Caray, Caray!

*Fausto and Gabriela visit Julieta, who hasn’t talked with him since the shocking revelation about their past. The weeping father and daughters hug each other.



*Adolfo finds hung-over Bertha in the hall and realizes that Daddy’s little princess wasn’t sleeping in the condo. She says she spent the night with a friend of hers and reproaches him for lying her about Carlos’s so-called smuggling businesses.



* The Faidellas show up at Guilléns’ doorstep again to invite depressed Julieta to watch a movie together. While the girls are in Paulita’s bedroom Ramón tells Leonardo they managed to trace the phone calls Marcos got in the prison, they’re from an apartment that was rented by Susana Gómez.

*In the seaside hotel Alejandra and Juan José practice their own NC-17 rated version of The Blue Lagoon in a jacuzzi. Sizzling hot.



*After Paula falls asleep Julieta joins Leonardo in the living room. Leo, who already noticed her sadness, asks her if there’s something weighing on her mind. He learns Julieta knows about Fausto’s past and she finds her father’s sufferings terrible. Don’t cry, they know who the real culprit is and they’ll prove Fausto’s innocence. Leo’s comforting words and caresses sweep Julieta off of her feet. They slowly near to each other and then… *Viewerville: thumbs up*



* The members of The Rich Club have an uncomfortable dinner together, where Mauricio and Alejandra start a professional debate on the length of the construction. Medina thinks he’ll need at least two months but Ale says she finished JJ’s house in a month and she had less workers than Medina. JJ defends his girlfriend’s opinion, Medina fumes and Elsa has the expression of the deer in the headlights. Garnica settles the dispute and tells them his newest idea: it’d be great to have an own airport! Oh, it’s a shame that he’s just sold his helicopter. What, Garnica did have a helicopter?! Yes, but he sold it 3 weeks ago. JJ is very interested in the plane and asks Garnica about its details. And tell me, Zoyla… Zaida! Sorry, Zaida. Do you really want to invest your 10 millions into this project? Garnica looks puzzled. What the hell are these two talking about?



*Bertha visits Mario’s doctor and learns her uncle has brain tumor.

* After the dinner Garnica tells Alejandra he wouldn’t mind having her participating in his seaside project. However, Ale and JJ agree they don’t trust him a bit. Back in his room Garnica finally opens his suitcase and finds the complete mess inside it. Where’s the letter? Where. Is. The. Letter?! He calls Zaida to tell her they have to meet in 10 minutes and before leaving he picks his gun up. I have a bad feeling about this. In her room Elsa puts Caramelo’s things, including a letter into the little girl’s backpack.



*In the tunnel house Fausto asks Abelardo if he should tell Gaby he isn’t her father. Yes, he should. But then she would find out what kind of woman her mother was. Come on, they could tell her Marta was in love with Mario, and she would understand that. In their bedroom Gaby asks David to teach him about hotels and business.

*Garnica and Zaida meet at the port. He points his gun at her and demands to where the letter is. What letter? She swears she doesn’t know anything… Talk or I’ll kill you! BANG! Édgar saves Zaida by knocking Garnica out. He’s still alive and they’ll get rid of him, says Édgar. He needs Zaida’s help. She protests but he roars at the shocked woman: OBEY! They sail deep in the ocean and throw growling, agonizing Garnica into the water. When they get back to the hotel Édgar reports to Adolfo that Garnica became fish food. Then he asks Zaida about the famous letter and when she cries and swears she has never seen it he tries to calm her down.



* In the bedroom Juan José and Alejandra talk about Garnica’s mysterious helicopter and finally JJ listens to common sense and he’s ready to tell everything to the police. And what about Zaida? Who is she? Ale doesn’t like her and not because of jealousy.



*Bertha tells Adolfo about Mario’s sickness, his strange attitude towards his doctor and treatments. Mario should be dying in Switzerland. Adolfo decides to give her a car for her services and he is very amused at her enthusiasm about the gift.

*In a well-orchestrated, romantic seaside dinner Elsa honestly tells Mauricio she managed to forget Juan José and now she loves him – and our favourite architect asks her to be his wife. Fireworks, beautiful music, happiness.



*Asunción has an awful nightmare about being on the streets with Caramelo again.Next morning Zaida and Édgar, the two nervous accomplices talk about what to do next. He’s going back to Mexico City, bye. In the meantime Caramelo asks Elsa if she’s seen her letter. It’s in her backpack. After the kids leave Mauricio asks Elsa if she wants to adopt Caramelo.

*Worried JJ and Alejandra knock on Garnica’s door but there’s no response. When Zaida shows up they ask the anxious woman to tell the lawyer they have to go back to Mexico.

* In the Ávila condo Édgar tells Adolfo he took care of Garnica’s cadaver and he left no traces. Dolphie is very content and plans to give him another job, but if he fails he’ll kill him. *Viewerville: yawn, yeah, Roberto is totally dead after failing at least ten times* Don’t worry, boss, he won’t fail. However, that old hag Zaida may be dangerous. After Édgar leaves Adolfo starts to speculate about his little business with the Genovéses: he should get rid of dying Mario before the contract expires.



Aribeth

Labels: verdad

Lo siento, I'm sorry, I've got computer complications (nothing bad, just transferring to a new hard drive) and I haven't got my video capture software installed yet. So this will probably be a media-free recap unless I manage to add something in the morning. Plus, I need a nap. LOL.

We start with crazy Icky greeting Eva when Eva opens the door. Icky tries her best to look sane.

Don Julio is looking at a dead Max and mourning his loss when Renata comes in and asks what's going on. Don Julio is quick on his feet and says that Max "must have had a heart attack in the middle of the night." Renata seems genuinely horrified.

Marcela has come to see Claw in hopes of buying her off. She will write a check if Claw won't have the baby. Claw is not swayed because she wants the baby.

Poor Don Julio wants Max buried in the garden and Renata balks, saying that they ought to consult Marcela first. Don Julio pops a cork and says it is HIS HOUSE and he wants Max buried in the garden and he doesn't want to hear any opinions about it.

Marcela warns Claw not to play with fire. Claw is not afraid and talks about the risk of scandal. They smirk at each other in a threatening way and then Marcela takes off.

Dan's come home and a distressed Jacky and Francisco try to explain what Evil Icky has been up to. Danny's eyes get wide as saucers at their tale and he rushes up to check the damage in his bedroom.

He sees the crazy talk on the mirror (the writing that Icky put there). It says "15 days to the wedding, I love you" FREAK FREAK FREAK she is such a FREAK! Danny thinks so too. He also sees the unopened present that she gave him on the bed.

He says to himself with great resolve that NOTHING is going to prevent him from marrying Eva!

They're burying Max in the garden and having a nice little ceremony. I'm going to miss Max. Renata and that nice maid are in attendance, along with Don Julio. Then Don Julio asks to be alone and tells Max that his death saved his (Don Julio's) life and he thanks Max. "Adios para siempre my friend" he says. *sniff* Aw man, Don Julio is choked up too.

Icky is wearing the industrial strength padded butt for her visit to Eva. She gives some lame excuse for abandoning Eva out in the forest like that and then asks Eva how she fared. Eva is evasive as Icky looks intently at her. Then Icky starts talking about how the wedding is driving her crazy! It's coming up soon! FREAK FREAK FREAK! She is such a freak and I'm not just taking about the fake butt.

Doña Justa comes in to see what's going on and is introduced to Icky. They both give each other fish eyes as if they KNOW something significant has just happened. I hate to break it to you Justa, but your long lost hija is a FREAK.

Don Julio says he has to know if the evil telenovela drops are poison. He sends off a sample in an envelope to a Doctor Garcia. (Uh oh, let's hope they make it to their destination!)

Icky and Justa are introduced briefly, their weird psychic moment apparently over. Icky goes to leave and hands Eva her cell phone and says cryptically, "You missed a lot of phone calls."

Just a seems weirded out and says that this Victoria is strange and asks Eva what she wanted. Eva says she's not sure, but she was sure that Icky was not sincere.

Chit-chat BS between Marisol and Francisco. Yawn.

Alicia and Marisol are also talking BS about Marisol marrying Francisco. Back and forth between Marisol and Francisco. Basically they are both being questioned about how they can pull off being a millionaire when they're not.

Don Julio is entrusting Renata with the envelope with the poison sample. He says it's to be sent to a friend of his. He looks searchingly in her eyes and says he must trust her and she cannot tell Marcela. Renata says she'll prove that she can be trusted and he pats her shoulder as she looks discombobulated by this close contact and walks off.

Justa is talking to to her neighborhood padré. She talks about her recurrent nightmares regarding losing her baby. She dreads having to finally confront her sister Renata to ask her how come she left her (Justa) at the clinic. The priest thinks that maybe finally doing that will help put the nightmares behind her.

Renata has been given a ride by the chauffeur and is holding the envelope.

More talk with Justa and the priest. I missed bits of this but I think they're discussing confronting both Renata and Don Julio (the father of her hija). Maybe they aren't even alive anymore, but she needs to check it out.

Eva's at her dad's graveside, telling of her good news about a boda with Daniel. Creepy Leo is hanging out and watching her from a distance.

After the break, creepy Leo approaches Eva and says to himself that he's going to change things. He taps her on the shoulder which shocks her, but then they start chatting amiably about her dad. Then he asks her, "How did your dad die?"

Danny visits Laurita in her room and tells her that he's going to marry Eva. She's understandably elated.

Eva starts telling Leo about how her dad died. Her eyes get hard and she is full of hatred and desire for revenge as she tells of the person who hit her dad and left him to die like a dog. Leo starts connecting the dots. He asks her did she see what kind of car it was. She says oh yeah.

Renata apparently sent off the envelope as Don Julio requested, but she is curious about what's going on here?

Eva is saying that it was a RED car. Leo has a flashback of him hitting her dad with Danny's red car and he looks shaken. No puede ser! No puede ser! he says as Eva asks what's going on. He presses her for more info.

Idiot Alicia is (I think) trying to call Leo and stamps her foot prettily when she can't reach him.

Renata is waiting for the chauffeur to pick her up, but who should wander by but Justa. Renata looks impactada and exclaims "Justa!" Justa looks up, and the same thing—impactada and says "Renata!"

Justa is MAD and says "After all this time!" and obviously wants an explanation from Renata. Renata totally chickens out and gets out of there as Justa yells for her to stay.

Eva wants to know why Leo looks so shaken and freaked out. He says it's because his uncle died the same way. He then asks her to tell him more and she tells him as we have a flashback of the stuff dad said to Eva right before he was hit. She tells of her dad being hit and how she yelled at the guy in the car to help but he didn't, and if he had helped that maybe her dad wouldn't have died.

Leo looks more impactado about this. (Viewerville is probably thinking right now that Eva's given him all the ammunition he needs to turn her away from Daniel, since it's Daniel's red car.)

Alicia is frustrated because she can't reach Leo, and Marisol gives her some advice about men which I admit just passed me on by. (I'll try to fill this in later, or if someone else does it first, please do!) Then Alicia says she's got to go visit Carlos in jail. (Yeah, what about Carlos, anyway?)

Leo asks Eva would she recognized the car that hit her dad and she says with steely eyes that she could "with her eyes closed." Eva goes on to swear that she will make this guy PAY! You can see the wheels in Leo's evil head spinning.

Back at the mansion, the nice maid is telling Icky that there's a box that's been delivered, and it's on her bed.

Justa is chasing Renata and she is PISSED. Renata has fallen (funny how we don't see her fall—one minute we see feet stumbling and then we see the actress on the ground.) Renata is saying she can't take it anymore and Justa is out for blood and is saying that after ALL THIS TIME! Renata says you were dead! "Why did you leave me in that clinic?" Justa yells. Renata has folded like a deck of cards and is a wimpy mess crying and whining. Then Justa demands that Renata tell her where the grave of her daughter is.

Renata is crying and saying she doesn't know where the baby is buried, and that the doctor arranged all of that, or she was told that. Justa says that she never knew of any burial arrangements. Renata wants to get the heck out of there and Justa tries to detail her and begs her: Where was the clinic where she was left, where are the people that ran the clinic? Renata knows nothing and just wants to go like right now.

The box delivered for Icky is her wedding dress. She opens it and looks at it with delight as creepy music plays.

Justa beseeches Renata to come to her house but Renata snaps and says never, she hates her! Renata runs off. Justa looks on with shock and dismay, cries, and collapses to the ground.

"Because of Eva, I will not marry" freaky Icky is saying to herself as she clutches her wedding dress.

Alicia visits a surly and designer-stubbled Carlos in jail. Carlos glowers.

Back at the pension Eva comes in and sees a Don Ricardo and Adrian doing some painting on the walls. She chats with them for a bit.

Carlos is ticked off and bitter. He tells Alicia that Tony told him everything—that she and Tony are off the NYC. Alicia is outraged and says that's not true. She babbles about coming to see him with Marisol, and how she's been worried about him but afraid to come see him. Carlos just doesn't give a darn anymore and is bitter, bitter, bitter.

Eva's helping with the painting of part of the pension and getting paint on herself. Daniel comes to the door and Adrian answers. Eva does not want him to see her like this but of course he does. She's got blue paint on her face. They look adoringly at each other and give each other cute smiles. Danny says he's come to "kidnap" her. Eva goes to clean up and Adrian invites Danny to help them paint, but he declines.

Carlos is bitter and pissed and tells Alicia like it is. He tried to cover up for a silly girl and he's going to be stuck in jail for years because of it. Alicia whines and cries prettily about how bad she feels. Carlos says, don't worry about it. Go on with your life and when I get out of jail I'll be back to collect what I lost. (Oooooh. Carlos! Whoa dude!)

Eva's all cleaned up in a pretty red dress and Danny is showing her his own Love Shack, or Love Room. A low table with food on it, candles lit, rose pedals strewn on the ground. This is their romantic night. They say some romantic things to each other and then start with the romantic night with some lip locking.

Leo's at home, and shakily gets himself a drink. You can tell he's freaked because the whites of his eyes are showing. Another flashback of the hit-and-run of Eva's dad and he's connecting the dots some more about him being the one that hit the dad.

Danny's cooking a romantic dinner for Eva, who not only has a pretty but low-cut red dress, but a new hairstyle. I guess she had time for a makeover when she cleaned off that paint.

Leo is talking to himself some more about hitting Eva's dad when Icky comes in and starts tearing into him and complaining about Eva and Danny and how they spent the night together. She reminds him that he promised he'd help with separating Eva and Danny and making Eva hate Danny. If he doesn't do something soon, she'll do it "her way." Uh oh, Leo doesn't like the sound of that.

Back to Eva and Danny. Why, as it happens, everyone has left the building. Francisco's got the night off, Jacky's staying with her mom for the night, and Laurita's staying at a friend's house. Well, fancy that.

Leo says to Icky, "Okay, do it your way, but sooner or later Danny will find out, and I doubt he'll visit you in prison."

Renata interrupts to tell them that Marcela wants them to all have dinner. As Renata goes, Leo asks her if she's okay, because she looks bad. Renata seems surprised that he noticed. She claims that she's upset because Max died. Both Icky and Leo seem concerned and ask more. When she explains that he's buried in the garden, Marcela comes in, exclaims "Qué?" and seems outraged that a dog be buried in the garden! Renata says she questioned it too but Don Julio insisted. Then Marcela the witch says that she hated that animal and is glad he's gone.

Don Ricardo are finishing up painting and wondering what is keeping Justa.

Marcela is kvetching about her unhappy children at the dinner table when Renata comes in with some water and starts spilling it because she's so nervous. Marcela kvetches about that. Then Renata passes out.

Justa returns home and Don Ricardo and Adrian present the new paint job. Justa just gives them a fisheye and says it's nice and walks off. Adrian is puzzled and Don Ricardo knows something must have happened.

Danny and Ava are drinking wine and have a toast. Danny says he's got something very special for her and she gives him a knowing look over her wine glass. End of episode.

Labels: eva

Capitulo 153.
Read Julie’s original recap, then come back here to discuss it.

1. Alicia gives Tom three small kisses then lies down and fakes snoring to get rid of him.

2. Lety tells her diary that she needs to get away because she can’t resist Fernando anymore. He seemed so sincere, and if she didn’t know better from the letter she would have fallen into his arms again.

3. Marcia tells Fern that she’s been patient (because they haven’t been intimate for some time), but she expects that after the Cannes event, the meeting, and the wedding, the pressure will be off him and he’ll get “ella” out of his head. She holds up a negligee to remind him what else she’s expecting after the wedding, but she drops it (not a good sign). He agrees that after the meeting he’ll be rid of a lot of pressures (truer words were never spoken).

4. Lety asks Pop to prepare a full accounting for Filmo Imagen. She tells herself that she might return it to Fernando very soon. Tom tells Lety about his date. She tells him to be careful; Alicia is capable of anything to get his money. Tom ponders just how far she might go.

5. Marcia brags about her honeymoon in front of Lety and the witches. Lety cries in her office because the reality of the wedding is closing in on her.

6. Fernando remembers PG’s words, “If the company is the most important to you, you’re lost.” He tells Omar, “I want to stop making one mistake after another. I don’t want to marry Marcia.” Omar asks if it’s April Fool’s Day. He looks around for Alan Funt.

7. Omar lays out his view of Fernando’s problems, and he paints it pretty accurately. See the transcript. He says that Fern stopped relations with Marcia after he slept with Lety, and Lety has changed his life. Fern denies it and says it’s the pressure. Omar asks if, given the opportunity, could he perform with Lety. Fern says to himself, “I would be reborn if I could make love to Lety again,” but he tells Omar no.

Caro can see that Lety is sinking. Caro says she needs to take time for herself in this crisis. Caro suggests a vacation after the meeting, except that she has to fill in while Fern is away. Lety says she doesn’t want to be there for the wedding. Caro’s look seems to indicate that Lety just confirmed her suspicions, that Lety’s crisis is Fernando. But maybe not – Caro says Lety can’t miss the wedding. Her lack of support would almost sour the day. Lety answers, “No, it will be the happiest day of his life, and nothing can change that.”

---

Capitulo 154.
Read Chapel Hill Fiddler’s original recap, then come back here to discuss it.

1. Fern refuses to show Omar his card. Lety reads it without feeling, so he recites it from memory. (See the transcript on the original recap.) He’s more convinced than ever of his decision to cancel the wedding. Life has given him a tough test, sending the true woman of his life right before his wedding to another, but it came before he fell into disaster and he wants to be with her all the time. Lety is speechless.

2. Ali asks Marcia again to redeem her car, but Marcia says that she has to pay for her own wedding, and she’s zeroed out her bank account.

3. Lety is deeply moved and shaken by the card. Fernando just might have broken through. But then he asks, “Is the balance ready?” Lety says to herself, “Beautiful words in exchange for a doctored balance. Pig!”

4. Ali calls Tom to seductively set up another date for tonight, and of course she mentions her car. Tom gets an idea that he could make her a loan from FI as an investment.

5. Lety finds Fern amid a bevy of dancers, and he covers just like he does with Marcia. Then, looking for MamaT (Teresita), she walks in on Marcia wearing the wedding dress, and it knocks the wind out of her. Marcia and Luigi are abusive to her, and she runs into the hall to cry, while Fern moons and mourns over their picture together.

6. MamaT suggests that maybe Lety is in love with Fernando. Marcia answers no, it’s that Lety is the enemy of her marriage, and she’s arranged and hidden Fern’s trysts. Marcia says she hates Lety.

7. MamaT gushes to Fern about the wedding and how much it means to her. She says the wedding and the board meeting will demonstrate that he’s a responsible mature adult. Fern sweats for Lety who overhears all this. Tom calls and Lety makes sure Fern hears her gushing on the phone. When the door is closed, Lety confesses that she can’t take it anymore, and she begs Tom to come get her.

---

Spanish Lesson

Omar's the Smartest One in the Room. (Now that's a scary thought!)
O: So that cretin is seducing your Lety with your money, and your car. Why not loan him your house?
F: (to self.) I won’t give him the chance to mock my feelings for Lety. (Aloud.) I don’t know why you say she’s ‘mi Lety.’
O: Why? Did you already lose her?
F: I don’t know. Last night she didn’t even want to give me a kiss.
O: You’re a mess. You should join a monastery. You seduce a fea, after that you can’t make love with your official novia. Then the fea rejects you, and you stop taking out the models and dancers. You’re completely celibate. … Lety betrayed you with the feo de la colonia, and to solve the problem, you want to cancel your wedding with the owner of the company!
F: This has nothing to do with Lety.
O: Of course it does! For her you’d give your life. Don’t tell me you wouldn’t. You follow her everywhere. You make big jealousy scenes.
F: No, no, it’s not that. Marcia is doing all this wedding stuff. I felt like a fool. I didn’t feel a thing. She’s all excited and it’s a farce. I’m about to marry a woman I don’t desire. .. and I don’t love. I haven’t desired her for a long time.
O: Correction. You stopped desiring her when you slept with la mostrete. You’re confused because you refuse to accept that Lety is changing your life. She completely destroyed your intimate life. Look in a mirror. You’re (song) ugly, tired, ojeroso, y sin ilusiones (bags under the eyes, without dreams). You’re mowed down by an attack of jealousy or something.
F: NO! It’s the fault of the company. So many threats, and the co is in the hands of that ingrate and the cretin. Isn’t that enough to change my life? To suppress my sex appetite?
O: I can see that that could happen. I just have one last question. If right now, Lety was willing to go to bed with you, what would you do? Just a few days ago you told me you proposed it to her. So with her, could you? Would you make love with Lety?
F: (To self.) I would be reborn if I would make love to Lety again. (Omar snaps him back to reality. Fern covers.) No, no, I don’t think I could.

Labels: fea-2010

Labels: eva

Last year: Muñeca was trying to do a spot about the missing Christian, remember? And Eman was soothing Ilitia with a kiss which made MariVicky hit the roof. Ilitia was glad to see that MariVicky actually hates Eman, and Brandon asked MariVicky if maybe she’s jealous.

All new year, all new hijinks! Here we go! Ilitia tells Eman he’s the boss after all, and shouldn’t let that Spaniard get under his skin. In an unforgivable invasion of privacy (if you ask me, not if you ask Ilitia, apparently) Eman has asked his secretary to bring him the number of a shrink, which he shows to Ilitia while the secretary is still standing there. Ilitia protests that she doesn’t want to talk about it, but then says she’ll go just for him. He invites her to go out to lunch, then tells his secretary, who has been standing there undismissed all this time, to cancel his afternoon appointments.

On her way out to go change, Ilitia shoves Mauricio, who has just walked into the studio. Eman reminds Mauricio that he no longer has any business at the agency. Mau says he needs to talk to his dear brother-in-law, but Eman says no thanks and takes off.

Kristel is sobbing on Lorenzo’s shoulder that Mau doesn’t want to marry her – and here if he did, it would solve all the problems with Emil. He doesn’t realize what he’s losing! Lorenzo soothes, her, but his hugs begin to seem like something different. He tells her that she ought to think of somebody else, somebody who would treat her like the princess she is. He strokes her arm and kisses her hand and devastated Kristel begins to get the creeps. Lor pulls her close and kisses her cheek when – oh joy! – Muñeca walks into the office.

Good-hearted (and blind) Muñeca makes a beeline for Kristel and wants to know what’s wrong. Lor explains that Mauricio just dumped her, and, after some soothing noises, they both leave her alone, Lor giving her a last retreating eyeballing.

Kristel thinks for a few seconds (going for a record, good girl!) then bursts into tears again.

Back to MariVicky’s office, where she is telling Brandon that she hates Eman for what he did to Marianela. Big deal, says Brandon, Mari used to say similar stuff, and then Eman would talk her back. MariVicky tells him that that Mari, the soft-hearted sucker, is gone for good.

Brandon observes that Vicky and Mari seem to have mad in common. Has Vicky suffered a broken heart perhaps? Wouldn’t she like to fall in love and settle down? Vicky says she did have those dreams once, but apparently love isn’t for her. Aw, don’t say that, sez nice-guy Brandon.

Eman is editing the footage of Muñeca’s appeal when Mau comes in saying he’s not leaving without talking to Eman – he thought up the campaign and can’t be thrown off of it. Just then we (and they) overhear Lor and Muñeca talking, I guess carried over a live microphone on the empty soundstage. Lor shows Muñeca Christian’s chain, and says Garduño’s people have him. All he needs is $3 mil to get the kid, and of course he wants Muñeca to know that she’s not in this alone. Muñeca says they won’t even have to go to the bank – she has the money the Lirio stole from Mau – right in the house.

Mauricio’s eyes bug out, and Eman, for his part, rolls his.

MariVicky tells Brandon she was bad hurt, she was a loser in the game of love. He gently
tells her that life is for sharing, and…. he would love to share his life with someone like her. He walks across to her and kneels beside her chair, then tells her he would like her to think of him as more than a friend. Mari had told him that one day the love of his life would appear, and he thinks maybe that’s what has happened.

Why does our dear Brandon have such a thing for surly women? So much exposure to criminals that MariVicky and Ilitia seem sweet-tempered by comparison?

MV tells him she’s just not ready for a relationship, right now she has to keep her promise. Yeah, to destroy the Ruiz y de Teresa like you said, says Brandon. Actually, she says, I should have said to save Mari’s family, and to do that, I have to unmask Eman and Fedra. Count on me to help you, says Brandon sweetly.

Mau comes in and snatches him away, saying he needs him quick. Alone now, MariVicky looks big-eyed sad, and her lashes look like beetle legs, they’re so gummed up with mascara. Good thing she didn’t have to do any weeping for this scene.

Outside the office building, Muñeca and Lor are excitedly telling Eman they know where Christian is. Here comes Mauricio dragging Brandon along and announces that he can get the stolen money. Eman gingerly explains to Muñeca and Lor that the microphone was still live and they heard everything. Brandon wonders what the heck’s going on. Eman says it was something to do with somebody named Garduño or something. Brandon turns to Mau accuses him and Garduño of being behind all this.

It’s a bit later and the police in their menacing black gear are outside guarding the R y de T offices, while down at the station Muñeca is being interviewed by the comisario and Oliver. She explains that she should have said something about the money, but Mau told her he was going to give it to her orphanage anyway. We see that Fidel is there too.

The comisario tells her it’s stolen goods, and she gets a little tearful saying she just couldn’t give it back, and she doesn’t want to now, so she can use it to save her little Christian.

Fidel’s cell rings and he says it’s Flora and he’ll take the call outside the office.

Back outside the house, we see Eman taking a call while Ilitia takes her time getting out of the car. Fidel tells him that Brandon is interviewing Mau and Lorenzo - no solid developments. Ilitia arrives and tells Eman she’s going to get ready for her appointment with the shrink – she wants to get better to be the wife in body and in soul that he deserves.

Into the house she goes and Eman hears odd squeaking noises. It’s Benigno in camouflage, complete with face paint, trying to become as one with the shrubbery, something like a big fuscia plant accented with ferns anchored to his helmet. He says Bernardo and Fedra are after him and he heard them saying something about the money Luis Felipe left for his daughter and it seems like they’re going to take it away from Mari.

In the break room, Andre is trying to ask Doris out for a drink before the next shoot, who says Jackie could come in on them and burst into flames, incinerating them all. How come a womanizer like him goes with somebody so jealous like Jackie? He says it’s not true about him – all gossip.

MariVicky comes in, wanting to know where the hell everybody is. Andre tells her that since neither she nor Eman were around, they’re all on hold. MV throws a fit about having to do everything herself, there’s a shoot that afternoon. Andre tells her Eman took the afternoon to be with his wife. MV throws another fit.

Doris thinks maybe she should talk to Mari alone and sends Andre off. Mari shoots off some “lo odio!” fireworks after which Doris reminds her that Eman is the boss and can do whatever he wants. Mari raves on about how unprofessional he is and Doris sings Brandon’s little tune: she’s jealous.

Brandon has both Mau and Lor in an office and he’s telling Mau that he knows he was in prison with Garduño, and yes, he hears him saying he’s not his right-hand man and he has nothing to do with him. Okay, but this is about the life of a child. Lor eyes Mau gloomily. Mau says he doesn’t give a rat’s patoot about that, he wants his money back.

Lor bolts out of his seat and grabs Mau, furiously demanding that the money go to him. Brandon pulls them apart and yells at them that the money stays with the police. Lor yells back that they gave him only 12 hours to pay. Brandon puts it all together – the Christian who disappeared from the orphanage is his child with Begoña! Mau enjoys a little smile.

Mari tells Doris that her love for Eman is dead dead dead and that sweet gullible Mari is dead dead dead too. I’ll say, says Doris, you could bottle and sell your venom. Mari, calming a little, asks her to understand that Eman tried to poison her. Doris says no matter what, Mari’s still in love with him. More big-eyed, big-lashed sadness on Mari’s part.

Lor is frantic to get the kid from Garduño. Say it! says Brandon. YOUR kid! My son, confesses Lor, who begs him to hurry. He’s sure Mau knows where Garduño has the boy, but Mau just says he (Mau) wants his money back.

Brandon’s on fire: You paid Begoña to leave the country with her child! How is it that he’s been here the whole time, in an orphanage, no less, huh? HUH? What happened to her? Answer me!

Back to Benigno the Bush. Eman thought that Luis Felipe left Tia Carlota in charge of that money, which must’ve passed to Mari when Carlota died. Apparently not, says Beningo, he heard Fedra talking about putting it into a luxury resort in Cancun. Eman swears he’ll get that money back to Mari.

Muñeca tells Fidel to go to the house with the comisario and get the money. Alone with Oliver now, she despairs of getting Christian back. She shows him the chain that she thinks Garduño sent to show he has the child. Oliver looks at it and recognizes it as the one Gladiola bought for Begoña’s child. Muñeca is surprised, and says Begoña is her friend and…. The wheels in her brain start turning. Or make that the reels start turning, because it’s flashback time. Begoña at the restaurant table sarcastically saying she’s Lor’s mistress, the call from his mistress (she recognizes that voice!) Lor’s enthusiasm about adopting the boy. Her conversation in which she chose not to tell Begoña who Ilitia’s true mother was because there are secrets that remain secret even in the best friendships.

Back to the present and Muñeca says Dios mio! Christian is Lorenzo’s son!

Brandon is demanding to know where Begoña is, but Lor says he’s just as surprised as Brandon is. The door bursts open and in comes Muñeca. Lor steps toward her for a comforting hug, but she flies at him, hitting at him and yelling that Christian is his son with Begoña. He retreats, crushed and tearful, and Mau has a nice laugh at him, saying You thought you could away with it, didn’t you? Infuriated, Lor jumps forward, and shoves Brandon aside while snatching his gun from his holster. He levels it at Mau and says he’s going to kill him. There’s general chaos in the background, but he’s still pointing it at Mau as we go to ad.

Things are a lot quieter in Emil’s office, at least for the moment. He’s telling MariVicky that Mau’s off the campaign and that the separation papers have to be signed today, so would she mind going to Mau’s? She takes a fit, wondering why a messenger couldn’t be sent, and why she has to run around on errands like this if Eman can take the afternoon off to fart around when they’re supposed to be shooting an ad. Emil assures her he’ll have everything all ready for her when she gets back and that she’s the only one to take care of this task (though I’m mystified as to why that’s so). Anyway, she slaps a smile on and says of course she’ll do it. She’s very responsible, unlike the boss’s son. Off she sashays.

Now Brandon has pulled another gun and has pointed it at Lor, telling him to drop the one he has pointed at Mau, but Lor isn’t giving up. He tearfully confesses to Muñeca, without taking his eyes of Mau, that Christian is the son he had with Begoña. Muñeca agonizes that they were lovers. Mau tells him not to shoot, because then Brandon’ll shoot and there’ll be two of them dead, does he want that?

(Fiction alert, if you missed the earlier months of the show.) Lor confesses that he was going to go to Italy with Begoña and their son. Why didn’t you? demands Muñeca. He weeps that Garduño killed her to get at him, that’s why. Garduño wanted to hurt Muñeca too.

He bawls that he spent the past two years thinking Christian had died the same day as Begoña. Still holding his gun to cringing Mau, he says the reason he couldn’t be in the car with his daughter on her wedding day is because Garduño called him to the prison to tell him that he son was alive – he had been abandoned in the street when Begoña was killed.

The comisario and Fidel enter Muñeca’s house where they have found the door unlocked. They hear moaning cries and find Flora and Manzanita tied up. Flora says some men came and took the briefcase. Cut to Dandy, or his accomplice - I forget what name goes with which guy, with the briefcase, caressing the money and saying how glad Mau will be that he found it. He’s saved Mau’s life!

More long confession/explanation from gun-pointing Lor. He explains that he hired a detective to find the boy, and he approached Mau because it’s no secret that Mau works with Garduño. Mau found the boy in your orphanage, Muñeca, where you told him the story and showed him the chain, right? He’s the one who took the chain and told Garduño. Thanks to him my son’s life is in danger.

Forgive me, begs Mau, who doesn’t give any compelling reason why Lor should. Lor growls at him to confess, or he’ll shoot him. Mau says he’ll talk, but he wants Brandon to give him immunity in court for everything he’s about to say. If Brandon can promise that he won’t go to jail for his involvement, he’ll say where the child is.

Mustachioed Gretel is in Netty’s kitchen, making a sandwich and thoughtbubbling out loud that it’s better everybody thinks Manolo is gay, and boy, poor Axel, what he must’ve gone through. Guess who shows up! You’ll never guess! Okay, everybody already guessed right last week in the comments: it’s Delicia. Mano is surprised and says Delicia, ¿Qué haces aquí? (Bingo! Only ¾ of an episode into the new year and we hear that immortal line.) Delicia is taken aback that he knows her name.

At the big house, Fedra is vamping down the hallway, Nereida at her side. Fedra thinks it’s splendid that Delicia’s gone, and tells Nereida it’s too bad she’ll have to do twice the work.

Eman shows up. You tricked me, he says to his mother. You got Mari’s Luis Felipe money and you didn’t tell me. Where is it, hmmmm?

Delicia demands to know how Mano knows her name. He quick fudges that Mari showed him a lot of photos, and he noticed her, how pretty she is. Delicia, who won’t take any guff off anybody, tells him to mind his manners. He assures her he’s gay, everybody knows that. Bull hamster, she says. There are men who pretend to be all swish and the next thing you know, they’re all over you. I’m not buying.

Netty is just finishing up a telenovela scene and afterwards her lawyer congratulates her. She tells him she doesn’t feel comfortable with the character, which seems more and more like Fedra. You’re nothing like my mother, says Axel who somehow has arrived on the set. She apologizes. Don’t worry, he smiles, but I have something important to tell you.

Eman is still trying to weasel information out of his mother. He thought they were accomplices! For once actually looking around to see if anybody is listening, she whispers that he didn’t keep up his side of the deal, he was supposed to get Mari to marry him and instead since she’s left all he’s done is whimper around like a whipped puppy. You’re the one who has let me down! You have all these feelings for that lump of fat. Eman tells her that they were talking about money, they ought to focus on that.

She’s furious because instead of the two of them having a lovely toast to the money they got from Maximo, he blabbed that that money was intended for Mari. Finding that will was like manna from heaven for her. You fooled me, confess it. You never were interested in the money, you never did want to break open that piñata, did you?

Ilitia tells the nice psychologist that there’s nothing he or anybody else can do to help her because that guy’s face is burned into her brain for the rest of her life.

At the station, Mau is signing his testimony. At his side is Garduño’s mob lawyer (won’t he blab to Garduño?). Brandon tells him if what he told them isn’t true, and the child isn’t found safe and sound, his immunity is off. Mau tells him he has the address, knock himself out. Brandon swears that he’ll get him behind bars. But not today, says Mau, making a kiss at him. He leaves and Brandon stews. The comisario tells him to calm down and focus on the child. Oliver and the others are waiting.

Fedra tells Eman that even if he’s not on board, she’s looking out for the best interests of her adored son. He begs her say she didn’t take Luis Felipe’s money for him. She tells him that was the plan, but no luck, so his fatty can roll around in pesos after all.

Then Eman brings up that it’s fishy that she took a trip to Switzerland, a trip that coincided with Carlota’s death. Fedra feigns shock that he would suspect her. Eman asks her to swear she didn’t go to Madrid to see Carlota before she died. She swears. He asks her where she’s gotten the money to invest in a vacation resort. She assures him that she’s just a minor investor mixing in with some powerful people. That answers your question, doesn’t it my love? she says, stroking his face, then quick beating a hasty retreat up the stairs. Eman looks after her and thoughtbubbles that he knows her and he’s not going to rest until he finds out what she did with Mari’s money.

Avances: In a restaurant, Emil proclaims his love to Netty and kisses her. A paparazzo snaps a photo. In the office, Mari tells Eman it looks like he’s going to try to kiss her again. Not me, he says, because you want it more than I do. She grabs him and kisses him.

Labels: llena

Capítulo 1: In which an innocent is betrayed, a sinner is cloaked in piety, and a lot of skinny girls get work.
Present-day Mexico City:
Fireworks. Fountains. We are at a high-end fashion show in an exclusive mall. It’s all very glam and energetically percussive. The beautiful people behind the scenes are getting ready to strut for the beautiful people in the audience. A fortyish blonde runs around putting out fires in a back-stage atmosphere that is breathless, frantic. She glances at her watch and thinks:
Victoria debe estar por llegar.(Victoria must be about to get here./She’ll be here any minute now.)

The scene shifts to a church, an image of the Virgen de Guadaloupe. An elegant, dark-haired woman prays for her daughter’s return.
Tú eres madre como yo y conoces el dolor de todos estos años.(You are a mother like me and you know the pain I’ve suffered all these years.)
This is Victoria. In her prayer, Victoria blames herself for her suffering: she should never have become involved with a man who was of the church. She moans: Juan Pablo!

Twenty years ago:
By crying out his name, she seems to have conjured the past. For now we are with the young seminarian himself. He is holding an image of Christ while another voice – older and harsher – calls out: Juan Pablo!. The door to his study opens and we see an imperious figure radiant in ecclesiastical purple. It is Bernarda, Juan Pablo’s mother. She reminds her son he is chosen, privileged. He deflects her praise. He is just one seminarian among many. No, she insists, he is unique, special. He is her salvation and his vocation as a priest will save her soul. (Not to put any pressure on him or anything.) She kisses his hands, she touches his face, she embraces him. It’s too bad he has to go to Monterrey to buy her a ticket to heaven.

Her quasi-incestuous rapture is interrupted by the entrance of Juan’s father, Octavio. (Eduardo Santamarina). Bernarda’s expression sours when she sees him although Juan’s face lights up with pleasure. Octavio has his doubts about his son’s vocation. He asks:
Juan Pablo, hijo, desde el fondo de tu corazón, ¿realmente el sacerdocio es tu vocación?(JP, from the bottom of your heart, is the priesthood really your calling?)

Octavio reminds him how limited his life has been: he has never had a girlfriend; all his life his mother has wanted him to be a priest. He pleads with his son to decide for himself. What does he want? Bernarda looks on and fumes.

The scene shifts to the kitchen where young Victoria, now a family servant, is wrapping a farewell gift, a small carved crucifix for Juan Pablo. She is with an older servant, Tomasa. [In this age of High Definition TV, it takes a certain amount of viewer goodwill to accept forty-something actors playing late adolescents. But with a twist of the old beanie, I’m there. Besides, I’ve been a fan of Ruffo’s ever since she triumphed over that bunch of Looney Tunes in-laws in La Madrastra.]

Victoria has the task of picking up JP’s seminary clothes from the tailor, but when she gets to the shop, she finds Juan Pablo has beat her to it. He obligingly gives her a ride back to the house and on the way he quizzes her on her times tables. We learn he has been her tutor. She was illiterate when she first arrived and he has taught her everything she knows. Well almost.

In the car, Victoria timidly gives him his gift and tells him how much she’s going to miss him. He dries her tears and tries to reassure her, telling her she is a very talented girl, capable of doing whatever she sets her mind to.
Time warp back to the present:
Fashion Diva Victoria is still in the church lamenting the sin of loving Juan Pablo. Her penance: losing what she most loved – her daughter.

Meanwhile… the show must go on. When Victoria enters, she is instantly in command. The blonde assistant breathes her relief. This is Antonieta, faithful friend and colleague. She knew Victoria would be there on time, she says. She passes a cloth doll with dark pig-tails to Victoria. Hmmm.

Victoria is checking out every detail and wants to know who chose the accessories of one model. They are all wrong! It was Antonieta’s decision but her male compañero takes the rap for it and agrees to make the changes Victoria demands.

You stopped at the church to pray, didn’t you? asks her friend. Victoria tells her she goes to that same church whenever she can:
Me he encariñado con una imagen de la virgen de Guadaloupe que está ahí.
Durante tantos estos años le he pedido que un día me haga el milagro de volver a ver a mi hija.(I’ve grown fond of an image of the virgin of Guadaloupe there. For so many years, I’ve asked her to one day grant me the miracle of seeing my daughter again.)

Antonieta, momentarily losing sight of telenovela plot conventions, suggests it might be time for her friend to forget the past. Never, says Victoria. And above all, I will never forget that heartless (despiadada, sin piedad), Doña Bernarda Ituribe.

Yeah well Bernarda the Church Lady doesn’t see herself as despiadada. Even now she is reading from the Psalms:
Mi alma está pegado al polvo; reanímame con tus palabras.
(My soul cleaveth unto the dust: quicken thou me according to thy word.)

But her pious exercise is interrupted by the sound of the doorbell. She calls out crossly to the servant:
¿Quién es Tomasa?...(Who is it Tomasa?)
And then smiles delightedly:
Juan Pablo, hijo!And I have to say, except for a little bit of stubble, he still looks pretty frisky twenty years later.

Elsewhere in town, the fashion show proceeds, the models appearing appropriately anorexic and edgy and the rich, snooty crowd duly appreciative. An assistant tells Victoria that the show is nearly over and they will be waiting for her on the runway.

But just before Victoria walks out, Antonieta shows that she is a true friend. She says something that Victoria may not want to hear:
Pay attention to your husband and family or one day you might get a nasty surprise. Osvaldo is a very attractive man!
Cut to a bedroom scene. The indeed very attractive Osvaldo is in bed with an equally attractive woman. The action is hot and heavy.

Cut to a pensive Victoria holding and stroking the ragdoll.

We’re back with Osvaldo again and… Wait! It’s only acting! Osvaldo is a galán in a telenovela and they have just shot the final scene. He hops out of the bed, undies still on, and now we see the tv crew all around him.

Back at the fashion show, we catch a glimpse of actress Helena Rojo sitting on the sidelines holding a bouquet. Then it is Victoria’s moment. She glides gracefully down the runway as the crowd stands and applauds. In a nod to telenovela royal lineage, Rojo, who last played the Ruffo role, presents a bouquet of red roses to the current Reina.

At home, Bernarda is having her own moment of joy. Juan Pablo has been transferred from Monterrey back to Mexico City and he will have a parish close to home. Says Bernarda without a trace of humility:
No cabe duda que Dios me premia por mis buenas obras.(There’s no doubt that God is rewarding me for my good works.)

His mother leaves Juan Pablo to get some rest. In a room filled with religious imagery of all kinds, it is the small carved crucifix that Victoria gave him so many years ago that catches his attention.

His mind wanders to the night of his farewell dinner (cena de despedida)--

--and the winsome Victoria, white ribbons woven into her dark braids.

He also recalls an unsavory incident from that night. As the guests are leaving, one woman lingers and tries to seduce the virginal Juan Pablo. She teases him for his innocence and inexperience. He tries to edge away but she continues to taunt:
No me tengas miedo -- no voy a comerte…aunque ganas no me faltan.(Don’t be afraid of me – I’m not going to eat you… not that I wouldn’t love to!)
Immediately Mother Bernarda is there to defend him:
Patricia! ¿Te la pasaste bien?(Did you have fun?) asks Bernarda as she smoothly takes the wine glass from the woman’s hand and tries to lead her away, reminding her that foremost among the vows Juan is to take is that of chastity. The resourceful Patricia manages to plant one on Juan Pablo before Bernarda ousts her more forcefully. Afterward he wipes his mouth, seeming more confused than disgusted.

Sweet Victoria, the image of purity with her beribboned braids, her little black maid’s uniform trimmed with a white apron, collar and cuffs, steals into Juan’s study and tearfully leaves a note for him.

A moment later Juan enters the study – apparently fresh out of the shower – and finds the note. He looks particularly fetching with that devilish lock of hair falling over his forehead. He smiles as he reads the note and then looks for Victoria to thank her for it. He finds her weeping. He gently wipes her tears away and tries to get her to tell him why she’s crying. I can’t, she says, it’s a sin. He smiles:
No creo que tú seas capaz de ningún pecado. Eres tan buena, tan dulce.(I don’t think you are capable of sin. You are so good, so sweet.)

He confides that he has never before been so close, physically, to a woman and he feels so comforted by her presence. He needs to talk to someone, he tells her. She invites him to share his anguish with her. He can tell her anything. He says:
Me estoy despidiendo de un mundo para entrar en otro.(I’m saying goodbye to one world to enter another.)

She is pained by his leaving, she tells him, and she weeps on his chest. He is about to close the door on material things, he says. And yet:
Hay cosas que no he vivido, que no he sentido.(There are things I haven’t lived, that I haven’t felt.)
Sometimes, he continues, they say we should experience a normal life before taking our vows, to test ourselves, just to be sure... I wanted to be pure, I wanted to be chaste…

But oh my. Things are getting warm in here. That nasty Patricia seems to have lit the pilot light under Juan Pablo’s reservoirs of carnal desire. And now alone with the adoring and naïve Victoria he feels things he has never felt before. They kiss tentatively at first, and then with more conviction.

Bernarda goes into Juan Pablo’s room and is satisfied to see his clothes laid out on the bed. She’d be less smug if she knew that the owner of those clothes was in Victoria’s little room. Testing himself. Just to be sure.

When he finally returns to his room, a bit out of breath, his mother is waiting. In the dark. She senses he looks different somehow and asks him what’s wrong. He confesses he has begun to have some doubts. Maybe his father was right…

Octavio happens to be passing by his room and overhears this conversation. His face brightens at the idea that his son is thinking for himself. But inside that room, Bernarda’s mouth hangs open in horror. She manages to convince him he is just nervous and confused right now. He was born to serve God, she tells him. And he ends up agreeing with her.

We see Juan Pablo kneeling, holding the carved crucifix, and praying: Perdóname.

And Victoria sits on her bed in her chaste white nightdress and prays: Dios mío, perdóname, perdóname.
It is the following day and it’s time to say goodbye. Octavio again asks his son if he’s sure of his decision. After all, he says:
El celibato lo inventó el hombre y no Dios.(It was man, not God, who invented celibacy.)

When Juan Pablo answers that yes, he is sure, Bernarda can’t suppress a triumphant smirk. Victoria watches from her window as Juan Pablo and his father drive away to the airport.

Monterrey, 20 years ago:
So the time you spent away from the seminary confirmed your vocation! says the priest as he welcomes Juan Pablo back into the fold. Well sort of:
Necesito confesarme cuanto antes. Soy pecador, un gran pecador.(I need to confess right away. I’m a sinner, a terrible sinner.)
In the confessional he admits to carnal sin. The priest tells him that since he has not yet taken a vow of chastity, the sin is not as grave as it might be. But are you sure this is what you want to do?
Present-day Mexico City:Juan Pablo holds the small carving and thinks of how he has prayed for Victoria all these years. He kneels, begs forgiveness for his sin and asks that Victoria be blessed, wherever she may be.

As it happens, she is back-stage after the fashion show, holding her roses, savoring her moment of success. Antonieta suggests she call Osvaldo and invite him to join her. But she doesn’t have to: there is Osvaldo himself holding out a single red rose to his wife. And the couple leave together for a private celebration.

They are dining in an intimate restaurant, rose petals strewn on the table. Osvaldo tells her they should do this more often, that lately she’s almost obsessive about her work as if she is using it as a way to avoid thinking about something. I love you, he says, and I need you. She answers:
Tienes toda la razón. Te he tenido muy abandonado. Perdóname.
(You’re completely right. I’ve been neglecting you. Forgive me.)

Then we see them in bed together, a loving couple, entwined.

More Scenes in Present-day Mexico City: Salt of the Earth Division
El Mercado:
An elderly woman – this is Milagros – is picking out her fruits and greens when she is approached by a woman who needs help. Milagros, thinking it is an affair of the heart, reassures her:
Nunca falta un roto para un descosido.(There’s someone for everyone or literally: there never lacks one who is torn for one who is ripped.)
But that’s not the problem. It turns out someone cast an evil eye on her taco place (taquería) and Milagros agrees to take care of the problem with a cleansing ritual. She has an interesting skill set, this Milagros.

The Firehouse:
In a friendly card game, a young fireman wins the third hand in a row. The game is forgotten when the alarm sounds and all slide down the pole, grab their gear, and are off to the rescue. When the young guy grabs his stuff, we see his name: Juanjo. And he calls his older friend ‘Don Napo’.

The Taquería:
Milagros is performing a complicated procedure involving bunches of grasses, spitting in the face and breaking eggs. Ni me lo preguntes.

Back up the Social Ladder:

The Gym:
Osvaldo is working out, and pretty strenuously, when a friend comes along to remind him they have a breakfast date. Osvaldo ducks out for a quick shower. As soon as he’s out of earshot the friend hisses:
¡Maldito! Crees que mereces todo! ¡Si tú supieras cuánto te odio!(Damn you! You think you deserve everything! If only you knew how much I hate you!)
So I’m thinking he’s maybe not such a close friend.

We get to peek at Osvaldo soaping up in the shower. Big fellow.

Victoria is working at the Casa de Moda when she gets a call from Osvaldo inviting her to join him and his good buddy Guillermo for breakfast. But she has to beg off. She’s preparing the benefit show she does every year for abandoned girls (niñas abandonadas). He teases her that she should do a fashion show for the benefit of abandoned husbands. But he’s just kidding, he loves the way she worries about the needs of others.

Bernarda’s house, the dining room:
This lady definitely does not love the way her son worries about the needs of others. When she hears that Juan Pablo plans to devote much of his pastoral time to abandoned children, she says (and I’m not making this up):
No, tú no tienes porque dedicarte tanto a los demás; tú tienes que dedicarte a mí – rezar por mí, por la salvación de mi alma!(No, you have no reason to dedicate so much of yourself to others; you have to dedicate yourself to me – pray for me, for my salvation!)
She goes on: I’m your ma and you owe me!

Juan Pablo tells her he prays for her all the time but also for the sick, the poor, the homeless. And besides her soul doesn’t exactly need saving.

The servant Tomasa enters the dining room and Juan Pablo asks her if she knows what has become of Victoria. Tomasa says his mother is the one he must ask and politely leaves the room. Bernarda’s face shuts down. To his insistent questioning she finally answers that Victoria quit her job as soon as he left for the seminary – the ingrate! They never heard from her again, but she expects she married some guy and probably has a houseful of kids. I hope she’s happy, says Juan Pablo.

Meanwhile Tomasa is back in the kitchen fuming. If la señora Bernarda won’t tell him the truth, she says, I will – even if it costs me my job!

Tomasa’s thoughts travel back to that time twenty years ago when Juan Pablo had just left for the seminary:

Victoria is crying and Tomasa is telling her she should never have set her sights so high. Bernarda comes into the kitchen prepared to fire Victoria, but when Victoria tells her she knows how to sew, Bernarda decides to try out her skills. She asks her to alter a very fine blouse. If she damages it, she is out. Victoria passes the test and soon she is at the sewing machine taking care of all of Bernarda’s clothes. Like Snow White, she pricks her finger, but this witch’s venom doesn’t act instantly.

While Juan Pablo prays in the seminary in Monterrey, Victoria is Bernarda’s slave in Mexico: she cleans, she dusts, she polishes the car. And Bernarda stands back and smirks.
Five months after Juan’s departure:
Juan Pablo is serving his God and Victoria is serving Juan’s parents. Coffee, that is. Victoria isn’t feeling too well. But Octavio is feeling even worse. He has an attack of sorts -- it looks pretty scary -- the doctor is called, and he is diagnosed with very high blood pressure. He is to be given drops morning and night. The precise dosage is crucial. Too much could be fatal.

While the doctor is attending his patient, Victoria comes in to tell Bernarda she has a phone call. Then she falls in a dead faint. The doctor examines her and announces his diagnosis: Victoria is pregnant.
Bernarda goes berserk:
¡Maldita infeliz! ¡Desvergonzada! ¡Habla de una vez! ¿Quién es el padre de ese hijo?Damn you! You have no shame! Speak at once! Who is the father of that child?
She slaps the young girl so viciously that she falls over; and finally she tells Bernarda what she wants to know:
Juan Pablo. El joven Juan Pablo es el padre de mi hijo.(Juan Pablo. Young Juan Pablo is the father of my child.)
For no reason other than to make us all feel better, we end with a scene of William Levy paddling his kayak.

Labels: triunfo

Santiago admits Mario knew Márta, but hastily distracts Gabriela with the theft of the cuff link. When he posits Adolfo sent someone to seek the infamous shoes who stole only the trefoil instead, Gabriela is busied with phoning Julieta to see if she ever remembered where she lost her keys that day.

But Julieta can't recall, so Gabriela hangs up and returns to the topic of Mario and Márta; but his stress relieved, Santiago has time to invent a story of Mario being taken with Márta's beauty on one single occasion of seeing the theater troupe.

Asunción attracts Mina to Juan José's on an architectural pretext to ask her help finding the extortionist's helicopter. He plays her the video and must divulge the reason for it, which Mina doesn't like the sound of. At Mario's, David and Santiago discuss Gabriela's name problem; but Santiago refuses to reveal the truth.

At Adolfo's condo, Yolanda reports Carlos's desire to return to work; and if Adolfo asks nicely, he may give him the ring. At Leonardo's, Paula lobbies for him to make Julieta his wife to take care of Paula, at which the dad must affectionately lay a few ground rules. For starters, Julieta's not even his girlfriend yet.

In Puerto Vallarta, deliciously anguished Juan José sees Alejandra's dainties laid out on the bed and needs a nano-second to think about joining her in the shower, where he makes her a very happy woman. Back in the D.F. at the club office, harried Adolfo sits amid messy stacks of paperwork, just waiting for Carlos to arrive.

When he does, Carlos declares he wants his life and his office back, where he'll take care of business as usual. All Adolfo wants, Carlos insists, is not to see him -- which they can arrange; and Adolfo agrees. He earns enough to live elsewhere, but there's one other condition.

Carlos jumps to conclude and refuses to partake in Adolfo's clandestine deals; but Adolfo merely means the trefoil ring. His son was loathe to return it as the regretfully single affectionate gesture he thought his father had ever made. Before Carlos returns it he relates how he never understood Adolfo's hatred for him.

He's not the loser Adolfo always accuses him of being; he's always worked hard and tried to make his father proud. When Carlos suggests earnestly they try to get along better, without insults and hostility, Adolfo agrees -- but not without the ring. Ring in hand, Adolfo clasps his son's shoulder on the way out.

Back at Juan José's, Mina phones around to learn to what office to bring a photo of the helicopter's model and registration number for identification. During a companionable stroll on the beach in Puerto Vallarta, Garnica charges Zaida with promise of good pay to cozy up to Juan José and learn his plans.

Mina impresses Asunción by printing out a helicopter picture from the video on Juan José's computer and assures him Juan José and Alejandra won't mind her taking time out to go and have the aircraft identified. It makes her angry to hear of the blackmail.

Gabriela phones Julieta, and after learning she spent the whole day with Leonardo and Paula, wishes Julieta wouldn't mention recent developments to Leonardo, even though he offered to help Santiago and doesn't think he's guilty either; Santiago wants Adolfo to be proven guilty.

Speaking of which, Julieta explains Carlos's visit of the other day and suddenly becomes enraged realizing Yolanda knew all along. Julieta's intending to brace her on their next meeting, and Gabriela is just squelching that when the doorbell rings, and it's Leonardo asking Julieta on a date to the movies.

Julieta happily forgets to mention it's Gabriela on the phone and hangs up on a "friend" in a hurry to get back to him. Bertha meets Adolfo exiting the club to bring him Mario's doctor's name; and he convinces her to visit the doctor to learn the reason for her uncle's care, before leaving Bertha to stay and visit Carlos.

In his office, Carlos doesn't need to be buzzed twice to admit Bertha; and when she wants a kiss in greeting, newly daring Carlos knows just how to thrill the thrill seeker. After threatening the receptionist with no admittance -- especially his father, Carlos and Bertha get busy right there on the premises.

Later in his apartment, Carlos promises an ecstatic Bertha that this is only the beginning. When she regretfully must take leave of her artful lover in favor of his father's house, Carlos becomes irritated at the reminder; and she must explain Adolfo's just helping her, and nothing's going on -- for the moment.

So before Carlos drives her home, he wants to put his stamp on her one more time. Far away in Puerto Vallarta, Garnica introduces Zaida at the business lunch as yet another investor; but Mauricio assures Juan José there are enough profits to go around -- and also prevents Garnica co-opting Elsa as his own secretary.

During a tour of the marina, second-most important only to Los Cabos's, Zaida lags behind to eavesdrop on Asunción phoning Juan José about the chopper. She feigns horror at his blackmail tale of losing $10 million pesos -- incidentally the sum total of her net worth she claims -- until he insists he was just teasing her and actually intends just to buy a helicopter.

After Alejandra pointedly repossesses Juan José from the blonde, Garnica draws Zaida aside urgently to spill what she learned; and she hears Garnica decide to rid himself of the chopper right away. In Carlos's car outside Adolfo's condo building next morning, Bertha can't prevent herself from asking Carlos if he's a smuggler.

Surprised, Carlos suddenly claims it's the truth, after learning Adolfo alleged that; and decides they shouldn't be seen together on penalty of Adolfo ordering him killed. Annoyed at her connection to Adolfo, he dumps Bertha out like a sack of potatoes; but not before suffering a quick farewell peck.

Back at the beach hotel, while playing "airplane ride" with Caramelo, Chicles decides he needs more manly accoutrements than her girlie luggage and goes to find a handcuff-chained briefcase instead. Out in the breezeway, he notes Garnica enter his hotel room with just such a wonder.

In his suite, Juan José is hanging up with Garnica calling to arrange a business dinner when Chicles appears; and after some requisite roughhousing, he lobbies Juan José to buy a briefcase -- so he can lend it to Chicles, of course. He's not to keen to hear Juan José planned to buy him one anyway -- for school.

Chicles planned on selling gum for a living. Over in his suite, Garnica urgently calls Valentín and charges him to get rid of the chopper -- destroying it if necessary -- and to claim it was done three weeks ago already. Outside, Chicles reappears at Caramelo's with a briefcase "chained" to his wrist with a necktie.

When she teases him about the tie, Chicles rushes out in a disgruntled huff. In the breezeway, though, he ducks behind a corner and watches Garnica drop his room key on the ground after using it, distracted by kissing Zaida goodbye for the moment. Chicles bounds over a planter to retrieve the card; and while Garnica showers, enters.

Stealthily, the boy makes off with the infamous security case and returns with the genuine article this time to impress Caramelo. Instead earning him a threat of tattling to Elsa, Chicles rushes out again to return the case. But in his haste, it pops open, spilling the contents out on the ground.

After shoving the papers back in, Chicles quickly replaces the case in Garnica's room, him none the wiser. But outside on the sidewalk, Chicles spies one last thing he missed -- a letter, which he retrieves to show to Caramelo. Claiming he found it on the beach, as she holds it up, it plainly says: …I am the mother of David…

Labels: verdad

Capitulo 151.
Read k-Fuego’s original recap, then come back here to discuss it.

1. Caro observes that Lety is doing better, but she still needs to think through her problems. Luigi is working Irmita to exhaustion. Saimon looks into a computer science night school course so he can get a promotion.

2. Tom sees Lety and Ali leave Conceptos at the same time. In his fantasy, Lety smacks him and takes the car keys and his money from FI, so Alicia is no longer attracted to him. He flirts with Ali as he helps Lety into the car. Lety’s bitterness is splashing onto Tom now too.


 
3. Fern follows Tom and Lety to Le Noir and spies on them, hiding behind various people. Seeing them together drives him nuts. Lety lays into Tom for going out with her enemy and making her look like a fool. Lety thinks she sees Fernando, and she confirms it with the parking attendant.

4. Lety tells Tom he can’t resign, and she holds it out as a test of their friendship. Tom declares how important their friendship is to him. They stage a hug for Fernando’s sake, and he nearly explodes.

---

Capitulo 152.
Read Alma’s original recap, then come back here to discuss it.

1. Fern follows Lety and Tom do out of the restaurant. Tom asks her how much farther she’s going to take this; she’s driving Fern nuts (desquiciar). She says she’ll stop when he stops playing games with her, and she doesn’t know what extremes he’ll go to, to get the doctored balance and save his company. Lety says Fern knows she doesn’t care about money, so he promised to cancel the wedding after the meeting, but she knows it’s another lie. He can’t cancel the wedding and he doesn’t want to.

2. Tom doesn’t answer Ali’s call. Lety warns that Ali only wants his money. She warns that Ali will hurt Tom the way Fern hurt her. Tom says that he knows Ali only wants his money, but this is the only chance he’ll ever have with a woman like that. He’s living a dream and he’s not willing to miss it. (Sound familiar?)

3. Lety’s heart softens a little, and she lets Tom go on his date, but with three conditions: No more lies, don’t give Ali even a peso, and don’t promise her anything because this is a game he will have to abandon soon. She tells him to enjoy the short time he has, but don’t let himself get hurt. Ali calls again and Lety laughs through their entire call.

4. Lola tries to talk sense into Paula. If she loves Saimon, quit chasing the ricos. And if she doesn’t love Saimon, quit leading him on and breaking his heart.

5. Fernando confronts Lety at her door, quaking with jealousy. See the transcript. He says he saw her, caressing and hugging Tom. Lety says he has no room to talk, since he spends almost every night at Marcia’s, and not exactly sleeping. Fernando tells her earnestly that he hasn’t touched Marcia nor any other woman since their first night together. She says she doesn’t believe him but you can see she wants to. He’s dying to kiss her and she almost lets him, but Pop interrupts him.

6. Tom arrives at Alicia’s apartment, and she fakes a call about her car. She sheds some tears and he says he will find a way to get her the money.

7. Mama tells Lety that if she’s not going to tell her the truth, don’t tell her anything. Lety says she has to make important decisions. She knows her life must change, but she’s afraid she doesn’t have the strength for what she needs to do. Mama says that change is always frightening, but Lety has the strength inside.

---

Spanish Lesson

Fernando Confronts Lety
Tom drops Lety off. Fernando stops her cold. He’s quaking with jealousy.
L: Listen, Tom & I are very close friends.
F: Sí! Buenisimos! Even something more than friends, it seems to me.
L: We’ve known each other since we were small.
F: Claro, and you played doctor too, right?
L: You know we had a fight.
F: Yes. Over a woman. An Oxigenada. Try to tell me no!
L: No. Over FI money.
F: Yeah, you clarified things amid hugs and caresses...
L: Y’know what? You don’t have any room to criticize me. You come to my house spying on me and my friend, but you’re kissing Marcia at the office. And you go to her house almost every night. Not exactly to sleep. Your complaints don’t sit very well with me.
F: (Very clearly, so she doesn’t miss a word.) I have not touched Marcia again. Leticia, since you and I were together the first time, I have not touched Marcia again, nor any other woman. You don’t believe me, do you? Well, that’s my problem. It’s what is eating me from the inside. (Lety hangs on every word, slackjawed. A part of her believes him.) I am not able to make love with any woman who is not you.
L You don’t have to give me that line, Don Fernando. I know very well the conditions of our relationship. Don’t lie to me! Now if you’ll excuse me, I need some sleep. I have an early morning tomorrow, to work on the balance.
F: (He pulls her back again, and trades places to show his good.) I swear it. I swear by what is most sacred in my life, which is you, Lety, that what I’m saying is the truth.
L: Yes. Of course.
(She tries to turn away, but she can’t resist him. He almost kisses her, but Pop comes out, ready to deck him. Pop asks if he was yelling at Lety.)
F: No! I was singing!
Pop: Let me tell you something. I don’t like how you sing, not one bit.
F: Well, coming from you, Don Erasmo, that’s.. that’s.. Thank you!

Labels: fea-2010

Hi Folks: Feliz Año Nuevo-Happy New Year!!!!

Labels: alguien, aurora, fantasma, telemundo