Broche de oro 2012

Carlos Luis Omar O’Farrill is an aspiring surfer, and his father, Alberto Carlos Esteban Fonseca, does not approve of his dream. The two visit Alberto’s father, Rafael Jacobo Morales, at the Catholic retirement home where he lives. Carlos is then left under the care of his grandfather and his friends Pablo and Anselmo, as life pulls them in different directions. Alberto later arrives to break the news that they are moving to Orlando for his job, leaving Rafael stunned and speechless. Before that move happens, Carlos calls Rafael that night to invite him and his elder companions on a road trip to Loíza for a surfing competition and for Rafael to show him the family land.

Early the next morning, the elders quietly slip out of the retirement home through the kitchen, with Carlos behind the wheel of his father’s car. When the Madre Superiora of the home learns of their disappearance, she enlists Norberto Luis Raúl to help bring them back. The group arrives at the Medina family land, where Rafael reveals the tree under which his wife’s ashes are buried and then heads to lunch at a nearby restaurant run by Margarita Carmen Nydia Velázquez, a single mother whom Rafael once helped. Her adult son Julio Michael Stuart is there, and Margarita begins to develop a crush on Anselmo Adrián García, though his feelings are not immediately returned. The day continues with a trip to Aviones Beach for the surfing contest, where Carlos meets Manolo Willie Carrasco, another competitor, and crosses paths with Sofía Maria Coral and her friend Wanda Odalis Carela. After Carlos and the elders place second, they head to Coco Galore’s bar; Coco Galore is a former French adult-film actress and Pablo’s film partner in such productions, known to locals as Chi-Chi Le Grand. Sofía and Wanda join the group at the bar, where Manolo clashes with Carlos, punching him and even puncturing the car tires.

As Orlando nears, Alberto desperately calls Carlos but Rafael answers and says he will pick up the car the next day while Carlos and the elders stay the night at Coco’s. That night Coco hosts a party that brings together Carlos, Rafael, Anselmo, Pablo, Sofía, Wanda and Margarita. Meanwhile, the Madre Superiora and Norberto experience what appears to be alien activity calling out their names, a moment that ends with one of them on the car’s roof, whispering that “it was all so fast.” Rafael is later found collapsed in Coco’s guest room by his grandson and is tended to; he confesses he is sick but does not specify the illness.

On the competition’s final day, the Madre Superiora and Norberto locate the elders at Coco’s place. At the beach, the nun reveals she once surfed in her youth, a moment that softens the pursuit. Carlos wins first prize, but a furious Manolo pushes him, sparking a disturbance in which Rafael tries to defend his grandson. Manolo’s actions trigger health complications for him as well, and he is rushed to the hospital with help from Carlos, the Madre Superiora and others, including a changed heart from Manolo. Alberto makes peace with his father during a hospital reunion, and the two share a heartfelt moment.

After the release, Rafael returns to the retirement home. Anselmo marries Margarita, and Pablo marries Coco in a double wedding attended by their friends and family, including Rafael, Carlos, Sofía and Julio, who tears up at his mother’s marriage. Some time later, Rafael passes away and his ashes are buried beside his wife’s under the same tree on the Medina family land in Loíza.

In a mid-credits scene, an off-camera elder attempts to sneak out of the retirement home, only to be confronted by the Madre Superiora and Norberto as they stop the escape.