MY FAVORITE THINGS

ACAPULCO CUERPO y ALMA SNIPPET MAP

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FINAL SNIPPET

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.

WE'RE STILL WAITING... AND PRAYING #BringBackOurGirls

Today makes it a month since the Chibok abduction and the whole country's waiting and praying for this nightmare to end soon. The current report on the abducted Chibok school girls proves more than ever that their actions are more political and militant than religious.On Monday another video was released; this time of the poor terrified girls and the terrorists’ demand is for several Boko Haram members in custody in several states be released or they will be sold and claiming that 'God ordered them' to convert the Christian girls among them to Islam.

What measures the Federal government will adopt about seeing to their demands; we don’t know- but whatever they are, they must not endanger the girls. Those girls are the real victims here and back home are their worried, grieving parents. For how long is this going to go on before they are finally rescued- these are people's daughters we're talking about here! It's just so sad and heartbreaking seeing the expressions of those poor girls in the photograph that I even wept as I read the newspapers. Of course they would be bewildered and frightened at the whole ordeal and no doubt wondering the same thing... "WHEN ARE WE GOING HOME???"

This is more than religious prosecution, it's simply inhumanity staring us in the face and we desperately want this saga to end! The rallies and protests are still going on everywhere and more prayers for the rescue of the Chibok girls continue as we wait for the help we've been offered to come about.

Even after they are finally rescued, we Nigerians must also pray that worse things than this won’t come about. We simply must keep praying!

#BringBackOurGirls

T.V SERIES: IDEAS, IDEAS, IDEAS!

A particular classic book, story, movie, or even a cartoon creation spawns out a whole new creation; a successful T.V series and I mean live action, not animated. For example, from the 1960 psychological thriller Psycho came the

currently running series, Bates’ Motel (2013 to present). Thomas Harris’ books Silence of the Lambs, Hannibal & Hannibal Rising have movie adaptations and now a prequel series,

simply called Hannibal (2013 to present) starring Hugh Dancy as Will Graham, Mads Mikkelsen as Dr. Lecter and Laurence Fishburne as Jack Crawford- Graham’s (and much much later Clarice Starling’s) superior. There’s the series about fairy tale characters (Snow White, Prince Charming, Cinderella, Pinocchio, Rumplestilskin, Red Riding Hood, etc) who are all stuck in the modern real world thanks to a curse by the Regina the Evil Queen a.k.a Snow White’s stepmother; Once Upon A Time, now going into its fourth season.

There was also the little remembered 1992 movie that later evolved to the supernatural series Buffy, The Vampire Slayer (1997- 2003) plus its spin-off Angel (1999-2004), a 1996 T.V movie which brought about the Australian series McLeod’s Daughters (2001-2009), Stephen King’s The Dead Zone (2002- 2009) based on his 1979 novel (it already has a 1983 movie adaptation), a 2001 Australian series about a very notable Oliver Twist character, Escape of the Artful Dodger, which picked up from where Oliver Twist left off and the one everyone’s currently raving about (based on

the DC comic character Green Arrow) Arrow which began in 2012.

As a person whose had more than enough of her share of books, movies and series which turned out to be disappointments I’m really impressed at how the T.V world seems determined to keep its status by getting new ideas despite the debut and now popularity of web series. The ones I’ve seen so far is Venice: The Series, The Inn and Beacon Hill; all very good and well written.

What kills soaps’ rating these days are bad story lines, unnecessary characters, drastic change of a character and bad pairings. I stopped watching Days of our Lives after the end of the Bo Brady and Carly Manning story line then moved on to One Life To Live but alas... it ended up cancelled! So I made do with telenovelas which- trust me- are lot more satisfying than American soaps and past and present T.V shows I was able to come across; Desperate Housewives (2004-2012), Criminal Minds (2005 to present), Sex & The City (1998-2004), Alias (2001-2006), Prison Break (2005- 2009) and Once Upon a Time (2011- present).

With more T.V series being introduced these days, examples being Homeland,

a Sex & The City prequel The Carrie Diaries and the upcoming prequel of Batman Gotham, there are so many ideas for even more T.V series- from old movies and books.

One good idea for a T.V series would be one based on a movie I remember very well; the 1984 The Never Ending Story of the young warrior Atreyu and the boy who read the book itself, Bastian. The movie was adapted from Michael Ende's novel of the same name and apparently deviated too far from the book so probably The Never Ending Story T.V series could make up for that by following its original concept. I for one hated the part 3; it was more comic than adventurous.

Another good idea for a T.V series would be from the Harry Potter books. Not about Harry himself ( we fans would rather let the adult Harry have a peaceful life) but a prequel about Voldemort's life as Tom Riddle, until his evolution to the Dark Lord and the various people he encountered and destroyed along the way; the season's final episode would naturally be the night the curse meant for Harry rebounding on him! (People, why not???)

If Superman, The Hulk, Wonder Woman, The Flash and now Batman can have a T.V series each, why not a live action T.V series Dare-Devil? Back in 1989 there was the T.V movie The Trial of The Incredible Hulk which was meant to be a backdoor pilot for a Daredevil series since it featured Matt Murdock/Daredevil who acted as David Banner's defense lawyer after he is arrested for murder and they both go against the Kingpin. But the idea was scrapped and years later after several animated series came the 2003 film where Murdock/Daredevil was played by Ben Affleck.

Or...

How about a live action series about Ghost Rider? And why not, Ghost Rider's dark, supernatural tones plus the fact that Ghost Rider is an anti-hero(es) would made it a great series with high ratings, depending on the writing.

Another idea I can think of is Stephen King's The Dark Tower books; the series of course would be about the central character, Roland Deschain; the mysterious Gunslinger and his quarry, The Man In Black. I've read three out of the eight books and I honestly feel it deserves to be adapted for T.V.

Like I said earlier, a lot of possibilities!

New Batman series... GOTHAM

It’s really amazing how a lot of comics have moved from movie adaptations to T.V now. There’s been God knows how many film adaptations of Superman; the most notable T.V adaptations being Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman

(1993-1997) which was more on Clark & Lois’ professional and personal relationship (Superman a secondary character but still important in the series) and Smallville (2001- 2011), about Clark Kent’s life before formally assuming his identity of the Man of Steel.
Of course back in the day there was the 1978-1982 The Incredible Hulk starring the late Bill Bixby

(before its later 1988,1989, 1990, 2003 & 2008 movie adaptations),

Wonder Woman (1975-1979) starring Lynda Carter (its movie adaptation yet to come) and The Flash (1990-1991) starring John Wesley Shipp; who by the way will play a role in the new Flash T.V series- not a revival- but a spin off of Arrow.

Wolverine’s the most popular of The X Men so I won’t be surprised if he’s given a T.V series any time soon. If so, it would probably be in serious competition with this upcoming one.

The Superman franchise got the T.V series Smallville; now Batman is to have one too, simply titled Gotham. Gotham’s focus- so I heard while researching a Batman animated movie I watched recently (Batman: Year One) - will be on James Gordon’s (to be played by Ben McKenzie) early days as a police officer before eventually becoming Commissioner. His first case after joining Gotham police department would be to solve the senseless murder of Bruce Wayne’s parents- Thomas & Martha- and from then on battling Gotham city’s other criminals and villains and probably a few bad eggs in the police department itself; from what I saw in Batman: Year One. And of course the focus would also be on young Bruce Wayne (to be played by 13 year old David Marouz) and his life after his parents’ death (which he never exactly got over) and long before assuming his eventual alter-ego; befriended by Gordon and fiercely protected by his legal guardian, best friend and butler- Alfred Pennyworth who will be played by British actor Sean Pertwee (son of the late Jon Pertwee; best known as the third incarnation of Doctor Who). Thank God the entertainment industry has improved so much that it’s not going to be anything like that campy Batman series which starred Adam West! No offence to the actor or the producers, considering I still watch and enjoy past Bond films like The Spy Who Loved Me, For Your Eyes Only, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service and Goldfinger, but really... watching that series on LTV years back was a real effort. The boys and I really preferred reading the comics and don’t get us started on the theme song!

Of all superheroes, Superman remains my favourite but I’m really excited about Gotham; I think it’s because Bruce Wayne’s background story and all the Batman stories have always been gothic in tone which makes it all the more popular fascinating to watch or read and like Smallville, we’ll get to see the hero as a boy; except of course Clark’s life wasn't tragic like Bruce’s.

In Gotham, James will be partnered with Harvey Bullock (Donal Logue). What I remember of that character is a big mouthed fatso with a fedora who irritated me very much and their superior will be Captain Sarah Essen (in the Batman comics she and James were partners, had an affair which ended his marriage to Barbara, later married James and then was murdered by the Joker, but of course that story continuity must have been rebooted by now) played by Zabryna Guevara, and it will feature villains Bruce will rumble with after he becomes the Dark Knight: Harvey Dent(much later Two Face)- adult or child-I don’t know, Selina Kyle (much later on Cat Woman), forensic scientist Edward Nygma (much later The Riddler) and Oswald Cobblepot (The Penguin and to this day I prefer Danny Devito’s dark and deformed incarnation in 1992’s Batman Returns). I would very much like to see how The Penguin is going to be portrayed by Robin Lord Taylor because of all of the villains in the Batman stories, apparently The Penguin is the only one not insane or psychotic- I don’t remember reading any story about him being thrown into the Arkham Asylum until I watched the 2005 animated movie Batman vs. Dracula, where he and the Joker broke out of the place to find stolen money. The Joker is also going to be featured of course but I don’t know if he’ll be made Thomas and Martha’s killer or not. In the 1989 Batman movie adaptation Batman, it was revealed via flashback that he was the shooter but according to the Batman story arc in the comics, the killer was a mugger called Joe Chill. And to my surprise, Jada Pinkett Smith is going to play Fish Mooney; a villain I haven’t heard of before but with her superb acting skills will surely be a very interesting character.

I really hope Gotham will be a huge success.

YUMMY, YUMMY, YUMMY!

No matter the huge amount of calories, trans fat and whatever; we are prone to indulging in food that makes us fat; mostly those savoury spicy dishes and sweet, creamy and sugary deserts and savoury foods which smells so good and looks so eye catching that we simply can't resist them! But if they are going to make us fat; especially when eaten often, why do we eat them at all?
Well, why not? Food is there to eat for one thing and these days, especially in a country like mine where everyday is a struggle to out food on the table, coping with different kinds of people all the time, one just has to kick back and give oneself a culinary treat once in a while. What makes such food fall under " guilty pleasures"... besides the amount of calories we're stuffing into our mouths , they are also pricey stuff we can barely afford. But all the same in spite of those two flaws, we do indulge them all the same. After all, who can resist!

Mostly indulged here:

SUYA: meat seasoned with various spices, groundnuts and onion; made an sold by Hausa street vendors or in fancy clubs or restaurants.

CHINESE FOOD: It's not to everyone's taste but it's a lot more popular these days as they are now included in most parties' menus and with more chinese restaurants being established.

DONUTS: Unavoidable even with the sugar!

ISI EWU: The traditional Igbo dish made of goat's head and seasoned with native spices, pepper & thick sauce (and yes spicy), you'll find this heavily indulged by patrons of beer joints!

ICE CREAM: (especially Blue Bunny) Pricey but what one cannot do without!

MEAT PIES: Next to donuts, the most bought snack in most fast food joints; more than enough to fill your stomach if you missed breakfast or lunch.

PEPPERED CHICKEN: The best of these are found at any branch of Tasty Fried Chicken; pricey... but oh so worth it!

BLACK FOREST CAKE: Chocolaty, Creamy and irresistible even to the dieters among us!

SHAWARMA : Really Really popular here; so much so that meatpies have somehow taken a back seat .Beef, chicken, sausage and even vegetarian... it's a guilty pleasure gladly bought often.

PRINGLES :

Ah... not only a guilty pleasure, but a very addictive one! No matter the flavor; you tell yourself just a few and save the rest later but you can't! You eat more and more of these delicious potato crisps, even though they are loaded with calories, and immediately long for more!