Destinos

Hello, my name is Olivia and I am addicted to a Spanish soap opera called Destinos.

I don't think I can fully express the magic that is this telenovela. The clothes are outrageous, the hair is gigantic, the plot is forced: everything a soap opera should be. This show is more '80s than M.C. Hammer pants. It's fantastic.

The plot goes like this:
Upon falling gravely ill, elderly Don Fernando Castillo Saavedra receives a letter from a woman in Sevilla, Spain telling him that his former wife did not die in the Spanish Civil War as he had thought. The Castillo family hires Raquel Rodriguez, a lawyer in Los Angeles, to find Don Fernando's wife Rosario and her child. The investigation takes Raquel from Don Fernando's home in Mexico to Spain, Argentina, Puerto Rico, and back to Mexico. Along the way she learns the following: 1) Rosario and her second husband have both died; 2) Rosario had two sons, one of which is a doctor named Arturo who lives in Buenos Aires; 3) Rosario's other son, Angel, broke ties with his family and Arturo knows nothing of his whereabouts; 4) Angel is actually dead but has two children, Angela and Roberto. Angela lives in San Juan, Puerto Rico and Roberto is in college in Mexico City. 

Raquel and Arturo being
extremely awkward. And
don't even get me started
on that outfit, Raquel.

Raquel and Arturo are kind of an item but Raquel is being very angsty about a long-term relationship. The Castillo family is facing bankruptcy. Don Fernando has taken a turn for the worst and is being flown from Mexico City to see a specialist in Guadalajara.

Riveting, right?

If that doesn't just ensnare your attention, allow me to recount for you some of my favorite moments in recent episodes:

1. Raquel's parents have an unexpected visit from her ex-boyfriend Luis, and they decide it would be a brilliant idea to send him to Mexico to meet up with Raquel who is there to see the Castillo family with Arturo. As I'm watching this disaster unfold in front of me, I can't help but shout, "That is a horrible idea!" and "Go back to Nueva York, Luis!"

2. Angela goes to the hospital to visit Roberto who was trapped in a mine during an archaeological excavation. I absolutely understand her desire to sit with her unresponsive brother while he recovers; what I don't understand is why her first inclination once she's there is to balance her checkbook. In the dark.

Raquel Rodriguez, sporting her
trademark patterned blouse.

3. It makes me so very happy when, at the end of each episode, Raquel begins her recap with the phrase, "Well, here I am." Was it touch-and-go there for a while?

4. This show's idea of a cliffhanger is the following:

At the end of one episode: "Will Raquel be enchanted by the framed photograph given to her by Arturo?"
At the start of the next episode: "Yes. She is indeed enchanted."

At the end of one episode: "What has Pedro Castillo said in the mysterious message he left for Raquel at her hotel?"
At the start of the next episode: "You left your wallet at my house last night."

At the end of one episode: "Where is Gloria?"
At the start of the next episode: "In the kitchen, Carlos, making you a sandwich. Relax."

(Oh, the suspense!)

5. Raquel and Arturo just met up for a drink at their hotel, and what did Raquel order? An apple juice. Seriously? Apple juice? You're really going to discuss your romantic future by candlelight with an attractive Argentinian doctor over a cup of apple juice? For shame, Raquel Rodriguez. And, to top it all off, she didn't even drink it. That's just rude.

I'm telling you, this show is magnificent.