Maria Candelaria

In present-day, a young journalist pressures an old artist to reveal the nude portrait. The artist begins to recount the painting's story, turning the scene into a flashback rather than a simple studio reveal.

The flashback transports us to Xochimilco in 1909, a time just before the Mexican Revolution. The landscape shines while the indigenous community faces social scrutiny.

María Candelaria and her lover Lorenzo Rafael live under constant exclusion and threats. They work honestly, but the townspeople condemn them and deny them basic respect.

Don Damián, a jealous store owner, tries to win María by force and blocks their marriage over a minor debt. His scheming sets off a chain of tensions that shadow the couple's every move.

Damián's animosity escalates when he destroys a piglet the couple planned to raise for profit. The sudden loss worsens their already fragile finances.

María contracts malaria, but Damián refuses to provide the quinine needed to treat it. The disease compounds their hardship and tests their resilience.

Lorenzo breaks into the store to steal medicine and a wedding dress for María. He is arrested for the theft, and María agrees to model for the painter to secure his release.

The artist begins painting María's portrait and asks her to pose nude, which she refuses to do. The painter then completes the painting by using the nude body of another woman.

When the townspeople see the finished painting, they mistake it for María and believe she has become like her mother. The crowd's judgment escalates as gossip turns to shaming.

The mob stones María to death and burns her house. Lorenzo watches, powerless to stop the tragedy.

Lorenzo escapes from prison to carry María's lifeless body through Xochimilco's Canal of the Dead. The scene closes the flashback on a mournful note.

Interludes with the priest reveal the uneasy tension between superstition and a more enlightened Christianity. The villagers’ prejudice is shown as a powerful social force that condemns María.

Painter Alberto Galán proclaims María the essence of authentic Mexican beauty, a moment that underlines the tragedy's meaning. His words frame María's innocence against the villagers' cruelty.