Aída
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Harta de ir pa'ca y pa'ya, |
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Aída was a Spanish Sitcom produced by Globomedia to the Spanish channel Telecinco, and ran from 2005 to 2014; counting with 10 seasons. What with began as a simple Spin-Off of 7 vidas (7 Lives), became one of the most famous and critically acclaimed Spanish series of all time. The story takes place in a fictional neighborhood called "Esperanza Sur" ("South Hope"); in which the protagonist Aída (Carmen Machi), previously a cleaning lady in the 7 Vidas bar "Casi-ké-no", goes back to take care of her family after her father died, inheriting the Garcia family's house. Re-encounters with old friends and companions, jokes and plenty of absurd shenanigans form the weird plot of this series. In season 6, the main protagonist leaves the series, which is replaced by her estranged daughter Soraya (Miren Ibarguren), who goes back with the family.
Tropes used in Aída include:
- Abusive Parents: Eugenia is a jerk to both her sons and grandsons. It's implied Luisma's father was emotionally abusive to him.
- A dramatic example is Ángel, Soraya's husband and Aidita's father.
- Aesop Amnesia: Boy howdy.
- Alcoholic Parent: Aída. She gets better.
- Alpha Bitch: One-shot character Judith. She fits every aspect of the trope. Well, except for the "rich" part.
- Amicable Exes: Barajas and Macu. Aída and Chema too. Chema and Marisa become this once their issues are resolved.
- Ascended Extra: Oswaldo aka "Machupichu" becomes one of the main characters in later seasons.
- Barajas and Mecos to a lesser extent.
- Aw, Look -- They Really Do Love Each Other: Plenty of moments. One case in particular:
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Mauricio: He's [Machupichu] an indian, yes, but he's my indian! |
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- Aww, how touching.
- The Baby Trap: Macu pulled this on Luisma to force him to marry her. This worked out well... 'till the baby was born.
- Back for the Finale: Every major character who has left the series (Aída, Lorena, Toni), appears in the Grand Finale to attend Soraya and Chema's and later Luisma and Paz's wedding.
- Bad Boss: My goodness, Mauricio.
- Badass Family: The Garcías, the Colmeneros and, occasionally, the Martínezs.
- Being Good Sucks
- Better as Friends: Barajas and Macu.
- Betty and Veronica: Luisma (Betty) and Edu (Veronica) to Paz. Later Ainhoa (Betty) and Paz (Veronica) to Luisma.
- Also, Chema (Betty) and Mauricio (Veronica) to Soraya; and Soraya (Betty) and Marisa (Veronica) to Chema.
- Beware the Nice Ones: The Martínez family and Oswaldo.
- Big Bad: Mauricio Colmenero pulls this trope very often, but it's downplayed since he's one of the main characters.
- Big Brother Instinct: Inverted with Luisma, Jonathan and Simón; who are the youngest brothers, yet care a lot about their older sisters.
- A straight example is Mauricio to his Camp Gay brother Toni.
- Big Eater: Eugenia, full stop. She'll eat anything... Except healthy food. Also Aidita.
- Big Screwed-Up Family
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Soraya, Chema, Fidel and Toni at their worst.
- Bittersweet Ending: The last episode. Most of the characters are married and/or hooked up and going to fulfill their dreams, but the True Companions go on separate ways, so...
- Also one to Aída. She leaves to Cuba and never comes back, but her dream of having a "happy family" comes true.
- Black Comedy
- Breakout Character: Luisma, the spanish equivalent of Steve Urkel.
- Broken Bird: Soraya. She gets better.
- Butt Monkey: Poor Chema. Machupichu has it even worse.
- Camp Gay: Both Fidel and Toni. Especially Toni.
- The Casanova: Simón, in contrast to Jonathan and Mauricio, who are very much Casanova Wannabes.
- Catch Phrase: Every character has one. The most iconic? Mauricio's Happy Dance "Tiri-Tiri-Tiri".
- Cerebus Retcon: The Running Gag of Luisma's junkie past actually becomes a plot point in some episodes.
- Cerebus Rollercoaster: While the series is, for the most part, a comedy; there's plenty of dramatic moments flip-flopping inbetween, being able to switch moods over the course of a single episode.
- Cool Big Sis: Aída to Luisma, Soraya (sissiness aside) to Lorena and Jonathan; and Paz to Simón.
- Crapsack World
- Cringe Comedy
- Cute and Psycho: Soraya, so very much.
- The Cutie: Fidel and Aidita as a kid.
- Cycle of Revenge: Constantly, and Played for Laughs.
- Decoy Protagonist: Non-dead variant occurs with Aída.
- Depending on the Writer: A major offender, especially with the characters.
- Domestic Abuse: Soraya's husband Ángel constantly beats her, which prompts her to go back to her mother's house. And no, this isn't funny in the least.
- Downer Beginning: The series starts with Aída's father's funeral. This is Played for Laughs, though.
- Dumbass Has a Point: Luisma and very occasionally Barajas.
- Dramedy: See Cerebus Rollercoaster.
- Earn Your Happy Ending: After too much UST, angst and drama, Luisma and Paz finally hook-up and live Happily Ever After.
- Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas: Mauricio is a colossal Jerkass, but he sure does love his mom.
- Jonathan, deep down, loves his mother Aída, which becomes more obvious as the series goes on.
- Evil Matriarch: Downplayed with Eugenia. She's not evil per se, but is a huge Jerkass and can be quite devilish at times.
- Faux Affably Evil: Mauricio in his earliest appearances. Then he was flanderized into a Large Ham.
- Flanderization: Hoo boy.
- Foil: Mauricio and Chema are this to each other. The same goes for Jonathan and Fidel.
- Formerly Fat: Simón.
- Gag Boobs: Downplayed and exaggerated with Paz. She has slightly more chest than the other females in the cast (excluding Macu); but she's the butt of many jokes. Her nickname is even "La Tetas" ("The Boobies")
- The Ghost: Soraya and Marisa were this for a long time before finally appearing in season 6. Aída becomes this after her departure.
- Aída's father. Justified, as he's dead.
- Good Is Dumb: Luisma. Barajas is even worse.
- Grey and Gray Morality: They're characters who go on the lighter side and others to the darker, but no one is purely good or completely evil.
- Group Hug: A CMOH between the main characters.
- Hair-Trigger Temper: Half of the cast.
- Heterosexual Life Partners: Luisma and Barajas (although the heterosexual part is debatable); Jonathan with Fidel and Mecos; Mauricio with Chema and later Machupichu.
- Hilariously Abusive Childhood
- Hopeless Suitor: Fidel for Jonathan.
- Jonathan himself for Paz.
- Innocently Insensitive: Luisma and Barajas, especially the latter.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Basically everyone in this show acts like a jerk towards one another, even the nicest ones. Despite that, they have shown they're not as bad as they seem to be, and actually show love for the people they care about. The only true Jerkasses with no redeeming qualities are One-Shot Characters like Mauricio's former friend, Aída's ex-husband, and Soraya's abusive husband.
- Kindhearted Simpleton: Luisma and Barajas.
- Knight of Cerebus: There have been characters who hadn't got a single trace of comedy in their appearances. The most prominents are: Aída's ex-husband Manolo, the robbers in the episode "En un momento candado", and the infamous Ángel in "La familia mata".
- Edu is an interesting portrayal of this trope. He's not a villain by any stretch, but his appearance amps up Luisma and Paz's complicated relationship for a while.
- Laser-Guided Karma: Mauricio has this when he's not a Karma Houdini.
- A true example happens with Paz. She has been rejecting Luisma for most of the series, even ditching him (and marrying) for another man, making him suffer. Just when she goes back and realizes her love for Luisma, he has found another girlfriend, and now she's the one who feels rejected. This is even pointed out by Soraya.
- Likes Older Women: Barajas constantly pins on Eugenia.
- Lovable Alpha Bitch: Lorena.
- Love Dodecahedron
- Love Mother, Love Daughter: Chema dated Aída for a time before they decide they're Better as Friends. Later, Chema falls for Aída's elder daughter Soraya, whom he eventually marries.
- Love Hurts: Luisma for Paz. Later, this gets reversed.
- Mama Bear: Aída. She even goes as far as killing Soraya's abusive husband to protect her.
- Momma's Boy: Mauricio, even if he doesn't admit it.
- Mood Whiplash: Slight, but prominent. The series combines relationship drama with wacky schemes and subplots that keeps the series fresh.
- Morality Pet: Macu, Toni, Soraya and (sometimes) Machupichu to Mauricio; and Aidita to Eugenia.
- Morality Chain: Soraya is the one who keeps her family's jerkishness in check, with varying results.
- My Sister Is Off-Limits: Jonathan becomes very angry when Mecos hits on his older sisters Lorena and Soraya.
- Official Couple: Soraya and Chema, Macu and Oswaldo. Luisma and Paz double-subvert this.
- One True Love: Word of God says no matter what girl Luisma is dating, Paz will be always this. Guess who get married in the finale.
- Only Sane Man: Edu is basically the only "normal" during his stay in Esperanza Sur, and is understandably freaked out by the neighborhood's shenanigans. Among the main characters, there's Chema.
- Papa Wolf: Don't you EVER mess with Luisito while Luisma and Barajas are around. Luisma also showed this to his nephews.
- Also Mauricio, to his niece Macu and his brother Toni.
- Parental Abandonment: Aída's ex-husband left her and his sons callously.
- Parental Substitute: Luisma and Barajas to Luisito, Macu's black son.
- Mauricio to his niece Macu.
- Sickeningly Sweethearts: Soraya and Chema. Eugenia calls them "Pathetic Duo" for this.
- Single Woman Seeks Good Man: Soraya chooses the (mostly) Nice Guy Chema over the Jerkass Mauricio.
- Paz's two serious relationships (Luisma and Edu) are pretty sweet and nice.
- Small Name, Big Ego: Lorena thinks she's a famous star. She's far from that. She gets an opportunity to become famous and leaves, mildly subverting the trope.
- Stepford Smiler: Soraya is a Type C when convenient. Simón even calls her a "psychopath".
- A Type A are Luisma and Paz in regards to each other and their complicated relationship in some instances.
- The Stoic: Néstor. Lampshaded by Soraya.
- Taking the Bullet: Quite literally. Chema gets shot in the leg to protect Mauricio from the robbers. This prompts Mauricio (who was previously angry at Chema) to forgive him and give his market back.
- Those Two Guys: Oswaldo "Machupichu" and Néstor "Aconcagua" (Mauricio's employees) were this at first. Then, Machupichu became part of the gang and Mauricio's best friend/sidekick.
- Took a Level in Jerkass/Took a Level In Kindness: It gets zig-zagged, according to the plot.
- True Companions: Oh, yes. No matter how rocky their relationship is, the main cast have a strong family bond that prevents them for killing each other.
- To boot, the True Companions include the García, Colmenero and Martínez families; Paz and her brother Simón; Barajas; Machupichu; and Mecos and his mother Junca.
- Vitriolic Best Buds: There's not a single episode with the characters not berating, insulting, and humiliating each other; yet they care for each other as a big happy family.
- Wham! Episode: Season 6 is an entire season of this, changing the series considerably.
- Will They or Won't They?: The principal question to Luisma and Paz's relationship. They Do.
- Yank the Dog's Chain
- Your Cheating Heart: Subverted with Luisma. He pretended to cheat on Paz with Jose, so Paz will be able to fulfill her dream to become an air hostess. Most people outright hate him for this until they learn the truth.
- He does it for real in the finale, cheating on Ainhoa with Paz. They find out and leaves both of them heartbroken. However, Luisma sincerely apologizes to Paz and asks her to marry him, which she gladly accepts.
- That's what Marisa has been doing to Chema, which left him with severe trust issues.
- Zany Scheme: Every episode.