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Bruno Madrigal is an amazing storyteller in control of his own narrative and he hasn’t been living in the Casita’s walls all 10 years

Bruno Madrigal is an amazing storyteller. Don’t be fooled, this is not about the rat telenovelas. Bruno is in control of the narrative, especially his own narrative. His real gift is acting, well not really, but he can pull off convincing stories and different personas. He has been doing this for most of his adult life. 

Acting Jorge and Hernando

Ever since he was little he didn’t like all the attention his gift gathered, so whenever he could tell anyone that didn’t know him as part of La Familia Madrigal, he would introduce himself as Jorge, or Hernando, or any name that would provided him with a hide in plain sight. Also, as a way of being helpful to their community and not being scalded by his mother. Doña Alma doesn’t need to know that it was Jorge being paid with bags of corn flour, or coffee instead of Bruno having visions of the future.

Hernando is not afraid of anything, so he’s the one in the heights fixing roofs, up in the trees collecting honey, he would carry sacks of food for horses, donkeys and other animals around in the community. 

Jorge is meticulous, he mainly works in mills grinding corn for the arepas, grinding coffee, and occassionaly helping Hernando in construction. 

when Bruno went away he tried to get away, he didn’t went so far, so he returned and started working full time as Hernando / Jorge

the original chameleon was Bruno, as a coping mechanism for dilutting the pressure and attention of being a Madrigal who doesn’t know how to make his gift as useful to the community as his sisters. 

Bruno is very happy and proud about the depiction of Camilo, he loves this and wishes it doesn’t goes away now he is again part of Los Madrigal

Bruno is indifferent about how people want to perceive him: he’s an outcast, he’s seven foot and has pet rats, he’s an hermit, he’s a hard worker, he’s the bearer of bad omens.

When reconstructing la Casita, Jorge is helping Jose (maybe Jose trust Jorge, but not Bruno; maybe Bruno doesn’t want Jose to know he is Bruno?)

We don’t talk about Bruno

the community as a whole “don’t talk about Bruno” in part because of the bad omens that he constructed around  the visions, in part because they know drama and fall out happened within the family

if people in town dare to ask: Doña Alma will give a death stare or shut the door in your face, Pepa will thunder, and Julieta, Agustín and Félix were still trying to trying to talk about him without ending up criyng. 

Within time and years people don’t ask anymore

At least, 15 years ago, Bruno started spreading a mantra “we don’t talk about Bruno” left and right, first he was tired of this personna, and needed a break from the demands (both physical and emotional) so he began  exaggereting the “bad luck visions” of the one and only Bruno Madrigal with key people that would spread the hot gossip: Señora Pezmuerto, gossip king Osvaldo, the shopkeeper, and the balding priest.

His sisters and brothers in law know Bruno is somewhere in the town, I refuse to believe Bruno didn’t had friends!! (hey, we didn’t get to know the extended family and friends, not even the people that clearly helps around in Casita)

The magic is strong… and it can happen everywhere, not just in a cave

Bruno is fatigued when he has to see the Future (years ahead), but he can intuitively sense a few minutes ahead, so he never runs into people he doesn’t want to (aka his family). 

The cave and the rite for the visions are also a defense mechanism so people stop being all over him, all the time

Now, if you’ve made it until here: just as Five from Umbrella Academy learns to jump into the past a few seconds at a time, Bruno has  anxiety and hipervigilance that comes from a life changing decision of leaving your family in order to protect them, so he is aware of them. All the time. Sure its not difficult because they’re notorious and everyone greets them, or ask something from them. But, if he can avoid ackward stares and ‘“bye”, he will use his power to avoid them. 

Eventually, they know he’s around but hurt that Bruno doesn’t want to talk and be a part of the family

Trauma and living in the walls

from time to time, especially at nights, Bruno returns to Casita living behinds the walls, he’s ashamed, conflicted, sad, anger, fear and he’s lonely, with a lack of emotional tools to confront or engage with his family

I refuse to believe Bruno is a hermit, without any friends or social networks. Yes, generational and personal trauma is mostly deposited and explored by Bruno being a scapegoat or black sheep. We definitely see that Bruno is a bad mental state when Mirabel found him, but we also see that he is not always in the walls (behind Dolores in WDTAB) 

Mirabel and Antonio are the cycle breakers. In every big change both Mirabel and Toñito were there next to Bruno. 

Sorry, I got tired

this started as a one shot, but ended half a list of headcanons

so, half assing this post, just like Bruno living in the walls

TLDR: Bruno is so much more complex than we got to see. Yes, he’s a shy, anxious, lovely tío, but he has self mythologized his narrative in many ways as a defense mechanism. 

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Bruno has a new hobby: woodworking. He makes little wooden animals for Antonio who puts them all in pride of place in his room. Antonio thinks they're the coolest, especially as they look like all of his friends

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Camilo is most certainly a cat person

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Dolores used to love playing ball games with Camilo and Luisa when they were younger. Mirabel was a little too clumsy for it and Isabela didn't feel like she could join in in case she got muddy

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Bruno loves being back with his family, especially his brothers in law who love to include him in everything they get up to. His sisters often get very jealous both of him and their husbands

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Pepa is a bookworm and has shared her love of books with Dolores who used books as a way to distract herself from her super hearing

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Julieta was always the more independent sibling. Bruno and Pepa used to be inseparable

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Abuela loves soups. They're the first thing she taught Julieta how to cook. Soups are normally good for you but coupled with Julieta's gift, they are basically a cure-all

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Mirabel enjoys collecting things that remind her of her family

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Although Luisa loves the donkeys, she's actually a dog person. She would do anything for a puppy and is planning on bringing a stray home one day. She was worried Tía Pepa might disapprove but now Antonio has his gift, an extra animal in the house won't be a hassle in comparison to an actual jaguar or the coatis that are running riot

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Isabela hates it when people misspell her name as Isabella. It's her secret pet peeve

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Agustín was the one to get Mirabel i to playing the accordion. He's not too bad himself but he much prefers the piano over the accordion as his instrument of choice

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Julieta's other hobbies include: embroidery, weaving, painting and listening to Agustín playing the piano

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Alma fell in love with Pedro the minute she laid eyes on him. His goofy smile and warm and caring nature made her melt totally. Not to disregard the fact that he was quite the handsome man

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Antonio has set up numerous bug hotels in his bedroom although both Pepa and Abuela get annoyed at how many insects are crawling around the casita these days. They also freak Bruno out but he doesn't say anything because people used to be weirded out by his rats and he doesn't want Antonio to feel what he felt

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Camilo's favourite task is to babysit the kids in town. He loves telling them all exaggerated stories and shapeshifting into all the characters

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Antonio often brings a lot of birds outside of Dolores' bedroom because he knows how much she loves waking up to hearing birdsong