El Privilegio de Amar
(1998)
★ 7.1 IMDb · 132 votes
Genres: Мыльная опера, Drama
Year: 1998
Runtime: 44 мин
Country: Mexico
Director: Делия Фиальо
Cast: Adela Noriega, Helena Rojo, Andrés García, René Strickler, Enrique Rocha, Cynthia Klitbo, César Évora, Marga López, María Sorté, Тоньо Маури
Plot
Juan de la Cruz, a young seminarian, visits the home of his mother, Ana Joaquina—a religious zealot who has always imposed her will on her son and instilled in him a calling to serve God. Working in Ana Joaquina’s household is Luciana, an innocent, dreamy young woman who falls in love with Juan de la Cruz. One night, swept up in the passion of youth, they give in to their feelings with tenderness and innocence. Upon discovering this, Ana Joaquina throws Luciana out; by then, Luciana is already pregnant with Juan de la Cruz’s child. When the time comes to give birth, she leaves her daughter at a stranger's doorstep, hoping the child will be raised there, but the baby is instead taken to an orphanage. To survive, Luciana becomes involved with a series of unsavory men—including Pedro Trujillo, a brutal man who beats and abuses her.
Luciana, a poor young woman working as a maid in the venerable Velarde home, falls in love with the son of the household, young seminary student Juan de la Cruz. The night before Juan is to return to the seminary, he and Luciana give in to their feelings; shortly after he leaves, she discovers she's pregnant and is forced to tell Juan's cruel mother, Ana Joaquina, that Juan is the father. She is mercilessly fired, ejected from the house. and left homeless and penniless on the streets. On a cold, rainy night, Luciana gives birth to a baby girl. Terrified and alone, Luciana makes the painful decision to leave her baby on the doorstep of a mansion in hopes that someone else could give her daughter a better life. 20 years later Luciana has become Luciana Duval, a renowned, respected businesswoman in the fashion world. Presiding over her own fashion empire, she seems to have it all: success; wealth; fame; a handsome, loving husband in famous television actor Andrés Duval; a caring if roguish, stepson Víctor Manuel; and a pretty teenage daughter, Lizbeth. However, Luciana's life is far from perfect. She carries the dark memory of her past and has never truly forgiven herself for abandoning her baby girl. For years, Luciana has secretly searched for her daughter and never let on to her family and friends. But the reappearance of Padre Juan de la Cruz opens old wounds for Luciana and forces her to reluctantly enlist his help in finding their long-lost daughter. Unbeknownst to Luciana, her beloved daughter is much closer than she thinks: Cristina Miranda, the fresh-faced, enthusiastic new model at Luciana's fashion company is her long-lost daughter. Luciana exposes Cristina to the cold, cruel world of modeling and spares her no humiliation. Cristina overcomes Luciana's hot temper and quickly becomes the star model in the company. Víctor Manuel takes notice of Cristina's beauty and the two fall deeply in love. But everything comes crashing down when Luciana finds out about the relationship. Luciana fires Cristina and makes her life a living hell by causing her to be fired from any other job she manages to get. Víctor Manuel, on the other hand, is pressured into marrying his ex-girlfriend Tamara when she falsely claims to be pregnant by him. Humiliation, frustration, anger, grief, guilt, pain, regret, and remorse swirl around Luciana as she slowly works through her demons and unravel the identity of her missing daughter. How can Luciana ever earn her daughter's forgiveness after abandoning her and later tormenting her so viciously?