Caray, Caray!

¡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

Hello from snowy New Jersey! Thanks to everyone for the great comments. I'll start off with Friday's Herederos, the only novela I am watching right now.

Labels: alguien, herederos, reina-sur, telemundo

Last week’s comments were terrific. Thanks everyone!

NUEVO RICO, NUEVO POBRE

This is for real: Last Friday there was a piece in BBC Mundo about how Venezuelan authorities pulled the Colombian novela, Chepe Fortuna, off the air because:
…promueve la intolerancia política y racial, así como la xenofobia y la apología del delito.
(...it promotes political and racial intolerance as well as xenophobia and a rationale for crime.)

Here’s the article, if you’re curious: http://tinyurl.com/66qt9qa

It seems the novela features a minor character named Venezuela (and another, her sister, Colombia). Venezuela is characterized as a large, kind of vulgar, dark-skinned woman who, when told that her small dog, Huguito, is missing, cries out tearfully:
¿Qué va a ser de Venezuela sin su Huguito?
(What’s to become of Venezuela without her Huguito?)
Her less than sympathetic friend answers:
Va a ser libre, Venezuela...
(You’re gonna be free, Venezuela…)
… because lately that Huguito of yours has been sticking his nose in where it doesn’t belong.

Hugo Chavez didn’t see the humor, apparently. And we’re not likely to see SNL Venezuela any time soon.

I thought of this when I was watching the latest episode of the Colombian comedy, Nuevo Rico, Nuevo Pobre, in which the newly minted and totally unprepared executive of a major shipping company says in a televised speech: Yankees Go Home! The "Yankees" in question are empresarios who have given the Colombian firm an ultimatum: if they want their business, the Colombians will have to do some belt-tightening and lay off 200 employees. Talk about Ugly Americans.

I’m so glad we live in a country where we get to decide whether to laugh or switch the channel.

That’s it. Just had to get that off my chest.

HEREDEROS DEL MONTE – OR – All the Pretty Horses…and the People Ain’t Bad Either.

Lots of amor no correspondido (unrequited love), uncertain parentage, guapos y guapas. I’m happy to enjoy it vicariously through your comments. Have at!

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ALGUIEN TE MIRA – As of Friday

As we sit at home and gnash our teeth, Julián just keeps getting away with it. Arrrrrggggggggghhh!!! And while Matilde lies unconscious with the direst of prognoses, Julián and the ever-more odious Piedad make out in the waiting room. And Julían waits for an opportunity to get to Matilde – “I’m the father of her child! And I’m a doctor!” – and finish the job he started.

In what may have been the last phone call of Matilde’s life (remember how she frantically dialled Tatiana from the deserted gas station), she cried out Julián’s name. And now the moronic Tatiana is determined to hide that fact from the police. In that decision she is supported by the even more moronic Lola.

Mauricio’s gruesome remains – minus the head – are delivered to the police. The idiot Fiscal insists that Mauricio’s death is unrelated to el Cazador. Amador and Carvajal know better, but not much.

(Can anyone tell I'm getting a little impatient with these people?)

Only Rodrigo has hit upon the truth: the killer is Julián. Rodrigo is trying to keep Valeria from coming to Julián’s attention but she insists on taking risks in her efforts to prove his innocence. I wasn’t worried about her before, but I am now.

Camila is finally a success at something: with her deliberate overdose of ‘calmantes’, she is effectively punishing her sister and her brother-in-law.

Daniel Vidal is still out there lurking in the shadows. Back at the killing ground, he could have stopped Julián from harming Matilde; later he could have prevented the murder of the good samaritan at the gas station. At the very least, if he didn’t want to get his hands dirty, he could have alerted the police. But he is apparently interested in keeping Julián alive and at liberty so he can bleed him dry financially – murder victims past, present and future be damned!

We are waaaaaaaaaay past a possible happy ending. I only hope that the police recognize Julián’s guilt and they are able to stop him. And I’d rather see him dead than in jail because that’s the only way to stop him from hurting anyone else.

How do you think this is going to end?
-----------------

AURORA

I got nothin’. Your comments are welcome.

LA REINA DEL SUR

Like Urban Anthropologist, I’m assuming La Reina will be replacing Alguien. I’ve read that it is the most expensive Telemundo production to date and that Kate del Castillo was author Arturo Pérez-Reverte’s personal choice for the title role.

A few of you have read or are reading the novel. I’ve gone back to it and am trying to read a chapter a week. The prose is already very cinematic and I have a feeling that the script will often use the original literally.
I’ll leave you with this quote, something Teresa remembers:
Raimundo Dávila Parra aka el Guëro Dávila: Mejor, solía decir, cinco años como rey que cincuenta como buey. (p.50)
(Better, he used to say, five years as a king than 50 as an ox. buey: literally, ox but in Mexico = idiot, fool)

Okay, now it's your turn.

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

¡Hola a todos! Thanks for the great comments last week. With Alguien at an exciting point and Herederos beginning, there was a lot comment on.

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