Only three things that I'm quite astonished after watch these TV series:
1. ) Gabriel Spanic has been played as twins on one screen. These is really a big opportunities for herself when she can do perfectly stage act on two roles with totally two different characters. On my opinion, she's really excalating her capabilities as an actress when she was played as Paula (the bad one) and Paulina (the good one). I think she's a crazy brilliant spanish actress so far.
2.) Great spectacular theme soundtrack on 90's pop-rock orchestra. Easy Listening but big powerful song.
3.) Good script and story plot.
If you watch the series, you will know that everyday Paulina has got too much problems and obstacles on Bracho's family because of her older twin sister's crazy lifestyle. Super complicated intrique, not just a common average telenovela. High standard, 4.5 Stars.
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dilypiccadily4 January 2018
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CorpseFuker7 November 2006Well, what can I say? she's just great, I mean she had 5 lovers, she cheated on his husband with his brother, she almost die twice, but it didn't happen thank God, she killed a traitor nurse, she turned grandma into an alcoholic, she pretended 2b sick, she sent her twin sister 2 prison; but despite being mean, she was beautiful and smart and she didn't care about others, but herself, except at the end when she was really sorry 4 everything that she have done. Although Paulina and her were twin sisters, they were very different, Paola was mean, Paulina was kind; Paola was selfish, Pau was generous; Paola smoked and drank a lot, Pau didn't do either, that's why her voice was clearer and she could live more :(
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dayboyz30 August 2001Well, what can I say? I started watching the series since it was first aired here. Okay, I exaggerated there. I missed the first few episodes. But, since I started watching the series, I never missed a single episode. I even skipped my lectures on tuesday and wednesday just to watch it! Overall, I think they are good actors and actresses- apart from being very good looking. ( That are the two vital things Malaysian actors/actresses lacked!. They say, good actors will affect the way you feel while watching them act. I felt sorry for Paulina; i think Carlos Daniel can be so stupid most of the time(though he's nice), I think Gema is a real B*tch, I hate Willy and etc. well, I guess they are good actors, generally. The story line is great and I can't wait to watch the next episode! Just hope that I will have a nice ending> and realistic. I'm learning spanish now, by the way. Anyone who thinks this series is boring, stupid etc...well watch it first.
Gabriella Spanic is Soooooooo pretty! -
elsacecilie13 March 2019Such a perfect series. The story,characters,actors all of it!!! Once again i admired Fernando colunga and gabriela spanic! That s not an ordinary series.full of suprises,emotion and love. Strongly advice you to watch
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fairy39610 September 2023I started watching this show like 8 years ago, expecting a nice story, the concept looked interest. It's the old cliché of identical twins who were separated at birth and are completely different in personality, but I wanted to give it a try.
While Paola is the rich, elegant, arrogant woman who does bad things and gets away with them, Paulina is the poor version of a Mary-Sue, living a humble life, working and trying to save her ill mother. She meets Paola, who immediately points to how similar they look and Paulina denies - was it just an attempt to get rid of her? They were identical and their only difference was the hair!
Paola promises money as long as Paulina takes her place, and has a boyfriend who she seems to be very emotionally invested on, he disappears, and not much later on, their mother passes away, which can be sad but as it seems, these two events are convenient for the plot. And of course: their mother writes a letter revealing the truth before that.
Paulina, now having nothing keeping her at her town, agrees to live Paola's life and instantly falls in love with Carlos Daniel, forgetting her previous boyfriend. Very soon she's crying and saying "my God, how much I love him" and she cries in literally every scene, that's exaggerated and forced.
And of course, as I said, she's a Mary-Sue. She's supposed to know things that no one knows, be the mother of two children she doesn't even know, treat Stephanie well and support her even though she's completely obnoxious, heal her husband's grandmother, work in her husband's factory - and the series presents it as the ultimate novelty, as if no women worked in 1998! - give life advice to her work colleagues, talk to people who makes protests and convince them, and even say she forced her sister to do what she did after realizing she's gone through an accident and that they are sisters. And only to add some drama, she gets in petty arguments with Carlos Daniel all the time and refuses to start a relationship with him even after they could without any moral implications.
Later on, she meets her previous boyfriend who abandoned her and is now with a middle-aged woman (with an old mother who has dementia) and spends her money. Ok, what he did was no good and he is an opportunistic person, the detail is that she says "someone who does this or that isn't worth anything" some three times and that's not creative and even lazy. The third thing is "a man who lives at a woman's expense isn't worth anything". Wow, huge double standards here!
Another thing that's awful in this series is the child abuse and neglect and their normalization. Carlos Daniel's son is in a school in which other kids bully him and scare him, he always wants to sleep with the door open and the lights on, and his aunt doesn't let him, it's clear that it's just because she's evil but it doesn't change the fact that no one does anything to make him feel safe. Later on, they try to wake him up to go to school, and he pretends to be sleeping because he doesn't want to go through that, so Paulina hits him. The only ones who don't condone this are the maid - who doesn't say or do anything - and Stephanie, but of course the latter only opposed it because she hated Paulina (Stephanie made her niece and nephew turn to the wall, threatening to beat them once). The whole family and even Carlos Daniel take Paulina's side. The son even said he deserved that. This made me lose all my respect for Paulina, this family and this show. I don't care how much angelic they try to make her, this is despicable. Later on, Piedade also threatens to hit the same child after he disappeared and her grandson says "when we find him, you can do whatever you want with him".
Speaking of that event... totally unrealistic. The boy falls and loses all his memory, bonds with another family who gets in trouble only to add more drama.
I don't recommend it, really. -
coolsiske22 September 2002I haven't finished watching it but I totally LOVE it. it is wonderfully. I didn't kow that Gabriela Spanic acted both parts. I love Pualina personality. she was wonderful as Paola too. I think Fernando Colunga is gorgeous too. I also think he is a great actor.
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wittyClke8 November 2005This is the first Latin telenovela or soap opera I truly enjoyed since the 1980s. It has class and it's chic to the max. This novela is about a young girl (Gabriela Spanic in double roles) who happens to work at a hotel where a rich, spoiled, and promiscuous married woman is spending a few days with her current "beau", catch. One day, while she is using one of the hotel's bathroom, she encounters Paulina (her name is Paola), a poor maid who looks "exactly" like her. She was taken aback briefly, but walks toward Paulina and inspects her. She decides right then and there that Paulina is to take her place. Paulina objects and Paola (the rich, married woman) fabricates a plan that will force Paulina to accept her proposal to replace her at her home while she, Paola, is free to enjoy her current life of debauchery, living for the moment. she plants some jewelry on Paulina and calls the hotel/police. In other to escape going to Prison, Paulina accepts to pass for Paola.
Now Paulina, the demure, beautiful virgin, travels to Paola's Villa and becomes her. No one suspects her, except a few of Paola's beaus of whom she turns one or to into allies; however, everyone else enjoys the new Paola. As an alter ego, she is everything that Paola isn't. She loves children, she enjoys working, she appreciates people, and above all, she demands spiritual, and bodily respect. Hence, the new Paola is no longer "a loose woman." Her new husband is more in love with her than ever; he truly believes that his "old" wife is born anew. Hence, Paulina (now Paola), wants to work, takes care of her step-children, and treats her house staff with dignity. Meanwhile, the "REAL" Paola is enjoying herself fully; she no longer has to pretend to need time away to renew her "poor" nerves. She can now have "real" fun, and she does.
Everything is going very well, the business, the children and suddenly Paola returns to complicate matters and turns everything upsy-turvy. However, this when the novela becomes, more suspenseful and enjoyable. It's pure dramatics from this point on. I don't want to ruin your chance of discovery the rest of this "beautiful, suspenseful drama. Gabriela Spanic, did a superb job. This is truly a wonderful telenova. -
Naty Oreiro Fan11 March 2001When I first tuned in, I thought is was very bad. But then, it started getting exciting, and I wanted to know what will happen next. Many people I know also liked this soap opera. Sure, some characters are extremely naive, but it's not so bad. I would also recommend Muneca Brava, Pobre Diabla, Nunca te Olvidare, Siempre tu Susperes, and Maria la del Barrio. The story wasn't that bad either. I liked every character for something. I liked Paulina because she was honest, Paola because she was always so free and always planning, and so on. People think that soap operas are the worst, but they aren't always that bad.
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talsibony19 June 2001in really I miss Gaberiela Spanic very much! she played in "la usurpadore" is very great! it's not bad! it's beautiful story of rich and poor people together! who thinks it is bad, that mean he didn't watch all series! i watch from first to final! that's wonderful! Tal
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nisha-126 October 2001To tell the truth, i didn't watch the show from the beginning. But since i have watched the show, i tried never to miss any of the show. I even skip my extra curriculum at school just to watch the show.The show was splendid.Just because of the show, i am now learning Spanish.All the cast did a good act.They have the nice ending too but it is just so predictable. Gabriela Spanic is a beautiful person.She act best as Poala. I have to give credit to her.I just wish Singapore would aired the show .Well i watch the show from Singapore but the channel is from Malaysian.
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Usurpador8 April 2002This is the coolest Mexican soap opera. A moron wrote that it was bad one and I got really angry with that... The soap opera is beautiful and fun... When I watched I loved it because there's a real good actuation. Gabriela Spanic couldn't be more perfect for the role. Ines Rodena is one of my favorites soap opera writers, she also wrote the hits Maria Mercedez, Marimar, Maria La Del Barrio.
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dreamwalker8223 August 2001Okay, so I haven't seen many Mexican soaps, since I live is Malaysia and I don't speak Spanish. But when a local TV station aired Maria Mercedes, I thought it totally sucked. Maybe because of the dubbing, or because it was old. But when La Usurpadora replaced it, I was hooked. The acting isn't that bad, compared to the acting I see in most soaps i.e. Bold and the Beautiful, but I will not say anything about the script as I rely on subtitles to understand what they're saying. I think Gabriela Spanic is a good actress, as the rest of the cast (except the one who plays Lalita and the kid who plays Carlitos). Here so far almost 50 episodes have been aired and I can't wait to see the rest. Hopefully, it will have a good ending and not disappoint its Malaysian viewers.
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I really think that the actors did a great job with this novella, as it's called. I saw it and was impressed by Gabriela Spanic's performance as well as Fernando Colunga's. The plot was similar but it was nice to see how different actors act out their parts. For John to say it wasn't good he probably wasn't into the whole romance aspect which made the novella what it was. It's what men call "chick-flicks". Either that or he's got a thing against Fernando Colunga. :)
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ran198625 August 2001I think every program in the T.V. might be better. The scripiter is the worse, the camera and the waves and all. Gabriela Spanic is a nice woman, but her program is worse. She is so good (is it? be good is be idiot?) and so boring.