The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora

Arturo berates himself for thinking Carmen might reciprocate his feelings when she had repeatedly referred to him as family. Demoralized, he wanders out to the restaurant patio, where he has a clear view of Wilfrido standing on the stage. As the festival closes, Wilfrido praises the crowd, declaring confidence in their “courage to embrace change” (147) for economic growth in their community. Arturo sees many familiar faces in Wilfrido’s audience: two teachers “who had worked at the same school for over thirty years” (149); the owner of the long-established Two Scoops ice cream shop; and Bicycle Bill, who “had lived in the neighborhood as long as anybody could remember” (149).

Reflecting on the enduring ties between the people of Canal Grove, Arturo suddenly remembers Wilfrido’s dismissive description of the town: “This ridiculous family-friendly community, he had said” (148) during his hostile confrontation with the Zamoras earlier that day. Arturo realizes that Wilfrido has never mentioned having a family or any loved ones.

Impulsively grabbing Carmen’s sign, Arturo marches towards the stage brandishing the words FAMILY IS COMMUNITY—COMMUNITY IS FAMILY. Wilfrido yells and pulls the sign from Arturo’s hands. After he snaps the slogan in half, Wilfrido shouts, “Family is a flawed system. Family will not save you or provide for you or keep you safe. The only thing that keeps you safe is money” (150). He deplores the Zamoras’s protest against Pipo Place, emphasizing that, in this country, he is free to purchase real estate. When Arturo starts to use Martí’s words on freedom against Wilfrido but can’t fully recall them, Bicycle Bill finishes the quote. Wilfrido calls for security guards to remove Arturo. As they haul him away, Arturo sees Carmen and realizes, with humiliation, that she witnessed his failed stunt to save Canal Grove from Wilfrido’s clutches.

Aunt Tuti soon appears with a police officer and springs Arturo from the festival holding cell. While Arturo grumbles about Wilfrido, Aunt Tuti looks at her phone and tears fill her eyes. Abuela has been taken to the hospital. They walk back to their apartment building in silence, through the swath of litter left behind by festival-goers.

Aunt Tuti goes to the hospital to join Arturo’s parents, leaving Arturo alone. After several restless hours, he retreats to his room and removes the CD from Abuelo’s box of letters. It is titled “Guantanamera.” While loading the disc into his computer, Arturo hears a knock on his door. His mother slowly enters and tells him Abuela has died. To honor Abuela’s memory, the family plans to attend Sunday mass in the morning. They will close La Cocina for the week, and on the following Sunday, share a memorial dinner together at the restaurant.

Cari goes to her room, and Arturo’s speakers begin to crackle with a familiar song. The words of “Guantanamera” match those of a José Martí poem Arturo “read in Carmen’s book, in Abuelo’s letters, in Abuela’s book. They were all the same” (159). He listens to the song over and over as he repeats quietly, “I failed. I failed” (160).

When Arturo wakes in the middle of the night, he picks up Abuelo’s cigar box and goes to Abuela’s apartment. Seeing José Martí’s book resting on her coffee table, where she left it, Arturo remembers trying to read the poems to her. She always encouraged him to practice speaking Spanish, her own language, even though he “understood most things” (162) she said to him.

As he looks at one of the poems, Arturo is struck by the reality of Abuela’s death and wonders if it’s his fault, if he’d “stressed her out” (163). He sinks onto her sofa and pulls an envelope out of Abuelo’s box. It reads, “SOMETIMES YOU NEED TO WRITE IT DOWN” (163), and the letter inside is a blank piece of paper. There is, in fact, a stack of blank pages inside the box, as well as a pen. Arturo begins to write. He writes about everything: Sunday dinners, Bren and Mop, Carmen, Wilfrido’s festival, Abuela and Abuelo. After filling page after page with “every detail of the past few weeks” (165), Arturo falls asleep on Abuela’s sofa. His mother wakes him the next morning and then collects the scattered pages into a neat pile.