"I was lucky." "I came from the most beautiful place on Earth where music was everywhere." "And people believed there was no difference between being awake and dreaming." "My dream was always clear." "For as long as I could remember, I wanted to be a musician." "That's my mother." "She's the one who taught me how to sing." "That's me." "Whenever I heard her voice, all I wanted was to be held in her arms so I could be closer to the source of the magic." "When my mother suddenly died I felt like everything around me had died too." "I couldn't feel anything anymore." "The only thing that kept me going were the letters from Uncle Alfonso." "He'd gone to Los Angeles and made it big in the restaurant business." "He said the streets really were paved with gold if you worked hard enough." "I didn't know what to do, so I asked my grandfather, a very wise man what he thought." "And he told me that all of life is a dream and I should choose my dreams carefully because they're very powertul things." "So I set off to chase my dream:" "Los Angeles, City of Angels." "And my future?" "Well, yet to unfold." "Who would've thought I'd end up like this?" "It turned out that Uncle Alfonso wasn't the taco king of L. A." "He didn't even own the place." "But he was the assistant manager and he did get me this job so I shouldn't complain, but I can't take those hats." "Here she comes." "Okay." " Hi." " Hello." "What can I do for you?" "I'll have a Happy Burrito combo with extra cheese." "That's Nina, the love of my life." "And she doesn't even know that I exist." "Okay." "Happy Burrito with extra cheese." " To go." " To go." "Absolutely." "Hi there, baby doll angel precious beautiful pussycat." "When you look at me you kill me." "You make me chase my tail in circles." "Okay, that's going to be 3.75." "And I'm really sorry about him." "Yeah, whatever." "That's 3 and that's 4." " There you go." "Have a beautiful day." " Thank you." "You'll be back, pussycat." "I know it." "Don't bet on it, taco boy." "Dude, you suck." "You know that women don't like your macho comments." "What they appreciate is to be spoken to with respect." "Respeto, that's what it's all about, chivo." "What you talking about?" "She was hot." "Didn't you see that?" "I'll show some respeto." "I'll be like, "Call me taco boy!" "Call me taco boy!"" "It's amazing what depths a person will sink to when they get desperate." "But as long as I could play my music, I didn't care." "Most people have forgotten about the dreams that brought them here." "But then again, so have I." "Well, thank you." "Thank you very much." "This next song is "Lonely Girl. "" "And remember, the more you drink, the better I sound." "Thank you." "Clean this up." "Thank you very much." "We're gonna take a short break and I'll be right back, so please don't go away." "Thank you." "Julian." "Juan." "Come here." "Give me a hand with the stuff." "Hey." "Wake up." "Okay." "You guys are so losing your Game Boy as soon as I get this in the house." " Gonna give me a hand?" " I'll give you a hand." " No, I got it." "I got it." " Please, let me help you." "It's okay." " Do you play?" " Yeah." " And where do you live?" " I live next door." "Well, I hope you're not planning on making too much noise, okay?" "Wait, wait." "Let's do this right." "My name's Antonio." " Hi." " What's your name?" "Mirabela." " Let's get started." " Okay, and just this one." "I can get the rest." "Just this one will be good." "Hi." "I just wanted to say to you that that I'm really sorry about my coworker's behavior the other day." "He's just not..." "He's not very smart sometimes." " You're the guy from the taco place." " Yeah." "I'm Antonio." " I'm Nina." " How are you?" "Look, I wanted to ask you I don't know if you wanted to go to dinner or dancing this Friday I was wondering if you were available to do me the honor?" "Is that a date you're asking for?" "I think so." "I'm flattered, but I will have to say no." " Because I have to work on Friday." " Okay." "I'm sorry." "Maybe some other time." "Okay." "Hey." "I'm gonna be there anyway, Friday night at La Zona Rosa if you..." " If you change your mind or..." " Okay." " Bye." " Thank you." "Who was that?" "I don't know." "Just some guy." "What's up, uncle?" "Antonio, look around this place." "It doesn't take all these people to roll a burrito." "We have way too many workers." "We're gonna have to let someone go." "Since you were the last one hired I guess you have to be the first one fired." "I can't do anything about it." "It's corporate." "But I'm family!" "I'm your blood!" "I'm really sorry." "Here." "Here's a week's pay." "Take it!" "Take it!" "Lt'll hold you over for a while at least, until you find something else." "You'll be okay, Tonio." "You're young, you're strong." " You'll be okay, eh?" " Sure." "Thanks for everything, uncle." "I don't know, maybe I'll go back to Mexico." "You know, I would if I could but I can't because I'm a total failure." "Yeah, it's a setback." "So what?" "Yeah, but nobody wants to hear my music." "Girls don't wanna be with a broke musician." "I don't know." "I'm scrawny, I'm short." "Don't let nobody tell you about what people wanna hear." "People get tired of being sold the same old thing over and over again." "After a while, they look for something real." " You think?" " Yeah, that's why I took this NPR job." "Oh, the NPR job, right." "Because that pays the big dollars." "I don't know." "Maybe you should enter that contest." "What contest?" "What contest?" "It's only the largest Latino band competition this side of Tijuana." " How come I haven't heard about it?" " I don't know." "But I'll tell you this:" "The winner gets to open a concert for a world-famous mystery musician." "You know what the top money is?" "The top band wins 10,000." "Ten thousand dollars?" "Wow." "Ten thousand dollars." "Hey!" "Antonio!" "Hey." "Keep the noise down." "Antonio!" "Jeez." "I'm sorry." "I'm sorry." "If you're gonna play music then play music." "You might wanna hear something from my collection." "You have a collection?" "I gotta see this." "Let me just see what you have." " The oldies." " That's the good stuff." "You don't have to tell me that." "Come on." "Come inside, we'll play them together." "No, thanks, I've heard them." "I gotta get back to my card game." " Oh, yeah?" "What are you playing?" " Solitaire." "Solitaire?" "Oh, come on, by yourself?" "Come over here, we'll play the songs." "Jose Jose." "You know, my father used to play with him." "And he told me some gossip." "He said that Jose Jose's father only wanted classical music in the house because he was an operatic singer and forbade him to play that pop." " Well..." " I want to see that." "...let's see if you know who this is." "Do you know...?" " Okay, I don't wanna see it." " I know how to do this, thank you." "I know that." "That's Paquita la del Barrio." "Also known as Francisca Viveros Barradas." "The defender of women against el macho." " She's from my hometown." " Oh, is she?" "Yeah." "She sings about getting dumped." "I can relate." "Do you know who this is?" " Perfidia." "Perfidia." " Who?" "That's Alberto Dominguez, and his Xavier Cugat version." "When they told Xavier Cugat that his music was too much middle-of-the-road he said, "Well, I'd rather play 'Chiquita Banana' and have a swimming pool than play Bach and starve. "" " He said that?" " Yes, he did." " How come you know so much?" " Because I'm a geek, that's why." "What are you doing?" "What are you talking about?" "You're just incredible, the way you sing." "It made the hair on my arm stand up, look at that." " You should be singing all the time." " No, I'm too old." "Yeah, okay?" "I used to sing." "But that was a long time ago." "With my ex, Javier." "Back in Veracruz, we had some really good times." "And then he came here, he met some pocha Pop-Tart and dumped me." " You know what forget the loss, you know, just be happy that it happened." "Yeah." "Well, I've stayed too long." "I gotta get back to my kids." "Enjoy the records." "And don't play them too loud." "Okay." "Making your intention your reality." "My 10-step program for making the intention of creating a stress-free, tranquil mind your daily experience." "Step one:" "Remember that your natural state is joy." "This is El Zorro coming at you from L. A.'s best music." "That's Latin America's best music." "Now settle back here's a groove for you that's gonna warm up your afternoon." " I'm gonna have to clean that window." " You're..." "Look at that." "I'm gonna do it." "I'm gonna do it." " You're gonna go back to Mexico?" " Yeah, that's what I'm going to do." "No." "I want to enter the contest." " I knew it." " What do you mean, you knew it?" " I knew it." " But I gotta change my sound." "I can't be like everybody else." "I'm not a boy anymore." "I can't do that 18-year-old, hormone-crazed..." "I don't know." "You know what?" "I like your style." " Why?" " I think it's young." " I think it's hip, it's got energy." " You do?" " Yeah." " I don't know." "I mean, I wanna keep the old-school sound vibe." "I don't know." "You gotta help me find a band." "Help me find some guys I have a chemistry with." "I think I've got a couple of guys that could be just the right guys for you." "Okay, we're back." "Hello?" "Hello?" "Hello?" "Hello?" "Hello." "Oh, sorry." "Excuse me." "I was..." "You had a "Help Wanted" sign out there?" "Hey, Vijay, uncle!" "Someone's here for the job." "Raj, I'm right here." "There's no need to yell, son." " So you're looking for a job, huh?" " Yes, sir." "You ever pump gas before?" "No, sir." "Well, that's all right, because we don't have any gas pumps." "Right?" "You seem like a good guy." "You got the job." "You start tomorrow morning, 8 a. m." "Minimum wage." "That's okay, it's great." "I'll be here a half-hour early then." " Thank you very much." " You're very welcome." "Thanks a lot." " Sorry." "Sorry about that." " It's cool." "It's all right." " Don't worry about it." " Okay." "Bye-bye." " Not a problem." " Not a problem?" "Okay." " Clumsy fellow, huh?" " Shit happens." "I like him." "Papa, please eat your food." "I thought we were going out." "Why aren't you dressed yet?" "I don't think I should leave him." "Come on." "He's gonna be fine." "You don't do anything anymore except study and worry about your dad." "You're turning into a geek." "Are you gonna be all right without me, Papa?" "Sure, mija." "You go out and have fun." "Okay, I'm gonna change really fast." "Come on, let's go dance." " No." " Yeah." "Thank God you broke me out of my house." " I know." "It's about time, right?" " Yes." "That's him, right?" "He looks super cute tonight." " He looks super busy to me." " What are you talking about?" "He looks like a nice guy." "I don't think he's into her." "I'm very sorry." "He's breaking his neck to get over here." "Excuse me." "Excuse me." "May I have this dance with you?" " Can I open my eyes now?" " No, no." "No, don't look." "It's worth the wait." "You'll see." "Almost there." "Okay, here we are." "All right, you ready?" "It looks so small." "Nothing like it feels." "You know, sometimes when I just feel like the whole city's gonna swallow me up and I don't want to crawl on all fours anymore I come up here and I feel..." "I feel like anything can happen up here." "I don't know, like I can lick the stars." "I can, I don't know, suck the moon." "I could be president." "Oh, God, I'm weird, right?" "What do you wish?" "I wish that my mother was still alive." "One day I told her that I would be the first one in the family to be a doctor." "A veterinarian." "And I'll never forget she smiled at me and she said:" ""Paloma you're gonna be the best veterinarian in the world. "" "And you are." "You're going to be." "I know it." "I feel it." "No." "Because she's gone now." "I know, I know." "Oh, my God, you're beautiful." "Inside and outside." "I'm sorry." "I'm sorry." "I don't know, I couldn't help myself, I..." "What?" "Come here." "Come on, Papa." "I'll help you into bed." "Papa?" "Yes, doctor." "Hold on one moment, please." " Hi, Miss Acosta?" " Yes." " I'm Dr. Lopez." " Hi." "I'm happy to say that your father's gonna be fine." "Thank you, doctor." "He had a stroke, but it was only a minor one." "He's gonna need some extra care for a while, but he's gonna fully recover." " Can I see him now?" " Yeah, sure." " Thank you." " This way." " Stop." " I just don't know why he left his children." "That I'll never understand." "All right, all right." "You call Child Welfare and you report him." "That is what you do." "I can't." "You are not over him, are you?" "I am so completely over that pig of a man." "You know what I'm gonna do?" " I am gonna do a psychic reading." " Oh, God, no." "Yes, and you're gonna love it." "That's what you need right now." " And are you ready?" " No." "Here we go." "There's a man nearby." " It's giving me three clues." " What do you mean, clues?" "Well, so that you'll recognize him when you meet him." "First, he will be a great lover of music." "Oh, that's nice." "Second, he will cherish the color red." "He will serve you the greatest meal you have ever had." "So fabulous that you will scream with joy." "Or it might be the other way around where you're serving him the meal." "I don't know." "But either way, there's food involved, for sure." "When do I meet him?" "I don't know." "Papa, I was so scared." "Nina." "Nina." "I thought I was gonna lose you too." "Why did you even worry?" "You know I wouldn't leave you." "Not yet, anyway." "You know, Nina I died for a minute, and guess what." "I saw Mama." "Really?" " How is she?" " Oh, she is doing great." "Beautiful as ever." "And you know what else?" "She says she will wait for me until it's my time to cross over." "And she will have a big plate of my favorite spicy tamales just for me, so I can smell my way to the other side." "That's sweet, Papa." "Just as long as you're not planning on having those tamales too soon." "Mama told me it is not my time yet." "No, it was amazing." "He actually talked to his dead wife." "No, it was amazing." "He actually talked to his dead wife." "Well, what was that...?" "How did he end up...?" "What was the communication between them?" "It was tamales." " Tamales?" " Yeah." "Imagine that." "Now, let's go." "Here we are." "They're great, huh?" "Nobody knows who they are yet." "But they're on their way up." "That's Pancho on the guitar, Enrique on the bass and Jose on the drums." "Hey, Raj." "Raj, can I ask you something?" "How long you been together with your girlfriend?" "My fiancee." "And I've known her for about three years." "Three years, huh?" " Raj?" " Yep." "How did you know that she was the one?" "First time I saw her, I knew." "You knew." "And did she know too?" "Are you kidding?" "I had to chase her around like some crazy fool." "But you know what they say, when a man knows, he knows." "It's black and white for us men, no gray stuff in between." "Right." "That's right." "Raj." "Last question." "How did you hook her?" "I mean, how did you win her over?" "What did you do?" "Well, I never gave up, but I didn't crowd her either." "I bought her a lot of beautiful gifts." "And most importantly, I made her confident I'd be able to provide for her." "Women wanna know that a guy can take care of her a guy that can really bring home the bacon." "I say this even though I'm a vegetarian." " Well, thank you." " You're welcome." "Okay, okay." "Look, I hope I'm not bothering you." "Look, I just want to give you these flowers, that's all." "Nothing more." "No, really." "She wouldn't believe that." "Dr. Lopez will be here soon to check up on you, Papa." "Thank you, mija." "Here, let me close the curtains so you can watch your show better." "No, mija, that's okay." "I like them open." "Look, I'm not stalking you." "No, why would I?" "See?" "It's better like this." "Fuck!" "Stop!" " What?" " What was that all about?" " What was what all about?" " You." "I mean, come on." "The band is not all about you and your guitar." "I know that, it's just we're playing with old amps." "Yeah?" "You have to open them wide up or else it doesn't sound good." " You should know this." " All right." "All right." "Can we just break it down a little bit so I could hear myself?" "One, two." "One, two, three, four." "Okay." "Wait, wait." "Pancho!" "Pancho!" "Pancho, I thought you told me you were cool with this setup." "You told me you were not the lead vocalist type." " I never said that, man." " Okay." "Look..." "Look, we came here together for the contest, all right?" "And exposure is something that each and every one of you needs right now." "So let's drop the egos and let's get out of the way of the music, okay?" "I don't know what's wrong with me, man." "I'm sorry, man." "I don't know what happened to me." "I don't know what's wrong with me." "We never had any trouble before that guy came in." "You know what I mean?" "I think he plays good." "Well, yeah, I mean, the guy can play." "But he..." "He doesn't have the mojo that we need for the band, you know?" "Yeah." "Look, guys, just go with me on this one, all right?" " We're gonna win the $ 10,000..." " Thank you." "I got it." "We're gonna win the $ 10,000." "We'll open for the mystery musician." "We'll win the whole thing." " You just gotta trust me on this." " I just want to play." "We all want to play." " Let's do it." " Come on." "Hi." "I came to see how the two of you are." "I left so many messages." "Hi." "I know." "I'm sorry." "I haven't been able to return your calls." "It's..." "I've been really busy with Papa." "That's not what I meant." "I mean, that's why I came by, because I wanted to help you." "Well, there's nothing that you can really do." "I just have to be here." "That's why he got in trouble in the first place because I wasn't here for him." "But now is when you really need your friends, right?" " I brought you something." " No, I can't take it." "Please, please." "I want you to have it." "I can't." "I can't be with you, Antonio." "Why?" "I just can't." "Please understand." "Don't make it harder on me." "Nina I'm here for you." "X marks the place." "Thank you." " Tonio." " Hey." "I got some bad news." "They just called." "They're not coming." "They quit." " Quit?" " Yeah." "They want to go off on their own." "That's great." "That's..." "That's great." "That's a really classy move." "Like, three days..." "Right before the tryouts!" "I know." "Tonio." "Tonio." "Come on." "I'll buy you one." "You know..." "You know why?" "Because he thinks he's better than me." "He thinks because he went to the right schools he came from a better neighborhood..." "Listen." "I hear you." "Thank you." "Thank you for giving me that." "But it's true." "He always..." "Always has all those airs." "You guys have any requests?" "Requests?" "What do you call yourselves?" "Los Hermanos Solitos." ""The Lonely Brothers. " Why so lonely, huh?" " We're all single." " We have no girlfriends, no wives." "No problem." "Right, that's how it is." "You have anything original?" " Want an original?" "You got it." " I always want something original." "Javier, you wanted me to sign the papers, I signed them." "That's what you wanted, that's what you got." " Just leave me alone." " No way." "But, Javier, look don't forget to be a father to our babies, huh?" "They need that." "You just can't drop them too." "You can't divorce your children." "Very good." "Antonio." "Where have you been?" "For you." " They're red." " Yes." "I just wanted to thank you for reminding me that my world is music." "Antonio, I..." " I don't deserve this." " What, are you kidding?" "Don't ever say that." "You're wonderful." "Don't doubt yourself." "Here." " Come in." " Oh, no, I can't." "I gotta..." "I gotta go down to Los Lobos and meet my new band." "Do you want to come with me?" " Oh, no." "I have a lot of laundry." " Laundry?" "And I don't have anybody to look after my kids." "Kids." "But..." "Doesn't look like they'll notice." " Maybe next time." " Okay." "But these are so beautiful." "I feel like a queen." "That's because you are one." "Okay." "Well try to make it." "Okay?" "Then all of a sudden he got mad, picked up the mike and threw it at me." " And he walked out of the studio." " Don't do live interviews." " I gotta." "That's what I do." " What if they don't like you?" "No, no." "I just make sure there's no sharp objects." " Mirabela." " Hi." "I'm so glad you came." "I wasn't sure if you were gonna come." "You look beautiful." "I want you to meet my manager." "Alberto, a. k. a." "El Zorro." "Thank you for coming." "You devilish charmer, you." "I want you to meet the rest of the group." "We have Rafael, el guitarron." "Welcome." " Adon on the percussions." " Glad you could make it." " Thank you." " A pleasure." "And then we have here little Jorge on lead guitar." "Jorge." "Mirabela." "I wasn't sure if you were gonna show up." "I really started to doubt it." "And since you're here, why don't we take this opportunity...?" "Now you sing with me, come on." "Nice meeting you guys." " I have to go." " Why?" " Thank you." " What happened?" "I don't know." "Mirabela." "Mirabela, it was perfect." " Antonio." " Did you hear?" "Did you hear?" "You complete the band." "Did you hear the way the room loved you?" "It was just like my mother used to sing." "I'm not your mother." "I'm not that old yet." "I know." "That's not what I meant." " Mirabela, please." "Please listen to me." " Look." "I'm not young or sexy anymore." "Come on." "Who wants to hear me sing?" "I do." "I really do." "I can't." "I just can't." "Oh, Mirabela." " Is it good?" " Oh, yeah." "I've never seen you eat this much, Papa." "I'm a new man now." "I feel so good that I could eat the whole world." "Well, you can start with your breakfast." "Where's that nice young man you've been seeing?" "I haven't seen him around lately." "Since when did you notice such things?" "I had a dream about the two of you last night and you were very happy together." "Well, that's nice, but..." "I don't have time for dreams right now." "Our dreams are the most important thing in this life, preciosa." "Mirabela?" "Come on in." "I'm back here." "Where?" "So, what else do you do besides laundry?" "Housecleaning." " Could you reach that for me?" " What thing?" " You're so silly." " Hey!" "What are you doing?" "Hey." "Give me that." " You want your laundry?" " Have you lost your mind?" " No, I wanna help you regain yours." " What are you talking about?" " I know you really want to do this." " Oh, God." "What makes you think I wanna do that?" " I hate the thought of even doing it." " No, you don't." "You love it." "This is part of you." "It's your whole soul." "Oh, God." " What?" " I thought you were different." " What do you mean?" " You're like all men." "You think that all a woman wants to do is play house?" "Let me tell you something, okay?" "I have dreams." "Big ones." "I wanna sing." "I wanna sing in front of Javier, that two-timing cheater in front of his girlfriend in front of everybody who thinks I'm not thin enough." "In front of the whole damn world." "What is so funny?" "Oh, my God, yes." "I'm laughing at you." "Because you're funny to me." "Oh, yes, you are." "You're very funny to me." "L..." "I..." "I'm gonna see you at rehearsal, at 5:00 today." "And don't be late, okay?" "Don't mix colors with whites." "It gets very muddy." "You know how to do laundry." "Five o'clock." "Mirabela?" "Can I ask you something?" "I don't know." "Have you ever been truly in love?" "I'm not talking about, like, like." "I'm talking about, like, really, really in love?" "I thought I was with Javier, but that was something else." "Right, but..." "Look, but what if you were in love now, let's say with somebody new today how would you tell them?" "Who is she, anyway?" "Well she's this woman who doesn't know her own beauty." "And I just..." "I don't know how to tell her." "Well, you don't tell a woman anything just show her." "Show her you love her." "She'll understand." "Not in her head, but in her heart, where it counts." "Is that in a song somewhere?" "Hey, come on." "You'll see." "Look, look." "Come on in." "I know it." "They'll love you." "Come on." "You'll see." "Mirabela!" "Hey, guys." "Hey, look, I've been working on this electronic loop and..." "Welcome to the Super Estrella Mystery Musician tryouts." "Welcome to the Super Estrella Mystery Musician tryouts." "Today's bands from all over will battle it out to the final stage of the competition." "Only three lucky bands will advance." "So let's kick it off with band number one, Bolivar." "What did she say?" "She said five minutes." "Five times." "Is that 25 minutes?" "Okay, you can take the 5 to the 110 to the..." "That was band number one, Bolivar, straight out of Monterrey, Mexico." " We can take Sepulveda." " Let's hear it for Bolivar." " We're not gonna make it." " Where is she?" "So keep calling in." "Your votes and our judges' votes will be tabulated." "And up next, Las Ultrasonicas." "I'm gonna make them late." " Do I look fat?" " You look fabulous." "Mommy, you look beautiful." "Honestly." "Thank you, babies." "Kiss." "Kiss, kiss." "Enough of that." "You listen to your mom on the radio, okay?" "No more food." " Thank you." "I love you." " Good luck!" " Here she comes." "Here she comes." " Let me see." "You're gorgeous." "That was Las Ultrasonicas." "It looks like you guys liked them." "Cartel de Santa is up next." "Where you guys been?" "Come on, let's go." "Come on." "Zorro, I'm sorry." "Traffic was terrible." " You look great." " Thanks." "You don't think it's too tight?" " No, no, no." "Looks terrific." " Come on, guys." "Let's go." "What an amazing group." "Cartel de Santa." " Let's go." "Come on." " Hurry, hurry." "Come on." "Up next, All Star Gringo Star." "What's the matter?" "Come here." " What's the matter?" " What if they don't get me out there?" "What do you mean, what if they don't get you?" "What if I've been lying to myself and to everybody?" " What if they throw things at us?" " What?" "Yeah, what if it just doesn't work?" "Listen to me." "You've got it." "This is gonna be terrific." "You're ready for this." "This is your moment." "Enjoy it." "Okay?" "Get ready." "Come on." "We worked really hard for this, given it everything we've got." "Now I want you to go out there, be brave, be bold and honest." " Let's go!" "Go, go, go." " Go on and have fun." "Hello, 818." "We're El Gran Colectivo." " Come on in." " So is it hard being in a band?" "You know, performing in front of all those people?" "I usually do it in front of my family and friends but I guess there's a first time for everything." " Let's not talk about it." " You don't want to jinx it." " No." "No." " Thank you." "Thank you." " No, you." "You." " You." "You." "What are you gonna do with the...?" " How are you?" " Dr. Lopez!" " Good to see you." " How you feeling?" " I feel terrific." " You look terrific." " How are you?" " Hey, how are you?" "How have you been?" "You see that?" "Who's that guy Nina's with?" "Some doctor." "Looks like someone's got Nina's attention." "Good for him." "What, you don't care?" "Nope." "Not at all." "Make sure you don't spill." "You don't look like someone who doesn't care." "I know I know you from somewhere." "Well, I live two blocks away from you." " What's your name?" " Beatriz." " Beatriz?" " Yeah." "I see you almost every evening when I come back from work." " How do I look?" " Fantastic." "Nina, will you help me make outfits for the band?" "Sure." "Zorro, I don't know, I don't know." "Nina's driving me crazy." "My mind's on fire." "I don't know what to do." "You'll be fine." " Hi." " Hey." " Are you Antonio Hernandez?" " Yeah." "That's me." "What can I do for you?" " We're from Estrella Arts Management." " Yeah?" "We'd like to talk about your career." "We saw you play at the tryouts." "We think you've got potential." "Well, thank you." "That's very nice of you to say." "There's a great deal of talk lately from the major record labels about recruiting a fresh, new Latin talent." "A solo act to be the next big crossover." " But I'm not a solo act." " With our help, you could be huge." "Playing mainstream songs in English." "I don't know, maybe you have the wrong guy." " Maybe less ruffles." " Okay." "I'll be right back." " Will you start on the hem, hon?" " Of course." "You really do look gorgeous, you know?" "It would look a lot better on you." "No way." "I'm too skinny." "Look at me." "I wish I could have some nice curves like you do." "I'm a stick." "Why do we worry about our bodies all the time?" "We're never satisfied, are we?" "Yeah, and it's usually just to please a man." "I've decided that I don't need a man." "But there is someone that you're crazy about, isn't there?" "Why do you say that?" "I saw you and Antonio at the party." "I'm not ready to get serious with anyone." "Do you love him?" "I don't know." "He loves you." "Really?" "Oh, I'm sure of it." "So, what we're offering is to manage you and set you up as a solo act." " I know." "I understand that." "But I already have a manager." "Look, I know your manager, and he's a really nice guy but he hasn't been in the game for years." "He just can't do for you what we can." "You know, Antonio, sometimes you just have to forget about the past." "This is a fast-paced industry." "If you don't grab your chance when it comes around, you get left behind." " Forgotten." " Yesterday's news." "I mean, to be honest with you it has always been my dream to just make an album." "I just want to have a CD, that's all." "Well, better yet, how about a record deal?" "You really think so?" "You don't think it's too late?" "I still have a chance?" "We wouldn't be here if we didn't." "Well, look, I really gotta think it over." "Sure." "But don't take too long." "This one is on us." " I got it." " Thank you." "I'll take it over there for you." " Well, thank you for coming." " Okay." " Sorry my hands are dirty." " It's okay." "I mean, they're not dirty, they're just greasy." " I'll be in touch, okay?" " Okay." " Thanks." " Thank you." " Here you go." "This should be it." " What's up?" "So you got a record deal, huh?" " Maybe." " Well, good for you, man." " Hey!" " Zorro, I'm so glad you're here." " I need to talk to you." " Can we talk later?" "We're late." "Please, I gotta talk to you." "If you were me and all of a sudden you had opportunities you worked so hard for..." "Opportunities?" "When we're done you'll have more than you ever know." "No, I know, but listen to me." "If you had to then make a choice between two things that you really wanted..." " Listen." "Let me tell you something." "This is the reason I became a manager to begin with to bring beautiful music to the world." "We're gonna bring boleros back to life." "I'm excited about this." "Are you excited?" " Yes." " Of course." "Come on." " Let's go inside." "Come on." "Let's go." " Okay." "I had a sofa made out of this material." "You look wonderful." " I don't look like I'm going to a funeral?" " No." "You look very handsome." "Thank you." "Don't spill on your jackets." "No." "Oh, my goodness, she looks beautiful." "You look great!" "We're back with Pancho from All Star Gringo Star." "So are you excited about the finals?" "Do you think you got a good chance?" "Yeah, I think we do have a really good chance." "Now you told me earlier that the contest has generated so much publicity that there's talk of record industry interest." "Yeah, yeah." "Well, not for us, unfortunately, just yet." "But I did hear that the lead singer from El Gran Colectivo is signing up with a new manager and is going solo right after the contest, so..." "Imagine that." "So he'll be going out on his own?" "Yes, the best of luck for him." "I'm sure your band will stay together and you guys are gonna do just fantastic, Pancho." "You are too kind." "Thank you very much." " Antonio, we need to talk to you." " What is this we hear in the news that you have a new deal with a new manager?" "And that you're going solo?" "How could you do that to Zorro and Mirabela?" "How could you do that to us?" " I thought what we had was good." " I'm really sorry." "I should've told you what was going on." " Yeah, what's going on?" " I feel really bad." "You know..." "Because I keep things inside, and I should say what I'm feeling..." " Oh, please." "So it's true." " No, Mirabela, wait." "I did get the offer." "And let me tell you, it was really tempting, but..." "Antonio, we'd be happy for you." "Just don't do it behind our backs." "I turned it down." "Because..." "Because we're better all together." "Our music is all of us." " Are you sure?" " Of course I'm sure." "Because I don't have a big office downtown." "Who cares about a big office downtown?" "Those big-office people never believed in me like you did." "And what happened to:" ""You're gonna bring the bolero back to the people"?" " What happened to that?" " Okay." "All right." "All right." " Hi." " Hey." "How are you?" " Guess what." " What?" " I'm going to vet school." " That's great." "I'm so happy for you." "That's everything you wanted, right?" "It's great." "I wanted to say I'm sorry." "Sorry for what?" "I think I've been really stupid." "No, no, you had a lot going on." "You couldn't help but be stupid." "I'm just kidding." "I mean, what's important right now is that you become everything your mother said you should become." "But what about us?" "What about us?" "You think that maybe we can start again where we left off?" "But why?" "I mean, I don't know how you feel about me." " Yes, you do." " No, I don't." "Yes, you do." "You're gonna go off to vet school find some vet and do some animal experiments." "Dissect animals and..." "Thank you for shutting me up." " I want you, Antonio." " Really?" "My name is Marco Mendez from Super Estrella and welcome to the Mystery Musician Contest." "Tonight, one lucky band is gonna be named the winner and will open for the mystery musician next week." "But that's not all." "Because that band is gonna walk off with $ 10,000 cash today." "So let's settle back and give a big welcome to the band number one:" "Zoe!" "So how's everybody feeling?" "Have you seen how many people are out there?" " We've never competed before." " Three hundred people." "They got nothing on you." "Nothing." "I'm not gonna lie to you, this is a big night." "But all those people out there they're your friends, they're your family, they're your supporters they're on your side." "This isn't about competition." "You gotta forget about competing." "This is about doing what it is that you do." "And what is it that you do?" "You play." " Right." "Yeah." " That's right." "And you know what?" "You've gotta love what you do." "They'll feel that." "I swear." "Trust me." " All right, give it up for Zoe!" " Okay." "One, two, three, four." " Can I talk to you for a minute?" " What's up?" "I wanted to know, why did you do that to me on the radio?" "Look, man, I..." "This whole thing just got out of hand." "I'm sorry." "It's..." "I guess I wanted it all." "Maybe I was expecting too much, I don't know." "Yeah, well, don't expect too much and you won't regret too much." "Okay, now give it up for All Star Gringo Star." "Come on." "One, two, three, four." "I'm just gonna take a little peek at the crowd." "Oh, no, no, no." "Don't you dare." "Don't let the crowd psych you out." "Mirabela." "Javier." "That bastard." "She's so young." "So skinny." "I can't." "You know what?" "I can't." "Why?" "Why?" "What's the matter?" " I can't do it, okay?" " Why not?" "No, you sing the song." "I told you not to let the crowd get to you, didn't I?" "It's my ex." "He's out there and he's with her." " Okay." "Okay, Mirabela, you're not gonna give up everything because of one dumb guy, are you?" " Oh, God." "I'm not gonna let you do it, okay?" "This means so much to you, and you mean so much to me." "I do?" "Of course you do." "You made me believe in myself." "I did?" "Absolutely." "Thank you." "Oh, it's okay." "Is everything okay?" "We're on in, like, very soon." "We got a little situation." "Her ex is out there." " That's bad?" " Oh, yeah." " Her ex is out there." " So?" "That's bad." "Oh, right." " Listen, he's..." " A loser." " Yeah." "A loser." " A real loser." "If he did not know what a good thing he had when he was with you then he'll never find out." "That's right." "Get up on that stage and show him what you're made of." "Mirabela?" "I don't say much but you were born for this moment." "Now you get up there and you be fantastic for you." " Right, for yourself." " For yourself." "And now let's give it up for El Gran Colectivo!" " Yeah." "Screw him." " Yeah!" "Let's go, guys!" "Hello." "Hello, Los Angeles." "We're El Gran Colectivo and this next song is a pretty song that I want to dedicate to somebody very special to me." "Thank you." "Bravo." "Ladies and gentlemen, we're gonna recount the votes and we'll be right back, so don't go away." "I just want everyone to be ready for whatever happens because this is gonna be very, very close." "Okay, guys." "Okay." "Let's just..." "We've come this far, what if we don't win?" "It doesn't matter." "We have the most important thing, right?" "We have each other." "So come on, let's toast to the winners." " To the winners." " To the winners." " You're right." " Thank you." "Antonio's right, because before this contest, I was solito and I met a beautiful girl and I have beautiful friends." "I love you guys." "You know, it's true, if it wasn't for this contest I never would've met you, Mirabela, my beautiful corazon." "What?" "I've been crazy about you from the first moment I saw you." "I didn't know you felt that way." "Thank you." "Allow me." "If you believe you're a winner, then you are." " Okay, then to the winners!" " To the winners." " To the winners." " To the winners." "Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the mystery musician:" "El Senor Jose Jose!" "Thank you very, very much." "I would like to introduce to you right now the winners of the Mystery Musician Contest:" "El Gran Colectivo!" "And now allow us to sing to you a very special song." "In the end, winning or losing didn't matter." "Because together, we made something greater than if we each had stayed on our paths alone." "And isn't that the beauty of life?" "The love that we give and receive." "So see, my grandfather was right." "Our dreams are very powertul things."