A Less Controversial Love Triangle

Doña Barbara had a key element that was represented in Sin Tetas no hay Paraíso: the mother- daughter love triangle. In the case of Doña Barbara, everyone took a side and took a liking to either the mother or daughter. The "Barbaritas", whom supported the mother, saw her as a strong woman who has been through a lot and deserved this man. The opposing side, the "Mariselitas", saw the mother as evil and wanted the daughter to find true love. The feud was intense.

In the story of Sin Tetas, the main character (Catalina) has a boyfriend, and they are in love. In the first few episodes everything is going well, and they are happy. However, as she begins to become more involved in prostitution, their love changes. She disappears for days at a time, leaving her boyfriend alone. (This is a side note, but I did think it was weird how much the boyfriend hung out at the house, even when Catalina was not at home. I understand that he had a difficult home life, but none the less it weirded me out. Maybe it's a cultural thing, I do not know). So while Catalina is gone, the boyfriend and mother begin to form a bond. They both need each other and slowly begin to fall in love. Although Catalina continues to enter the picture, sleeping with Albeiro and upsetting the mother, Hilda and Albeiro remain a couple in the end. They even discover that they have a baby on the way in the final episodes.

I was not sure if there were the same kind of feelings as in Doña Barabara. Were there "Catalinistas" and "Hildists"? Did the audience have a strong feeling for who should be with Albeiro and hate the other?

I went on the Sin Tetas facebook to find my answer. Among the comments about how beautiful the women are and how great the novel was, I found some information. I did not see any fighting or any direct hatred toward either Catalina or the mother. In the comments I read, it was not really mentioned. I did see, however, a lot of people use words like "triste" or "pobre" to describe Catalina. A lot of the comments revolved around her beauty, and an overall love for her; they wanted her to succeed. They thought her tragic ending was a "lastima" and wanted it all to turn out better for her. Some people were sad that the love story between Catalina and Alberio did not work out; she never found her Prince charming. In telenovelas a happy ending for the protagonist is something to look forward to, but Sin Tetas did not provide this for the viewers. I definitely agree with the majority of viewers in that the ending was very sad, and I felt for Catalina. She had good intentions and was a sweet girl, and her downfall was indeed saddening.

Personally, I was in favor of the relationship between Hilda and Alberio. At first, yes, it was weird. It was her daughter's boyfriend, why would she think sleeping with him would be ok? But as the televnovela progressed, the feelings between Catalina and Alberio declined. She was off sleeping with other men and being unfaithful. That is not love. After awhile, every time she would come back home and back into the picture I got angry. She was deceiving Albeiro and not taking the relationship seriously. The mother, on the other hand, really cared for Albeiro and never strayed.