In Bandidos, Miguel develops a dislike towards his father’s best student, Ariel Tavitian, out of jealousy. Andrés Baida plays Ariel.
There was a time when Ariel and Miguel used to be friends; they were like brothers. Ariel still compares their relationship to that of the Mayan Hero Twins.
Ariel was Juan’s favorite student, and Juan ended up adopting him. Juan believed that Ariel was more capable than Miguel and that he would be the one to follow in his footsteps.
He was not a good father to Miguel and his favoritism towards Ariel strained Miguel and Ariel’s relationship, leading to Miguel’s jealousy and dislike towards Ariel.
Juan’s successor
Ariel became a successful archaeologist, contributing to Juan’s research, and established a Mayan museum in Yucatán.
The museum houses all the artifacts he personally excavated or saved from treasure looters.
When Miguel discovers a map left by Francisco de Montejo, he resolves to sneak into Ariel’s museum to access the maps needed to decipher Francisco’s map.
Things do not go as planned, and Lilí has to come to his rescue. Ariel immediately recognizes Miguel as the intruder, but Lilí distracts him.
Later, when Miguel’s group is arrested, Lilí, trusting Ariel, turns to him for help. Ariel uses his influence and has them released.
Ariel wants to know what happened to Juan and shows his willingness to help Miguel. While Miguel is too proud to ask for it, Lilí is not.
She approaches Ariel, who shows her the portrait he has of the three conquerors, which helps Lilí locate the conquerors’ keys.
Ariel’s true intentions
While Ariel helps Lilí and shares the portrait with her, he attempts to convince her that the treasure is merely a legend.
It is later revealed that Ariel is also searching for the treasure because he wants to acquire the gold jaguar for his museum.
He is working with the boss, an archaeologist seeking revenge on Miguel, and is responsible for Juan’s kidnapping. However, he ensures that the boss does not harm Juan.
Lilí then convinces Miguel to take Ariel’s help in rescuing Juan. It is then that both Lilí and Miguel grow suspicious of Ariel.
Miguel successfully outwits Ariel by tricking him with a fake moon stone and devises a plan with Lilí to further deceive him.
Ariel, who has started liking Lilí, figures out that she has been running from someone and promises to help her, even if they fail to find the treasure.
Lilí then convinces him that she is betraying Miguel in exchange for his help. She only confesses the truth to him after successfully finding out what happened to the treasure.
Additionally, the boss no longer wants to take orders from Ariel. He also betrays Ariel and shoots him in the leg.
Despite their strained relationship, Miguel does not leave Ariel to die. In fact, he rescues him.
In the end, it is Miguel who discovers the treasure, not Ariel, but Ariel still wants the jaguar, which results in him threatening to involve the police, forcing Miguel to give it to him.
While Miguel’s group divides the remaining gold, Ariel gets to exhibit the jaguar in his museum.
After finding the treasure, Miguel no longer feels jealous of Ariel, hinting that there is hope for reconciliation.
Also Read: The hidden treasure in Bandidos explained