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“MONTECRISTO”
CHARACTERS’ DESCRIPTION
MAIN CHARACTERS:
Protagonist:
Santiago Díaz Herrera, 33 (Pablo Echarri): A young,
charismatic, seductive, and honest lawyer that had it all:
an excellent professional career, great achievements at
sports, a girlfriend he was about to marry and an
exemplary father. He is imprisoned in Morocco during
ten years, where he had gone to take part in a fencing
tournament. He becomes the victim of a conspiracy to
cover up for crimes against humanity committed during
the last military regime in Argentina. The conspiracy
was led by Alberto Lombardo together with his son Marcos (Santiago’s best friend and
fencing partner) who had gone to Morocco with him, and Luciano (assistant to
Santiago’s father, Attorney Horacio Díaz Herrera) , who was carrying out investigations
on these crimes. During the time Santiago is in prison, there are many attempts to kill
him. In fact, his enemies believe he is dead, but he manages to escape. He is helped by
a man he meets in jail, Ulysses, who dies in prison after giving Santiago the map to an
extraordinary treasure. On the run, Santiago meets Victoria, an Argentine doctor.
Victoria, Rocamora (Ulysses’ friend) and Ramón, a young unruly actor will make up a
“gang” to implement Santiago’s revenge, when back in Argentina he learns that his
father has died and that his ex-girlfriend Laura has married Marcos, his treacherous
friend. Santiago finds the treasure, becomes a tycoon, and with the all power this fortune
has given him, schemes and carries out his revenge.
Co-protagonist:
Laura Ledesma, 30 (Paola Krum): Santiago’s young and
beautiful girlfriend. She was madly in love with him and dreamed of
marrying him, but life shattered her dreams with the terrible news
that her beloved was killed in Morocco. Laura tries to kill herself
but learns that she is expecting Santiago’s child; she believes this
is a signal to go on. Marcos, who’s always been in love with her,
stands by her and proposes to her; he offers to take care of her
and her baby, offering to raise him as his own child. Laura is
desperate; however, she accepts although she has never stopped
loving Santiago. She can’t admit Santiago is dead and has
constant clashes with Marcos. She even thinks of getting divorced
but dismisses the idea because she doesn’t want her ten-year-old
son to know the truth. Laura doesn’t have a clear picture about her
origin, either. She believes she was raised by her aunt and uncle after her parents died
in an accident. In fact, Laura is the daughter of a missing couple; her parents’ activity is
one the reasons that led Lombardo to kill Santiago and his father. Laura is completely
unaware of this information. She’s a sweet woman who loves her son deeply, as much
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as she loves dancing (something she practices on the sly since
Marcos doesn’t like her to have this hobby). Laura is completely devoted to her
physiotherapy work and
is tormented by the memory of her lost love, by her
dispassionate marriage and by the lie she made up in order to provide her son with a
“happy life”.
Antagonist:
Marcos Lombardo, 33 (Joaquín Furriel): Santiago’s best friend
and traitor; driven by a strong family commitment and the deep
envy he feels for Santiago he is responsible for Santiago’s
disgrace in Morocco. Marcos has always played second fiddle,
specially in Laura’s heart, whom he has always loved. Santiago
death enables him to marry Laura; his obsession is to win her
heart. Fully aware of the fact that his wife is still in love with “the
dead man”, Marcos’ heart gets full of resentment, although he
pretends to give the idea of a “winner”, something everyone
believes since he runs a prestigious law firm that deals with the
most famous and outstanding cases. Marcos belongs to one of
the most well-known families in society, has an excellent
economic situation and affords all the luxuries and pleasures he
wants (including Milena, his mistress); he’s also a fencing
champion and has a beautiful family. He and Luciano are his father’s right hand, whom
he backs him up in shady businesses although he has a difficult relationship with him.
He loves his ”son” Matías deeply, but he doesn’t hesitate to use him to withhold Laura.
Antagonist:
Victoria Saénz, 36 (Viviana Saccone): Argentine doctor living in
Spain since the age of eight, when her grandparents exiled into
that country after her parents were arrested and killed during the
military regime. She has an important unfinished issue in mind:
to find her brother or sister born in captivity (since her mother
was pregnant when she was arrested). After a strong
disappointment with her boyfriend Iñaki who had cheated on her,
Victoria meets Santiago by chance. She finds him lying
unconscious on the costs of the Mediterranean Sea after his
runaway from jail. Victoria rescues and helps him and when she
learns that Santiago is the son of the man that once helped her in
the search for her missing brother/sister, she feels like starting
the search again. Victoria and Santiago feel their destinies are
connected, so they return to Argentina and help each other with their mutual causes. But
Victoria falls in love with Santiago and seeing Santiago try to replace the love he still
feels for Laura with a deep hatred and thirst for revenge is very painful to her. Victoria is
a brilliant professional and soon gets a job in Argentina. She is idealistic and
courageous. In order to help Santiago, she pretends to be Rocamora’s wife. At the same
time she is determined to find her missing brother/sister no matter what. Her search will
lead her to a startling finding.
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Antagonist:
Alberto Lombardo, 60 (Oscar Ferreiro): He’s worked as a
doctor during the last military regime and was never punished
for the atrocities he committed , until in 1995 his name was
connected to a case investigated by Judge Horacio Díaz
Herrera, Santiago’s father, whom he’s known for a long time.
Alberto knows it’s impossible to bribe Horacio so he schemes a
plan to murder him and his son, as he believes Santiago has
information on the case and fears that this info might be
revealed. Once freed from this issue, he has given up medicine
and now owns “Lombardía”, a top and luxurious restaurant. Both
his restaurant and he are considered main stars of the Argentine
night activity, attracting the crème of high society and its power.
He is a widower and has two children, Marcos and Valentina; he
lives with Lola, an attractive woman, much younger than him,
with whom he’s had another daughter, Camila. Unscrupulous, haughty, greedy for power
and extraordinarily seductive, Alberto is now facing a new challenge: politics.
León Rocamora, 45 (Luis Machín): Santiago’s main partner and
support. Little by little, they become close friends as both of them
were Ulysses’ friends and admirers. Rocamora was Ulysses’
partner in the art smuggling business; in fact, smuggling has
always run in his family, so in that sense, Rocamora is himself a
living legend. His loyalty to Ulysses makes him help Santiago
sneak out of Spain and reach Argentina. As he also has the
contacts Santiago needs to turn Ulysses’ treasure into money,
Rocamora and Santiago become partners. He’ll be a key element
to carry out Santiago’s revenge. Elegant, seductive, cultured,
shrewd though eccentric and with “divo-like” manners, he is a
strong balance point and comfort for Santiago.
Matías “Lombardo”, 10: Laura and Santiago’s son, although he
doesn’t know it. As every one else does, he believes Marcos is his real
father. He is a smart, insightful, perceptive kid; he loves his parents a
lot and is the apple of Laura’s eyes. Just like Santiago and Marcos, he
practices fencing. By different twists and turns of the story, he becomes
Santiago’s secret friend. Together, they develop a beautiful, deep
relationship full of commitment.
Sara Carusso, 60 (Rita Cortese): She is the Díaz Herreras
housekeeper and has raised Santiago as if he were her own son. She
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doesn’t admit the fact that he is dead. She keeps all the documentation
involving Lombardo and Leticia (Alberto’s first wife) in a very safe place. Although
everyone believes Leticia is dead, she knows where she can find her. Discreet, austere
and with a high sense of solidarity, she’s loved Dr. Horacio in secret for ever and never
fails to visit his tomb. She swears she will do him justice. She also knows the Lombardos
have killed his lord and hates them with heart and soul. She also hates Laura, a girl she
liked when she was dating Santiago and with whom she used to have a good relationship.
Santiago’s return is like a miracle to her. She will join Montecristo’s gang in order to help
Santiago avenge his father’s death.
Lisandro, 55 (Roberto Carnaghi): A dark and violent character. He
cooperated with the military regime like a civilian. After his intervention,
he became a social outcast. He lives on odd-jobs, usually at Alberto’s
expense. But now, Lombardo feels this relationship is not convenient to
him so he rejects him. However, Lisandro knows many things about his
past and uses this information as a safeguard. Lisandro knows who
killed Horacio while he was in the ICU, suffocating him while he was still
alive after a heavy beaten-up he’d been given. Laura reckons him as her
“uncle”, that’s why he is related to the Lombardos. He’s married to
Helena, a woman totally subjected to him, whom he beats very often. He
has a very problematic daughter, Erica.
Ramón, 28 (Maximiliano Ghione): Another member of Montecristo’s
gang. Santiago rescues him in a dangerous situation when he was
getting close to the treasure; finally Ramón joins the gang. Nice and
easy-going, with lots of computing and acting skills, this young man will
become very useful to Santiago. He says he’s all alone in this world and
is grateful to Santiago for the chance he’s giving him to make good
money. He falls in love with Valentina, Lombardo’s daughter. His affair
with her becomes a problem to Santiago and makes him suspicious of
the essence of this true “friend”.
Luciano Mazzello, 33 (Esteban Pérez): Young and ambitious lawyer
born in a low-class family. He got his degree in law with a great effort and
believed that Santiago had been given the position he had at court by
string-pulling since the judge that appointed him was Horacio’s friend. He
always thought that position should have been given to him, instead.
Alberto gets in contact with him and bribes him to get information about
Horacio. Luciano gives him all the info requested without knowing that
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Santiago and Horacio would be killed. However, the money he’s given plus
the law office Marcos sets up with him, and all the benefits arising from his relation with
Alberto are enough to keep his mouth shut. Thus, he becomes the Lombardos’ silent
accomplice. He is also Valentina’s fiancé which implies a passport to the family. Sensual,
attractive and vicious, he is the lover of Lola and
Erica, although he never fails to duly play
his fiancé-role with Valentina.
Helena, 50 (Virginia Lago): Lisandro’s submissive and suffering wife.
Refined and cultured, she is forced to live like an obscure housewife.
The economical needs of the family make her apply for a job, as
Lola’s assistant (she’d worked at Alberto’s office before). Lisandro
agrees on her job because they are all well-known people. Now that
she’s close to Alberto, it’s very difficult for Helena not to reveal the
feelings she has always had for him. Helena has raised Laura as if
she was her real daughter but she has never shown any trace of love
for her. With time, she begins to have doubts about her “niece’s” origin
and these doubts upset Lisandro, putting her own life at stake. She
and Lisandro have a daughter of their own, Erica, a girl with many
problems..
Lola, 35 (Mónica Scaparone): Alberto’s woman. She’s lived with him
for many years and has a daughter with him, Camila. Lola was born in
a very poor family and Alberto gave her the chance to step up the
social ladder and turn into a rich, high-class lady. She’s not very
cultured and devotes most of her time to superficial pleasures (which
includes having a young lover, Luciano). She’s haunted by Leticia’s
memory, Alberto’s deceased wife, to whom she is constantly
compared. The only feature she masters is sex. Marcos and Valentina
despise her. When she was younger, she was Rocamora’s lover. She
reunites with him when he returns to Argentina, “married” to Victoria.
Leticia, 50 ( María Onetto): Alberto’s first wife and his greatest love.
Although everyone thinks she died some ten years ago, she lives in a
little chapel, protected by a priest and Sara who sheltered her when
she turned to Horacio and her for help, totally shocked and with serious
accusations against her husband. From that moment on, Leticia has
suffered from an irreversible neurosis. Her life roams between the
present and the past and is seldom lucid. Very often, she has
hysterical fits. Born in a distinguished, high-class family, Leticia
propelled Alberto toward that social level. She had a very happy life
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with her husband until she heard of his husband’s activity in the military
process and his plans to get rid of Horacio and Santiago. Alberto’s threats made her run
away from him. Sara made everyone believe that she had committed suicide. Leticia has
two children, Marcos and Valentina whom she misses badly. She is the most important
witness in the story and for this reason, it’s essential that she gets cured.
Valentina Lombardo, 22 (Victoria Rauch): She is the apple of
Alberto’s eyes, the jewel of the family. Young and candid she’s the
perfect daydreamer. She loves music and sings in a band although
she’s never dared do it professionally. She’s Luciano’s girlfriend
although she feels she doesn’t love him as much as he loves her. She
doesn’t know whether she should go on dating him but this is the man
her father has imposed on her and she doesn’t want to dash her
father’s expectations. She misses her mother a lot and rejects Lola.
Deep down, she believes her mother is still alive. She meets Ramon
and falls in love with him; this situation will bring about an important
conflict in her life.
Érica, 20 (María Abadi): Helena and Lisandro’s problematic daughter. She
has tried it all (sex, drugs) and is always willing to go for more. Her main
obsession is to escape from her parents’ mediocre life and can do whatever
it takes to make money. She seeks Alberto’s protection and finally is offered
a job at his restaurant. She is Luciano’s lover. Although she loves him
deeply, she doesn’t let her feelings out. In fact, her rebellious and Rollinglike style is just a mask she uses to hide her frustration and bitter life.
Milena, 26: Young, bright and attractive, Milena works at Alberto’s
restaurant, doing office work. In a certain way, Alberto backs up her
clandestine relationship with Marcos. Milena is truly in love with Marcos
although she knows she’ll never be Number 1 to him. She’s fully aware of all
the things happening at the restaurant but she’s very discreet and never
spreads a word about it. The Lombardos take for granted that she’s their
unconditional ally.
Padre Pedro (Horacio Roca), 50: Liberal priest, Horacio and Sara’s friend. He
keeps all the compromising documentation in his chapel involving Alberto
Lombardo. He protects Leticia and Sara, even putting his life at stake. He heads
a Children Home and has been confided many secrets in confession. For his
commitment to the cause, he is reckoned to be one of the members of
Montecristo’s gang.
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