Caray, Caray!

HEREDEROS - Gran Final

Labels: casa-lado, herederos, insiste, telemundo

Labels: casa-lado, herederos, insiste, telemundo

Have a wonderful and safe Fourth of July, everyone! Jean is off on a birding adventure in Iceland. And I’m not. Oh well. The page is yours!

Labels: casa-lado, herederos, insiste, telemundo

Herederos del Monte is in its últimas semanas and according to the station promos, Flor Salvaje is on deck as its replacement. The new novela is being produced jointly by Telemundo and RTI in Colombia. Starring Mónica Spears, a gorgeous former Miss Venezuela, the novela also features several actors familiar to fans of El Clon, most notably Roberto Manrique (Alejo in El Clon). Further down the cast list are Indira Serrano (Dora in El Clon); Geraldine Zivic (Cristina in El Clon); and Juan Pablo Raba (Said in El Clon). And Herederos fans will recognize José Luis Reséndez (José del Monte).

The Flor of the title, Amanda Monteverde, is driven by desperation to look for work in a down and dirty cabaret where she will find love and lust and envy and friendship and malice – (there is even a character named ‘Alicia’ whom everyone calls ‘Malicia’!)

So. As we’ve learned – sometimes to our delight, as in the case of La Reina del Sur, but more often to our chagrin, as in Aurora – it’s the writing, stupid. Stay tuned.

La Casa de al Lado: I’m still following this one but for how long, I don’t know. The plot twists have become irritating rather than suspenseful or shocking. We’ve all remarked, in one way or another, that there are no truly likeable characters even if there are a few pretty good actors. There’s not even a good musical hook, a theme song that grabs you and keeps you watching, even when you know the song is better than the show. I just know it’s not a good sign when a lead character walks suicidally into the water (Like Ignacia did last night in what I can only assume is a weird homage to Virginia Woolf) and all I can think is: You’re not gonna sink – you have to put stones in your pockets! Sigh.

Fans of Mi Corazon Insiste and Herederos – a fresh page for your thoughts.

Labels: casa-lado, herederos, insiste, telemundo

¡Hóla a todos! Happy midsummer! It seems like the folks that are watching Casa and Corazon are enjoying them. Thanks for the recapettes. I'm only watching Herederos right now. Let the discussion begin!

Labels: casa-lado, herederos, insiste, telemundo

Hola a todos! Here’s a new page for your commenting pleasure. I’ve fallen a bit behind but hope to join the conversation later on in the week. Enjoy!

Labels: casa-lado, herederos, insiste, telemundo

Hóla a todos from Minneapolis where I went to my niece's high school graduation last night.

REINA- My final thought is that I wish they would do an interview with the writers because the actors were good but without the great writing, this would not have been the fantastic novela it was and there is no better example of that than...

HEREDEROS through Thurs.- Things are picking up slightly here as we go into últimas semanas. Pablo/Emilio was about to tell Juan that Paula wasn't his biological child when he had a stroke and was rendered mute. Even though he doesn't work there anymore, Modesto appeared when Juan whistled, presumably so that he could overhear Paula say that she is pregnant with Juan's baby. Since he doesn't know about Sofía's scheme, he thinks that Paula and Juan have committed incest.

Sofía tells Jose about Paula's pregnancy and he threatens to harm her unborn child if she doesn't go through with the scheme to get his brothers' inheritance.

As Novelera mentioned in her comment on Thurs., Gaspar has the hots big time for Adela. I agree that his character makes no sense. He seems to be nice guy most of the time but there is no explanation for his lapses into evil.

Julieta finally tells her parents about her cancer. Rosa is in denial.

The big record deal for the Gavilanes trio turned out to be a set up for some pretty inept criminals. Hey Efrain, If you want to impress Beatriz with your smarts, check out folks who offer you deals too good to be true. There is such a thing as the Internet.

I totally agree with you, Novelera about the Rosario rape storyline. There was zero suggestion that this had happened earlier in the novela when Rosario was portrayed as the more conventional but normal sister.

Julieta tells Paula that she and Juan are going to adopt a baby.

That was about it.

Over to you.

Labels: casa-lado, herederos, insiste, telemundo

La Reina del Sur – as of Friday, May 27

We viewers are having almost as much trouble as Teresa in saying our goodbyes to this amazing story.

In its last full week, we see Teo finally exposed for the rat he has always been. When Flores and his men lead a raid on the decoy ship, Teresa knows without a doubt: Teo is the Judas. Teo has to die.

When Pote takes Teo from his home and forces him to join Teresa aboard the Sinaloa, he deals with the police bodyguards Culichi style – dead men can’t talk. And Teo earns himself a burial at sea.

Spanish Comisario Flores wants the pleasure of seeing Teresa Mendoza punished. He wants her in jail, on Spanish soil.

Willy Rangel wants Teresa back in Mexico to testify against the now presidential candidate, Epifanio Vargas.

The U.S. Ambassador, he of the atrocious Spanish pronunciation and flawless Spanish grammar, wants to keep Mexico from becoming an official Narco Republic.

We still don’t know what Teresa – and her unborn child – want.

Flores has good reason to hate Teresa – she did threaten his children early on in the story and he felt forced to send his family out of Spain to protect them from her. But now his personal need for vengeance has blinded him to any sense of the greater good.

For us at home, Flores has been one of the bad guys. Willy Rangel, on the other hand, has become more and more sympathetic; and the actor’s portrayal more and more credible.

Flores has been waiting for the judge’s order to arrest Teresa. Now, even though his star witness, Teo Aljarafe, is missing, with the death of the Spanish police guards, the balance tips in Flores’s favor. The police comb Marbella looking for her.

It is Teresa’s soulmate, Oleg, who takes her in – and incidentally introduces her to the wife and child she never knew he had – and then helps her escape out the back way when the wolf, i.e. Flores, inevitably arrives at the door looking for her. By then she has already agreed to Willy Rangel’s proposal – now that she knows it was Epifanio Vargas who ordered el Güero’s death, that instead of a friend, he has always been her enemy – she is willing to return to Mexico and testify against him. She and Willy will meet at the airport where a private jet awaits them.

Twelve years ago, Teresa – hobbled by cheap blue tacones -- ran for her life through the streets of Culiacán. Now once again she runs for her life – still hobbled by ridiculously high heels, even if they are on expensive and stylish boots – this time down a steep flagstone path in the south of Spain.


Last night, in the penultimate episode of our story:
Teresa gets to the airport ahead of Flores. She has had a chance to say her goodbyes to Conejo – Oleg had her brought to his house earlier – but she doesn’t want to leave without saying goodbye to Pote as well. Surprise! Pote is already on board the plane. He scoffs at the danger that awaits them in Mexico: Pa' morir nací, he says plainly. I was born to die. It’s a good thing to be able to choose the place to do it.

Pote reluctantly surrenders his gun to Willy and the plane takes off.

During the flight, Willy asks Teresa what she did with Teo. “What would you have done in my place?” is her answer. “I’d never be in your place”, says Willy rather smugly. “I’m one of the good guys”. (Soy de los buenos.) “De los buenos” repeats Teresa. “¿Cómo ves Pote?” She and the guarura exchange weary smiles.

She acknowledges that learning the truth about Don Epifanio Vargas has turned her life upside down (se me revolvió la vida). But it’s not a thirst for vengeance that is bringing her to Mexico – what she wants is to stop running:
It’s time for her to decide how she wants to live.

Back in Mexico, the President won’t take Epifanio Vargas’s calls.

And Don Epifanio won’t take Batman’s calls.

Batman and his two little boys are being followed by another vehicle. The Batman knows a hit when he sees one. He coolly calls his wife and tells her he and the boys will be home in half an hour. Then he pulls his camioneta into a clearing, inviting a confrontation with the other vehicle. Two guys get out and take aim at the Batmobile. But the Batman proves too wily for these cut-rate sicarios. He starts to drive, gunning down one with his left hand, while steering with his right. Then he runs over (and over) the second. Now we know what “rematar” really means.

Then Batman turns to his sons in the backseat:
¡Qué calor está haciendo! Les invito a una agua de cebada. ¿Qué dicen?(It’s getting hot. How about a cold drink (barley water)? What do you say?)
Both kids nod. Just another day in the family business.

In Marbella, Conejo is telling Ramos and Alberto about her secret farewell meeting with Teresa – she felt like she was in a spy movie, she confesses. She doesn’t think Teresa will be coming back. But the good news – Teresa left them the yacht, the Sinaloa. “¡Que viva México!” says Dr. Ramos happily. The trio’s toast to Teresa is cut short when Flores arrives at the door. He has a judicial order to inventory all of Teresa’s property. The beyond wilted Flores tells them they will have to testify in the proceedings against Teresa; all her property will be seized; and they are not to leave the country.

When Flores leaves, Dr. Ramos says ruefully: Adios, yate! But he brightens quickly when Conejo tells him about the second part of Teresa’s severance package for the faithful trio – a stash of twenty million Euros. She cautions them:
Va a ser muy difícil pillar la pasta.
(It’s going to be very hard to get hold of the dough.)
It’s hidden in plain sight in the living room of Teresa’s house, Las Siete Gotas!

Back in Mexico, Ratas gets the call: the idiots they sent to kill the Batman are dead. Now Ratas wants to do the job himself but Epi talks him down – Batman is old-school, he’d never betray them. [Really? After they just tried to kill him?]

Now Epifanio gets the call: “Hay piedras en el camino” he tells Ratas. Teresa gets in tonight. “Habrá que darle la bienvenida” replies Ratas.

And the Batman tells his trophy wife, who has been waiting anxiously at their NarcoMansion, that things have changed. He used to be the boss and now he’s the black sheep. He knows too much. Epifanio just tried to kill him. Mrs. Batman wants to get the hell out of Dodge. “Vámonos pa’ el Gabacho” she says. Batman agrees but first: “Vamos a medir el agua para los camotes” (Let’s analyze the situation first, let’s figure out what’s what.) If Epifanio gets the presidency, he’ll be able to get to them wherever they are.

Teresa’s arrival is imminent and Ratas is assembling the troops and their weapons. He literally has a small army of men who will cover all areas of the airport and runway. He holds out a million dollar reward to “quien se tumbe la morra” (the one who shoots the girl.)

In the DF, Don Epifanio is ignominiously turned away when he tries to see the president. And he reflects:
Se me hace que el señor Presidente ya sabe de todo.
(I think the president knows the whole story.)

Teresa’s plane lands and she, Pote and Willy walk onto the tarmac, right into the sights of the snipers. But before Ratas can give the order to shoot, Epifanio calls him and aborts the mission. He needs to talk to Teresa in person.

Teresa is introduced to the army officer who is in charge of her security, Col. Ledesma. She and Pote demand – and are given – their personal guns when she reminds Willy that this is Culiacán, not Spain.

Don Epifanio apparently thinks he can BS his way out of this one. He phones Teresa and asks her to meet with him. He waxes philosophical, Culichi style:
Pues ni modo mi hijita, al toro hay que agarrarlo por los cuernos. Mira, mi hija, en esta vida lo que te toca es para ti aunque te quites y lo que no, pues, aunque te pongas.
(Let’s take the bull by the horns. In this life, when it’s your turn it’s your turn, no matter what you do. [literally, ‘it’s yours although you may try to take it off and what’s not…well … although you may put it on.]

We see Ratas in what I think of as the Culiacán branch of the Bada Bing Club where he channels Scarlet O’Hara: Tomorrow is another day, he tells himself. Then they can eliminate all of their enemies: Teresa, Pote and Batman.

He heads to the bathroom. We see the pointy-toed black boots and the black trousers of the man following him. Then we see Batman himself reflected in the mirror. Batman aims at Ratas but doesn’t take the shot. He pauses and listens to Ratas’s phone conversation and learns that Teresa Mendoza is in Culiacán.

Now a black camioneta drives up to the secured property where Teresa and Pote will stay. That the army is guarding the outer periphery and the federal police are inside the grounds reassures neither Teresa nor Pote. She knows the Sinaloa cartel can buy off the guys who are there to protect her.

She announces, to the chagrin of both Col. Ledesma and Willy, that she will need transportation tomorrow. She’s going out. She’s not a prisoner, is she?

Tomorrow: The Last Goodbye
Tuesday: Cristina and the cast at 9pm/8central

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Mi Corazón Insiste

This is the replacement for Aurora. I watched a bit of it and realized it’s not for me. Jean, are you going to watch this one? Hombre, thanks for getting the discussion started on this show.

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Aurora

Just in case anyone missed it, Urban Anthropologist wrote a terrific wrap-up on the last few episodes of this oddly ill-conceived novela. You can find it in the comments of last week’s Telemundo page.

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La Casa de al Lado

This is the replacement for Reina. It looks intriguing but if I watch it, I’ll be a day behind in the conversation because I’ll be watching the online version. (My dance card is full at 10pm/9c.)

Ok. Your turn!

Labels: casa-lado, herederos, insiste, reina-sur, telemundo

"Rey muerto, rey puesto," says Ratas, "the king is dead, long live the king."

Labels: aurora, herederos, reina-sur, telemundo

REINA

Labels: aurora, herederos, LaPola, reina-sur, telemundo

All the Telemundo novelas were pre-empted Good Friday night for the movie: El niño llamado Jesús. This reminds me of my favorite name of a novela character. There was a character on La Tormenta named, Jesús Niño. To be named Baby Jesus seems like quite a burden.

Labels: herederos, reina-sur, telemundo

LA REINA DEL SUR: As of Friday, April 15

♪♪She is the very model of a modern major CEO ♪♪

She takes meetings and makes decisions. Her enemies and rivals track her every move. She is learning to delegate – but that lesson is coming slowly. She is trying to be dispassionate – and that lesson is coming along even more slowly.

SHE TAKES MEETINGS ABROAD:
She travels to Colombia and strikes a deal for 15 tons of cocaine. This is too much for the Russian market so Oleg arranges a meeting with the Italians -- the Camorra – who have, up to now, dealt with the Gallegos.

SHE TAKES MEETINGS AT HOME:
She gathers her inner circle and agrees to entrust the important banking to Patty’s handsome cousin, Teo. He proposes setting up accounts in Grand Cayman – a place free of the gossip and susceptibility to bribery that plague Gibraltar; and immune to European government crack-downs. This proposal sends the fuming Eddie A and his Gibraltar connections back to the kiddie table.

The fledgling company’s leadership is also clarified: Teresa will be (like W), “the decider”.

SHE MANAGES PERSONNEL:
In a private moment, she lets Conejo know why she treated her so roughly. Conejo proves to be a quick study. Later she concocts a story for the Colombian whiz kid security guy that distances her from Teresa (and appeals to Conejo’s ironic sense of humor): She says she just got out of the hospital where she was being treated for a nervous breakdown after her husband and mother-in-law died in a terrible way.

SHE TAKES MEETINGS WITH POTENTIAL ALLIES:
Teresa and Oleg, with Patty as translator, sit at a table with the Italian Camorra. The Italians try to talk over her head, addressing themselves directly to Oleg and speaking Italian without pausing to give Patty a chance to translate. They ask Oleg why he brought these women along. Teresa shoots right back: She’s the boss. If they have something to say, say it to her and Patty will translate. She explains her proposal – to transport the product from Venezuela to Casablanca in Africa; and then to Europe.
Her conditions:
No payment in drugs.
Payment must be in dollars. And in cash (en efectivo).
The Russians and Italian will split the costs.
She can offer them a price 40% less than the Gallegos are asking.

[When the Italian steps away from the table to make a phone call, Teresa whispers to Patty that she feels like she’s in a Mafia movie. Well, so do we.]

The Italian response: They don’t want war with the Gallegos. If Teresa wants their business, she’ll have to negotiate with Joaquin Perna. Remembering how the Gallegos betrayed Santiago, she flatly refuses to deal with her enemy. She leaves the table. Oleg stays behind and indicates his willingness to negotiate and promises he will talk to the Mexicana. [Clearly, she hasn’t mastered this hatred having an expiration date (fecha de caducidad) stuff yet.]

AS FOR THE ENEMIES AND RIVALS:

THE THREE STOOGES, MEXICAN STYLE
Batman realizes his matones (killers) have been captured when he phones them and gets to hear their moans and screams. And Oleg learns that “Batman” is the one who sent them.

Oleg drives Teresa to the torture chamber – an abandoned slaughterhouse? – and tells her:
La suerte de estos hombres está en tus manos.
(The fate (literally, luck) of these men is in your hands.)
She wants to kill them herself but Oleg holds her back. He tells her not to lose her self control, and not to cross that line and become a killer. She finally agrees. She remembers how Pote showed el Güero respect on that terrible night in Sinaloa. He is to be spared – taken to a hospital and then flown back to Mexico with a message for his boss. As for the other two: ¡Buen viaje al infierno! (Have a good trip to hell!)

BACK IN MEXICO
Batman tells Epifanio Vargas that the rusos have his nephew. He denies sending him to Spain – it’s just that there was no way to stop him from getting on the plane. If Ratas comes back to Mexico, it will likely be feet first (con los pies por delante).

Epi tells the Rat’s mother her boy is in trouble.

THE POLICIA
Willy Rangel, DEA agent (and for me, the only false casting note so far in this series) is in Spain. He and Flores, along with Flores’s current crooked boss, meet in a hotel bar and talk about their obsessive Teresa-hunting. Willy admits to a grudging admiration for his prey. Even more crooked ex-boss Juarez, now a soplón (informer) for Oleg, comes along, makes Willy for a Mexican policeman, and reports the sighting to Oleg and company.

THE GALLEGOS
They get word that the Mexicana is cutting into their Italian market with her 40% off sale. Joaquin is finally on board with his mad-dog son, Siso – Teresa has to be eliminated.

THE LAST ACT:
Teresa and Oleg are outside the torture chamber and they hear a shot fired. Now your enemies are part of the past, Oleg tells her.

But inside, the unimaginable is happening. Yes, Gato has been killed. But Ratas is freed from his chains, he manages to break away, grab a weapon, kill the Russians and escape!
------------------------------------------

Herederos and Aurora fans – are there any left out there? – fill us in, please!

Labels: aurora, herederos, reina-sur, telemundo

REINA - viernes

Labels: herederos, reina-sur, telemundo

LA REINA DEL SUR – hasta viernes

This week we see Teresa complete her sentimental and academic education in prison, under the tutelage of Patty O’Farrell, black sheep of a wealthy Irish-Spanish clan of aristocrats. We also get a glimpse of the dark secrets in the O’Farrell family, including a suggestion of a history of father-daughter sexual abuse that helps to explain Patricia’s hatred for her parents and perhaps her self-destructive behavior.

Patricia uses her influences to get Teresa released from prison after serving about half of her five year sentence. She arranges a job for her -- waitressing in a place in Marbella, perhaps a step up from the ‘puticlub’ of Yamila. And a year or so later, Patricia herself is a free woman and joins her friend Teresa.

Patty knows where Jaime Arenas hid the half ton of cocaine three years ago, the cocaine that got him killed and Patty gravely wounded, and which the Russian mob still has a claim on. Teresa and Patty gamble their lives by confronting Oleg Yasikov with a proposal to sell him back his own drugs. But it is Teresa who seals the deal, convincing him first that she can move the cocaine from its hiding place to the marketplace; and also that she can teach them the hashish trade.

On Thursday’s episode, the daring coke retrieval is carried out. Knowing that the police have been watching their every move, they distract them with a decoy yacht (yate señuelo). Meanwhile Oleg, Patty and Teresa speed away in a Zodiac. When the police – as expected -- catch up with the three, they find no drugs in their possession. (I’m still a little fuzzy on this switcheroo, but clearly the drugs were moved on one vessel while the police were watching another.)

Oleg makes good on his promised six million Euro payment. He’s impressed with la Mexicana. As they say in the movies, he tells Teresa: This is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

Oleg is less pleased with Patty and her propensity for nose candy and infelicitous business disclosures in public, especially when Teresa leaves her alone – and kind of jealous -- during her two day visit to Melilla. He catches her out by using a Russian mob agent, Katia, to pose as Spanish ‘Ana’; Katia reports back to Oleg on all of Patty’s indiscretions. That’s the last time you talk about our business with strangers, Oleg tells Patty. Nobody threatens me, she snarls back.

Comisario Flores visits former Comisario Saturnino Juárez in jail and questions him about Teresa Mendoza’s relationship with the Russian mob and tries to get him to spill the names of his contacts. Juárez gives him a big fat nada and tells Flores it’s just a question of time before he turns into a dirty cop too.

Meanwhile the journalist Oscar Lobato spreads the word – Teresa Mendoza is back, she’s paired up with Patricia, the enfant terrible of the O’Farrell family, and allied with a capo of the Russian mob. He wouldn’t want to be in the shoes (en el pellejo, literally in the skin or hide) of the people who betrayed her and the Gallego.

When Teresa shows up for her brief visit to Melilla, her old friends -- Fátima and her son Mohamed, Soraya, Sheila and Ahmed -- are thrilled to see her. They are impressed with how much she has changed. (She looks beautiful and sophisticated and speaks with authority.) She promises to take Fátima and Fati’s son Mohamed back to the Peninsula to live with her.

But some are less than thrilled by her sudden appearance in Yamila: Dris (architect of Santiago’s death and Teresa’s capture) and two of his accomplices, Cañabotas (who set up Santiago in Algeciras) and Velasco, a crooked cop who was part of the plot. These two disappear when Teresa and Dris step into his office to talk. She tells Dris straight out:
No voy a descansar hasta que te hunda. Ojo por ojo, diente por diente!
(I’m not going to rest until I destroy you – an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.)

Later, Dris complains to Cáceres and Coronel Chaib that Teresa has threatened him. Their conversation is interrupted when Chaib gets a call: Teresa has a business proposal for him…

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Can someone fill us in on Herederos?

Labels: aurora, herederos, reina-sur, telemundo

¡Hóla a todos! Some of you know that when I write recaps, I include a lot of photos. I'm not writing recaps for Herederos or Reina and I don't have access to my TiVo setup where I can import the video right now but I thought that Santiago's departure was worth some effort so I grabbed a couple of shots from the online version of Thursday's episode. Descanse en paz, Santiago. We'll miss your hunky self.

Labels: aurora, herederos, reina-sur, telemundo

LA REINA DEL SUR
Part One: A Comment -- feel free to skip the purple prose and go directly to the summary below.

¿Se acabó la luna de miel? ¿Pa’qué te digo que no si sí?
Let’s get a few things straight. For my money, this is still the best acted, best written Spanish language telenovela-formatted dramatic series I have ever seen. Yes, that’s a mouthful –

Spanish Language Telenovela-Formatted Dramatic Series

Because calling this a telenovela sets up false expectations. A traditional telenovela tells the story of a set of characters over time; there are subplot excursions, to be sure, but essentially everything is in service of filling out the dramatic arc. A good part of the pleasure for the viewer is in figuring out how the pieces will eventually fit together; we don’t doubt for a moment that they will fit together.

Remember Aurora? You know, that promising original sci-fi novela starring lovely and gifted Sara Maldonado and everyone’s favorite hunky good guy, Jorge Luís Pila? The show that inherited so much viewer goodwill from its predecessors, El Clon, and ¿Dónde está Elisa? that many of us (myself included) were willing to accept the absurd premise that Eugenio Siller’s twenty-something Lorenzo had morphed into Pila’s forty-something self? (As for the silliness of the science – let’s just acknowledge that technical and scientific accuracy aren’t high on Telemundo’s priorities, adjust our beanies accordingly, and move on.)

I watched as the plot of Aurora took unexpected and -- to me, at least -- unwelcome twists and new characters were introduced with backstories that gave the lie to what I thought I knew. I finally gave up on Aurora when I realized that the problem was me, not them. Telemundo was aiming this one at adolescents and young adults. Definitely not fodder for most of us at CarayCaray.

¡Me cayó el veinte!But now, after a couple of weeks of La Reina del Sur I understand something else: both this new show and Aurora resemble episodic television adventure shows more than they do traditional telenovelas. In each episodio, there is a mini-adventure. Something happens and is resolved. Usually at the same time, a small subplot plays itself out as well. Because the show is aired daily, an ‘episode’ may extend beyond a single evening. But the only story arc that we can expect to continue from the first cápitulo to the last is Teresa Mendoza’s life and times.

In the past few years, I’ve been a little out of it as far as English-language adventure series are concerned, but I imagine that Lost was a bit like this. Super fans could probably tell you everything that had happened to their favorite characters from day one; but casual viewers could tune in to any episode and enjoy a satisfying one-hour story. Years ago, The Fugitive had a long run (sorry); we knew he was looking for the elusive one-armed man, but on the way, we could count on him for a thrilling evening’s adventure.

I’m guessing that the first two capítulos of La Reina that were shown here make up a single episode in the fourteen part version to be shown on Spanish television. That version is likely more faithful to the book and more novelistic in structure. But our version is geared to (if I were unkind, I’d say ‘panders to’) our pan-American tastes for plot movement – threats, chases, judicious doses of beautiful young bodies, male and female. The structure of the book doesn’t exactly lend itself to neat segments of plot so the writers have been busy embroidering. The result? The Adventures of La Mexicana, based on the novel La Reina del Sur. They’ve given us a daring escape from a frustrated DEA agent here, a gutsy foray into a Moroccan orphanage there. Even Teresa’s anonymous ‘grief sex’, although based on an event in the book, is fleshed out into a glimpse into the life and death of sympathetic policeman, Jaime (Juan Pablo Raba).

Maybe that’s why the novela Eva Luna turned out to be such a hit. I watched it early on and found it unbelievable that the producers would gamble everything on Blanca Soto, a drop-dead gorgeous beauty queen with very little skill as an actress and a voice that can only be described as challenging. But they were right on the money! People wanted lots of plot movement, no matter how ridiculous the storyline, and were happy just looking at Blanca, especially when she was paired with Guy Ecker (who must have spent most of his scenes standing on a box so he wouldn’t appear to be staring at Blanca’s chin.)

Here in La Reina del Sur we get plot up the wazoo including chase scenes, sex scenes, and fist fights, gun fights, knife fights; splendid acting; marvelous location shots; and a chance to listen to interesting and varied Spanish dialects. So I’m not complaining. I’m just sayin’…---------------------------------------------------------
LA REINA DEL SUR
Part Two: Friday’s Episode, in brief
Santiago and Lalo head out to sea with a full consignment of drugs in spite of Teresa’s gut feeling – un presentimiento -- that something bad is going to happen. “Yo no soy el Güero” he tells her as he goes out the door.

In Yamila, Soraya notices that Dris is in an unusually expansive mood.

The Gallegos are in Moroccan waters when a Coast Guard vessel appears, seemingly out of nowhere, and orders them to halt. Santiago and Lalo begin to dump their cargo overboard; then Santiago tells Lalo to hold on. Santiago accelerates, the Coast Guard starts shooting and Lalo is hit and falls in the water. By the time Santiago realizes what has happened, he is too far away to help his friend. He manages to make it back to Melilla but Lalo is captured by the Moroccan officials.

The captors torture Lalo until he gives up Coronel Chaib’s name as the one he and Santiago were working for.

In Melilla, Santiago connects briefly with Suleiman and asks him to tell Teresa he is safe and to ask Chaib to get Lalo out of jail. Then he flees to Algeciras, Spain.

If Teresa and Santiago think Chaib is going to help get Lalo out of jail, they are tragically mistaken. When Chaib learns that Lalo has given him up, he curses the day he listened to Teresa. And he decides that 15 years in a Moroccan prison is not punishment enough for Lalo – he has his captors cut out his tongue.

The women – Teresa, Fátima, Soraya and Sheila – figure that someone must have ratted out the Gallegos. Soraya remembers Lalo’s big mouth and Dris’s big ears that day in the restaurant. Ha sido Dris, she says. (Which is a very European use of the present perfect: La Mexicana would surely have used the simple preterite and said “Fue Dris”) Yes, they all agree, it was Dris. He did it out of jealousy.

Teresa confronts Dris: she knows he did it, even if she can’t prove it. But if anything happens to Santiago, Dris is a dead man.

A month passes. Santiago has found work running drugs from Algeciras. But he and Teresa are full of longing for each other. One day, Teresa comes home and finds Santiago sitting on the curb outside her apartment. They fly into each other’s arms and can’t tear their clothes off fast enough. As Fátima remarks with good humor: ¡Qué ganas tienen de revolcarse! (They’re sure hot to trot!)

Come back to Algeciras with me, says Santiago. Teresa turns to the light and says enigmatically:
Un día me voy a morir a esta misma hora. Me va a matar esta luz sucia que siempre entra por la ventana cada vez que empieza y acaba la noche.(One day I’m going to die at this very hour. It’s going to kill me, this dirty light that always comes in through the window when the night begins and when the night ends.)

Yes, she says turning back to Santiago. I’ll go with you. But on one condition – that you let me work with you.
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NUEVO RICO, NUEVO POBRE
This wryly funny Colombian comedy has reached the point where all the bad guys seem poised to salir con la suya. The one bright spot is that Rosemary and Andrés finally dropped their guard (and their pants) in Cartagena and now are willing to tell the world they are novios.

All through the honeymoon, la Flacuchenta esa has kept the absurdly priapic Brayan running for cold showers.

Meanwhile, back in Bogotá, little Ingrid thinks she’s been knocked up by the odious Miller (although I’m hoping she’s wrong – the pregnancy test she used was outdated.) The poor innocent Gordo is in jail. Don Leo has been beaten to a pulp by the local thugs and is in the hospital. Mundo Express has lost a ton of money under Brayan’s inept management and now has been audited and slapped with a huge fine. And slimy Mateo is plotting to steal the motorbikes that Rosemary and Andrés bought in Cartagena.

Could anything else go wrong? Well if Brayan takes the bait and commits an infidelity with one of the pro’s his wife is supplying him with, la Flacuchenta walks away with half of the Ferreira fortune. So far he has been surprisingly resistant to temptation.

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Okay, my friends. Your turn!

Labels: aurora, herederos, reina-sur, telemundo

HEREDEROS: Viernes- A pretty boring episode. Aside from Guadalupe accepting Gaspar's proposal on Beatriz' advice and Jose agreeing to accept paternity for Simón, not much new happened. Julieta moved back home and Sofía had dinner at the Millán's.

Labels: aurora, herederos, reina-sur, telemundo

¡Bienvenidos a marzo! I have not seen the last two episodes of Herederos so I will only comment on Reina.

Labels: herederos, reina-sur, telemundo

ALGUIEN TE MIRA

A few words about the final episode:
I hate the choice the writers made – with that slight knowing sneer and sweep of the hair off his forehead, Emilio is transformed into el Cazador, the next generation. It says that everything we thought we knew is a lie. That evil is innate and it is passed on from one generation to another. Julián’s mother was a monster who abused him. Emilio’s mother is kind and loving and has never neglected him. It doesn’t matter. Emilio is a bad seed.


As for the rest of the episode:
After the suspense of the fire scene – we held our breath until we saw Rodrigo walk out holding Valeria’s body and we knew the human torch, now dead, was Julián – the characters’ stories were resolved without a lot of surprises:
--Luisa Carvajal gets a medal.
--Tatiana survives and eventually reconciles with Benja.
--Camila gets her diploma and the sisters are closer than ever, linked physically and symbolically by the life-saving blood donation.
--Lola accepts and loves little Pedrito and Pedro Pablo’s family is finally at peace.
--Lucía is institutionalized, seemingly catatonic.
--Piedad arranges the sale of the Surgery Center with the proceeds to be given to Matilde and Emilio and to the families of Julián's other victims.
--Matilde (who has made a full recovery after her surgery) and creepy Emilio are moving to California to start a new life.
--Rodrigo accepts a post in North Carolina and asks Piedad to come with him so he, she and Sofia can have a life together.


About ALGUIEN TE MIRA, in general:

We watched this novela become increasingly graphic in its violence and cruelty. Unsympathetic characters moved about freely, seemingly out of harm’s way, while some we thought were protected by the Geneva Telenovela Convention were mercilessly slaughtered. When Eva Zanetti – kind and clever, yes, but also tall, athletic, trained in self-defense and IMPORTANT TO THE STORY – when Eva fell victim to Julián’s el cazador, we knew the writers were playing with a different set of rules.

There was another crucial point in the narrative when Julián’s guilt was revealed to the viewer but not to the other characters in the story. We sat in helpless but still spellbound frustration and horror while over and over Matilde or Piedad or Tatiana walked smilingly into the jaws of the monster. We cheered for Rodrigo, the hero, the first one to see the truth though his warnings were ignored by everyone except Valeria. And we were afraid for Valeria who, even knowing that Rodrigo would never love her, stood by him bravely. Alas, our fears for her were justified.

Great care went into plotting the story and doling out the bits of suspense that kept us glued to our tvs night after night. And yet -- and this seems to be a Telemundo thing -- no one bothered to anchor this story in time or space. We are told it is modern-day Chicago and we’re given some stock footage of the city, but there is no city feel to the characters’ experiences or environments. Even when Valeria is following Julián and tells Rodrigo where she’s heading, the writers can’t be bothered to look at a real map of Chicago and pick an actual road leading to hunting country outside the city. Valeria can only say she is on the main road heading north. Well if the show were set in Mayberry, RFD, perhaps that would have been helpful.

Compare this to a Mexican Televisa novela where the pueblo or city setting are often strong presences. Or to American or European dramas where the city itself is felt as a protagonist in the story.

And it’s not only the geography that is vague. We are supposed to believe that in a high-profile investigation in 2010 Chicago, the police have only the most rudimentary forensic methods at their disposal.

Further, in a show about a group of doctors, where much of action takes place in clinics and hospitals, nearly all the medical detail is laughable. Compare this to the importance American dramas place on verisimilitude. American medical dramas always list medical consultants in their credits; crime dramas routinely consult with police officials and courtroom experts.

Well the writers may not have done their homework in geography, forensics or medicine. But the actors came through for us. The performances of this ensemble of young performers were impeccable, especially when you consider the time pressure of filming so many episodes in such a short time.

So tell me:

What did you think of the body language Rafael Amaya devised to switch from good guy Julián to evil cazador?
I kept thinking he could have been more subtle. Where Julián is slightly soft and yielding, el cazador could have been stony and dead-eyed. I wasn’t fond of the choice to make the monster slightly effeminate in his gestures – sweeping his hair from his forehead, holding his hand near his face, posing like a Tim Gunn from hell.

What about the implication that Emilio is destined to be another cazador? (See the first paragraph above)

Were you happy to see Rodrigo and Piedad end up together?
I’m not sure how I feel about this. Rodrigo deserves better. But as years of telenovela-watching have taught me, En el corazón no se manda.
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LA REINA DEL SUR

This novela based on the novel by Spanish writer Arturo Pérez-Reverte begins on Monday, taking over the time-slot from Alguien te Mira. According to Jean, the story was adapted for the screen by Valentina Parraga, the same writer responsible for adapting Doña Barbara.

Kate del Castillo as Teresa Mendoza seems to be an inspired choice: very Mexican, tough, not precisely beautiful but sexy, athletic and charismatic. I’ve read that Pérez-Reverte himself is happy with the choice.

And of course Rafael Amaya, whom we have just left behind in Alguien, appears here in a very different role as el Güero, the heroic fool, the love of Teresa’s life.

This narrative moves around from Mexico to Spain and to North Africa. (I understand that some of the African locations were also used in El Clon.) I’m hoping that this novela will be the Telemundo exception and that place will have the resonance it deserves.

The story begins in Sinaloa, Mexico. Teresa survives using her wits. Until one day her world falls apart and she has to flee…

I’ve heard that the producers of this telenovela are very sensitive to the messages they may be sending to viewers, especially at this moment in history when the drug cartels have the Mexican people by the throat. In my opinion, the original novel doesn’t glamourize criminals or drugs. Can this telenovela version tell the story of Teresa Mendoza without succumbing to the romance of the outlaw? Or will it be just another narco-corrido that glorifies killers?
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GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT EL MUNDO DE TELEMUNDO

Since the start of a new novela may bring some new readers to this page, Jean and I thought it would be useful to repost these blog guidelines from December.

As the number of comments grows, it gets harder to follow a topic of interest. Most of us, I think, are only interested in one or maybe two shows and would probably appreciate a way to navigate the forest of comments. So in the interest of Chaos Control:

1. Put a clear topic heading on every comment, preferably in caps. For example:

AURORA

Tuesday’s episode was…

or:

GENERAL COMMENT

Telemundo seems to be more concerned with…

That way, we can decide right up front whether to keep on reading. I realize that a lot of us are already doing this, but to those who aren’t – hey, it would help.

2. It’s hard to get away from the recap mindset but I do think comments or questions about what you’ve watched or what others have said are the way to go here. Considering the number of novelas in one place and the fact that the link is for an entire week, when we do post plot updates, it might be best to limit them to brief summaries, basically bullet points of daily episodes.

3. If you’re writing about a particular episode, please add the day of the week. That way you won’t be inadvertently posting a spoiler for someone who hasn’t seen that episode yet. For example:

LA REINA DEL SUR -- Monday
After bombarding us with previews, expectations were high…

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Ok. Your turn now.

Labels: alguien, aurora, herederos, reina-sur, telemundo

The big news on Telemundo is the announcement that La Reina del Sur starts February 28 and it will take over Alguien’s time slot.

ALGUIEN TE MIRA

A month passes. A veneer of normalcy covers the friends’ lives.

Rodrigo helps Valeria through her latest relapse. Valeria’s love and gratitude toward him is such that she would do anything to keep him from suffering. And right now he is tortured by the knowledge that Piedad and baby Sofía are in danger from Julián. Valeria makes a last-minute attempt to convince Piedad that Julián is a menace; she tries to tell her what Vidal’s cellmate has said and explain about the old photo of Julián’s mother, Fabiola, in the black dress. Piedad looks uncomfortable but unconvinced.

Tatiana is functioning normally enough to keep her business running -- even if she has lost some customers. She seems on the verge of telling Piedad about her and Julian’s ‘indiscretion’ but then, uncharacteristically, holds her tongue.

Benjamin is trying to keep his nose clean. He hasn’t forgiven Tatiana or Julián for betraying him and he refuses to go to the wedding. He has seen Camila a couple of times. Camila – who has made the cleanest break from the past with her job, her education and her new-found self-sufficiency -- has made it clear that their romantic relationship is over. We, the viewers, know, (and Tati knows too) that Camila is in love with Benja. But Camila lets Benja believe that she is over him.

Pedro Pablo and Lola have reconciled. The blot on their happiness is Lucía’s disappearance with her (and presumably) Pedro Pablo’s son.

Newborns are quite fragile. It’s hard to imagine how Pablito, let alone Lucía, could survive on the street. If they’re alive, it’s because someone took them in. With what intentions? Who knows. Does Lucía’s mother remember that just before she delivered Pablito, Luci was checking out Indianapolis as a place to live?

Matilde is ever more eloquent with facial expressions, blinks, tears and hand squeezes. It’s hard to accept that no one has figured out how to communicate with her. Unless she has an enemy we are unaware of, she should be safe while Julián is away.

Once the telemédico passes his magical scalpel over her, she will recover completely. And she’ll be able to expose Julián for the monster that he is. If only they’d do the operation before Julián comes back….

Julián and Piedad continue with their quiet wedding preparations. Just before the ceremony, Julián’s son, Emilio, surprises Piedad with a gift: the family tree project he was working on for school. Only now it is complete. The famous photo of Fabiola in pearls and black dress and labeled by name takes pride of place on the chart. Julián and Piedad agree to keep the gift their secret. (Will someone else find the chart, realize its importance, and turn it over to Carvajal?) Again, Piedad looks uncomfortable but still not ready to admit that her faith in Julián is tragically misplaced.

We see Rodrigo running desperately, breathlessly through the streets. Is he hoping to stop Piedad's wedding at the last minute? If so, he arrives too late for Piedad but not too late to hold his daughter in his arms. But Julián and Piedad have already exchanged vows. And we see them leave for their brief honeymoon. And then we see the absolute misery on Piedad's face as she braces herself for an intimate moment with her new husband.

Knowing that Matilde’s recovery means the downfall of the Cazador:
Will Julián come back to kill Matilde before she can betray him?
Or will he make a run for it?

And if he runs:
Will he kill Piedad first?
Will he take her with him?
Or will he let her go?

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NUEVO RICO, NUEVO POBRE

I guess I’m watching this alone, DVRing the daytime episodes and trying to catch up on the weekends. This Colombian comedy is like Yo Soy Betty La Fea – sweetly funny, sharply observed and beautifully played. I guess it is just too regional for prime-time showing. Too bad because it’s so much better than just about every primetime comedy I’ve seen on the two major US Spanish language stations. (Or maybe I just prefer the Colombian to the Mexican take on comedy.) Right now Andrés, the nuevo pobre, is becoming a better person and learning a little about empathy and love; while Brayan, the nuevo rico, is letting himself be led by appearances and getting more callous and less likeable every day.

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Okay. Te toca a ti. Your turn!

Labels: alguien, herederos, telemundo