Caray, Caray!

Here's a fresh page for your thoughts. Have a great week, everyone!

Labels: diamante, maid, pablo, rostro, telemundo, valiente

¡Hola á todos! We're on a roll with three novelas: the two new ones - Rosa Diamante and Pablo Escobar and Corazón Valiente continues. Thanks to Novelera, Hombre de Misterio and Novela Maven for their recaps. Over to you.

Labels: diamante, maid, pablo, telemundo, valiente

¡Hola a todos!

Novelera continues her brilliant chronicles of Flor Salvaje, now in its últimas semanas and Corazón Valiente starring Adriana Fonseca is in the wings, waiting to step in. By the promos, it looks as if Ximena Duque hasn't quite worked the Carola Conde out of her system. Might be worth checking out though ...

For a while, Novelera and Hombre de Misterio were hanging out with me at El Talismán. Now that ET is generally agreed to be a serious contender for the worst telenovela ever made, (Ever. By anyone) they are back here. A clear win for Telemundo fans and a loss for Talismaniacs. Oh well. De gustibus ...

Una Maid and Relaciones Peligrosas both have their fans here -- here's your page, amigos. Enjoy!

Labels: flor-salvaje, maid, relaciones, telemundo

Hola a todos from very warm and sunny Santa Cruz, California where I am taking care of some family business. I haven't been able to watch any novela episodes since Monday so it's over to you.

Labels: flor-salvaje, maid, relaciones, telemundo

¡Hola a todos!

This past week we said goodbye to the La casa de al lado and welcomed a new novela, Relaciones peligrosas. It looks like a few folks here will be following this one. Not me though. At this point, nothing in the Telemundo line-up has seduced me. That could change any time – I’m easy :)

Hombre and Novelera, thanks for keeping the ball rolling with your excellent, yet succinct recaps of the evening novelas. Maybe I’ll see you over at El Talismán.

Your turn.

Labels: flor-salvaje, maid, relaciones, telemundo

¡Bienvenidos a todos! I guess Monday is the big finale for La Casa. I'm not sure if I'll try Relaciones Peligrosas. Over to you. I have to go out and shovel snow!

Labels: casa-lado, flor-salvaje, maid, relaciones, telemundo

LA CASA DE AL LADO – as of Friday

In the beginning. this show was delicious. There was so much nervous energy, so much sly malice, so many people we loved to hate. It was great fun trying to guess what crazy secrets would be revealed from one night to the next. And then there were the stylized and stylish sets, each one with its own story to tell. Now, with Relaciones peligrosas slated to begin on January 24, we Caseros are feeling stuffed. The meal should have ended hours ago but they just keep serving new courses, anything to keep the Dish Latino full.

I for one am ready to retire to the study for cognac, cigars and a dénouement worthy of Hercule Poirot.

---------------------------------------
Let’s take a look at Friday’s episode. Apparently it’s not quite time to break out the brandy snifters. Sigh.

Et tu Pilar?
Gonzaki sees the microphone in Pilar's jacket and realizes that she has tricked him into confessing. She has betrayed him! He allows her and her children to get out of the car; and then he drives off, completely shattered.

McJustice is served
Emilio delivers the recording of Gonzo’s confession to Javier. In record time, Javier obtains a court order for Carola’s immediate release from prison. A warrant is issued for Gonzalo’s arrest. His apartment swarms with uniformed cops; another team raids the house he co-opted in the country.

Meanwhile, Carola pays a visit to Renato’s grave. So many things were left unsaid between them; her father died disappointed in her for a crime she didn’t commit. She vows that Gonzaki will pay!

She finally makes her way back to the Conde apartment and into Eva’s welcoming embrace. But she’s there only briefly – she has to go to Pilar’s house to thank her personally for everything she has done for her.

Nibaldo brings Rebeca to her sister’s house where, at last, she is comfortably ensconced in smooth linens, her head propped on a soft white pillow. Everyone is thrilled to see she has made some progress towards recovery -- now she is moving her arms and saying more words -- despite the neglect verging on torture she has suffered over the last several months.

Rebeca struggles to tell them about Gonzalo but Pilar explains that the Mora brothers' secret is out and the police know all about it. Pilar also reveals the existence of her own evil twin, Raquel, and the deaths she has caused -- including the loss that seems to affect Rebeca the most -- that of Renato Conde. Finally, Nibaldo, Hilda and the kids leave Pilar, Cecilia and Rebeca alone so they can talk.

Diego and Andrea wander nervously downstairs. They are even more spooked when they notice the front door is ajar. Apparently they still haven’t posted the “No solicitors or murderers” sign
because we see the shadow, the black shoes and trousers ... the peri-homicidal tilt of the head. It’s Gonzalo and he’s out for blood.

Comic Relief No One is In The Mood For
Karen, gotten up in a black spangly figure-hugging tux cum leotard and towering stilettos, shows up on Eva’s doorstep. She turns on her boombox and wiggles her assets, as large as Michoacán. She has heard that Eva is in the star-making business, it seems. If Nibaldo, then why not Karen? Eva finally gets her to leave by saying she can't make any promises but she'll see what she can do. Karen takes that as a firm commitment -- she's on her way to the top!

Is Javier becoming a mensch? He is modest about his contribution to Carola’s release – all he did was deliver the judicial papers -- and generous in giving credit to Pilar and Emilio. Everyone is struck by how much he seems to have changed.

Cecilia’s heart is as black as her eyeliner
When she is alone with Pilar and Rebeca, she finally spills the beans about why she gave Raquel away. It was all Rebeca’s mother’s fault! The bitch expected alimony and child support! It’s expensive enough to raise one child but when Ceci found she was expecting twins ... well! That’s when her cleaning lady gave her the idea of giving one of the babies away ...

Pilar’s cell phone sounds and she walks out of the room to take the call.

Rebeca is left alone with Ceci. She has no choice but to listen to this self-serving tale in stony silence.

The Night is Crawling with Monsters
Pilar recognizes the call is from Gonzalo ... but why doesn’t he say anything? She doesn’t realize he is standing right behind her. Holding a gun. He raises it and aims ... but quickly ducks out of sight when Cecilia, guessing that the call is from Gonzo, comes downstairs after Pilar.

Gonzaki listens as Pilar tells Cecilia how she feels: It broke her heart to see his pain -- and his pain was very real -- when he understood that she had betrayed him. His face crumples and he snot-cries.

Pilar heads over to la casa de al lado to thank Javier for bringing Rebeca back to her and getting Carola out of jail. (Interestingly, she’s talking like Pilar but she’s dressed kind of Raquelishly – tight red pants, sparkly gold top, big hoop earrings.)

Gonzaki follows her out and watches through the wrought-iron fence de al lado. He sees Pilar enter and then, a moment later, sees Javier go inside. Luckily he can’t hear Pilar tell Javier he has turned into the man she fell in love with so many years ago – ¡Qué bueno encontrarme con él una vez más! (How good it is to meet up with him again!)

Adolfael is on the move
He has nothing against Cecilia and he kind of likes Pilar. But Raquel wants him to bring her Cecilia so that’s what he’ll do. Cuz he and Raquel, they're a team.

Ceci is pouring herself a drink when she hears a door open. Is Pilar back already? She’s surprised to find the door wide open. Aha! It’s that bastard, Gonzalo! Show your face or I’m calling the police, says our booze-emboldened Cecilia.

Adolfael has heard enough. Blah blah blah, he mocks in disgust. No soy Gonzalo – soy su hermano, he says, as he presses his gun into the back of her neck. But wait! Carola Conde is on her way to the Casa Ruiz! Will she be Cecilia’s salvation?

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Fans of Una Maid and Flor -- your turn!

Labels: casa-lado, flor-salvaje, maid, telemundo

¡Felix Día de Tres Reyes Magos! Ok, that was last week but whatever. I'm filling in for NovelaMaven this week.

Labels: casa-lado, flor-salvaje, maid, telemundo

Dos mil doce is here! ¡Feliz año nuevo a todos!

Labels: casa-lado, flor-salvaje, maid, telemundo

Wishing you all a joyous holiday! See you in a week!

Labels: casa-lado, flor-salvaje, maid, telemundo

¡Feliz Navidad!

Labels: casa-lado, flor-salvaje, maid, telemundo

LA CASA DE AL LADO – capítulo 135, viernes

So the writers had some surprises for us last night:
Renato’s caller forces us to reexamine the suspect pool; and we learn that Ignacia sí era mamá! – or so it appears!

Ignacia Conde died the way she lived – a selfish fool and a coward. Instead of alerting the cops to Adolfael’s plan – and she knew very well he was a serial killer and a continuing threat to herself and her family as long as he remained free – she went along with him, agreeing to lure Gonzaki to his death. So it’s hard to grieve her fate. Like Sebastián’s death, (he stood by quietly and watched Pilar drink from what he suspected was a poisoned champagne glass), hers was an ironic turn-around. But the grief of the people she has left behind is devastating.

Over her dead body
Almost everyone appears at the velorio: the men in their black shirts and suits looking like mafiosi; Pilar in funereal black, but in a short, asymmetrical shoulder-baring dress that is, you should excuse the expression, drop-dead glamourous. And when Mabel stands outside the church clutching a bouquet, she brings to mind a jilted bride.

Gonzalo and Javier glare accusingly at one another and even come to blows outside the church. But Eva, her sharp edges blunted by grief, says Javier and Ignacia loved each other and she would have wanted him there. And Carola always loved Adolfo, she adds in a nearly inaudible aside.

Gonzo is still trying to get someone to reveal Carola’s hiding place. He just wants to help her, he insists. Emilio warns Eva not to give up Carola’s whereabouts to anyone, especially Gonzalo.

Renato’s grief has turned to rage and a thirst for vengeance. He believes Pilar’s alibi for Gonzo but nothing can quell the fury he feels towards Javier for stealing his whole life out from under him. It is Pilar who convinces him to let Javier pay his respects to Ignacia; the sooner he does so, the sooner he’ll be gone.

Now Renato’s rage is focused on Adolfo. When Mabel shows up proffering condolences and flowers, he rejects them furiously. What he wants to know: Where are Mabel’s sons, Iñaki and Ismael?

The creepy voice on the phone:
Friday’s episode opens with the phone call Renato receives outside the church. Renato listens in horror as the voice – mechanically distorted to prevent recognition – announces that he (or she) is the person who killed his daughter and his unborn grandson; and he is going to do the same to the rest of the family.

Mabel runs into the church for help. Gonazaki, on the scene in a flash, takes the phone from Renato, who looks like he’s about to collapse. “Who are you?” barks Gonzo to the caller. “You’re the last person to demand explanations”, replies the voice. “You were there! Can you guess who I am? I’m very close to you. Right now! Right where you are! Have you guessed who wrote the books?”

The camera pans the faces of the small group: Renato, Eva, Yolanda, Pilar – and Mabel, standing alone on the church steps holding the funeral bouquet. [Let’s think about who’s not there: Adolfo, Carola, Carmen, Hilda, Nibaldo. And the “tourists”.]

After the velorio, the mourners return home:

Carola in her glammed-up cat burglar outfit, is still in Ignacia’s room when Javier stumbles back to the Casa Conde. She hides herself, sliding under the bed, and he throws himself on top of it. Tears stream down his face.

Carola waits until Javier is asleep – his limp hand dangles in front of her face – and then crawls out with her trophy, the locked blue box. As she is leaving the room, he sits up but doesn’t seem to see her.

Carola runs downstairs and then pauses. She senses that someone else is there and calls out: ¿Quién está ahí? She sees a shadow but before she can investigate she hears Javier coming down the stairs. She runs out the door.

Javier finds the front door open. He glimpses the shadow of a long-haired woman. The shadow disappears. “I saw you” he cries into the darkness. “And sooner or later I’ll find out who you are!”

Pilar, long hair loose (just like the shadow woman’s), is back at home. She heads upstairs and swallows some pills. Lots of pills. From a prescription bottle. It broke her heart to see how Renato and Eva are suffering, she tells Hilda.

Emilio stops by to pick up the baby. Everything went fine with “tu hija”, Hilda tells him. “Nuestra hija” corrects Emilio. And Hilda repeats: “Nuestra hija”. She is more insistent than ever that they get married at the end of the month as planned. Then they can all be together and he won’t be torn between her and his parents. Surely his boss will understand he needs a few days off.

Mabel returns to the Slaughterhouse in the country. Adolfo is on his way out, ignoring her warning of the danger out there -- Renato is gunning for him.

Carmen’s surprising skill set:
Carola, now back at Carmen’s place, puzzles over how to open the locked blue box. “I have some tools...” offers Carmen helpfully. She breaches the lock in seconds. [Oh really? And what is it exactly that you do for a living?]

Carola looks inside and then reaches for her phone. She calls Emilio – she needs him right away!

Si no por las buenas, por las malas
Now we follow Adolfo as he drives up to the car rental agency. The clerk wouldn’t give him the info on the tourists when he asked him nicely, so he'll get what he needs by stealth. He cuts the power outside the building (presumably shutting down the alarm system), breaks in easily and finds what he is looking for.

Say what? Mabel is a writer?
Gonzaki comes to the Slaughterhouse looking for Adolfael. Mabel tells him his brother is out investigating Ignacia’s death. He’s welcome to wait for him. Would he mind if she kept reading? Gonzo is surprised. He didn’t know she was so fond of reading. “Oh, I love to read” she replies. “I write too, but that’s something no one knows about”.

Gonzaki narrows his eyes. “Why are you looking at me like that?” asks Mabel.

At the Casa Conde, we glimpse a shadowy intruder in Ignacia’s room, the room where Javier wallows and drinks and remembers: “Ignacia estaba embarazada. Ignacia iba a tener un hijo mio”.

He stumbles to the bathroom to splash water on his face. He looks up and is spooked by Pilar’s reflection in the mirror. He makes his way back to the bedroom and finds his whiskey bottle lying in shards on the floor.

Javier is beside himself. As drunk as he is, he manages to negotiate his way down the stairs, out the door and across to his old house. He muscles inside, pushing Hilda and Karen out of his way, and runs up to Pilar’s room. She appears to be sleeping, all covered up except for her loose hair and one bare shoulder. “No puede ser” mutters Javier. He leaves the room, still convinced that Pilar was just in his house.

Was she? As soon as Javier is gone, she opens her eyes. Her face is unreadable. Is she fully clothed under that blanket?

Javier returns to the Casa Conde, enters the study and takes a gun from the desk drawer.

Ignacia’s Secret is revealed
Emilio has arrived at Carmen’s and he and Carola try to make sense of what they have found in Ignacia’s mysterious blue box. A baby’s pacifier. A card, crudely hand-lettered, as if by a small child. On the outside: “Te quiero mucho”; on the inside, a child’s drawing. A photo of a young boy. A hospital bracelet. And a card issued by a public hospital. Child’s name: Luis. Date of birth: 4/29/06; Mother: ICS. As in Ignacia Conde Spencer. Emilio and Carola are stunned: Ignacia had a child and they never knew!
[And here, gentle reader, a confession: Until the child’s birthdate was revealed, I was sure the child was Emilio. But we all know Emilio isn’t a five-year-old, even if he sometimes acts like one.]


Adolfael is back home with the spoils
Gonzaki has been waiting and now follows his brother to the cellar. Mabel sits placidly on the couch and keeps on reading but we can’t quite make out the title of the book she is so engrossed in.

Adolfael has the info on the tourists and the address of the cheap hotel where they are staying. But Gonzaki interrupts him. He’s anxious to share his latest suspicion: “Suppose mamá wrote the books ... maybe she’s the person we’re looking for.”

Where was mamá?
Gonzaki tells Adolfael all about the anonymous phone call outside the church. Mabel was one of the people there. And think about it – why did she come back to Miami? Of everyone, she has the strongest motive to do harm to the Condes. But the most important question:
“¿Dónde estaba mamá cuando mataron a Ignacia?”

Adolfael listens wordlessly and then runs upstairs. Now Mabel is reading at the table and we can see the title of her book clearly: Interpreting Personality Theories. She glances up. “Qué te pasa?” she asks, her face the usual affectless mask.

The nameless baby is getting a name
Back at the Conde apartment, Emilio tells Eva he has finally chosen a baptismal name for his daughter: "Le voy a poner Ignacia ... es una manera de mantenerla viva entre nosotros, de recordarla. ¿Te parece?” “Claro que sí”, answers Eva, very moved.

Nibaldo’s recovery is remarkable. He should be out of the hospital in time for Hilda’s wedding. “At least there’s some good news among all the tragedy”, says Yolanda. “What tragedy?” asks Nibaldo, clearly unaware of Ignacia’s death. “Why, what happened to you, of course” Yolanda sputters.
[Man... why couldn’t they trot out a miracle cure for someone like Matías ... or Omar ... or Igor? I guess we have to keep our hopes up for Rebeca.]

Carola visits Ignacia’s grave.
“I found your locked box”, she says. “Why did you hide so many things? I have the feeling now that I never really knew you. And that feeling is killing me ... what can I do to understand who you were? ¿Cómo hago?”

Adolfael goes rogue – so what else is new?
The plan was to hunt down los turistas together. But cowboy Adolfael drives to the motel alone and then calls Gonzaki to tell him he’s there. Gonzaki takes the call in his office. While he’s arguing with his brother, Renato walks in. Without missing a beat, Gonzo pretends to be talking to the police, addressing his caller as “comandante”.

Renato is consumed with frustrated fury. “Help me”, he begs Gonzaki. He’ll go crazy if Ignacia’s killer isn’t caught. He’s ready to kill Adolfo with his bare hands.

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Okay guys. Sorry for being so verbose today – I get that way sometimes. Just skim through for what interests you and feel free to ignore the rest.

Fans of Flor and Una Maid, it’s your turn.

Labels: casa-lado, flor-salvaje, maid, telemundo

Sorry for the delay in posting. I also haven't had a chance to see any of the novelas so over to you.

Labels: casa-lado, flor-salvaje, maid, telemundo

LA CASA DE AL LADO

The casa of the title can refer to the Conde mansion with its stylized black and white interior; or it can be the Ruiz digs, where no one talks about the elephant in the room. Literally. It depends on the perspective of the speaker. This shifting perspective is especially evident now that Javier Ruiz inhabits the Casa Conde and Pilar has moved in to keep an eye on him and take care of her sister, Rebeca.

The transition hasn’t been easy for Javier. Intruders – including the entire Conde family – enter as easily as they did before and evil still lurks in every corner.

And then there’s the whole servant problem:

Where’s Nibaldo?
The viewer has seen him lying, bloody and inert – though not necessarily dead – in a public park. The police are called after a young couple spot him. But the only one of our characters who knows about Nibaldo’s misfortune is the one responsible: Ismael.

Hilda is gone too (but only to la casa de al lado, thank goodness).
She agrees to help look after Pilar’s kids – it’s only right. After all, Diego saved her from Javier and Andrea also helped to fend off her monstrous father.

Back to the Future:
On Wednesday we saw Renato accepting a mysterious shipment of books and then “accidentally” dropping a copy of Condenados in front of Emilio. We were nonplussed, especially when we noticed the conspiratorial look Renato and Eva shared.

Then Carola finds her copy of the new book snuck into her handbag and guesses correctly that it must have come from her parents.

But from what we learned last night, it seems as if Novelera’s brilliant deduction was correct – Renato has rewritten Condenados, at least in part. One thing we know: in this new version, Ignacia survives. We’d know a lot more if these people weren’t all such maddeningly slow readers. We’d know, for example, if veneno is still in Sebastian’s future in this edition. (And again, hats off to Hombre for guessing that one!) And of course we don’t know if a murderer’s plans can be derailed by writing out his evil deeds.

The red tongue of the stairway swallows them up and spits them back out, over and over and over. And the house just keeps on laughing.

Pilar marches up the stairs in those wild lemon-colored stilettos. She’s going to check on her sister. But when she hears Rebeca say the word Pilar , she races back downstairs to share the miracle with Javier. She wants him to call a doctor to come and evaluate her. Gladly, he says -- now neither manic nor depressed but rather back at baseline bastard – just withdraw your domestic violence accusation and I’ll do whatever you want.

Meanwhile Ignacia arrives at the front door. Just as she is declaring her love for Javier and begging him to admit he feels the same way, Gonzaki bursts in looking for Pilar: She’s living in this house now, right Javier?

Poor Ignacia. She races angrily up the stairs closely followed by Gonzaki. Fuera de aquí, she screams at Pilar.

Are you nuts? asks Pilar (though we all know this is just a rhetorical question.) You think I’m here because of Javier? ¡Te lo regalo! ¡Quédate con él! I’m here for Rebeca!

Then Pilar turns to Gonzaki: I’m here to protect my sister. And like you said in court, you’re just my lawyer. So butt out, buster!

Pilar struts off on the lemon stilettos and Ignacia clumps back down on her impossibly steep wedgies.

Now Renato bursts through the open door and tells Javier to get lost. Ignacia asked her parents to protect her and that’s what they’re going to do. He insists she come back home with him.

Javier smirks and preens here, telling Renato: You’re the one who needs to get lost. ¡Esta es la casa de papi!

Now the red tongue spits Gonzaki back into the foyer. Javier reflects ruefully that the house is filled with people who hate him. (And the viewer reflects that the trick would be to fill the house with people who don’t hate him.)

Gonzo leaves with these words:
Cuídala, Javier – es la única cosa que tengo en la vida.

And the viewers finally let out their collective breath – Amazingly Pilar hasn’t blurted out Rebeca’s progress to Gonzaki. Yet.

It was a dark and stormy night...
Hilda and Emilio are hosting a party to celebrate their upcoming wedding.
So what if Emilio hasn’t told Hilda he turns tricks for a living?
So what if Hilda still can’t bear to be in the same room as her baby?
So what if the party house has no water? (Sure, you can buy ice and get food delivered – but are they planning to bring in Porta-Potties?)
And so what if crazed killer Ismael is lurking in the shadows?

The heavens weigh in with an opinion – fierce winds, rain, bolts of lightning.

The usual suspects file in ...

While in la casa de al lado, Pilar tells Rebeca she’s just going to pop in on the party and toast to Hilda and Emilio’s happiness. (Better let Sebastián taste the champagne first, Pilar.) Javier is safely in his room and all is well. Va a ser una noche muy tranquila coos the oblivious Pilar to her helpless sister. But the frantic expression in Rebeca’s eyes tells us she knows better. She remembers the terrible things that have happened to her already ...

Outside the storm rages. Pilar stops for an umbrella and steps into the wild of the night.

Inside, Javier, fully dressed, emerges from the shadows.
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OTHER SHOWS

Fans of Mi corazón insiste know that por fin, el fin is on Monday. Then the new Eugenio Siller novela begins on Tuesday: Una Maid en Manhattan. I think I’ll pass – don’t think I’m their target demographic. Anybody in on that one?

Fans of Flor salvaje and Mi Corazón -- les toca a ustedes --

Labels: casa-lado, flor-salvaje, insiste, maid, telemundo