Synopsis
When Maria De Jesus,Marichuy, is born, her mother,Cecilia Velarde, believing she is dying, entrusts her baby to a priest, named Fr Anselmo, who takes her to an orphanage. At age 15, Marichuy runs away and begins to live in the streets, doing her best to survive. Years go by and one day, she is attacked by a drunk. This experience leaves her with a deep resentment towards men, as well as terrible recurrent nightmares. Candelaria, a washer woman, offers her a home, and treats her like a daughter. Marichuy performs odd and big jobs to help Candelaria. One day, Marichuy's mischievous generosity causes trouble and lands her in court, where the judge, her biological father,(though neither of them are aware of this), wishes to send her to jail. She is defended by a psychoanalyst, Juan Miguel San Roman, who is able to see the good in Marichuy. Marichuy is released into Juan Miguel's custody and he arranges for her to stay in his house with his daughter, Mayita, and his mother-in-law, Onelia.
Juan Miguel is believed to be widower; however, his first wife, Viviana (Nailea Norvind), unbeknownst to him and others, is alive, and traveling the world. His mother-in-law, Onelia, makes Marichuy feel unwelcome and does not approve of the growing friendship between Juan Miguel and Marichuy. In order to avoid problems, as well as to detract from his growing affection towards Marichuy, Juan Miguel finds her a new home with the Judge, Patricio Velarde, and his wife Cecilia (Marichuy's parents).
Just before Marichuy's arrival, Judge Patricio and Cecilia Velarde take in a young woman named Estefania, whom they are led to believe is the biological daughter they abandoned years ago. Estefania, however, is deceiving the Velarde's, in order to indulge in an upper-class lifestyle. Marichuy stays with the Valarde's for a long time, unaware that both Estefania and her aunt are enthusiastically stealing from the Velarde's, and setting up Marichuy to be blamed as the thief. She is eventually accused, and ordered to pack her things and go, but Juan Miguel comes to her rescue, picking her up so she can live with him and his daughter. Estefania, though, has set her sights on Juan Miguel as a potential husband, taking advantage of any situation that presents itself.
As time passes, Juan Miguel and Marichuy fall in love and get married. The morning after the wedding, however, she discovers that Juan Miguel was the drunk man who attacked her in her youth, and refuses to see him again. Marichuy later discovers she is pregnant,and tries to tell Juan Miguel she's expecting his child, but he refuses to listen, because his wife, Viviana, has mysteriously reappeared, and by law his marriage to Marichuy is null and void. Refusing to listen to anything she has to say, Marichuy runs from his house, crying.
She leaves the city with Candelaria and ends up at the hacienda of a man called "El Leopardo" (The leopard). El Leopardo begrudgingly accepts their presence in his home as a courtesy to his housekeeper, allowing them to stay. They assume aliases to hide their identity, and soon become part of daily life at the hacienda. Leopardo interacts often with Marichuy, and soon falls in love with her.
The very same day that Juan Miguel's first wife reappears, Marichuy's real parents, the Velarde's, discover that Estefania is not the daughter they abandoned years ago; Marichuy is. No one but Fr Anselmo, the parish priest, knows where she is, and he is honor-bound not to reveal her where-abouts. Patricio doesn't even want to find her, because he perceives her as nothing more than a thief and gutter snipe, but his wife Cecilia is desperate to find her, constantly looking and crying for her, heavy with guilt and shame at having abandoned her so long ago.
Back in the city, Viviana, Juan Miguel's wife presumed dead, has reappeared, feigning amnesia. Juan Miguel has accepted her back into his home, after telling Marichuy to leave and never come back, completely unaware that Marichuy is pregnant. Soon after she returns, Viviana claims that she is pregnant. While Viviana recovers, Juan Miguel hires a nanny, named Blanca, to care for their daughter Mayita. But Blanca has a secret condition that she struggles to hide and control. This condition leads her to murder Viviana, a crime which Juan Miguel defends her for, believing Blanca needs psychiatric help, not prison.
At the hacienda, Marichuy gives birth and "El Leopardo" offers to marry her and give the child his name. But Marichuy tells him that she is already married, and cares for him only as a friend. "El Leopardo" is not discouraged, and with his attention and care, he slowly begins to win her heart.
Marichuy, acknowledging her marriage to Juan Miguel is void, consents to marry Leopardo. Not long before the wedding, Marichuy sees Juan Miguel's picture in the newspaper, and she decides to go to his side again. Cecilia and Estefania are going to the hacienda but they arrive too late. Marichuy goes to Juan Miguel's house where she sees Mayita Rocio and Estefania. She then learns that Juan Miguel is going to marry Blanca. Leopardo then starts to search for Marichuy, while Marichuy goes to live with Amador. Then Eduardo finds out that Viviana was never expecting a baby.
One day, Juan Miguel and Marichuy find themselves on the street. After Juan Miguel sees Marichuy in the streets, he goes chasing after her but he doesn't get to talk to her as he wanted.
Cecilia is seriously injured in a car accident, and Marichuy goes and finds her at the hospital.
Sun Feb 08, 2009 12:14 am
