La Fuerza del Destino synopsis

La Fuerza del Destino (The Power of Destiny) is a Mexican telenovela produced by Televisa under Rosy Ocampo. Sandra Echeverria and David Zepeda are the protagonists, Ivan and Lucia. Laisha Wilkins, Gabriel Soto, Rosa Maria Bianchi, and Juan Ferrara also star in the telenovela. The show was aired in Mexico's Canal de las Estrellas March 14 to July 31, 2011. Univision aired the telenovela August 2 through December 26, 2011.

Synopsis:

This story begins when Ivan (David Zepeda), 14, returns with his mother, Alicia (Leticia Calderón), to the land of his birth: Alamos, Sonora. His father, Juan Jaime Mondragón (Juan Ferrara), a wealthy and powerful businessman and landowner, does not recognize him as his son and rejects him. Alicia keeps her son's origin a secret and is forced to accept the job as a servant for the Lomelí Curiel family, where Doña Carlota (Delia Casanova), her daughter Lucrecia (Rosa María Bianchi), her son-in-law Gerardo (Alejandro Tommasi), and their two daughters, the teen Maripaz Lomelí Curiel (Laisha Wilkins) and Lucia Lomelí Curiel (Sandra Echeverria) live. At the home of the Curiels, Ivan helps in any way he can, and continues to study with the generous help of Doña Carlota, until he is 19. Meanwhile, Maripaz, now 18, returns home after having studied abroad. Ivan is immediately attracted to her, and she, frivolous and shallow, seduces him. She ends up pregnant and her family is faced with keeping the pregnancy a secret to keep their family's good name. Maripaz's mother, Lucrecia, is a woman obsessed by appearances and pays some thugs to beat him up. Meanwhile, before the beating, Ivan visits his godmother and there finds his mother dying after trying to termite her own pregnancy, a pregnancy that Ivan knew nothing about. He believes Juan Jaime is the father of the baby because he himself is Juan Jaime's illegitimate son with Alicia. When Ivan walks outside to get some air, he is attacked by Lucrecia's thugs. During the brawl, Ivan's friends, Camilo and his brother Antolin, arrive and rush to help him. Antolin takes out a knife and stabs one of the men who had attacked Ivan, killing him. However, Ivan is mistakenly accused of the murder and must leave the country out of fear of being unjustly condemned for murder and sent to prison. So begins his journey to the United States, crossing the border illegally, still recovering from the beating and fighting the natural elements of the dessert between Mexico and the United States.

Sore and confused, Ivan thinks that the person responsible for the death of his mother is Juan Jaime. The day's events have left Ivan full of anger and feeling helpless. With the authorities potentially against him, and having nothing to lose, Ivan decides to cross illegally into the United States. He goes to Los Angeles, California and ends up staying there for eleven years, eventually becoming a successful engineer. There he meets Anthony McGuire (Pedro Armendáriz Jr.), an older businessman who has lost his wife and only son. Anthony initially pays for Ivan's education and then arranges to adopt him. Anthony encourages Ivan to return to Mexico with him, not only for business but also to face his past.

Ivan gets several pieces of surprising news when he returns to Sonora, among them is that the child he conceived with Maripaz mysteriously disappeared the same day he was born, and no one has known about him since then. One of the most intense of the surprises is the touching confession of Lucia, the younger sister of Maripaz, now a virtuous young child psychologist. She confesses to Ivan that she has secretly loved him since she was a child. Lucia promises to help him find his son, regain his dignity, and overcome all the obstacles with courage.

Ivan discovers that Alex, the adopted son of Lucia's father: Gerardo, is his son. Maripaz also discovered the fact from Saul and told Ivan that if he didn't marry her, she would take Alex away from him. Thinking about his son, Ivan agreed to marry Maripaz and end his relationship with Lucia, whom he is in love with. Ivan marries Maripaz and lives in the United States with Alex, his father, and her. After Lucia made love with Ivan a few times, she goes to a club with her friend, Berenice, one night. Her drink contained a drug, which not only made her drowsy, but a mysterious guy rapes her without her consent. Weeks later, Lucia discovers that she's pregnant, and believes that Ivan is the real father. Carlota suggests that Lucia should marry Camilo, due to Ivan marrying Maripaz and not wanting her granddaughter to be a single mother. Lucia has a baby girl named Perlita, and marries Camilo, who deeply loves Lucia and her baby. Months later, Lucia is unable to forget about her relationship with Ivan, which makes Camilo feel angry and jealous. Maripaz has an affair with Juliette's husband, Robert, whom she successfully seduces. Ivan finds out (through Benito), and with Juliette's help, he successfully divorces her and gains parental rights for Alex. Anthony later tells Ivan that Lucia married Camilo and has a baby. Feeling angry and betrayed, he returns to Álamos to seek for reasons as to why it happened.

Together, Ivan and Lucia, discover the value of loyalty, honesty, and truth. They both find love, thanks to The Power of Destiny.