Caray, Caray!

I apologize for the length of this recap. It was a super-busy week for La Fea! I was torn between glossing over the silly stuff that's funny but not important, or relating every little thing. I hope I managed to strike an acceptable compromise.

I also decided to organize my recaps into a few different storylines, rather than jumping back and forth, because it's a more coherent way to summarize a week's worth of stuff. At least, I think it might be. There's a lot of overlap, but I think I can make it work. We'll see.

Oh and I lost a whole page of notes, so some of this is reconstructed from memory. On with the shoe!

---

Tomas's story:
Last week, Tomas lent his cell phone to a woman he met at a bar, who was introduced by those two older dudes who I assume Tomas is investing the shadow company's money with (that's just my guess as to who they are). She left the bar without giving the phone back, and Tomas was too drunk to realize that until later. The next day, either she or her friend (I lost track) used that phone to call him, and told him to meet her someplace so she could give it back to him.

Tomas gets there as soon as he can, telling the woman that his chauffeur dropped him off. The woman flirts with Tomas and won't let him have the phone until he promises to take her to the most exclusive restaurant in town. She also wants to know who Lety is, since Lety had called that phone earlier (more on that later). She teases Tomas, wanting to know if Lety is his girlfriend.

Tomas nervously calls Lety, wanting to know what's up. Lety just needs to make sure that there's enough money in the shadow company's account to make payroll for Conceptos. Tomas rattles off a lot of numbers from memory, right in front of that woman, while the woman continues to grope and flirt with him. Uh, bad move, Tomas. I'm not sure if Tomas's old dude friends have actually hired this woman to spy on Tomas, or if it's just a lucky coincidence and she's going to try to sell them this info later, but it's clear that he has said way too much. (I'm also not sure if she realizes that he's not the bigshot he claims to be, though she'd have to be pretty stupid to buy his silly act.)

Anyway... it's time to go to dinner, or to her place, or something, so he tells her to wait there and he'll go find his chauffeur. (I guess this imaginary chauffeur doesn't have an imaginary cell phone.) As soon as he is out of her sight, he runs away.

---

Mom & Dad's story:

Not that there is much to tell, but it seems RoboPapa has lost his job and is depressed and grumpy (yeah, I know, he's always grumpy anyway). Mom has found some of their wedding stuff in a closet, and she tries to cheer him up by putting on her wedding veil and showing him some old photos. They reminisce, and it puts him in a better mood. They talk about what an angel their Lety is, too.

Later, at lunch, they tease Tomas about his lost phone and the friendly-sounding woman who called for him.

---

Lola's, Paula Maria's, and Saimon's stories:

Some of the feas go into the bathroom before leaving for lunch, and they catch Marta snacking. Well, they suspect she's snacking, but she denies it, because her autosuggestion diet is working so incredibly well. After they leave, the snack that she had so hurriedly stuffed into her purse is all crushed and ruined. (This was probably a lot funnier for people who actually understood the conversation.)

The feas wait around the elevator to go to lunch. They tease Saimon about something (possibly Yazmin). By the way, the reason Paula Maria is being so mean to Saimon is because she's still mad at him for going out on a date with Yazmin. It had been Lola's idea to get Saimon to go on a date with Yazmin, and then arrange for her ex-husband to catch them, so he'd find out what kind of person she is (not that he's any prize himself). Either Saimon didn't realize it was a setup or else he decided he wanted Yazmin all to himself, so he took her to a different restaurant, and Lola's ex never caught them.

Anyway, Lety gets off the elevator and chats with the feas with elaborate casualness. Then, grinning, she announces that they will all get their paychecks by the end of the day. They all cheer, hug, and jump up and down. Saimon and PM accidentally hug, then separate hurriedly.

At the end of the day, the feas congregate around the elevator once again, and Saimon chats with Celso, the security guy. Lety comes down, and they all congratulate and hug Saimon (and once again, I have no idea what this is all about, so if anyone could shed any light on this, I'd appreciate it) on their way out.

After they all leave, Saimon cries and says he's an idiot. I won't argue with him, and I know why he's an idiot, but I wish I knew why HE thinks he's an idiot. :-)

The next day, Saimon and Alicia joke about knowing each others' names. Something about Saimon vs. Simon. (Why can't I ever figure out what's going on in any of Saimon's scenes?) Lopez wanders by and Alicia tattles to him about Paula Maria's frequent tardiness. (If it's late enough for PM to be late, shouldn't Alicia be at her own desk by now?) Fernando shows up and points out that Alicia is hardly the queen of punctuality herself. Saimon begs Fernando to have mercy on PM, but Fern and Marcia agree to leave it up to Lopez. I guess they feel like Lopez ought to have SOME say in personnel matters once in a while. But Fernando also decides to punish Alicia by giving her PM's job! It's something of a demotion, plus she will have to be more punctual and courteous.

The feas discuss PM's firing and wonder where she is. She finally shows up with her son. Something unfortunate has happened (I think she's been kicked out of her home, but doesn't she live with her mom?). I mean, it must have been something VERY bad, because she's dressed more modestly than usual (that is, she's wearing a tiny tube top under her open jacket, as opposed to a bra under her open jacket like she wore the day before; Alicia looks like a nun compared to the way PM usually dresses). Celso acts as a go-between in Saimon and PM's conversation, as Saimon tells PM that Lopez is waiting to see her. This has been a running joke between Saimon and PM, because they've been angry with one another, but at the moment it seems not to be doing a good job of lightening the mood in the room.

PM and the feas retire to their secret meeting room (aka the ladies' room) to discuss the situation away from PM Jr., who is being entertained by Saimon and Celso over by the elevator. They hope that Lety, who is taking the morning off on some mysterious errand, will be able to help.

Lopez starts banging on the door. (The thought of Lopez "banging" anything is pretty grotesque, isn't it? Never mind.) I have to give this guy credit for being possibly the only person in the company to spend more than 40% of his on-camera time doing his actual job rather than gossipping or swooning, but he's still a creep. Anyway, the feas try to protect PM, and appeal to Marcia again for mercy, but again she says no. PM is fired. Lola says something to Lopez that gets bleeped. (Anyone know what word(s) you can say on Mexican TV but not on Univision?)

PM runs into Alicia on the way out. Alicia apologizes profusely. PM angrily tells her that she's crazy.

Saimon has been putting styling gel in PM Jr's hair. PM calls her latest boyfriend to explain her situation. Saimon covers Jr.'s ears so he doesn't hear any more bad news or adult conversation, and Celso covers Saimon's ears so he doesn't hear any lovey-dovey talk. PM tells her bf she needs help. He tells her... I'm not sure. I think he tells her he's going to Greece, but in any case, he's not going to be able to help her. She thanks him sadly and tells him not to worry. She hangs up the phone. Saimon is furious that this is happening to Paula Maria.

Fernando stops into his lobby to find the feas pleading again on PM's behalf. Then Saimon comes up to add his own heartfelt, flowery pleas. They all sneak down by the elevators while PM and Jr. discuss their future. Jr. says something about his grandparents and cousins. They are both crying and frightened. Meanwhile, Saimon grips Marcia's hand and sobs in PM's defense. Whatever he's saying, he has everyone in tears. This is a really touching scene! He says something about PM's family and the family of Conceptos, or something like that - another case where Saimon says things I'd like to understand, but can't.

Alicia watches discreetly in a doorway with tears in her eyes as well, so I guess there's more to this than just hating to be a receptionist. Maybe her brush with poverty has made her a nicer person, or maybe her head has simply sprung a leak.

There is a lot of hugging and crying. Fernando goes back to his office. Marcia asks PM up to her office, where she reprimands PM for I don't know what (probably tardiness), but she's pretty mad. They have a conversation which is probably very important to the story, but all I can tell you about it is that there was a lot of talk about boyfriends, and PM tells Marcia that her life is very difficult. I think she also tells Marcia that Jr. needs a father figure, and that the time she spends with men are for Jr's benefit, and not to entertain men in bed. (I'm not at all sure that's what she said, but she did say something about bed.) Marcia says some encouraging things to her, including something about Saimon. I think she is telling PM that she is lucky to have something real with Saimon, and shouldn't push that aside to chase a her idea of what she thinks she deserves. Maybe Saimon could be more if he had a woman to encourage him, or somesuch. She tells PM that PM is the woman that Saimon needs (much as Fern often tells Lety that she is the woman he needs).

I think they must keep special staff on hand to put drops in Marcia's eyes so they don't dry out during all these scenes where she doesn't blink.

While loafing in the hallways waiting to hear of PM's fate, Lola and Marta are approached by Yazmin, who brags to them about all the great things Lola's ex is doing for her. Lola says something to hurt Yazmin's feelings. I think Yazmin is trying to get Lola to pay for that cell phone she broke, though, and she threatens to go to Lopez (he's having a busy day). Lola makes nice with Yazmin, but you can tell she's going to be sore tomorrow.

The feas and Alicia wait and pace outside Marcia's door. Marcia and PM emerge, PM still dabbing at her eyes. In her whiny voice, Alicia begs Marcia to say what she decided. Marcia says she's going to give PM another chance. Alicia turns into a hugging whirlwind, hugging all of the feas, but stops short of hugging PM. To PM, she becomes very formal and says only that she's happy for her. Marcia says she wants it to be clear that this is PM's final chance. Lola then asks for a moment of Marcia's time, probably to talk about Yazmin and the cell phone.

This has all been extremely heavy. I suspect I have missed some subtleties here, especially with Alicia's unexpected attack of sympathy.

Saimon entertains Jr. down in the lobby while they wait for PM. They talk about Santa Claus (??). I think they are talking about a happy place to live. Jr. says something about his grandparents, and his father. Mention of Jr's dad deflates Saimon somewhat. They continue killing time playing hopscotch and talking to Celso.

PM finally comes down and gives her good news. She thanks Saimon and gives him a big hug. Says lots of nice things to him. Celso puts his hand on his belly and starts laughing like Santa Claus. Saimon gives him a vexed look. More happy words are exchanged.

Just then, The New Lety makes her grand entrance. More on that later.

Lola calls her ex-husband and argues with him about his child support payments. While the individual words elude me, I can tell that the call is stressing him out. Good! That's what he gets for taking up with Yazmin. Later, he tries to flirt with a young hottie at his office, who serves up some legal papers and turns him down. One of his coworkers laughs at him. He is extremely unhappy about whatever's in those legal papers.

Next thing we know, he's out in the street, yelling all panicky into his cell phone, annoying passersby. (Maybe his car has been reposessed?) He is so distracted, he nearly gets run over by a Jeep. He yells something about a shirt and some fire. Then he steps into a manhole and gets stuck! (Maybe he'll sue!) A woman thinks he's panhandling and gives him some money.

Later, he is wheeled into the ER on a stretcher. His neck is in a brace, and he's still babbling. He receives a shot from a very large needle, and from the look on his face, I think it's in the butt. The music in this scene reminds me of the Benny Hill theme as played on kazoos. Wacky!

There is more to the Lola/Ex situation, which Lola discusses with the feas, but I don't understand it. Then Lopez interrupts. I think he threatens to fire them, but I'm not sure why. Maybe because they're loafing and gossiping as usual. Later they converse some more in the restroom, which also goes over my head.

Yazmin needs a new phone (Marcia and Lola have worked payment for the phone Lola broke), and Saimon flirts with her like CRAZY and offers her a ride into town on their lunch hour. When the time comes, Saimon and Celso entertain PM Jr. by posing for him while he pretends to be a photographer. Paula Maria tries to make nice with Saimon, but now that she's out of jeopardy, he's gone back to giving her the cold shoulder. Before she has a chance to react, the elevator door opens, revealing Yazmin. Saimon practically shoves Jr. out of his way to greet her. PM is disgusted.

On their date, Yazmin actually asks about PM. Saimon's lengthy, charming answer mostly goes over my head, but basically adds up to, "eh, don't worry about Paula Maria."

---

Marcia & Alicia's stories:

At first, Luigi teases Marcia and Alicia about this mysterious Delfina Augustini whose love poem found its way to Fernando's desk. He knows who she is. He tells them she is a famous, sexy poet from Uruguay. Since she is obviously in town, Alicia and Marcia want to know where she is staying. Somewhere in the city? In a hotel or an apartment? Luigi tells them she's actually been dead for several decades. Then he excuses himself, because he needs to do some actual work. (The company is doing a campaign for some makeup line called "Bella Life.") I'm glad someone in that place besides Lety and Lopez is spending time on something other than gossip.

Alicia, who hasn't seen the scroll herself, suggests having a handwriting expert analyze it. Marcia says no, it was done on a computer, with professional graphics equipment. In other words, it was probably done by someone within the company. But who?

It's a good thing Marcia doesn't have any serious responsibilities at Conceptos, or the company would be in big trouble.

Oh... right. Never mind.

Marcia approaches Celso, the security guy, and very calmly and politely asks him who Fernando left the office with last night. Celso says it was Lety. Marcia very calmly and politely thanks him.

Alicia is overjoyed to have her paycheck, but gets all frosty when Lety passes through the lobby on her way out. She and Marcia taunt Lety, and Lety just says goodbye. Marcia tells Alicia that Fernando left the office with Lety last night. They exchange a few words about this. I think Marcia is just obsessing more about how Lety is keeping all of Fern's secrets, and I think Alicia actually scolds her for letting Fernando get away with so much. Alicia also keeps playing with her paycheck and kissing it. Which is probably the most sincere affection she's ever displayed in her entire life. So nice to know there is love in her heart.

Alicia swipes Omar's car keys and hides them in her cleavage, where they will probably have to be retrieved by a professional mining rescue team. Fernando and Marcia spar verbally over his evening's plans (I guess their breakup didn't quite "take"), and one of them says something about picking something up at the grocery store.

Omar can't find his keys. Alicia, who thinks that having enough money to put gas in her car makes her a worthwhile human being, offers him a ride home, flipping her hair constantly. Omar refuses. He's got the look on his face and the tone in his voice that you'd use if a beloved child offered you a piece of dog turd mudpie. He bums a ride home with a pretty model instead.

(Does this mean he's no longer worried about Ariel getting information out of Alicia, or has he simply concluded that Alicia isn't smart enough to have useful information? He's always nagging Fern to be romantic with Lety, but he can't take one for the team himself? I'd like to know what's going on here - in the Colombian show, she pretended briefly to be pregnant with his child and that probably scared him off, but I don't know if that happened in this show or not because I wasn't watching yet.)

The next day, after Paula Maria's firing and Alicia's demotion, Alicia whines and begs Fern for mercy, but Fern mocks her. She also begs Lopez for mercy, and he walks away in disgust (and let me tell you, you have to be pretty disgusting to disgust Lopez). She whines and begs Marcia for mercy as well, rants and raves, says why don't they just send her to work in the cafeteria. Luigi interrupts to ask a question about makeup.

Omar comes in late, with last night's transportation on his arm. Luigi scolds him (I think for not letting his precious model get her beauty sleep) and Omar asks his secretary if she's seen his keys.

Alicia begs Marcia to give PM her job back. She seems genuine and sincere. I'm not sure what is motivating this. Is Jessica Rabbit actually experiencing the strange human emotion of guilt? Or is this another tactic to get out of becoming the Conceptos receptionist? Whatever the case, Marcia is unable or unwilling to help. Evidently, she's given up on the idea that Alicia can spy on Fernando for her. Then Fern walks in on them and tells Alicia to get back to the reception area.

Later, when the feas have all gone to lunch, we get another taste of the verbal abuse that awaits those who have the misfortune to have their calls taken by Alicia. One such caller is Lola's daughter. Alicia tells the child that she's not Lola's secretary and she only talks to important people.

Shortly afterwards, Alicia complains to Marcia that Fernando's phone keeps ringing (Lety is still at lunch). Marcia suggests that perhaps Alicia should answer her boss's phone. Marcia also takes the opportunity to search Fern's desk for clues, not that she would know a clue if it introduced itself to her.

Alicia answers the phone. A man is asking for Lety. Alicia asks who's calling, and he says it's Tomas. He asks who she is, and she says she's Alicia. Tomas hyperventilates, and that's the end of this episode. (You can just imagine where THIS is going...)

---

Main story (Lety, Fern, & Omar):

You will recall that last week's episodes ended with Marcia bursting into Lety's office and biting her head off, and Fernando and Omar panicking because Lety dumped Fernando. (On the other hand, Fernando seems pretty relaxed about being dumped by Marcia. I suppose he is used to it.)

Marcia and Lety have a dramatic argument about Lety's relationship with with Fern. Then Lety snaps out of a daydream - Marcia only wants to know about some sales figures.

Lety calls home to ask Tomas about the shadow company's bank balances, to find out if they have the money to cover payroll at Conceptos. Dad tells her that Tomas left in a hurry (he's meeting with that woman from the bar), so she tries to get him on his cell phone. An unfamiliar woman's voice answers.

Omar and Fern listen in Fern's office. They hear Lety grilling this woman as to who she is, why is she answering Tomas's phone, and where is Tomas. This conversation only confuses Omar and Fern even more. Then Tomas calls Lety back, and O&F hear what sounds like a serious lovers' quarrel on their end, casting doubt on her earlier denials that Tomas is not her boyfriend. It sounds to them as if Lety is angry and jealous, but in fact she just wants to know why Tomas is letting some bimbo play with the shadow company's precious cell phone.

Fern and O continue to discuss and speculate on the ramifications of Lety breaking up with Fern, and the nature of her relationship with Tomas. Omar points out that even if Tomas isn't a temptation to Lety at the moment, there is still reason to be worried about him. There are lots of reasons he might be more appealing to her. They're from similar backgrounds, and he's not engaged, and he's not her boss.

(Work? What work? It's a good thing Fernando and Omar don't have any serious responsibilities at Conceptos, or the company would be in big trouble. Oh... right. Never mind.)

Omar tells Fernando that if anything, he needs to escalate their relationship. Nice restaurants, going out in public, and you-know what. This puts Fern in a foul mood. He says he feels guilty for taking advantage of Lety.

At lunch, Lety says goodbye to Fern and tells him the payroll payment is coming, but he only says goodbye gruffly. He is drinking alone in the boardroom. She offers to bring him back some food, but he refuses. He mumbles some harsh words to himself. Meanwhile, Marcia looks in the mirror and recalls Alicia's harsh words to her for letting Fernando get away with so much.

Later, at going-home time, Lety and Fernando talk some more. He tells her again that he needs her. Luigi interrupts - remember, he's one of the people in that office who actually works, and he has some concerns about the Bella Life campaign - and Lety gladly makes her escape, much to Fernando's dismay. Luigi annoys Fernando with work-related ranting and raving, and then Omar arrives. Luigi leaves at last, but only after dropping the names of some big-time models.

Omar asks Fernando where is Lety, and Fern says she left. Omar shows Fern a really repulsive stuffed animal - I can't tell whether it's a dog or an elephant or what; it has a human-looking smile and is a collage of different pastel colors, and I think it plays music - and he suggests that Fern give it to Lety. Ugh!! (Update: I saw the U.S. version of this creepy thing at Kmart. It's called Laugh & Learn).

Lety gets home and finds pictures of Alicia prominently displayed. She protests about them to Tomas.

Fernando, who isn't finished patching up his relationship with Lety yet, drives to her house and calls on his cell phone. RoboPapa answers. Tomas seems jealous. Dad is outraged that Lety is going to meet with her boss in her boss's car. It's scandalous! He wants Fern to come in and have dinner with them, but since Fern actually wants to talk about "us," that's not really an option.

Unfortunately, this episode (Tuesday's) is dialogue-heavy and most of that dialogue goes over my head. But here's what I got:

She gets in the car. He asks some difficult questions, especially questions about Tomas. They argue. He starts the car and I think only goes a short distance away, like around the corner - just far enough so RoboPapa can't watch them. Of course, seeing them drive away infuriates RoboPapa too!

They drive into an alley. Lety accidentally opens the top on the Fern's convertible. They talk romantically, but he still seems upset. Some people walk past the car and he tries to hide, while telling her that she's his life. (His SECRET life, apparently!) He closes the roof and kisses her. After a moment it starts looking passionate. The neighborhood gang happens upon the car and draws closer for a look.

Lety releases Fern from her passionate clutch, and accidentally opens the roof again. He starts babbling about love. He sounds pretty ridiculous. They are much too absorbed in their bizarre conversation to notice the neighborhood gang, who watch all of this in horrified fascination. Fern closes the roof and while they suck face some more, the gang surrounds the car and start shaking it. Lety pulls away and dreamily says that the earth is moving.

Fernando gets out of the car. Lety is still puckered up and perhaps her eyes are closed, because she still doesn't know what's going on right away. The gang taunts him about Lety, his expensive suit, etc. He taunts them back. Trash talk escalates to pushing, then shaking, then slapping. Lety looks nervous, and a rumble ensues! Fernando fights like a telenovela champ, making wisecracks between blows to lighten the mood! (Seriously, I couldn't tell whether this fight was supposed to be funny or scary. It looked like Fern and Lety were in real danger, but just add some Batman TV theme music and some "POW!!" graphics and it would have been hilarious.)

All this time, RoboPapa has been obsessing about the impropriety of his daughter going away with some man in a car. At one point, Tomas jokes that it's a good thing Lety's not pretty, or it'd be even worse. He makes other snide remarks that I don't quite get, but fortunately Mom is there to smack him. Nice, Tomas. Anyway, RoboPapa goes off to look for Lety.

Just when the rumble seems to be done, Fernando makes another dumb remark and the gang comes back. Dad arrives and assists, ending the fight. (Who are these loserly thugs who can't beat up a guy in a suit and an old man?)

Fern has been hurt. He's got a cut on his face and seems sore all over.

After this, there is a lot of talking. RoboPapa grills them - probably wanting to know why they couldn't meet at a decent place rather than an alley. Then he shakes Fern's hand, perhaps to thank him for defending Lety, and Fern looks relieved. Then RoboPapa has some more harsh words, and there's a lot of arguing. Lety and Dad leave. Fern kisses his car tenderly and then follows them. As soon as he leaves the alley, one of the neighborhood guys comes back and starts fiddling with his tires.

Marcia mumbles sadly to herself at her apartment. She's still waiting for her boyfriend to come over with the groceries.

Lety and Fern argue outside Lety's house. I fail to entiendo most of their conversation, but I do note that he asks why didn't Tomas come out to defend her. She moves in for a kiss, puckering hideously again, but he backs away, saying he doesn't want Dad to catch them. She steals a peck and goes in. Fern stands there alone for a moment, watching with detached interest as a man rolls an expensive tire past him on the sidewalk.

Somehow, Fernando gets to Marcia's place. Marcia is upset by his disheveled appearance. He makes up a story, which is no doubt hilarious, and mentions that there were 15 men, which makes her suspicious. She must have something up her sleeve, because she doesn't push it (I believe she plans on making nice with him, and having Lety followed).

Marcia dabs at his cut and presses some ice on his bruise, while Fernando looks guilty. I think she starts talking about their wedding (I can't tell). He turns on the TV, and Lety is on some variety show, looking all frumpy and excited. She announces her love for Fernando to the entire world, then sings a song about it. The audience cheers wildly, including that pop singer who was at the nightclub the night they had their first kiss. Fernando springs up from the sofa in dread and confusion. Marcia is speechless (well, almost speechless) with fury.

Obviously it's all a dream, but whose? (episode ends...)

It's Fernando's! He drifted off while Marcia was tending to his injuries. Yeah, right. I always fall asleep when someone's poking my face with ice. He wakes with a start, and tells Marcia he was dreaming about his fight.

Lety writes in her diary with a glow-pen. That's right, much as Jedi have different colored lightsabers, feas have different colored glow-pens. Lety's is blue, just like Obi-Wan Kenobi's. I don't know why I felt a need to share that, but there it is. With Jedi-like precision, Lety tells her diary that she is going to "change" for Fernando and not be ugly. She gives her paycheck to Dad and says something about buying new clothes. Mom gets excited and they agree to go shopping together.

While Fernando irritably eats breakfast at Marcia's (he's stiff and sore), his cell phone rings. He doesn't recognize the number, and Marcia urges him not to answer it. Being the loving, courteous fiance he is, he ignores her and answers this semi-anonymous phone call right at the breakfast table. It's Lety, wanting to know if she can have some time off. He tells her to come in no later than 11 (the stores and beauty parlors must open really early in Mexico). She also wants to know if he's at Marcia's. (Don't ask if you don't want to know, kiddo!) Marcia is annoyed by the conversation. She blinks angrily.

Lety also tells Tomas she's going to "change." Clothes, makeup, hair. Tomas is aghast. I don't know why. They joke about whether she will look like Alicia. Mom and Lety leave to go on their errands.

Lety and Mom are at a fashionable boutique. Lety picks out an outfit that I frankly think is horrible, but I guess it isn't supposed to be. She is just about to try it on, when a prettier woman walks by in the same outfit. Lety is deflated and doesn't buy that outfit. What does she buy instead? Too late in the episode to say! Lety and Mom then go to a beauty parlor for a makeover. How does that turn out? Tune in tomorrow to find out!

At the office, Luigi waits for Fern in Fern's chair. Fern is paying attention to something else when he comes in, and sits on Luigi by mistake. Hilarity ensues, perhaps.

Later, Omar catches Fern putting on some makeup to cover up his bruise, which looks different in practically every scene. Omar asks who Fernando was fighting about, and Fern rolls his eyes and does a mean (both skillful and unkind) imitation of Lety's giggle.

Omar teases Fern about the fight. Fernando does not want to hear or speak of it ever again. He begs Omar to "zeep eet." Omar is very amused when Fern tells him how the gang told him and Lety to rent a room. And he doesn't believe Fern when he repeatedly says that it was 15, "quince, feefteen, feefteen!!" men. (episode ends)

Okay, now it's tomorrow (in real life, not on the show). Lety is at the beauty parlor, and we are treated to a montage of her makeover. We can't really tell what's going on, but there are a lot of different products involved. We are given the impression that this is a highly complicated procedure.

Lola and Marta ask Fernando about his face. He gives them the no-Lety version of his story about being attacked by 15 men.

Lety finally arrives at work just as the Paula Maria drama is winding down. We don't see Lety - we see everyone's shocked faces (from her POV) as they react to The New Lety. They all smile broadly, but they look a little scared, too. A hand in a bright green sleeve reaches for the elevator buttons...

We see more shocked faces in the executive lobby. Lety's voice is loud and it sounds worse than usual, although I think it's supposed to be part of her "new," confident personality. Alicia is stunned. She drops her pen and brings her hands to her mouth. She is stifling a laugh.

Lety is yelling (really hollering) "HOLA!!!" confidently in every direction. After the shock fades from Marta's face, she gives a pitying smile.

Strangers are just laughing.

That green sleeve pushes open the door to Fern's office. He stutters and asks what it is.

Then we see it: a vision in green. And black. And white. There are polka-dots. It looks like VH1's "I love the 80's" threw up on her.

There's a big creepy-looking green "flower" in her ghastly new hairdo, but as a flower, it would make a great spider, or maybe some sort of sea creature. There are large pink splotches on her cheeks.

But don't worry. She still has the mustache!

This was all done professionally at a beauty parlor. She paid good money for this!

She strikes a pose, then sashays past his desk. In her office, there's another "muy gay" card with a heart on it.

Fern flips out for a while alone in his office, ranting and raving about... whatever. It's funny, even without understanding his words. :-)

Alicia tells Marcia about Lety's makeover. She is laughing so hard, she's crying. Marcia seems only faintly amused and curious, but she hasn't seen The New Lety yet. Alicia also asks about Fern's face. Word is getting around that his bruises were caused by Marcia. This does not amuse Marcia at all.

Marcia asks Fernando if he thinks that she could actually hit him. He says sure. This seems to hurt her feelings. (I don't know. Can you punch someone without blinking?) By the way, I hate what she's wearing. I think she then promises never to smack him in the head. Then she gets all kissy and playful with him, just as Lety opens the door to her office and sees them. She excuses herself and turns away. Marcia and Fern desist. Lety says hi nervously to Marcia. Guilt is written all over Lety's face (or maybe that's just some inexpertly applied makeup). Marcia's face is frozen (more so than usual) with shock. Lety leaves, and Marcia bursts out laughing like we've never seen her do before, and says (among other things) that Lety looks like she stuck her finger in an electrical outlet. She crosses her eyes and makes a face. Lety hears this (well, not the crossing eyes) outside the door, frowns, and walks away before she has a chance to hear Fernando tell Marcia to stop. Then they talk about business for nearly a full minute - it's a banner day at Conceptos!

Marcia finds Alicia in the lobby to let her know that indeed, she has seen The New Lety and is now ready to join in the mockery. Fern sneaks up on them and starts laughing and clapping and jumping up and down, mocking them. Lety enters the lobby and before she can hear their joking, Luigi runs into her and, seeing her for the first time, starts screaming. The colors have frightened him. She hurries away. I think Luigi asks if Lety is OK, and says that the floral ornament in her hair looks like some type of carnivorous monster. As Luigi, Marcia, and Alicia continue laughing, Fern looks guilty.

The Bella Life clients arrive, and Luigi gives a video presentation of the new commercial. The new perfume is called "Secretos," and it's sensual. So says Luigi. The clients seem to be impressed.

In Fern's office, Omar and Fern discuss "the luke," which Omar has not seen yet. Fern keeps saying "the luke," and at first I don't understand what he means. He starts doing it with gritted teeth and air quotes, and then I realize, he means "the look." It's funny - Fern only speaks Eengleesh when he's experiencing extreme emotional agony. The entire world is talking about it, he says. At first, Omar doesn't know what Fern is talking about. When he finds out he's referring to Lety, he is consumed with morbid curiosity. He opens the door to her office and finds her preening in front of a makeup mirror. (It's amazing that with all that makeup, you can still see all her zits.) Omar greets her politely with amazing restraint. She fluffs her hair at him (she was right - it's nothing like Alicia) and he retreats back into Fern's office. After he leaves, Lety delightedly tells herself she's made yet another impression.

Oh yes. Yes she has indeed.

Omar nearly hyperventilates. He tells Fern that there's only one reason a woman changes her "luke" - to impress a boyfriend, a spouse, or a lover. He says he can tell that Lety must be really warm for Fern's form (or perhaps Tomas's) to have made such a drastic transformation. Fern is very upset. Omar talks about primitive passion and makes growling noises. He's barely stifling his giggles, but Fern doesn't see the humor in having to kiss the New Luke. I mean The New Lety.

Omar asks Fern if he still has that helpful photo. Fern says yes, but Omar says it's too tame, and produces a new photo of a beautiful model in a bikini. This is the photo that Fern is supposed to mentally plaster over Lety every time he looks at her. Good luck with that - it's much too small. Fern takes it and imitates Omar drooling and snorting over it like a pig or a gorilla.

Lety interrupts them and he hurriedly sets the photo aside. She spies the photo and cheerfully says the model is very pretty. She excuses herself to go to lunch.

Omar and Fern also go to lunch. Omar tells Fernando that his relationship with Lety must become sexual, or it won't last. Fernando says that's not the kind of relationship they have. Plus, he says, he has Marcia for that sort of thing. (Ouch!) Omar also suggests plastic surgery, to turn Lety into the woman in the photo. It could be a business expense!

At first Fernando just laughs sarcastically, but then he points out that there would be no way to pay for it without having to explain it to Marcia.

---

Back to the Feas...

The horrified feas agree among themselves that someone needs to talk to Lety about her makeover, because it has been the opposite of an improvement. They are all embarrassed for her. They excuse themselves to Fernando and ask to speak to Lety. In her office, they ask what's going on. They see that she's received a romantic card. They are curious about her new novio. She tells them she's too busy to chat now, so they ask her to go to lunch.

The New Lety meets Yazmin in a hallway, and changes her gait to an exaggerated cheesecakey model type of walk. Since this happens in the background and at the edge of the frame, it'd be easy to miss if not for her bright green... well, let's just call it a garment. It's a hilarious effect (the walk, I mean, not the green) and is practically thrown away. A few scenes later, however, when Lola gives Yazmin the money for her new phone, Lety stands behind Yazmin and mimics her every move and mannerism. That's even funnier. So much funnier that I missed the catty conversation that Yazmin had with Lola and the feas (sounds like a 70's lounge act, doesn't it?). The feas express their appreciation for her performance after Yazmin leaves. They needed someone to lighten the mood.

Apparently, at some point Fernando and Lety agreed that Lety will renew the rumor that Tomas is her boyfriend. This will reduce the possibility that anyone will suspect that she and Fernando are amantes. The feas want to hear all about Tomas at lunch. She tells the made-up story of their courtship - he came over to the house last night to speak with her. I can't make out the rest of the story, partly because she is rudely recounting it in Spanish, but also because there's so much giggling. Plus, they're at an outdoor restaurant and the sound quality is terrible.

PM pulls Lety aside to give her some advice. (Frankly, I'm not sure PM should be giving anyone advice about men.) This is one of those times when you don't need a lot of Spanish to understand the conversation - PM tells Lety that her relationship with Tomas must become sexual, or it won't last. Lety says that's not the kind of relationship they have. (Does this conversation sound familiar? It's intercut with Omar & Fernando saying the same thing.) Hey, Omar and PM are so much alike, maybe they should... oh... right. Never mind. All of PM's sexy talk seems to intimidate Lety. She protests that she and Tomas are interested in books and finance, but PM wants to talk about tearing clothes off in the dark. Lety's eyelid flutters nervously (revealing thick, harsh blue eye shadow).

PM tells Lety that there are two reasons a man doesn't try to push sex on a woman: either he's gay, or he's just not attracted to her. This saddens Lety.

PM and Lety return to the feas' table. They ask where she got her groovy threads and hairdo. Lety explains that she went to a nice store, but the clothes were for a different sort of woman than her - tall and glamorous - so they went to her mom's favorite store instead, which she says is also quite exclusive (Lola mumbles "exclusive for feas" loud enough for Lety to hear).

As for the hair, they looked at some pictures, but (I think she says) the women in those pictures were too pretty too, therefore those hairstyles weren't for the likes of her. (That doesn't make any sense to me, but that's what I think she says.) So, she says, she made up a hairstyle that was inspired by each of the feas! They all tell her how lovely it is.

---

Will Lety stick with her New Luke? Will Tomas seduce Alicia over the phone? Will Lola's ex sue the city? Will Marcia blink again? Tune in next week to find out! Same fea time, same fea channel!

Labels: fea

Hello all--
Just a quick intro...I don't want take too much space away from the recaps! My name's Nora and I'm an available "alternate" if you are going on vacation or anything. I've been watching Heridas since day 1 and now I've got my husband hooked too. I watch Fea maybe once a week--I'm looking forward to how well (or not) the U.S. version Ugly Betty (or Betty the Ugly, I've seen it referred to both ways) goes. Anyway, if you need coverage, email me at: promiscuousreader@hotmail.com. Thanks!

Labels: heridas

I will start where my TiVo stopped last night. Tomasa comes to tell Miranda that Alejandro has come to see her. Miranda makes a big deal of telling Tomasa that Alejandro can have nothing to say to her. Maybe he should talk to Bertha, etc. etc. but in the next scene Miranda is down there talking to Alejandro. Alejandro wants to know why Miranda is so bitchy all of a sudden and after a lot wasted time, it comes out. Miranda is jealous of the way Alejandro treated Flor at the wedding (after he found out she was his half sister). He’s not going to tell her that, of course so he says, ‘Fab is like a brother to me so Flor is like my sister.’ Miranda is not convinced and says, ‘You go after Flor and I’ll take Fab.’ Alejandro is shocked that she still holds out hope for getting Fab. He tells her that she has to find someone who can make her forget Fab. ‘Like you, I suppose,’ says Miranda. We have a flashback to the stolen kiss in the garden when he first met her. After more witty byplay, Alejandro and Flor end up kissing passionately. Gonzalo interrupts them. Miranda tells her father that she isn’t starting anything with Alejandro especially since you are investing in his company, and getting rich, right? [It’s not clear to me why this would prevent Miranda and Alejandro from getting together.] Gonzo says that with the current financial crisis, it is Alejandro who has made the good investments unlike many others. Miranda looks discomfited.

Meanwhile, Rebeca is asking Gonzo if he is going to hold a grudge against her and her son. ‘You think I’m capable of harming your son?’ says Gonzo neatly not answering the question. Flashback to Gonzo telling Fab that he doesn’t forgive traitors and once Flor buys the farm, Fab had better make himself scarce or Gonzo will kill him.

Bertha is in Cesar’s apartment. He tells her that Gonzalo can’t meet 10% of his clients’ losses and is ruined. ‘So we are the winners,’ says Bertha. ‘I don’t know about this ‘we,’ says Cesar and then Bertha shows she is on Cesar’s team by having sex with him. In a post coital conversation, Cesar complements Bertha on her skill as a lover and she says that we are just business partners, no more. Cesar replies, ‘Of course. I love Miranda.’ This spoils the moment for Bertha. Cesar tell Bertha about what Fab said to Miranda at the wedding.

Back to Miranda, Alejandro and Gonzo. Gonzo tells Miranda that Alejandro hasn’t done anything unethical. This is just business. Miranda continues to be nasty to Alejandro and Gonzo tries to stop her saying, ‘don’t piss off my prospective business partners. I need them.’ After Alejandro leaves, Gonzo tries again to explain to Miranda that his business is in real trouble. Miranda says that she will come to the office and work on the problems. Gonzo tells her to stay away and she decides that his previous interest in training her to take over the company was only a means of getting her to forget Fab. It didn’t work. ‘I continue to love him,’ she says.

Now we meet the evil gangster, Sanson. Juan has gone to him to try and persuade him not to take on his brother Raul. Sanson refuses. Juan leaves and Carola arrives. Sanson tells her that because of Juan, he lost a brother. Now Juan will find out what that feels like. Very tough.

Renata, Lasagna and some other empty-headed chicks are in a bar talking (I think) about having sex for the first time. A couple of Sanson-istas arrive with masks on and rob the place. Raul and Lasagna lock eyes as he grabs her purse in the way that happens when characters in a novela fall in love forever.

Bertha tells Cesar that if she were him, she would sell all the family property and put Rebeca and Fab out on the street. Cesar says he can’t do that because Rebeca would complain to Gonzo. Bertha responds that if Gonzo finds out that Fab told Miranda to wait for him, he’ll have all Gonzo’s support against Fab. As for Rebeca, if Cesar is good, Bertha will tell him a secret about his mother that he will find very useful. ‘Oh really,’ says Cesar when he is interrupted by a call on his cell phone from Miranda. She wants him to help her when she shows up at the office tomorrow. He agrees and after they hang up, Cesar says to himself that their future together will be glorious.

In her bedroom, Miranda has a flashback to her conversation earlier in the evening with Alejandro that ended in the kiss. She asks herself why she is thinking about Alejandro. She loves Fab and that’s it.

Alejandro is complaining to Fernanda about Miranda’s high-handed ways. Then he asks her what she wants. Fernanda is asking for help from Alejandro to get Father Santiago Buenaventura to hide the truth about Fernanda from Miranda. It appears that the good padre is Alejandro’s uncle.

A maid tells Tomasa that Bertha told the servants at the hacienda that Miranda refused to raise their wages and now they are angry at her and are going to sabotage the cacao harvest or something like that. Right on cue, Bertha appears. She wants Tomasa to convince Miranda that what she was told earlier, namely that her mother and Fernanda were in love with the same man was untrue. If Tomasa does this well, Bertha will let her see her grandchild who is now pregnant. [This has to be Nuria.]

Bertha is primping herself up for something, probably making a move on Gonzo, when Renata and Lasagna burst in with the tale of being robbed at gunpoint at the restaurant. Renata is behaving like a three-year old who had her lollypop taken away but Lasagna is cool. Bertha says that she will Alejandro and tell him what happened but Lasagna says that she already called but he wasn’t home. She says that Alejandro was probably out with one of his legion of admirers. She tells Bertha that he likes them young and rich. Being neither young nor rich, Bertha is not pleased to get this information.

Raul comes back to his house with his loot. He is identifying his victims from their driver’s licenses when Juan interrupts him. Juan gives a little speech about how they weren’t raised to steal things and he will never put a stolen tortilla in his mouth.

The padre doesn’t want to get involved with Fernanda’s lies and Alejandro can’t persuade him either. At that moment, Miranda comes in. Fernanda leaves. Miranda tries to tell the priest not to trust Alejandro because he only acts for his own benefit. She is surprised to be told that the padre is Alejandro’s uncle.

Busy Bertha has a meeting with Veronica, Renata’s drug supplier. Bertha wants Veronica to spy on Renata too. Veronica tells Bertha that Renata believes that Bertha is her mother. Asked if this is true, Bertha says that we all know Renata is not playing with a full deck. Bertha pays Veronica and gives her instructions about what to do the next time they are out together.

The priest tries to give Miranda spiritual comfort but when she reveals that she still loves Fab and she need only wait until her sister dies and they can be together again, the priest says, no. Fab, as the husband of your sister, is now forbidden to you.

Flor, on her honeymoon, has consulted a doctor in Miami about her symptoms. He tells her that she is pregnant. Fab comes in and she gives him the great news – ‘you will be a daddy!’ Fab says no, this baby will not be born. She hits him. Back in their hotel, Fab tries to tell Flor that her health problems won’t permit her to have a baby but she doesn’t buy it. Then he says it isn’t convenient to have a baby now. Furious, Flor says that the honeymoon is over. She wants to go back to Mexico and will have this baby with or without Fab.

Fernanda and Alejandro wait in a restaurant hoping that the priest doesn’t spill the beans to Miranda. Alejandro is in favor of telling Miranda. She has to find out sooner or later. ‘And what are you going to say to Miranda when she finds out whose son you are?’ asks Fernanda. ‘We’ll see,’ responds Alejandro. Fernanda asks if Alejandro is still planning to carry out his plan of vengeance. ‘Yes,’ says Alejandro. ‘Gonzalo was the cause of my father being an invalid and his suffering. He has to pay.’ ‘And if that comes between you and Miranda?’ asks Fernanda. ‘She doesn’t have eyes for anyone other than Fab,’ says Alejandro.

After receiving spiritual guidance from the priest, Miranda says that the other reason she came to visit was to ask about ‘Doctor Fernandez.’ Father Santiago has a flashback to his adamant refusal to help Fernanda. However, the priest lies and tells Miranda that he doesn’t know much about Dr. Fernandez. Then he changes the subject and asks Miranda what she feels about her mother. Miranda tells him that she was a bad mother and is nothing to her. The priest protests but Miranda is adamant in her hatred for her mother.

While they wait to find out what the priest tells Miranda, Fernanda asks if Alejandro feels anything for Miranda. Alejandro says, ‘not really, not what you are imagining. Between us there are a world of differences. I am a man - she is just a spoiled girl. Then he leaves to see Gonzalo and the TiVo ends.

Labels: heridas

Gonzalo and Miranda are in the study continuing their conversation about not turning to alcohol to deal with their problems. Gonzalo admits that "Today I realize that I made a mistake in everything." He wanted to make everything good for the girls and now he doesn't know what harm he has caused them. Miranda promises tomorrow will be better. The two hug and walk out of the study together just so Miranda can go to her room and fantasize over Fab. She cant get his words out of her head. No one needs to know that she will wait for him. Meanwhile Alejandro cant sleep in his very feminine bedroom. He recalls telling Flor that he will separate Miranda from Fab. There is only one way to do that, marry her.

Renata is upset about Dr. Fernandez. She informs Miranda and Pamela that she ran off the doctor and it would be best that the doctor not return or she will do it again. Its the doctors fault that Gonzalo wants to lock Renata up in a rehabilitation center. Miranda cant believe it. Renata insists their father said this to her himself last night. Renata quips how strange that Miranda who is so smart and observant hasn't realized what the true intentions are of that social climber! Renata snaps a little at Pamela and then continues her tirade against Miranda. Renata wants Miranda to keep Fernanda away from her, the house and above all their father. She continues telling Miranda "Dont be stupid! Open your eyes! Dr. Fernandez wants our Dad!" Renata says she will leave Miranda some homework to think over and later when Renata is calmer she will explain it to Miranda. Renata storms off and Miranda and Pamela call her crazy. Miranda then asks Tomasa to call the hacienda staff. She has something to tell them while Bertha is busy in the library with Gonzalo.

**Im going to try the writing style of Chris for the following:
In the library Gonzalo questions Bertha on why she told his daughters that their mother went off with another man. It was his story to tell! She tells him it
B: was the best thing to do, with the girls knowing the truth it made them side with you more. Thanks to me they are on your side now. So the interrogations and explanations stop now Gonzalo.
G: You're wrong Bertha. I give the orders!
B: Darling your not in a position to give orders.
G: I only hope that you remember that your time here with us lasts only as long Florencia lives.
B: Are you sure?
G: Of course.
B: Gonzalo lets forget the things of the past.
G: Do you think Im stupid? How am I going to forget the bad that you did to Florencia? Calling her telling her that I had run you out of the house You put her life at risk and you didn't care. You hid that Renata took drugs, you interfered with Mirandas relationship and acted ridiculous in the wedding. What other surprise do you have reserved Bertha?
B: Fine Fine I realize I made a mistake. After all everything has its remedy. Besides today, all these incidents are weapons against Fernanda.
G: Dont try to put out the sun with a finger! You put at risk my daughters life! B: Dont get mad Gonzalo we don't win anything arguing! Now we have something more important that should unite us.... You cant hide from me that you are on the verge of bankruptcy! Right? And with the arrival of Fernanda things change radically. Let me help you. You alone wont be able to.
G: What are you prepared to do?
B: For you, for your daughters I am capable of doing whatever thing. Gonzalo Let me show you my loyalty.
She then goes in for a kiss but he shoves her away and leaves her standing. Via thought bubbles she thinks that when she has him at her feet she will destroy him like she has his daughters.

Miranda tells the hacienda staff that the only one who gives orders is her. Additionally she tells them that La Senora Bertha has no authority and if she orders them to do anything they are to inform Miranda immediately. Miranda wants to go to the quinta "El Mangler" to see the doctor. As she heads off one of the workers tries to get her attention but she doesn't hear him.

Back in the hacienda Miranda runs into Bertha and asks her if the time to talk is now. Bertha doesn't want to talk but Miranda stumbles on asking her if Bertha told Gonzalo that Bertha loved the same man that her mother loved? And thanks to Bertha's tricks Fern and the man separated and that Bertha did the same to Miranda and her sister? Miranda wants to know who the man was. Mirnada tries a few threats but they don't seem to go over well. Bertha doesn't answer any of Mirandas questions but tells her it is better to leave the dead alone.

Tomasa asks Gonzalo what will happen now that Fernanda is back. Gonzalo snaps and says Fernanda is only back as a Doctor for the girls. Tomasa asks him to get back with Fernanda and he snaps at that also. He says Florencia wants him to marry Bertha. She wants him to marry Fern. Is he a puppet to do whatever she or someone else says?! Miranda walks up as he finishes his tongue lashing to ask what happened with his conversation with Bertha. He snaps at her too saying Bertha is here to stay while Florencia is alive. She knows that so make sense of it!

Carola comes to visit Juan. She knows he wants to cross the border. He agrees that he does, things are going from bad to worse. Its the only way he knows how to help the family. She lets him know that if he leaves Raul will join the Samson gang. The gang is preparing a big attack and they are recruiting boys like Raul.

Miranda, Tomasa and Pamela talk about Gonzalo and Bertha. Maybe there is a secret between them? Tomasa lets them know that Flor asked her father to marry Bertha. Miranda tells them to go into town and she is going to change her clothes.

****A little more.

Gabriel the worker who tried to get Miranda’s attention earlier, talks to her at the stable. He tells her he has wanted to talk with her since Chocolate died. Miranda asks if Bertha had something to do with Chocolates death. He looks down and then she tells him not to worry that was all she wanted. Bertha walks up just as Miranda leaves. She calls Gabriel Gabino, and wants to know what Miranda told the hacienda staff. He tells her that Miranda is the only one to give orders. SO Bertha tells Gabriel/Gabino to call the staff again. Hmmmmmm!

Cesar and chat. Wait I thought Miranda was going riding thus she was at the stable. Well anyway, Cesar and Miranda chat. Cesar says for your tranquility I realize you don’t know anything. Miranda cuts him off telling him to spit it out. He tells her that San Llorente Inversions is on the brink of bankruptcy. Gonzalo is almost in the ruin. What he wants is for her to be careful so everything doesn’t turn into a scandal.

Carola and Juan pick up where they left off. Juan went to school with Sanson. Juan cant talk with Sanson because the guy hates him for not joining his gang. Juan decides to wait to talk with Raul, without his parents knowing. Juan thanks her and says he owes her one. Carola kisses Juan and tells him that he owes her nothing .

Fernanda , Tomasa, some other woman and Pamela have drinks in town. Fern tells the ladies how she felt like she could die when Flor gave her the cold shoulder, and when Renata tried to run her off. Pamela lets Fern know that Miranda wants to investigate who is la Doctora Fernandez. Fern is worried. She wants more time. She talks about Santiago who knows little about Fern. She says that she will talk to Santiago. He has to help her.

Bertha tells the staff that she has a big problem with Miranda and the problem affects everyone. The problem is that she asked Gonzalo to give everyone a raise but Miranda said no. The staff is upset. She tells them thank you for coming to talk with her. She appreciates them and she will continue to insist they get a raise. The staff says to them she is still the boss. After the staff leaves she tells Gabriel to not say a thing to Miranda. Gabriel reminds her that the staff is already the best paid of the area. How can she make fun of them by telling them that story? Bertha tells him he has been warned and slithers off.

Labels: heridas

We pick up where Gonzo is giving Rebecca ultimatums. She must find out the identity of Fernanda's protector. Rebecca is all nervous and begging him to forgive her, and for what I'd like to know. Get some backbone Rebecca! You're going to need it.

Flor and Gonzo are doing the wedding dance. She tells him he shouldn't be alone, he needs to get hooked up with a female companion, someone like... "Not Bertha," says papa. Flor whines, "But why not, she's been like a mother to us, dedicated herself to us body and soul. Who better? I implore you, marry Aunt Bertha! Now, stop making that face. I'm not asking you to marry the devil." Gonzo says there's not much difference between the two. Flor wonders is it because he loves another woman? He says there has never been anyone else, not since her ma abandoned them.

Bertha interrupts and Alejandro conveniently asks Flor to dance. Bertha says she's pleased to see Florencia so happy. Ahhh, what papa wouldn't give to see her smile more often. "Too bad Fernanda doesn't think like you," says Bertha, "she comes determined to reclaim her place among her daughters, didn't you know?" Gonzo says Fernanda would never harm her daughters, not like Bertha has done with her intrigues against Miranda. Bertha chugs a glass of champagne.

Alejandro tells Flor she can depend upon him for anything. She thanks him for being like a brother to Fabricio. Alejandro tells her he would like to be a brother to her too, and she looks so angelical. "Angelical? Are you ever wrong," she says, "this should have been Miranda's wedding, she should be wearing this dress." He tells her that Miranda will recover, there are no wounds that time cannot heal. Flor says he's charming and she wishes Miranda would pay attention to him. If only a man like him could make Miranda forget Fabricio then Flor would be happy. Alejandro promises her that he will do whatever is necessary to help Miranda forget Faby forever.

Fabricio and Cesar get into it. Faby calls Cesar a disgrace. Cesar retorts that the "quinta," the house in mexico, the bank accounts, they are all his whether Faby likes it or not. Mom is going to have to leave because that's the house that Cesar is going to live in with Miranda after they marry. "Mama's not leaving and you'll never marry Miranda, at least not as long as I live." Cesar tells Faby to stay out of his way. Faby taunts, "Whatcha gonna do, kill me?" "If it's necessary," hisses Cesar under his breath.

The two poor kids, Juan and Raul, are at home talking about their financial situation. Raul's great idea is to sell tacos to the students at the university who always arrive at school with empty stomachs. Juan says no way is dad going to let him. I happily noticed at this time that they have dressed this "Juan" actor in a shirt at least one size too small so that his biceps bulge out as he walks around. Nice bit of work that. Juan tells Raul the taco plan will interfere with his education and degree and the possibility of him finding better work in the future. "We're not stupid Juan, a university degree doesn't guarantee anything," snaps Raul. Juan says it's exactly for that reason that he's going across the border and he's not telling papa who will try to stop him. Once he gets to the border he'll tell them but they won't be able to do anything about it. Mama Amparito arrives from shopping and Juan goes into the kitchen to help her unpack. Raul thought bubbles that he will find a way to keep the family together.

Fernanda stands by a waterfall and has a flashback. Bertha is telling Fernanda's daughter that mommie is a "ramera", a whore. Fernanda asks Bertha to help her but Bertha the Uber Perra tells Fernanda that her own immorality has brought disgrace upon the family...so GET OUT! Gonzo yells from the background "If that woman doesn't get out I'll also kill her daughters!" Yikes! Fernanda begs Bertha not to let him hurt them, says goodbye to her daughter and leaves. Flash up to the present and Gonzo is in her face. The sadist coos "I like that, you tremble when you hear me." "You're wrong," snaps Fernanda, "I'm not afraid of you, I'm somebody else now and you don't know me. By the way, tell me when Florencia's illness began." Gonzo tells her it was the very night of her betrayal. After she left they went to the emergency room. Flor was never well again and it's all Fernanda's fault. Now leave. Fernanda says she doesn't take orders from him. She's waiting for her daughter, she'll leave after she says goodbye, and when she gets back it will be she, Fernanda, who takes care of Flor or Gonzo will really regret it. Gonzo's pissed, "Hey, nobody threatens me!" Fernanda shows some guts, "I do!"

The newlyweds are about to leave and are saying their goodbyes. Faby promises Alejandro that he will treat Flor like a queen today and forever. Alejandro is acting very protective of Flor. Naturally Miranda notices and jealously points out to Pamela Alejandro's new affection directed at Flor. "His attitude is not normal. He must be interested in her." Pamela tells Miranda to stop imagining things, enough already. Alejandro and Flor embrace. "See, I toldja," says Miranda unhappily.

Raul leaves the apartment. In the street he furtively looks around and then goes to visit a blonde chick, Carola. She looks like a ramera. Raul wants her help getting into a gang run by some guy named Samson. Carola doesn't want Raul to do this, because once you get in you can never leave. "You can't just go in and out like your own house." Raul must do this, otherwise his brother will head for the border. For them the most important thing is family so they must stay together. The logic in this eludes me but he's an adolescent, so there you are. Carola wisely points out that the family won't be together if Raulito ends up in jail or worse, so no, she won't help him. "Fine," says Raul, "I'll look for Samson on my own."

Weddings are tough on everybody and Fernanda is having a weepy night. Pamela joins her at the waterfall and says she doesn't know how to tell Fernanda this but Miranda feels that none of the three sisters are children born of love. Miranda is sure their mother left them to be with another man because she never wanted them. Fernanda assures Pamela that at the time of their births she and Gonzalo were infinitely happy. She swears she is going to fix things somehow. Miranda arrives and Fernanda tells her the sacrifice she made today for her sister will be repaid by thousands of blessings. Very soon there will be another man in her life, one worthy of her. Miranda says she doesn't want to love. "Love inflicts mortal wounds, and the worst of it is that we keep on living." Fernanda offers some dimestore philosopy, "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger."

Flor throws the bouquet and Bertha body blocks Lasagna so she can grab it and gloat in front of Miranda. "I hope it works for you." comments Pamela. "Flowers only serve to emphasize a pig's filth," says Miranda. Good smack-down, but I'm noticing that no matter what anybody says to Bertha, her expression never changes. Must be residual nerve damage from her face lift.

For the third time tonight Flor says her goodbyes to all, this time snubbing Fernanda. Miranda pouts and Cesar, getting progressively drunker, uses this as an excuse to suck up to her. Faby doesn't like this (I don't want you but I don't want anyone else to have you either) so he hugs Miranda and whispers in her ear "Wait for me, I'm going to return." What a jerk!!! Then she smiles hopefully at him. Somebody slap her! Cesar flashes back to when Faby said Miranda would never be Cesar's because she still loves him (Faby). Cesar thinks "We'll see, stupid, we'll see." Actually, Fabricio is being such a jerk I wish Cesar would off him this very second.

Fernanda, crying again, is approached by Squeaky (Renata) who reams Fernanda out for spilling the beans about Renata being a druggie. In a mouse voice and raccoon eyes she orders Fernanda to leave "her" house.

Faby and Flor leave for their honeymoon (finally!) driving down a road lined with giant sparklers that ignite as they slowly roll by. The bright sparklers display a weeping Miranda sagging against a column. (Miranda has a perfect Lucille Ball "Waaaaahhhh" mouth in this scene.)

Later she is seated and Alejandro joins her. He's happy to see her more calm. "Sometimes calm precedes the storm," she comments, just as Bertha approaches. Bertha wants Alejandro to escort her to her hotel but Miranda gets possessive, "No way, he's with me." Bertha scowls, or maybe she smirks, it's hard to tell because she only has one expression. Anyway, Alejandro wisely excuses himself from this potential catfight. Miranda says Bertha has much to explain and she, Miranda, will wait in her room for Bertha to join her. Bertha has no intention of meeting Miranda. "We'll see who gives the orders around here," she mutters to Miranda's back.

Gonzalo and Alejandro are talking business. Gonzalo is anxious about the fall of the stock market. Alejandro says a strong economic crisis is approaching and many business will fail. He knows it's a difficult time and he doesn't wish to press Gonzo, but they have a signed contract and have not yet begun construction on the hotel. Gonzo says his capital is solid. The delays have been bureaucratic, not economic, and he will honor the contract including interest for all delays incurred. Alejandro says that's spoken like a man of honor. He sees he has not made a mistake choosing Gonzo as a partner.

Pam tells Miranda to stop pacing. Bertha won't come to the room when Miranda wants, only when Bertha wants. Miranda wonders where the Doctora is. Tomorrow she's going to look for her. The Dr. doesn't know how good her words made Miranda feel. They have so much in common, she's so tender. "So maternal," adds Pamela. Miranda says the Dr. inspires confidence in her, yet there is a sadness in her eyes, a contained sadness, like a muffled scream. (Do people really talk like that?) Miranda is going to befriend her and when she finds out what has happened in her life she will help her. She's going to be such a good friend that she's going to investigate the Dr.'s past. Pamela looks worried at this revelation.

Gonzo asks Alejandro how his businesses are doing. So far so good, says Alejandro. All his capital is in gold reserves and precious gems. Gonzo says if complications ensue with the construction he can propose an alternate plan here at the hacienda, something to do with exporting cacao. He only has to convince Miranda to agree to the plan. (Aha! It's probably in her name.) Alejandro is surprised that Gonzo has to check in with his daughter, this isn't the famous Gonzalo San Llorente he's heard so much about.

Gonzo tells Renata that he is cancelling all her credit cards and when they get back to Mexico she's going to have a 24 hour guard. If she takes drugs again she's going straight to rehab. She bugs her eyes and tries to squeak but he shuts her up, thank goodness.

Rebecca is trying to worm the info out of Fernanda that Gonzo wants, i.e. who is Fernanda's protector. She tries to be sneaky but obviously Fernanda thinks she's a bad actress because she can see right through her. "You're so transparent Rebecca. Tell Gonzalo my protector is very rich and infinitely powerful." She's going to find Daira, Lasagna and Alejandro and have them take her to a hotel in town.

Cesar, looking very drunk and sweaty by now, is lurking nearby and speaks to Rebecca after Fernanda leaves. A typical loud drunk, he doesn't care which of his brother's guests hears him, he wants nothing to do with Faby. "Why do you hate your brother so," wails Rebecca? "Because he's an imbecile, a disgrace. Do you know what he did before leaving on his honeymoon? He whispered little hopefuls to Miranda, that he would return." Rebecca is stunned, "it can't be, my perfect Faby isn't capable of such baseness." Cesar threatens "we'll see what Gonzalo says when he finds out Florencia is his wife and Miranda is his lover."

Gonzo is drinking alone in his study. Miranda enters for a heart to heart. Gonzo says he doesn't understand Renata, why does she have to use drugs? She has a life most women dream of, a house, car, money, travel, clothing, what else is there? Miranda says Renata is missing a mother. "But you and Florencia turned out OK, you never used drugs." Miranda says it's not fair to compare them, they are different people. Anyway, Renata doesn't even remember her mother. She's not reproaching Gonzalo, just telling him the situation with Renata. She's very sweet to him.

Fernanda tells Daira that Gonzo will investigate her to find the identity of her protector, he will put the pieces together and figure out it's Alejandro. "But not until Alejandro wants," assures Daira. She says don't worry about Al, however they may have committed a grave error in telling Bertha that Daira was married to Alfredo. Alfredo Correction: Alejandro enters, Rebecca wants Fernanda to stay. Fernanda says she needs strength for all she hopes to do. Al says he's with her, but she should rest because it's been a long day.

Gonzo pours another drink. "Your third," says Miranda. He says she has no idea how he feels. "Whoa," she says, "and you think you know how I feel? Today was a wedding that should have been mine, Florencia is dying and Renata is out of control, that's why I don't want to drown my sorrows in alcohol." Gonzo says she's right, he's an egoist. He asks her how she really feels. Miranda says she feels there is a battle of feelings within her and she can't control them, not the least of which is Fabricio. Gonzo blames himself for all this, he allowed Flor to stay with Fabricio, made it easy for them to get together. Today he realized that he has been mistaken about everything. He wanted to do a good thing for them but he realizes that's no longer true. Miranda tenderly tells him not to torment himself, tomorrow they will think about fixing things. At day everything is seen in a new color. She comforts him and they leave.

Later she gazes out the window. Flash back to their goodbye embrace where he tells her to wait for him. "Why Fabricio...what did you mean?"

Labels: heridas

I watched Barerra last night so I give a brief summary of what went on and where we are with it.

Jacinta has been successful so far in her scheme. She has gotten Valeria back to the hacienda by pretending that she is not opposed to her marriage to Andres, the bullfighter. Valeria bought this and has just returned to the hacienda accompanied by Veronica and Jacaranda. Now Jacinta will implement phase two of her plan to separate Valeria and Andres. Jacinta and Manola also have some plan to get Maite out of the picture if she comes to Aguascalientes. Valeria and Andres had sex under a tree in a rainstorm.

Juanita and Daniel have finally gotten together.

Andres has an engagement to do a bullfight in Mexico City. For an appearance in the capitol, apparently he can’t borrow a matador costume. He has to have one of his own. Unfortunately, they are very expensive. Andres and Valeria tell Maite about this problem. Later she takes out the famous necklace and is obviously going to pawn or sell it to get Andres his matador outfit complete, doubtless, with the ham sandwich. Maite goes to visit the Maldonados and one of their servants (not the stupid old one) is going to give her a ride home but she says she needs to make a stop. Anyway, I’m guessing this is how Jose Maldonado is finally going to find out that Maite is his daughter.

Poor old Gustavo is still vegetating in the abandoned house. He is getting better though. Manola comes and mocks him – telling him that once he is dead, she is going to marry Unibrow, etc. and Gustavo moves his thumb. Manola freaks out and leaves. Then Omar, his former associate at the dairy, comes in. He has found out where Gustavo is being kept. For Omar, Gustavo shows that he can move his hands and arms a little and he is beginning to be able to talk. Omar tells him that Rodrigo has come into his own running the cow business although he is making some risky business decisions.

Victor is the first 3-dimensional gay character I have seen on a novela. He is attracted to Guillermo and the attraction seemed mutual but apparently Guillermo thinks that if he gets together with Victor, that will break up Victor’s family, i.e., Maite and Veronica. So he is avoiding Victor and Victor is sad. Obviously, there’s some miscommunication here.

Jacaranda takes the opportunity of being in the hacienda to hook up with Nicolas but Sergio surprises them while they are kissing.

The other day on Barerra, I saw Manola pretend to twist her ankle so that Unibrow would have to pick her up and carry her. It was pathetic.

Some time ago, Maite and Unibrow met. I don’t think they have cleared up the misunderstandings between them (Maite being raped by Adolfo and blackmailed into marrying him) yet. So Maite now knows that Andres is Unibrow’s son. I don’t think that Unibrow knows that Valeria is a Valladolid or is Maite’s daughter and he still doesn’t know that Andres is a bullfighter.

If anyone cares, Remedios is getting a lot of fulfillment from teaching children at the convent but she still regrets that Federico turned out to be such a jerk.
Jacaranda can pretty much control when the Vera personality appears and she is being paid by Manola to manipulate Veronica’s multiple personalities.

Labels: barrera

I was so lost while watching last night's episode that I broke down and snuck a look at the old recaps from the original Colombian show. That isn't a completely reliable way to find out exactly what's happening on our show, but they're still close enough to at least provide some hints.

I found what I needed, and got a little bit of information to help fill in the blanks for last week's recap:

1. Clarification. The reason Saimon was lurking around at the end of PM's hot date, and the reason he was so sad the next day, is because PM was actually supposed to go out with him that night. She blew him off because she got a better offer! Apparently, she'll only date Saimon if a rich guy isn't available.
   
2. Small correction. The poem in the scroll Lety left on Fernando's desk was not unsigned - it was signed Delmira Augustini. Fern probably wasn't lying when he said he didn't know who she was. Marcia and Alicia went to Luigi wanting to know who this bimbo was.
   
3. BIG correction. Lety didn't quit. She merely broke off her torrid romance with Fernando. She didn't want to be the "other woman" and didn't feel good about the mayhem that their relationship had caused.
   
   Since Fern and Omar are worried that Tomas might be a serious contender for Lety's heart, and since Lety owns the shadow company which is now pretty much Conceptos's only hope for survival (plus I'm not sure if they know that Tomas is involved in the shadow company), this is a very frightening situation for them. Therefore, when Fern goes to Omar in a panic, it's not because she quit, it's because there's now a greater risk that she will shift her loyalty over to Tomas, away from Conceptos. This raises the stakes on Fern's need to woo Lety effectively!
   
   What's funny about this, of course, is that during this entire conversation between Fernando and Omar, it's all about Lety. I don't think Marcia even gets mentioned. :-)

Sorry about all the misinformation. Item 1 is good to know, but maybe not extremely important. Item 2 isn't all that crucial either, but it's interesting. Item 3 is a big nasty screwup on my part, though, and I apologize.

Labels: fea

It's been so long since I watched television I couldn't find my remote control! Thanks to everybody for catching me up. This was the first episode I saw: it opened with the Doc's hug being rejected by the bride, Flor, who of course doesn't know the Doc is her long-lost mother.

Gonzo, the dad, tells the Doc (his wife, I don't think they divorced) to get lost. She tells him to stop persecuting her, he's been wreaking vengeance on her for 18 years. He looks like a turtle. There is a recap of the problem that Flor is pregnant, but if she stops taking meds for the sake of the baby, she'll die anyway. Boo hoo. I guess I don't really care.

The new husband, Fabricio, who played the stupid but handsome Andres in Alborada, did not get to speak even one line in this show. He just stood around looking perplexed. He's been gaining weight, watch out or you'll end up like Unibrow!

Miranda comes up to congratulate the newlyweds but instead faints in her old fiance Fab's arms. A huge unnecessary fuss ensues, since she is healthy as a horse. Cesar and Fab sort of pull on her fainted form until Alejandro comes up and removes her to a couch, where she lies in a faint and he strokes her face and has strange fantasies and thoughtbubbles: "The wounds of love can only be healed by those who caused them. You wounded me, Miranda, now cure me." But I get ahead of myself.

Oh, I was wrong. Fab got to tell his brother Cesar, who is the obvious slimeball: "Get out of here."



In Mexico City, Amparo (who used to be the squealing maid in Alborada but now she keeps her voice down) is selling jewelry to pay her debts. Her brother Francisco is watching. It appears his wife died and Amparo came and took care of him and his two sons, who call her mom. Later, Amparo gets to give the priest one of those speeches about: "All my life I scraped and pinched to keep the family going, I run and run, what for?" and he says: "We all have to pinch the pennies" and tells her she can sell tacos outside the church [that's big of you, padre]. One of the nephews prays to help her.

I feel these speeches are sops to the people who actually WATCH the novelas: the fans who, and I'm just guessing here, are not the owners of large haciendas or international diamond operations.

Amparo says: "Let's hope we don't go dancing with the ugliest one." ??

Bertha catches Alejandro fondling Miranda's comatose form (guys like quiet girls). Miranda wakes up and Alejandro leaves. Bertha mocks Miranda for having a new lover so quickly and then says she herself will get Alejandro. Miranda says: no matter how much surgery you have it won't hide your age. Bertha thoughtbubbles that she will have them all groveling at her feet and scrabbles her fingers on the table like a spider.



The Doc says: "Oh, I'm so alone, I'm so fragile, I'm like a stranger here. But I'll get back everything that's mine, including my daughters." But this plan suffers a setback when Flor announces she is not going to get (medical) studies done with Doc - she is going to get pregnant immediately (she evidently does not know she's already pregnant) and stick with her old Doctor.



Miranda is dancing with Alejandro and thanks him for helping her out, if it hadn't been for him she might have spoiled the wedding and disappeared forever. Then she says, "but I've kept you from your wife too long" and bolts. So she doesn't yet realize Daria is not his wife?

Enters Renata. I believe she may be the worst actress I have ever seen on Univision unless she is doing some ironic post-modern take on her role. When her father now confronts her with her drug addiction, she rolls her racoon eyes like a total idiot and widens them till she looks like she's had extreme plastic surgery. She squeaks at Miranda, "you told him!" but actually it was the doctor who told.

Renata then watches Cesar flirt with Lisania. After Cesar leaves (to get scolded by Gonzo for some business problem), she warns Lisania that she and Cesar are in love and he has asked her to live with him. She plans to go, but dad does not know.

Bertha toasts the bride and groom, then cruelly hands the mic to Miranda. Miranda gets up and gives a half-way adult speech to wit: "Well, Fab and I were childhood sweethearts, he was the man of my dreams and we were going to marry each other, but ... oh well."

Miranda tells the universal sidekick Pamela that, just to annoy Bertha, she will go after Alejandro. Like a good sidekick, Pamela says that's a bad idea. Meanwhile, Bertha flirts hard with Alejandro. He points out she's wearing a rotten knock-off of one of his father's jewelry designs. She insinuates again she knew his father ... very well.

Renata flounces off to tell Bertha, in a tiny whispery chipmunk voice, that the Doc ratted on her. Bertha says the Doc could have Renata carted off to rehab at a moment's notice. She says she'll handle it. Renata is worshipful of Bertha. So is Flor, who during a dance with her father begs him to marry Bertha.

Miranda is watching all this with Pamela and Thomasa, who says, "Look, Bertha is poisoning Renata against us." Miranda counsels patience and says they need to keep their eye on Bertha.

Gonzo strong-arms Rebecca and reams her out: it's her fault the Doc's at the wedding. Rebeca says it's not her fault; her son, the groom, invited the Doc, not knowing her real identity. He still doesn't know - but she thinks Cesar will figure it out, as the Doc was his godmother and he never forgets a face. Gonzo: "I've taken care of you and your sons - you owe me loyalty but even you betray me. You have to do two things for me - find out who is the powerful man who is protecting Fernanda (Doc), and keep her away from Flor and your sons. She's gonna disappear and never come back." Cement overshoes?

Labels: heridas

Try this link for Univision's own recaps of recent episodes. Like the ones on the esmas site, they are all in Spanish, so they're only going to be useful to you if you can either read Spanish (which some people find much easier than listening during the show), or if you can deal with Google's tortured translations.

The advantage to looking at these instead of the ones at esmas.com is that it's much easier to identify the episode you're looking for (since you're presumably watching them on Univision), and you don't get spoiled by seeing recaps for the episodes that haven't aired on Univision yet.

Okay, that's enough "Lety La Fea" business for at least a few days... I'll post my next update no later than Sunday the 6th, but possibly sooner, if things get so exciting that I can't restrain myself. :o)

Labels: fea

Hello all,

Julie has volunteered to do "La Fea" recaps and just in time, since some crabby readers have been asking what happened to them.

Other crabby readers have been scolding us for dropping "Unibrow in the Corral" otherwise known as Barrera. I say to those readers, we're doing the best we can, and the staff we have now can only handle one telenovela at a time.

But if anybody has time/interest to continue with blogging Barrera, let me know, and I'll add you to the roster.

Julie says her Spanish is a bit rusty, so if anybody has time/inclination to help her, jump in by leaving clarifying comments! But remember to say THANK YOU.

Labels: barrera, fea, recapper-intro, recappers-needed

Lety leaves a candy bar for Fern, then puts on lots of mom's perfume. When Fern comes in, they talk business for a while, then she makes a twitchy face which he eventually recognizes as a kissy face, and he nervously reciprocates. They talk about Tomas and the shadow company, and she finally points out the candy bar (since he seems to have trouble noticing it on his own).

She goes back to her office, dousing herself in more perfume. Omar shows up, and he and Fern talk about the stinky perfume and kisses. Omar jokes about the moon and the stars, and they laugh about the candy bar and split it. They say something about "Tomas is dead in the head," not sure what that's referring to exactly, and they joke and ridicule some more.

The gist of this conversation, as best I understand it: Fern seems not to like Alicia, and Omar says something about bed (maybe like how he slept with her), which surprises Fern. Omar jokes some more about flowers and chocolates. He then writes a love letter (to Lety, I presume) in front of Fern, in Fern's name. Fern crumples it up in horror, and they argue. Omar continues to joke, which offends Fern. They discuss last night's "date" some more, and Omar says something that's apparently over the line, angering Fernando even more, and then Omar escalates his insults so much that Fernando is forced to jump to Lety's defense. I'm not sure exactly what he says, but it's passionate, and it's in her favor.

Meanwhile, Saimon rescues Alicia with that gas. She demands that he pour it for her. He asks her how someone with such a fancy car can't afford gas. They (well, mostly Saimon) have a conversation which is no doubt funny, but I can't understand it. Alicia gets to work in a bad mood and goes directly to Marcia, begging for more money. Marcia tells her to go to Fern, but Alicia knows Fern hates her. Nevertheless, she tries. Lety greets her, and Alicia demands to speak to Fern. Lety pretends to look for Fern under the desk, etc. since Alicia is still yapping hysterically as if he's there and listening to her. Then Fernando shows up, and Alicia begs for "a minute" of his time. He agrees, and he and Lety start counting down from 60. She says she needs money for food, etc. He makes fun and says no, and her minute runs out, and Lety and Fern make fun of her. She leaves, and Lety and Fern talk business.

Alicia is VERY angry. Ariel calls, and at first, she doesn't recognize his voice, and he doesn't recognize hers. She complains about money, and THEN he recognizes her, LOL! But she still doesn't recognize him right away. Then he tells her not to answer the office phone anymore or talk about money on the phone! Luigi does listen to Alicia's complaints and offers advice, but I guess it doesn't thrill her, because she just shakes her head at him after he leaves.

At lunchtime, the feas take up a collection for lunch, but come up a bit short. Saimon shows up in a very good mood (owing to some conversation with PM that completely went over my head) and gives them the money they need. Alicia then shows up and is snotty to them, and PM cuts her down to size. Then Alicia starts sniping at Lety, and Lety retorts in kind. Whatever they say, seems to end in a draw.

The feas leave for lunch, and Luigi and Marcia show up and try to cheer Alicia up. (Marcia blinks!) Marcia says she doesn't care about the feas' boyfriends. She asks Fern something about girlfriends, and Marcia, Alicia, and Luigi joke about drooling and/or braces, making Fernando VERY uncomfortable. He forces a laugh. They seem to be speculating about Lety's rich boyfriend. He cuts the discussion short very sharply. When he's alone, he takes a bite out of that crumpled love letter that Omar wrote, and spits it out.

Omar and Fern go to a restuarant for a business lunch. Fern drinks morosely while Omar ogles pretty girls and continues to goad Fern about Lety's rich boyfriend.

The feas area at a fun restaurant. They embarrass Lety by asking about Tomas (who they still think is her handsome, rich boyfriend that they've never seen before) and her love life. Then they go back to the office and walk in on Yazmin, who is making another gooey phone call to Lola's ex-husband. The feas make fun of her, and she brags about how great her boyfriend is. Once again, Lola must be restrained by the feas, to keep from killing Yasmin.

Saimon is excited by something again (I really wish I knew what), and lightens the feas' mood.

Luigi says something to the models about money, which miffs them. If this is the same as on the Colombian show, then what's happening is that there's a little cash flow problem. They models are going to get paid, but not just yet.

All this talk of rich boyfriends and love lives has enflamed Lety's heart anew, and she leaves another treat on Fernando's desk. The last one was a chocolate bar; this one looks like a peanut brittle or maybe a rice krispy treat. Anyway. He doesn't notice it right away. She keeps trying to get him to notice it, moving it around on his desk while he's signing contracts and such. Finally, when it seems like he is deliberately ignoring it, she asks if he is annoyed with her. He gives a sarcastic answer, something about her rich boyfriend. Then they have a tense conversation about Tomas and Alicia, and she confesses that she doesn't even have a boyfriend. His manner becomes extremely frosty, and she apologizes and takes the rice krispy treat.

Meanwhile, Ariel shows up at Conceptos. He bothers Alicia and threatens her.

Fernando sneaks up on Marta, who is sneaking a sandwich under a desk. Apparently, Marta has been on a diet, and I guess she thinks that if no one sees her eat, it doesn't count. Fernando takes the sandwich, takes a few bites, critiques it, scolds her for eating in the office, and gives back what's left of it.

In Omar's office, Omar and Fern talk about Luigi and the women. Omar has several gift bags filled with candies, greeting cards, romantic music CDs, poetry, flowers, etc. He laughs at the corniness of it all, but Fern finds it distasteful. Omar suggests sending a particularly mushy card to Lety, and Fern refuses. He says it is the stupidest idea of all time!

In walks Ariel, who also makes fun of the foofy gifts. They discuss some more, and Ariel leaves and bothers Lety for a while. He scares (or tries to scare) her with talk about police, news, and helping Fernando with something. Fern shows up and wants to know what they're talking about with the door closed. Ariel leaves and tries to bother Marcia, who is annoyed by his attempts to intimidate her. He then moves on to Alicia again, taunts her about her bills (which she apparently carries around with her).

Later, Omar leaves a card and some chocolates in Lety's office (in Fern's name, of course). Fern tells Omar that the card is "muy gay." Lety finds the card and screams with delight. Meanwhile, the models who had received bad financial news from Luigi before have showed up at Fernando's office to pester him about payment. They try to flirt and sweet-talk, but when Lety comes in (still glowing about that "muy gay" card), Fernando scolds the models and orders them out. He then complains about them to Lety after they leave! She thanks him profusely for all that mushy crap he left on her desk. After SHE leaves, Fern tells himself that he's a terrible disgrace.

Omar comes in and wants to know how it went. He is like a 7th grader!! They talk about Marcia and some "stock." Evidently they are trying to keep some stock information from her. Marcia comes in with questions, and Omar excuses himself and leaves. Lety listens at the door while Fern and Marcia talk about the business, then Marcia leaves in a bad mood. She argues with Alicia about infidelity, because Fernando had stayed out late the previous night, and she didn't know who with.

It's almost time to go home. Omar and Fern talk some more about Marcia and the stock. Lety puts on some more perfume. Alicia, now completely out of money, considers asking the feas for gas money, but wisely decides not to.

Fernando offers to drive Lety home, and a security guard sees them leave together. I missed the next day's episode (Wednesday), but on Thursday, PM was out on a hot date with a hot guy, and Lety and Fernando were on some datelike outing at a club.

Paula Maria and her guy are super-drunk and loud in the street. An angry neighbor yells and throws things at them, threatening to call the police.

At the club, Lety and Fern are about to kiss, but they're interrupted by an obnoxious DJ. F is embarrassed and gives a false last name. The DJ asks if they are married, or just novios. He tries to get them to sing and dance. Lety is a terrible singer, but Fern is pretty good. He really gets into his performance for a while, but then snaps out of it and becomes self-conscious. The DJ moves on to bother some other people. While Fern and Lety dance on their own, PM and her date stumble in! The boyfriend sees them, but doesn't know who they are, and thinks they're a cute couple. PM is too busy humping him (I think it was supposed to be dancing, but it was less elegant than the lambada) to notice them.

Meanwhile, Tomas is again drinking with those two older men. He is shaking hands with them and preparing to leave when two hot ladies approach. The old dudes introduce Tomas to the women and they seem thrilled to meet him, at least to his face, although their contempt is visible when he's not looking. He goes into the restroom and calls someone to brag about his hot conquest, then comes back, still talking on the phone, pretending to cancel a very important appointment so that he can spend time with this one super ho who seems to have taken a liking to him. They continue drinking. Later, the two older men seem to have fallen asleep at their table, and their "date" leaves in disgust. Tomas's date continues to flirt, but then he freaks out for some reason and leaves! Without her!!

Fernando seems to have genuinely had a good time with Lety, but he still isn't completely ready to admit it to himself. He gives Lety the daintiest, but sincere, goodnight peck on the cheek. RoboPapa is upset with Lety when she finally gets home, but she's much too delighted to be bothered by his attitude. She writes some more in her diary. Fernando, in his own apartment, paces the floor restlessly. Marcia sleeps alone with a bridal magazine open on the bed next to her.

PM and her hot date are being amorous in the street when Saimon shows up! He misinterprets (or does he?) their sidewalk antics and attempts to defend Paula Maria's honor, which does not thrill PM. The date chases Saimon away, but the date is over.

Next morning: Tomas is sooooo hung over. Lety taunts, scolds, and yells at him. She leaves for work, and Tomas calls someone, trying to get in touch with the amiga's amiga. He is disappointed by the answer.

In the office, Saimon cries disconsolately about PM. The security guy gives him hell but also tries to pump up his self-esteem. Marcia storms in, upset with Fernando, and doesn't pay much attention to sobbing Saimon, who is surrounded by an ever-growing pile of discarded tissues. Marcia and Alicia ignore him and try to figure out where Fernando is. Finally Marcia takes note of Saimon and gives him some money (I don't know why).

Marcia and Alicia go into the restroom and speculate some more about Fernando. They talk about how he didn't come home last night, where was he and with whom? They don't know that Marta is hiding in a stall, sneaking another illicit snack and overhearing the entire conversation. Once they leave the bathroom, Marta shares the gossip with the rest of the feas, and news of Fernando's latest lover spreads like a rancid bean fart!

Fernando tries to cheer Saimon up. Meanwhile, Lety finds the old chocolate wrapper in Fern's pencil cup, and is touched. She leaves a scroll tied with a red ribbon. Marta asks Lety what she knows about Fern's whereabouts last night, and Lety plays dumb. Later, she goes into her office and talks to her Fernando screen saver. It sounds like she's mad at him for having a girlfriend. Maybe she thinks he went to see someone else after their date? Not sure.

Marcia and Alicia continue to speculate - seriously, it's amazing how much time they spend obsessing over his whereabouts, but these two womens' combined brainpower couldn't solve a TV Guide crossword puzzle - and Marcia tries calling his house. He's not there, which for some reason convinces her that he's with another woman, even though it's not weird for a guy to not be at home during business hours.

PM shows up late as usual, and Saimon gives her the cold shoulder. Fernando appears, and scolds her for her frequent tardiness. When he gets to his own office, Lety tells him that everyone - including Marcia - has been wondering where he was. Speak of the unblinking devil, here she is. She chews him out. They argue and she tries to dump him, but he makes a phone call to his gardener(?) who confirms that Fern went home alone last night.

During all of this, about half of the feas congregate in the bathroom and try to cheer Lola up about her divorce, and they gossip about Fernando. I'm not really sure what this conversation is all about.

Saimon bursts into Fern's office, and further explains Fern's movements to Marcia, claiming that he was indeed working, just not there. He was at the studio or something. Then Saimon leaves the room, and brags to the other half of the feas listening at the door, including Marta, about his great performance. Alicia watches this exchange with interest at her desk.

Marcia continues her harangue, and Lety excuses herself, but listens in her office. Marcia notices the candy wrapper in his pencil cup and asks about it, but Fern feigns ignorance. Then she sees the scroll, which he hasn't had a chance to look at yet, and unrolls and reads it. It's a mushy love poem, fortunately unsigned, about how they danced and sang together! His protests aren't very compelling, and she storms out. They are through!

Lety apologizes profusely to Fern about the poem, and wants to quit. He begs her not to, but she just cries and cries at her desk, while he goes to Omar in a panic. They absolutely cannot let her quit!!

The feas' tongues wag, and Alicia tries to comfort Marcia. They go to see Luigi and enlist his help in finding out who this mysterious poem-writing woman is. They are pretty sure it's some model named Augustini. Luigi gets indignant about something, but Marcia placates him, and Alicia gets excited about something (someone help me out here??).

The feas interrupt Lety's crying, not even noticing how brokenhearted she is. They want to know what just happened with Marcia and Fernando. She doesn't give useful info willingly, and one of the feas snidely jokes that that's why they're called "secret"aries. Bleh.

Meanwhile, at home, Tomas gets a phone call from one of the ho's. He tries to be cool, but his squeaky delight betrays his lack of sophistication. It seems that she has his cell phone...

Back at the office, Marcia bursts into Lety's office and starts biting her head off...

Now we're all caught up. Things are getting very interesting!

Labels: fea

One thing I didn't mention before - it's silly, but I don't know how to do accented characters and the n-tilde; and from what I understand, it's a little time-consuming. Unless it becomes confusing, I'd like to skip the accents and so forth. Yes, it does look much better when people write their words correctly, but since I'm doing all of this in English, only the characters' names will be "wrong," and I don't think there will be much room for confusion.

Moving right along...

Wasn't planning on doing these recaps that week (I had just started watching), so wasn't taking good notes at this point...

Fernando, Omar, and Lety have a "meeting" to talk about some business idea of Lety's, I think to help them make payroll. Omar is encouranging Fernando (hereafter "Fern") to drink heavily, and Lety is trying to keep Fern from drinking too much, because his drunkenness is making her nervous.

From what I understand from the Colombian show recaps, what was going on here is that Omar was encouraging Fern to woo Lety to prevent her from leaving Conceptos, partly because she owns the shadow company, and partly because she simply knows too much. They have an idea that she has a rich boyfriend, too, and therefore she could leave them at any time without so much as a backwards glance. It never occurs to these guys that some common courtesy and fair pay would secure her loyalty; they have to hatch a ridiculous plan, or else there'd be no story.

They go to a club, and Lety calls home to tell RoboPapa that she's running late (I guess that's what she's saying). RoboPapa is upset, as usual, while Mom seems thrilled - I guess she thinks Lety is on a date? I wish I knew. Or maybe Mom is coming on to Dad - yuck. All I can tell is that Mom's excited about *someone* being in love.

Back at the club, Omar leaves early, much to Lety's horror. Some popular singer performs at the club, and Lety screams so loudly and enthusiastically that Fern is embarrassed, but, being so drunk, I guess he gets over it. Marcia calls at least once during this ordeal, too, and Fern assures her that it's a business meeting, even though it sounds suspiciously like a club to Marcia.

Eventually, Fern is thoroughly plastered. They end up outdoors, and (again, I'm sorry, I wasn't taking notes so I don't recall exactly how this happened) he kisses her in a most hesitant and comical manner. Then she splits - I think she takes a cab home - and Fern scrubs his lips with the mint leaves from his cocktail.

Meanwhile, Tomas (who has a Les Nessman type of "office" at Lety's house) is at some kind of business meeting with two older men who are giving him a LOT of alcohol and he's babbling like an idiot. Clearly, something is going on with these guys, but I can't tell what.

Later that night, a starry-eyed Lety writes dreamily in her diary, and Fern feels guilty and confused.

Next day:

Yazmin is flirting on her cell phone with Lola's ex-husband, and Lola is enraged. Lola takes the phone away from Yaz, and it gets damaged. Alicia shows up, finds out what is going on, and then Lopez the HR guy shows up, wanting to know what is going on (there is quite a lot of screaming from the feas at this point). Alicia recounts the story to him, and stomps the phone to pieces in the process. Her version of the story makes Lola sound much worse than Yazmin, apparently, plus Alicia and Yazmin both suck up to Lopez, so he fires Lola.

The feas band together and all threaten to quit. Lopez seems delighted with this idea, but Marcia hears the commotion and saves the day, especially for Lola, since Marcia very well knows what it is like to have to deal with a cheating lover.

Lety and Fern (not together) make faces in their respective mirrors and talk to themselves about their weird and forbidden kiss. Lety is in the ladies' restroom, and Alicia comes in to powder and fluff her boobs. She makes a gratuitously unkind remark to Lety, which deflates Lety's ego. And Fernando is looking at a photo of an attractive woman (can't tell if it's Marcia or someone else).

Alicia runs into Omar and tries to crawl all over him. He doesn't seem to want any, and later we see him leave the office with a hot model.

Meanwhile, Tomas is at home, swooning again over Alicia's photo, while Mom offers sympathy.

Fernando takes Lety to dinner at an outdoor restaurant with an amusement park. I'm not sure what excuse he used to make this outing. She did try to protest, but I guess he wasn't having any of it. At dinner, he flirts with her and says he likes her. He almost kisses her, but gets self-conscious because he knows people are looking at him eating dinner with this fea.Lety can tell.

They leave and walk around the carnival rides, finally settling down on some playground swings. He keeps trying to kiss her (often stealing a glance at that woman's photo in his jacket; Omar had told him to pretend that Lety was the woman in the photo), but she expresses doubt as to why he would want to kiss her. Fern explains why, and this is one of those times when I *really* wish my Spanish was better; whatever he says seems to help, and then they talk about the moon, which is all full and romantic. Finally he says exactly the right thing (would that I knew what it was), and they kiss. It's not creepy and awkward like last time, but she quickly gets spooked and argues with Fern some more about how there's no reason he should like her. He tries to keep up with her, but eventually she bites his head off for some reason.

He continues his smooth talk, holding her hand. He says the right thing again, and this time she actually pushes her face at him! He kisses her again, but he's clearly reaching his limit.

Meanwhile, at Marcia's, a blond chick (is this Ana Leticia?) and some man come over with stuff for the wedding, including some extremely ugly Egyptian-looking invitations that have the wrong initials on them. They also show off some ugly clothes - clothes so ugly they couldn't even pass for bridesmaids' dresses - and Marcia is repulsed. The blond chick is offended by her reaction, collects her ugly things, says "ciao" to Marcia, and leaves.

Lety thanks Fern for a nice evening. Just as they are about to kiss yet again, Fern's phone rings. It's Marcia, of course! Fern takes Lety home, and while they chat in the car outside Lety's house, RoboPapa watches from the window, seething. When she gets in the house, he gives her hell for making a spectacle of herself in the street. Mom takes a break from comforting the sad Tomas to talk RoboPapa down somewhat.

Tomas follows Lety into her room and they argue about something. Tomas leaves and Lety writes in her diary some more. She believes that Fern really loves her, and seems to come to some sort of conclusion.

Meanwhile, Fernando gets home to Marcia, but he won't let her kiss him (not sure what his excuse is; perhaps onion breath). He brushes, gargles, and has some wine, then kisses her, but there's something about the kiss that makes her suspicious. She questions him, but I guess he manages to allay her suspicions.

Next day, Lety wants to talk to Mom privately. I'm not sure what they talk about, but she does take her mom's perfume and wears something slightly less ugly than usual. Also, Tomas has a big wad of cash - not sure where that came from.I guess the old dudes gave it to him.

Alicia's car runs out of gas on her way into work. Hunky men push the car for her, and Marcia gives Saimon some money to pick up a gallon of gas to help Alicia out. Alicia thanks him in her usual snotty, ungrateful way.

Paula Maria (hereafter "PM") is late to work, angering Marcia. Saimon had done his best to cover for her, but since he was out on an errand, he wasn't able to help her out this time.

Labels: fea

Hola! I will be doing my best to keep you updated with weekly (if not more frequent) updates for La Fea Mas Bella.

Before I post any recaps, let me explain a few things. First, much like Chris before me, I learned Spanish in high school, more than 20 years ago. Unlike Chris, I don't have a spouse or even a close friend whose Spanish is better than mine, who's willing to watch this show with me.

Therefore, while I usually get the gist of what's going on during this show, I often miss a lot of the subtleties; worse, any time two people (usually Omar and Fernando) are simply having a conversation, with very little accompanying action, the most I can figure out is "they're talking about business" or "they're talking about their scheme on Lety again."

So, I'm not sure how much help these recaps will be to fans of La Fea, but let's try it and see. What I'm hoping is that I'll give the best recap I can, and if I've missed something or gotten it wrong, someone will use the Comments link below each post to correct me or fill in the blanks.

And if it turns out that my recaps STINK and are of no use to anyone, I'll just stop doing 'em. Okay? Okay!

Ah, and another piece of business. First, if you are good at reading Spanish (rather than listening to it), or if you have patience with Google's "Language Tools" translations, you might have some luck with this web page, which gives full recaps of all the episodes so far. Note that the show in Mexico is way ahead of the show on Univision, so there's a risk you'll get spoiled, plus I'm not sure how far ahead of Univision they actually are.

Also, you can read detailed English recaps of the original, Colombian Yo Soy Betty La Fea on this website. Up to this point, they've been almost exactly like the Mexican show, so this is another good way to get caught up, and maybe stay ahead, although I don't think the shows are going to stay completely parallel indefinitely.

I don't think it's hard to figure out who's who, but just in case it's confusing, here's a little cheat-sheet to help you with the names that are different in the Colombian version:

• Armando is Fernando
• Aura Maria is Paula Maria
• Berta is Marta
• Betty is Lety
• Daniel is Ariel
• Freddy is Saimon
• Gutierrez is Lopez
• Hermes is RoboPapa
• Hugo is Luigi
• Jenny is Yazmin
• Julia is Mom
• Marcela is Marcia
• Mario is Omar
• Nicolas is Tomas
• Patricia is Alicia
• Sofia is Lola

Labels: fea

Fernanda tells Rebeca and Fab that Flor is pregnant. Fab says that they had “relaciones” last year when she was in Germany and when he came back. He didn’t know about her condition then.

Amparo and her nephews complain about the high prices for food in the market and speculate about the effects of the financial problems on their lives and those of other middle class people. Francisco arrives and announces that the factory has gone bankrupt and he can’t set up his taco business since he didn’t receive a ‘quinto’ – literally a fifth. Is this some kind of severance payment?

Back in Tabasco, Fernanda explains to Fab & Rebeca that since she is preggers, Flor must stop taking her medicine and that makes her time remaining a matter of weeks or maybe months. Fab is devastated. He wants a child but not at this cost.

On his private plane on the way to Tabasco, Gonzalo calls Benjamin, the director of the hospital where Fernanda works. After a little chit chat, Gonzalo gets to the point. He has found out that Fernanda de Aragon is working at the hospital and he wants Benjamin to fire her without a recommendation or any severance. ‘Sorry,’ says Benjamin, ‘no can do. First, Fernanda is a top-notch cardiologist and second, she has a protector who is super powerful in several areas and I’m not going to cross him.’ Benjamin gives Gonzalo some advice, ‘don’t mess with this lady. You have no idea who is behind her.’ Gonzalo says to himself that Fernanda and her protector, whom Gonzalo assumes is her new lover, will regret this.

Amparo and her nephews try to raise Francisco’s spirits with a lot of old bromides like, ‘when God closes one door, he opens another’ and something about mules that I didn’t really get. They will pawn whatever they can and all work together to get by.

The aged Naty has finally woken up in the old folks home. She tells Joel, another of Amparo’s nephews who is working there that she wants to back to her village where a pistol is hidden in a tree. Someone gave it to her and she ran and ran and put it the tree. [Presumably, this must have some relevance to the story. Would this perhaps be the pistol that Gonzalo shot Alfredo with???]

Cesar arrives at his apartment after being fired. He gets a call on his cell phone from Bertha. He says that Gonzalo’s business is ruined and he is going to New York. ‘What about my stuff in your apartment?’ asks Bertha. ‘The owner can keep it or throw it out. I don’t care,’ says Cesar. Bertha then threatens to denounce Cesar to Interpol for his financial misdeeds. Cesar capitulates. Bertha tells him to take the first flight to Tabasco. She wants him at the hacienda.

A lot of time is wasted while the various guests arrive for the wedding but at least they aren’t talking. Alejandro is still letting Miranda believe that he is married to Daira. The drama comes when Fernanda is introduced to Gonzalo. We get to see the whole memory of the Gonzalo/Fernanda/Adolfo incident again. There is an awkward silence and then Gonzalo asks to speak with Fernanda alone later. She agrees.

Then the second big moment - Bertha arrives looking 10 years younger since she stopped pulling her hair into that ugly bun and put on some makeup. She is also wearing a very age and event inappropriate long, white or off-white dress. Flor and Renata are ecstatic. Miranda is annoyed and everyone else is stunned. Then Bertha sees Fernanda and her triumphant smile fades away. We see a flashback to a young Fernanda begging her sister to help her and a young Bertha refusing while one of Fernanda’s daughters (I’m guessing Renata) watches.

Meanwhile, Cesar is rummaging through the stuff Bertha left in her room in his apartment looking for the proof she has of his crimes. He finds the jewelry designs that Adolfo left in the hacienda 18 years ago but that is not what he is looking for and he throws it aside.

Alone with Fernanda, Gonzalo tells her to leave the hacienda and the lives of him and his daughters. Fernanda has another flashback to the incident with Adolfo. She recovers from Gonzalo’s blow and sees Adolfo unconscious [she probably thinks he is dead] on the floor. Young Gonzalo tells her to get out before he does something else. Fernanda wants her daughters but Gonzalo refuses. Back to the present and Gonzalo tells Fernanda not to approach his daughters or he will tell them who she is. ‘Go ahead and tell them,’ she says, ‘and I’ll tell them you are a murderer.’

Meanswhile, Gonzalo’s interview with Fernanda is holding up the whole wedding. [Couldn’t they have waited until after the wedding?] Everyone is just waiting in the living room of the hacienda. Pamela and Miranda make catty remarks about Fernanda including pointing out that she wore a white gown to the wedding to compete with the bride.

Bertha starts to try and turn Flor and Renata against Fernanda by saying that Fernanda is just trying to get Gonzalo and is a trepadora. [My dictionary says a ‘trepadora’ is a climbing rose or a nuthatch. I’m guessing it also means a social climber.] Renata agrees with this.

Bertha comes into the library with Gonzalo and Fernanda. The sisters exchange insults and Fernanda says that Bertha has to explain why she encouraged Flor to break up Miranda and Fab and why she never told Gonzalo that Renata was taking drugs. At this point, Miranda comes in and says the ceremony is about to begin and she leaves with Fernanda. Alone with Gonzalo, Bertha says that all is forgiven now that she is back. ‘Not so fast,’ says Gonzalo. ‘You have a lot of explaining to do.’ Alone, Bertha vows that Fernanda will not mess up her plans and that she will regret coming back into their lives.

At last we are at the ceremony. While he is waiting at the altar, Miranda goes up to Fab and tells him that he has destroyed her life and has never once said he was sorry. She wishes her sister happiness but she wishes him unhappiness for the rest of his life. As the processional starts, Fab says you don’t have to wish me anything. I am already paying and you don’t know how high a price.’

An unseen choir sings Ave Maria. Miranda is very upset during the ceremony and tries to leave. Alejandro tries to tell her that is one day and the wounds will heal, etc. etc. He keeps her from leaving by saying that she can’t evade this moment and she must confront it like a lady - “una dama.”

In one shot we see a smiling Flor and Fab kneeling at the alter while behind them Miranda's bosom heaving as she hyperventilates. Watching the ceremony, Miranda has a flashback to a romantic dinner with Fab. They are kissing. She says they will marry when he returns to Mexico and she will plan everything. Fab says, ‘Whatever you want, dear.’ Fab starts make moves toward having ‘relaciones’ but Miranda says no. She wants to wait until she is married.

[I have never been to Tabasco but I’ve been to Veracruz state, the Yucatan and lowland Guatemala and even in the winter, it is hot there and incredibly humid. The wedding is being held in a tent outside. Some ladies have fans but no one is sweating and they are all dressed up. The men are wearing jackets for God’s sake. Today in NJ it is about as hot and humid as it is every day in Tabasco. I can’t put one foot outside the door of my air-conditioned house without starting to sweat.]

Finally the wedding is over and Flor and Fab are married. Bertha tells Flor that she told her that she would marry Fab and it now it has happened. Flor invites Bertha to live with her and Fab at the ranch. Flor is cold to Fernanda. Bertha says to Fernanda to prepare for bad things to happen and Bertha says, ‘to you too, don’t doubt it.’

At the reception, Alejandro recognizes the necklace that Bertha is wearing and asks where she got it. She lies and says that someone very important to her gave her the necklace many years ago. Alejandro concludes that Bertha has his father’s jewelry designs.

Gonzalo tries again to get Fernanda to leave. She tells him that she won’t be harassed by him anymore. She then tells him that Flor is preggers.

The TiVo stopped just when Miranda approaches Flor in the receiving line.

Labels: heridas