Univision 6/3/96 - 7/15/96
Univision 1/13/02 -
1995 novela.
These brief summaries are from Diane@telenovela-world.com. NOTE: these notes were taken when the novela was on Univision in 1996. They were taken for personal use by a person whose native language is not Spanish. There may, therefore, be errors of interpretation.
Initial Episode:
Starts 12 years previously in Guadalajara. We see the family relationships: Elvira hates Octavio and her mother, is disrespectful to everyone except her father, whom she adores and who is adored in return. Augustine hates Octavio and treats him cruelly. Irene lives beyond her means and is always asking her mother for money. Irene can't have children. Her relationship with Alvaro, her husband is strained. She flirts with Augustine. Alvaro sees Irene kissing Augustine at a birthday party for Octavio. Alvaro leaves her. A family photo is taken: Augustine, Cecilia, Octavio, Elvira, Christina.
12 years later the rest of the novela takes place:
Augustine is the head of Construccion Occidental. Christina is 15. Irene and Alvaro have been divorced; she asks him for more alimony. He refuses. She makes trouble for his fiancée (Idee?), who works in a boutique; she tells Ruth that the girl is having an affair with her husband. Ruth fires her. Elvira meets Jaime, a friend of Octavio, and becomes furious when she discovers he is attracted to Christina. Diego tells his friends that he and Elvira are novios; that makes her angry. Elvira treats Diego abominably; he continues to love her obsessively.
Augustine's current lover is Ruth Vasquez, the owner of the boutique. While shopping there one day, Irene sees Augustine and Ruth together. She contrives to bring Cecilia to the shop at the same time as Augustine and Ruth. Cecilia sees them kissing. (Irene is all innocence, of course). At first, Augustine refuses to give Cecilia a divorce (it turns out she owns the majority of shares in the business), but they eventually separate and Patricia works out a deal Augustine can't refuse (having something to do with the family shares in the business) so he gives Cecilia the divorce.
Elvira's behavior is, if anything, worse. Candi keeps saying it is her fault, but not why. Elvira is so unlike her mother, and so like Irene, one would think she is Irene's daughter but there is no sign from either Irene or Augustine that she is. On the other hand, over a number of episodes, one does start to get a hint that just maybe Elvira is not Cecilia's daughter, and one eventually learns that she is the natural daughter of one of Augustine's lovers, adopted by Cecilia at birth.
Meanwhile, Elvira has met Esteban, pursued him, and they fall in love at once. He thinks she is sweet and simple; then his brother tells him how she behaved at his gas station (she became abusive when he wouldn't take her credit card); at first Esteban doesn't believe Joaquin but he soon discovers that Elvira is indeed a bitch.
Christina studies dance in a studio run by Narda, who is the mother of Nicolas. Nicolas, who must be in his 30's, is attracted to Christina. After some initial difficulties, Christina and Jaime become novios.
Esteban meets Cecilia and is attracted to her. For reasons even the characters find hard to understand, neither Julian nor Patricia tell Esteban that Cecilia is Elvira's mother or Cecilia that Esteban and Elvira were an iterm. Esteban and Cecilia fall in love at once, although she is reluctant because of the age difference. When Esteban comes to the house one night, when Elvira is there, a situation occurs (of course) in which Esteban and Cecilia discover the relationships.
To get Octavio out of Augustine's hands (Cecilia knows he has slapped Octavio; she doesn't know he brutally beat Octavio in a nightclub to which he and Nicolas had dragged the boy), Cecilia enrolls him in a university in Mexico.Octavio meets Monica and they fall for each other. Monica's mother objects because Cecilia is divorced. Octavio returns after Augustine leaves the house.
Augustine has, in the meantime, suffered a heart attack. While in the hospital, unknown to his family, Nicolas arranges to send Ruth (the lover in whose apartment the heart attack occurred) out of the country. (Augustine, it appears, was the owner of the boutique; Ruth is not a Mexican; she is, or can be made to appear, guilty of smuggling.) Ruth leaves. Augustine never informs his family, even Elvira, of his heart condition.
When Elvira sees Esteban and her mother in a restaurant, she creates a scence. A female "friend" of hers, Marcela, who is in love with Diego, makes it a point to spread the word. Elvira is furious. Meanwhile, Irene has become Augustine's lover again and tells Elvira. (Why Elvria doesn't object to Irene is one of those odd questions.) They become accomplices. Elvira somehow plants a news item to the effect that Cecilia Mariscal has stolen her daughter's boyfriend. Pilar is ashamed. Elvira tells her father Cecilia has stolen the man she loves; on his way to comfort her, and somehow hurt Cecilia, he suffers another heart attack. In the hospital, as he is dying, Augustine tells Nicolas to care for the daughter he had with another woman not known by Cecilia. Then a doctor takes Nicolas away. Cecilia asks Esteban to see Augustine and Esteban tells the doctor on duty that Augustine is his patient (which isn't true). He sees him and Augustine dies. Elvira blames her mother. Irene keeps Cecilia away from Elvira (who in any case does not want to be touched by her). Nicolas goes through Augustine's papers. He asks Elvira if he knows anything about another daughter. Nicolas wants Cecilia to turn the business over to him. Elvira asks Cecilia about this other daughter. Candi tells her the truth, that Elvira was the daughter, that neither Irene nor Pilar knew. Elvira, oddly enough, refuses to believe that she is the daughter of another woman (although she hates Cecilia). Nicolas tells Elvira that Esteban was with Augustine when he died. Elvira believes that Esteban killed Augustine. (Neither she nor Irene know about the earlier heart attack and Nicolas doesn't tell them.) Cecilia tells Esteban that she adopted Elvira. She doesn't know whom the mother really is.
Christina and Pilar talk about the adoption. Now that Pilar knows Elvira is not of her blood, she is content to let Elvira be. Irene tells Alvaro that Cecilia hated Elvira because she wasn't her real daughter. Irene remains obsessed with Augustine. Nicolas tries to turn Octavio against his mother and convince him that his father really loved him. Nicolas tells Cecilia he will take care of Elvira if she gives him the presidency. Cecilia refuses and accuses him of forging Augustine's signature. Nicolas threatens her. Elvira visits Esteban and accuses him and threatens him. When the will is read, Elvira (who gets a lot) accuses her mother of complicity in the murder of her father; Cecilia kicks her out of the house. But Christina obviously has doubts; all of a sudden she starts to defend Elvira. She becomes very hostile to Esteban. Octavio may have doubts but defends his mother. Elvira asks Irene for her help. Irene is reluctant; she doesn't believe it and doesn't want to risk going against her mother. Elvira plans to find her real mother. Nicolas and Narda meet with Pilar and Nicolas asks Pilar's help in making him President of the company: "women are not capable of handling such responsibilities". Pilar tries to convince Cecilia to turn the business over to Nicolas and they argue. (yet another "proof" that there was a conspiracy against Augustine.) Esteban warns his parents and brother about Elvira's accusations. His mother says that's what he gets for loving "a woman like that". Nicolas tries to ally himself with Irene and they become lovers. Elvira decides to marry Diego at once (that will make her accusations more believable). Elvira explains to Irene that she must be a married woman of society to fight against her mother, an "immoral" widow before her accusations will be taken seriously. Diego's parents say no and Diego commiserates with Raoul (whose ex-girlfriend Marlene is now Joaquin's girlfriend.). Diego asks Cecilia's help and Cecilia talks his parents into permitting the marriage. Nicolas asks his mother to tell him all the secrets she knows about the family. At first she refuses, but she loves him. Irene tells Elvira that her mother died giving her birth, that her name was Elvira. (Is it possible that Irene is her mother? She's never acted like it and early in the show we learned that she can't have kids.) Elvira asks Cande if her real mother is dead;Cande says Cecilia fue su unica madre. Su madre entra; Cecilia lo dice a ella que Esteban queria a ella y que Cecilia lo quité; Cecilia dice que no es verdad y que ella se preguntasela. Esteban dice, una vez y todo, que nunca la queria.
Elvira and Diego wed. Nicolas gives her away. She doesn't invite her family and cuts her mother and brother when they attend. On the honeymoon, Elvira calls out Esteban in her sleep; she and Diego argue but he begs forgiveness and, at her insistence, they return to Guadalajara.
When Cecilia assumes the presidency, the board members are furious because she is a woman. When two of them see Cecilia, Esteban, Julian and Patricia in a restaurant, they tell the maitre'd to tell the owner that if he permits that class of people to eat there he will lose business. Meanwhile, Cecilia has hired Patricia in the same position Nicolas holds. He objects, says there should be only one such advisor, a man. Cecilia doesn't fire him and he doesn't resign.
Monica and Octavio run away because her mother planned on taking Monica out of the country. They find refuge with a very nice woman, Lourdes.
Elvira pursues her revenge and gets Esteban jailed for murder (she steals the doctor's papers that would prove his innocence); Cecilia is also accused but is let out on bail. Nicolas makes a play for Christina who falls in love with him but something breaks them up and she gets back with Jaime. Candelaria is fatally injured in an accident(?) and on her deathbed confesses to Cecilia and her mother that Elvira is Irene's daughter. Monica and Octavio return. Monica's father tells his wife that he will retract the charge of kidnapping she had placed against him but still agrees to sending Monica away. Irene, Cecilia and their mother have it out. Irene blames her mother for not loving her and Cecilia for stealing Augustine. She begs them not to tell Elvira that she is her daughter and they agree. Nicolas, meanwhile, is blackmailing both Elvira and Cecilia for their shares so he can take the business away from Cecilia. Irene blurts out the truth to him about Elvira and he uses it to prove to Elvira that he is the only person she can trust. Diego has left Elvira, who is pregnant, but returns to preserve his parental rights. She is very sick but won't see a doctor. A drunk Elvira tells Raoul about the papers and he tells Elvira's friend.
Last two hours: Nicolas gets Elvira to sign some papers after telling her that Irene is her mother (Irene, in a fit of hysteria had told her the night before). She is furious at Irene and her father and signs the paper giving him her shares. At the inquest, Dr. Montalban tells the truth about the death of Irene's father, that it was due to a massive heart attack. Cecilia refuses to name Elvira's mother but Elvira turns up and names Irene and Irene herself turns up. Irene faints; Cecilia goes after Elvira and Elvira lets Cecilia comfort her. Elvira forgives Irene, sort of and Irene realizes that Nicolas must have told Elvira. Nicolas locates Dr. Perez and suggests that he leave the country but Julian sees the transaction. Some guards stop Irene from shooting Nicolas. Dr. Perez tells the truth to the police and also how Nicolas tried to bribe him to lie. The police free Esteban and order the arrest of Nicolas. Esteban's mother begs Cecilia's forgiveness. Nicolas is arrested. Five months later: Diego has cared for Elvira during her pregnancy; she has refused to see anybody. Narda refuses to help the incarcerated Nicolas. Elvira gives birth to a son and asks for her mother. Cecilia and Irene both go, but it is Cecilia Elvira wants. Elvira asks pardon and that her son be called Augustine, after her father, and then dies. Some time after the funeral: Diego is raising the child with his mother's help and gets together with Monica. Irene takes her own apartment and sees a psychologist. Esteban and Cecilia marry; Irene watches from a balcony. The wedding picture includes Esteban, Cecilia, her children and grandson.
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