The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora

Thirteen-year-old Arturo is excited because it’s “the Sunday before the official start of summer” (4). For Arturo, summer in Miami means hanging out with his friends Bren and Mop (so-called due to his “mop” of hair) in their Cuban neighborhood, “swinging on banyan trees, looking for manatees in the canals throughout Canal Grove, [and] eating churros” (4). Arturo will also be working part-time at his family’s restaurant.

La Cocina de la Isla is closed this Sunday, as usual. Arturo’s abuela always shuts the restaurant’s doors on Sundays, despite grumblings from regular customers, so the whole Zamora family can share a meal. The place bustles with energy. Arturo’s aunts, uncles, and older cousins chat or flip through TV channels at the bar, while his younger cousins zip “around, pretending to be superheroes” (4) and overturning chairs. Although Abuela’s health is failing, and she’s yielded the restaurant kitchen to her oldest daughter—and Arturo’s mother—Caridad (Cari), she sits happily “in the lounge area, smiling and surveying the whole scene” (3).

Arturo’s cousin, Vanessa, announces the arrival of “Uncle” Frank and his daughter, Carmen. They’ve left their home in Spain to spend the summer with the Zamoras, following the death of Carmen’s mother, who was Cari’s closest friend. After a flurry of hugs and heartfelt condolences, Cari nudges Arturo towards Carmen. When he last saw her, during a family vacation in Spain years ago, Carmen was a “lanky, mutant-fast cheetah girl” (7) Arturo played tag with, but she has transformed. Her red-brown hair is long and wavy, and the colorful braces on her teeth “made her look way mature” (8). Carmen kisses Arturo’s cheeks, producing a surprising feeling in his stomach, “like a pot of oil was slowly starting to bubble […]” (8).

Aunt Tuti, Cari’s sister, welcomes Frank and then eagerly pivots to news of their planned restaurant expansion. The city recently requested construction proposals for the empty lot beside La Cocina, and Cari submitted a bid to enlarge their popular restaurant. After dinner, the Zamoras walk with their Spanish guests to the apartment complex that belongs to the family.

When Arturo wakes the next morning, the memory of his reaction to Carmen momentarily flusters him. He dresses and walks “a few blocks to the main strip, where all the restaurants and shops in Canal Grove” (18) are located. Inside La Cocina, Arturo notes the colorful, cheerful decor that has distinguished the restaurant “since Abuela […] first opened it nineteen years ago” (19).

Arturo heads to the kitchen, down a hallway lined with photographs displaying the Zamora family history. One photograph captures the moment Arturo’s mother won a major cooking competition on the “Food is Life network” (20), and another shows “Vanessa accepting the outstanding community citizen award—the youngest person to ever win it” (20). Arturo reflects, “[e]verything about La Cocina came back to family. [… T]hat’s why so many customers loved it. When they came here, they felt like family too” (20).

It’s Arturo’s first day at work. He anticipates a line cook assignment, but his mother relegates him to the job of junior lunchtime dishwasher. This is, in Arturo’s opinion, “the worst job ever” (21), but he doesn’t complain, even when it proves more miserable than he imagined. Arturo’s cousin Martín is his supervisor. Perhaps due to jealousy—Arturo is Abuela’s favorite grandchild—or to an overzealous exercise of power, Martín gleefully tyrannizes his new subordinate. Shoving Arturo towards the formidable-looking dishwasher, Martín sneers, “This. Is El Monstruo. Mess with it. And it will eat you” (22). He barks out orders regarding the proper operation of “El Monstruo” and then leaves Arturo with a rack of greasy pans and plates. As Arturo scrambles to keep up with the incoming dirty dishes, Martín returns to toss frying pans into the water, triggering a filthy wave that soaks Arturo’s Miami Heat tee-shirt.

By the end of his shift, Arturo has “practically drowned in soap bubbles” (25). He sees Abuela moving about the packed dining room, despite her frailty, greeting her lunchtime regulars. When a well-dressed customer introduces himself as Wilfrido, Abuela welcomes him coldly, and Cari whisks her back to the kitchen. Arturo takes Abuela home, where she rests.

Arturo has a second job at his apartment building, which amounts to delivering the mail to each unit. As he is sorting the pile of envelopes, Carmen appears and startles him. Fumbling for something to say, Arturo thinks of the weather and asks if she’s hot, but immediately realizes his question may be misinterpreted and so rambles on about the heat. Carmen graciously holds up her end of the conversation, remarking on Zimbabwe’s comparable climate, while Arturo mentally tries to find Zimbabwe on a map.

Carmen is holding a book of poetry and explains she is reading José Martí’s Versos sencillos for the upcoming school year. After Arturo suggests that her studies “sound painful” (32), and Carmen counters that she loves poetry, Arturo back-peddles, trying to declare, but somehow instead asking, “I…like poetry?” (32). To dispel the lingering cloud of doubt, he blunders on, claiming that he writes poetry, even as he silently confesses “[i]t was a […] shameless lie” (32).

Arturo marvels at his own awkwardness as their exchange continues, until finally, the conversation turns to Abuela’s cool reception of Wilfrido. They agree that this is strange, because “Abuela likes everyone” (34) and cares about each of her customers. Glancing at his phone, Arturo sees Mop has texted him about meeting at the basketball court. Carmen kisses his cheeks as she departs, leaving him “frozen long enough to notice she had left her book […] on the mailbox” (35).

Formally, Chapter 4 is structured like a scene from a play, but Arturo’s perspective frames it, and he sets the scene: “Bren and Mop are […] tossing free throws when I get to the court. A huge dark cloud rolls in […]” (36).

Bren, who styles himself after the rapper Pitbull, notices the book in Arturo’s hand. When Arturo stammers that it’s poetry, Bren pauses and wonders if “[b]y poems, you mean, like, rap lyrics?” (36). Mop takes a closer look. He is the scholar of the trio and explains to Bren that the poet, José Martí, “was a revolutionary hero in the Cuban War for Independence against Spain in the late 1800s” (37). With a knowing look, Bren asks Arturo where he got the book, and teasing insinuations ensue about Arturo’s feelings for Carmen. Bren contends he “should totally ask her out” (37), but Arturo protests, “No way. My mom is her godmother! We’re practically related. Can we just play?” (37). A cloudburst settles the question, and the boys leave the court.

As they head to the ice cream shop, Two Scoops, Bren offers Arturo his sunglasses to impress Carmen, and Arturo insists he’s “not interested in Carmen like that” (38). Arturo notices what looks like a clothing boutique across the street. The flashy sign reads “PIPO PLACE—THE FUTURE IS NOW.” Turning to his friends, Arturo says, “Guys, this weird guy came into La Cocina today and told us he’d just opened a place […]. I wonder if this is it” (39). They decide to hang out at Bren’s house and play “Legends of the Universe.”