In Memoriam: Andres Garcia

Andres Garcia, one of the last members of the golden age of Mexican Cinema passed away on the 4th of April, 2023. 

The late Dominican Mexican actor was 82. 

Born 1941 in the Dominican Republic, Garcia featured in several films, telenovelas, stage plays  and photo stories. 

His best known telenovela was Televisa's  Tu No Nadie ('No one But You'), which he starred with Lucia Mendez, Salvador Pineda and the late Magda Guzman as his stepmother, Victoria. In 2005, he starred in the supernatural telenovela El Cuerpo del Deseo ('Body of Desire' a.k.a 'Second Chance'), which also starred Mario Cimarro and the late  Lorena Rojas;  a remake of the 1992 Columbian telenovela En cuerpo ajeno ('In a Borrowed Body'). 

Lucia Mendez gave tribute to her late co-star and friend at the time of his death, adding how he left a mark in her heart.

 "Rest in peace #andrésgarcía, our prayers are with you and your family. A great actor, great friend has passed, but our affection will be with you today and always."

Que descanse en paz, Andres Garcia... 

Vaya con dios 🌹

IN MEMORIAM: MAGDA GUZMAN

I was very sad to hear that a veteran Mexican actress passed away this year; on the 12^th of March, at the age of 83.  I’m talking about Magda Guzman who played the role of Victoria Lombardo; mother of the antagonist Max (Salvador Pineda) and stepmother of the protagonist Antonio (Andres Garcia) in the classic 1985 telenovela, Tu O Nadie (which went on have  three remakes). She had roles in several other telenovelas during her life time but I was only lucky to see her in two others besides Tu O Nadie. One was Rosa Salvaje (Wild Rose), where she played the role of Tomansa (her name in the English dubbed version was Samantha), devoted nanny and guardian of the titular character (Veronica Castro of The Rich Also Cry fame) and years later as the household’s housekeeper, Fidelina in La Usurpadora (The Usurper).

While I’m sure her other roles were memorable, I’ll always remember her as Victoria Lombardo. The character she played in Tu O Nadie was one anybody would sympathize with. Victoria was a woman who fell in love and married for the second time (a very rich man with two kids of his own) but got stuck in the middle when the son from her previous marriage was  determined to hate his new stepbrother, who only tolerated him for her sake. Victoria got further stuck in the middle after Max attempted to murder Antonio, using his unsuspecting girlfriend as a means to get Antonio’s money. And when the battle between the two ‘brothers’ went on, poor Victoria’s loyalties were cut into two! She loved her stepson dearly but could she stomach listening to the accusations of attempted murder and fraud levelled against Max;  her flesh and blood? As the soap reached the final conclusion-where Max’s crimes was exposed at last- we all dreaded how it was going to affect Victoria- who experienced what no mother should experience. For Tu O Nadie recaps, CLICK HERE.

 

Magda Guzman will be sorely missed. May she rest in peace.

TELENOVELAS' HUNKIEST ACTORS

I think more viewers are drawn to telenovelas because of the  unbelievably handsome leading men and supporting actors (as well as the beautiful leading ladies) far more than the story itself! And can they help it? Absolutely not, it only makes the story lines even more appealing!

Here we go...

William Levy
 (Oh... be still my beating heart!!!) The 33 year old Cuban actor came to our screens via the fourth version of Tu O Nadie (No One But You), Sortilegio (Love Spell)  as Alejandro 'Alex' Lomardo; thus making him the 'fourth Antonio'. He has starred in other telenovelas including Cuidado con el Angel (Don't Mess With An Angel), his current telenovela being La Tempestad.

Sergio Basanez 

currently 'the favorite one' (at least I think so) after he starred in Cuando Seas Mia and Catalina y Sebastian with his beautiful co-star, Silvia Navarro. He has starred in two more telenovelas with Silvia; La Calle de las Novias (Street of Brides) and La Heredera (The Heiress). Aside from acting, he also practices Law.



Rogelio  Guerra: The now 78 year old actor is best  known as Luis Alberto in The Rich Also Cry; starring along with Veronica Castro.

Andres Garcia 

The veteran Dominican born actor was introduced to Nigerian screens via Tu O Nadie(No One But You), which he starred along with Lucia Mendez. Several years later, we  saw him again in Cuerpo Del Deseo(Second Chance) as Don Pedro Jose Donoso whose soul is transferred into the body of a young farmer.

At 72, he still turns heads and very much the ladies' man!



Guilhereme Fontes

The 48 year old Brazilian actor played Marcus in Mulheres de Areia (Secrets of the Sands; Sand Women), starring with Gloria Pires. He has also done stage plays and is a director.

Guillermo Perez

The 43 year old played Lorenzo in La Mujer De Lorenzo (Lorenzo's Wife), with Adriana Louvier. He has starred in other telenovelas including Luisa Fernanda with Scarlet Ortiz( whose real life husband played Lorenzo's rival for Silvia's affections in La Mujer de Lorenzo).

Carlos  Torres

 was in La Hija De Jardinero (The Gardener's Daughter) with Mariana Ochoa as Carlos Eduardo; Luisa Fernanda's love interest/stepbrother.

Fernando Colunga 

He played Jose Armando in Esmeralda, Carlos Daniel in La Usurpadora( The Usurper)  and Luis Fernando in the remake of The Rich also Cry- Maria la del Barrio (Maria of the Slums, Humble Maria or Maria of the Borough).   
He has other telenovelas to his credit.






Mario Cimarro

 The Cuban American actor played Antonio Rodolfo in La Mujer de mi Vida (The Woman of My Life; a man who fell in love with his sister-in-law( played by his now ex wife Natalia Streignard), a small role in La Usurpadora and the lead role in Cuerpo Del Deseo(Second Chance) as the resurrected/possessed farmer, Salvador.

Sebastian Rulli

This  Mexican actor starred with Angelique Boyer in Lo que la vida me robo (What Life Took From Me) and has featured in other telenovelas. 

WORLD OF LATINA'S MOST BEAUTIFUL ACTRESSES

We've seen them, loved them and their story lines keep us at the edge of our seats and eyes GLUED to the T.V! From 1993 to present, our screens have been filled with telenovelas and far from getting bored (even though the new practice now is airing more than one instead of waiting for the previous one to at least end) we keep angling for more; not just because of the telenovela's main plot but because the leading women are just  so beautiful!

SILVIA NAVARO:  She charmed us from her very first scene in Cuando Seas Mia, then Catalina y Sebastian where she and her Cuando Seas Mia co-star Sergio Basanez played the title characters. She also starred with Sergio in La Heredera (The Heiress) and La Calle de las novias (Street of Brides) 

   LUCIA MENDEZ : who played Raquel Lombardo in  Tu O Nadie (No One But You), along with  Andres Garcia. Besides her acting, she's a singer and model. In 2008, she played Alicia  in  Amas de Casa Desesperadas;  the short lived Spanish version of Desperate Housewives. At 59 she's still a knockout! 

VERONICA CASTRO:
Best remembered as the unforgettable heroine Mariana in THE RICH ALSO CRY & Rose in Rosa Salvaje (Wild Rose)

At 61, she remains very active in the acting and music world. 

ADRIANA LOUVIER: 

who played Silvia in La Mujer De Lorenzo. She's also a T.V presenter and in 2012 played an antagonist in the telenovela Corona de Lagrimas (Crown of Tears)

SCARLET ORTIZ: The Venezuelan actress and model  played the title character in To Sobre Camilia (All About Camila) and several other telenovelas, including Rafaela in 2011. She's  married to Yul Burkle who played Alex  in La Mujer De Lorenzo and they are parents to a daughter. 

JACQUELINE BRACAMONTES: 

 starred with William Levy in Sortilegio(Love Spell); the fourth version of Tu O Nadie(No One But You) as Maria Jose Lombardo; making her the 'fourth Raquel'. She represented Mexico in the 2002 Miss Universe pageant and has a model career as well as acting. She's happily married.

ANGELICA RIVERA:  She starred in the 2007 telenovela (with Eduardo Yanez); Destilando Amor( Distilled Love)- which is the second remake of the 1994 Columbian telenovela Cafe, con aroma de Mujer(Coffee, With The Scent of A Woman), the first remake being Cuando Seas Mia. Nigerian fans would probably call her, 'the second Paloma' though in the telenovela her name was Gaviota, like in the original. She is the former sister-in-law of Veronica Castro (The Rich Also Cry) and no longer acting as she is currently the First Lady of Mexico- her husband being President Enrique Nieto.

JEANETTE RODRIGUEZ:  

This beautiful Venezuelan actress  played Gabrielle Suarez (Swanson)  in the 1986 telenovela La Dama De Rosa (The Lady of Rose), a young woman wrongly convicted for drug trafficking and her obsessive need for revenge against the man she believed betrayed her.  Now 52, Jeannette has hardly aged! 

LILIBETH MORILLO: The Venezuelan actress was introduced to our screens in 1997 via the 1997 telenovela, Maria Le Los Angeles (Mary of The Angels)-  where she played the title character who had to deal with an evil aunt, a tug of war between two suitors, a jealous half sister and an even more jealous rival. She has starred in other telenovelas to date.

GLORIA PIRES: 

Still a raving beauty at 50! 

Married and mother of three children,  the Brazilian actress  played Ruth & her conniving seductive twin Raquel in Mulheres de Areia (Sand Women but more known here as Secrets of The Sands) and still actively acting. 

MARIANA OCHOA: 

Singer and actress, her first telenovela was the angst filled La Hija del Jardinero( The Gardener's Daughter); its soundtrack sung by her. She played Luisa Fernanda, a young woman caught in lies and intrigue; her main story being falling in love with a handsome young doctor, not realizing until much later that her biological father is married to the doctor's mother; making Carlos Eduardo her stepbrother. 

She has acted in other telenovelas and released several albums. 

LUCELIA SANTOS:

The  now 56 year old  Brazilian actress, producer and director was introduced to us via her most memorable telenovela Escrava Isaura ( Isaura; The Slave Girl); a story set back in Brazilian slavery era, about a white skinned slave who is the object of lust and obsession of her master but refused to give in to his lustful advances (and threats!) 

She has many works to her credit; as an actress and director.

NATALIA STREIGNARD: 

The Venezuelan actress first appeared as Barbarita in La Mujer de Mi Vida; which she starred with her now ex-husband Mario Cimarro (who also played the resurrected and possessed farmer in El Cuerpo del Deseo- Second Chance). She has appeared in other telenovelas. 

PATRICIA MANTEROLA: 

is a fashion designer as well as an actress. That probably explains her eye catching wardrobe in Acapulco cuerpo y Alma( Acapulco Body & Soul ; the third version of Tu O Nadie(No One But You), making her the 'third Raquel'; the second version-ACAPULCO BAY- played by an American cast. 

DIEGO AND PALOMA- The beginning

MEXICO...


It is harvest time again at the hacienda Casa Blanca; a plantation/ranch known for its fertile acres of land and its quality coffee crop. The workers-  known as bean collectors- arrive in droves to begin  work. Climbing out of one of the trucks are two women; one dark haired petite and youthful  looking woman,Soledad Suarez. The other is a tall, slim and staggeringly beautiful young woman with curly honey-blonde hair; her daughter Teresa but it is immediately  noticed that Soledad, the foreman Aurelio and  the male co-workers who attempt to  flirt with the disdainful young woman address her as 'Paloma' instead. Aurelio warmly welcomes the two women. The hacienda's owner, Don Lorenzo Sanchez-Serrano arrives with his wife, Inez. Don Lorenzo is looking obviously very frail and leans on Inez's arm as they enter the house. Paloma and Soledad interact with the other workers and go about their work but it appears that Paloma wants more out of life than harvesting crops for the rest of her life. Soledad is more of a simple persona.
The next morning, Don Lorenzo is unable to get out of bed and Inez is exasperated by the sound of Paloma's singing from afar but Lorenzo does not seem to mind a bit. Suddenly Lorenzo feels weaker and calls Inez to his side... he is dying.  Inez, filled with sorrow, tries to reassure him but Don Lorenzo dies in minutes.
Aurelio solemnly and sadly informs the workers that Don Lorenzo Sanchez-Serrano is dead and the outpouring of grief is great; Soledad especially is very tearful.
One by one; the family is notified. The eldest son, Juan Francisco is in New York when he received word. His son and the son of his younger brother Joachim- Fabian and the handsome Diego- are in England; having a party in their apartment. While Fabian is entertaining their guests, Diego is trying to get amorous with his date in the bedroom but alas, the plane refused to take off (to his acute frustration and embarrassment) so he gets dressed and leaves the room. They too get the news.
Diego's sister, Diana, is making love with her Scottish  boyfriend Jeremy Macgregor when she got the message of her grandfather's passing and to her dismay, Jeremy insisted on flying to Mexico with her. Diego's younger sister also received word but unfortunately cannot make it to the funeral as the play she was featuring in was to open the following night.
The family arrive in Casa Blanca for Don Lorenzo's funeral and console Inez. Paloma sees Diego walk by and is immediately fascinated by the handsome young man. At the funeral, Paloma walks to the front of the chapel to lay a flower on the Don's casket and Diego sees her for the very first time; giving her a faint smile in spite of himself.
The will is read out by the family counsel; Jorge. The hacienda is to go to Joachim which would then go to Diego after his death. The coffee exporting company known as El Cafetalero is to go to Juan Francisco, the older son. There are two odd things however; Don Lorenzo also stated that the grandson who bore a son first would inherit both the hacienda and the company. The second was a sealed envelope which he instructed Jorge NOT to open and view its contents until a certain period of time. The family is mystified but they reluctantly have to follow the late man's wishes.
Diego and Paloma become friends when he surprises her and Soledad with a T.V set to watch in their cabin instead of going to the main house to watch telenovelas through the window like they usually did. A co-worker harasses Paloma and Diego breaks up a fight between them. Joachim, who is very protective of his children does not approve of Jeremy; to his discomfort. Barbara, Fabian's official girlfriend hopes he will finally commit to her.
The days go by and Diego and Paloma; after getting to know each other more, realize that they are in love. One moonlit night, they go to the lake, discussing their feelings and plans for the future as Diego has to go back to England with Fabian; while Paloma and Soledad have to drift on. Emotions are high between the couple. Paloma admits that she's never made love to a man. Diego in turn tells her he's never slept with a woman (obviously Paloma is the one woman who actually turned him on).
Paloma, very shy and a little fearful, stands trembling as Diego pulls down the shoulder strap of her dress but does not stop him. Diego then  slowly unzips her dress, they kiss and sink to the ground; Paloma unbuttons his shirt and takes it off...
They then made love under the stars; their action punctuated by kisses and caresses then finally, they fell asleep in each other's arms...

THE RICH ALSO CRY: REMAKE!!!

My first reaction on discovering this was shock, who on earth could top Veronica Castro and Rogelio Guerra as Marianna and Luis Alberto respsectively; especially since, according to the comments to my post , people are still crazy for the original. Speaking of which, if you're interested in buying this telenovela ONLINE, follow this link: THE RICH ALSO CRY DVD . 

The remake is entitled  MARIA LA DEL BARRIO,(roughly translated as Maria of the Borough) starring Mexican singer  Thalia as  Maria and   actor Fernando Colunga (Esmeralda,  La Usurpadora) as Luis Fernando and first released in 1995, produced by Televisa.  Unlike the 1979 original, Maria Hernandez is no lost heiress but a 15 year old homeless girl on the streets who is taken in by a priest and handed over to a rich man in the parish to work as a maid but as we all know, the man, Don Fernando de la Vega had other ideas; he legally adopted her as his daughter - much to his wife's (Victoria) and niece's(Soraya) horror; arranging for her education and so on. Along came the spoilt, drunken son,  Luis Fernando who at first tried to seduce the young and beautiful Maria but ended up falling in love with her and changing his ways.

Which of course didn't sit well with Soraya  but after a long battle for who gets to be Mrs. de la Vega, Luis Fernando & Maria became man and wife but alas, all hell broke lose after he caught his brother Vladimir hugging her and assumed the worse- refusing to believe the child she was carrying was his. Maria had  a nervous breakdown and gave up their son, named Fernandito, up for adoption. A little girl was adopted after she got better, but of course Maria constantly worried about Fernandito. Worse, Soraya came back to the household bent on revenge against Maria by using Fernandito against her. But of course, like all telenovelas, the wicked are overcome and the good end up living in peace.

        

VERDICT???? : I PREFER THE ORIGINAL, HANDS DOWN. 


      

Mientras Haya Vida final episode snippets

This was what I was able to dig up, I'm very sorry it's rather short but I had to translate it first. By the way, the actual meaning of this telenovela is 'When there's life, there's hope.' To continue....

Gael is shot at when he's in the park with his wife. At the hospital, Romina gave Ophelia tea to soothe her nerves, having added a few drops of a strange potion into it to make her lose her baby. Minutes later, Ophelia is very ill and is take to Intensive Care...

Gael and Ophelia suspect that the loss of their baby was Romina's handy work. Gael later went to the department store and found Romina with Rosaura excahging a package of drugs, after a loud argument was shot by Gael. Romina was later taken to a psychaitric ward. Alejandro confessed that Gael was a murderer and he had proof of everthing he'd done. Gael later went to a warehouse where Elisa supposedly was and fires...

Hector and Jimenez hurry to the cellar where Elisa was reported to be but only find Gael's body, who had been struck with a pistol and left unconcious. Ophelia had died and Gael had wanted some one to blame for her death.

Six months later...

Elisa was now walking about again and getting set to marry the man she loved. Hector had distanced himself from Maria; but she paid an unexpected visit to tell him she still loved him which made him break down and admit he wanted another opportunity with her. They embrace and kiss, tears in Maria's eyes.

The telenovela ends with the younger couple; Elisa & Sergio walking along hand in hand and a final kiss between them under a tree- after a loving exchange of promises. FIN

Yet another CUANDO SEAS MIA: The 3RD VERSION

Before I give you the gist of this next telenovela, I must add something I left out in my last post. Margarita Rosa De Francisco who played the original 'Paloma' in Cafe, Con Aroma de Mujer also played Maria Montero , Hector's beloved in the 2007 telenovela currently airing on AIT, UNTIL MY LAST BREATH(Mientras Haya Vida).

In 2007, Televisa produced a 2nd remake of Cafe, (the 1st remake being Cuando Seas Mia produced by TV AZTECA) this one is called Destilando Amor(Distilling Love), also known as 'Essence of Love'. The story line is very much the same except instead of coffee being produced it is (yuck!) tequilla; the collectors gathered blue agave (a cactus-like plant) instead of coffee beans. The protagonists are Teresa 'Gaviota' Hernandez (Angelica Rivera) and Rodrigo Montalvo (Eduardo Yanez). I don't have to narrate the story line all over again except for a few differences. She and Rodrigo first saw each other face to face at Don Amador Montalvo's funeral when they both knelt down at the altar in front to pray for him- their eyes immediately met. After Gaviota escaped from the brothel in Paris, she fainted in front of a restaurant where its kindly Italian chef/owner, Benvenutto(who later married her mum Clarita), gave her food and money for her fare to London after hearing her story. She did see Rodrigo in London, at a distance, and very excited she ran across the street towards him but ALAS!!! she was knocked down by a car! Rod saw the the whole thing but did'nt know it was her; he was about to hurry over to the scene but then his cellphone rang and he got the terrible news of his parents' untimely death in a plane crash. By then other people had gathered round poor Gaviota and he had no idea the victim was his fiancee or that at that moment she'd lost their baby. On getting back to Mexico and finding Gaviota gone, he married a friend of his cousin's(Aaron) wife Minerva- a woman called Isadora who never succeded in seducing him as he was obssessed with finding Gaviota. When he did find her, she was Aaron's right hand woman in the family company and had legally changed her name to Mariana Franco and unlike Paloma who had given Diego a wide berth on seeing him, Gaviota allowed Rodrigo to embrace her joyfully (in private of course). After everything was at last settled, they got married of course.

A few similarites:

-Rodrigo's sister, Sofia(this version's Diana) dated a British (or is it Irish?) man called James O' Brien before marrying a gold digger who was sleeping with Isadora, Fransisco de la Vega (Miguel) and the younger one, Daniela dated and later married a black man, (this one wore his hair in braids but looked handsome all the same).

-Aaron(Fabian) has a mistress as his 'baby bearing backup', her name is Pamela.

-Gaviota's boss at her second place of work, this time called the 'Consejo Regulador del Tequila', is also called Roberto Avellaneda.

-Isadora also tried to pass off a child that was'nt her husband's as his own. When he later found out, he still wanted to keep the little boy.

-Aaron of course tried to frame Rodrigo & Gaviota in shady exportations deals he was involved with.

MARIANA(Gaviota) & Rodrigo exchaging secret

love messages over the phone in the office.

                                     Rodrigo surprises Gaviota in Manzanillo

On their wedding day. Rodrigo showed up on a horse, looking so handsome and dashing in his suit & sombrero, family and friends cheering. A few minutes later, Gaviota showed up in a white carriage, looking so lovely in a breathtaking white wedding dress. During the service, she made the Padre call her Gaviota instead of Mariana and the couple exchanged kisses before they were instructed to do so! (Ha! Ha!)

                                                  Rodrigo & little Gaviota 8 years later.

I'm just so psyched about this post; I'll always regard it as the best I ever put together. Although all three guys were absolutely great actors I can't help but compare them- each guy has his own version of good looks and charm. Diego(Sergio Basanez) is very handsome, the image of the quintessential hero with his curly hair and macho yet sensitive features.

Sebastian(Guy Ecker) is what I can say classically handsome with his blond hair(and I'm not usually into blond guys except for a few exceptions) and his stance, stately.

Rodrigo is much bigger in stature than the others, handsome as well but there's something about him that reminds me of a lovable teddy bear- he's so sweet and sensitive and you'd just want him around you all the time. Some women just have all the luck, (sigh...)

IMPORTANT TRIVIA...
 

Angelica Rivera (Gaviota) is the protégée &  former sister-in-law of Veronica Castro- “Marianna” of THE RICH ALSO CRY fame and is currently married to the 57^th president of Mexico; President Enrique Pena Nieto. She's retired from the world of acting.