The story begins years ago in the cornfields

of Mexico where a young man and a young

woman fall in love, a love so pure it is

blessed by the ancient gods. Ever practical,

the young woman persuades her lover to

immigrate to Los Angeles.  On Olvera

Street, over the years, she earns enough

money for a shop where he can create his

extraordinary candles. 

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Now the couple is old —he has lost his

teeth and she smells like rotting garbage

—and their marriage is at an impasse. On Dia de los Muertos, in order to pump up trade, a savvy shopkeeper tricks the old man into believing the ancient gods will give him eternal life if he makes the perfect candle. Him, but not her. This rips the marriage asunder. It takes the wiles of that shopkeeper, the masks of the gods, the songs of the Mariachi, and the fierce heart of the old woman to make things right.

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