Link to the n*de photos
In 2003 I saw Non ho pauro ("I'm Not Scared"), the film version of the novel by Niccolò Ammaniti: Nine-year old Michele (Giuseppe Cristiano) befriends a kidnapped boy, and discovers that everyone in his village is responsible.
Left: Recent photo of Giuseppe. He may not be the Non ho pauro one.
So I wasn't planning to watch the 2026 Spanish version, No tengo miedo , on Netflix. How could they expand it into a tv series without a lot of padding? Besides, I already know the twist ending. So do you.
Then Yago Sandoval (who plays the kidnapped boy) posts that he and Aldo Navarro (the Michele character) have "Amistad como portal amoroso." Portal amoroso is used to convey the transcendence, stability, and peace that comes from romantic love. Is he referring to their own relationshp, or the characters? There was no significant gay subtext in the 2003 movie, but just in case there is here, let's check out Episode 1.1, "Brujas" (Witches).
No, his friends are calling for him. As he walks through the ruins of an old convent, he stumbles upon a deep pit, and at the bottom a boy, chained up.
Cut to four kids playing soccer, pretending that they're Mexico vs. Denmark in the 1986 World Cup. A Bully hits Miguel in the crotch with the ball, then kicks it out into the jungle. He orders the Nerd Chuy to retrieve it, "Or I'll kill you."
Left: The Bully is played by Mauro Guzman, who is quick to point out that he and Bruno Strauss (Chuy) are actually friends.
The Teenage Felix arrives and tells them not to go into the jungle, because a witch lives there who eats children. Then he grabs his brother, the Bully, and drives him home.
The others ride their bicycles home, discussing why the Bully is so mean and if there really is a kid-eating witch.
Scene 2: Teenage Felix (Cosmo Elio Gonzalez) and the Bully arrive at their run-down, trash-strewn house to see Dad keeled over due to drunkenness and the debilitating disease that they can't afford medication for. They discuss how horrible their lives are. Dad would like to hurt himself, but he can't afford a gun, darn.
As the Bully goes off to fetch some rotten platanos for dinner, Dad asks, "Why don't we have a mansion yet? You said you have a deal going on that would make us the wealthiest family in the world?"
"I'm working on it!" Felix exclaims. He must be the kidnapper!
Scene 3: The kids arrive at Nerd Chuy's house to see his parents arguing with Pino (Luis Alberti, n*de on RG Beefcake and Boyfriends). "You can't back out now!" "But I'm scared." "Have faith!" They're in on the kidnapping, too.
Nerd Chuy stays behind to have dinner, and the two remaining kids, Miguel and his Sister, go home with Pino, their Dad. I thought he was a single father, but his wife is there, being depressed. They do Sister's medical treatments, which she hates, and have rice and beans for dinner for the 3,000th time. Dad Pino promises that soon they'll be able to afford real food, and 20 tv sets so they can watch the game from anywhere in their mansion.
The kids retreat to their bedroom, where Sister calls him Luis. Richster Chava appears at the window to invite Miguel/Luis to watch the game in his mansion.
"But you can't go in there without permission!" Sister exclaims.
"Richster Chava can, and his parents are asleep, so they won't know I'm there." Can't he invite a friend over? Or are the bourgeoisie not supposed to associate with the proletariat?
Cut to Richster Chava and Miguel/Luis watching the game and being affectionate. I'd call it a gay-subtext buddy-bond.
Scene 4: In the morning Miguel/Luis is awakened to the poor people arguing with a rich guy. "Something must have happened!" "We had nothing to with it!" The Nerd Chuy and his parents have vanished, and his house has been ransacked!
Richster Chava, Miguel/Luis, and his Sister decide to investigate. At the house, they find that Nerd Chuy's bicycle is gone. If he was kidnapped, it would still be there. They conclude that he went to the witch's house to fetch the soccer ball, and got eaten. Then his parents went looking for him, and the witch got them, too.
They run to the jungle to investigate. Shouldn't you take your bikes? It was miles away yesterday.
More after the break
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Scene 5: Flashback to 1981 (five years ago). Impoverished workers harvesting coffee cherries. Teenage Felix, who for some reason looks much older five years ago, is asked about Dad: "His leg's messed up, but he'll be ok."
Dad Pino brings his bag to be weighed. "100 pounds today! Good job!" Foreman Rosalio tells him. Also, he found some leaves with weird orange spots on them. Uh-oh, the crop is history.
Dad Pino asks the Foreman if they're going to get a raise due to the good harvest. "Naw, but you'll get a party this weekend"
Left: Foreman Rosalio is played by the extremely cute Short Guy Ferando Cuaulte. He doesn't have enough beefcake photos for a profile, but I found two. A short film about doing your laundry (below), and a Spanish version of Drunken History (on RG Beefcake and Boyfriends).
Cut to the party, with everyone drinking and dancing. Teenage Felix performs. Dad Pino brought snacks. Foreman Rosalio asks the Boss about raises, and is turned down. Women dance with candles on their heads. The wives discuss how much they hate Veracruz.
Veracruz, on the ocean about 500 km east of Mexico City, is the third most indigenous state in Mexico. 338,000 people speak Nahuatl (the language of the Aztecs), which appears in some of the dialogues in the tv series.
Nahuatl: Nijpia se ueyi notsontekon
When everybody leaves, the Boss shows his wife the disfigured leaf. It's "leaf rust," a plague from Colombia that is already ruining crops in Mexico.
Scene 6: Flash forward to 1982. The crops are ruined, and have to be burnt.
Scene 7: Back to 1986. The kids approach the ruined convent. They encounter the Bully and his Crony telling a girl that she has to show them her underwear as a punishment. Miguel/Luis starts to unzip -- showing another boy his underwear is no problem for him -- but he gets a different punishment: go into the convent, wave from the second floor window so we know you are there, then fetch the lost soccer ball, and while you're at it, bring everyone some oranges. "Couldn't I just show you my junk?"
Miguel/Luis walks down an vine-clogged cloister and into a room with scary draped statues. He hears the gutteral laughter of chaneques (guardian spirits in Nahua folklore), and almost crashes into a statue of a bloody Christ, causing him to wet his pants.
He reaches the second floor and waves.
On to the orange trees, on the other side of a crumbling wall. He gathers a few oranges, but a wasp lands on his shoulder, causing him to fall off, and land on the leaf-covered ground. We're back to Scene 1.
We see more of the pit this time, with broken glasses, worm infested-food, and a chain, with a boy skulking in the shadows. "Nerd Chuy?" he calls down, but the boy doesn't answer.
Miguel'Luis returns to the others. The Bully makes fun of him for wetting his pants. Richster Chavo asks if he found Chuy. "No."
Scene 8: Back home, Dad Pino is packing to leave: "I have to find them," he explains.
The parents are concerned that Miguel/Luis was beat up by the Bully, but he lies, saying that he fell off his bike. Mom yells at him for ruining his shirt, and sends him to take a shower.
That night, Sister asks what really happened. Miguel/Luis tells her that he saw chaneques, and almost tells about the boy in the pit, but changes his mind.
Scene 9: The next day, Miguel/Luis almost tells Richster Chava, but "The game is about to start! We have to hurry!"Teenager Felix, the Bully, and some adults are watching on tv at Boss Rodrigo's house. The phone rings, but it's not news about the missing family, it's Rodrigo's cousin, asking if they saw the last goal, har har.
Rodrigo is played by Humberto Busto (n*de on RG Beefcake and Boyfriends).
Suddenly Richster Chava notices that Miguel/Luis is missing. He's on his way back to the ruined convent. Opening the pit, he looks down and sees the missing soccer ball -- and a boy, not Nerd Chuy, blinded by the light. The end.
Beefcake: Some guys in muscle shirts.
Other Sights: The jungle and the ruined convent are beautifully presented.
Heterosexism: All of the adults except Teenage Felix have wives, but the relationships are not emphsized. The Bully wants to look at a girl's underwer.
Gay Characters: Gay subtext between Miguel/Luis and Richster Chava. Later he and Felipe, the Kidnapped Boy, cuddle, lie side by side, and hold hands (three times). Miguel/Luis doesn't do this with any of his other friends. And the last sentence of the series, "We're going to be fine," suggests that the two intend to stay together once the crisis is resolved.
Miguel/Luis: There is no Luis in the cast list, and everyone but the Sister calls him Miguel.Will I Keep Watching: I already know what happens, and a single gay subtext is notenough to keep my interest. I might watch if they include more Nahua folklore.
On RG Beefcake and Boyfriends: n*de photo of Daniel Piña, who plays Mozo.
Eight South American Indios with pecs, abs, bulges, and the highest p*nis string in the tribe
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