Part 2, Section 10, "The Skull of Independence" Summary

That evening, an Independence Day celebration fills the city. Manuel drives to Acapulco for a holiday, but is shot dead randomly when he stops to ask strangers for a couple liters of gas. Rosa Morales's son Jorge dies and is placed in a small white coffin.

Robles ponders the times in his life he has failed his fellow men, by not aiding men like again of Froilan Reyero and Feliciano Sanchez. He speaks with Norma, whose only concern is of their impending poverty. He promises to rebuild his fortune and asks for her jewelry, but she refuses to give it to him. She screams at him, asking if she should become a dance-hall girl or seamstress. Torn between wanting to console her and to ignore her hysteria, he demands the jewelry...