Marcus Vega Doesn't Speak Spanish

Marcus, Charlie, and Melissa take a taxi from the airport to Old San Juan. On the way, Charlie tells the driver about their trip, but the driver has trouble understanding him, which irritates Charlie. Marcus takes out Danny’s camera and starts documenting the trip from the taxi window, capturing both the changing scenery and his smiling mother. Uncle Ermenio runs a hostel in his house. Marcus and Charlie’s enthusiasm fades as they see the run-down building with windows made of plastic bags and tape. Melissa, however, is excited, reminiscing about staying there when she was younger. She teases Marcus and Charlie about their missing sense of adventure. Marcus takes more pictures as they go inside, and they all jump when someone shouts, “Melissa!” Ermenio and Melissa hug and greet each other. To Marcus’s surprise, his mother speaks Spanish. Ermenio tells the boys to call him Tío. In a mix of Spanish and English, Ermenio catches up with Melissa as he shows them around. He shows them a picture of their father on the farm of Darma, Ermenio’s sister-in-law, when he was young and tells them their father used to love farming. During the house tour, Marcus discovers that he and Charlie have a large Puerto Rican side of their family that they never knew about.