Lo que la vida me robó

Over the past week I have been watching "Lo que la vida me robó ". This is a traditional telenovela developed in Mexico by Angelli Nesma Medina. Honestly, when I first was reading about the different telenovelas that I could pick from, I never imagined that this would be the one I would choose. I didn't see myself really getting into it. Boy was I wrong! This story has so many twists and turns you just have to keep watching. I am obsessed and so excited to keep watching. I'm gonna give you guys a brief overview of what "Lo que la vida me robó " is really about. There is a family, the Mendozas', who used to be rich, but now, mainly due to the fact that their son, Dimitrio, has bad gamboling problems, are poor. While the father, Lauro, wants to adapt to their new financial situation and make the best of it, the mother, Graciela, is very set on keeping her pricey lifestyle. Their daughter, Monserrat, is very beautiful and desired by all men. Graciela arranged for Monserrat to marry the wealthy Sebastian de Icaza, obviously for her own benefit. This falls through, of course when Sebastian sees Monserrat with her true love, José Luis Álvarez, and calls off the wedding. Graciela is distraught because now she has no way of getting to the money. That is until the handsome and newly rich Alejandro Almonte comes to visit Lauro. Graciela arranges for Monserrat to marry Alejandro if he in turn pays off their debts. She also pulls some strings and gets José Luis thrown into prison and makes Monserrat believe he ran away with her money. While this story is extremely interesting and definitely has me hooked, I have lots of issues with each of the characters. First off, Graciela. She is by far the most devious and greedy woman I have ever seen on TV. She is trying to sell her daughter off to a man for her own benefit. Not just any man either- the son of her ex lover. While she is a very interesting character, she has extremely messed up morals. The only people she cares about are herself and her son. Dimitrio, oh Dimitrio where do I begin. He is one of the most frustrating characters I have ever witnessed. Everything he does makes me angry. He is definitely a mama's boy and gets away with everything. He believes he is above work and is willing to literally lead a woman who loves him and he despises to believe he will marry her but he's just taking her money. He, quite like his mother, cares about no one but himself and is constantly meddling anyway he can. Now Lauro, he seems to have Monserrat's best interests at heart, but he, quite like Graciela and Dimitro, spoils her rotten. He reinforces the idea that fathers let their daughters get away with anything. He doesn't care what Monserrat is doing or who she marries as long as she's happy. This is great and how it should be except he treats his wife and Dimitro like dirt. Now trust me, they are terrible people, but he fully enforces the "I am the man of the house I make the rules" mantra. He is an extreme patriarch. Considering the fact that he knows little to any of the very terrible things Graciela and Dimitro actually are doing, he treats them rather poorly, Monserrat is beautiful and honestly that's about it. She's naive and really doesn't seem like there's a thought going through her head that isn't about love and who she will marry. While I know this is typical of a telenovela protagonist, she really isn't a person I care for so much. She basically does whatever her mother tells her and then cries about it. I don't like how she is portrayed. There was one point when they had her say something intelligent and kind, but that was very short lived. José Luis Álvarez is by far my favorite character. While he has been arrested, shot at, and verbally abused all because of Monserrat's family, he still loves her and would do anything to return to her. This, while not exactly smart considering the danger he has gone through, is romantic and respectable. Finally, Alejandro Almonte. I'm not sure exactly how I feel about him. He too has been roped into Graciela's game and is paying the price, but he did try to buy Monserrat. I truly believe that I will eventually love Alejandro, I'm currently on team José Luis. Despite my critics on the characters, I do really enjoy this show. I think it is well done, although the family life seems a little out of date considering it was made in 2012. I can't wait to continue watching and see what curveballs "Lo que la vida me robó " throws at me next.