Tuesday Siesta Summary

A stoic middle-aged woman and her 12-year-old daughter ride a train through the steaming jungle on a hot August afternoon to carry flowers to the fresh grave of her son. Smoke from the steam locomotive pours through the open window near their third class seats, threatening to ruin their simple but dignified dresses. They eat a plain meal out of a plastic sack as the train chugs through miles of banana plantations. The only sign of life seems to be the pool hall across the street. It is 2 p.m. and the town is taking a siesta. They disembark the train and head directly to the parish house, where the woman tells the doorkeeper she needs to see the priest to get the keys to the cemetery. The woman explains that her son was a good man, that she told him...