In 2002, it was announced that an alternate ending for Los Olvidados (labeled "the happy ending") was discovered at the Film Warehouse of the National Autonomous University of Mexico, and it would be restored digitally in order to show it to the public. On 8 July 2005, it was rescreened with the alternate ending in a few selected venues and included in subsequent DVD releases.[5][6]
At the International Cinematographic Festival in Saltillo, Coahuila, Mexico, on 3 February 2011, the last surviving member of the cast, Alfonso Mejía (Pedro), introduced the alternative ending to the film.[7]
The alternative ending begins with El Jaibo and Pedro fighting in an abandoned warehouse. Pedro pushes El Jaibo from the roof, where he falls to his death. Pedro frisks the body for the money El Jaibo stole from him (in contrast to the original ending, where Pedro is murdered by El Jaibo). Pedro returns to the farm school with the money that the principal entrusted to him.
