Is Andrés Puentes A Gigolo?

by Godspeede

Picture artistically altered by Godspeede

A gigolo is a man who allows a woman to support him without doing much work towards his own maintenance. Given the fact that for most of the last twelve or so years Andrés Puentes has lived off of the hard work and talent of Tatiana, can we conclude that he is a gigolo? It is true that he has functioned as her "manager" for most of that time, and there is no doubt that he has done such things as oversee travel arrangements, bookings, and even negotiations with other parties. However, it is also true that Tatiana that could have secured quite easily these same services for far less than the 50% of the earnings that Puentes has claimed for his own (Indeed her mother performed them far better and with fewer compensations). It is equally true, as recent events have demonstrated, that her success has been in no important way due to him (all of his claims to have invented Pim Pon aside). In fact, her reputation and popularity were well established before he came on the scene and have sustained her quite well without him. It is even arguable that he actually inhibited her career with his amateur and lazy approach to business. For instance, it has been reported that Tatilandia, his attempt to set up a day care center based upon a Tatiana theme, failed because of Puentes inability to attend to matters in a consistent, business-like manner. Similarly, one wonders why Tatiana while being managed by Puentes, was unable to truly crack the American market despite her overwhelming talent and charisma, and the huge growth of the Hispanic population in the United States. We have also heard numerous stories of bills left unpaid, contracts violated, and violence against employees etc. It is also true that there has been a far greatest interest among those in Mexican entertainment to deal with Tatiana now that she has distanced herself from Puentes. Some have even been explicit in their statements of their dislike and distrust of him! Notice too how in the course of the last year, despite his boasting statements to the contrary, and despite the fact that he has retained control of most of Tatiana's financial assets, he (unlike Tatiana of course) has not been able to demonstrate any success in the entertainment field whatsoever.

The truth is clear: Puentes became Tatiana's manager not because he had shown any real ability for the task (he had never "managed" anyone before, certainly never anyone of Tatiana's status), but because she fell in love, they were married and she wished to be a good wife. Indeed, Puentes last venture before their marriage, a nightclub, had, like most of his schemes, failed miserably, and he recouped his loss by turning it into a rehearsal hall for Tatiana, (how much did he pay himself in this neat business deal that turned upon the love for him of a young girl?) It is even true that he was jailed (though apparently never convicted) around this time for some kind of inappropriate business dealings. If Tatiana did not have such talent and energy, it is difficult to imagine she could have enjoyed any success at all shackled to such an uneducated self-serving incompetent. It is also clear, against this background, that he did not "earn" his way, but instead took advantage of Tatiana to lead the good life (reportedly with mistresses included).

Even more damning has been his actions since Tatiana began her quest for freedom in the summer of 2001. His claims of continuing love for his children and for her have been proved ridiculous: He loves his daughter, Cassandra, so much that he is willing to publicly humiliate her by dragging the divorce into the press; he loves both of their children so much that he has withheld their clothing and toys; he loves Tatiana so much that he has called her mother a demon, and allowing his friends recently to begin referring to her work as "satanic" (projection!?). Why has he done this and so much more? Clearly it is not because he is motivated by love. It is fear. He is terrified. In emotionally seducing Tatiana, he had his "big break"; he would never have to work again; he could play the big shot, and his fragile ego and need for acclaim could be at last satisfied. But he made a mistake; he forgot that it was all based upon Tatiana's talent and willingness to support him. Now he has lost her, and he knows that he will never get lucky again. In his childish desire for vengeance against Tatiana for at last recognizing him for the little man he is, he seeks to undermine her career; in his desperate bid to maintain the life style to which he has become accustomed he seeks to deny the truth of his abuse (as if posting pictures of Tatiana's mother on as many web sites as possible is not an example of the worse kind of emotional abuse!) and uses every possible legal trick to keep from having to support himself like a real man (but of course what can he do without either education and skill, and with his apparent disinclination for hard work?).

Puentes is a gigolo. He has lived off Tatiana's talent without giving back in equal measure for years, and he wants to keep doing this for as long as possible. But more importantly, he is an emotional gigolo, who stole the affections of a loving young girl for his own personal gain - and if for only that alone, he deserves nothing but the contempt of all decent people!

This page was first created 26 Sep 2002, and last modified 26 Sep 2002.
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