"Hola!"

by Dr. Booker


Dame Julie Andrews said it best: "Let's start at the very beginning."

It was only three minutes long, but it was historic: the first scene of Pepa and Silvia.

The scene begins as Silvia is preparing to target practice, and Pepa hits six bulleyes in a row. Is this a preview of Pepa being named the "best shot in San Antonio?"

This is a surprise reunion for Silvia. In this brief exchange we find out that the women knew each other when they were "kids" and that there was some kind of incident. Pepa asks for forgiveness and it is clear that Silvia is not holding a grudge.

They have a the funny exchange of kisses (their second in eight years). When they break away from the hug, we see Don Lorenzo and it is obvious that he hates Pepa--again another mystery.

There are three critical moments that happen pretty quickly:

#1 Silvia has both of her hands on Pepa's shoulders and she does not immediately remove them once Don Lorenzo has come into the gallery. Now that we know about the incident (kissing under the table at Sara's communion) we can appreciate the significance of Silvia not being in a rush to remove her hands in front of her father.

#2 As Don Lorenzo is leaving, Silvia looks at Pepa and she does a little eye lift--not a wink or a blink--and she simply gazes at Pepa.

#3 Pepa is at the door, looks back and smiles at Silvia. We haven't seen Silvia this happy in a long time. She has this wonderful turn where she does a little jump for joy. It is slight, but it is there. Trust me, it's there.

Now let's talk about the much discussed beauty of Marian and Laura. In my opinion, we stop breathing when we look at Marian and Laura simply stops traffic. Both amazingly beautiful, but uniquely different.

At the start of this scene, Silvia takes off her glasses and ear protectors and we gasp at how beautiful she is. While Pepa (she's a rebel* and doesn't need protection) looks like Pepa Smurf who just got out of bed. This was not Laura's finest hair day, but the next time that Pepa and Silvia are together (at the family dinner) she looks like the woman we adore.

*(Piper's note: Rebel, kinda like Dr. Piper in her film "Rebel Without A Clue")

Most of this first scene is what we don't know about PepSi and it sure made viewers curious. It gave us promise of wonderful things to come: star gazing, dance lessons, tentative kisses, and the exchange of golden rings on a beautiful sunny day.

Dr.Booker