Marielena

Marielena is a Spanish-language telenovela written by Delia Fiallo. It premiered on Telemundo in 1992, and starred Lucía Méndez and Eduardo Yáñez. The telenovela was aired in 9 countries around the world.

The story begins with a woman named Carmela Muñoz giving birth to a girl named Marielena in the middle of the Florida Straits while escaping Cuba in a boat. Years later, Marielena is a beautiful young woman living in Miami with her mother and siblings, Enrique, Jr. a.k.a. "Kike", Mercedes a.k.a. "Meche" and Yolanda a.k.a. "Yoly". Marielena is engaged to a young man named Javier. Yoly is married to a man named Alfredo Minelli a.k.a. Fredy, whose father Rufino works at a restaurant serenading guests, and Meche is the girlfriend of Javier's brother, Leon. Leon and Javier live with their parents Fucha and Teo close to Carmela's home. One day while walking back home after buying flowers, Marielena is hit by a red convertible. A handsome young man named Luis Felipe Sandoval steps out of the car and offers her money for the flowers but speeds away angrily when she asks only for an apology.

Later at a bar with his brother-in-law, Andres Peñaranda, Luis Felipe bemoans the fact that he met a young beautiful woman but would never see her again. Luis Felipe is married to Claudia, an older woman whom he married years ago for her money. Shortly thereafter, Marielena and Enrique get jobs, she at an agency and he at a bank. On Mariaelena's first day at work, she is shocked to discover that her boss is the man who hit her with his car and Kike realizes the bank at which he is working is run by Luis' brother-in-law, Andres. Marielena and Luis become infatuated with one another and she loses her virginity to him. There are numerous subplots: Andres' friend Nicanor and his son Nikky are under threat from a drug dealer named Roberto, Andres' wife Leticia starts dating Kike, their son Andy becomes addicted to drugs and his sister Melissa belongs to a group of devil worshipers. Leon has a lover named Reina, Marielena's friend Chela is pregnant with Camacho's baby, her sister Teté is in love with Kike, Fredy leaves Yoly after finding out she is infertile and starts dating his secretary Cecilia. Luis' wife Claudia suspects that Luis Felipe has a lover and with the help of her sister Olga discovers that the lover is Marielena and plots to separate the lovers.

At the agency where Luis Felipe works, there are some people who dislike Marielena for who she is, including Urbano Gonzalez and his secretary, Purita, although soon they warm up to her. Luis Felipe's good friend Rene, who works in the agency, advises and supports them as best he can. Desperate to regain Luis Felipe, Claudia visits Carmela and reveals that her daughter's "extra hours" and "parties" are lies—she is Luis Felipe's lover. Marielena confesses to her mother what she has done, but insists to Carmela that she and she alone loves Luis Felipe. Carmela suffers an infarction after slapping Marielena. Marielena is absent from work for a few days but returns, determined to resume her relationship with Luis Felipe. Claudia vents her frustrations to Olga almost daily but Olga tells her she is only obsessed with Luis, not in love. Luis Felipe, Marielena, and Rene fly to Los Angeles for an anti-drug commercial; Claudia follows them to catch them in the act. Luis Felipe denies everything but as he is taking Claudia back to the airport, he asks for a divorce.

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