The First Rule of Punk

Malú walks Oralia to the school auditorium and then heads back outdoors to meet up with the other members of the Co-Co’s. The school’s parking lot “looked like an autumn wonderland. It was decorated with bales of hay and pumpkins and red and orange balloons. Long banners of colorful papel picado hung overhead. There was an impressive food and drink table” (284). The art teacher, Mr. Anderson, works a cotton candy machine.

Malú runs into Selena, who regards Malú’s hair and then asks if Malú fell “into toxic sludge” (285). Meanwhile, Selena wears “a long fuchsia skirt and a white off-the-shoulder blouse embroidered along the neckline with flowers. Her hair [is] done up in a fancy crown of braids” (285). Malú observes that Selena “didn’t look like she’d just fallen into toxic sludge. She looked like she came to dance and take care of business” (285).

Selena chides Malú for—so she thinks—the anti-talent show falling through; Malú responds by saying how sorry (in a sarcastic way) she is for Selena not being able to attend Irish dance classes. Selena is visibly upset and begins to walk away. Malú, feeling bad, catches up to her, giving her a flyer for the Alterna-Fiesta. Malú offers Selena to perform something she otherwise wouldn’t at the Alterna-Fiesta. Selena says nothing, and Malú goes to meet her fellow band members.

When Malú meets up with the group, she finds Joe with a gigantic mariachi hat hanging from a strap around his neck. Indeed, all the band members have mariachi hats, and one is given to Malú. The band drops the hats off in the library to hide them, and then goes to the auditorium. Joe and Malú get nervous as they watch their classmates perform. It’s then Selena’s turn to perform; she does excellently and “even [takes] off her candy necklace and toss[es] it to the audience” (291). Joe says that he’s received a text from his mom, and that their band equipment is outside.

While the Co-Co’s don’t have an actual stage on which to perform, they do have power for their instruments. The band sets up their equipment with Mrs. Hidalgo’s help. Mrs. Hidalgo gives Malú a mix CD she’s made for her. Malú gets nervous and then considers her reasons for going through with the alternative talent show. Malú “silently wish[es] for the confidence of all [her] favorite punk singers, and even of Lola B, to get [her] through the performance” (294). Then, it’s showtime.

Malú walks up to the microphone as classmates and their parents begin to leave the auditorium. She says, “So, we’re the Co-Co’s […] [and] [w]e tried out for the Fall Fiesta talent show but we didn’t get in because we were terrible” (295). This elicits chuckles from the crowd and helps Malú relax.

Malú goes on to say that Posada himself was punk, and that he “represented [not just] Mexican people and culture [but] all people, especially the ones who needed a voice and a way to be heard” (296). Malú adds that Posada “criticized stuff that was wrong with the government and things that were unfair in society. And he did it through his art. What’s more punk than that?” (296). The band then starts to play:

Ellie struck her drumsticks together to count us off. Benny played the opening notes of the traditional song, and the four of us sang a slow, bellowing chorus. We did our best to imitate the mournful-sounding ranchera singers we’d listened to at Calaca. And then we launched into the fastest and loudest rendition of ‘Cielito lindo’ anyone at Posada Middle School—and probably the world—had ever heard (297).

It’s then Malú’s turn to sing by herself. She keeps her eyes shut as she does, “[e]very nerve in [her] body […] alive and buzzing” (297). The other band members sing with her for the chorus, “which says that singing makes a sad heart happy. And [Malú] knew it was true, because any sadness [she] felt about leaving home or about Selena and Mom didn’t exist in that moment” (297).

Malú opens her eyes and sees many faces she knows in the crowd, including, and especially, one that she doesn’t expect: Her dad has flown in from Florida to see her perform. Malú dances as she sings the rest of the song. After they finish, she takes off her “mariachi hat and, like Selena with her candy necklace, toss[es] it into the crowd” (298). The audience applauds loudly. Joe jumps from his amp into the audience and is caught by members of Selena’s Candy Crew.

The band is thrilled following their performance. Selena approaches Malú and deems the performance “really weird. But it wasn’t so bad” (301). Selena doesn’t wind up taking the stage. Principal Rivera pulls the plug on the microphones but does offer that the following school year, she will consider an open mic for students.

Malú’s mom and dad come over to Malú; her dad gives her a hug and her mom gives her flowers. The flowers are “dahlias […] [t]he national flower of Mexico” (303). Malú’s mom asks Malú why she never told her about the band. Malú responds, “Why do you think, Mom? I figured the last thing you’d want to do was watch me be your weirdo daughter” (303). Malú’s mom offers that she’s sorry if she’s made Malú feel criticized and not good enough. The two then reconcile. A group that includes Joe, Malú, and Malú’s mom and dad get tacos from a food truck.

The book’s closing chapter finds the main characters sitting together at a picnic table, eating tacos. The group is comprised of Joe, Mr. and Mrs. Hidalgo, Ellie and Benny, and Oralia. Joe and Malú discuss that if they’re to be a “real band,” they need to start writing their own songs. Mrs. Hidalgo reinforces the notion that Malú’s mom loves her and doesn’t view her as a “weirdo.”

Back at home, Malú puts in time on a zine. She offers that she’s beginning to accept her new life in Chicago while listening to punk rock on her headphones.

The chapter concludes with the final zine, titled “The First Rule of Punk.” This zine functions as something akin to an overview of both the plot of the book and the evolution of Malú’s character. It concludes with instructions showing readers how to make their own zine.