The underside of Mexico City: street performers, factory workers, a drunk, an old man with civic pride, a pickpocket, and others live and interact in a shantytown near the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Techo, the old man, longs to reconnect to his abandoned son; Beto, the robust son, is in love with Lita, but not married to her although she's pregnant. Government authorities see the shantytown residents as lazy and immoral; the residents celebrate their own love of family, communal spirit, and life's possibilities. Can responsibility also win out?