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Timeline

Chicuarotes (2019) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

Release, runtime and language
2019 · 95 mins · Spanish
Echo score 60
Directed by
Gael García Bernal
Starring
Daniel Giménez Cacho, Enoc Leaño, Dolores Heredia, Ricardo Abarca, Pedro Peirano, Pedro Joaquín

Two teenagers, Cagalera and Moloteco, living in San Gregorio Atlapulco, dream of escaping their difficult lives. Hearing of a chance to join the electrician’s union, which promises a better future, they find themselves drawn into the criminal underbelly of Mexico City. Their pursuit of this opportunity leads them down a dangerous path as they navigate a world of adults and crime, all in the hope of securing their freedom and a chance at a different life.

On this page (6)
  1. 1 Where to watch
  2. 2 Events in order (12)
  3. 3 Timeline questions answered
  4. 4 Movie threads
  5. 5 Movies like Chicuarotes
  6. 6 Every angle

Where to watch

Where to Watch Chicuarotes (2019)

Where can you watch Chicuarotes? Stream, rent or buy it in the US: current JustWatch availability with up-to-date prices.

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12 events in order · contains spoilers

Chicuarotes Timeline: Events in Chronological Order

Every key event of Chicuarotes (2019) in order, scene by scene, with when and where it takes place. Use it to untangle flashbacks, time jumps and parallel storylines, to refresh your memory before the sequel or to find the exact scene you are thinking of.

  1. Clown duo hits the city bus

    Two teenagers, Cagalera and Moloteco, dress as clowns on a crowded Mexico City bus, telling jokes to earn money. When the passengers refuse to pay, they threaten and pull a gun to force payment, signaling a first step into a life of crime. The tense stunt exposes their desperate bid to escape poverty.

    Where
    City bus, Mexico City
  2. Cagalera's troubled home life and dream of escape

    Cagalera lives with his mother, younger sister, and his gay brother in a poor neighborhood. His mother’s relationship with the abusive drunk Baturro brings fear into the house. He longs to leave town with his girlfriend Sugehili, who works as a hairdresser, hoping for a better future beyond San Gregorio Atlapulco.

    Where
    Home, San Gregorio Atlapulco
  3. Robbery plan with Planchado and a failed lingerie store theft

    Cagalera convinces Moloteco to help with a robbery organized by Planchado. They try to raid a lingerie shop owned by Planchado’s girlfriend, but find little money and leave with only lingerie. Two female police officers who know Planchado recognize him, and he is taken away while Cagalera and Moloteco are briefly released.

    Where
    Lingerie shop, town
  4. Decision to kidnap the butcher's son

    Feeling the lure of a larger payoff, the boys decide to kidnap the local butcher's young son to demand ransom. The whole town becomes unsettled as residents search for the culprit, while Chillamil, a feared ex-convict, is released from prison and looms over the situation. The plan marks a dangerous turn from petty theft to kidnapping.

    Where
    Local butcher's area, San Gregorio Atlapulco
  5. The town hunts the kidnapper and Chillamil's presence

    News spreads quickly as the town hunts for the kidnapper. Chillamil's presence heightens fear as the ex-convict seems determined to uncover the culprits. The tension thickens as everyone wonders who will be next in the growing web of danger.

    Where
    San Gregorio Atlapulco
  6. Sugehili persuades Moloteco to release the boy

    Sugehili finds Moloteco alone with the kidnapped boy and convinces him to release the child and promise secrecy. The plan to ransom the boy falters as a moral hesitation and fear of reprisal emerges. The teens decide to flee the town, hoping to steal money later from Baturro.

    Where
    Where Moloteco and the boy are, unspecified
  7. Baturro catches the duo stealing from him

    Cagalera and Moloteco attempt to steal money that Baturro has stored at Cagalera's home, but Baturro catches them and beats Cagalera severely. The confrontation underscores the brutality of the adults in their lives and raises the stakes of their escape. The home becomes a focal point of danger and consequence.

    Where
    Cagalera's home
  8. The butcher's demand and the mob forms

    In front of the butcher, the father demands identification of the kidnapper. The son points to the hills, suggesting the culprits lie outside the town, and a mob begins to form, eager for retribution. Fear and anger ignite a looming, violent confrontation.

    Where
    In front of the butcher's shop
  9. Mother kills Baturro to protect the plan

    Amid the escalating chaos, Cagalera's mother murders Baturro by poisoning his drink, removing a dangerous obstacle from the equation. The act increases the town's sense of danger and inflames rivalries. The family finds itself deeper in a doomed web of violence.

    Where
    Home
  10. Rooftop confrontation—Chillamil and the attack

    Chillamil corners the group on a rooftop, brandishing a gun and threatening to rape Sugehili. Cagalera's brother creates a distraction, allowing Cagalera and Moloteco to attack Chillamil. In the ensuing chaos, Chillamil is shot, and before he dies, he fatally shoots Moloteco.

    Where
    Rooftop, hills
  11. Cagalera and Sugehili flee and plan to start anew

    Cagalera and Sugehili escape the chaos and decide to run away together, imagining a new life in places like Mazatlán, Acapulco, Tijuana, or Las Vegas. They discuss leaving the town behind to escape judgment and poverty. A tentative sense of possibility surfaces amid ongoing danger.

    Where
    Escape route toward the hills
  12. Sugehili walks away, ending the shared dream

    As they contemplate their future, Sugehili suddenly walks away from Cagalera in silence. The relationship that began with a shared dream collapses under fear, guilt, and uncertainty. The story ends with an open question about whether they can ever start anew together.

    Where
    On the roadside

Last updated: November 22, 2025 at 16:00

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Timeline questions answered

Chicuarotes Timeline Explained: Your Questions Answered

When does it happen, and why in that order? The questions people ask about the chronology of Chicuarotes (2019): time jumps, flashbacks, cause and effect between scenes and the correct order of events, each answered with spoilers.

Q1

Why do Cagalera and Moloteco pull a gun on the bus passengers?

The boys start as clowns trying to earn money by telling jokes on the bus, but when passengers refuse to pay, they escalate to threatening them with a gun. This desperate act signals their willingness to use violence to escape poverty, establishing the dangerous path they will follow throughout the film.

Foreshadowing: The gun foreshadows the increasingly violent crimes they will commit, including kidnapping and murder.

  • bus robbery
  • gun
  • poverty
  • desperation
  • crime
Q2

Why do Cagalera and Moloteco decide to kidnap the butcher's son?

After their failed lingerie shop robbery yields little money, the boys see kidnapping the local butcher's son as a way to get a larger ransom that could finally allow them to escape their impoverished lives in San Gregorio Atlapulco.

Foreshadowing: This escalation from petty theft to kidnapping marks a turning point from which they cannot return.

  • kidnapping
  • butcher
  • ransom
  • escalation
  • crime
Q3

Who is Chillamil and why is he feared in the neighborhood?

Chillamil is a feared ex-convict recently released from prison who has close ties to the local butcher. His reputation as a dangerous criminal makes him the most terrifying person in the neighborhood, and when he learns of the kidnapping, he actively hunts for the culprits.

  • chillamil
  • ex-convict
  • butcher
  • threat
  • violence
Q4

Why does Sugehili convince Moloteco to release the kidnapped boy?

Sugehili discovers Moloteco alone with the boy and persuades him to release the child, promising that the boy will keep their involvement secret. This decision reflects a moment of moral hesitation before their plan completely falls apart.

Foreshadowing: The release of the boy leads to the town forming a mob and ultimately triggers the violent climax.

  • sugehili
  • moloteco
  • release
  • boy
  • conscience
Q5

Why does Cagalera's mother kill Baturro?

Cagalera's mother poisons Baturro's drink to kill him, removing the abusive drunk who has dominated her household and terrorized her children. With the boys planning to flee and Baturro having already beaten Cagalera for stealing from him, she eliminates this dangerous obstacle.

  • baturro
  • mother
  • murder
  • poisoning
  • abuse
Q6

What happens during the rooftop confrontation with Chillamil?

Chillamil corners the group on a rooftop with a gun and threatens to rape Sugehili. He forces Cagalera and Moloteco to hold her down, but Cagalera's brother creates a distraction. In the chaos, Chillamil is shot but fires back before dying, fatally wounding Moloteco.

  • chillamil
  • rooftop
  • rape attempt
  • shooting
  • moloteco death
Q7

How does Moloteco die?

During the rooftop confrontation with Chillamil, the group attacks the ex-convict. Chillamil is shot and killed, but before dying, he fires his gun and fatally wounds Moloteco, ending the friendship that drove much of the film's emotional core.

  • moloteco
  • death
  • chillamil
  • shooting
  • rooftop
Q8

Why does Sugehili leave Cagalera at the end?

After escaping the chaos on the rooftop, Cagalera and Sugehili plan to flee together to start anew in cities like Mazatlán, Acapulco, or Las Vegas. However, Sugehili suddenly walks away from Cagalera in silence, abandoning their shared dream of escape. The departure seems driven by fear, guilt, and the overwhelming weight of everything that transpired.

Foreshadowing: The ending reinforces the film's theme of hopelessness, showing that even survival does not guarantee a way out.

  • sugehili
  • cagalera
  • ending
  • abandonment
  • escape
Q9

What does the butcher's son mean when he points toward the hills?

When forced to identify his kidnappers in front of the angry crowd, the boy points toward the hills, suggesting the culprits come from outside the immediate neighborhood. This accusation leads the mob to hunt in the hills where Cagalera and the others have fled, creating the confrontation that drives the film's violent climax.

  • butcher son
  • hills
  • accusation
  • mob
  • identification
Q10

Why does a mob form in the neighborhood?

When the butcher demands the town find his son's kidnappers, fear and anger spread quickly through San Gregorio Atlapulco. The boy's vague accusation pointing toward the hills ignites the crowd's desire for violent retribution against those responsible for the crime.

  • mob
  • butcher
  • anger
  • revenge
  • crowd
Q11

What is the electricians' union opportunity the characters mention?

Early in the film, Cagalera and Moloteco hear about a chance to join the electrician's union as a path to a better future. This legitimate opportunity represents their original hope for escape from poverty, but they ultimately abandon this dream in favor of criminal shortcuts that lead to tragedy.

  • electricians union
  • opportunity
  • dream
  • escape
  • poverty

Movie threads

More Movies Like Chicuarotes, by Mood & Story

Curated lists built around what makes Chicuarotes tick: the same mood, the same kind of story or the same emotional payoff. Each list explains why these movies belong together.

Bleak coming-of-age crime stories like Chicuarotes

Stories of desperate youth whose dreams lead them into tragic criminal spirals. Movies like Chicuarotes that explore the grim intersection of adolescence and crime. If you were drawn to the story of two teenagers whose search for a better life leads to tragedy, you'll find similar powerful dramas about failed dreams and harsh moral choices here.

  • desperate
  • gritty
  • tragic
  • oppressive
  • somber
  • harsh
  • Tone: bleak, tragic
  • Pacing: steady, relentless
Why these movies?

The story pattern: These narratives typically follow a linear, downward trajectory. A protagonist, often a teenager, is driven by a powerful dream of escape from a harsh environment. Their pursuit of this goal forces them into the criminal underworld, where their idealism is crushed by escalating violence and betrayal, culminating in a tragic outcome that underscores the inescapability of their circumstances.

Why they belong together: Movies are grouped here for their shared focus on the devastating journey of young characters whose aspirations are systematically dismantled by crime. They share a bleak tone, heavy emotional weight, and a steady, inevitable pacing that builds towards a sense of doom, creating a cohesive experience of tragic adolescent desperation.

Gritty urban crime dramas with moral collapse like Chicuarotes

Harsh films set in impoverished cities where survival corrupts and hope is extinguished. For viewers who appreciated the oppressive atmosphere and moral decay of Chicuarotes, this section collects similar movies set in tough urban landscapes. These stories focus on characters struggling to maintain their humanity in environments defined by poverty, violence, and shattered dreams.

  • gritty
  • oppressive
  • desperate
  • anxious
  • harsh
  • somber
  • Tone: bleak, oppressive
  • Pacing: steady, methodical
Why these movies?

The story pattern: The narrative pattern centers on characters navigating a vividly depicted, gritty urban setting. The environment is a source of constant pressure, pushing them towards increasingly desperate and violent acts. The story unfolds as a series of moral compromises, where initial goals of escape or improvement are lost, replaced by a fight for bare survival and a gradual erosion of personal ethics.

Why they belong together: These films are united by their immersive, gritty world-building and a shared theme of moral collapse under economic and social pressure. They deliver a consistent vibe of desperation and anxiety through a steady pace, high intensity, and a focus on the crushing weight of a hostile environment on the human spirit.

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Every angle

Chicuarotes (2019) Explained: Plot, Timeline & Characters

Everything about Chicuarotes in one place: what happens in the plot summary, the timeline in chronological order, the characters and meaning and a spoiler-free summary. What's After the Movie adds the cast, box office and post-credit scenes.

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