Caray, Caray!

Alternate title: Marichuy goes ashore to find her shipwrecked prince.

In the study, Juan Miguel tells Rocío that the detectives think that Viviana shot a man she was involved with and dumped him in the sea, then fled to Madrid. Rocío is shocked and thinks that it may be divine punishment that Viv was also murdered. Juan Miguel thinks that life provides its own punishments and God doesn’t so much bother with it. No deity has any need to bother with punishing Juan Miguel, for sure…he is a master of self-punishing behavior. Anyhoo, Juan Miguel is off to the jail to see Blanca. He and Rocío are hoping to get her out of the pokey and back home with them soon, because Viv’s murder is so last month’s news and they’d like to move on to the next one already. Life’s been getting dull for them with only an attempted murder and devastating heartbreak.

Side note: we never actually see Blanca in this episode, but I hope that JM took her a change of clothes. It pains me to see her in that flimsy nurse uniform day after day. She’s got to be dying for something fresher and warmer to put on.

Marichuy and Cande discuss the newspaper story. Marichuy refuses to believe that JM conspired to kill Viv.

Stefi drives the car along a country road while Ceci navigates. I don’t think she’s very good at navigating, though, because Stef has to tell her that they’re about 40 km from San Felipe. Ceci voices her plan for what must be the umpteenth time—as soon as they get to town, they will stop at the first business and ask for directions to Hacienda Escondida. I know, I know, says Stef. They stop on a road which is NOT in town (we see a pueblo in the distance) and Ceci wants to ask some passing farmers in a wagon for directions. Stef tries to block Ceci’s progress by saying those hicks won’t know anything, but Ceci says in a small town people know everything. She asks the men. Escondida? Escondida?, they repeat, as though they’ve never heard of it.

Mari is crying and telling Cande that she must go to see Juan Miguel, and that she still loves him. Cande is all kinds of shocked and rants at Marichuy at length: Are you going to leave Omar? He trusts you and everyone is getting ready for your wedding; he has been so good to you; you are a total ingrate; how can you just stand him up? Marichuy says it’s not just a matter of her feelings, but also that Juan Miguel is Jr.’s dad.

One of the farmers gets off the wagon (but he looks sober enough) and says sure, everyone around here knows that hacienda. He then gives them complicated directions to get there, mentioning the storm damage and the livestock he lost in the floods. He says they won’t be able to miss the hacienda; there’s a big sign. Ceci thanks him and as they get back in the car, Estafa says she doesn’t want to drive her fancy car on bad roads. Ceci’s like, oh shut up, if this car gets ruined Patricio will just buy you another one, even though you are NOT OUR DAUGHTER. She didn’t say that last part out loud.

Onelia yells at Rocío and accuses her and Juan Miguel of inventing the story of the Jamaican boy-toy’s murder just to defame Viviana.

Marichuy tells Cande that she doesn’t think she has the right to deprive her son of knowing his father, and she doesn’t think it’s right to deceive JM either, besides, surely he would find out her lies eventually. So why did you agree to marry Leo?, Cande wants to know. Mari says she’s been turning it over and over in her mind, and she was never sure she was doing the right thing, but she wanted her son to have a home and family and she thought that Juan Miguel already had another one. She begs Cande to understand that, as it turns out, Miguelito can be with his real father. In spite of everything, Juan Miguel is her one twue wuv. The baby looks like he’s thinking hard about all this.

JM tells Ornerylia that the investigators will find out the truth, and soon they will know what happened.

Marichuy says that it pains her to think that she will hurt Leopardo, but when she felt like she was falling in love with him she felt like she was betraying herself at the same time; that’s why she wanted to leave once before. Besides, JM must be suffering also, and needs her now more than ever. There is much more binding Marichuy to JM than to any other man, including Leo—they were married and have a son, and now they will never be separated, ever (which of course means they will). So, let’s get out of here, says Marichuy.

Onelia marches into the study with steam pouring from her ears and flames shooting from her nostrils to tell JM that she’s thought about it and she’s sure he’s just inventing the murder story to make Viv look bad. JM is like, why would I need to invent anything? You know what your daughter was like, and you know exactly what she was capable of. Onelia insists that he is just determined to mar her memory. JM assures her that he is actually working very hard to make sure no one finds out anything about Viv’s escapades, for Mayita’s sake.

Mayita is in TwinkleLand, where Abuela Mariana is telling her and Cuate the story of the little mermaid. In this version, the mermaid saves the handsome prince when he is naufragado (shipwrecked). The mermaid gets a potion from the seawitch to get legs because they’re so in luurve, and finds her prince on shore, but granny says it’s late so we have to wait for another time to find out whether they get married and live happily ever after.

JM says eventually the truth will come out, and everyone will know Blanca=good and Viv=bad. Onelia says Viv had lots of friends who will vouch for her angelic character. JM thinks the police will disagree. He gives Onelia the detectives’ phone number.

A taxi has arrived at the hacienda. Marichuy is all packed and saying goodbye to her bird. Marichuy thanks Micaela for everything and asks her to ask Omar to forgive and forget her. It’s a tearfest all around. She begs Mica not to tell Leo who she really is, and Mica agrees. Cande says they’ll write and call, and Marichuy takes a long teary look at the hacienda before getting into the taxi. They drive away. Mica cries some more.

Stef and Ceci seem to have gotten lost. Stef of course wants to give up, but Ceci sees a field wall that the farmer mentioned, and tells Stef to go that way, where the taxi is exiting. They pass the taxi taking Marichuy away.

Leo is in another taxi, excited to be arriving home because he’s getting married and they’re going to be so happy. His taxi passes the other taxi. That is a really nice section of pavered road that they all seem to be going back and forth on which makes no sense directionwise.

Ceci and Stef arrive at the hacienda and Mica tells them that Omar Contreras is not at home. We’re not actually looking for him; we’re looking for Marichuy, says Ceci. Mica is impactada. Does she know that Lirio’s real name is Marichuy? I forget.

Onelia begins to wonder whether Viviana really did kill someone. She calls the detectives.

Ceci tells Mica that she is Marichuy’s mother. Mica is impactada again. She asks whether her brother Padre Anselmo sent them. Ceci is delighted that they’ve found the right place and says she wants to see Marichuy. Mica says you’ve missed her; they just left fifteen minutes ago. And they’re not coming back ever.

Isabela calls Martirio, who reports that Stef and Ceci should have arrived at the hacienda by now, but she doesn’t know what’s happened. Isa worries that if they bring that guacha back with them it will just cause problems for her and Stef, but have no fear, she will find a way to get between Ceci and Marichuy.

Mica doesn’t know where Marichuy has gone, so Stef and Ceci leave. Leo arrives as they are getting into the car, and he asks Mica who the ladies are. She doesn’t answer, so he asks why she’s crying. Where’s Lirio?, he yells frantically, and she tells him that she’s gone. Poor Leo is muy, pero muy impactadisimo. Then he thinks it’s a mean joke, but Mica would never joke like that. Leo runs to the bedroom and sees that they really are gone, but left the bird.

Ceci cries in the car, devastated to have missed seeing Marichuy again. Stefi is totally sympathetic, all “oh well! Maybe next time!” She says she’s sorry, not bothering to sound the least bit sorry. Ceci says she’s lost all hope.

A bus with a very wide aisle, in which a guy is standing and playing guitar, ambles down the road past the cows. Marichuy, Cande, and Miguelito sit in the back and Cande worries about what is going to happen to them. Marichuy doesn’t think she’s very helpful.

Onelia is still telling herself that Viviana may not have declined to amedrentar (frighten), but she couldn’t have killed anyone. She is saying it much more quietly and with much less conviction, though.

Mica tells Leo that she doesn’t know why Liriochuy left or where she went, so will he please stop asking? He tells her to find the taxi driver.

Marichuy and Cande are dragging their numerous belongings through the old neighborhood with a great deal of difficulty. It must be very late, because no one is out and about to help them. Finally Olga sees them and welcomes them warmly and helps with the stuff. Cande is happy to be home.

The taxi driver reports that he took the ladies to the bus station in town, but he doesn’t know what bus they took. The only things he heard them say were “thank you” and “goodbye.” Why doesn’t she want me to know where she went?, Leo laments.

Olga is doubly surprised and delighted to find that Marichuy has a baby. She invites them in for dinner. Cande says they’ve already eaten, but she could eat again. They haul all the stuff up the stairs. That baby basket stand does not look sturdy. They enter the dusty old apartment, and ask Olga not to tell anyone they’ve returned, because they’re tired and don’t want to explain to everyone at this hour. Olga says she won’t say a word. Marichuy says that, being back there, it’s like no time has passed, except she left with her heart broken and her arms empty, and now she’s happy with her baby. The rosy pink lighting tells us it’s nice for them to be back.

Avances: Leo says he’s going to find Marichuy. Marichuy goes to see Juan Miguel and Mayita.

Labels: Cuidado

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Labels: index

Hello friends, this is the second of my four stand-in-for-Cheryl Tuesdays.

We start with: Coyote thinking murderous, vengeful thoughts towards Gabriela while she thinks amorous and trusting thoughts towards him; Soledad begging Juan to protect her son Coyote from those murderous, vengeful thoughts of his; a quick recap of the entire Fuego storyline; Franco and Sarita kissy and hijinxy while he complains that her sisters are stubborn.

Oscar, doing his floor exercises, suddenly can move all his toes. "I will walk again! I'll surprise Ximena!"

Ximena is going to rent a car or get train tickets or something to leave town. Darth Ricky watches and decides she'll be his first victim. X shows Sara her ticket, is determined to leave and not give Oscar another chance. Sara proposes she spend her last night at the hacienda, but Ximena doesn't want a fight with mom, she'll come by in the morning for her things.

In the marketplace, Quintina is selling bread with a side of singing thrown in for free. She and Hortensia have a little squabble. The tiny uncle sings a nice song about pigs/riffraff (I didn't get much of it - can somebody post it?) and there's dancing.

In the hacienda, Juan and Sofia commence almost tearing their daughters limb from limb, fighting over who will give them baths. Finally, Juan leads a procession up the stairs - each toddler in the arms of one of the mute rent-a-nuns.

At the bottom of the stairs, Root appears; she and Sofia glare at each other, and Sofia, despite the fact she doesn't give Juan the time of day these days, smugly informs Root: "Every day he is closer to me and farther from you." "You'll pay - your girls first" is Root's malevolent thought-bubble in response.

After bedtime, Juan and Sofia glare at each other in the hallway and say goodnight over and over. He grabs a kiss. She pouts just like my donkey Jethro.

Proof this story does not take place on our planet - I just realized! The full moon every night! On our planet it is not thus.

Anyway, on this particular night the full moon is shadowed for a while, while Ximena tosses in her bed. The clouds part and the moon is bright when Darth Ricky, swathed in black and with a bandanna over his face, sneaks in, grabs her keys, and then tries to rape and/or kill her. Luckily and pluckily she brains him with a hefty crystal vase and he staggers away.

At the very same time, Ruth (whose mischievous outfit tonight is a tied-off shirt, exposed belly button, gloves without fingers, and ridiculous studded chaps) gleefully puts a poisonous snake on the bed of one of the toddlers. Oh! No! Heh heh. She sneaks away...

... but at that very moment, Juan suffers a cramp and realizes the toddlers are in danger! He rushes into their room, grabs the snake (this is at least the second snake in this telenovela) and stamps on it, but it bites him first, so there is general rushing around and Rosendo arrives with the antidote and Juan staggers all over the place wanting to do stuff but he's too dizzy so they put him to bed, where Sarita tells him he's great and that Sofia loves him and the toddlers need him.

Darth Ricky, with a really aching head, staggers off through the night after being brained. A bunch of guys shows up; he knocks a couple of them down but there are lots more, with guns. They point their guns at him. He begs them not to shoot - "Whoever's paying you to do this, I'll pay twice as much! Triple!" - and gets quite hysterical. Coyote calls off his guys ("That's enough for tonight") and they all disappear.

Sofia busts into Gab's room and accuses Furd of the snake-in-toddler-bed trick. He denies it and Gab is indignant etc. and then the exact same scene I got last week: "Mother, why do you hate me so much when I am your own blood?" "Why do I hate you? Do you really want to know?" etc. and they end up in the study in the same positions as last Tuesday, and Gab is again perfectly ready to reveal the sad secret, but this time it is not Soledad but Ximena who disrupts the revelations; she wants to report her night's adventures.

Gab rolls her eyes in profound disinterest as Ximena complains she was nearly violated. Sofia and Sarita are aghast and take their sis away to give her comfort. Ximena tells them her story. Sofia, of course, has to counter with memories of her own, ACTUAL violation and cries a bit before she says, "well it's not about me this time."

Darth continues staggering off through the night and goes to complain to daughter Root about his headache and failed vengeance. He doesn't want a doctor, just some tequila.

Gab stomps off to the bedroom to complain to Furd: "Why didn't you defend me?" but he is not there. She has some uncomfortable flashbacks and decides he's with Ruth and stomps off to find him...

... and Ruth and Furd are, in fact, in bed together ("Let me go," "You know you want it," etc.) having first fought about Ruth's failed snake-bitten-baby vengeance. (Furd: "You failed because you acted alone, get me involved next time.")...

... Gab blows past Root's unconvincing protestations to look in the her bed, but Furd is gone! So Gab goes back to the hacienda...

... and there's Furd in the bed he shares with Gab! He's pretending to be asleep (about as well as I did when I was eight and had just bolted upstairs at the sound of the garage door). I bet he still has his shoes on. Gab yells and accuses him; he makes unconvincing protestations of innocence ("With your DAUGHTER? You think I'm capable of such a thing?") and obediently, after Gab demands: "I must be loved!," puts his rubbery lips on her.

Sofia, still in her supremely ugly purple outfit, sneaks into the room where Juan is sleeping off the snakebite poison. Oh! No! He's burning up with a fever again. This is perhaps his third fever - one in the barn, one in the jungle, and now. Were there others? Poor lad is so susceptible. So Sofia recaps her rape (which we know was committed by Furd, but perhaps she still mostly doesn't suspect...) to the unconscious fellow (just as well, nobody wants to hear it again, wish I was unconscious too) - and kisses his febrile lips.

I missed the scenes from tomorrow, sorry!

Labels: Fuego

Alternate title: What just happened here?

Alternate title 2: Are we there yet?

Alternate title 3: Lotsa talk but not much action.



Oh my, lots of dangling carrots again but in the end, not a whole lot happened tonight. It was like munching on one big rice cake. A lot of chewing but no satisfaction. Not for me anyway.



But I'm a good soldier...here's the rehash and the new hash. Read it if you must. But don't worry, it won't be on the final!



Old stuff: Marissa and Raul are having their umpteenth heart to heart about Santiago and Candy. He's warning her off Santi...he knows he's a womanizer. She, on the other hand, is sure he'll be faithful once she has that wedding ring on his finger. After all, he was faithful to Paula! (faulty logic, but hey, I've been in love and it's never logical....so we'll give Marissa a pass on that one). She suggests he nail down Candy so she can "keep her enemy near". Faulty logic there too. Remember that old blues refrain "Don' worry 'bout that strange woman, baby, jus' look out for yo' bes' friend." Amen to that one.



The other old stuff is Patricio telling Chava he wants to meet his mom and Chava dutifully calls her. Oh what a tease! How many times have the writers done this to us!? Did you really think it was going to happen this time.?...nah...and dang it, they end this episode with another tease at the engagement party. It's enough to make you cranky. (Plus the Buckeyes are losing tonight.)



Now the new stuff and it gets rather dramatic. Candy's at the door, hearing Chava call her, biting her lip (symbol for deep thinking) and she says to herself...Alright, let's get it over with...and opens the door....to Meño, dressed in drag, ready to be Mother and save his niece.



The plan backfires. Patricio is horrified that Meño's garbed himself up as a woman. He says he's okay with his gayness but not that. You're damaging the kids Meño. It's not good for them to be raised around that and I don't want Beto coming over here anymore.



After Patricio exits with Chava and Beto, heading for the soccer stadium, Charly enters and is as put off by Meño's outfit as Pato was. Why are you dressed like a gay? Candy chides him for using the word like it was something dirty (roña=grime, dirt, grubbiness) and Charly throws in a few more perjorative words like "mariquita" and says he's ready to move into Lucia's house. After all, nobody at this house seems to pay any attention to him or his feelings.



This is broken up by a couple of scenes that are supposed to be light and funny. Patricio has the boys at the stadium and they're cheering and having a good time.



And the Club de Abandonados is pulling a "24" type surveillance of Head Tattoo Waiter (sorry, ever since Paula started the Sven/Olé thing I CANNOT remember his name). He's merrily riding along on his bike, singing a love song and ogling women when the Abandonados, led by Santiago, trap him, stuff him in the trunk of a car and whisk him off to the clubhouse.



He has a bag over his head and is begging for his life while Santiago does various primitive Iron John moves with some big broom-like thing. Don't ask me what the ritual represents other than that Santiago's p***ed about the tattoo. He assures Santiago the tattoo will disappear in two weeks (good thing since they mispelled Marissa's name) and furthermore Candy MADE him do it. To chants of An Eye for an Eye, Tattoo for a Tattoo...we get some idea of where the plan for vengeance is going. Nowhere...as usual.



However, the fallout from Meño's escapade is going somewhere....toward a real conflict between Candy and Soledad. Soledad is siding with Patricio, saying it's unhealthy for the boys to be around a cross-dresser and from now on Beto can't come to Chava's house. Well, Chava can't come to Beto's house either, snaps Candy, because I don't want him around such intolerant people.



Meanwhile, Meño, upstairs, removing his makeup with cold cream, is staring at himself in the mirror and crying. The Meño situation seems to be going in a truly tragic direction but then it too fizzles out. Here's what happens. First, he stays away from the restaurant and Candy handles his end of it, figuring out the receipts. He asks her if she wouldn't like to live alone, just her and Chava and she says an emphatic NO!...she wants to go on living with her son, her mother (really!?) and her uncle who's the best uncle and friend in the whole world!



Evidently this reassurance wasn't enough because the next time we see him, he's in a drunken stupor at the restaurant while Sven and Olé try to persuade him to quit. You're not a drinker, they plead. And you're not funny....neither one of you, he snarls. Go away...all of you!...I want to be alone.



Lulu, of course, thinks Meño's suffering from lovesickness....over her. Prompting the one funny line of the night as head waiter says....Yeah, that's when "medio naranja" (one's better half, literally one's half orange) turns into "medio limon" (one's bitter half....literally half lemon/lime) Okay, not so funny when you have to plod through a translation but still....



Later we see Meño passing a hotel, checking in to a room alone and beginning a letter (a suicide note?) starting with the words "Dear Niece". I'd be more worried if later on, we didn't see him walking outside again. This time he runs into Patricio, who touches him on the shoulder. Meño's surprised...aren't you worried I'm infectious!? Don't worry, you won't catch anything from me unless the virus is already inside you, he adds.



Look, Patricio counters, I respect you but I don't think it's healthy for you to be dressing up like a woman around the boys. I don't want them growing up with that.



I hope this situation gets resolved without anything irrevocable happening. Meño's everybody's favorite character, aside from the children. Let's not sacrifice our good buddy for the sake of drama, writers.



So that's the tragic gay theme, complete with trumped up strife between the two best friends Chava and Beto, and interwoven with Charly's questions about his dad. He ends up grilling Gregoria (who wants to be called Gogo) and for once, she's discreet. When he asks about the reason for his parents' breakup she simply says she assumed they weren't getting along. One can't know everything about another person's marriage (or even one's own).



So let's put that theme aside and look at some of the other threads woven through this evening's crazy quilt (a little Inauguration imagery here). We have a scene showing Santiago's tender side. He sees Lucia weeping over some old photographs of her parents and together they remember how he helped her commemorate some good memories by burying a bag of family photos and momentos, underneath a plant , within the protection of Mother Earth. At the time he reassured her that anytime she wanted she could dig up those photos again....but in the meantime, Mother Earth would watch over them. But you and Abuela are part of my good memories too! she cries, and they hug and roll around on the floor, similar to an exuberant hugging session Candy had earlier with Chava. I'm sure we're supposed to be convinced by these twin scenes of parental affection that Candy and Santiago are meant for each other. Okay by me, but Marissa's not on board.



Meanwhile, another plot is brewing. This one is the revenge action against Candy...eye for an eye, tattoo for a tattoo. She leaves the house, chipper and saucy (evidently not worried about Meño's depression), hops into a phony yellow cab and is abducted to the club house where Santiago is waiting with the tattoo artist. Very scroungy looking guy with a menacing way of snapping on his rubber gloves.



Santiago asks her where she wants it...on the back, on the front, on the boobs, encircling that little mole...where? Another fizzle. They're not really going to force a tattoo on her, but the artist is going to hit Santi up for a good sum. (More expensive than sending a dumb kid to Harvard! mutters Santi). So what's the payback going to be? How about going off somewhere with him? Just the two of them? She reminds him that it's not just the two of them....there's Rocio...who prefers Marissa as her mother. (The romantic music which was swelling suddenly dwindles to a halt).



Okay, it's complicated. He's a package deal. So's she. She comes complete with Chava. So how about something simple....just going to a little bar and having a tequila or two. Another recurrent joke...he doesn't drink tequila right. It should be done simply and slowly (are we talking about tequila or lovemaking?) Anyway, he concede and does it her way (hmmmm). She's happy, he's happy, the romantic music starts again, they finger dance, his fingers collapse on hers....whoops...she snatches her hand away. Another fizzle.



But he's making inroads. In a later scene back at the Institute, Candy's acting a bit dreamy about him...to the horror of Cece. He's a typical seducer, snaps Cecilia. Marissa's going to be miserable with him but he's exactly the type of guy YOU WOMEN fall for! Not you? asks Candy. No! he's a "borrego a medio morir" (could this be like our "wolf's in sheep's clothing"?) who just wants to get women into bed and then strut off when he's satisfied. Oh, I know he's a liar, muses Candy, still a bit starry-eyed, but I find myself wanting to believe his lies.



While we're on the subject of Cece and her secret love for Candy, there's a later scene where she's objecting to Candy taking time off to go home and help her son with homework. Cece doesn't like the absences. The others don't like Cece's controlling ways. Cece stomps off in a snit. More fizzle? Or delayed drama? We don't know at this point.



One more little fizzle to recount before we get to Marissa's scheme for a surprise engagement party. We have Chayo's campaign to get Santi to augment her bosom in the hopes of reviving the passion in her marriage. And we have her husband's objections to the whole idea...fighting with both Santi and Chayo over the situation. There's a telling scene where Eduardo dismisses his wife as "estupida" (there's that word again) for wanting the surgery. So are you saying all our clients are "estupidas"? counters Santiago.



It's all resolved when Chayo realizes that if she has it done, and it still doesn't help the marriage, it will all be very confusing. So she's changed her mind. She's going to stay just the way she is. Candy naturally approves.



Now the biggie: Marissa's campaign to nail Santiago has taken a new tack. She's seducing his mom. First she overrides Isabella's objections to the "surprise" engagement party. Shouldn't Santi know? No. Mom folds rather quickly and says I know we haven't always gotten along but I WANT to get along with you, and want you to see in me the mother you lost. Ooooh, gushes Marissa, may I call you Mama Zu?



I thought Isabella would gag at that one...I did...but she gamely plays along. So they're off to do some female bonding over shopping for the party. But first we see Marissa talking to Isabella's photo and saying, You didn't think I was right for your son but I'm winning you over. She kisses the photo triumphantly. The strategy is working. Isabella sees her and is touched....and asks her to kiss her on the cheek rather than the photo. Ugh. If we didn't already know Marissa was a sneaky schemer, (after all Chava listened to her heart and it wasn't good) we get further evidence when she's back from shopping and after gushing all over Rocio and forcing her to put on a drippy looking dress she bought, she muses to herself about how irritating kids are. Flee, Rocio, flee!



We're nearing the end of this episode now. The stage is set for the big surprise engagement party. The guests are already there, Lucia and Charly on the balcony, and Isabella and Jaime down below. He thinks the engagement party is a perfect time to ask her to marry him. No way, she laughs. I don't want a "borrowed engagement party". Give me my own. But her smile convinces him it certainly wasn't a "no".



Enter a confused Santiago (he thought they were going out to dinner) firmly in tow with Marissa and when he sees all the flowers he thinks it's a funeral. (Yeah, his.) Welcome to your surprise engagement party, she crows. And of course we end with Santiago looking very very IMPACTADO.



And the previews: They're a great big tease. Are Patricio and Alicia going to catch sight of Candy at the party? Three guesses.

And will Santiago convince Candy to see Patricio? He's dreaming about you. He loves you. He deserves to know you're alive.



Well, call me cynical but I think we have another big fizzle coming up folks. Here's hoping I'm wrong.



Vocabulary:

amolado = ground down, crushed. Meño in this episode

roña = dirt, grime, mange, Can also mean "stingy". "Jugar a la roña" means to play tag

ojos de borrega a medio morir - lit. eye of a half dead lamb, but in our lingo we'd say "puppy dog eyes" (thanks Margarita)

medio naranja, medio limon = better half, bitter half

Labels: Tontas

Candy feels remorse for something! Como puede ser? (How can this be?) She regrets that she was harsh to her mama. Meño tells her that Pat asked him about Chava’s dad named “Patricio.” They recall that when Candy was little, she thought the water stain (mancha de humedad) in her bedroom wall was a monster. Meño helped her to not be afraid of monsters, and they cleaned up the stain together. Now she is afraid of another mancha named “Patricio,” but that one isn’t a monster either.

Ed is annoyed that Chayo is falling short on her “waiting on him hand and foot” duties, since he works a real job, as opposed to the girls’ club she calls a job. And as for what she does at the house, well that isn’t even work.

Santiago takes Raúl to his office to interrogate ask him about his so-called relationship with Candy – it doesn’t seem genuine. Raúl wonders why Santiago cares so much, and assures Santi that he is very satisfied, nudge, nudge, wink, wink, with Candy. Upon hearing that, Santi plays a game with Raúl called “Sadistic Chiropractor.”

Marissa is serving Rocío breakfast, all lovey-dovey, just like Hansel & Gretel’s stepmother was just before she took them for a walk in the woods. Roc says she wants Marissa to be her mother, not Candy, even though her papa kissed Candy at the movie theater. That news certainly gets a reaction from Marissa. Notice how nervous and stressed Rocío looks? She has more acting talent than some TN headliners!

At Marissa’s request, Candy goes to Santiago’s office to meet her. This time Santiago is on the other side of the interrogation, and he looks like he’s been in bed with the flu for the past three weeks. Candy sits down and Santi moves next to her – is it to protect her or hide behind her? Marissa wants to know why Candy kissed her novio in front of the children. Candy and Santi kibitz, trying to decide who is in the biggest trouble. Santi more-or-less discreetly begs Candy to cover for him, since he knows she’s a much more accomplished liar than he is. Candy tries the sincere approach, but every time she says something like, “You know I’d never do such a thing to you,” and Marissa almost swallows it, Santiago feels compelled to chime in, “Neither would I.” That just hurls the credibility of their defense right out the window! Candy leaves so they can work it out alone, but not before whispering to Santiago, “Suerte! (Good luck!).” After Candy leaves, Santi tries to claim that Marissa is the only woman engraved (grabado) on his heart. Even Marissa is not stupid enough to believe that whopper. Listening outside the door, Candy observes, “Lo del grabado, se le va a cumplir.” Or as Yul Brynner’s Ramses said, “So let it be written, so let it be done.”

Do you remember that we’re seeing a transition in Santiago? He is shifting from trying to get Candy into his bed, toward trying to get her into his life. It seems to be working. When she found out about the hamsters, she told him to leave her alone instead of screaming at him. When he kissed her in the theater, she left but didn’t kick him. And today when Marissa challenged Santi on his andanzas (running around), Candy covered for him instead of helping Marissa attack. Yes, the weather is getting a little warmer. Or maybe it’s just Indian summer.

Jaime meets with his son Ramón, who hasn’t visited him for a few months. They meet at Guadalajara’s kiosko. My friends tell me that all the older towns in Mexico have a kiosko in a park (or the town plaza?), and it is used for band concerts, etc. In fact, even the predominantly-Hispanic city near me in central California has a kiosko in the city park. Back in Guadalajara, Jaime shares his delight at finding love again. His charming son tells him to stop making a fool of himself. People his age don’t fall in love, and he should spend his attention on respecting his wife’s memory instead. Jaime’s wife has been dead for a few years, but his son would prefer to see his dad crying for her, rather than finding love.

Lulu tells Chayo her great news – that Meño is wild about her. Chayo tries to enlighten Lulu about Meño, but Lu charges blindly ahead. Lulu asks Chayo for advice on how to show Meño how much she likes him, since she has never had a boyfriend.

Candy asks Sven and Ole for a favor, but we don’t find out what it is.

At a café, Jaime introduces his son to Isabel. Ramón says, “Are you the one who is after my father’s money?” Isabel slaps him and walks out. Jaime just stands there feeling awkward and whines, “Why did you do that?” instead of tearing his fool head off. Is it any wonder his grown son is such a brat? Jaime takes the brat on a field trip to see Isabel’s mansion, outbuildings, lawn, gardens, and groves. He suggests that maybe he is the one suspected of being a gold-digger. The brat doesn’t even understand that his dad plays piano in hotel bars because he likes playing piano for other people, not just for himself, and he met Isabel because she liked his music. Ramón apologizes for being so stupid.

After surgery, Ed asks Santiago to cover for him tonight since he told Chayo he’d be with the Abandonados. Santiago tells him he should be ashamed of himself, but by the way, is his date fair or dark? Ed only remembers what she looks like from the neck down. I wonder if she has a mole.

Marissa tells Raúl she’s worried about her novio because he kissed Candy in the theater. Raúl advises her to forget about Santiago. Marissa tells him she’s not about to quit. She has endured so much already, she can endure a little more. Raúl thinks he’ll never change, but Marissa recalls that he was faithful when he married Paulina. She knows he has a strong attraction to Candy, but she’s not worried because she knows Candy will never betray another woman. She won’t get in his bed, and he‘ll get tired of waiting for her. She assures her brother that she earned Santi, and she knows she’s going to win.

Candy calls to invite Santiago out for coffee. He fondles the bell cord and sighs. At the restaurant, Sven and Ole greet him with flowers and a drink, and they treat him like an illustrious potentate. Candy has reserved the restaurant for him alone. She brings another drink which he tries to turn down because he just finished one, but Candy is offended so he complies. She hands him a menu and asks what he’d like. “Tacos de ranchera, or caldo tlapeño (chicken-garbanzo bean soup), or to ask you to marry me,” he jokes. Don’t you just love that face?

Isabel is thinking about Jaime, trying not to cry. Donato brings her a cup of tea and a listening ear. As she starts to ask about his romantic progress with Tina, the doorbell rings. It’s Jaime’s son, Ramón, who brings her a rose and an apology. He asks that she not be mad at his father; it’s not his fault that he has a fool for a son.

Back at the restaurant, Santiago is looking a bit drunk Sven and Ole, acting like Funhouse extras, bring him a bowl of soup, and they all crowd around as Candy encourages him to drink it all. That’s some right-powerful soup! The voices get fuzzy, the faces get fuzzier, his speech gets muddled, and Sven and Ole step up just in time to catch Santiago as he passes out. Candy discovers that Ole put an extra-extra dose of knock-out drops in the soup, so did Sven, and so did she. Santiago will be separated from his senses for a good, long time. Candy needs him to be heavily sedated, so he doesn’t wake up while the tattoo artist decorates his upper back behind his shoulder. The artist tells Sven it turned out super-chido. Sven thinks he’s writing “Chivas.” On Santiago? Que horror! Chido means cool; but hardly anyone over 25 says it. Sometimes I use it just to get a reaction from my native-speaker friends.

There are so many things wrong with this tattoo scene, I don’t know where to begin. A tattoo artist who works on someone against his wishes. Candy gives Santiago a permanent inscription against his will, as a joke. They do such work in a food preparation area. Candy gained his trust by staging it as a date, with the two of them alone in the restaurant. The artist can hardly work because Santi’s shirt is in the way. The list goes on and on. When Santiago regains consciousness, he will drive his car while still heavily drugged, but with his seatbelt safely fastened, just like every telenovela actor. They can drive drunk, drugged, drowsy, or decapitated, but never without a seatbelt.

Jaime and Isabel note that adolescent novios have to watch out for their parents, while novios their age have to watch out for their kids. They reprise their “Somos Novios,” both in song and in relationship, and refer to Armando Manzanero, the lyricist who made it famous. I could’ve posted clips with Manzanero singing it, or clips of two young lovers, but instead I’ll post this one. The two people in the clip are not young, not lovers, and not Manzanero.

Mar thanks Raúl for his support. He feels like he has failed as a big brother because he hasn’t protected her. One guy hurt her badly (when she was 15 and got an abortion), and he isn’t willing to let Santiago break her heart again. In Tontas it’s a little hard to tell whether Raul is a good guy or a bad guy, but one thing is certain, he loves his sister very much and he’ll do anything for her. Marissa assures him that she’ll live happily ever after, rose-colored glasses and all, just like it was before Candy showed up. She pushes Raúl to make Candy his wife, the sooner the better, because you want to keep your enemies close.

At Meño’s dance class Lulu, in a spaghetti strapped sun dress, primps herself, comes waltzing salsa-ing in, and starts dancing with Meño.

At home, Chava asks Charly what novios do, since Chava now has one. Charly says they talk, they laugh, they kiss. Chava thinks that kissing girls on the mouth is really gross, but Charly assures Chava that he doesn’t have to at his age.

Santiago wakes up in the restaurant, muddled, with his shirt askew. He’s still so dopey, he has trouble remembering who Candy is. Marissa calls to beg him to meet her tonight for some excitement. He makes faces at his phone because he finds Marissa so annoying.

At his house, Raúl explains to Candy that he has left everything as it was when his wife died. It’s like a museum. Candy sees the shrine to his wife in the bedroom – a collage of pictures, her wedding dress, four lit candles, and fresh flowers. He invites Candy to try on the dress. She just wants to exit, stage left. Raúl begs her to stay; he likes Candy because she looks so much like his wife. She tells him he needs to get help; he can’t live in the past, and she thinks they should never see each other again. I figure Candy is Pat’s dead wife; why can’t she be Raúl’s dead wife too?

Lulu is putting the finishing touches on a pink heart cake (she had to do a heart because M’s are too hard to shape). She proudly shows it to Meño who congratulates her for her improving pastry skills. He hopes an anniversary couple comes to the restaurant tonight so her work won’t be in vain. Poor Lulu.

Beto and Pat decide to invite Chava to the Chivas vs. Club America soccer game.

Candy told Meño about the creepy scene at Raúl’s. She thinks Raúl is the living dead. Meño says, “Look who’s talking,” and Candy doesn’t have any legitimate defense, so she sticks her fingers in her ears and hums. Not really, but she might as well have. Lately people have been confronting Candy with her lies and her selfishness – Soledad, Meño, her mother, Santiago, etc. She is not willing to change, so she just refuses to hear them. Meño tells her he’ll never forgive her if Raúl drops his horoscope column because of her, but Candy only cares about Candy.

Santiago wakes up with Marissa pawing at him in the clubhouse, and he is stunned to find her zebra-striped lingerie under his pillow. Last night, he must’ve been too drugged to remember anything. She says “WOW!” and he thinks she’s impressed with his manly talents. He’s pretty impressed with them, himself.



Marissa is ecstatic about his tattoo – not the one on his arm, but the one on his back. Both Santiago and Marissa are impactados, but their impactadidadidades couldn’t be more different. Remember that Candy heard him tell Marissa in his office, “You are the only woman engraved on my heart”? Remember that Candy said, “So let it be written, so let it be done”?

Gregoria and Alicia compete for the “Cruelest Wench” title, and the venom snowballs quickly. It starts with “Why do you live with Meño? If you're lonely, buy a dog.” It quickly passes “Your marriage is going under,” and “I know what you did in Tijuana,” and it ends with a slap and, “I sacrificed my dreams so you could grow up in a family.” Suegrita scores more “Cruelest Wench” points in this round, but we all know, just like a rigged TVyNovelas Premios show, the only points that matter are in the final round.

Marissa is all over Santiago with appreciation, but he just wants to cover himself as if he’s been defiled. One might ask, if he feels that way about her, why did he meet her at the clubhouse? Remember, he was drugged last night. The other times, no, but last night, their first time together since he started changing, yes. Marissa wants to get a tattoo with his name, and he advises against it. When she goes to look for champagne, he acts like he never takes women to the clubhouse.

Santi tries to figure out how he ended up with the tattoo. Then he remembers Candy foisting the drinks and soup on him, and it all adds up. He calls an emergency meeting, Codigo Rojo, of the Cuartel.. oops! I mean the Abandonados. High treason has been committed within the club, and they cannot allow that.

Pat and Beto invite Chava along to the soccer game. Chava has to ask his mom, and Pat is intrigued. He suggests that Chava call his mom to come downstairs so Pat can meet her. Candy hides.

Tomorrow: A taxi abducts Candy. Talk about dumb heroines! Even a gringa like me knows it’s dangerous to take a non-secure taxi in Mexico!

We’ve all noted that this show jumps around a lot. Often one conversation is broken into three scenes separated by other plotlines. Taking my mentor’s advice, I tend to gather one broken-up parts into one paragraph. That means my recap will have a slightly different sequence than the show itself, but in exchange for exact sequence, you get smoother continuity. Please let me know if this works for you, or if it creates difficulties.

Labels: Tontas

At the jail, Nabor and the padre bring a lawyer to meet with Fermín so that Fermín can tell the truth about the crime he's in jail for. Fermin is getting getting cold feet, but Nabor and the padre convince him to be brave. He's afraid for his life, but he agrees to go through with it.

Gabi rubs Feo's feet and asks him to kill Ricardo. A foot-rub? Really? Is that all it took to get Ricardo to kill the Robles? (Feo pretty much asks her the same thing. Stop stealing my thoughts, Feo!) For good measure, she asks Feo if he'd like Juan to find out that he killed Libia. Feo reminds her that he's got dirt on Gabi too - she planned the disappearance of Juan's child. (Can he prove it? He's the one who took the baby.)

She asks what he wants in exchange for killing Juan, then. He wiggles his feet at her and asks her to either name him as her heir, or at least put half of her things in his name. Gabi says she can't do that, since she's already named an heir. "Ruth?" he asks. She's surprised he knows. He admits that he overheard a conversation, and what's more, he knows that Ruth is her daughter.

The two Marias (not to be confused with the three Marias) bring robes to the church. This is obviously just an excuse to chat up poor Nabor. He does his best to graciously ward them off. They insist that he tell them something about himself, so he tells them that he was in jail for a crime he didn't commit. The Marias exchange shocked looks, then smile... after the next scene, the Marias defend Nabor, not that anyone was picking on him, and assure him that he's an okay guy, especially now that he's devoted his life to God. He says he didn't exactly devote himself; it's just that he couldn't find another job. Undeterred, they insist on being his friends, and invite him over for churros and chocolate. They crowd him and violate his personal airspace and promise that it will be a sweet, passionate night. He tries to beg off.

Eva's got a letter from Grandpa. It doesn't say when he's coming back, but he's having a nice time traveling, and Santita's making him happy. Eva asks Quintina if she's jealous. Q says that ultimately, she was just his squire, and they had lots of adventures. But there's a tiny edge in her voice as she asks Eva to read her the rest of the letter.

Ruth is ranting and raving at the cottage when Darth Daddy shows up in his dumbest-looking snake jacket. He tells her that her feelings don't matter right now. Having Juan this close is very dangerous for them; if Juan finds out the truth, Daddy's screwed. Brandishing twin guns, he says wants to get it over with. Ruth asks, what's the plan? "What we've planned from the beginning - revenge." (Huh, not so much a plan as a mere noun.) More specifically, they need to start doing away with anyone who's in their way. (Again, Darth, that's not exactly a plan.) Ruth whines that she thought splitting up Juan and Sofía would be enough to get rid of the Reyes, but it wasn't, and now Juan's closer to Sofía than ever. Sofía says she won't forgive him, and Ruth won't either.

Feo reminds Gabi that he said all along that he'd find out everything and she was wasting her time trying to hide things. She says she didn't tell him about Ruth sooner because she didn't have a chance before, but she's glad he knows.

He asks why she doesn't tell Sofía the truth. Gabi says that if Sofi finds out Gabi's not her mom, she won't be able to blackmail her any more to prevent her for turning Ricardo in for murdering Juan's parents. Also, she doesn't want to give Eva the pleasure. It's more fun to watch her suffer thinking that Root is her daughter. Feo thinks she'll find out someday. "Not if I can help it," Gabi replies. "But what's going to happen to Ruth?"

Gabi is very curious as to why he's so worried about Ruth. Now that he knows she's her daughter, he'd better stay away from her! He plays dumb and claims that he's never even looked at Ruth as a woman! Gabi says that's a good thing, for his sake. She's her daughter and he's her husband and she'd better not see them together. He promises to do as she wishes, as always. "If that's true, you'll kill Juan this very night. If you do, I'll think about naming you my heir. Anyway, being in the house, Juan's at your mercy. It'll be very easy to finish him. Or perhaps you're only capable of getting rid of weaklings, like that stupid Rosario?" Feo looks uncomfortable.

Darth Ricardo is pacing the cottage floor, still wearing that tacky jacket, twirling his gun, and worrying that Juan will find Raquel before he does. If so (in case you hadn't heard), Darth is screwed. He's gotta find her, and be careful too, because he's sure that whoever shot at him missed on purpose - to warn him that he's got him in his sights, and he can kill him whenever he feels like it.

Coyote is wearing his own snaky fashions - the cobra jacket - and remembering what Darth told him about the woman he loved and the son he wished he'd had. But Coyote doesn't believe any of it! If Ricardo had really loved Soledad, he would have looked for her and married her. He's just a lying hypocrite. Coyote swears to make him pay.

Wandering around the village, Ricardo just happens to see Soledad getting into a truck. Their eyes meet briefly. He drops his saddle, impactado. The truck drives away. (I have no idea where this is. Is it near the San Agustín stables? If so, what is Soledad doing there? If it's anywhere else, why isn't his saddle on the horse?)

Eva brings Grandpa's letter to Sofía and tells her exactly what she told Quintina. It strikes me as odd that Grandpa wrote to Eva rather one of his granddaughters, but I guess we've established that he's eccentric. With her yet-unrecognized secret mommy powers, Eva senses that gloomy-faced Sofía is bummed. Eva thinks Sofía should listen to Juan, but Sofía is stubborn.

Meanwhile, Hortensia visits with Quintina. Q is worried that H seems upset. H admits that she's worried Saul will dump her because she fell asleep on their wedding night. Q teases her gently yet unsupportively.

Padre Tadeo encourages Nabor to visit the Marias. Nabor has a slew of excuses prepared: It won't look good for two women who live alone to be visited by an ex-jailbird ("for a crime I didn't commit," he adds as usual). He's not sure what their intentions are - they're a bit shifty. He doesn't want to start any gossip. He's worried about his reputation.

The Padre counters all of these excuses: The Marias are religious and generous, so no one will put them down on Nabor's account. As for gossip, he's not married. They're a little crazy, but they're good people, and harmless. But he'll leave it to Nabor's judgment. If he wants to go, he should go; if not, he should tell them and be done with it.

Finally, the punchline: Nabor is worried that they're going to want him to dance like the guys they went to see in Puebla.

Night time. Full moon!! Big surprise!

Feo puts a silencer on his gun as Gabi's promises of an inheritance echo through his head. (Who does he think will be blamed for this murder?) Just as he reaches for Juan's door, Rosario's cartoonish ghost reminds him that he'll pay for every one of his crimes. Feo nearly falls down the stairs in his haste to get out of the house. After the next scene, he blubbers outside the hacienda's front door and tells himself that he killed her because she deserved it. Coyote pops out of nowhere and asks who he killed. "Nobody," Feo says, but with tears on his face, a bright red nose, and a gun in his hand, it doesn't look good. Coyote says he's here to see a woman who interests him. Feo threatens him with the gun and tells Coyote to leave his wife alone. Coyote shows his teeth and says no, he's here to see Ruth Uribe. Feo giggles in disbelief. We're all giddy!

Ruth wants to know why Daddy has been sitting and drinking ever since he got back from the pueblo. "You wouldn't understand," he answers. Ruth says they don't have any secrets. He tells her to leave him alone and go away. She leaves him alone, but angrily tells him she's not Raquel.

Franco sings to himself and thought-bubbles that Sarita and he will go on loving each other and no one will break them up. Meanwhile, Sarita writes him another inky feathergram saying they're in love even though their brothers and sisters are apart.

At Crap From Afar, Jimena fumes silently in bed about how much she hates and loves Oscar and needs to get out of town and forget him. At home, Oscar rubs his leg and says he won't give up until Jimena forgives him.

Sofía closes her Bible and says she can't forgive him. Juan He doesn't deserve it. But she still wishes she could be in his arms, because she loves him, as much as when she swore at the altar that she loved him. In the next room, Juan muses that she's so close. He'd like to have her in his arms, but he has to be patient. He won't leave until she listens and believes him.

They all have kissy flashbacks. The picture divides into a six-pack of longing and insomnia.

Juan is visiting with the three little Marias in the nursery, who are all wearing the same outfits. Man, I bet that's embarrassing! There are also at least two rent-a-nuns there, also wearing the same outfits (as each other, not as the kids). Sofía arrives and has a mixed reaction on hearing that the kids have already been fed and bathed. Maria G and Maria J seem happy enough, but Maria L starts crying as soon as Juan picks her up. Maybe she's annoyed by Juan's loud voice, or the even louder music box. He cheerfully suggests that they be a happy family. Now Sofía is yelling (in the child's ear) at Juan not to talk that way in front of the girls because it's not true. She hands the baby back at him and says she will never forgive him. (He puts the baby back on the bed and she stops crying.) He kisses her and she cracks a smile when he looks away, then erases it when he looks at her again. Juan lectures the kids not to grow up grumpy and awful like their mother, always smile, and especially don't be stubborn or they'll meet a guy like him, who's also stubborn - stubborn and a half! We'll see which of these fools turns out the most stubborn!

Q asks Tio V to go with her to sell the daily bread. She admits she doesn't have a driver's license. He says she needs to work legally, but he gets into the sidecar anyway and she hands him the gigantic basket full of bread and warns him to strap himself in good. There is no follow-up to this scene, so I assume that they don't have an accident and spill beautiful bread all over the road.

Juan tells Eva (why is she still there?) that he's going to take the girls with him to the RR hacienda while he gives his brother his physical therapy and bake the bread. No, Sofía doesn't know, but he can take care of the girls just like she does (I'm stifling a sarcastic comment). He invites Eva to go with him and help. (Since she lives at the RR hacienda, it seems like an odd question.) The nuns go too. Juan has an entourage!

At the store, Sarita tries to talk Sofía into giving Juan a chance, while Jimena is mad that Grandpa sold his share of the hacienda to Juan so the Reyes can bug them forever. She wants to leave as soon as possible. Sofi tells her that if she doesn't want to see Oscar, then don't look at him. Sarita reveals that she and Franco are talking about getting married, but she's having second thoughts - their lives would be hell with her sisters fighting with his brothers. She'd feel like a traitor. Jimena and Sofía say they won't allow that and neither will Franco. They encourage her to be happy.

Juan is watching dough rise when Coyote shows up. Juan says he was looking for Raquel, because someone had seen them talking before (I think it was Eva and Rosendo a few weeks ago) and he has a feeling that Coyote's protecting her. He's found some documents that say she's the sole owner of the Uribe fortune. Coyote agrees to take Juan to Raquel.

Oscar goes to the store, saying that he wants to buy dresses for his daughters. Jimena pretends not to know him. He says he has three adorable little girls, but they're driving him crazy - maybe it runs in the family, could that be it? "I don't know, sir," she answers haughtily. He teases her for somehow knowing how old/big his kids are when she reaches for some dresses. She loses her temper and addresses him in the familiar form. He says their relationship is over, therefore she can no longer tutear (use the tú form) with him.

He asks to see a dress on a high shelf. Reluctantly, she gets on the ladder to reaach it. He wheels over and tries to take it out from under her. "Do you love me? Do you love me?" until she gives in. She climbs down carefully and he pulls her onto his lap and begs her for another chance. She says it's too late. He calls her his jewel in heaven and tries to kiss her. She gets up and asks him if he's going to buy the dresses or not. He leaves.

Eva tells the Padre about Juan moving into the hacienda to annoy Sofía. Padre says Juan conquered his pride to live in the house of his enemy. The padre has faith that Sofía's anger will end when she realizes how brave he was to do this.

Eva's also still upset about Ruth (Eva's lines, Eva's lines, nothing new here). The padre says maybe they can save Root. He'll talk to her.

Juan's at Coyote's house, telling Raquel about those papers. She wants him to hang onto them and keep them safe. He tells her to get ready (literally, ponerse trucha=to make like a trout, i.e. get ready for a tough run, as trouts swim upstream) because the documents are a strong weapon against Ricardo. She's not sure she can face him. She's afraid of him. If he knows she's plotting against him, he could kill her. She runs out of the place screaming. Soledad tells Juan to let her go.

Gabriela is remembering Soledad's recent visit when Coyote shows up. He acts surprised that she's startled, and asks if something's wrong. She insists it's just something silly. Someone warned her that she has an enemy who hasn't shown his true face yet, and she has to be careful. Coyote promises she can trust him and offers his help again if she ever needs it. She says she trusts very few people, and he's one of them.

Juan introduces himself to Soledad. She knew his parents. What she remembers most is how much they loved each other. His father was a one-woman man, but Gabi had a thing for him. She confirms Tio's version - Gabi liked JJ, but he rejected her and that's why she hates the world.

Soledad asks Juan to protect her son. "He doesn't need my protection, he has other people to do that." She says they can't protect him from himself; only Juan can. Coyote wants revenge against the people who hurt her. Who hurt her? It's a long story involving Ricardo Uribe and Gabriela Acevedo.

Mexico airdate: 24 de septiembre
Next time: Oscar wiggles his toes. A masked intruder attacks Jimena in bed - evidently she's the only thing in the store worth grabbing, including the cash register. Gabriela walks in on Ruth and Feo, or does she? Ricardo also gets a blanket party of sorts, except no blanket and lots of guns. Ruth turns a snake on the little Marias while they sleep - lamest murder plot ever; does she think it will kill even one of them, never mind all three? Strap on your foil-lined beanies and get ready to laugh right in logic's big stupid face!

Labels: Fuego

Episode 81:
* Padre talks with Ceci - he tells her to keep the faith, he will be visiting MC and plans to convince her to meet with Ceci.

* JM visits Blanca in jail. He explains the loves of his life and that she and he will have to be content with friendship.

* MC holds JM Jr. and tells him about his dad (she has a series of flashback memories of her life with JM).

* JM returns to the castle. He finds Rocio and Dr. in the garden. He walks over and asks Rocio what's wrong. She runs off without responding. Dr. explains that Vince broke up with Rocio and that he's now interested in dating Rocio.

* Vince is grunting and screaming with pain as the therapist works with him on the floor. Vince's mom and another lady are watching near by.

* Ceci returns home to stun Amador and Steffie with the news that she knows where MC is.

* MC is reading the paper. JM Jr. cries so she puts the paper down to pick him up. Cande enters with a little bottle of milk. MC feeds Jr. the bottle. Cande leaves. The blue blanket is on top of the paper.

* Ceci is so illusioned about finding the address of where MC is. She leaves to find Pat and tell him. Steffie tells Amador she needs to leave - Amador stays there. Steffie and Martirio leave.

* MC returns to reading the paper. As she reads the front and inside pages, Micaela sits down and spots the small article and photo on the back page of JM and crosses herself. MC wonders what happened. Micaela stutters an excuse and leaves the room.

* Steffie is at the door and listens as Ceci begs Pat to help her locate the hacienda where MC is. Pat reluctantly agrees - on the condition that he won't have to lose his dignity in any way. She agrees.

* Micaela runs into the kitchen where Cande is preparing a plate of food. Micaela tells Cande about the article she saw the paper on JM - Micaela is worried. Cande doesn't really believe her; Micaela convinces Cande to get the paper and read it for herself.

* MC is still reading the paper and JM Jr. plays in his crib. Cande and Micaela enter. Micaela stands behind MC as Cande tries to read the paper.

* Two detectives enter the private sitting room and talk with JM - they are their investigating a murder and are looking for Viviana - they stun JM with the fact that Viviana is a suspect in the murder.

* Cande pulls the paper away from MC - MC pulls it back. Micaela stands behind MC as Cande sits on the coffee table. MC and Cande continue to argue as Micaela tries to signal Cande about the paper she's sitting on.

* Detectives explain to JM the investigation in Spain about the shooting and the death and Viviana's involvement.

* Ceci finishes her conversation with Pat. He leaves. Steffie sits and grumbles about how is she ever going to keep MC from returning.

* In the front room, Pat returns. Ceci is anxious and wants to know what happened.

* MC stands up and talks with Micaela as Cande takes the papers. Cande and Micaela makes their excuses and leave the room with the section of the paper that Cande had been sitting on.

* JM can't believe the story the detectives told him about Viviana.

* In the kitchen, Micaela and Cande share a laugh about how Cande sat on the paper they wanted to read. They start to read the article about JM.

* In the office, Pat explains to Ceci in front of Steffie that the search will be long and hard because there's a lot of "Felipes" in Mexico, but he will proceed because it's so important to Ceci.

* Police and guards go to Blanca's cell. She puts on her shoes and leaves with them.

* Outside on the garden gazebo, Ceci desperately asks Pat for news about the search. Pat tells her that they've finally found the hacienda. It's in Pueblo San Felipe and the owner is Omar Contreras.

**** UNIVISION PROMO -- Fernandita chases a bus down the dirt road; Eduardito runs to the back window and waves to her. They hold their pendants. Ed (Fernando Colunga) looks down and holds his pendant on a ranch -- he's returned to his hometown. Manana Es Para Siempre - Muy Pronto on Univision. ****

* MC rocks JM Jr. in the living room. MC talks to him about how happy and scared she is, about what tomorrow may bring in the way of love and happiness and pain, which are all a part of life.

* Still outside in the gazebo, Pat and Ceci discuss whether Padre ever mentioned Omar Contreras to Ceci. Ceci says not that she can recall. They discuss Ceci wanting to go to the hacienda - she wants Pat to go with her. Pat refuses and suggests Steffie go with her.

* MC holds JM Jr. and remembers Adrian and JM. She thinks about calling JM just to hear his voice but talks herself out of it.

* At the table, Steffie joins Pat and Ceci. Ceci asks Steffie to go with her to visit MC at the hacienda. (UY!)

* Padre visits Vincent at the loft apartment. Padre apologizes for his absence - he was out of town for awhile. Then he stuns Vince with the news that MC is going to married soon.

* Becky meets with Rocio in the castle front hallway with the news about MC's wedding plans. JM enters and interrupts. He leaves - Becky whispers to Rocio how hot her brother is.

* Ceci and Steffie continue their conversation about driving to the hacienda.

* In the private sitting area, JM talks with Rocio about how will he be able to prove Blanca's insanity defense. Rocio then stuns JM with the news about MC's impending wedding. He asks her when will it happen? Rocio says soon. He asks who is the groom? She doesn't know exactly but supposes it's someone she met after leaving town. JM asks Rocio to leave him alone and starts to cry. He hopes that the new man in MC's life will make her happy. Rocio leaves. JM sits down and cries (his heart is breaking).

* JM Jr. is in his crib as Micaela and MC work in the kitchen. They discuss all the wedding plans and festivities and all the guests coming to the wedding.

* Ceci wonders if Steffie can go with her this afternoon, despite the long distance to drive. Steffie is stunned and stutters her excuses to try to convince Ceci to wait until morning. Pat agrees with Steffie. Ceci reluctantly accepts the delay. Steffie leaves. Ceci thanks Pat for his help and support.

* MC prays to herself.

* Steffie grumbles to herself about her plans to be with JM always being foiled - first by MC then by Blanca/Ivette and now by MC again. Steffie places a well-timed phone call to the castle - Nellie answers - Steffie tells her the shocking bad news; they have located MC.

* MC holds JM Jr. and thinks about Omar/Leopardo. She wonders where he is? Pancho brings in the newspaper and leaves. MC sits down with JM Jr. and begins to read the paper.

* Ceci is in a hurry this morning and climbs in the car as Steffie pulls up the driveway.

* MC reads the front page article about Blanca and JM being accused in the murder of his wife Viviana. She is horrified by the news and shouts and runs for Cande.

* In the kitchen, MC stops Cande from her work and shows her the article about Viviana's death and JM being a suspect.

* Rocio brings a cup of coffee to JM in his sitting room. He's still stunned by the news of MC's marriage plans.

* MC talks with Cande about the article and how impactado she is over JM's involvement. Cande has to explain that she knew - that Micaela and Padre also knew. MC is furious that they didn't tell her for weeks about this. Cande explains their reasons.

* JM talks with Rocio about the detectives from Spain searching for Viv, who is a suspect in a murder in Spain. Rocio suspects that Viv's death may somehow be karma catching up to her.

* MC and Cande argue about JM being accused of murder. Cande tries to reason with her about Blanca's involvement and being a suspect. MC has decided that JM is totally innocent.

* In the car, Steffie and Ceci talk on the drive out to Pueblo San Felipe.

* JM Jr. is playing in his crib. MC sits on the bed, reading the article. Cande enters. MC wants to return to Mexico City, to be there to support JM. Cande can't believe her ears and tries to talk MC out of the idea. MC argues that she has to go to support JM. Cande uses every argument she can think of against the idea. MC wants to be there for JM - moral support. Cande argues against it. JM Jr. starts to cry. MC is determined to leave - she still loves JM. Cande finally spouts "and what about Leopardo?"

ADVANCE: Omar is returning home -- MC, Cande and JM Jr. are leaving the hacienda.

**** UNIVISION PROMO (actually this was during Fuego en la Sangre): Univision movie premiere -- Ladron que roba a ladron, starring Fernando Colunga, MIguel Varoni and Saul Lisazo - Sunday, Feb. 1, at 8 p.m./7 p.m. central time. ****

Labels: Cuidado

Santos tells DB that she made a promise. The time to make good on it has come. DB asks whether Santos planned to get her drunk and have her sign the document without reading it. Santos says that is her way of doing things. Didn't she take the hacienda from Lorenzo that way? Santos tells DB that he only had the document prepared to be ready for Marisela's birthday. He gives the document to DB and tells her to read it. It wasn't a good idea for Santos to mention Marisela because DB goes on off on how Santos only cares about Marisela. She crumples up the document and throws it on the floor.

Lorenzo tells Antonio that there is nothing but friendship between them. He says that he won't be around much longer and he doesn't want Cecilia to be alone. Antonio says that he isn't going to hang around wishing for Lorenzo to die.

Antonio quits his job with Don Encarnación. He is going to lead the rebels over the border and keep on going.

Santos and DB have several terrible battles about DB giving El Miedo to Marisela and Santos basically tells DB that it is over between them.

Desperate to keep Santos, DB came to see Marisela and told her that it was time to pay the debt that she owes DB for what happened with Meléndez. DB tells Marisela that she just has to make a small sacrifice. We don't know what DB wants Marisela to do but whatever it is makes her terribly unhappy.

DB gives the signed property transfer deed to Santos. He is impactado.

Monday -

Santos is as happy as a 6-year old with a lollipop that DB has signed the property transfer. That night, he asks her to marry him. Apparently he carries his mother's engagement ring around with him because when DB wakes up the next morning, he is putting it on her finger. DB being triumphant and happy when we know it is at Marisela's expense is hard to take.

Marisela confesses to Father Pernia about killing Meléndez and he absolves her of guilt and tells her to pray for Meléndez' salvation. Marisela apparently also confesses what DB has asked her to do. The priest says that it is wrong and that Santos will never be happy with DB.

DB tells her staff that Marisela is going to be the new owner of La Barquereña. This news travels to the Altamira vaqueros. Santos cheerily tells them that it won't make any difference at all but they aren't so sure.

Marisela rips up the dress that her mother bought her to wear at her birthday party.

Lorenzo is going around talking about the ephemeral nature of life to flowers and saying things like: I will die in the spring. So I guess we know the end is near.

DB and Santos come and wake Marisela up on her birthday and DB gives her the property transfer document.
We still don't k

Labels: barbara

In San Fernando, DB takes advantage of her new relationship with Marisela to push Gonzalo's charms on her really hard.

Santos is annoyed that the rebels aren't leaving town until after Marisela's birthday party.

DB is also using her trip to San Fernando to get the documents she found at Danger's house translated. The translator tells her that the document is a soil analysis and that there may be oil on the property.

Pernalete finds the property transfer document Mujiquita drafted. He wants to know if it is prejudicial to DB.

The terneras get married to the rebels.

Gonzalo tries to kiss Marisela but she pulls away, saying, "you're not.. you're not.." DB is watching. She confronts Marisela and and the mask of the nice mother comes off. She tells Marisela not to call her, 'mama.' She accuses Marisela of wanting to steal Santos from her. When Marisela denies this, DB reminds of what Marisela said when she thought DB was dying. DB swears that Marisela will never take Santos from her. DB tells Marisela that she uses her tears to manipulate everyone but not DB. "Keep away from my man," says DB, "because if you don't, you will find out who I am." "I already know," replies Marisela, "I've known since I was a little girl." "No," says DB, "You haven't seen anything. You still don't know me. You don't know my hate."

DB returns to El Miedo from the wedding in a foul mood.

Santos finds Marisela crying. She says that she can't stand the pain of loving him when he is DB's man.

DB tells Eustaquia that she tried to care about Marisela but if Marisela keeps trying to take her man, she will kill her. She swears it. Pernalete comes in and drops that bomb of the property transfer document on her. DB pretends that she knew about it already. When Pernalete has gone, DB calls Santos a traitor.

When Santos returns to El Miedo, DB calls him a traitor who went behind her back. She says that she will never give her hacienda to Marisela without a fight. "I will keep what is mine! (Me quedo con lo mío)."

Labels: barbara

Cande comments on the sadness that crosses Marichuy’s face when she looks at the baby. She questions MC’s reasons for agreeing to marry Leo. Is it because she is merely grateful to Leo? Mc assures her that isn’t the only reason, she admits that her heart is hurting. Her true love betrayed her and she’s living with the memories. She tells Cande that she needs to work on separating Juan Miguel from her feelings. She assures Cande that she will open her heart to Leo and that she’s going to be happy. Leo is the only man that will be able to help her pull Juanmi out of her heart. JM is living his life with his wife and MC will go on living hers with Leo.

Meanwhile, Juanmi is having a conversation with Rocío about his visit with Blanca. Rocío feels terrible for Blanca. Juanmi tells his sister that he intends to cure Blanca and then marry her (OMG, this man is stupid, no ifs ands or buts about it. Just when I think it isn’t possible for him to come up with another knuckle-brain idea - he proves me wrong. What purpose is there in marrying her? OK other than to put an obstacle in the way of our two star-crossed lovers). Rocío is surprised to hear this (as we all were) and she asks him if it is for love or pity. He says that his one true love was MC, but what he feels for Blanca is a sincere desire to help her and he feels he can dedicate his life to curing her and making her happy. Rocío comments on how JM will be entering into another loveless marriage (excellent point). He assures her that it is different, Blanca is a sensitive caring woman, who will make a good mother for Mayita. Rocío asks, “what about Marichuy?” JM says that all their ties are broken, it was an impossible relationship. You could start anew, his sister encourages. How he wishes that could happen, but their fate was decided long ago and now he’ll dedicate himself to helping Blanca and getting MC out of his heart. He loved one time with passion and craziness, this time it will be different, but he’ll make it work.

Cande asks MC if she believes she can be happy. MC says that her baby needs a home and a father and here at the hacienda he can have both. She’s going to let go of her impossible dreams of being with JM and throw herself into a future with Leo.

Elsa gives Nelson a new shirt. He’s delighted. He asks her for writing materials. He’s feeling inspired to write again ( I don't think it was the shirt that inspired him, perhaps it is living with her parents and not having any grown-up responsiblities).

Mercedes visits Rocío, who worries that she's come to say that something is wrong with Vicente. Mercedes assures her that isn’t the case, she’s there because she wants to know what Rocío’s future plans are with Vicente. Does Rocío want to continue seeing him? Or does she want her freedom in order to pursue a “normal” life.

Cande tells MC that no matter what she says, it is obvious she hasn’t forgotten Juanmi. MC says that she has a right to keep what is hers, but whatever happens, she intends to marry Leo.

Rocío questions why Mercedes is asking her this. She’s never thought of abandoning Vicente. She does go on to admit that it hurts her that she’s done all she can to make things better, but he’s just turned his back on life. He’s locked himself in his studio, refuses to seek any further treatment. She asks what he’s done to fight for their relationship. She’s willing to stick by him, no matter what his long term prognosis will be, but he’s just given up. Mercedes says she can see that Rocío still cares for him and they hug.

Leo walks along the river and thinks of MC and how he’s letting go of his past and embracing happiness. He’s got hope for the future.

Blanca’s lawyer visits her in the jail and tells her that they’ve got to find someone from before who can testify that she’s got this multiple personality condition. She remembers that there was a doctor in Ivette’s life, a Doctor Omar Somebody. She can’t remember his last name. The lawyer presses, does she know where Ivette knew him? Blanca says somewhere out of the country, she supposes France. We have to find him, the lawyer says.

JM visits Vicente, per Vic’s request. He tells Dr. San Roman that he intends to start treatment and hopes his paralysis will be cured. JM asks why the change and Vic says that he’s afraid of losing Rocío. JM says he’ll get him in touch with some specialists, but that it is going to take some time for Vic to get better. Vic isn’t willing to give up, and JM tells him he’s proud of him for deciding to work at getting better.

Leo flirts with MC as she gathers eggs. He tells her that he could become jealous of all the attention she gives elsewhere. He questions what it will be like when they have four or five more kids. He flirts a bit more and then tells her that everything is falling into place for their wedding. They just need to get her papers. MC appears shocked at this latest development. Leo says he can have his lawyer gather the necessary paperwork, but MC says she’ll get Padre Anselmo on it. Leo then says that he’d love to recognize the baby as his own son. This seems to shock MC even more.

Rocío is getting her final check up from the plastic surgeon. Humberto feels the mended areas of her face and then he swoops down for a kiss. She is shocked and tells him that they never should see each other again. He doesn’t understand, he loves her. She reminds him that she’s with Vicente and that she intends to marry him. Humberto tells her that Vic isn’t worthy of her and he’s just accepted his lot and is basically useless. Rocío defends Vic and tells Humberto she never wants to see him again. He says that he can provide her with a “normal” life and she doesn’t deserve to be stuck with Vicente.

Leo questions if MC wants him to be her baby’s father. She didn’t answer him. She says she didn’t say anything, but she didn’t say no either. Leo questions if she’ll tell the real father and MC says that Leo will be the only father her son will know, and that she knows he’ll treat the baby like he’s his own flesh and blood.

Blanca’s lawyer talks to JM and mentions Dr. Omar. JM says that they’ll have to find this guy.

Leo gets a telegram and tells MC that he’s got to go out of town for a few days for work. His being gone, however, shouldn’t hold up their plans for the wedding.

Rocío goes to visit Vicente the next day. He tells her he wants to end it and that she should leave (so what happened to him fearing that he was going to lose Rocío?).

At the Velardes, Patricio is reading the newspaper and comes across an article about Blanca and how the press speculates that JM is her accomplice, that Viv's death was an elaborate plot of theirs. Both Ceci and Stefi say no way. Stefi tells them that Blanca really suffers from multiple personalities and the JM wants to help her. Pat says the article speculates that the two of them will be getting married if she ends up cleared of the charges. Stefi says that can’t be. Ceci says that if JM ends up marrying Blanca she’s sure it will be for valid reasons, not because he’s in cahoots with her. Pat says this whole mess has made him lose confidence in JM.

Rocío goes home and cries on JM’s shoulder about Vicente breaking up with her. She feels it is all her fault, because she’s gone out with Humberto a few times and the things that she said to Becki.

Another doctor pays a house call to Vicente. He runs a series of “field” tests and tells Vicente that there is hope. It would have been better if he sought treatment right away after the accident, but they still can make some improvements. It’s not going to be easy, but Vicente is encouraged by the doctor’s words.

Stefi goes to visit Isa and tells her what’s being said in the papers about Juanmi and Blanca. Isa questions if JM and Blanca are lovers. No way, says Stefi, but she doesn’t look entirely convinced of her words. Stefi decides she needs to do whatever to make sure that Blanca remains in jail.

Mica tells Marichuy that she’s excited about the marriage and that Omar’s finally found some happiness. MC says she’s sent word to PA that she needs her papers.

Ceci visits PA and asks if there is any news on MC. None he says, but then he receives a telegram. He lets Ceci know it is from MC, but refuses to let her read it when she asks. He takes a phone call and Ceci is able to see part of the telegram, which he set down on the desk. She’s able to make out "San Felipe" and "Hacienda Escondida" from the portion of the telegram she can see. She questions PA to when MC will be coming back. He says that after reading the telegram, he thinks never. This upsets Ceci imensely.

Blanca tells JM (who’s visiting her in jail) that everyone thinks she’s guilty and they are all against her. JM tells her that it doesn’t matter what the rest of the world thinks. She says it only matters to her what he thinks. JM asks her if she’d be willing to get married. She wants to know why he asked, is it because he feels pity or some sort of obligation toward her? He holds her hand and says that it is their destiny to be together because it is as if they’ve known each other in a different time, a time when pirates ran amok in Mexico….she was the rich man’s whore-of-a-daughter and he was just the son of the lowly miller looking for a quick lay…..OK, just me thinking that, as I has a Pasión flashback. Actually he tells her that it is affection he feels. He goes on to tell her that he loved someone passionately and lost her, he thinks she’s had similar heartbreak in her life. Now he needs to feel hope for something and he believes that the two of them will be able to fill their empty lives and together find happiness. Blanca swallows up his words.

PA tells Ceci that although MC will most likely not return, he believes that very soon Ceci will be seeing her daughter. Ceci questions the good priest’s riddle, but PA just tells her to have faith, he thinks that perhaps now Marichuy will be able to understand the pain that Ceci had in having to give up her child and be willing to meet with her.

Marichuy thinks of JM and their happier times. END OF EPISODE

Vocabulario
arrancar-to pull out
sensible-sensitive
temer-to be afraid of

Labels: Cuidado

Capítulo 177

We begin at the Hacienda of the Horribly Horrified, The Mortified Martyred, and The Eternally Mystified as a very teary and bleary-eyed Snowed-fia thinks back to the scene of the supposedly ruttin’ Root and her bare-nekkid bazoombas hovering in the sheets over Juan’s cadaveric hulk as she's caught in the aftermath of “their” despicable act. (Of course, those of us in Viewerville with triple digit I.Q.’s want to know why it never crossed Slowfia’s mind that Juan couldn’t possibly have had time for a quickie, let alone a cigarillo and much less a heavy-duty nap afterward, especially with all that damned noise going on downstairs. Viewerville then quickly realizes the error of its ways and that it’s forgotten what complete mental midgets this generation of Elizondos is. Tsk. Tsk.) Sofia clings to her wedding dress and daydreams of the wedding that never was. “Why-oh-why did you cheat on me, Juan?”

Said culprit is now over at the church complaining to the diosito that it’s not fair and that he doesn’t deserve being duped like this. Padre Tadeo sees Juan at the altar and kneels beside him. “I swear I’m innocent! I’m innocent!” Juan tells the padre that as hard as he tries he just can’t explain it; and he has no idea how it happened. He can’t deny what Sofia saw with her own eyes, but he’s certain he didn’t fool around with Root-oh-Rutter. He couldn’t and wouldn’t put a finger on any woman other than Sofia. Pad Tad says he believes him and that if Juan allows him to, he’ll talk to Sofia for him and try to convince her to listen to Juan’s side of things. Together they pray for the diosito’s guidance and help.

In the meantime, Eva tries to convince Sofia that she needs to listen to Juan’s explanation, but Sofia refuses to even allow his name to be mentioned in the house again. Eva says she feels rotten because it was her very own daughter, Root, who did this to Sofia. “Root enjoys hurting others. She’s more evil than I ever imagined.” Sofia says she doesn’t blame Eva for anything Root does. Anyway, she wants nothing more to do with Juan. He would only lie to her and she’s done with that. It’s better they both go their separate ways.(At this point I’m sort of having second thoughts about that “couple of prissies” thing. Hate to say it, but Feo was on to something.)

Franco and Oscar, meanwhile, agree to ask Jimena and Sarita for their help in getting Juan and Sofia back together and they head off to town.

At Bungalow del Bruto, Darth Rico can’t help thinking about Soledad, the one who got away. He remembers his discussion with Gabi when she told him Soledad was alive and had come to threaten her about the past catching up with them, and that Soledad had a son who was now their sworn enemy. Darth thinks to himself that he has never stopped thinking of her and he wonders who the lucky S.O.B. was that won her heart and gave her a son. If he only knew where to find her….”Ah, Soledad!”

At Casa Coyote, somewhere hidden in the hills, said son is thinking about getting hold of those papers Darth told Raqui about. El Coyote figures they have to be something pretty important and that having them would give him a weapon to use against the guy. Raqui sits down for a chat with him. She tells him she considers him to be a quiet and reserved man who seems tough on the outside but who is really a kind-hearted soul. He tells her he’s capable of doing the worst sorts of things to survive and to support his mother. Then he explains his hatred for Darth is a result of the way he abandoned his mother years ago. It’s not just that she was blinded, but how his mother suffered and cried for so many years because of that man. It used to break his heart to hear her crying in the middle of the night. That’s why he and Gabriela are going to be made to pay for all the hurt they caused the two of them.

Coyote changes the subject now and asks Raqui for permission to ask Juan about why he’s been looking for him. He’s certain it has something to do with those papers Rico is so interested in. Raqui has no objection to his talking to Juan Reyes and says she’s just as interested in finding out what's in those papers.

Eva returns to the Double R (Hacienda de los Robles-Reyes) where Juan is still crying over Sofia’s dumping him. (Now, I hate to see a grown man cry, and it’s true he got rooked by that babe, Root, but even accounting for cultural differences south of the border, enough already! Enough with the Mikey Milk-toast crying and ALL that gawd-awful snot running down his and everybody’s nose and especially those hairy whiskers! Blech! –And speaking of whiskers, has Juan given up razor blades again for Lent or what?) Eva says she did everything she could think of but Sofia wants nothing more to do with him. Juan is adamant about Sofia hearing him out. If she won’t do it willingly, then he’s got another way, but he’d rather not.

Oscar and Franco show up a while later at Trinkets R Us and ask Jimena and Sarita to help them find a way to get Sofia to listen to Juan. Jimena sniffs and snarls, but Oscar reminds her that everybody should get a chance to tell their side of things before they’re judged and sentenced.

At the same time, Padre Tadeo shows up at the Double E (Hacienda de las Elizondo y del estorbo ése, Escandon) to intercede for Juan so that he can explain his side of things. Sofia refuses to listen and says what she saw doesn’t need any explanation. Furthermore, if Pad Tad comes back again to talk to her about Juan she’ll refuse to see him.

Back at Trinkets, Jimena throws Oscar’s little sextacular slip-up with Marahoochie-coochi in his face and tells him he’s the last one who should be coming and asking for their help with Don-Juan Reyes. Oscar reminds her that as soon as he realized what had happened, because he didn’t want to lose her he came and told Jimena right away, to her face no less, and that he was never dishonest with her about it. Then Oscar throws Jimena’s flirtations with Octavio and Roman right back at her. Besides, he adds, Juan wasn’t unfaithful to Sofia. Root set a trap for him.

Jimena doesn’t believe it. Sarita and Franco come at her over it and she lights into Franco for fooling around with Rosario and going after Sarita at the same time while supposedly being unable to decide between the two of them. “Puh-leeze! You’re all three cut from the same cloth!” [literally, “cut with the same scissors ”] She tells them she’s done with them and is going to be leaving town right away anyway, so the heck with them or what they think about her. Oscar and Franco had better leave unless they want to hear the rest of what she has to say and, BTW, don’t expect any help with Sofia from her. What’s more she’s got a mind to suggest to Sofia not to ever listen to Juan again and she’ll tell her not to let Juan ever see his little girls again, either! Oscar loses it here and he grabs Jimena by the arms and pulls her down to chair level with him. He warns her that she better get it straight that he will NOT allow her to mess with his daughters. “Got it?” Loud and clear. Jimena finally shuts her pie-hole.

Darth is out with his horse in the back forty somewhere and still thinking about Soledad. He stops to remember the two of them together: bright sun, birds singing, holding hands and, The Kiss. (Note to Hairdressing: not so heavy on the Hair For Men next time. You’ve got Darth looking like Gomez Addams. Definitely a case of what’s hot and what’s NOT.) “It seems like yesterday…..” Darth reminisces. “There’s not a doubt that she’s the only woman I ever loved in my life and for her I’d have been willing to cede everything. Everything!” He’s lost in thought when El Coyote walks up from behind and starts talking. It gives him a start and he immediately and instinctively pulls a gun on Coyote. Coyote, the essence of sexy-cool, apologizes for startling him and asks what Darth was so lost in thought over. Rico puts away the gun. “Happier times than these, that’s for sure!” They make small talk about his leg and then Coyote tells Darth that he seems to be a man of few words, but he noticed him smiling and relaxed. He wonders who or what DV was thinking of. Darth looks him in the eyes but says nary a word.

Out back of the store Franco tries talking Sarita into helping him and Oscar with Sofia since Juan and she have already suffered enough. Sarita refuses and he calls her stubborn and says that she’s as idiotic as Jimena. She needs to open her eyes and realize Juan was tricked. Kicking and spanking ensue. He gripes that she kicks him at the slightest provocation. She tells him to stop with the spanking and he says she needs to stop with the kicking. They go at it like this for a while – like a broken record. (Does anybody even know what a record is anymore? A scratched CD just doesn’t sound right.) Viewerville is just about ready to FF>> through this kindergarten crapola when Franco says, “What? Would you rather I massage you?” (Me thinks she would.) Franco finally persuades her by saying they can’t let this problem destroy their relationship too. Sarita gives in. They kiss and make up (and well, watching Franco and Sarita making up is always better than watching their stupid fights.)

Darth tells Coyote he’s a lot like Darth was when he was younger. He likes him, and since they seem to have something in common, he’ll tell him. He was thinking of a woman from his past, the woman that he loved most in his life. Coyote asks if he means Gabi, but he says nope. Then perhaps he means Raqui, his daughter Root’s mama? Rico sniffs in disgust. Coyote asks cautiously if he has a son. Darth confesses he’d have given everything he is and has to have had a son but he never managed it, but especially to have had a son with the woman he loved and has never forgotten. Coyote asks her name. “Soledad. Her name is Soledad.” (This isn’t looking good for Coyote’s plans for venganza. Not at all.) Coyote is take-two-steps-back-and-rethink-that-revenge-idea impactado.

Back at Casa de Coyote, Soledad remembers Raqui telling Coyote that Sofia is not Gabi’s daughter but actually Eva’s and also that Raqui asked him not to say anything to anybody for Sofia’s sake. She remembers how kind she was to her after Gabi threw her out of the hacienda. Soledad decides that Sofia is too good a person to suffer any longer taking guff off Gabi because she mistakenly believes the witch is her mother. She plans to find Sofia and tell her the truth as soon as possible.

Sofia, meanwhile, (signature hands to head) is back in her room replaying the scenario of Root in bed with Juan and laughing at her. Root comes sauntering in now to pester her. “Aren’t you ever getting married?” “—Get out of my room!” Root ignores her and says, just as well she found out now. It would have been worse to find out once she was already married. “I did it for you. Although, I have to admit that Juan is …Ayyyy! (sigh)—such an excellent lover. Nobody like him to make you feel like a real woman! ” Sofia gets up and smacks Root a good one hard across her slutty face. (Was it as good for you as it was for me?) Root laughs at her and says it doesn’t matter ‘cause she finally got Sofia back. Sofia says she and her little girls will do just fine, thank you very much, but the one who ought to look out for herself is Root. She told Mama what Root’s been up to. No, she didn’t give any details, but she managed to plant that doubt and knowing Mama, she won’t stop till she finds out exactly what Sofia really meant to say.

Root is stopped-in-her-tracks impactada. Sofia tells her that that’s not all. Root should remember that Sofia knows her daddy’s little secret and as soon as she decides to, she’ll turn him in. Root says she wouldn’t dare because she’d be risking her mother’s life also. Sofia says sure she’d dare and she will destroy her father and let God deal with the rest. (Hope she means it this time.)

Across the way at the Double R, Juan is still moping in the kitchen and remembering the way Sofia broke it off with him. Juan finally grabs the remaining shreds of his masculinity and tells himself that he’s had enough. (Haven’t we all by now.) No, it’s not over, not by a long shot. Sofia will have to listen to him if it’s the last thing he ever does. (“Ha! Hold my brain. Be still my beating heart.”)

Feo stops in at the church and confesses his “latest achievement” to Padre Tadeo, that he drugged Juan to avoid Sofia’s marrying him. He planned it all. Tadeo tells him he is wretched. “Wretched is the life that Juan and Sofia will have from now on, little priest.” He bangs on the confessional wall for emphasis and to make sure the padre is listening. “Now you know that I was the one responsible and I’ll be back without fail to tell you about the next one. Could be pretty soon. Perhaps Fermin, that poor guy at the jail, might have an accident. At least he’d have that mouth shut. SHUT!” Feo takes a puff of his cheroot and then arrogantly struts away. Pad Tad’s been duped into silence again.

Root runs into the bungalow, meanwhile, to tell her daddy the latest. “Sofia is planning to turn you in for murdering the Reyes’ parents.” Darth (who must have taken Sofia’s wardrobe concerns to heart because he’s taken off that snake belt) says no way because Gabi would be involved and if he goes to jail, Gabi would go also. Root says even so, they can’t trust in that especially if Sofia finds out that Gabi really is not her mother. Darth says perhaps she’s right and so they need to think about Sofia’s weak points: her daughters and her sisters. He hands Root the belt for safekeeping. Suddenly Root is all smiles again.
======================

Night falls and the full moon rises. In the store, Jimena lies down in her cot and thinks back to the argument she and Oscar had earlier that day. She decides that there’s nothing left to their relationship now but hate and hostility.

At the Double E, Sofia has locked her balcony windows and is getting ready for bed. Juan jumps onto the balcony and begs her to let him in to explain things. She refuses and tells him again that it’s over between them and she wants nothing more to do with him.
=============

The next morning Sofia is walking down the main stairway when Juan comes walking into the hacienda with a laundry bag over his shoulder. (Yeah, we know. No man’s man would ever be caught dead with a piddly roller bag, now would he?) She lights into him. Gabi angrily flies in on her Ever-Reddy broomstick she keeps parked in her office and screams at him to tell her just what he thinks he’s doing in her hacienda. Practical Fer just wants to know what he’s carrying in the bag. Juan says it’s full of his things. From this moment on he’s going to live in the house which, after all is part his too. Everybody stares at him with their mouths open.

Juan tells Sofia that since she refuses to listen to him he’s decided to come live there at the hacienda until she gives him the opportunity to explain what really happened. He’s there and plans to stay whether they like it or not. They are not believing what they are seeing. Sofia says he can’t be serious, but Juan says of course he is. She says he can’t because…because it would be as if he’s torturing her. He should just give up and leave her in peace, but he says he won’t, especially not now. Gabi says enough of his hypocrisy. Juan Reyes is just like his father. Juan says he certainly is. He’s a one-woman man just like his daddy and THAT’S why his daddy rejected her. Feo quickly remembers to jump to Gabi’s defense and tells Juan he can’t talk to his wife like that. Why can’t he just leave them all in peace and just….die or something? Juan says sorry to disappoint the snake, but he’s living there until Sofia gives him the chance to explain. He grabs his bag and jangles noisily up the stairs into Root’s room.

Gabi lights into Sofia and complains that it’s all her fault they’ve got to put up with this humiliation. So, Sofia better find a way to get that imbecile out of her house immediately if not sooner.

At the Double R during another therapy session, Franco tells Oscar he thinks what Juan’s doing is crazy because he’s heading right into the wolf’s den. Oscar says he thinks Juan knows exactly what he’s doing and that it will work. The one who should be careful, he says, is Doña Gabriela.

Back at the Double E, all hell breaks loose as Juan runs Root out of her old room and throws her clothes out after her. Sofia tells Mama not to blame her cuz she wasn't the one who sold Juan his portion of the hacienda. Grampa Augie did, so go complain to him, not her. Root whines to Gabi about how she could just let Juan run her off to the bungalow like that. Sofia says yep, Juan’s definitely run her off, and as far as she’s concerned she’s happy that finally somebody got her out of the place.

Sofia heads upstairs to Sarita’s room and tells her sister that she can’t believe Juan’s impudence. Once Sarita finds out what’s happening and that Juan ran Root off she tells Sofia to realize that if Juan really wanted to be with Root he’d have never run her out. Sofia is like “don’t confuse me with facts. I know what I know.”

Downstairs Gabi has run into her office to escape. Root follows her in and bitches that, as her mother, Gabi should have defended her but didn’t. Gabi tells her to keep it down or the others might hear. “What’s it to me? Let them! They should all find out right now that I am your daughter! --Oh-h-h! you’re ashamed of me, right?” Gabi tells her not to be ridiculous, that she knows very well it’s still not the right time to tell them. Root says Gabi is a big disappointment and that she thought she was tougher, different from other women, but she lives in fear of everbody here. She’s just the same as Raquel, just exactly the same! Gabi gets angry and tells her that it’s a matter of winning by keeping a cool head and now is not the right time to confront Juan. “You forget that Sofia knows Ricardo’s secret. Would you rather risk your father’s going to jail, or worse, that Juan finds out and kills him? Is that what you want? To see your father destroyed?”

Over at the bungalow, DV is playing with his Big-Boys gutting knife when Tio V.O. walks in on him. (Again with the wide open doors –and will somebody please get this little guy a stool and change the camera angles? This is so degrading. He’s supposed to be one of the good guys. I mean how do you manage macho from a munchkin? As it is, the poor guy’s a walking oxymoron.) Tio warns Darth that he knows what’s what and that Rico murdered his brother and SIL. DV plays dumb, but Tio says he’s not buying what DV’s got to sell. The only reason he hasn’t gone to the authorities yet isn’t because he’s a coward or frightened of him, but to spare his nephews and to put the brakes on vengeance and the blood that would be spilled. Now, though, that Juan’s living in the hacienda, he’s come to warn Darth and to tell him to his face that if anything happens to Juan he’ll go straight to the authorities and turn Darth in himself. “The time’s coming for you and Gabriela to pay for your wicked ways. You’ve been warned.” Tio bravely turns his back on DV and walks out.

Gabi, meanwhile, is painting another one in her group of “Night Gallery Garish” while telling Fernando that he’s got to kill Juan. He’s got to get him out of the house whatever way he can and get rid of him for good. Feo says it’s not the best time since, if anything should happen to Juan just now, they’d be the first ones suspected. Sure he hates Juan, too, more than she does, but it’s a fool’s errand right now. Gabi sees she has to change tactics. “You’re stronger and smarter than he is.” She sits on the bed and starts her seduction. (Ok--but by pulling off his boots and massaging his feet? Wouldn’t other parts of his anatomy be more to the point –and don’t pardon the pun.) “This is the time to show me that you love me. Show me that for me you’re capable of everything. Kill him. Kill Juan Reyes!”

For the umpteenth time tonight, Sofia does a mental rewind of the rutting Root scene in her head. “If Juan thinks that setting up house here will get me to forgive him, he’s mistaken!”

Juan is across the hall and pacing back and forth in Feo’s/Root's old bedroom. “Will you just look! Such elegance and luxury!” He glances over at the safe. “Such riches! –Still, though it’s a golden cage.” One look in the mirror shows him what an out of place bumpkin he is. He goes to the balcony then and stares out as he remembers begging Sofia to listen to him and her telling him to forget it, that what they had was finished and done with. This time he won’t be leaving, though, he tells himself. She’ll have to see his smiling face 24/7 and he’s not giving in or giving up, not till she at least listens to him and realizes he’s completely innocent, that he loves her and will for the rest of his life. He smiles at himself. Yep. He’s going to fight to the end. “Ha! As if I wouldn’t!”

Labels: Fuego

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