Meet The Arrow-Heads: Ugly Betty Telenovela

Today, in fulfillment of my January 19 promise, we begin sharing the gists of the famous Columbian telenovela, Ugly Betty (Yo Soy Betty, La Fea), written by Fernando Gaitán- the same man who wrote the original story of Cuando Seas Mia, otherwise called 'Coffee with the Aroma of a Woman'.

The American adaptation of this telenovela was saturated by popular Hollywood stars, all of whom have won one award or the other, in the entertainment industry. Let's explore the characters:

1. The star actress, Betty Suarez, popularly mocked as 'Ugly Betty' (role played by America Ferrera, picture right). She is the ugly but hard-working and intelligent girl who proverbially became the rejected stone that emerged as the chief corner-stone of this famous telenovela.

MODE magazine was the household name in the U.S fashion industry. Successful Business mogul, Bradford Meade, is the owner of this Enterprise and wanted his son, Daniel Meade to take over and learn the rudiments of the fashion publication business.

Ugly Betty got a challenging but fulfilling job as the Personal Assistant to the new editor-in-Chief of MODE magazine, Daniel Meade. It was a weird team: a womanizing Casanova and an ugly, unattractive but brainy lady at the helms of the most read fashion mag in the country. She paraded an impressive and impeccable resume, she was a bundle of talents, a multi linguist, ... the only BUT in her personality was the tainted and burnt teeth, definitely, not a front-desk showpiece in any corporate set up. The reason why she was not fired by her Casanova boss was because she was 'too good' and worked her way to the point of being indispensable to the organization.

Ugly Betty's industrious capacity only served to evoke enmity of other ambitious workers at MODE who envied her position and accomplishments. The list of her mortal enemies seems endless, ... but the trio of Wilhelmina Slater, Marc St. James and Amanda schemes to sabotage her works were legendary. Ugly Betty's succor came from only one ally in the MODE organization called Christina McKinney, the seamstress.

Ugly Betty's supper efficiency won her the trust of the mogul, Bradford Meade and his son, Daniel Meade. Ugly Betty has skills in arbitration and negotiation that leaves her enemies in awe.

Enter, Guillermo

At last, Jennifer found the guts to call it quits with Carlos. The reason was obvious, another man has crept into her emotional orbit. He is the handsome Guillermo, the owner of an advertising agency who offered Jenny the star role in the Latin American campaign for a new product. He advised her that the best way to escape personal-induced stress, is to immerse herself in work, and the advertising campaign would be a good break for her.

There was no doubt that in this episode 129, the two of them were mutually attracted to each other. When Carlos came to visit her, she found a temporary courage to tell him that it's best to split up their fruitless 3-year relationship. Did I hear you say, 'good riddance'? You are mistaken, because the virulent greed and obsession of Jenny would push her back to the precipice of disaster, as she could not bear the re-union of L.F and Carlos, not withstanding the facts that she had by then started sleeping with Guillermo.

The character called 'Guillermo' was no other person than the famous 'Fabian' of Cuando Seas Mia, telenovela, (When You are Mine). 'Fabian' looked fatter and more matured in this soap, obviously because there was a two year difference between WUAM (2001) and gardener's daughter (2003). The voice-over was different for TGD, but it is the same Rodrigo Abed.

This new role was a sharp contrast to the one he played in WUAM. He was a hawk that loved only himself and his ambition to inherit the Sanchez-Serrano fortune. In this new role, he was a perfect gentleman who suffered the rejection of the woman he loved dearly - Jennifer de la Vega. He literally 'licked her boot'. The 'Fabian' that played and toyed with the feelings of countless women in WUAM, became a game for Jenny in this soap opera.

Within a twinkle of an eye, Consuelo sacked and threw Vanessa out of the house, now that Don Fernando had traveled out to La Paz, in California, for physiotherapy rehabilitation of his palsied hands. It was a pity watching this orphan thrown unto the streets by Consuelo.

It was also a refreshing surprise to see Maribel, L.F's kind-hearted prison mate, two years ago, become a nurse at the rehab clinic. She was the one who took care and conducted Don Fernando around the facility when he arrived at the premises.

If you have not read the whole story, don't forget to visit the site map and navigate through the whole story la hija del Jardinero, the gardener's daughter.