Caray, Caray!

Friday: Vicky once again tells Netty and Doris how Eman broke Mari’s heart. Hablablabla, we’ve heard it all a million times before. Muñeca throws Lorenzo’s sorry hiney out of the house, out of the business, out of the back account and out of her heart. Ilitia, holding Christian and watching, looks only a tiny bit sad.



Fedra raves to Bernardo about how la gorda is taking over the business, and after that it’ll be the house, and then everything. He tells her he’ll take care of Mari, but Fedra says his services won’t be needed this time, Lorenzo’s going to take care of it. Bernardo is livid, saying he promised she’d always been the queen and he’s never let her down. Fedra reminds him of his previous flops as a murderer, then tells him that not only is Lorenzo a god in bed, he’s better at taking care of her little issues, so she probably won’t be needing him (Bernardo) anymore. Bernardo, having been told that he’s a little gun guy and Lorenzo is a big gun guy, storms out. Fedra grins.

We’re at Muñeca’s. Okay, I’ll go, says Lorenzo, whipping off his neck brace with a flourish, then wincing, but I’m taking my son. Muñeca tells him no, and Ilitia wants to know if he’s going to use force to rip Christian from her arms. Lorenzo, wounded, says he could never lay a hand on her, or on Muñeca, but we know he has no qualms about bloodying people verbally, and sure enough he points out that Muñeca isn’t even Ilitia’s mother, nor Christian’s either because she couldn’t give him any children.

Ilitia says she’s a lot prouder of Muñeca than she is of her daddy, and he better not try to take Christian out of her arms. Lorenzo implores she’s what he loves most in the world. Ilitia, a little too saintly for belief, asks him what he’s waiting for… time to go. He leaves and Ilitia assures her mother everything is going to be okay. They hug.

Oliver comes into a luxury apartment that has a whiff of bordello décor to it, wondering where his date is. Oh, there she is! Or at least her leg, which she slowly waves seductively in the doorway. The rest of her makes an entrance, and it’s La Sirena de la Noche, in a smaller mask, but otherwise a costume similar to what is all the rage on the stage at La Mala Noche. She slinks against him, saying she wants him all night. The champagne bottle he’s holding pops and foams over. I’m not even touching that one…

Eman and Fidel are talking outdoors, Eman furious that the fake Lirio is giving the real Lirio a bad name. Fidel thinks the police are smart enough to figure that out, but what worries him is that they suspect that the real Lirio is a Ruiz y de Teresa. They both want to get the fake Lirio, and Eman points out that the fake Lirio knew exactly what he was looking for and exactly where to go to get it. Who tipped him off? Fidel explains the history of the cash’s wanderings from hand to hand and how it must be the money the real Lirio stole from Mauricio originally. Eman notes that the lirio the fake Lirio left behind was the same one they are using, so it had to be someone who the real Lirio had robbed before, none other than Mauricio!

Muñeca and Ilitia are alone in the living room, Christian having been put to bed. Muñeca asks Ilitia if it’s really true what she said, that she is proud of her. Ilitia, tears in her eyes, says she used to judge her harshly before she found out what it was like to have your husband always thinking of someone else. It’s hell. Muñeca says she would give anything so that Ilitia didn’t have to live through that, and Ilitia says she’s ashamed to say she always swore to herself that she didn’t want to be like her mother.. and now look. They both wipe each other’s tears.

Ilitia actually cares enough to ask if the experience with the (fake) Lirio was awful, and if she’s okay. Muñeca tells how the Lirio was cruel, and how embarrassing it was to be tied up half naked. Ilitia remarks that she was shocked when she was with Brandon and heard. Muñeca is surprised she was with Brandon, but Ilitia assures her she’s taking just self-defense lessons from him. Muñeca advises her against hanging out with Brandon because it could turn into something more, they both know it, wink wink, nudge nudge. Ilitia protests that she’s not some wild animal with no brain. Muñeca says when it comes to passion, we’re all animals. Better not to see him anymore if she wants to save her marriage.

At home, Eman insists Fedra talk to him, and he asks if she’s a murderer. Fedra fakes being shocked, saying that Netty is her worst enemy, and is just jealous because she lost Emil. Eman isn’t buying. How could you? She accuses him of switching teams, that he said he wanted to be her accomplice getting Mari’s money, and then he turns around and gives her a huge chunk of it. Duh, says Eman, I thought it was obvious that I lied to you to find out if you were trying to hurt Mari, because she’s the love of my life. Fedra accuses him of being a traitor, to which he replies that if Mari comes back and it’s all true, he’s going to be the first person dialing the police.

At the pension, Doris is combing MariVicky’s now long locks. MV raves about what she’s done with it, but face it, MV, it’s just straight hair. MV is plenty glad to get shut of the wig and so are the people in hair and makeup I’m betting, since those braids under the wig must’ve been a lot of work. Me, I liked her look with the wig better. It was perkier and not so droopy. Anyway, Doris leaves, and Consuelo comes in and demands to know what’s up between MV and Brandon. She sniffs something fake about MV and no way is going to let her hurt him. She’s in love with him, so paws off. MV says that Brandon just thinks of Consuelo as a friend (ouch! but true), so maybe Consuelo should be talking to him. Consuelo swears she’s gonna unmask MV. MV blows her off.

Ilitia comes by Brandon’s office and says she has to stop her lessons. She gives him heartfelt thanks, but says it’s best if she’s not around him. He wants to know why – is it maybe that her feelings for him are too strong? She smiles wistfully.

La Sirena is coming on hard to Oliver who wishes he could forget Gretel, but he just can’t. Gretel thoughtbubbles that it’s her, but she can’t tell for his own safety. She is very seductive and he gives in, wondering what it is that draws him to her. I don’t think most men would ask that question.

Fedra feels misjudged by Eman – the love of a mother is sacred, and everything she does is for her children. (Or to your children maybe, Fedra?) Like what you did to Gretel? Eman yells at her. And you’re a murderer! Eman suggests doing the right thing might be more important.

Fedra wonders if he really thinks she’s capable of murder. He asks if she really wants him to answer that. Fedra drags her wing, saying how could he think that way about her, his mother who brought him into the world and did everything for him, etc., boo hoo hoo hoo. Since he feels that way, she’d rather die.

Brandon tries to understand Ilitia and she tries to say that there’s nothing between them, so he wonders if that’s true, then why is she so scared of being around him. They banter gently, she saying that she could never fall in love with somebody so poor and uneducated, and he countering tenderly that he could never fall for somebody so frivolous and shallow. She smiles a small, sad smile.

Fedra is lying curled on her bed, hugging a pillow and bemoaning the pain of Eman turning on her. Bernardo comes in and is all concern to see her that way. Fedra explains that Eman betrayed her, telling her he was her accomplice while all along he was in love with la gorda. He believes I was poisoning her and he’ll send me to jail! Bernardo sits on the bed and puts his arm around her, telling her it breaks his heart to see her that way. She sobs that the one thing she can’t bear is losing Eman’s love, and it’s all Mari’s fault. She wants her dead! She stole her son!

Ilitia wants to make sure Brandon realizes this is goodbye. He sits at his desk and says he understands, and to close the door after she leaves. She lingers, saying it really and truly is goodbye, obviously hoping he will do something, which he does, getting up and saying she just can’t leave without one kiss.

While they’re kissing, we cut to Gretel and Oliver who are kissing too. She’s working her seduction for all she’s got, and finally he capitulates. He lunges in for a passionate embrace, and rips her mask off as he closes in for a big kiss. He gets a split second glimpse of her face, which stops him in his tracks. Gretel? he says, bewildered.

In the foyer of the pension, Doris and MV are having a secret chat. MV is sure that the robbery at the agency was meant to intimidate her. Doris warns her to be careful, and MV launches into her wrath against the R y deT. Doris speaks for us all when she tells her that she doesn’t recognize Mari any more, she’s so full of hatred. It’s going to destroy her. MV goes on about how she’s not going to rest until Fedra and Eman are ruined.

Just then Mauricio drops by with a bouquet of flowers. He admires her new ‘do, and invites her out to celebrate. She tells him not a chance, but he interrupts that he knows she hates Fedra and Eman, so he is at her service. Use me to get rid of them, he offers.

No thanks, says MV. He tries to persuade her that he’d be useful. She says she doesn’t want to kill anybody, she just wants to drive out a few rats in the family. That list includes Kristel and Mauricio himself, by the way, as they hurt Marianela. He swears that if she wants him to leave Kristel, he’d do that for her, and so much more. Really? she says. Would you leave Kristel standing at the altar the day of your wedding for me?

Cut to Kristel who is in front of a mirror in her wedding dress, wailing to a stylist that it’s not glamorous enough, she just has to have everything better than Ilitia. She can’t wait. Nothing is going to wreck her wedding day! It’s going to be the happiest day of her life!

Oliver throws his arms around Gretel and exclaims that she’s alive, but then he pulls back and says Wait a minute. Are you the same person who was dancing for me at that joint? Gretel asks him to let her explain. He thinks that she knew it was him at the club, that she set him up, and that she’s playing with him again just for fun. How many men have you had in your bedroom? How many have you kissed? She swears none. He tells her he spent two years in hell due to her. She protests that he’s the love of her life.

That’s not what you told me that day at your house. Your words are branded into my brain. I see now it’s all true. You’re not going to do it to me again! He grabs his jacket and heads out. She runs after him, but he tells her to leave him alone.

Ilitia shoves Brandon off and tells him that’s exactly why they can’t see each other. He tells her that what she feels inside is in there yelling, begging to be let out. He kisses her neck, telling her she drives him crazy. She smiles, then looks serious and pushes him away. He reminds her of the night they spent together, and she says she was drunk, it wasn’t the real her. He wonders if this is the real her, trembling in front of him, saying she wants to run away, but glued to the floor, wanting him to kiss her, to caress her, to desire her?

She pushes him away and says he’s a curse (maldicion) in her life. She leaves while he tells her te quiero and begs her not to leave him.

MV tells Mauricio if he leaves Kristel at the altar, she’ll be real nice to him. He says if that’s what she wants, that’s what he’ll do, stupidly forgetting Garduño. He kisses her hands. She doesn’t want anybody suspecting, so he’ll have to wait. He says he will, and, smiling his most smarmy smile, he vanishes.

Netty comes and exclaims over MV’s hair. (Nobody seems amazed it’s about a foot longer. Now I know men assume that transformations are the magic of women, and can happen at any time, but women themselves usually want to look behind the curtain.) Not so Netty, who just says she doesn’t care for Mauricio. MV says she doesn’t either and wonders if he’s the Lirio, which makes Netty laugh. MV is surprised she’s laughing – does she know who the Lirio really is?

Lorenzo’s at his bachelor pad, and unhappy Fedra drops in, the bounce completely gone from her step. She gloomily asks him to cheer her up because her son hates her. Ilitia hates me, too, he says, handing her a drink. They lean on one another back to back and sing a sad duet, lamenting, she saying that Eman wants to destroy her, and he that his princess has sided with her mother in throwing him out of the house.

We did everything for them, says Fedra, she even trying to get rid of la gorda so that her son could have the inheritance. Lorenzo swears that Muñeca won’t keep what is rightfully his. He didn’t stick with that awful woman for 20 years just to have her make off with everything. Fedra was stuck with Emil’s awful family, and did everything just for Eman, and now he’s betrayed her.

They turn and face one another and stare sadly at each other for a minute. Lorenzo! Fedra! They fall into a passionate kiss.

Netty tells MV that the Lirio is a good thief. MV kinds of gets it, and says every woman wants a man who’s presence makes her feel like she’s the only woman in the world. On cue, Eman wanders in, without knocking of course.

Oliver is drowning his sorrows in a bar and Mano comes in and sits next to him. He’s glad to see Mano and sobs that Gretel did it again, jerking him around. He swears that it’ll never happen again. He’s going to blot her out of his mind and his heart. Mano puts his arm around him.

MV gives Eman a frosty reception, but Netty tells her to talk to him, give him a chance. Even a coin (moneda) coin has two faces, she says, but I don’t have time to contemplate that intriguing observation. Netty leaves and MV informs Eman that it’s too late for her to receive guests. He says he came to find out how somebody tried to poison his gordita.

A tiny Axel/Delicia scene just to placate us: Axel has made Delicia an elegant dinner with his own hands, and tells her it’s just the two of them and to forget them world. They kiss. We gratefully scarf up this crumb.

MV doesn’t believe for a second that Eman didn’t know about the poisoning. He tells her of course he didn’t, and she doesn’t understand because she’s all dried up inside and doesn’t know what love is.

So why didn’t you save her? MV wants to know. If it hadn’t been for Tia Carlota, she’d be dead. Eman protests that he tried to protect her, and doesn’t seem to notice that it’s a bit odd that tears are running down MV’s cheeks, that’s she’s waaaay to much into this. She calls him the usual, hypocrite, etc.

Mauricio tells Kristel he wants to move the wedding up to tomorrow because he’s so crazy about her, he can’t wait. She squeals with joy. Then she realizes she still needs a to do a lot of stuff for the giant celebration and tomorrow is too soon. No, he can’t wait to be married, to sleep every night in her arms. She bounces and squeaks. She can’t believe how he was mister single guy who didn’t want to marry and now he’s done an about face. He says he had doubts, but now he’s sure she’s the woman he wants to spend the rest of his life with. She throws her arms around him and says they’ll marry whenever he wants to.

MV, really coming unglued, rants on about how Eman destroyed Mari, how he tried to kill her, etc. He denies as usual, and she grabs his shirt and yells at him that he’s a murderer, that the poison was in the chocolates that he gave Mari. He’s astonished. You succeeded all right, she says, because your gordita hermosa is dead.

Avances: Mari is furious that Eman is taking off on a trip with Ilitia (who is looking like a much better bet than Mari right now). We see the tropical vacation with kisses. Lorenzo, bent on revenge, is in the rafters of the sound stage, and drops a huge light, which is headed Mari’s way. Look out! yells Doris.

Labels: llena

In which Max and María are in love; Linda and Osvaldo are in lust; and Victoria and JP are in despair.
Max and María Desamparada are apart but each is thinking of the other and sighing dreamily.

As Victoria continues her confession to Padre Juan Pablo, he is troubled at how bitter and hard she seems. He never realized how much harm he had done to her…
Not just to me, she interrupts, to me and our innocent daughter!

Whoa! Say what????

She sees that his shock is genuine and realizes that his mother truly never told him about the pregnancy. Victoria sets him straight. When she found out about the pregnancy, Bernarda called her a liar and threw her out of the house. And all that time he was trying to get closer to God and heaven, she was suffering unimaginable hardship.

And where is the child now? he asks. I have no idea, says Victoria with anguish.

(Well we viewers know where she is: She is practicing her runway walk under Pipino’s semi-watchful eye. It’s hard for Pipino to stay on task when Toni is around and there’s juicy gossip.)

You mean -- you abandoned her? asks JP, appalled. (¿Acaso la abandonaste?) And Victoria tells the story of the car in the night, how she woke up in the hospital and realized her daughter was gone. And the worst thing of all: she never knew if the little girl was dead or alive.

The confession moves to the sacristy. Victoria’s husband doesn’t know about her past – yet another reason she has no peace in her life. JP can’t find the words to respond. That’s because there aren’t any, says Victoria bitterly:
Mientras tú has vivido en el paraíso yo he vivido en el infierno.(While you have lived in paradise, I’ve lived in hell.)

When Victoria leaves, JP, now weeping, kneels in prayer and vows to find his daughter and reunite her with her mother.

Back at his office at the Casa de Modas, Max gives his buddy Fabián some sound advice: No te fijes en Fer. (Don’t set your sights on Fer.)

María smiles as she hears Pipino tell Toni that Max wasn’t flirting with any of the girls at Fer’s party. But her smile fades when he adds: Maybe he misses Ximena. Toni scoffs: That girl’s not for him.

Maybe Toni has written her off, but Ximena – we haven’t met her yet, but we already hate her on María D’s behalf – is still in the game. She phones Max from Paris; he dodges her call. Fabián remarks that Ximena’s going to be surprised when she comes back to Mexico and discovers she’s not the star model of the agency and not Max’s main squeeze.

María’s very interested in the next Pipino and Toni tidbit: Max suspected Ximena was cheating on him (le puso el cuerno); that’s why she was shipped off to Paris. Harsh.

Uh oh, St. Bernarda. Looks like the jig is up. She is irritated when JP interrupts her prayers but JP spits out:
¡Quiero saber por qué me ocultaste que Victoria tuvo una hija mia!(I want to know why you didn’t tell me Victoria gave birth to my child!)
She is stunned and wheels around to face him…
and he continues:
…y quiero saberlo ahora mismo!(...and I want to know right now!)

She is shaken a bit but remembers: the best defense is a good offense. She shoots back:
¿A que viene este absurdo interrogatorio?(Where do you get off grilling me like that?)
But JP stands his ground. He won’t listen to her denials or let her take refuge in empty piety. He insists they must help Victoria.

Bernarda snarls and shows a mouthful of teeth (I’m reminded of the Sea Witch, Ursula, from The Little Mermaid). Victoria is the serpent who brought sin into the garden, she raves. She made you bite the apple…

A lesser man would run from this scary mother. But JP insists: Victoria told him everything. Under the seal of the confessional. And we are talking about your grandchild, he reminds her, your own flesh and blood (sangre de tu sangre).

Osvaldo comes home to find that Victoria has taken to her bed, black eyeshade and all. She feels awful and wants to be left alone. He gives her the kiss-off head kiss, and says ominously:
Lo que tú digas, amor.
(As you wish, my love.)

Back at the office, Oscar confesses to Toni that he’s in love with Victoria. (Yeah. Stop the presses.)

Here’s Max -- a soft gray scarf over an argyle sweater and suit jacket, just the right mix of luxe and cool -- oh sorry, where was I? Oh yes, at the Sandoval home, Max comes in to check on Victoria. He assumes she is still upset about Fer and marvels at how someone so strong can be such a pushover when it comes to his sister. Victoria, however, is determined to help Fer back onto the right path. Max is afraid it may be too late.

Poor Juan Pablo is still closeted with that raging raving fiend he calls madre. She thunders:
¡Victoria es el demonio encarnado!(Victoria is the devil incarnate!)
And those of us at home who are not hiding behind our couches, are standing and shouting back: No! You’re the devil! You!

JP is undaunted. Victoria was an innocent girl when I knew her, he says. As innocent as I was. I was the first man in her life.

This reference to JP’s lapse into carnal sin is too much for St Bernarda. How dare he speak like that in her sanctuary! It’s a sacrilege! No, he counters, I’m just telling the truth. And besides:
¿Te das cuenta que con tu silencio eres tan pecadora como yo?(Do you realize that by keeping silent you’re as much a sinner as I am?)

Bernarda is apoplectic:
¡Soy tu madre y me debes respeto!(I’m your mother and you owe me respect!)
And she slaps JP’s face. Wham. She is breathing hard.

But that’s nothing compared to the heavy breathing going on in Osvaldo’s car. LindoHo is prepared to “give” him whatever he needs – understanding, affection, a quick roll in the hay. (Well perhaps “sell” would be a more accurate word than “give”.)

The Mother Superior pops in on María. Holy Shmoley, she’s leading the cheer for Team Max!
Nadie debe desairar un amor tan grande y tan sincero.(No one should snub a love that is so great and so sincere.)

Still have doubts about Max? Check out the big purple shopping bag filled with toy cars and trucks he brings to Martincito, now recovering nicely in the hospital.

At the Casa Sandoval, the maid brings the still prostrate Victoria some pills for her headache and tells her that Osvaldo isn’t home yet.

Osvaldo and Linda. Horizontal mambo. Blech.

At the apartment, María tells Nathy what Sor Clementina said: that Max really loves her.

The softening-up campaign is working. When María sees Max arrive at the Casa de Modas -- splendid in a red scarf today -- she flies into his arms.

Padre JP prays aloud. There must have been so many times, he says, when the girl needed me and I wasn’t there for her. Domingo overhears him and is puzzled. What girl is he talking about?

Max and María are still outside the office making goo goo eyes at each other. He has no words to describe the depth of his feeling for her. She is still afraid. Listen to your heart, he tells her. María tries to explain that she is fragile; she has suffered a lot and needs to feel safe. He promises he’ll always protect her. Right.

Victoria tells Toni about her confession to Juan Pablo. All those years she spent blaming JP for abandoning her and now she finds out that his mother never told him Victoria was pregnant. It is Bernarda who is to blame and not her son.

St. Bernarda is in fact blaming herself. But not for her sins against Victoria. Self-flagellation is no mere metaphor for our Bernie. She whips her hand until it bleeds. The hand must be punished for slapping JP, the person whose prayers will save her from the flames of hell. Not. She vows to destroy Victoria for bringing sin to her house. She is one scary crazy mother.

María reluctantly agrees to keep her relationship with Max a secret for now. He wants to wait until things calm down a bit in his family.

Padre JP prays for guidance in this, his dark night of the soul (noche negra del alma).

Why speak to JP just now, asks Toni. Victoria replies:
La presencia de Padilla y la locura de mi hiji fueron la gota que derramó el vaso.(Padilla’s presence and my daughter’s stunt were the last straw.)
It’s not a question of revenge, explains Victoria, but rather of truth and justice. By now, JP must have gone to his mother and held her accountable for her actions. That’s the only part of all this I’m enjoying, she says:
La rabia y el coraje de Doña Bernarda al enterarse que su hijo ya sabe todo.(Doña B’s rage and fury when she finds out her son knows everything.)
Yup. That is pretty sweet.

Toni finds it hard to believe JP didn’t know about the baby. But Victoria knows he was telling the truth. Toni wonders what Osvaldo will do when he finds out about her past—
Just then Osvaldo enters.

Linda brags to Nathy and María that she had her way with Osvaldo. Double blech.

Victoria hasn’t heard from Osvaldo since yesterday. What gives? He explains that since she wasn’t feeling well, he thought he’d get out of her hair. So he stayed overnight at Guillermo’s. Then he gives her another of those kiss-off kisses, this time on the forehead, and leaves.

Things are going from bad to worse, Toni tells her friend: if she doesn’t change her attitude, she’s gonna lose Ozzie.

She’s not wrong, dude. Ozzie is savoring the memory of his uh… amorous encounter… with LindaHo.

Nathy doesn’t see any harm in María and Max keeping their noviazgo quiet for now. His mother is kind of… well… difficult.

The unluckiest servant in Mexico, Tomasa, notices the big honkin’ bandage wrapped around St. Bernarda’s hand. When Tomasa asks about it, Bernie tells her to shut her piehole. Then she begins to rant about Victoria coming into the church like a ghost. The girl, Victoria? asks the puzzled (but incredibly valiant) Tomasa.

The others are dust and ashes, continues Bernarda with terrifying displays of dentition. It’s my fault, my fault! (Here she beats her breast with the injured hand.) God, we made a deal! I gave you my son – now you have to honor your end of the bargain!

Tomasa is alarmed. Even in a sea of crazy, this is starting to feel like a tsunami. She wants to call JP but Bernarda pushes her out of the room.

Bernarda resumes her raving: She had to slap JP to stop his recriminations. Now it’s time to go after Victoria. An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth! Bwahaha!

Cleansing breath. Sweet William in a kayak.

Labels: triunfo

At Elsa's, Ulises gushes over her jewelry merchandise while she explains that Dante's quite a character; and that he gave her a list of clients to contact. At Campo Real, Gabriela wows the council and shuts up Adolfo by flawlessly repeating from her earphone David's consolidation plans.

When she informs them they're instituting a quality control office to ensure good customer service, she responds pointedly to Adolfo that as a restaurant server, she well learned what good customer service is. Gabriela is a smash hit, and David's super proud she shut down Adolfo.

In closing, "Mario" addresses the Ávila contract, concluding they have only a short time on it left and that at its termination, they'll run an audit and liquidate whatever's necessary to settle their debt with him. Adolfo's simmering but subdued -- and frustrated as he exits ahead of everyone congratulating Gabriela.

At Elsa's, Zaida and Édgar walk in on Caramelo copying out her special letter onto the white board, where Zaida reads "…but the real culprits are Carlos Ávila…" and excitedly interrogates Caramelo loudly enough to alarm approaching Juan José, who objects to the shouting and bullying.

Typically Édgar overreacts, confronting Juan José angrily, earning him a door smashed in his face and subsequent dust up in the hallway. Chicles is digging it; Zaida not so much. And as she intervenes, Caramelo erases the white board. Elsa arrives in time to find Juan José dragging the kids off to her dismay.

In the aftermath, Elsa learns Zaida's the one recommended her to Dante and thanks her. Back at Juan José's, Caramelo gives the salsa-stained letter back to Chicles, it being tainted now by the ugly argument. She couldn't read what she was copying on the board anyway, she tells him.

At Zaida's, she rips Édgar a new one for fighting with the exact guy they are interested in. When she phones to report him to Adolfo, unwise Édgar tries to crush her out of it with a brutal embrace; but he's barking up the wrong virago. She slaps him a hard blow across the face and warns he's going to rue the day he was born.

Back at Juan José's macho Chicles will only clear the table if Juan José promises to help do the dishes; and while the boy disappears, when asked, Caramelo explains about the white board fuss and reminds Juan José she can't read yet. He charges her to always depend on him to stick up for her when someone gives her problems.

In Mario's office, "Mario" effusively congratulates Gabriela on her excellent performance and poignantly assures that her father would be proud of her and that he, "Mario," loves her, too. Zaida visits Alejandra at the studio and manages to do what Juan José insisted, despite Alejandra's yelling at her.

She explains he threatened to break off their business dealings without her apologizing personally, which mollifies Alejandra. What's more, Zaida divulges Juan José loves Alejandra and wants to get back with her. Zaida advises if Alejandra loves him, she should fight for him tooth and nail.

At the tunnel house, while David removes his disguise makeup, he and Abelardo marvel over Gabriela's commanding performance; and David reminds Abelardo he needs to marry her again, because her name was not legal the first time.

Alejandra picks up the phone to call Juan José at home, where he is so happy to hear from her that he makes a date to pick her up immediately; and she eagerly agrees. Back at Mario's living room, "Mario," David and Abelardo toast champagne to smiling Gabriela.

David toasts to the owner of his heart; to the family, including Abelardo; and finally to "Mario" as head of the family -- and privately, glancing heavenward, to the real Mario, his father, RIP. That evening at a romantic restaurant, Juan José and Alejandra make up over dinner; and Alejandra jumps for joy when Juan José gives her a diamond engagement ring.

He missed her terribly while they were apart and wants her to spend the rest of her life with him, if she has nothing better to do. He mentions that Zaida gave Caramelo a problem, which he liked not at all and at which Alejandra is mystified. Meanwhile back in their bedroom suite, David and Gabriela show that married love is no bore fest either.

In Susana's hospital ICU, her fingers move and eyelids flutter, prompting the nurse to shout and run for the doctor. At Juan José's in the bedroom, he and Alejandra make hot love again -- but this time with a huge white rock on her left ring finger.

Next morning, Gabriela regales Julieta and Santiago at their apartment over her triumph at the council meeting, and they are both tickled. Later Santiago visits Leonardo downstairs and reports how things went at Campo Real; that they foiled Adolfo. Before he came in, Leonardo phoned Ramón about a new jewel heist.

Across town, Zaida visits Elsa and learns she sold two jewelry pieces; and she overhears Elsa's ecstatic reaction on the phone to Dante's monstrous commission he's giving her. Elsa reports to him the buyer never asked for provenance, but she assumed it would be forthcoming. Zaida exits, oddly somewhat miffed.

Back at Leonardo's, he gets the idea to have "Mario" invent some pretext for Adolfo to meet at his office and brace him to reveal by hidden camera if Adolfo says anything about the cuff link or reacts somehow. In her condo in bed, sobbing Yolanda feels very bad and places a call to her doctor to come see her right away.

Asunción brings Caramelo home to Elsa's and refuses to stay or even cross the threshold, only repeating his request that the "señorita" ask about his adoption possibilities, which she promises to do the next day. He kisses Caramelo goodbye and exits with a long face.

Yolanda's doctor arrives, where she tearfully explains she's not exactly sure what happened; but after all the years of bottling up all the secrets, she just can't take it any more. He gives her an anti-depressant prescription with the insistence that she visit him first thing next day.

It's a very strong formula she should take one of, twice a day, he says; it might make her drowsy, but it's necessary under these circumstances. Back at Elsa's, Caramelo explains the strange fight in the apartment earlier that neither one can understand.

Yolanda's maid, Juanita, brings the doctor's prescription from the pharmacy to her in bed. Yolanda instructs the maid to let her sleep; and after the maid's exit, Yolanda locks the door. Dumping a handful of pills into her palm, she swallows them all with a glass of water.

Then Yolanda lies back on her pillow to await a deep sleep -- her best friends in attendance all around her; she holds one favorite to her face, pulled from the jewel box tumbled open on the bed.

Labels: verdad

Capitulo 181.
Read Chapel Hill Fiddler’s original recap, then come back here to discuss it.

1. Ariel says that a Japanese would’ve committed hari-kari for much less. Teresita tells Marcia maybe they shouldn’t have left Fern alone. Marcia bitterly says, “He’s alone because he wants to be.”

2. Omar repeats The Marcia Taunt and says Lety made him lose the presidency. (NO! Ariel would’ve exposed everything if Lety didn’t.) Fern stands by Lety – she would NOT take the company.

3. Lety tells Caro that she quiere Aldo. She scurries off and Caro asks what made the big change in her.

4. Tom reports to Lety that the board thinks she wants to keep the company, and she needs to return. She says she’s not ready to leave, and it won’t hurt for Fernando to suffer. Let him learn that if he hurts someone that much, he has to suffer the consequences.

5. MamaT wants to talk and Fern says they’ve already told him everything he’s done wrong. She says she’s not going to scold him and he shows a flicker of hope. She’s worried for him. He says he’s paying for his errors. He takes comfort for a moment, but then says he doesn’t want pity. It’s a process and he has to get through it alone. Ed told him you have to lose yourself to find yourself. Then he can be the hero she hoped for.

6. Teresita asks, “When will that be? When she appears? Even if she returned the company, then what? Would you resolve your life, going along with her?” She knows it’s love for Lety that torments him. MamaT says she probably hates him and wants to destroy him, and maybe she’s found someone new.

7. Caro tells Aldo that Lety thought Caro was setting them up. Aldo asks how Lety responded. She was simply uncomfortable, but now he’s on his own. Caro doesn’t want Aldo leading Lety on then breaking her heart again. Maybe he needs to back off.

8. Teresita is on Fern’s side, as long as he corrects his errors. She wants him to go back to Marcia. He puts his foot down. “I don’t love her and I’m not going to marry her!” MamaT asks whether he really loves Lety, but he won’t discuss it. MamaT sings The Marcia Taunt and The Marcia Pitch. Fernando says to himself, “No, Lety’s not like that, Mama.. MY Lety is not like that.”

9. Tom tells Sanchez to halt the embargo. Sanchez says it’s too late; he can’t reverse it. By tomorrow, the court will rule (darán) in favor of FI. Tom says the process must be stopped.

10. Teresita tells Omar he helped get Fernando into this mess, and he has to help get him out. T orders Omar to make Fernando forget about that woman.

---

Capitulo 182.
Read K-Fuego’s original recap, then come back here to discuss it.

1. Marcia tells Alicia that Fernando’s depressed because he loves Lety and he’s lost her. Ali’s sure it’s witchcraft. She should fight for a man like that. Marcia says she’s fought for years, and she’s tired.

2. Ali’s sure that against someone like Lety, Marcia can win hands down. (Tu servidor recapper wonders, then why does Fernando love Lety despite all Marcia’s efforts?).

3. Lety pushes Aldo to talk to his father. He admits that he’s afraid that his father will not accept him as he is. Aldo shows Lety his house.

4. Fern finds PG (Psychic Guy) and is very worried that Lety is okay. PG says she’s very happy, which bothers Fern because he’s miserable without her. PG says Fern has his process and she has hers.

5. Fern shows off her picture and PG remembers her. PG has to convince Fern that love is based on more than appearance. (What’s up with that?) PG senses that Fern is so angry at himself that he wants to destroy himself. PG advises him to go straight home, and in the morning take care of business.

6. Aldo remembers his advice to Lety: Choose fear and you suffer. Choose love and you find peace. He calls his father and arranges to meet him the next day.

7. Lety dreams that she throws her self portrait into the ocean to free herself, then pulls it out to rescue herself. In the morning she wakes up and realizes she has achieved/accomplished (lograr) her recovery.

Labels: fea-2010

Labels: eva

Tonight, Zuria Vega is "Azucena, Liberada" (Azucena [lily], freed).

A limp body in a chair. Broken crockery.

A young man runs into an office, frightened. He says to someone he calls "Licenciado" (licensed; usually an attorney) that Azucena is gone. The licenciado isn't worried. She probably went somewhere with her husband, Don Gregorio. The young man says Don Gregorio is dead and someone took Azucena. The licenciado asks if he's already checked at her grandfather's house. The two take off.

The licenciado goes into a house and sees an older man slumped over in a chair. Behind him, crouched by a stove is a young woman. He is shocked and goes back out of the house, where the other man asks him what happened. He doesn't answer. A group of people are walking up toward the house and he holds up his hands to stop them, asking them to calm down: "tranquilos, por favor!"

Back at DIEM, Aranda tells Capellan that she has "una llamada" (a call) that sounds "urgente" (urgent). Capellan takes the phone and the licenciado introduces himself as Ramon Morales. Capellan is pleased to hear from him, but he's in trouble and needs her help. He says there's a young woman who apparently killed a man and the townspeople want to "hacer justicia por sus propias manos" (take justice into their own hands) according to "usos y costumbres" (uses and customs--indigenous customary law). Capellan says it doesn't extend so far as allowing lynching. She listens and we can hear the people shouting through the phone. She frowns, nods, and says they (presumably the DIEM crew) are on their way.

In case you've missed it from previous seasons, DIEM, the division that Capellan, Aranda, Moran, and Gerardo work for is "El Departamento de Investigación Especializado en Mujeres" (investigative department specializing in women). Julie asked if we ever get anything about the personal lives of the DIEM crew, so I went back and checked my recaps for season 2, finding the following tidbits about the characters:

• Capellan may or may not be a knitter, though she's not up-to-date on the latest materials, as Gerardo had to clue her in that today's needles are sturdier than they used to be (one was used as a murder weapon).
• Gerardo (the forensics guy) sometimes gets "hunches" and Capellan tends to trust them.
• Gerardo dislikes wearing suits and is more comfortable in scrubs.
• Gerardo has a reputation that precedes him.
• Gerardo tends to roll his eyes at the younger members of the team (Moran and Aranda) a lot.
• Gerardo once hinted that he mixed business and pleasure, in the process of telling Moran not to do the same (Moran and Aranda were making googly eyes at each other). He told him to "do as I say, not as I do."
• Capellan really seems to care about the women, whether they're the victims or the murderers, and has given testimony that affects sentencing.
• I have severe terminal jealousy of Aranda's hair…oh, wait that was about me, not her….

Credits…we're all lost souls.

Four months before…

An older man struggles to tie his tie. A young woman comes up behind him and says "Abuelo, por favor no me obligue." (Grandfather, please don't make me.) His response is to tell her to put on something decent because it's getting late. He keeps fighting with the tie, then gives up and tosses it on the floor, turning around and asking her why she hasn't gone to change. She announces that she's ready. She insists and he backhands her across the face. Oddly, she appears to have acrylic nails.

The old man walks down the road, with the girl behind him, wearing a horrid orange sweater and carrying a suitcase. He motions her to walk in front of him.

In an office, another older man tells someone that the documents are in order. Azucena's grandfather walks in and asks if his "yerno" (son-in-law) is well, indicating the other older man, who I assume is the Don Gregorio earlier referenced. Him being the son-in-law would be funny if it wasn't so grotesque. Azucena huddles with two other young women and Gregorio asks if everything is ok. The grandfather says it is, and calls to Azucena, who stands by Gregorio. The JP, I assume, starts the proceedings to marry Azucena, 18, to Gregorio, 68.

Five months before…

Azucena rides on the back of a boy's bicycle. They get up to her house and notice someone is there. He tells her to hurry up or her grandfather will be upset. She kisses him and runs toward the house, but stops to ask him how many of something in a plastic bag to give her grandfather every day. He says just one, the old guy's diabetic and more would kill him. She says "ay, como crées" (oh, how do you believe; i.e., how could you believe I would do such a thing?; don't be silly; puh-leeze).

Inside the grandfather and Don Gregorio are eating. Azucena is questioned, and admits she came up with Marcelo, the son of the "boticario" (pharmacist), who will come by later to give her grandfather his injection. He keeps insisting she greet Don Gregorio "properly" but she and Don Gregorio both agree that she has. The grandfather tells her to make them coffee. He notices Don Gregorio checking her out. They start having a coded conversation:

"You're going to wear her out by looking at her so much."

"What? You want to look at her?"

"Well, televisions aren't free."

"What televisions are you talking about?"

"Oh, I'm just saying televisions aren't free. To watch them, you've got to pay."

"And to touch them?"

"Well, you've got to pay a lot more."

Both old bastards smile at each other.

Back to the mockery of a wedding ceremony: Azucena barely looks up as she nods her assent. She starts to cry as they both sign the register.

And on the afternoon when Don Gregorio and the grandfather made the deal: Gregorio comments that the grandfather isn't looking too well. The grandfather blames it on his diabetes and on having nothing but one useless girl in the house. He complains about his wife, who was sick all the time, and his daughter, Azucena's mother, who ran off, leaving her daughter behind. He's sold off all his livestock, including his mule, and now Azucena is the last thing he has left to sell off. The grandfather says if he only had enough for his medicines and a little to eat, he'd find a way to get by. "Oh, is that all?" Well, maybe if he also had a mule to carry him back and forth.

The JP declares Azucena and Gregorio man and wife and Gregorio kisses her, perhaps not on the mouth, but it's creepy all the same. Afterwards, they load up Azucena's suitcase in a red truck and she gets in the cab. The other two women rush over. One tells her not to be scared and just shut her eyes. The clasp hands. At the back of the truck, Gregorio tells the grandfather that she looks "rara" (strange). Right, cause she's supposed to look brimming with happiness at being married to you? What the hell universe are you living in? The grandfather says she's fine, but he should keep her on a short leash because sometimes she thinks she's an artist. Gregorio says he'll cut her wings. "Um, but before you do, aren't I supposed to get a fee for the deal?" Gregorio grins and hands him some bills. "I hope she's not going to turn out to be more expensive than a real artist?" The grandfather says not to worry, he's made a good deal. Gregorio gets into the truck and Azucena's grandfather leans into her window and roughly tells her to behave herself and not do anything to get hit. She glares at him, then looks desperately back at the other two women.

The DIEM SUV's roll into town. Ramon Morales waves them over.

Back to the wedding day: Gregorio brings Azucena to her new house. He takes off his jacket while she looks around. She starts to touch a box, but he tells her not to--it's something for his work. He buys things and sells them and she doesn’t need to get involved. He tells her to go put her things away. The whole house appears to be wallpapered with cardboard, and NOT in a Hildi Santo Tomas sort of way. She goes into the bedroom and Gregorio points out something about the window, saying he asked to have them put up, in case of thieves--possibly he's referring to the beams of wood that are nailed across the window. She tries to leave and says she'll go fix something to eat, but first he wants to "quitarme las ganas" (get rid of my desires; satisfy my desires). Mercifully for us, we fade out as he loosens his tie.

When we return, Azucena is crying. She pulls her dress down as Gregorio buttons up. He says she sure was worth it and good thing she didn't turn out like her mom. He orders her to get up and wash the sheets. "Hey, lazy! None of that! You're not going to pull that crap with me! I paid your grandfather a lot of money to have you, so you're not going to be putting on airs. Get up!" He walks out and she sits up, crying.

Present day: Azucena is led out of the house by Aranda, but not cuffed. She's got a busted lip. She and Morales get into the back of the SUV with Aranda. The group of townspeople, along with Marcelo, the young guy who likes Azucena, all watch.

Morales, Aranda, and Azucena walk into DIEM. Capellan greets them and refuses Morales' thanks, saying this is her job. She introduces herself to Azucena, telling her not to worry, she'll be safe there, and they'll do everything they can to help her. Aranda leads Azucena off, while Capellan tells Morales she's been hearing great things about his work and how he's become the lawyer of the people. He mentions that Capellan was once his teacher. He wants Capellan to help the girl, despite the fact that the murder has already occurred. He wants her to find "atenuantes" (extenuating circumstances), and he's sure there will be several but she objects that this was a "homicidio simple" (a homicide with no aggravating circumstances). Morales says there are some things he needs to tell her. He starts to tell her something we don’t hear and she turns to him audibly and says "What?!"

Rather than being in an interrogation room, Azucena and Morales are sitting opposite Capellan in her office. Azucena says she knows what she did was terrible. Capellan says in order for her to help, she needs to know what happened, and in what order. Does Azucena understand? She asks her to talk about her wedding day. Azucena begins "It was the first time…" she looks down, but inclines her head in Morales' direction. Capellan asks Morales to do her a favor and help Aranda write her report. He leaves and Capellan asks Azucena to continue. "My grandfather, the one who was my grandfather, he kept me locked up. I started to go crazy, and worse when I figured out I was pregnant." I'm sure she's referring to Gregorio, but she says "abuelo," grandfather.

Gregorio sits at a desk, writing in the bedroom. Azucena gets up slowly from the bed. Gregorio says "look who woke up!" He tells her to make coffee, then asks what's wrong, why is she making that face. Azucena says she's not feeling well and he tells her she should make something to eat so she feels better. "Maybe swallowing, you'll get rid of that face!" He says he's got to deal with some merchandise. She asks him if she can go to the doctor, but he says it's not like she's dying. Azucena says she feels really dizzy. Gregorio says when she's done making him some food and she irons his shirts, he'll give her a chance to lie down for a while. But not the doctor--that's a waste of time being out of the house. He complains that he's already paying for her grandfather's medicines, and he's not going to pay for medicine for her as well. He says maybe she does need to go out. She probably needs fresh air and to see the sun--she's looking a little pale. "Estas muy pálida, vieja" (You're looking very pale, "old lady" [wife]). He tells her to get dressed and go to the truck. Azucena keeps looking like she's going to throw up any second.

She carries boxes out to the truck and loads them into the bed. As she stops to throw up, finally, Gregorio tells her to load them up properly. He tells her to clean up her mess and drives off without her.

Azucena goes into town to the health center.

She tells Capellan that she was three months pregnant. "Do you have a child?" Azucena says she doesn't. That she never had it.

Azucena comes back to the house (WHY???!!!) and Gregorio starts in that he knew she would do this to him. She says she went to the doctor, but he accuses her of cheating on him and beats her before she can get out that she's pregnant. He looks horrified.

Azucena sits up in bed, crying. Gregorio tells her she can stay in bed a little longer if she wants. You know, cause now he wants to be nice to his child-bride-slave-rape-victim since she's pregnant. He asks her how far along she is and when she tells him three months he scoffs that she never tells him anything. He says he's going into town for some merchandise and does she want anything. Azucena tells him she just needs the usual groceries. He asks if she's sure. Then he asks if she feels ok and she says it hurts. "Maybe that's normal?" She says it hurts a lot and he suggests she try to lie down for a while so it will pass. He leaves.

Azucena wakes up from her nap and when she pushes the covers off, they've blurred out the space between her legs, where presumably we could have seen that she lost her baby.

The grandfather feeds some hay to his mule. Gregorio and Azucena drive up. Azucena gets slowly out of the truck. Gregorio gives the grandfather a bottle of alcohol. The grandfather says they should hurry up because dinner is already ready. Azucena hobbles slowly toward the porch. The men joke about the añejo (aged tequila). The grandfather tells Azucena to go see if the beans are ready and wash the dishes in the sink since he hasn't been getting around well because of his diabetes. He tells Gregorio that he's getting worse. He asks if Azucena is "mansa" (tamed) and Gregorio says she's still learning, but it's going ok. The grandfather shouts in, asking if the beans are done yet. She says she's on the way. The grandfather congratulates Gregorio, saying he does think she's more tame. Azucena carries out the food and Gregorio asks if the grandfather can really eat it all. Azucena answers that no, he can't or he'll be sick later. "Who asked you?" He tells Gregorio maybe she's not so tamed. Gregorio proudly tells Azucena to tell her grandfather about, you know. He brought over the tequila so they could toast. "Tell him about the kid!" The grandfather asks if he's going to be a "bisabuelo" (great-grandfather). Azucena says there won't be a baby. Gregorio looks confused and the grandfather says that's women for you. "Hey, you paid for Azucena, but the kid thing--that's not my responsibility, right?" Gregorio waves him off, then gets up and goes into the house, where Azucena is standing at the kitchen table. He menacingly asks her what happened with the kid and shakes her when she doesn't answer. Azucena says she lost it two days ago. "Why didn't you tell me?" She says because he doesn't like it when she talks. He says she should have told him and she replies "I just did." The grandfather calls from outside for Gregorio to come have another drink with him. He leaves and Azucena clutches her stomach and goes slowly into her grandfather's room to start cleaning up. She picks up a shawl and inhales the scent.

She remembers her grandmother lying in bed, covered with the shawl. Azucena is giving her the news from town. The grandfather comes in and yells at the grandmother that she's no great lady to be lying around in bed all day. Azucena gets in the way before he can do anything to her and he tells her not to get in the middle. He tells the grandmother that all she's got is laziness and she needs to get out and get some air. Azucena tells her not to pay attention. It's not true that the air is going to do her good--she's really sick, but she'll be better soon. Azucena is lying in bed with her, rubbing her shoulder. She asks if she's warm yet. Her grandmother doesn't answer and Azucena realizes she's dead.

Azucena lies on her grandfather's bed, holding the shawl.

Azucena tells Capellan that her grandmother was the only one who loved her. She took care of her and defended her from her grandfather when he wanted to take his anger at her mother out on Azucena. Her grandmother loved her like she was her own daughter, one who had turned out well. Capellan asks what her husband did when she lost the baby. Azucena says "he got worse."

Azucena is sitting on the bed when Gregorio comes in and tells her to take her clothes off--that they're going to make another kid. She says it's only been two days since she lost the other one. He asks what she wants--for him to put up with a "cuarentena" (quarantine; the forty days after giving birth).

Azucena and Gregorio go to the market. She says they need tomatoes, but she and Marcelo reach for one at the same time and Gregorio comes over and yanks her away. He noticed them looking at each other and she denies that there's anything going on and says she hardly knows him.

When they get home, he tells her to put everything away. She asks him if she can have permission for Chayo and Luz to come visit. He says she's staying locked up today and that's the end of it. He thinks the other women will bring Marcelo to the house so he can have sex with Azucena, and he says he's not stupid enough to allow that. She keeps begging and says she won't go anywhere, she just wants him not to lock the door so they can come in. He tells her to quit "fregando" (bugging me) and leaves. Azucena takes out a screwdriver and starts to open up one of the mystery "merchandise" boxes.

Forense Gerardo tells Capellan that he was sent some pictures of "her" case. She says it's "a" case, not "her" case. "Fine, 'a' case that you're making yours." He says it's going to be difficult to find extenuating circumstances, now that he's seen the pictures and the "saña" (viciousness) with which she committed the crime. Capellan replies that the girl was treated with viciousness every day of her life, for months. Gerardo tells her she's making the case hers. "That's what we're supposed to do! That's the purpose of this division! To find out the Why's!" Gerardo says she already knows the why's and it's all clear. He says he shares her outrage and agrees with her about how it was done. She says "Then you understand what I'm thinking." Gerardo says that one man's head was beaten to a pulp and the other was administered enough insulin to kill an elephant. He spreads his hands and says "She's a murderer." Capellan gives him a look and walks out.

Somehow, Azucena gets together with the other two women--Luz and Chayo. One says it will be Azucena's birthday soon. The other one suggests they have a party and Azucena shushes her because Gregorio is around. "We're not saying anything bad! We just want to celebrate your birthday." "Que festejar ni que nada!" (Celebrating? What celebrating?--The best way to translate "ni que nada" is to change it to "what" and put it in front of whatever came before it. If one of the girls had just said, "We'll get you a car for your birthday!" She would have replied, "Que carro ni que nada!" "What car?" as in "Are you freaking kidding me?") Azucena says he hardly let her come see them today. It's better if they don't celebrate. One of the other girls says they have to celebrate, like they did when they were little. Azucena sits down by them and says she can't. "Come on! I'll organize it. How long do we have, another week?" Azucena shyly admits it's Wednesday. The girls say that all she has to do is get permission to go out. And of course he's give her permission because it's her birthday.

Capellan says she supposes that Gregorio forbid her from seeing her friends. Azucena says not only that, he also beat her. Capellan says she went anyway. "Did I do wrong?" "No. It's just a question." Azucena says she did go with them and she paid dearly for it. Capellan asks her to explain, step by step, what happened yesterday.

Azucena pulls the "merchandise" boxes away from a window. She starts unscrewing the wooden slat in front of it. She climbs up on a box and starts working on the next one up.

The girls sit outside and toast to Azucena's health. She says she's been dying for a beer. Gregorio doesn't let her drink. She thanks them for everything and says she loves them a lot and doesn't know what she would do without them. They light the candle on the cake, but Azucena is nervous that it's getting late. One of the girls tells her it's her birthday and she should forget about that old man for a while. They tell her to make 3 wishes, but make them good ones because there won't be another cake until next year. Azucena freezes up. She says she can't do it anymore. Gregorio hits her. One of the girls calls him a "desgraciado" (a disgrace; a bastard, asshole, worthless…you get the picture) but she doesn't seem very shocked or outraged. Azucena continues that she lost her baby and she doesn't want to live anymore. Her grandmother was the only one who loved her and she can't take it anymore. The girl tells her they're there for her and she should drink her beer, it will make her feel better.

Azucena goes back to the house with leftover cake. Gregorio is already there. She says she was with her friends, but can't finish before he knocks the cake out of her hands and starts hitting her. He says she smells like beer and who did she get drunk with. He takes off his belt and starts hitting her with it, accusing her of having been with Marcelo and getting drunk to sleep with him. He says he'll kill her and she won't make a fool of him. He grabs a machete, but she grabs one of the pieces of wood that was on the window. She gives him one good whack and the butterfly flies away. She keeps hitting his head. Considering the sound, it wasn't wood that was over the window, it was a metal bar. Azucena's face is covered in blood and she goes into shock.

She tells Capellan that he wouldn't let her explain and he just started hitting her. "What did you want me to do? Either I killed him or he was going to kill me. The bar was right there, it was in my hand and I didn't think of anything. He killed my baby and he was going to kill me." She starts to cry. Capellan gets up and meets Aranda in the hallway. Aranda says she thinks they have "atenuantes" (extenuating circumstances). Capellan's response is that her husband was pathologically jealous, he sexually abused her, he beat her. She thinks the murder could be considered self-defense. Morales is grateful, but she says they can't thank her yet. The problem here is the second murder. She goes back into her office.

Gregorio is dead. Azucena is sitting at the table next to him, rocking back and forth.

Azucena covers Gregorio's head with the tablecloth and walks out the door. She walks slowly down the hill, hands in the pockets of her orange sweater.

She goes to her grandfather's house. He's sitting in the kitchen in a chair, with his hands covered by his jacket, shaking. He asks her if she came alone. He asks if something's going on, but she says since he said he wasn't feeling well, she came to see him. He says it's the diabetes. They were out of insulin at the pharmacy. He's dizzy, he has low blood pressure. He tells her the medicine finally arrived and it's in the box. He complains that Gregorio was supposed to bring him money but he didn't even come. Azucena says Gregorio's his friend and she's got nothing to do with it. The grandfather says she could have at least told him to come. Azucena says she'll fix him some coffee and then she'll give him his insulin. "How long has it been since you've had it?" He says he doesn't even know anymore with the dizziness. Azucena says that she thinks she'll have to give him all of it. "Do you think so? Won't it be too much?" Azucena says one for every day that he didn't have it. He scoffs, but says she'd know. He starts to tell her to tell Gregorio, but she interrupts him and says "I already told you it's nothing to do with me. He's your friend." The grandfather says he must have forgotten and he hopes it's not out of ill will.

Azucena tells Capellan that when she killed her husband she realized that she wasn't being fair. "Why should I kill him and leave my grandfather alive? After all it was he who sold me to Gregorio. He stole my destiny, my happiness. When I gave him the insulin, that happiness came back to me. The same as he took from my grandmother and I. Now we're even."

Her grandfather drinks his coffee as she gives him several injections. She asks him if he knows what day yesterday was. He wishes her a happy birthday. He winces at the injection and says this illness sucks. He always wants to sleep. He asks her to see if there's some juice in the fridge. She gets up and says there isn't. He asks her to bring some next time she visits. "It's not good for you." "Because of the diabetes? Well, that's what they say, but who knows if it's true." She gives him another shot. He says he didn't eat anything the day before, just some stale bread. "Que caray" (aw, gee, that's too bad) she says, with no feeling behind it. He asks her what she did for her birthday. She says her friends made her a cake. He remembers that her grandmother used to bake her a cake on her birthday, does she remember? She does. He says she always bought colored sugar for the top. "Sometimes we didn't even have enough for bread, but there she'd go and get you colored sugar. And I'd tell her she would make you spoiled. The fights we used to have. Do you remember?" He asks if Gregorio gave her a present and calls him a cheapskate when she says he didn't. "I'll have to talk to him. Do you know that all of a sudden my eyes are bothering me. What could it be?" Azucena says she doesn't know. "Why didn't Gregorio come?" Azucena says she killed him. Her grandfather laughs. "Good on you!" "Right? I killed him, just like I killed you." She cries and he looks at her, then slumps over. The butterfly flies away. Azucena gets up, shocked, and looks into the camera.

"Azucena Chávez fue declarada inimputable por la muerte de su esposo, considerándose el hecho como un asesinato en defensa propia. Sin embargo, en juez desestimó los atenuantes presentados en el caso del asesinato de su abuelo, al considerar que la acusada actuó con alevosía y ventaja. Fue condenada a 12 años de prisión. Ramon Morales ha apelado la sentencia. El caso se encuentra en los tribunales superiores y en la comisión nacional de derechos humanos."

Azucena Chávez was declared incompetent in the death of her husband, considering the deed as a murder in self-defense. Nevertheless, the judge disallowed the extenuating circumstances presented in the case of the murder of her grandfather, considering that the accused acted with viciousness and had an advantage. She was condemned to 12 years in prison. Ramon Morales has appealed the sentence. The case is now in the superior courts and the national committee on human rights.

Next week, Kika Edgar plays a pole dancer.

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