Penny Dreadful: City of Angels (2020) s01e01 Episode Script
Santa Muerte
[wind whistling]
[Santa Muerte] There will come a time
when the world is ready for me,
when nation will battle nation,
when race will devour race,
when brother will kill brother
until not a soul is left.
Are you ready?
"La Llorona" by Chavela Vargas plays ♪
[Santa Muerte] And on that day,
a leader will arise,
and set all the kingdoms to war
and all the races one against the other.
A day when the dark powers
are coming into alignment
and the world is ready to burn.
♪♪♪
[Santa Muerte]
And all it will take is one final
spark.
["La Llorona" by Chavela Vargas
playing on phonograph]
[Jose] Any other music?
I like this one.
You always like the sad ones.
- [Santa Muerte] That boy
- [Tiago] Ay!
You leave him be.
But why trouble yourself with him, hmm?
With any of them?
What are they
but frightened animals in the mud
scratching for more mud,
fully unworthy of your devotion and care?
I'll prove it to you. Just wait.
How will you do that?
By letting them be who they are.
By making all their dreams come true.
[whispers]
By whispering to them.
All mankind needs to be the monster
he truly is
is being told he can.
Will you try to stop me?
I have no heart for the living.
For anything.
Now open your arms, sister.
I'll give you many souls today.
ominous music ♪
[flames roar]
[men shouting]
♪♪♪
[Jose screaming]
Papa!
Papa! No! No!
[Jose screaming]
"La Llorona" by Chavela Vargas plays ♪
Papa!
Papa!
♪♪♪
Papa!
♪♪♪
Mama, you shouldn't have.
Stop. You'll like my cake.
[traditional music playing on stereo]
- [Tiago] Eh!
- Eh!
Let Tiago. This isn't your night.
Tiago, cut the cake. I'm starving.
Because you never eat.
He eats all the time. He's a pig.
- Then why am I so goddamn hungry?
- Muchacho, language.
- Ready?
- Yes.
[Mateo] Mm-hmm.
- [blows air]
- [all cheer]
[Maria] Bravo!
Tiago, show us already. I'm dying.
- It's just a piece of cheap tin.
- Stop it.
What? You can get them
at Walsh for a nickel, right?
Show us.
♪♪♪
[soft chuckle]
[speaking Spanish]
I'm so proud of you.
[both chuckle]
[Tiago] Mama.
[indistinct chatter]
♪♪♪
It's yours as much as mine.
Hmm.
Thank you, Mama.
You don't know how proud I am
this night, for our family.
[speaks Spanish]
Hey, the boy in blue.
[chuckles]
That it?
Come on.
Detective Santiago Vega.
I guess congratulations.
I guess thanks for coming.
Hell, you'll be a gringo
before you know it.
Raul, be proud for your brother.
I'm not gonna pretend to be proud of my
You want him in the cannery
or working the fields?
Your brother made a life.
Respect that.
Okay.
Sorry, Tiago. Okay?
It's been a long day.
Mm.
Let's have a drink, huh?
Yeah? Huh?
♪♪♪
Everyone, I wanna make a toast.
Get a glass.
So, everyone, lift your glass
to, sorry, Mama,
Detective Tiago fucking Vega.
[all] Detective Tiago fucking Vega!
[distant chatter]
♪♪♪
[Maria] You're nervous
about starting work.
[Tiago sighs]
You know, I got a good partner.
[Maria] Hmm.
It's hard there, hmm?
I'm used to it.
But a Chicano patrolman is one thing.
And a detective,
no one very much likes it.
Hey. You earned your badge.
That's not how they see it.
You are the first Chicano detective
in the Los Angeles Police Department.
You wear that badge proudly,
and you help the next man up.
He helps the next one.
That's what we do, eh?
[Tiago] Monday, huh?
Monday morning, those machines start up?
How they look at me.
Like they got, uh, teeth.
Can't stop progress, I guess.
Raul sure tried.
They got an injunction now.
He's going to the city council tomorrow.
Might as well plow the ocean.
Maybe.
You know, this night, your badge.
Tu papá would be proud.
- I mean it, Tiago.
- [sighs]
He sees you tonight.
[bus engine revving]
I gotta get my bus.
[both speaking Spanish]
[bus engine revving]
[background chatter]
gentle music ♪
♪♪♪
[fan whirring]
[phone ringing]
Yeah?
[clears throat]
- Yes?
- [Lewis] Rise and shine.
We got some butchery down the river.
I'll be there in 15 minutes, give or take.
What, today?
Yeah, today.
I don't understand it either.
I don't start until Monday.
Guess what, slick.
You start in 15 minutes.
- [receiver clicks]
- [sighs]
light orchestral music ♪
Why us?
Like I know?
But Vanderhoff called me himself.
Not the watch commander?
Vanderhoff himself.
Jesus.
Fuck, right.
[engine starts]
♪♪♪
[engine revs]
[car door closes]
[Lancaster] Detective Michener.
So, what gets us up so goddamn early?
And on our day off, no less.
Better just see.
foreboding music ♪
[indistinct chatter]
Let's see him.
♪♪♪
Steady, partner. Take a breath.
Well
I guess I should say,
"Welcome to Homicide, Detective Vega."
♪♪♪
[exhales sharply]
♪♪♪
Chest wounds look like a knife
or an axe maybe?
Fucking faces, that's makeup.
This some Hollywood Max Factor bullshit?
Sir, there's one thing more.
[Lewis groans softly]
♪♪♪
"Te llevas nuestro corazon
tomamos el tuyo."
"You take our heart, we take yours."
Well, I guess we know why they called us.
This is some spic thing.
[indistinct chatter]
They took the hearts.
[sighs]
Pal, our day off is officially fucked.
♪♪♪
[man over radio]
As wild and lawless a town
as was ever found in the Old West.
Sergeant
[Tom] If we join the club, we get a badge.
The Green Hornet gave us a ring.
Why do you want a badge?
- Dad, everyone wants a badge.
- Mm.
[Trevor] I don't understand all the snow.
How can there be a blizzard every episode?
- [Peter] Morning, Maria.
- [Maria] Sir.
There's a blizzard because it's the Yukon.
Are we having huevos rancheros?
[chuckles]
Sí, Tom.
- Muchas gracias, Señora Vega.
- [chuckles]
What do you know about blizzards?
- You've never even seen snow.
- Neither have you.
Can we go see snow in the Yukon?
We should go to the Yukon!
Ma'am.
Did you bring the laundry?
Yes, ma'am.
[indistinct radio chatter]
What is that noise?
Sergeant Preston of the Yukon.
- We're going there.
- [Trevor] We are not.
- [Tom] Yes, we are.
- Boys, please.
[indistinct radio chatter]
[radio volume lowers]
Peter, you're going to be late.
You know how traffic is on Fridays.
Wait till they open the new road.
Then I'll just fly.
You have to drive really fast on it.
It's going to have three lanes
and bridges and tunnels.
Behave yourselves, boys, hmm?
Don't play the wireless too loud.
Radio.
[mimics Trevor]
Radio.
Have a good day, my dear.
Be smart in school, Trevor. I love you.
Love you, too.
And you, young Tom,
we'll find the Yukon on the map
and then we'll look at it together.
Hmm? How about that?
I love you.
Bye, Dad.
Maria, a word.
[indistinct radio chatter]
[sighs]
Mrs. Craft needs to rest today, yeah.
And, um
she should not perhaps take any alcohol.
You might let me know.
Yes, sir.
How are your children?
Good, sir.
Any sicknesses, you come to me, hmm?
Thank you, sir.
somber music ♪
[engine starts]
[woman over recording]
While the children slept,
we played bridge.
"While the children slept,
we played 'bwidge.'"
As we played bridge,
the children slept.
[Peter] "As we played bridge,
the children slept."
[sighs]
Try bluing on that.
It won't work, but you'll feel
a real sense of accomplishment.
Then throw the fucking thing away.
[officer laughs]
Hey, Pancho, got any more
of that hair oil?
Got a date with this señorita
down Belvedere way.
Wanna look me all pachuco.
[Jimmy smooches]
Hey, Pancho, you hear me?
That's Detective Pancho.
Fuck you, Michener.
- No, fuck you, Riley.
- Hey, leave it.
You crack wise one more fucking time,
my tongue might just slip
about that little girl of yours
in Sonoratown.
Go on, one more time.
It was a fucking joke, Lewis.
Jesus, you two.
You don't need to do that.
Fuck, I don't.
I can speak for myself.
Then do so.
- [knocks on door]
- [Vanderhoff] Come in.
[background chatter]
Maid called in a missing persons
this morning:
two adults and two juveniles.
We brought her by the morgue,
and she identified your bodies.
James Hazlett and family.
From Beverly Hills.
633 North Canon Drive.
- Fuck.
- No kidding.
So we got four rich white victims
in the fucking LA River.
This gets out, we're looking
at a damn race war.
You don't know how much I wish
those bodies were Mexican.
No offense.
None taken.
But we don't know it was Mexicans
that killed them.
I saw the pictures, Detective.
I know what Spanish writing looks like.
Maybe it's pachucos.
What do a bunch of JDs want
with Beverly Hills?
We'll check the house, sir. Thanks.
[indistinct chatter]
[Peter] Breathe in. Breathe out.
Nice and deep.
- [inhales deeply]
- [Peter] Ah, that's it.
That's it. Okay, yeah.
One more time for me.
Deep breath, now, Frank.
[Magda] You see how it is with him,
how he suffers?
Oh, I've seen this before, Mrs. Brenson.
This is no cause for panic, you see.
I don't want a shot.
[chuckles]
You're not going to get a shot, young man.
But if you're a very good boy,
let me talk to your mother here,
my nurse outside will give you a lollipop
and maybe even
a Lone Ranger book to color in.
Hmm? How does that sound?
- May I?
- Yeah.
Yeah, of course.
I'll be right out.
And what do you say to Dr. Craft?
Thank you, sir.
[chuckles]
He's a good boy, Mrs. Brenson.
Most often, asthma is brought on
by simple allergies we can treat.
It breaks my heart.
And my husband,
he does not understand Frank.
He has no no patience, you see.
[sniffles]
Ah.
[sniffles]
Uh, you know, anxiety is often a trigger
for respiratory distress.
Is Frank subject to any special tensions?
Where are you from?
Essen.
I am Berlin. I was Berlin.
Now I'm Boyle Heights with the Jews.
It is hard for us there, for me and Frank.
It is difficult in this place for us.
My husband, he is American.
He's like all Americans here.
What is that?
He listens to the wrestling on the radio.
He drinks his beer.
He is curious about nothing.
He knows nothing.
My husband says I have to be American.
My husband
dramatic music ♪
Does he hurt you?
Does he hurt the boy?
Ay-yi-yi.
[clicks tongue]
Ah, you poor girl.
[sobs]
[sighs]
You are a kind man.
[sniffles]
If only we had met in Essen.
♪♪♪
Uh
Uh, we'll we'll, um
We'll, uh, meet again in a week.
Anyway, I, um
[Magda clears throat]
I wanna start a series
of, uh, allergy tests on Frank.
So Uh, next Friday, ja?
Ja, good.
Thank you, Dr. Craft.
I think I've soiled your handkerchief.
Oh, keep it, please.
A gift from Essen to Berlin.
Ja, good.
Next Friday, then.
♪♪♪
[door opens]
[door closes]
♪♪♪
[elevator humming]
eerie music ♪
[squelching]
[door opens]
Do you want me to bring you
something for lunch, Doctor?
Uh, no, I'm going out.
Thank you, Laura.
[door closes]
suspenseful music ♪
[overlapping chatter]
- [camera shutter clicking]
- [gavel thumping]
[Townsend] You will be ejected.
I will have order.
Sergeant at arms, eject those people.
No more pictures! Get them out!
You can't bar the press, Charlton.
It's a public hearing.
I can do whatever the hell I want.
Eject them!
[Townsend] We will have no more outbursts
or intemperate language.
The transportation committee
has voted in favor
of construction
of the Arroyo Seco motorway.
The city council has approved
the recommendation.
The municipal court
has overturned the injunction.
So construction will continue
Monday morning as planned.
If any member of the public
would like to speak
in opposition to the council's actions,
they may do so in modest
and economical terms.
I am Raul Vega.
And I speak on behalf
of the Belvedere Heights
Community Action Group,
the Congress of Industrial Organizations,
and the Cannery Workers Union, Local 417
I know who you are, Mr. Vega.
Keep your remarks short.
Short as one question, Mr. Townsend.
Where are we supposed to go?
Where are you supposed to go?
When your new motorway destroys our homes,
our community, our church,
and our livelihood,
where are we supposed to go?
"Where you came from" is not a bad answer.
I was born in Los Angeles County Hospital,
Mr. Townsend, as I believe were you.
Don't you dare bandy words with me.
You would build a motorway
that cuts through the heart
of Belvedere Heights.
Through the house where my mother lives,
through her kitchen,
through the shops and the cannery
that are our jobs,
all so that you could drive
to Pasadena with no stop signs.
What, sir, would you say
if I was to put a motorway
through your kitchen?
I would say, "You can't stand
in the way of progress."
When progress becomes barbarity,
it ceases to be in the public interest.
We are the public, sir,
no matter the color of our skin.
We will not be moved.
Then you will be pushed.
Then the blood will be on your hands.
Don't threaten me with your goddamn
This our home!
We will fight for fight it,
as good Americans have always done.
[speaks Spanish]
Show them our will!
[loud thumping]
[all singing in Spanish]
Officers, clear the chamber.
Eject them!
[singing continues]
[overlapping shouting]
We will have no Bolshevik agitation here!
Eject them!
[gavel thumps]
[crowd clamoring]
[Townsend] And that's how
you conduct a meeting.
- You showed 'em, sir.
- Damn right.
You can't be weak with these Latins.
Their culture's all about machismo.
You show them the whip, they back down.
As if a bunch of taco stands and donkeys
can stand in the way
of the City of Los Angeles.
Exactly right, sir.
But a little less of that.
"Taco stands" and "donkeys."
You don't need that language
to get what you want.
You're going to win,
so you don't give those bastards
in the press any easy ammunition.
You did magnificently today.
You were a strong man.
- Mussolini.
- Mussolini.
Hitler, even.
Now there's a fellow who understands
the judicious exercise of power.
That's right.
Now you just have to stay
the course and keep quiet.
You held the public hearing
as your civic duty required.
You've won.
We'll get this first motorway
under construction,
and then start working on another one.
Keep your transportation committee
front and center,
keep you in the papers.
- Another motorway?
- Maybe through Bunker Hill.
[clicks tongue]
That's the colored's
No, sir, what that is,
is too much valuable real estate
filled with junkies and jig-whores.
Not when there's a motorway to be built.
Motorway going where?
Does it matter?
Also, sir, I've scheduled
a meeting for this afternoon,
something rather special.
What would I do without you?
What indeed, sir.
[car engine revs]
[Tiago] Can I ask you something?
[Lewis] Shoot.
Why'd you take me as your partner?
Seriously?
Yeah.
'Cause no one else wanted you.
Now can I ask you a question?
How come you never wear a hat?
I want everybody to know I'm Chicano.
[sighs]
Lewis
I know what it was,
the painting on the faces.
It's Day of the Dead makeup,
honoring Santa Muerte.
Which is what the fuck, exactly?
Folk religion from the peasants in Mexico.
Santa Muerte's the angel of holy death.
She's the one who brings
dead people to heaven.
Oh, she's the one who does that.
They built this whole religion around her.
Her and the other holy angels and devils.
So it's Mexicans for sure.
We don't know that.
Well, true, there wasn't
an actual mariachi band
at the crime scene.
Let me talk to my mother about it.
She knows all about Santa Muerte.
Why's that?
[scoffs]
She thinks she's a witch.
[speaks Spanish]
Oh, shut the fuck up.
It's a strange ol' world.
rousing percussive music ♪
♪♪♪
Hello, fellow Americans.
Hello, fellow Angelinos.
We are the German American Bund.
I promise not to ruin your lunch hour.
I'm on mine, too.
[light laughter]
My name is Peter Craft.
And I live not too far from here.
I have two boys.
Tom and Trevor, they are called.
And I will do anything to keep them safe.
So, if there's a fight down the street,
I keep my boys out of it.
Why should their noses get bloodied
in someone else's fight?
Hmm? What is it to do with us?
This country has a duty
to keep its children safe, too.
And yet I hear so much talk
about America going down the street
and getting involved
in someone else's fight.
Surely, Europe is Europe
and America is America.
Why should we throw our children
into the quarrels of nations
so many miles distant
and so very alien to us?
What has it to do with America?
Look around you, my friends.
The sun is shining,
you drink a milk carton or a soda pop,
you eat a frankfurter,
which you can thank my people
for inventing, by the way.
Ja. Ah, with mustard.
Oh, and sauerkraut over there.
Even Ah, I see you.
So let's enjoy our life here,
and leave the Old World to itself.
I say America first.
America always!
Peace above all.
Come on, let's go.
[light applause]
tense music ♪
[car door closes]
One motorcycle, that's it?
We keep things discreet
here in Beverly Hills.
[door opens]
[door closes]
So they're true believers, I take it.
[sighs deeply]
[woman over radio] It is our sacred duty
to spread the good word far and wide.
All across this land,
I see unhappiness and strife
and thousands of aching hearts crying out
for the embrace of their loving Father.
This, brothers and sisters, is why I've
[exhales deeply]
These fucking cultists now.
I'll take upstairs.
Look for blood.
Don't forget the drains.
suspenseful music ♪
♪♪♪
[Lewis] No bloodletting upstairs.
Or here, no forced entry.
Hazlett was an elder in the church
or whatever lunatic thing
they call the big pooh-bahs there.
He was building the Arroyo Seco,
his company.
"You take our heart, we take yours."
♪♪♪
[car approaching]
ominous music ♪
Councilman Townsend.
I am Richard Goss
of the building-architecture firm,
Goss and Ossenberg.
How do you do?
Mr. Goss.
Thanks for meeting here.
Our dear Alex thought discretion
was advisable.
And why's that?
A gift from the Fuehrer.
My firm is doing some work
on the Reich Chancellery,
making everything more monumental.
We've also done much work on the autobahn,
the motorways of Germany,
this is, for many years now.
Oh, I get it.
You wanna start building motorways here.
Only we can't hire foreign companies
'cause of national security concerns.
This is of no matter.
Really, sir, what we want
is to make you the Mayor of Los Angeles.
You are a man we believe
with whom we can work.
I'm one member of the city council.
That's all.
Mayor is a long way off
Not that far, especially if we keep
the transportation committee
in the public eye,
get you on the radio more.
Allow us to help.
And in return?
More motorways for us to build,
some government contracts
skirting perhaps some of the military's
more onerous regulations.
What we want
is a sympathetic ear, no more.
For which you'll pay.
Indecently.
You see, we believe this place
is the future of America.
What is New York but a filthy remnant
of old-world beliefs filled
with rat peddlers?
But Los Angeles
this is a place where a man can live
under the sun and spread his arms,
where there's breathing room.
The Fuehrer looks here and dreams.
Do you know what I did yesterday
under specific orders from Berlin?
I measured streets, selecting that one,
which is most appropriate
for a victory parade,
wide enough for our panzer tanks.
It's Wilshire Boulevard, by the way.
- You got big plans.
- They're more than plans.
This is happening, sir,
as we speak, all over the city.
We have agents in the aircraft factories,
in the ports, in the film studios.
You sure you should be telling me this?
What if I go to the FBI?
Hmm.
[inhales sharply]
You see my driver there?
He's Gestapo. Do you know what that is?
If he doesn't see this conversation end
with a handshake,
I've instructed him to take his gun
and shoot you through the head.
And we'll have to find another candidate
for mayor, alas.
I won't betray my country.
Of course you will.
♪♪♪
Now I must be going.
It has truly been my pleasure,
Mr. Townsend.
Or shall I say, Your Honor?
The pleasure was mine, sir.
Heil Hitler.
♪♪♪
[Spanish dance music playing on stereo]
[woman giggling]
[indistinct chatter]
[jazz music playing on phonograph]
Changes and mosquitos ♪
Don't bother me no more ♪
[panting]
Oh, changes and mosquitos ♪
[indistinct chatter]
[muffled jazz music playing on phonograph]
[man] What the fuck
[Josefina] Mateo!
Mateo, stop! Leave him alone.
- What are you
- Get the fuck out!
[Josefina] Stop it! Don't! Stop it!
She's in high school,
you pervert shithead!
I'll never see you again!
[Josefina]
Mateo, he wasn't doing anything.
- You're not my father!
- [Maria] Hey!
Josefina, no more. Inside, now!
Fucking bastard was feeling her up.
[breathing heavily]
♪♪♪
No more!
No more words like that.
You were raised for better
than fighting in the street.
Yeah, like sweeping up
for three dollars a week?
- Huh?
- You'll do more.
Like the cannery or
or maybe cleaning out toilets?
Huh?
This is it. There is no more.
If I thought that,
we'd still be living in the barrio.
You'll make your way up, mijo.
This is America.
You keep dreaming your dreams, Mama,
and maybe Santa Muerte
will make them come true one day.
But for the rest of us
who wants a spic?
somber music ♪
[speaks Spanish]
Look at you, all grown up.
Mama, you got a minute?
Walk with me.
So, you heard anything
from Santa Muerte lately?
You don't believe. Why are you asking?
Someone in the Arroyo community, I mean.
Something I should know about,
maybe some of violence,
some kind of curse.
Santa Muerte doesn't curse.
She's a holy angel.
She guide us peacefully to heaven.
She didn't guide my father so peacefully.
You were too young. You don't remember.
He died burning in agony, Mom.
What don't I remember?
What did you want, Santiago?
There's been some trouble, very bad,
and it looks like Mexicans.
I just want you to keep your eyes open
and let me know if there's any
special Santa Muerte rituals going on
black masses, anything with Arroyos.
- From this religion you don't believe in.
- That's right.
From this holy angel who touched
your shoulder and marked you?
Please.
When are you going to believe the truth
that is written on your own skin?
Not tonight.
[clicks tongue]
[sighs]
[Maria murmuring]
So, you'll help me out?
Listen for anything to do
with Santa Muerte.
I'll do what I can.
But you have to think about something.
This angel that you don't believe in,
you might need her one day.
What do you do then?
♪♪♪
[chuckles]
Come on.
You dance with your mother now.
These old men can't keep up.
[upbeat dance music playing on stereo]
[background chatter]
♪♪♪
[Tiago] Whoo!
[speaks Spanish]
Whoa!
Oh!
[both speaking Spanish]
♪♪♪
[indistinct chatter]
Ah.
[Maria] Ooh!
♪♪♪
- [speaks indistinctly]
- Oh!
[speaking Spanish]
[laughter]
[Raul] And so he grabbed him
by the neck, huh,
dragged him out like fucking Tarzan.
[Tiago] Little Mateo?
[Raul chuckles]
I swear.
He was like Johnny Weissmuller, huh?
Screaming, "you pervert" this,
"you fuckhead" that.
"You don't touch the tit
of my sainted sister!"
Hey, Mateo, you bust
that pervert good, huh?
Oh, you're so funny.
He was feeling her up
with every fat mama in town watching.
Oh, come on, like you never felt up
a girl in high school.
She's our sister.
She's not just some girl.
- [Tiago chuckles]
- Come on.
Oh, Jesus. Mama burned my ass, though.
[all laugh]
You working Monday?
Monday? No.
The Angels are playing.
I can get you tickets.
Maybe you take Josefina,
buy her something nice.
Stop it, Tiago.
- He shouldn't be there.
- You shouldn't be there.
It's my job.
It's your job to tear down our house?
They're not tearing down our house.
Not yet.
Look, Monday morning,
those bulldozers start up.
This is it, Raul.
I'm sorry, but this is it.
You know where they are?
Those machines?
At the empty lot across from the laundry,
where we used to play Tom Mix.
They're calling in men from precincts
all over the goddamn city.
We'll be ready.
Keep Mateo out of it.
- I can make up my own mind.
- Shut the fuck up!
[Raul] If we let them push us out here,
where does it end?
- When we're back in Mexico?
- That's done.
No one's talking
about deporting anyone, Raul.
- But this is how it starts!
- Come on.
You know what?
You're so goddamned concerned, Tiago,
maybe you oughta go to the Angels game
instead of fucking your people
one more time.
You go against the cops,
they'll shoot you down like animals.
That's what you are to them.
[scoffs]
And what are you?
Where's your heart, Tiago?
somber music ♪
[Tiago] Fay Thomas is pitching Monday.
You oughta think about it.
foreboding music ♪
♪♪♪
[loud knocking]
What a pleasant surprise.
What the fuck are you doing here?
I'm not coming tomorrow.
Say again.
I'm not coming.
It's our precinct.
You heard the captain.
We all gotta be there.
I can't.
So let me establish this
to my understanding.
It's your second day on the job,
and you're not gonna be there?
Playing a quick nine
at the Wilshire Country Club, are you?
I don't expect you to understand.
We got four bodies in the morgue,
we got a fucking race riot
all scheduled for tomorrow,
and you're taking the day off?
Listen, pal, in this life,
you're a cowboy or you're an Indian.
You better fucking choose.
[Maria whispering in Spanish]
[whispering continues]
Holy angel, mother of death, hear my plea.
Holy angel, mother of death
Holy angel, mother of death, hear my plea.
Mother of death, hear my plea.
[breathing heavily]
Holy angel, mother of death, hear my plea.
[speaking Spanish]
Holy angel, mother of death, hear my plea.
- [distant growling]
- [gasps]
tense music ♪
[whimpers]
[gasps]
♪♪♪
[speaks Spanish]
Why do you wake me?
I need your help.
There is evil walking now.
I can feel it.
If you're dying, I will come to you.
But if your leg is in a trap,
you must chew it off yourself.
I will see you in your final moment
[speaks Spanish]
[Maria] Please help me.
[breathes shakily]
Please, please help me.
Help me, please. Help.
somber music ♪
There is a prophecy.
A time will come
when nation will battle nation,
when race will devour race,
when brother will kill brother
until not a soul is left.
And is that time now?
Who can say?
You can!
♪♪♪
But there are so many corpses to gather.
Everywhere I look,
every step I take
I wade through that agony.
♪♪♪
I have no heart to care for man.
No. Please, no.
The time you speak of is now,
and it's here, right here.
We have to do something!
Don't ask me.
[speaks Spanish]
You slept too long!
Enough.
There is a great battle coming,
and it's here!
And we need you here, and we need you now!
Will you sleep as your bitch
of a sister conquers
[roars]
[gasps]
♪♪♪
[loud knocking]
[knocking continues]
- Mama?
- Will you be there tomorrow?
When that construction starts.
- No, I I decided
- You have to.
Santa Muerte spoke to me.
Jesus.
She chose you!
You'll lie to yourself, but not to me.
This is who you are.
Tomorrow, you have to stop it,
whatever it takes.
Or?
It all ends in blood or in fire.
You saw her. You know it happened.
Santa Muerte chose you.
somber music ♪
You couldn't save your father.
Maybe you can save yourself.
♪♪♪
tense music ♪
♪♪♪
Well, good morning, sunshine.
Couldn't get a tee time at Wilshire?
I'm sorry about all that.
Forget it, partner. I'm glad you're here.
You will disperse.
This is an illegal action.
We will have no disobedience.
If you do not disperse,
you will be arrested.
[crowd murmuring]
[Vanderhoff] You will disperse.
♪♪♪
ominous music ♪
You know how many times
I've fired my weapon in the job?
Never.
[clicks]
[sighs]
♪♪♪
Whatever you're about to do, don't.
I used to play on this street.
You don't anymore.
♪♪♪
What's this now?
♪♪♪
You all know me.
I grew up there.
That's That's my house.
You know that.
So listen to me.
You need to go home now.
No matter what you think,
no matter what you hope,
you can't stop this!
[speaking Spanish]
[Tiago continues in Spanish]
[speaking Spanish]
♪♪♪
[inaudible]
Por favor.
♪♪♪
Por favor.
[speaking Spanish]
[speaking Spanish]
[inaudible]
♪♪♪
Shame!
[inaudible]
[gunshot]
[man groans]
[crowd clamoring]
[crowd shouting]
[gunshot]
[yelling]
[indistinct shouting]
[gunshots]
[all grunting]
[groans]
[Josefina whimpering]
[gunshots]
[groaning]
[smoke hissing]
[grunting]
[inaudible]
[both grunt]
[man groaning]
[inaudible]
[all clamoring]
[officer 1] Stay down! Stay down now!
[all grunting]
[gunshots]
[officer 2] No.
♪♪♪
[groans]
[grunting]
Raul!
Raul!
Raul!
intense music ♪
Raul, no!
[gunshot]
"La Llorona" by Chavela Vargas plays ♪
[muffled shouting]
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
[Santa Muerte] There will come a time
when the world is ready for me,
when nation will battle nation,
when race will devour race,
when brother will kill brother
until not a soul is left.
Are you ready?
"La Llorona" by Chavela Vargas plays ♪
[Santa Muerte] And on that day,
a leader will arise,
and set all the kingdoms to war
and all the races one against the other.
A day when the dark powers
are coming into alignment
and the world is ready to burn.
♪♪♪
[Santa Muerte]
And all it will take is one final
spark.
["La Llorona" by Chavela Vargas
playing on phonograph]
[Jose] Any other music?
I like this one.
You always like the sad ones.
- [Santa Muerte] That boy
- [Tiago] Ay!
You leave him be.
But why trouble yourself with him, hmm?
With any of them?
What are they
but frightened animals in the mud
scratching for more mud,
fully unworthy of your devotion and care?
I'll prove it to you. Just wait.
How will you do that?
By letting them be who they are.
By making all their dreams come true.
[whispers]
By whispering to them.
All mankind needs to be the monster
he truly is
is being told he can.
Will you try to stop me?
I have no heart for the living.
For anything.
Now open your arms, sister.
I'll give you many souls today.
ominous music ♪
[flames roar]
[men shouting]
♪♪♪
[Jose screaming]
Papa!
Papa! No! No!
[Jose screaming]
"La Llorona" by Chavela Vargas plays ♪
Papa!
Papa!
♪♪♪
Papa!
♪♪♪
Mama, you shouldn't have.
Stop. You'll like my cake.
[traditional music playing on stereo]
- [Tiago] Eh!
- Eh!
Let Tiago. This isn't your night.
Tiago, cut the cake. I'm starving.
Because you never eat.
He eats all the time. He's a pig.
- Then why am I so goddamn hungry?
- Muchacho, language.
- Ready?
- Yes.
[Mateo] Mm-hmm.
- [blows air]
- [all cheer]
[Maria] Bravo!
Tiago, show us already. I'm dying.
- It's just a piece of cheap tin.
- Stop it.
What? You can get them
at Walsh for a nickel, right?
Show us.
♪♪♪
[soft chuckle]
[speaking Spanish]
I'm so proud of you.
[both chuckle]
[Tiago] Mama.
[indistinct chatter]
♪♪♪
It's yours as much as mine.
Hmm.
Thank you, Mama.
You don't know how proud I am
this night, for our family.
[speaks Spanish]
Hey, the boy in blue.
[chuckles]
That it?
Come on.
Detective Santiago Vega.
I guess congratulations.
I guess thanks for coming.
Hell, you'll be a gringo
before you know it.
Raul, be proud for your brother.
I'm not gonna pretend to be proud of my
You want him in the cannery
or working the fields?
Your brother made a life.
Respect that.
Okay.
Sorry, Tiago. Okay?
It's been a long day.
Mm.
Let's have a drink, huh?
Yeah? Huh?
♪♪♪
Everyone, I wanna make a toast.
Get a glass.
So, everyone, lift your glass
to, sorry, Mama,
Detective Tiago fucking Vega.
[all] Detective Tiago fucking Vega!
[distant chatter]
♪♪♪
[Maria] You're nervous
about starting work.
[Tiago sighs]
You know, I got a good partner.
[Maria] Hmm.
It's hard there, hmm?
I'm used to it.
But a Chicano patrolman is one thing.
And a detective,
no one very much likes it.
Hey. You earned your badge.
That's not how they see it.
You are the first Chicano detective
in the Los Angeles Police Department.
You wear that badge proudly,
and you help the next man up.
He helps the next one.
That's what we do, eh?
[Tiago] Monday, huh?
Monday morning, those machines start up?
How they look at me.
Like they got, uh, teeth.
Can't stop progress, I guess.
Raul sure tried.
They got an injunction now.
He's going to the city council tomorrow.
Might as well plow the ocean.
Maybe.
You know, this night, your badge.
Tu papá would be proud.
- I mean it, Tiago.
- [sighs]
He sees you tonight.
[bus engine revving]
I gotta get my bus.
[both speaking Spanish]
[bus engine revving]
[background chatter]
gentle music ♪
♪♪♪
[fan whirring]
[phone ringing]
Yeah?
[clears throat]
- Yes?
- [Lewis] Rise and shine.
We got some butchery down the river.
I'll be there in 15 minutes, give or take.
What, today?
Yeah, today.
I don't understand it either.
I don't start until Monday.
Guess what, slick.
You start in 15 minutes.
- [receiver clicks]
- [sighs]
light orchestral music ♪
Why us?
Like I know?
But Vanderhoff called me himself.
Not the watch commander?
Vanderhoff himself.
Jesus.
Fuck, right.
[engine starts]
♪♪♪
[engine revs]
[car door closes]
[Lancaster] Detective Michener.
So, what gets us up so goddamn early?
And on our day off, no less.
Better just see.
foreboding music ♪
[indistinct chatter]
Let's see him.
♪♪♪
Steady, partner. Take a breath.
Well
I guess I should say,
"Welcome to Homicide, Detective Vega."
♪♪♪
[exhales sharply]
♪♪♪
Chest wounds look like a knife
or an axe maybe?
Fucking faces, that's makeup.
This some Hollywood Max Factor bullshit?
Sir, there's one thing more.
[Lewis groans softly]
♪♪♪
"Te llevas nuestro corazon
tomamos el tuyo."
"You take our heart, we take yours."
Well, I guess we know why they called us.
This is some spic thing.
[indistinct chatter]
They took the hearts.
[sighs]
Pal, our day off is officially fucked.
♪♪♪
[man over radio]
As wild and lawless a town
as was ever found in the Old West.
Sergeant
[Tom] If we join the club, we get a badge.
The Green Hornet gave us a ring.
Why do you want a badge?
- Dad, everyone wants a badge.
- Mm.
[Trevor] I don't understand all the snow.
How can there be a blizzard every episode?
- [Peter] Morning, Maria.
- [Maria] Sir.
There's a blizzard because it's the Yukon.
Are we having huevos rancheros?
[chuckles]
Sí, Tom.
- Muchas gracias, Señora Vega.
- [chuckles]
What do you know about blizzards?
- You've never even seen snow.
- Neither have you.
Can we go see snow in the Yukon?
We should go to the Yukon!
Ma'am.
Did you bring the laundry?
Yes, ma'am.
[indistinct radio chatter]
What is that noise?
Sergeant Preston of the Yukon.
- We're going there.
- [Trevor] We are not.
- [Tom] Yes, we are.
- Boys, please.
[indistinct radio chatter]
[radio volume lowers]
Peter, you're going to be late.
You know how traffic is on Fridays.
Wait till they open the new road.
Then I'll just fly.
You have to drive really fast on it.
It's going to have three lanes
and bridges and tunnels.
Behave yourselves, boys, hmm?
Don't play the wireless too loud.
Radio.
[mimics Trevor]
Radio.
Have a good day, my dear.
Be smart in school, Trevor. I love you.
Love you, too.
And you, young Tom,
we'll find the Yukon on the map
and then we'll look at it together.
Hmm? How about that?
I love you.
Bye, Dad.
Maria, a word.
[indistinct radio chatter]
[sighs]
Mrs. Craft needs to rest today, yeah.
And, um
she should not perhaps take any alcohol.
You might let me know.
Yes, sir.
How are your children?
Good, sir.
Any sicknesses, you come to me, hmm?
Thank you, sir.
somber music ♪
[engine starts]
[woman over recording]
While the children slept,
we played bridge.
"While the children slept,
we played 'bwidge.'"
As we played bridge,
the children slept.
[Peter] "As we played bridge,
the children slept."
[sighs]
Try bluing on that.
It won't work, but you'll feel
a real sense of accomplishment.
Then throw the fucking thing away.
[officer laughs]
Hey, Pancho, got any more
of that hair oil?
Got a date with this señorita
down Belvedere way.
Wanna look me all pachuco.
[Jimmy smooches]
Hey, Pancho, you hear me?
That's Detective Pancho.
Fuck you, Michener.
- No, fuck you, Riley.
- Hey, leave it.
You crack wise one more fucking time,
my tongue might just slip
about that little girl of yours
in Sonoratown.
Go on, one more time.
It was a fucking joke, Lewis.
Jesus, you two.
You don't need to do that.
Fuck, I don't.
I can speak for myself.
Then do so.
- [knocks on door]
- [Vanderhoff] Come in.
[background chatter]
Maid called in a missing persons
this morning:
two adults and two juveniles.
We brought her by the morgue,
and she identified your bodies.
James Hazlett and family.
From Beverly Hills.
633 North Canon Drive.
- Fuck.
- No kidding.
So we got four rich white victims
in the fucking LA River.
This gets out, we're looking
at a damn race war.
You don't know how much I wish
those bodies were Mexican.
No offense.
None taken.
But we don't know it was Mexicans
that killed them.
I saw the pictures, Detective.
I know what Spanish writing looks like.
Maybe it's pachucos.
What do a bunch of JDs want
with Beverly Hills?
We'll check the house, sir. Thanks.
[indistinct chatter]
[Peter] Breathe in. Breathe out.
Nice and deep.
- [inhales deeply]
- [Peter] Ah, that's it.
That's it. Okay, yeah.
One more time for me.
Deep breath, now, Frank.
[Magda] You see how it is with him,
how he suffers?
Oh, I've seen this before, Mrs. Brenson.
This is no cause for panic, you see.
I don't want a shot.
[chuckles]
You're not going to get a shot, young man.
But if you're a very good boy,
let me talk to your mother here,
my nurse outside will give you a lollipop
and maybe even
a Lone Ranger book to color in.
Hmm? How does that sound?
- May I?
- Yeah.
Yeah, of course.
I'll be right out.
And what do you say to Dr. Craft?
Thank you, sir.
[chuckles]
He's a good boy, Mrs. Brenson.
Most often, asthma is brought on
by simple allergies we can treat.
It breaks my heart.
And my husband,
he does not understand Frank.
He has no no patience, you see.
[sniffles]
Ah.
[sniffles]
Uh, you know, anxiety is often a trigger
for respiratory distress.
Is Frank subject to any special tensions?
Where are you from?
Essen.
I am Berlin. I was Berlin.
Now I'm Boyle Heights with the Jews.
It is hard for us there, for me and Frank.
It is difficult in this place for us.
My husband, he is American.
He's like all Americans here.
What is that?
He listens to the wrestling on the radio.
He drinks his beer.
He is curious about nothing.
He knows nothing.
My husband says I have to be American.
My husband
dramatic music ♪
Does he hurt you?
Does he hurt the boy?
Ay-yi-yi.
[clicks tongue]
Ah, you poor girl.
[sobs]
[sighs]
You are a kind man.
[sniffles]
If only we had met in Essen.
♪♪♪
Uh
Uh, we'll we'll, um
We'll, uh, meet again in a week.
Anyway, I, um
[Magda clears throat]
I wanna start a series
of, uh, allergy tests on Frank.
So Uh, next Friday, ja?
Ja, good.
Thank you, Dr. Craft.
I think I've soiled your handkerchief.
Oh, keep it, please.
A gift from Essen to Berlin.
Ja, good.
Next Friday, then.
♪♪♪
[door opens]
[door closes]
♪♪♪
[elevator humming]
eerie music ♪
[squelching]
[door opens]
Do you want me to bring you
something for lunch, Doctor?
Uh, no, I'm going out.
Thank you, Laura.
[door closes]
suspenseful music ♪
[overlapping chatter]
- [camera shutter clicking]
- [gavel thumping]
[Townsend] You will be ejected.
I will have order.
Sergeant at arms, eject those people.
No more pictures! Get them out!
You can't bar the press, Charlton.
It's a public hearing.
I can do whatever the hell I want.
Eject them!
[Townsend] We will have no more outbursts
or intemperate language.
The transportation committee
has voted in favor
of construction
of the Arroyo Seco motorway.
The city council has approved
the recommendation.
The municipal court
has overturned the injunction.
So construction will continue
Monday morning as planned.
If any member of the public
would like to speak
in opposition to the council's actions,
they may do so in modest
and economical terms.
I am Raul Vega.
And I speak on behalf
of the Belvedere Heights
Community Action Group,
the Congress of Industrial Organizations,
and the Cannery Workers Union, Local 417
I know who you are, Mr. Vega.
Keep your remarks short.
Short as one question, Mr. Townsend.
Where are we supposed to go?
Where are you supposed to go?
When your new motorway destroys our homes,
our community, our church,
and our livelihood,
where are we supposed to go?
"Where you came from" is not a bad answer.
I was born in Los Angeles County Hospital,
Mr. Townsend, as I believe were you.
Don't you dare bandy words with me.
You would build a motorway
that cuts through the heart
of Belvedere Heights.
Through the house where my mother lives,
through her kitchen,
through the shops and the cannery
that are our jobs,
all so that you could drive
to Pasadena with no stop signs.
What, sir, would you say
if I was to put a motorway
through your kitchen?
I would say, "You can't stand
in the way of progress."
When progress becomes barbarity,
it ceases to be in the public interest.
We are the public, sir,
no matter the color of our skin.
We will not be moved.
Then you will be pushed.
Then the blood will be on your hands.
Don't threaten me with your goddamn
This our home!
We will fight for fight it,
as good Americans have always done.
[speaks Spanish]
Show them our will!
[loud thumping]
[all singing in Spanish]
Officers, clear the chamber.
Eject them!
[singing continues]
[overlapping shouting]
We will have no Bolshevik agitation here!
Eject them!
[gavel thumps]
[crowd clamoring]
[Townsend] And that's how
you conduct a meeting.
- You showed 'em, sir.
- Damn right.
You can't be weak with these Latins.
Their culture's all about machismo.
You show them the whip, they back down.
As if a bunch of taco stands and donkeys
can stand in the way
of the City of Los Angeles.
Exactly right, sir.
But a little less of that.
"Taco stands" and "donkeys."
You don't need that language
to get what you want.
You're going to win,
so you don't give those bastards
in the press any easy ammunition.
You did magnificently today.
You were a strong man.
- Mussolini.
- Mussolini.
Hitler, even.
Now there's a fellow who understands
the judicious exercise of power.
That's right.
Now you just have to stay
the course and keep quiet.
You held the public hearing
as your civic duty required.
You've won.
We'll get this first motorway
under construction,
and then start working on another one.
Keep your transportation committee
front and center,
keep you in the papers.
- Another motorway?
- Maybe through Bunker Hill.
[clicks tongue]
That's the colored's
No, sir, what that is,
is too much valuable real estate
filled with junkies and jig-whores.
Not when there's a motorway to be built.
Motorway going where?
Does it matter?
Also, sir, I've scheduled
a meeting for this afternoon,
something rather special.
What would I do without you?
What indeed, sir.
[car engine revs]
[Tiago] Can I ask you something?
[Lewis] Shoot.
Why'd you take me as your partner?
Seriously?
Yeah.
'Cause no one else wanted you.
Now can I ask you a question?
How come you never wear a hat?
I want everybody to know I'm Chicano.
[sighs]
Lewis
I know what it was,
the painting on the faces.
It's Day of the Dead makeup,
honoring Santa Muerte.
Which is what the fuck, exactly?
Folk religion from the peasants in Mexico.
Santa Muerte's the angel of holy death.
She's the one who brings
dead people to heaven.
Oh, she's the one who does that.
They built this whole religion around her.
Her and the other holy angels and devils.
So it's Mexicans for sure.
We don't know that.
Well, true, there wasn't
an actual mariachi band
at the crime scene.
Let me talk to my mother about it.
She knows all about Santa Muerte.
Why's that?
[scoffs]
She thinks she's a witch.
[speaks Spanish]
Oh, shut the fuck up.
It's a strange ol' world.
rousing percussive music ♪
♪♪♪
Hello, fellow Americans.
Hello, fellow Angelinos.
We are the German American Bund.
I promise not to ruin your lunch hour.
I'm on mine, too.
[light laughter]
My name is Peter Craft.
And I live not too far from here.
I have two boys.
Tom and Trevor, they are called.
And I will do anything to keep them safe.
So, if there's a fight down the street,
I keep my boys out of it.
Why should their noses get bloodied
in someone else's fight?
Hmm? What is it to do with us?
This country has a duty
to keep its children safe, too.
And yet I hear so much talk
about America going down the street
and getting involved
in someone else's fight.
Surely, Europe is Europe
and America is America.
Why should we throw our children
into the quarrels of nations
so many miles distant
and so very alien to us?
What has it to do with America?
Look around you, my friends.
The sun is shining,
you drink a milk carton or a soda pop,
you eat a frankfurter,
which you can thank my people
for inventing, by the way.
Ja. Ah, with mustard.
Oh, and sauerkraut over there.
Even Ah, I see you.
So let's enjoy our life here,
and leave the Old World to itself.
I say America first.
America always!
Peace above all.
Come on, let's go.
[light applause]
tense music ♪
[car door closes]
One motorcycle, that's it?
We keep things discreet
here in Beverly Hills.
[door opens]
[door closes]
So they're true believers, I take it.
[sighs deeply]
[woman over radio] It is our sacred duty
to spread the good word far and wide.
All across this land,
I see unhappiness and strife
and thousands of aching hearts crying out
for the embrace of their loving Father.
This, brothers and sisters, is why I've
[exhales deeply]
These fucking cultists now.
I'll take upstairs.
Look for blood.
Don't forget the drains.
suspenseful music ♪
♪♪♪
[Lewis] No bloodletting upstairs.
Or here, no forced entry.
Hazlett was an elder in the church
or whatever lunatic thing
they call the big pooh-bahs there.
He was building the Arroyo Seco,
his company.
"You take our heart, we take yours."
♪♪♪
[car approaching]
ominous music ♪
Councilman Townsend.
I am Richard Goss
of the building-architecture firm,
Goss and Ossenberg.
How do you do?
Mr. Goss.
Thanks for meeting here.
Our dear Alex thought discretion
was advisable.
And why's that?
A gift from the Fuehrer.
My firm is doing some work
on the Reich Chancellery,
making everything more monumental.
We've also done much work on the autobahn,
the motorways of Germany,
this is, for many years now.
Oh, I get it.
You wanna start building motorways here.
Only we can't hire foreign companies
'cause of national security concerns.
This is of no matter.
Really, sir, what we want
is to make you the Mayor of Los Angeles.
You are a man we believe
with whom we can work.
I'm one member of the city council.
That's all.
Mayor is a long way off
Not that far, especially if we keep
the transportation committee
in the public eye,
get you on the radio more.
Allow us to help.
And in return?
More motorways for us to build,
some government contracts
skirting perhaps some of the military's
more onerous regulations.
What we want
is a sympathetic ear, no more.
For which you'll pay.
Indecently.
You see, we believe this place
is the future of America.
What is New York but a filthy remnant
of old-world beliefs filled
with rat peddlers?
But Los Angeles
this is a place where a man can live
under the sun and spread his arms,
where there's breathing room.
The Fuehrer looks here and dreams.
Do you know what I did yesterday
under specific orders from Berlin?
I measured streets, selecting that one,
which is most appropriate
for a victory parade,
wide enough for our panzer tanks.
It's Wilshire Boulevard, by the way.
- You got big plans.
- They're more than plans.
This is happening, sir,
as we speak, all over the city.
We have agents in the aircraft factories,
in the ports, in the film studios.
You sure you should be telling me this?
What if I go to the FBI?
Hmm.
[inhales sharply]
You see my driver there?
He's Gestapo. Do you know what that is?
If he doesn't see this conversation end
with a handshake,
I've instructed him to take his gun
and shoot you through the head.
And we'll have to find another candidate
for mayor, alas.
I won't betray my country.
Of course you will.
♪♪♪
Now I must be going.
It has truly been my pleasure,
Mr. Townsend.
Or shall I say, Your Honor?
The pleasure was mine, sir.
Heil Hitler.
♪♪♪
[Spanish dance music playing on stereo]
[woman giggling]
[indistinct chatter]
[jazz music playing on phonograph]
Changes and mosquitos ♪
Don't bother me no more ♪
[panting]
Oh, changes and mosquitos ♪
[indistinct chatter]
[muffled jazz music playing on phonograph]
[man] What the fuck
[Josefina] Mateo!
Mateo, stop! Leave him alone.
- What are you
- Get the fuck out!
[Josefina] Stop it! Don't! Stop it!
She's in high school,
you pervert shithead!
I'll never see you again!
[Josefina]
Mateo, he wasn't doing anything.
- You're not my father!
- [Maria] Hey!
Josefina, no more. Inside, now!
Fucking bastard was feeling her up.
[breathing heavily]
♪♪♪
No more!
No more words like that.
You were raised for better
than fighting in the street.
Yeah, like sweeping up
for three dollars a week?
- Huh?
- You'll do more.
Like the cannery or
or maybe cleaning out toilets?
Huh?
This is it. There is no more.
If I thought that,
we'd still be living in the barrio.
You'll make your way up, mijo.
This is America.
You keep dreaming your dreams, Mama,
and maybe Santa Muerte
will make them come true one day.
But for the rest of us
who wants a spic?
somber music ♪
[speaks Spanish]
Look at you, all grown up.
Mama, you got a minute?
Walk with me.
So, you heard anything
from Santa Muerte lately?
You don't believe. Why are you asking?
Someone in the Arroyo community, I mean.
Something I should know about,
maybe some of violence,
some kind of curse.
Santa Muerte doesn't curse.
She's a holy angel.
She guide us peacefully to heaven.
She didn't guide my father so peacefully.
You were too young. You don't remember.
He died burning in agony, Mom.
What don't I remember?
What did you want, Santiago?
There's been some trouble, very bad,
and it looks like Mexicans.
I just want you to keep your eyes open
and let me know if there's any
special Santa Muerte rituals going on
black masses, anything with Arroyos.
- From this religion you don't believe in.
- That's right.
From this holy angel who touched
your shoulder and marked you?
Please.
When are you going to believe the truth
that is written on your own skin?
Not tonight.
[clicks tongue]
[sighs]
[Maria murmuring]
So, you'll help me out?
Listen for anything to do
with Santa Muerte.
I'll do what I can.
But you have to think about something.
This angel that you don't believe in,
you might need her one day.
What do you do then?
♪♪♪
[chuckles]
Come on.
You dance with your mother now.
These old men can't keep up.
[upbeat dance music playing on stereo]
[background chatter]
♪♪♪
[Tiago] Whoo!
[speaks Spanish]
Whoa!
Oh!
[both speaking Spanish]
♪♪♪
[indistinct chatter]
Ah.
[Maria] Ooh!
♪♪♪
- [speaks indistinctly]
- Oh!
[speaking Spanish]
[laughter]
[Raul] And so he grabbed him
by the neck, huh,
dragged him out like fucking Tarzan.
[Tiago] Little Mateo?
[Raul chuckles]
I swear.
He was like Johnny Weissmuller, huh?
Screaming, "you pervert" this,
"you fuckhead" that.
"You don't touch the tit
of my sainted sister!"
Hey, Mateo, you bust
that pervert good, huh?
Oh, you're so funny.
He was feeling her up
with every fat mama in town watching.
Oh, come on, like you never felt up
a girl in high school.
She's our sister.
She's not just some girl.
- [Tiago chuckles]
- Come on.
Oh, Jesus. Mama burned my ass, though.
[all laugh]
You working Monday?
Monday? No.
The Angels are playing.
I can get you tickets.
Maybe you take Josefina,
buy her something nice.
Stop it, Tiago.
- He shouldn't be there.
- You shouldn't be there.
It's my job.
It's your job to tear down our house?
They're not tearing down our house.
Not yet.
Look, Monday morning,
those bulldozers start up.
This is it, Raul.
I'm sorry, but this is it.
You know where they are?
Those machines?
At the empty lot across from the laundry,
where we used to play Tom Mix.
They're calling in men from precincts
all over the goddamn city.
We'll be ready.
Keep Mateo out of it.
- I can make up my own mind.
- Shut the fuck up!
[Raul] If we let them push us out here,
where does it end?
- When we're back in Mexico?
- That's done.
No one's talking
about deporting anyone, Raul.
- But this is how it starts!
- Come on.
You know what?
You're so goddamned concerned, Tiago,
maybe you oughta go to the Angels game
instead of fucking your people
one more time.
You go against the cops,
they'll shoot you down like animals.
That's what you are to them.
[scoffs]
And what are you?
Where's your heart, Tiago?
somber music ♪
[Tiago] Fay Thomas is pitching Monday.
You oughta think about it.
foreboding music ♪
♪♪♪
[loud knocking]
What a pleasant surprise.
What the fuck are you doing here?
I'm not coming tomorrow.
Say again.
I'm not coming.
It's our precinct.
You heard the captain.
We all gotta be there.
I can't.
So let me establish this
to my understanding.
It's your second day on the job,
and you're not gonna be there?
Playing a quick nine
at the Wilshire Country Club, are you?
I don't expect you to understand.
We got four bodies in the morgue,
we got a fucking race riot
all scheduled for tomorrow,
and you're taking the day off?
Listen, pal, in this life,
you're a cowboy or you're an Indian.
You better fucking choose.
[Maria whispering in Spanish]
[whispering continues]
Holy angel, mother of death, hear my plea.
Holy angel, mother of death
Holy angel, mother of death, hear my plea.
Mother of death, hear my plea.
[breathing heavily]
Holy angel, mother of death, hear my plea.
[speaking Spanish]
Holy angel, mother of death, hear my plea.
- [distant growling]
- [gasps]
tense music ♪
[whimpers]
[gasps]
♪♪♪
[speaks Spanish]
Why do you wake me?
I need your help.
There is evil walking now.
I can feel it.
If you're dying, I will come to you.
But if your leg is in a trap,
you must chew it off yourself.
I will see you in your final moment
[speaks Spanish]
[Maria] Please help me.
[breathes shakily]
Please, please help me.
Help me, please. Help.
somber music ♪
There is a prophecy.
A time will come
when nation will battle nation,
when race will devour race,
when brother will kill brother
until not a soul is left.
And is that time now?
Who can say?
You can!
♪♪♪
But there are so many corpses to gather.
Everywhere I look,
every step I take
I wade through that agony.
♪♪♪
I have no heart to care for man.
No. Please, no.
The time you speak of is now,
and it's here, right here.
We have to do something!
Don't ask me.
[speaks Spanish]
You slept too long!
Enough.
There is a great battle coming,
and it's here!
And we need you here, and we need you now!
Will you sleep as your bitch
of a sister conquers
[roars]
[gasps]
♪♪♪
[loud knocking]
[knocking continues]
- Mama?
- Will you be there tomorrow?
When that construction starts.
- No, I I decided
- You have to.
Santa Muerte spoke to me.
Jesus.
She chose you!
You'll lie to yourself, but not to me.
This is who you are.
Tomorrow, you have to stop it,
whatever it takes.
Or?
It all ends in blood or in fire.
You saw her. You know it happened.
Santa Muerte chose you.
somber music ♪
You couldn't save your father.
Maybe you can save yourself.
♪♪♪
tense music ♪
♪♪♪
Well, good morning, sunshine.
Couldn't get a tee time at Wilshire?
I'm sorry about all that.
Forget it, partner. I'm glad you're here.
You will disperse.
This is an illegal action.
We will have no disobedience.
If you do not disperse,
you will be arrested.
[crowd murmuring]
[Vanderhoff] You will disperse.
♪♪♪
ominous music ♪
You know how many times
I've fired my weapon in the job?
Never.
[clicks]
[sighs]
♪♪♪
Whatever you're about to do, don't.
I used to play on this street.
You don't anymore.
♪♪♪
What's this now?
♪♪♪
You all know me.
I grew up there.
That's That's my house.
You know that.
So listen to me.
You need to go home now.
No matter what you think,
no matter what you hope,
you can't stop this!
[speaking Spanish]
[Tiago continues in Spanish]
[speaking Spanish]
♪♪♪
[inaudible]
Por favor.
♪♪♪
Por favor.
[speaking Spanish]
[speaking Spanish]
[inaudible]
♪♪♪
Shame!
[inaudible]
[gunshot]
[man groans]
[crowd clamoring]
[crowd shouting]
[gunshot]
[yelling]
[indistinct shouting]
[gunshots]
[all grunting]
[groans]
[Josefina whimpering]
[gunshots]
[groaning]
[smoke hissing]
[grunting]
[inaudible]
[both grunt]
[man groaning]
[inaudible]
[all clamoring]
[officer 1] Stay down! Stay down now!
[all grunting]
[gunshots]
[officer 2] No.
♪♪♪
[groans]
[grunting]
Raul!
Raul!
Raul!
intense music ♪
Raul, no!
[gunshot]
"La Llorona" by Chavela Vargas plays ♪
[muffled shouting]
♪♪♪
♪♪♪