasn’t lost hope.

Consta and Nora meet. Consta is crazy to let her know she has a chance with Max. Nora throws a little rain on her parade. Consta only sees sunshine and flowers ahead.
 

Wed Feb 4 (Cap 95) - Pt 3

Uli plans to clean Cippy’s clock at cards that night. Effer thinks that’ll serve him right and Uli will end up with the house. Uli says, the house AND other ‘properties’ he has.

Cecy introduces Iván to dark-haired, dark-eyed Tadeo. He doesn’t look too happy about having a fairer-haired, blue-eyed, muscular, ultra-handsome new administrator. Methinks there will be trouble ahead. Iván is clueless.

Luce gets a note—and that segues into Thursday’s episode, so hold on till it’s on the plate.

=======

I feel like I've been talking to myself for hours. Anybody out there?
 

I'm here
I'm a couple of epis behind but appreciating the recaps, especially because my power went out, and the thing I thought about most was missing QA since I don't have a fast enough computer/internet connection to watch on the internet.

On the twins thing Scarlet Gruber from over on Tierra de Reyes is playing twins right now on Cosita Linda and doing an amazing job, I don't usually like shows with twins cause if the actor isn't good I can't tell them apart and get confused, but this actress is so good I can tell which twins she is supposed to be within seconds

On the Amaya breaking up w/Max thing ...sigh
While I feel bad for Max, I understand Amaya. She thinks when she unmasks his mom he'll break up w/her anyway. I like the devious plans too (sneaky stuff is my bag) and the fact that so far Amaya is so effective, I was almost cheering when she manipulated Cesar, getting what she wanted from him and letting him think it was his idea. As long as she remembers not to trust him she should be okay, the only thing that I feel really sad about is that she can't tell Mauro that Florencia is dead or she will raise Cesar and Lucrecia's suspicions.
 

Hola sneaky two shoes--
It sounds to me as though you are keeping up. We've got a corker of an episode coming up to recap. I'm not going to push myself tonight, so you might not get it until tomorrow.

Suffice it to say The Note makes Lucrecia go craaaaazy.

Disappointed she was able to turn around the Omar rolls in the hay so she's the victim. Ay de mi.

Regardless, it was great to see her rattled.
 

no worries Anita, whenever you have time is fine. I might not see it till the weekend anyway.
 

Hi, Anita. Just finished yesterday's, haven't looked at today's, generally try to do my cooking in week-batches, also cook for my mom and I recap La Gata tonight.

Thank you sooo much. Will comment more later on yesterday's and today's eps. Can't wait to watch todays but won't be til tomorrow!

Thanis!
 

Anita,

Thanks for yesterday's resumen.
Glad that Flavia is sympathetic to Jorge. The big bombshell here is the introduction of Ivan's mother.
I am anxious to learn why she jumped ship.

You are right; today's drama was a corker - as my father from Boston used to say. I haven't heard that expression for a very long time.
Where did you get it?

These actors are fabulous, and emotions were at an all time high at the Montesino's mansion and at Juli's nearby house. So glad she has a separate house. For me, the big turning point here was that of
Lucrecia's losing one son and gaining another. The latter - very
emotional and significant for the revenge plot. I'll wait for your recap to discuss further.

Take your time. I've tons of work to do.

Thanks for all of your detailed attention to this novela.

All the best,
 

Anita- I'm making my way down the site, as I finally get some alone time in my hotel. Thank you so much for the recaps! I can't wait to see my episodes when I get back home. Sounds like some major stuff is happening.

So, Ivan's mama has shown up? Well, we knew it had to happen some time. She's been like a ghost in Hector and Ivan's lives. Hector especially was made bitter by her departure and needs closure. And there is yet another gal trying to get into Ivan's pants. His (distant) cousin, no less! Well, he is a cutie.
 

Kelly--
If you check in, you'll see everyone is backed up--either watching, recapping, reading or commenting. I'll be putting up today's recap tomorrow, so feel free to wait until Saturday or Sunday to put up Friday's recap. Enjoy the respite.
 

Holy smoking crap! I'm halfway through Thursday's episode! Excuse me for not reading earlier comments, will get to those but I don't want the surprise of this episode to be spoiled.

OH MY GOSH! HIGH DRAMA! This is sooo good! Please, regulars and lurkers come out of the shadows of cyberspace, this is a damned good show! Let's chew on it!

Later!
 

Calm down, Lila. You have me as worried as much as I worry about Mauro.

Go back to cooking. It's good therapy.

Will be with you soon.
 

Floridia--
On corker: My parents were from the Great Plains, lived in New Orleans for a decade, then we moved to Montevideo, Uruguay. Either my father used corker or I heard it or read it after we settled in the Mid-Atlantic area.

It might just be old-fashioned.
 

Ha Ha! Thanks, Anita! I do get carried away sometimes! It's just that this is intelligently written, excellently casted and portrayed, suspenseful and not a bit condescending or insulting to the viewer. If you were watching La Gata you'd understand why I'm over the moon!

;D
 

Anita,

Here's what I found:

The regional use of this word, as in a corker of a day, came from the world of baseball. A corker in the 1860s was a hit that flew from the bat like the cork from a champagne bottle, usually a home run. A released champagne cork even gives a pop like a bat hitting the ball.

This came from alphadictionary.com.
It also mentions New England as a place or origin.
 

Floridia--
Good to know. I had an uncle who lived in Boston, but I don't think he was the sort to use that word.

I loved baseball, back in the day when it wasn't televised and you had to go or listen on the radio. At home games you could hear the crowd--and the corkers!

Still working on the recap. I'm over halfway through.
 

Recap for Thu Feb 5 (Cap 96) – Pt 1

The Note
Lucrecia is in the living room with the perpetual martini in hand when the maid runs in to deliver a note. It says, in block letters: EL CAFÉ ME UNIÓ A MAURO Y NUESTRO AMOR SIGUE TAN VIVO COMO YO. She takes a minute to digest it and then yells for Adelina, the maid. Luce wants to know where it came from, who brought it. They bring in the gardener, but he can’t shed any light on who might have delivered it either. It was hand delivered and left in the mailbox. Luce is furious. She tells them to beat it. Luce knows Flo is dead. She killed her, so why is this happening to her. She calls César, completely rattled (oh, what a wonderful sight). She wants him to come home right away to be by her side and figure this out. He tells her he can’t. He’s getting ready to go to LV and has business matters to clear up before he leaves. Why the urgency?. She tells him she got a note from Florencia and she can’t talk about it over the phone. She begs and pleads (oh, what a wonderful sight) for him to come home.

Flavia and Jorge Chat
Flavia and Jorge are still on the way home to El P. from the bodega and have stopped to talk. He’s amazed by her change of heart and is willing to help him get through to Juliana’s heart. First, though he needs to talk to Max. He leaves. Alone, she thinks to herself that Jorge would have been a better choice for her than Uli—she revises that, anyone would have been a better than Uli.

César and the Jet (great name for a band)
Mauro and Geno are discussing the last minute preparations for the anniversary festival. He wants her to sit at the head table next to Manuel. Cesar walks in behind her as she muses that she regretted Manny had sold his shares in Nescafe. Cesar asks bluntly was she sorry he’d sold his shares or sold them to him. She stammers.

After Geno excuses herself, César wants to know what he was doing in Guatemala. Surprised, Mauro wants to know how he knew. Oh, he keeps an eye on the corporate jet’s daily schedule. Mauro doesn’t tell him what he was doing in Guatemala. It was personal. Cesar delights in telling Mauro about the BBB between Max and Amaya. Mauro thinks it was curious he just saw Amaya and she never said a thing. He’s very sad about it. César gloats that Max can never seem to keep a girl. He excuses himself. He has to go home before leaving for LV. It seems he forgot his passport (or he’s dying of curiosity about The Note).

Juli and Jorge Chat
Juliana is calling El P. looking for Flavia. Chelo tells her Flavia is working. She works from dawn till dusk. Jorge comes in at that moment and gets to talk to Juliana. When she says the preliminary results of her malaise is depression, he suggests she come to El P. after the festival to spend some time out in the fresh country air. After they hang up, Eloisa, who was in the room with Juli, gives Jorge a plug as a future beau. Before she can reflect on the possibility, Whoracio calls. He heard she was sick and would like to stop by to see her. After they hang up, she wonders what he’s really up to.
 

Thu Feb 5 - Pt 2

Sad Max and Dad Chat
Max is walking through the yellow underground garage, where people can take photos and overhear conversations and plot murders without being observed. This time, he’s alone with his thoughts. He’s hearing Amaya’s last words to him. He pulls out his phone and calls Amaya. It rolls over to voice mail. He leaves a long, sad message about their BBB. He knows she loves him. He knows there’s no room in her heart for any other man. They were destined to be together for the rest of their lives. He believes in their love and will fight for it. He can’t resign himself to losing her.

Max tells Mauro about the BBB. Mauro can’t believe Amaya’s reasons. Max can’t either. Mauro could understand if it were over the bebé he’s having with Consta, but another man? No, not believable. Max has come to the conclusion he was the only one to have fallen in love so profoundly. Max sees that Mauro couldn’t be with Amaya’s mother and Max can’t be with Amaya. He continues, both of them ended up loving women who didn’t want to be with them. Mauro is firm—history is not going to repeat itself. Max says at least Mauro has the memory of someone who loved him, while he doesn’t. Amaya stopped loving him. (I’m heartbroken, too. Lucio, please draw me one of your corazones rotos to stick on my fridge.)

Flavia and Sal Chat
Flavia is off crutches now, using a cane. She’s come to see about transferring her credits to the Chiapas University. While talking to some staff member outside, who is strolling up behind her? Salvador, that’s who. He’s actually calm and pleasant. Flavia decides to share the BBB news with him. She says Max told her all this first-hand, how Consta went right away to see him to try to get back with Max. She can’t believe Consta’s start and stop relationships. Flavia doesn’t want Consta for her brother and she advises Sal to stay away from Consta for the same reason.

César Stops by the House
Cesar has read The Note. He points out to Luce it wasn’t signed, anyone could have written it. Luce, still rattled, says only a few people know about Mauro, Florencia and the coffee. Who else could it be? Cesar wants to know if Florencia was really dead. Luce replies, that dead sure—no; pretty sure—yes. She’s sure she killed her. If she is alive, why is this happening now? No hay sentido (there’s no reason). She wants Cesar to get on it right away. Maybe the woman has been in contact with Amaya. He sneers, see, getting close to Amaya was good strategy (she had opposed it). She wants to get to the bottom of this. She’s going crazy. (It couldn’t happen to a better Lucrecia. OT: Lucrecia, feminine form of the Roman name Lucretius. The etymological origin of the name is debatable, but is thought to come from the Latin lucrum, meaning "profit, wealth." Thank you, Wikipedia) Cesar dismisses himself hurriedly. Mama apparently wants a kiss goodbye, but Cesar doesn’t give her one. She’s disappointed. She heads for the home bar.
 

Thu Feb 5 - Pt 3

Mauro is Dealt a Blow
Mauro has come home (for lunch, maybe). He’s over at Juliana’s and is freaked out by her near accident. She assures him she’s ok. They talk about the BBB and the Guatemala escapade. Eloisa comes in to tell him Lucio is asleep—he’s agotado (drained, exhausted). Mauro wants to know why he’s agotado. They tell him about the hypnotic session. They tell him they did it behind Mauro’s back so Lucio would feel freer to undergo the session and talk. They now have the results. Eloisa asks him not to fly off the handle. It’s a very serious matter, one that will change the lives of everyone in the family. They tell Mauro about Lucio finding Mommie Dearest rolling around in flagrante delicto with Omar, her agent, in their bed and how Lucrecia threatened to make all the people who love him disappear and if anything happened to them it would be his fault, thus all the broken hearts. Mauro’s ire is rising.

As predicted, Mauro flies off the handle and storms off. Elo tries to detain him. She wonders if they should have told him. Juli says if anything happens it will be Luce’s fault.

Drinking and Lying
Lucrecia is mixing herself another martini when Mauro storms in screaming. He’s never going to forgive her for what she did with her lover or how she blackmailed Lucio for years. (Luce is stunned, but chooses her words carefully.) What lover, she asks, offended. Where did Mauro get that from? Mauro says Lucio remembered it in his therapy sessions. (Luce is still thinking how to parry the thrust—nothing comes, yet). Mauro accuses her of being to blame for everything that happened to Lucio---and in His Bed? In HIS BED? (Luce’s brain starts firing on all synapses. Somewhere in her addled, twisted brain, she pulls out a plum. Sorry, wrong fairy tale.) She starts out. That’s not the way it happened, if you’ll listen to me. Mauro can hardly talk he’s so mad. He doesn’t want an explanation—he just wants her to leave the house. He never wants to see her again in his life. Somewhere in here, Max arrives and is privy to most of this. Mauro retells it in full force while Luce stands there. Mauro rages on. Max finally calms him down. (Whew, let’s take a break.)

Constanza and Nora Chat
Consta runs up to Nora in the park. She’s so happy about the baby, the BBB, Max, everything in her life is going swell. Then Sad Sal calls her. He won’t ever bother her again. She won’t ever see him again. Well, that puts a damper on things. (Consta, you can’t always keep a former novio as a platonic confidant, just sayin’.) She recovers quickly, though and with stars in her eyes, all she can think about is buying the most spectacular dress to impress Max at the fiesta. She wants Max to have eyes only for her and for everyone to know they are expecting a baby together. Nora does a virtual eye-roll over Consta’s fantasy.
 

Thu Feb 5 - Pt 4

Luce the Dissembler at Work
At Max’s urging, Luce is finally able to talk to Mauro. Omar wasn’t her lover. He was her verdugo (a scourge, very cruel person, the whip one uses to beat someone). He was a rapist. He attempted to rape her. The anguish shows in Luce’s face as she tells them of her ordeal. (Luce would have made an excellent actress if she hadn’t been hung up on wanting to be a croaking singer.) She was alone. Omar assaulted and tried to rape her. She fought him, scratched him, yelled for help. The only person who heard her was Lucio. He was shocked to see Omar in bed with no clothes on. Thanks to Lucio, Omar didn’t rape her. She kept quiet and made Lucio keep quiet about it because she knew Mauro would kill Omar.

A calmer Mauro says that’s not what the Dra. says Lucio recalled. Luce says maybe he remembered it wrong. He was just a child, but that’s how it happened. Max is moved and goes over to hug his Mama Malquerida. (Luce cries crocodile tears of joy—ha—she put one over on them.) Mauro just stands there not knowing what to say. Luce says telling Lucio what she did was the first thing she thought of to shut him up. She had no idea it would have such a lasting effect on him. That explains why he’s rejected her and shown such fear and hatred towards her. It’s been a nightmare. She didn’t want to create a scandal over that insignificant gnat, Omar. That’s why they stayed quiet. She didn’t do it to menace or blackmail Lucio, but to protect the rest of the family from shame. He must have confused a rapist with a lover. She was wrong and will have to pay for it. The two poor gullible dupes, Max, believes her 100% and Mauro, maybe 85%. She’ll go now and pack her one (1) bag. It’s what Mauro asked. (Luce walks away slowly, hoping to hear Mauro say he misjudged her and not to leave. He doesn’t.) Mauro is still stunned. He has his back to Luce as she slowly climbs the staircase.

Now Viewerville Knows Who Sent The Note
Amaya picks up her ticket at the airport. She’s been bumped up to 1st class. She can’t find out who, but guesses it was César. Caro calls her. Her damaged car has just been picked up and will be ready in a couple of days. Yes, the will is rewritten and she is in the first phase of her vendetta against Lucrecia. She sent the anonymous note to make it sound like it came from Florencia. Each step of ‘mis planes’ has to be extremely carefully thought out, since she’s dealing with likes of César and Lucrecia. Caro tells her to be careful and if she needs anything, she’ll be on the next plane to LV.
 

Thu Feb 5 - Pt 5

More Montesinos Family Drama
From the sanctity of her bedroom, Luce calls César. He’s already at the airport. She tells him Mauro threw her out. Could she use his apartment? She hates the idea of going to a hotel. He says no. It’s his sacred space, for his use only. He tells her it’s her fault for doing something so stupid. Luce whines, not to judge her, help her. She tells César the new, revised version of what happened that she gave Mauro and Max. He commends her for her astuteness. He’s sorry for her, but his apartment is not available to anyone. Besides, it wouldn’t be suitable for people to think he was involved or even apprised. He hangs up on her. Luce is now alone, just as Eloise warned.

Meanwhile, Mauro and Max are still downstairs, trying to wrap their heads around what they just heard. Max says he feels both anger and helplessness. Mauro is disillusioned she never confided in him, like normal couples would. He asked her over and over again why Lucio rejected and stayed away from her. Max asks him to give her a break. This wasn’t something easy to talk about.

Mauro says the two versions (Luce’s and Doctora’s) do not reconcile. Max insists that it was because Lucio was only 8, how could he distinguish what he saw. Max tells Mauro he may still have other issues with Luce, but maybe now the household can be normalized (he said aliviado—meaning lightened). His mother’s burden has been lifted, Lucio’s secret that tormented him has come to light and he could have a better life. He tries to talk Mauro out of running Luce off.

He goes up to see his mother. In a tender moment, Max tells her he’s there for her. She’s not alone in the world. She hugs him. For one brief moment in Max’s life, she’s sincere—grateful for his support and that he’s a good son. For now she wants to be alone. Max suggests she go to their house in Cuernavaca. No, too many memories of his father there. Max says forget about that, the house belongs to the whole family. She smiles a bit and agrees to go there.

Invasion by the Enemy
Cesar approaches Amaya in the airport. Yes, he’s the one that upgraded her seat. He snickers, since they’re the only ones going, they’re going to do “everything” together (if Amaya could turn green and gag right now, she would). He stops her for another candid camera shot of the two of them together (if I were Amaya, I’d wonder where all these photos are going to end up—a cute picture album or facebuk?). As they walk, she notes he is preoccupied. He deflects an answer to ask her the same. Well, she admits, it’s not the best time for her (and the two of them know why). He invades her personal space, getting very close to her. She backs away, but not before he gets really close and pretends he’s picking something off her cheek (creepy move, César) and kind of grins.

Even More Montesinos Family Drama
Mauro has come back to Juli’s. Juli is sure Lucio knew the difference. She’s aghast at Luce’s version. She doesn’t believe her for a minute. Mauro wants to talk to Lucio’s doctor. He tells Juli and Elo that still, Lucrecia is leaving the house. Now he wants to talk to Lucio. They sit after an emotional embrace. He wants Lucio to listen to what he has to say and know he’s in loving arms. Mauro begins. He’s just learned about Omar and what happened long ago. It’s ok to talk about it now. It won’t break his daddy’s heart, nor his aunt’s nor any of his siblings. And he’s not going to let anyone break Lucio’s heart.

There’s a commotion at the door. It’s Max with Lucrecia and her one (1) bag. She’s come to say goodbye to Lucio. She corners him on the couch and gets down on bended knee to ask forgiveness. They all know “their” secret. She didn’t know it was going to make him suffer and be tormented by it. Mauro is stunned. Freeze Frame on Lucrecia’s tearful face.

This was a pivotal episode. For present company and future watchers, I tried to do it justice. Anita, signing off.
 

Anita!!! Thank you, Thank you, Thank you! I haven't read it yet but I know you gave it justice!

I am so enjoying watching this with all of you guys and for this chance to tinker around with writing and brush up on my beloved Spanish. I love languages and Caray! Caray! is a blessing!

Will read this soon, dear Anita. Thank you so much!
 

Anita,

Thank you, thank you.
Another excellent recap and delightful gift from you.

One thing I want to add -- that I especially liked -- was that after Juliana spoke with Jorge, she remarked to Elo wistfully that at times Jorge reminds her of Franco.
And indeed, the casting people have attended to this.

I continue to marvel at the actors.
In this episode especially,
Mauro, Lulu, Elo, and Juli.

Oh, and another thing, Don Mauro advised Genoveva to call him just plain Mauro from now on -- since she is the pareja of his dear friend.

Lots of details. Much excitement.
I'm still upsest with Amaya - as I said before, she's getting no break from me.

With appreciation...

All the best,
 

Thank you, Anita! Ahhh, yes indeed it was sooo good to see Lu panicky and rattled! So much to comment on. I’m using your wonderful recap as a guide:

Glad Mauro didn’t tell Cesar why he went to Guatemala.

Re Max not being able to keep a girl. Way back when Amaya denied having feelings for him Max thought to himself how this was the first time he felt so vulnerable, unbalanced and uncertain. I’m sure these feelings, along with a profound sadness, have been awakened yet again in him – by Amaya. I certainly hope they give us a loooong reconciliation time for Max and Amaya, they are both so wounded right now!

Yes, fight ,Max, fight! I hope Max maintains this stance and does not cave in to Connie’s whining and baby-dangling! Oh, it was so hard seeing Max this way. The actor does a wonderful job of being despondent and feeling lost and confused. Alone he vowed to fight for Amaya but Mauro is so wonderfully supportive it is appropriate that he so openly and honestly bared his soul.

The Mauro freak-out is where I likewise did above. I love these revelations coming at a nice, steady pace instead of the villians getting away with all their lies right up to the end! Yes! Max’s reaction towards Lu makes me feel better about Amaya’s break up with him. He has probably longed to have this kind of closeness with Lu and was moved to see her so vulnerable. Yah. She should’ve been a novela actress instead of trying to sing. “Two poor gullible dupes” indeed!

Cesar was moving in for a kiss! Yuck! More theatrics from Lu! Double yuck!

One more observation from earlier in the episode. They made a big deal of the letter that Amaya wants the lawyer to deliver in the case of her untimely death. I wonder if Amaya will either be thought to be dead thus triggering the delivery of the letter and unmasking of Lu or would she actually fake her death to trigger the letter’s delivery and exposure of Lu. Since she’s playing their game I could see the latter happening. Just a thought.

Ok. Off to watch today’s ep. Thank you, Anita. Splendid! Splendid as usual!
 

It's too bad Lucrecia's acting career couldn't take off. She's a natural at improvisation. I hope Lucio kicks her in the shin.

And Constanza! There are plenty of strong, intelligent women in this show, and Connie is just not getting it. Sal has his own issues, but at least he knows to cut this one loose.

If Friday isn't up tonight, it'll be up Saturday evening. Need to make a trip to TJ tomorrow for some good mezcal to get through the next few weeks.

Kelly
 

Oh, Lila--
What wonderful speculations. I like the idea of Amaya faking her own death to trigger the appearance of the letter. Caro would have to go to the notario. However, it would merely trigger an investigation and as cunning as Lucrecia has been, she's left no rastro of her crimes.

Right now, only Cesar is privy to them. Claro, if Amaya "dies" and Cesar thinks Luce did it, he might be angry enough to denounce her.

This is fun.

Me, too. Off to watch today's episode.
 

Kelly--
We have a lot to digest over Thursday's episode, so don't beat yourself over today's. Saturday evening will be just fine!
 

Hi, Kelly! Agree totally with Anita! And yes, Connie is so clingy! We know she's not getting Max. What the heck are they going to do with her the spoiled, uppity little thing!

Anita and all, I just feel that letter is definitely going to come in to play or they wouldn't have even mentioned it. But does Amaya have to die for the contents of the letter to be taken seriously and form the foundation of a serious investigation that would result in taking Lucrecia off the street? I know. It has to be this way. Vamos a ver!
 

Hey everyone! I finally caught up! Whoo excitement continues to be at an all time high.

I'm still on Amaya's side. I'm sorry but Lucrecia destroyed her life and how do you tell your partner his mother is a murderer. Max is too kind hearted to even fathom that it could even be possible. Cesar would throw Lurcecia under the bus in a heartbeat and that's perfect for Amaya's plans.

Constanza's immense happiness at hearing about Amaya's and Max's breakup was so pathetic. I want to shake her and give her a hug at the same time and tell her to grow some guts!

As someone mentioned in a previous post all the women in this novela can either hold their own or they're definitely not digging themselves into bigger holes. Even crazy Cici knows what she wants and is goes for it. Constanza is just dragging her dignity for a man that doesn't want her.

Cipriano's actions will definitely cause a lot of trouble for Mariana in the future. Hopefully Ivan can get back soon and marry her and take her away from that madness.

I love how most things are out in the open despite the novela not ending. Glad to see some anvils falling, more good guys smarter than bad guys planning and plenty of truths and new twists.

One final thought: the introduction of Ivan's mother was so strange. It seemed so tacked on and shooed in and not organic at all despite the juicy possibilities.
 

I certainly appreciate your point of view about Amaya, Superalfie. After seeing how Max was after Lu's performance it is even more clear to me that if she tried to stay with him while investigating Lu's crime they would have ended up with an even more serious, and perhaps permanent rupture between them.

And Ivan's mother and "cousin" (can't stand her already). I knew there was something that felt disruptive about their entry into the story: your comment nailed it!

Glad you caught up Superalfie! Look forward to seeing you in future discussions!
 

Lila,

As you know I do not agree with your opinion/assessment on this deliberate and deceitful breakup.
The truth should be upheld with Amaya's lover and confidante, no matter how it hurts. This is what Max deserves. Amaya has steeled herself to accept Max's rejection when and if she revealed the truth to him. She would suffer on that score if he rejected her upon hearing the news. But at least, she would not be suffering for deceiving him. Now she has a double-edged dagger plunged into her heart.

Max might have become angry and turned against Amaya for taking this strategy, but at least he would not be suffering because she rejected his love. He is smart enough to realize that his mother has not been ALL THAT to any of the children except for Cesar.

Another point, if Amaya had revealed her information to Max a few days earlier, he might not have leaped to defend his mother in the BIG LIE involving OMAR.

Amaya claims to want to protect Max from his mother. Ignorance is not bliss -- especially in a potentially dangerous scenario which could be provoked at any minute. Max deserves to be fully armed. She should have entrusted him with the information and let him do his own investigation -- whether he is with her or without her.

And as far as sharing the chocolate covered strawberries with Cesar, EEWWWW !!

I thought Amaya just wanted to use Cesar/and/or an anonymous lover as an excuse to break up with Max.
Amaya doesn't have to run into his arms once the breakup occurred.
She should make that clear to Cesar. She could still keep reasonably close to him to glean information. This plot twist is going way too far.

I also hate the whole Ivan thing.
Writers need to have more confidence in their viewers and allow a decent romance to prevail throughout the novela.

I intend to skip all scenes with Ivan in his new position at the finca and all scenes with Uli and Cip. I'll check in on Amaya, Juliana, Jorge, and Caro from time to time. Also Mauro, Manuel and Geno.

That's enough to satisfy my curiosity.

Continuing to be disappointed and discouraged with writers. They could have done so much better with this. When will they learn
that we need more sophisticated fare?
 

One more thing,

Being betrayed with another man is one tough hurdle to overcome, but for that man to be your very own slimy brother, that is unbearable.
Max, if you must run to Constanza,
I won't like it, but I will certainly understand. You need some TLC, and I am certain that Connie will be delighted to dish it out.
 

Superalfie--
Anvils aren't quite falling on top of targeted heads, regrettably. But they are falling nearby and shrapnel is hitting the baddies. They will have to retrench.

I hope Cesar turns against his mama.

As to the appearance of Beca, at least, that was signaled a long time ago. If she were not to be important, Hector would have been a widower. As it was, she left him for who knows what reason. I'm sure we will find out.

This temporary diversion (I hope) is surely so they don't have to invent more harm to Lucio, Vale, Max, and Juliana or mean things being done by Cesar, Lucrecia and Whoracio, or have to spend too much time on Constanza's pregnancy.

Since the Way Up North Finca storyline has Ivan in it, I'm comfortable watching him fend of Cecy and confronting VayaMama.

It also gives the main actors a break. Mauro and Lucrecia have been hard at work in almost every scene. So has Amaya.
 

Floridia--You would admit, wouldn't you, that this "deliberate and deceitful" breakup of Max and Amaya is a sea-change from your run-of-the-mill traditional novelas, where the breakups are usually over jealousy and misunderstandings.

I think Amaya did try to make it clear to Cesar that this wasn't a real relationship in their hotel room, but he's not one to back off from winning what he considers his prize, by constantly hovering around her, if nothing else works.
 

Not "their" hotel room, but "her" hotel room. I noted it was incredibly spacious.
 

Thank you, Floridia, for your well-reasoned and most eloquent elaboration of your disdain of Amaya's strategy. Your points are well-taken. I could more vigorously argue for her strategy, though I am not as enthusiastic about it as you might think, if she had not fled to Cesar to use him not only as the man who won her heart but to CESAR, Max's arch rival to use him to make Max HATE her. She more than wants to protect Max, she wants to wound him so he will not pursue her. Even though he vowed in the parking garage to fight for her love, his desire to move to Chiapas and be as far away from her as possible and limit contact with her does not sound like a fighting stance.

I guess I can cut Amaya some slack because, again, how do you bring up to the love of your life that you thought his mother killed your mother. . .and father . . .and the woman who raised you because she killed you mother. . .

In one or two scenes Amaya expressed a chilliness bordering on revulsion at Max's closeness to her -- at least that was my perception -- and this is another reason I don't like the alliance with Cesar. She KNOWS he lusts after her BECAUSE she was Max's woman. She KNOWS he cynically objectifies her and "wants" her only to hurt Max. She claims to not want to feign affection for Lucrecia yet she is willing to accept overtly sexual advances from Cesar (totally agree with you on the chocolate-covered strawberry thing) and drive a dagger into Max's heart when he sees the cell phone portraits she HAS to know Cesar is going to send to Max!

Anyway, back to the chilliness towards Max. It would be more acceptable to me if she distanced herself from Max because she felt an understandable cooling of her ardor because of knowing who his mother was. They could have played up the ConnieMammaBaby thing more as a reason to separate. If Cesar continues to be Cesar she is in for a very unpleasant surprise in Vegas and what happens in Vegas will NOT stay in Vegas.

If she was worried about her name and her reputation, where will it be when she gets through using, and being used by Cesar?

I know I must sound like a terrible flip-flop but I'm going to blame it on what Anita described so well as a sea-change from your run-of-the-mill traditional novelas, where the breakups are usually over jealousy and misunderstandings.

It's a toughie but I love this exchange!

How do others feel about Amaya's strategy and her "alliance" with Cesar?

Anita, why do you think this is a pivotal episode? What do others think?

I think ONE pivotal event is the plant of a seedling of doubt in Mauro's mind. It's significant that even though he hugged Lu, he still let her go. Max may have understandably come to his mother's defense but he will not forget this incident. It will be a dormant puzzle piece that he will put in place when the time comes.
 

Lila, i agree with you about Lucrecia. Regardless of hee acting skills and Mauros apparent reaction to her tale about Omar its important to note that she is still out of the house for time being. This has NEVER happened before.

While Cesar was a poor choice for a partnwr in crime he can get her close to Lucrecia without putting Max in the direct line of fire so hes the best choice. But...the strawberry eating contest was disgusting.

Just the fact that Amaya and Maxs decision has sparked yhis much debate and back and forth and reasoning, etc. Makes this a prime novela.

There are so many angles to think about and points of views and reasons why we understand Amayas decisions or don't.

As for Ulises and Mariana and Ivan and Cecy I don't think it will generate a big break up between them. If anything their rivals are (big ) flies to be swatted. Im curious to see how Ulises is going to handle this besidew the obvious.
 

Hi, Superalfie! Prime novela it is for sure! I so like how Mauro still insisted Lu leave the house. This is amazing! Perhaps he wants her to stay gone until he can talk not only with Juliana and Elo but with the Psychiatrist as well. Smart move! Even though he admits to being confused and is giving Lu the benefit of the doubt by cooling his jets somewhat, the testimony of Juliana and of Lu's own sister, Elo, is not taken lightly! It may be that in his more calm state the expert testimony of the real Psychiatrist will be able to sink in and with Lu away Mauro will need this time away to think. Hopefully he will remember, or Juli and Elo will remind him, of the fake Psychiatrist and he will reconsider Lu's protestation of ignorance and innocence in his working with Lucio. Hopefully he will remember how Lucio didn't want to work with the fake doc and how the fake doc discouraged hypnosis or working with a different doc when Lucio's didn't like and wouldn't work with him.

As long as the pace of the revelations and the intelligence of the characters continue, I can deal with less appealing relationships. I don't mind Ivan and I'm sure he'll fend off Cecy. Speaking of deception: the way his mother and Cecy are manipulating him signals that "love match" won't work! I'll wait for Kelly's recap to discuss a disturbing turn on the Mariana front.
 

Lila, et al--I'm pretty much of a shallow-gal when it comes to watching tns. I don't want to get too emotionally invested in the characters, because it will soon end and there's another story and cast of characters to get acquainted with.

Don't get me wrong, it's like speed-reading through a romance novel--with pictures--lots of sturm und drang, complications and happy endings for the main couples. I enjoy the diversion, but also enjoy trying to figure out en route what the writers have in store.

I suspect most telenovela watchers are not as intellectually discriminating as Carayers, who take the time to discuss everything from the idiocy or cleverness of the action to morals, costumes, legal matters, sex, abuse, toxic mothers, illnesses, poisons, grammar, etc., etc. in such depth.

With five stories going at once on UNI and three on Telemundo, how many different ways are there to tell a story that will keep you riveted and entertained? I think QA has some very innovative twists in that department.

Maybe we have seen characters as complex as Mauro or Lucrecia in other novelas, but they are so well written and well cast here. The actors are doing an excellent job interpreting them. Up to now Mauro has been clueless and naïve and Luce cold and calculating.

So now you want me to THINK?

Pivotal? Well, maybe just to me.
My signs:

1. This is the first time we see Luce rattled (The Note), helpless (come home Cece to be by my side), accused (by Mauro), abandoned (by Cesar), not get her way (Mauro still made her leave), reduced to begging her "special" son for forgiveness in public (even though she was faking it for her advantage).

Her version of the Omar assault was not completely believed, even though it was a brilliant ploy to deflect the real story. She's just liberated Lucio from not talking about it any more and that has eased her mind somewhat. Lucio still has other secrets he could divulge, though.

2. Mauro at last has begun to see that his family is dysfunctional on many levels and may be a turning point for him to start paying attention to what is going on inside his family. Maybe Luce isn't all he thought she was.

3. Max still hates his brother Cesar--or I should say they don't get along and they begin trading pot shots as soon as Cesar starts hectoring and browbeating Max, BUT, Max is seeing his mother in a new light for the first time--as vulnerable and needing protection. This was BIG. (I personally hope it doesn't last.)

3. Amaya is actually pro-active. So often these wronged heroines, sit around and wait for others to resolve her problem or talk about it endlessly. She knows she's playing a dangerous game. She's had time to think it through. As everyone else in tnlalaland says (and even Luce said it), "vengeance is a dish served cold."

4. Amaya saw that the Consta-baby thing didn't work to separate Max from her. She had to find something sure fire. What else but another man. I'll wait to read Kelly's recap to muse further on this phase. And yes, the chocolate-strawberry thing was icky. At least Cesar consistently gave Amaya the first bite, before eating the rest of it himself (kudos to Flavio for doing it, or if not really, very realistically).
 

Lila--I don't think Amaya cares much about her reputation vs. justice for three dead family members and an attempt on her daughter's life and her own by one single person. I'm ok with her having a one-track mind from now on. It's going to be "fun" to watch how she and Cesar dance around each other, with Amaya knowing what she does about HIS 'mis planes.'

Once justice has been served, she has several options--start her own publicity business with Carolina, move to Chiapas and manage her Zona Estrella with Mariana and Ivan while teaching business administration at the local college, or she and Mauro (yes, I said Mauro) could move to El P. and jointly run the whole hacienda business--after he retires from Nescafe.

This is all predicated on Max not being able to get over the fact his mother is a cold, calculating murderer and he's busy with his 3-en-1 and helping Consta raise his baby.

Too much speculation at this stage, too many characters' destinies to determine. Ay de mi, I LOVE THIS NOVELA. (Forget what I said before about not wanting to get to invested in the characters!)
 

Ah, Anita! Thank you! Love this: Agree with and like all your pivotal moments! Excellently stated defense of Amaya's strategy. I would say this Juli/Elo mini unmasking of Lu is actually the second time he's gotten a glimpse at the dysfunction of his family and Lu's defects, at least as I see it:

Remember way back when he reconnected with Juliana and she told of how Lu tormented and emotionally abused her? It wasn't a big recognition but he did acknowledge it. I think that was the first chink in her armor. Juli and Elo were shocked at how Lu saved her skin but they have played an important role in Mauro and Max seeing Lu for who she really is.

Yes, seeing Max being solicitous towards Lu was disturbing and, you're right, Lucio's liberation is huge. Lucio feels more free and with Lu (even if temporarily) out of the house, Lucio will talk to Max and hopefully Elo and Juli will tell him about the fake doc.

I see your point about the reputation vs. justice. You're right.

Now. The future post justice? Aye aye aye! I can't think that far! I want to see how Amaya is going to stay out of Cesar's clutches. She really didn't have to let herself be fed strawberries. How far will she go? Will we get the old "drug her and take half-naked pictures" schtick. Cesar loves his camera phone and he would LOVE to send a shot like that.

Yes. I have LOVED THIS SHOW from the start and Caray Nation (recappers and commenters) are discriminating and highly intelligent viewers. And you, my dear, are NOT a shallow gal!

:D
 

Lila--Not twice, but thrice. Not too long ago, Mauro reamed Lucrecia out for trying to buy off Uli and then giving Flavia no options if she walked out--that she could never come back. Mauro was furious and told her she should never have done anything like that unilaterally and especially the ultimatum she gave Flavia. Luce tried to justify her actions by stating that in HER house, there were rules and everybody had to abide by them. He reminded her that he'd supported her in other situations, such as making Eloisa move out of the house. This was one situation where he was going to overrule her--the door would always be open to all of his children, should they want to return, no matter what they had done. That put a cork in her.

Cesar is a different animal altogether. Mauro has suspicions that it was Cesar that cancelled Juliana and her family's tickets to fly to Mexico (why he didn't send the corporate jet there in the first place is one of those inconsistencies--but needed for plot advancement).

A few episodes back he chewed Cesar out for not telling him about the thefts at the finca. Cesar defended himself by saying he had been taking care of things on his own for a long time to spare him the worry. Mauro didn't like that and told him not to do it again--and then he did (can't remember right off what it was, but it was a separate incident much more recently--was it Cesar Checking out Uli's background?).

Oh, and here's another take on Anon's Tue comment that I didn't understand: "I know she was 'sparing' him then with her happy family routine, but at some level he failed a test by letting a little thing like Whoracio stop his pursuit of her."

To give Amaya a little credit. She *was* still married to Whoracio at the time. He was dragging his feet over the separation, divorce and the custody of Vale. He was accusing her of having a lover as it was. She knew if she started something with Max before the ink was dry, the Whor would have a very good case to get custody of Vale. She said to herself (and us) that she wished she were a free woman--or wished she had met Max when they were both free--or she hated not telling him she was still married.

Ok, she could have given Max her real reasons to stay apart after their little get-away, but by then Max had seen her with Whoracio and Vale and the "seemed" like a happy family. He felt deceived and treated her like dirt. She went away from his office totally wrecked.

 

Hello all! What great debates this week. I'm sorry I was away and missed so much of it. Not caught up yet so big thanks for the recaps that have kept me up to date.

As for Amaya's deisions, if we have to have a breakup of the main couple, I much prefer that it be because one of them is working on a plan, than because of silly jealousy or misunderstanding caused by the villains. If Max doesn't get back together with her at the end, I will understand, and I think Amaya would too.

It sounds like Max's easily accepting reaction to Lu's lie about the rape proves Amaya right. He would never easily accept hearing her accuse his mother of multiple murders, and especially not without proof. He would in all likelihood go off on either her or Lu in front of people, thereby putting Lu and Cesar on alert about Amaya.
 

Oh yes, Anita, you’re right! I’d forgotten about that! Maybe that’s why he was able to not give in to her crocodile teary performance. He’s putting 2 and 2 together! Can you imagine how furious he’ll be when he finds out how long she has lied, manipulated and even murdered, including his beloved Florencia! I know he will survive but all of that seems to be a big WIDOW MAKER. Or, after the steady seismic shock of revelations he’ll be able to take it better.

Hmm. What else Cesar did that Mauro told him not to? Maybe it was investigating Uli.

That Anon comment has really haunted you, hasn’t it? Oh well, we’ve got a nice interchange going on among us whether they pop back in or not.

Hey guys. Amaya sending Vale away could signal that things are going to get really heated up. Seems she’s willing to duke it out and even put her life on the line to avenge her family and defend herself and Vale!

Hey! Who do you think Lucio is going to repeat “Florencia esta muerta. to first?

Who do you think is going to see Cesar’s DNA report first?

 

Hi, Vivi! How ya doin', Girl!

I've felt real torn about Amaya's strategy. Our friends have made excellent points for and against her as you've seen above. You make an additional excellent point in support of her strategy:

He would in all likelihood go off on either her or Lu in front of people, thereby putting Lu and Cesar on alert about Amaya.

That's an excellent point that I hadn't thought of: his accidental exposure of Amaya to killer Lu. His innocence IS dangerous. I'm just already cringing thinking about her promised night out gambling with Cesar!
 

Lila- Indeed, Amaya seems willing and ready to duke it out in a fight to the death with Lu. Changing her will, writing an insurance letter in case of her demise, and sending Val away to boarding school, all mean that she's ready for war. Really, Max and his broken heart are the least of her sacrifices/problems/worries.

As for her earlier concerns about her reputation, I seem to remember she didn't care for herself. It was about getting custody of Val, and how any gossip would affect Val. Amaya doesn't give a flying fig what people say or think about her.
 

Yah, Vivi, I think you're right. Mauro and Max were very concerned about clearing her name. If Amaya is ready to fight I hope she keeps that stance when Cesar starts pawing all over her!

Vivi and all, Amaya has discussed her break with Max with Mauro yet. Mauro doesn't believe her cover story any more than Max does. Not that Amaya will or should change her strategy according to what Mauro thinks but I think she does care what he thinks and I want to see their first face to face discussing the breakup. He may be a gentleman and not bring it up.

Question for anyone who knows. Are Max and Cesar going to be at the Big Nescafe anniversary and launch of Despierta a la Vida campaign?
 

Now, I do admit that Amaya has a character flaw that Max and Caro have already pointed out, and that she's already admitted to. When she has a problem, she always wants to work it out on her own. She told Max that she is used to not having a reliable man/partner, and to dealing with her problems by herself when he scolded her about it some time ago. Her decision to go it alone in this, and to not consider having Max help her, is very much in line with what we have seen of her character so far. I don't see this as game playing. I see this as the consequence of a woman who grew up an orphan. Although she had a godmother who loved her, her supposed father-figure, Cippy Cup, was open about his disdain for her and pointed out she was a burden. She married early and found herself with a man who was equally unreliable. That was her full history with men, until Max. She's just not used to having a protective, reliable man in her life.
 

Lila- I haven't seen the episodes yet, so I don't know if Amaya has spoken with Mauro yet. I imagine he won't butt in too much. He doesn't like to meddle in the lives of the youngsters, except to give gentle advice.
 

See! This is why I love this community and why more of y'all need to come out of lurkdom so we can have even more points of view. Here is another good point for Amaya and I remember this being underlined in one episode:

When she has a problem, she always wants to work it out on her own.

Yes! This is so true.

And I know Max and Amaya have not talked about the break up. He saw Amaya afterward and she pointedly did not bring it up and was tearful I think because it's kind of a break up with the dear Man who in a short space of time had become like a father to her: the only real father figure she's known: Don Mauro.

When you watch Vivi, and of course anyone feel free to answer, I just can't remember if Amaya and Cesar will be at the big Nescafe anniversary bash. Thanks!
 

Vivi--
Thanks for checking in and contributing so much in such few words. You have a gift I envy.

Lila--
Sending Vale Away
I think Amaya is just being super cautious in wanting to send Vale away. Luce tried once to kill both of them in the car explosion Cesar saved her from. Amaya knows it was Luce from Dolores' dying confession. If she failed once, she may try again.

Vale wouldn't be safe for very long with Whoracio (because he's in the city), so she has to think of somewhere he'd be agreeable to her going. Boarding school sounds acceptable.

Vale will really be mad to be separated from Alan, Lucio and her other friends from school (none of whom we have actually seen) and last but not least, her soccer buds and her coach (whom she admits liking after all). She may get Whoracio to back her up to not go. (If he agrees to let her go then we know little Miss B.B. may have another job waiting for her--until she needs to return near the end--or she's missed to much real school.)

Florencia esta muerta.
For it to mean something special, Lucio would have to say it to Mauro.

If he says it to Cesar, Cesar will know he overheard too much of the conversation he was having with Luce. Poor Lucio would be in for more torment from Cesar.

If he says it to Eloisa or any of the other Montesinos (except Max), they would all be surprised, but sympathetic and would immediately tell Mauro and they would want to find out why Lucio is saying that.

If he says it to Vale, well, she sort of already knows Flo is dead and would pay it no mind. They haven't filled her in on the "disappeared" part or the "really dead" part. I think she still thinks Flo is buried with her grandfather David.

If he tells Max, well, how can he tell Max if Max is going to go off to Chiapas to try to forget. But, should it be Max, Max would right away get in touch with Amaya. That would somehow bring them together again. I wonder what Amaya would tell him.

If Lucio tells the therapy doctor, she would consult Elo, Juli, Mauro or Max. She might make a big mistake and reach Lucrecia first, but again, that would only tell Luce that Lucio overheard what they were talking about that day. What Luce would do, dunno.

Who Sees the DNA Results First
I think I surmised earlier that Lucio will use it to draw on and Elo or Juliana might see it first.

He also might send Flavia a drawing on it (with the ladies' help). They promised to let him stay in touch with Flavia by phone or by Skype. Flavia reminded him of the trip they were going to take on a ship. (He drew her on the deck of a ship once.)

Or, he might send it to his mother (ella es buena, ella me quiere--poor Lucio).

Unless the writers want to torture us and Cesar finds it, case closed--we know that won't happen.

Mauro won't see it first because that would be too easy. There still has to be a little drama attached to the DNA results. If Mauro were to get it or learn of it, it would not only explain a lot about Cesar to him, but also raise some serious questions about Lucrecia...dun da dun dun. We can only hope he will at some point!!

I need me some dinner. You all have had me thinking much too long today.

 

Lila and Vivi--
Of course EVERYBODY is coming to the fiesta at the MM for the anniversary. Amaya and Caro were in charge of the video he wants to show as part of it. We know Jorge is coming. Don't know about Flavia--she's so busy working. Cesar doesn't want to miss anything that will bring him together with Amaya and thumb his nose at Max. Max may not come if he's in Chiapas and Consta will be showing off her *spectacular* dress to a no-show Max. We know Geno, Manuel and Jose will be there. The Coates will be there. I wonder if Mauro will ask Luce back for the bash--she owns shares no. I bet he's sorry he gave them to her, just sayin'.

Ok, chicken is almost broiled and the broccoli is tender and the rice is hot. See everybody tomorrow.

Please don't make me think any more tonight.
 

Anita,

While the breakup might be different from other novelas, I was hoping that there could be a better plot line like some found in other foreign films or some super clever American thrillers.

I am interested in how Lu's crimes will be unraveled other than have her go stark raving mad at the end admitting everything to all those involved.. From her point of view, she should admit to nothing. They have nothing on her. Notice, how Lu was getting confused as to whether she actually killed Florencia or not. She was convincing me and put hope in me that she is still alive. (Remember, that was her "first kill"). I'm still wondering if there could have been a last minute reprieve for Florencia that will be revealed in a very late flashback. I'm thinking that the DNA could be only partial from something left behind.

I know, I am a hopeless romantic, but I am still hoping against hope -- specially for Don Mauro's sake.

But assuming that Florencia is resting in peace, what is Amaya's strategy to be? Does she want to unnerve Lu and put her off guard, or does she hope to break her down to eventually admit her crimes?

What are the concrete clues?
a. Lu's birthmark seen after the crime by the country woman?
b. the designer handbag seen by Caro? Here's an idea. Lu bought her clothes from Emma who brought them in from Europe. If a good lawyer or detective could show that the handbag was one of a kind in the area, that could help.
Another lawyer might find that
several other bags had been sold in the area recently.
c. Did Caro see Lu's birthmark
immediately after Emma's killing
or later at the office?
d. the man with the dogs saw Lu nearby, but did he see her do anything else more concrete?
e. if the hospital restroom had a video tape of the killing that would resurface later, that would be a clincher and a corker.

On today's news I saw that a girlfriend canvassed the neighborhood looking for video tapes, and she found a store or restaurant that had taped the street crime scene. It was unearthed over a year later and completely exonerated her boyfriend from any wrong doing. It was pure police brutality.


Does anyone have an idea of how Amaya will collect her data?
 

Floridia- I love that you are a romantic! It would have been wonderful had the writers found a way to keep Max and Amaya together while she looked for and found the truth about his mother (again, it would have meant her still being deceitful with him). I will sorely be missing their kisses and Max's strong arms wrapped around Amaya. *sigh*

You've pointed out exactly why Amaya has gone this route. There is no solid evidence for any of the things she has learned so far. But think about this-- If Amaya continues to rattle Lu with these notes and such, she will continue to have these conversations with Cesar about how she killed Florencia. And if Amaya has enough access to Lu and Cesar, she can pull another one of those tricks like she pulled at lunch with Lu-- recording the conversation.
 

Excellent questions, Floridia! Good points, Vivi! Man! We're on fire today!

The man with the dogs saw Cesar get into Lu's car after the "accident." Remember, she drove him to the hospital. If the man saw more, they didn't reveal it to us. He could have seen something quite damning!

I know it's hard to let Florencia go but, as I said before, unless somebody else used that well to dump a body and Flo got out but left blood or hair behind, there were remains - skeletal, I guess - at the bottom of the well that they cremated.

Anita, thank you for your always thorough and thoughtful response to my questions. I totally understood why Amaya was sending Vale away. Re the Nescafe bash, I just have this fear that Connie is not the only one who wants to show off, I fear Cesar will do so in a way that will be scandalous, very painful to Max and very effective in driving the wedge between him and Amaya that she wanted!
 

Lila- A bit of a correction. The man with the dogs saw Lu standing watching the explosion and then saw her follow the ambulance Cesar was in. At that point, Cesar had no idea Lu was anywhere near or had any part in the crime. Remember how ticked off he was later when he learned she was behind it.
 

Oh, ok, that's right! He suspected she had been there from the way she described the events. He kept that suspicion filed away til it fell into place later and he figured out she was involved.

Thanks, Vivi!
 

Fri, cap. 97, pt. 1

Lu is faking her apology to Lucio and Lucio is a little freaked out. She tells him that everyone knows about the other man, and everyone tells him he can’t be responsible for breaking anyone’s heart.

Whor talks to Negro about Juliana. Negro says she has no power in the business and Whor should focus on their “business” plans. Whor will look it over carefully and then decide if he’s in.

Lucio wisely asks Mauro if all this that Lu is saying is true. It is, and Lucio is relieved and hugs his mother while she fake cries like no one has ever fake cried before. But at least Luico is happy thinking that his mother actually loves him. He hugs her and she makes a “gak!” face behind his back that no one can see.

Beca (right? The cousin) takes a pic of Ivan, and he talks to her about how to improve things. She asks about his dad, and Ivan tells her he never found another woman because he couldn’t trust someone else. (I was hoping for him and Dolores. Alas.) She later plays the recording she took (sneakily done by pretending to take a pic?) of her convo with Ivan. Ivan’s real mom is happy that he’s not bitter about her abandoning him, and thinks someday she’ll be able to introduce herself to him as his mother.

Cipriano gets home and Mariana is there. She’s disgusted at him and the way he lives, but she has brought him some food. She’s concerned about his life, and he tells her she should be there taking care of him. I miss the ending of this scene, but any nano sympathy I felt for him after Dolores died is gone. Mariana is NOT moving back. Nope. Not unless he changes. She leaves and he angrily takes a bite of the food she brought.

Cesar talks to himself about whether Mauro (he calls his dad Mauro) will forgive his mother and basically how this will affect him.

Amaya listens to Max’s message about how much he loves her. She voice-overs that this is breaking her heart but she has to sacrifice their love to protect her daughter and herself from Lu.

Lu tells Lucio she has to leave because Mauro asked her to. Lucio begs dad on her behalf, but Elo tells him she has to go. Max tells him she’ll be back, and they comfort him. She kisses him goodbye and Lucio is even more excited about this, making it that much more sad. Everyone else looks sad too. (But this actor gets the Oscar of telenovelas).

Cesar has brought champagne to Amaya’s room and they toast. He asks if she wants some fruit from the bowl, and he pulls out a chocolate covered strawberry and holds it out to feed it to her. Ick. Then he tells her she could get any man, and sits down way too close to her to feed her another strawberry. Is Amaya sure she wants to keep up this charade?

Whor has brought Vale over to Juliana’s and the kids go off to play. She invites him in and they talk business. He’s happy to support her at work since they are friends. He’ll even stand up for her in front of Cesar. She tells him about Amaya and Max breaking up over another man. Que??? Que hombre?

Lucio thinks “mam is Buena” and he keeps repeating this. Mauro and Elo stay silent until he leaves. He asks Elo’s opinion about kicking Lu out. I think Elo says he did the right thing if he feels he did. Mauro is mostly concerned that this is the first time that Lucio has felt loved by his mother.

Max has taken Lu to their home in Cuernavaca (“City of Eternal Spring” near of Mexico City where a lot of people go to vacation, or own homes if they’re rich). He’s going to stay so she won’t be alone. She tells him he’s the best son after Lucio. Cesar’s been taken down a few pegs. But Lu wants to be alone to think about stuff. Max tells her to call if she needs anything. He leaves and she looks very upset, in a real sort of way.

 

Wed, cap. 97 pt. 2

Little Cesar (the only way I can think of him without gagging) has taken Amaya to a fancy restaurant. (Pizza! Pizza! Ha). She thinks it’s nice but she’s really more of a country girl. He asks about her childhood, and Amaya starts in on whatever her plan is. She tells him she feels her mother around her. She thinks she’s seen her and smells her perfume in her house. She can’t really explain it, but that’s enough for Little
Cesar to think about for now.

Breakfast at the finca. Jorge is telling Flavia that he’s still impressed by her work. Then he asks Mariana why so quiet. She tells him about Cip wanting Mariana back home. We get a diversion about Flavia’s situation with her parents, then back to Mari where Jorge tells her it’s not worth holding a grudge.

But shut up Jorge, because it is. Cip is gambling again, winning for now. Ulises shows up and the guys there want to bring him into the game. But all Cips winnings isn’t enough to draw Uli in, so Cip puts up his house.

Mariana calls Ivan for his opinion on all this. Beca walks in with some papers and hears a bit of his convo. She asks about his plan to marry, and if he’s really in love or what.

Max is back home and Mauro asks how Lu was. Max doesn’t know what’s going to happen with them, but he needs to move out. He can’t stay there, not just because of his parents, but because of Amaya. He wants to go to El P and deal with that. He can’t be close to Amaya, see her, know anything about her life. Mauro understands. What hurts Max most is not knowing who the other man is. He’d rather go far away than stay there and go crazy thinking about it.

Gambling. Cip has 3 queens but Uli and 3 five’s. Plus a pair of two’s. Uli wins and Cip lost his house. Cip begs Uli to let him try to get his revenge, but Uli says he has nothing to lose. He does though. He has something much more valuable: Mariana. One of the other guys tries to talk sense into him, but why bother? Uli wants to know if she’ll comply and Stupid Worthless Drink says yep.

Ivan is on the phone again talking to Mariana. Beca watches from the window of her aunt’s (Ivan’s mom’s) room. She talks to her tia about about Ivan talking to his novia all the time. She thinks she can get him (her FIRST COUSIN) back. She swears this, even though he’s her FIRST COUSIN. And SHE KNOWS THIS. Maybe she should be Constanza’s new best friend. Nora deserves better, but this girl doesn’t.

Uli buys the bar another round and Stupid Worthless Drunk thinks he’s won for real this time. Nope. Uli wins again and wants title to the house and Marian the next day.

Little Cesar and Amaya get back to her hotel room. She’s a little drunk and worried about being hungover the next day for their conference, or whatever they’re there for. She wants to rest but Little Cesar isn’t having it. He takes more pics of her and tells her it’s too early. He brought her back to change into more comfy shoes. Or maybe it was to put on some less comfy shoes. Whatever. He keeps pressuring her to go out. She finally gets him to accept no by saying they’ll go out the next day. She barely dodges a sliming kiss on the lips from Little Cesar. She thinks to herself that she’ll never love another man like Max. (But can he bring her pizza pizza? Maybe I’m just hungry).

Max tosses paper off his desk while thinking of Amaya. Scenes of memories and happier times. Then he tosses a helpless sculture on the floor and breaks it, while she just cries.

Stupid Worthless Drunk can’t believe he lost again. The luck was with him and Mari will never go along. Decent guy in the bar says she’ll never forgive him, and that he’s un miserable for treating his daughter like property. Some gross guy working for Uli follows him out and says gross stuff about Mariana that I can’t think about enough to write down. He’s generally disgusting. Uli tells him he wants Mariana all to himself.

 

I think a Constanza-filled episode might have been better than this. I know the show is done filming, but I’m still putting in my request for “no rape” for a change. Please let Mariana beat the ever-lovin’ %*#^ out of both Uli and her father.

Kelly

 

Thank you Kelly for this fantastic recap! Love the Little Cesar and pizza! pizza! refrain! Perfect!

How disgusting and stupid is Cip? How equally stupid and arrogant is Uli thinking he can "win" a human being in a poker game? I know there are people this disgusting arrogant and stupid but where are they going with this? At least it will get Mariana to leave Cip for good and go back to El P where she has some protection!

Little Cesar may dress elegantly and be "educated" but he is as disgusting and arrogant as Uli. It is a shame that both "sisters" are in the crosshairs of these brutish, mysoginistic bullies! They both need a sudden testicular extraction and I know these ladies won't do it literally but I hope they do figuratively. Mariana can do so right away though Amaya has to play along with the jerk in her life. UUUUuuf!

Thank you, Kelly!


 

Brilliant work, Kelly. It was a great recap, especially the "mother and child reunion." Thank you.

Don't change a thing, but Beca is actually Ivan's momma and Cecy is the cousin. It was pointed out earlier in her conversation with tia (lejana), that she is a distant relative to her mother, making Ivan distant enough for her to go ahead and try to seduce him.

I couldn't wait to shout this out to everybody here:

What Century are we living in that men can barter their women away? It happened on Que Te Perdono and now here. Does Cip really think he can wrap Mariana up, tie a bow and present her to Uli? He and Uli are two sick animals.

The goon who approached Uli afterwards wanted to have Mariana after Uli was done with her. I shook my head in disbelief as I watched this whole scene.

Kelly, I'm with you. Our feisty Mariana will fight tooth and nail for her dignity and personhood when she finds out what Cip did. Whaaa--is he just going to call her on the phone or go to El P. and say, "Come with me, I have an important meeting at El Deseo?" And she's just going to go? Ugh, Ack, Euuwww and all the rest.

I hope Mariana gets some legal advice once she finds out what her father did. I don't think even in Mexico the authorities would honor such a deal.

Meanwhile, I'm still gagging over Cesar pushing himself on Amaya.

Funny, I'm in the mood for pizza, too.
 

Lila--Testicular extraction, indeed! I'd even go for a trim a la Lorena Bobbitt.
 

Hey,Anita! So they did this in another novela! Unbelieable! I'd never heard of such a thing in a modern day novela! Outrageous! That's why I ask how is this going to play out? Words can not express the contempt I feel for these two knuckle-dragging jerks! Yah! Let's have the Bobbitt bob!
 

Buenas QA amiguis
finally saw Thurs ep and started cheering then went to "oh no she didn't -you can't possibly believe her" and ended up "@#$#$*(&^%$" Max and Mauro's reactions just make me more sure Amaya is right not to include them in her search for justice
I really felt Eloisa & Juli's frustration @ Mauro's belief in Lu - can you imagine how bad it could go if we had the same scene about Lu's more serious crimes?

on Verdugo (what Lulu said Omar was to her) my grandma's old Spanish-English dictionary that's been w/me since I started watching tns says its a tormentor or persecutor. I had to pause and look it up cause it was a new one for me.

I know it probably seems like I'm not here very often but I read more than I comment and I think of all you guys as my funny(in the good way) and interesting(also in the good way) Caray friends and have resolved this yr to comment more(partially because when I heard of Madelaine's death I realized I had never thanked her or let her know how I appreciated her recaps and the songs)

I'm hoping to catch up today and be ready for Mon It really throws me off when R/L interferes w/my telenovela schedule. I think the problem is I'm trying to watch 3 tns and that is 1.5 more than I need but they are all good and I don't want to stop any one of them. But since QA is the only one to be recapped I think I will rearrange things so I watch that first and keep up. Hopefully;)
 

Kelly- Muchas gracias for the wonderful recap!

Yeah. I don't see how Cip and Uli possibly think Mariana will go along with this. It's not like anything else Uli has tried (threats, blackmail, pressure) has worked with her so far. She has always told him and Cip to go to hell. She's going to be pissed when she hears about this deal.

I could feel Elo and Juli's frustration as they watched the men in their family (Lucio, Max, Mauro) fall for Lucrazy's act. Suckers! It was most painful to watch Lucio so damn happy that his mom was showing him affection. That's probably the most she's ever touched, hugged, and kissed him in his entire life! For that alone, Mauro should have kicked her out a long time ago.
 

Thanks Kelly,

Excellent detail-laden recap.
Thanks for joining the team.

I have nothing new to add. I will remain resolute in my Anti-Amaya stance. No arguments put forth here have been able to convince me otherwise.

Similarly, like Don Mauro, I'm going to keep hoping for the Return of Florencia

If she is dead -- and when Mauro eventually learns about all of Lucrecia's crimes, I fear that he will die of horror, shame, guilt, and sadness -- along with his already weakened heart. I fear, as has been portended, that we will witness a commingling of his and Florencia's remains at the end of this tragic tale.
 

Floridia--
You can be all the Anti-Amaya here you want and be in a safe haven to express it.

Amaya is definitely an amateur purveyor of pay-back while Cesar is a pro at pay-out and no-pay-me-back. The worst I can say about Amaya is she hasn't thought this all the way through--the long term effects on all the family members.

This is based on Max's sudden filial love and concern for his mamma. Amaya would have that to contend with on top of keeping Cesar out of her bed.

SneakyTwoShoes--
Yes, do speak up. It keeps us engaged. Speaking of our dear Madelaine, they are re-broadcasting Un Refugio Para El Amor at 1 o'clock every night on Uni.

I'm following along with the recaps and Madeline was carrying a lot of these 2-hour episodes by herself for awhile. Her voice comes through loud and clear--I can almost see her working her magic. This was a woman who never studied Spanish formally, but picked it up the way she had Italian when she was in the service. She gave us lots of new phrases which we are still using--just sayin', wait for it, be back in a tick. Loved her use of language--like listening to an old time story-teller.

Vivi, you and Kelly were there, I'm sure you would agree.

Lila--Did you ever get to watch this one? You should--it has that QA feeling to it, smartly written, (pretty) well cast, good story.

I started watching (on my DVR) and had forgotten how much I liked it. It keeps the small pueblo culture separate from the sophisticated urban culture with Luciana bridging the two without being condescending. The first two or four episodes set up our heroine's departure from the pueblo for the city. Don Aquiles is over the top silly, bombastic and mean, but if you make it through that, it gets really good.
 

Oh, STS--Thanks for the much better definition of Verdugo. When I first heard her say it, I thought it would translate to something like, he was my Calvary. What I gave you was from my 1959 Cassell's Sp/Eng dictionary. I also have their French and their German dictionaries.

The new Header will be posted tomorrow around noon, so feel free to keep on commenting here until then. The recapping schedule, such as it is, will also get posted in the first comment.

Also, I'll be recapping tomorrow, Monday.
 

Anita, thanks for the clarification on Beca and Cecy. (And please anyone feel free to make any corrections as needed). Doesn't make either one of them any more likeable. If Beca wanted to be a good mother, she'd tell Cecy to back off because he's already in love. Ivan needs to get back El p, stat.

Kelly
 

Welcome sneaky two shoes! Always glad to have another voice around the fire! This is certainly a good one to share with friends and a wonderful Spanish learning or brush-up vehicle!

Floridia, we welcome your holding Amaya's feet to the fire and admire your firmly held position on her "strategy"! Your view on how it will end for Mauro IS very sad but could well be true. I can understand your holding out hope for Florencia: she is as real and present a character as the other players because Mauro's love has kept her alive. This story is touching a lot of emotional buttons!

Anita, no I did not see Un Refugio Para El Amor. Is that 1 AM it comes on? Oh, dear, maybe I'll look for it on hulu+. Sounds good, thanks!

What a week it's been with the Meontesino/Serano et. al. bunch! I just hope we don't have to cringe too much over Little Cesar's attempts to bust a move on Amaya! We don't have much romance right now, do we? It ought to be interesting, whatever happens!
 

Anita,

Thanks for mentioning Refugio.
I will not be watching it again, but I was thinking that if Vivi or you could contact Madelaine's family with this news -- especially her daughter -- they might want to read all that Mads had written.

If it were my mother, I would be so wanting to keep in touch with her that way. It would be a most wonderful gift. There's no way of knowing whether or not the family was aware of all the writing Madelaine did.

I would contact the family if you were not to do so, but I think it would be more appropriate coming from Vivi, who, I believe, was the main go-between from Caray.

Anita, could you please post this message on Monday's slot in case Vivi does not revisit this page.

Thank you for this consideration.


All the best,
 

Floridia- What a nice suggestion. I will surely send Mad's daughter a note. Although I think the love for telenovelas was purely Mads' thing, not shared by her family. But they were proud of her recapping.
 

Thanks so much, Vivi,

Mad's daughter might want to save her recaps to savor at a future time.

As always,you're the greatest!
 

What a lovely note to end a rather turbulent week on QA and look forward to the next.

Mads would have loved recapping this one, or better yet, Que Te Perdone Dios.

The new header will be up in a little bit. See you all there.