This Telenovela was exceptional.
I was never a fan of Mexican Telenovelas and in fact I hated them until I saw this one. Rocio is absolutely stunning girl next door, a real heart breaker, and Valentin Lanus pulls off this script with exceptional blend of rugged looks, with strong character, honest hard working etc.....
The Villain and his tag team partner in crime (Rafael Amaya and the delectable Vanessa Guzman) put on an unbelievable show of deceitfulness, cunning and evil. Every episode will keep you in suspense, and the schemes and counter schemes are hard to top. The sound track from Gloria Estefan is great as well. This outstanding novel is counterbalanced by some really lame acting from Margarita Magana (Brenda) and Chela Castro (Antuca). Margarita does manage to pull off an exceptional scene that surprised me very much. This was the scene where she Confronts Fernando with the truth about his past and makes him get on his knees. This was by far one of the highlights of this novel. Unfortunately the rest of her scenes were not done with the same level of passion and clarity.
After watching this show I became a huge fan of Iran Castillo. She is just simply adorable, her acting is just fantastic in every scene. you can't help but like her. Both her acting and Valentin's as well as Amaya and Guzman were very impassioned scenes delivered with a very nice mix of very clear Spanish with the traditional colloquialisms that most Mexicans can identify with. One of my favorite scenes is when Lanus and Iran are in Rocio's parlor and Lanus pleads for a second opportunity. Another character to watch is the seldom seen (IMHO) Edwardo Rivera as Ismael Pardo. This guy is such a brown nosing scumbag, you can't help but laugh every time this guy comes up with a new scheme to dispossess "El Nazi" of his fortune.
Scorned lover Maribel Palmer also does a super job as the doormat of Vanessa Guzman. Speaking of which, Vanessa is so unbelievably evil. In a sick and twisted way I found myself rooting for her at times just so I could see how Rocio was going to figure out a way around her perverse schemes. Vanessa is such a whore in this novel, but she does it in such a classy way you can kinda forgive her for it. Like Vanessa I often found myself hoping Rafael would come up with an even more Fu(CD up scheme than he did in the last episode just to see how Lanus would counter it.
The friends and surrounding were somewhat lame, but still provided a nice backdrop from all of the drama. Mateo was a guy that kind of disappointed me. The romance between Balbina and Manuel was really cheesy and they even played some cheesy fiddle music to match. Quite hilarious.
I don't think Mateo (julio carnejo) used his heartthrob skills to their full value. This guy plays the male prostitute/dancer. His dancing is stupid and aqua rd however his more emotional scenes somewhat make up for it. I think the little mouse Janet did a super job as well. She is such a little shrew pain in the A$$, and her tantrums and outburst were fun to watch. She is a little fireball and does a good job in her role.
All in all the ending did not live up to my expectations, but even so I would recommend this to anyone who ever thought about watching a Mexican Telenovela. It is very well worth the watch and I hope someday they pass this on to English for Americans to enjoy.
