Caray, Caray!

Esclava

Remedios has polished Victoria's marquesa skills on the voyage to Santa Marta, (walking with a book on her head on a rolling ship) where the whole town has turned out to greet her, Nicolás' pleasure at seeing her beautiful smile matches widow Eugenia's displeasure, and as courting rules apply till they are married, Remedios accompanies Victoria and Nicolás on the carriage ride to Eden plantation,

interrupted by Miguel and gang, who smoothly carry Victoria away, while stating their terms, reinstatement of the law that requires slaves born after a certain date be set free when they are 18.

Miguel's gang take Victoria to a makeshift shelter in the jungle and tend to her.

the Captain finds Nicolás and Remedios and brings them to Eden, when after a short discussion gets his men together to find Victoria.

in their short time together Miguel is ok listening to Victoria, but imparts no information, none of the slaves trust a white for reasons we have seen.

oh, so Miguel isn't the leader of the gang, they are just going along with his plan, because when they discover the whole army is looking for them, they can't be found, but they could kill her to show they mean business, Miguel disagrees and the fight is on, Victoria takes the distraction to burn her ropes in the fire and beat feet.

Miguel and the other take off, but the leader goes after her, and as she is following dry river beds and trails he closes on her fast with his horse, seconds behind her, he is surrounded by the army, who give him a rifle butt to the forehead.

Nicolás pacing the floors lets out his real intention, he wants to use the Marquesa's influence in Spain to ruin the widow Eugenia, and decides to free the two 18 yo that are eligible, contrary to the other owners wishes, ah but he has Morales up the discipline on his slaves.


wow, researching slavery is like pulling teeth, here are some things I found.

"1851: New Granada (Colombia) abolishes slavery."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abolition_of_slavery_timeline

in 1821 legislation known as the Law of free birth was enacted in Colombia. Under this law, the children of slave mothers were reguarded as legally free at birth, though they were obligated to stay in the service of their masters until the age of 18.

"The first slave revolt in Colombia occurred in Santa Marta in 1530. The town was completely burned down by slaves. Rebuilt in 1531, it was burnt down again in another revolt in 1550."

"Popayán, in 1732 fugitive slave formed a palenque near the town of Castillo. The local government was unable to destroy the palenque so they declared amnesty, providing no new fugitive slaves were accepted. This requirement was ignored. Because of the latter, in 1745, an expedition was launch to destroy the encampment. The dwellings were destroyed, but the ex-slaves escaped and founded another encampment."

"In 1830, the Republic of Gran Colombia broke into civil war. After the war in 1832, the slave plantation class held the upper hand and proceed to exclude all laws of manumission from Colombia's constitution."

still looking for the law that lets slaves to buy their freedom.

 

Esclava

Muchísimas gracias, deb, for your helpful mini-recap and the very useful historical information you've uncovered. I've been watching Esclava, but I'm having more difficulty than I had expected in understanding what the characters are saying. Your recap helped fill in some of the many missing pieces. I'm also very grateful for the historical background information. I hadn't realized how little I knew about the history of slavery, especially outside the United States.
 

ESCLAVA
If you look up "Manumission", you may find more about slaves right to buy themselves out of bondage. Also "Emancipation"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manumission

Thanks for the recap & research.
 

Esclava

Just wanting to thank you for the recap. I didn't read it because I haven't watched that episode yet. You're a trouper!!!
 

Esclava

Duh! Meant to thank deb for the recap!
 

Eva

I'll put something up tonight, length depending on my energy level!
 

All- I don't think JudyB pops onto the Telemundo page, and I do think some of you know Mike and Emilia, so I am sharing the note JudyB posted on the other pages here:

---
From JudyB:

I am adding a sad footnote as I have just heard from Emilia (Mike and Emilia...who have been on the blog off and on since Querida Enemiga). Their daughter Jennifer died today. Emilia and Mike consider many of you on CarayCsray to be friends and so she wanted to let you know.

Would that we only had to witness heartbreak and loss in these fictionalized stories and not in real life. But it is not to be. Wrap Emilia and Mike in loving and comforting thoughts tonight...they need them.


 

Esclava: Thanks so much for the mini recap. I like the show enough.
I am sorry for Mike and Emilia's loss. I will keep them in my prayers
Romy
 

EVA – Viernes

Pablo tells Eva off, in spades. He says she’s certainly not a perfect woman. He’s fed up with her telling HIM to go away. He says he kept quiet about the guard who gave Evencio the bottle so she wouldn’t do her usual impulsive thing and ruin any chances of using this against Marlene and Armando.

At the wedding Marlene keeps on trying to pretend this is a lovely wedding, but Armando grabs a bottle off a waiter’s tray and goes outside.

Adriana isn’t quite ready to forgive Camila for her moves on Luis. Cami very sincerely says that she didn’t know they were an item, and he was the first attractive and kind young man she met after being in prison.

Pablo tells Eva she’s not as tough as she presents herself. She’s fragile. When she explodes like that she shows her enemies her cards. He calls her bruta! Slap! He tells her that what hurts her the most is realizing that Armando is a killer. He tells her that her scene at the wedding gained her nothing and made her appear like a scorned woman. He says she should forget him, because he’s not coming back. He storms out past the houseful of women who’ve been overhearing the shouting.

Beside the pool Armando tells Gusano that this is his punishment: to love Eva his whole life and to have to live with the other one, the one he doesn’t love. It appears Marlene overheard this.

Evencio, Martín and JJ have a bet about how long Eva and Pablo will stay apart. Evencio sides with Martín: Más sabe El Diablo por Viejo que por Diablo. (The devil knows more because of his great age than because he’s diabolical.)

Marisol comes to Eva’s house to introduce herself to Camila and present her with a subpoena to appear and testify against her abuser. Cami freaks out, begins to cry, but Eva gives a beautiful speech to convince her. She tells her she’ll be free of the nightmare and will be cleansed of the pain.

Armando remembers what Eva said about Carlos Torres, and Marlene coolly admits they killed him so he can’t say who gave him the tequila. She says this is one more thing he owes her.

Soraya has gone to the roof of the hospital and is threatening to jump. The usual police are below with the blanket, or whatever they call it, spread out to catch her. She’s very pathetic, saying she doesn’t want to be taken to that place and to be with other men. Luis manages to get her to give him her hand, and he grabs hold of her, saving her.

Eva tells the Soler Gang that Pablo was right. She’s been una bruta. She was angry with him because he was telling her the truth. But she’s really mad at herself. Federica, Virginia, and Camila also each say how they were betrayed. Federica talks to them about the Furies in the Greek myths. They decide to be like the Furies and to get vengeance.
 

Eva

so generous of you summarize tonights show novelera!

to add a little I really like how Esteban and Luis have become friends, who talks Luis into getting out of the house and out of his funk, where Esteban talks about Noemi, can't stop thinking about her, marriage? just not part of his world, and Luis talks of Soraya, he sees (first hand) the great love she has for Pancho, and why he devoted his life to spoiling her, (of course interrupted by the Soraya jumper call).

and the pizza bet was fun, JJ won as Pablo came into the office huffing and puffing, done with that, and now they are on a second bet, how long before they get back together, double the pizzas, double the cheese.

Camila is such a complicated character, bought Adri a candy bar, chocolate has never hurt anyone, who throws it into the bushes, I'm on a diet, and then the trauma she was going through when Marisol wanted her to testify, she just started twisting inside, bless Eva, no one fails in her presence.

hmm, lovey dovey Marlene and Andy, when will the hillbilly be gone, soon my love, the censor chip in my tv started smoking.

ah yes the "Furies"

"the Furies punished their victims by driving them mad"

"Usually imagined as monstrous, foul-smelling hags, the sisters had bats' wings, coal-black skin, and hair entwined with serpents. They carried torches, whips, and cups of venom with which to torment wrongdoers. The Furies could also appear as storm clouds or swarms of insects."

or something like that.

 

Esclava

ah, Alonso Márquez, the General's non military son, if you watched Celia, he played Alberto, the white guy who loved Celia but joined the guerillas.

and the red headed lady is played by Natasha Klauss who's been around.

 

Eva

Many thanks, novelera, for this short but very helpful recap.

I loved Armando's behavior at the wedding. However, I don't think I'd sell him life insurance, especially since Marlene has overheard his confession to "Gusano."

I was happy to see that Adri isn't ready to forgive Camila. I'm not sure I'm ready to forgive her, either. She claims she didn't know that Adri and Luis were an item, but IIRC she continued to pursue him even after Eva told her about Adri and Luis. She may turn out to be on the side of the angels, but as far as I'm concerned, the jury is still out.

I am ready for Soraya to recover her mind. Somehow, though, I fear it may not happen for a while. I hope I'm wrong. (That's usually a good bet.)

The older I get, the more I like the saying Más sabe El Diablo por Viejo que por Diablo.
 

Eva. I wondered what would happen when Soraya got to reliving the part of her life when she was sold into prostitution. I'm not surprised that she threatened to jump. Fortunately she had Luis, who truly is his father's son, to talk her down. I loved Federica's talk about the Furies and how they got vengeance against evil doers, as well as Eva's elaboration on the theme, about how they can be Furies and get justice against all those who have harmed them. I hope that is the major plot line of the rest of the telenovela: first Camila testifies against her evil stepfather and gets him put away for life, then they track down Virginia's ex-husband and get him charged for his crimes, then they go after Federica's daughter-in-law and chauffeur, and then--following Pablo's advice to use more discretion--they take down Andy and Marlene. Now that would be a satisfying desenlace!
 

Eva. And thank you, novelera, for the succinct recap which hit all the high points.
 

Eva

Great comments, deb! I especially enjoyed the remark about the censor chip in your TV beginning to smoke. Looks as if you should buy several more as this novela heats up.
 

Eva

Loved your predictions, SpanProf. ¡Que puedan llegar a ser cierto!
 

Esclava

So, I’m hooked. Caught up on the last two episodes last night. Here are some comments by cast members:

https://victorpaparazzi.wordpress.com/2016/01/23/el-elenco-de-la-esclava-blanca/

I apologize to those who hate the word slave. I just can't seem to come up with better words to describe what's happening in this novela.

I’m still having a hard time with the cruelty of Morales, the overseer. The guy is borderline insane. He keeps muttering insults to himself about the black people. He has the common trait of villains in all TN’s; he hates the hero, Miguel.

So Victoria and her plump sidekick arrived in Santa Marta, pretending to be a Marquesa with about eight names from Spain and her lady in waiting. The real Marquesa is a sort of snotty late 30s person who was planning to marry Nicolás Parreño. It looked like the real one’s last hope at getting a husband. Vicky and her pal forged a letter from Nicolás canceling the engagement he had made by mail at the insistence of his overbearing mother.

There was a funny scene where Nick saw the plump friend (sorry, I forgot her name) first in the front of the small boat and was not best pleased. But Vicki turned her parasol around and he got a look at the beauty. The actress reminds me a bit of Salma Hayek.

Nick, Vicki, and the sidekick were en route by horse-drawn carriage from the port to El Edén, the hacienda now owned by Nick and that was the hacienda of Vicki’s parents before Nick had Morales burn them up. Miguel, Vicki’s childhood sweetheart, his friend Trinidad and another guy kidnap Vicki. They announce that they will kill her unless La Ley del Vientre passed as part of the Gran Colombia constitution is observed. This frees children born to a female slave at the age of 18.

Nicolás at first concedes and is prepared to free his. Other hacendados are furious with him. Victoria escapes and is found in the road by Nick’s former mistress. It's unclear if Nick will keep his word.

Vicky’s sister, Rosita, is the maid to the rather unsufferable Isabelita, Nicolás’ daughter by his deceased wife. The girl can’t go outside. She has some odd affliction about not being in the sun. It appears she’s going to be jealous of Victoria, who has shown preference for Rosita. The brat doesn’t want Rosita to have any friends except for her.

Victoria is subjected to watching the flogging to death of the third guy involved in her kidnapping. She sees her father, Tomás, in the crowd of slaves also forced to watch.

She sneaks out at night to try to find her father in the barracas (slave quarters) and instead encounters Miguel, the one she loves. But Morales is prowling around, and she doesn’t get a chance to say anything to him. He tells her he’d be hung if he’s found with her.
 

Escala

Thanks very much, novelera, for this helpful account. It cleared up several things I hadn't understood. I'm watching the novela, but I find I miss a lot.

As soon as I first saw Miguel de Miguel as Nicolás, I felt that he was not to be trusted. He had made a strong impression on me in La Reina del Sur, where he played Teo, who deceived Teresa Mendoza. I don't think I've seen him in anything other than these two novelas. He's quite good looking and could probably be cast at some point as a novela's hero, but I suspect I'd never be able to trust him.
 

Esclava,

ah, thanks novelera, I might be hooked too,
and I too wrote up a little bit.

hmm it seems like Victoria's plan was to get to Santa Marta, find her family, and... (I don't think there is an and)

let's see what I remember,

Victoria escapes from her captors, runs through the jungle, and collapses on a road, where she is discovered by the widow Eugenia, who takes Victoria to her place in Santa Marta to recover, and next day lends her some clothes to accompany Nicholas to the public punishment of the kidnapper that was caught, 1000 lashes, (don't know if he made it) but Victoria nor the slaves brought to watch enjoyed it and Nicholas was like he didn't enjoy it either but it's necessary.

afterwards they go to Eden where Nicholas discovers none of his slaves were missing and so weren't the kidnappers, (Miguel and Trinidad got back in time) and after a short tour of the house and some refreshments, Victoria freshens up, taking a bath with some light clothing on (this is a new one for me) while the daughter Isabel has sent her favorite toy, Rosa, to go through Victoria's things, but she is caught and fearful of being disclosed, but Victoria who has seen her father among the slaves recognizes Rosa as her sister and prompts her to talk about herself, but they are interrupted.

Rosa reports back to Isabel, the Marquesa really has no jewels or clothes.

and at dinner Victoria finds she is not to leave the house let alone visit the slave barracks, but Nicholas will give her a tour of the plantation tomorrow, Victoria asks if Rosa can accompany them, (this is totally improper, but Nicholas who likes what he sees, doesn't mind bending the rules to please her), and Rosa is thrilled.

meanwhile, Remedios who is eating in the kitchen, is probing the servants for info.

after all have retired, Victoria who was earlier tying sheets together to escape from the window, but with Remedios info now leaves by the back door and near the barracks, alerts Morales to someones presence, who comes looking, and Miguel not wanting to be discovered himself grabs her and hides, Victoria who hears his name now knows it's him, but cannot say anything as Miguel has to beat feet to the sleeping quarters before Morales gets there, Victoria makes it back to the house, whew.

.................

ok, what I was running into researching the slavery in Colombia is few facts, and conflicting data, (case in point the illegal slave ship that arrived at Santa Marta, part of a slave colony, who threw the slaves overboard rather than be caught, by the very people who are promoting slavery.

so in general it went like this, the abolish slave movement politically showed up in treaties between the mother countries but were ignored by the colonies,

in our story General Márquez's military son justified their actions, in that there has never been any compensation for freeing their slaves.

 

Esclava

Many thanks, deb, for your very helpful comments about Esclava and about the historical background. Your comments and novelera's have helped me fill in a lot that I missed or didn't fully understand.
 

Esclava

I remember that in Amor Real they showed Mathilde taking a bath with her light shift on. I guess nudity even in the privacy of your bedroom was a big no-no.
 

Esclava

One question: when Rosa goes through Victoria's things and finds the necklace, isn't that the necklace Victoria was so intent on getting back from the nun because it had been given to her by her mother? If so, wouldn't Rosa have recognized it, or at least thought it strange that Victoria would have such a necklace?
 

How are the villains wreaking havoc on "Eva la Trailera" ?
 

Esclava,

ah yes, the necklace Juanita, but weren't they interrupted, and maybe Rosa was too young, Milagros the older sister, who is one tough (take no prisoners) lady, would have zeroed in on it.

since reading Shogun, by James Clavell, set in the 1600's Japan, they made it clear that Europeans thought bathing was unhealthy.

and some interesting stuff from wiki,

"from the late Middle Ages through to the end of the 18th century, etiquette and medical manuals advised people to only wash the parts of the body that were visible to the public; for example, the ears, hands, feet, and face and neck."

"The switch from woolen to linen clothing by the 16th century also accompanied the decline in bathing. Linen clothing is much easier to clean and maintain – and such clothing was becoming commonplace at the time in Western Europe. Clean linen shirts or blouses allowed people who had not bathed to appear clean and well groomed. Medical opinion supported this claim. Physicians of the period believed that odors, or miasma, such as that which would be found in soiled linens, caused disease. A person could therefore change one's shirt every few days, but avoid baths".

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bathing

oh how the bathing Japanese must have hated the Europeans.

and the miasma theory, what a novel novela this would make.

 

Esclava

Many thanks, deb, for your response to my question and for the additional info re bathing habits. I guess you're right that Rosa may have been too young to recognize the necklace as having been made by her mother. Though it wouldn't completely surprise me if her having found the necklace may still play a role in the novela. I guess we'll see. Or not. :-)
 

Thank you for this timeline