THE CATRINA

1891 FIRST TOURNAMENT
In a small town in the state of DURANGO, a tournament called; DAY OF THE DEAD INTERNATIONAL JARIPEO, in the year 1891. As its name says, this tournament is based on the DAY OF THE DEAD and its rules are very simple. TWO teams of FIVE members each mount their bull individually interspersed, and the team that accumulates the most seconds on top of a bull is the winning team.
CATALINA and her husband MAXIMILIANO belong to a group of horsemen called LOS CHARROS DE DURANGO, and it is precisely in that first tournament against LOS VAQUEROS DE TEXAS that MAXIMILIANO falls from a bull named NAHUAL, and hits his head hard.
For her original CATRINA charro attire, and her elegant way of riding, CATALINA ACOSTA earns the nickname CATALINA LA CATRINA, and thanks to her her team LOS CHARROS DE DURANGO win the first tournament against LOS VAQUEROS DE TEXAS, but coincidentally one week After the tournament, the son of MAXIMILIANO AND CATALINA named MIGUELITO, dies assassinated.
It is worth mentioning that due to the strong blow to the head when falling from that bull, MAXIMILIANO has the ability to see numbers on the forehead of certain types of people, and CATALINA knows this and supports him. Depending on the number that MAXIMILIANO sees on that person's forehead, it is the number of the next victims that person is going to kill.

1892 SECOND TOURNAMENT
Hidden from MAXIMILIANO and accompanied by her brother POOL, CATALINA goes to the pantheon at dawn on the DAY OF THE DEAD in 1892. Her only objective is to reach her son's grave, say the highly effective ritual that was recommended to her, and wait for the the spirit of MIGUELITO is manifested in one of the people who visit the pantheon, for the day of the dead.
CATALINA establishes contact with her son, however MIGUELITO's spirit is confused, and leaves the borrowed body without telling CATALINA who his murderer was.
In the afternoon the SECOND TOURNAMENT is celebrated. The captain of LOS CHARROS DE DURANGO is CATALINA LA CATRINA, and the captain of LOS VAQUEROS DE TEXAS is an Asian of CHINESE origin born in the UNITED STATES named LI ZANG, and nicknamed EL CHINO.
It is a very even competition on the part of the two teams, but in the riding of CHINO and CATALINA a double tragedy occurs. THE CHINESE is left without walking, CATALINA dies and THE TEXAS COWBOYS take the victory in the SECOND TOURNAMENT.
CATALINA meets KASANDRA and MARIA in THE WORLD OF THE DEAD, where the spirits keep all their memories except for the way they died.
With the help of her new acquaintances, CATALINA finds her son MIGUELITO in the DARK FOREST. The DARK FOREST belongs to the WORLD OF THE DEAD, and it is where the spirits that are little remembered live, and that are about to disappear.
The only way to prevent MIGUELITO from disappearing is for CATALINA to get into MAXIMILIANO's dreams, and ask him not to forget his son. And the only way to get into a person's dreams is by finding their SPIRITUAL GUIDE. So with the help of her new acquaintances, CATALINA ventures into the WORLD OF THE DEAD to find her SPIRITUAL GUIDE.
In THE WORLD OF THE LIVING, EL CHINO is cared for by MAXIMILANO who, apart from being a horseman, is also a physiotherapist. THE TEXAS COWBOYS propose to their partner EL CHINO to continue his rehabilitation in TEXAS, but he decides to stay in DURANGO. So his teammates retire to their country, staying on good terms, and with the agreement to participate in the same way in the tournament next year.

1893 THIRD TOURNAMENT
Months go by and EL CHINO begins to walk little by little with the help of MAXIMILIANO, and the two spend splendid, magnificent, spectacular and super fun moments in the company of LAS MEXICAN GIRLS and EL TEPOROCHO.
LAS MEXICAN GIRLS is a very crazy and fun musical group represented by their stepfather EL TEPORCHO, a 70-year-old man who is alcoholic, but very positive, fun, crazy, witty, and his life motto and favorite phrase is: "LA VIDA IT'S MARVELOUS".
On those occasions of therapeutic help, EL CHINO AND MAXIMILIANO begin to feel attraction between them, and have very subtle and sensual physical approaches hidden from all their companions, and hidden from the people.
THE THIRD TOURNAMENT is approaching and EL CHINO goes to TEXAS with the intention of returning to DURANGO again with his teammates LOS VAQUEROS DE TEXAS to participate in the THIRD TOURNAMENT. But when saying goodbye to EL CHINO and MAXIMILIANO they give their first kiss on the mouth at the train station.
EL CHINO arrives in TEXAS with his teammates LOS VAQUEROS DE TEXAS, but it is there that he is discovered by his former partner and new enemy, ALICE TORNER.
ALICE TORNER reveals that EL CHINO is not a man but a woman, and also reveals that the two of them dressed as men to rob banks in the past. EL CHINO slowly removes his false mustache, part of his clothes, removes his hat, lets down his hair and reveals his true identity. She is a beautiful Asian woman named KUMIKO ZANG.
THE TEXAS COWBOYS banish the now called KUMIKO ZANG for having lied to them and make them believe that she was a man, and they go to DURANGO with ALICE TORNER as captain of THE TEXAS COWBOYS, but they do not realize that KUMIKO also went to DURANGO. KUMIKO arrives with MAXIMILIANO who, by the way, always knew that EL CHINO was a woman, but by KUMIKO's will they kept it a secret.
In THE WORLD OF THE DEAD, CATALINA finds the long-awaited SPIRITUAL GUIDE and enters the dreams of her husband MAXIMILIANO, but that is where she learns the harsh reality. MAXIMILIANO was the one who murdered his own son.
At the beginning of THE THIRD TOURNAMENT in DURANGO, ALICE TORNER and LOS VAQUEROS DE TEXAS are impressed to see that KUMIKO is presented as the captain of LOS CHARROS DE DURANGO, but unfortunately when it is time to mount, KUMIKO falls from her bull and is gored.
POOL offers to take KUMIKO to the hospital while the tournament goes on, but instead of taking her to the hospital, he sneaks her to CATALINA's grave, does the ritual, CATALINA's spirit enters KUMIKO's body, and his goring wounds disappear at that moment.
In the tournament ALICE TORNER is about to do the last mount against MAXIMILIANO, but KUMIKO dressed as CATRINA and with the spirit of CATALINA inside her body arrives at the tournament, and the ride is suspended. MAXIMILIANO is replaced by KUMIKO, and she wins THE THIRD TOURNAMENT for LOS CHARROS DE DURANGO.
While everyone celebrates this great triumph, MAXIMILIANO leaves and goes to the pantheon, but KUMIKO follows him.
In the middle of a very romantic kiss that MAXIMILIANO and KUMIKO give each other in the pantheon, she buries a knife in his stomach, and with very strong evidence, KUMIKO shows MAXIMILIANO that she is really CATALINA. While MAXIMILIANO is mortally wounded, CATALINA in KUMIKO's body demands an explanation for seeing her son MIGUELITO murdered.
In his explanation, MAXIMILIANO says that KASANDRA and MARIA, CATALINA's companions in the WORLD OF THE DEAD, were murdered by MIGUELITO, and he also planned to murder THREE HUNDRED AND FIFTY THREE more people. CATALINA knows perfectly well that MAXIMILIANO knows all this, because of his ability to see numbers in people who have been murdered, or who are about to commit murder.
MAXIMILIANO tells his son everything he knows, but far from denying it, MIGUELITO accepts it, points a gun at MAXIMILIANO, and warns him that he will not interfere in his plans. In fact, he tells him that his mother CATALINA is on the list of THREE HUNDRED AND FIFTY THREE people that MIGUIETO himself plans to murder.
MAXIMILIANO has already tried to change the fate of his predictions, but has never been successful, and he knows well that the only way to truly change fate is to kill the murderer. So he makes his son believe that he is on his side and gains his trust, but when it comes to embracing him, he makes the difficult decision to hang him in order to save those THOUSAND THREE HUNDRED AND FIFTY THREE people, and also save his wife CATALINA.
The explanation ends and CATALINA in KUMIKO's body asks MAXIMILIAN for forgiveness, but he dies, and CATALINA's spirit leaves KUMIKO's body.
Three days later, at the end of MAXIMILIANO's burial, KUMIKO shows POOL the photograph of his parents that he never knew, and that he has searched for all his life incessantly. On the back of the photograph are written the following words:
First year of the birth of our daughter KUMIKO DEL RIÓ ZANG, born in LOUISIANA UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. Memory of his parents BATARI ZANG from CHANGAI CHINA, and LIZANDRO DEL RIÓ, from GUADALAJARA MEXICO.
KUMIKO goes to TEXAS with the intention of returning the following year for the FOURTH tournament in DURANGO, but before leaving, POOL promises KUMIKO that he will accompany her to the GUADALAJARA registry to look for her father, once she returns from TEXAS.

1894 FOURTH TOURNAMENT
One month before the DAY OF THE DEAD, KUMIKO returns to DURANGO and looks for POOL to fulfill the agreement. Both will go to the GUADALAJARA registry to look for KUMIKO's father, and they will return in time for the FOURTH TOURNAMENT.
But at the time of his arrival at DURANGO POOL, he invites KUMIKO to visit TEPOROCHO, who by the way now that he has stopped drinking, is better known as THE DELEGATE LORD in his new job.
Neither his companions, nor anyone from the town knows that the beautiful Asian woman named KUMIKO, was previously THE CHINESE who lived so much with THE MEXICAN GIRLS and with TEPOROCHO himself. So through a little joke they plan to tell the DELEGATE LORD, formerly known as EL TEPOROCHO.
POOL arrives at the DELEGATE'S office, and asks him to close his eyes while KUMIKO enters the office, and hides in a small room that keeps books that is next to the desk.
Before KUMIKO leaves the room to surprise the LORD DELEGATE, POOL asks him to tell her the story of his favorite phrase, "LIFE IS WONDERFUL". Since POOL never knew his life story, nor his real name, because he was an inveterate drunkard, and everyone in town knew him as EL TEPOROCHO.
THE DELEGATE agrees to POOL's request, and confesses that in previous years his wife of CHINESE origin died of cancer, because they lost a daughter who was kidnapped, and with her was a photograph. But before he died, his wife BATARI ZANG told him the following words: Do not complain about life or tell anyone about your problems, just tell people that "LIFE IS WONDERFUL".
THE DELEGATE also tells POOL that when his wife died, he no longer wanted to know anything about living in the UNITED STATES and wanted to return to GUADALAJARA, but before he arrived in DURANGO and decided to live there for the rest of his life.
Upon hearing the story, KUMIKO learns that THE DELEGATE LORD formerly known as EL TEPOROCHO, is her father that she had sought so much.
KUMIKO leaves the bookcase room and explains to the DELEGATE LORD that she is the daughter who got lost, and shows him the photograph. KUMIKO AND THE DELEGATE LORD cry and hug each other.
On the day of the FOURTH TOURNAMENT, the bleachers of the charro canvas are half full because there is an empty space for each person, and in each empty space there is a photograph of a deceased person and an unlit candle. In the most colorful place there is an altar for the dead with THREE candles turned off, and the photographs of MAXIMILIANO, CATALINA and MIGUELITO. Precisely on that altar of the dead there are THREE seats and a sign that says; “REMEMBER US UNTIL DEATH”.
Five cowboys, this time from BRAZIL, ride their horses with their flag in the center of the track. At the same time LOS CHARROS DE DURANGO are painted with details of skulls, their horses are also painted with details of skull bones, and KUMIKO in CATRINA attire carries the flag of CHINA and MEXICO.
Each one lights the candle of their deceased relative, they appear, and although the living cannot see the dead, it is well known that both parties are in the tournament. KUMIKO asks both parties to close their eyes with a minute of silence, in memory of all the faithful departed and of CATALINA LA CATRINA.
The minute comes, the people and the spirits of the deceased open their eyes, and they are surprised that KUMIKO has just started riding with NAHUAL, which is painted with details of skull bones.
KUMIKO finishes the ride successfully and LAS CALAVERAS DE RODEO lasso NAHUAL and take him away. KUMIKO raises her hands in greeting to those present while CATALINA smiles, and the spirits of the deceased and the people celebrate.

END.