Zorro: La Espada y La Rosa Recaps/Summaries from Telenovela-World 12 feb. 2007 – 30 mar. 2007

Producción de RTI Colombia, Sony Pcitures, Television Internation, Zorro Productions, Inc.para Telemundo

USA (Telemundo) Feb 12, 2007 – July 23, 2007

=======================================================================================================

These previews & summaries come from Telenovela-World. You may share them, but you may not sell them or include them in anything you sell. In addition, you must give credit to all the sources, especially the authors, and to Telenovela-World (for the collection).

Estos adelantos & resúmenes son de Telenovela-World. Puede compartirlos, pero no puede venderlos o incluirlos en cualquier cosa que vende. Tambien, tenga que dar crédito a todas las fuentes, especialmente a los autores, y a Telenovela-World (por la colección).

A informação nesta página pode distribuir-se, mas sem cobrar por ela. Além disso, deve dar reconhecimento a www.telenovela-world.com e incluir todas as fontes.

Sources/fuentes: Telenovela-World (http://tv.telemundo.yahoo.com/zorro/index.html)

Telemundo ( http://tv.telemundo.yahoo.com/zorro/index.html )

AN ENORMOUS THANK YOU TO B. FOR HER TRANSLATION OF TELEMUNDO’S AVANCES AND BRIEF SUMMARIES.

NB: On the day the episode airs, Telemundo posts a preview of the episode. The following day (more or less) , it posts a summary. For each week, we post all the translations of Telemundo’s avances & resúmenes first followed by English summaries.

Please send additions, changes, corrections to diane@telenovela-world.com/ Por favor, envia adiciónes, cambios o correcciónes a diane@telenovela-world.com.

=================================================================

SYNOPSIS

ZORRO PRODUCTIONS, INC.

http://www.zorro.com/news-znov.html

ZORRO:The Sword and the Rose

ZORRO: la Espada y la Rosa premieres on Monday evening, Februrary 12th at 9 p.m. on local Telemundo affiliates across the United States. Christian Meier starts as "Zorro" in the classic legend and passionate love story. His co-stars are Marlene Favela, Arturo Peniche, Osvaldo Rios and Erick Elías.

The theme song for the novela, "Amor Gitana," is a duet performed by superstars Beyonce and Alejandro Fernandez. The sensual flamenco-pop track was written by Grammy winning songwriter and recording artist, Reyli, and Jamie Flores, co-written by Beyonce. It has been produced by Grammy winner Rudy Perez.

The stellar production also features performances by Jorge Cao, Héctor Suárez Gomís, Natasha Klauss, Harry Geithner, Andrea Montenegro, Andrea López, Luly Bossa, Cristian Tappan, Ricardo González and Natalia Bedoya.

Telemundo-RTI with Sony Pictures Television International (SPTI) and Zorro Productions, Inc. began filming the 120 one hour episodes in Cartegena, Colombia. Further episodes are being shot on location in and around Bogota.

The scripts are being developed, written and shot entirely in Spanish. Highly acclaimed writer Humberto "Kiko" Olivieri leads the team of writers for the novela, which is set in the mid-1800's in Spain and California.

Patricio Wills and Hugo Leon Ferrer (Decisiones, Pasion de Gavilanes, La Viuda de Blanco, La Tormenta) are executive producing the series. RTI Productions (Pasion de Gavilanes, Te Toy a Ensenar a Querer) is handling the physical production.

=========================================================================================================

PREVIEWS / SUMMARIES

TRANSLATIONS OF TELEMUNDO AVANCES & SUMMARIES - FEB. 14-16, 2007

Telenovela-World: Re: AVANCE TELEMUNDO CAP.3 (translation) Author: B. (---) Date: 02-14-07 14:39 PST

TITLE: floran las pasiones (Passions blossom)

DATE: Valentine's Day 2007

-Esmeralda recibe la sorpresa de su vida cuando descubra un secreto que le cambiará la vida.

Esme gets the surprise of her life when she discovers a secret that will change her life. (classic LAI, SO repetitive.)

-Diego de la Vega está hechizado con Esmeralda y no perderá tiempo en tratar de conquistarla, pero la muchacha no será fácil de atrapar. Además, tendrá que enfrentarse con su otro ser...el Zorro.

Diego de la Vega is smitten by Esme and he will not lose any time trying to conquer her, but the girl will not be easy to catch. What's more, he will have to go up against his other self... Zorro.

-El nuevo Gobernador no pierde tiempo en plantar sus pies, pero él también se enfrenta a un dilema inconcluso. ¿Quedarán cenizas dónde hubo fuego?

The new governor doesn't lose any time in getting settled, but he will also be faced with some unfinished business. Are there still sparks left from the old fire...?

-Las pasiones del Capitán Ricardo Montero se desencadenan.

The passions of Capitán Ricardo Montero are unleashed.

-Una de las religiosas se enfrenta a demonios del pasado.

One of the nuns confronts demons from the past.

Telenovela-World: AVANCES for tonight (15 Feb) -corrected Author: B. (---) Date: 02-15-07 11:27 PST

wow, LAI is really staying on top of this one for a change... maybe he has the hots for La Favela? plus, it's early days yet -- lots of time not only for that kitchen sink dd was talking about, but also for LAI to fall back into his old habits...

but in the meantime:

TITLE: Una vida engañada. (very loosely, being lied to all your life)

DATE: Thu, 15 Feb 2007

-Esmeralda es llevada a la fuerza a un lugar donde conocerá muchas verdades.

Esme is taken by force to a place where she will learn many truths. (because, you know, why waste time asking your queen-to-be to come with you when you can kidnap her instead and REALLY get her on your side...??)

-Los indios buscan venganza y uno de ellos enfrentará el gatillo de Fernando Sánchez de Moncada.

The indians are looking for revenge and one of them will face Fernando Sánchez de Moncada's trigger. (and i suppose, the rest of the gun as well. and why? because getting yourself captured is always the best way to get revenge?? i'm no expert, but it sure seems like their Big Plan needs some tweaking...)

-Llega el momento de la inspección y el Comandante enfrenta un inspector difícil de corromper.

The moment of the inspection arrives and the Commander faces a difficult-to-corrupt inspector. (ah, there's our LAI... always so expressive. NOT.)

-El Zorro es perseguido por soldados y por...¿Su padre?

Zorro is pursued by soliders and by... his father? (what? we're supposed to be surprised by this?? what Zorro stories have you been watching, LAI??)

-Los sentimientos de Diego por Esmeralda crecen de manera incontrolable.

Diego's feelings for Esme grow uncontrollably. (ha ha. i'm not touching that one!)

Telenovela-World: AVANCES for today (Fri 16 Feb) Author: B. (---) Date: 02-16-07 12:08 PST

TITLE: ¡Descubiertos!. (loosely: gotcha!) DATE: Friday, 16 February 2007 EPISODE: #5

-El inspector descubre la mentira que ocultaban el Comandante y Pizarro sobre Sara Kali escondida.

The inspector discovers the lie the Comandante and Pizarro have been hiding over where Sara Kali is hidden.

-Esmeralda cae en aguas peligrosas y Diego trata de rescatarla, pero él termina herido.

Esme falls in dangerous waters and Diego tries to save her, but [since he's not wearing his blacks] he ends up hurt.

-Fernando Sánchez encuentra a su hija Mariángel en la comandancia.

Fernie Sánchez finds his slut daughter Maridiabla in the Comandante's offices.

-Más tarde Mariángel le pide a Olmos que averigue todo sobre Diego de la Vega . Ella ha puesto sus ojos en él.

Later, Maridiabla asks Olmos to find out everything about Diego de la Vega. She has set her sights on him. (on Olmos? i thought she was just trying to string him along last night. maybe she saw they make SUCH a cute couple...

... ok, FINE. i know LAI's talking about Diego. but wouldn't it be fun if it WERE Olmos...??)

-Por su parte, Renzo está deslumbrado por Esmeralda. ¿Mala idea?

For his part, Gleem (fka Renzo) is totally smitten by Esme. a bad idea? (well, duh -- of course it is! didn't he listen to La Matriarca when she told him he and Esme were not D4EA?? or does he only believe in that gypsy future-telling mumbo-jumbo when it tells him stuff he wants to hear...?)

-Fernando mata al inspector y le cuenta al Comandante Montero la historia de la reclusa. Bueno, una historia a medias.

Fernie kills the inspector (uh, oh...) and tells [us and] Comandante Mountebank the story of the Masked Lady. well, part of the story. (rats. he probably left out all the good stuff... that would be SO like him, you can just tell.)

-Fernando encuentra a la india Yumalai herida y se la lleva.

Fernie finds the indian Yumalai injured and carries her off. (that's not good, either...)

-Esmeralda trata de que el desmayado Diego de la Vega entre en razón y encuentra en su pecho el medallón del Zorro Esme tries to rouse the unconscious Diego de la Vega (like we have SO many Diegos in this story!! what is it with LAI and last names?? does he have a minimum quota of words he has to use per avance or something??) and finds he's wearing Zorro's medallion. (oh, c'mon Kooko -- you don't seriously think we're going to fall for THAT one, do you?? Esme isn't going to find out any time soon that Zorro = Diego. she will probably accuse Diego of stealing it or finding it on the ground or something. we're not idiots here, even if LAI would like to think so...)

SUMMARIES OF EPISODES FOR WEEK OF FEB. 16, 2007 - FEB. 20, 2007

Telenovela-World: Better late than never! Summary of Ep. 1 Author: dlandros (---) Date: 02-16-07 10:53 PST

I can only do the summaries for the Friday episodes but I noticed that nobody else volunteered, so I started translating the Telemundo summaries to keep people in the loop. Noticing that they left a lot of important things out I used Mabou's wonderful summary to guide me for details and important phrases. I don't think I'll be able to do this for the others but after I started I couldn't stop!

This is the first summary I've ever written and let me tell you that it's more difficult than I thought! Please forgive any ackward translations. I promise I'll read it again later and edit any weirdness. I couldn't help but add a few comentaries (in italics). Feel free to skip them!

*****************************************************

Episode 1 - Monday, Feb. 12

- Barcelona, Spain

Esmeralda Sánchez de Moncada runs desperately from the Church where she’s supposed to marry an old coot. The marriage had been arranged by her father, Don Fernando Sánchez de Moncada but Esmeralda doesn’t want to marry a man she doesn’t love and who’s old enough to be her grandfather. At the Church, Don Fernando is livid and Mariángel, Esmeralda’s half-sister, can’t wait for the family to get rid of her. The only one that seems worried for Esmeralda is Almudena, Don Fernando’s sister.

- Los Ángeles, América (a woman’s bedroom)

Diego de la Vega is in his underwear, having a good time with Catalina, the judge’s daughter. The “lady” is engaged to a man chosen by her father but she claims that her heart needs fantasies and her body, Diego’s caresses. She closes her eyes and wants to fantasize that Diego is Zorro, opportunity that Diego uses to steal some books she had been weaving for her father. Catalina asks Diego to imagine the woman of his dreams to which he replies that he has imagined her and that she’s a disaster. (Not sure what he meant by that, premonition? Knowledge of his own character and the women he likes?)

- Barcelona, Spain

Esmeralda tries to run away but the guards keep chasing her. She asks an old gypsy woman for help, but instead, the gypsy tells her it’s time to join her mother. Esmeralda says very surprised that her mother died at childbirth but the gypsy answers with an ambiguous remark that doesn’t tell Esmeralda anything. However, she gives Esmeralda a medallion that will “take her to her destiny and Sara Calí.” Esmeralda doesn’t want it but keeps it.

- Catalina’s bedroom

Suddenly, the judge knocks on the door of his chaste daughter asking for the books – these are his memoirs. Diego starts dressing up and Catalina tries to stall her father saying she’s undressed, but the judge insists he needs the books right now. She opens the door but asks his father to close his eyes because of her dishabille. The judge needs his memoirs to review some notes for the upcoming verdict of a gypsy (you would think this guy would only mention in his memoirs the most important cases!) Diego happens to be the gypsy’s lawyer, and father and daughter disparage Diego’s abilities as lawyer right in front of him – without the judge realizing he’s there, of course.

- Barcelona, Spain

Finally, the guards catch Esmeralda and take her to the Church. She pleads with his father and threatens to cut her veins with one of the guards’ sable. Don Fernando barely blinks an eye at this display and takes the weapon away from her. He’s furious with her behavior and the possible consequences to his reputation. He barks that she should obey but Esmeralda wants to marry for love. “He’s the richest men in Spain!” he exclaims and Esmeralda answers that she would prefer love even if she had to be a beggar (yeah right…she wouldn’t say that if she had grown up poor...I hate these spoiled little by… that don’t realize how lucky they are – not because they’re rich but because they’re fed and clean in a time that most people didn’t even have that. Anyway, I’ll leave the social commentary and return to the story.) Don Fernando tells her that she better marry or else, so Esmeralda has surrender to a very bitter prospect.

- Los Angeles, America

In typical novela fashion, everybody discovers things at the same time. First, Diego discusses with Bernardo (his mute pal and sort of sidekick) the arrival of the new Governor. Then, we see Don Alejandro, Diego’s father, and his sister Maria Pía discussing the same thing. This lady, now a nun, had been engaged with Fernando ages ago but decided to break the engagement and enter the nunnery. Her brother feels he has the right to know why she broke up with Fernando, but MP doesn’t want to talk about this ever again. Diego arrives as his Aunt is leaving and wonders what’s going on with her. They talked about MP’s engagement with Don Fer, wonder what happened, but Alejandro declares they should respect her wishes. Diego then asks his father what kind of man he is. “Respectable and very ambitious” answers Alejandro. Diego doesn’t like that; he thinks that type of man won’t make a good governor. Alejandro tells his son to stay away from politics and occupy himself with business, serenades and women (it seems that these are Diego’s known occupations; we just don’t know in what order.)

- Church in Barcelona

The ceremony starts, the old coot says his “I do” amidst of fit of coughing and drops dead while the Priest was waiting for Esmeralda to give hers.

- Los Angeles, America

Sgt. Garcia allows Diego to visit his client Miguel, although Captain Montero prohibited any type of visits. Miguel gave Diego the deed of his lands as payment for his services as a lawyer (couldn’t you come up with something more accurate, Kooko? Gypsies are supposed to be nomads! A prized horse, perhaps? That would have made more sense.) Diego can’t give Miguel any guarantees that he’ll be freed and he’s furious with Diego. Miguel accuses him of being like everybody else, stealing his lands, etc.

Meanwhile, Maria Pía is talking with Padre Tomás about Fernando’s imminent arrival. She’s very agitated and remembers the reason she broke up with her fiancé. Fernando had raided and killed members of an Indigenous tribe – Diego’s mother among them. Diego had been present although he doesn’t remember anything. PT believes they can’t prove Fernando’s guilt and adds that MP would never be able to accuse him because she hasn’t forgotten him!

- Barcelona, Spain

Esmeralda didn’t lose any sleep because of the death of her elderly bridegroom; in fact, she asserts that as his widow, she will claim her inheritance. The Priest (the one who “married” her) is doubtful she ever said “I do” but she convinces him. Mariángel is green with envy.

- Los Angeles, America

Diego talks with Laisha, Miguel’s wife, who yells at him the same things Miguel said: You’re like everybody else; you stole our lands, etc. etc. She said that the only man that could do anything is Zorro but decides that she’ll get her man out of jail.

Finally, we meet the famous Captain Montero. He’s in bed with a stiff and crying woman. The Cap’n yells at her to leave but she replies that she needs to pay her taxes (it seems carnal favors are the Cap’n’s favorite method of payment.) He tells her to return tomorrow. At the same time, Sgt. Garcia comes in to tell the Cap’n Laisha wants to talk to him. “She’ll probably be a better lawyer than Don Diego” the Cap’n laughs lasciviously.

Zorro shows up at the judge’s house to warn him. He knows the Cap’n is paying him to declare Miguel guilty. The judge denies it, but Zorro throws one of the books he stole from Catalina’s room. “You know Miguel is innocent and I hope that’ll be your verdict tomorrow” Zorro growls. He then draws his signature “Z” in the judge’s neck (how he didn’t kill him, I don’t know with the jugular vein being so close!)

- Barcelona, Spain

The old gypsy arrives at her tribe’s camp and announces that she has found the daughter of Sara Calí. They all celebrate.

In Don Fernando’s house, Almudena worries that no man will look Esmeralda’s way after the scandal. Esmeralda doesn’t care a whit, in fact she asserts that in all Spain there’s not one man that will get a sigh out of her. Almudena asks why the reasons for her rebelliousness “what are you fighting against?” For the first time, the defiant mask falls from Esmeralda and she looks sad. She believes her father can’t forgive her because her mother died at childbirth. “I fight against this lack of love that makes me feel so insignificant!” says Esmeralda with tears in her eyes.

- Los Angeles, America

Diego plays cards with the Priest but his heart doesn’t seem to be on the game. He’s thinking about San Martin, Bolivar etc. and feels his efforts are small compared to the successes of those men. “You may not overthrow tyrants, but you keep them at bay! Also, you do other things for the people…you bring them hope!” protests the Priest. He also warns that Zorro should be alert with the arrival of the new governor, but Diego is more concerned with having to keep the secret of Zorro. He can’t stand that his father thinks less of him. The Priest reminded him of his promise but Diego wonders what will happen the day he falls in love. “When you meet that woman” advises the Priest “you need to make sure she loves you, Diego de la Vega, and not Zorro.”

- Barcelona, Spain

Esmeralda sells the property of her dead “husband” to the dismay of his sister. Meanwhile, Mariángel is complaining to her father about Esmeralda. She knows Esmeralda never agreed to the wedding, but there’s nothing her father can’t do. It would be Mariangel’s word against Esmeralda’s and the Priest’s. Don Fernando’s solution is to find Esmeralda a new husband in America but Mariángel fears that all the suitors will pretend her sister because of her money. Don Fernando tries to allay the fears of his favorite daughter, telling her that in America she’ll find the man of her dreams.

- Los Angeles, America

Later that day, Poor Laisha is at the Cap’n’s office asking his price to liberate Miguel (we already know what’s his favorite currency.) The Cap’n seems to like it rough because he hits Laisha in the face and rips off her dress.

Next day is the trial (Don Alejandro is present which seemed very weird to me. This didn’t seem to be Diego’s first trial, Don Alejandro is not his partner and this is not an important case.) The judge declares there is insufficient evidence so Miguel is innocent. The Cap’n is not too happy with this turn of events but orders that Miguel has to stay a few more months in prison for insubordination (this is weird too because the judge is the one who does the sentencing, but I guess they need to establish the frequent injustices in LA and the need for Zorro to protect the innocent.) Diego protests but to no avail.

- Barcelona, Spain

Don Fer, Mariángel and Almudena are at the port with their luggage, waiting to board the ship that will take them to the New World. Esmeralda is nowhere to be seen because she’s having a good time dancing with some young female gypsies. The old gypsy and Renzo are planning to board the same ship (what a coincidence!) when the woman sees Esmeralda. As you can imagine, Renzo falls instantly in love with her. The old gypsy woman warns him that Esmeralda is not for him, she’s destined for a man with two souls.

Almudena finds Esmeralda having the time of her life and chides her for behaving in such untoward manner. They go together to the ship where Don Fer and Mariángel are waiting. We then see the ship in the high seas. Esmeralda enjoys the trip but Mariángel is sick throughout.

- Los Ángeles, América

Diego talks to the Cap’n in the street. It seems he had been looking to see him for days to talk about Miguel’s case. Although he had been declared innocent, he’s still in jail and nobody has been able to talk to him for weeks. The Cap’n wonders why he cares and Diego justifies himself saying that he wants to do a good job. They talk some more and Diego has the last word, but he doesn’t get permission to see Miguel.

Finally, the ship arrives to Los Angeles with the Sánchez de Moncada family. A soldier reads the announcement in the town’s plaza. Diego, his father, Padre Tomás and Maria Pía are at the Church’s entrance. MP feels faint when she hears the news. She goes inside the Church with the Priest while Diego and Don Alejandro talk about MP’s reaction. There will be a party in honor of the new governor and Don Alejandro warns Diego to be in his best behavior with Don Fer’s daughters.

In the Plaza, the Cap’n asks Sgt. Garcia if everything is ready to liberate Miguel tonight while Bernardo listens on. Later, Diego asks Bernardo what he heard and Bernardo answers with signals (this seemed kind of silly because the actor that interprets Bernardo is not expressive enough to convey meanings with his expression and it seems he didn’t take the time to learn more sophisticated signals. I don’t expect him to know sign language, but at least to have some signals of his own that are not so basic. It seems that a better idea would have been for Bernardo and Diego to somehow communicate telepathically like in the book.) Anyway, Diego realizes right away that it’s a set up and remarks that there will be two parties tonight.

Later that night, everybody is at the big soiree in honor of the new governor. Don Fernando is very pleased to see Alejandro again and the feeling is mutual. Don Fer introduces Mariángel to the gentlemen as his pride and joy. You can see the lust shining in the Cap’n’s eyes (c’mon dude! Get that zipper under control!). Alejandro is an example of gentlemanly behavior.

In a cave, Zorro takes out his accouterments - the whip and his mask: “I don a black mask to hide my personality; I cover myself with a black cape that protects me from my enemies and I brandish my sword…to do justice!” (we actually don’t see him say the words but they resonate while he puts on his stuff. It’s all very dramatic and impressive; especially when he puts the cape on.) He then rides away in his black horse.

Almudena and Esmeralda are in the Plaza for the business of the party. However, Esmeralda is playing with some children and asks her Aunt to go in without her. Then, Esmeralda sees some soldiers mistreating Laisha. Esmeralda threatens them saying she’s the Governor’s daughter so they leave Laisha alone. Hearing this news, Laisha asks Esmeralda to help Miguel out but Esmeralda says she can’t because her father won’t hear her. Laisha leaves dejected and Esmeralda follows her behind.

At the jail, Sgt. Garcia is freeing Miguel who's sure something is wrong. The Sgt. tries to calm him down but Miguel walks hesitantly. As soon as he’s out, a guard in the roof shoots him in the back. Zorro shows up and disarms the guard. Using his whip, he comes to the Plaza where he fights the guards. Laisha helps Miguel while Esmeralda watches the fight. Zorro runs into Esmeralda and they both fall. He picks her up when they realize that their medallions get entangled (a sign?). The episode ends as the guards are coming towards Zorro while and Esmeralda look at each other's faces.

Telenovela-World: Ep. 2 - Telemundo summary translated (and spiced up) Author: dlandros (---) Date: 02-17-07 08:56 PST

It seems that LAI is the one in writing the summaries for Telemundo because there are tons of inaccuracies and adjectives. I modified it to fix these problems, added details they left behind but mostly kept to what they had. Please don’t blame me if stuff doesn’t make sense.

**********************************************************************

Episode 2 – Tuesday, 2/13

The soldiers approach and Zorro fights them with his sword, all the time protecting Esmeralda, who’s still entangled with him. Using his whip, he propels them both to the roof where he fights more soldiers. He then calls Tornado (his horse) and jumps back on top of the poor horse – still with Esmeralda. The soldiers chase them but Zorro manages to evade them – thanks to a neat trick he performs with Tornado. When he’s sure the soldiers are not around, he disentangles his medallion and leaves Esmeralda in the road. She’s not too happy but he tells her to follow a trail. His plan is to dress up like Diego and rescue her later.

At the Cathedral, Padre Tomás asks María Pía to go with him to the party. She doesn’t want to but he convinces her. At the party, Don Alejandro de la Vega meets Almudena again after many years. He can’t believe she’s become such a beautiful woman. All night he makes eyes at her (very gentlemanly and all) and invites her and her family to dinner.

María Pía is worried that her brother will continue his friendship with Don Fernando. When she meets the Governor, he looks at her stunned. It’s amazing how much emotion Don Fer can convey with only one eye (I was sure the poor woman was going to catch fire any minute.) She behaves very formally but Don Fer promises to visit her.

In the city, an Indigenous woman called Yumalai and her brother Jacó are intrigued by the arrival of Don Fernando. ¿Is he the same man with only one eye that killed their parents and their sister? They need to know; and after a tense moment, Jacó confirms it. It’s him!

In his cave, Zorro tells Bernardo "today I met the most beautiful woman in the universe." They talk some more and he realizes that he has the wrong medallion – in his hurry to leave, he didn’t realize that he had taken her medallion and left her his. He sees this as a sign.

Now dressed for the party, Diego goes searching for Esmeralda and proposes to charm her. "I know that Zorro can’t fall in love but Diego can!” He finds Esmeralda and convinces to go with him, swearing he will protect her. She’s not sure (I guess she noticed his foppish ways) but she doesn’t have many options. They haven’t moved far when they find a bleeding man and a woman. It’s the Gypsy Miguel, who survived the shot, and his wife Laisha. They stop Diego and reproach him for not helping them as he should, and proceed to take their clothes to escape unnoticed. Diego and Esmeralda have to dress with their clothes.

At the party, Mariángel asks his father mockingly if he really pretended to marry the nun. The Governor didn’t like the comment and chides the Cap’n for his indiscretion (he was the one that shared that tidbit with Mariángel.) A soldier named Pizarro tells the Cap’n that he took care of the business, referring to some alterations they’ll make to the jail so it’s ready for an inspection. In that jail, there’s a mysterious woman with a mask. They move her from her prison.

In a camp not far away, the gypsies celebrate. Renzo can’t stop thinking about Esmeralda. However, the gypsy Jonás reminds him that although Esmeralda is the one that can help them against the tyranny, she doesn’t know her mother Sara Calí is alive. That makes things difficult.

In the convent, a nun flagellates herself to clean her sins. It’s Sister Suplicios. "Only mortification can help me" she claims crying, while María Pía consoles her.

Esmeralda arrives home very excited because of her adventures. Her aunt is astonished and helps her sneak in. Meanwhile in the garden, her sister Mariángel is having wild monkey sex with the Cap’n (I guess that month in the sea had the poor woman scratching the walls.)

In the convent, María Pía receives Fernando Sánchez; while in her room, Esmeralda (dressed in a very skimpy outfit after bathing naked in a tub) unexpectedly finds a figure entering her window: Zorro.

Telenovela-World: Telemundo summary of Ep. 3 - Translated Author: dlandros (---) Date: 02-17-07 09:12 PST

The same warning from the episode's 2 summary applies: this is mostly the Telemundo summary with some comments or fixes. Please don’t blame me if stuff doesn’t make much sense.

*******************************************************

Episode 3 – Wednesday 2/14

Zorro enters Esmeralda’s room by surprise – supposedly to get his medallion back but it’s clear he has other intentions.

-Are you afraid of me? - asks Zorro

-Why should I be afraid of you? - replies Esmeralda.

-Maybe because I haven’t been very courteous- says Zorro, getting closer and closer until he kisses her. He picks her up, takes her to the bed and starts taking her clothes off while she tries to unmask him (all the time, we see a weird blue glow in their faces.) But Esmeralda opens her eyes and realizes that everything but the kiss was a product of her imagination. Zorro takes his medallion and leaves.

In the monastery, María Pía and Don Fernando go to a room so nobody sees them. She pleads with him to go.

-This is what I should have done when you refused to marry me. I won’t go without an answer. Why? Since then, I haven’t been happy. Life without you has been hell – reproaches Don Fernando, with a voice full of pain. He tries to kiss her but she runs away. Don Fer yells her name very loud and Sister Suplicios hears the ruckus. She looks for the other nuns to find out what’s going on. When they come out, they see a horse riding fast but they don’t seem to suspect anything. That is, all but Sister Suplicios, who is suspicious.

Don Fernando Sánchez arrives home and hears the noises of Mariángel and the Cap’n rolling in the cobblestones. Afraid to be discovered, the Cap’n covers Don Fer with a cape so they can escape without being seen. He runs away without a problem but Mariángel is caught by Olmos. It seems that he has a crush on her so she convinces not to tell anything. Furious, Don Fer wakes everybody up to find out which of the woman was with a man in the patio. Don Fernando asks Olmos if he witnessed anything and the hunchback points to Esmeralda’s room.

The Governor accuses Esmeralda of having a loose virtue and lashes out at her with his whip several times. Almudena wants him to stop but can’t do anything. Mariángel smiles maliciously.

-You have unleashed my wrath with your lack of manners, with your immorality. I can’t wait for the time you’re out of my life - yells Fernando to his crying daughter.

Later on, Almudena cares for her niece’s wounds while Esmeralda asks why her father hates her so. As soon as she’s done, Almudena reproaches her brother his behavior towards his daughter.

- She’s the daughter of a woman you loved. You don’t have to treat her like that – says Almudena.

- Who told you I loved Sara Kalí? I didn’t love her mother and I don’t love her.

She’s just a disgrace I have to deal with all my life – answers Fernando. Esmeralda has been listening in the conversation and hears when Don Fer says she’s not his daughter. She goes back to her room without being seen. She then remembers the medallion the old gypsy woman gave her and understands that her mother could be alive.

Zorro goes back to the cave and Bernardo is waiting for him.

-I’ve told you not to wait up for me. I recuperated the medallion but I’m in trouble. Today I broke all the rules and oaths of Zorro. Esmeralda is the last woman on earth that I thought I’d fall in love…but there’s something in his soul that went inside mine.

Don Alejandro knocks at Diego’s room while he’s coming out of the bookcase (this is what connects him to the cave, I guess.) He asks Diego why he didn’t go to the party although knowing his son, he’s not even critical. Don Diego speculates that the party was probably boring but Alejandro tells him nothing farther from the truth.

- I met Almudena, Don Fernando’s sister. Before she was very unappealing but now she’s a beautiful woman – says Don Alejandro without hiding the attraction he feels. Diego then tells him about meeting Esmeralda, the other daughter of Don Fernando. The sudden interest that Diego has shown for this woman surprises Don Alejandro, who knows that his son falls in love very easy. At the end, however, he thinks it won’t be no more than an affair. Alejandro informs his son that they will have the Sanchez family for dinner tomorrow and Diego offers to bring the invitation personally. Dolores, a Black servant, doesn’t like the new Governor – she knows he’s not a good man.

The Cap’n asks Pizarro if the jail is ready for the upcoming inspection and if they hid the mysterious prisoner.

-Neither the emissary of the viceroy, nor even God will be able to find her in the place I have her – says Pizarro with a pistol face. He feels he has the right to know who the heck is this woman but the Cap’n answers that even he doesn’t have a clue. However, the orders come from high above and if that woman comes out, the Spanish Crown will shake.

In some hidden place, Jonás sends Sara Kalí a message with trained rat called Lucrecia. Sara Kali reads the message “your daughter Esmeralda is alive.” Lucrecia is the only contact she has the world and she replies with another message “Take care of my daughter.” (I didn’t think this was funny, but reading it, made me realize how absurd this was. First, how did SK write the message? It’s not as if the guards left her pen and paper. Second, was it necessary for her to tell Jonás this? This should be a given!)

In the monastery, Padre Tomás warns María Pía to be careful with Sister Suplicios; if something happens that destroys the image the Sister has of MP, her idolatry could morph into hatred and that could be very dangerous.

The Governor visits the Cap’n to give him a document that authorizes to visit the woman with the iron masks, warning that nobody should know anything about her or his involvement in the matter. Outside, Yumalai and his brother, follow the man with one eye.

Don Diego de la Vega is received at the Governor’s Mansion by Almudena and Mariángel. The Aunt goes to look for Esmeralda and Mariángel, realizing he’s a rich hacendado, doesn’t hesitate to make amorous advances.

- Are you married or are you interested in anybody? – she asks, touching Diego’s chest seductively.

End of the episode.

Telenovela-World: Summary of Ep. 4 from Telemundo (translated) Author: dlandros Date: 02-17-07 17:35 PST

The same warning goes

- this is mostly the Telemundo summary with some comments or fixes. Please don’t blame me if stuff doesn’t make much sense.

I'll post Friday's episode tomorrow. This will be mine so hopefully it will be better.

*****************************************************

Episode 4 - Thursday, 2/15

In the last episode, Esmeralda was kidnapped by Renzo and his mother. (LAI forgot this tidbit in the last summary!) With the head covered and scared, she asks for help but the gypsies assure her they won’t hurt her. They keep calling her princess, which she doesn’t understand. When they arrive at the gypsy camp, Esme finds there’s a celebration in her honor.

Diego de la Vega is being seduced by Mariángel at the Governor’s house. He comments that he was born in California and brought up in Madrid. However, he prefers América.

- I cannot understand how you can like these savage lands – she says seductively.

- Probably there’s something of the savage in me – answers Diego. All of a sudden, we hear the screams of Almudena, who saw the kidnapping of Esmeralda. The Aunt asks for help and Diego goes to the rescue.

Don Fernando is riding about with some soldiers in the backwoods when he is attacked by Jacó y Yumalai

- the Indigenous brother and sister. Don Fernando shoots and kills Jacó (great plan, couldn’t they wait until he was alone?) Yumalai runs away after doing a spell that drives the horses crazy but a soldier follows her and shoots her in the shoulder. However, she escapes. “I swear to continue with our revenge... the wicked man of one eye will pay with his life”

- swears Yumalai.

Diego follows Esmeralda’s trail but decides to continue looking for her as Zorro. He whistles and Tornado shows up with his clothes (so this is the explanation! Tornado is in charge of bringing the wardrobe!) We hear the oath again: “I don a black mask to hide my personality; I cover myself with a black cape that protects me from my enemies and I brandish my sword…to do justice!” According to LAI “This is the oath that transforms him into the masked man.” ( Now LAI wants us to believe he is Clark Kent!)

When he arrives home, Don Fer learns about Esme’s kidnapping and decides to go out looking for her. Don Alejandro de la Vega, who heard about the kidnapping in town, arrives to the Governor’s house and offers his help. Mariángel doesn’t lose time to disparage her sister. “Half sister... it would be embarrassing to share all my blood with such a vulgar and bad

-mannered woman” – she tells her Aunt. Mariángel never hides the loathing she feels for Esmeralda.

Later on, Olmos tells Mariángel how bad he feels of having accused Esmeralda for something Mariángel did. She threatens him to asks her father to audit the books – it seems Olmos has been stealing from the Governor. She also notices he’s attracted to her and teases him with her body.

At the gypsies’ camp, Jonás tells Esmeralda how his tribe was chased (who knows by whom...the Inquisition? Spanish authorities?) and later saved by a Spanish Christian woman, who sold her jewelry to help those members of the tribe that were ill. That woman was Esmeralda’s grandmother and she died from that same illness she helped cure. The gypsies welcomed her like one of them. That woman had a child, who the gypsies named their Queen. That child was Sara Kalí, Esmeralda’s mother, and she’s alive. That’s why they consider Esmeralda their princess. The gypsies tell their princess that she’s the one who could help them rescue her mother. When Esmeralda asks about her father, they answer that only Sara Kalí knows it. Esmeralda accepts her destiny with pride and feels loved at last. "I feel that today my life has changed. I have a big responsibility" – she tells the gypsies wouldn’t it be a better idea to give these poor people some of your ill earned money? and says good bye. In the road Diego finds her and offers to take her home, threatening the gypsies that escort her with a pistol.

At the monastery, the Mother Superior is dying and names María Pía her successor. Sister Suplicios watches distrustfully.

The Viceroy’s inspector arrives to the jail. His mission is to look in the cells for the mysterious prisoner. This special emissary is not easy to convince and the Cap’n knows it. The inspector finds a suspicious place and asks the soldiers to open it.

Meanwhile Diego de la Vega, pretending to be brave, shoots the gun and spooks the horse tied to the cart carrying Esmeralda. The horse gallops out of control and Esmeralda screams terrified. “Nothing goes well for me unless I dress in black?” – wonders Diego incredulously.

End of the episode.

Telenovela-World: Summary Episode 5 - this one is mine :) [USA, 2/16/07] Author: dlandros (---)

Date: 02-18-07 07:09 PST

Episode 5 – Friday, 2/16

- Countryside (road)

Diego rushes after Esmeralda wishing he had Tornado so he could go faster. He’s scared when he sees the spooked horse is running towards the river – and we see some magnificent waterfalls.

- Countryside (meadow)

Don Alejandro, Don Fernando and the soldiers chase Tornado thinking that Zorro is riding him. The horse goes to a dead end and they think they got Zorro. But when they see Tornado alone, Fernando becomes livid.

- Who is this Zorro? – he asks Don Alejandro.

- He is the number one criminal in the region. He supposedly helps people in need but according to Montero, he’s responsible for many crimes – answers Don Alejandro. He thinks Zorro possibly kidnapped Esme for money or attention. An angry Don Alejandro tries to kill Tornado for spite but Don Alejandro doesn’t let him. The horse doesn’t know anything; it doesn’t know that its master is a criminal. Also, Alejandro has a weakness for horses and this one is a magnificent specimen. (I wonder why they didn’t try to catch the horse; great specimens were not so easy to come by so you think they would at least have tried to catch it instead of just leaving it there.)

- Jail

Montero and Pizarro have to open the entrance they covered. The Inspector goes down the stairs, covers his nose because of the stench, looks about and sees the woman with the mask. “This is treason, Montero” – the Inspector says unwisely – “and you’ll pay with your head.” But Montero hits him in the face. The Inspector calls for Pizarro to defend him but Pizarro says he only takes orders from Montero. Sardonically, he asks Pizarro what they’re going to do with the emissary and Pizarro answers very seriously that they can’t let him go because their heads would be in danger. Montero asks the Inspector about the identity of the woman but the Inspector doesn’t want to say anything. Montero smirks that he’ll speak when Pizarro takes him to the Torture Chamber.

- River

Esmeralda falls to the river and Diego goes after her.

- Countryside (meadow)

Don Fernando says they can’t look for Esmeralda on their own and decides to ask for the Commander’s help (now everybody is calling Montero “Commander” instead of Captain as in the first few episodes…continuity, Kooko, continuity!...soldiers don’t change ranks like that! Anyway, from now on Montero will be “Cmndr” - we’ll see later that the title of “Cap’n Crunch” belongs to Pizarro.) Don Alejandro volunteers to go to the Governor’s Mansion (I forgot why but I think because he wanted to check if they knew anything or to give Almudena the news.)

- River

Esmeralda is in the rapids screaming for help. Diego reaches her and tries to grab her but she pushes him down (she can’t swim.) He manages to come out of the water and they’re sliding in the rapids.

- Montero’s office

Mariángel visits the Cmndr. He chides her for coming (pun intended hahahahahaha) – a lady shouldn’t visit a man alone and in a place like that (the prison.) She was worried because he left the house like a thief. “Not here” he says “I’ll look for you later. You’re in danger here.” She thinks he chickened out because of what happened last night and he tells her again to leave. She gets a little miffed and says “I agree with my father that you’re no gentleman.” To which he retorts: “And he thinks you’re a respectable lady?” She slaps him and he slaps her back. With her stinging cheek, she tells him not to see her again and talks about Diego being a real man.

He grabs her and murmurs “Diego is no man for you. He won’t give you what you want.” (I guess Montero found out the numbers Mariángel enjoys!Hahahahaha! He then kisses her and takes her to the desk.

Then we hear the voice of Don Fer; they quickly fix their clothes and are barely respectable when the Governor shows up. He immediately asks his daughter what is she doing there.

- Convent

Sister Suplicios talks to María Pía about the voice she heard; she insists and insists there was somebody in the convent. SS says she knows the identity of the visitor: it was the devil, tempting her to doubt the honesty of MP. The crazy nun cries.

Another nun comes in (Belinda from PdG) with great news: the Governor sent a donation of foodstuffs to the Convent but MP has to receive them personally. He also sent her flowers. We hear suspicious music and the face of SS wondering.

- Montero’s office

Don Fer asks Mariángel what she’s doing at the Cmndr’s office. Mariángel uses the kidnapping of Esmeralda as an excuse. He came because of the same thing and tells his daughter he doesn’t want her visiting that sort of place. She justifies herself that she wouldn’t have come if it were not for Esme. When Mariángel leaves, Don Fernando angrily wonders what kind of commander is Montero and what kind of security he’s providing him: last night, there was a man in his house; in the morning, some Indians tried to kill him and later on, his daughter is kidnapped. Montero tries to calm him down saying they have bigger problems.

Guards move the woman in the mask to her old cell.

- Torture chamber

Pizarro has the Inspector in the rack but the poor old guy doesn’t say anything. Pizarro warns him to tell what he knows because if he doesn’t, his death will be slow and very painful (mention bones cracking, etc.) The inspector tries to make a deal with Pizarro but Pizarro just twists the levers, causing more pain. The Inspector asks him to be compassionate; he must have wife or mother. Pizarro’s answer “If my mother – which I love more than anything - were in your place and asks me to betray my Cmndr, I’d kill her.” Pizarro keeps torturing him and the Inspector says he doesn’t know anything.

- Montero’s office

The Cmndr informs Don Fernando about the business of the Inspector. He asks: “Who is this woman and why is she so important for you and the crown?”

- Town’s streets

Mariángel is being driven home when she sees some soldiers. She asks to see what one of them has in his hand and it’s a Wanted poster of Zorro. She looks at it and then sees Olmos walking about. She calls him and while fixing her stockings (in the street, no less!) she asks him about Diego de la Vega. Olmos looks at her displayed leg and tells her what he knows – Diego’s background, his father, etc. She praises him for his efficiency and threatens to say what she knows about him. She then asks him to find out everything about Diego.

- River

Yep, Diego and Esme are still in the rapids. Finally, they get close to a tree and Esmeralda grabs it. Diego is still at the mercy of the rapids and they tried to hold on to each other but they can’t. Diego disappears in the waters of the river and she calls his name desperately.

- Gypsies’ camp

Renzo’s mother ( I knew I've seen her before, she's Doña Raquel from PdG! I'll call her that until we found her name) is telling him to forget about Esme. He says he can’t, her body and eyes are in his soul. The mother insists that he should forget about her and tell him he’ll hurt himself tremendously if he doesn’t control the force of his passions.

- River

Esmeralda looks for Diego and finds him on top of a rock.

- Governor’s Mansion

Don Alejandro tells Almudena that there are no news about Esmeralda. Almudena is worried but hopes that Diego finds her. Alejandro is surprised; he doesn’t know what Diego has to do with anything. She explains that he had been with them when Esme was kidnapped and offered to rescue her. She even gave him a gun thinking that he’ll be as good with them as his father. Alejandro thinks this will complicate things; he’s ashamed to say that Diego can’t handle a sword. He tried to make a soldier out of him and that’s why he sent him to Spain but when he came back, he was an intellectual. Almudena cries thinking she placed Diego’s life in danger but Alejandro calms her down.

- Torture chamber

Don Fernando goes with the Cmndr to visit the Inspector. When he finds out from Pizarro that the old man hasn’t said anything, he shoots him. Montero protests but DF says that anybody who knows about this woman must die. However, he’ll tell Montero and Pizarro what’s going on, confessing that the woman is his wife.

- Convent

Very happy, the nuns are receiving the foodstuffs sent by the Governor - they didn’t have much left in the storage. María Pía sends her thanks to Don Fernando, saying that both nuns and the poor will have something to eat. Sister Belinda (I’ll keep calling her that until I find out her name) wonders why the Governor asked for MP to receive the donation personally. MP says he was a friend of her brother and they had gone last night to receive him. Sister Belinda says that he’s a very good man and Sister Chepa (she was Chepa in LT; I’ll keep calling her that until we find out her name) chirps happily that they will have dessert tonight. The nuns leave and MP mumbles “You’ll hear me Fernando.”

Meanwhile, Sister Suplicios is in her room, naked, partaking in her favorite pastime (no, not THAT! Hahahahahaha!): punishing herself, this time with hot wax. She’s praying to God for forgiveness for doubting the purity of MP (crazy music in the background.)

- River

Esmeralda is with the unconscious Diego – she blames herself for what happened. She turns him around and sees blood in his temple. She says distressed: “You can’t die; you can’t do this to me.”

- Town’s bar

Olmos asks for a bottle of Spanish wine. A few men are in a nearby table, one of them is Tobias, Catalina’s husband (didn’t they say in the first episode that he was her fiancé? Whatever.) He’s mocking one of the men at his table (Olegario from PdG with a gray mustache; I’ll keep calling him that until we find out his name.) Olegario, not to be left behind, tells him about the adventures of his wife with Diego. Tobias then challenges Olegario to a duel to clean his honor and makes an appointment to meet at dawn at the Death’s Canyon. Olmos hears all.

- Street

Catalina is walking when her husband shows up, asks her to go home with him and explain some things. She doesn’t understand but he tells her not to protest, he doesn’t want a scandal. She goes with him while in the background, we hear a donkey braying. (I thought this was a nice touch by the director, not only is the guy a “burro”, he’s an ass!)

- River

Esmeralda gives Diego mouth to mouth resuscitation. (How does she know to do this? It wasn’t as if they taught her CPR along with embroidery, painting and playing the pianoforte!) His lips reminded her of kissing Zorro and she remembers her fantasy. (My husband’s comment: Diego is one of the few man in town over 6’; they have the same build, jaw and mustache but Diego only reminds her of Zorro when she kissed him? Yeah, right!)

- Rocky Countryside

Don Alejandro is riding when he finds the Indigenous woman. He realizes that she’s badly hurt and decides to take her home. He picks her up and puts her in Quijote, his horse.

- Montero’s office

Don Fernando tells Montero the story of the woman. “Her name was Mercedes and she was very beautiful but she married me to get access to court.” The Cmndr doesn’t look as if he believes this likely story. “She was considered the Queen of the Gypsies and she had only one mission: to kill the King.” The Cmndr is skeptical: “Why would they want to kill the King? Gypsies don’t have great ambitions.” Don Fernando seems to be making it up on the fly: “In Spain, the King had persecuted them and Mercedes wanted to avenge the death of her brothers. But I discovered her on time and put her in jail.” The Cmndr still doesn’t believe the tale: “A woman that tried to kill the King shouldn’t have an iron mask and live under such secrecy that everybody who discovers it has to die. There’s something more here.” An uneasy Don Fernando answers: “Of course there’s something more: my integrity and that of my daughter. I had a daughter with that woman and she’s not guilty of her mother’s crimes and sins. I have to protect her." The Cmndr wonders if this daughter is Mariángel but DF answers that it’s Esmeralda, the one that’s been kidnapped. The Cmndr assures him they’ll get Esme back and that he’s satisfied with the story. DF then declares that Esmeralda is very beautiful and a good daughter. He hopes that a man like that would be interested in her. The Cmndr only smiles maliciously.

- Governor’s Mansion

As soon as Fernando gets home, Almudena asks for Esmeralda. They haven’t found her but DF says he has soldiers searching. Almudena reproaches him that he’s not with them. “You hate her but she’s your daughter!” cries Almudena. ( Can they keep their stories straight? Is Esme his daughter or not? ) DF dismisses her and Almudena decides to look for Esmeralda herself: “My heart will take me to her.” ( Great idea! She should get together with the Indians to share those wonderful plans.)

- River

Esme keeps giving Diego mouth to mouth, blaming herself for what happened and asking him not to die. For some unexplained reason, she opens his shirt and sees Zorro’s medallion. She’s perplexed.

End of the episode.

============================================================================================

TRANSLATION OF AVANCES AND RESÚEMENS OF TELEMUNDO FOR FEB. 19-23, 2007

Telenovela-World: AVANCES and already-seens... TODAY's AVANCES UPDATED [USA, 2/19/07] Author: B. (---) Date: 02-20-07 12:54 PST

i checked several times LAI did NOT post avances for yesterday until today. still, herewith the ALREADY-SEENs for yesterday, followed by AVANCES for today...

TITLE: Renzo es acusado de criminal. (Renzo is accused of being a criminal)

DATE: Mon, 19 Feb 2007

TEASER: Una religiosa enfrenta sus demonios..... Y confía en quien menos debe.

A nun confronts her demons... and trusts in the person she most should not.

FULL:

-El capitán Montero se entera de la historia de Sara Kali.

Captain Mountebank finds out the story of Sara Kalí. (except weren't we already told that he wasn't told the whole truth...?)

-Esmeralda es raptada por indios caníbales.

Esme gets kidnapped by cannibal indians. (in the jungle. which we don't have in Los Angeles. go figure...)

-María Pía le exige a Don Fernando que la deje en paz.

María Pía demands that Don Fernie leave her in peace. (except you know he won't. which shows that his love for her is as much obsession as love. because if he really loved her, he would respect her wishes, and he so doesn't.)

-Sor Suplicios escucha voces y pierde la cabeza. En el proceso, confiesa intimidades (llegó a estar embarazada... ¡De su hermano!).

Sister Suplicios hears voices and loses her head. In the process, she confesses secrets (she became pregnant... by her brother!). (did anyone hear her telling MP that she got pregnant? i didn't, but maybe i missed it.)

-Olmos averigua cosas de Diego y le lleva la información a Mariángel.

Hamster finds out stuff about Diego and goes carrying tales to LA Diablita. (but did he tell her he wears a toupée, that's what i want to know!)

-Capturan a Renzo en casa de Esmeralda y lo acusan falsamente de matar al enviado del virrey.

They capture Renzo at Esme's house (because he's a moron -- did he forget he left his invisibility powder back at the tent...??) and falsely accuse him of killing the Viceroy's envoy. (...and here we go again.)

-Diego defiende a Esmeralda con mucha habilidad y ella sospecha de su talento.

Diego defends Esme with great ability and she is suspicious of his talent. (because she knows 2 + 2 = 1,753, after all...)

============

TITLE: Esmeralda ya sabe. (Esme knows)

DATE: Tue 20 Feb 2007

TEASER: ¡Diego y Esmeralda corren peligro! Son perseguidos por caníbales.

Diego and Esme are in danger! They're being chased by cannibals. (so the first sentence gets exclamation points, but the second is just so-so...??)

FULL:

-Esmeralda descubre la identidad del Zorro.

Esme discovers Zorro's identity. (ok, not that he could really help it, but still... what about all those vows he took??)

-Una tribu de caníbales tienen a Diego y a Esmeralda en su menú.

A tribe of cannibals has Diego and Esme on their menu. (hee! every now and again LAI actually does it right! although... he DID forget to mention what side dishes are planned...)

-El Gobernador hace una confesión sobre la gente que odia.

The Governor makes a confession about the people he hates. (which would seem to be nearly everyone, so it's anyone's guess. can we be a bit MORE vague, please, LAI??)

-Mariángle le pide a Olmos un favor muy especial.

Mangle (hee!!! new nick, courtesy of LAI's inability to proofread!!) asks a very special favor of Peluquín. (you mean, another very special favor. and thanks for the warning -- though now i can't decide whether to wait to eat until after tonight's episode, or eat beforehand and hope i don't feel queasy...)

-La mujer enmascarada, Sara Kalí, prepara su escape.

The masked woman, Sara Kalí, prepares her escape. (because she's been in jail for, what? 18 years? and hasn't thought to do so before this...??)

=======================

2.50p Pacific - UPDATED

LAI apparently felt today's were too skimpy compared to yesterday's, so he did a littl, um, tweaking. or something. so herewith the revised avances:

TITLE: Padre Tomás conoce muchos secretos. (Father Tomás knows many secrets)

DATE: Tue, 20 Feb 2007

-Mariángel le dice a su padre que quiere a Diego de la Vega como esposo y le pide que haga los arreglos necesarios con ese fin.

Mangle tells her father that she wants Diego de la Vega (and AGAIN with the last names, LAI! what is your deal??) for her husband and asks him to make the necessary arrangements to that end. (because Diego, of course, could not POSSIBLY object to marrying Mangle...)

-Fernando tiene a Yumalai herida escondida en su casa y la compara con Regina, la madre de Diego.

Fernie has the injured Ymalai hidden in his house (really? his house? it looked more like a stable or barn or other sort of outbuilding to me, but clearly i was mistaken...) and he compares her to Regina, Diego's mother. (Regina being the "Spanish" name Diego's half-Indian, half-noble Spanish mother had in Allende's book, which is just as well since ordinarily i can't spell Toypurnia --and clearly LAI can't either. although i do remember in the book Alejandro did his best to overlook and/or hide Regina's Indian side...)

-Fernando confiesa que odia a los gitanos.

Fernie confesses that he hates the gypsies. (and yet, he apparently married one. go figure.)

-Almudena corre a los brazos de Don Alejandro para que ayude a encontrar a Esmeralda.

Almudena runs to the arms of Don Alejandro for him to help find Esme. (since she's getting no-where fast with her horrible brother. although, really, you'd think by now she'd know better than to expect anything from him where Esme is concerned...!)

-Diego se confiesa ante Esmeralda... él es el Zorro. Le pide que haga un juramento con él ante la catedral, si salen vivos de la jungla.

Diego confesses to Esme... he is Zorro. he asks her to swear an oath with him in front of the cathedral, if they get out of the jungle alive. (and again i have to say it: we actually do have a lot of stuff in Los Angeles that you might not necessarily expect to find, but that being said, jungles aren't one of them. still, it's hard to blame this one on LAI. i'm watching, and i'm seeing jungle, too.)

-Fernando habla de sus secretos. Cuenta que tuvo 2 esposas, pero que su primer y único amor es María Pía.

Fernie talks about his secrets. (to whom?? because i don't see there being many people around he'd care to tell this kind of stuff. he has got to be sharp enough to realize that the only person he really can confide in --the Captain-- is the LAST person he should give anything that could possibly be used against him...) He tells how he had two wives, but his first and only love is María Pía. (guy sure managed to get around, though, didn't he...?)

-Fernando quiere saber sobre Diego. Se propone arreglar el matrimonio de su hija. Sin embargo, él ya le había ofrecido la mano de Esmeralda al Comandante Montero.

Fernie wants to know about Diego. He suggests arranging the marriage of his daughter. However, he already offered Esme's hand to Comandante Mountebank. (um, LAI...? are you getting the daughters confused...?)

-Esmeralda se entrega a Diego de la Vega.

Esme gives herself to Diego de la Vega. (that was fast... plus, wait until she finds out her father's big plans for her future...)

-Sara Kalí se escapa de la cárcel. Renzo observa todo.

Sara Kalí escapes from the jail. (because even though being chained up for years seems to have stopped her before, now her daughter's in town she's got super-strength? or did she see the Mythbusters episode about how it's plausible that a Mexican prisoner escaped from his jail cell by using salsa to eat away at the iron bars...?) Renzo sees it all. (yet he doesn't try to escape the same way...?)

Telenovela-World: AVANCES for today (21 Feb 2007) Author: B. (---) Date: 02-21-07 10:43 PST

TITLE: ¡Esmeralda rescatada!. (Esmeralda rescued!) DATE: Wed 21 Feb 2007

TEASER: Diego de la Vega se arrepiente... ...Mientras Esmeralda está ilusionada.

Diego de la Vega has regrets... ....While Esme is all carried away.

FULL:

NOTE: these are short, so i'm willing to bet they will be expanded at some point. i'll keep checking, and if/when that happens, i'll update this, as i did yesterday.*

-Esmeralda le cuenta a su tía su experiencia en la jungla y lo que sabe de su madre.

Esme relates her experience in the jungle (we don't have in Los Angeles) and what she knows of her mother to her aunt. (does she relate ALL of her experiences in the jungle we don't have in Los Angeles?? including the ones she swore she wouldn't talk about??)

-Diego se arrepiente de lo que confesó a Esmeralda.

Diego regrets what he confessed to Esme. (well, if she's going around telling people, i'm not surprised. plus, there was that whole solemn oath thing and all...)

-El Gobernador quiere complacer a su hija.

The Governor wants to please his daughter. (i'm guessing LAI's talking about Mangle here, not Esme. DOES LAI know Esme's his daughter, too??)

-Mariángel se entera de los intereses de Diego.

Mangle discovers the interests of Diego. (not clear if he's talking about Diego being interested in Esme, Diego being interested in women, Diego's hobbies, or Diego's financial interests. do we care? i would FF Mangle if i weren't watching live.)

-La mujer enmascarada, Sara Kalí, es atrapada.

The Masked Woman, Sara Kalí, is trapped. ("trapped" in what sense? captured again? caught on a nail? trapped in her mask? trapped in her own mind? a LITTLE specificity would be useful here....)

--3.45p Pacific: *still nothing more expansive than this, so maybe today we're not going to get anything more than this.

Telenovela-World: AVANCES for today (22 Feb) and yesterday's avances finally amplified Author: B. (---) Date: 02-22-07 11:32 PST

first, yesterday's amplified avances, which have two (TWO!) titles, not counting whatever we were given yesterday...

TITLE: Nace el amor y una confesión / Un Gobernador sin escrúpulos. (Love and a confession are born / An unscrupulous governor)

DATE: Wed 21 Feb 2007 (updated/amplified from earlier post)

EPISODE #8

- Diego salva a Esmeralda de los caníbales, pero el Comandante Montero se lleva todo el crédito.

Diego saves Esme from the cannibals, but the Comandante Mountebank takes all the credit. (and did you see his little trick, "i'm so weak from blood loss..." ?? SPARE. ME.)

-Dolores habla con María Pía . Ellas junto al Padre Tomás son lo únicos que saben que Fernando mató a la madre de Diego .

Dolores talks with María Pía. They, together with Padre Tomás, are the only ones who know that Fernie killed Diego's mother. (yeah, well, you know that won't last. good thing Esme's not actually Fernie's daughter. but i guess the mistaken belief she is will be one of the things to keep Diego and Esme apart...? still, if iit is, it won't be all bad, since at least in theory, that should also keep the Mangle away...)

-Sara Kalí es atrapada por Pizarro y no logra escaparse.

Sara Kalí is trapped by Pizarro and doesn't manage to escape. (and i have to say, considering how long she's had to consider an escape plan, that was really the best she could come up with...??)

- Esmeralda , en su casa, le cuenta su aventura a Almudena , excepto lo que sabe del Zorro .

Esme, in her house, recounts her adventure to Almudena, except for what she knows about Zorro. (well, good. we wouldn't want her breaking her oath of secrecy quite SO soon. but i can understand Diego's doubts, seeing how she really wanted to clarify that he, not Mountebank, was the one who rescued her from the cannibals. yes, those very same cannibals we still have never had in Los Angeles. in the jungle we don't have here either. whatever.)

-Mientras, en su cueva, Diego de la Vega está preocupado por lo que sabe Esmeralda .

Meanwhile, in his bat-cave, Diego de la Vega is worried about what Esme knows. (yes, we know. and we've already admitted he has some cause to worry. move it along, LAI!!)

- Mariángel se entera por el Comandante Montero que Diego está interesado en Esmeralda. Montero , por su parte, también está interesado en ella.

Mangle finds out from Comandante Mountebank that Diego is interested in Esme. (that must've been the part i FF'd through last night. well, it WAS pretty late and i didn't want to get all annoyed right before trying to go to bed...) Mountebank, for his part, is also interested in her. (did Mangle pick up on that? i bet she wasn't too pleased...)

- Alejandro simpatiza con la idea de un casamiento entre Diego y Mariángel. .

Alejandro is up for the idea of a marriage between Diego and Mangle. (because he's a credulous moron, clearly. he just looks like he's moderately intelligent. but what i want to know is this: what the hell is up with LAI and periods today??? they're all over the place!!)

-Por su parte, Alejandro le confiesa a María Pía que piensa pedir la mano de Almudena .

For his part, Alejandro confesses to María Pía that he's thinking of asking for the hand of Almudena. (i hope he thinks to ask for more than just her hand! she'll probably need it, and he's got a whole hacienda full of servants to do stuff for him...)

- Almudena descubre que la madre de Esmeralda está viva.

Almudena discovers that Esme's mother is alive. (yes, she "discovers" it because Esme told her. how is that "discovering," exactly, LAI???)

- Bernardo se preocupa por el secreto del Zorro .

Bernardo is worried about Zorro's secret. (worry clearly being contagious...)

- Diego se encuentra con Esmeralda en la capilla. Ella está comprometida a jurar nunca divulgar el secreto de Zorro , cuando de repente aparece el enmascarado en su caballo. Esmeralda mira asombrada.

Diego meets with Esme in the chapel. She is committed to swearing never to divulge the secret of Zorro when the masked man suddenly appears on his horse. Esme stares, astonished. (oh, gawd, SPARE. ME. this must've been the part i didn't see because of my programming mistake. and just as well. i never would've gotten any sleep from wanting to strangle Kooko.)

***************************

and now for today's early offerings (stay tuned, there could be more...!):

TITLE: Esmeralda...¿Engañada otra vez?. (Esme... Fooled again? --LAI, what IS this new obsession of yours with periods??? you don't need a period when you've already got a question mark!!!)

DATE: Thu 22 Feb 2007

EPISODE #9

TEASER: Dolores quiere prevenir a Alejandro... ...Pero la tarea no será fácil. (Dolores wants to warn Alejandro... (that his pal's a cold-hearted, murduring SOB...?) ...But the task won't be easy.)

FULL:

-Esmeralda ve al Zorro y a Diego de la Vega juntos en un mismo lugar.

Esme the credulous see Zorro and Diego de la Vega together in the same place. (hasn't she been reading her Superman?? Kooko clearly has been!)

-Diego, por su parte, se siente verdaderamente enamorado.

Diego, for his part, feels truly in love. (way to show it, moron!! you can totally tell these two are D4EA...)

-El Gobernador recibe una petición muy especial del Comandante Montero.

The Governor receives a very special petition from Comandante Mountebank. (what? that he wants to marry Esme AND Mangle?)

-A Mariángel le comentan del interés de Diego por Esmeralda, algo que no le complace.

They ("they" who??) comment to Mangle on Diego's interest in Esme, something that doesn't please her. (well, since virtually nothing DOES please her, why should this be any different...??)

-Diego hace una petición sorprendente y su padre queda boquiabierto.

Diego makes a suprising request and his father is left gaping. (not hard to do, i'm thinking -- he doesn't seem to be overly bright so it was probably just as well he was a noble back when being a noble really counted for something even when you were clearly a complete idiot. Alejandro's starting to remind me of a fish in a Chinese opera: overly made up and stylized.)

Telenovela-World: RECAP for yesterday; AVANCES for today (23 Feb) Author: B. (---) Date: 02-23-07 12:21 PST

yesterday's avances are here; following is the recap (formerly known as amplified avances) that LAI posted this morning, as usual with two titles, in addition to the title it was given with the avances...

NEW TITLES: Diego admite un supuesto engaño / Bernardo busca información para El Zorro. (Diego admits a supposed deception / Bernardo looks for information for El Zorro.)

DATE: Thu 22 Feb 2007

EP #9

-Diego le confiesa a Esmeralda que le mintió y que él no es el Zorro. Esmeralda está muy dolida y le dice al mentiroso que nunca confiará en él.

Diego confesses to Esme that he lied to her (only he didn't, so what's this "confess"? LAI, the word you want there is "LIES," not "CONFESSES." it should be, "Diego lies to Esme that he lied to her...") and that he's not Zorro. Esme the Gullible is very hurt and tells the liar she will never trust in him. (and ok, although Kooko did try to retcon in some foundation for Esme's reaction --"I've been lied to all my life, I won't accept being lied to any more!"-- as was pointed out yesterday in another thread, it is nonetheless still a stretch that Esme so blindly believes this lie when all she has to do is think back to everything they went through together after the cannibals first captured her to see he's lying to her NOW for some reason, not THEN. and after she asked such reasonably astute questions and wouldn't let him off the hook when they were in the jungle we still don't have in LA, it doesn't make sense that she would so blindly accept a lie now on little more than a bad and overly-convenient impersonation, you know...?)

-Dolores le dice a María Pía que Diego está enamorado de Esmeralda. La religiosa asegura que hará lo posible para que ellos no se junten.

Dolores tells María Pía that Diego is in love with Esme. The nun swears she will do whatever possible to make sure they don't get together. (i just love it when people go making arbitrary decisions for others without even consulting the others first -- NOT!!)

-Esmeralda visita a los gitanos y les promete ayudarlos a salvar a Renzo.

Esme visits the gypsies and promises them she will help them save Renzo. (gotta admire her gumption, i guess... she has to know there's not a whole lot she's going to be able to do.)

-Don Fernando visita al Comandante Montero, quien aprovecha para pedir la mano de su hija Esmeralda.

Fernie visits Mountebank, who takes the opportunity to ask for the hand of his daughter Esme. (because why have the whole body if you can just get the hand...?? it must be something in the air in 1800-something Southern California... we get a jungle we never had, and cannibals we never had. and also guys only asking for hands. a bit ghoulish, even for Kooko...)

-Alejandro recuerda a su esposa fallecida, Regina, y solloza por ella. Él nunca la ha olvidado.

Alejandro the CO[I]F remembers his deceased spouse, Regina, and snivel-- i mean, cries for her. He's never forgotten her. (let's start a pool: when does his hair look MORE fake? in the flashbacks, where they must've used a case of Grecian Formula to get it that black? or now, with the grey comb-through?)

-Renzo recibe su violín en la cárcel y lo toca. Sara Kalí lo escucha y reconoce la melodía. ¿La danza de la muerte?

Renzo gets his violin in jail and he plays it. Sara Kalí hears it and recognizes the melody. The Death Dance? (morbid much?)

-Diego se entera por el Padre Tomás sobre el plan para ejecutar a Renzo y envía a Bernardo para que busque información. ¿Una misión para el Zorro?

Diego finds out from Padre Tomás about the plan to execute Renzo and he sends Bernardo to get information. a mission for Zorro? (DUH!! get a clue, LAI -- even my cats could see THAT coming!!)

-Alejandro le informa a Diego sobre una cena en la residencia del Gobernador Fernando y le pide a su hijo que lo acompañe. Diego aprovecha la oportunidad para pedirle a su padre que le pida al Gobernador, la mano de Esmeralda.

Alejandro the CO[I]F tells Diego about a dinner at Gov Fernie's house and asks his son to accompany him. Diego takes the opportunity to ask his father to ask the Governor for Esme's hand. (and again with the hands!! LAI is obsessed with hands and bad punctuation. get over it already!!)

-Una campesina está dando a luz. María Pía la socorre pero Sor Suplicios no aguanta la impresión. Sin embargo, Esmeralda, quien pasaba cerca, escucha y se ofrece para ayudar.

A peasant is giving birth. María Pía helps her but Sister Suplicios can't handle the scene. However, Esme, who was passing by, hears and offers to help. (clearly a setup to make María Pía think the better of her. try for something a little more subtle next time, Kooko!! (and please look up "subtle" in the dictionary, just to make sure you actually DO know what it means!) why exhaust yourself and all of us by tossing anvils when an iron is so much easier yet still gives you pretty much the same effect in the end...? SO much more, um, well, "elegant" isn't QUITE the word, but i'll let it stand...)

***************

and now, for today's AVANCES:

TITLE: ¡Un brindis de impacto!. (A toast with an impact)

DATE: Fri 23 Feb 2007

EP #10

TEASER: ¡Un brindis de impacto! Muchos querarán boquiabiertos. (A toast with an impact. Many are left gaping.)

FULL:

-Esmeralda confiesa que está enamorada de Diego.

Esme confesses (to whom?? why am i ALways having to remind you about specificity, LAI??) that she's in love with Diego. (and again: DUH!)

-Diego se entera de varias asuntos que lo ponen a temblar.

Diego finds out about various matters that make him tremble. (?? in fear? in "antici.... PAtion"? from cold? from nausea?)

-El Gobernador Fernando tiene que tomar una decisión sobre Esmeralda. Su decisión impactará a muchos.

The Governor Fernie has to make a decision about Esme. His decision will impact many. (i think we can take it as a given that whatever Fernie decides, it will be exactly the thing to most upset the most people. which probably means he is going to say that he's decided to give Esme's hand (and, presumably the rest of her) to Mountebank...)

-Sor Suplicios sufre otro ataque.

Sister Suplicios suffers another attack. (i wonder what, if anything, brings it on?)

Telenovela-World: RECAP for Friday; AVANCES for today, Mon 26th Feb Author: B. (---) Date: 02-26-07 10:00 PST

RECAP for Friday, 23rd Feb 2007

NEW TITLE: Sor Suplicios sufre otro ataque. (Sister Suplicios suffers another attack.)

EPISODE #10

-Mariángel le pide a su padre que considere darle la mano de Esmeralda al Comandante Montero.

Mangle asks her father to consider giving Esme's hand (and there we are with giving away only the hands again! it's a plague!!) to Comandante Mountebank. (and can i just say it: EEEEWWW... Geithner was a good choice to play Mountebank.)

-Diego se entera por Dolores , que Fernando fue cazador de indios y que hizo su fortuna matándolos y robándoles las tierras.

Diego finds out from Dolores that Fernie was an Indian hunter and that he made his fortune killing them and stealing their lands. (although he had the right answer: the daughter is NOT the father. at least, in this case.)

-Diego recibe flores y una invitación muy especial de Mariángel.

Diego gets flowers and a very special invitation from Mangle. (which he should have tossed back in her face, if only he knew her better.)

-El Comandante Montero tiene sus ojos puestos en Esmeralda e insiste en su mano con Fernando.

Mountebank has his sights set on Esme and presses Fernie to give him her hand. (sigh. i am a lone voice, crying in this wilderness...)

-Diego se entera por García , en un bar, que existe una mujer con una máscara en la cárcel del pueblo.

Diego finds out from García, in a bar, that there is a woman with a mask in the town's jail. (and this part of the story just really goes from the realms of "pushing the boundaries" to flat-out beyond any possibility of belief. we won't even address the fact that in spite of apparently being chained to a wall with limited movement 23.5/7 for EIGHTEEN YEARS the prisoner seems to be in good shape. or the fact that even though she's had a mask on for EIGHTEEN YEARS, her hair doesn't seem to have matted around it, nor her skin (what we can see of it) gotten all weird. let us just address the fact that she's been there for EIGHTEEN YEARS and García, Tomás, and Zorro are finding out about her ONLY JUST NOW. it's easier to accept the idea that Florida shares a land border with Mexico than this, Kooko!! get a clue already!!!!!)

-Fernando confronta a Esmeralda , pero ella lo desafía. Fernando está perdiendo la paciencia con ella. La considera irrespetuosa e insolente.

Fernie confronts Esme, but she defies him. Fernie is losing his patience with her. (i think you have the wrong tense, there, LAI. Fernie isn't "losing" anything -- where Esme is concerned, Fernie lost it LONG ago, if he ever had it at all... and really, since he knows Esme isn't his child, one does have to wonder why he bothered raising her?? as a final slap in the face to the Masked Miracle?? you know, "...and while you're in jail with no hope of escape, just remember that your precious child will be IN MY POWER!!" <insert Snidely Whiplash "laugh" here.> G.M.A.B.!!!) he considers her disrespectful and insolent. (yes, and what is HE when he's at home... i wonder where she could have EVER learned her attitudes...?)

-Mariángel mueve sus fichas. Está empeñada en quitarle a Diego a su hermana y se le presenta como la hermana querida para sacarle información.

(loosely) Mangle gets her ducks in line. (literally, Mangle moves her cards, or her chips.) She is determined to take Diego away from her sister and she presents herself as the loving sister to get information. (LAI writes this badly, as usual, and had i not already seen last Friday's episode, it would not necessarily be clear from the way he writes this that she is presenting herself as the loving, caring sister to Esme in order to get information about how far things might have gone between Esme and Diego. now, i don't give Mangle a whole lot of credit for real brains, but i think, considering the relationship they've apparently had for, i dunno, ALL ESME's LIFE, that even Mangle would be bright enough to figure out that even someone she thinks has no brains at all would be suspicious of this sudden about-face. give us and your characters just a little more credit, please, Kooko!!)

-Sor Suplicios sufre otro ataque de histeria, a su vez que sigue viendo cosas y escuchando voces.

Sister Suplicios suffers another hysterical attack, she is still seeing things and hearing voices. (what set her off this time? i hope at least Kooko will be consistent in SOMEthing...)

-Diego se entera del duelo que tendrán dos hombres por causa suya. Supuestamente, uno de los hombres se ofendió cuando otro lo acusó de cuernudo. ¿Será verdad que Diego se acostó con Catalina, la mujer del ofendido?

Diego finds out about the duel two men will have because of him. Supposedly, one of the men took offense when the other accused him of being a cuckold. (well, i think he technically isn't a cuckold, since we haven't seen any signs of Diego continuing his relationship with Catalina once she married. but maybe Kooko knows something we haven't? or he's just keeping his options open...?) Could it be true that Diego slept with Catalina, the wife of the wronged man? (who do you think you're fooling, LAI?? weren't you watching the premiere -- you know, that show that was only just two weeks ago?!? practically the first thing we saw of Diego was him and Catalina in what can only be called a VERY compormising situation!! but i'm pretty sure i remember her saying something about wanting one last time with Diego before she married Tobías... please do try to pay a LITTLE more attention, LAI!!)

-Esmeralda le confía a su tía Almudena que está enamorada de Diego. La tía por su parte, admite que ella está enamorada del papá de Diego, Alejandro de la Vega.

Esme confides to her aunt Almudena that she is in love with Diego. The aunt, for her part, admits that she's in love with Diego's father, Alejandro de la Vega. (that's right, LAI -- give us those last names in case we've forgotten who the characters are already and think maybe there's another Alejandro in this story...)

-Alejandro de la Vega y Diego, junto al Comandante Montero, arriban a la residencia del Gobernador para un brindis de agradecimiento. Celebran que salvó la vida de Esmeralda. El Gobernador aprovecha para anunciar que el Comandante Montero pidió la mano de Esmeralda y que piensa dársela.

Alejandro de la Vega (LAI...) and Diego, together with Comandante Mountebank, arrive at the governor's residence for a toast of thanks. (only a toast? wasn't Fernie at least planning to offer a few snax?? that seems a bit rude!) They celebrate Esme's life being saved. The Governor takes the opportunity to announce that Comandante Mountebank asked for Esme's hand and he is thinking of granting it. (you know, this really doesn't track for me. it's clear that Fernie is a proud man, and even if HE knows Esme isn't his "real" (biological) daughter, and even if he's pissed off with and wants to punish her, he shoudl be smart enough to see that the whole rest of the world pretty much believes Esme IS his daughter. and a man like Fernie, in real life, would not want to see any daughter of his married to a mere social climber like Mountebank unless Mountebank had some obvious advantage to offset his lack of desireablility as a husband for a Sánchez de Montero daughter, such as being filthy dirty rich. i bet if Mangle had come to Fernie and said she was madly in love with Mountebandk and had her heart set on marrying him, Fernie would do his best to talk her out of it, if not forbid the marriage outright. so no matter his feelings privately for Esme, and no matter that Mountebank is at least on a social level to be invited to social events at the Governor's mansion, i don't see it likely he would be considered an elegible partí for a Governor's daughter. even one like Esme.)

...

ENGLISH SUMMARIES OF EPISODES FOR THE WEEK OF FEB. 19-26, 2007

Telenovela-World: Re: Help, por favor! [USA, 2/19/07] Author: angel* (---) Date: 02-20-07 19:58 PST

I hate it when that happens!! Okay so Monday started with Esme and Diego in the water, he's still out and she's trying to revive him, she has noticed the medal and is puzzled. Esme decides to go for help but is caught by the cannibals, who take her off to get her ready for dinner.

Maria Pia demands to see Fernando and berates him for donating all the food and gifts she tells him it's not scoring him any points, of course this goes into the "I love you speech" and him wanting to know why she broke it off, he says he will never leave her alone.

Sor Suplicios is washing the stairs when she hears voices and see things, she flips out and is inconsolable by the time Maria Pia gets back to the convent, so they speak and Suplicios tells her what has been tormenting her involving her brother.

Mariangel has decided she wants to marry Diego and wants her father to arrange it.

Renzo takes off looking for Esme but is caught and now he is the scapegoat for the inspectors murder.

Alejandro takes the wounded Indian back to his house and has a shaman tend to her.

Back to Esme.. Diego after falling into a trap shows up to the save the day, after a flashback of Diego swearing never to use his skills for personal gain he throws all that out and commences to doing whatever he has to to save Esme, they mange to escape.

If I forgot anything I'm sorry maybe someone else can correct me, i was just trying to remember off the top of my head but I hope this helps! Now take the remote from your Dad around 9 pm, 8 central!

Telenovela-World: Summary Ep. 6 [USA, 2/19/07] Author: dlandros (---) Date: 02-21-07 09:23 PST

Warning: It seems Telemundo is not posting summaries anymore so I did this one from memory. I tried to follow the action as close as I could remember it but I may have made up (or simply written my interpretation) of some conversations. Things may not be in the same order as in the actual episode but I think the summary it's a fair representation. If you find something that it's downright incorrect, please let me know and I will edit it.

*****************************************************

Episode 6 - Monday, 2/19

- Downriver

Esmeralda wonders if Diego could be Zorro but determines that it couldn’t be. Then she thinks that she turned out the Princess of the Gypsies; why couldn’t Diego be Zorro. She asks herself “why does he hide?” (because the authorities are looking for him, you dope!) She decides to look for help and leaves Diego alone in the river. She’s wandering in the jungle when she’s captured by a tribe of Natives (one of them does the Ring thing where he gets close to her all of a sudden.)

- Upriver

Aunt Almudena’s heart takes her to the abandoned cart by the river. Padre Tomás is around and figures everything out right away: Diego’s horse is close by so he assumes Esme was in that cart, fell in the river and Diego went after her. He’s worried that the current took them deep in the jungle and she may be at the mercy of…yes, you know who they are... Cannibals!!

- Jail

The Commander is eating some chicken (with his hands) and telling my dear Pizarro what Don Fer told him. However, Montero is not too convinced of the story. Pizarro worries that Don Fer may want to kill them but Montero thinks he can’t do much; after all they witnessed the assassination of the Viceroy’s emissary (don’t they know that torturing the Inspector is a crime too?) Pizarro cautions that the Governor is not somebody to mess around with: he didn’t even blink an eye while shooting the poor old guy. Shrewdly, Montero asserts that DF killed him so he didn’t spill the beans about the woman. Pizarro asks permission to interrogate her but Montero says no: he could go too far. Montero mentions the business of Esmeralda and how DF basically offered her to him if he could find her. He smiles lasciviously and says that if Esmeralda is as beautiful as DF says, he may go for it.

- Downriver

Diego wakes up and looks for Esmeralda. He worries that she may be in danger and he fears not crocodiles, nor poisonous snakes nor murderous drifters but…the Cannibals!!! He runs to her rescue and falls in a deep hole – seems to be a hunting trap.

- Governor’s Mansion

María Pía enters Don Fernando’s office in a tiff. How dare he visit the convent and at night! He’s causing speculation among the other nuns, etc. Fernie confesses that he was only looking for those kisses she had denied him all those years. He tries to kiss her but MP doesn’t allow it. MP insists that he should leave her alone, talks about the congregation etc. He calls her a coward for living a cloistered life. “Is it cowardice to dedicate your life to the poor and the Lord?” she replies angrily. He kneels and asks why she left him. She yells at him – why can’t he believe she wanted to be a nun? Because he knows she was a passionate woman in his arms (so…did this two have sex?) – she promised to give him children. Tries again to kiss her and almost succeeds but she runs to the door saying that if he continues like this, the little bit of love she harbors in her heart could turn to hatred. He replies, full of feeling, that he prefers hatred to indifference.

- Convent

Sister Suplicios is doing something productive for once – cleaning the stairs- when she hears the voice of Don Fer calling “María Pía…María Pía.” She gets up, looks around and start screaming: she thinks she saw the Devil! She faints and the other nuns have to take care of her.

- Jungle

The Cannibals take Esmeralda some place and start making preparations for dinner (didn’t seem to be the tribe, but I guess they’re ready to eat anywhere.) She resists and they hit her (I wondered why the chief or any of the men didn’t think of having some fun with her before eating her, but my husband commented that they probably think she’s not “human” – as in like them – and that’s why they don’t have any compunction in eating her.) They rip her clothes off and tie her to a pole. Esmeralda is in a daze.

- Gyspsies camp

The two gypsies that were escorting Esmeralda tell Renzo about leaving her with Diego. Renzo is worried and decides to make sure she got home alright. Jonás ordered the two gypsies to go after Renzo to make sure he is alright. Azucena hurries them when she sees the card of death.

- Jungle

Diego gets out of the deep hole thanks to his handy whip. He follows the trail of the cannibals and finds Esmeralda almost in the pot.

- Upriver

Montero, Pizarro and some guards arrive to the river and find Almudena with the Priest. She tells them their conclusion and Montero says they will take care of it but first, Captain Pizarro (so my nick fits even better than I thought…Pizarro is the real Cap’n Crunch!) will take her home. Montero also tells the Cap’n (in an aside) that they need to find somebody to blame for the Inspector’s death.

- Catalina’s bedroom

Catalina is in her underwear while Tobias (her husband) talks about the duel. She denies having had anything to do with Diego and asks him to make love to her. Tobias doesn’t want to because he has more important things to do - practice for the duel. She asks him again and again, but her husband isn’t into it.

- Governor’s Mansion

Some guards surprise Renzo trying to get in the house. They threaten him with a pistol.

- Convent

Sister Suplicios confesses to María Pía that the Evil One commanded her to seduce her brother and that after they did it, he committed suicide.

- Jungle

Diego remembers the oath he made when he became Zorro; something about protecting Zorro’s identity and not using his abilities for his own interests. (I would think that rescuing a maiden in distress doesn’t qualify as his own interests.) The cannibals are almost killing Esmeralda when Diego shows up and starts fighting them all. Stupid cannibals that they are, they fight them one by one instead of ganging up on him all at once. Diego takes care of some of them, then they decide to fight them all together but they still can’t overtake Diego. Esmeralda fights some women and finally Diego kills a big one (which may have been the boss or something) and the other cannibals run away frightened. Esme takes her clothes and they run away from there.

- Mariángel’s bedroom

Mangle is taking a bath while Olmos is telling her what he found out about Diego (what the heck? Are we supposed to believe he could just go in there if she just called him? Men are not supposed to visit unmarried ladies’ chambers when they're clothed and even less when they're naked!) Anyway, she declares her intention of marrying Diego: he’s rich, handsome etc. All the time she’s teasing Olmos who’s clearly crazy in lust with her. He feels very bad/angry for being such an ugly man and takes off his toupee. (I’d LOVE if this would resemble the situation of an old friend of mine: she used to date a bunch of handsome losers, and one time gave a chance to an ugly guy who had been after her for ages. It turned out the ugly guy was a great lover!!! Hahahahaha! After a while though, he left her and she was heartbroken!)

- Jail

The guards take Renzo to jail and Pizarro accuses him of having killed the Viceroy’s emissary.

- Governor’s house

Mangle tells Don Fernie that she found the man she would like to marry: Diego de la Vega.

- Hacienda de la Vega:

Don Alejandro took the Native woman to his Hacienda. There a witch doctor is curing her when a guard shows up looking for her.

- Jungle

Diego tells Esme they should move on because the cannibals may come back. She’s in shock.

End of the episode.

Telenovela-World: Summary Episode 7 - 2nd Half [USA, 2/20/07] Author: dlandros (---) Date: 02-24-07 10:08 PST

I started doing the summary for this episode during my lunch hour thinking that I will finish it at home. I was soo upset when I realized I left it at work! Anyway, this is the 2nd half. I'll edit it on Monday and add the 1st half.

****************************************************

Episode 7, Tuesday 2/20

- Hacienda de la Vega

Almudena visits Don Alejandro. She’s very nervous because nobody seems to care about Esmeralda! Don Alejandro tries to calm her down but she just cries in his arms.

- Jungle

Esmeralda keeps acting up; now she doesn’t want to keep him behind. He tells her that now all the people he loves, all the people that love him depend on her to keep his secret. “Who are you?” she asks. He replies “[I’m] a bandit, an idealist, a fool maybe; somebody who believes the world would be better without wickedness and abuse of power.” Esme now wonders who is he really: the man who can fight 10 guys without a problem or the dope who takes a bunny out of his hat when people are mugging him. He tries to stall saying that’s a very complicated question which he will answer at the Cathedral’s altar where she could also swear to keep his secret. But Esmeralda is like a dog with a bone and asks again who is he. “I am that one they called Zorro” he answers tiredly “Zorro only conceals himself with a [physical] mask; but Diego’s mask [psychological] is a lot more difficult to bear.” She promises to keep his secret and they shake hands.

- Convent

Don Fernie goes to the Convent to talk to María Pía. She tries to get him to leave thinking he wants to talk about them, when he mentions that Mangle wants to marry Diego and that he’s there to talk to MP about him. MP is not happy with these news: they cannot marry. DF thinks Diego may be a bastard but she just answers that Diego is not interested in marriage. DF gets all upset: you rejected me and now you reject my daughter, what’s going on with you? But MP keeps to her guns: Diego doesn’t want to get married. Then the conversation morphs to the same thing: why did you leave me, I love you, etc. etc. MP asks him to leave.

- Jungle

Diego and Esme get to a pond with a lot of skulls hanging from the trees. Diego assures they’re not in danger anymore because that’s a burial ground and the Cannibals wouldn’t even want to go there. Esme starts cleaning her face very enthusiastically when she falls to the pond; she cries for help and Diego gets her out laughingly – the water was barely reaching her knees. Then they kiss and Esmeralda feels she must tell him she’s the only man that’s kissed her (whatever.) They kiss some more.

- Upriver

Almudena and Don Alejandro arrive where they initially found the cart. Padre Tomas is there and Don Alejandro shares his worry for Diego. The Priest pleads with him to trust Diego, he may be a peaceful man but he has his tricks. He shouldn’t forget that Diego lived with the Indians. However, Don Alejandro looks very apprehensive.

- Pond

While Don Alejandro is almost biting his nails, Diego is living the good life having sex with Esmeralda (poor little Christian must be all shriveled up with so many underwater love scenes.)

- Jail

Two guards go to feed Sara Kalí. She’s chained and all slumped up (and her boobs are almost coming out) and one of them fears she’s dead. The other one knows she’s alive but barely, he thinks she won’t last long. They get her out of the chains so she can eat and looking at her shaved legs after 18 years in prison, one of them decides to have some fun with her (who wouldn’t? That’s a miracle!) When he tries to get close, Sara Kalí hits him and threatens them with some weapon (I think owned by the other guard.)

- Pond

Diego and Esme are in each other arms while she tells him for the umpteenth time that she had been a virgin. She tells him about having been married and they make plans for some sort of future. He needs to get dressed and see if they are close to the river, he says and leaves. She stays happily thinking if this is love.

- River

Diego gets to the river and finds a feather (sign that the cannibals are not that far away) he goes back crying her name.

- Pond

Esmeralda is getting dressed when she feels somebody is around. She calls for Diego and then feels a hand covering her mouth.

End of the episode.

Telenovela-World: Summary Ep. 7 Tues 2/20 - COMPLETE! Author: dlandros (---) Date: 02-24-07 10:08 PST

Episode 7, Tuesday 2/20

- Jungle

Esme starts asking Diego a lot of annoying questions: Why do you pretend to be who you are not? Why do you hide? etc. Diego just wants to get out of there because he’s sure the Cannibals are looking for reinforcement. However, Esme wants answers first. Diego gets fed up and tells her that if she doesn’t want to move, he’ll go on his own. When she sees Diego walking away, she decides to follow him.

- Governor’s Mansion

Mariángel tells her father that she wants to marry Diego. Fernie is not too happy with this development; he says she shouldn’t worry because he’ll find her a husband. Mangle is not so sure (I guess she’s been waiting for him to arrange her marriage in Spain) and says Diego is the perfect man for her: handsome, virile, rich, protected by the Crown like his father (this didn’t make any sense to me.) Fernie’s worried that Diego might be a bastard – he knows Alejandro’s first wife was an Indian and he never married again. Mangle thinks he may be against the match because of what happened with María Pía. He’s still in love with her, she knows, because his hands were trembling when he saw her at the party. Don Fernie tries to play it cool but I think Mangle knows her father well enough. They leave it as follows: he’ll find out about Diego and decide later.

- Countryside

Suplicios is praying in front of the grave of his brother and asks for forgiveness. Maria Pia is with her and they both pray.

- Riverbank

Diego takes some sort of berries from the trees, mashes them in his hands and start putting the juice on. He asks Esme to do the same but she doesn’t want to; it smells terrible! Diego says the Cala-Cala can smell human skin (are they cats or something?) so Esme puts the stuff on very quickly. She wonders how he knows that stuff and he says his mother was Indian and he grew up with them.

- Hacienda de la Vega

Alejandro lies through his teeth to the guard: there is no Indian in his house. The guard asks him to ask his people but Alejandro replies that he knows everything that goes on in his Hacienda. The guard tries to insist but Alejandro puts him in his place, reminding him that he was a Commander of the King’s army. The guard replies more respectfully that he’s just following orders and leaves. Dolores then says she was afraid DA would give up the Native to the Lieutenant but Alejandro wants to give her the opportunity to recuperate because he knows they could kill her without compunction. DA then says that the Indian is a warrior like his wife used to be before she was baptized and they got married.

- Plaza

My dear Cap’n Crunch is parading poor Renzo, tied to horse, accusing him of killing the Viceroy’s Inspector. The Gypsies (Jonas, Azucena and the other two) are around and the distraught mother realizes in what trouble her son is. He pleads with the Cap’n that her son couldn’t have done that, and the Cap’n wants to punish Azucena as well but Jonas pleads for her. Renzo will be killed tomorrow in the Plaza.

- Fernie’s Office

Cap’n Crunch goes to Fernie’s office to inform him they have found who to blame for the death of the Inspector and show him Renzo, who’s tied downstairs (I think it would have been more effective if the Cap’n would have just showed up saying they find the man who killed the Inspector as if he believed it, all the while looking at Fernie with a knowing expression.) Fernie then confesses hating the gypsies.

- Hacienda de la Vega

Almudena visits Don Alejandro. She’s very nervous because nobody seems to care about Esmeralda! Don Alejandro tries to calm her down but she just cries in his arms.

- Jungle

Esmeralda keeps acting up; now she doesn’t want to keep him behind. He tells her that now all the people he loves, all the people that love him depend on her to keep his secret.

“Who are you?” - she asks. He replies “[I’m] a bandit, an idealist, a fool maybe; somebody who believes the world would be better without wickedness and abuse of power.” Esme now wonders who is he really: the man who can fight 10 guys without a problem or the dope who takes a bunny out of his hat when people are mugging him. He tries to stall saying that’s a very complicated question which he will answer at the Cathedral’s altar where she could also swear to keep his secret. But Esmeralda is like a dog with a bone and asks again who is he. “I am that one they called Zorro” he answers tiredly “Zorro only conceals himself with a [physical] mask; but Diego’s mask [psychological] is a lot more difficult to bear.” She promises to keep his secret and they shake hands.

- Convent

Don Fernie goes to the Convent to talk to Maria Pia. She tries to get him to leave thinking he wants to talk about them, when he mentions that Mangle wants to marry Diego and that he’s there to talk to MP about him. MP is not happy with these news: they cannot marry. DF thinks Diego may be a bastard but she just answers that Diego is not interested in marriage. DF gets all upset: you rejected me and now you reject my daughter, what’s going on with you? But MP keeps to her guns: Diego doesn’t want to get married. Then the conversation morphs to the same thing they've discussed before: why did you leave me, I love you, etc. etc. MP asks him to leave.

- Jungle

Diego and Esme get to a pond with a lot of skulls hanging from the trees. Diego assures they’re not in danger anymore because that’s a burial ground and the Cannibals wouldn’t even want to go there. Esme starts cleaning her face very enthusiastically when she falls to the pond; she cries for help and Diego gets her out laughingly – the water was barely reaching her knees. Then they kiss and Esmeralda feels she must tell him she’s the only man that’s kissed her (whatever.) They kiss some more.

- Upriver

Almudena and Don Alejandro arrive where they initially found the cart. Padre Tomas is there and Don Alejandro shares his worry for Diego. The Priest pleads with him to trust Diego, he may be a peaceful man but he has his tricks. He shouldn’t forget that Diego lived with the Indians. However, Don Alejandro looks very apprehensive.

- Pond

While Don Alejandro is almost biting his nails, Diego is living the good life having sex with Esmeralda (poor little Christian must be shriveled up with so many underwater love scenes.)

- Jail

Two guards go to feed Sara Kalí. She’s chained and all slumped up (and her boobs are almost coming out) and one of them fears she’s dead. The other one knows she’s alive but barely, he thinks she won’t last long. They get her out of the chains so she can eat and looking at her shaved legs after 18 years in prison, one of them decides to have some fun with her (who wouldn’t? That’s a miracle!) When he tries to get close, Sara Kalí hits him and threatens them with some weapon (I think owned by the other guard.)

- Pond

Diego and Esme are in each other arms while she tells him for the umpteenth time that she had been a virgin. She tells him about having been married and they make plans for some sort of future. He needs to get dressed and see if they are close to the river, he says and leaves. She stays happily thinking if this is love.

- River

Diego gets to the river and finds a feather (sign that the cannibals are not that far away) he goes back crying her name.

- Pond

Esmeralda is getting dressed when she feels somebody is around. She calls for Diego and then feels a hand covering her mouth.

End of the episode.

Telenovela-World: Summary Ep. 8 - Wed. 2/21 Author: dlandros (---) Date: 02-25-07 08:12 PST

And the longest day in the history of the world continues...

- Pond (although Esmeralda looks to be in some part of the river)

The hand that grabbed Esme was Montero's. He got there just in time because the cannibals were coming, he got hit by one, but his men killed a few, and scared the rest. (Thanks Aeryn for filling me in.)

- Hacienda de la Vega

María Pía tells Dolores that Fernie intends to marry one of his daughters with Diego. Dolores is horrified: they can’t let Diego marry one of the daughters of the man that killed his mother.

- Pond or river (whatever)

Esmeralda is curing the arm of Montero when Diego arrives breathless. She runs to his side, they hug tightly and check that the other is alright while Montero looks suspiciously. He chides Diego for leaving Esmeralda alone and Esmeralda tried to defend Diego. Diego goes back to his bumbling ways and asserts that Esmeralda was the one that saved his life. Montero gets all the glory of having saved Esmeralda but he contends it was a pleasure doing so; he tells Esmeralda (very closely) that her father never said she was so beautiful – Esmeralda’s expression was whatever, like I haven’t heard THAT one before. Montero says not very contritely that Diego will have to walk. Esmeralda almost protests when with a hand sign to shut (the f) up.

- Hacienda de la Vega

Dolores tells María Pía that Diego is in love with some woman. MP is sure it can’t be one of Fernie’s daughters because he didn’t go to the party. MP wants to encourage that union – it’s time that Diego gets married and this will be the perfect way for him not too look at any of the Sanchez’ women. They can’t allow him to mix his blood with them.

- Street

Olmos and Mangle are in the street. He points towards Tobias and Catalina saying she’s Diego’s supposed lover. Mangle decides to go over and meet them.

-Behind a rock

Finally Miguel and Laisha show up. They are pointing a gun at Bernardo who has a message from Diego. He gives them a letter from Diego (yeah, like everybody could read in those days) and the value of their lands in gold. They wonder why Diego did that, realized they judged him wrongly and Laisha says that one day they will repay Diego’s kindness.

- Jail

Sara Kalí is threatening Sgt. Garcia with a knife through the bars, demanding they let her go or she will kill him. (This is ridiculous; she is in one side of the cells with her back to the guards with a knife in the Sgt’s neck who’s in the other side of the bars. The whole thing is so unwieldy that the guards could knock her in the neck before she can manage to do anything to the poor Sgt.) The guards open the cell when Pizarro shows up. SK will kill the Sgt if they don’t let her go, she repeats. Finally somebody acts in character (that’s why I love you so my Cap’n Crunch!) and yells he doesn’t care; she can go ahead and kill him. She’s more important than Garcia anyway. Good woman that she is, SK can’t do it and Pizarro disarms her, telling her that she should follow through on her threats (for some reason, I think SK is going to seduce Pizarro and drive him crazy for her when she comes out of the prison.) The other guards take SK away and Garcia wonders what was that woman doing there. Cap’n Crunch was hoping SK would kill him to keep the secret and threatens to do so himself but Garcia promises to keep mum. Renzo watches everything although I don’t know if he could hear anything. He was close enough but you know how it is in novelas.

- Governor’s mansion (outside)

Jonas sends Lucrecia (the mighty hamster) with a message for Esmeralda.

- Upriver

Finally they all arrive to the part of the river where Almudena and Don Alejandro were waiting. Esmeralda rushes to hear aunt telling her of all the horrible things she lived through. Don Alejandro hugs Diego tightly who says “I may not be a hero but I can swim.” Esmeralda says how Montero saved her and both Almudena and Alejandro give their thanks.

- Streets

Mangle is talking to Catalina who introduces her to her husband. Tobias seemed very impressed with Mangle, who asks to be called by her first name. They exchange some pleasantries when Mangle drops that that Diego had an affair with a married woman. Catalina gets all upset “I can’t believe they’re saying that about me.” She leaves worried, Tobias follows and Mangle stays laughing.

Then, Montero passes through with a bunch of guards. They announce he saved Esmeralda.

- Hacienda de la Vega

Alejandro and Diego arrive home. Dolores and María Pía run to them, Dolores fussing over Diego. They are impressed that Diego jumped to the river to save Esmeralda but he “confesses” he was just trying to help her from the riverbank when he fell and now he thinks he got a cold (does a fake sneeze.) Don Alejandro has a very funny disgusted face with the antics of his son and tells Diego to go take a shower and rest because this adventure was probably too hard on him. When Dolores and Diego leave, MP tells Alejandro she must talk to him about something very important.

- Esmeralda’s bedroom

Esme – who looks as clean and put together as if she came out of a Maybelline commercial – tells her aunt that this day was the worst and best of her life. Almudena wondered what exactly she means by that and Esmeralda asks her to promise not to tell anything of what she’s going to tell her.

- Diego’s bedroom

Now that he had time to think about it, Diego wonders if he was such a great idea to tell Esmeralda because now she’s in danger.

- Montero’s bedroom

Mangle is curing Montero’s arm. She mentions Diego as the future father of her children to which Montero replies “To procreate children, it’s not enough to read poetry.” Mangle asserts that she can teach him anything bed-related, it may even be fun. But at least her children will have a last name and blue blood. Montero gets offended because his lineage is not aristocratic. They kiss and offend each other. Montero counters with the news that Diego is interested in another woman: Esmeralda, who by the way is more beautiful than her (I don’t agree.) Mangle is jealous/envious/incensed.

- Esmeralda’s bedroom

Esmeralda asks Almudena about her mother. Was Almudena present when she died? No, she had been visiting some relatives under Fernando’s orders. Esme shares her secret: her mother is alive and she knows Fernie is not her father.

- Montero’s bedroom

Pizarro informs Montero that SK tried to escape. Montero is fuming with this news and tells Cap’n that he’s too lenient with the guards. Pizarro will reprimand the guards and already talked to Garcia about keeping the secret. Cap’n assures Fernie won’t find out.

- Hacienda de la Vega (Living room)

María Pía tells Don Alejandro of Fernie’s intentions of marrying one of his daughters to Diego. Alejandro thinks is not such a bad idea and comments on Mangle’s beauty. María Pía doesn’t agree – what’s going to happen when Fernie finds out Diego’s mother was mestiza? He hates Indians; how will Alejandro allow this? Don Alejandro then extols Diego’s virtues – he’s handsome, cultivated, educated, etc. – and they’ll have to accept Diego as he is (I particularly liked this because it shows he loves his son deeply although he would have wanted him to be a bit different.) Then he said that maybe Fernie doesn’t need to know (dumb idea) and surprises MP with the news he may ask for Almudena’s hand in marriage.

- Hacienda de la Vega (Barracks)

Dolores is with Yumalai when the Native pops up and throws the poor old woman in the bed. Dolores calms her down and tells her where she is. Yumalai writhes in pain.

- Hacienda de la Vega (Outside)

María Pía and Don Alejandro talk about the Indian he saved and how she belongs to the same tribe as Regina. MP doesn’t think Alejandro will give her up to the guards because she knows he learn to love that tribe.

- Esmeralda’s bedroom

Almudena can’t believe Esme’s mother is alive. Why would Fernie do such a thing? She will ask for explanations! Then Fernie knocks the door asking to see Esmeralda. She asks her aunt to keep the secret and keep Fernie away. Almudena comes out and doesn’t let Fernie get in.

- Diego’s bedroom

Bernardo visits Diego and reports what happened with Laisha & Miguel. Diego confesses that Esmeralda knows his secret and asks his sidekick to help protect her.

- Esmeralda’s bedroom

Esmeralda is taking one of her usual naked baths (if we’re going with inaccuracies why not have a shower) when the Mighty Hamster shows up. With her amazing attention to detail, Esmeralda realizes right away she’s seen that rat before in Jonás’s shoulder! She picks the rat up, realizes immediately that Lucrecia has a note for her and reads it, learning the dire news of Renzo’s imprisonment.

- Hacienda de la Vega (living room)

Diego comes down happily down the stairs and finds Dolores. She asks him who’s the woman he loves and he confesses is Esmeralda, the Governor’s daughter. He kisses Dolores and saunters away while she is stunned.

- Hacienda de la Vega (living room)

Diego comes down happily down the stairs and finds Dolores. She asks him who’s the woman he loves and he confesses is Esmeralda, the Governor’s daughter. He kisses Dolores and saunters away while she is stunned.

- Church

Diego and Esme kiss in front of the altar. She reiterates how important what they shared was for her, that she will never tell his secret etc. etc. He tries to calm her down and fumbles that he doesn’t know how he did what he did. Then, at the Church’s door we see the tiny figure of Zorro, rearing his horse. Esmeralda can’t believe it.

End of the episode.

Telenovela-World: Yep, something happened...lemme tell ya [Last 10 minutes USA, 2/22/07] Author: Aerynsun (---) Date: 02-22-07 06:57 PST

I hope this is all but maybe I forgot something else

Mmm, Esme found Lucrecia the mouse, and read a note she carried, but we dont know exactly what it says

Then we see Esme and Diego at the church and kissing, she starts to talk fast out of excitement, telling him that she still doesnt believe what happened between them but she is happy and etc He interrupts her, telling her that he feels the same but..he has to confess something first.

He starts explaining that he felt really guility about being the one responsible for the accident...and thats why he acted,,,

She interrupts "I was upset when Captain Montero took credit for what you did, but you are my hero"

Diego continues, "Then when I saw you with the cannibals something came over me and...(Diego seems rather nervous and he even stutters a little)

Esme: No no, no, you dont have to explain. I KNOW who you are, I feel so sorry that I almost gave away your secret, and you did well in bringing me here, because I swear that.."

Diego: Not so fast, listen...

Diego is interrupted by the sound of a horse approaching. It is Zorro. Esme cant believe her eyes

THE END

P.S: Now, I want to know if that horseman is Bernardo, because that would be funny, Bernie is very small, and this rider, looked smaller than Diego but not as short as Bernie

Telenovela-World: I missed the end, someone please help [USA, 2/23/07] Author: tikal26 (---) Date: 02-24-07 05:50 PST

I usually watch it live, but I went out tonight and it did not tape the end so I left when Esmeralda takes the military guys invitation to drink and the governador is about to speak. What happened/ DI the governador gave her in marriage to him. PLease someone tell me what happened.

Re: I missed the end, someone please help Author: angel* (---) Date: 02-24-07 05:57 PST

Yes he said he had an announcement and then said he would give Esme's hand to Montero...leaving everyone speechless and thats were it ended.

Telenovela-World: Summary Ep. 9 - Thursday 2/22 (edited) Author: dlandros (---) Date: 02-26-07 12:41 PST

Yep, it's still the same day, less than 24 HRS. since Diego/Zorro and Esme met. I think they are not in LA anymore but in a paralel universe where it's always noon.

- Church

Esmeralda sees “Zorro” rearing his horse at the Church’s door and realizes that Diego lied to her – her great attention to detail failed her in the moment she needed it the most. Diego justifies himself saying let her believe he was Zorro so she would feel protected, but what happened in the river was real. Esme is hurt, doesn’t believe him and runs away.

- Convent

Dolores can wait to tell María Pía the horrible news: Diego is in love with Esmeralda, the Governor’s daughter!

- Church

Diego is about to follow Senseless Esme when Padre Tomás shows up. He’s very happy Diego’s alive, nobody else EVER came out of the jungle, those Natives are so dangerous. Then Kooko tries to justify where the Cannibals came from with history/geography lesson: they came from Guatemala, moved North, etc. etc. PT thanks that Montero found them in time but Diego admits Esme was in danger a looong time before that and he had to intervene. PT doesn’t think this is such a bad thing, but Diego confesses telling Esmeralda his secret; although for her security – she’s in grave danger knowing his secret!!! – he tried to undo his mistake by showing her he’s not Zorro. Our Priest Holmes (like the football player! LOL!) understands right away that’s the reason Bernardo was walking about dressed like Zorro (where exactly are the guards??) But Flip-flop Diego thinks he made a mistake trying to undo the mistake: now he’s in danger of losing his dimwit Esmeralda! She’s so different from all the women he’s met before (tell me Diego exactly how is Esmeralda so different: she slept with you less than 24 hours after meeting you, she’s been nasty, pompous, condescending and plain crazy; how is that different from all the rich women in town??) Padre Tomás realizes Diego’s in love with her and warns Diego about her being the Governor’s daughter. Diego doesn’t think Fernie is so bad as that because he’s a friend of his father (yeah, like that’s a reason) and the well-informed Priest goes to tell him about what happened while he was lost in the Jungle: An emissary of the Viceroy came to check the Jail looking for a high-profile prisoner (wasn’t the mission supposed to be top secret???) but the poor emissary was killed. Very quickly, Montero’s men found out the guilty man – a Gypsy – who they’ll kill in two days (I thought it was tomorrow.) Our sharp Diego realizes right away that this speediness is suspicious.

- Road

Esmeralda asks Isidoro, the coachman, to take her to the Gypsies’ camp. He has his misgivings but takes her there. She makes him promise not to tell anything to her father. She then remembers all she’s lived with Diego (although she doesn’t remember the important details like the business of the medallions) and somewhat bitterly, tells the man she will believe his promise although her heart is broken.

- Convent

María Pía is getting ready to take some food to the poor and talking to Dolores about the “Diego affair.” They need to stop him for marrying Esmeralda, etc. etc.

Gypsies’ camp

- Azucena asks Esmeralda for help to liberate Renzo. He’s innocent! He couldn’t have done that! (You should know he was innocent because he was with you almost all the time since you got out of the boat.) Jonás asks Azucena not to accost Senseless (I think this would be a good time to accost her) – and said they sent her that message in hopes Zorro would get a wind of what was going on (how is Esmeralda supposed to know Zorro? She has been in town for less than 2 freaking days!!) But Senseless thinks they don’t need Zorro anyway. She will use her feminine wiles with Montero and if necessary, talk to her father.

- Street

Sgt. Garcia is giving Azucena some news about Renzo. He says he’s innocent but all criminals want their mothers to think the same. Azucena cries, asks for help and gives the Sgt. Renzo’s violin.

- Montero’s house

Don Fernando thanks the Commander for saving his daughter. Montero puts the cards on the table: he doesn’t believe one whit of the story Fernie told him and now that both he and the Cap’n are witnesses of the death of the Inspector and everything the Governor has done, Fernie should come clear. Fernie admits being nervous for all they know. Montero agrees now they are all in it and proceeds to ask for Esmeralda’s hand in marriage.

-Countryside

Alejandro rides hell-bent for leather remembering his dead wife: he met her when she was the leader of a bunch of rogue Indians trying to attack the Mission. He shot her and tried to save her when he realized the leader was a woman! He took care of her; we see the Priest baptizing her with the name of Regina and their marriage – as probably Aeryn pointed out, this is straight out of Allende’s book. I don’t know how they have the gall to call this an original story by Kooko.

- Road

Isidoro is driving Senseless Esme back home when Diego shows up and stops them. He wants to talk to Esmeralda about what happened but she doesn’t hear him. She asks Isidoro if there’s anyway Diego can be Zorro and the old man laughs hysterically. (What? Is Zorro supposed to be 11 feet and 900 lbs.? Somebody must be Zorro!) Diego agrees he shouldn’t have said that, but what happened in the river was very important to him. In fact, he’s in love with her and wants to marry her. Senseless doesn’t budge. He’s a liar, and she doesn’t want to see him again etc. etc.

-Poors’ Village

María Pía and Suplicios arrive to share the food with the poor people when a man screams for them to help his wife who’s giving birth.

-Hacienda de la Vega (Barracks)

Alejandro tells Yumalai he’s her friend and asks her why she wanted to kill the Governor. She doesn’t say anything and he tries to get the paint out of her face (I guess that’s the reason he can’t tell she looks just like his wife!) but Yumalai refuses, saying something like “Yumalai’s on a mission” (don’t remember the exact words) but Alejandro finds out her name and annoyingly repeats it two or three times.

- Town’s Plaza

Diego tells Bernardo that although he needed a bit more padding in his boots, he did alright as Zorro (got a laugh with that, at least they recognize they whole thing was ridiculous.) He asks Bernardo to find out everything he can about the famed prisoner in the Jail and the business of Renzo.

- Poors’ Village

María Pía can’t get the baby out of the poor mother because it’s coming the wrong away. The only way is to open the woman’s abdomen and pull the baby out. The mother asks MP to save the baby while the husband asks for MP to save the mother. Sister Suplicious was helping out but has to leave with a weak stomach. Passing through the Village was Senseless Esme and seeing the commotion outside the shack, she recognizes immediately these people need her help. She bursts in the room in her best heroine fashion and offers her help and money for the surgeon. The husband goes out to look for the surgeon (although MP said he was a drunk) and when the mother asks for MP to hold her hand, Esme the Slayer offers her embroidery skills to the rescue: SHE WILL CUT THE WOMAN UP BECAUSE THEY MUST SAVE THE BABY!!!

-Hacienda de la Vega (Living Room)

Alejandro tells Diego about a party in the Governor’s place in honor of Montero. Diego tells her father he hooked up with Esmeralda in the Jungle and wants to marry her. Could he please, please ask the Governor for her hand in marriage? Don Alejandro is pleased with the news although he’s confused; if Diego and Esme got together in the Jungle, how is it that Fernie offered one of his daughters to marry him? Diego realizes right away it must have been Mangle and Alejandro wonders if Diego has been playing around with both of them. No, says Diego, Mangle’s beautiful but the one I love is Esme. Some things happened between them in the Jungle (discretion, Diego, discretion!!!) and he wants to marry her. Alejandro is fine with it but he asks her not to hurt her, after all she’s the daughter of his best friend. (What kind of best friends are those that haven’t seen each other in 20 yrs?) Dolores hears all and it’s not too pleased. She tells Diego (outside) that he needs to know some things about the new Governor.

- Fernie’s bedroom

Mangle is helping Fernie to get dressed for the famous party. Mangle tells Fernie that it seemed Esme got a little too cozy with Diego in the Jungle. Fernie then shares the great news: Montero asked for Esmeralda's boobs...er...hand. Mangle wants to know if he acquiesced.

End of the episode

Telenovela-World: Summary Ep. 10 - Friday 2/23 Author: dlandros (---) Date: 02-27-07 11:47 PST

Still the same day at around 3pm.

- Fernie’s bedroom

Mangle asks Fernie is he’s going to give Montero Esme’s hand. Fernie is a tad indecisive: Montero is not from a good family etc. Mangle thinks he’s the perfect man for Esmeralda; a woman of her rebel nature, so crazy, etc. needs a man of strong character like Montero. Also, who’s going to want a woman like Esmeralda with her reputation and a widow to boot? (Of course nobody is going to want a rich, beautiful, aristocratic woman, right?) Fernie gives in and Mangle decides she will convince Esme to marry Montero.

- Hacienda de la Vega (Living Room)

Dolores tells Diego that in his youth, the Governor had been an Indian Hunter. Diego remembers when his mother was killed. He tries to justify the Governor (although he says he isn’t.)

- Shack

The poor pregnant woman is screaming and María Pía tells Esme the Slayer to cut the woman up because if not the baby will die. A sweaty Esme cuts through the air and performs a transverse cut in the woman’s lower abdomen (I’m ecstatic to see Esme is up to date in anatomy and modern c-section methods; you would think she wouldn’t know exactly where the baby was so she'd do a midline longitudinal incision – which btw is the traditional C-section.) Amazingly, the poor mother didn't bleed to death. Esme’s hands must have a hemostasis agent because there seem to be no blood in sight. When the father arrives with the doctor, Esme already took care of it all and it’s cradling the baby girl.

- Hacienda de la Vega (Outside)

Bernardo didn’t find out anything but tells Diego that Sgt. Garcia is at the local tavern. Diego thinks he can find out something.

- Mangle’s room

Mangle is finishing dressing up for reunion when Olmos shows up. She asks him if he took care of the gift for Diego – she wants to thank him for having saved his sister. Olmos reminds her that Montero was the one that saved Esmeralda but Mangle replies that Montero was doing his job. Diego on the other hand, didn’t have to do anything and risked his life. She asks when Diego would receive the gift and Olmos replies that right about now. (For some reason I thought the “gift” was the same that Lady Caroline Lamb purportedly sent Lord Byron.)

- Hacienda de la Vega (Outside)

Diego is about to ride out when he receives Mangle’s gift: a lot of flowers. She also sends him a note and Diego says outloud that Mangle is not a woman to beat around to bush. He doesn’t seem displeased.

- Poors’ Village

María Pía doesn’t know how to thank Esme for all her help. They talk a bit and Esme offers to help in the Convent (although they’re not nuns, they’re just an order.) Sister Suplicios shows up and thanks Esme again. When Esme is riding out, MP realizes she doesn’t know who the woman is and Esme yells in her most ladylike fashion that she’s Esmeralda Sánchez, the Governor’s daughter. You can just imagine MP’s dismayed face.

- Montero’s house

Cap’n Crunch is telling Montero what he found out about Esmeralda from the people that came with her in the boat: she’s a widow who ran away from her wedding. Montero wonders how is that possible but the Cap’n explains the details. The Commander is giddy with the news: Esmeralda is beautiful, rich, from a good family and a virgin to boot. Not only that, but he noticed Diego was interested and he’ll get a kick out of stealing her away from Diego.

- Tavern

Sgt. Garcia is having a few drinks when Diego arrives with a bottle of wine. The Sgt. explains he’s sad because he’ll have to execute the Gypsy and then tells Diego everything about Sara Kalí.

- Jail

They’re moving a prisoner to share the cell with SK. He wants to know about her but she thinks it’s best for him not to know anything. The prisoner is hoping to get out of there but SK tells him that he will never get out of there alive. (If the guy will never come out, what’s the harm in telling him who you are? Why are you helping your captors to keep the secret?)

- Governor’s Mansion (Living Room)

Fernie is saying to Mangle (with Olmos present) how he’s tired of Esme’s insolence when the said daughter enters the room. He starts right away, where were you? Why didn’t you tell me what happened, etc. Esme is very insolent and replies that she didn’t inform him of anything because she thought he didn’t care. Fernie doesn’t like her impudence and asks her to look at him with her eyes cast down. She complies but defiantly and leaves. Mangle says she will talk to her.

- Esme’s room

Esme is undressing when Mangle comes in the bedroom. She had been so fearful the kidnapping and all that happened that she almost swooned. Esme doesn’t believe her and wonders if she was fearful for Diego or herself? Mangle answers that for both. She then tries to get Esmeralda to tell her if something happened between Diego and her. Esme keeps mum but Mangle insists. Although Esme doesn’t believe her, Mangle asserts that she wants their relationship to change and that if Diego is the man she loves, she’ll do everything so they can be together.

- Street

As he's coming out of the tavern Diego encounters Montero with a bunch of guards - the Cap'n included with his pistol face. Diego asks about the injured arm and Montero insists he’s fine. Montero then goes on about how beautiful Esme is and if Diego tried to seduce her. Diego gives a roundabout answer and the conversation changes to Zorro. There’s a wanted poster in the wall and Diego asks when is that Montero is going to capture him. Montero says he’ll get him soon and finishes saying there’s going to be a toast in his honor at the Governor’s mansion. He leaves and Diego sits under the Zorro wanted poster.

Padre Tomás shows up and Diego tells him everything about the famous prisoner in the Jail (SK.)

- Hacienda de la Vega (Living Room)

María Pía tells Dolores he met Esmeralda and she’s the most beautiful and pure (what the heck? Is she blind? Crazy would have been a better adjective) woman she ever met.

- Esme’s room

Esme is in a gold underwear getup remembering what happened with Diego at the Church. Almudena comes in and Esme shares her experience as an Ob-Gyn. She’ll make sure that baby has a future.

- Street

Diego is walking about when Catalina runs into him. She tells him all about the latest gossip in town and the duel between Manuel de Saavedra and her husband. She wishes her husband dies because she can’t stand him anymore. She wants Diego to meet her – she’s loooonging from some of those patented Diego moves.

- Convent

Sister Suplicios thinks she saw the Devil and runs screaming.

- Esme’s room

Esme confesses she fell in love with Diego. Aunt Almudena can’t believe she’s going so fast. Esme agrees because now she thinks she hates him. When AA asks for the reason, she answers that Diego told her a lie. She doesn’t say what it was although her Aunt asks. Then, AA confesses she was crazy in love with Alejandro in the past and he never even gave her the time of day.

-Countryside

Alejandro rides hell-bent for leather (again) remembering his dead wife (again.)He remembers them dancing, having sex and how difficult it was for her to get used to the Spanish way of life. He mumbles to himself that needs to forget her.

- Governor’s Mansion (Living Room)

FINALLY IT’S EVENING! Diego and Alejandro (underdressed in his sweaty clothes) arrive and find Fernie, Mangle and Olmos. Alejandro introduces Diego to Fernie and Diego is impressed with him (not in a good way.) Fernie thinks it’s the patch but Diego says is not that - you can tell in his face he has a funny feeling. Alejandro goes and kisses Almudena’s hand.

Esme makes her entrance in a forest green outfit (please, please don’t do it as in “Esmeralda” the novela where the poor protagonist only wore green.) Esme is very full of herself and models this way and that. Diego tells her immediately in an aside how beautiful she looks but Esme looks at him with disdain and as the epitome of female maturity, goes to Montero and praises him trying to provoke Diego’s jealousy.

Diego wants his father to ask for the hand but seeing Esme’s behavior, Don Alejandro wonders if this is the right time. Diego acknowledges there are some problems between him and Esme but insists with his father: if he doesn’t tell Fernie of his intentions, Diego won’t be able to court her formally. Don Alejandro wants him to calm down; after all nobody will take Esme away from him (famous last words.)

Fernie then starts the toasts and shares with the group that Montero asked for Esmeralda’s hand and he’s considering giving it to him.

End of the episode

===========================================================================================

TRANSLATIONS OF TELEMUNDO AVANCES & SUMMARIES FOR WEEK OF FEB. 26, 2007 - MAR. 2, 2007

Telenovela-World: RECAP for Friday; AVANCES for today, Mon 26th Feb Author: B. (---) Date: 02-26-07 10:00 PST

RECAP for Friday, 23rd Feb 2007

[see above]

*********************

AVANCES for today:

TEASER: Ahora son dos hombres luchando... ...Por la misma mujer. (Now there are two men fighting... ...For the same woman.)

TITLE: ¡Un brindis de impacto!. (same title as last Friday's teasers -- LAI didn't even take out the extraneous period!!: A toast with an impact!)

DATE: Mon 26 Feb 2007

EP #11

-Cuando el enemigo se adelanta, estalla la guerra.

When the enemy advances, the battle explodes. (yeah, yeah, yeah...)

-Ahora hay dos hombres luchando por la misma mujer.

Now there are two men fighting over the same woman. (we won't mention the several women fighting over the same man, never mind all the foristas fighting on the various forums...)

-Pero en solo segundos, detonará la bomba.

But in only seconds, the bomb will detonate. (just what was missing...)

-Y el Gobernador tendrá que enfrentarse a una hija desafiante.

And Fernie will have to confront a defiant daughter. (have you been WATCHING this at all, LAI? what is so new or different about this?? Esme's pretty much been disagreeing with Fernie all along...)

Telenovela-World: RECAP for yesterday; AVANCES for today (Tue 27 Feb) Author: B. (---) Date: 02-27-07 12:14 PST

RECAP FOR YESTERDAY

NEW TITLE: Esmeralda desafía a su padre. (Esme defies her father)

DATE: Mon 26 Feb 2007

EP #11

-Esmeralda desafía a su padre y se rehúsa a casarse con el Comandante Montero.

Esme defies her father and (very sensibly) refuses to marry Comandante Mountebank. (and really, who can blame her...? i'm not positive, but i'm pretty sure she told her aunt he looks at her in a slimy way, which is SO TRUE! kudos to Geithner for his portrayal.)

-Diego le hace frente a Montero quien por su parte, ofendido, reta al primero a un duelo.

Diego confronts Mountebank who, for his part, offended, challenges [Diego] to a duel. (yeah, i said that Diego being in love was messing with his oath. i think we can look for that --and the fallout from that-- to continue for a while, especially now that Mountebank's so determined to have Esme because he thinks she's not only rich, but a virgin.)

-Fernando pierde la paciencia con el Esmeralda y jura que la casará con Comandante Montero, aunque sea a la fuerza.

Fernie loses his patience with the Esme (!!! LAI totally lost it. there are a lot of things you can say about La Favela, but mistaking her for a guy isn't one of them. but LAI just use the masculine form of "the" --not that the article was needed in the first place!-- in front of her name!!!) and swears that she will marry Comandante Mountebank, even if it's by force. (well, that should be interesting, because i just don't see Padre Tomás marrying ANYone by force...)

-Fernando le niega a Diego la mano de Esmeralda.

Fernie refuses to give Diego Esme's hand. (or, presumably, the rest of her, either. but really, LAI, i think we all kinda figured that out from your earlier bits anyway...)

-Diego jura que impedirá la boda de Montero con Esmeralda.

Diego swears he will impede Mountebank's marriage to Esme. (really, as if the ceremony were for tomorrow!! get a grip already!!)

-Mariángel trata de quitarle la ilusión a Diego sobre Esmeralda. Diego, por su parte, compara a Mariángelcon su padre y la trata con desprecio.

Mangle tries to crush Diego's illusions about Esme. Diego, for his part, compares Mangle with her father and treats her with contempt. (and was that fun to watch or what??)

-Mariángelse junta con Montero y ambos acuerdan ayudarse de alguna manera, en impedir una relación Diego-Esmeralda.

(LAI is running his words together again...) Mangle meets with Mountebanks and both agree to help each other in some way, to impede a Diego-Esme relationship. (too late! hee!!)

-Almudenaconvence a Esmeralda que utilice la propuesta de Montero para beneficio personal. Al acceder de alguna manera a sus galanterías, ella podría conseguir muchas cosas.

(and again with the run-on words, LAI!! what is up with your space bar??) Almudena convinces Esme to use Mountebank's proposal for personal benefit. By acceding in some way to his gallantries (and speaking for myself, i would use that word with considerable caution...), she could get a lot of things. (like VD. and a serious case of being creeped out. you know, Almu, it's easy for you to talk, since you won't be the one being subjected to that guy's slimy tentacles...)

-Alejandro de la Vega le propone matrimonio a Almudena.

Alejandro de la Vega (and AGAIN with the last names, LAI!!) proposes marriage to Almudena. (i was surprised Ríos was willing to risk his makeup and hair styling to the possible ravages of kissing someone, until i saw they had Almu keeping her hands on his chest during their "romantic" clinch... )

-La india Yumalay se recupera y Alejandro de la Vega se sorprende del parecido que tiene con su difunta esposa, madre de Diego, Regina.

The Indian Yumalai (don't you remember how you spelled it before, LAI?? oh, right, you don't...) recovers and Alejandro de la Vega (i swear, LAI has a crush on Ríos, that's got to be it) is surprised at her resemblance to his deceased spouse, Diego's mother, Regina. (and here we go with the lurve triangle. but the important question here is: WILL Ríos have to muss his hair in service to his role??)

-Esmeralda se escapa de su casa y encuentra a Diego. Ambos se dicen uno al otro, cuanto se quieren.

Esme escapes from her house and meets Diego. Each says to the other, how much they love each other. (as others have commented, not that it's not all "womantic" she ran away to find him and all, but they've got to work on those kissing scenes. sure, they're better than Alejandro's "passionate" scene with Almu, but...)

***************

AVANCES FOR TODAY

TEASER: Ellos se aman...

...Pero todo está en su contra.

They love each other...

...But everything is against them.

TITLE: Ellos se aman pero todo está en su contra. They love each other but everything is against them. (yaddah yaddah yaddah...)

DATE: Tue 27 Feb 2007

EP #12

-El destino de Esmeralda, es un hombre sin escrúpulos.

(LAI's punctuation (non)sense continues to elude me. here he has a comma where he doesn't need one. again.) The destiny of Esme, is a man without scruples. (a SLIMY man without scruples. ick.)

-Pero por amor, se es capaz de todo.

But for love, she (?) is capable of anything. (yes, this is a novela, after all...)

-Diego experimenta emociones nunca antes sentidas.

Diego experiences emotions he's never felt before. (i understand that can happen when you fall in love for the first time. of course, since you've apparently never fallen in love, LAI, well, maybe this is news to you...?)

-¿Será que Diego renunciará a ser El Zorro?

Can it be that Diego will renounce being Zorro? (not likely, but nice try at a cliffhanger...)

Telenovela-World: RECAP for yesterday; AVANCES for today (Wed 28th Feb) (slightly edited) Author: B. (---) Date: 02-28-07 13:03 PST

RECAP FOR YESTERDAY

NEW TITLES: Contra la corriente / María Pía es el amor de Fernando. (Against the current / María Pía is Fernie's beloved)

DATE: Tue 27th Feb 2007

EP #12

-Diego está más enamorado que nunca de Esmeralda.

Diego is more in love than ever with Esme. (fine, whatever. now teach her to kiss better already...)

-Fernando vuelve a visitar a María Pía. Ésta le dice que no lo conoce ya que se convirtió en un monstruo y lo confronta por haber sido un cazador de indios.

Fernie goes back to visit María Pía. She tells him that she doesn't know him since he turned into a monster and confrots him for having been an Indian hunter. (and he's so stupid...!! clearly the "little brain" is doing all his "thinking" for him or he would have put one and one and one together already. he's been told Diego's mother was at least part Indian. Diego's mother is dead. María Pía, Diego's loving aunt, unexpectedly broke off her engagement to him even though it's obvious she still has some feelings for him. hmmmmm..... how hard is this???)

-Alejandro de la Vega se deslumbra con Yumalay. Se le parece mucho a su difunta Regina.

Alejandro de la Vega (i'm telling you, LAI is in LUUURVE with Ríos!) is astonished by Yumalai. She looks a lot like his deceased Regina. (and here's another whose "little brain" is doing all the "thinking." let's see: she's from a tribe that doesn't exist any more. Regina's tribe was wiped out. she's a dead ringer for Regina. geez!! even my cats could figure this one out!!!)

-Diego visita al Padre Tomás y le informa que se acabó el Zorro para siempre.

Diego visits Padre Tomás and informs him that Zorro is over for ever. (yeah, that'll last. NOT.)

-Pizarro descubre el violín que tiene Renzo y lo hace pedazos.

Pizarro discovers Renzo's violin and stomps it into pieces. (ok, i took a liberty with the translation, so sue me. but that's what he did. what i want to know is, how is it that Renzo's IN his cell but the violin is OUTSIDE of it for Pizarro to stomp on??)

-Mariángel se entrega a Montero otra vez. Después, ella le comenta sobre su interés por Diego.

Mangle gives herself to Mountebank again. (i'd say EEEEWWWW, but they totally deserve each other.) Afterwards, she comments to him on her interest in Diego. (you know, way to really get a guy interested in you, babe! although, since she's already made it pretty clear to him she's only interested in him for sex and for whatever they can get by working together... )

-Almudena aconseja a Esmeralda que no se enfrente a Fernando y que acepte los cortejos de Montero para beneficio personal.

Almu advises Esme to not confront Fernie and to accept Mountebank's courtship, to her own advantage. (good advice. but it's too bad Esme didn't follow her own decision, which was to make sure she got word to Diego about what she was up to first, so he didn't react badly. but i guess she forgot about that resolve the second she uttered it...)

-Diego le pide a su padre que lo entrene para el duelo que tiene con Montero.

Diego asks his father to train him for the duel he will have with Mountebank. (and it's a good thing Bernardo is mute, or he would have given the whole game away....)

-Diego decide dejar de ser El Zorro.

Diego decides to stop being El Zorro. (yes, we know this. stop repeating yourself to meet your quota, LAI!)

-Alejandro de la Vega comienza a entrenar a su hijo, quien se muestra muy torpe con la espada.

LAI's LURVE Alejandro del la Vega starts training his son, who shows himself to be very clumsy with the sword. (although afterward LAI's LUUURVE had to admit that in spite of Diego's "clumsiness," LAI's LUUURVE was unable to actually score a "hit" on his son.)

-María Pía habla con el Padre Tomás sobre Sor Suplicios. María Pía piensa que la monja está poseída por el demonio.

María Pía talks to Padre Tomás about Sister Suplicios. María Pía thinks that the nun is posessed by the devil. (er, i thought i remembered her saying that Suplicios thinks she's posessed by the devil, not that she herself also believes that.)

-Olmos le cuenta a Mariángel sobre algo que escuchó en el pueblo, sobre Diego apasionado por Esmeralda. Olmos está perdidamente enamorado de Mariángel.

Olmos tells Mangle about something he heard in town, about Diego being crazy about Esme. Olmos is hopelessly in love with Mangle. (tell us something we don't know, LAI!!)

-Esmeralda le dice a Montero que quiere conocer la cárcel del Callao.

Esme tells Mountebank that she wants to see the Callao prison. (gotta love her idea of small talk...)

-Almudena le comunica a su hermano que se va a casar con Alejandro de la Vega. En la conversación, el Gobernador comenta cómo Sara Kali se casó con él engañándolo por interés. Más tarde, ambos salen para la casa de Alejandro de la Vega para darle el visto bueno a la boda Alejandro - Almudena.

Almu lets her brother know she is going to marry LAI's LURVE. in the conversation, the Governor comments how Sara Kalí tricked him by marrying him with ulterior motives. (he says she married him because she knew she was pregnant with another man's child.) Later, both head for LAI's LUUURVE's house to give their blessing to the Alejo-Almu wedding. (yeesh.)

-Alejandro de la Vegave al Gobernador acercándose a su casa y corre a prevenir a Yumalay, a quien tiene escondida. A la india la buscan por tratar de matar al mismo Gobernador. Cuando llega donde ella, Alejandro la encuentra desnuda y se embeleza con su belleza.

(LAI is again forgetting how to use the space bar...) LAI's LUUURVE sees the Governor (with his escort of soldiers) approaching his house and runs to warn Yumalai, who he's got hidden away. The Indian woman is wanted for trying to kill the Governor himself. When he arrives in her room, Alejandro finds her naked and he is ensorcelled (and LAI is once again inventing words... the word he wants here --which we now know courtesy of Aeryn-- is "embelesa.") by her beauty. (what? he's only just noticing now??? did Rios' makeup and styling products block his vision all the other times he met with her?? then what was all that thrashing around in his room like the Incredible Hulk after his chat with her last night about?? G.M.A.B.!!)

-En el pueblo, Diego encuentra a Esmeralda muy coqueta con Monteroy estalla en celos.

(LEARN TO USE THE SPACE BAR ALREADY, LAI!!!) In town, Diego runs into Esme being very flirtatious with Mountebank and explodes with jealousy. (i didn't see any explosions.... that wouldn've been fun!)

***************

AVANCES FOR TODAY

TEASER: El Comandante celebra..

...Mientras Diego arde de celos.

The Comandante celebrates...

...While Diego burns with jealousy.

TITLE: Este amor tiena a todos fuera de control. (This love has everyone out of control.)

DATE: Wed, 28th Feb 2007

EP #13

-Y los planes de Esmeralda confunden a Diego.

And Esme's plans confuse Diego. (not too surprising. having to deal with this unaccustomed jealousy and trying to fake learning to fence, Diego's got a lot on his mind at the moment...)

-La cosa se pone buena, porque por celos se es capaz de todo.

Things are getting good, because for jealousy he (?) is capable of everything. (LAI, as usual, so clear and concise...)

-¿Darán resultado los planes de Esmeralda?

Will Esme's plans bring results? (well, with Kooko writing, i'd say that's pretty much anyone's guess...)

-La venganza tiene un nombre...¡MUERTE!

Vengeance has a name... DEATH! (gee, and here i thought Vengeance's name was... vengeance!! the things you learn...)

Telenovela-World: RECAP for yesterday; AVANCES for today (Thu 1 Mar 2007) Author: B. (---) Date: 03-01-07 12:11 PST

RECAP FOR YESTERDAY

NEW TITLES: Esmeralda encuentra a su madre / Un encuentro impactante. (Esme finds her mother / A shocking encounter)

DATE: Wed 28 Feb 2007

EP #13

-Esmeralda se emociona al ver a Diego y le pide a Montero que le deje cruzar unas palabras con él. Montero se ofende y le exige respeto. Ella pide disculpas, ya que no quiere dañar sus planes.

Esme is moved on seeing Diego and asks Mountebank to let her have a few words with him. (because of COURSE a guy like Mountebank is just going to let you march right over and talk to his rival when he knows you and the rival have feelings for each other!) Mountebank takes offense and demands she respect him. (DUH!) She begs pardon, because she doesn't want to spoil her plan. (i hate to say it, but at least she IS thinking, albeit belatedly.)

-Dolores está preocupada por lo que le pueda pasar a Yumalay.

Dolores is worried about what could happen to Yumalay. (since LAI's finally been so consistent with this spelling, i've gone over to the Dark Side...)

-Diego camina con Bernardo y le comunica su deseo de ver a Esmeralda. Olmos, quien escuchó la conversación, ofrece su simpatía y se ofrece de mensajero entre Diego y Esmeralda. "Yo he experimentado el dolor de un amor imposible" comenta Olmos.

Diego pedeconferences with Bernardo and expresses his desire to see Esme. (because having just seen her in town doesn't count?) Olmos, who overheard the conversation, offers his sympathies and to be a messenger between Diego and Esme. (this was a little unexpected, and i definitely dig it. granted, Diego doesn't trust him --as he shouldn't-- but i do like it that we will have Olmos as a secret counterpoint to Mangle's plans for Diego. hee! plus, that dance at the end -- was he watching Lord of the Rings and sees himself as something of a Gollum, perhaps?) "I have experienced the pain of an impossible love," he comments. (and Diego saw the truth of this statement, at least. this could be fun...)

-Los gitanos Azucena y Jonás se enteran de la boda Esmeralda- Montero y no encuentran explicación. Más tarde, entienden que puede tratarse de una coartada de la muchacha.

The gypsies Azucena and Jonás find out about the Esme-Mountebank wedding and just don't get it. (ok, i can see why they don't get it, but really, Kooko needs to put a better writer on these people. Jonás and Azucena in particular have the WORST dialogues!!) Later, they understand it could have to do with an alibi from the girl. (and it only took endless back-and-forth dialogue repeating the same stuff to get them there. tighten things up, Kooko!!)

-Montero lleva a Esmeralda a la cárcel y ella encuentra a Renzo encadenando. Ella pide que lo dejen libre y se inventa que el gitano es su jardinero personal. Ella exige su libertad inmediata.

Mountebank takes Esme to the jail and she finds Renzo in chains. She asks them to let him free and lies that the gypsy is her personal gardener. (good move on her part. at least, good move until Mountebank decides to check with Fernie or Mangle...) She demands his immediate release. (and was it funny trying to watch Mountebank find a way to deal with that or what??)

-En una colina, se prepara el duelo de Tobías con Manuel. Llega Diego a detener el duelo y les explica que no tiene ninguna relación sentimental con Catalina, como dicen las malas lenguas y por eso no se justifica el duelo. Todos le creen y el duelo es detenido.

On a hill, Tobías and Manuel prepare to duel. (and i have to say it: it's my understanding that MOST duels did not include the presence of the wives and half the town. it was supposed to be just the two idio-- i mean, "gentlemen," their seconds, the doctor, and any servants like carriage drivers who might have brought the players to the scene. so as fun as the scene was -- and as well-acted by the various tertiaries -- it was also another case of Kooko ignoring history to suit his plot. GMAB!!) Diego arrives to stop the duel and explains that he doesn't have any amorous relationship with Catalina [despite] what the gossips claim (or her reaction when she saw him, which was a TOTAL giveaway), and so there is no justification for the duel. Everyone believes him (because Kooko is writing this) and the duel is stopped.

-Por su parte, Fernando en casa de Alejandro le promete detener el otro duelo, el de Diego con Montero, pero Alejandro lo rechaza.

For his part, Fernie, at LAI's LUUURVE's house, promises he will stop the other duel, that of Diego with Mountebank, but LAI's LUUURVE rejects [the offer]. (because Ríos' corset won't let him bend at all, i'm guessing.)

-Yumalay se escapa de su escondite, encuentra en la casa de Alejandro un arma y luego dispara contra el Gobernador , pero soldados de la escolta de éste evitan la tragedia. La india huye y es perseguida.

Yumalay escapes from her hiding place (like she was in some secret hidey-hole or something -- geez, LAI, get a grip!!), finds a gun in LAI's LUUURVE's house and later shoots at the Governator, but soldiers from his escort prevent the tragedy. (um, no, not really. the tragedy befell anyway: Fernie's uninjured, and Ríos didn't even muss his hair in the process of "protecting" Almu. so a double tragedy, actually.) The Indian flees and is pursued. (well, duh!)

-Mariángel cabalga por el pueblo y nota a Diego cerca. Entonces pretende que está desmayada , Diego la encuentra y la lleva a su casa y allí, ella lo besa con pasión.

Mangle rides around town (well, actually she rides around the hills outside of town. i guess LAI didn't notice the lack of buildings and the big ol' prickly cacti and such...) and notices Diego is [riding] nearby. So she pretends she's fainted, Diego finds her and takes her to her house and there she [revolts the viewers and, likely, Diego as well when she "comes to" and] kisses him passionately. (because you know, when a guy already thinks you're despicable and is in love with someone else, trying to get him to transfer his affections to you using an obvious trick like that and then behaving like a slut is JUST the way to do it. you know, even though previously Mangle has seemed to be at least moderately on top of things, i'm beginning to wonder if those earlier indications were just fortuitous. of course, it could be that Kooko's taken over writing her stuff from one of the other writers -- that would explain it, too...)

-En la cárcel, mientras Montero y Pizarro discuten lo que pide Esmeralda, ella aprovecha para asearse, sale del despacho y sin que la vean, se mete por los pasillos de la cárcel buscando a su madre. Montero y Pizarro acuerdan culpar al Diego por la muerte del virrey. Por su parte, Esmeralda sigue buscando hasta que encuentra a Sara Kali, su madre.

In the jail, while Mountebank and Pizza discuss Esme's request, she excuses herself to wash her hands, leaves the office, and without being seen, slips into the passages of the jail looking for her mother. (good thing Mountebank is so confident no-one can escape that he doesn't bother locking the doors that access the cellblocks or post any guards or anything...) Mountebank and Pizza agree to blame Diego for the death of the viceroy. (i wasn't paying a strict attention at this point because of things i had to do before going to bed (remember, this was on late for us here in the WCC last night because of the game), but could have sworn they agreed to blame ZORRO for the death of the viceroy, not Diego... try to keep them straight, LAI -- Zorro's the one all in black, with a mask. Diego is the one who tries to wear a guileless expression and NO MASK.) For her part, Esme keeps looking until she finds Sara Kalí, her mother. (see previous comment re: locks and guards...)

***************

AVANCES FOR TODAY

TEASER: Yumalay es buscada...

...Y Esmeralda descubre mentiras

Yumalay is sought...

...And Esme discovers lies. (MORE lies?? i mean, not that there aren't more to be discovered, but still....)

TITLE: Por amor harán cuaquier cosa. (They will do anything for love.)

DATE: Thu 1 March 2007

EP #14

-La farsa tiene un motivo.

There is a motive for the farce. (yes, we know that. move it along, LAI!)

-Y Esmeralda descubre las mentiras de Montero.

And Esme discovers Mountebank's lies. (are you just recycling? because this just seems like yesterday's avances only in different words.)

-Tras la puerta, también descubre a su madre.

Behind the door, she also discovers her mother. (yeesh!! we know this already!! are you trying to tell us that nothing more happens today than happened yesterday???)

-El destino las pone frente a frente.

Destiny puts them face-to-face. (blah blah blah. this is the best you could do, LAI??? did you even bother to watch more than the recap from yesterday??)

Telenovela-World: RECAP for yesterday / AVANCES but no teaser for today (2 Mar 2007) -- EDITED Author: B. (---) Date: 03-02-07 13:11 PST

RECAP FOR YESTERDAY

NEW TITLES: Un gran misterio / ¿Habrá esperanzas para Renzo?. ((and AGAIN with the extraneous punctuation, LAI!! get a grammar-check program already!! ) A big mystery / Is there hope for Renzo?)

DATE: Thu 1 Mar 2007

EP #14

- Esmeralda encuentra a Sara Kali y le pide que no pierda las esperanzas. Ella le jura que la sacará de allí. Entonces vuelve al despacho corriendo ya que la buscan por la cárcel. Por suerte no la atraparon.

Esme finds Sara Kalí and asks her not to lose hope. (although you know, somehow La Favela didn't manage to convey any of the horror ANYone would have felt on seeing someone chained up and wearing a mask like that. she must've seen in the closeups its made out of duct tape and been too confused to summon up the right emotions...) She swears she will get [Sara Kalí] out of there. Then she returns, running, to the office, since they're looking for her in the jail. (yeah, "running." because it's so easy to do in heels and a big ol' dress while trying to be stealthy and not crash into doors that have been locked since you went through them. LAI must be FF'ing to only the parts with his honeybunch Ríos...) Fortunately, they didn't trap her. (especially since they didn't even know they were trying to!!)

-Esmeralda descubre sobre la mentira del virrey. Ella sabe que no fue Renzo quien lo mató.

Esme finds out about the lie about the Viceroy. (and that makes one of us. i have to listen to that part again. was Fernie sending letters under an assumed name, trying to blackmail the King or something??) She knows its wasn't Renzo who killed him. (or, actually, ANYone, since it was his INSPECTOR who was killed.)

-Sigue la búsqueda por Yumalay pero Alejandro la encuentra y le protege.

The search for Yumalay continues but Fat Pecs <snicker> finds and protects her. (i bet LAI replayed that part where she jumps on his LUUURVE --mussing his hair (gasp!!)-- and holds a knife to his throat over and over and over again until his cuate TPC tossed him out of the edit room...)

-Diego resiste el beso de Mariángel y la rechaza. Le pide que se dirija a él con distancia. Mariángel se aferra en conquistar a Diego pero él le contesta: "No tengo lugar para ti en mi corazón. Lo ocupa tu hermana".

(After letting it go on for FAR too long and, alas, without treating her as the despicable sleaze she is,) Diego resists Mangle's attempt to make us viewers lose our dinner-- i mean, attempt to kiss him and rejects her. He asks her to keep herself at a distance in future. Mangle is set on conquering him (because she's an idiot) but he replies: "I don't have room for you in my heart. You sister has it all." (although his other reply was better and hit her harder --though, unfortunately, it didn't lessen her classic Novela Vixen determination in the least: when she told him that Esme would make him suffer, he replied, with a smile: I know. And it feels so good. hee!)

-María Pía se preocupa por Sor Suplicios. ¿Estará poseída por el demonio?

María Pía is worried about Sister Suplicios. (because apparently her name, "Suplicios" --which means torments or ordeals in English-- apparently isn't giving María Pía ANY kind of a heads-up...) Could she be possessed by the devil? (uh, oh... someone in the writers' office there at RTI had better do us all a favor ASAP and make sure to confiscate all copies of The Exorcist in Bogotá before Kooko can watch them for "inspiration," or we're all going to be in trouble...)

-Esmeralda le cuenta a Almudena lo que vio en la cárcel y sospecha sobre el encierro. Ella entiende que algo muy grande se oculta, una razón muy fuerte para que traten a su madre con tanta crueldad.

Esme tells Almu what she saw in the prison and suspects about the imprisonment. (GET. A. GRAMMAR. CHECK. PROGRAM. NOW, LAI!!! AND a proofreader who actually checks for CONTENT!!) She understands that something very big is being hidden, [there must be] some very strong reason [to explain] why they treat her mother with such cruelty. (yes, those duct tape masks are so pesky. plus, the tape gets stuck in your hair.)

-Diego está convencido en abandonar al Zorro.

Diego is convinced about giving up [being] Zorro. (yeah, that'll last. NOT.)

-En el pueblo, soldados atacan a los residentes por no pagar sus impuestos.

In the town, soldiers (suddenly and inexplicably decide to) attack the residents for not paying their taxes. (this seems like a hasty decision on Kooko's part. i guess it suddenly occurred to him he's going to need an excuse to make Diego keep being Zorro. maybe the mask wasn't doing it for him...?)

-Alejandro le exige a Yumalay que viva con él. Piensa transformarla para que parezca española y así, no la conozcan.

Fat Pecs demands that Yumalay live with him. (because he's too much man for just one woman?? Yumalay was right: how cozy --NOT!-- with the five of them, her, Almu, Fat Pecs and his pecs, and all his beauty products....) He thinks to transform her so she looks Spanish and thus will not be recognized (by the Governator and his goons). (hmmmmm, i wonder if LAI's LUUURVE's little brain has stopped "thinking" long enough to consider the effect seeing his murdered mother's twin walking around is going to have on Diego. not to mention her feelings at being forced to be something she's not...?)

-Olmos en un bar con Diego, acuerda ayudar al segundo con Esmeralda.

(for the love of ANYone, LAI -- GET A PROOFREADER NOW!!!) Olmos in a bar with Diego, agrees to help the latter with Esme. (hah, like Diego was asking out of the blue, instead of, in desperation, taking Olmos up on his offer from Ep #12 or #13. and for anyone who saw that scene, though, it was pretty funny. here is Aerynsun's considerably more coherent commentary, which i recommend.)

-Esmeralda en su casa encuentra documentos sobre el exilio de Sara Kali y sobre una amenaza a la corona española firmada por \'El Topo\'. ¿Será Fernando?

At home, Esme finds documents about the exile of Sara Kalí and about a threat to the Spanish crown signed by "El Topo." Could [El Topo] be Fernie? (gee, could water be wet...?)

-Alejandro le pide al Padre Tomás que bautice a Yumalay.

Fat Pecs asks Padre Tomás to baptize Yumalay. (<insert sound of gritted teeth here.>)

-Olmos le entrega una nota de Diego a Esmeralda que dice \'tengo una explicación que darte y será esta noche\'.

Olmos gives Esme a note from Diego that says, "I have an explanation to give you and it will be tonight." (loved how Olmos was almost out the door before he scurried back to assure her that Fernie would never hear about the note from him. Olmos in lurve -- so cute!)

-Diego presencia la tragedia con la gente del pueblo. Soldados les queman sus casas.

Diego witnesses the tragedy with the people of the town. Soldiers burn their houses. (and yet he seemed strangely unmoved. VERY bad direction, that.)

-Montero y Pizarro le comunican a Fernando lo sucedido con Esmeralda y el gitano Renzo, y le garantizan que el Zorro será el asesino del virrey. Fernando conoce todo sobre el Zorro, según Montero, quien pinta al enmascarado como un bandido, defensor de gente baja, muy hábil pero sin respeto a las leyes.

Mountebank and Pizza tell Fernie what happened with Esme and Renzo the gypsy, and they guarantee that Zorro will be the viceroy's assassin. (and again... oh, well, i suppose he gets points for consistency in his delusion, but still: stop dreaming of your pookie-bear long enough to focus at least a BIT on the story, please, LAI!! and on the recaps, because you're more than usually garbled today...!) Fernie knows all about Zorro (yes, after Mountebank TOLD him), according to Mountebank, who describes the masked man as a bandit, a defender of the lower classes, very skillful but with no respect for the law. (...and considering Mountebank, Pizza, and Fernie between them have less respect for the law than do the raccoons who scarf down the kibble i leave out for my strays, that's a bit much!)

-Dolores viste a Yumalay con ropas de Regina, la difunta esposa de Alejandro. Cuando termina, se sorprende y comenta \'¿Qué doña Regina murió? Para mí que está a punto de renacer\'.

Dolores dresses Yumalay in the clothes of Regina, Fat Pec's (long-) dead wife. (which they just happened to have hanging in a closet after what -- 20 years?? and the moths didn't get to them or anything??) When she's done, she is surprised and remarks, "So Doña Regina died? It sure looks to me like she's about to come back to life!" (why is she surprised??? ever since washing the war paint off Yumalay, she's said Yumalay could be Regina's twin. ARGH!)

-Llega el Zorro donde Esmeralda y se quita la máscara.

Zorro arrives at Esme's and takes off his mask. (preparatory to taking off the rest of his wardrobe. and hers, if the previews are to be believed.)

***************

AVANCES FOR TODAY

NO TEASER (yesterday's teaser still up as of 2.15p Pacific)

TITLE: El Zorro quiere desaparecer. (Zorro wants to disappear.)

DATE: Fri 2 Mar 2007

EP #15

-Mientras El Zorro descubre su rostro y su alma...

While Zorro uncovers his face and his soul... (are you trying to get all Poetic on us now, LAI, after the mess you made of yesterday's recap???)

-A sus espaldas, se teje una emboscada.

...behind his back, an ambush is prepared. (literally, an ambush is being knitted, or constructed. and he is! LAI IS trying to distract us from his mangled recap for Ep #14 by going all poetic. "knitted" indeed!!)

-¿A quién pretenden ejecutar?

Who do they think to execute? (duh! Renzo AND Zorro! get with the program already, LAI!)

-¿Tendrá esperanzas Renzo?

Is there any hope for Renzo? (you're not watching this except when your snookerdinkums is on, are you LAI...?)

Telenovela-World: RECAP for Friday; TEASER + AVANCES for today (Mon 5 Mar); AVANCES from... LAST THURSDAY!!! (EDITED AGAIN) Author: B. (---) Date: 03-05-07 12:19 PST

RECAP FOR FRIDAY

NEW TITLES: Acecha el peligro / Se prepara una emboscada. (Danger threatens / An ambush is prepared)

DATE: Friday, 2 March 2007

EP #15

-Diego en casa de Esmeralda, le confiesa todo sobre el Zorro. \'Es un secreto peligroso. Si alguien algún día descubriera mi secreto, todos pagarían las consecuencias\'.

Diego at Esme's house, confesses everything about Zorro. (ok, first let me make this clear: i'm just translating. the commas are NOT my fault -- LAI's punctuation (non)sense leaves a GREAT deal to be desired. still. as does his hearing, since Zorro said upfront to Esme that he WANTS to tell her all about himself and he WILL tell her all about himself eventually, but he CAN'T tell her all about himself NOW because he has to get permission from other people involved in the story. pay attention, LAI!!) "It's a very dangerous secret. If someday someone should discover my secret, everyone [who is close to me] would pay the consequences." (given the kind of guys Mountebank and Fernie are, i think this is probably pretty true. even being his friend would not keep Fernie from going after Fat Pecs, Dololes, and everyone else Diego knows....)

-Diego expresa su pasión a Esmeralda. \'Nunca me había enamorado de alguien como estoy de ti\'.

Diego expresses his passion to Esme. (and not just in words, apparently.) "I've never been in love with someone the way I am with you." (which rather begs the question: has he ever been in love with anyone in the first place? enquiring minds would like to know...)

-Padre Tomás, junto a Dolores y Alejandro, se preparan para bautizar a Yumalay.

Padre Tomás, together with Dololes and Fat Pecs, prepare to baptize [an understandably recalcitrant and reluctant] Yumalay. (and while i understand why Fat Pecs is insisting on it, and Tomás is going along with it --although i would have liked to see a little more reluctance on his part (a quibble, i know)-- it still seems wrong.)

-Yumalay acepta convertirse en cristiana y vivir en casa de Alejandro, pero no renuncia a darle muerte al hombre de un solo ojo.

Yumalay agrees to convert herself into a Christian (well, she doesn't so much agree as see she has little choice) and live in Fat Pecs' house (yeah, that will be fun. i'd love to see how Fat Pecs explains this one to Almu and especially to Diego...), but does not renounce [her intention of] giving death (LAI's phrase) to The Man With Just One Eye. (and if looks could kill, he'd already be dead about 50 times over: 25 from Yumalai, and 25 from María Pía...)

-García le lleva comida a Renzo a escondidas.

García secretly brings food to Renzo (who is inexplicably out in the plaza in front of the jail instead of in a cell. couldn't they get the stocks-thingy they had him wearing through the door of the cell? or was it just too hard to light his feet if they did it inside?? also, if he was already in the plaza that night, why did they have to take him there in a tumbrill the next day? Kooko, you have got to start paying more attention!!)

-Diego y Esmeralda comparten una noche de pasión. Zorro le cuenta parte de su historia. Su nombre de pequeño fue Tisha, o pequeño zorro. Esmeralda cuenta todo sobre ella. Diego le dice que nunca más será el enmascarado y ella no lo permite. \'No voy a permitir que renuncies al Zorro....la gente de estas tierras te necesitan\'.

Diego and Esme share a night of passion (that only involved Esme looking away once or twice, so she's getting better...). Zorro tells her part of his story. His name as a child was Tisha, or Little Fox. Esme tells all about herself. (and it took all of about two sentences, apparently. i mean, i'm glad that Kooko gave us credit for remembering stuff we only learned a few episodes a go and just gave the highlights, but it was kindof abrupt. so, points for effort and for having the right idea. now just work on a smoother transition, ok, Kooko??) Diego tells her he won't be the masked man any more and she won't have any of that. "I'm not going to let you renounce [being] Zorro... the people of these lands need you." (which she knows because...? i mean, he's seen them getting taxed and burned out and whatnot, but she really hasn't. you need to work a bit on foundations, too, Kooko!!)

-Dolores le comenta al Padre Tomás sobre el compromiso de Almudena con Alejandro y dice \'si Alejandro supiera la verdad, que el Gobernador mató a su mujer....\'

Dololes comments to Padre Tomás about Fat Pecs' engagement to Almu and says, "If Fat Pecs knew the tluth, that the Governatol killed his wife..." (and remind me again why he wasn't told about this years ago...? that's right!! no-one's thought to mention that little bit...!!)

-Fernando espía a María Pía y la mira desvistiéndose. Ella no lo nota. El la encuentra más bella que nunca y la quiere como esposa.

Fernie spies on María Pía and watches her undressing. (well not exactly, but close enough.) She doesn't see him. (just as well, for him. because if she HAD seen him...) He finds her more beautiful than ever and wants her as his wife. (because her vows as a nun mean nozink to him -- NOZINK!!)

-Montero visita a Esmeralda y le promete una sorpresa al día siguiente, con relación a su petición de liberar a Renzo. (Antes que eso, unos minutos antes, Mariángel le había sugerido al Comandante que diera libertad al gitano, a cambio de pedirle a Esmeralda lo que él quiera.)

Montero visits Esme and promises her a suprise the following day, related to her request that he free Renzo. (and here LAI is messing with all of us by putting a comment in parenthesis as well-- curse you, LAI!! anyway, his comment: (Before this, a few minutes before, Mangle had suggested to the Comandante that he free the gypsy, in exchange for asking Esme for whatever he wants.) why, LAI??? it's MONday -- don't mess with me, i'm not in the mood.)

-En la iglesia, Alejandro convence a Yumalay que no mate a Fernando mientras ella viva con él. La Yumalay accede y en eso llega el mismísimo Fernando y la Yumalayindia se exalta. Fernando sospecha del bautizo repentino pero le presentan a la Yumalay con el nombre de Guadalupe y como le han cambiado la apariencia, El Gobernador termina por creer lo que le dicen y no se da cuenta que es la india que trató de matarlo 2 veces. Luego el Gobernador se marcha.

In the church, Fat Pecs convinces Yumalay not to kill Fernie while she is living with him. (with Fat Pecs. of course, this means she's going to cut out of there ASAP so she is free to pursue her vengeance. but really, can you blame her? i'd rather be an Indian on the run than put up with all the nonsense she's going to have to put up with to live with him. at least poor Toypurnia / "Regina" actually cared enough about young Fat Pecs to try giving up everything she is to become something she's not. but Yumalay, very sensibly in my opinion, feels differently.) La Yumalay agrees and just then Fernie himself arrives and La Yumalay is excited. (this third-person thing is contagious, apparently. LAI's certainly caught it...) Fernie is suspicous of this last-minute (and late-night) baptism but they present Yumalay to him under the name "Guadalupe" and as they have changed her appearance (although given that neither Dololes nor Fat Pecs saw Yumalay's startlingly twinlike resemblance to Toypurnia until they had her war paint off, i would have thought Fernie wouldn't recognize her as the Indian who tried to shoot him either...), El Governator ends up believing what they tell him and doesn't realize it's the same Indian who tried to kill him twice. (besides, his head was WAAAAY too full of the glimpses he'd just caught of María Pía's naked back. he probably wouldn't've noticed pink elephants in tutus -- not that the rest of the crew in the church were in any position to know this.) Later, he leaves. (very rude, too, just leaving without saying anything. where are your manners, Mr Governator??)

-María Pía le pregunta a Diego que se puede hacer para evitar el duelo pendiente entre él y Montero.

María Pía asks Deigo what can be done to avoid the upcoming duel between him and Mountebank. (nice try, auntie. but really, you should know better by now...)

-Montero va hacia la plaza con Esmeralda para presenciar la \'sorpresa\' en cuanto a la liberación de Renzo.

Mountebank goes toward the plaza with Esme to witness the "surprise" regarding Renzo's liberation. (and this just goes to show that while Mountebank can read a woman like Mangle pretty easily --maybe because at heart she is so like him?-- he is pretty clueless when it comes to one like Esme. even if she didn't know and love Zorro and truly believed him to be a dangerous criminal, this kind of bait-and-switch would not win any points with her...)

-Fernando visita a María Pía y le exige una explicación sobre la verdadera razón de su odio. Él le pide que lo perdone. Ella dice que no puede. Entonces El Gobernador dice que dejaría todo lo que tiene por una mirada de amor de ella. María Pía se marcha.

Peeping Governator visits María Pía and demands an explanation from her regarding the real reason for her hatred. (and he's still not doing the math here. Peeping, it's EASY: one (you were an Indian hunter) + one (Diego's mother was an Indian) + one (Diego's mother is dead) = SHE THINKS OR KNOWS YOU KILLED DIEGO'S MOTHER. yeesh, Peep! (uh, oh... must. fight. tempatation. to. call. him. "Little Bo...") stop letting your "little brain" do all your thinking for you!!!) Then Peep says he would give up everything he has for just one loving look from her. (yeah, don't hold your breath on that one, there, Peep!) María Pía walks off. (go María Pía!!)

-Mariángel le pide a su padre que la case con Diego de la Vega.

Mangle asks her father to marry her to Diego de la Vega. (and LAI's back to his other obsession, last names. remind me again, we have HOW MANY Diegos in this...?? yes, LAI: ONE!!! also, it's not like Peep is also a priest and can just go marrying people, not to mention Diego has to agree he wants to marry Mangle, which even SHE is not so stupid as to believe he wants to do even if her sister were out of the way. i really hate it when otherwise reasonably intelligent people are written this way. it's just so LAME. and annoying. ok, more annoying than lame. can we just kill Mangle or confine her scenes to scene with Mountebank? she's fun in those because Harry's so good with her...)

-Esmeralda llega a la plaza con Montero y encuentra todo preparado para ahorcar a alguien. Ella exige una explicación y El Comandante le garantiza que no matarán a Renzosino que todo es una trampa para atrapar y matar al Zorro.

Esme arrives at the plaza with Mountebank and finds everything all ready for a hanging. She demands an explanation and Mountebank guarantees her they won't kill Renzo but that it is all a trap to trap and kill Zorro. (yaddah yaddah yaddah. you gotta kindof admire Mountebank's enthusiasm for his latest plan, though...)

***************

EDITED TO ADD: as Mabouchita so astutely pointed out, the avances still posted on the Telemundo site as of 2.50p Pacific as being for today (Monday, 5th Mar) ARE THE EXACT SAME AS THOSE LAI POSTED FOR LAST THURSDAY (1st March). so although i have left the avances and comments in place, just in case, i am editing the rest of this accordingly.

=========================================================================

SUMMARIES IN ENGLSIH OF EPISODES FOR WEEK FEB. 26, 2007 - MARCH 2, 2007

Telenovela-World: Summary Ep. 11 - Mon. 2/26 Author: dlandros (---) Date: 02-28-07 15:07 PST

- Governor’s Mansion (Living Room)

Esme tells Fernie in no uncertain terms that she won’t marry Montero. This doesn’t sit well with Fernie who lifts his hand to slap Esme when Diego stops him. Fernie tells him not to meddle in their business and follows Esme out of the room.

Diego says he’s in love with Esmeralda and won’t allow her to marry Montero. Montero tries to stop Diego from leaving when Diego punches him square in the face to the surprise of all present – Alejandro, Almudena, Mangle, Olmos. Don Alejandro is taken aback by his son’s actions and Diego, realizing his blunder, acts surprised and swings his hand back and forth as if it hurts.

- Esme’s room

The discussion continues between Esme and her father. Yes, you’re going to marry Montero; No, I won’t marry Montero. Fernie promises that she’ll marry the Commander even if he had to punch the hell out her. A defiant Esmeralda says it won’t matter how much he hits her but she won’t comply. He tries to hit her again when Almudena comes in and asks to be alone with Esme. He leaves after making a few faces.

- Governor’s Mansion (By the stairs)

Fernie is coming down the stairs and finds Diego sitting in a bench waiting for him. With his Diego mask firmly in place, he confesses his love for Esmeralda, in fact, they are in love with each other. Fernie wonders when and where they fell in love. Diego admits he fell in love as soon as he saw her and she…well…their time in the Jungle helped. In fact, his father was going to ask for Esmeralda’s hand in marriage. Fernie tells him that even if Don Alejandro would have asked, he would have refused anyway because Montero asked first and he cannot go back on his word.

- Convent

Sister Belinda informs MP they had to restrain Sister Suplicios. MP enters her room and the poor crazy nun is tied in her bed mumbling about the devil.

- Governor’s Mansion (Living Room)

Montero is fuming because Diego hit him, saying he could only do it because Diego behaved treacherously. Then Diego appears swearing he won’t allow Montero to marry Esme. Montero hints he will challenge Diego to a duel if he doesn’t stop talking nonsense. Diego admits he’s a man of peace and educated, but he will learn to manage a sword to defend Esme’s love. Montero can’t take it anymore, takes off his glove and slaps Diego in the face with it, effectively demanding satisfaction. He’ll wait until Diego learns to handle a sword for the duel (who knows how long this will take.)

Diego and his father come out of the house. As you can imagine, poor Don Alejandro is concerned about Diego. Mangle also comes out and tells him he shouldn’t be risking his life for Esme: she’s not worthy. Diego tells her that she’s just like her father and leaves. Don Alejandro goes back inside.

- Esme’s room

Almudena tells Esme that opposing her father so strongly was the wrong thing to do because he’ll make her marry Montero. Esme can’t even imagine the possibility – she can’t stand his slimy looks. Almudena says they should use their head and find another way to prevent the marriage.

- Governor’s Mansion (Living Room)

Fernie apologizes for all the hoopla. Montero tries to remind Fernie of his promise (what promise?) when Fernie responds very cuttingly that he doesn’t have to remind him of anything. They talk about the duel and other stuff. Montero tells Don Alejandro that he will withdraw if Don Alejandro apologizes in Diego’s name. Don Alejandro refuses because Diego will never forgive him.

- Governor’s Mansion (Outside)

Don Alejandro is leaving when Almudena comes out of the house. Alejandro apologizes, she apologizes. Almudena wants him to stop the duel because she fears Diego will die. Don Alejandro says no problem: Montero’s arm will take days to heal and he will teach Diego himself (like that takes a few days.) He then changes the conversation and tells her he had been planning to ask for her hand in marriage. They kiss very blandly, confess they love each other, more bland kisses and remember old times. Almudena is so happy but has a bad feeling that their love will never come to fruition. Alejandro tells her not to worry because he has only loved two women in his life, Regina and her, and he said goodbye to Regina today. They come back to Diego and the duel conversation. Don Alejandro admits he likes Esmeralda because she’s already made Diego behave like that decisive, strong man he hoped (and tried) his son would be. He’s even proud of Diego for trying to defend his honor. Almudena can’t understand what exactly is up with men and their honor.

- Hacienda de la Vega (Barracks)

Yumalai is washing her face when Dolores enters the room. She’s aghast at Yumalai’s resemblance to Regina and tells her so. She says all White people think Indians look all alike but Dolores responds that she’s Black and she can tell the difference. Also, she knew Regina well. Yumalai is surprised that Alejandro was married to an Indian woman and Dolores praises Don Alejandro as the best man in the world, he was so in love with Regina, etc. A peon enters the barracks looking for Dolores because Don Alejandro’s favorite horse, Quijote, is very ill.

- Governor’s Mansion (Gardens)

Mangle and Montero have a tête-à-tête in the gardens. Mangle scolds Montero; he should have told her what he was up to so she could have planned it better. Now Esme is against him and it will be very difficult to convince her. Montero thinks she’s afraid for Diego and Mangle replies that with his attitude, he’s just uniting them because Esme is very stubborn. It seems that Montero recognizes the truth of her words because he asks for her advice. She says they will have to find a way to stop the duel without hurting Diego’s honor because if he kills Diego, there’s no way Esme is going to marry him. They kiss roughly (you know villains, they can never give up “evil people sex.”) Montero calls Pizarro and they leave.

- Esme’s room

Mangle admonishes Esme – she got Diego in such trouble! She should have admitted to her that she was in love with him. Esme asks how she knows and Mangle replies that Diego said it in the living room for all to hear. Mangle also tells Esme about the duel. Esme wonders how she’s going to fix this problem and Mangle wants Esme to trust her. She’ll fix it.

- Tavern

Diego is having a few drinks when Montero arrives with an attitude. They exchange words (more of the same) and Diego’s glad they can take off their masks and say what they feel about each other. Diego says very smugly that he’ll wait until his arm heals to kick his ass.

- Hacienda de la Vega

The peon tells Don Alejandro that Quijote is fine because Yumalai cured him. It seems she’s a horse whisperer. Don Alejandro mumbles that Regina knew about those things. He then goes to talk to Yumalai and is stunned because of her resemblance to Regina.

- Street

Esme escapes from her house and runs to Diego’s arms. They embrace and kiss passionately.

End of the episode

Telenovela-World: Summary Ep. 12 - Tue. 2/27 Author: dlandros (---) Date: 03-01-07 14:16 PST

- Street

Esme and Diego kiss passionately. He acknowledges that he shouldn’t have lied to her and that he was planning to ask for her hand in marriage. Esme knew because her Aunt told her. They kiss some more and the said Aunt shows up. It’s better if Esme goes with her because if Fernie finds out, who knows what can happen. They should act with intelligence, Almu says. Diego agrees with the Aunt and they kiss goodbye.

- Convent

While María Pía is taking care of the poor crazy nun, she hears the door. When she opens, it’s non other than our friend Fernie. The conversation was basically a repeat of all the others they’ve had– I’m nothing without you, my life has been hell, why did you leave me, etc. with MP asking him to leave her alone, etc. (This conversation felt more real to me, as if the actors were more comfortable with each other.) At the end, a crying MP tells him the reason she broke up their engagement: although he knew how much she loved the Natives in the region, he made his fortune killing them. Fernie can’t believe that was just it.

- Hacienda de la Vega (Barracks)

Alejandro and Yumalai talk about her tribe and her people. She wants to leave in the morning but it will all depend on him – it seems that he can do whatever she wants with her because he saved her life. Alejandro remembers a similar situation with Regina where she tells him almost the same exact words. He tells Yuma people should decide what to do with their own lives and if she wants to leave in the morning, he’ll make sure she can. He leaves and she mumbles to herself about a “fire in his eyes.” Alejandro goes to his room to pace anxiously. It’s like having Regina again, he says. He paces back and forth, opening his shirt (don’t do it, don’t take off your shirt!) He walks to the door, he needs to see her again! As he’s about to open it, he changes his mind. More pacing and heavy breathing. Then, he takes off his shirt (Noooooo! I almost got blinded watching those fat pecs. Osvaldo please hit the gym!! I don’t remember anything he said afterwards.)

- Jail

Cap’n Crunch is walking about the cells when he sees Renzo’s violin. He asks Sgt. Garcia what is that violin doing there and the Sgt. responds nervously that every condemned man deserves a last wish. I’m glad he didn’t ask you for the keys to the cell, retorts my Cap’n ironically. He then stomps the violin to pieces, saying that Renzo won’t need it anymore.

- Padre Tomás’ Office

Diego apologizes for visiting the Priest so late but the Priest says no problem, I'm always up late reading and writing. Diego tells him what happened with Mountebank and his decision not to be Zorro anymore. The Priest is surprised and asks if the ideals of Zorro have died in him. They haven’t, Diego responds, but there must be another way to help people in need. He’s tired of pretending to be somebody he’s not. (My husband thinks he’s both Diego the fool and Zorro and that he would like to merge both parts of his personality into one man.)

- Mountebank’s house

Mountebank finds Mangle in a white get up with see-through hips. It seems she didn’t get enough of the rough kisses, she wants more evil-people-sex. Afterwards, they talk about Diego, Esme etc. and what they need to do to keep them apart.

- Esme’s room

Almudena tells Esme she should use her brain not her…well…you know (this is my interpretation; I think her exact words were “act with intelligence.”) Esme struts this way and that with an expression of “now I understand what you mean, wise Aunt.” (Definitely La Favela needs to learn the meaning of subtlety.) Since she knew Mountebank had her mother prisoner, she started to hate him but by pretending to acquiesce to the engagement, she could get Mountebank to take her to the prison.

- Hacienda de la Vega (Dining Room)

Diego comes down the stairs and munches on a grape. He sees the worried expression of his father and asks what’s up. Obviously, Fat Pecs is thinking about Yumalai but tells his son he’s worried about the duel. They need to start training, like now. Fat Pecs hoped Diego didn’t forget what he learned in the Military Academy in Spain. Diego wants to have breakfast first but FP doesn’t let him. Diego mutters amused that if the training doesn’t kill him, hunger will.

- Padre Tomás’ Office

María Pía visits Padre Tomás to tell her about poor Sister Suplicios. The Priest is worried about Diego and informs her about the duel. They must find a way to stop it.

- Hacienda de la Vega (Patio)

Fat Pecs is irritated because Diego seemed to have forgotten everything he learned in Spain. They practice several times with Diego falling repeatedly to the floor and/or losing his sword. Bernardo laughs soundlessly in the background and Diego winks at him – he’s obviously faking his clumsiness.

They keep practicing and FP acknowledges that although Diego has a hideous technique, he must have good reflexes because he (FP) hasn’t been able to touch him. Diego shows off with some maneuvers while his father has his back to him. More silent laughs from Bernardo.

- Governor’s Mansion (Living Room)

Mountebank wants to talk to Esme. Fernie doesn’t see why he needs to: Fernie himself will deliver Esme to the altar. Mountebank insists and Fernie is about to refuse when Esme enters the room with her “I have a plan” face and agrees to the Commander’s request. Fernie realizes right away that something is up and sends Olmos to spy on them.

- Hacienda de la Vega (Dining Room)

Fat Pecs is sitting, thinking about Yumalai. Dolores comes in and comments on her resemblance to Alejandro’s late wife, Regina. FP says Yumalai wants to leave today and he’ll make arrangements. Dolores thinks can't go because she's still hurt and they'll catch her very easily.

(My husband commented on Novelas’ propensity for portraying Minorities as trusted, wise servants and it reminded him of a particular passage of the Bible, Matthew 20:16 "So, the last will be first, and the first will be last." As we see here in Zorro, the Minorities who are “last” (poor, persecuted Blacks, Natives, Gypsies) are actually “first” (wise, constant, honest) while most of the “first” (rich, powerful, White Folk) are “last” (greedy, crooked, criminal.) He then pointed out that Zorro/Diego is part of both worlds which may the underlying reason for the duality of his character.)

- Governor’s Mansion (Gardens)

Mountebank and Esme stroll in the gardens. He wonders about her change of mind and she answers that it just took her by surprise because her father didn’t tell her anything. She will have to acquiesce to her father’s wishes so it would be best if they get to know each other. So what’s up with Diego, asks Monte and Esme replies flirtatiously that it will HIS job to make her forget Diego. Montero, pleased, takes that as a challenge. With her usual subtleness, Esme changes the topic to his work and asks him to take her to the Prison. Montero doesn’t want to and Esme makes it as if to leave. Montero changes his mind and she smiles with her “smart face.”

- Mangle’s room

Olmos shares the new developments with Mangle. They both realize right away what Esme is up to and Mangle asks Olmos to investigate the details of the plan.

- Governor’s Mansion (Living Room)

Fernie is remembering bad times when Almu tells him about her engagement with Fat Pecs. Fernie is angry at the beginning but mellows when she reminds him all she’s done for him. He congratulates her, treats her nicely and decides to go to the Hacienda de la Vega and give his blessing to the Union in person.

- Hacienda de la Vega (Patio)

Fat Pecs is looking at the distance when he sees Fernie, Almu and a bunch of soldiers. His first thought is about Yumalai because if she leaves, the guards may catch her. He runs to the Barracks to warn her and finds her topless. They look at each other (I was waiting for him to look down at her breasts and my husband predicted they will soon be rolling in the hay.)

- Plaza

Diego is walking about the Plaza with Bernardo when he encounters Esme with Mountebank. She’s being her usual coquette and Diego's face shows his anger.

End of the episode

=========================================================================

TRANSLATIONS OF TELEMUNDO AVANCES & SUMMARIES FOR WEEK MAR. 5-9, 2007

Telenovela-World: RECAP for Friday; TEASER + AVANCES for today (Mon 5 Mar); AVANCES from... LAST THURSDAY!!! (EDITED AGAIN) Author: B. (---) Date: 03-05-07 12:19 PST

. . .

TEASER FOR TODAY

TEASER: Renzo será ejecutado...

...¿O será una trampa para atrapar al Zorro?

Renzo will be executed....

...Or will it be a trap to trap Zorro?

***************

"AVANCES"?? FOR TODAY??? (DUPLICATES OF THOSE FOR LAST THURSDAY)

TITLE: Por amor harán cuaquier cosa. (They will do anything for love. um, isn't that a Meatloaf song...?)

DATE: Monday, 5 March 2007?????????????

EP #16 - MAYBE

-La farsa tiene un motivo.

The farce has a motive. (most usually do, i believe...)

-Y Esmeralda descubre las mentiras de Montero.

And Esme discovers Mountebank's lies. (um, that should be: MORE of Mountebank's lies, since she's already discovered some of them... and pretended to call him on one or two, giving him a bit of a bad moment there that was fun to watch...)

-Tras la puerta, también descubre a su madre.

Behind the door, she also discovers her mother. (what? did they bring her up to watch the trap?? that doesn't seem to be very sensible...)

-El destino las pone frente a frente.

Destiny puts the two women face to face. (ok, so either Esme breaks into the jail again, or Mountebank locks her up for some reason. hmmmmmm....)

***************

hah. it looks like LAI got tipped off that we were on to him, because he updated the "MÁS" link for today... heh!!

AVANCES FOR TODAY (for real this time)

TITLE: Este amor está a punto de acabarse. (This love is on the verge of ending.)

DATE:

EP #16

-Y Montero le tiene preparado un espectáculo a Esmeralda que nunca olvidará.

And Mountebank has everything prepared for a spectacle that Esme will never forget. (and again i say it: Mountebank doesn't know how to read a woman like Esme yet. i wonder if he's ever even come across one like her...?)

-Montero tiene una estrategia para atrapar al Zorro.

Mountebank has a strategy to trap Zorro. (yes, we KNOW already LAI! stop wasting our time and write something to the point!!)

-Y El Zorro ignora que están tras su cabeza.

And Zorro is unaware they are after his head. (he's not "unaware" of it -- he KNOWS they want to catch him!! he's just unaware that Renzo's supposed hanging is only a trap set specifically to catch him. and you know, i think Mountebank is perfectly capable of hanging Renzo "just because" even if he WERE to catch Zorro, and then blame it on one of his men or on collateral damage or on Zorro or something, at least to Esme. and that being the case, he's definitely playing a dangerous game. because where Mangle would forgive him (let's just assume for a moment that she would have even asked for Renzo to be set free in the first place) because she is practical, Esme certainly wouldn't. of course, we know Renzo will not die at this time anyway, but still...)

-Una emboscada podría poner fin a una leyenda.

An ambush might put an end to a legend. (might, but it won't. aren't you paying attention, LAI? PLEASE try to keep up: this is Episode #16 and Christian's name is right at the top of the credits. Zorro / Diego aren't getting killed off any time soon...)

Telenovela-World: RECAP for yesterday; AVANCES for today (6 Mar 2007) Author: B. (---) Date: 03-06-07 11:32 PST

RECAP FOR YESTERDAY

NEW TITLES: El Zorro logra escapar / Una madre y un padre sufren por su hijo. (Zorro manages to escape / A mother and a father suffer for their son.)

DATE: Mon, 5 Mar 2007

EP #16

-Diego se prepara para convertirse en el Zorro. Ha decidido rescatar a Renzo, quien será ejecutado en la plaza del pueblo.

Diego prepares to become Zorro. (get a grip, LAI -- it's not like he hasn't put the costume on a gazillion times already or anything...!) He has decided to rescue Renzo, who will be executed in the town square. (ah, yes, Mountebank's Grande Plan. whatever.)

-Esmeralda está en la plaza y se entera que la ejecución es en realidad una trampa para atrapar al enmascarado.

Esme is in the plaza and she finds out the execution is really a trap to trap the masked man. (yes, because apparently Mountebank ALWAYS schedules executions of people who haven't even been tried first at high noon after inviting the whole town and then some, and then doesn't get on with it. nope, nothing at all suspicious about that, no siree!!)

-Padre Tomás se reúne con un grupo de hombres ocultos, una orden secreta, y discuten los últimos acontecimientos. Ellos deciden averiguar sobre la mujer encarcelada y las razones poderosas que la ocultan.

Father Tomás meets with a group of mysterious men, a secret order, and they discuss the latest happenings. (so let me get this straight: they all know who the good father is, but they none of them know who the man next to them is...? i mean, if you're going to have a secret order, that's probably a good way to make sure one can't implicate the others, but then again, if you get Father Tomás, well, the group is kinda screwed, wouldn't you think...? plus, it seems like you have this group and they do... what, exactly? they seem more like Zorro's fan club than a pro-active group.) They decide to find out about the imprisoned [masked] woman (because everyone else who has asked about her has had SO much success...) and the powerful reasons for which she is hidden. (and again i say it: what exactly do these guys do except get together, hide from each other, and wait for Zorro to do something??)

-Alejandro llega a la plaza junto a Dolores y Yumalay. Allí se entera sobre la ejecución y hace lo que puede por intervenir. Se cuestiona por qué acusan a un hombre sin juicio. Todo le parece sospechoso.

Fat Pecs arrives at the plaza with Dololes and Yumalay (her name's supposed to be GUADALUPE now, LAI -- get with the program already!! if i can keep the names straight, then what's your excuse?? and didn't you all just love how, when Yumalay insisted her name was Yumalay, they told her that Guadalupe was a better name because it's the name of "our" Virgin?? Yumalay just looked at them like they'd lost it. why didn't it occur to Tomás at least to explain that she was supposed to be hiding, and so she couldn't go around sporting her true name?? i mean, after all, he's been doing this Seekret Stuff for a while now, you'd think he'd be a little more on the ball...!) There [Fat Pecs] finds out about the execution and does what he can to intervene. He questions why they are accusing (uh, more than "accusing" at this point, Fat Pecs -- remember? they're going to hang him!) a man without trial. Everything seems suspicious to him. (well, duh!)

-María Pía visita a Almudena y le dice que se propone hablar con Fernando sobre Esmeralda y Diego. Va a pedirle que permita su casamiento.

María Pía visits Almu (i rather thought it was Almu that visited María Pía, but i wasn't watching closely, so... and by the way, not that i mind or anything, but how is it that María Pía was so willing to condemn Esme as a bride for Diego but is happy to be friends with Almu? hypocritical much?) and tells her that she intends to speak with Peep about Esme and Diego. She's going to ask that he allow the wedding. (well, it's a shot. i just hope she's prepared to pay the price, and somehow i suspect she's not...)

-Fernando sospecha de la india Yumalai y las intenciones de Alejandro. La india le recuerda a Regina.

Peep suspects the Indian Yumalay (LAI!!! decide how you're going to spell her name and then stick with it already!!) and Fat Pecs' intentions. The Indian woman reminds him of Regina. (well, she should. although i'm surprised he was able to see through her clever Guadaloopy disguise...! Fat Pecs and Dololes should have let her keep her war paint on -- then NO-one would have recognized her!!)

-Mariángel insiste en Diego como esposo pero su padre no la quiere atender. La malcriada hija nota a su padre muy distante y se propone perseguirlo para ver si él se ve con María Pía a escondidas. En el camino, unos bandidos la capturan y tratan de violarla pero el Zorro aparece y la salva. Ella queda encantada con el enmascarado.

Mangle insists on having Diego as her husband but her father isn't in the mood to listen to her. (and i'd say who can blame him only he is a good part of the reason she is the way she is, so it's hard to be entirely sympathetic here.) The spoilt daughter notes her father is distracted and decides to pursue him to see if he and María Pía are seeing each other in secret. (Mangle is just SO tiresome. and what if she'd discovered they were meeting in secret? what did she think she would do? if she busted up the meeting, her father would probably toss her in the dungeon with the Masked Miracle just to teach her a lesson. she really needs to learn to think things through a bit more...) En route, some bandits capture her and try to rape her (no offense, Mangle, but this is why they say you shouldn't go riding around alone in the woods. plus, if she's supposed to be this well-bred Spanish lady --even if we know she's anything but-- she should be acting like it by insisting on at least a groom for an escort. except, right... Kooko's writing this and he needed a way to have her see and fall for Zorro. these bandits are just the new cannibals is all, and you all may have noticed, we haven't heard a word about the cannibals OR the jungle since their utility as a plot point was done with.) but Zorro appears and saves her. (how conveeenient...! Kooko: start doing a LITTLE work, please!!!) She ends up delighted with the masked man. (Kooko, we get it already: if it wears pants, Mangle wants it. move it along! and while you're at it, look up the definition of SUBTLETY, then try to put it into practice, please!!)

-En la plaza, hay un gran tumulto.Todos están allí para la ejecución del gitano. De repente, llega el Zorro y con gran habilidad y astucia, libera a Renzo, pero los soldados de Montero lo atrapan con una red. Mientras eso sucede, Esmeralda se las ingenia para asustar a un caballo y salir disparada con el animal, pidiendo ayuda a gritos. Con su acción, ella distrajo las tropas de Montero y el Zorro aprovechó para escaparse. Obviamente, Esmeralda es culpada por el escape del Zorro.

In the plaza, there is a great tumult. (duh. that's what you get if you invite everyone and his dog to a hanging without benefit of a trial. i'm actually rather surprised the crowd didn't try to rescue Renzo on their own -- they totally outnumbered Mountebank and his men. plus, he should have forseen they would get in the way of doing anything unless everything went EXACTLY according to plan, which, of course, things rarely do. all in all, a REALLY badly-thought out plan, you know...?) Everyone is there for the execution of the gypsy. (and most of them seem not to be at all in favor. again i have to say it: that "plan" was a screw-up waiting to happen.) Suddenly, Zorro arrives (doing a lot of unnecessary gymnastics that must've been made all the more difficult by his cape) and with great ability and daring, frees Renzo (or something. it seems to have involved a smoke bomb that somehow disabled the soldiers around Renzo but not Renzo or anyone in the crowd. why doesn't our military have the secret to this kind of smoke bomb??), but Mountebank's soldiers trap him with a net. (yes, because of COURSE after freeing someone surrounded by soldiers, you just stand there daring them to attack you. no wonder Mountebank figured his plan was so good -- because Zorro's wasn't any better!!) While this is happening, Esme contrives to startle a horse [harnessed to a cart] into bolting [with her on the cart], and shouts for help. With this action, she distracted [Mountebank and] his troops (because of course when you've got a desperate criminal finally captured, you just drop everything) and Zorro takes the opportunity to escape. Obviously, Esme is blamed for Zorro's escape. (because of course, the really really poor planning and execution of said plan could have NOTHING to do with it...)

-En la plaza, todos presenciaron la acción del Zorro, incluyendo a Tobías. El hombre quedó interesado por la técnica del enmascarado con la espada y asume que su destreza demuestra estilo español y se propone mandar cartas a España para averiguar quien se esconde detrás de esa máscara.

In the plaza, everyone witnesses Zorro's actions, including Tobías. The man was interested in the fencing technique of the masked man and assumes that his dexterity reflects a Spanish style [of training and fighting], and he proposes to send letters to Spain to find out who is hidden behind the mask. (it strikes me that he wants to know more because he's intrigued and maybe sees Zorro as someone, finally, who might be on his skill level if not better.)

-El Zorrovisita al Padre Tomás y le dice que la mujer con la máscara de hierro, encerrada en la cárcel, es Sara Kali, la madre de Esmeralda. Le dice también, que El Topo es Fernando Sánchez de Moncada.

(and LAI once again forgetting what the SPACE BAR is for...) Zorro visits Father Tomás and tells him that the Masked Miracle, imprisoned in the prison, is Sara Kalí, Esme's mother. (and was it just me, or did he talk to Tomás mostly in his Zorro voice (deeper than his Diego voice) for this conversation...? stay in character -- that's good!) He also tells him that El Topo is Peep. (i'll have to go back and rewatch this scene -- i didn't remember him mentioning this, but maybe...)

-Fernando está muy furioso por lo sucedido con el Zorro y su escape. Exige respuestas a Montero y un nuevo plan para encontrarle un asesino del virrey.

Peep is furious about everything that happened with Zorro and his escape. He demands answers from Mountebank and a new plan to find the Viceroy's assassin. (LAI, GET IT RIGHT ALREADY!! it's not the Viceroy who's dead -- it's his INSPECTOR!!! and it's not like they don't keep saying "el inspector del virrey" or anything!! what? you can type out last names that are totally extraneous but you can't type in two extra words, one of them really little???)

-Mariángel seduce a Olmos y le hace propuestas indecorosas, a cambio de que él averigue quien se esconde tras la máscara del Zorro.

Mangle seduces Almost and makes indecorous suggestions to him in exchange for him finding out who is hiding behind the mask of Zorro. (ah, LAI...? Mangle didn't actually seduce Almost. she TEASES him a lot. it was pretty revolting.)

***************

AVANCES FOR TODAY

TEASER: Cambio de planes...

...Desatarán una tempestad.

[A] change of plans...

...will unleash a tempest.

TITLE: Mientras algunos celebran de felicidad.... (While some celebrate happily...

DATE: Tue 6 Mar 2007

EP #17

-...Otros desatan la tempestad.

...others unleash the tempest. (we could use a little rain storm or three here in Los Angeles these days -- maybe Kooko could send some of it our way... ok, fine, i know LAI is being Poetic again and doesn't literally mean a tempest. whatever.)

-Montero sorprende a Esmeralda con Diego...

Mountebank catches Esme with Diego... (and he's surprised by this? he shouldn't be.)

-...Y le jura que por las buenas o por las malas, la hará su esposa.

...and he swears to her that, one way or another, he will make her his wife. (blah blah blah. Harry's doing a terrific job with Mountebank, but he IS tiresome.)

-El Gobernador anuncia cambio de planes, que podrían anunciar desgracias.

Peeping Governator announces a change of plans, that could signal misfortune. (i'm not even going to speculate. clearly we've been set up to believe the change is that Esme is now going to marry Diego, but i bet that's not going to be it...)

Telenovela-World: RECAP for yesterday; AVANCES for today (Wed 08 Mar) Author: B. (---) Date: 03-07-07 12:53 PST

RECAP FOR YESTERDAY

NEW TEASER: Varios quieren saber......La verdadera identidad del Zorro. (Several want to know... ...The true identity of Zorro.)

NEW TITLES: Cambio de planes / Propuestas y anuncios (Change of plans / Proposals and announcements)

DATE: Tue 07 March 2007

EP #17

-Mientras Esmeralda celebra lo que le pasó a Montero, los gitanos celebran que Renzo está a salvo gracias al Zorro. Esmeralda le pide a Renzo que trabaje para ella.

While Esme celebrates what happened to Mountebank, the gypsies celebrate that Renzo is saved thanks to Zorro. Esme asks Renzo to work for her. (well, actually, Esme told him that it would be best if Renzo did come to work for her as her gardener, since that was the story she'd told Mountebank in order to alibi Renzo. and she's right, it wouldn't look good for Renzo --should, for any reason, Mountebank decide to refocus on him for something-- if it can be so easily proved Esme was lying....)

-Diego, por su parte, está emocionado porque Esmeralda le salvó la vida a él. Más tarde, ambos se encuentran en el pueblo y se besan con pasión, pero son sorprendidos por Montero, quien en un ataque de orgullo y odio contra Diego, lo golpea y lo humilla. Diego no se defiende tanto, más bien pretende que está siendo agredido por el Comandante, quien a su vez le jura a Esmeralda que la hará su esposa por las buenas o por las malas. Mariángel observa lo sucedido.

Diego, for his part, is touched because Esme save his life. (ok, not that i'm at all against people's lives being saved or anything, but if he'd actually HAD a plan at all --i mean, beyond posing and doing gymnastics, that is-- it might not have been necessary for Esme to save his life in the first place...) Later, they meet in the town (don't go making it sound all accidental, LAI! Diego went looking for Esme.) and they kiss passionately (is the vote in? WAS it a "real" kiss or not?), but are surprised by Mountebank, who in an attack of pride and hatred for Diego, hits and humilliates him. (ah, but this time Diego DID have a Plan, even though he's supposed to be the fool and Zorro the meister planner. go figure...). Diego doesn't really defend himself, or rather, he pretends he's being hurt by the Comandante (see? you were all worried for nothing -- you should have trusted me when i said Diego had a Plan...!), who for his part swears to Esme that he will make her his wife one way or another. (ooooh! you fierce man, you! but you hurt your widdle armie-pooh again, didn't you? ha ha!) Mangle observes the events. (well, she did more than "observe." she tried to interfere, especially when Esme was trying to beat up on Mountebank for kicking Diego when he was already down. and then after Mountebank left, she tried to send Esme to her room and leave her there with "poor" Diego, but Esme wasn't having any of that. and as soon as Mangle, defeated, flounced off, Diego stopped faking. for a second there, i thought Esme was tempted to smack him for faking so convincingly, but then she decided to be proud, if scolding a bit. hee!)

-Mientras atiende a Quijote, el caballo de Alejandro, Yumalay (ahora llamada Guadalupe) se tropieza con el amo y éste la toca con dulzura preocupado de que la india no esté golpeada. Mientras la acaricia, llega Almudena de sorpresa y observa lo que sucede. Alejandro actúa con naturalidad y logra disipar dudas. Sin embargo, cuando trata de presentarle a Almudena, Yumalay le niega el saludo y se marcha rabiosa. ¿Coraje por tratarse de la hermana del hombre que tanto odia o celos?

While tending Quijote, Fat Pecs' horse, Yummy (LAI: now called Guadalupe. B. - except she keeps correcting Fat Pecs that she's Yummy, not Guadalupe. Fat Pecs really should have made sure she got the memo about Guadalupe being her cover name. although he's not helping the situation much, because it's pretty clear she doesn't want to be Guadalupe and he agreed to call her Yummy in private but then he keeps calling her Guadalupe anyway. so he's dense and she's stubborn. a match made in....?) bumps into the owner (that would be Fat Pecs, LAI - are you trying to get Poetic on us again? cut it out!) and he touches her sweetly, worried that the Indian woman might be injured. (except that he's SO starting to confuse her with Regina, you can just tell...). While he's caressing her (and he really was), Almu arrives unexpectedly and observes what is going on. (not too happily, either.) Fat Pecs acts casual (LAI means, as if nothing is going on between him and Yummy) and manages to dispel doubts. (but not for long, i bet...!) However, when he tries to present [Yummy] to Almu, Yummy refuses [to shake Almu's hand, outstreched in a friendly fashion] and stomps off angrily. (yeah, it seems Yummy also missed the memo about social niceties even when they seem hypocritcal, right along with the memo about how she's supposed to behave while in disguise as his goddaughter "Guadaloopy...") Is she pissy because [Almu's] the sister of the man she hates so much, or is she jealous? (get your votes in now!!)

-María Pía visita la residencia de Fernando y le suplica a éste que cancele el duelo de Diego con Montero y que permita el casamiento entre Diego y Esmeralda, pero el Gobernador seguirá firme en su palabra, a menos que la religiosa se entregue a él. Ella se ofende y se marcha llorosa. Más tarde, Fernando visita a María Pía en el convento y sigue su plática con ella, pero Sor Suplicios los observa a su vez que se entera por otras monjas que María Pía y Fernando fueron novios hace muchos años. La noticia impacta a Sor Suplicios.

María Pía visits Peep's reisdence and begs him to cancel Diego's duel with Mountebank (and ok, MAYbe he could do that. but since he didn't arrange the duel, it's not really anything he has much control over. technically, unless the law decides to step in, i believe only Diego or Mountebank can decide to withdraw, and since it seems Mountebank is The Law in those parts, it's unlikely he's going to step in and stop something he's counting on to get rid of his rival. but you know neither would...) and to permit Diego and Esme to marry, but the Governator will continue to be firm in his promise [to Mountebank that he can have Esme] (and now you're prescient, LAI?), unless the nun gives herself to him. (yes, in THAT way.) She takes offense and leaves in tears. (considering he all but assaulted her, it's hard to blame her. although, given how Peep's been acting around her, neither should she have been surprised either at his condition for acquiesing or at his AGAIN trying to break down what he percieves as the wall she's put up to protect herself.) Later, Peep visits María Pía at the convent and continues his conversation with her, but Sister Twisted (heh, couldn’t help it...) observes them (and WHEN ARE YOU GOING TO GET A PROOFREADER, LAI??? he’s getting all garbled again here.) at the same time finds out from other nuns that María Pía and Peep were engaged many years before. The news makes an impact on Sister Twisted. (especially because she hears Peep calling out María Pía’s name again and realizes it’s the voice she heard before that the other nuns didn’t hear and that María Pía denied hearing. stop leaving out the pertinent stuff, LAI!! was there not enough of Fat Pecs for your taste, perhaps?? or did you realize –as we all IMMEDIATELY did—that Shirtless Diego is WAAAAAAY more interesting to watch??? because, you know, i notice you just happened NOT TO MENTION two of the three Shirtless Diego scenes even though they included your bitsy pookums Fat Pecs (thankfully, NOT shirtless), and you really just glossed over the third, which didn't involve your pookey-bear... tsk, tsk, LAI – jealous much??)

-Alejandro le comenta a Almudena que si Fernando no le concede la mano de Esmeralda a Montero, la seguridad de todos en el pueblo se vería afectada, ya que Fernando es el Gobernador y tiene el poder político, pero Montero tiene todo el poder militar.

Fat Pecs comments to Almu that if Peep doesn’t give Esme’s hand (and we’re back to that AGAIN?? what is it with these people??) to Mountebank, the security of everyone in the town will be affected. (what? like they’re so secure right now? i mean, those who aren’t rich and/or connected enough for Mountebank to want to at least appear to be appeasing them??), since Peep is the Governator and has the political power, but Mountebank has all the military might. (even if that “might” often resembles The Gang That Couldn’t Shoot Straight in PdG...)

-En el pueblo, Tobías le hace una propuesta a Montero. A cambio de dinero, se ofrece a averiguar la identidad del Zorro. Le dice que lo hará, investigando sobre el entrenamiento que recibió el enmascarado. Tobías dice que hablará con sus contactos en Europa para saber quién fue el entrenador y el discípulo con un estilo tan único. Supuestamente, existe solo una persona que conoce la información. Montero acepta la oferta. seduce a Olmos escuchó todo y le cuenta a Mariángel.

In town, Tobías (who will need a nick soon, i just know it) makes a proposal to Mountebank. In exchange for money, he offers to find out Zorro’s [true] identity. He tells him he will do it (and again with the extraneous punctuation, LAI! GET A PROOFREADER!! or at least a grammar-check program!) [by] investigating the training [he believes] the masked man received. Tobías says that he will speak (well, write, but who’s quibbling?) to his contacts in Europe to find out who was the trainer and the disciple with such a unique style. Supposedly, only one person exists who knows that information. (well, two, actually: Zorro knows, too.) Mountebank accepts the offer, seduces Almost heard all (i’m not making this up – that’s what LAI wrote. LAI: GET A DAMN PROOFREADER ALREADY!!) and tells Mangle. (who of course tells Almost to find out before Tobías does. whatever. she SO intends to use that information to blackmail Zorro into sleeping with her...)

-Montero le exige al Gobernador que adelante la fecha de la boda con Esmeralda, recordándole lo del asesinato del virrey. Fernando sabe que está siendo chantajeado.

Mountebank demands the Governator move up the date of his wedding with Esme, reminding him about the whole assassination of the Viceroy thing (LAI! how many times do i have to tell you?? it was the Viceroy’s INSPECTOR!! pay attention already!!) [Even though Mountebank suavely denies it,] Peep knows he’s being blackmailed. (and he IS. and BOY, does he hate it. the minute he gets the upper hand with Mountebank, he is going to squash him like the turd he is. and though i don’t much care for Peep either, that should still be fun to watch...)

-María Pía, preocupada por la posibilidad de que Montero pueda matar a Diego en el duelo, decide que se entregará a Fernando para que cancele dicha actividad.

María Pía, worried about the possibility that Mountebank might kill Diego in the duel, decides to give herself to Peep so that he will cancel that activity. (“that activity”?? you’re losing it, LAI!)

-Fernando reúne a Almudena, Mariángel, Olmos y Montero, para anunciar que adelantó la fecha de la boda con Esmeralda. Se casarán el próximo día.

Peep gathers Almu, Mangle, Almost, and Mountebank (AND ESME, you forgot about ESME, LAI! she is only the heroine, after all...!) to announce that he’s moved the date of Esme’s wedding up. [Mountebank and Esme] will get married the following day. (Mountebank is already counting his chickens, too: he told Pizza that in the morning he’s going to kill Diego, and by nighttime he is going to be enjoying the sexual favors of the woman for whom Diego died. Pizza, oddly, seemed to look more worried than pleased. what’s up with that?)

***************

AVANCES FOR TODAY

TEASER: El duelo ha sido adelantado...

...Y Alejandro sufre por su hijo.

The duel has been moved up...

...and Fat Pecs suffers (as in worries) for his son...

TITLE: Un amor que parecía eterno.... (A love that seemed eternal...)

DATE: Wed 08 March 2007

EP #18

-...Ahora solo quedarán recuerdos.

...Now all that will be left are memories. (LAI’s trying to scare us. well, it won’t work.)

-Montero arde en rabia...

Mountebank burns with rage... (um, Mountebank? i understand that experts in duels and fencing generally agree that you should NEVER go into this sort of thing when enraged, as it keeps you from thinking clearly. but you go ahead and do what you think best – don’t mind me...)

-Y por limpiar el honor, una boda podría ser un hecho.

And to clear his honor, a wedding could be a done deal. (except that Mountebank hasn’t any honor to begin with. i’m not sure he ever has had... plus, even he admits he’s marrying Esme to score off Diego, get her $$, and strengthen his ties to the local political authority, Peep.)

-¿Estará el amor de Esmeralda destinado al olvido?

Will Esme’s love be destined for oblivion? (oh give me a break, LAI! “destined for oblivion” my fanny!! get a grip already!)

Telenovela-World: RECAP FOR YESTERDAY [USA, 3/8/07] Author: B. (---) Date: 03-08-07 14:26 PST

RECAP FOR YESTERDAY

NEW TEASER: El duelo ha sido adelantado......Y Alejandro sufre por su hijo. (The duel has been moved forward... And Fat Pecs suffers for his son.)

NEW TITLES: El Gobernador da marcha atrás. / Se rompen promesas, por amor. (The Governator reconsiders. / Promises are broken, for love.) (or maybe for lust...?)

DATE: Wed 08 Mar 2007

EP #18

-Fernando jura que si María Pía no se le entrega, nadie será feliz. Más tarde, ella lo visita y accede a su petición, siempre y cuando el cumpla con suspender el duelo de Diego con Montero y permita el casamiento de primero con Esmeralda.

Peep swears that if María Pía won’t give herself to him, no-one will be happy. (actually, what he says is, if HE can’t be happy, then NO-ONE else can be, either. AND he was pretty toasted when he said it, you know, and since ‘in vino veritas,’ and all that, he probably means it. hmmm, does anyone else think that our Peep is a wee bit selfish, perhaps...?) Later she visits him (again) and accedes to his request (well, demand, actually), if and only if he will follow through with suspending Diego’s duel with Mountebank and permit [Diego] to marry Esme. (ahem, LAI, you’re leaving something out: María Pía also made it really clear that he would only be getting her body, he would NOT be getting her soul. Peep is now just dying for her to give him one loving kiss. but don’t think that he’s not willing to settle --for now!-- for what he can get, i.e., her body. she told him she would meet him the following night at the cabin where they used to meet when they were dating. Peep actually looked moved to think the cabin still exists. awwwww....)

-Sor Suplicios siguió a María Pía a hasta la residencia del Gobernador. Descubre que ella le está mintiendo.

Sister Twisted followed María Pía to the Governator’s residence. (her stalker tendencies are totally manifesting themselves now. María Pía told her she was going to her brother’s house, but Sister Twisted followed her anyway. so now she’s Confused... well, more confused, really.) She discovers that [María Pía] was lying. (yes, we know – i just said so! get on with it!)

-Montero le informa a Fernando que tiene un espía tras la identidad del Zorro.

Mountebank informs Peep that he has a spy looking into Zorro’s [true] identity. (ok, i was a little distracted during some of last night’s episode, but even i know that YOU’RE GETTING THIS STUFF ALL OUT OF ORDER, LAI!!! this scene happened BEFORE María Pía went back to talk to Peep again and agree to his deal, when Peep had only just started drowning his sorrows (as opposed to being half-toasted already when María Pía came back)!!! and actually, this conversation had its amusement value, because Peep was so clearly distracted and uninterested in --and unimpressed by-- ANYthing Mountebank had to say. i seem to recall thinking that Moutebank actually brought up the whole Zorro/spy thing because he was trying to get a reaction --any reaction-- out of his prospective father-in-law. well, if that was the reason, then hahaha! it totally didn’t work. Mountebank might just as well have been commenting that the weather’s been nice for the time of year or something equally banal. Peep didn’t even look at him, he just kept staring out the window, lost in his own thoughts. if i remember correctly, Peep even told Moutebank that he’s got what he wanted, Peep reconfirmed his marriage to Esme and even moved it up to the following afternoon, and now Mountebank should just go away, please. of course, Peep was not yet drunk at this point, either.)

-Olmos le ofrece a Tobías dinero a cambio de la identidad del Zorro. Ahora Tobías recibirá dinero por tal investigación de Olmos y de Montero.

(in a well-done and rather comical scene,) Olmost (pretends to be worried about an impossible assignment entrusted to him by Peep and) offers Tobías (who SO needs a nick –- any suggestions, anyone?) money in exchange for [finding out and telling him] the [true] identity of Zorro. (Olmost TOTALLY played Tobías, it was great.) Now Tobías will receive money for the same investigation from Olmost and Mountebank. (and you could so see him light up at the thought of his cleverness. hahahaha! for a reasonably intelligent and occasionally observant man --i say “occasionally” because the other night his wife wasn’t just dropping hints, she was dropping ANVILS, and he was so wrapped up in his pride at his clever plan to get Montero to fund his Zorro investigations that he didn’t notice he was being flattened worse than Wile E Coyote!-- Tobías certainly is singularly stupid.)

-Yumalay entra a la habitación de Alejandro y lo seduce dormido. Se besan pero cuando Alejandro entra en razón, aleja a la india. El le dice que ama a Almudena, la mujer que será su esposa. En privado, la india asegura que tal matrimonio nunca ocurrirá.

<insert sound of gritted teeth> (STOP LEAVING STUFF OUT, LAI!!!) [After being rejected --nicely, but unequivocally-- by Fat Pecs, who then left the living room and retired to bed, Yummy decided it wasn’t enough to just post herself outside his door all night after all, so she) entered Fat Pecs’ bedroom and starts kissing him as he sleeps. (was he actually asleep? i don’t remember. and there seemed to be a lot of light in the room for someone whose intention was to turn in for the night.) He kisses her back (and even starts to unbutton her dress), but when he realizes what he’s doing (meaning: that he’s kissing her and calling her “Regina”), he pushes her away (and jumps out of bed. more Shirtless Fat Pecs – augh!!). (almost hysterically,) he tells her he loves Almu, the woman who will be his wife. (Yummy totally doesn’t buy it, as well she shouldn’t since his tone was more accusing --like, you know i’m supposed to marry another woman, a woman i’m supposed to love, so why are you here tempting me to betray her and myself??-- and trying to convince himself as much as her. Yummy may be single-minded and dense at times, but she’s not THAT dense...) In private (what? like they were in a crowd before?? it was just the two of them and it’s still just the two of them! where is your head, LAI??), the Indian woman states (furiously, almost spitefully) that such a marriage will never happen (because, according to Yummy, Almu’s blood is poisoned just as Peep’s is. but methinks Yummy doth protest too much, really... this whole, “i belong to you” / “let me take away your pain” by sleeping with you / sudden need to be with Fat Pecs / jealousy thing just seems to be a little too convieeenent and, despite a few points made on this forum, lacking in foundation for me...)

-Fernando le dice a Olmos que suspenderá el duelo de Diego con Montero, aunque tenga que recurrir a lo más bajo.

(After asking him, “just between us,” what he thinks of love, a now fairly toasted) Peep tells Olmost that he will suspend Diego’s duel with Mountebank, although he will have to sink fairly low (to do it. Peep also informs Olmost that he is cancelling Mountebank’s wedding and that Esme will marry Diego after all. Olmost practically smirks just thinking of breaking this news to Mangle...)

-Mariángel sale de noche hasta la casa de Montero. Entre caricias, le pide que suspenda el duelo y lo amenaza diciendo que si se atreve a matar a Diego, Esmeralda correrá la misma suerte. Montero se sorprende que Mariángel sea capaz de matar a su hermana.

Mangle (blatantly) goes out that night (basically telling Almu to get stuffed as she left, when Almu had only expressed concern for Mangle’s safety, walking around alone at night. Almu, by the way, had already heard about the canceled duel and wedding, but if she had any thought (unlikely, but possible, i suppose) of breaking the news to Mangle, Mangle’s rude and dismissive attitude toward her aunt banished it right away. in fact, Almu seemed to be another who was rather enjoying the thought of Mangle’s --and Mountebank’s-- dismay to find out her despised half-sister was to have Diego and not Mountebank. hee!), to Mountebank’s house. Between caresses (or something. Mountebank, at least, seemed to be making an effort. Mangle, on the other hand, really only had one thought on her mind, and it wasn’t evil people sex with Mountebank), she asks him to suspend the duel and (when he basically laughed at her,) threatens him saying that if he dares to kill Diego, Esme would suffer the same fate. Mountebank (isn’t really deterred by this threat, but) is surprised that Mangle would be capable of murdering her sister. (maybe he doesn’t know that she wouldn’t do it but would instead find someone else to do it for her –likely she would ask Olmost first. but if she did, i wonder if she would get a surprise with the response...? i rather think she might.)

-Esmeralda sorprende a Diego en su habitación. Lo asustó pero luego él disfruta su visita. Dolores los sorprende, pero luego de conocer la muchacha, queda encantada con ella.

Esme surprises Diego in his room (asleep. more Shirtless Diego, since he apparently doesn’t sleep under the sheets. and a good thing (about getting more Shirtless Diego, i mean), since we already had to put up with waaay too much Shirtless Fat Pecs and we need a prize for our suffering...). She startled him but later he enjoys her (unexpected) visit. Dololes walks in on them (because servants --even trusted life-long servants like Dololes-- ALWAYS just walk into their employers' bedrooms at night without knocking. you know, nothing against the actress, but Dololes is as big a pain in the neck as was Ninny in La Tormented...), but after meeting the girl, ends up enchanted with her. (but does she leave them alone in the room? not for long she doesn’t! booo, Dololes!! you are a party pooper!!)

-Almudena atiende a su hermano Fernando, quien está ebrio en su cama. Mientras él duerme, ella le reclama todo el daño que ha hecho y le dice que se llevará a Esmeralda para que no le haga el mismo daño que le hizo a su madre.

Almu attends to her brother Peep, who is (virtually passed-out) drunk on his bed. (her “attending” is limited to taking off his boots and talking at him. he was almost totally unresponsive, though i do think maybe he grunted once or twice.) While he is passed out (LAI wrote “asleep, but Peep killed easily a whole bottle of something alcoholic just in the scenes we saw, and was clearly drinking in between, too, so...), she (rather matter-of-factly) berates him for all the damage he’s done (to the people around him) and tells him that she will take Esme away so he can’t do the same damage to her that he did to her mother. (Peniche resisted the temptation to snore, but probably only just.)

-En el convento, la Madre Superiora está muy grave.

(Back) at the convent, (María Pía is digging out one of her old “civilian” dresses, when one of the other nuns frantically knocks on her door, calling out to her. María Pía hastily stuffs the dress under her mattress before opening the door to be told that) the Mother Superior is in very serious condition (and on the verge of death. and i’m telling you, i bet you anything this is going to make María Pía miss her date with Peep, and all Hell will break loose... i wonder if Peep will reverse himself AGAIN and try to give Esme back to Mountebank??)

-Ya llegada la mañana, Montero espera por Diego en el lugar acordado. Llega Fernando y le comunica que suspendió el duelo por tratarse de una actividad ilegal. También le dice que Esmeralda se casará con Diego. Montero, muy furioso por sentirse humillado, reta al Gobernador y lo ataca con la espada. El duelo ha comenzado.

The morning arrives, [and] Moutebank is impatiently waiting for Diego (who is now an hour late) at the agreed-upon location. (A now quite sober-looking) Peep gallops up and announces that he is suspending the duel because duelling is illegal (and as the highest representative of the law in the area, he has the obligation to uphold it. Mountebank has a hard time believing this of our Governator, given that murder is also illegal and yet Peep committed murder right in front of him. but Peep is not to be deterred.) He also tells Mountebank that Esme will marry Diego. Mountebank (completely loses it at this point and), very furious because he feels humilliated, challenges the Governator (to a duel) and attacks him with a sword. The duel has commenced. (see Enoch’s comment here and others in that thread for more on this new duel and other adventures from last night...)

AND AS USUAL, LAI LEFT SOMETHING OUT. well, actually, he left a lot out, some of which i put back in during the course of my translation and commentary. but he completely failed to mention one thing that i, at least, enjoyed:

while Peep is over breaking the news to Mountebank about the change in plans, Olmost is in his office or whatever, doing whatever it is he usually does in the mornings. Mangle sweeps in and, ignoring his surprise at her being not only awake but dressed way earlier than usual ("you hate to be wakened before 10a..."), orders him to order a carriage for her, with the fastest horses harnessed to it, because she has to go stop this duel. she sweeps out but stops when she realizes that instead of scurrying to obey her, Olmost has complacently reseated himself behind his desk and resumed his reading. so she sweeps back in again to angrily demand if in addition to being hunchbacked, Olmost had woken up deaf that morning. which gave Olmost the chance to tell her that she didn't need to worry about the duel because it wasn't happening. he waits, knowing she would think that Mountebank was the one who had decided to cancel it, and she does. then he tells her that no, her father was the responsible party, since "duelling is against the law," he concludes primly. you can tell he's totally enjoying herself. now Mangle is all pleased. she tells Olmost to start preparing, because her marriage to Diego will be the event of the millennium, and starts to sweep out again. she is stopped mid-sweep once again by Olmost, this time by his saying, in his most humble and servile way, that he was afraid that wouldn't happen. "Your father is arranging Don Diego's wedding, true, but to your sister Esme..." he pretends to be sorry to tell Mangle. Mangle is furious. hee!!

Telenovela-World: AVANCES for today (Thu 9 Mar 2007) Author: B. (---) Date: 03-08-07 10:50 PST

i'll get to yesterday's recap later, things are a little crazed right now...

AVANCES FOR TODAY

TEASER: Mientras una deuda se paga...

...Otra tendrá que cumplirse.

While one debt is paid...

...another will have to be fulfilled.

TITLE: Por amor, Fernando rompió su palabra. (For love, Peep broke his word.)

DATE: Thu 9 Mar 2007

EP #19

-Pero...¿Será capaz de morir por honor?

But... Will he be capable of dying for honor? (more so than Mountebank, i would say, since even though his is fairly twisted, what with one thing and another, Peep still does have some honor. of some sort.)

-Mientras una deuda se paga...

While one debt is paid... (i assume that LAI is referring to Mountebank getting his duel, even if not with the person he had planned to fight...?)

-Otra tendrá que cumplirse.

Another will have to be fulfilled. (so one would assume this is a reference to María Pía's pending meeting to give herself to Peep. and now that the mother superior is on her deathbed, how much do we want to bet that María Pía can't find a way to get away to go meet with Peep, which will piss him off and make him cancel Esme's engagement to Diego... i can totally see this happening.)

-¿Se casará Esmeralda con Diego de la Vega?

Will Esme marry Diego de la Vega? (and AGAIN with the last names -- what is this obsession of yours, LAI??? as for the marriage, i think we can all be fairly certain it will happen, the only question is WHEN, rather than IF. (and keep in mind that Kooko doesn't always do what you would expect...) fellow foristas, place your bets...!)

Telenovela-World: RECAP for yesterday [USA, Mar. 8, 2007] Author: B. (---) Date: 03-09-07 15:59 PST RECAP FOR YESTERDAY

NEW TITLES: ¿Promesas cumplidas? / ¿Se cumplieron las promesas? (Promises fulfilled? / Did they fulfull the promises?) (LAI: next time, try for a little imagination or just give us one title!!)

DATE: Thu 08 Mar 2007

EP #19

-Fernando detuvo el duelo con Montero, convenciéndolo de que pueden colaborar de otra manera. Pero Montero, aunque le da la mano al Gobernador en señal de acuerdo, no está satisfecho y en silencio prepara una venganza. Primero en su lista, está el Gobernador. Luego, Diego de la Vega, y por último, Esmeralda. Al llegar a la cárcel, saca a la mujer de la máscara de hierro, Sara Kali, y a fuerza de maltratos, la obliga a confesar por qué ella es tan importante para la corona Española. Sara no quiere hablar y Montero se propone quemarla viva.

Peep stopped [Diego's] duel with Mountebank, convinced that [he and Mountebank] can collaborate in other ways. (i see your reasoning, Peep, but you seem to have forgotten that when you start out by breaking promises, it kindof makes it hard for your would-be partner-in-crime to really trust you anymore...) But Mountebank, although he (very unwillingly) shakes the Governator's hand as a sign of agreement, is (rather understandably) not satisfied and in silence (well, except for all the ranting to Pizza) prepares a vengeance. (actually, he prepares the first in a looooooooooooooooong series of acts of revenge. because when someone gives you a black eye in a brawl with a guy in a bar, it's ALWAYS appropriate to go back and bomb the whole block because you think one guy made you look stupid.) First on his list (see? i TOLD you he had a list!!) is the Governator. (well, technically, first on his list is the Masked Miracle. which he figures is a good way to hit back at Peep. pay attention, LAI!! Kooko's stories are usually confusing enough -- we don't need you adding to it!) Then Diego de la Vega (sigh. and AGAIN with the last names... remind me again: how many Diegos do we have on this show, LAI? yes, that's right! ONE!), and lastly, Esme. (what? being "engaged" to Mountebank for a day wasn't punishment enough??) upon arriving at the prison, he gets the woman in the duct tap-- i mean, IRON (haha) mask (and the way her "mouth guard" kept flapping around whenever she moved, it was once again SO obvious it's duct tape. i guess the humidity from her breathing and from her opening it every time they're not shooting (because if it were me stuck in that mess of duct tape you can believe i would be opening the mouth piece every chance i got!) that has weakened the "stick" so that it won't hardly stay in place any more...), the Masked Miracle, [out of her cell] and forces her to confess, by means of torture, why she is so important to the Spanish Crown. (except unless i was more tired than i thought when i watched my tape of last night's episode, she DOESN'T say. all she does is seemingly admit to knowing Peep. other than that, Mountebank does pretty much all the talking until she starts struggling and saying he can't kill her. really LAI, are you watching the same story??). Miracle doesn't want to talk (see? i told you!!) and Mountebank proposes to burn her alive. (a trick he apparently learned from his father, according to Masked Miracle's cellmate. and really: EEEEEWWWWW. also, it was pouring down rain in buckets everywhere else in "Los Angeles" last night, but apparently not at the prison. unless the storm front hadn't made it the extra block...? but wouldn't you think Pizza or someone might look up at the sky and say, um, Mounte...? it's looking like pouring any second. we might want to reconsider our threat, maybe move it indoors...? and speaking of Pizza, by the way -- what is up with him, anyway?? i can't tell if he's in lurve with his Mounte, or terrified of him, or leading a double life, or just plain stupid. but the last several episodes he's just had this look on his face like he was trying not to show he's worried about something. and he also seems to be showing a decided lack of enthusiasm for any of Mounte's plans all of a sudden. of is it just me...?)

-Los gitanos presagian el peligro que corre Sara Kali y buscan a Esmeralda para contarle. Diego, en privado, le dice a su prometida que El Zorro rescatará a Sara Kali.

the gypsies foretell the danger in which the Masked Miracle finds herself (well, actually, it was Azucena, the matriarch, who saw Bad Signs. and then when Jonás brought the Action Hamster back from her latest attempt to communicate with the Masked Miracle and revealed the message hadn't been read, they concluded the Masked Miracle was the one all the Signs were pointing to.), and search for Esme to tell her about it. Diego, in private, tells his fiancée that Zorro will rescue the Masked Miracle. (which didn't seem to make her at all happy, and even seemed to make her a bit annoyed. i mean, i know she's worried about his safety and all, but still... i guess this is one of the areas where La Favela needs more work... and speaking of more work, you're getting things all out of order again, LAI!!! the whole search-for-Esme/Zorro-will-rescue scene happened right at the end of the episode, way after the next few bits here. look, LAI: WE know you're even lazier than Kooko, but do you really think you should go advertising it all over the place???)

-Fernando visita a Alejandro y a Diego para ofrecerle la mano de Esmeralda. Luego se marcha para encontrarse con María Pía. En su residencia, Alejandro acuerda con Almudena en celebrar su boda el mismo día que Diego y Esmeralda. Yumalay observa de lejos. Más tarde, Almudena se ofrece a ayudar a la india a convertirse en una señorita española. La india en privado, acepta en hacerlo, si eso es lo que quiere su amo, Alejandro.

(in a series of increasingly saccharine scenes that were oddly off-putting), Peep [and Almu] visit Fat Pecs and Diego to [officially] offer Esme's hand [to Diego]. (Mangle, who was apparently no-where to be found when they left, did not accompany them. and you can totally tell that both Peep and Almu had other things on their minds because neither seemed to be terribly perturbed about not having the slightest idea where Mangle was or what she might be getting up to. i suspect this lack of concern will come back to bite them in the butt later...) [After a lot of nauseating chit-chat that included Almu suggesting that she and Fat Pecs should get married in a double ceremony with Esme and Diego. no-one seems to notice Fat Pecs' hastily-disguised dismay --i'm guessing he wants to put off his marriage to Almu for as long as possible in hopes he will resolve The Yummy Problem before Almu actually moves in-- and Esme, supported by Diego, shot down his desperate hint that maybe the younger couple wanted to have their own wedding, just the two of them.), Peep leaves to meet up with María Pía. In his residence (because they were all somewhere else before??? LAI!! stop it with the filler already!), Fat Pecs (miserably) agreed with Almu to celebrate their wedding the same day as Diego and Esme. Yummy watches from afar. Later, Almu (rather condescendingly, although i know she only had good intentions) offers to help the Indian woman turn herself into a proper young Spanish lady. (and boy, did Fat Pecs do everything he could think of to keep Almu from even talking to Yummy. it just wasn't his night...) [as might be expected, Yummy very rudely rejects her offer and stomps off, but later,] in private, the Indian woman decides to do it, if that is what her owner, Fat Pecs, wants. (ok, EEEEEWWWWW. again. Yummy actually came to this decision after going off to find Dololes and grill her about her resemblance to Regina. Dololes assures Yummy that she is the spitting image of Regina, but says she doesn't see the point in talking about people and times that are long gone. only by then Yummy has stomped off again, having found out what she wanted to know.)

-Muere la Madre Superiora del internado de religiosas. María Pía es nombrada sucesora. Padre Tomás recibe la visita sorpresiva del Cardenal, quien quiere reunirse con la nueva encargada de las religiosas. Pía no se encuentra por encontrarse en una cabaña con Fernando. Allí, es desvestida por él. Sor Suplicios observó a escondidas y sale corriendo despavorida pero en silencio. A gritos llama a Pía como una concubina del demonio.

The Mother Superior of the religious house dies. María Pía is named her successor. (actually, she was named her successor a while ago...) [The nuns bury their former Reverend Mother seemingly within minutes of her passing. Padre Tomás officiates. María Pía seems to have bailed on the interrment at the last moment because she was feeling too guilty about her upcoming meeting with Peep to be able to handle Sister Twisted's fulsome congratulations on being named the new Reverend Mother, since those congratulations included praise of her worthiness and virtue. later that night, after the sisters have retired to their rooms, María Pía dresses up in the gown from her "civilian" life that she'd found and stealthily sneaks out of the house, checking frequently to ensure she's not being followed.] [That same night,] Father Tomás receives an unexpected visit from the Cardinal (who apparently arrives at night with no notice and no retinue. which seems odd because he's definitely the retinue sort.), who [despite the late hour and Padre Tomás' point that the sisters had all retired to their rooms, someplace that was certainly off-limits even to him], wants to meet with the new Reverend Mother to the house of nuns [which house has been petitioning for official recognition as a religious order from the Vatican]. María Pía can't be found because she's in a cabin meeting with Peep [as part of the deal she made so Diego wouldn't get killed and could marry Esme.] (LAI, once again so NOT helpful, makes it seem like Padre Tomás woke up the whole house looking for María Pía when in fact, although he does seem to have been making excuses for not bringing her right to the Cardinal --possibly because he had discovered she wasn't in her room, but maybe not-- he seems to have been rather more discreet about any enquiries he might have made amongst the sisters.) [Meanwhile, in the cabin, María Pía] is undressed by Peep (who despite his all-too revolting and rather unobservant eagerness --see this thread for more on this subject--, has nonetheless made an effort to make things special, by lighting candles, etc. however, in spite of her flat assertion when they made the deal that he would only be getting her body and not her feelings, he still believes she is looking forward to their 'reunion,' and that she wants it as much as he does. one early clue of how he has misjudged this --a clue he completely missed-- was when he said he'd also brought wine, and she replied, again in that same flat tone, that she doesn't drink. it threw him off his stride for a moment, but he quickly got back into it. at least for a while.) [As Peep admires, kisses, and caresses the unresponsive but unresisting María Pía], Sister Twisted watches [through a crack in the wall, getting more and more horrified with each kiss, until she can't take it any longer, when she] runs away, terrified, but silent. [once far enough away from the cabin that she isn't heard, she breaks down sobbing,] shouting that María Pía is a concubine of the Devil. (and she's certainly starting to scare people. Natasha's doing a great job!)

-En la cabaña, María Pía está dispuesta a cumplir su parte del trato con Fernando, pero sin desearlo. Fernando se enfurece porque no quiere hacer el amor sin que el sentimiento sea mutuo y le pide a la religiosa que se vaya. Ella lo hace y nada pasa entre ellos. María Pía se impresiona por el respeto que le profesó el Gobernador. En su cuarto, encuentra una cruz en su cama, colocada con la cabeza hacia abajo en señal de sacrilegio y se asusta. ¿Quién habrá hecho semejante acto? Sor Suplicios ríe a carcajadas en su cuarto.

[Back at] the cabin, María Pía is willing to go through with her part of her deal with Peep, but takes no pleasure in it. Peep [belatedly notices her total lack of response and] is furious because he doesn't want to make love [to the love of his life] without the feeling being mutual (and it really was clear that, even if perhaps he was more motivated by an egotistical desire to be THE man and her teacher in the arts of love than geniune feeling, Peep DID want María Pía to receive as well as give pleasure, and thus Peep could NOT take any pleasure in finally being with her when she so clearly doesn't want to be there.), and he [all but] orders María Pía to [get dressed and] leave. She does so, and nothing happens between them. [on the way back to her room at the convent, María Pía stops under the same tree as did Sister Twisted --it must be a Confessional Tree-- and has a heart-to-heart with the tree in the pouring rain.] María Pía is impressed by the respect the Governator professed [to feel] for her [but continues to be frustrated and upset that Peep is the one who ruined their plans to marry by killing Diego's mother. Meanwhile, back at the cabin, Peep storms around, furious at himself and his situation. but then he has a heart-to-heart with the cabin furniture, in much the same way María Pía had with the tree, and comes to some unflattering conclusions about himself. however, he still hasn't managed to put together the clues he's been given along the way to arrive at a possible answer to his biggest question: why did María Pía cancel their engagement in the first place?] Back in her room, María Pía [pulls down the blanket and] finds a cross on her pillow, placed upside-down in a sign of scriledge, and she is frightened. Who could have done such a thing? over in her room, Sister Twisted laughs [in a really creepy sort of way].

-Mariángel le pide a Olmos un brebaje para atrapar a un hombre. En otro momento, aprovecha para decirle a su hermana que no se confíe de su triunfo con Diego.

Mangle [finally back at the hacienda after spending the day drinking with Mountebank] orders Olmost to get her a potion to trap a man. (actually, if i remember correctly, she say she wants something that lets her dominate a man's soul or some such.) [when Olmost protests that he wouldn't know where to find such a potion, she threatens to tell her father about the double accounting Olmost has been doing if he doesn't produce results by the following day.) [Olmost tells her that the rest of the family is over at the de la Vegas' hacienda, formalizing Esme's engagement to Diego. Later, as Diego is tenderly saying good-bye to Esme after he and his father dropped Almu and Esme off at home, Mangle brazenly busts in, dressed only in her underwear. Esme sends Diego off and turns to deal with her half-sister, who] takes the opportunity to tell Esme not to trust in her triumph [in getting] Diego. (i am SO tired of Mangle already. i'm really surprised her father hasn't locked HER up in a mask somewhere. she must've been VERY discreet in Spain, is all i can think...)

-Los gitanos encuentran a Esmeralda con Diego y le dicen que algo malo le ha sucedido a su madre.

The gypsies find Esme with Diego and tell her something bad has happened to her mother. (actually, i think what they tell her is that her mother is dead, which technically they can't actually know yet. plus, i'm pretty sure the actress playing the Masked Miracle is in the main title credits, which would tend to argue --even in a Kooko novela-- that she's not in danger of being killed off any time soon. although, there's always a first time... as for Esme and Diego and the gypsies, Diego wants to go with Esme to meet them, but she puts him off, saying that she can tell it's not good news and she wants him to be introduced to them like the total prince he'll be when they're married. somehow, i can't help feeling this postponement is Not A Good Thing. not to mention Esme stated repeatedly throughout this episode that she can't believe her luck has changed at last, she's always had bad luck, things always turn out badly, etc. talk about tempting Fate! you'd think as a gypsy princess --even if she only found out about it recently-- she would know better!!)

Telenovela-World: AVANCES for today (Fri 9 Mar 2007) Author: B. (---) Date: 03-09-07 10:10 PST

i am still playing catch-up from yesterday's madness, so herewith the avances. the recap will come later -- promise!

AVANCES FOR TODAY

TEASER: El deshonor se paga...

...¡Con venganza!

Dishonor is paid for...

...with vengeance!

TITLE: El deshonor se pagará...¡Con venganza!.. (Dishonor will be paid for... with vengeance...!) (LAI, GET YOURSELF A GRAMMAR PROGRAM ALREADY!!!)

DATE: Fri 9 Mar 2007

EP #20

-Una muerte segura, hará derramar lágrimas de sangre.

A certain death, will make tears of blood flow. (as usual, it is not clear WHOSE tears of blood this will be. unless, of course, it's just Mountebank spouting his usual hyperbole...)

-¿Qué secreto guardará la mujer de la máscara de hierro?

What secret can the Masked Miracle be guarding? (i'm telling you, she's the Queen of Sheeba. or a Martian. i haven't decided. what do you all think...?)

-¿Un sacrificio por venganza?

A sacrifice for vengeance? (well, DUH, if Mountebank is going to kill her just to get even with Peep. don't you love these types who are so set on hitting back, harder, that they'll cut off their own noses just to spite their faces...? SO impractical, reallly...)

-El fuego acabará con las esperanzas de muchos.

The fire will end the hopes of many. (well, that's assuming she gets barbecued. or unless the "many" LAI is referring to here include all of Mountebank's soldiers, as unlikely as it seems...?)

Telenovela-World: RECAP for Friday [USA, 3/9/07] Author: B. (---) Date: 03-12-07 16:28 PDT

RECAP FOR FRIDAY

TEASER: El deshonor se paga... ...¡Con venganza! (Dishonor is paid for... with vengeance!)

NEW TITLES: Comienza el abuso / Alejandro paga las consecuencias (The abuse begins / Fat Pecs pays the consequences) (the consequences of... what? some specificity here would be nice, LAI! the consequences of kissing Yummy? the consequences of agreeing to get married the same day as your son? the consequences of apparently sitting back and not doing a thing to protest to anyone in higher authority about Mountebank's abuses only because he's left you alone up to now? the consequences of using ten cases of hair product in a week?)

DATE: Friday 09 March 2007

EP #20

NOTE: in connection with a thread on Mangle, the domination potion, and Peep, i wrote about all the scenes last Friday that involved Mangle, Olmost, the potion, Almu, the doctor, and/or Mountebank with any of the others, and included specific dialogues (a lot of it untranslated -- sorry! but if anyone wants translations, just let me know...). interested parties can find this post here.

-Alejandro recibe la noticia de parte de Montero, que sus impuestos han sido aumentados y que ciertas edificaciones en su propiedad que permiten acceso al agua del río, debe ser destruido. Todo es parte de una venganza severa contra la familia De la Vega.

Fat Pecs is put on notice by Mountebank (who is totally in Tin Despot Mode now. what a maroon!) that his taxes have been (arbitrarily) raised (effective immediately) and that certain constructions on his property that permit access to the river's water have to be destroyed (in spite of Fat Pecs saying --if i recall correctly, and i wasn't paying a lot of attention here so i might not-- that he had at least some permits for it. or that it had been in place forEVER and no-one objected before, so WTF???). All is part of a nasty vengeance against the de la Vega family (on the part of Mountebank, all of whose tin despot tendencies are now totally front-and-center.)

-Olmos consigue de manos de una hechicera, el brebaje que le pidió Mariángel para dominar la voluntad de las personas.

From the hands of the [Indian] sorceress, Olmost gets a brew that Mangle wanted [that would let her] have dominion over the will of others. (actually, what Mangle wanted was a potion to dominate the will of the loved one, which i suspect may turn out to be a significant point. or not, since Kooko is writing this. SEE POST LINKED IN THE NOTE, above)

-Llevan a Fernando inconsciente por el alcohol, a su residencia. Allí se entera Mariángel que su padre fue hechizado en la taberna con un brebaje como el que ella posee, como prueba de la eficacia del producto. Entre sollozos, Fernando llama a María Pía y Mariángel descubre que la religiosa fue la responsable del cambio de planes del Gobernador. Mariángel jura que María Pía se las pagará.

They (unspecified) bring a passed-out drunk Peep to his residence. There Mangle finds out that her father was ensorcelled in the tavern with a brew that she possesses, as proof of the product's efficacy. Between groans, Peep calls out for María Pía, and Mangle discovers (hah! like she didn't suspect anyway!) that the nun was the person responsible for the Governator's change of heart. (actually, Mangle rather is jumping to conclusions, but she's right, so let's not be picky.) Mangle swears that María Pía will pay for this. (SEE POST LINKED IN THE NOTE, above)

-Diego de la Vega le dice a Esmeralda que El Zorro visitará la prisión para averiguar que pasó con su madre. Esmeralda lo ayudará.

Diego de la Vega (LAI!!! i am tired of going on to you about this obsession you have with extraneous last names!!) tells Esme that Zorro will visit the prison to find out what happened with her mother. (yes, and Esme seems more annoyed than pleased. go figure. maybe she doesn't want to be left out?) Esme will help him. (and we were all as WTF?? as were the Tin Despot and his cuate Pizza when she left... no, that's not suspicious at all!!)

-Tobías recibe un paquete que contiene un atuendo similar al del Zorro. Se propone hacerse pasar por el enmascarado.

Boberbio receives a package that has an outfit similar to that of Zorro. (actually, it's hand-delivered by the tailor, who gets the door shut in his face for his pains. Boberbio not only doesn't pay him, he doesn't even let the poor guy get to see his creation on the client!!!) He proposes passing himself off as the masked man. (yes, but if he told us where and how he proposes doing it, i didn't catch it. actually, there was a good thread about this somewhere -- i'll try to find it; it was certainly more informative than LAI's rendition. then again, nearly everything is....)

-María Pía recibe una nota de Fernando, en la que le pide perdón por avergonzarla. Más tarde, ella conoce al Cardenal.

María Pía receives a note from Peep in which he asks her forgiveness for shaming her. (as i recall, it was a really nice note. and it made her cry even more than she already was. the thing is, we got a good shot of the note, which was beautifully written in a steady hand, but it does make one wonder: if Peep supposedly wrote it at the tavern, he must've done it right when he started drinking, because the penmanship is better than a kid who's getting graded on it...) Later she meets the Cardidiot. (to whom Kooko gave his own last name!!)

-Yumalay encuentra un cofre con perfume de la difunta Regina y se lo unta, lo que provoca gran indignación en Alejandro quien le prohíbe a la india que toque lo que no es de ella. Le dice que nunca será Regina.

Yummy finds a trunk with perfume used by [Fat Pec's] deceased [wife] Regina and puts it on, which provokes strong indignation in Fat Pecs [when he gets a whiff], who forbids her to touch anything that is not hers. (which, considering he's been dressing her in Regina's old clothes, is a bit hypocritical...). He tells her she will never be Regina. (fair enough, since she was kinda deliberately trying, this time.)

-Montero visita a Fernando, quien está inconciente en su habitación, y le dice que tiene oculta a Sara Kalí y que no será humillado por nadie. ¿Habrá escuchado Fernando?

Tin Despot visits Peep, who is passed out in his room, and tells him he's got the Masked Miracle hidden away and he won't be humilliated by anyone. (you forgot to add "AGAIN" to that, TD!) Can Peep have been listening? (maybe? but will he care? THAT's a whole 'nother matter... SEE POST LINKED IN THE NOTE, above.)

-Montero crea leyes para presionar a Alejandro y a Diego de la Vega. Se propone hacerles la vida imposible.

Tin Despot makes [up new] laws to pressure Fat Pecs and Diego de la Vega. (that's IT, LAI!! get a clue already!!). He proposes to make their lives impossible. (i guess he figures that Fat Pecs is incapable of writing to anyone in a position of higher authority to see about making HIS life impossible... and who knows? based on Fat Pecs' performance to date, he might be right...)

-Esmeralda visita a Montero. Ella lo distrae mientras El Zorro busca por la cárcel a Sara Kalí.

Esme visits Tin Despot. (late at night, after pretty much everyone else is in bed. which just added to the whole WTF?? aspect of her visit.) She distracts him while Zorro searches for the cell of the Masked Miracle. (no, not at all: she is there to distract him while Zorro tortures García into telling him what he pretty much doesn't know. and really, another singularly useless performance by Zorro, even if it did include proof that Kooko's been watching his Adam West Batman reruns... and thinking about it, i'm not sure Zorro's done anything even remotely useful since Esme arrived on the scene. clearly the effect she seems to have on his, er, lower brain is causing it to steal cells from the one above his shoulders, to the general detriment of both...)

-Sor Suplicios le habla a María Pía de manera cínica.

Sister Twisted talks to María Pía in a cynical manner. (she goes on and on about how she's so happy María Pía is the new mother superior and that she can count on having such a good, pure, and chaste friend as María Pía, and she's totally creeping María Pía out. she's also really starting to creep all of us out. more kudos to Natasha!)

-El Zorro abandona la cárcel tras averiguar que Sara Kalí esta viva y que la trasladaron de lugar. Esmeralda se marcha también pero Montero manda que la sigan, porque le parece sospechosa su visita.

Zorro abandons the prison after discovering that the Masked Miracle is still alive and they moved her to another location. (well, technically, he discovered she was still alive as of the night before, which is not really the same thing.) Esme leaves the prison as well, but Tin Despot orders that she be followed, because her visit seemed suspicious to him. (as well it should, considering she showed up after pretty much everyone else including Mangle had already gone to bed!!! yeah, nothing at all supicious about that, no siree!!)

=========================================================================

TRANSLATIONS OF TELEMUNDO AVANCES & SUMMARIES FOR WEEK MAR. 12-16, 2007

Telenovela-World: AVANCES for today (Mon 12 Mar 2007) -- COMPLETED Author: B. (---) Date: 03-12-07 11:27 PDT

AVANCE FOR TODAY

TEASER: Cuando hay venganza...

...Acecha la muerte.

(loosely) When you deal in vengeance...

...Death looms.

TITLE: Cuando se lucha por el amor... (When you fight for love...)

DATE: Monday, 12 March 2007

EP #21

-La propia sangre traiciona.

Blood itself betrays. (i'm guessing this is a reference to Mangle's attitude toward Peep in Friday's ep. and really, LAI, just because YOU'VE had fifteen cups of that Cuban coffee mud stuff doesn't mean i've had ANY caffeine yet this morning. be just a LITTLE more specific!!)

-Cuando hay odio, todo peligra.

When there is hatred, everything is in danger. (Aeryn's right: LAI just took the script for the promo and is trying to pass it off as avances, the little twerp.)

-Cuando hay poder, hay ambición.

When there is power, there is ambition. (has TPC got a philosophy exam coming up or something...?)

-Cuando hay venganza, acecha...¡La muerte!

When you deal in vengeance, death.... looms!! (doesn't work so well in English -- sorry!)

Telenovela-World: AVANCE for today (Tue 13 Mar 2007) Author: B. (---) Date: 03-13-07 10:31 PDT

NO RECAP FOR YESTERDAY POSTED YET -- LAI's slacking off!! i'll keep checking...

Telenovela-World: RECAP for yesterday [USA, 3/12/] Author: B. (---) Date: 03-13-07 16:20 PDT

RECAP FOR YESTERDAY

TEASER: Cuando hay venganza......Acecha la muerte. ((loosely) When you deal in vengeance... ...Death looms.)

NEW TITLES: Un flecha equivocada / Hieren a Don Alejandro (A mistaken arrow / They wound Don Fat Pecs)

DATE: Monday 12 March 2007

EP #21

-Almudena visita a Alejandro por sorpresa, para informarle que Fernando fue envenenado. Mientras, Yumalay rabiosa, vuelve a sus ropas de india y se marcha a buscar a Fernando. Está decidida a matarlo.

Almu pays a surprise visit to Fat Pecs, to inform him that Peep was poisoned. (i guess LAI was too busy wishing he were Almu to mention the rest of it. Fat Pecs received Almu in his living room, yes, but wearing his pajamas, which is, frankly, historically very unlikely. Fat Pecs tells Almu something about how much he's in love with her and can't wait for them to be married so he can protect her, blah blah blah. she, ahem, ends up spending the night. and though i don't remember seeing Yummy see Fat Pecs kissing her or realizing she was up with him in his room, neither is it impossible she couldn't've have found out, so... at any rate, we're certainly led to believe that Almu's visit --and especially Fat Pecs' reception of her-- are the likely reasons for Yummy doing what she does next...) Meanwhile, Yummy, furious, returns to her Indian clothes [puts on her war paint,] and [first thing the next morning] heads off to look for Peep. she is determined to kill him. (and you know, Peep is on such a tear by the end of the ep that it's hard to blame her. still, i think she should have gone after Tin Despot first...)

-Zorro le comunica a Bernardo que cumplirá con las normas de Montero, desviando el cauce del río en su propiedad. También dice que Pizarro es más peligroso que el mismo Montero.

Zorro (except it was actually Shirtless Diego -- were you so dazzled by his fine torso that you totally missed he was in his room and not the Bat cave, that he put on a WHITE shirt, and the MASK was noticably absent, LAI??) communicates to Bernardo (ahem, Bernardo is MUTE, not DEAF. he totally hears people when they talk. and he was standing right there in the room with Shirtless Diego, helping him dress. please at least TRY to pay attention, LAI!!! a lot of us are distracted by Shirtless Diego and WE can still keep up -- what's your excuse??) that he is going to [help Fat Pecs] comply with Tin Despot's new rules [about] diverting the river's channel on their property. [he asks Bernardo to go into town and doing a little investigating for him, maybe hang out at the tavern having a drink, to see what he can learn. Bernardo asks if he should see what Sargento García knows, but Diego says no, he doesn't think García knows anything to the point. he warns Bernardo to be careful, agreeing that Tin Despot is dangerous, but adding] that he thinks Pizza is more dangerous even than Tin Despot. (and this little scene later sets up a possible continuity problem, because in spite of being told to go into town, later Bernardo is around to help out Zorro in the Bat cueva, with no sign that he went to town at all, or that Diego changed his mind and asked Bernardo to stick around. it's a little thing, but i wasn't the only one who picked up on it. and ok, yes, it's a big production and all, but you'd think just because of that they'd have someone paying a little more attention to continuity...!!)

-Montero visita a Fernando y bajo chantajes le exige que firme unos decretos de ley inventados por el mismo Montero, que perjudicarían a Alejandro y Diego de la Vega. El Gobernador se siente traicionado y ofendido, ya que Montero está decidido a gobernar el territorio sin autoridad alguna. Luego, Montero le dice a Pizarro que quiere a Diego de la Vega tras las rejas.

Tin Despot visits Peep and uses threats (of revealing that he saw Peep shoot the Viceroy's inspector, as well as what the Masked Miracle supposedly told him. only i don't think she actually told him anything -- he's just doing his best to make Peep think she did. but we shall see on that...) to sign the decrees for a bunch of laws Tin Despot himself had [just] written up [the night before] to hurt Fat Pecs and Diego de la Vega. The Governator feels betrayed and offended, since Tin Despot is set upon ruling the territory without any [legal] authority to do so (but when Peep tries to object and pull the I'm the Authority Around Here / Have You Forgotten I'm A Friend Of The King? Cards as a way to get out of signing at least some of the decrees, Tin Despot first reminded him about how hiding the Masked Miracle is hardly the act of a Friend of the King, plus there's the his murdering the inspector in cold blood and all... then he finished by saying that if Peep didn't sign, he would just go ahead and sign for him and then Peep would end up looking bad whether he wanted to or not, so... foiled at every turn, Peep signs, but you can tell now he's going to go looking for someone he CAN order around, to soothe his wounded ego.) Later, [back in his own office,] Tin Despot tells Pizza that he wants to see Diego de la Vega (LAI!!! for one thing, there is only one Diego in this show! for another, you just used his whole name two sentences ago. get over it!!) behind bars. (he just has to think of a reason for putting him there. hmmmmm..... Pizza puts on his "wise agreement" look and nods. i bet he's really wondering what's for dinner in the chow hall, though.)

-María Pía le cuenta al Padre Tomás lo sucedido con Fernando. Más tarde, el mismo Fernando se aparece por la iglesia e impide que una ceremonia de consagración de las religiosas a monjas se lleve a cabo. Fernando se enfrenta al visitante Cardenal. Hará imposible la consagración de María Pía, quien más tarde, acepta la posición de Madre Superiora.

María Pía recounts (the whole story about) what happened with Peep (and the deal she made to stop the duel) to Padre Tomás. Later, [the Cardidiot addresses the would-be nuns, assembled in the church. he tells them he is there to judge their worthiness to become nuns of an official convent, sanctioned by the Church. to this end, they will each confess to him, leaving out nothing about themselves, be it good or bad, so that he can judge them. Sister Twisted listens intently, but doesn't stop staring at María Pía.] (and now LAI is telling things out of order AGAIN. because at this point in the story, something happens to Peep that results in his racing over to the mission to see if Yummy is hiding out there, and, while he's in the area, berate María Pía for getting him to agree to break Esme's engagement to Tin Despot and stop the duel, thereby putting him in a completely powerless position with regard to Tin Despot, who is now totally lording it over Peep. of course, Peep has already conveniently forgotten that he himself had already put Tin Despot in a position to lord it over him when he admitted that the Masked Miracle's presence in the prison had to be a complete secret, especially from anyone associated with the King, and then again when he shot the inspector...). [Peep starts to beat up some poor old Indian man who just happens to be outside the church, not caring the man is telling him the truth, that Yummy isn't there. Padre Tomás comes racing over to confront Peep and stop him. Peep leaves the Indian man alone and tries to go looking for María Pía. Padre Tomás again stops him, saying Peep can't go into the church because all the nuns are in the middle of a ceremony with the Cardidiot to sanctify them and make them official nuns. Peep is not to be deterred and he runs inside] and impedes the consecration ceremony with the nuns from going forward. Peep confronts the visiting Cardinal [and a heated argument ensues between the two men as Peep first insults the Cardidiot, then states that the Church has no authority in his territory unless he decides to grant it, and the Cardidiot maintains that local government has no power to prevent the Church from consecrating a convent.) He will make it impossible for María Pía, who later (or earlier, depending upon which show you're watching) had accepted the position of Mother Superior, to be consecrated (as a nun). [After Peep stomped out, María Pía ran after him and had a huge fight with him in front of the church, giving him several well-deserved smackdowns.] (you can tell her comments hit home, but Peep is totally around the bend right now. FABULOUS scene, perfectly played by both Peniche --who did not go Telerisible over the top-- and Montenegro, as well as Cao, and though Klauss didn't have any lines, she is continuing to be impressively scary as Sister Twisted.)

-Alejandro encuentra a Fernando y le quiere prevenir de un ataque por parte de Yumalay pero lo hace muy tarde. La india que estaba escondida en un techo, lanza una flecha pero por error, hiere a Alejandro. El Gobernador y su guardia salen en busca de la india y la capturan.

[After being warned by Dololes that Yummy left the house in her Indian clothing and there's signs she had her war paint on, Fat Pecs raced off to find Peep.] (to warn him, or something. but exactly what was he going to say? "um, you know that Indian woman who tried to kill you before? well, i was hiding her in my house on the condition she not try to kill you while she's there only then Almu, um, came over, and Yummy didn't like that, so, um, while i was, um, busy with, um, hacienda business --yeah, hacienda business, because you know Tin Despot's gone all dictator on us and all, so definitely hacienda business and not anything else even though we are engaged so it would not be weird for Almu to come over anyway-- so, um, yeah, well, so while i was busy with hacienda business Yumm-- i mean, the Indian woman, she, uh, well, i guess she got in a dispute with someone or something because she left. and now she's not at my place any more, so maybe she might try to come kill you again. but if she does, don't hurt her or anything, because i know she's really a good person..." yeah, that will TOTALLY fly with Peep.) Fat Pecs finds Peep and he wants to protect him from an attack by Yummy but he's too late. [Even though such disinterested viewers as my cats could totally tell the only possible way Yummy could have hoped to hit Peep from that angle was by shooting through Fat Pecs, who was completely blocking her line of sight to the side of the carriage, which in turn was comletely blocking her ability to see where Peep might be in the carriage or even if he were in it at all! --and even at that she'd be lucky to hit his thigh or something,] the Indian woman, who was hiding on a roof, shoots an arrow but by mistake she hits Fat Pecs. (and it was the miraculous moving arrow, too, because in the scene at the carriage you could clearly see it hit him on the right shoulder, but by the time they got him back to his lurve nest-- i mean, room-- at the hacienda, it had moved more over to the left...) The Governator [espies Yummy, who for some inexplicable reason was still peeping over the roof trying to see what she'd done and how things could have possibly gone so wrong when she only had Fat Pecs' bulk totally blocking her shot, and he] and his guards [abandon the seriously injured Fat Pecs] and take off after Yummy [who, realizing she'd been seen, belatedly decides to flee. but after Peep shot at her twice and missed both times, he ordered everyone back to get horses and continue chasing her that way, since she was on foot. and once he had his horse, he didn't bother to check in on Fat Pecs, but instead headed straight for the mission, where what i described in the previous bit happened...], and [later the guards] capture her.

-Zorro sale a visitar a Esmeralda y Mariángel le ofrece un brindis con el brebaje especial que mandó a buscar. Pero en un tropiezo, Esmeralda rompe la taza y Zorro no lo toma. Por boca de Olmos, Zorro se entera de lo sucedido a Alejandro.

Zorro [does not] go to visit Esme [but Diego does] and [while the servant is fetching Esme] Mangle offers him a toast with the special potion that she sent for. (and with the closeup on the spout as Mangle poured, it was extremely obvious there was only water in pot -- bad attention to detail. on the other hand, when Diego held the cup up to his lips to take a sip, it was obvious whatever was in the cup was HOT (steam could be clearly seen rising), which is nice attention to detail, especially as Diego's exucse for not drinking right away is that he has to cool it for a moment.) But in a mistake, Esme [sneaks up and hugs Diego from behind, causing him to drop and] break the cup and [neither] Zorro [who wasn't there, nor Diego, who was] drinks [the drugged beverage, to Mangle's fury. she had been all sweet to Diego up to that point, but as soon as Esme unintentionally foils her plan, she drops the pretense and snaps at her half-sister, who ignores her, greets her fiancé with a kiss, and drags him off to the garden to talk.] [Later] Zorro (OK, LAI, that's IT!! i've been covering for you this whole piece, but three strikes means you're out and YOURE OUT!! ZORRO WASN'T THERE, IT WAS DIEGO. YOU CAN TELL BECAUSE HE WASN'T WEARING A MASK!!! OR, ALL BLACK, in case you weren't looking so far up!! but really, TRY to remember someone pays you to write these things and act at least a LITTLE professional!!!) finds out from [Diego, who along with Esme heard it from] Olmost what happened to Fat Pecs. [the couple race over to Diego's house to find out how Fat Pecs is faring.]

-En su alcoba, Alejandro le pide a su hijo Zorro que salve a Yumalay de las manos de Fernando. Mientras, Almudena y Esmeralda salen a buscar una curandera india para ayudar al herido, ya que el cirujano no pudo hacer nada. Diego se encuentra con Bernardo en su cueva y más adelante, El Zorro sale en defensa de la india.

[By the time DIEGO and Esme arrive, the doctor/mortician has already been and removed the arrow. he does not hold out much hope for Fat Pec's chances of survival, which is not doing much for Almu's state of mind, never mind Dololes, who is all but dissolved in tears.] In his alcove (well, on his bed, really, but whatever), Fat Pecs asks to speak to his son DIEGO (because ZORRO is still the one who wears the MASK, LAI!! not to mention Fat Pecs has no idea that Diego = Zorro. get a clue already, LAI! were you so devastated your pookie bear was "injured" that you can't even think straight any more???) to save Yummy from Peep's [evil] hands (and the rest of him, i'd imagine. LAI has this obsession with hands...) Meanwhile, Almu [asks] Esme [and Dololes --who Almu is probably desperate to get out of the house by this time since all she does is moan around-- to] go out to look for the old Indian healer [that DIEGO mentioned he knew of from growing up with the Indians] to help the wounded man, since the surgeon couldn't do anything [more than he'd already done. except measure him for a coffin, that is, since he is the local mortician as well...]. Diego [causes a continuity problem when he] meets up with Bernardo in the Bat cueva and later, Zorro goes out in defense of the Indian woman. (after he finds her, of course. LAI clearly was completely unhinged by this injury to his beloved bitsy pookums. so even though i've no doubt that Ríos probably loves to play this kind of "dramatic" scene, i think we have got to, for our sakes, hope that Kooko doesn't do anything like this to Fat Pecs again or all we're going to get is something even more garbled than was this...)

Telenovela-World: AVANCE for today (Tue 13 Mar 2007) Author: B. (---) Date: 03-13-07 10:31 PDT

NO RECAP FOR YESTERDAY POSTED YET -- LAI's slacking off!! i'll keep checking...

TEASER: La identidad del Zorro...

...Corre peligro.

The identity of Zorro...

....is in danger.

TITLE: La identidad en peligro. (identity in danger)

DATE:

EP #22

-Por liberar a Yumalay, el secreto del Zorro sufre.

From liberating Yummy, the secret of Zorro suffers. (you haven't been keeping up with this forum, then, LAI -- haven't you noticed that most of us figure that the identity of Zorro suffers in general, and not just because of this attempt to resuce Yummy??)

-Se desata el caos...

Chaos is unleashed... (as usual. tell us something new!!)

-...Y ocurre una desgracia.

...And a misfortune occurs. (there are some that would argue --and successfully, too-- that that misfortune was naming Kooko the writer. but your mileage on that point clearly varies...)

-Diego es acusado, de ser El Zorro.

(and again with the extraneous commas, LAI!! when are you getting a grammar check or, better yet, a proofreader?!) Diego is accused of being Zorro. (ruh-roh!)

Telenovela-World: RECAP for Tuesday (13 Mar) Author: B. (---) Date: 03-16-07 12:58 PDT

both this and the Wednesday recap are shorter even than usual for an hour-long episode, never mind a 90-minute one. LAI's obviously playing catch-up. i wonder when Thursday's will be ready?

RECAP FOR TUESDAY

TEASER: La identidad del Zorro en peligro......Mientras Alejandro sigue herido. (The (true) identity of Zorro is in danger... While Fat Pecs remains injured.)

NEW TITLES: Peligro / Identidad en peligro. (Danger / Identity in danger) (LAI, we've talked about this. if you're going to do two titles, try for a little variety, please!

DATE: Tuesday 13 March 2007

EP #22

-Fernando se enfrenta al Zorro pero no puede contra él. Al final, el Zorro gana la partida y Yumalay se escapa pero Fernando jura que se vengará. Mientras eso sucede, Montero prepara su venganza contra Diego de la Vega, dejando todo en manos del despiadado Pizarro.

Peep confronts Zorro but cannot defeat him. (literally: cannot manage against him.) At the end, Zorro wins the match (one way of putting it, i suppose...) and Yummy escapes but Peep swears he will get revenge. (puh-leeze -- they ALways swear they will get revenge. just once i think i'd like to hear a villain say, "oh, snap, he defeated me. darn. ok, i'm over it now. let's move on -- who's next on the list for Attempted Eeevil Treatment...? another day, another victim...!!") While this happens, Tin Despot prepares his vengeance against Diego de la Vega (i guess he just can't help himself, but really...), leaving everything in the hands of the heartless Pizza. (since Tuesday was DAYS ago, i'm a little fuzzy on detail now, but didn't Pizza offer to tell Tin Despot his plan and TD essentially replied that he didn't want to know...? and if i am remembering correctly, isn't that actually a bit out of character for TD? or was he maybe distracted with something else that he figured was more important, which was why he was rather dismissive about this...?)

-Mientras Sara Kali jura que se vengará de Fernando, El Gobernador llega hasta la prisión del callao y manda a Olmos a que revise los libros. Efectivamente encuentra fallos, lo que le da suficientes motivos para acusar a Montero de robo contra la corona española. Fernando quiere vengarse de Montero.

While the Masked Miracle swears revenge on Peep (quite the episode for swearing revenge, isn't it...??), the Governator arrives at the Callao prison and sends Olmost to revise the accounting books. [Olmost] effectively discovers errors, which gives [Peep] sufficient motive to accuse Tin Despot of stealing from the Spanish Crown. (not that i think anyone is surprised to learn this, but wouldn't you have thought Tin Despot would have two sets of books --one for showing to any nosy representatives, and another showing the actual true accounting? and that he would have hidden the real ones? but maybe he's just so used to being the Despot that he figured no-one would ever question him anyway...) Peep wants to get revenge on Tin Despot. (and there we are with the whole "get revenge" theme again... someone should write a song.)

-Yumalay llega donde Alejandro y lo ayuda a revivir con medicina indígena. Mientras, llegan los soldados de Montero a la residencia de los De la Vega y arrestan a Diego con cargos de ser el bandido que llaman Zorro. Un soldado aparace con ropas del enmascarado que supuestamente encontró en la residencia.

Yummy shows up in Fat Pecs' room and helps to revive him with native medicines. (and a good thing, too, or we'd never have anything more from LAI, never mind anything even marginally coherent.) Meanwhile, Tin Despot's soliders arrive at the de la Vega residence and arrest Diego for being the bandit they call Zorro. A soldier appears with the masked man's clothing that he supposedly found in the house. (actually, that he supposedly found in the barn. although all it is is the cape and the mask. you'd think if Zorro were so careless as to leave them around in the barn, he'd leave the rest of his Zorro clothes there as well, including that fancy hat of his, the swankky chain that keeps the cape on, etc. but i guess Diego probably thought it wouldn't be prudent to point that kind of thing out. and while we're on the subject of revenge, who will Boberbio be swearing revenge on when he learns his cape and mask are missing...??? will he realize that his neglected wifey Cata was the one who told her lover Pizza about her husband's silly new obsession during hay bale talk, and that's where Pizza got his Grand Plan from in the first place? and will Yummy finally add Tin Despot to her Revenge List, since his soldiers are also there to arrest Fat Pecs as "Zorro's" accomplice?)

Telenovela-World: AVANCES for today (Wed 14 Mar 2007) Author: B. (---) Date: 03-14-07 12:05 PDT

TEASER: Montero pone resistencia...

...Y Diego guarda su silencio.

(loosely) Tin Despot puts up a fight...

...and Diego keeps his mouth shut.

TITLE: Una inevitable captura. (An inevitable capture.)

DATE: Wed 14 March 2007

EP #23

-Don Diego está preso, por ser el Zorro.

Don Diego is in jail for being Zorro. (more extraneous commas, LAI. did you buy them wholesale and now you have to use them before they expire?)

-Y un descubrimiento gritará justicia.

And a discovery will shout justice. (??? LAI, as usual, confuses "obscure" for "poetic," so your guess is as good as mine. so far as i am concerned, the discovery that will cry justice would be the soldiers who kicked and beat up Bernardo and that other guy getting their teeth smashed in, but i have the feeling that's not what LAI has in mind...)

-Mientras Montero pone resistencia...

While Tin Despot resists... (hah. and did you just love it that all the bad guys are fighting each other now?? hee!!)

-Otros resisten con valor. ¿Podrá Diego callar su verdad?

...others hold out with valor. (i saw Shirtless Diego being flogged in the previews, so either Pizza took Diego to the prison by a back way, Peep is on such a tear about being thwarted that he doesn't care WHO gets beat up so long as SOMEone bleeds, or Peep buys --or pretends to-- buy Pizza's planted "evidence"... and while generally speaking i'm all in favor of Shirtless Diego, i'm not so sure i'm SO desperate to see him that i want him flogged...)

RE RECAP: as of 2.15p Pacific, LAI still hasn't posted yesterday's recap. i'm thinking the 90-minute episodes --not to mention Fat Pecs' brush with death! (which resulted in many Shirtless Fat Pecs scenes, which seem to have such a distracting effect on LAI, as we've seen)-- are starting to wear on LAI just as they are on many of us...

Telenovela-World: RECAP for Wednesday (14 Mar) + update on yesterday's Author: B. (---) Date: 03-16-07 14:39 PDT

yesterday's recap is up now as well... i'll try to get to it later.

RECAP FOR WEDNESDAY