Chapter3

A little later, Dante wriggled ^[1] into Miguel’s attic hideout ^[2] . Miguel was huddled ^[3] over a makeshift ^[4] guitar patched together from an old soundboard and other random items.

Dante squirmed，making noise. Miguel shushed ^[5] him. “You’re gonna get me in trouble,” he said. “Someone could hear me!”

Dante peered around Miguel’s shoulders as Miguel took a china marker and colored in a gold tooth on his own version of a skull guitar. Now it looked just like Ernesto de la Cruz’s famous instrument. “I wish someone wanted to hear me,” Miguel said, tuning the guitar. “Other than you.” Dante responded with a sloppy lick to his face. Miguel lifted his guitar and strummed it. “Perfecto!”

Miguel crawled ^[6] to the far side of the attic, where he kept his ofrenda to Ernesto de la Cruz. On the altar, he had set up posters,candles, and songbooks. He lit some candles beside an album of Ernesto’s. On the cover, the famous crooner ^[7] smiled and held his equally famous guitar. Miguel quickly compared the head of his guitar to Ernesto’s. It was a good match. Then he imitated Ernesto’s dramatic pose and wide smile.

He switched on an old, beat-up TV and slid a Best of Ernesto de la Cruz videotape into a machine attached to it. The machine hummed ^[8] as a black-and-white f ilm clip played. A young Ernesto was speaking.

“I have to sing. I have to play. The music,it’s...it’s not just in me. It is me,” he said.

Miguel plucked his homemade guitar as another clip played.

“When life gets me down, I play my guitar,”Ernesto cooed.

Another clip showed Ernesto speaking to a beautiful woman. “The rest of the world may follow the rules, but I must follow my heart!”He kissed her, and Miguel winced ^[9] .

Another clip cut in.

“You know that feeling?” the singer asked.“Like there’s a song in the air and it’s playing just for you?”

Ernesto began to sing and strum his guitar.Miguel watched closely, copying his hand positions.

Miguel continued to play as clip after clip f lashed ^[10] on the screen, letting his chords intertwine ^[11] with the music from the f ilms.

“Never underestimate the power of music,”Ernesto said.

In the next segment was another beautiful woman who pined for “But my Ernesto. father, he will never give his permission,” she said sweetly.

“I am done asking permission!” Ernesto exclaimed. “When you see your moment, you mustn’t let it pass you by. You must seize it!”

Miguel’s heart beat faster. He wanted to seize his moment, just like Ernesto.

“Señor De la Cruz, what did it take for you to seize your moment?” asked a reporter in a new clip.

“I had to have faith in my dream,” Ernesto answered. “No one was going to hand it to me.It was up to me to reach for that dream, grab it tight, and make it come true.”

“... and make it come true,” Miguel said along with Ernesto. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the talent-show f lyer. “No more hiding, Dante. I gotta seize my moment!”Dante panted ^[12] happily and wagged ^[13] his tail.“I’m gonna play in Mariachi Plaza if it kills me.”

[1] wriggle v. 扭动；蠕动

[2] hideout n. 藏身之处

[3] huddle v. 蜷缩

[4] makeshift adj. 临时的

[5] shush v. 发嘘声；让……安静

[6] crawl v. 爬行

[7] crooner n. 低吟男歌手

[8] hum v. 发出嗡嗡声

[9] wince v. 退缩；赶紧避开

[10] flash v. 闪现

[11] intertwine v. 交织

[12] pant v. 喘气

[13] wag v. 摇摆