Since the first chapters, the protagonists of the current soap opera, Sábados de gloria, have gone viral in the networks, not just because of the congratulations on the acting performance of Tahimí Alvariño, Yudexi de la Torre, and Yessie Guridi; also, and above all, because of the controversial situations that Omara, Karelia and Rita have had to face.

One of the topics that generates the most comments is the infidelities of Arturo and Pablo, whom Omara surprised "red-handed" and, without hesitation, went to tell her lifelong friends. Did she do the right thing? How would I react in that situation? Who wants a friend like Omara? These are some of the questions that stir up the forums of soap opera viewers on social media.

And the discussions get “heated.” For example, a Facebook user called Taimi thinks that Omara is “extremely annoying” and says that she “dislikes her, dislikes her, dislikes her. What kind of friend is that?” she asks herself, and concludes: “she is nothing more than an eccentric.”

Then Belkis enters the forum and answers: “If I were you, I’d check myself. Omara is the human being that we should be, even with her imperfections,” and Marta supports her: “I do like people like Omara, transparent at all costs, and since nobody is perfect, she went overboard when she hid the paternity of her son.”

The issue of the son is a different story, because, as in life, everything is mixed up on Facebook when it comes to analyzing the behavior of the characters, some dirty laundry comes out, but the shades are also analyzed. Some people celebrate the sincerity and courage of the friend, however, they do not think it’s right that "she keeps hammering on about the same subject, each one has to make her own decisions."

Others take into account that "she is full of good energy, she lives thinking about her friends and sharing with them, she helps them in whatever she needs to help them with..." To the question in the title, Liena answered us via WhatsApp: "I do want a friend like Omara: clear, direct and always happy, with good feelings."

However, the issue of telling or not telling about infidelity steals the show. Yanet thinks: "If she really loves her friends, she should not pressure them and judge them. She has no discretion. Even if she is right, it’s their life and she should be more careful. Infidelity is a huge agony, so she should be less straightforward.

What would you do in Omara's place?

Putting yourself in someone else's shoes is always a useful exercise before judging them, so we also ask: what would you do if you discovered the infidelity of a friend's partner?

Ana María assures that she would do exactly the same as Omara: "of course, as long as I am completely sure that it’s true; I, personally, would like my friend to tell me. That's what friends are for, right? I think that no person should be living a lie."

Normita has a totally opposite position: "no, maybe she knows and pretends not to know, as in the case of Rita; maybe she doesn't care, maybe in the end she will reconcile with her husband and the one who looks bad, as a gossiper, is the third party. Let the couple solve their issues on their own."

For Diana, “it depends: if she is a great friend, of course, because I know that we share the same values, and one of them is loyalty. By “omitting”, I am lying to her and I am being disloyal.”

Milena says that she, personally, would like to be told if her partner was cheating on her, then: “I would tell her and show her the evidence I have (yes, I would need to have evidence, and the clearer it is, the better). You cannot confront someone with something as delicate as infidelity without any significant evidence. Show her emails, photographs, text messages, screenshots, everything I can find. I would show her and then let her make her own decision, without pressure.”

Marina sees different scenarios between Rita and Karelia: “I would perhaps tell the doctor, because she is unhappy, it’s clear that her husband does not respect her at all; in addition, he lives lowering her self-esteem. She is alone, even though she lives with him. However, Kare and Pablo's relationship is different, so what right do I have to put things in her head, if she is fine, she feels that her marriage is working. In that situation I’d keep my mouth shut about it."

Argentine doctor Juan Eduardo Tesone, a doctor from the UBA and psychiatrist from the University of Paris XII, in an interview for La Nación, when asked whether or not it is advisable to tell a friend that his partner is cheating on him, responded:

"There’s no unequivocal answer to this question. There are many variables that can influence such a decision: degree of friendship, personality of the friend, style of bonding he has with his partner, if there is previously an explicit request between the friends in that sense, etc. It’s convenient to keep in mind that omission is not a lie, and some truths are aggressive.

Everything seems to indicate that the debate could be endless, since each person has different points of view in this sense, but the practice of talking, debating and even respectfully discussing these soap opera dilemmas that are also real life is always useful.

Translated by Amilkal Labañino / CubaSí Translation Staff