Lazos de Amor

Plot

The series centers around María Guadalupe, María Paula and María Fernanda, identical triplets (all played by Lucero) with non-identical, complex personalities. When they all were very young, they were victims of a car accident that killed their parents.

As a result of the accident, María Guadalupe is presumed dead when she disappears after falling into a river. Instead, she suffers from amnesia and forgets she has a family and two sisters. Ana Salas, who is going through a tragedy coping with her own mother's death, raises María Guadalupe as her own, even after becoming aware of her true identity.

María Fernanda is a sweet girl who hopes to find her sister, but as a result of the accident is left blind. María Paula is different from her sisters in that she's glamorous, selfish and extremely jealous; however, she also harbors a devastating secret about the accident.

After an illness brings María Guadalupe and Ana to México City, María Guadalupe falls in love with Nicolás, a cab driver and good-hearted man, who had just moved to México to live with his grandmother. Living in fear that someone may recognize her daughter, Ana restricts María Guadalupe's actions, but Nicolás's grandmother learns Ana's secret without saying a word.

The girls' grandmother, Mercedes, and their uncle, Eduardo, have been searching for missing María Guadalupe for years, and the story inches closer and closer to the revelation of the truth as the ties of love eventually draw the three sisters together, weaving through the lives of those that surround them in unexpected ways.

Cast

Main

• Lucero as María Guadalupe Rivas Iturbe / María Fernanda Rivas Iturbe / María Paula Rivas Iturbe / Laura Iturbe de Rivas
• Luis José Santander as Nicolás Miranda

Also main

• Marga López as Mercedes Viuda de Iturbe
• Luis Bayardo as Edmundo Sandoval
• Demián Bichir as Valente Segura
• Maty Huitrón as Ana Salas
• Felicia Mercado as Nancy Balboa
• Guillermo Murray as Alejandro Molina
• Ana Luisa Peluffo as Aurora Campos
• Otto Sirgo as Eduardo Rivas
• Juan Manuel Bernal as Gerardo Sandoval
• Bárbara Córcega as Flor
• Crystal as Soledad Jiménez
• Nerina Ferrer as Irene
• Mariana Karr as Susana Ferreira
• Verónica Merchant as Virginia Altamirano
• Alejandra Peniche as Julieta
• Angélica Vale as Teresa "Tere"
• Guillermo Zarur as Professor Mariano López
• Orlando Miguel as Osvaldo Larrea

Recurring and guest stars

• Guillermo Aguilar as Pablo Altamirano
• Emma Teresa Armendáriz as Felisa
• Enrique Becker as Sergio
• Rozenda Bernal as Sonia
• Leticia Calderón as Silvia Pinal's assistant
• Víctor Carpinteiro as Javier
• Eugenio Cobo as himself
• Juan Carlos Colombo as Samuel Levy
• Luis de Icaza as Gordo
• Eric del Castillo as Priest
• Eugenio Derbez as himself
• Luis García as himself
• Ernesto Laguardia as Bernardo Rivas
• Monica Miguel as Chole
• Pablo Montero as himself
• Silvia Pasquel as herself
• Silvia Pinal as herself
• Fabián Robles as Genovevo "Geno" Ramos
• Erik Rubín as Carlos León
• Mónika Sánchez as Diana
• María Sorté as herself
• Karla Talavera as Rosi
• Paty Thomas as Cecilia
• Gastón Tuset as Néstor Miranda
• Raúl Velasco as himself
• Silvia Derbez as Milagros

Controversial ending

In the final episode, Maria Paula locks her two sisters in the basement of her mansion and holds them hostage. As their uncle Eduardo tries to rescue them, Maria Paula shoots and kills him. In an off-screen melee, as Gerardo and Nicolas come to check on them well-being, another gunshot is heard by the viewing audience and both Maria Guadalupe and Maria Fernanda emerge from the room relatively unscathed, while Maria Paula is rolled out in a body bag along with Eduardo. Maria Guadalupe and Nicolas then have a typical fairy tale novela wedding. In the final scene, Maria Guadalupe and Nicolas are in a hotel room on their honeymoon, but when the camera zooms into Maria Guadalupe's face, she rubs her eyebrow with her pinky finger, which was Maria Paula's trademark idiosyncratic habit. This left viewers to speculate whether it was actually Maria Guadalupe instead of Maria Paula who died by gunshot wound and Maria Paula had assumed her identity.

The show's ending since then had left fans to debate over the fate of the two. Questions came up such as the timing of Maria Paula being able to change clothes, jewelry, makeup, and hair appearance with Maria Guadalupe before supposedly shooting her until help arrived, as well as how Maria Guadalupe was able to get loose and grab the gun to shoot Maria Paula. Also there's the fact that all three of the sisters rub their left eyebrow at some point in the telenovela.

In 2019 Lucero gave her opinion on who was the one that had survived in the final episode, believing that it was Maria Guadalupe.

Awards and nominations

Album

Due to the telenovela's success, Televisa published a soundtrack, which included previously released songs by Lucero as well as three versions of the theme song of the series.

References

References

1. "Lazos de Amor". alma-latina.net.
2. "Amores que hicieron época: Historia de los Premios TVyNovelas - Historia de los Premios TVyNovelas".
3. "Vigésima Novena Entrega".
4. (2 June 2008). "Lucero Maria Guadalupe Maria Paula en Premios Heraldo".
5. (13 February 2010). "LUCERO recibe premio eres por mejor actriz 1996 las nominadas son".