Teresa Mondragon

Raimundo, a wealthy man, died of a heart attack. The notary reads out Raimundo's will, leaving all his estate and companies to the widow, Luz, with the surprising clause that she will remain without a man for the period of two years, during which his trusted attorney, Arturo, will be in possession of the whole patrimony. Luz being much younger than her late husband, resents this clause that will keep her captive of the dead man for so long. Her attempts to seek release in the night spots of the town do not prove satisfying. Lucia, the maid, starts an extortion scheme against the widow, menacing to denounce the murder of Raimundo with venom, as Luz and Arturo were lovers. The faithful cook and the gardener are dismissed and Lucía literally takes her employer's image, clothes, and manners - forcing Luz to play humbly to her (progressively insane) demands.

Lolo lives in a poor neighborhood on the outskirts of Mexico City. One day he is assaulted and injured out of the factory where he works. After a week of hospitalization, Lolo loses his job and is forced to seek sustenance. The accidental death of an elderly woman, whom Lolo trying to steal a watch that his mother had insisted, facing the young people in your neighborhood and forces him to flee, full of guilt and shame.

L'action se déroule dans l'immeuble résidentiel "Chihuahua" du quartier de Tlatelolco, à Mexico, donnant sur la place des Trois-Cultures. Le matin du 2 octobre 1968, une famille de classe moyenne mexicaine prend son petit déjeuner : le père, fonctionnaire autoritaire, la mère de famille, femme au foyer, le grand-père, vétéran de la révolution mexicaine et nostalgique d'une époque où la jeunesse n'était pas pervertie, et les quatre enfants. Pendant que le plus jeune, Carlitos, ne pense qu'à s'amuser, et la sœur cadette à étudier, les deux ainés entament une discussion passionnée sur le mouvement étudiant qui est en pleine effervescence : à dix jours des Jeux olympiques, ils réclament la liberté d'expression et la diversité politique. Contre l'avis de leur père, les deux étudiants assisteront au meeting qui se tient le soir même sur la place.