Ten years later, 21-year-old Diego has made a home for himself in East Los Angeles. He shares an apartment with his best friend Zak and is in love with Maria, niece of Padre Somera of the local mission which dates back to the Cortés era. However, Diego and Maria's relationship is strained both by his haunting encounter with Old Indian and the devout Padre's disapproval of the young man's sympathy towards Aztec beliefs and mythology. Anticipating a local Dia de los Muertos festival, Diego begins to feel the call of something powerful. He dresses as an undead Mariachi, clad in black with the traditional markings to give himself a skeletal appearance.