El Lopecito

Characters

López (59): Owner of the bar/grocery store and storage space.
Martínez (55): Politician who begins an illegal campaign in the district.
Cleto Benítez (45): Martínez’s opportunistic lawyer, who seeks to buy López’s land.
Arce (45): Ambitious truco player.
Joselo (23): Arrogant truco player.
Lorenza (35): Skilled player who teams up with Joselo.
Yoyi (35): Bricklayer and friend of López.

FULL SYNOPSIS 

Paraguay, 2001. In Isla Guazú, a hot hillside town that is gradually emptying out while new constructions and businesses proliferate, López (59), a widowed shopkeeper and former great truco player, tries to keep his struggling business afloat after the arrival of a supermarket in the area.

This supermarket, along with a finance company and a real estate agency, is part of the “El Progreso” chain owned by candidate Martínez (55), who has illegally launched his campaign for mayor. López begins receiving visits from Cleto Benítez (45), Martínez’s opportunistic lawyer, who pressures him to sell his land. Meanwhile, López imitates the supermarket’s advertising strategies and is tempted to take on debt through the finance company.

In desperation, he accepts a proposal from Arce (45), an ambitious truco player and political operative for Martínez: he rents out his storage space for three nights of private gambling. On the first night, Joselo (23), an arrogant player passing through while staying with an uncle, arrives. Arce relegates the outsider to being a mere “spectator” until Lorenza (35), a lottery vendor and skilled player, shows up and manages to include Joselo on her team. Fascinated, López watches Joselo’s impressive skill, but cuts the game short when Arce grows angry over mounting losses.

On the second night, driven by anger and frustration, Arce assaults Lorenza and attempts to stab Joselo. López intervenes, until the police suddenly raid the place, allowing the outsider to escape with all the money. In the end, the shopkeeper is arrested for “illegal operation of a gambling house,” while Arce remains indifferent. The next morning, López returns home, but his store remains shut down until he pays a large fine. He is ready to sell his late wife’s jewelry when he discovers that Joselo is hiding in his empty chicken coop. The police begin a search operation that worsens the situation when it is revealed that Joselo fled his hometown due to a cattle theft case involving a supporter of Martínez.

López receives an extortionate visit from Cleto Benítez, who not only increases his purchase offer but also proposes legal assistance. López drives him away at knifepoint and heads to Arce’s house, where he confirms his suspicions: the rental was merely a trap to pressure him into selling his land. He decides to help Joselo.

Arce and the police search López’s house but fail to find Joselo. López challenges the political operative to an unexpected head-to-head game of truco. With the help of Lorenza and other neighbors, he manages to get Joselo to flee to another country while distracting the police with a historic match, watched by his mason friend Yoyi (35) and other townspeople who celebrate his return to the cards.

With his skill intact, López defeats Arce and, before leaving with a large sum of money, confesses that he knows about the scheme and calls him a “traitor.” Arce tries to start a fight, but López responds cleverly, following Yoyi’s advice. The next morning, he pays the fine with his winnings and reopens “El Lopecito.”