Amadeo Padilla has been chosen to play the role of Jesus in his town’s annual Holy Week passion play. At 33 years of age, he still lives in the house of his mother, Yolanda. As an inveterate sinner, Amadeo is an unlikely choice to play the role of Jesus, but his uncle Tíve chose him in hopes that the role would teach Amadeo to properly appreciate the Lord and the concept of sacrifice. Tíve leads a small community of faithful men who gather together to worship and pray at their local morada. Amadeo is 33 years old, the same age as Jesus was when he was nailed to the cross, and he hopes to realistically emulate Christ’s pain. Amadeo grew up with the legend of Manuel Garcia, a man forever scarred by his choice to use real nails during his passion play. (Typically, the actor playing Jesus merely carries his cross and then is tied to it.) Amadeo hopes to be similarly serious in his own representation of Jesus’s crucifixion, and he also has ambitions to use nails instead of rope.

After a morning spent building the cross that he is to carry, Amadeo is chagrined to see his daughter Angel appear on his doorstep.