Caray, Caray!

SILVANA – JUEVES – Parte 1 de 2

Chivis is demonstrating the extremely trite and annoying behavior of so many telenovela characters I’ve observed over the years. She’s angry with Manuel but won’t tell him why. He’s baffled. She says she thought he was more of the faithful type. Then she says that all men are alike.

This scene is interrupted by Andrés knocking at the door. He’s come to speak to Chivis. He tells her about the fact that Antonio José defrauded his father. And that his father has, in turn, sued AJ. Chivis is shocked. They agree to keep this from Majo for now.

There’s a rather boring scene with Mauro trying to get Lucha to accept (or run for the office?) being the President of some organization of students of medicine. He outlines all her fine qualities for the position. Vicente calls Lucha to tell her the good news about the negotiation their father made with the landlord.

Lucha and Mauro rush off to the Terminal to congratulate Manuel when the Less Than Stellar chipmunk races up. She introduces herself to Mauro, saying she was going to be Lucha’s mother! She says that she’s glad Lucha didn’t go for a fresa like her father did. Then she starts begging Lucha to help her to get Manuel back. She says that Chivis is going to make him suffer by throwing him over as soon as her husband gets out of jail.

Outside the Terminal Lucha spies Andrés and can’t resist approaching to ask him why he’s there. He says he came to see Chivis but doesn’t elaborate. Mauro comes up and puts his arm around Lucha, demonstrating to Andrés that he’s the boyfriend now.

Lupita and Pedrito tease Angie and Jorge for being together now and for having broken things off with Benjamin and Margarita.

Lupita goes to the bakery to ask Don Benito for a bus ticket. She’s told he doesn’t sell them, but Juanito tells her you pay the bus driver direct. Lupita lies saying she’s buying one for Angie. Then she asks DB for a pie on credit.

Margarita whines to her long-suffering grandfather and admits she wasn’t really sick. She just can’t stand to see Jorge all the time. [Am I sympathetic? Nah!]

Angie and Jorge are attempting to study for a math test but are having trouble concentrating (well, mostly Jorge is having this problem). These two are so cute together! Angie tells him she’s planning to quit the salsadromo so as not to have to see Benji all the time.

Lupita lies to Angie, saying she’s going next door to see Pedrito. Then she puts on the usual telenovela disguise: sunglasses and a baseball cap. [Sorry, Lupita, that hair is a dead giveaway.]

At the Terminal Chivis still refuses to tell Manuel why she’s mad at him. She ends up telling him to ask his ex what’s going on.
 

SILVANA – JUEVES – Parte 2 de 2

Poncho comes in, exuding his new pomposity, and asks to review the contract with the landlord. Poncho is getting more tiresome than Trini. FF>>>>

Two of the Stooges, Poncho and Stella, ruin the day of the Virgencita at the Terminal. Poncho apologizes to her for trying to take Manuel’s job, but says it’s for love. Then Stella tells her that she recognizes that her plan is medio gacho (ugly, bad), but Chivis is the bad one for being with Manuel while married to someone else. She then says that all will be wonderful when they have a baby for realz.

Another Trini DB misunderstanding. He says Margarita needs a woman around. Trini dimples up; then he says he wants to hire one part time. FF>>>>

Poncho shows Dominique the contract. Says it smells bad. He finds one paragraph with 5% in it and another with 5.4%. He speculates that Manuel could be taking the .4%.

Majo has come home with some of the clothes she’s selling Jorge buys some tights that Angie didn’t think she could afford.

Majo tells Angie about another of her lies. She’s told Andrés that her father asked her to postpone the wedding. She says that, if she hadn’t done that, Andrés would have them married in the blink of an eye. Angie tells her for the umpteenth time that, if she doesn’t love Andrés, she should break it off.

Jorge has gone home and discovered that Lupita is not there with Pedrito. He goes next door to tell Angie and Majo. Everyone is concerned. Jorge and Trini go to look for her.

Poncho FF>>> We see some idioteces with a call to some self-help plan that it turns out he can’t afford.

Chivis has come to the prison to talk with AJ about defrauding his future consuegros (in-laws). She is irate. She tells him that Majo is going to die of embarrassment and hate him. His response: “Well, let’s not tell her.”

Then AJ, maybe in the top 10 jerks in all of Miami, tells Chivis that everyone is going to blame her for separating from her husband just because he has some business problems [!] He says people will think badly of her, the same thing that he thinks. That she has a lover.
 

Silvana

Well, novelera, your wonderful recap proves that you CAN make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. The recap was so much more interesting than the episode.

The episode devoted far too much time to idioteces involving one or more of the Three Stooges. I'm glad that for the most part the recap wisely fast forwarded through them. I loved your comments, "Poncho and Stella ruin the day of the Virgencita at the Terminal" and "Poncho comes in, exuding his new pomposity."

I agree that the scene between Mauro and Lucha was boring. His enthusiasm also seemed excessive (as it had a few days ago, when he first told her about the committee--whoever they may be--wanting her to run for president of the med students association). BTW, I understood your question mark after "run for office." When I was writing my recap several days ago, I wasn't 100% sure what the committee was proposing with te postules como candidata, so I looked up postularse in WordReference.com and found a discussion that discussed the translation of this word when you want to say "run for office." So yes, the committee would like to see her run for the presidency of the med students association. Somehow, given Mauro's extreme enthusiasm, you'd think he or she had won the lottery. It makes me wonder whether something is off about this guy. (Perhaps I'm thinking this because it's likely Lucha will wind up with Andrés, even though Mauro seems so much better for her?)

I guess that since this is a comedy nothing terrible will happen to Lupita, but I hate to think of her alone in some dodgy parts of the city.
 

Silvana. Excellent recap, novelera! I agree that Chivis' behavior is annoying, but even worse, it's out of character. Yep, Jorge and Angie are cute together. I hope they do study for the math test, though (once Lupita is found). That was Benji's one real virtue--he was a good math tutor. Loved "exuding his new pomposity"--and yep, Poncho is very tiresome. MJ actually seems like a pretty good businesswoman--maybe that's her true calling. I kind of hope that the nice lady who offered to call Lupita's mother when it was evident that Lupita was lost calls the authorities instead. I was a little surprised that in addition to getting the address of the prison that Lupita didn't at least look up an online map and maybe an online schedule of bus routes. Oh well. In that case there wouldn't be the worry and suspense of Lupita's being lost.
 

SILVANA:

Many thanks, novelera! I didn't see the episode, and now feel like I have. I can't believe that stretched out the baby nonsense another episode with Chivis being mad at Manuel and not telling him why. I expect better from her.
 

GENERAL

Interesting article, page 1 NY Times 10/21/16 re Telemundo actors not being covered by Screen Actor's Guild when filming in US in Spanish language. Struggling to make ends meet, no health insurance, no residuals, side jobs. Hook is Pablo Azar as Uber driver.
 

SILVANA

novelera - Thank you for the recap and the translations!

" [Sorry, Lupita, that hair is a dead giveaway.]" I agree!! Bless her heart...

"Then AJ, maybe in the top 10 jerks in all of Miami, ....." Yesss!!!!!

Mauro is a puzzle. That beaded necklace he is wearing seems ... odd ... for a guy. Actually, other accessories of his strike me as odd. I keep going back to Andres' initial comment to Lucha that M is gay. Lucha will probably end up with Andres.

Chivis..... well, Manuel was married but has not figured out when a woman says "I'm fine" that is code for "something is wrong...". But, really, she needs to put on her big girl pants and confront Manuel about Stella's estoy preñada announcement.

Why Stella thinks the Virgin Mary would approve of deception, lies, and trying to trap Manuel into marriage is beyond me.
 

Silvana sin Lana – Friday, October 21 – Capítulo 65, part 1/2

Manuel wants to know what Stella said to Chivis to make her so mad. Stella tells Manuel she’s pregnant. She acts offended when he asks who the father is and when he doesn’t believe her that it’s his.

AJ keeps whining about Chivis having an amante (lover) since he’s seen Manuel and her talk on the balcony and Rafael told him about Manuel hugging her outside the jail. Chivis responds that AJ should not trust Rafael so much because he does things behind his back.

Alejandra flirts with Vicente at the university. She comes on a bit strong saying things like seafood is an aphrodisiac and trying to find out if he’s single. Vicente is nice to her, but says they need to get to class.

A creepy guy tries to get Lupita to get in his car. Luckily she runs off.

Dom tries to get Poncho to realize how ridiculous he’s being. He knows that Poncho just wants more attention from Stella so that’s why he’s trying to make Manuel look bad.

Manuel knows that Stella is lying and wants to take her to see a doctor right away. She runs off to the bathroom to vomit. When she comes back, she keeps acting offended and stomps off saying that she can raise the child on her own.

Majo calls the police to report that Lupita is missing. Trini asks Jorge to give her some whisky. Angie finds the newspaper upstairs with the article about AJ ripped out. Jorge will ask Vicente to drive them to the jail.

Lupita asks a woman how to get to the jail without taking a taxi. She says there’s a bus stop 5 blocks away. The creepy guy is still following Lupita in his car. She sees him and manages to hide.

Stella returns home and tells the boys that she told Chivis and Manuel about being pregnant. They are both annoyed with her since the child is Steve’s. They can’t believe she would lie to Manuel about it. Poncho defends Manuel and Dom thinks he’s a hypocrite because of what he’s trying to do to Manuel. Stella demands to know what’s going on.

Trini tells Chivis the bad news about Lupita. At first she doesn’t believe that Lupita would try to go to the jail on her own, but Trini tells her that Don Benito said Lupita was asking about bus tickets. Chivis gets even more upset. Manuel knocks on the door. He heard about Lupita. Chivis hugs him.
 

Silvana sin Lana – Friday, October 21 – Capítulo 65, part 2/2

The van has a flat tire. Vicente changes it while Angie gets more and more upset, thinking that it’s their own fault for not telling Lupita the truth about AJ. Majo disagrees with her since Lupita is not as naïve as Angie thinks. Jorge hugs Angie who is crying.

Lupita gets a taxi to stop for her, but the driver is worried about her being alone at night. He wants to call the police since she’s a minor and her mother shouldn’t have let her go out by herself. She admits that she ran away from home and she’ll tell him everything if he just takes her to her house.

Dom tells Stella that Poncho is trying to prove that Manuel is not being honest about the terminal lease. Stella threatens to kick Poncho out of the house if he does anything to Manuel. He announces that he will leave the house and never come back. Dom tries to stop both of them from being so ridiculous. Stella thinks Poncho is just throwing a temper tantrum and won’t really leave.

At the jail, Angie and Jorge go inside while Majo and Vicente wait outside. Majo starts crying. She didn’t want to cry in front of Angie since she’s supposed to be the strong big sister. Vicente consoles her and accidentally calls her mi amor (my love). He apologizes and reassures her that Lupita will show up soon. Majo puts her head on his shoulder.

Majo hates that Lupita has to deal with her father being in jail. She wishes Lupita could have had a different life, and been happy being a normal kid. Vicente tells her that when his mother died, he had to be the strong one and help his dad while Pedrito had to grow up without a mother. Everybody has to deal with different things, but love is what unites them and helps them get through it. Majo says te quiero muchísimo and they are about to kiss when Angie and Jorge come back saying that no one has seen Lupita at the jail. They head home to see if the police have any news.

Manuel tells Chivis and Trini that he talked to the police and they are still searching for Lupita. They even put out an Amber alert. The kids return home and report that they have no news either. Trini wants them all to pray, or at least the men can accompany them while the women pray. Vicente suggests they get other neighbors to help form search parties. As they are discussing what to do next, Lupita walks in and all the women rush over to hug her.
 

Silvana

Thanks very much, J, for an excellent recap that covers everything important. I'm especially impressed that you did it so clearly and concisely.

I don't have much to say about this episode. I'm still wondering whether Stella is indeed pregnant. The medical exam indicated that she isn't, but an ultrasound at such an early date might not reveal anything. And apparently she is still experiencing bouts of nausea (seems only fitting, since she makes so many of us nauseous). My guess is that the doctor was running after her to tell her that another test he did (not an ultrasound) indicates that she is pregnant, though if that were the case, wouldn't he have followed up with a phone call?
 

Silvana. Excellent recap, J! Manuel's suggestion that he and Stella go see a doctor together is an great one! That way both he and viewerville will know whether she's pregnant or not, and whether her doctor was running after her to tell her that a subsequent test was positive. They'd also probably learn how far along she is if she is pregnant, which would eliminate Manuel as the possible father--another reason for Stella not to agree to Manuel's request. Who even cares if Poncho leaves? Vicente is so wise when he talks to Majo about hardships in families' and children's lives. He's a worthy son of his father. And about Lupita's return: Whew! Wonderful that she found a responsible cab driver. Apparently, he didn't even stop so that Chivis and/or Trini could pay him his fare.
 

SILVANA

J - Thank you for the recap!!!

Lupita was lucky to make it home unharmed.

Have we considered the possibility that Stella's doctor saw something bad in the tests --- not a pregnancy, but some other health issue (ulcer, tumor, whatevs...) that caused him to run after her when she left his office? Think of the hospital scenes potential! Faux deathbed scene starring Stella! Maybe Stella will wear the official telenovela neck brace! Must see TV! (um .... not.)

Hopefully, Manuel will drag her to a doctor.
 

Silvana. Doris: Excellent observation! something seems to be making Stella throw up.
 

Silvana

Thanks so much for the terrific recap, J.

Another thing we learned during Stella's effort to convince Manuel he's the father of her child is that she never wanted a child and was very, very careful about always taking her birth control pills. That makes a lot of sense considering that she had been dating someone with four children and who might not want to start over again with a baby at that age. So a woman who didn't want any would work for Manuel. At least until he fell for Chivis.

Majo was quite bearable in this episode. Her best quality has always been her love for her sisters.

Of course Poncho isn't going to leave. We couldn't get so lucky as to be spared any more of his boring scenes.

Doris, I like your theory that something else is going on with Stella. I really don't think they're going with her actually being pregnant. It seems far fetched they'd show her ending up with Steve and/or having Poncho take on the daddy role.

Manuel didn't believe her for a second; and, I doubt he'd buy being the father without a visit to the doctor to determine how long she's been pregnant, if she really is. She's just ridiculous, patting her flat stomach.

That was some strong PSA about little girls not getting into cars with strangers. They went with the cliffhanger and doubt on her face, supposedly because she was so eager to get to the jail she might have gotten in.
 

Silvana

Hola novelera. As requested, I'm sending this reminder that we're switching recap days this week. I'll be doing Monday, and you'll be doing Tuesday.

¡Muchas gracias!
 

Hola, Juanita! Got it. Not sure about how lengthy it will be. I have a triple threat that night!

First of all, as a very loyal SF Giants baseball fan, I was disappointed when they washed out early. So I decided to revert back to my childhood. I was the only baseball fan in my family back in Akron. Many nights I hid a radio under the covers to listen to the Cleveland Indians - back in the 50s when they were good. [I'm obviously not a spring chicken!] So I'm pretty excited about the Indians making it to the World Series. I just wish they weren't playing the Cubs, rather some National League team [like the Dodgers] that I'd love to see them beat.

And, as if that weren't enough, it's the opening game of the season for the Golden State Warriors, another fave.

I'll figure out a way to make all this work, thanks to the modern miracle of a DVR that allows me to skip all commercials. Not trying to weasel out of doing the recap, just that it might be brief.
 

novelera - oh wow, you've got a triple-header on Tuesday! If it's too much for you, I can do a very basic recap (and I mean really basic---nothing on your level!) of Tuesday's episode.
 

J and novelera, thanks to the both of you for recapping two somewhat boring episodes.
To their credit, the recappers do a great job of keeping viewerville entertained while we wait for the writers to throw us a lifeline. I can only hope that the pace picks up soon.
Helen
 

Silvana. novelera: I grew up rooting for the SF Giants, but both my students and my children--Chicagolanders all--are so thrilled by the Cubs' pennant win that I have to be thrilled for them. Also, I think I've figured out what could be ailing Stella. She's showing the same symptoms 3 of my family members had: upset stomach, horrendous throwing up, etc. They were suffering from appendicitis, and 2 of them had to have emergency appendectomies. Nome of them had quite the lower abdominal pain that goes along with appendicitis--though when the doctor palpated, they did. Of course, at the telenovela medical school, who knows what they learn about abdominal problems.
 

Silvana

Doris, I'd be very grateful if you'd put something up Tuesday night. I've sort of been going through my seasonal low energy period. I definitely prefer long days and sunshine to leaving work in the pitch dark. I try to baby myself at this time of year because, if I miss a lot of sleep, I'm likely to catch a cold.
 

Silvana

Helen, thanks very much for offering to do a short Tuesday recap.

Novelera, I'm still happy to do Monday's recap. Indeed, it's the only day this week that I can do a recap.
 

Silvana

Juanita, I was still thinking you'd do Monday. And it was Doris who kindly offered Tuesday to free me up to wallow in professional sports!
 

SILVANA

SpanProf--- I thought of appendicitis, too, and even looked up the symptoms. Pain being the #1 symptom, I threw that theory out. However, your family experience brings it right back to the top of my list.
 

Silvana

Oops, sorry. I should have thanked doris rather than Helen. This shows me yet again that my brain turns itself off after midnight (and, alas, often well before midnight).
 

SILVANA:

J- Thank you so much! I'm sorry to be late to comment, but I thought I'd get around to watching the episode this weekend, but didn't. But your recaps are always so complete that there's no need. :)

I'm glad Lupita is safe and that it was resolved quickly. Now, if only we could get the Stella faux pregnancy situation resolved. I still can't believe Chivis fell for that lie.