Well, the first way to understand the plot is literally. Macabea's prophecy is false and meaningless, and her death is to be juxtaposed with that search for meaning. This interpretation is a post-modern understanding of the text, because it highlights the absurdity and meaninglessness of Macabea's hope, her search for joy and her desire to attain her destiny. Then again, The Hour of the Star has another theme in it; the theme of story-telling as a tool to explore meaning, which the narrator details in the book's introduction.
The prophecy she receives from the santeria is this: that she will experience a cataclysmic reversal of fate, meaning the archetypal hottie, Hans, and that she will attain the wealth that it would take to free her from her restricted lifestyle. This paints the meaning of life in a fairly straightforward way, and any sensible person would ask Madame Carlota for their money back, because it seems so generic. But we know a lot about Macabea's character from the plot.
Macabea sees the best in people. She is a believer in people. She believes in Olimpico even when he beats her, and even when Gloria has no real wisdom to offer, Macabea believes her suggestion and goes to Carlota. We know from this that she believes what others say with a sense of genuine sincerity. So the works of the seer are no small thing for Macabea.
This interpretation of the novel is that Macabea does attain the objects of her prophecy, in death. The meaning of life as the obvious (success and marriage) are the final notes of the story, and the death is the final chord. The point of this interpretation is that although from the land of the living, Macabea's life is meaningless and futile, perhaps she knows something from the afterlife that no one knows. The purpose of art, in the narrator's opinion, was to tease at those themes, so there is good cause to consider this finale as a complex motif.
