A Man of Importance

Mi Corazon Insiste Lola

My sister, Aricia and I love soap operas. We love a good episode. We love it more when it’s a happy episode and all our favourite ships are sailing, when the main characters are happily in love and the side characters too are sweetly dating their besties. We like it like that. 

The writers of these soap operas of course enjoy our torture therefore they rarely give us happy episodes that’s why we madly hold onto the few happy moments we get. Its heartbreak after heartbreak after gut-wrenching heartbreak. They make sure to keep all our favourite couples apart. It’s not a slow burn situation. This is a different kind of torture.

We’re always swearing that we won’t be watching another one and then we find ourselves won’ting like we’ve never won’ted before. Funny really. It’s a love-hate relationship and a bittersweet feeling. We love to hate our soap operas. If push comes to shove and soap opera is full of so many troubles and no smooth sailing, we don’t finish it. We ditch it. 

Besides, have you seen the ads of these Novellas??? Geez! Perfection. The ad bait is worse if we watched the novella as kids, and we loved it so much we used to talk about it between breaks and whisper about it while the teacher taught in class, then we’re bound to rewatch it if it airs again, storms, sinking ships and all. Telemundo, Telenovela, Televista…having us by the throat doesn’t begin to cut it. Ha! 

Anyway, the other day I watched a happy episode of “Mi Corazon Insiste Lola” (one of those good oldies we loved so much as teens) that my sister missed out on because of some reasons (adulting and whatnot), so I made it my sole responsibility (as it is our custom—the one who gets to watch alone narrates to the one who missed out on watching whenever it is that they get to see each other) to narrate the episode to her. 

Mid conversation, I recalled a thought I had while watching this episode. A brief part of the episode when like, our female character, Solidad (Lola’s mother) in this one had been kidnapped so she snuck a message to her soulmate, Rodrigo (because their love is past boyfriend and all that mediocre stuff these two are soulamente) who’s a cop of where it is they had been taken. 

Rodrigo had a whole police troop proceed to encompass the site where the love of his life was held captive. I found this very impressive and it got me thinking—a thought I had to share with my sister as I narrated the episode to her because I tell stories with little sidenotes and stories to boot.

So, umm, Solidad, texted this man not just because he was her boyfriend but because he was a man of importance. She was sure he would do something about it. He was going to come through. Now hear me out when I say it is necessary that you make friends or in this particular context, date a man of importance. 

Being a man of importance doesn’t necessarily mean having lots of money. Money comes in because obviously men of importance make money eventually or on an ongoing basis.

Who’s a man of importance? A man that can command a room. A man who can protect you from an unfair haggling situation. A man who can deal with fellow men on your behalf. A man you can trust to take care of business while you stand on it. 

Have you noticed that if a woman approaches a male service provider she easily gets overpriced goods? She tends to get sold items at prices higher than the real price of the good she’s purchasing from a male seller or service provider. 

However, if you get your brother, boyfriend or husband gets to negotiate with this male seller, you are bound to get the most unexpected sweet deal. I don’t know how they do it but I’ve learnt this overtime that men know how to deal with men best. 

Can your man talk to the police? Does he have contacts with people in places of authority? Not because he is a wealthy man but because he’s a man of importance. A man who knows how to place himself right and make the right connections…that’s a man of importance. 

A man who can deal with the things bothering you that you as a woman choose to do nothing about them because you prefer keeping ‘your peace’. A man who can deal with things that make you uncomfortable by saying a word or making a phone call. Not because he has a lot of money but because he’s a man of importance. 

Do you get my drift? I don’t know. Only women who’ve experienced this really understand it I guess. And let me tell you something, nothing makes a woman’s heart beat louder and faster (from love for her man of course not fear, lol) than when her man takes his place of authority through such actions that portray him as a man of importance. I’m talking about the “I’ll handle it, babe” kind of man of importance. 

Do you see that it’s not about the money in this context? Do you get what I’m saying? I’m not dismissing the necessity of money but all I’m saying is that even with the money if he isn’t a man of importance, one who gets things done, he won’t make your heart sing. 

Ps: I love you. Te amor mucho. ❤️ I missed you guys.