Caray, Caray!

Marisela tells Genoveva DB's history with the rapists. Geno says that DB is in danger and Marisela repsonds that they are all in danger because Sapo is a monster.

DB burns down Sapo's house.

Melesio tells Santos to try and control his temper. He says that when Santos as calmed down, he will realize all the people that he has hurt.

Gonzalo orders that the dairy processing plant be inspected first thing the next morning.

Marisela tells Geno that she doesn't understand why Gonzalo has the photos of the rapists.

DB is angry that Sapo escaped her. She tells Melquíades that she wants him alive.

Don Encarnación catches Antonio and Cecilia having a romantic dinner. He calls Antonio and Cecilia a pair of traitors.

Marisela tells Geno that she doesn't know what to do about the photos.

Antonio tries to talk sense into DE.

Santos is apologizing to Carmelito and hearing about his plans to establish a poultry business when Cósme and Mujica come to tell him about the dairy plant being closed down.

When Marisela runs into Gonzalo in the Governor's residence, she tells him that she and Santos are finished. Gonzalo offers to forget everything that happened and give her her job back. Marisela is starting to refuse when Antonio comes in and says that Sapo's house was set on fire.

Pernalete comes to see DB to tell her that a lot of strange things are going on in Progresso: haciendas are being sold overnight to unknown buyers, the dairy processing plant has been closed down due to rats and there was a newspaper article accusing Santos of embezzlement. "And you immediately concluded that it was me who had done it, right?"asks DB. Pernalete says that it is the kind of things DB does. DB tells him that he is wrong. She had nothing to do with what has happened but she knows who is behind it - Sapo. She tells Melquíades to sneak around the ranches that were sold and see what is going on.

Santos tries to defend his actions to the Cattleman's Association. DE shows up and accuses Santos of incompetence.

Marisela tells Geno that she might take her job back to find out why Gonzalo has the photos in his office. She transfers a call from Sapo to Gonzalo and listens to Sapo demanding that DB be killed and Gonzalo telling him not to do it yet.

When the call is over, Marisela goes into Gonzalo's office and sweetly asks for her job back. Her attitude would make me suspicious. It's hard to tell what Gonzalo is thinking.

Santos tells the Cattlemen's Association that he has demonstrated that there were no financial irregularities under his leadership but since the members no longer have confidence in him, he will resign as president. He suggests that they elect DE.

DB is sending the women and Juan Primito to La Chusmita to be out of the line of fire. Eustaquia doesn't want to go.

Melquíades is checking out the area where the haciendas were sold. He sees a plane coming in for a landing and thinks it is very strange.

Santos finds out that the Governor ordered the health inspection on the dairy processing plant. In typical Santos fashion, he wants to go confront Gonzalo immediately. Andrés tries to calm him down but without success.

Cecilia has just fed baby Lucía when Antonio comes in. Cecilia says that the baby is doing very well and will likely survive. Antonio thanks Cecilia for all she has done. Cecilia says that she is doing what Lucía asks. He kisses Cecilia and someone takes another picture.

Santos asks Andrés to wait outside the Government building in case Santos is arrested for what he is going to do to Gonzalo. Santos bursts into Gonzalo's office, hits him and accuses him of planting the rats in the factory and then having an inspection done. Santos accuses Gonzalo of using his authority as Governor to destroy him since he can't do it man to man. Santos says that he will do everything he can to destroy Gonzalo.

It's the married/engaged vaqueros versus Pajarote. Cósme, María Nieves and Carmelito discuss their plans to make something of themselves for their families. Pajarote feels left out. The other guys point out that he has said that he doesn't want any responsibilities. MN gives a little speech about how he and the other guys want to work hard and put their families first. Pajarote can continue to do what his father did- sleep around and leave fatherless children ('sigue montando a tus vaquillas y dejando terneros regados por ahí,' literally, 'continue mounting your heifers and leaving calves littered all around') but he shouldn't complain if he gets left behind in life. Pajarote says that with friends like them, he doesn't need enemies. Cósme says that MN went too far ('como que se te fue la mano') but Carmelito doesn't agree.

Sapo has a new hideout. He tells Facundo that no one must suspect that they are using the farms to bring in their merchandise. He is going to get his business organized first and then take care of DB.

DB is closer than he thinks, though. She and Melquíades have found the runway.

Santos is outraged that Marisela is back working for Gonzalo. She defends Gonzalo against Santos' accusations and says that she is staying with him.

Labels: barbara

Why that title?...why those words? "I love you...Forgive me...I wanted it to be better."

Those were the last words a friend of ours said to his family before he died. Too cerebral, too distant...he never was able to relate to them as a warm and caring father. We heard them at his Memorial Service this Sunday and understood them far too well. Many of the other academics in the sanctuary squirmed in recognition of their own discomfort in relating to their families.

But those are words that all characters say in telenovelas and are part of the overall message. A message far more important perhaps than all the "after school special" lessons that this particular telenovela purports to teach. And those thoughts were all expressed in some way or another in tonight's episode. Let's take a look and see......

We have the brief rehash: Gregoria struggling with her attraction to Arturo. Arturo confidently continuing his seduction. And Paulina( with a little boost to Guadalajara again) predicting that it will become an important fashion center...before she tumbles down the steps in her stiletto heels.
When it comes to "product placement",let's face it, the principal product is Guadalajara itself. But fine by me. I'm enjoying the change from Mexico City.

Now onto the new stuff. They carry Paulina into the house and drape her over a sofa. She's unappreciative and rude, as usual, but when she overhears Tina worrying about amnesia (like in her telenovela she's watching) little Paulina gets the idea to fake memory loss. She goofs it up a little, recognizes Rocio but not Santiago or Isabella. Our doctor plastico isn't fooled for a minute but concedes that if Isabella wants Paulina to stay over a few days while they make sure she's alright, it's fine with him.

These scenes are alternating with Candy/Gregoria scenes where Mom is on the verge of telling her about the romance with Arturo, but can't quite make it over the hump.

And there's a third strand in this mixture...Santiago's plan to talk to Suintila's mom. He's also chaffed about her name....thinks it sounds "visigoda" (visigoth-like) and actually asks her mom why she would saddle her offspring with such a handle. Seems it's her grandmother's name and that's the tradition.

Interestingly, when Santiago tells mom her daughter is sick...bulimic,in fact.... mom accepts it instantly. This does not square with my experience at all. Most parents will deny deny deny for a while before finally seeing that their child has a problem....but hey, this is the show of instant cures, and here we have another one.

Santi hands mom a card, directing her to an institute where experts will show her how to intervene in her daughter's denial and persuade her to seek help. We'll see where this leads. Lucia is initially appalled that Dad took this action, but Isabella and Jaime support Santiago, and presto, Lucia is okay with it. Another instant resolution. Man, if the romantic problems could just get wrapped up this fast! Ojala!

Well, Tio Abuelo Meño is doing his best to wrap up those romantic problems but his ladies keep resisting the advice. He's still pushing Gregoria to return to Arturo's bed (a questionable decision) and when she nervously dithers he snaps "Deja esa cantaleta" (Just drop it). I say she's right to be nervous! but what do I know? And then there's Candy. He chastises her for being an intransigeant woman, who forgives nothing (ya got that right, Meño) and has been given a gazillion chances with Santiago and run him off a gazillion times (ya got that right too, compadre). Gregoria's had enough, she wants to head off to bed, pleading a Meño-induced headache. But Candy wants her to stay...she has a request. Mom's sure she knows what it is, starts talking, doesn't listen, until finally Candy gently asks her to hush. And what will the request be? We have a couple of ads before we find out.

Well, no biggie. Candy just wants mom to tuck her in. ( Candy, by the way, has already tucked in Chava and hears that he wants a little "hermanito". A little boy, preferably so he can play with him. We see her mull over this idea with a decided glint in her eye. Is a consummated romance in the offing?)

Okay, back to Mom. Not only is she tucking Candy in...she's telling a bedtime story which in fact is the story of her sad, romance-rejecting life. Gregoria, growing up in Guadalajara, fell in love at 16 but her father wouldn't let her date the boy. So she married someone else, had three daughters and.... But every year, on the 4th of December (Gregoria's birthday) she'd receive a bouquet of lilies from her lost love. Her husband never knew. But when she was widowed, and the bouquet came once again....she rejected it. Why? Because she was afraid of love. And yet she never stopped wondering what would have happened if..... Candy, she says, Accept the flowers. Accept what life gives you.

"I love you. Forgive me. I wanted it to be better". True for both these women. Will they be able to change their destinies?

Gregoria turns out the light, leaving Candy to her dreams. In another apartment though, we see Lalo, unable to sleep, one sad tear running down his cheek. He's condemning himself as "basura" (garbage) for being unable to give Chayo a child. Chayo tries to comfort him by saying If a woman can't conceive it's no big deal. But if a man seems infertile, he condemns himself as garbage. Toxic macho thinking. (Actually, women condemn themselves as well for being unable to conceive. And are often condemned by their husbands. So I don't know where this bromide is coming from. It doesn't hold up.) But yes, in a better world, no one would condemn anybody. Just get to work on the solution, if there is one. What fools we mortals be!

"I love you. Forgive me. I wanted it to be better. "

Maybe it will be for these two.

When we come back from the next set of ads, the romantic theme is playing in a minor key, and Patricio, pacing in his lonely new house, is crying as well. Arturo enters and is horrified. Men Don't Cry, he snaps. Machos Don't Cry, replies Patricio. And I'm not up for listening to stupidities....I miss Candy. I feel so alone.

I love her. I asked for her forgiveness. I wanted it to be better.

Yes, he did.

Alright, we've been wondering if Arturo's changed or if he's still a sleaze. And the answser is....Sleazebag! He gives Patricio advice on how to force Candy back. Given her lying about her death and keeping him from his son all those years, Patricio has legal grounds to get full custody of Chava. And if he has the child, the mother won't be far behind.

Patricio points out that Dad hasn't been able to force his own wife to come back. Sure, but that's because he doesn't want her. He likes new blood, new romantic adventures. That's what keeps him ticking. Ugh. Evidently Gregoria's just the latest Geritrol in Arturo's medicine cabinet. (Meño, your advice sucks!)

And speaking of poor advice, yep, we see Candy in front of the mirror, dolling herself up. Evidently she's decided now is the time to throw herself in Santiago's arms. The guy is frantic with worry over his missing infant son. Is now really the time? Well, evidently it is. Go figure.

Santi's talking to Barbara about the possibility of the Institute teaching mothers to recognize signs of eating disorders in their children, but Barbara is all 7th grade excited and giggly (along with Candy) at the thought of these two hooking up, and runs off to get her excited friend. Ostensibly to vet Santiago's proposal. In fact to make a proposal of her own. Let's be novios!!!!

If you saw this, you know she enters the room in full seduction mode, leading with her chest. After she and her bubis arrive, she announces "Te amo" (no need to translate, right?) Santiago babbles. Is he dreaming? She pinches him. He babbles some more and asks for another pinch. Of course she hedges a bit. They have to find out if they're really "meant for each other". And whether or not he's "cured". Is he sick? Well...if he's cured of being a "mujeriego" (womanizer). Sho' nuff, there's a fly in the ointment. You can see it coming can't you? But relax, enjoy their kisses. Who knows what tomorrow will bring?

I love you. Forgive me. (For all the times I rejected you. For all the times I went back to Marissa.) I wanted it to be better.

Will it be? We'll see.

In cruel contrast we see Patricio, all alone in a dreamy aqua-blue nursery, holding gaily wrapped packages of baby gifts. The phone rings and it's Alicia, assuring him that the baby looks just like him (wha?). She's pleased he brought some gifts for the baby and he admits he's sentimental because he's never held a baby in his arms. His two sons were born 7 years ago. Alicia's phone call is followed by one from his mom. Evidently some of the gifts were from her. She's evidently operating on the thought that Alicia and Pato are going to get back together but he reminds her that nothing can ease the painful absence of Candy. (famous last words? we'll see....)

Alicia loves him. She wanted his forgiveness (for seducing him and ruining his romance with Candy. She wanted it to be better.

And perhaps it will be. Or not.

Alright, our meddling "metiche" Meño is continuing to give free romantic/marital advice....this time to Fafy Cuenca's (aka Ricardo's) unhappy wife. She wants out of the marriage. He counsels giving it another try. Take a chance. Try and make it better. Fall in love again. (This time, for once, I agree with Meño. Studies seem to show that couples who work hard to repair their marriages are happier long-term than those who decided to end them. Individual exceptions abound of course. Just sayin') What does amuse me is Meño seems to hand out a lot more advice than does our giggly shrink Barbara. And he probably has the same batting average.

But clearly this woman needs to say to cranky Ricardo.....

I love you. Forgive me. I wanted it to be better.

And maybe, just maybe.... he will listen with his heart.

Another painful scene. This time Santiago, head down on the desk, is having a nightmare about Marissa and his missing son. Guess Candy's romantic declaration wasn't a cure-all after all. And "té de tila" (linden tea) which his mother offers isn't doing the trick either. That stuff is like water, he snorts. I need someone to advise me. Someone who knows how to help fathers recover their children. (By the way, I have searched Columbus for "té de tila" and have come up empty. Hope I don't need calming down anytime soon.)

Another set of ads, and then an interesting scene indeed. Soledad comes home exhausted from, presumeably a tough day at the Institute, and Cece has already tucked an equally exhausted Beto into bed and prepared Soledad's favorite dinner...."filete con salsa de mango". Won't let Soledad do a thing. Sets the table, feeds her, and later we see her tenderly cover Soledad with a blanket after she has fallen asleep on the couch. Not sure where this is going but we'd all like a roomate like that, wouldn't we?

Okay, more palaver with Santiago and Mom. She's worried now about Tina (whose mother died of cancer) but Santiago brushes that aside. The cancer was found early, they'll operate and punto, problem solved. And if she wants reconstruction, hey, there's a plastic surgeon in the house. No problem. (I found this a rather simplistic treatment of cancer, especially since it can come back, regardless of when it's found. But enough qvetching.)

And Santiago has other concerns. His concerns about his son. He knows he was born, but that's all. Is he being cared for? Is he loved? Mom has the answer. He should go to the Institute. They cure "heridas de alma" (wounds of the heart, wounds of the soul). Santiago's not sure he should go (neither am I). After all, he's a man. (Sure is.) But Mom thinks the Institute's the answer...and it's not just for men. (no it isn't.) Santiago replies that his heart and soul wounds will be healed when he holds his son in his arms. (And I totally agree.)

The episode ends with poignant memories of Marissa's pregnancy, the ultrasound (where they found out it was a boy), and Santiago tenderly listening to his baby moving around in Marissa's womb.

I swear I'll find you, son, Santiago whispers...and when I do, nothing will ever separate us again.

I love you. Forgive me. I wanted it to be better.

If he can't say the first phrase, Marissa definitely needs to hear the last two. And will that heal the wounds and end the vengeance? Who knows?

Previews: More troubles to come. Candy's declaration of love has unleashed all kinds of repercussions. Paulina is on the warpath (or lovepath, depending). Pato is going to fight for Candy after all. And Marissa is about to wrap up her final vengeance. Ay yi yi.....

Vocabulary:
alegado, alegada = alleged
visigodo, visigoda = Visigoth (adj.)
azucena = Madonna lily, Ascension lily....the flowers Gregoria's first love sent her on every birthday
dejar esa cantaleta= drop it, don't keep going over the same old stuff
pellizcar= pinch (not as in "steal" but simply to pinch someone)

Dicho of the day:
Las mentiras tienen patas cortas (lit. lies have short feet) Lies don't take you very far. Isabella, counseling Santiago to give Rocio the truth about the absence of her little brother.
Other "pata" dichos:
tener mala pata = have bad luck
tener buena pata= have good luck
meter la pata = to put one's foot in it

Labels: Tontas

So, just as I published my very-tardy recap just now, I got an email from tonight's recapper saying she has a family emergency and can somebody else do it? Any takers?

Labels: manana

Sorry for the delay, folks. I got confused and forgot I was "on" for last night. It's because I can't count to two. Thanks for setting me straight, Judy!

• Yesterday's uncomfortable tete a tete between Fr/Ed and Fern continues, see below.
  
  
• Barb's equally uncomfortable meeting with Artemio continues as well. He has told her to whack Father Bosco so "... he'll take Fr/Ed's secrets to his grave! Do it like you did to Montserrat! [with a pillow?], I don't want to have wasted 15 years of my life to see my vengeance ruined!"
  
  Barb tells him about Fr/Ed and the Power Meelk deal, Artemio asks if she believes in Fr/Ed. "Seems he is a serious guy." "Seems? That's not the kind of answer I expect from you. Find out everything about his past. Is he gonna mess up my vengeance? Maybe you'll have to knock him off, too."
  
  
• Gardenia and Jacinto walk and talk, she's afraid Fern is visiting Fr/Ed to make her, Gardenia, come back to work for the Elizaldes - back to that awful gross Camila and the Hyena! Jacinto reassures her: Fr/Ed is not afraid of any of them. "Oh, but maybe 'Mr. Santorito' will put me out on the street! You know how the rich are!" Later, she stops Fern on the way out to make sure she's not in trouble. All of this was expendable.
  
  
• Santiago has managed to get inside Dominga's house. He butters her up and asks her for Aurora's hand in marriage. Dominga is butter-resistant, she yells rude things and tells him to leave. But Santi says to Aurora, in a cheerful loud stage whisper, "She's right not to trust me, she doesn't know me. But we must EXPLAIN I'm a FAMOUS PAINTER going to a FAMOUS ACADEMY and my FAMOUS PAINTINGS are selling for MILLIONS OF DOLLARS and you will NEVER BE SHORT OF MONEY and SHE WON'T EITHER."
  
  This works like a charm. Dominga gives them permission to leave the house, and Santi sez he and Aurora will bring back dinner. "And BOOZE," adds Dominga, and as the door closes she chuckles, "that little blondie's gonna be good business."
  
  Santi drags Aurora right off to the church. "But I told you, the priest is not interested in helping me find my baptismal certificate." "He'll be more interested when he realizes we're getting married, and you'll need it!"
  
  The secretary says the priest will be back "later, or maybe tomorrow." Santi plops down on a bench and tells the secretary they'll just sit there and wait till the priest comes back and can marry them! He plops a big fat kiss on Aurora, pointing out to the sec that it's a sin! Aurora is not really with this program.
  
  
• Vlad is, yes, still stalking Prisila. To make a long story short, she wants him to go away forever, he loves her blah blah, he finally admits he knows she's pregnant and he read Anibal's doctor's reports and even took them to a doc friend to confirm that (a) Anibal is sterile and therefore (b) he, Vlad, is father of the future baby, "and you and I are going to have a lot to talk about till the end of our lives."
  
  Pris just keeps saying she never wants to see him again and throws him out of the car and drives away. Between her repulsive black scare wig and his rank greasy locks, they are the worst hair-couple of the show.
  
  
• Anibal has just gotten the recent rotten-milk reports and tells his dad they're worse than expected - "we wouldn't have enough money to cover this even if we sold our souls to the devil. Only Fern can save us from total ruin." The wimpy dad cries. They just wait for Fern to come home from this trip and tell them they have found salvation with Power Meelk.
  
  
• Fr/Ed just gets as close and cozy as can be and sorta whispers to Fern that the reason the whole Power Meelk deal depends on her is that his employers are philanthropists and that her plans for the community center are the only thing that makes them want to work with Lactos. No social investment, no deal. "So simple?" asks Fern suspiciously. "Yes, the founders think riches should be shared." "So simple?" "I like that you're so suspicious." "Well, a biz as big as Power Meelk doesn't give something for nothing. What do they want in return?" "You're the key. They need to know who they're dealing with - who are you?"
  
  He asks her to call him Franco, and to use "tu" with him (be less formal). She points out it's not she he's doing business with and says, "It's hard to believe you work with such angels, out to help the common man." "Are you so surprised there are still generous people on this earth? Generosity does exist - are you generous?"
  
  "You'd have to ask somebody else." "No, I'm asking - are you generous with yourself? Since we met, two things have drawn my attention. One is your great beauty. The other is your absence. You're like a beautiful, well-appointed house with nobody living in it. I expect you love your husband, but you seem to be longing for (missing) love in your soul." She starts to cry and goes to the bathroom.
  
  Boy, Ed is really asking for it. [There are a lot of songs about guys who leave their sweethearts and go off to war and are gone so long they are unrecognizable when they get back, and they lie to their girlfriends and say "your boyfriend is dead," just to see if their women would be faithful and properly grief-stricken, and then when they're satisfied with all the sobbing they happily say, "just fooling," and the girls fall into their arms, but if it was me, I'd sock a guy who did that to me. --Ed.] What a liar: "Oh, Fern, I am so sorry I hurt you. I could see those flowers at your wedding really put a damper on things." "It wasn't just that, it was the guy who sent them, my nana's son." "The one who died?" She cries. "Despite all that's happened, you are so affected by his death?" [GRRR!]
  
  She asks, did you really have to know all this to do biz with my family? "No, I ask for myself- because your sadness pains me."
  
  She pulls herself together and gives him the files she brought. "One more request," he asks, "don't go on your trip till this business is settled." 'The nerve!' is what her look says. He says he'll send the info to Steve Nor-Ton today and have a "verdict" in a few days.
  
  
• There's a knock on the door! It's Erica! She and Fern are unpleasantly surprised to see each other. "I thought you were on your honeymoon. Did I come at a bad time?"
  
  Err tells Fern she's organizing a parrillado (is it another horsey thing?) because she wants Fr/Ed to officially meet the parents. "Oh, Demian and I prolly can't come cause we'll be on our trip." Err wheedles and wheedles, they can delay a few more days, it means sssooooo much to me! "I'm not in the mood for a party." "It's not just any party. Invite everybody even that swine Camilo."
  
  Fern's had enough. She says goodbye. She tells Fr/Ed not to see her out but he follows her to the door anyway.
  
  After she leaves, Err sheepishly reveals she invented the whole thing on the spot, and sort of apologizes, but then suggests that their farce of a relationship could be made real - she'd like that. And would he please come to this dinner with her parents? He asks, "Can I think about it?" "Think about which: our relationship, or the dinner?" Just the dinner, he'd prefer to let destiny take care of the other... She kisses his unresponsive face and tells him he's a total gentleman.
  
  
• Fr/Ed sits holding the big white king from Cero's chess set. "The head of the king must be ready for battle," said Cero, and "The white king must lose his head so I can get my liberty back," said Lili. Suddenly, Fr/Ed pulls the head off that ol' white king! He fishes out a rolled up piece of paper and Jacinto comes in promptly to hear the important information: "When circumstances require that one behave like a beast, it's best for the prince to become a fox and a lion, because the lion doesn't know how to protect himself from tricks and the fox doesn't know how to protect himself from wolves." Jacinto is confused, I know he is because he says: "I don't understand."
  
  "At the very end it says to give it to Isaac Newton." Condescendingly Fr/Ed explains that Newton was Mr. Gravity but has been dead for centuries. "But this is the weapon." "Why don't you just ask Cero, then you wouldn't have to guess?" "Cero is dead."
  
  
• Before going home, Fern stops at Margarita's to ask, again, if she and Jacinto really had no more dealings with Eduardo after the first phone call. She tells Margarita he's dead, he committed suicide. I thought maybe at first Margarita thought this was true news, but when she hears about Ed being buried next to his mother in the crypt, realizes it's just part of his whole racket.
  
  Fern's sobs really tugged at my heartstrings though they did not dislodge her mascara. "I think Eduardo came back so he could be buried with his mother. Now, I think you knew about this already!" (denials) ..."then," muses Fern, "nobody knew but Father Bosco? I'd hoped Eduardo would forgive me - it was my fault that he suffered. I really want to build this community center so kids can study and don't have to leave..." sobs inconsolably.

Labels: manana

We haven't heard from Melinama. She probably had computer problems. So I have started an emergency recap. I have finished a quickie recap of the first clip from YouTube. I'll also do clip 2. But I won't be able to do anything past that. If anyone else wants to do clips 3 through 5, I can add them to the recap.

Clip 1
Barb & Artemio: Art says Barb has to kill the priest. Maybe Ed divulged Art’s secret. Can’t risk that. Barb: It will be done.

Jacinto & Gardenia. Gard: what if Franco fires me because I talked to Fernanda? Those rich folks don’t care who they kick around. Jac: Don’t worry. Franco’s not scared of the Elizalde’s.

Santiago/Aurora/Dominga. Dom: You weren’t looking for your mother. You were looking for a novio! Get this bum out of here! Santi to Aurora: Since she’s the closest thing to your mom, she needs to know about me, and how rich I can get from my paintings. And when I marry you, we’ll take care of her too. Dominga: What a nice young man. You two go have a nice day together. After they leave, Dom says, This looks like good business.

At Las Animas, Gardenia brings juice.
Fern: Why does it depend on me?
Ed: Power Milk only joins with companies who sponser community social programs. If your company has a social program, PM will partner with you.
Fern: Why is it so important to PM?
Ed: PM owners are true philanthropists. They need to know the quality of people with whom they join.
Fern: I have suspicions. What do they want in exchange?
Ed: You have something else to give.
Fern (suspicious): What do you mean?
Ed: You are the decisive factor, in a multi-million deal. PM can’t do business with GL without knowing who we are dealing with. We need to know. Who are you?

Clip 2
Barb & Artemio:
Art: What is PM doing here?
Barb: They want to invest in Latin America.
Art: You believe that story?
Barb: Franco seems serious.
Art: Seems? What do you know about him?
Barb: Nothing.
Art: Find out. I won’t let some unknown factor rob my vengence.

Ed: Call me Ed. And would you please call me “tu”?
Fern: It’s not me doing business with usted. Why are you asking me these questions? I can’t believe it’s just because PM is made of philanthropists. What are you, a company of angels?
Ed: You can’t believe there are still generous people in the world? They still exist. Do you consider yourself generous?
Fern (blushes): maybe you should ask those who know me, verdad?
Ed: No. I want to know, is Fernanda generous with herself? From the moment I saw you, I noticed two things. Your beauty and your emptiness (?).

Note: Breaking news. Melinama is on her way. So I will stop recapping here. I don’t know if she wants to overwrite my rough version, or add to it, or start a new page. We’ll find out when she gets here.

Labels: manana

Marisela tries to reason with Santos. She asks what reason she would have had for deceiving him about DB's pregnancy.

DB tells Facundo that she usually gets rid of filth like him but that his time will come. Right now, he can go back to El Sapo and tell him that DB is declaring war on him.

Gonzalo pretends that he gave Antonio an order to pay for the repair of a street twice by mistake. He tells Antonio that the Marisela situation has his head all mixed up.

Marisela tells Santos that he is being controlled by his anger. If he throws her out, she won't come back. She won't beg like DB does. When he doesn't respond, she leaves. Juan Primito tells Marisela that Santos will get over his anger but Marisela says that Santos doesn't love her and she has no reason to wait for his anger to pass.

With Pernalete and Mujica present, DB accuses Sapo of rape and murder. She tells Facundo to tell Sapo that this is her territory and these are her men. She is declaring a fight to the death between them.

Altagracia tells the other terneras about how Santos threw DB out of Altamira. They hope that happy times are coming back to Altamira with Santos and Marisela together.

In a lovely scene, JP tells truth to power. When Santos tells him that he threw Marisela out because she lied, he points out that everyone lies and when Santos lived at El Miedo, he didn't tell DB how much he missed Marisela. Santos says that was different and that JP doesn't understand. JP says that he does understand: it's ok for Santos to lie but not Marisela. He says that Santos thinks he knows everything but he doesn't know anything. He tells Santos that a good man doesn't make women cry but with Santos, they all cry: Marisela, DB and Luisana. He says that Santos is bad, bad, very bad (muy malo)!

Cecilia tells Genoveva and Casilda that she will rent the house that they saw. Antonio comes in and the other women leave. Antonio tells Cecilia that he got a restraining order against Don Encarnación. Cecilia thinks that was the wrong thing to do. When he kisses Cecilia, someone takes a photograph.

When DE comes to see his granddaughter, he is turned away. He is furious.

Pernalete and Mujica come back with long faces to the cafe where Federica and Josefa are waiting . They say that a war is coming and DB and Sapo will kill each other and no matter which side Pernalete and Mujica are on, they will get killed, too.

Facundo returns to Sapo and says that he has a message for him. He tells Sapo that DB wants to see him in hell before he dies. She wants him to suffer more than any of the other rapists. He says that DB is possessed (endemoniada). "And she's coming after me?" asks Sapo nervously.

DB returns to El Miedo to find Marisela there. Marisela says that DB has tricked her again. She was naive and stupid enough to believe that DB had gone crazy after she lost her baby. DB tells her that at first she was crazy but Marisela no longer believes anything she says. DB says that losing her baby was horrible; almost as bad as being raped. The only good thing was finding out that Marisela loved her in spite of all the horrible things she had done. "You still deceived me?" says Marisela, "You still used me to get close to Santos?" DB admits it and says that she would do it again. It's the way she is.

Santos is rude to the terneras.

Marisela tells DB that Santos has kicked her out of Altamira for lying to him about DB losing her baby. "That's what you wanted, right?" asks Marisela. DB admits that is exactly what she wanted.

Santos is rude to María Nieves when he tells Santos that Marisela's mare is pregnant.

Gonzalo tells Sapo to sabotage the dairy plant while he will destroy Santos' reputation and then finish him off.

Santos rides off and is assaulted by flashbacks.

Marisela tells DB that Santos is all hers now. She says that she will go far away forever. DB can stay at El Miedo with her hatred and lies and try to regain the love of someone who hates her. Marisela turns to leave and DB tries to stop her without success. As she walks away, DB asks Marisela to forgive her. Eustaquia says that she hopes DB doesn't regret for the rest of her life breaking her daughter's heart.

Santos, assaulted by flashbacks, is rude to Carmelito.

After hearing about Santos' behavior from the terneras, Carmelito and MN, Melesio decides to go and speak to him.

DB finds JP hiding under a table and crying because Marisela has gone and won't be coming back. DB tells him that Marisela will always be unhappy near her and that is why it is better for her to be far away.

Marisela tells Cecilia, Antonio and Genoveva that she has to get far away from DB.

DB lights up her cigarillo, loads her gun, kisses Eustaquia and JP goodbye and heads off to do battle with Sapo.

Genoveva is looking for the stapler (engrapadora) in Gonzalo's office when she finds the much-traveled picture of the DB's rapists. She says that she has to show it to Marisela.

Melesio tells Santos that he should be going after Marisela. Santos says that Marisela doesn't exist for him anymore.

DB and her gang shoot up Sapo's flat screen TV but there's no one at his house.

Sapo and Facundo are off releasing a bunch of white mice into the dairy processing plant. Sapo says that Santos' dairy plant is finished.

Melesio lets Santos get all the crazy things out of his head. Then he tells him that he has acted like an idiot and had better do something soon or he will lose the most valuable thing in the world - the love of a good woman.

Geno shows Marisela the picture of the rapists. She recognizes Sapo and realizes that the fifth rapist is Sapo and that he is very close.

Labels: barbara

The word "leave" has a multitude of definitions; see WordReference.com. The Spanish "dejar" shares virtually all those definitions, and we see many of them employed tonight.
Meño tells Candy to dejar the obstacles she creates. (abandon)
Marissa deja the baby with Alicia. (drop off)
Alicia no deja Marissa push her around anymore. (allow)
Luc wants papa to dejar a sensitive subject but he won’t. (leave it alone)
Gregoria deja Art kiss her. (allow)
Paulina tells her stalker, “Dejame en paz!” but of course he won’t. (leave in a condition)

We start with Marissa in labor, still in the hotel, with contractions 40 seconds apart, and another contraction 20 seconds thereafter. In real life, birth would be imminent. Beanie adjustment necessary. Alicia is worried about the passport swap. Although the baby plot is revolting, watching these two in a panic is hilarious.

Chava is mad at Beto for saying that Pat would move to his house. Pat and Candy give a lesson on honesty and the value of brothers. The boys kiss and make up. Pat takes them for the night.

Men, was your wife the kind who got “greatly annoyed” with you when she was in labor? If your sweet, loving wife got that way as a result of labor, imagine what happens to our mother of all brujas! One orderly wheels her away while the other asks Alicia for the patient’s passport. Ali gives him her own passport, her picture still in tact, with three Ben Franklin’s folded inside. He goes to fill out the paperwork and assures her that the documents will be completely legal. Alicia calls someone back in Mexico to deliver a pre-arranged package; it needs to arrive today.

Santiago’s family is just finishing dinner, along with Lucía’s friend, Suinty, who is spending the night. Luc tells Papa about the AIDS talk at the institute, and Roc asks, “What’s AIDS, Papa?” He confidently assures her, “We’ll talk tomorrow, alone. I’ll explain everything to you clearly.” He knows there is a time and a place for everything, and this is neither the time nor the place. Santi observes that Suinty didn’t eat anything (even the lettuce), and offers to get her something else. Luc explains that her friend is on a perpetual diet. Jaime mentions “suinturon,” a wordplay on “belt.”

Pat and the boys are having “guys’ night” complete with dinosaurs, soccer motif, thrown popcorn, and a discussion of urinals. Chava concludes that women pee sitting down because they are tired.

Eating popcorn at their own house, Meño asks Candy why he sees panic in her face.
C: I’m in love with Santiago.
M: All of Mexico knew that. Why are you afraid? Let me guess. You think he’s a womanizer like all the rest? And did you just now discover you’re in love?
C: No, but before, it was impossible. Now it’s possible, so it disturbs me more.
M: Why do you insist on putting obstacles in your life? Especially in love. And if there are no obstacles, you invent some.
C: Oh yeah? Oh yeah? Why didn’t he tell me Pau came back. And look at how much he deceived Marissa. So there!
M: Love is a wager. No one can know the outcome.

Meanwhile in a hospital in Quito, Mar se quita the baby with two pushes. (See the vocabulary lesson after the recap.) She pushes the oxygen mask away so she can look at her prize, but it’s hard to tell whether her face says regret or disgust. Back in her room, looking at the beautiful baby (who still has the face of a newborn, unlike most TV babies), she removes all doubt. She tells Ali, “You take care of him, since you like him so much.” Ali answers, “Ay, no, que horror! It would hurt my back.” Ali wonders, after carrying him for nine months and going through labor, doesn’t Mar feel some attachment? Mar says, “No! Yuck!”

Ali wants to name him “Patricio Guillermo.” Then she suggests “Patricio Arturo” and the baby starts crying.

Santiago takes Lucía aside and asks if her friend ever eats a really big meal. Luc recalls that she once ate everything in sight because she was nervous about a math test. Luc confirms Papa’s speculation that she also exercises a lot. When he asks whether she also uses laxatives, Luc tells him that’s too personal, and he drops the matter. But later that night he walks into the kitchen and discovers Suinty making a midnight raid on the fridge, her mouth stuffed with pudgy bunnies. He tries to talk to her but she runs off. Santi goes up to Lucía’s room to check on her, and he hears her in the bathroom, purging. He backs out of the room, choosing not to address the problem right now. He knows there is a time and a place for everything.

At the boys’ slumber party, Pat is awakened by Candy’s phone call. Chava fell asleep on top of Pat. Pat starts the day with a pillow fight.

Stalker sighting! Paulina’s stalker finally shows his face to us, but not to Paulina, as he spies on her at the beauty parlor. It’s Augustin Arana (Omar of LFMB), but unshaven, uncombed, un-necktied, and shoes unpolished (no, I didn’t see his shoes; I’m taking poetic license). With the whiskers you can’t even see his dimple! Que lástima! At the end of the episode we discover his name is Mario, but I prefer to call him OMario.

Santi tells Isabel he thinks Suinty is bulimic. In addition to last night’s clues, he also cites her loose clothing to disguise her skinniness, and her cold hands. He wants to call her parents rather than confronting her. The girls come down the stairs, and Luc says she’d like to visit her parents grave after they take Suinty home.

Ed’s test results are in, and he’s afraid to go to the appointment. Chayo tells him he’s acting childish. He stomps his feet and says, “Am not! Am not!”

Lucía and Isabel take flowers to the grave of Luc’s parents, Alfonso Lopez Carmona and Guadalupe Hernandez Lopez. She tells them that she’s healthy, free and clear, and that she misses them. Luc steps away, and Isabel tells her son’s headstone that she couldn’t bear it if Luc were infected. His death was almost too much to bear.

At the restaurant, Meño tells Ricardo he’ll help arrange a surprise birthday party for his wife. Ric says, “It sounds like a super-boring night.” Gee, I wonder why their marriage has problems?

The fertility doctor tells Ed and Chayo that she is perfectly fertile, and Ed has a good sperm count, but less than ten percent are doing their job. But don’t worry, there is treatment.

Paulina teaches Roc and Luc how to walk like models. Pau says she’ll let Lucía’s friends use items from her collection for a fashion show.

Marissa wants Ali to take a photo of the baby to send to Santiago. Ali flatly refuses. Mar is looking much worse for the wear. No bounce in her step; gone is the gleeful savoring of the revenge. And now that the baby is in her name, Alicia has suddenly stopped humoring Marissa. She tells her, “We could end up in jail. No photos, no calls. And quit calling my son the brat and the package. I’m the only one who can call him that.” On a side note, I’ve noticed that Santiago’s face has been unusually UN-expressive lately. At the moment, his son is being more expressive than Papa!

The package arrives at Santiago’s office while Candy is visiting. The card says, “Congratulations. You’re a father again.” It’s a boy-doll in a Club America uniform. Santi says, “Yeah, I am upset. She’s nuts. My son was born, I can’t be there for the birth, I can’t hug him, care for him. Instead, Mar uses him for revenge. And it’s partially my fault, because I hurt her.” Candy runs out and comes back with a gift. It’s a picture frame for his son’s picture when (not if) Santi finds him. Santi thanks her because her support makes such a difference right now.

At the big house, Paulina gets a phone call from her stalker. “Where’d you get my number? I won’t tell you where I am… Is that a threat?” Lucía overhears and asks her about it, but Pau claims it was a problem at work. Luc isn’t buying that. Luc doesn’t need to listen to hearts to recognize good ones and bad ones.

In her bedroom, Rocío entertains Chava by singing the Tontas theme song. She sings well! They go to play Mama and Papa in the casita. Isabel calls Santi and tells him that Rocío sings and dances so well, she should go on TV. Santi tells her that’s grandma’s dream, not Roc’s.

Raúl arrives. Santi tells him he has a nephew, and shows him Marissa’s “souvenir.” Santi asks once again if Raúl knows anything about Mar or where she could be. Raúl has no idea. (Why does he always look so bad in a suit?)

At the mall, some guy flirts with Lulu to mock her. Lulu drowns her troubles in ice cream. The institute staff supports her. The writers have given us yet another disgusting piece of crap. I think we all agree. ‘nuff said. I’d rather forget about it.

Coming out of the salon, Pau is on the phone with her assistant, Jennifer. She says that since OMario got her cell number, she bought a new phone. She hangs up and throws her old phone into a convenient trash can. I think she should’ve given it to Damian. With all those concrete buildings and sidewalks, he would’ve found a much more satisfying way to discard the phone. OMario comes out from behind the building and retrieves the phone from the trash can. He could work a lot of mischief with that.

Ali calls Pat to tell him the baby looks just like him, and he tells her to stop talking foolishness. She’s coming home, but Pat informs her he bought his own place. She wants to know, can she and the baby come visit?

Art follows Gregoria around the produce market as she scraps with the vendors. He chuckles at her feistiness. He brings her onions to show his love (I don’t write this stuff, I only report it). She tells him to leave her alone. He pushes her to tell him what it is she wants; she should let go of her fear. She thinks she’s too old for love. Actually it reminds me of the early days of Santiago pursuing Candy, when he was struggling to lift her out of her fear and anger. I might almost learn to like Arturo. But I’m not there yet.

Tina is afraid of her operation. Donato tells about his. They give you a pill. You fall asleep. You wake up. It’s done. Stop worrying! But Tina explains that her mother died of breast cancer.

Art shows up at Gregoria’s door, and she tries to kick him out. She ditched him at the market, she doesn’t answer his calls, when will he leave her alone. He says, “I only want you to know one thing.” And he gives her a kiss. Not a little abuelo kiss. No, great big galan kiss. He says, “I’m sorry, I couldn’t help myself. If you want me to leave, say the word and I’ll disappear from your life. Do you want me to leave?” Getting no answer, he turns to go and says, “Hasta nunca.” But she stops him. “No. Stay.” Later, Art keeps working on breaking down Gregoria’s walls. He tells her, “I like your passion. I like your fears. You make me loco. I know this will come to pass.” He leaves and she remembers the kiss.

Ed is feeling insecure because of the test results. Chayo tries and tries to encourage him, but I suspect Ed doesn’t give much credence to anything Chayo says, if he even hears her at all.

Lucía doesn’t want anyone to talk to Suinty’s parents about bulimia. Isabel explains that it’s to protect her.

In the yard, Paulina is talking to Isabel and watching Rocío play. Roc trips. Pau runs to her, stumbles, falls 18 inches (counting the four-inch stilettos), lands on the grass, and is knocked out. Beanie adjustment time.

Tomorrow:
Paulina says she can't remember who she is, but Santiago has his doubts.
Candy, dressed to the nines, is ready to open the door to love.

Vocabulary Lesson
Note, most examples are from WordReference.com.
Why did Mar have the baby in Quito, Ecuador? She could have used a variety of words to describe the event.

To give birth is parir or dar luz.
To get free of is librarse.
To leave something there, such as leave a tip, or leave the books in the car, is dejar.

Quitar can mean to remove, such as “le quitó los zapatos.” But it often has a harsh connotation, like “to get rid of,” such as:

• Quita (de ahí)! Get out of the way!
• Quítalo de aquí! Get it out of here!
• Quítame las manos de encima! Take your hands off me!

In Quito, Ecuador, Marissa can say, "Quito el bebe." I am getting rid of the baby.

Labels: Tontas

Once morning returns to Villa Madera, Lucio drives Bitch-Barbie, fashionably dressed in black silk and dripping in diamonds, off in her SUV while Santiago commiserates by phone from Pueblo Purificación with Nanda over Eduardo’s untimely death. Nanda says she just needs a little time to get over the blow but she’ll be fine, and no, Santi doesn’t need to come back to hold her hand.

Toady Lucio unctuously asks BOW to put Soledad’s house in his name since otherwise Eduardo might return to claim it for himself. BOW barks that there is no reason to put Sole’s house in his name since Eduardo died; and so no one will be taking it away from him. She smiles to herself then to think that fortunately for her, yep, Eduardo’s good and dead.

Eddie, however, is really back at Las Animas pining away for Fernanda. (Hubby at this point unceremoniously recommends a solid smack on the head with a royal reality stick to put Wreckeduardo out of his macho-less misery. Hmmm. We know who’ll be sleeping on the couch tonight…..) Looking through his bedroom window at the morning sun he tells himself he might have renounced her love, but not the good fortune of having her nearby. He needs to see her again, so much so he can literally taste it and he licks his lips at the thought.

Across the way at the Funhouse, Gonzo comes up to Nanda’s room for a morning father-daughter chat. Nanda is emotionally exhausted and very down. Gonzo says it may be cruel to say so, but after Eduardo’s death they’ve all just got to get past it. She tells her daddy that she feels their family tragedies still haven’t ended and that something terrible is about to happen. At that very moment the alarms go off at the plant and the technicians are realizing the plant’s refrigeration system has broken down and now all the milk is going to spoil.

Across the hall from Nanda’s room, Pris interrupts Anibal’s morning ablutions to tell him he’s got an emergency phone call from the plant. He yells at her that he and she are going to have a heavy duty chat ASAP because he cannot put up with things the way they are. She tells him not to delude himself, that they don’t have anything to discuss. He picks up the phone and gets the word from the plant about the machinery failure there.

In Puebla Purificación, Santi must have put his brain in gear and done a bit of detective work because he has found Dominga’s house. He knocks and Aurora tells him through the bars on the door that she’s been locked in. Through the bars on the window he tells her that if she’d only have listened to him this wouldn’t have happened to her. Rory says she’s got to find out about her mother and only Dominga has the answers. She says he’s got to let her do things her way and asks him to leave before Dominga returns. He refuses to leave her alone.

Back at the plant, Grajales informs Gonzo, Anibal, and the slimy Dam that they’ve lost a million liters of milk, the whole enchilada. Dam pretends to be surprised and yells in feigned incredulity at Grajales and (without a cell to throw instead) nearly breaks his clipboard in half.

Meanwhile, Santiago pensively chugs a bottle of designer spring water and thinks about a way to persuade Dominga to let loose with the 411 about Rory’s mother.

We beam over to San Rafael. It seems that Bitch-Barbie apparently went to see Padre Bosco. (Wait just one milky-moo minute here. Bosco? Now which wise-ass writer’s idea was it to name the priest in this uber-dramatic telenovela, a telenovela about dairy products, Bosco? Anybody else have an unexplained thirst for “leche chocolatada”?) Padre Bosco is pointedly irked and tells her, “This better be important if it’s interrupting my praying.” Babs tells him it’s a matter of life and death for her and apologizes for the interruption.

A bit later, the Elizalde family is gathered in the meeting room at the corporate offices. Any Balls calls Fr/Ed to tell him there’s a glitch with things since Fernanda is about to leave on her honeymoon. Fr/Eddie pressures him about the meeting with Fer that he was expecting AB to set up for him. “Powhere Meelk is waiting for a report (about their community service activities) in order to decide whether to invest in Grupo Lactos.” AB says that’s why he was calling and asks if Fr/Ed can meet with them today at the plant. Freduardo says a bit sternly that he’s not sure he could make it there today because his schedule is so full, but perhaps he might be able to call and see if his company would put off the decision till after she and Dam return. Anibal doesn’t want him to have to do that so Ed pretends to check his day-planner to stall for time. Seems he just got an idea and tells AB he can cancel some other appointment if Fernanda can meet with him at Las Animas in two hours. AB says fine, she’ll be there and hangs up. Fer is suspicious about what Anibal has just committed her to.

Back at the parish church in San Rafael, Barbie pretends to be emotionally pained over Eduardo’s death. Little does she know that Padre Bosco’s already got this bad babe’s number and is ready for her. She lays it on thick about how the family hasn’t been able to recover from the bad news of Eduardo’s death. Bosco is finding it hard not to roll his eyes. “He was held in such high regard,” she laments and goes on about how ever since Ed was knee-high to a grasshopper she and her husband had been helping him make a future for himself [labrar un porvenir, literally, “to carve out a future”]. Padre B comments a bit flatly that yes, he remembers well how they sent him away to boarding school as a young boy.

Babs, fishing for information, says she understood the two of them kept in contact all these years. Padre Bosco confirms it. She answers in signature muted tones of affected melancholy that, well, they on the other hand, never heard a word from him. Padre Bosco remarks that he finds it hard to believe they never heard even a little something through his mother, considering she lived so close by and dealt with them daily. Barb dolefully replies that the woman never returned the same trust they offered up to her. She sighs and gives a proforma, “Well, in the end one does good deeds and does not expect anything in return” for the priest’s benefit. She gets up then and looks pensively off into the distance. Bosco can’t control the major eye roll. “You both worried over Eduardo and Soledad,” he says dryly. Babs is too overcome with her own performance to notice. She looks back at him. “Yes, my husband had a great deal of affection for him, and…well, so did I.” Padre Bosco is stone faced.

Back at Las Animas, Eddie is in a hurry to leave and tries to ditch Denia. He asks her to go to Margarita’s for the day, but Denia objects to loafing around at her sister’s the whole day and asks if she could stay. He says she should leave and come back in the afternoon after his guest has left. She asks him how she’s supposed to know when the guest has left if she doesn’t even know who the guest is. (Eddie has the patience of Job around this girl.) He tells her she does know her, that it’s Fernanda Elizalde and walks off. Denia is knuckles-in-mouth impactada and doesn’t know what to think about that little bit of news.

In the board-room at Grupo Lactos again, AB and Fer fight over why she has to meet with Franco Santoro at Las Animas instead of there at the plant. Gonzo, knowing what’s at stake here, finally supports AB’s decision to have Fer meet with Franco wherever he wants. AB is adamant that she is not to mention the problems they have had at the plant that morning when she meets with Santoro. Fer says she won’t lie or hide anything if that’s what he’s asking. Gonzo reassures her that nobody is asking her to lie, just simply suggesting that she not mention it and then, if the offer comes through, that day’s mishap will seem like only a small glitch in a couple of months.

Jacinto rides up and parks his trusty bike just as Ed is on his way to the car. Eddie asks Cinto to help him ditch Denia by making sure she goes over to visit Margo for the day. He explains that he’s got to check in on the not-so-looney Lili in the meantime and then meet with Fernanda back there later.

Back at Padre Bosco’s office, Barbie tells the padre that she needs to know more of the details about Eduardo’s death to clarify things for herself and the rest of the family because no, Fer didn’t say much, other than there was an accident. Bosco tries to put her off and says he doesn’t see the need. He asks her point blank if she wants to know the reason Eduardo took his own life or if he blamed somebody for it first. The Barbot is unflappable and she replies casually that she wants to know if he mentioned anyone. Padre Bosco tells her that Eddie mentioned there was somebody that had greatly harmed him and his mother. “He referred to the person as “La Hiena. --Do you have any idea who that might be?” he asks her. She lies and replies with an unruffled, “No.” “--Well, this La Hiena showed Soledad and Eduardo no mercy and in a truly appalling way.”

Finally Barbie slips up and falls into the priest’s trap. “Did Eduardo ever say who he thought the woman was?” Padre Bosco looks her straight in the eye. “Truthfully, I don’t remember Eduardo ever saying whether it was a woman or not.” Babs remains cool as a cuke and bats nary an eyelash.

Eddie makes it over to the asylum and enters Lili’s room. Lili ignores him and stares out the window. Martina explains that Lili’s upset over Ciro’s death. Ed says Adolfina just informed him. He walks over to Lili and promises her that his one mission in life will be to always look out for her, and then he adds that she can count on Martina also. Lili smiles to herself. Suddenly she starts in with the chess gibberish again. “The white king must lose his head for her to gain her freedom. The white king (Ciro?) must lose his head for her to gain her freedom! ”

Padre Bosco continues with his little white lie about Eduardo’s reasons for dying: “Eduardo couldn’t handle such an affront against his mother or the excessive cruelty with which she was persecuted, even after her death.” Barbie asks about Soledad’s remains next. Bosco explains that Eduardo didn’t want his mother’s remains transferred to the Elizalde’s crypt and so her ashes were now there in the parish’s crypt. Babs asks to visit the crypt “to say a prayer” for the two of them.

Back at the corporate offices, Damian asks Fer why the meeting with Franco Santoro affects her so much and she starts in on a long explanation about Eddie being her best childhood friend. Dam asks if Eduardo was what was bugging her, then why does this servant’s son mean so much to her? She finally confesses that Eduardo was her first love. Dam says, then, out of respect for the dead, they should just leave him dead.

In Lili’s room, Ed confronts squirrelly Dr. D about Ciro’s death. Matamentes tries to blame it on the old codger’s suffering a simple heart attack. Ed says he’s sure that’s what the doc entered on the death certificate, but he’s just as sure it wasn’t a “simple heart attack” and that more likely it had to do with the old man blowing himself up in the attempt to prevent Lili from having her brains fried. Eddie dares him to deny it. Dementoh! looks sheepishly over at Martina and asks Ed if they couldn’t talk about it in his office.

As Nanda is leaving for Las Animas Anibal tells her to make sure she explains everything about all of her various plans for the community and the area artisans to Franco and practically begs her to say yes to anything Freduardo asks her to do. “The survival of Grupo Lactos depends on you!” She snarls and leaves. From the frantic expression on Anibal’s face as the elevator door closes, it is obvious the guy has had better days and could be heading for his own colossal coronary.

Back at Looney Central –-the other madhouse-- Dr. D doesn’t want to accept any blame. Eduardo angrily tells him that in addition to all the other “irregularities” around there, now he can add the death of Ciro Palafox to the list. “Do you realize how dangerous your situation is now?” Obregon gives a wimpy nod just as Ciro’s family barges into the office demanding to know what happened to Ciro. Eddie introduces himself, offers his sympathies and then leaves. First thing out of the woman’s mouth to Obregon once Ed’s gone is a cold, money-grubbing, “Where’s my husband’s things?”

Padre Bosco leaves Barbie next to Soledad’s crypt “to pray.” Bosco catches his breath as he overhears her curse them both: “The Devil burn your remains in the deepest of Hellfire!”

In Puebla Purificación again, Santiago knocks at Aurora’s door again and this time introduces himself to a stupefied Dominga. He tells her he is Rory’s boyfriend. (Kudo’s for not holding his nose.) Dominga snarls accusingly at Rory.

Back at the processing plant, Gonzo, AB and Dam are waiting for information from the two supervisors about the processing machines. Dam starts yelling at Grajales and the other supervisor claiming he wants a rundown on the damages. The two stunned supervisors tell Gonzo and the others that the systems were so severely damaged they will not be able to restart milk processing for at least a week since the replacement parts have to be ordered all the way from Switzerland. Damnian, muy pleased with his handiwork (and no doubt figuring on a much needed congratulatory boff from Barbie) yells at Gonzo in a fake fury that this means bankruptcy for the company because they’ll soon be receiving all sorts of complaints from their distributors about spoiled milk!

Gonzo is distraught to think what that will mean for their reputation and the company’s label and angrily asks who was supervising when the machinery failed. Grajales says he was, but insists there was no negligence involved and nothing to indicate there was a problem. “It was as if somebody got their hands on the control panel somehow,” he adds. “—Sabotage?” asks Gonzo. Damnian immediately accuses Grajales of being that somebody, and the low-life tries to shame Grajales for supposedly pushing the blame onto his co-workers. Grajales defends himself and says this is the first time in all the years he’s headed the department that anything like this has ever occurred. He refuses Damnian’s accusation outright.

A couple of hours later at Las Animas, Denia, who wasn’t supposed to have any contact with the Elizaldes as one of the conditions when she was hired, still hasn’t left and is chattering away at Jacinto. She asks him if she should just hide a while till Fernanda leaves but Cinto warns her that she’d better do what Santoro asked her or she could very well end up losing her job there. Just then Fernanda shows up and sees Denia who stands around stupidly looking for Cinto instead of high-tailing it to the barn or hiding her sorry self behind the nearest bush. “Gardenia?” Too late. She’s been made.

Finally alone, the Barbinator calls Artemio Bravo to confirm that the ashes at the church are Eduardo’s. She says she has proof because the priest was the go-between for Soledad and Eduardo all these years and because he got the scholarship for Eduardo to study in the U.S. This was their parish and they were both very close to him. Artemio tells her to come to his office for a personal meet, and that it’s urgent.

At Las Animas, Fr/Ed walks in on Denia and Nanda just before Denia is able to explain why she’s there. Denia races away and Fer demands an explanation. Eduardo ignores her and opts for another sexilicious display of his pearly whites. (Damn! A woman would have to be made of stone not to melt and go all wobbly-kneed at a smile like that.) He apologizes for the inconvenience of having to wait on him. “I was worried because I knew I was going to be delayed. Would you like to talk in the garden? It’s a sunny day, a rather auspicious beginning for our business negotiations, wouldn’t you say?” He flashes another dazzling dental display and Viewerville swoons as their glass t.v. screens nearly liquefy from the heat. (Yowsa!!!! Make mine a double!)

Back at Domicile Dominga, Santiago lays the flattery on thick as thieves by telling the smelly old hag that she’s really something for having taken in a little girl and taking care of her the way she did. Dominga immediately lites into Rory for telling him their business and demands to know what the devil Rory came back for if she’s got a boyfriend now. He quickly covers for Rory by saying that she came back to ask her permission to get married. This becomes a horse of a different color now for Dominga (or in her case I guess, a horse’s ass of a different color). Santi looks over at Rory with a twinkle in his eye.

Nanda and Freduardo sit down in his living room. (Note: leather sofas, very sexy ambiance and muy appropriate.) She wants to explain what was going on with her at dinner the other evening. Eduardo says, yes, it was a bit awkward for the two of them and he offers his apologies. His eyes are staring directly into hers and she gets a bit fidgety. She explains that she avoided telling her husband about him because after all, she picked him up on the side of the road and she didn’t know how Dam would view it. It might be infantile, but she didn’t want to get “scolded.”

Ed asks if Errika would scold her also, but Nanda says no, because Err already knew about him, only not that he was the same person. She quickly adds that since they’re going out together now there is no reason to mention it, either. “You understand, don’t you?” His eyes are still boring into hers and he lowers his voice almost seductively, “No Fernanda. No I don’t understand. I don’t understand why you don’t want to clear up something… so simple.” She starts to explain further, but Fr/Eddie purposely interrupts and changes the mood to something more businesslike. “—Ok… It’s really none of my business, and since we have more important things to discuss, shall we begin?” She tries to match her tone to his. “--Of course, but before that I’d like to be clear about something.” He gives her another boyish grin. “—Oh, don’t worry! I would never make you look bad in front of Erika. As far as I’m concerned, I never saw you before.”

Fer, somewhat relieved, but still a bit off kilter, says that’s fine but she was referring to Denia and she wants to know why Denia is there and apparently working for him. Fr/Ed replies matter of factly that the way he saw it, having worked for the Elizalde’s was the best and most reliable recommendation a former employee could have. She asks if it didn’t bother him that it would hurt the family to have her leave them to work for him? (Get real, Fernanda. Maybe you, but definitely not The Family.) He says, “Truthfully, no.” He thought since they were going to be business associates they wouldn’t mind since Gardenia wasn’t intending to go back to the Elizalde place to work. Fer says sarcastically that she would have preferred he ask first anyway, “because the association between my family and you still depends on a number of factors, correct?” Fr/Ed moves in much closer now and lowers his voice to a seductive level again. “No, Fernanda. You’re wrong. The association between Grupo Lactos and Powhere Meelk depends…solely…on…you.” Viewerville takes an unexpected gulp as Fernanda, very aware now of the seduction that’s taking place, inwardly fights the urge to succumb.

At the same time, in Mexico City, Artemio Bravo and the Barbinator are meeting in Bravo’s office. He is telling her that there is no alternative. She asks him if what he’s saying isn’t a bit drastic. He says she of all people has to understand that if Eduardo told the priest his reasons for killing himself then it’s definite that the priest knows his secret and the death of Soledad’s son will be the end of his secret. He’s certain the priest knows who he is and he isn’t going to risk it. He orders Barbie to do the same to Father Bosco as she did with Monserrat. (Ruh-Roh! Killing a priest is very bad mojo.) The Barbinator shows just a hint of a robotic smile as she mulls over the best way to carry out her new orders.

Labels: manana

Permalink posted by Jardinera654 @ 1:58 PM 208 comments

When last we left off, everyone was joining up to investigate Mari’s disappearance, and Paulina had a stalker! Well, we’ll have to wait ‘til Monday to find out more, ‘cause tonight we just concentrate on all our cute characters. What fun!

Santi has just read Mariloca’s evil email, saying she’s going to “get rid of the brat, and do you know what that means?”. Santi is desperate, and complains to his mother he has to do something, but Mari is crazy. We jump to the hotel in Ecuador, where Alicia is now resting on the couch, having set up the laptop for Mari, and Mari’s happy, because she’s connected in chat with Santi! On hearing this, Alicia pops up to see, and here’s (sort of) what they say:

M: Dear Santiago..
S: Don’t think I won’t fight. I’m going to search for you and find you.
M: You’re in no position to threaten me.
S: If you return with the baby, I’ll forget everything and won’t denounce you, but if you don’t…I won’t give up searching, even if it takes my whole life. And I swear, if you call my son a brat again…
(At this point, Alicia takes over, saying Mari types too slowly, and types
M: Oh, I’m really ashamed (she actually types me das lastima, or you give me pity, or shame, but I think she meant it sarcastically)
Alicia slams the computer shut, saying she doesn’t want to be discovered.

OK, is it just me, or is this chat not really that earthshaking? I think the music and sound effects make us think everything is super important.

Santi’s phone rings, and it’s Candy. He tells her he was chatting with Mari on the computer. Candy the Wise says “Great, at least you’re communicating. Maybe she’ll come back.” (Hah!) Santi’s not quite as optimistic.

Chava comes home from school with lots of homework. Charly (who doesn’t attend school these days) tells him studying is a waste of time (estudiar no sirve para nada). You just end up working anyway, why study? Chava considers this pearl of wisdom.

Candy is walking Rocío home from school. She teaches Rocío how to give sad people smiles. You smile yourself, grab the smile with your hand, and throw it onto the sadsacks. Simple! They’re going to do this to Santi, and Candy has another idea, too, for which she needs Rocío’s help, and they rush off to plan.

We finally get to find out who Aracely is. She’s Ceci’s sister! Soledad had thought she was Ceci’s gay lover. Soledad gets a sheepish look on her face. Ba-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-d Sole!

Chava, having learned his lesson from Charly, tells Candy he’s not going to school anymore, since studying “don’t make him more smarter” (he didn’t really say that, I’m just in a mood today). Candy points out that Pat studied and is a professional, Santi studied and is a doctor, and she studied and is a journalist (oh THAT’s what she is). Chava’s not convinced and runs to his room saying Candy is mala.

Ed carries two young boys out of his office, saying he’ll teach them everything. Chayo, in headscarf and apron, brings 6 other boys to greet their “Daddy”, and recites their names, beginning with Lalito. She now wants to start having some girls, beginning with Chayito. Oh, it’s a dream. Ed wakes up to a watching Hortensia, who asks how Santi’s doing. Not well. The phone rings, and Candy has called to ask when Santi will be finished with patients today.

With the “lessons learned” music playing in the background, Ceci says bye to her sis (who hadn’t known she was gay, but is fine with it), asking her to help with the parents. Aracely wants to know if Ceci wants her parents to forgive her. Of course not, would someone want to be forgiven for being blond (güera), for being light-skinned (blanca), or for the nose I have? (looking at her nose, I’m not so sure about the last one). Being gay is just part of her. Okay, Ara will see what she can do with the parents. After she leaves, Soledad is contrite, but Ceci is gracious, and the two gals are pals again, ready for a little coffee and gossip.

No one’s home at Candy’s except Gregoria and Arturo, sittin’ on the sofa. She’s conflicted. She wants him, she wants him not, she wants him, and so on. Her daughter Candy says when you have true love, you know it for sure. Why can’t this be easier? Arturo offers to flip a coin to help her. He does, it comes out sunny side up (el sol), he won, but Greg just tells him to drink his coffee.

A smiling Candy asks Horti if Santi’s alone in his office. He sure is. Perfecto! Santi looks up from his desk to the sound of the Shark in the Bay song, being sung by a band of mariachis! Enter Zamora, Toño and the other guys from the restaurant, Horti’s dancing, and we even have two new members, dressed head to toe in beautiful mariachi outfits, black with white piping and big red mariachi ties, it’s Candy and Rocío! So this is the secret plan Candy was explaining to Rocío earlier. The music stops (with some non-existent trumpets), and Rocío proceeds to show Santi the magic smile transfer trick she learned from Candy. She smiles, grabs the smile, tosses it to Candy, then teaches Santi, throwing him a big smile, which he shares with the band. Mission accomplished, the band leaves (more non-existent trumpets), Horti takes Rocío to get a milkshake or treat, leaving Candy with Santi. At first she’s a little sad, thinking of Paulina, but Santi assures her he has nothing to do (nada que ver) with Pau, and gives her a magic smile. Candy then adds that the music was not all she has planned to cheer him up. She shyly invites him out to dinner! (Yes!) Of course, it’s a dinner of amigos, nothing more, but they both look quite happy as they shake on it.

In Lucía’s room, we see a large floppy green stuffed doll with wings. Donato asks Lucía what it is, and it’s a mysterious angel (angel misterioso). When she and Charly were novios, they invented it to take care of bad things in life. It’s mysterious, because love is like that, you never know when it’ll arrive. She stuffs it in her large blue purse and she’s off.

She arrives in the restaurant, where Meño begs her to help with Charly, who’s very depressed, and won’t get out of bed. She tells him not to worry, Charly’s going to get out of bed on his own, and they’re going to give a talk at the Institute. Meño is pessimistic. But Lucía shows him the angel misterioso, and explains that she and Charly have a pact that if Charly wants to see the angel, Lucía has to meet him and give him the angel. And it can go back and forth like that. Meño is still doubtful, but Luc isn’t, and Meño says if she gets Charly out of bed and out of his funk, Meño will treat Lucía and her friends to a free dinner in the restaurant. He calls the house, and Greg tells him that Charly already got up, jumped out of bed, looked happy, and has already left. You see? says Lucía. Meño tells her that Charly doesn’t have just one angel, he has two.

We have a short scene in which Arturo is having lunch in a restaurant with Margarita. She’s surprised, because his lawyer said he has now agreed to give her half of his assets. Why the change? Well, first of all, he’s getting old, he wants to live in peace, and for her to live in peace. Also, Gregoria asked him to do it. Really? probes Margarita. Tell me, are you two lovers? Arturo tells her not to ask.

Charly is sitting on a park bench on a sunny day. As a couple walks by hand in hand, he hears a whisper from behind a telephone pole. It’s Lucía, angel in hand. Charly’s happy to see them. He tells Lucía he feels alone, and Lucía responds that although they’re no longer novios, he isn’t alone. She asks him to close his eyes. When he does, she takes off the sweater she was wearing over her t-shirt, turns away from him, and moves her long curly hair to the side. Okay, open your eyes! He does, and sees the back of her t-shirt says “Charly, I’m with you”. (Charly, Estoy Contigo). He’s happy and says it’s really pretty. Lucía assures him that she and the angel will always be there for him. They hug.

It’s nightime, and Candy and Santi are dining in a fine restaurant. She’s wearing a stunning blue sleeveless dress, and her hair is nicely styled, without her trademark hairband. He’s wearing a dark suit, white shirt and pink tie, looking very sharp. She tells how Pat had shown up at her door with his suitcase, she was caught in the middle, took him in mainly for Chava. But it didn’t work, and Pat left. And now, “I’m free”, she says in English (pretty strong Spanish accent). Santi says What a coincidence, “I’m free” (also in English, almost no Spanish accent). Candy thinks he’s free, but sad. Well, he’s doing a little better, his daughters are cheering him up. Candy adds some more of her patented advice. First she says don’t think. Then she says think positively, and before you know it, you’ll get back your baby boy! (Okay….) As they clasp hands, Santi is grateful, but really wishes they could be a couple.

Fafy Cuenca sighting! For those of you who didn’t see Querida Enemiga, there was a charming older rich guy, named Fafy Cuenca, who was world famous (except no one could really place where they heard of him!) Anyway, this same actor, but without the toupee, enters Meño’s restaurant with his wife. They’re regulars, and Meño offers them a tequila on the house. They’re arguing, though. The wife wants to give a party in the restaurant, and the guy (whose name is Ricardo in this show) doesn’t want anything to do with it.

Back to the romantic restaurant, where it’s time for a game of Dueling Guapos. Santi thinks Candy is afraid to admit it, but she digs him. She’s not admitting this, but he thinks as a scientific person, he’s just making a cool analysis. After all, how could anyone resist his dapper hotness. He’ll even prove it. He turns to two girls at a neighboring table, introduces himself, gives out his card, and it’s obvious the ladies are gushing over him. Not to be outdone, Candy rises, struts sexily over to two guys at another table, and just as she starts to turn on the charm, Santi get majorly jealous, jumps up, pulls Candy back to the table, she’s made her point. They toast to their combined sex appeal, as we viewers need a cold shower!

After the commercial (hopefully, we viewers have calmed down by now), we’re at the Institute, it’s the next morning, and a lot of young people are milling around. Bárbara calls Candy on the phone, why isn’t she there for Charly and Lucía’s class? Candy had a problem with Chava at school (Chava hit a kid). Okay, Bárbara says, we’ll videotape the class. The kids gather in a circle, and Charly, Lucía at his side, tells his story. He’s HIV positive. When asked how he got the disease, he tells the group they all know about beer, about tequila, right? Well, he was drunk, had sex and forgot to use a condom. The condom is the difference between life and death. Several of the couples look at each other to show they’ve learned the lesson. (I’m not so sure. These are teenagers. More on this later).

At the kiddie school, we learn (from the very pretty teacher) that Chava was telling everyone studying is a waste of time, and he got into a fight. With Beto. They’re both punished, and the teacher wants Candy to take Chava home. She walks Chava out. Chava says Beto lied, said Pat was going to live with Beto, because Candy kicked him out. Candy tells him not to fight, and that Pat isn’t going to live with Beto, he’s living in a hotel. Okay, says Chava, can I sleep over at the hotel? Candy says if he studies first, then he can sleep over with his Dad.

We next see them at Pat’s office, and Candy points out to Chava that his Dad has all this (expensive office furnishings, artworks) due to studying. Okay, Chava wants to be just like his Dad. Pat tells him that his Mom is the real hero, she works, takes care of him and keeps up her house. Okay, he wants to be like her, too. Chava asks Pat if he can sleep over, and Pat thinks it’s “super”, and let’s call Beto. Problem is, the boys are mad at each other.

The teen therapy session is still going, and amazingly, most of the kids are still awake. Lucía explains that safe sex is the responsibility of both partners, not just the guy. Sometimes people don’t tell you they’re having sex with someone else, too (as with Charly), and one girl says her boyfriend said if she wanted him to use a condom, she didn’t trust him or love him. At this point the male doctor whom we didn’t even notice adds that you should all enjoy yourselves, but with responsibility. And the condom is the difference between life and death. Lucía adds that if someone gets HIV, you should still treat them with affection. She then leans towards Charly as if to kiss him, but stops. Hmmm. They give out little pamphlets, and everything went well, but I think a few of the kids might have picked up on the doctor’s saying enjoy yourselves, and tuned the rest out. First of all, Charly doesn’t look unhealthy. And these kids are supposed to be about 15 or 16. Couldn’t someone say maybe your should wait to have sex? That you can go out, have fun, but not go all the way? Or maybe drinking beer and tequila is NOT a given at that age? Or, if they’re just sticking with the condom thing, I guess give some out, or tell where they can get them, or show them how to use it? Of course, our audience doesn’t want to see that part, so we’re left with the quick and easy message. Again.

We still have another pending lesson. Charly is now home, telling Candy how well it went, and Candy is happy, but reams him out for his comment to Chava about studying. What was he thinking? Charly says, well we all end up in the same place, the graveyard. Candy gives him one sentence about studying making you happier, you live a full life, and Charly instantly changes and learns this. Chava walks in, Charly tells him he lied. Studying is actually good. He’s going to return to school. They’ll go together, and they’ll both go to college. Problem solved. Super!

A little later, Pat arrives to pick up Chava for the sleepover, and Beto’s with him. Okay boys, make up and hug. Chava says no. (I guess we’ll have to wait another 2-3 minutes to instantly solve this one).

And just to make sure we don’t get too happy with all the joy, teaching, lessons and problem solving, we're suddenly in Ecuador, where Alicia is frantically calling for an ambulance on the phone! Mariloca is about to give birth! In the middle of her labor pains, she’s also screaming at Alicia to get her passport ready, they need to give the baby Alicia’s name, and Alicia is afraid, it’s not going to work, as the two of them scream together, and this cacophony of female angst brings our little tale to a conclusion. Until Monday, of course!

Monday: A baby, money, and a passport. Also a big box arrives in Santi’s office!

Labels: Tontas