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Mexico's much-beloved "Betty" remake, "La Fea más bella" (The Prettiest Ugly), premiered on January 23, 2006, and starred Angélica Vale as Leticia 'Lety' Padilla Solís and Jaime Camil as Fernando Mendiola. Lety was Fernando's assistant at the video production house, Conceptos. The series had its United States premiere on April 24, 2006, on the Spanish-language cable network, Univision.
The show's huge ratings, both in Mexico and in the U.S., led the producers at Televisa to extend the series' run more than once. Originally intended to last around seven months, the story was lengthened to thirteen months' worth of episodes, pushing the overworked cast and crew, especially Angélica Vale (who has to appear in every episode), to their limits. After more than 280 episodes, the grand finale aired in Mexico on Sunday, February 25, 2007, and in the United States on June 25, 2007.
In 2008, Televisa began co-producing a remake of "La Fea más bella" in China, entitled "Chou Nu Wu Di". Due to cultural differences, some story elements had to be altered in order not to offend the sensibilities of Chinese audiences.
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| "La Fea más bella" tells the story of Leticia (Lety) Padilla Solís (Angélica Vale), a kind, intelligent young woman whose advancement in life is severely hindered by her nerdy appearance. Leticia leads a lonely and secluded existence: she resides with her humble parents, Erasmo Padilla Galarza (José José) and Julieta Solís (Angélica María), and her only friend appears to be Tomás Mora y Sifuentes (Luis Manuel Ávila), who is essentially her male double. When the story begins, Lety is having difficulty securing a job. Despite having graduated from Universidad La Salle, a prestigious university, Lety's talents are overlooked in a job market that values beauty over brains.
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Meanwhile, Don Humberto Mendiola y Sifuentes (Carlos Bracho), president of Conceptos, one of Mexico's most important media production firms, announces his plans to retire. Two candidates will subsequently vie for the presidency of the firm: Fernando Mendiola (Jaime Camil), Humberto's son, and Ariel Villarroel (Raúl Magaña), Humberto's foster son (the Mendiola's had taken in the Villarroel children—Ana Leticia, Ariel, and Marcia—after the death of their parents). The contest reaches a stalemate. However, when it becomes clear that the tie-breaking vote will fall to Marcia Villarroel (Elizabeth Álvarez), who also happens to be Fernando's long-time girlfriend, Fernando decides to propose to her. This move wins Fernando her vote and, much to Ariel's displeasure, Fernando Mendiola is chosen as the new President of Conceptos.
At the same time, Lety is increasingly frustrated because of her inability to secure a good job, even though she'd received high marks for her studies in Economics at the university from which she'd graduated. She decides to send her resumé to Conceptos. At the same time, Fernando is trying to hire a secretary before he assumes his new position of authority at the company. This time, in hopes that her appearance does not overshadow her qualifications, Lety decides not to include a photograph with her resume, even though it is customary to do so.
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The omission of her photo works in Lety's favor, and she soon receives a call from Conceptos for a job interview for the position of Executive Assistant to the President. On her way to the interview, she finds out that her only competitor for the position of executive assistant is Alicia Ferreira (Patricia Navidad), who, despite being rather physically attractive, is grossly unqualified for the job. When they are both interviewed by the chauvinistic Director of Human Resources, Raúl López (Sergio Acosta), Lety realizes that Alicia is likely to land the job purely on account of her looks. Extremely discouraged, she returns home, where she and Tomás sulk over their unsuccessful lives. Tomás also discovers a picture of Alicia and, much to Lety's chagrin, the buxom blonde quickly becomes the object of Tomás's affections.
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Back at Conceptos, Fernando argues with López over his decision to hire Alicia as executive assistant. Alicia happens to be Marcia's best friend and would be highly likely to report to her on his many love affairs, for Fernando is a notorious Casanova. Fernando is left with no choice but to call Lety into the office so that he can interview her himself.
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After receiving the good news, Lety returns to Conceptos, where she falls in love at first sight with Fernando. He, however, regrets having summoned her as soon as he sets eyes on her. Forced to choose between Lety and Alicia, Fernando finds himself in a conundrum: not hiring Lety means losing a qualified assistant, as well as getting stuck with Marcia's spy Alicia, whereas hiring Lety means getting more than just an earful from Marcia. Ultimately, he decides to hire them both in order to test who is better qualified for the job.
So as not to affect the company's image adversely, Fernando (or Don Fernando, as Lety calls him) hides Lety away in an "office" behind his—in a dingy little storage closet that is attached to his office. Alicia tries to boss Lety around, acting as if she outranks her, but Fernando soon puts la rubia natural (the natural blonde) in her place. Occasionally, he would accidentally call his new assistant by the wrong name, referring to her as Linda (which means "pretty") instead of Leticia.
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Not wanting to upset her father, Lety lets Erasmo think that she'd been hired for a position more fitting for someone with her education and abilities. She doesn't want him to know that she's just a secretary, nor that she's tucked away in a closet. If he knew the truth, her father would probably demand that she quit, but knowing that her family is depending on her income, she tries to talk as little as possible about her office duties.
Lety soon proves herself to be loyal and completely trustworthy. Before long, Fernando entrusts her with his "black book," which contains information about all of his love affairs, dates, etc. Marcia, now Fernando's fiancée, soon learns that Lety has this book in her possession and she asks Alicia to get her hands on the book, but they're unsuccessful. From this point onward, Marcia considers Lety to be her sworn enemy, believing her to be an accomplice to Fernando's constant infidelities.
At Conceptos, Lety initially feels like an outsider, judging herself quite the ugly duckling in comparison with Alicia and the many models who work for the firm. Soon, however, she meets the so-called cuartel de las feas—or the Uglies Club—a clique of middle-class female employees who, not measuring up to the widely-accepted standards of beauty that give women like Alicia an advantage in society, share many of the problems that Lety faces.
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The group's members are: Juana (Gloria Izaguirre), the young and good-humored cleaning lady who claims to have the gift of second sight; Irmita (Luz María Aguilar), the kind, gentle and motherly assistant of video director Luigi Lombardi; Paula María (Niurka Marcos), the sassy receptionist and single mother who is constantly in search of a rich man to be a husband for her and a father figure for her son, Jaimito; Martha (Maribel Fernández), López's secretary, who is a wife and mother struggling with her weight; Lola (Rosita Pelayo), Marcia's hot-tempered secretary, who is trying to win back her husband, Efren, who recently left her for a younger woman named Jazmín; and Sara (Raquel Garza), Omar's tall secretary, who believes that her height hinders her ability to find a husband.
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With the assistance of the Club, Lety eventually becomes Don Fernando's right hand, falling in love with him in the process. She is soon permanently instated as his executive assistant, with Alicia working the reception desk at the entrance to the executive floor.
Alicia constantly finds herself plagued by financial troubles, deservedly so, because of her extravagant taste for luxuries that she cannot afford, so she constantly tries to get money from her father. She also tries to latch onto the successful male executives at Conceptos, particularly Omar Carvajal (Agustín Arana), Fernando's best friend. She gets very annoyed after she begins a sexual relationship with Omar and quickly discovers that he has also had a fling with Paula Maria. Simon, the mailroom clerk at Conceptos, also isn't pleased to learn of Paula Maria's flirtation with Omar, because he has had his eye on the receptionist for quite a while.
Alicia is also in cahoots with Fernando's enemy, her best friend Marcia's brother. At one point Ariel forces himself on Alicia, but she doesn't tell Omar or anyone else about it. Soon after this she finds herself having a pregnancy scare and tries to use the situation to force Omar (or even Ariel) into a commitment, but she quickly learns that she is indeed not pregnant, and the cuartel soon discovers the truth and they have a little fun with their chief nemesis. Eventually, Omar and Ariel learn that neither one is going to be a daddy in the near future and they both cut Alicia out of their personal lives.
Filmo Imagen is Born
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| Fernando begins to depend on Lety more and more. They bond further on one peculiar occasion when Fernando, having lost a bet with Luigi, is forced to go out to a gay bar in drag. As Fernando (or Princess Lily, La Reina de la Noche, as Luigi dubbed him) tries to leave the bar he finds that he can't get his car out of the bar's driveway because it's blocked in, which then causes him to get into a scuffle with a drag queen named Bugambilia. He uses his cell phone to call the one person he can count on, Lety, and she soon shows up in a taxi and brings him to her home so that he can change into some of her father's clothing before he heads home to see Marcia, who has been waiting for him to show up so that he can meet with a model named Isabella del Conde (played by Jaime Camil's real-life step-sister, Isabella Camil). |
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In the meantime, business at Conceptos is slow. Wishing to follow through on his promise to double the company's capital in a short span of time, but lacking the necessary experience to do it, Fernando undertakes projects that leave Conceptos deeper in debt. When the banks threaten to seize Conceptos, Fernando devises a plan: he asks Lety to create a dummy corporation that would appear to seize Conceptos but in fact leave it in Fernando's control, though it would in fact be under Lety's legal ownership. Both Lety and Fernando are aware of the illegality of such an undertaking, but they take that chance anyway.
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By this point, Lety is completely infatuated with Fernando and decides to look the other way regarding her boss's unethical business practices. Not hesitating to get herself embroiled in this illegal undertaking, she creates a puppet company called Filmo Imagen and hires Tomás as its general manager. His task will be to invest the company's funds, which he does adeptly.
Before the first general Board Meeting—during which the firm's finances are to be reviewed by its stockholders—Fernando asks Lety to doctor various balance sheets to conceal the seizure of Conceptos by Filmo Imagen. Lety follows her boss's orders without hesitation. |
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Before long, however, Tomás begins bragging about his new position as manager of Filmo Imagen, and this bragging indirectly comes to Fernando's attention. He and his vice president, Omar, fear that Tomás and Lety might make use of their position of power over Conceptos to stage a coup and take over the firm. In order to avoid such an outcome, Omar suggests that Fernando should attempt to seduce Lety, not having yet realized that "Gárgolety," as Omar calls her (from the word gárgola, which means gargoyle), is already in love with her "Don Fernando."
The Romance Begins
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| Fernando reluctantly agrees with Omar's plan and he tells Lety that he has been fighting his feelings, but he is in love with her, even though this declaration is far the truth. Even though she wonders how a man like him could have feelings for her, Lety is blinded by love, so the two start dating secretly. Fernando suggests that Lety should tell people that Tomás is her boyfriend, so they could avoid raising suspicions about their affair around the office. Lety can't help but want to make herself more attractive for Fernando, as well as to make a better impression as a serious business woman, so she goes for a makeover, telling the stylist that she'd like to look like Salma Hayek, but the results fall pretty far short of making Lety look anything like the glamorous star. She ends up looking more like what Frida Kahlo would have looked like if she'd have been painted by Pablo Picasso.
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Fernando's old friend Eduardo Mendoza, a wealthy bohemian nomad, comes to Mexico City for a visit and he immediately bonds with Lety and the cuartel. Of course, after she learns of Eduardo's wealth from Marcia, Alicia also has a desire to "bond" with him. Luigi is also smitten by the globe-trotting visitor, and he and Alicia are soon competing for Eduardo's attention, but they're united in their disgust when they see how fond he is of Lety. This fondness leads Eduardo to sing Lety's praises to Fernando. He tries to get his friend to find the ability to look at her beneath her outer appearance. If Omar is the devil sitting on one of Fernando's shoulders and whispering evil ideas into his ear, then Eduardo is the angel on Fernando's other shoulder, trying to lead him down the right path.
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Ignoring his true feelings, Fernando is disgusted by the thought of romancing Lety, but he keeps on doing it to "save" his enterprise. However, at Omar's suggestion, he makes love with Lety, and is surprised to discover that he actually has cultivated real feelings for Lety. He also comes to realize that his love for Marcia has just been an illusion. Because of this, Fernando promises Lety that he will end his engagement to Marcia as soon as the second Board Meeting is over, conscious that he will not really be able to do it, even though it's exactly what he really wants to do.
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Business at Conceptos improves, thanks to Luigi's reputation and Lety's savvy business sense, and soon they get produce a commercial for Bellalife jewelry, followed by a nomination for the "Leon d'Oro" award in Cannes, and an invitation to produce a commercial in Germany for Sport Wind sportswear as a tie-in to the 2006 FIFA World Cup.
Realizing that he and Marcia will have to travel to Germany to oversee the production of the commercial while Fernando stays in México, Omar leaves a long letter in which he lists detailed instructions that his "esteemed president" should follow in order to keep Lety in love. Omar's letter also serves to remind Fernando of their motives, to motivate him to keep the plan in motion. Omar tries to cheer Fernando up by telling him that his "routine of horror" will end as soon as Lety doctors the balance sheet for the second Board Meeting, after which Fernando can finally marry Marcia. Of course, the letter is unnecessary, because Fernando already loves Lety and doesn't need to be convinced to keep wooing her.
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Unfortunately, Lety accidentally discovers Omar's letter and is devastated, especially since she had previously confessed to Fernando how traumatized she'd been in the past by the boy she'd lost her virginity to (she'd been set up with this guy, Miguel, by Roman, a neighbor she'd known and been tormented by since childhood). She mistakenly believes that Fernando has been conning her throughout their entire relationship, not knowing that in his heart the con ended a long time before. |
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After mourning the loss of the love she shared with Fernando, Lety seems to lose her sense of joy and her enthusiasm for life. To keep Fernando from suspecting that she knows about his deceit, she pretends that she still loves him, even though she doesn't do a very good acting job and it is immediately obvious to Fernando that something is wrong.
Omar asks Fernando if he's jealous of Tomás Mora, but instead of admitting that he actually is jealous, Fernando hides his true feelings from Omar by making his friend think that his only concern is that Tomás doesn't steal their company from them. Lety overhears this and it seems to confirm all of the things that Omar had written in the letter that she'd discovered. She has no idea that Fernando just can't admit to Omar, or even to himself, that he loves her. As an act of revenge, Lety conspires with Tomás to make it look like they are indeed dating and that they might be siphoning money from Filmo Imagen to buy expensive things, like a $90,000 car. Lety also decides not to disguise the balance sheet that Fernando is supposed to present at the upcoming Board Meeting.
At the same time, Alicia, whose monetary problems are now really serious, discovers that Lety has a very rich "boyfriend" (Tomás) and starts looking for him. Tomás, who has given himself a bit of a makeover to make himself a more viable candidate for Alicia's attentions, is amazed by his lady love's interest and, his dream finally coming true, he does not mind being "unfaithful" to Lety. Lety finds out about Tomás's relationship with Alicia and has no intention to interfere or to impede her friend's happiness, but she does express her concern regarding Alicia's true motivation.
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Fernando, who now knows without a doubt that he is totally in love with Lety, can't even bring himself to kiss Marcia without sneaking a peek at a photo of Lety while doing so. He decides to actually cancel his wedding right after the Board Meeting, because he realizes that he could never be happy with Marcia. However, he senses that Lety is not treating him as lovingly as she had in the past. He tries desperately to win her back, but he's come to believe that her heart now belongs to Tomás. So Fernando gets jealous, to the point of getting in a violent tussle with Tomás.
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Carolina Ángeles (Nora Salinas), Conceptos' public promoter, discovers Lety and Fernando's affair, and she suggests to Lety that she should quit Conceptos and travel with her, which Lety agrees to do right after the Board Meeting.
Lety asks Tomás to prepare to quit Filmo Imagen, because she's planning to deliver her own letter of resignation at the Board Meeting. She also tells him to end his relationship with Alicia Ferreira, who only wants him because of the money he will soon no longer have access to.
However, Lety briefly surrenders to Fernando's supplications and thinks of disguising the balance sheets, but all that vanishes when she overhears a conversation between Fernando and Omar in which they discuss where they will send Lety after the Meeting (to protect her, although she does not know this), so she presents the real balance sheet at the Meeting.
Humberto, Fernando's father, expresses his disappointment in the way that Fernando has handled the enterprise, and asks Fernando and Omar to resign. During the Board Meeting, Lety presents her letter of resignation to Marcia, who accepts it with pleasure.
Lety retrieves her belongings from her "office" and prepares to leave, but is stopped by Marcia, who insists on seeing what is inside Lety's garbage bag. Lety doesn't want Marcia to see the evidence of her affair with Fernando, but she is forced to do so after Marcia threatens to call security. Marcia then confronts Fernando regarding his infidelity and the schemes that he and Omar had gotten involved in.
Trouble in Paradise
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Lety takes her leave of Conceptos and travels to Acapulco with Carolina, becoming her personal assistant in supervising the development of the Nuestra Belleza México beauty pageant. The two make a toast to Lety's new life and the positive changes that life has in store for her.
Meanwhile, Fernando tries to locate Lety, but she had sworn her parents to secrecy regarding her whereabouts, so he is left without a clue as to where she might possibly be.
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However, Lety feels that she doesn't belong in the world of beauties, so after she tells Carolina that she wishes to leave, she visits the beach for the last time. She nearly drowns, but is rescued by Aldo Domenzain (Juan Soler), a charming and good-looking chef, whom she mistakes for a fisherman. Aldo befriends Lety and increases her self-esteem. Lety soon decides to stay in Alcapulco after all. Aldo gradually changes Lety's view of the world and teaches her that what matters most is not the "wrapper," but what is inside.
Back in México City, Fernando just can't forget Lety. That attitude causes him to be careless about his commitment to Conceptos, which makes his father even angrier with him.
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Aldo soon falls in love with Lety and tries to win her heart, but she still loves Fernando, even though she tries with all of her power to fight those feelings.
Meanwhile, business at Conceptos does not go well as Humberto struggles to get his enterprise out of financial trouble. The Conceptos staff believes that Lety wants to keep both enterprises for herself, which makes Fernando wonder whether Lety is really worth being in love with.
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Fearful about getting sued, Tomás phones Lety, telling her that she has to return to México City to clear everything up. Lety refuses, saying she has commitments to Carolina, and tells Tomás to go to Conceptos himself instead. He does it reluctantly—because of Alicia's presence—and tells Don Humberto and the staff that Lety does not intend to keep Conceptos, but they don't believe him.
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Troubled by his conflicting feelings, Fernando drives semi-unconsciously out of México City and reaches Acapulco, where he visits a bar. He gets drunk and starts a fight with a bunch of boxers, who almost kill him. Fortunately, Marcia—who followed him to Acapulco by plane—arrives at the bar and drives him back to her home, where she tends to his wounds. There, Fernando realizes that he might still have feelings for Marcia and goes back to her.
Lety and Aldo's relationship evolves slowly until it becomes "a great friendship." Lety solves a model's self-confidence conflicts, helps Aldo overcome the death of his wife (which happened some years ago), and reunites him with his father. These experiences help Lety to realize the great potential she has and how much she is really worth. |
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Seeing all the problems Lety and Tomás are going through, and seeking an explanation, Julieta reads the diary that Lety left behind and is heartbroken to learn about Lety and Fernando's affair and how her daughter was treated at Conceptos.
Desperate to get his enterprise back, Humberto urges Fernando to contact Lety and to get back on good terms with her, and he threatens to sue her. Not knowing what to do, Fernando calls Lety's home, but Julieta, knowing what he made Lety do, challenges him to talk to Erasmo and to tell him what he did. Feeling the growing pressure from his father and the Conceptos staff, Fernando contacts Erasmo, but tries to tell him the fewest details possible.
Puzzled, Erasmo visits Humberto at Conceptos and explains the whole situation to him (at least what he knows). Humberto agrees not to sue Lety and Erasmo vows that, apart from legal situations, they will never have to have anything to do with his daughter again.
Lety returns to México City with a seashell that Aldo gave her and a picture of them both, showing her to be proud, confident, and definitely different.
The situation changes, however, when the Conceptos Board sees no other solution than to sell their stock to keep the enterprise afloat and to beg Lety NOT to give them Conceptos back after all, to avoid bankruptcy.
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Aldo then comes to work at Conceptos and Fernando becomes jealous of what he perceives to be Lety's love for him. Alicia sets her sights on marrying Aldo, but Aldo doesn't particularly like her. Tomás, who is now the Chief Financial Officer of Conceptos and who has loved Alicia since he first set his eyes on her photograph, becomes upset when he learns of Alicia's intentions. He confronts Aldo, but when he discovers that Aldo doesn't care for Alicia he and Aldo become friends. Knowing how Alicia feels about Aldo, Tomás decides to bleach his hair and dress like his new compadre, thinking that would be enough to win her affections, but when she sees him Alicia almost collapses in a fit of laughter.
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All this time Aldo is in love with Lety, but he doesn't tell her, so he becomes upset when Lety tells him that Fernando is still in her thoughts and she may still have feeling for him. Lety also confesses to the cuartel all about her relationship with Fernando.
Fernando's jealousy gets the best of him and he gets into a physical altercation with Aldo. Marcia also gets jealous that both men are fighting over Lety. Lety is saddened because she doesn't know what to do, so she goes to talk to Tomás. Lety believes that Fernando only fought Aldo for Conceptos, not knowing that he was actually fighting for reasons of the heart.
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Fernando then goes on a trip to New York while Marcia goes to London. Before Fernando leaves on his trip he follows Lety into a resturant where Ariel is waiting for her to discuss business. Fernando becomes jealous, but then he finally manages to find Lety outside and he talks to her about what has happened. Fernando tells Lety that he is going on a trip and that when he returns he will show her how much he loves her. Fernando tells Omar that in his absence Omar should keep Lety away from Aldo and make sure she doesn't forget about him.
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Luigi has fallen in love with Aldo and he thinks that his feelings are reciprocated, but he soon learns that Aldo is actually in love with Lety. Luigi can't believe it. He has always despised Lety, but this pushes him over the edge. He decides to quit working for Conceptos, but Lety has a heart-to-heart conversation with him and convinces him to stay. Luigi develops a fondness for Lety and the two become friends, after a long period of verbal abuse and contentiousness, on Luigi's part. Lety has never held a grudge against him, because she had gotten used to being treated badly, simply because of her appearance.
While trying to hail a taxi in New York, Fernando meets a woman named Carla Santibañez (Mariana Seoane) and the two feel a spark, but they go their separate ways. Fernando then meets up with some business associates to discuss Conceptos's current project, turismo gastronomico, and he is suprised to see Carla walk in. It turns out that Carla is part of the team that Fernando will be working with. The possibility of a romance between Carla and Fernando does not last long, however, not even when she attempts to seduce him. Fernando doesn't give in to the temptations because he still loves Lety. Meanwhile, Fernando and Aldo are still competing for Lety's love. Fernando tells Julieta that he is in love with her daughter, and he even later confesses this to his own mother, Teresita.
Lety refuses to believe in Fernando's love, until her mother tells her that she believes him. But the person who is able to convince Lety fully that Fernando loves her is none other than Marcia Villarroel. The next time Lety sees Fernando she relents and stops treating him coldly. He proposes to her and she happily accepts. Fernando tells his parents about his marriage plans and Lety tells her mother, too. This reconciliation is short-lived, though.
The Dawn of Aurora
Because of the way that Luigi wastes money, Conceptos ends up further in debt. Just as Lety is about to lose everything, Aldo sells his house and restaurant in Acapulco to pay the debt, but then upon his return to Mexico City he immediately discovers Lety and Fernando kissing. Broken-hearted, he returns to Acapulco and busies himself with working as a chef once more.
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As if her tormented feelings about Fernando and Aldo weren't enough, Lety also has to contend with a mishap with her braces and its aftermath when her orthodontist attaches a huge retainer to her teeth.
In preparation for a party, Carolina brings Lety to a group of her stylist friends for a "Queer Eye" makeover. They take off Lety's new dental hardware and make her look like a femme fatale from a 1940's film noir and she is a big hit at the party (many viewers thought that she actually looked like a drag queen impersonating Jessica Rabbit, from Who Framed Roger Rabbit?).
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The reporters and paparazzi at the party all think that Lety's new persona is a celebrity, or that she should be one. Lety dubs her new avatar Aurora. When Omar sees Aurora he falls in love (or lust) with her at first sight, without knowing that it's Lety, la gargolita, of course. He tries to seduce her, but Aurora treats him with coolness. Just as Cinderella left behind her glass slipper, Lety drops one of the expensive earrings that she'd borrowed and Omar is the Prince Not-So-Charming who finds it. Lety/Aurora has to agree to go on a date with Omar in order to get the earring back so she can return it to Carolina's friend.
Aurora and Omar's date is cut short when Fernando arrives, thinking that Lety will be in the restaurant after getting some inaccurate information from Marcia, who'd overheard Lety talking to Carolina about her date with Omar. Aurora sneaks out of the restaurant before Fernando has a chance to see her face, but when she gets home, Lety runs right into her father, who doesn't recognize her.
During this period, Ariel somehow takes over the presidency of Conceptos and he immediately fires Alicia. Marcia tries to intercede, but then Ariel reminds her of all the personal and business misfortunes that have transpired since she voted to give the presidency of Conceptos to Fernando instead of to him, her own brother. He assures her that he can fix all of her ex-fiance's mistakes, so she acquiesces. Ariel also calls a meeting in which he fires Fernando, Omar, and Lety. Just as he is about to fire more employees, Aldo arrives and tells Ariel that he doesn't have the authority to fire anyone, reminding the acting president that since he'd bought the company's debt, he would decide who runs Conceptos, and he returns the presidency to Lety. Fernando volunteers to be Lety's assistant and he sets himself up in her old office, the cramped little former storage room that is annexed to la oficina de presidencia.
Alicia's dire situation causes her to lose her apartment and almost everything in it. While trying to seek refuge with Marcia, who isn't home at the time, she ends up encountering Sara, who brings her to stay with her, Lola, and Paula Maria. Paula Maria's son, Jaimito, and Lola's kids, Cuco and Adriana, seem to enjoy Alicia's presence.
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Lety's new identity only brings her more trouble when the secretaries at Conceptos, members of the media, and producers at Televisa all want to know who Aurora is. While she's hiding her secret identity, she also contends with choosing between Aldo and Fernando. Even though she'd recently reconciled with Fernando, she is so impressed by how Aldo has given up the life that he's known to help her to save Conceptos that she realizes that she loves him and wants to be with him. She finds it very difficult and painful to tell Fernando, but she knows that it has to be done.
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Fernando is heartbroken by Lety's rejection. He hopes to raise enough money to be able to repay Aldo for assuming the company's debt, so the company can be returned to the control of the Mendiola and Villarroel families. He sells his home and his belongings and moves back in with his parents. He also asks the Villarroels to sell whatever they can, but Ariel refuses and he convinces Ana Leticia to do the same. Marcia tells Fernando that she loves him, but when she sees a look of concern on his face she explains that she means that she now loves him as a friend, and she agrees to help him in any way that she can. She liquidates her assets and moves in with Fernando and Omar.
Alicia gets an annoying itch from the bedbugs that she's picked up at the motel where she's living. On top of that, she is disturbed when she sees that Ana Leticia is attracted to Tomás and that he seems interested in her, too. Marcia tells Alicia that she's just jealous.
Aurora puts Lety in another sticky situation when Luigi gets it in his head to base an entire "retro moda" campaign around the mystery woman for client Jacques "Jacks" Reinard. Lety has to do a quick change of appearance a number of times during a business meeting in which both Lety and Aurora are supposed to be present to sign contracts with the client for whom Aurora will be doing the upcoming television commercial. |
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Luigi also films a pilot for a TV series called "Agente Secreto Corazon, Corazon Amor," which is about a tuxedoed spy, in the James Bond mold, who works for a secret agency known as the F.E.O. (feo is the male version of the adjective that means ugly). To save money, Fernando acts in the pilot, with the intention of being replaced if the pilot becomes a series. Then Reinard decides that he wants the female lead to be replaced by Aurora. When the spy's face is shown, he has a big nose, bad skin, and teeth that would make Austin Powers look good in comparison. He soon reveals that his ugliness is just a disguise.
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| After observing how heartbroken Fernando is over losing Lety, Aldo suggests that perhaps Fernando should get involved with Aurora. But, unlike his buddy Omar, Fernando has not fallen under Aurora's spell. She has also given him the distinct impression that she openly despises him, frequently calling him by the wrong name: Mandiola, Mongolia, Mendolina, etc. |
One day, while letting off a little steam by defacing a photograph of Aurora in the newspaper, Fernando draws bushy eyebrows, eyeglasses, braces, and a little mustache on her. He glances at his mini masterpiece and comes to the shocking realization that Aurora is really Lety in disguise, but then he quickly goes into denial and tells himself that it's not possible.
Eventually, Lety makes a confession to her mother regarding her secret identity, and Fernando figures it all out soon after when he notices that Aurora's handwriting matches Lety's. He confirms his suspicions by calling Lety's office and Aurora's cell phone simultaneously.
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Not long after Fernando learns the truth, Lety has to show up at a restaurant as herself, because she'll be dining with Aldo, and as Aurora, who has a business meeting with Fernando and Jacks. After a few trips to the ladies room to change her appearance from Lety to Aurora and back again, and after too many glasses of wine at each table, Lety gets a little tipsy and ends up coming out of the bathroom as a hybrid half-Lety/half-Aurora (or Aurety, as Fernando called her). Aldo feels hurt and betrayed, especially when he thinks that Lety had been sharing her secret with Fernando, so he returns to Acapulco. Carmina tells Lety that she is going to move to Acapulco to be with Aldo.
Here Come the Brides
Alicia's lack of financial resources leads her into a decision to date Tomás, and eventually they get married in a beautiful wedding, despite the disapproval of Tomás's mother, Tomasa Gutierrez de Mora (Patricia Reyes Spindola). Alicia steals Tomás's money and buys cars and jewelry while telling her new husband that her father has been buying these items.
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Wedding bells ring again when Paula Maria and Simon finally resolve all of their differences and get married. There ceremony is followed by a lively reception that ends when Lola's estranged husband, Efren, is arrested. At around this time, a secret admirer begins sending romantic emails to Marcia.
Everyone learns that Lety was living a double life as Aurora when the truth is printed in the newspaper the day after Lety had her drunken mishap at the restaurant. Her father is very upset, but everyone else, even Omar, is very accepting and supportive. Fernando is then pleasantly surprised when the pilot for "Agente Secreto Corazon, Corazon Amor" is well received, especially when even Ariel congratulates him.
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Marcia finally sees a picture of her online admirer and she is extremely disappointed by his appearance. In order to put him out of her mind, she decides to go on a date with a tall, handsome man whom she'd met at Conceptos.
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Irmita tries to intervene when Luigi's father, Luis, comes to Conceptos to inform Luigi that his mother is dying and she wishes to see him, but Luigi declines. A heartbroken Lety convinces Luigi that he should go, despite the differences with his father, and she tells him that he can count on her if he needs her support. She goes with Luigi to the hospital, where they learn that his mother's condition is improving, and he comes to the realization that Lety really is a true friend. When they return to Conceptos, Luigi is inspired to give Lety a more practical, real-life makeover than the one she had when she was posing as Aurora. Lety, in turn, then helps her mother to improve her look too. |
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Fernando goes to Acapulco to clear things up with Aldo regarding how Lety's little adventure as Aurora got complicated and she ended up getting swept up in a series of circumstances that caused her to have to keep pretending to be Aurora, especially because the well-being of Conceptos depended on her. Aldo wants to know why Fernando has come to tell him this and Fernando says that he just wants Lety to be happy. Aldo then asks Fernando to cut the ribbon for the official re-opening of his restaurant, Sabor de la Vida. Aldo decides to reconcile with Lety.
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Alicia learns the password of the Conceptos bank account and steals one million dollars from Tomás's computer and makes preparations to leave. She also learns that she is pregnant with Tomás's baby.
Aldo and Lety's wedding day arrives and just as they are about to marry Fernando enters and interrupts the ceremony, but Omar and Tomás get him to leave. Fernando manages to escape again to interrupt the wedding in the middle of the kiss, so Lety has to choose between Fernando and Aldo...
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Lety chooses Aldo, but then she changes her mind and chooses Fernando, but then she suddenly wakes up and realizes that she was just having a nightmare. Lety tells Fernando about the dream and he tells her that what she dreamt represents her true desires, so Lety begins to have doubts about marrying Aldo.
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Tomás finds out about Alicia's deed and accuses her of the theft of the money, but Ariel arrives with the police and accuses Tomás of the robbery. Lety helps Tomás by disguising him to look like her pre-makeover self, then the two make their escape, with the police close behind them. Alicia, realizing how much Tomás loves her for taking the responsibility of the robbery, decides to return the money and she then confesses to Tomás how much she loves him.
Fernando and Aldo begin to fight, but when they see that the police are chasing Lety they follow her on motorcycles and then they end up fighting again along the way. |
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The police catch Tomás, but Alicia arrives to save him. Tomás tells her that he doesn't love her anymore. Aldo and Fernando fall off a cliff while fighting, but don't get hurt.
Alicia says goodbye to Tomás and he lets her go without knowing that she now loves him. Fernando finally repays Aldo the debt he owed him and he regains the presidency of Conceptos, but he then decides to give the job to Marcia and announces he will be leaving. Lety officially transfers the presidency to Marcia and the two finally become friends.
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Marcia soon learns that the man she has been dating, Octavio Serrano (Gerardo Murguía), was the secret admirer from whom she'd been receiving emails. It turns out that the picture he was using online actually belonged to someone else.
Lety says goodbye to Marcia and they hug. As Fernando leaves, Aldo arrives and tells Lety that she has to read Fernando's diary. After Lety reads the diary she confesses she is in love with Fernando and Aldo leaves. |
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Tomás finds Alicia in the graveyard at her father's tomb, where she confesses she is in love with Tomás and that they will have a baby. Sara adopts a child.
Lety goes with Marcia, who tells her that Fernando has left. Martha informs Lety that Fernando is still in the airport, so she tries to catch him, but fails to reach him in time. Martha sends a message to the pilot, who informs Fernando that Lety is in love with him, so he decides to leave the airplane. Lety goes to the hotel where she and Fernando consumated their relationship the first time and then Fernando suddenly arrives and proposes and she accepts.
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The happy couple go to Lety's house to announce their engagement where Fernando explains how he got off the plane. Lety and Fernando decide to marry in Monterrey, where Aldo and Lety where supposed to wed.
At the wedding everybody expects to see Aldo, but Fernando arrives instead. In a bit of a supernatural twist—perhaps inspired by the Cary Grant/Loretta Young film The Bishop's Wife—Lety and Fernando come to the realization that Aldo was actually an angel whose purpose was to get her to realize that Fernando was her true love after all. In Acapulco, Aldo saves an orphan boy from drowning and he befriends the kid, who calls his new hero an angel. |
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Although many fans were less than satisfied by the whole angel twist, most were glad to see the show end with the wedding of Fernando and Lety. In fact, it looked like a national holiday as thousands of fans lined the streets to wave as the wedding party drove away from the church.
  
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Trivia
- Angélica Vale's (Lety) real-life mother, Angélica María, who is known as La Novia de México (Mexico's Sweetheart), played Lety's mother, Julieta Solís de Padilla.
- José José (né José Romulo Sosa Ortiz), who played Erasmo Padilla, is known in Mexico as El Príncipe de la Cancíon (The Prince of Song). While in her early teens, Angélica Vale dated José "Pepito" Sosa, the eldest son of José José.
- The version dubbed in Portuguese for broadcast in Brazil was called "A Feia mais Bela."
- This was the only adaptation of "Yo soy Betty, la fea" in which the male lead character had the same first name as the creator of YSBLF, Fernando Gaitán Salom.
- Sergio Mayer (Luigi Lombardi) originally wanted Fernando Colunga ("Amor Real") to portray his character's lover, Rolando (aka Ruly), but Colunga was unavailable. The role ultimately went to the dashing Jorge Salinas ("Mi Destino eres tu").
- Sebastian Rulli ("Rubi") was producer Rosy Ocampo's first choice to play Aldo Domenzain, but Rulli chose to star in "Mundo de fieras" instead, so the role ultimately went to Juan Soler ("Apuesta por un amor"). Rulli later had a recurring uncredited cameo role on "Ugly Betty" as Padre Pedro/Ramon Castillo on "Vidas de Fuego," the fictional telenovela that Betty's father Ignacio watches on TV.
- Sergio Mayer portrayed himself in a couple episodes that took place at a performance of "Solo Para Mujeres," a live stage show featuring male celebrities dancing like the men of Chippendales. Eduardo Rodrigues, who would later appear as Galo Rivera in some of the "Vidas de Fuego" scenes on "Ugly Betty," and who would also appear in an episode of LFMB as Aurora's boyfriend Lalo, was a member of the "Solo Para Mujeres" troupe.
- Popular one-named Mexican singer Benny (born Benny Ibarra de Llano) appeared in one episode as himself. It just so happens that he is the son of Julissa (born Julia Isabel del Llano Macedo), who played Fernando's mother Teresita de Mendiola, and 1960s rock singer Benny Ibarra. His brother is singer/actor Alex Ibarra.
- In one episode, Mariana Seoane not only played her character, Carla Santibañez, but she also appeared as herself, singing at an event to celebrate the launch of Aldo's gastronomic tourism idea. During Seoane's performance, Carla makes some slightly disparaging remarks about the singer's style to Fernando, then Omar mentions to Fernando that Mariana and Carla look exactly the same.
- Right before Lety got her disastrous makeover, early in the series' run, she had told her stylist that she wanted to look like Salma Hayek. Hayek, of course, is the producer of "Ugly Betty."
- Carlos de la Mota, who played Fernando's friend Eduardo Mendoza, had a four year relationship with Elizabeth Álvarez (Marcia Villarroel) that ended in 2008.
- About ten months into the series' run, there was an episode in which the members of upper management at Conceptos were brainstorming ideas for an upcoming campaign that would feature a prominent Mexican celebrity and Luigi Lombardi suggested getting Salma Hayek, but Lety said that she'd heard that Salma was busy working on another project. Of course, the project that she was indirectly alluding to was producing "Ugly Betty" in the United States.
- At one time it was rumored that Colombian actress Ana Maria Orozco, who played Betty on "Yo soy Betty, la fea," would reprise her Betty role on "La Fea más bella." Betty would have befriended Lety, because of the similarity of their experiences, and would have inspired her to change her appearance.
- It was established in one episode that Tomás's full name is Tomás Mora y Sifuentes, meaning that his mother's family name must be Sifuentes, but when we later meet his mother, just before he marries Alicia, Tomás calls her Tomasa Gutierrez de Mora, which would make Tomás's name Tomás Mora y Gutierrez.
- Paty Navidad's character, Alicia Ferreira, often mentioned being the ex-wife of Mauricio Birman, an art dealer, and she frequently claimed to have had six semesters of classes in finances at a prestigious university.
- In the episode in which Lety—as her alter ego, Aurora—filmed a TV commercial for Conceptos, a member of the press asked for her full name and she replied, "Aurora Mayer de Salinas." She happened to be standing between Luigi (Sergio Mayer) and Carolina (Nora Salinas) at that moment.
- Sergio Mayer (Luigi) and guest star Paty Manterola were both members of a pop group called Garibaldi.
- The opening theme for the first eight months was "La Fea Más Bella," by Margarita y Jorge Villamizar de Bacilos. The closing theme changed periodically, but in the early months it was usually "El Club de las Feas," by Banda El Recodo. After Lety resigned from Conceptos and went to Acapulco to work for Carolina, the opening theme was "Aqui Estare," sung by series star Angélica Vale. During this phase of the series the closing theme was sometimes "La Dueña de Mi Vida," by Angels, and sometimes "Tu Belleza es un Misterio," sung by Angélica Vale and Jaime Camil, but more often the closing theme was usually the same as the opening theme, "Aqui Estare," although it was partially sung off key by Angélica Vale in character as Lety.
- On a number of occasions, "La Fea más bella" earned higher Nielsen ratings for Univision, a cable network, than some shows that aired on regular broadcast networks, such as The CW and UPN. A number of episodes garnered an audience of almost five million viewers in the United States during its run.
- Angélica Vale appeared in the first-season finale of "Ugly Betty" as a character named Angélica, who looked exactly like the pre-makeover Lety. In the episode, Betty had to visit her orthodontist's office, where Angélica worked as a dental assistant.
- A couple months before the series ended, most of the cast members performed—as their characters—in a live variety show, in front of thousands of fans. The adoring audience was thrilled to see Lety, Fernando, Omar, Marcia, Tomás, Luigi, Celso, Efrén, and the cuartel sing and dance for them.
- Unlike "Yo soy Betty, la fea" and some of its other international adaptations, "La Fea más bella" did not end with a flash-forward scene of the happily married couple showing off their new baby daughter to their friends and family. They all peek into a crib to get their first glimpse and the looks on their faces make it clear to the viewing audience that the baby takes after her mother, before her makeover, that is. But despite whatever ugliness everyone else sees, her loving father beams as he glances down at his precious bundle of joy.
- In November 2011 it was announced that "La Fea más bella" producer Rosy Ocampo would be putting Jaime Camil (Fernando) in drag again, but not as Princess Lily. Instead, Camil would once again be stepping into the shoes—or high heels—of "Yo soy Betty, la fea" star Jorge Enrique Abello (Armando) in another remake of a Colombian telenovela, "En los tacones de Eva" (In Eva's Shoes/Heels). The title of the remake would be "Por ella soy Eva" (For Her, I'm Eva; also rumored to be "Los tacones del honor"—Heels of Honor). The 2006/07 original was sort of a twist on the themes of the movies Tootsie and Mrs. Doubtfire. Abello's character, Juan Camillo Caballero, was a womanizer who fell in love with a woman named Isabella, but after a series of mishaps she ended up breaking up with him. The only way he could insinuate himself back into her life was by dressing up as a fifty-something woman, taking the name Eva Leon, and getting a job as Isabella's assistant. The cast of the remake would also feature other LFMB alums: Paty Navidad (Alicia), Carlos Bracho (Humberto), Luis Manuel Ávila (Tomás), Carlos de la Mota (Eduardo), and Mariana Seoane (Carla). The remake would also star Helena Rojo, who had previously appeared in one of the "telenovelitas" that was featured in a number of episodes of "Ugly Betty" during the first season.
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| | "Una Bella Navidad Para La Fea Más Bella"
In 2007, a DVD was released of this one-hour Christmas special, which was originally presented in Mexico in December 2006, about two months before the final episode aired. The program was hosted by Omar Chaparro and Claudia Lizaldi and featured clips of pivotal scenes from the series, fans discussing their favorite moments, an astrology segment featuring Jorge Flores, bloopers, and behind-the-scenes moments showing Angélica Vale being transformed into Lety, including footage of Angélica trying out various hairstyles, makeup, and costumes for Lety's big beauty makeover. The only original footage shot for the special were interstitial scenes featuring the hosts, Chaparro and Lizaldi, talking to Eric Guecha (in character as security guard Celso Durán), with quick visits by Juan Soler (Aldo Domenzain) and Luis Manuel Ávila (Tomás Mora). Buy it from amazon.com.
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"La Fea Más Bella" DVD
The official "La Fea más bella" DVD was finally released on February 19, 2008. Like all official DVD releases for Mexican telenovelas, the complete series was not included. They edited down the running time from over 200 hours down to 15 hours and 24 minutes, but they retained almost all of the major moments from throughout the series' entire run. Bonus features include cast filmographies, a featurette about Lety's makeover, and a photo gallery. So far, the only Betty adaptations to have all of their episodes released on DVD have been Russia's "Ne Rodis Krasivoy" and Germany's "Verliebt in Berlin", but they're only available in PAL (Region 2) format, not the NTSC (Region 1) format that is used in the U.S. and Canada, and it's basically a certainty that all episodes of the U.S.'s "Ugly Betty" will be released on DVD after each season is completed, but it's doubtful that the complete series will ever be released for "La Fea más; bella" or any of the other international versions. Buy it from amazon.com.
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"La Parodia" skewers "La Fea más bella"
Just as the success of "Ugly Betty" inspired the "Saturday Night Live" writers to spoof the hit show, Mexico's sketch comedy "La Parodia" took aim at "La Fea más bella" in an episode that they called "La Fea más fea."
Angélica Vale is a former cast member of "La Parodia," so the actress now found herself being teased by the show on which she formerly targeted others.
"La Parodia" cast member Germán Ortega played the parody version of Lety Padilla, and Arath de la Torre played Don Fernando. Other characters were played by Roxanna Castellanos (Alicia), Arath de la Torre (Erasmo), Freddy Ortega (Luigi), Samia (Julieta), Carlos Espejel (Omar), Alejandro Ciangherotti (Lola), Herson Andrade (Martha), Yekaterina Kieva (Sara), Vicente Torres (Tomás), Pierre Angelo (Juana).
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"La Parodia" spoofs the "La Fea más bella" finale
After the finale of "La Fea más bella" aired, "La Parodia" dedicated another episode to having a little fun with the hit telenovela. And this time in "La Fea más fea" we got to see some characters who weren't represented in the first parody: Alicia, Luigi, Tomás, Aldo, etc.
We see Alicia being arrested, an encounter between Luigi and his father, a confrontation between Fernando and Marcia, the wedding ceremony of Lety and Aldo, and finally, the wedding of Lety and Fernando, with the revelation that Aldo is an angel at the very end.
Once again, Germán Ortega played the Lety and Arath de la Torre played Fernando.
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