Maya & Miguel

When the usually meticulous Rosa scorches the family breakfast, Maya thinks the apartment is cursed with bad luck. Using Maggie’s grandmother’s Guide to Feng Shui (which they don’t really have time to read thoroughly), Maya, Miguel and the gang redecorate the entire place in an effort to restore positive energy before Santiago brings home an important supplier for dinner that evening. But at dinner that night, the kids’ freshly painted walls, makeshift Asian fountains, and rearranged furniture cause a lot more harm than good.

One evening, after Maya sees Abuela Elena dancing alone after dinner, she decides that her grandmother’s cheery exterior is masking a deep loneliness — and that Abuela Elena needs to be fixed up on a date. Maya’s big idea launches a quest for an eligible sixty-something bachelor, the mother of all makeovers, and a blind date that doesn’t go as planned.

Miguel recalls the time that a new kid moved into the neighborhood: Andy. As we all know, Andy’s missing an arm. Maya, eager to make Andy feel comfortable in their group, tries to steer the boys away from playing sports because she assumes that Andy won’t be able to participate. This results in the proverbial unstoppable force (Maya) meeting the immovable object (Miguel and his boys trying to play ball). And besides, the boys don’t seem to have any problem with playing ball with Andy. In the end, Maya learns that true sensitivity means treating others as equals.

When Paco unwittingly destroys Miguel’s favorite Orlando Cruz baseball card, Maya decides to fix the situation by getting an autograph from Orlando himself, who is coming to town that weekend with his team. What ensues is a “Naked Gun”-like series of escapades where the kids try to get ever closer to the star by impersonating a boy-band, hot dog vendors, and a big furry mascot.

When Chrissy’s kitten runs away, Maya and her friends put up signs and spread the word about the lost “gato.” Unfortunately, Maggie’s Spanish is terrible, and she tells people they’re missing a “pato” — a duck. Soon Maya is stuck with a disgruntled and irascible duck in her apartment, on the same afternoon, it turns out, that the landlord is coming by to make some repairs. And she still has to find the lost kitty.

While Maya and Miguel are searching with their Abuela Elena for treasures through her seemingly bottomless trunk of memories, they happen upon an old menu from her defunct restaurant “La Cocinita.” She rhapsodizes dreamily about the menu – summoning magical, Marquez-like concoctions that can cure an ill-tempered grouch. After a walk around the neighborhood, they see grumpiness and general disharmony everywhere, and Maya quickly decides that not only Abuela Elena, but the whole neighborhood is in need of a New Cocinita to bring happiness and harmony to everyone with the magic of the old recipes. Enlisting her friends to be the kitchen and wait staff, Maya prepares for the big opening night over Miguel’s steady stream of protests and warnings. Of course, Maya and her crew soon get in over their heads.