The Ugly Girls' Barracks

The business and the structure

• Business focus: It is dedicated to the design of executive, casual and high-end clothing for women and men, launching exclusive collections each season.
• Founders: It was created by the Mendoza (Julio Mendoza) and Valencia families, who maintained shareholding control and management of the company for generations.
• Location of power: The core of the company is the president's floor, where financial decisions are made, and the design workshop, where the collections are created.

2. Key figures in command

• Armando Mendoza: The story begins as the newly appointed President of Ecomoda, whose ambitious (and risky) business plan triggers the company's crisis.
• Beatriz Pinzón Solano (Betty): She enters as the president's secretary, but due to her financial brilliance she ends up becoming the brains behind the numbers and, eventually, the president.
• Hugo Lombardi: The company's eccentric, talented, and temperamental star designer. His fashion shows and collections underpin the brand's prestige.

3. Social dynamics: "Two worlds"

Within the Ecomoda facilities, two completely opposing social realities coexist and drive the plot:
• The board of directors and executives: They represent the elite, money, superficial beauty and status (Armando, Marcela Valencia, Mario Calderón, Patricia Fernández).
• The lower-middle class employees: The heart of the company, represented mainly by the secretaries and the receptionist who make up The Ugly Girls' Club.

4. Their role in the plot (The financial crisis)

Ecomoda is not just a backdrop for the story, but a character in its own right. The telenovela's central plot revolves around how Armando's poor decisions bring the company to the brink of bankruptcy. To save it from foreclosure, they create a shell company called Terramoda (managed by Betty), which ends up being the true owner of Ecomoda during the crisis.

The Ugly Girls' Club is primarily characterized as the emotional support network, social shield, and gossip hub within Ecomoda. Beyond not fitting the company's standard beauty norms, the group stands out for the following key traits:

1. Unwavering loyalty and female solidarity

The group operates on the premise of "one for all and all for one." They defend each other against the verbal attacks of Patricia Fernández ("La Peliteñida") and the humiliations of the designer Hugo Lombardi. If one of them has a financial, family, or romantic problem, the entire group mobilizes to help her.

2. Espionage and the gossip network ("Radio Hall")

They have secretaries in virtually every key department at Ecomoda (President's Office, Finance, Human Resources, Sales, and Reception). This makes them the company's most powerful intelligence network: they know everything that's going on before the bosses themselves, using the women's restroom or the hallways as their operations center to analyze information.

3. Very distinct and complementary archetypes

Each member brings a unique personality that balances the group:
• The voice of wisdom: Inesita, who brings maturity and curbs the impulses of the others.
• Physical strength: Sandra ("The Giraffe"), ready to fight if the group is insulted.
• The mystical touch: Mariana, who reads the cards and predicts Betty's future.
• Humor and gluttony: Bertha, with her eternal failed diets and her ability to imitate Patricia.
• Sensuality: Aura María, who brings the festive and youthful energy.
• The everyday drama: Sofia, always dealing with child support issues.

4. Lunch at the "corrientazo" (a type of casual restaurant).

One of their most cherished traditions is going out to lunch together at inexpensive "corrientazo" restaurants (home-style executive lunches). Sharing the table is their daily ritual to unwind from work pressures and strategize.

This group is characterized by its unwavering loyalty, by defending each other from the mockery of their classmates (especially from Patricia Fernández "La Peliteñida" and Hugo Lombardi) and by being the main support system of the protagonist, Beatriz Pinzón Solano.
The Barracks consists of seven permanent members:
• Beatriz Pinzón Solano (Betty): The undisputed leader of the group. She is a brilliant but physically unattractive economist who starts working as the president's secretary.
• Inesita (Inés Ramírez): The oldest of the group and Ecomoda's star seamstress. She is the voice of reason, the maternal figure of the Cuartel, and the right-hand woman of designer Hugo Lombardi.
• Aura María Fuentes: The receptionist at Ecomoda. She is a single mother, cheerful, sensual and a party lover, whose great love (and headache) is Mario Calderón, although she ends up with Freddy Contreras.
• Sandra Patiño "The Giraffe": The vice president's secretary. She stands out for being the tallest in the group, having a strong character, and defending her friends from any physical or verbal aggression.
• Bertha de Muñoz: Secretary in the personnel department. She is known for her obsession with diets (which never work for her), for eating in secret, and for being the main source of gossip in the company.
• Sofía de Rodríguez: Secretary to the Vice President of Finance. She is divorced and lives in a constant economic and personal war with her ex-husband (Efraín "El Cheque") and his new partner (Jenny "La Pupuchurra").
• Mariana Valdés: Secretary of the sales point management. She is an Afro-descendant woman, elegant, mystical and with the gift of reading tarot cards, predicting many of the things that will happen to Betty.