Adela Corinthos

Adela Corinthos
General Hospital character
Portrayed by	Maria Rangel
First appearance	1995 (in flashbacks)
In-universe information Occupation Secretary Family See below.

Adela Corinthos was a fictional character on the popular ABC soap opera, General Hospital. She's the mother of Sonny Corinthos and Ric Lansing. Adela has only appeared on the show through flashbacks.

Character history

As the story goes, Adela, who was of Cuban descent, got married to Michael Corinthos. They had one child together, a son named Michael Corinthos Jr. (who would later be known as Sonny Corinthos ). Michael, however, had gambling problems and soon felt that his son would be better off not knowing him. He divorced Adela and left her and his young son and changed his name to Mike Corbin.

Adela got a job as a secretary and involved with her boss, the wealthy Trevor Lansing and they were later engaged to be married. She was pregnant with his son when she fell down the stairs, an accident that was blamed on Sonny. Trevor didn't think it was an accident and refused to have Sonny live with him in his home. The baby, however, was fine and Adela gave birth to a healthy baby boy, named Ric Lansing. After Ric was born, Trevor told her she had to make a choice between her sons. Rather than give up Sonny, Adela chose to break off her engagement with Trevor and let him leave and take care of Ric by himself. She never saw her son again.

After Trevor left with Ric, Adela got involved with Deke Woods, who on the outside was a handsome, well-respected police officer who everyone liked. But after Adela married Deke he turned into an abusive husband and stepfather. Deke beat her and Sonny and often locked Sonny in the closet. Deke beat Sonny for everything from looking at him oddly, to getting ink on his shirt, to trying to stick up for his mother when Deke beat her. Adela, however, did nothing to stop Deke from beating her or her son.

She took the beatings as they came because she was afraid of what Deke would do if she left him or ran away to get help. Sonny has said that if she and Sonny had tried to run Deke would have put out an APB and gotten them before they left the bus stop and when they got home it would have been even more hell for them. She also might have believed that no one would believe her if she tried to get help because Deke seemed like such a goodhearted cop to the outside world. Adela protected Deke by lying to other people. She told people the welts and bruises on her and her son were from them being clumsy and all Sonny's absences from school were from colds or the flu.

Adela died protecting Deke and never telling anyone that she was beaten almost daily. Deke's beating took its toll on Sonny and affected who he would become. Sonny hated his stepfather and for a while probably resented fathers in general. He grew up to be a mob boss with a temper and a hatred of being lied to. When Sonny came face to face with his biological father, Mike Corbin, he didn't even want to get to know him and resented and hated him for abandoning him and his mother and having his mother end up with Deke down the road. Mike explained that he never knew about Deke and that if he did he would have come back and protected Adela and Sonny but Sonny wouldn't listen. He is no longer as angry at his father as he was when he first met him but he and Mike don't really have any special relationship. Sonny has a classic "Madonna-whore" complex, with his mother cast in his mind as a saint and angel. His relationships with women have been colored by his image of his mother. When he learned that Kristina was his daughter, he had her baptized with the middle name Adela.

Adela died without ever seeing her other son, Ric, again. Adela affected Ric's life in a big way as well. Ric never knew his mother and never understood how his mother could give birth to him and hold him and then give him up and never see him again. Those feelings were intensified when his daughter, Molly Lansing, was born. Ric grew up with mixed feelings about his mother. He never understood how his mother could chose Sonny over him so he hated her for giving him up. But deep in his heart he loved her and wanted to know more about her.

As for his half-brother, Sonny, Ric has mixed feelings. He was brought up with his father hating Sonny so Ric might have grown up with the same notion but as he grew older Ric wanted to know his brother. When Ric found him, however, Sonny wanted nothing to do with his brother. Ric has mixed feelings toward his brother. He hates him and yet he wants to be close to him. He is a very troubled character. He came to Port Charles with the intension of getting even with Sonny. He kidnapped Carly Corinthos, Sonny's wife, while she was pregnant and was planning to raise the baby as his own with his wife at the time, Elizabeth. Sonny found his wife and almost killed Ric but because Ric was his brother he spared his life. So its obvious Sonny doesn't hate Ric but Sonny and Ric will never have a brotherly connection. It's obvious that they trust each other though because when Ric thought he was dying he told Sonny he wanted him to help his wife Alexis raise his daughter, Molly, as though she were his own daughter if he should die.

All in all, Adela's life and choices has affected both her boys and the lives they now lead.

Family and relationships

Children

• Sonny Corinthos (son, with Mike Corbin)
• Ric Lansing (son, with Trevor Lansing)

Marital status (at death)

• Married to Deke Woods (deceased)

Past Marriage(s)

• Trevor Lansing (divorced)
• Mike Corbin (divorced)

Grandchildren

• Michael Morgan (adoptive grandson, via Sonny)
• Kristina Davis (granddaughter, via Sonny)
• Morgan Corinthos (grandson, via Sonny)
• Molly Lansing (granddaughter, via Ric)

Romantic entanglements

• Mike Corbin (married)
• Trevor Lansing (lovers/engaged)
• Deke Woods (married; deceased)