All About Mothers

Manuela is an Argentine nurse who supervises donor organ transplants at Ramón y Cajal Hospital in Madrid. She is also a single mother to Esteban, a teenager who hopes to become a writer. The setup establishes her career and the close bond with her son.

On Esteban's 17th birthday, he is hit by a car after chasing Huma Rojo for her autograph following a performance of A Streetcar Named Desire. The tragedy shatters Manuela's life and reveals the fragility of her world. Huma's presence looms large as a catalyst for the ensuing events.

Manuela agrees to donate Esteban's heart so another person can live, and the heart is transplanted to a recipient in A Coruña. The act is painful but framed as a gift that binds the living and the dead. She begins to feel the consequences of losing her son anew as she confronts the transplant's impact.

After the transplant, Manuela travels to find and identify the heart recipient in person. The search pulls her across cities and deepens her sense of loss and responsibility toward Esteban. The act ties her to strangers and the consequences of organ donation.

Grieving and determined, Manuela resigns from her job and travels to Barcelona in search of Esteban's other mother, Lola, a transgender woman whom she had kept secret from her son. The move marks a shift from professional duty to personal revelation. Her decisions redefine her identity and purpose.

In Barcelona, Manuela reunites with Agrado, a warm transgender sex worker, and meets Lola, Esteban's other mother. The meetings introduce a complex web of relationships and loyalties as Manuela seeks answers about Esteban's past. The dynamics explore love, secrecy, and motherhood from multiple angles.

Manuela befriends Huma Rojo, Nina Cruz, and Rosa, an HIV-positive nun who works with battered sex workers and is pregnant with Lola's child. Manuela begins caring for Rosa during her pregnancy and also takes on roles as Huma's personal assistant and as Nina's understudy during crises. The circle of women broadens Manuela's world and responsibilities.

On the way to the hospital, Rosa asks a taxi to stop at a park where Sapic, her father's dog, is found and her own father, who has Alzheimer's, appears. Sapic recognizes Rosa, while her father does not. The moment underscores memory, illness, and the fragile ties of family.

Rosa dies giving birth to a healthy boy, and at her funeral Manuela reunites with Lola. Lola, who is dying from AIDS, speaks about always wanting a son, and Manuela reveals Esteban's existence and his fatal accident. The revelation intensifies the sense of shared loss among the characters.

Manuela adopts Rosa's son, Esteban, and cares for him at Rosa's parents' house. The father does not understand who Manuela is, and Rosa's mother introduces her as the new cook living there with her grandson. The adoption anchors Esteban's life in a new family.

Manuela tells Lola about their own son Esteban and his fatal accident, sharing the story that has haunted her since the tragedy. The disclosure deepens Lola's understanding of the past and the possibilities of kinship across different lives.

Deciding she cannot stay at Rosa's house any longer, Manuela flees back to Madrid with Esteban and writes a letter to Huma and Agrado, apologizing for not saying goodbye earlier. The move marks a return to the city where Esteban's life and death began, but with new responsibilities.

Two years later, Manuela returns to Barcelona with Esteban, who remains healthy and AIDS-free. At an AIDS convention, she meets Huma and Agrado again and tells them she will stay with Esteban's grandparents. The reunion ties together the threads of the past and present.

Agrado reveals that Nina broke up with Huma, returned to her hometown, got married, and now has a son of her own. The update shows how the lives of the performers intersect with friendship and motherhood across time.