Caray, Caray!

[Posted for Urban Anthropologist]

Labels: Fuerza

Recap by Marta Ivett


Previously on Cuando (you fill in the blanks)…
Fina goes berserk remembering her phone con with Gonzo.
She tells herself that her plans have to continue. Berta can’t hate her.
Nata is telling Augie off on the phone.. good for u Nata!
Fina arrives at hosp, finds Gon/Gina/Jero/Nata sleeping, mumbles I hate all 4 of you!
Berta kicks out Fina from her hosp room.
Augie alone with his ruined wine containers swears payback from Areli.

Augie strangles Areli when she tells him she was the one that ruined his wine/grapes., When lazaro comes to her rescue Augie takes his exit… She wants Lazaro to stay with her. She tells him it was her that ruined Augie’s grape reserve. Lazaro is impactado.

Gina/Jero talking at hospital… Gina asks Jero if the fact that Nata’s mother was the one that murdered Rafa would be an impediment for him to get back with Nata. He confesses that he can’t deny that the fact that Nata is the daughter of a murderer concerns him. Nata hears this and thinks that always something comes up that separates them… Nata leaves before she can hear Jero tell Gina that despite that, he loves her and, like Matt said, it’s a flame that not even the big blue sea can put out..

At Connie’s, doctor and Hono are in awe of how fast Connie is recuperating. Smiles all around.

At the prison nut house, in doctor’s office, Blanca is teasing him with ‘what I will let you do to me’ (MAJOR BARF!!) Blanca calls Hono again using the phone in the doctor’s office… Hono gets real mad at her. When he hangs up he calls Matt to tell police Manriquez and find out where that phone is.

At Ensenada church Carlos and Mati are waiting for the ‘prenup classes’ from padre Severino but he is a no show… they decide to go look for him.
Padre Severino just got what Marina is guessing is the flu, he will have to stay in bed for a few days.

Areli/Laz and Mati/Carlos are talking to Areli, she asks Carlos if he thinks its ok for her to stay at La Bonita for a while until she leaves town. Carlos sure Jero won’t mind.… They meet up with Padre Seve out in town… he tells they he is sick and will have to postpone his activities (including their wedding). Mati begins to think it is her curse again that is spreading to others.

Augie is having another hissy fit by his ruined grape tanks… yells at Ezeq to leave. He takes it on the poor barrels with a sledgehammer…

Adri/Matt at office. Adri tells Matt she made her decision. Matt guesses wrong and says she is there to tell him she chose Chema. Nope, she chose him but she wants to speak to Chema and tell him personally before she and Matt go public as a couple again. Matt asks her not to play with him, then he says you might want to wait but I don’t … he kisses her and they agree that they will keep their ‘recon’ a secret until she talks to Chema.

Nata prays at chapel… its not easy to feel you are the daughter of a murderer. My mom hurt so many folks… She is nuts/sick. What if I carry the ‘genes’ of ‘crime’? and pass them to my children? (OH PLEEEEEZZZEEE!! SPARE MEEEE!!)
Gonzo visits Berta at her hosp room.. they get mellow (I wonder if these two ever went to a father daughter night at her school…). She is scared, thanks God she has him for a dad. She regrets all the harm she had done. HE is glad she is ok, life gives you 2nd chances … and 3rd… and 4th… and… Berta says she will make good use of this one. She will change.. honest… HE says I hope so.

Nata still at chapel, tells God U know I love Jero more today than ever.. (remembers first stumble at airport, then first kiss outside la mentirosa) For better or worse, it was a great love story. Too bad all the troubles did not let us be happy together.

Gonzo leaves Berta alone and she tells herself she will keep away from her mom, will even change her surname to Gamba (Roberto’s surname), will take off Fina’s surname Alvarez. ‘I hate you’

Gina/Jero talk again, she cares about both Nata and Berta. Wants them to interact as sisters and will provide them a loving environment they never had with Fina. But am afraid of how they will react to the news. (well, one will find out she is NOT the daughter of a murderer … so it might not be so bad after all LOL)

Augie calls Ezeq back and orders him to kill Areli… Eze freezes… Augie senses Ezeq is not quite willing and ready to follow orders. Ezeq hessitates but ends up saying he’ll do it. (I am pretty sure he is lying)

Gonzo comes out of Berta’s room and meets with Gina/Jero… Jero wishes Berta will get well and change for the better with the experience. Gonzo thanks Jero, Jero says only one to blame will pay soon. Gina asks them both to go with her tomorrow to get the DNA test results (Ok, they must have tickets to the Maury Povich show?? Jero, YOU ARE the father! .. oh wait… I got that wrong… Gina, YOU ARE the mother!)
Gina looks visibly nervous, tells Gonzo she wants Berta to come live with her for a while, she will be safe and calm there. They kiss, he is happily shocked… wants more LOL.

Jero calls Nata, she is leaving the hospital curb, he offers to take her to Connie’s but she wants to go alone… thank you for everything… Jero is confused at her new attitude.

At La Bonita Kari watches as Lazaro is serving Areli as if he were her watch dog. Areli tells them (with Mati and Carlos) that Lazaro had saved her before when she was about to jump into oblivion. He is her guardian angel, they say how an animal Augie is, Carlos brings up Alvaro but then freezes at half sentence. Areli tells them Augie would do anything to get what he wants. Kari tells them Augie was kissing Nata when she was drugged when she had the accident. They are all shocked. Mati is mad she never told them before. Mati goes with her hissy fit to the kitchen to tell Manuela about Areli and Lazaro. All about her curse and if she does not marry Carlos she will end up a nun. (ok tantrum cursed girl… go take a hike… maybe some exercise will get you tired of yourself)

Nata visits Adri and tells her ‘I need you my friend’… (so its Nata’s turn for the bad day)

Marina calls Jero, notices he is worried, she asks him to tell her how things are with Nata. Jero tells her he came to tell Nata about her mother being his brother’s murderer. Marina thinks this will widen the abbyss that separates Jero and Nata. Jero stays quiet so she senses something has changed. But Jero won’t tell her over phone. He wants to wait until he returns and then they will talk. Marina is already guessing what he will say…

Fina alone in her hotel room is watching TV.. watches as a news break comes up announcing she is wanted for murdering Rafa Gutierrez. And the whole MR scandal.
I have to hide. (NO KIDDIN!!)

Blanca watches same news cast ‘poor Fina MR’. But then gets a creepy smile/smirk on.

At La Bonita, Areli keeps getting lots of attention. Lazaro says he doubts Augie will dare come get her here. Carlos tells her she is brave. She says she wanted to hurt Augie where he would feel it. Carlos says yup, THAT you did alright (get his attention).

Kari is visiting Alfonsina, she is also mad (a la Mati) about Areli all around Lazaro. Alfonsina says you have to go there and show face, make yourself noticed.

Gonzo/Hono/Matt/Adri at office are celebrating how well it has gone for the company in last few days, thanks to the Jero loan. Gonzo says there is a convention coming up. He can’t get away from Gina and Hono can’t from Connie so they send Matt/Adri to go to the convention to represent the new blood of MR INC. (WOW, Matt !! Whatever you are wearing, make them your lucky tie and shirt, and eat the same breakfast, you are FINALLY getting lucky, man after so many short ends of the stick!)

Once settled at her house, Gina is caring very nicely for Berta. Berta says I never would have believed you would be this nice to me after I treated you so bad. Will u forgive me? Gina says that’s in the past. Berta says her mom never acted like this with her. She wishes she had a mom like Gina.

Nata is leaving Connie’s house, but she sits with Connie for a min. Connie notices she is sad… I love you / me too. Jero loves you, value him. Nata cries and agrees then leaves.

Marina arrives at Jero’s… he is surprised she is there. She wants the truth from him. He takes a deep breath before dropping the bomb… My heart, my body and my soul want to be with Nata
(end of ep)

Prev: It all leads to Jero/Nata reconciliation (we see Marina upset leaving, but I have a feeling she is leaving Jero’s apt…) but a pregnancy might change everything… (oh no! Could Nata be preggers but Jero will deny the paternity based on assumption that she and Augie had a powaw?)

Labels: Cuando

• Well of course we were all on the edge of our seats the last 23 hours wondering whether Fernanda would really slip and fall to her death.
  
  Wow, she didn't! Pancho's friend Chacho is uselessly glued to the sidewalk and many other onlookers are likewise uselessly stationary, Pancho manages to haul the Doña back up on the bridge by himself. He thanks God for not making him an orphan by letting his newly adopted mother fall to her death. Fernanda and Pancho hug and are very tender (great chemistry, those two).
  
• As the three drive away from the scene in his truck ("la burra," the female donkey) Pancho plans to give her crispy pig skin junk food to liven her up. He invites her back to his casa popular, where all are welcome: there will be hot chicken soup for her, and mole!
  
  She's in shock and stupidly repeats everything he says ("like a parakeet" complains Chacho). He points out for her sake (and ours) all his kids, whose photos are up over the dashboard. Oldest, Pepe, next, Ana (the squirt with the accordion), next Lupita, lastly Temo. He enthuses about his happy family and says "we're lucky, we love each other. Nobody should be alone." "I'm alone," she moans. "From now on, you have me," he enthuses further.
  
  
• Vicente's house: he asks his dog: "Who do you love?" He and his nutty (I love her) wife Pina and the dog, all at the table, are served by the perky maid Adoración.
  
• Pancho's house: before he and his passengers arrive, we are treated to Pancho's sister Candy practicing her shake-and-thrust dance routine. Chela chides her, recommending less sensuality, there will be children and proper married couples at the celebration, and besides, "you know how guys are, remember what happened that OTHER time..." Candela says no such nightmare will ever happen again. "Don't censor me, don't limit my creativity!"
  
  There is a boisterous welcome for the stranger, the dog Popeye does a little dance, we see that Lupita (sister #2) has a bit of a "Marcia, Marcia, Marcia!" complex. Pancho introduces his sister-in-law Chela (that's Vicki Vicki Vicki of yore) and his "exotic and exuberant" sister Candela.
  
  Pancho, editing out the suicide attempt, tells everyone his mystery guest has had a bit of a shock due to their vehicle almost being in an accident. All stare as she eats (she has to be shown how to hold a tortilla) and she beams, saying the mole is the most delicious thing she's ever eaten. Applauso!
  
  Temo sticks his nose in the cake as "BITE" is chanted, there is the usual out-of-tune rendition of Las Mañanitas (which is actually a lovely song), Chela brings coffee.
  
• The party winds down, Doña Fernanda says she has to leave, she'll call a taxi, Pancho says nonsense, I'm going to take you home Mom. (I have adopted an older woman as my mother too so I'm very pleased with this.) "Pancho, I haven't felt this good in a long time, your family is so loving and united..." "Just a normal family," he insists.
  
  She gushes over his admirable qualities some more, he asks why she wanted to jump, she tells him she has cancer and not long to live. (My son, who is a brain cancer survivor, mutters that anybody who gets cancer in a telenovela always dies but I remember a guero who once had leukemia and was completely cured two episodes later and was as handsome and vigorous as ever.)
  
  He's shocked, she says that's just one of her problems, for instance, "I loved a young man, but my father forbade our marriage as he was not of our social standing, and I had a son, I was told he was dead but I don't believe it." ...
  
  ... (So now is the time to tell you that our other roommate Mitzi, who has only watched about three hours of telenovelas total and doesn't understand Spanish, said last night at the first appearance of Fernanda, "that's going to turn out to be Pancho's mother.")
  
  So he tells her about his wife dying and we see the flashback of her in the hospital (and as she is failing, the only medical person in the room, a bored nurse, walks out. No medical person lifts a finger to save this young mother? Who, except for a few bruises on her face, looks pretty healthy to me. Where's the crash cart?) and we see Pancho, in an incongruously wild striped shirt, sobbing with baby Temo in his arms ...
  
  ... he recovers from his flashback, regrets the melodrama, and reiterates to Fernanda that from now on she will never be alone, "you can always count on me." She says he's taught her that only God writes the ending and that she should keep on keeping on...
  
  ... Then he tells her another of HIS problems, which is, that the neighborhood land has been mortgaged since Pancho's grandfather was the owner, and things are worse lately, and a devil of a lawyer Renzo Enzo Rinaldi has been pressing for payment. "What a small world," Fernanda thought-bubbles, "Rinaldi works for me."
  
• In the dark, daughter 3 (Lupita) greets her consentido Tomás (meaning that they are at least sort of engaged). They kiss but when his finger strays toward her clavicle she pushes him away, saying: "when we are married!" "Yeah" he mutters, and leaves. She beams, thinking of their marriage and subsequent "special night" when she will, one presumes, Give All.
  
• The dashing and spoiled young Freddy comes down the stairs of the mansion he lives in with his parents and the Pomeranian, he's going out. His wonderful daffy blond mom, Pina, says he can't go, what with all the fuss over aunty, but Freddy doesn't care ("probably she's just wandering around out there with Alzheimers" he says).
  
  "My nerves!" Pina exclaims. She strokes her son's head, he leaves. She announces she will faint, and her well-trained husband takes her in his arms and - puts her over by the comfy sofa so when she falls there'll be a soft landing. Pina: "Nobody loves me! I'm lonelier than the moon! Abandoned! Even you, dog, love your daddy and don't care about me! And your daddy is going to go out, too!"
  
• Standing in some dark place by the side of a handy race track: let's see, Prince Freddy (styles himself quite a car racer), his supposed girlfriend Mónica (she's daughter of the evil lawyer Enzzo Renso Menso Rinaldi), and Alex (friend), they're waiting for the "King of the Nacos" - "these lower-class boobs are always late." (Naco is a fascinating word and we did a feature on it once but I can't remember how to find it.)
  
  Well, well, it is a small world, because the King of the Nacos is: Tomás! Lupita's erstwhile boyfriend! And with him, Pepe, Lupita's brother. Tomás has "borrowed" his employer's sports car!
  
  To make a long story short, they all trade insults, wager 10,000 pesos on the outcome of the race, Tomás wins but Freddy doesn't pay up, Mónica and Pepe share a few hormone-charged zingers, Prince Freddy and King Tomás and courtiers exchange names and snide threats and part company.
  
• Fernanda asks Pancho to drop her in some anonymous place, lying that she's afraid to have the neighbors see her disembark with a man. She calls a taxi. I'm not sure where this is, but Pina and Veens see her disembark (must be a closed-circuit tv camera, maybe at the office?) The aunt calls and curtly announces: "I'm back, see you at work tomorrow," and she hangs up on Veents.
  
• Sunrise.
  
  • Pancho's at the market juggling vegetables, trying to get milk for poor kids when he doesn't have the money for it, and enduring the jibes of his co-workers, who saw him on tv saving Fernanda. They say such things happen only to him and to Pato Lucas (Daffy Duck). "If it hadn't been for you she'd have hung up her tennis shoes." (My son reminds me that in some barrios when a person's killed their shoes are tied together and thrown over a power line.)
  • Fernanda tells her haircutter to give her a whole new look because she's a new woman.
  • Candy tells Ana: stop wearing firemen's clothes, dress more like Greta Garbo.
  • When Pancho gets home, his sister (who claims to have a photographic memory) triumphantly shows him an old magazine with Fernanda on the cover - she's "millonetas" (millionaire-ish)!

UPDATE: Sylvia asked about "Big Mix," which was product-placed at the end of this episode. I see it is "Barcel Big-Mix 6 combines six popular Barcel snacks in one mix. It's great when you want to sample different products in one bag." Anybody know what the six popular Barcel snacks in the bag are?

Labels: familia

Labels: Cuando

oday's episode is covered in Melinama's Recap #36, The Finale, at this link. Tomorrow's will be in the same recap.

On YouTube, haguilar78's clips for Cap 90 start at this link.

Thank you, Carlos, for today's pictures.





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Labels: Alborada

Sorry, no recap today. Bad couple of days. Discussion page. Thanks.

Labels: Fuerza

Sorry for the delay! I have a feeling I'm going to have trouble with this one... I can't understand half of what Pancho and his friends say. And they talk so fast! Please don't hesitate to point out things that I got wrong.On the bright side, I'm probably going to be learning a lot.
Opening credits are followed by a flashback to the old-timey times of... 1990, it says. (Thank you, producers, for not doing this scene in black & white. That would have made me feel old.) It seems we're at a wedding in Toluca.

A humble white K-car rolls up to a humble curb, and a humble pair of shoes gets out and opens the door for a bride. The humble feet belong to the groom, Pancho, who is sporting an intense mullet. (A mullet? Excellent! That satisfies my rigorous quality check for historical authenticity!) The bride, Laurita, is a gigantic pair of eyelashes with a woman hanging off of them. Pancho and Laurita declare their everlasting, infinite love to one another as he lifts her up and carries her to the reception. A crowd cheers, and there is a jumble of excited talk. I think she tells everyone he's her a napkin. (Sorry, I haven't recapped in a while... this kind of giddy chatter is way over my head - I can't even find definitions for most of these words!)

The bride's sister, Chela, greets them. I don't recall that much bright red eyeshadow ever being popular in the 90s. Maybe the 80s, but we can pretend that she put lipstick on her eyelids by mistake after having a couple of drinks.

Now for the food. Lots and lots of food. I'm replaying it in slow motion. There are plenty of helpful close-ups. I see a moles and salsas and pork and and other meat and bean and vegetable dishes. And rice. There's something wrapped in big leaves. There's a woman making fresh tortillas. There's tequila. I'm sold on this couple - they really know how to throw a party! I hope they stay together forever and ever so I can recap their food!!

Pancho, the groom, gives a speech thanking family and friends. He mentions something about a "cooperacha" and payments. Okay, I think he's saying that of the money they get from the wedding, half is going to be a down payment on some land and half is going towards his honeymoon. Then Laurita, the giggly bride, admits that she's had some drinks and says she has a little surprise. Is it a baby? Phew, no. Not yet. It's a song-and-line-dance routine.

The crowd counts to three as Laurita prepares to throw the bouquet. Ha ha, she fakes them out! What a kidder! "Sis, let's see if you can find your Pancho, too!" she says to Chela, tossing the bouquet directly at her. (Chela does catch it; however, going by the synopsis Melinama posted here last week, Laurita probably should have chosen her words a little more carefully. It seems that she has practically doomed Chela to fall in love with Pancho himself! But let's not get ahead of ourselves.)

Next, Chela collects some money in a shoe. This must be the "cooperacha" - I think they're going to need a bigger shoe unless they are planning to honeymoon in the mall parking lot. Then again, they're already in Mexico, so that should save them on airfare!

Now the cutting of the cake. He makes like he's going to take a bite out of the cake itself. Another kidder! What a perfect couple! I know they will be together forever and always!

Now the garter. She slips as he tugs at her leg, and she jokes that he nearly became a widower. He assures her that they will grow old together and promises that he will dedicate every day to making her happy. "The day that you die, I will die with you, I promise. I love you." Are you worried? I'm not worried.

Now Achy-Breaky Heart, which was recorded in 1992. These people are way ahead of their time!

Later: Most of the guests have left, except for a few close friends and/or relatives. Chela has made a video of Pancho and Laurita's courtship, which they are watching in mysterious, ancient "VHS" format. In the video, the lovebirds are frolicking around a fountain in a beautiful greenhouse garden. At first, they don't realize Chela is taping them on their rated-G date. Then they catch her. Ha, ha! What a bunch of kidders! Happiness forever, etc.

In the next video, they are on another date, again near a fountain (outdoors this time). Pancho gives Laurita an ice cream, in which he has hidden an engagement ring. Fortunately, she does not break a tooth and/or chokes on this ring, so we can look forward to a long and happy future for them! He asks her to marry him, become the mother of his chilpayates (children), the mistress of his quincenas (biweekly wages), even if sometimes they don't have anything to eat and are poor for the rest of their lives.

Despite the serious dent that poverty would put in her makeup budget, she tearfully says yes and eagerly tries to put the ring on. He takes the ring from her and insists on putting it on her finger himself. A crowd of onlookers cheers.

Laurita thanks Chela for the video. Pancho hints to the remaining guests that he'd like to have some privacy with his new bride. Everyone leaves except Chela, who hangs around a little too long with a weird look on her face while Pancho and Laurita kiss.

Let's assume she went home immediately after. We don't want this to get too weird.

Now it's 2011. It looks like Pancho is still living in the same neighborhood. It's early morning, and he's asleep, dreaming about the his wedding day and his promise that on the day Laurita dies, he will die with her. He wakes up in a panic and checks beside him, but she's not in the bed. In fact, it's obvious that she hasn't been near that bed in a long time.

He lights a candle and apologizes to her photo for not making good on his promise; but if he had gone with her, who would care for their children? His maudlin musings are interrupted by the faint chatter of a thousand children, and he excuses himself to the photo and gives it a kiss, explaining that the kids have woken up and will soon be there, and Temo will surely be the first to show up because it's his birthday.

Sure enough, the light comes on and Temo leaps onto the bed, telling Pancho that it's his birthday. Pancho feigns surprise. Temo reports that his siblings don't want to sing him his mañanitas, and asks Pancho to sing it for him. Pancho tells him to have one of his aunts sing it.

Now they are joined by a zillion other kids. (We'll sort them out when they become relevant.) How can these people be so cheerful so early in the morning? It's still dark outside!

Aunts Chela and Candy (Candela, Pancho's sister) join them, and now Temo gets his mañanitas song.

Later, Pancho is driving a delivery van. (The mullet is gone, by the way, and it would appear that he lost his comb as well.) On the front of the van is his name, Pancho López, and the name of his business, which is La B___ (I'm not censoring it, I just don't have a good enough picture to make out what it says.) He turns off the radio, annoyed by the cheerful song. His pal protests. Pancho explains that he and Laurita danced to that song the night of their wedding. The pal remembers, but Pancho tells him about the promise he made to Laurita when she nearly fell off the stage. She died eight years ago, and he still hasn't made good on that promise.

The pal, who I believe is Pancho's brother, says that the kids need him, etc. Pancho says it's just that he's been brooding lately, since Temo's birthday is also the anniversary of Laurita's death.

(Let's try to remember that this is a comedy!)

The pal/bro asks about the birthday plans. Pancho says they're going to pick up a cake and then open their store, or something like that.

An older woman, Fernanda, is standing in a doctor's office. This must be a swanky medical practice - she's wearing a fur-trimmed smock! My doctor's office only has plain cloth smocks!

Ah, perhaps that's just her coat. In any case, she doesn't want to sit down. And if he's got bad news for her, she'd like him to get right to it. "You've always been that way, since you were very young, very decisive, willful, sure of yourself..." he begins, but she cuts him off. He apologizes, but offers us a little more backstory: "I've known you for a long time, since that thing happened with your son..." Again she cuts him off, "you know perfectly well that I never talk about that. Can you tell me what I have?"

Yes he can: she has a malignant tumor. "You have very little time to live." (Ha! He sure told her!) He says he's not just her doctor, but her friend, and he'll be with her to the very end.

Fernanda is bummed, but asks the doctor not to tell anyone. He kisses her on the cheek.

Pancho and his pal/bro arrive at the market. The bro/pal is talking his head off, and honestly I have no idea what he's talking about, but then Pancho worries about how he's going to explain himself to the kids if they end up in the street. I believe they just started this venture at the market and aren't sure if it will succeed (please correct me if I'm wrong). They're behind on some payments. Pancho asks bro/pal to keep quiet about this around the kids until it's all sorted out.

Fernanda exits the medical building and tells herself she doesn't have the strength for a fight. She would have given all her money to have a little bit of love, she thinks, "but now I know what I have to do." She sees her chauffeur waiting with his back turned; she sneaks away without his seeing.

"I know what I have to do," Pancho tells bro/pal. "Pay." And to do this, for his family to be able to go on, they're going to have even less. But hopefully, they'll do well at the festival and that will fix everything. (Meanwhile, Pancho is inspecting some onions in a crate, but he is dissatisfied with their quality, he can't take these to his clients, so he gives the whole crate back to the merchant.)

Chacho! That's the bro/pal's name.

A kid named Filemón comes by with a hand-truck. He's depressed. His boss is still sick. The doctor wrote her a bunch of prescriptions, but they're too expensive. Pancho tells Fil he'll help out and give him a double-tip because it's "happy hour." (He says it in English and pronounces both H's.) "That's 'la hora feliz,' kid, don't know you French?" Chacho jokes.

Chacho asks Pancho how he's going to pay Fil a double-tip when he just finished saying he didn't have a penny. Alas, I don't understand Pancho's answer. If I did, I'd use his magical money-making technique myself.

Back at home, Chela is working with a band for Temo's birthday party. Pancho's daughter Ana plays accordion. (Really? That's Sherlyn? How can she possibly look even younger than she did five years ago?) Meanwhile, Temo practices soccer with a dog as goaltender. There's some discussion about the evening's performances.

Elsewhere...

A fancy white car (not much like any I have ever owned) rolls up to a fancy house, and a fancy pair of shoes gets out of the car and opens the door for Sergio Sendel, aka Vicente, whose shoes are even fancier. "Oh my love, who is the prettiest? Who is it?" And he leans forward a little bit, waving a gift. It's a necklace! A marvelous necklace!

A necklace for... a little fifi dog?

"Because you are the only being on earth that will never betray me." A Pomeranian, I believe. Vicente proudly slips the necklace over the dog's head. The dog, whose name is Abejita (Little Bee?), seems unimpressed and was probably hoping for a dried liver snack.

Vicente's phone rings. (Remembering previous Sendel characters, I fear for the phone's life; however, this would seem to be a kinder, gentler Sendel.) It's Gonzalo, Miss Fernanda's chauffeur. Vicente apologizes profusely to the dog and takes the call. Gonzalo tells him that Miss Fernanda came back after her appointment with Dr. Octavio.

She was with Dr. O? That's news to Vicente.

Fernanda is wandering the streets alone with the report of her biopsy results clutched to her chest, pondering her personal going-out-of-life sale.

Meanwhile, Pancho and Chacho are driving along, and Chacho is talking his head off as usual, saying that for all they have in love, they lack in money. Pancho says that money is just vanity. Chacho thinks it would be very helpful to have money coming out of a faucet. Pancho warns that tough problems would go along with it. (I'm thinking, for one thing, where are they going to get running water if the faucet is plugged up with cash? But I guess you'd at least be able to afford a good plumber.)

Fernanda is on an overpass, feeling sorry for herself. "You've got nobody to cry for you, nor do you have the right to shed a single tear." She looks down to the deadly ground below. She drops her purse, and it falls - dramatically - a mere six inches. (Unless there's another fifi dog inside, I don't think the purse is a big problem.) I think she's taking that old saying "you can't take it with you" too literally!

Vicente is chewing out the staff for losing track of his aunt Fernanda. He takes a phone call, during which it is revealed that most of the world's population will be searching high and low for her. He makes the staff say "¡Sí, Señor!" three times, each time louder than the last, before dismissing them.

Next, a frenzied montage of the staff and authorities (including uniformed security officers from Avon, yep, I'm pretty sure it's THAT Avon) combing the city looking for Auntie, showing her photos to people on the street, etc. while radio show hosts and billboards plead for her safe return. (I notice that most of the vehicles have their logos blacked out.)

While all this has been happening, Fernanda has taken only a few more steps. She climbs up onto the concrete barrier, still clutching her biopsy report. She looks down, and I feel woozy. I don't like heights, even when they're someone else's heights on TV. It doesn't seem to bother her, though. But she's in a different mood than I am.

Pancho and Chacho see her. Pancho slams on the brakes. She puts one foot in front of the railing, which is just low enough to really catch someone's shoe and make them trip prematurely.

That's exciting, so let's go somewhere else. We're at Vicente's house, where Vicente's wife Pina is admiring her fifi dog's new necklace. I recognize Pina's voice before I recognize her face - it's Daniela Castro, who was Lisabeta, Ricardo's scheming cousin in Pasión. She's worried that someone has stashed Fernanda away someplace, and maybe they'll go after their son Freddy, too.

Now we're at a NASCAR race. For years I've successfully avoided watching auto racing every weekend, and now here it is in a telenovela. Sigh. A girl named Mónica is talking to a guy named Alex, who is wearing a NASCAR shirt. She's worried because Vicente and Pina haven't shown up. (It seems that the racetrack was somehow excluded from the search for Fernanda.) Alex gives an unnecessary speech about his beloved sport and the drivers and how it brings families together.

Freddy is one of the drivers. Mó doesn't want to look. She doesn't like the yellow banners.

The pit crew is servicing Freddy's car (#3, wasn't that Dale Earnhardt's number?) and someone else's (#12). I'm not sure exactly what sets Freddy off, but he's unhappy with one of the guys. "I'm going to give that mechanic a good scare," Freddy thought-bubbles, and nearly runs him over as he peels out. "Did you see what Freddy did to me?" the mechanic asks his coworkers. He vows to get the last laugh tonight.

Back to Fernanda. She now has both feet on the death-plunge side of the railing. Ahhh, I feel better now - no chance it will trip her! Pancho begs her to come down. Everything he says (especially "think of your children!") just upsets her more. He begs her not to fall; it will make him suffer.

In desperation, Pancho cries, "what if I adopt you as my mommy?" He tells her to fight for her life; he tells her that only God knows when we will die; "I just adopted you - please don't make me an orphan!"

She almost cracks a smile and finally reaches for his hand, but then she loses her balance and slips. (Drat that railing!) Pancho struggles to keep his grip as Fernanda realizes that she doesn't want it to end this way after all.

Tomorrow:
The avances mostly rehashed what we saw today, but there's enough to confirm that Fernanda will survive. I don't know what the Avon guys are going to do once the search is called off.

Labels: familia

Today's episode is covered in Melinama's Recap #35, Thursday segment, at this link.

On YouTube, haguilar78's clips for Cap 89 start at this link.

Carlos, you really outdid yourself today. That last picture is probably my favorite of the whole series.


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Labels: Alborada