Into the Beautiful North

In the days leading up to the election, Nayeli and Irma work hard to make the women of Tres Camarones believe that they should vote for a woman. According to Irma, many of them have spent their entire lives believing that women are moody, illogical, and incapable, but she has a plan to fix this.

Irma's distant cousin and the only rich man in town, García-García, owns the theater. Recently, his projectionist (the person who operates the projector at a cinema) left town to pick apples in the US. As hard as García-García tried, he wasn't able to find a new projectionist, so García-García now spends his evenings sweating in his projection booth, worrying about money the whole time. He struggles to keep a constant stream of new double features running, and the films are often of questionable quality.

A few days before the election, Irma and Nayeli knock on the door of García-García's big, white house. One of his five housekeepers answers the door and shows them to García-García's office. Irma informs García-García that "we are tired of this shit," referring to the movies that play at the cinema. When Irma introduces Nayeli as her campaign manager, García-García holds Nayeli's hand a little too long and looks at her chest for even longer. Irma explains that Nayeli knows karate, which García-García deems unfeminine. Nayeli suggests it's time for a "new kind of femininity" and studies García-García's poster of Steve McQueen.

Irma says that she expects new employment opportunities for women after the election, and García-García insists that he already hires women. Irma says that his female employees sell food and clean, and García-García explains that the real money goes to management and the projectionist. When Irma smiles, García-García begins arguing with her that she must be joking. Irma says that she demands that García-García hire a female projectionist. She leans over his desk and explains that one day, she'll be president, and it would be a wise move to support the women who will soon be in charge.

When Irma is finished, she takes one of García-García's cigarettes and waits for him to light it. Nayeli thinks that she watched this happen on TV, and that Irma looks like Bette Davis. Finally, García-García agrees and shakes hands with Irma. Irma asks for one favor: a film festival featuring her favorite Mexican movie star, Yul Brynner. García-García yells that Yul Brynner isn't Mexican, but Irma won't hear it: she explains that she saw his house in Puerto Vallarta when she was bowling, and he spoke perfect Spanish in the film Taras Bulba. When García-García says the film was dubbed, Irma says he's being ridiculous. Nayeli follows Irma out.

On election day, everyone in Tres Camarones votes. The narcos' cars cruise past the town but don't stop. At ten in the morning, the voting is over, and Irma wins by a landslide. The outgoing mayor, Ernesto James, notes that women counted the ballots, but there aren't enough men to force a recount. Finally, he gives in and declares Irma the winner. The women light off fireworks, and Tacho plays loud music. Irma hugs Nayeli and says that a new age has arrived.