La saga, negocio de familia

La Saga, Negocio de Familia (in English The Saga; Family business) was a popular Colombian "telenovela" aired in 2004 By Caracol TV and currently airing (starting in 2006) on GenTV in South Florida. The show follows the history of the Manrique family, which was prominent in the underworld of Bogotá, Colombia. This telenovela is characterized by an unconventional plot; it is not a love story, but several stories of events that occur through five generations of the same family. Moreover, in this production there is no humor and the plot is marked by death, suffering and crime.

It received the "Best Telenovela" award at the Colombian Television Awards in 2005.^[2]

Plot[]

1930: Exile This is the story of the Manrique, a provincial family that moved to Bogotá after one of its patriarchs decided to try his luck in the city. He ended up founding a criminal organization by accident and decided to strengthen it. Then, he tried to reintegrate into society but tragically succumbed after having created an illegal world.

The decade of the 30s brought a radical, violent, and armed political conflict to the country. Tomás Manrique, a man of class and wealthy family, had to flee his home town with his wife and his son Pedrito. During the night, an armed group unexpectedly barges into a party, killing every male they found to be in the opposing political party. When this war that Tomás had decided not to be a part of had begun, he moves to the capital with his family helped by a worker from the railway station. The worker, Pascual Martinez, leads them to a small inn owned by Magnolia, a woman dedicated to witchcraft. However, Pascual, in complicity with Magnolia, breaks into the family's room and steals their money, after Pascual decides he can be cheated. When Tomás confronts him, he is brutally beaten, but when he recovers from his wounds, Tomás takes revenge by stealing Pascual's gold cuff links from his room. Later, both men settle their differences and go to a brothel owned by Deborah, Pascual's lover. The brothel becomes a haunt for both of them. Helped by Pascual, Tomás accepts a job in a factory that manufactures screws.

One afternoon, a group of thieves enters the factory. Tomás accidentally ends up being the hero when he immobilizes the criminals, winning the respect and trust of his boss , who allows Tomás, dandy by nature, to enter and desire his wealthy lifestyle, full of luxury and commodity. But Tomás knows that collecting such a fortune means many years of hard work, and he is not willing to wait that long. He decides to rob his boss's house with the complicity of Pascual, a thief and new friend. In order to get the guns for this, they made a deal with a mobster who, in return, asks for part of the loot and takes Pedro, Tomás's son, as a guarantee. Tomás accepts the deal, but things get complicated, and he ends up accidentally killing his boss and also later killing the mobster who lent them the guns, thereby not sharing any of the loot. He rescues his son and gets home with a feeling of having done the right thing.

This marks the beginning of a world of crime in the life of Tomás, and little by little, the Manriques rise to the point of a stable income and well-being through legal and illegal businesses. Tomás's dream of becoming a well-established, honest businessman and gentleman never come true, and he slowly resigns himself to work in the underworld.

1940s: The Legacy

Ten years later, Pedro has become 20. Pedro falls in love with the daughter of the man who killed the men of his village. Pedro plays poker with the man and with help from Pasqual he gets all of the man's money. His daughter hated Pedro when she found out that her father lost the money she made a deal. The deal was if she could beat him she would get the money back for her father. If she lost she would have sex with him. He almost lost but, wins he tells her he is better than that and that if she wants him to condone her father's debt she has to marry him. Which she accepts.

Cast[]

• Robinson Díaz as Tomás Manrique (Ernesto Enríquez)
• Diego Cadavid as Pedro Manrique Zárate (joven)/Manuel Manrique Guzmán (joven)/Óscar Manrique Angarita
• as Pedro Manrique Zárate (niño)
• as Josefina Zárate de Manrique
• Flora Martínez as Marlén Romero de Manrique (joven)
• María Helena Doering as Marlén Romero de Manrique
• Frank Ramírez as Pedro Manrique Zárate (Rosendo Enríquez)/Manuel Manrique Guzmán
• Juan Carlos Vargas as Armando Manrique Romero (Francisco Enríquez)/Iván Manrique Zapata
• Luis Fernando Bohórquez as Antonio Manrique Romero (Hermilio Enríquez)
• Isabella Santodomingo as Ana María Guzmán de Manrique
• as Pilar de Manrique
• Jonathan Herrera as Manuel Manrique (niño)
• as Tito Manrique (niño)
• as Tito Manrique Guzmán (joven)
• as Tito Manrique Guzmán
• as Ernesto Manrique (niño)
• as Ernesto Manrique (joven)
• as Ernesto Manrique
• as Clemencia Angarita de Manrique (joven)
• as Clemencia Angarita de Manrique
• Martina García as Helena Angarita de Manrique (joven)
• as Helena Angarita de Manrique
• as Lucrecia Zapata (joven)
• as Lucrecia Zapata
• as Inés Manrique Angarita
• Manuela González as Estela Manrique Angarita
• as Claudia Manrique Angarita
• as Carmenza "Candy" López de Zapata/"Candelaria González"
• as Ananías Romero "El Capi"
• as Pascual Martínez
• Vicky Hernández as Magnolia
• as Déborah/Lola
• Herbert King as "Kit" Romano Valdés
• as Grecia
• as Augusto Faryala
• as Roberto Romero/Faryala Jr.
• as Elkin
• as Agente Niño
• as Tiberio Angarita/Humberto Angarita (Federico Raldes)
• Gilberto Ramírez as Tarcisio
• as Fernando Benítez
• as Casimiro Ruiz/Facundo López
• as Héctor Ruiz
• Alejandro Martínez as Felipe "Pipe" Ruiz
• as Hortensia de Ruiz
• Patricia Bermúdez as Carolina Ruiz
• as Andrea Jiménez de Ruiz
• as Federico Muñoz
• Consuelo Moure as Amparo de Muñoz
• as Omar Muñoz
• - Mauricio Muñoz
• as Paola Muñoz
• as John Jairo "J.J." Garrido
• as Enrique
• as Cominito Pérez
• as Aquilino Camargo/"Chicanero" Arzuaga
• as Pirro Camargo
• Andrea López as Alexa
• as Gilma
• Marco Antonio López as José Gaitán
• as Roberto Márquez
• as Teniente/Capitán Motta
• as Doctor Leididi
• as Raúl Benítez, recepcionista hotel
• as Osvaldo Tovar
• as Antuco
• as Lilia/Maruja
• as Lucho
• as Margarita
• as José Leonardo Vargas
• as Jaime Angulo
• as Ginger
• as José María Manosalva
• as Herlinda Zapata
• as Yolanda
• as Teniente Julián Santamaría
• Sergio González as Rigoleto Castro
• as Marieta Castro
• as Genaro
• as Teófilo Cruz
• as Alfredo
• as Padre Huertas
• as Abogado Julio Miranda
• as Suárez
• as Víctor González/Rodríguez, "Pochola"
• as El Chiqui
• Luis Mesa as Daniel Ochoa
• as Rómulo Almanza
• as Teodolinda
• Álvaro Barrera as Teniente Leopoldo Cárdenas
• as Carlos Baquero
• as Cabo/Teniente Muñoz
• as Gerardo
• as Betty
• as Álvarez
• as Natasha
• as Teniente Robles
• as Arteaga
• as Mariela
• as Marcel Dumond
• as Jiménez
• as Carabina
• as Lina
• Alejandra Sandoval as Teresa Galindo
• as Anastasio
• Paola Suárez as Lupita
• Patricia Castañeda as Patricia Angarita
• Evelyn Santos as Gilma Ortega, "Gigi"
• as López
• as "Quique"
• as "El Apache"
• Jorge Pérez as Lucio Benítez
• as Julio Ortiz
• as Camilo Cruz, "El Pereza"
• as Doña Virgelina
• as Ever Murillo
• as Nieto de 'Chicanero' Arzuaga
• Marcela Carvajal as Marina Guzmán
• as Efraín/Manteca

References[]