In Colombia just after the Great War, an old man falls from a ladder; dying, he professes great love for his wife. After the funeral, a man calls on the widow - she dismisses him angrily. Flash back more than 50 years to the day Florentino Ariza, a telegraph boy, falls in love with Fermina Daza, the daughter of a mule trader.

After an extensive immersion work on abandoned childhood, Ciro Durán presents, from his point of view, the life of street children, who have broken all family ties and have regrouped to survive in the concrete jungle.

Ofelia, an innocent rural woman, fights against time for her life after a group of common criminals place a bomb collar on her to extort her husband for an insignificant sum of money.

In the plains of Latin America, Guaco, a humble landowner, witnesses a son's betrayal driven by greed, leading to the downfall of a respected family.

Paula, a young art student, witnesses the assassination of her father, a university professor. Frustrated by the local police she starts to investigate the murder herself. Driven by anger, frustration and sorrow, she commits fearless acts that put her and her family at risk.

María tells the tragic love story of María, a beautiful young woman, and her half brother Efraín, a handsome young man from Valle del Cauca. They both fall in love and live their romance on the farm "El Paraíso", in Valle del Cauca, but not everything is rosy, since Efraín must go to Bogotá because of study reasons leaving María with pain in her soul. Some time later, María becomes ill and Emma tells her brother about the situation.

A man is released from prison, and after 18 years, returns to his village. But in this village, time, in many ways, has stood still. The time served by Juan complied with the court's justice, but not with some villagers. There are some who still seek true justice.

A babysitter takes the son of a wealthy family for a walk in the park. After a carelessness of the babysitter, the child follows two children from the street, who before returning him with her, will be responsible for giving him the best day of his life.

Santos attempts to lead a people's revolt in Colombia to overthrow the Presidente. When his revolt fails and he is killed, his sister Christina goes to New York to find McBain, a lieutenant Santos rescued during the Vietnam War. McBain agrees to help, recruits his old war buddies, raises some cash by killing a few drug dealers, then leads an attack to topple the Colombian government.

After his wife's death, a vallenato singer from Majagual, Sucre, decides to quit music and return his allegedly cursed accordion to his master. He is joined by Fermín Morales, a teenage boy who admires him and wishes to follow his footsteps. Together, they start a journey throughout several towns in Northern Colombia to Taroa, in La Guajira desert, where the singer's master supposedly lives.

When the Velezes agree to buy a used Chevrolet Bel-Air from their neighbors, who've recently won a brand-new car in a school raffle, they're thrilled about the prospect of leaving Bogotá's public transportation system behind. Little do they know that, despite its glossy red exterior, their newfound status symbol is a real lemon. Colombian director Luis Orjuela helms this hilarious look at the pitfalls of automobile ownership.

The whimsical and joyous parade of ridiculous events satirize the war that rages in Colombia right now and exposes the real spirit of those who inhabit such a beautiful country.