Thursday, February 25, 2016

El Hotel de los Secretos #22, 2/24/16 Wednesday: Belen Bumps Off Rival Baby Bump and a Carta Quest Arrested

Old Doc Vacarrio looks from the balcony above as Julio and Isabel enjoy a bit of passionate lip locking.  Unfortunately for Julio, Isa doesn’t know her heart and leaves him panting and puzzled.  (So what else is new?)  She wants peace and he just wants a piece…. What’s this couple to do?  Sage Lazaro secretly continues sucking his cigar.  Isa goes to bed and stares at the four walls of her bedroom while Julio runs to the city and sobs to himself.

The next morning, heartbreak reigns in the hotel kitchen as well. 


Upstairs, Mercedes’ mischievous sis notices as Felipe sneaks out of her bedroom.

In town at the jail, Diego snipes at Detective Ayala for keeping him in jail even though Diego is no longer under suspicion.  “—All your well-laid plans are going to backfire [salir el tiro por la culata= lit, a shot in the hindquarters…er butt end].” Ayala tells him, essentially, that until the judge gives him the go ahead to let him loose, Diego can take his butt end and shove a huge prickly pear up it.  (Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding!!!!)

Back at breakfast in the hotel, Sissy Eugenia looks suggestively on at Felipe who sneers at the toast old Papa General gives to the supposed “happy ending” to the scandalous love affair.  Dona Angela overhears the talk about the engagement dinner that evening where the statesman Gongora will be attending. 

Ange heads straight into the kitchen to inform Don Lupe and tells him to toss the tortitas tonight since Don Gongora is dining there this evening.  Don Benjamin returns to work in the kitchen.  He rips on Lupe.  “--Is Don Lupe still here?”  “--Oh yes, very much alive and with my tail a wagging [colear].”

It’s not enough to nag, but oh, knowing Lupe’ll have to fix that dinner that evening Benji plans some big inventory instead.  Angie steps in and punches a hole in that, big time.  "--Dona Teresa has a big dinner planned for that evening and Don Lupe needs numerous items for it."  She orders Jacinto to drive his dad into town to pick up provisions for the special meal he’s planning and shoots a high-brow eyebrow at big-headed and pig-headed ol’ Benji.

At the same time, Sissy threatens Felipe with telling her papi about the nightly nookie he’s been getting from Mercedes all this time if he doesn’t come to her room that night for their own bit of a bedroom brio.  Felipe is definitely down for that!

Outside, Belen feigns friendship with Violeta and they have tea on break together.  Belen sneaks a pile of the abortion herb that Dona Teresa gave her a while back into Violeta’s tea cup.  The girl drinks it all up and within a few hours she starts having horrible cramps.

In town, Jacinto and his father fight uhhhhh-gain.  And, in the meantime Diego wanders out of the jailhouse and finds Jacinto pouting.  Diego gets a lift back to the hotel and Lupe is left to walk home with his purchases.

Later that morning, Isa asks Julio to take her to meet Cristina.  He fights the idea but eventually gives in.  (Did we ever doubt it?  He’s ready to do anything to please the love of his life, despite her turning bitchy towards him.) 

Diego goes to see Alfredo and threatens him with taking his directorship back.  Teresa arrives and Freddie leaves.  Once alone with gold-digger Di, she gives him a belt across the chops and asks how dare he leave Cristina Olmedo alive????!!!!!  He’s there cuz he wants his old job back and the fact that Cris is still alive exonerates him.  Well, the fact that he’s bedded all the babes who work for her is bad mojo and now that he’s had suspicion thrown his way, well it throws mud on the hotel’s reputation as well.  She wants him miles away from her hotel.  He threatens with giving away the contents in that letter he read from Romulo.  And that will most definitely splash mud on her and her hotel as well.  So, he’ll agree to put up with being the assistant hotel director for now.  As far as her daughter is concerned….

Teresa stops Diego in his tracks there.  He’s literally screwed the pooch on that one.  Nothing he or she says or does will change that—or her daughter’s mind.

Dr. V is brought in to secretly assist in saving Violeta’s life, let alone her pregnancy.  He asks Vi if she ate or drank anything.  Vi admits to drinking some tea.  This gives Angie an idea.  She goes up and searches through Belen’s drawers.  Belen just happens to walk by and notices when Angie pulls out the bag of herbs.  No matter.  What’s done is done and Vi has ultimately lost her baby.

Later on, Diego has a chat with the Goon de Garrido.  He offers that nobody was gone the day that there was supposed to be a witness testify against Diego- at least, according to what Andres claims.  Diego doesn’t believe it for a minute.  No, the little mice are beginning to revolt around there and he’s gonna put a stop to it.  They’ve all got something to hide and he’s going to pay them back in kind [con su propio pagaré]. 

Back in town, at the carpenter’s shop, Isa shows up with Julio and he argues with Crissy to take a moment to talk to Isabel.  Cris sees her as a threat.  “--The rich stay that way because they always do what’s in their own best interest and to Hell with the little people like themselves!  Can’t you understand that Little Bro’?  You haven’t told her about the letter, have you?”  He did of course, because it was the last letter her beloved father wrote!

Cris says it could destroy Isabel Alarcon and it’s worth more to them as a means of getting even and even getting rich off it.  (Excuse me but I think it’s called blackmail and/or extortion.  Sorry, Julio. Yeppers, all the nasty stuff they said about his big sis is true.)  “--¡Dios Mio!  You’ve changed, Cristina!”  “—That hotel and the Alarcons all changed me!”  He backs away in disgust and invites Isa in.  (Really? In his waiter’s tux, guys?  In all that dirt and muck?  Isa couldn’t wait till he changed out of his uniform?) 

Angela finds Jacinto and takes him to Vi’s sick room where he helps out Dr. Vacarrio. 

Isa confronts Cristina and asks what was in the letter.  Cris lies and says she never read it.  “—Excuse me?  Then how can you say you can get money out of it?”  Er, uh…because of the way her daddy, ol' Romulo, gave it to her in secret and made her swear not to let her mother ever read it.   Or, why would they have tried leaving her for dead in the pond?  Trying to get her out of the way at any cost, she replies.  “--They wanted? Who?” Hey, girlie, we all know that in that hotel nothing, not even a single sheet of paper, moves without Dona Teresa’s say-so.  Isa refuses to listen to her mother being accused of murder.  (Awww, there could be worse things in Telenovelaland.  Just ask those of us in Viewerville.)   

Lupe finally arrives back in the kitchen dragging his baskets and bundles.  Benji starts barking at him till finally Lupe’s listened to enough.  Out comes the butcher’s knife. “—I’ve already asked you nicely.  No more Mr. Nice Guy!”  [o por las buenas o por las malas] Get outta my kitchen!  Benji can take a hint—er when you put it that way….. (I gotta say, that has to have been the best scene of this entire tn so far!  ¡Bravo!  Three snaps up!)

Julio finally get Cristina to give in.  She tells him where she hid the letter.  It’s I the hotel in the cutlery cabinet, in the first drawer.

Across town in the jailhouse, Ayala does his autopsy on the man found in the street.  A sharp instrument [arma blanca] with a serrated edge [serrado] and an acute point [punto agudo] did the guy in with a cut to the ribs.  Viewerville assumes it matches the gold blade point he kept from the murdered hooker.  Ayala and Dagoberto head back to El Grand Hotel. 

And, if matters weren’t bad enough for poor Violeta, Genaro and Melea race through the kitchen till they find her in bed with bloody towels all over the place.  Dr. V tells Melea that Vi lost the baby.  There was nothing he could do about it.  At least she’s alive, is the underlying meaning…..  Melea takes a moment to grieve and to say a bit of a prayer—if only to herself.  Genaro threatens Lazaro and says he wants Violeta sent back as soon as she can walk again or else!  “—The law won’t look kindly on doctors who kidnap pregnant girls and bring them back home without the baby.”   

Jacinto is still in the room, watching Melea and the suffering, sobbing love of his life.  Despite his protestations to whomever would listen, the kid’s world is rocked to its foundations.  Dr. V walks the blubbering man-boy outside to counsel and console him.  Belen walks over to Andres and Natalia while they’re discussing how Vi has just lost her baby.    Belen acts like she hadn’t known a thing.  Angela walks up to her son and has him join her.  With a meaningful glance in Belen’s direction she comments, “—Let’s go somewhere else.  The kitchen has the stench of garbage.” (Ain't it da truth!)

In the dining room the engagement dinner begins with toasting.  Sissy fakes weariness and exits stage left.  Felipe fakes a need to look for Don Lupe so the General can congratulate him on the meal and he exits stage right with a definite detour left right afterward.  He and Sissy get busy.

Outside, Ayala sweet talks Freddie into allowing him into the cutlery cabinet for a quick look-see.  He manages to arrive on the scene where Julio and Isa are frantically searching for the letter.  Ayala speaks up.  “—What are you doing in here and what aren’t you finding?”





Labels:


Comments:
Thank you in advance, Jardinera... I got my usual early-Wednesday-night zzzs and had a hard time staying focused even when I was awake. I still got a lot of it, but I also missed a lot and am feeling a bit lost this morning. :-(
 

The CC on my TV kept going out or being too slow so I feel like I missed a lot too. So frustrating!
 

Almost done, gang. There's bee a sight title change as I was watching this at 1AM myself and watched the last half with only one eye open.
 

ok. It's up. Enjoy. I enjoyed last night's episodio. It's all been pretty good tongue-in-cheek humor mixed in with the mystery and drama. Last night between Ayala's tiff with gold-digging Di and Lupe's dust up with Benji, it made for pretty much must watch t.v.
 

A few comments:

I'm sick to death of Jacinto's bad attitude.

I'm sick to death of Felipe's drunken antics.

Even though I still think Belen is not entirely about the greed, I no longer have any sympathy for her. Looking forward to her karmageddon.

Looks like from the previews Sofia is having a hysterical pregnancy. Is it possible for her body to keep growing to full term size? If so, they could substitute Belen's/Diego's baby without her knowing it.

Doc is real concerned about the girls. Makes me believe even more he might be their long lost uncle.

Something I remembered from yesterday's recap. Seems that Violeta wasn't aware of the baby scheme.

Nanette
 

Long lost uncle? I like that idea, Nanette.
 

Yes, yes, Nanette, I agree with you-

What's up with Don Benji's attitude? I don't remember him being like this with Lupe before, was he? Isn't this something they came up with abruptly for no reason and doesn't make a lotta sense?

What's up with Cristina's ''they killed my father'' and now deserve to pay, attitude? So far, there's no connection between the gringos and the Alarcones that I know of. Why is she being so terrorist like making justs pay for sins of others (makes more sense in spanish)... and lastly

''Hacer con su culo un papalote'' is a saying we use that means each one is free, even to do with their butt a kite if they want, and send it to fly up int he air. I don't know why it is a kite and not another item, but the only reason Ayala used culata (butt of the rifle) instead of culo (his butt) is because Diego used that word first, when he said Ayala's plan backfired on him.
 

Welcome, Pablo Villalobos:
With the CC I saw nopalote and just went with that since Word Reference shows culata as a vulgar reference to arse in Br.and ass in the US, it made about the same sense only a bit more crude and a whole lot funnier the way it was CC'd. But to each his own..... : ? ))
 

Thanks Jardinera. Again the cc's were of NO help in making sense out of what was said.

Was no one, especially Andres, surprised to see Benjamin reappear? He just appeared in the kitchen like he had never left. So I guess Andres is back to being just a waiter/servant/slave.

Christina is really annoying. Poor Julio is even disillusioned by his sister. And, right now, Isabel is also annoying because she refuses to give Julio a break. With the return of the dreaded Diego, I hope she doesn't cave into his desires.

Presently it's a toss up as to who wins the most evil character award: Diego, Donna Teresa or Belin.
 

Yeah, I guess that everybody is free to stick a prickly pear up their butt too if that's what they want to do, right? Jajaja. I remember that during the PEAM recap, we talk about another mexican saying: Parir chayotes. Being in deep trouble. I don't know how chayote translates to english, but there are two kinds, the smooth one and the prickly one. Is it like mexican squash? Have you seen it in the mexican areas in stores?

Papalote, guila, cometa, are just three of the words we use for kites. But Guila is also as we call prostitutes and cometa is that shooting star we see from time to time. I guess spanish is complicated, like they say in this video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LjDe4sLER0
 

Thanks Jardinera!

Nanette, I'm also confused now about what Violeta knew about Sofia & Doc's plan.
 

Chayote is pretty commonly found, especially since it's eaten in other Latin American countries. Of course, it depends where you live. Certain states and cities are not going to have much of anything from other cultures.

I'd be fine with Belen getting knifed.
I'm wondering if the doctor will realize that Violeta was given something to lose the baby, and seeing as how Belen benefits, he might figure it out; not to mention that if he mentions it to Doña Teresa she will put two and two together.

-
 

Thank you Jardinera!! I actually watched this very quickly on Hulu early this morning before heading to work. Very quickly, so appreciate the detail.

Color me surprised that Benji is back, and with a vengeance. Boy, full of himself much. He seems to have it out for Lupe, and I wonder if that's a territorial thing over the lovely Angela. Glad Lupe spoke up for himself though. Knife do like to be wielded in this story.

Sort of sealed it for me last night that I'm not loving Cristina, but I think she is there in the story for a reason. Seems to me her attitude is most likely indicative of the current happening at this time with the landowners/politicians versus the revolutionaries starting to stir ever stronger. If the gringos had attacked the town she and Julio came from, more than likely there was a strong presence there of the "new wave" ideas and she has been sucked into it stronger than Julio. Ironically, it was her brother who went to jail, but she may be the one with the strong political leanings. Her idea to use the letter for money and gain, while spouting her rhetoric sounds an awful lot like what Diego is about too.

Speaking of whom. I think her eyes are opening. She may be shouting support for her mother, but when she turned her back, she didn't look so sure.

Poor Vio. May Belen burn in you know where. And hopefully Jacinto had a few nightmares over what he saw that poor girl go through. But now she goes back to that cantina? Crap.

I'm starting to not care about Felipe and the whole musical maidens.

Daisynjay


 

I saw Angela finding the little bag of ''ruda'' and I also saw Belen seeing Angela seeing the little bag. After this, Angela can be pretty worse than Don Banjas with Belen, making her pay for what she has done. I wouldn't mind if Violeta finds out too and hits Belen with a hot iron right there so this can become ''El hotel de los abortos'' LOL! Enter pregnant, leave with no baby!
 

Thank you, Jardinera! Fantastic recap. I couldn't stay awake last night but couldn't wait to find out what happened and I feel like I saw it already!

Sigh. Poor Violeta. I hope they find a way to keep her away from the cantina. I am sort of hoping she and Andres will end up together...she's a huge trade up from Belen, and he is a huge trade up from Jacinto! She is rather young, but maybe they could have a long chaste courtship first.

Felipe and both sisters are nasty. And he couldn't even wait until the dinner was over to go boink Eug? Ugh. I still can't believe Mercedes actually carried on with him immediately after catching him in the spa with Eugenia. These sisters take their competition to a really unhealthy level.

Cristina is turning out to be quite morally challenged. Well, that's something Julio and Isabel have in common now...family members who aren't turning out to be as good as they thought or hoped! And we have confirmation that Teresa did in fact want Cristina killed.

Chayote is readily available here; I eat it sometimes. It's always labeled as chayote. I don't know an English word for it.
 

Chayote is the English name for it, much the way a jalapeño is a jalapeño in English. It goes by different names in other Latin American countries, such as tayota in the Dominican Republic.
 

Actually it's also called mirliton, but I've never heard anyone else use it.
 

chayote liso o chayote espinoso?
 

Jardinera--I'm so grateful to you for your recap. It certainly fleshed out all the special sayings I just can't catch, since I don't use CCs. I rewind sometimes three or four times and it still doesn't sound coherent.

Didn't we all wonder if Benji would show up AFTER another killing? He did seem pumped up and high on adrenaline. It would fit the bill as a serial killer. He reaches a low point where he needs to kill, does so, feels great after wards until the cycle starts again.

I'm going to bet the letter was never in the cutlery drawer. It was just a coincidence that Ayala caught Isa and Julio there, but I think Cris sent them on a wild goose chase, just to get rid of them. They will let her know it's not there and she can say then someone else found it and took it.

So, Dona Teresa is violently upset that Cristina is alive and Diego isn't, so much? Hmmm. That should tell us that Cristina is still a liability to Teresa...and....that Teresa knows the content of the letter. This can only mean Diego told her the contents.

I was truly sorry Violeta lost her baby. What on earth was Belen thinking? She knows Angela knows that Angela gave her the potion to get rid of her own baby. I am also pretty sure, with a houseful of young women, that Angela has had to make use of it before and knows the symptoms of a miscarriage brought on by that poison--she did warn Belen, didn't she, of the consequences of using too much.
 

Liso. We don't get the prickly kind.

As for the show, I just really don't care about Mercedes and Eugenia. If Felipe weren't a worthless sack of crap I might care a little, but there's just nothing compelling about this storyline. I wish Felipe had run off right out of the show.

-Annie
 

Chayote/mirlitons were quite common in the cuisine of New Orleans back in the 1930s when my parents lived there. We never saw any in the mid-Atlantic until we had a sufficiently large Hispanic population to merit it being trucked in. In our grocery stores they are called chayote.

I haven't ever tried one, but I'm intrigued. I have an old N.O. recipe for Mirlitons stuffed with ground ham and chopped shrimp. Hmmmm. I'm off to the grocery store right now for some ingredients. I'll let you know how it turns out.
 

We only seem to get chayote liso here. I like it sauteed in a bit of butter, and then add a little vinegar and honey.

Benjamin had only been planning to be away for a short time, right? To "visit his sick son"? Someone should ask him how the son is doing. Why has he come back in such a mood?

If Matilde can't get the local pharmacist to stock condoms, she should go into business herself. Teresa might have a meltdown, but I think they would (or at least SHOULD) sell like hotcakes at the hotel.
 

Thank you Jardinera! I enjoyed this episode, with all it's twists and turns, although I felt terribly for poor Violeta. I knew as soon as Belen got her hands on the stuff that she would use it on Vi. I hope she hasn't done permanent damage to the poor girl. Now, how is Doc Vic going to keep Vi out of the brothel?

I'm enjoying Cris being such a troublemaker and a liar. It would be so boring otherwise. Plus, she's right about Diego and Teresa! I did laugh when poor Julio was listing her bad deeds in horror-- 2 lovers, theft, lying! She's not the sister he once knew.

In Jamaica we call chayote chocho. It's very common there, and we put it in soups quite often. When I lived in Haiti, it is called by the French name mirliton. In every place in the U.S. I've lived, the grocery stores have labeled it chayote squash.
 

Wow, thank you again, Jardinera. I must have snoozed a lot more last night than I thought.

Of course the letter wasn't hidden in the cutlery drawer. Why would it be? What kind of hiding place would that be?? It would be found by the staff next time they needed the knives. Ridiculous. Does Cris know something else about that drawer?

Anita, it wasn't Angela who warned Belen about taking too much ruda. It was Teresa. Angela wasn't in on any of the Belen baby scheme at all and as far as she knows, Andres is going to be raising Belen's little demon-child.


 

Julie--my bad. Then I'm at a loss as to how Angela knew exactly where to look.
 

Anita- She didn't know exactly where to look. She ransacked Belen's things. She was suspicious because she saw Belen and Violeta having tea together (the only thing Vi said she ingested) before Vi miscarried.
 

Awesome Jardineria thank you.

“—Excuse me?"

I was really, really wrong about Belen. Self preservation is one thing but she preyed on the unsuspecting girl and almost killed her. Hate that she knows Angela knows.

Ok, so the contents of the letter was the leverage Diego used to become engaged to Isabel. If it was that damning then it still is and Teresa is bluffing.

Cristina's rant does seem political considering the time and place but likely used to justify what she's done. I think Cristina thought the letter was her ticket out with Diego but he saw a bigger prize.

I don't see why Isabel has anything to do with Julio now. It's not about justice but blackmail and lies and despite Julio's disappointment it is his sister that started this.

 

In US we call it chayote or mirliton, Taste is similar to summer squash, even more bland. I have only seen smooth ones. Used a lot in Creole cooking.
 

Oh, and add blackmail to the list of things about the New Cristina that horrified Julio. He and sis need to have a serious talk about what's up with her.
 

Vivi--I meant she didn't ransack anyone else's room. She headed right for Belen's. Ok, I concede she may have had a strong suspicion if she remembered the two of them having tea together, but for me, it's still a stretch.
 

Many thanks for this brilliant recap, Jardinera! I love your style and your sense of humor! :)

Poor Violeta! She can't seem to catch a break! From beatings and insults in the cantina to humiliation and bullying at the Gran Hotel, and now a forced abortion that endangers her life. :( Belén is now firmly on my list of anvil-worthy characters.

The more I discover about Cristina, the more I dislike her. I think she might even turn out to be one of the baddies (and not the amusing kind). I hope she snaps out of it for Julio's sake but things aren't looking good.

Speaking of things going sour, whatever happened to "I love every piece of you" and "my family is not my family if they can't see how wonderful a person you are"? Wasn't Isabel ready to face anyone and anything for the man she loves? Nope! 24 hours (and two smooches) later, she breaks up with the poor lad: "I can't! I can't", she then squeezes a couple of tears and bails out on her big luuurve! Ugh! Regina Montenegro, is that you? Is "fickle heifer syndrome" spreading from PyP to this novela as well? Isabel, you're temporarily on my pronTONTAnista list. Sorry, love. You earned it.

Just a wee rectification if I may. Ayala told Diego: "Es usted libre de hacer de su culata un papalote", literally meaning: "You are free to turn your (rifle) butt into a kite." There is a Mexican expression that says: "Hacer de su culo un papalote", meaning to fly by the seat of one's pants or to do whatever one feels like doing. Since I imagine they can't say "culo" on TV, Ayala used "culata" instead. I also noticed that Univision bleeped "carajo" yesterday when Melibea asked Genaro if he liked the new stage décor and he replied: "What the (bleep) do I do with a stage if I don't have an artist?". Arturo Montenegro over on PyP said "carajo" quite a few times. I wonder if he got bleeped too.

One last remark before I go, when Diego and Garrido were talking about Andrés in the hotel lobby, Diego asked his Idiot Goon to "go get Alzabel (sp?)". I wonder who Alzabel is. Is he Idiot Goon N°2 or some dangerous criminal who might turn out to be the Gold Knife Murderer? (I still can't wrap my head around the fact that there is a killer roaming the countryside with his own personal supply of gold knives, waiting for the next full moon to stab his next victim with expensive cutlery! My beanie needs tightening for sure!)

Thanks again, Jardinera! I'll be back after dinner and after reading the comments. Catch you guys soon! :)

 

Did/does Doc Laz think that Jacinto was a candidate for father of Violeta's baby? Because he has lectured him a few times on taking responsibility and following through, and I wasn't sure if he meant he thought Jacinto and Violeta were together and intimate and then Jacinto found out about her extracurriculars and turned on her, or if he meant just Jacinto making an intial sort of attempt to rescue her, and then not continuing to help her.
 

Julia- Jacinto told the Doc early on that he is not the father, so Doc is on him more about it being his moral responsibility to finish what he started when he decided to be a hero. And we/he clearly saw that Jacinto is important to Vi, as he was the only person she called for as she was writhing in pain.
 

Jardinera: finally got to read the recap. Loved it.

Anita: I don't see it as a stretch for Angela to suspect Belen right off.
 

The doc asked if Violeta drank something, and I think Violeta said tea, and that's when Angela's expression changed and she knew right away that Belen probably had something to do with it since she had seen Violeta drinking tea with Belen earlier. I think Belen had said that Violeta made the tea for her but Angela knows what's up!

Loved her line about smelling garbage in the corner, obviously directed right at Belen! LOL

I do think it's a bit of stretch for Isabel to suddenly be backing away from Julio after what she said earlier, but I suppose they need to throw in some angst and keep them apart sometimes. Julio definitely needs to side with Isabel and tell his no good sister to go away. Isabel is still involved with Julio/Cristina since she wants to find out the secret that's in the letter, and why Cristina thinks her mother could be a murderer. I'm wondering how long it will take to find out what's in that letter, since Julio doesn't really have another reason to work at the hotel if he's found Cristina... though I suppose he could stick around to help Ayala catch the serial killer.
 

Apologies for the duplication, Pablo had kindly explained the "papalote" expression in a previous post. I just finished reading the comments. So many interesting observations:

-- Nanette: I like your theory that the Doc may be the Alarcón girls' uncle. He's so paternal and understanding with them, I really hope he's in their lives to protect them from Teresa and Diego's schemes. I would be heartbroken if the Doc turns out to be a baddie. He and Ayala are the voices of reason in this show and my favorite characters.

-- Pablo: Benji displayed an antagonistic attitude towards Lupe many times before. As far as I can remember, he's always been dismissive at best with Lupe, when he's not outright nasty to him. However, yesterday, Benji went too far in his bullying and Lupe was having a terrible day as it is, so the usually meek "cocinero" exploded in anger and hit right back at Benji. And rightly so. I find Benjamín intriguing as a character (I wonder what he's hiding) and I like the actor playing him but I sense that there is a nastiness about him that goes beyond his mockery of his subordinates, his verbal digs at Lupe and his brown-nosing to the Boss Lady. There's something about this character that I don't like.

-- Floodgate: Glad to know you're a member of the "I dislike Cristina" club! Boy was she a disappointment! Some of us even thought she was a political activist fighting for social justice in her country. What a let-down she turned out to be!

-- Anon @ 12:43 pm: "I'd be fine with Belen getting knifed" Hahahaha! Me too! I think both Angie and the Doc are onto Belén; it's just a matter of knowing what they do with that information.

-- Daisynjay: At first, I too believed Cristina was an activist struggling to make the ideas of liberty, equity and justice prevail in her country but now I think she is nothing but a vulgar blackmailer motivated by the lure of the mighty buck.

-- Julia: I hope Felipe gets syphilis and dies! I thought he was just a harmless drunk, a cowardly mama's boy, but he's getting more and more odious with each episode.

-- Anita: I think Teresa knows the contents of that letter too. Whether Diego revealed all the things he read in that letter to her or not is moot, in my opinion. I suppose she knows better than anyone what she did and she can't risk someone exposing even a fraction of her misdeeds because the rest of her secrets will be exposed too as a result. Only she knows the extent of her villainous deeds. I think (hope) that the Doc is there to expose her and her crimes.
As for Benji, I'm keeping my eyes peeled for the next time he gets a leave. I'm finding this guy more and more suspicious.
 

-- Annie: What puzzles me the most about that icky trio is the fact that two nice-looking young ladies from a prominent family would fight over Felipe! He is such a loser and a colossal jerk, to boot! I fail to see the source of his irresistible mojo here!

-- Vivi: I feel so sorry for Cristina's Lover/Sucker N°2. Poor Pascual died in vain!

-- Julie: When Cristina told Julio that the letter was in the top drawer of the armoire/cabinet that's in the cutlery room, my mind automatically recalled that scene of Ayala opening the golden knives' drawer and finding a knife missing. I feel that the secret letter and the gold knife murders are related somehow.

-- Tofie: Belén is dead to me! I was giving her the benefit of the doubt and hoping she might redeem herself despite her vile manipulation of Andrés. However, what she did to poor Violeta is unforgivable.
Had I not seen Cristina having a grand old time in the bed of the moustached vulture, I would've forgiven her and believed her sob story. Nevertheless, she was sleeping with Diego while pretending to love Pascual. She put that poor boy in harm's way and she manipulated him into implementing her blackmail scheme. Pascual is dead partly because of her.
 

-- J: Thanks for mentioning that "Let's go talk somewhere else. I smell garbage here!" line. I chuckled at that one too. Love it when Ángela gets catty!
 

Nandicta, are you sure Cris was sleeping with Diego while seeing Pascual? Their romance could have started in the last two months while he nursed her back to health in his carpentry workshop. He might have been in love with her way before that, but it doesn't mean she gave him the time of day before that. Or she could have ended things with Diego some time between when they were rolling in bed with the letter, and when he tried to kill her, and started to see Pascual during that time. Just saying we don't know the timeline of any of this yet.
 

Thank you for the recap Jardinera.

Nandicta, I heard Diego tell Genaro to go get Alzabel too, but I thought the ccs were just miswritten and meant to read Isabel. But if you don't watch with ccs, then I suspect it is a new character.

Don Benjamin said he was only going to be gone 5 days, so it's no surprise that he's back. But I agree that his being more angry than usual makes me believe even more in my theory that he's the killer.

So what could possibly be in the letter? It scared Romulo, it incriminates Diego and Teresa, and Cristina was probably using it against Teresa in that last conversation she had with her before she left. And it incriminates them so much that Diego tried to kill her and we learned today that Teresa was also behind wanting her dead.

Cristina read the letter, it said, dear Laureano, I'm afraid the situation has become unsustainable. I rue the day that I asked for his (your?) help. None of this would be happening if it weren't for Diego Montejo.
So who is Laureano, and what could Diego have done that Teresa would back him up? Romulo didn't want Teresa to know about the letter either.
What could the situation be?


 

If Benjamin is the killer, maybe he's mad because he wanted to kill a young woman as usual, but then his attempt was thwarted and the police came out hunting so then he panicked and stabbed a man instead, and now his theme is all messed up.

I don't know why Isabel was so eager to go get Diego off the hook. Even if he isn't the killer, she still knows that he shoved Cristina in the pond and left her for dead. Maybe she isn't sure she trusts Cristina's story, but besides that, she knows he wasn't where he insisted he was at the lights party, and that he killed Pascual without even trying anything else, and she knows he's an overall sleazebag creep who always has her followed.

I think Diego should hook up with Felipe and Eugenia and Belen and they can all go die of venereal disease together somewhere.
 

Julia, I don't think that Isabel believes any part of Cristina's story, including Diego's attempt to kill her. The fact that she's alive is enough evidence to make Isabel think she's lying about that too.


I don't know why Mercedes would still want to marry Filipe after knowing that he's been cheating on her with her sister. Does she think that it will stop once they are married?
 

Oh, one more thing. Julio has to remember that he has a key from Cristina's stuff. He needs to investigate where that key fits. She may have put the letter back where she initially got it since she has the key to it. Or, the key is to another different drawer where the letter is.
 

-- Vivi: The reason I suspect Cristina was having a relationship with Pascual at the same time as she was boinking Diego is because:
1) Andrés, her best friend, knew that Cristina was dating Pascual.
2) Belén, her roommate, knew that Pascual was Cristina's boyfriend and that she gave him Papa Olmedo's cufflinks as a gift.
3) There was a short time lapse between Cristina's last letter where she said she was promoted and her disappearance.

Seeing how Belén was complaining in Episode 1 about Cristina's fast rise in the hotel hierarchy, I feel that the events that Cristina endured from getting her hands on the letter, to revealing the letter's contents to Diego, to being promoted, to nearly getting murdered, all happened pretty close to one another. I may be wrong but this is my understanding of this timeline. After stressing over the fate of a missing and possibly dead Cristina for so many weeks, I'm really disappointed with the Cristina that showed up. Maybe that's why I'm coming down too hard on her. :)

-- Cathyx: I watch online so no CCs for me. My Spanish hearing is finetuned but I tend to space out or do other things while watching TNs. Your comment made me go back and watch that scene again between Diego and Garrido. Sure enough, Diego said: "Busca a Isabel". It was very clear and reading Diego's lips confirmed it too. He definitely said Isabel. I was looking at my phone when that scene came on and because Diego was talking about getting back at Andrés for his lies, thanks to the promissory note he made him sign, I thought he wanted Garrido to enlist the help of some other goon to harm Andrés in some way. Also, he told Garrido to go look for and/or get Isabel (buscar goes both ways), which was an odd way of phrasing things because he usually charges Garrido of following Isabel or spying on her. That threw me off too. Thanks for bringing this to my attention and apologies for my mistake. If it weren't for you, I would've been waiting in vain for the mysterious goon Alzabel to show up! :D

Many thanks for mentioning that first line from the letter. That's how I remember too. That first line definitely accuses Diego of something. The name "Laureano" did not stick in my memory, so thanks for mentioning it in your post. I don't know who this "Laureano" person might be. Maybe an attorney or a close friend. Or maybe it's the Doc's real name? (Dun-dun-duuuuun!)


 

Romulo didn't say who to give the letter to, did he? He only said hide it & not give it to Teresa. What good is a letter unless the right person gets it. Maybe Romulo told Laureano to ask Cristina for the letter. ah ha, maybe the Doc is Laureano.
Romulo trusted Cristina, so I'm still pulling for her.
 

-- Variopinta: You're right. He only asked Cristina to hide the letter from Teresa. Maybe he was meaning to give Cristina further instructions but spent his precious last supply of air emphasizing the important directive that Teresa must not get her dirty paws on that letter, pase lo que pase. I wonder what that scary wench did?
 

Telling Cristina not to let Teresa see the letter could mean he didn't want to alarm her, but I think in this case it must not mean that because if Romulo was rueing the day he hired Diego, he would need to let Teresa know that Diego was not to be trusted. Unless Romulo didn't think he was actually going to die soon, then the idea that he didn't want to alarm her may be true.

So what did Diego do that upset Romulo so much? It can't be that Diego was trysting with the help, since I'm betting Romulo did too.
 

Wow Jardinera, I have missed reading your sassy, irreverent take on things. Such a fun recap.

On Felipe and the two sisters, this seems to be the "comic" part of the story. I've never quite gotten the Latino sense of humor, and I don't find this grouping funny at all. In fact I feel quite bad for the smart but not-as-lovely Mercedes. But clearly we're supposed to find this all great fun. A bit like the way the French seem to find infidelity numbers so hilarious. Me not so much.

Have to agree with Nandicta that the reserved, tepid Isabella is becoming a Regina Montenegro and therefore annoying. And shocked that Christina is so unlikable. Was expecting her to be a much-wronged saint.

The reality of hysterical pregnancy is truly amazing. In some cases, in addition to swelling bellies and tender breast, the women actually lactate. The power of the mind is unbelievable.

Enjoying this immensely...the show, the recaps and the comments. Thanks.
 

Believe me Judy, this is a mess, not Latino sense of humor. I am from Mexico and I know humor. Roberto Gómez Fernández should know better since he is the son of Mexico's most famous comedian in Latinamerica, Chespirito.

I feel sorry for them and stick to my saying, if you are not going to improve something, don't copy it.
 





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