This contemporary tale of a man who loses everything and seeks revenge gets the Televisa treatment as a combination of two classic tales.
Julio Otero marries Blanca Garza in 1980 without knowing that she was once the mistress of an acquaintance. Said acquaintance, Mariano Diaz de Leon, exacts a revenge that (unjustly) lands Julio in prison for almost 20 years. After Blanca gives birth to a daughter, Mariano murders her and pays Michaela, a woman of questionable ethics, to dispose of the infant. She cannot bring herself to do so and instead names the baby Azucena and raises her in the poor part of town. As a child Azucena meets Daniel, a boy with artistic talent who becomes the love of her life 10 years later. Did I mention that his full name is Daniel Diaz de Leon? Julio inherits a fortune from another prisoner and through a grand stroke of even better fortune, is released with a pardon. He then sets out on an elaborate plan of revenge involving disguises and accomplices. In the course of this scheme he finds his missing daughter, learns the truth about the death of his wife, and finds a new love (Lourdes Munguia).
Otto Sirgo is magnificent as the mature Julio, a man of deep feelings determined to do what he has to do while taking care of the people he cares about. Natalie Esperon appears in the dual role of Blanca and Azucena, both sweet and vulnerable but never weak. Enrique Rocha as Mariano proves yet again that he is the king of novela villains. Luz Maria Jerez is Fernanda, the long-suffering wife who is caught up in her husband's irrational hatred. Mercedes Molto is a perfect villainess and the other young actors round out the cast well. Marcelo Molina as Gustavo is perfect eye candy; it's a shame we haven't seen more of him since. If Televisa releases a condensed DVD of this series I dearly hope he isn't left on the cutting room floor (especially the scenes with Alejandra Barros).
The story is well-crafted with few "filler" scenes, no extraneous characters, and an excellent theme song by Gloria Estefan.
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