Destinos Episodes 10 through 18

Episode 10: Paintings

Raquel, Federico, and Teresa Suárez watch María, Federico's girlfriend, in a flamenco dance rehearsal. From there they go to dinner and afterward, when they say good-bye, Raquel gives Teresa the photo of Jaime, Miguel, and the dog. Teresa reminds Raquel that she will always have friends in Madrid. She also tells her that one must dedicate some time to the heart.

Raquel's flight doesn't leave until 5 P.M. the following day, so she spends some time visiting the Prado Museum. After passing through several rooms containing Spanish art, she meets Sr. Diaz and Alfredo Sánchez, who are touring the museum as well. They say their farewells at the front of the Prado and Raquel goes to Retiro Park, where she writes a postcard to her parents who live in Los Angeles.

When she returns to her hotel she finds the copy of Ángel's birth certificate from Elena Ramírez and a message from the travel agency about a problem with her flight to Buenos Aires.

Cultural information:

Flamenco dance

The Prado Museum in Madrid

Some famous Spanish painters: El Greco, Diego Velázquez, Francisco Goya

Retiro Park in Madrid

Vocabulario: clothing; numbers (21-99); interrogatives; months; seasons; colors; descriptive adjectives.
Gramática: saber; conocer; present tense (irregular verbs, stem-changing verbs, reflexive pronouns); more on possession; demonstratives; more on using adjectives; ser and estar.

Episode 11: The Delay

Raquel decides to go to the travel agency and discovers that because of a delay she has several more hours to wait until the departure of her flight. She returns to the hotel and decides to rest in her room. She asks the receptionist to wake her in an hour.

During her nap she dreams of the events of the past few days. She dreams of the train trip to Madrid and Alfredo's error regarding the lottery-winning teacher.

Her arrival at the hotel made a strong impression because she lost her wallet. Alfredo found it but he tried to pry some information out of her regarding her client, don Fernando Castillo.

She also dreams about her activities in Seville with the Ruiz family and about her conversation with Sra. Suárez at her home in Madrid: she found out that Rosario didn't die and that she now lives in Argentina with her son, Ángel Castillo. Teresa also gives her the address where Rosario lives with her new husband.

The telephone awakens her and she takes a taxi to the airport where she boards the plane that will take her to Buenos Aires, the next stage of her search.

Episode 12: Revelations

Raquel arrives in Buenos Aires but discovers that the hotel has not reserved a room for her until the day after tomorrow. They do have an available suite, however, so she takes it. The following day Raquel travels by taxi to the Santa Susana ranch. A gaucho, Cirilo, informs her that Rosario no longer lives there but has moved to the city to live with her son, a doctor. Raquel returns to Buenos Aires to look for Ángel at the address Cirilo gave her.

A psychiatrist, Arturo Iglesias, lives at the address indicated. He is Rosario's second son, Ángel's half brother. He finds don Fernando's story difficult to believe because he was under the impression that Rosario's first husband had died in the Spanish Civil War but is convinced when he sees the letter from Sra. Suárez. He informs Raquel that Rosario is dead and that he lost contact with Ángel some time ago. He takes Raquel to the cemetery where Rosario del Valle de Iglesias is buried and tells her that, whereas Ángel had wanted to be a painter, his stepfather had wanted him to study economics. They fought and the father suffered a fatal heart attack. Ángel then left Buenos Aires and never returned. Arturo thinks it is time to forgive his half brother, and so he decides to help Raquel with her investigation.

Cultural information:

Buenos Aires: population, the national government, politics, some points of interest

The ranches (estancias) and gauchos as tourist attractions

The voseo is the Argentine dialect

Vocabulario: numbers (100-1000); food groups (meat, fish, fruits, vegetables, others); writing and written works.
Gramática: Preterite tense; direct and indirect object pronouns; prepositions; pronoun objects of prepositions; using adjectives; verbs used reflexively and nonreflexively; gustar and verbs like it; two object pronouns together.

Episode 13: The Search

Arturo picks Raquel up at her hotel and the two of them initiate the search for Ángel in the La Boca district, near the port of Buenos Aires, where Arturo last saw his half brother. Arturo has found a photo of Ángel and they begin by asking the storekeepers if they recognize him. No one recognizes him but the owner of an antique store recommends they see José, a sailor who is a longtime resident. José doesn't recognize him either but he recommends they ask Hector, who has lived there even longer. He offers to look for Héctor while Arturo and Raquel have lunch in a nearby seafood restaurant.

José returns without having found Héctor but he informs Raquel and Arturo that they can find him in the Piccolo Navio bar the next evening. Arturo thinks of Ángel and pictures him in a ship, but he isn't sure whether it's a memory or his imagination.

Arturo and Raquel leave with plans to return the following evening. Arturo invites her to have brochettes at his house. She stops back at the hotel, calls Pedro with a report, and that evening returns to Arturo's house for dinner.

Cultural information:

Geography of Argentina and its location in South America

The various regions of Argentina

Buying food

Episode 14: Abroad

Raquel arrives at Arturo's house for dinner. Arturo tells her that he has lived alone since his divorce from his Peruvian wife. They sample a red wine and some cheese, then try the brochettes which Arturo made with various meats. After dinner Raquel looks at some photos while Arturo prepares the coffee. They chat awhile, and then Arturo takes Raquel to her hotel. When Raquel calls her parents in Los Angeles, her mother recognizes her obvious interest in Arturo.

The next day Arturo and Raquel go to the Piccolo Navio to look for Héctor, who is the life of the party. They finally get together with him outside the bar and learn that Héctor does remember Ángel. He says Ángel was a sailor and that they were good friends. He gives Arturo a painting done by his half brother. He thinks he went to the Caribbean, possibly Puerto Rico, on a freighter. He remembers having received a letter from him some years ago, but he isn't sure where the letter is now. He needs a couple of days to look for it.

Arturo and Raquel return home to have coffee. Arturo is saddened by the situation.

Cultural information:

Typical Argentine dishes

Iguazú Falls

José de San Martín, Liberator of Argentina, Chile, and Peru

Episode 15: Guilty

Raquel and Arturo return to Arturo's house. Arturo, distracted, reveals that he has had a bad premonition and that he thinks that Ángel is already dead. She tries to convince him that it isn't true and that she will find Ángel in Puerto Rico, but Arturo persists in his pessimism and admits that he feels guilty for not having looked for Ángel before now. He takes her to the hotel and they plan to go shopping the next day.

They shop on Calle Florida and see Jaime Bolas, a fruit juggler. They enter a leather goods store where Raquel buys a purse and admires a jacket. Arturo goes to his office for an appointment with a patient and Raquel returns to the hotel after buying a few more things.

Arturo calls and says that Héctor is going to give them the letter the following day so they have the rest of the day free. Raquel wants to go to the Rosedal Park and, although he isn't enthusiastic about the idea, Arturo agrees and buys fruit, bread, wine, and cheese for a picnic. They take a ride in a horse carriage and another in a boat before eating. They enjoy themselves a great deal. Back at the hotel Raquel receives a special gift: Arturo has bought her the jacket that she had admired. It's obvious that they are very much attracted to each other.

Cultural information:

Calle Florida in Buenos Aires

The leather of Argentina

A large park in Buenos Aires, the Rosedal

Episode 16: Faces

Arturo and Raquel wait at Arturo's house for Héctor's call. Raquel finds a humorous photo of a face made with vegetables. Arturo afterward tries to take a photo of the two of them. The camera doesn't function well but they have a lot of fun trying.

Héctor calls and tells them to meet him at the port. They arrive and he gives them Ángel's letter, which bears a postmark from San Juan, Puerto Rico. The letter says that Ángel is still painting, and that he has traveled throughout the world as a sailor. Ángel has visited Spain and has decided to settle down in Puerto Rico. He never wants to return to Buenos Aires. The letter shows a return address in Puerto Rico. Arturo is very pensive and his premonition returns. He continues to believe that Ángel is dead. He realizes that Ángel is the only relative he has and decides to go to Puerto Rico too.

Raquel calls Mexico with the news and Ramón tells her that he also has a bad premonition. She then goes to Arturo's house where they are going to develop the photos they took earlier. En route to his house Raquel stops at a supermarket and makes some purchases. At Arturo's house she makes two vegetable faces and Arturo takes a picture of them. He then offers to take Raquel to a fantastic place for dancing the tango.

Cultural information:

The port of Buenos Aires

Important Argentine cities: Cordoba, Mendoza, Tucumán, Rosario

Episode 17: Unforgettable

Arturo and Raquel dance the tango in his house and afterward he takes her out onto the patio and invites her to make a wish on a star. She wishes that Ángel could be found and that the family be reunited. Arturo wishes the same, then adds his wish that he and Raquel unite their lives as well.

Arturo tells her that he studied at the University of Buenos Aires and has no children from his first marriage. She tells him about her ex-boyfriend in California, and how the relationship ended when he decided to accept a position in New York. She is happy to live and work in Los Angeles where she was born. She had spent time in Mexico because her father thought it important for her to know both cultures.

Raquel says that Arturo is unforgettable but that she needs more time before entering into a serious relationship.

Since Raquel has a free day before her departure for Puerto Rico, Arturo offers to be a tour guide and to take her to see some places of interest. They visit various important points, such as the Plaza de Mayo where mothers march to protest the disappearance of children because of political repression. They also talk about Jorge Luis Borges, the most famous of Argentine writers. At the end of the day Raquel realizes that she doesn't know where the relationship with Arturo is going.

Cultural information:

The Argentine tango

The mothers of the Plaza de Mayo

Jorge Luis Borges, a famous Argentine writer

Sites of interest: the Colón theater, Borges's house, the Fine Arts Museum, Third of February Park, the statue of Sarmiento

Episode 18: Dear Mrs. Suárez

Arturo takes Raquel to the airport where she will board a plane for Puerto Rico. Arturo gives Raquel a bracelet as a memento, and she promises to call him from San Juan. She isn't sad because she will see him in a couple of days. They don't say "good-bye" but just "see you soon," and part with a kiss.

While she is waiting for her flight, Raquel writes a letter to Sra. Suárez in Madrid, describing what has happened in Buenos Aires. She gives her the bad news about her friend Rosario and the encounter with Rosario's second son, Arturo. She continues with the story of their search for Ángel in Buenos Aires and the discovery that he left on a freighter as a sailor. She writes her that he now lives in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Raquel also tells Sra. Suárez that she has seen some of Buenos Aires and its charms. And she admits that she has followed her advice and that she and Arturo have developed a special affection for each other. She expresses her regrets regarding the death of Teresa's friend, Rosario, and she sends her best regards.

As Raquel's plane leaves, the next stage of her travels begins.