Vampires of El Norte

They come across a group traveling and determine that if they pretend to be married they could approach safely and ask for food and shelter. Their plan works, but Nena is devastated by the way their kiss ended and the way Néstor seems no longer to be enthralled by her.

Diego, the leader of the carretero, asks Néstor to tell a story. He tells the story of his and Nena’s childhood. When the story reaches their reunion, however, the woman is engaged to a rich hacendado, and the poor vaquero goes once again to find the silver so that he can be a rich man and marry the girl. Néstor goes on telling the story, but Nena does not relay the end word for word. As they lie next to each other that night, Nena says she thinks she could be married to a vaquero if it was the right one.

Néstor wakes up in the morning holding Nena. He gently wakes her up, they gather more food for the road, and Diego hands them a small bag of salt, signifying that he knows about the vampires.

They stop to drink from a river and notice an eerie silence. They watch six javelinas (wild boars) sprint out of the foliage away from something chasing them. They feel the sensation of someone watching them and quickly move on.

As they rest during siesta, Néstor thinks about how his only goal is to become a man who owns land and is worthy of asking for Nena’s hand in marriage. He wants to build a home and a life with Nena, but he is devastated that she cannot tell him what she wants.

He teaches Nena how to shoot again, and they struggle to resist each other when they are so close together. Just as they start to give in, they hear voices by the riverbank. They get down in the grass and listen. Néstor hears chains and cattle pulling something heavy and then a piercing scream.

They lay in the grass as the scene unfolds: the Rinches drag a vampire, chained with a metal collar, onto a barge in the river. They do it again with a second vampire just as the first one turns to Nena, looking at her even though it has no eyes. Its oval nostrils also scent the air. Nena knows it sees her, and they run for their horses and gallop away on the main road.

Exhausted, they find the mouth of a shallow but sheltered cave and decide to rest for the night. Nena makes a salt boundary at the mouth of the cave. Néstor suggests that the Rinches are trying to get rid of the vampires and Nena says that perhaps they are using them to get rid of Mexicans—Why else would they go through the effort to take them hostage? Nena feels bad for the vampires, comparing them to wild animals who are held captive and used for evil but cannot help what they are.

They begin fearing what will happen to their home when the Yanquis arrive, which leads Néstor to tell Nena that she is his home. He tells her that over the past nine years, he has saved enough money to buy land and build a house for them. Nena says she trusts him and they kiss, sealing an oath that they will stay together. Nena considers all the reasons it could be a mistake but decides to tell Néstor she wants all of him.

As Nena sleeps and Néstor keeps watch, he sees three vampires circling the mouth of the cave without crossing the salt boundary. He spreads more salt beyond the initial boundary and the vampires disappear.

The next day, they arrive back at Los Ojuelos. Nena’s sister Javiera receives them, relieved and elated that Nena is alive and well. Doña Mercedes feels the same but criticizes Nena’s downtrodden appearance and tries to intimidate Néstor. Resolved to begin a new chapter of his life that puts him on the same level as Nena’s parents, he does not shy away. She informs them that Nena’s father and brother are alive and on their way home, but she has no news of Néstor’s family. She leads Nena into their house.

Néstor returns to his family’s jacal to rest and tells his abuela their story. He tells her he plans to marry Nena, and she asks how he will deal with Don Feliciano. He says that together he and Nena can do anything.

Back at Los Ojuelos, Nena’s cousins help her bathe while avoiding the topic of the battle and Néstor. At dinner, her cousin tells their family that Nena returned with Néstor. Nena begins to describe the appearance of the creatures that followed them home when her mother cuts her off. She tells Nena that she must no longer speak about Néstor or the creatures. Nena and Néstor reconvene at their childhood meeting place and decide to spread the word to everyone to protect their homes with salt.

The next day, the rest of the men from Los Ojuelos return, including Félix, Don Feliciano, Beto, and Casimiro. Nena asks Félix to help convince her mother that her return with Néstor is not a big deal, but her mother blames her father for taking her to the battle. She says that it would have been better if she did not return at all because now people will think Nena is ruined, and they will never marry her off. Her mother tries to explain that they need to marry to strengthen their alliances, but Nena says there is a way to strengthen the ranchero by staying there. Her father heads to the Duarte jacal to make an example of Néstor, and Nena runs after him.

Don Feliciano arrives at the Duarte family’s jacal angry. Néstor tries to face him calmly. Néstor says he has followed his orders to keep Nena safe, but Don Feliciano claims that he broke them by being alone with her. He accuses him of kidnapping his daughter. Néstor then announces that he and Nena have decided that he will buy a plot of land near Los Ojuelos and they will get married. As Nena approaches, Don Feliciano grabs Néstor’s collar and throws him on the ground. She does not confirm their engagement. Don Feliciano tells him that he needs to leave their land and that if he sees him there again, he will shoot him. Néstor stands up and walks away, devastated that Nena did not fight for him in the way he would have.

At evening prayers, Nena notices that the vaqueros are subtly rebelling. They stand with a conspicuous space where Néstor should be, they do not follow her father’s words, and they do not seem happy. She looks around and realizes how unjust their situation is. Her father takes and takes and the people get frustrated.

Félix rants to Nena about how the Mexican government needs to treat its citizens better; half the men in the battle were not trained or paid enough to stay to fight. He urges Nena to marry the man her parents want, Don Hortensio’s son. She realizes that Félix will not argue on her behalf.

Nena lays restless in bed, shaming herself for the way things unfolded. She should have kept her distance, defended Néstor, or been honest with him. She falls asleep and wakes abruptly to her sister’s dog barking, gunshots, people screaming about Yanquis, and a sense that vampires are near.