The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora

Arturo is relieved when his lunch shift ends and he can leave La Cocina, where the “vibe […] felt like guacamole that had turned brown and bitter” (50). On his way home, he bumps into Carmen. She has been visiting with Abuela, because, as she tells Arturo, “we’re family” (51). This comment troubles Arturo. For reasons he can’t explain, he would prefer that Carmen not consider herself related to his family. Arriving at their apartment complex, Arturo and Carmen find Abuela in the courtyard, spreading dirt around her floribunda bush. Arturo says she believes it will bloom soon, although it never has, despite her assiduous care. In response, Abuela tells them a story about Abuelo repeatedly preparing a dish of beans and steak, trying to perfect it. Arturo surmises that the “flowerless floribunda bush made Abuela think of Abuelo” (54).

After Carmen’s father calls her home, Arturo takes Abuela to her apartment. They make mango smoothies, and Abuela catches sight of the poetry book Arturo still has in his backpack. Her eyes twinkle as she wonders if it’s Carmen’s book, but, instead of pressing the matter, she talks about Abuelo. Arturo is surprised to learn that his grandfather wrote poetry and that he greatly admired José Martí’s work. Abuela opens a wooden cigar box she keeps on her shelf. Inside are letters, photographs, a watch, and an old CD. As she hands the box to Arturo, she says it contains “the story of how poetry had helped bring her and Abuelo together” (57). Arturo tucks the box into his bag before leaving, and Abuela enigmatically remarks, “Love and faith are most important” (57).

The next morning, Arturo scrambles to assemble an outfit that will make him “look like a spy from a Bond film” (60). Hearing Carmen’s knock, he despairs, and squeezes into an old Hulk costume. He is mortified by his own juvenile disguise when he sees Carmen’s get-up: “She wore heels that made her look five inches taller, and makeup that made her look ten years older” (61). Arturo’s humiliation only increases when Carmen assures him his disguise is perfect, as it transforms him into a convincing little brother.

Arriving at Pipo’s Place, they see that the cool, white interior is actually an office, not a shop. There seems to be a party going on. Crowds mill about, including several of Arturo’s teachers and classmates, picking “at a buffet table filled with sweet and savory pastelitos” (63).

A large replica of Main Street is the center of attention. As Carmen and Arturo approach the 3-D model, she puts her arm around him as she would a 5-year-old and coos, “look at the pretty building!” (64). On the corner of Canal Grove’s miniaturized Main Street, a high-rise towers with Wilfrido’s signature “PP” emblazoned “in gold cursive on the front” (64). Addressing his guests, Wilfrido explains that his proposed state-of-the-art high-rise, Pipo Place, will “include a high-end grocery store, […] a ten-thousand-square-foot gym, an Olympic-size pool” (66), cafés, and luxury apartments on the upper floors. In short, he proclaims, “Pipo Place will be the crown jewel of Canal Grove” (67), making it an attractive community for more investors and developers. Wilfrido ends his pitch by exhorting his audience to support his proposal at the upcoming public forum.

Studying Wilfrido’s model, Arturo realizes there is no La Cocina in the plan. The mini Pipo Place occupies the entire corner, obliterating La Cocina. His stomach drops, and he quickly leaves with Carmen.

After dinner that evening, Arturo and Carmen meet in the courtyard outside their apartments. They’ve told no one about their disturbing discovery, and now Carmen rants against Wilfrido, exclaiming, “He doesn’t have the authority to do that!” (70). Aware that the Zamoras’s lease their restaurant property from the city, Arturo thinks, “Wilfrido couldn’t kick us out, but what if my family couldn’t renew our lease for some reason?” (70).

They wander down the street, towards Arturo’s favorite canal, where a huge banyan tree dangles vines over the water. Arturo briefly talks about swinging on the vines with his friends, then returns to Wilfrido’s outrageous designs on La Cocina. He wants to tell Abuela. Carmen disagrees, fearing it would distress her too much and exacerbate her declining health.

For the first time, Carmen speaks about her mother and the illness that quickly claimed her life during the past year. Her mother was a well-respected food writer, and it was their shared passion for cooking that cemented her bond with Arturo’s mother. As Carmen points out, “They were both young and creative and more interested in focusing on the good things that food can be rather than all the criticisms” (74).

Arturo and Carmen return home as the sun sets. After hanging out at Carmen’s place a short while, eating chocolate, Arturo goes to Abuela’s apartment. Through the window, he sees she’s fallen asleep in her recliner watching her favorite TV show, El comandante y la duquesa. He decides not to disturb her with the news about Pipo Place, resolving, instead, to discuss the problem with Bren and Mop.

Like Chapter 4, this chapter is structured as a dramatic dialogue from Arturo’s point of view.

The following day, Bren and Mop are jumping in Bren’s bounce house when Arturo arrives. They’ve heard about Wilfrido’s proposal to build a massive high-rise and are impressed by it, until Arturo says it entails the demolition of La Cocina. Bren, whose “favorite restaurant in the whole world is La Cocina de la Isla” (80), tears up slightly before assuming a Pitbull-like swagger and proclaiming they will fight back like “we do in Havana!” (80). Rolling his eyes, Mop shouts, “You are not from Havana! Your mom is originally from Cape Cod, and your dad had family on the Mayflower” (80).

The conversation turns to Wilfrido’s party. When Arturo mentions Carmen, Bren teases him about his relationship with her. Disconcerted by these new wrinkles in his world, Arturo exclaims, “What! I don’t like Carmen! Guys, it’s just…the people in the neighborhood looked like they really supported Wilfrido’s proposal, you know?” (83). Although Mop is leaving for summer camp, he reminds Arturo that his father works at city hall and will help if he can.

The next day, Mop goes away to camp; Bren leaves on a family vacation; and Arturo gets “that sinking, empty feeling when someone leaves but you stay behind” (84).