This stark Chilean melodrama concerns itself with the plight of slum dwellers living outside Santiago. For many years they have, with great difficulty, been faithfully paying small sums to a real estate man. This man has said that by doing so they can obtain title to the miniscule plots of land their houses stand on. In fact, he has been swindling them and does not even own the land he has been "selling." One of the aggrieved slum dwellers confronts him about this while he is visiting the slum, and the real estate agent shoots him before everyone's eyes. The question confronting these witnesses is whether testifying against this monster will make their lives even more precarious.
The story, set at the end of the 19th century, revolves around the rivalry between two families of ancient peasant lineage, the Valladares and the evil Vilches who, out of greed and sentimental revenge, try to dispossess the true owners of their land. The Valladares defend theirs, ending the conflict with a melee between the two main rivals. There are duels, fires, chases, kidnappings, betrayals and deaths. There is also a romantic note, the costumbrista landscape, the laughable moment and the folk songs.
A maid loses all her jobs because her son cries at night, and that bothers her bosses. The play portrays the wandering and desperation of the protagonist to get a job, which ends in her failed attempts due to the "Angelito".
The head of a plumbing and electrical workshop is a victim of bureaucracy in public offices and is unable to pay his debts, so his workshop is closed. With a lot of luck he manages to get a repair job in the house of a minister, then he enters to work in a ministry, also becoming a bureaucrat. Taking advantage of his friendship with the minister, he is promoted to become chief archivist, but he realizes the routine that is filling the job and resigns.
Old Lady
Rosita is a young girl suffering from her parents' divorce. Desperate and not knowing where to turn, she finds refuge in a church. The rituals of the Eucharist, the advice of a priest and her faith in God give her back the hope she needs to continue with her life.
Two shoeshine girls and a newspaper vendor survive in the Mapocho neighborhood of Santiago. While looking for better luck, Maruja becomes involved with a businessman who helps her become a famous singer. Meanwhile, the two shoeshine boys happen to come across some money from a bank robbery, changing their luck.
Rosita, a poor and naive girl, becomes entangled in a delicate love affair, which forces her to seek the spiritual help of the kind and ingenious Padre Pitillo, a country priest who does not censure the passion that has ruined poor Rosita, but puts things in their place, in his own particular way.
