Coquimatlán is a small village where Don Francisco Uzueta’s public standing as a local benefactor and his power as patrón of the Federación converge in an annual festival. Its parade becomes the scene of his assassination: the village’s gestures of gratitude and civic improvement offer no protection when organized violence reaches the street.

Village and Public Patronage

Don Francisco Uzueta rides at the head of the parade on a palomino, dressed in vaquero costume and acknowledging cheers with a bejeweled sombrero. The village’s affection has tangible grounds: he built its clinic, school, and playground, and paid to air-condition its new police station. He recognizes people in the crowd and makes a point of waving to children. In Coquimatlán, his authority is displayed not only through his place at the front of the procession but through public works and personal recognition.

The Festival and the Killing

The procession moves along a narrow, cobblestoned street as Uzueta smiles and accepts the crowd’s gratitude. He does not see the M-60 barrel protruding from a second-story window. A first short burst of .50-caliber bullets destroys his face; a second tears open his chest. The palomino rears and bucks in terror, while Uzueta’s dead hand remains clenched around the reins. The abrupt attack turns a public celebration into a scene of assassination, interrupting the image of a patrón welcomed by his community.

Narrative Significance

Coquimatlán gives the novel a compact stage on which to place benefaction, political power, and lethal vulnerability side by side. The clinic, school, playground, and improved police station register what Uzueta has provided to the village; the parade shows the reciprocal gratitude that provision has cultivated. Yet the machine gun waiting above the street exposes the limit of that local bond. The festival’s public affection cannot shield even the man who has funded civic improvements and rides openly as the community’s patrón.