Caray, Caray!

Gracias, dy77.

Gracie just wants to show off how sophisticated she is compared to Luciana, as if that will be the thing that ultimately impresses David. Gracie is all about Gracie, as usual.

What really should happen there is the gallery show should have a guest list that includes sommeliers and owners of country clubs and 4 & 5-star restaurants. They would be there for the wine and would also be affluent enough to purchase original art. That would please both Gracie and Luciana, which still leaves David where he is now.

Which is ridiculous. He is allowing FerBrat to dictate his love life. This is a huge mistake because Succubus Gracie could manipulate her very easily. She could say she is leaving for Europe for her art career in order to get FerBrat to throw a fit designed to get David to marry Gracie to keep her there. Bobby will see through this, of course.

A few things regarding the Gringo vs Latino issues in this story:

1. Brian is in denial about his own heritage. We probably won't meet his parents (whom he hasn't mentioned) but is it possible that he changed his first name? Or was his mother a gringa who gave him a gringo name so he would "better fit in" with the other kids in his school days? We probably won't find out but I have known men who looked outside their own ethnic heritage for romance to avoid women who were too similar to their own mothers and/or sisters, not necessarily for social or career advancement.

2. Why is Lillian even looking at Brian if she thinks she belongs among the country club set? Shouldn't she be straightening her hair and going after Anglo men? Also, if she addresses her daughter as "Grace" rather than "Graciela" shouldn't she be speaking more English with her nietos?

3. Shouldn't Peter and FerBrat be conversing in English? Shouldn't we be hearing more English in the corridors of their school?

Luciana needs to remember her visa status and address it ASAP. As for Juan getting flirty with her Miguel needs to tell her that he doesn't trust Juan and name his current reasons. He probably won't because Luciana acts on such information much too impulsively.

Will Perla ever actually see Juan's apartment? Let's see.

I think we'll be meeting Mark before the week is over, God help us.
 

Thank You Dy, another stellar storytelling.

Note to Luci: That award winning ass and thigh gap will only get you so far. You appear to be on the bottom of the scrotum pole, seniority wise, maybe now is not the time to be giving ultimatums. and get somebody you can trust as far as you can spit working on your visa. ?
 

And thank you spell check...TOTEM pole.
 

dy, this was like a crisp, clean breath of air on this winter's day. Just wonderful.

"A typical scene for Lilian", "Susan and Luciana are (not) working", "They literally play "Jaws the shark" type music during this scene" and "Juan discusses some sort of evil nefarious business with Susan's soon-to-be-divorced-husband Mark" were among many favorites.

"By the way, Marta should be proud; she changed his whole opinion of Latinos!" Would someone kindly remind me why we should even begin to like Gutierrez? Frankly, I’m rather uncomfortable that this overt bigot and his waffling between two women (one loathsome and the other not too terribly likeable) is becoming the unintentional lead storyline.

Above and beyond all of that, what is he doing? What is his thought process and what is his end game? He tells Lili they are "on again" as he is trying to court Marta, who seems intent on garnering support from everyone (her children, is the bishop next?) to date him. These are two women whose lives are intertwined and who virtually live together! I don't know of any man who has successfully juggled dating room mates.

Aside from this tug of war for his affections, he forges ahead knowing Marta insists he meet her children. Does he really believe Luci will not remember him?? Can't figure out if his outsize ego is to blame or if he is just plain stupid.

David had several near miss kisses. Once from Gracila and one from Luci. I was disappointed Luci didn't lean in a bit further...but all it did was delay the inevitable.

Urban, I laughed out loud at "I think we'll be meeting Mark before the week is over, God help us". Great.

dy, thank you again!!

Diana
 

A liason with two women under one roof is like having two anti virus programs on the same computer. They will spend so much time attempting to destroy each other, that their original purpose is lost in battle.
 

thank you dy

"who was there for David?"

So, David finally agrees with Luciana and given up and I believe will try and keep his feelings out of his interactions with her but it's obvious Luciana doesn't like the new arrangement. Already forcing a power play.

The survival of the vineyard depends on selling wine to as large an audience as possible and David doesn't have the luxury at this point for a very targeted group. Luciana is willing to blow up everything so why should David keep her in his employ, willing to bail on him.

Anyway, Mr tofie and I buy from several wineries, invitation only and you have a personal relationship with the owners. These are people that do not care if they are commercially viable. Mr tofie just placed an order for the annual maximum 6 bottles from a gentleman in Oregon and he chooses which he will share with us.

Marta and Lilian deserve to get played. An ego cannot be fed unless someone feeds it.

 

Dy77: Thank you very much for the recap.

Tofie: Gutierrez's anvil will happen, just wait & be patient.

UA: Who is Mark ?
 

Thanks DY 77, loved the title, "Vino el Contrived Plots", it was so appropriate. I don't know why David isn't getting it that Gracie is all about coming on to him. She was doing it when Lisa was still alive and trying to break up their marriage then. Why he doesn't get it now is beyond me.

Urban, I can understand Gutierrez's disdain toward Latinos and not wanting to identify with them. When you grow up in a Mexican family in the USA, you strive to not be like the ones who come from the "other side" (el otro lado). You don't want others to think of you as someone who is less educated and doesn't understand English. My parents did not teach me Spanish or speak to me in Spanish when I was growing up. They spoke to me in English only because they did not want me to have an accent. My aunt and my dad grew up in the "barrio" and my aunt purposely married gringo men to get out of the barrio. She recently said that she didn't understand these young girls marrying Mexican guys (a reference to my daughter who is a doctor and she married a young man whose parents were born in Mexico, his father was once "illegal" but is a citizen now). My son in law is a successful engineer at a very well known company. She did not marry "down". But to my aunt (who always passed as non-Mexican because she was very light skinned, red hair and freckles), this is all very foreign to her. My uncle on my mother's side talks about how there was so much prejudice against Mexican descent people when he was young. He feels he was passed over for promotion many times because of his heritage. He remembers traveling through Texas with a friend back in the 1950s and he and his friend stopped at a cafe for breakfast. There was a sign posted out front that said, "No Negroes and No Mexicans served here".

I am glad now to be connecting more with my heritage recently and really learning my Spanish. I should have done this years ago!
 

Steve Bordreaux: Mark is Susan's ex husband who abused her. He's been calling and bugging her at work. He wants to take the house from her and she already gave him a lot of money, but he wants her to end up with nothing.
 

Thanks, dy77. "A typical scene for Lilian." Yep. She's getting rather predictable!

Also predictable is Luciana, who has a serious impulse control problem with David. I think she'd pick a fight with him just for the excuse to spend time with him.
 

dy--Got it! Thank you for giving us everything we needed for a great recap. Memorable moments include: Lilian "oozing" all over Gutt and Marta giving him the "stink-eye." I haven't heard "Egads" in ages. Thanks for bringing it back.

I think the root of Luciana and David's problem is NOT the children, per se. They have many other problems facing them if they declare their intention to be a couple, besides Fer, Lilian, Grace and Marta and Miguel. They have skirted around the age difference--they treat each other as equals; have skirted around employment status--"wealthy" vineyard owner/employer and employee with questionable legal immigration status and an employee with a smart mouth; have skirted around social status--high status in an American community vs. young girl raised and educated in Mexico.

These can all be overcome, but it seems they never have a "real" conversation about their feelings. So we are left with both parties pining for each other and vulnerable to others (Miguel and Grace).

Urban--I agree with everything you said about how much English is spoken or unspoken. First they could have found another police officer of equal handsomeness who speaks English as well as Juan to portray a 2d or 3d generation Latino.

When Lilian, Marta and Gutierrez speak English to each other, I find myself reading the Spanish subtitles and then laugh at myself.

We have to remember that this particular telenovela is still, traditionally aimed at the wide Spanish-speaking audience in Mexico and other countries (including the U.S.), not English speakers wanting to "learn" Spanish by watching telenovelas.

I wonder though, if this is a subtle way of introducing English and American customs to that same audience Spanish-speaking. I think Televisa is doing better with this tn than all of Venevision's settings in the States.
 

Cynthia--Just read your commentary. Thank you for the insight into your family's relationship with their heritage. Some people adapt to a new country and its language, customs and belief systems more easily than others, some lose their prejudices more easily. Others don't. Some prejudices carry even further that two or three generations. Some last indefinitely.
 

This may be somewhat educational -- fitting in with past statements I've heard about novelas -- but they're still dressing Brian in the wrong rank uniform.

Cynthia, I envy your very WASP name, which is much closer to what I have tried to be. My mother was from Germany and -- determined not to give me a difficult German first name -- ended up giving me an Irish one which doesn't fit with my French surname (which almost no on pronounces correctly). My father's heritage was British Isles as far back as Shakespeare's time and the career I wanted and didn't have would have been very English-centric. However, when you grow up in New York and attend public schools you meet people from all over and you get used to it to the degree that you don't grow up looking down on anyone who is willing to work honestly to improve their lot in life. My teachers were very good with that.

However, my mother never understood that being American means you can get interested in anything and learn it. She never got over that I took flamenco lessons for eight years and made myself the right clothes for it.

Luciana does need a Henry Higgins, but it shouldn't be David, who should get himself a crucifix, some holy water, and a wreath of garlic to hang in his room.
 

Urban: "Luciana does need a Henry Higgins, but it shouldn't be David, who should get himself a crucifix, some holy water, and a wreath of garlic to hang in his room." YES. And a wooden stake.
 

LOL Urban, and my "WASP" name. Well, my last name is the result of taking my husband's last name. My maiden name is very Spanish. I'm really a Velasco. Flamenco lessons? Sounds like fun to me.

In "Vino", I get the impression that Lillian is supposed to be not of Mexican descent, but speaks Spanish. Perhaps of Spanish heritage since Gracie is so comfortable living in Spain.
 

Thanks, dy. Terrific title and recap.

Juan is so happy getting off scot-free for the bad pesticides and being back in David's good graces. He's an affable guy--he's hit on Graciela, Susan, and Luciana each and taken their rejections well. He's smart enough to wait for the right time to pull the immigration card on Luciana. And I like that beard. Yikes, I'm being pulled to the dark side!

Cynthia, thanks for sharing family history with us. I do believe you're onto Gutierrez. Earlier he told Lillian that he was a 2nd (3rd?) generation Mexican American and always refused to eat Mexican food growing up and never visited Mexico. I couldn't tell then whether this came from his mom (he mentioned her, but not his dad) or maybe from how he was treated by others.

What's with David's vineyard not being on top of ensuring workers have the proper documents? Sorry, this is just lax management. I sure hope Luciana has more than a tourist visa because she can’t legally work and get a salary in the U.S. with that.

 

Niecie, Juan must be putting the paperwork through the shredder and saying "there is a delay."

Julie, good point about the stake. Where is Dr Van Helsing when we need him?

Cynthia, flamenco dancing is not easy but it is fun when you get to the day when you feel it click into place. That takes about three or four months if you have duende. For those who don't, it never happens.
 

Thank you everyone!

Anita, I think you pinpointed why I haven't warmed to Luciana and David at all, besides the fact that he's so dang grumpy. They have a connection with the love of the earth and all that, but they really haven't had a real conversation about their feelings and all those actual issues you mentioned.
 

Thank you, dy77.

The best English speaker in this novela is JUan. I have taught ESL for many years. Usually the younger you start learning a second language the easier it is to learn and sound like a native speaker. My students are in their late teens or older. Some of them have had a few years in AMerican high schools. Years ago, ESL teachers encouraged their students to speak only ENglish. Now, students are encouraged to keep their native languages while learning ENglish and to teach their native languages to their children so that they will be bilingual which is an advantage. However, no matter what language you speak, the results are the same. Parents speak to their kids in their native language, and the kids answer in ENglish .

My maternal grandparents came here from GErmany when they were teens. My grandmother, mother, and aunts spoke German at home sometimes but never outside the house , and my sister, cousins, and I were not taught to understand or speak it. i think that the grownups liked having a private language that the kids could not understand .I did pick up a bit because some of the kids I went to school with and their parents spoke PEnnsylvania DUtch which is a dialect of German. Hubba's maternal grandparents always spoke to each other in LA DUtch even though they could speak and understand ENglish. It would be nice to be bilingual.

niecie...YEs, come to the dark side!! I think that Juan is the bestlooking guy in this show. When HUbba had a beard and mustache like JUan's, my mother called him "Mephistopholes" ..the devil, but she said that she meant it in a good way!!! Dark and dangerous!
 

P.s. I sense no chemistry between any of these people.
 

Niecie, Let me tell you; there have been times I was ashamed of being of Mexican descent. So I understand Gutierrez's attitude. Of course, not wanting to eat Mexican food is a real stretch. Who DOESN'T like Mexican food?
 

Cynthia...THe mother of one of my best friends was from Mexico, and she refused to teach her daughter SOanish? Ironically, the daughter married a Mexican AMerican.

Yikes..I did not realize that LUci has a tourist visa. I don't think you are allowed to work here if you have a tourist visa . If you are here on a student visa, I believe that runs for five years and you can only work at the university that you are attending. The company that my daughter worked for provided her with a work visa when she moved to Canada . When she married a CAnadian, it still took quite a few years to become a CAnadian citizen . I think that it takes three years to become a U.S. citizen if you are married to an American and six if you are not.

What is Bryan's game?..dating both women? Weird. I prefer "no game " Cesar to this annoying player. Actually, JUan's ENglish is much better than BRyan's , so those two actors should have been exchanged.
 

Thanks so much dy77! I loved the snarky, snappy recap. I'm still just an occasional, drop-in every 15 minutes viewer of this show.

Though the English of many of these characters is stilted, I appreciate the effort. Most of these actors are Mexicans who work and live in Mexico. These English scene likely feel like extra work. This production is making much more effort to add English in than the Telemundo productions that are produced, filmed and set in Miami (or sometimes L.A.), and star actors who live mostly in Miami. Yet, the characters hardly utter any English or are shown in situations where they would need to speak English.
 

Susanlynn: Wouldn't surprise me if Lillian has Luciana deported AGAIN now that her tourist VISA will likely expire, etc.,

I'm also looking forward to the face-to-face between Gutierrez & Luciana (I mean Gutierrez has gotten out of so many close calls lately)

Cynthia: The self-hating Uncle Tom in Gutierrez (just like "Bajo El Mismo Cielo"'s Deborah Sanders) still ashamed of his Latino heritage.

UGH! Trying to be Anglo SMH.
 

Considering how many close calls we often see in novelas, there will be at least a few more before Luciana sees that Marta has been dating the man who deported her and her dad. She will be livid, which will alienate Marta from either or both of them.
 

urban..THe craziest closecalls were the two sisters repeatedly missing their long lost sister in 3Anas.
 

Sue: I assume I know the answer, but does Martha supposedly NOT KNOW it was Gutty Baby? How could she not? It was interesting that he was trying to call in a favor to get his name removed as the officer in charge on the deport, but no dice.

I don't trust her. But I don't trust anybody on these TNs but the family dog.
 

Thank you, dy, for another great recap.

I'm still going with the theory that while somebody may remember a Gutierrez from way back when, nobody knows it was Lieutenant Skunk...er, Brian Gutierrez except Lilian. (Marta conveniently never using his last name works to this end, as do all the near-misses with Luciana.) It's the shortest distance from A to B, and it will freak everybody in Marta's family out when it comes out. That said, while for a hot minute I was starting to feel a tiny smidgen of sympathy for the SOB, it evaporated last night between his "You've made me look at Latinas in a new light, Martha" (seriously, why does he call her Martha when he busts out the stock villain English?) and his subsequent insta-rebound with Lilian. He's not a villain, just kind of a jerk.
 

Bill I just think the Martha is part of his Gringo act. We gringos seem to want an h after a t in names.
 

Most people who are learning ENglish as a second language have trouble pronouncing "th." I think that old Bryon is showing off that he can pronounce a sound that is troublesome for most Spanish speakers.
 

Good point. Not gonna help him much when Luci from hell wants to raise his voice to sound like Ferbrat. I really wonder what he will come up with. Mar-TH-a is determined to introduce him to the kids.
 

Thanks again!

Susanlynn - I lol'ed at "P.s. I sense no chemistry between any of these people." The romance department really needs some help! Maybe more wine. I don't know.

Bill C. - yay, my twitter friend! I didn't tweet the link - I don't know, this episode wasn't as inspirational, but nice to see you on here!
 

Kirby: Karma will bite Gutierrez, just watch!

Luciana will freak out when she sees him face-to-face & those flashbacks start coming back.