San Fernando Val ley State Col lege
l Ah.§.Q §P E_~;~ -~fu'JUT THE ROSE II
A Translation from Spanish of a Thirty Scene Play
written by Emilio Carbal lido
A thesis submitted in p Drama by Januar•y, 1972 Son Fernando Val ley State Col lege January, 1972 I wish to express .my deepest gratitude to D0. Adolfo Halty-Oubi for all his guidance, assistancer time and moral support in compiling this thesis. If not for his origin~! inspiration, I would never have known that theatre even existed in Latin America. I am very indebted to him for this enlightenment and hope this work wi I l not discredit any know!edge he has given me. I also wish to thank Dr. James Brock for the many hours he has spent teaching, counseling and guiding me. am privileged and grateful to have had a professor as excel lent as he is. My gratitude also goes to my two friends and colleagues,· Mrs. Har·riet Barbar•ini and ~1rs. Ida Trimer, who have advised and assisted me through all my English and Spanish endeavors. Finally, I wish to express appreciation and thanks to my husband and children for their patience and endurance given them. Myrna H. \vine r January, 197 2 ... I! I Dramatic rights~ as wei I as film, television, and by Emilio Carbal I ido, remain the sole property of,·and are control led by the author. English language rights are control l~d by Dr. Wil I iam I. 01 iver! Department of Drama- tic Ar•t, University of California, 120 Dwindelle Annex, Berkeley, California, 94720. Professionals and amateurs Bose, in this translated for·m, is \<1ritten \vith the sole intent to satisfy the thesis requirements for the degree -of Master of Arts 1n Drama at San Fernando Val ley State CoIl ege. Permission was given by Se~or Carbal! ido and Dr. 01 iver for this translation and its pr-oduction. Production and acting rights are not hereby granted to amateurs or professionals, and the play may not 8 under penalty of law, be produced, for whatever reason, in whole or in part, tn any theatre, educational, commu11ity or professional. penalty of law, be broadcast, televised or filmed, without first securing permission and terms in writing from the above named gentlemen or the translator, Myrna H. Winer, Street, Northridge, California, 91324. IV TABLE OF CONTENTS Ackno1v I edgement ~ B 5 ~ g • e ~ e e • e a 0 ~ ~ a a • & S I I Dramatic Rights •••••••••••••••••••••• 1v Al) s t r act • • ••••••• c • • • ••• N ••• oft ...... '.ll • v 1 1 Introduction • • I Characters • s • • • ~ ft • • • • • • Q C e a e • D $ e • a • ~ • 20 Pr·e face to the Original a ~ a C a $ R ~ ~ e a a a .22 Scene One • • • • • • • a e • a • • • • • • • a • u ~ • • • • • .23 1 Scene Th 0 a & a a e a e e a e e e e C e S e a & ~ • • • G • .25 Scene Three • ~ • e c • • • • • • • a • • • • • ~ ~ -~ u 5 ~ ~ . 26 Scene Four • • • • a o ~ • ~- • • u • ~ ~ • • • • ~ ~ ~ ~ • a ~ .34 Scene Five • • • • • • • • • • • • • ft c • c • ~ ~ ~ ~ • ~ • • .42 Scene Six ~ a c a e a e • s a • a * a • S • C N g e ~ ~ e a • • .so Scene Seven e a £ & a 2 a • e R a a a e • • a V • ~ a S G 2 a • 51 Scene Eight a • • • a e e • • • w • • e • • t • • n ~ * ~ d • .54 Scene N ne e a • e • C e • • & & e e ~ ~ W a • • g B • • e ' • .56 Scene Ten • R • • ' • • • • • • • • • • a a a n • a • • ~ • 58 Scene Eleven • • a • • • • a • • c • e • • • • • " ·• • • • • • 59 Scene Twelve • • a • • ~ • ~ e • • • c • a • • • c ~ • ~ • e .62 Scene Th i r~teen a a • a C 8 a a ~ • 8 M • • • ~ ti ~ a a • • .66 Scene Fourteen a a a a 8 • S a S * a a • G ~ S m ~ 8 • 5 M .69 Scene Fifteen s • • • c • • ~ n r a ~ • • • • • w • • R » e .70 Scene Sixteen • • • • a • • • • • e • a c a • • ~ • • • s • • 7 3 ~3t::(~ne Seveni...:een • II! •• " t.! ...... " s. a,~ "ll 'I •• ,." 7 5 v Scene Eighteen • M ~ • M Q ~ • • a • a z • a • a e • ~ • • .77 Scene Nineteen 3 ~ • ~ a a e • c ~ ~ w • « • • e • s a • • .79 Scene Twenty • ~ • a • g c a • e ~ • • • e ~ s a ~ • • 81 Scene Twenty-one • • • • • • • • • a ~ • • • • M a ~ • s .84 Scene Twenty-two ~ 4 • ~ • • • • • • • $ ~ • • • : • .85 Scene Twenty-three . 87 Scene T\.Jenty-four ~ o • ~ • • • • • • • • M w • • • • a • 89 Scene Twenty-five u • • • • • • ~ • • • ~ • a ~ e • • • .91 Scene T\venty-s i x • • • • • • • G a • • • • » e • • • .95 Scene T\'>lenty-sevan • • a c • • • n • • « c • • • • • • a99 Scene Twenty-eight • • • • a • • • • • a • • ~ • • • ~ 100 Scene T\..;enty-nine • • ~ • a • • • • • ~ • • •- • • • • • 103 Scene Thirty • • w • • • • • • • • • • • • ~ • e a • c • • • I 07 Bibliography a ~ 9 a a $ 0 M a G • • B a a • • D ~ ~ a ~ ~ • 109 Appendices • s • • e • • • • • • • " • • a • • n ~ • ~ • • I l I A. Scenic E I evat 1 on . . . ~ .. ~ . ~ ~ . -. . 1!2 B. Floor Plan • • • • • • • * • • . -. . ~ . . . .. I 14 c. Use of Stage Setting G W 0 U 3 a e W W ! 16 D. Directorial Approach . . . ~ . . . . . 120 E. Property List a • • • • • • • • • s • • • • • 123 c VI ABSTRACT l Ai:_SO ~f[AK ABOU"[ THE~ A Translation from Spanish of a Thirty Scene Play by Myrna Honey Winer Master of Arts in Drama January, 197 2 There has been a significant dearth of Latin American drama presented in North America, particularily the United States. Although the two Americas are connect ed physically, the cultural connection has been I ike a chasm. "Yankee" disinterest in her southern neighbors has ·been nurtured by the scarcity or unavailability of trans- I was first introduced to latin American theatre 1n 1968, at which time I learned of the multitude of intet' esting and serious dramas which had been written and pro duced there. The plsys available, which had been transla ted for classroom use, were richly varied and covered a range of ideas. "Yo tambi/n hablo de loa t"osa/' v..ritten by Emilio Carbal I ida, herein translated as l Also _Speak .!:b~ut VI I --the ____Rose , was one of these plays. The play so intrigued me that chose to read the original Spanish version. A sa+ire nn human frail ity, +he play is Mexican in national- ity, but universal in content and intent. 1 felt, and stilI dov that this was a play which had to be presented to an English speaking audience. It was at this point that i wanted.to retranslate the work into a more accept- able script for production. entity. The justification is that so many of us see things so narrowly, we rarely see the whole. It t s, there- fore, a thesis play, not a character study; although the thesis is accomplished through a study of character. -Stereotypes of different classes of people are presented 1n a Pirandel I ian fashion to i I lustrate the theme. The theses are the same in any I anguage: (I) there I ife, (2) we cannot analyze reality, and (3) ~Je are not responsible for our I ives as long as there Is destiny. scenes. Each major division presents an entirely differ- ent motid or view and is introduced by either the Mediator or the News Vendor. Carbal I ido combined three dramatic . . h l . A . , . II l I . I tra d 1t1ons, t e .atsn. mer1can sarnete, ~a s1ort, popu ar. socia! comment play with popular prototypes), the neo-clas- stc, (long, formal, poetic dialogue), and the Elizabethan, (quick set changes, stock types, episodic structure, comic VI I I reI i ef 5 and didactic i rnpu I se), in this work. He a I so adapted many techniques of th:: d i a I ect i ca I theatre of Bertolt Brecht. The story revolves around a train derailment caused by two children, Leo and Toni. The incident and its results are alternately re-enacted as seen by different • ' I people. Each time the event iS f'epeacea, it is to:d through the spec i a I interest vocabu I ary of various social classes. First we see it really happened, then the var- ious reactions are presented: the upper class, the boy 1 s middle-class teacher, two col lege students, a middle-class business man, poor people, the children's mothers, a psychology professor, a professor of political science, and finally, a fantasy ballet narrated by the Mediator. The Mediator, the voice of the play\>~right, serves as a symbolic I ink between the versions. She is the point of reference and the guide for the audience. The value of the play, when it Is read or seen, 1s that the reader or viewer can become involved in the !dea! !y, hs wi!! recogni=o hi~cc!f and hope- fully his "blinders" will be removed. LX INTRODUCTION "Yo ~c' !a rcEu," written by Emilio R~£, is a satire on human frail ity. feel it IS univer- sal in content and intent and offers the vie\ver· an oppor•tun- ity for involvement. I, therefore, believe it to be worthy of translation and presentation for Eng! ish speaking audi- ences. found the play to be complex and teeming with symbol if'm, ideal ism, soci~!, rei igious and political critic- ism. By the car i catur i zed port ray a Is, Carba I l i do \.Jants us to recognize some facet of ourselves and those around us, and laugh at the incongruities of our natures. Hopefully, we wil I change from this experience. New vistas wi I I open to us and our "blinders" wil I be removed. Carbal I ido has written a thesis play, not a char- acter study; but he accomplished this through a study of character. He presents stereotypes of different people - people who exist everywhere. Through the theme of a search for tru-th, ask, not just the Mexicans for whom the play was written. Carbal I ido's theses are (I) there are many truths in I ife, (2) we cannot analyze real ityr (3) reality ts only through the eyes of the beho!dc~ and can be different to each of us, and (4) we are not responsible for our I ives as long as there is destiny. The title of the play Js based on two quotations which preface the Spanish versaon: "But my rose Is not a cold rose ••• "from Xavier Vii laurrutia and uA sketch of . human arch i tectur•e, '1 fr~om Sor Juana I ne"s dk: I a Cruz. From the first~ Carbal I ido sees the rose as the warmnes$ and ..... """~"~'<'"'~""~"""'"'-'·~~-'"''~"····-~ < ' -''-' ""~' -,p·;o "~·.·· ,_,.,.- .. tenderness of a woman. It embraces all the Mexican 1nnu- endoes, extending its meaning beyond the lovely, delicate flower to symbolize woman, virginity, motherhood ond the embodiment of I ife itself. His title infers alI this. He is going to talk about everything, including the rose, I ife, emotions and sex. From the second quotation, Carbal I ido has the analogy of the ancient five-petaled rose and "human architecture," the five parts of the human body. The quotation also gives rise to the question of wi I I. Is a person the example of divine wit I, the perfection of His wi II? Can one ever really kno.,.t himse! f oP can another person ever know him? What makes a person appear as he is? Does he know what he is? What do others think he is? One sees and interprets through his own eyes, hls own mind. Carbal I ido doesn't answer these questionsr he asks them and ·2'1."''"' I eave~ f: he con<' I u c: i on s or s 0 ! n t ; 0 '1"' ( i f t h't:- r-~ . .o>nv)·- ., ~ +:o.. each of us. He is showing us just a segme~t of I ife that could take place anywhere, anytime. Jo effectively analyze the play, it should be read as two divisions, as thouoh it takes two separate roads which need not ever meet. The Mediator should be looked at alone and the play read first without her. Then, to justify her appeEwi':mce 1 which is as the voice of tl~1e playwriqht, 3 her ideas should be I inked with those expressed in the play. She is the realization of the general feeling Carbel lido wishes the play to have. Combinir.rl the traditions of the Latin American the neo-classic and the Elizabethan, Carbal! ido breaks the play into many parts. The "sainete," a shor-t, thr-oughout in the pi ay' s content .;md the characters. The speeches of the Mediator follow a neo-classic approach of ,long, formal, poetic dialogue of recitations that are seem- .j ngl y unconnected speeches. The Elizabethan tradition is most apparent in the comic rei ief scenes, especially those involving the poor people and the scavengers - the woman who continues to stuff things into her sack while asking iF it is stealing and praying for the saints to guide or give her; the male scavenger who entices his woman friend by singing insulting songs to her; and the quick set changes ·and episodic structure of the work. The play also combines expressionism and Brechtian drama of didacticism and dial- jective, occurs throughout the play, giving the impression of alternating unreality or half-reality with reality. Didacticism is used specifically through the psychology professor 1 the socir:t! scie>.nce prof\'ssor• and the lecture!". The entire play is a dialectical approach to Carbal I ide's aforementioned theses. The scenes are basically inter- changeable and can be played individual iy$ 4 The Mediator is a symbol in character,. dress, speech and action. Her first appearance Is introduced by cluvichord mus~c, ,,,hich 91ves an atmosphere of antiquity. She is dressed as a peasant, in a white blouse, dark skirt and a shah•l • Her first speech is a poetic analogy compar- 1ng her heart with a sea flower. The heart I ies deep inside the body, "hidden ;n its grotto." lt. is constantly pumping the blood through the body, with its mass network of arteries and veins, as the "channels." II if all the hearts of the world could beat out loud ••• but we cannot talk of that now." This I ine closes the play, but at this point, in the opening, it could be an indication of \.Jhat is to follow. People are different, they act differently, and they see and feel differently. Her description of herbs 1s , -.· ,,, •• ,,._., ..-.~~.·'' :•r- . -·- -· . It symbolizes the actions and deeds that we do, some good, some bad. ',·J.hen she takes an inventory of a I I she kno\vS, it is obvious that she is omniscient and has seen many generations repeat ·themselves. It is also indicative that the past cannot be I inking this introductory speech to the play, it predicts that the play wil I be about I ife, destiny and differences. Following the true presentation of the derailment, the Mediator again appears. She is now dressed in less ·somber colors and stands before a podium, holding an enor- mous book. This speech alludes to some Mexican supcrsti- 5 //1~Jfpjr,i/- l ! tions connected with animals. The dog Is representative of physical I ife; the cat depicts spiritual i fe. Dogs have one-trdck tnind:s, they think. of their own iLtle \vot·ld and tend to be egocentric. Cats are the more intel I igent, the more respected in the animal world. Cats are believed to be able to communicate with the Divine Being and are grven instructions or knowledge as to what wi I I happen on earth. The "blood-curdling cries" which the cat emits, r-eFer to the human-1 ike cries cats make while mating. It could also symbo! ize the lack of meaning which love has among the lower class Mexicans. The hen is symbolic of mothers, the future and destiny. When an egg is broken, we are inter- fering with I ife and pandemonium may result. Goldfish are kept as pets, but they see everything that happens. Butterflies express the playwright's thesis, "Everything Is possible ••• Everything has the same value Ephemera, mystery ••• We love exraordinary changes." On to the secretive serpents and the omniscient bees, the Mediator ends the discourse with, "There are many books. And many ,warntngs " There are many truths, but not just one and not alI can be accepted. In the context of the play, this intervention of the Mediator introduces the ideas that are to follow: people are I ike the various animals. There are goldfish- I ike people, seeing ali but not fully understand- ing, such as the lady and the man at the newsstand, the two university students, and even the two mothers. There are dog-1 ike people, exemplified by Max's boss, Don Pepe, 6 who are only interested rn their own and do not see beyond their• universe; the t\>JO pt'ofessors \•:ho analyze only through the i t• spec i a! i zed fie i c.1s and do not account. fo1• any other factors. The hens are the mothers and their reactions to the event. The butterflies symbolize a! I the views and the ways they are to be presented. The bees are the audience, an er11dite group, h0pef~llly In even I ighter-colored clothing, the Mediator returns to tel I the story of the two men of faith. The tale is told while simultaneously being danced by two men. It emphasizes that we cannot fool with our fate, destiny IS pre-ordained. The decision, In the story, could not be made; in the play, the truth could not be determined. "The coin" has two faces, choice is only one side of it .and it is always up in the air. The conclusions of the two mothers, or the two professors, are also alluded to, each had his or her own idea, and neither could understand that of the other. The reference to the rite is one which ridicules the foolishness of some rei igious rituals. The Mediator's final words, which wil I be used over and over, were" ••• but that is another story." This repeats that there is a future and it may very wei I be the same as the past. Following the presentation of the three hypotheses 1 the Mediator returns, now dressed in white, with a red sash. The materia! .of her gown is soft and bil !owy, thus giving her a dream-! ike quality and an a1r of unreality. The red 7 sash symbolizes the rose and alI its meanings. The head- I ine which precedes her entrance ts, "Everything is true. Everything is reported! ••• All have the same value! ••• '·' The Mediator initiates her version of the accident, which is more naturalistic and under! ined with Zen philosophy. The trash glitters I ike jewels, the children dance through the scene.. "They wer•e changing, convePting into over•ything about them - they were the trash, the flcwers, they were the clouds, astonishment, joy, and they understood and they saw everything, they were everything." They were children; children with the wonderful gift of imagination, discovery, innocence and the appreciation for the simp! icities that . make I ife what it IS c They appreciated themselves and were content. They realized what their heritage has given them, what is expected of them. Following Leo's I ine, ncan our I ives be predicted ••• ,"the Mediator smilingly comments, ."We don't know what gestures our hands wil I make from one moment to the next." But children do, or I ike to think they do. They have dreams, plans, hopes; theirs wil I be a bet- words, After each step there is a corner ••• Each step is a direction ••• Between each moment of choice and the next, there are many crossroads ••• Nor do we always know the fruits of each act ••• In dreams we may think we can see the future, but in rea!- ity we don't know the future nor can we plan it too exact- ingly. Everything we do, anything that happens, can change 8 the future. l~ere Is disparity in the time of maturation; we vary in our experiences and the effects they have upon us. Interrupting the hilarity of the final scene~ the Mediator cries out the future of Toni and Leo and, once more, she does not continue, "But this ••• is another story." She leaves an open ending to a tale, agAin. By asking about the star, the Mediator slows the gaiety to a solemn halt. Alternately, Max, Toni, and Leo, add the I ines that seem to start the play over from the beginning. Life goes on, we a! I have our own views. The play really begins when the News Vendor shouts the one unbiased headline in the play. Doubt is added, however, with his final words, "It was a freig~•t train, but what if it had been a passenger train?" The play proceeds with a flashback to the events leading to the derailment; this first exposure being the true enactment. Toni and Leo, youngsters of twelve and fourteen, have not gone to school and are looking for adventure. Comments on the educational and economic systems of Mexico are made as their reasons for playing "hooky." Leo has no shoes, "The teacher inspects us when we come in to see if we've pol ish- ed our shoes. I'm not going to shine my feet!" The I ines indicate the apparent poverty of Leo's family and the attention to the uniformity and appearance of the students. Toni did not go to school as she did not do her homework, (a rather universal reason,) and subsequently she spends 9 her bus fare. Their first adventure Is taking money from a tele- phone box, which tf Max, a twenty-three year old mechanic and friend of the children, enters and warns them of the penalty for tampering with telephones. This hints at an awareness of the law, but disregard for it. It is also symbolic of a Mexican view of I ife - if something makes you happy it Is not \"rang or a sin, but rather God's wi II. Toni Is attracted to Max and wants him to notice her. Leo I ikes Max because of his motorcycle and independence. Max's apparent lack of education is demonstrated when he inscribes the photograph for Toni. He spel Is "friend" with "ph." The railroad yard 1s the next scene. A scavenger 1s begging for money - the poor asking the poor for a hand out. The children begin to explore the yard, examtntng things, singing, dancing and picking flowers. Their discussion of the movies alludes to the movie industry and its products. It also relates to the Mexican cinematic taste.• The Mexican people love horror movies and movtes of violence. The children accentuate this by their enjoyment of ai I the gory detai Is. The subject of Toni ;s father arises and she claims that he 1s dead, as so many of the Mexican fathers supposedly are. In alI probability, he is one of the many wandering husbands of Mexico. It is 10 later revealed that Leo's father 1s a drunkard and has I ittle to do with the family. When the oi I drum is discov- ered, both children seem afraid to appt'oach it; it symbol- izes the forthcoming event. It also illustrates their fear of the unknown as opposed to fear of their own I ives. With premeditation, they decide to rol I the drum across the Joi~t!y, probably more from curiousity then any- thing else, they agree to leave the drum on the track when they hear the train whistle. The News Vendor, exclaiming the disaster caused by del iquents, introduces the views which are to follow. First, that of the upper class. Symbolizing the quest for violence and gore on all levels, the \'/oman asks, "Isn't there anything about the dismembered corpse?" The Man~ exaggerating the details of the derailment, claims "vagrants" were responsible and Further refers to them as "barbarians." The newspaper photographs show the children as ugly, sinister and old. nThey look at least forty.u The Woman expresses her aloof concern, "It's vice. These -...._,_~""•"'"~·<...-,>on-yo.~<'"'-'""'""'~"",Z• people have been corrupt since childhood." It is rather sardonic, as they are, after alI, just children. The Man blames it on their poverty. The teacher's view follows t h i s d i at r i be • Pedantically, she chastises the class that if they don't do their home~>.•or·k, if they flunk the next test, or if they don't bring their white uniforms 1 they' I I end up I ike their criminal friend, Leo. She reads a convenient portion of a newspaper column to them. Vagrancy, stupidity and lack of c1v1c responst bil ity ••• The neglect of their parents is also to be blamed. They allowed their children to devote themselves to del iquency and the neglect of their teach.". She does not, naturally, complete the last statement as it reflects upon her. The scene ends with her returning to talk to the class about fractions, which emphasizes the lack of coot'dination of the system to the society. Two university students open the next scene; they are discussing the event. They find great humor in the entire situation and credit drugs with being at the root of everything. It is a detached view to what is happening around them, except where they are directly concerned or if it is a protest of some kind leading to any action out of the ordinary. Max learns of the derailment from a phone conversa- tion and informs his boss that he must go to help the chil- dren. Don Pepe, the shop owner, symbolizes the typical disinterested man-an-the-street, non-involvement type, who only half I istens. He claims it must have been the Commu- nists who did it. He then says, "They did something to the streetcar ••. ," not roa! ly henring cbout th~ freight tra;n. He is off on his own, hearing only what he wants to hear. In typical foreman-boss tradition, he warns Max that he' I I have to make up any time that he 1s away from work. His reaction is one of total disconcern with the incident and worry only for his business. . The reaction of the poor ts portrayed. The ru 1 ns are being picked over by scavengers. Carbal I ido's humor, 12 cyn1c1sm and atheistic ideas are brought out and more stress is made of the great poverty of the people and their poor I iving conditions. (Even the men who were left to guard the train ran off with bags fi I led with things from the wreckage.) Symbolizing, orally and visually, the superstitious nature of the people and how they turn to their rei igion when they're Fearful, was the Poor Woman~ who, while stuffing her bag, crosses herself and continual ly asks forgiveness, "Holy Mother! I think this is steal Ing ••• Oh, my God!. •• Blessed Virgin! I do believe that this is stealing!" And a! I this while she continues to stuff her sack. She is going to tel I other members of her family so they too can take things. She also wishes that her children were available to help her get more. This Is a further comment that the knowledge of right and wrong exists, but it is only applicable when it does not immedi ately concern the person and, the philosophy, if it makes you happy, it's acceptable. A comment on the loose family morals is made when the man offers to help the Poor Woman homep "My man Is so strict. I hope no one says that vou came with me. Well ••• it must be the will of God!" In addition. many of the people are enlisting the aid of their I ittle children to carry away merchandise. The last half of the play, following the Mediator's narration of the two men of faith, opens with the News Vendor's cries, "The rebels without a cause, create half a mil I ion dollars damage." The scenes which follow wil I be 1.3 i I I ustr•at ions of the cause. The first vcH·s 1 on 1 s that of Toni's mother. She is self-sacrificing and is, of course, the sole supoort of the family. She is a nurse's aid with the most menial job, that of emptying bedpans. She is saddened by what has happened, but also sees humor in it. "Oh, that Toni! She's always into mischief." She m1n1- mizes the jail and claims it is I ike a boarding school. She also blames Toni's predicament on the fact that she doesn't have a father. The mother r~em i nds he rse If that she must contact Toni's school, she figures the child wi I I probably lose a year. She cannot comprehend the enormity or the"'seriousness of \ They' I I say that •.• they' I I say it's to keep her from doing it again. Oh, sure. She's going to keep on derailing trains! Yesterday one of the men told me to leave the things with him. But, 1'1 I be damned if 1'1 I do it. They're bigger thieves than the ones they're watching inside. The scene changes to the jail with Leo and his mo~hcr. Her reactio~ t~ t~c affeir 's one of ang8~ and inconvenience. She makes herself a martyr a~ bemoans alI she has done, only to be repaid I ike this. This disgrace had to happen to us. It's not enough that your father is a good-for-nothing drunk, you have tn oo and turn into a highway robber ••• I've struggled so long so that you could get a decent education, and nO\oJ I ook what I get • • • It's my fault for spoiling you. She also blames e~erything on Toni rather than accept Leo's part. This symbolizes the relationship of the mother with the son, the complexity of the maternal society, where a father. This relationship is further revealed tn, I missed you alI the time, and I even thought, God forgive me for this, wouldn't it be better if one of your• brothers were here in jail instead of you. l·hat's a woman for you, always favoring the worse one! Head I 1 nes The Ne\vs \ .•.. Vendor cries out the ps~aho~nalytical slant, " ••• schizo- phrenics produce serious pub! ic trauma ••• Moment of obnubilation ••• " Carbal I ido has a great deal of fun satirizing the Freudian psychoanalyst's approach to simple occurrences and what we may think are unimportant actions. The language of the entire scene changes to the gobbledy- gook of psychiatry. There is a flashback to the original event, only this time the speeches alI show psychological inferences, objects become sexual symbols and actions become the var1ous• II isms.• II Even the rose is not beyond the Psychology Professor's definition, "A complex ego, composed of 111any I ayel's wi1 i ch enve i up one another', as ••• as ••• the petals ••• as the petals of a ••• rose." He makes a I ittle slip-up of cal I ing the "common man" the ucommon patient," which is in keeping with the playwright's intention of portraying the one way mind of the psychiatrist and the fact that everyone could do with a I ittle analysis. Through the professor's eycs 8 we see the act of the derail- ment as a consc1ous one and everything leading to it is 15 coherent and logical. The telephone becomes a symbol of sexual communication;"looking-outu is connected with the dance in the railroad yard is changed to show Toni as mother and lover and Leo as virile then passive. The scene c/ with Max becomes one of father image, combinations of incest, fetishism, homosexuai ity and traumatic experiences. The act of rol I ing the drum to the track now symbolizes: incest, I ibido, loss of virginity, breaking of comrnunica- tion and tentiginous cr1me. The scene ends with the prof- essor explaining that psychology can explain al 1, which is ironical after the language and confusion of his explana- tion. Red and black newspapers are now carried by the News Vendor. His headlines now reek with the language of the political propagandist. The Social Science Professor enters and repeats the original scenes with his views and comments, explaining everything socially and politically. The accident is now an expression of class struggles. The Carbal I ido comments on monopolies, capital ism and under- developed countries through this professor. The discussion of what to eat is a humorous look at poverty. "Bananas. They have the most nutritional value." "Sno-cones. They have more calories." "We had a very insufficient breakfast.u Gambling is pointed out as being akin to poverty-striken countries. leo cannot go to school because of the economic 16 demands. It is hinted that the schools are not for the general pub! ic, but for the select few. Max is now pr-esenteJ as the "expioited, cooper•ative, :;;elf-sacrificing, self-denying, uncorruptible, brotherly, vigorous and alert ••• authentic representative of his class." He no longer appears in old clothes, but is neatly dressed, wei 1-ironed and, generally, radiant. Going to the railroad yard is accepted by Max as an indication of the union's betrayal of the working class. The derailment signifies getting even with the capitalistic system. Max's picture becomes important as it is better to idolize or admire a comrade rather than movie stars who "set've imperial ism." "The derogatory comments about Max's girl now symbolize that she is a member of the pet it bourgeois. The trash of the yard changes, it Is filled with American trademarks and American products. Carbal I ido IS aiming at the American economic and merchandising habits and the effects that they have on Mexico. He Is also exploiting the fact that there is much American money behind many ~exican businesses - they are really American business with Mexican partners or figure- heads. The children now dance an ethnic dance, symbolizing the attempt of the Mexicans to hold on to as much of their own culture as possible. This reverts back to the middle 1800•s when much of Mexico's territory was taken by the United States. They did not want more of their territory or more of their people to become assimilated into a foreign culture. Social welfare is toyed with, Toni advises Leo to 17 give the sick scavenger some money, "Help him. He aoesI not have social security or Medicare.n "Neither do we. lt IS 'for the few privil igBd." fhe derailment Bet !snow "extreme results" produced by "extreme contradictions." Toni wants to leave the drum alone, she's scared. Leo claims, "Fright is the principle of revolution." As they roi I the d~um, a hymn is heard, as though they were per- forming a rei igious sacrifice. "Man is economics. Our whole I ife rests on the economic substructure." Toni and Leo did not do the unexpected, they did exactly what was expected of their class, as a result of poverty. Max is now visiting Toni in the jail. He trios to explain the seriousness of the event, Toni !s rea! ly too naive and immature to comprehend. To point out the contrast and senselessness of imprisoning the children, Carba! I ido has Toni tel I about the other girls in the prison. Max tries to convtnce Toni not to associate with them, "They're a bunch of brash, shameless scoundrels and hardened crim- inals." Toni, in all her innocence, replies that the IHn·;s- . • ri attachment between Toni and Max develops in this scene. Toni convinces Max to carry only her picture and to promise to visit her frequently. Max agrees and the scene ends with Max embracing her tenderly, but hopelessly, as he wants to help but doesn't know how. Comic rei ief fo! lows the jail scene, but it is also a scene of contrast. The jai I scene had been fi I led with I {) iO moving tenderness, love and true emotion, while the camp- fire scene depicts the emotionless, physical side of love. The language and action of this scene is in complete opposition to the previous one. Max re~ppears in the garage, talking to his girl I friend, who is checking up on him and doesn't believe him. The scene S) i ves some of the motivation for-· Mi::~x';::, leaving her for Toni. Three color photographs introduce the next scene 1 one of a red rose, another of a petal, and the third, the eel Is of a petal. The Lecturer, speaking directly to the audience, actually 1s summarizing the entire play and bringing out the main thesis. It is now necessary to definitely condemn, in order to suppress with absolute rigor, the images which have been denounced as false. Look at them care fully, there are three. Only one is authentic. The other two are to be erased, obi iterated from the books. No one should know about them. Those who divulge them should be persecuted. Those who believe in them should be watched~ isolated, abolished. Like the rose, what Is the real truth? The flower itself? he is pointing out that everything has the same value; we have to take I ife as it is, v.tith all its complications$ Carbal I ido is basing the hypotheses on the philosophy of Zen, that of introspection and intuition. We cannot get the whole truth through scientific knowledge and methods, intuition often is more accurate because of a pre-knowledge of people~ He paraph rases the quotation of Sor Juana I ne's !9 --~-- -~ de la Cruz, "Or 1s this, on the contrary, a divine rose. which according to ~;~nteel cultures, is the unfulfilled three hypotheses and concludes that nothing must exist. There is only a series of miraculous fictions and one is cal led a rose and the others are cal led other names. One miracle after anothEr, everywhere, without the possibility of some rational explanation. The Final segment of the play is opened with the \ oL. .,~,rt£J!i'tOt.,,T.~,~}.,.~t.~.n2t .. L~t:t~.!:.§. This vi sua! symbo I has the effect that alI this could have happened ages ago, any- where, to anyone. The oral symbol ism of his speech sums up, once again, Carball ido's ideas, " Everything 1s true AIl have the same value!" There is a metaphysical force behind ev~rything <,- •• '"" c-,•' ,._ .--- -.·. " .,.-, _.,.<-c:._ ""-·""'··~-,. that happens. Why does the rose lose its petals in the \vi nd? Is it an accident or is it pre-ordained? There are so many seemingly insignificant things that clutter I ife, but even they are important to our destiny. CHARACTERS The Mediator> An oHm i scient cr-one, my st. i c, r·eprese nta- tive of everybody's grandmother. Toni A I ively girl of twelve who tends to be dotn i nee I"' i ng. Leo A boy of fourteen who seeks adventure. Max A sincet'e 1 hard-vJOrkingr young man of twenty-thPee. School Teacher- A pedantic biddy who has no I ife beyond her clussroom. Psychology Professor A Freudian psychologist. Social Science Professor A hard, pushing Communist. Don Pepe A middle-class, middle-aged, business man. News Vendor Sno-cone Vendor Fruit Vendor Scavenger Man { The bottom of the social ladder, they I ive Scavenger \voman J oFf the garbage of others and each other. Poor Men Poor \voman She thinks re! igion wil I cover her stns. Toni's Mother A hard-working woman in a Fatherless home. . , . Paca T on1 s sister, about fifteen years old. Leo's Mother' driving, selfish woman. Lectur-et' Man Citizen A member ., of the upper class • 20 Woman Citizen A snooty member of the upper class. Man Giri University Student Boy University Student Poor Girl Poor Ray Man from Chalma Man from Chalco Due to the s1ze of the cast and the s1ze of some of the roles, one actor may be cast in several roles. HBut my rose ts not a cold rose . . .H Xavier Vii !aurrutia HA sketch of human architectureH , Sor Juana lnes de Ia Cruz 22 Scene One Clavichord mustc 1s heard. Silence. Blackout. Spot! ight up on the MEDIATOR. She Is sitting on a chair with a straw seat. She Is dressed I ike a vii lage woman: white blouser dark skirt and a shawl which almost covers her. MEDIATOR This afternoon I I istened to my heart beating. finished my work early and I've been sitting here, quietly looking around me and I istening to the smal I delicate thumps as my .heart continues to pound my breast. (Pause) My heart IS :1 ike the cautiollS lover who wants to enter; it's like the I ittle chicken which pecks at the wal Is of the egg, trying to come out to see the wor I d. (She rises) I tP i ed to :imagine my heart (She imitates the throbbing,) as if it were a complicated sea flower, I ightly shaded as it I ies hidden in its grotto, doing its work very competently and very methodically, regulating its infinite extensions to route, others as narrow as the canal that carries vegetables and merchandise by slow row1ng strokes. AI I rhythmically beating. The floodgates are ready to follow the rhythm which marks the intricate radiation of the powerful central flower. Suddenly I thought - if alI the hearts in the world could beat out loud ••• but we cannot talk of that now. 23 24 _,_ ··-·-···-- (She returns to her seat) ! thought of the air also, the smel I of smoke and of now cold food. was i ike a fish in my chair, surrounded by the air; I could feel the atr on my skin, I cou I d fee I the tenuous currents which ensnare it.!' I could feel it grazing me as it went by. Air which beats and circulates. Then I made an inventory of alI that know. I know many thingsl know herbs: some cure, others taste good, or smell good, or are beneficia I , or· can cause death or madness, or simply ar~e be aut i fu I I y covered with minute flowers. But I know more. I recall some of the things I have seen: faces, clouds, scenes, street corners, gestures, and contacts with people. also have memories which originated with my grandparents, my mother, my friends, and many which were handed down from older Qenera- t ions. I know pages, texts, i I I us ions~ know how to get pI aces. I know many roads. But wisdom 1 s I ike the heart - it is guarded, fluttering, imperceptively resplendent, regulating rythmic channels which ebb and flow, communica- ting with other channels, with torrents, some which rage ·carelessly~ alI handled by the brigh+ complexity of a potent central valve ••• (She rises) Everyday there IS news. It takes alI forms. It sounds, it flashes,. it Is explicit OF chi !dish, it interlocks and germ .1 nac.-es.~ receive the news, car-ry the nev1s. communicate it. I ass i m i I ate it. I contemplate it. News! BLACKOUT Scene Two Noises of a derai iment: whistles, cr1es, noise of iron striking iron. Silence. Lightning flashes. Blackout. Light follows the NEWS VENDOR who enters runn1ng with his newspapers. NEWS VENDOR .Paper! Get your paper! Youngsters derail a train. Read alI about it! Read how the disaster happened! It was a freight train, but what if it had been a passenger train? ••• Get your paper! Today's paper ••• (He exits) BLACKOUT 25 Scene Thl"ee Darkness follov;ed by a general I ight. A LE0 6 standing on a wooden box, tries to take money from the coin box by carefully us1ng a w1re. TONI is watching to see if anyon-e . . rs coming. TONI ~Quickly) Hurry! Someone's coming! Hurry! Hurry! An old man! I think he's going to use the phone! He's look- ing rn a I ittle book. (LEO gets out of the phone booth and stands next to TONI. A MAN enters and goes into the phone booth. The children look at one another.) TONI (Sweetly) It's out of order. The phone doesn 1 t work. (The MAN Is about to put the money in. He stops and looks at the children.) MAN (Incredulously) Doesn't work? LEO and TON I No. (He returns the receiver and leaves. LEO tries again and TONI watches. He finally gets a co1n. They are both jubilant.) 26 27 TONI What should we buy? LEO Bananas. TONI No. Sno-cones. LEO Okay. TONI There's another phone up the street. LEO Too many people. They' I I see me. TONI M~ybe there won't be many. LEO , We' I I see. let's buy something! (They go towards a VENDOR who 1s coming with his sno-cone wagon.) LEO VENDOR Five, ten and twenty. LEO Two of the five. TONI Oh, you should flip a co1n. 28 LEO You went to gamble? VENDOR How much? TONI A quarter? LEO (Doubtfully) How about a dime? VENDOR Don't talk so much. Bet a quarter. Say a prayer and let it fly. (Tossing the coin into the air.) LEO (Shouting) Tails! VENDOR ,Heads. (They look at the co1n. The VENDOR shines it, pockets it and leaves. Silence. TONI and LEO start to walk away.) TONI (Apolog~tic) But ! !:-~! icvcd thet .•• \'Jc!! 1 Y<''-' could've won. You should've done the flipping. (Silence. They walk. They kick at things in the road.) TONI Well ••• you should've said you didn't \vant to bet. Why'd you play for a quarter? I was just talking. 29 LEO (Angrily) Oh, shut up! I!""' • ! ~ f • ' ~ :..'} 1 1 e nee. They continue wc:d K 1 ng. J TONI PI ay agc.11 n~ LEO With what? TONI I have my bus faree LEO And how' I I you get home then? TONI '(Defensively) Well ••• I ••• ah ••• you're go1ng to win, aren't you? LEO (Sarcastically) Oh, sur•e. It's real easy. TONI But you toss it this time. Here. Take it. LEO (Shovti~g ~~d runnlng aFter the VENDOR) Hey! Hey! We'!! pJay again! (The VENDOR comes back with his wagon.) VENDOR Again? LEO I'll throw it. 30 VENDOR How much? TONi A quarter. LEO Okay. Here goes. (He tosses the coin into the e!r.) VENDOR Heads. (They look at the coin.) Heads. (He pockets the coin.) TONI Wait, I'm going to toss it. Let's see. HePe goes. Tails! (They look.) won. VENDOR Hold on! The one who throws, doesn't cal I. Throw it aga1n. TONI Oh, yeah! Because I won. That's not fair. LEO She's a girl. She doesn't understand. TON I So what? l won! VENDOR Okayl Okay! Come on! What do you want? TON I . Two of the ten cent SIZe. (They take their ices.) 31 VENDOR Let's play agasn. (The children look at one another and nod.) LEO Okay. A quarter. (He thr0\-1s it.) VENDOR Beads. (l-ie I ooks.) lieaJ~. Agit in? (The chi I dr·en shake the it" heads no. He puts the COin away and goes.) TONI (\vh in i ng) Why'd you do it again? \ve already \"on. You've been shafted. Now I haven't enough for the bus. And it's late. Now how am I going to get to school? {They sit eating their ices.) ;well . .. I didn't do my homework anyway. (She wtpes her• hands on her dress) Aren't you going to school? LEO I don't have shoes. My mother isn't buying me any unti I :next week. TON! Wei I, go as you are. LEO The teacher inspects us when we come in to see if we've polished our shoes. I'm not going to shine my feet! TONI look, i stilI have twenty cents. Want a jicama? 32 LEO Sure. (An OLD WOMAN with a basket of fruit enters.) Two for five cents. WOMAN TONI Boy, they're expenstve and so smal I. How about two for fifteen? WOMAN We II, okay. TONI With ch i I i . (The OLD WOMAN prepares them and gtves them to the children. They pay and begin to eat.) LEO There's sti~ I a nickel. TONI Let's keep it for a while. (They so to•·:a:--ds another phone booth") LEO (As a sudden idea) Maybe someone used it. (He goes into the booth, I ifts the receiver, hangs it up. A quarter drops. He picks it up, astonished.) It dropped by itself! A quarter dropped out by itself! Look! (He shows her) A quarter! I hung up and it Fe! I out! -- ·- (TONI goes into the booth, picks up the receiver and puts it back. She bangs on the phone, shakes it, fiddies with the dial, pushes the co1n button quickly and violentl~ and hangs up.) TON! \veil, that's it! No more! Scene Four The children see MAX coming. They wave. MAX enter·s. He i ~ twenty--t!wee yi:oi'S o! d. He is wearing a white sweat shirt, which isn't too clean, old tweed slacks and tennis shoes~ LEO Here comes Max. Hey, Max! MAX H I• '• What're you doing here? TONI We found a quarter in the phone booth. Leo picked up the receiver and it dropped out alI by itself. LEO took another out with a wire. MAX You'd better watch out or they' I I catch you. TONI What would they do to us? MAX Lock you up for five years or more. TONI Oh, sure! For a quarter? MAX Of cou!"se. TONi I was only acting as look out. 34 MAX Accomplice. Four years. \.'s- · r ·1 e r" , t r•o u b'i e a· s ·'1 • en ce • 'J LEO Where's your bike? TONI (Clutching Max's arm) Take us for a ride. MAX My bike's not working. LEO \vhat happened? MAX I drove it without oil too long. Now the kick Is shot. (TON I I aughs.) look at her! What's she laughing at? TONI ·(Superior) How could it be a kick? !t must be the wheel. LEO Oh, you dummy! The kick ts the starter. lONI Oh, sure. You're so smart. You know so much. LEO Are you go 1n g to fix it? MAX No. How can I do it 1n the shop? It needs to be straight- ened. 36 TONI The bike's no good. LEO You're only talking because you I ike to hear yourself. You don't know nothing. TONI And of course you do! Sure, it's very good. I say thai: it's just no good. MAX (With pride) 250 cubic centimeters of cylinder and sixteen horsepower. That's alI! TONI So? MAX (Exasperated) That means it's ver•y good. TONI {Convinced) Aaah! Wei I, I've seen it and it seemed old. MAX (Changing the subject) What are you kids doing here? Why haven't you gunL tc ~chool? LEO I don't have shoes and she's spent her• bus fare. TONI (Angrily) Ha spent it. He gambled it. LEO Gossip! That's a woman for you. She wanted to bet it. 37 MAX ~ 1'1 I g1ve you bus fare. TONI .. . I haven't done my homework. It'd be better if you gave me a note saying I was sick. Would you do that? MAX Okay. What should ! say? TONI I'll tell you what to write. MAX What' I I you kids do alI morning? LEO We I I • • • I et' s see. Maybe go down to the ra i I road yard. TONI There's only trash there. LEO Maybe we' I I find something. And you can watch the trains go by. TONI ·(Walking around MAX) Whet have you got th~re? let me see. (MAX's wallet ts tn the back pocket of his trousers.) LEO Hey, don't touch that. TONI Come on. let me see. 33 (She removes the wallet. She opens it to see what it contains. MAX and LEO watch her, with mascu I 1ne' pattence.j. ' Hey, you're handsome in this picture. Give it to me. MAX Oh, sure. TONI Just to have. Give it to me, please. MAX No. I might need it and then I ~on't have it. TONI If you gtve it to me ••• 1'1 I put it on the mtrror in my room. LEO She's going to show it around and say you 5 re her boyfriend. TONI Liar! What's it to you anyway? Give it to me. MAX Okay. Keep it. Well, write something on it, go ahead. (MAX finds this very difficult. He takes a pen and goes to write. He gives up.) MAX (Angrily) No. What for? Take it as it isv TONI Write something. Ple~se write something. 39 {MAX thinks. He sits down and writes with difficulty. He stops. He thinks agatn. He writes. He signs it with a large scrawl which almost goes off the photo. He gives it to her, shyly. TONI makes a face at LEO.) TONI (Reading) "To my friend, Toni. With sancere appreciation, from her friend, Maximill ian Gonzalez." (Happily) I'm going to put this on my mirror, 1n my room. LEO (Looking over her shoulder) Friend isn't I ike that. It isn't spelled with a "ph." TONI You know so much. That's \vhy you're st iII 1n the fifth grade. Let's see what else you have. (Looking) Are these your parents? MAX Yes. TONI (Sweetly) Oh, your parc~ts. (Nasti !y) Who's this? MAX My g i r•l • TONI (Nastily) This skinny, ugly thing? She's cross-eyed! MAX (Angrily) Cross-eyed? You're cross-eyed! (He grabs the wa! let and puts it away.) 40 TONI She is cross-eyed. She has one eye go1ng no~th and the 'oth :It's I ate. I have to change for work. LEO So long. MAX See you. (lh, .st<.:>rts out) Don't you want your· bus fcH·~? TONI didn't do my homework. (MAX starts out again.) Listen, .,.,hen I get my pictur'e taken, I'll give yoll one. But you have to put it in your wallet. Okay? MAX Sure. (He exitsa) 4i TONI :(Shouting) Say hi to cross-eyes for me. (She laughs) LEO Is she really cross-eyed? TONI Y~s •w• No. (She looks at the photo) I'm go1ng to put this on my mtrror. (They leave.) BLACKOUT Scene Five light comes up on trash. It Is I ike a carpet of trash with plants ~~d branches everywhere. In the background is the railway track. It is day! ight and there is a bright sun. SCAVENGERS are pickinq up papers, broken bottles, looking for other things they can salvage. Some things they pick up and put away, others they throw back~ A SCAVENGER WOMAN makes a I ittle cry and looks at her foot. She sees a piece of glass has pierced it. She mumbles something and leaves, I imping. A SCAVENGER MAN sees her go but goes on with his work. He Is kneeling amongst the trash. He finds a shoe, looks at it, and tosses it away. TONI and LEO enter from the rear, balancing themselves on the rai Is. The SCAVENGER MAN is about to leave, taking what he may find them. SCAVENGER MAN (Drunkedly) Sonny, have a nickel? LEO . No. I haven't. SCAVENGER MAN • (Pleading) It's to cure mea I'm sick. 42 (LEO shakes his head. The MAN ts about to I eave.) TON! Mister! Listen, Leo, give him one. Mister, come here. (LEO makes a grtmace. He gives the man the money.) SCAVENGER MAN (Confused) God bless you. (He leaves) TONI Did you give him everything? LEO VIe I I , yeh! TONI He only asked for a nickel! Oh, you blockhead! LEO 'You told me to gtve it to him. TONI But not everything. He only asked for a nickel. LEO '(Disgus-ted) You're cr-azy and oesides, you're stingy~ TONI ;It's too late now. (Pauses, walks around) It stinks here. LEO The gat•bage. TONI It's I ike ••• I ike ... herbs. Yes, very strong herbs. It smells I ike ••• {hits at flies) There are lots of flies. 44 Ugh! There must be a dead animal around here. (She begins singing an orchestral arrangement, loudly. She dances.) LEO (looking at her while he rummages) You're nuts! TONI Don't you know how to dance? My sister taught ms this, watch. (She dances while singing) Don't you know this? LEO Yes. (He dances a moment with her, then withdraws. She goes on.) Hey! Look at this. (He takes a piece of unrecognizable iron from the trash and turns it around in his hands, perplexed.) TONI \~hat's it for? LEO It's for a motor. I'm ~tv1ng it to Max. (He put~ it t~ a side.) ·roN I ·I'm going to make a bouquet of flowers. (She begins to cut smal I flowers and then screams.) LEO What happened? 45 TONI pricked myself. These have tiny thorns. Oh, sweet Jesus! (She fiercely sucks her finger) lookr I'm bleeding. (She sings and dances a new step, continuing to pick flowers.) LEO Yesterday I went to see "The Black Masked Man Against the Monsters." TONI Last Sunday I went to see "The Mansion of the Black Shadow." I was so scared I cried all night because I had nightmares. LEO What'd you dream? TONI .Who knows? It was horrible. There were wasps, swarms of them, and they stung. LEO They only sting if you're afraid of them. (He balances himself on the rail) There are guys who walk on very high wires; th?y srah a lo~s pole to ba!an~e them~c!vcs, then they walk. TON I Yes. I've seen them in the mov1es.. LEO But there they use trick photography. TONI I saw a woman who stands on a horse, with one foot, I ike 46 this (She stands on one foot) and the horse runs. I saw it at the ciPCUSw LEO 'When did you go? TONI Once my daddy took me. LEO Isn't your father dead? TONI Wei I, yc~. But before that he took me to the circus. My daddy was a great guy. There was a bear who rode a bicycle. LEO What's so great about a bear riding a bicycle? TONI 'The bear had to work hard at it! Look at the flowers I 'picked. LEO TONI :I' I i get some rnore I ate r. I cion' t want to get stung by the wasps. Look! This can is good for a flower pot, for a big .plant. (It is a round drum. She tries to pick it up, but can't.) Oh, it's so heavy! 4'7 lEO That tiny thing? Oh, sure! (He begins to tease her) You 'can't I ift that? (He goes to it and tries. He tries aga1n and cannot. He continues to try and can't manage. She laughs so hard, she drops the flowersR She picks them up, still laughing~) What's with this? (LEO is a I ittle scared. TONI becomes serious. They note something strange in the weight of the drum.) TONI :(Incredulously) You can't do it? LEO •No. (TONI crtes out a I ittle. She moves away with her flowers clutched against her breast.) TONI :(Mysterious I y) It's strange that it's so heavy. (Bravely) Scaredy cat! (He moves away from the drum. Silence.) Let's see what's in it. TON! (Scared) Leave it be. LEO '(Turning it over, cautiously) Why IS it so heavy? Oh! It's 48 filled with cement! TONI : ( Cu ,.. i nus! y) It !s? Why? LEO (Hesitant) It must be one of those things that ••• masons 'use for ••• things. See! Cement! TONI (Looking) Ah, so it is. It won't work as a flower• pot. (She starts to sing and dance again. She puts some flowers in her hair.) Look, what do you think? (Primping) LEO (Rol I ing the drum with his foot) It can rol I! Come help me. TONI Just a minute. (She puts more flowers tn her hair) Okay. (The two children rol I the drum) Where are we taking it? LEO To the other side of the track. (TI...... ,I I \•H~)" .,)._,. It would be too hard over there. (He indicates the trash.) (They roll it with difficulty, back and to the left~ They hear a train whistle.) TONI Hurry! A train's coming! (They hurry. They are at the top of the hi! I. They hear the whistle of the train in the 49 distance. They look at one another.) TOGETH El~ let's put it on the tracks! (This idea makes them laugh nervously and happily. They push. The drum is heavy and there are obstacles in their way. It begins to go backwards, they push it. The whistle 1s heard, nearing them. They push the drum. They run. The whistle blows. The train comes. The I ights dime Blackout~ A flash of I ight illuminates the chi !dren, in the same posture as last seen, watching fascinated.) BLACKOUT Scene Six The NE\'JS VENDJR ccm be hecwd 1 r, the dar,kness. NE\vS VENDOR Read the news of the derailment! Huge losses, huge losses! Terrible disaster caused by del iquents! The Oaily News! The Oa i I y News! 50 Scene Seven Lights up on the MEDIATOR. She IS standing hy an e.nor·mous book pI aced on a pc~,,d i um or' lecturn, something suitable for her to turn the pages freely. She wil! show enormous and detailed engravings on each turn o~ a page. They are, perhaps, old engravtngsr reminding one of Durer, or certain botanical and zoo logical German plates of the nineteenth century, or Mexican manuscripts, ar alI threec They are slightly polychromatic. The MEDIATOR is dressed in sl ightry brighter colors than before. MED lA TOR In this book there are pictures of animals. (She opens it) I shal I tel I you about them. The dog, it ~s written here, is the guardian of the physical safety of the man who has been assigned to him. He is the only one of the beasts who possesses a sense of ownership. He always tel Is us, "my house, my patio, my tree, my money, my master, my love.u He watches and defends I ike a m1ser, I ike a lover. Thus he discovers robbers, cheats, bil I col lectors and he barks and attacks a I I of them. '!I protect my ! ove ai'"i}d my wor I d." He believes his house is the axis of the world. (She turns another page) The cat guards the sp i r• it ua M i ntef)r' H: y of those he considers his friends. He gathers the spirits and 51 52 drives out bad w iII • lle makes sma II b I oody sacr• if ices for the good of the household; he kills fleeing rats, singing birds end estoundcd chickons. Then, with ~is prize bet~e~n his teeth. he wil I perform a rite. At night he goes to the roof. He analyzes the halos, the waves, the mists; he consults the atmosphere. Tasks are entrusted to him, he runs and emits blood-curd! ing cries. He mates ••• Or he heartedly gives himself to the havoc of some secret ray, which was destined to beings of his highest esteem. That is why some cats die enigmatically. (She turns another page) The hen is a great, nutritious storehouse. Daily she gives, with sweet labor, eggs of exact aesthetics, which enclose in their shel Is a huge expansion of potential poultry farms; and the eternal question: Which came first? ••• Beware when you break these eggs and there are big clouds in the white or the yoke Is mixed in. Perhaps some old lady may have cleansed a body of passions and illnesses with that egg. Perhaps we have broken a smal I box of some neigh borhood Pandora. And while Pandora laughs at her recovered health, we are In danger of catching her old ailments. (She turns another page) Re careful of colored fish. They make capricious circles, they weave, unweave, and weave the oceanic scriptures. They see through the glass bowl with their dead eyes and beckon with their fins. They beckon scaly sicknes~as. They spin, they go, and they come - mak ing signs which are better ignored and which we read only when it is too late. Be careful with these Fish bowls. They are no better guardians than the cats. (Another page) Butterfl i es say profound things. They say, "Ephemera, mystery." They say, "We love extracrdinary changes." They say, "E very.th. 1ng Is. possl'bl e. u They say, "Everything has the same value." (Another page) Here are the snakes with a deep and deadly secret on their I ips. (A not he r• page) There are the bees who know about I ight and solar energy, things we don't even suspect. There are ••• there are many books. And many warnings ••• (She stands, nodding her head, with a finger at her I ips, while the light dims.) BLACKOUT Scene Eight Light comes up on a news stand. The NEWS VENDOR is on the side. A MA~ and a WOMAN are looking at the papers displayed. \'/OMAN Isn't there anything about the dismembered corpse? MAN (looking at a newspaper) Some vagrants derailed a train. What barbarians! They put a drum of cement en the track and overturned the train. WOMAN .(Preoccupied) Savages! We have nothing but savages here. (Suddenly interested) How many dead? MAN .None. It was a freight train. A lot of cars were turned over. look at these faces. It says that they are •• sbvelve and fourteen years old. They look at least forty. (A I ight from the background. Two enormous photos of TONI and LEO are shown. They look as sir,iste,~ as any pol ice photo can look. They look older and afraid. They have been captured with a disconcerted grimace on their faces.) \VOMAN (Unconcerned) It's vsce. These people have been corrupt s 1 nee chi I dhood. 54 55 MAN (Looking for a cab) It must be because of poverty! 'wOMAN Yes. Poverty is terrible. Doesn't it say anything about the dismembered body? MAN Here comes a cab. (They go out toward it.) Cabbie! Cabbie! NEWS VENDOR News! Today's Daily News! BLACKOUT Scene Nine A I ight comes up on the TEACHER. She comes permanented hair and a very red, tiny mouth. She is about sixty years old. TEACH El\ Before we begin class, want you to know of something very sad and shameful for this school. One of your classmates# Leopold Bravo, has committed a felonious, criminal act and has been apprehended and imprisoned. The newspaper correct ly says vagrancy and bad-1 iving are to blame. This boy was repeating the fifth year. I don't know why they ever admitted him. Next year flunking pupils will not be admit ~ed! Do you hear? (She reads from a newspaper) uVagrancy 1 stupidity and ••• lack of civic responsibility. The juven ile del iquents were frozen next to the track, looking at their work. They were easily captured.u (She nods her head ~nd looks for another example) nThe neglect of their parents is also to be blamed. They allowed their children to devote themselves to del iquency and the neglect of their teach •• ~ (She stops, suddenly~ aghast, and folds the paper) Wei I, now you know what has happened. I have told you this because it is a iesson for everyone. You shouldn't become bums! You, Martinez Pedro, who never bring your homework, I isten wei I. Your buddy tc in jail already. And you, Antunez, pay attention. If you flunk, you can't come back 56 .)''7 ·to this school! And remember 6 a! 1 of you are to bring your white uniforms this Monday, without fail, or you wil I not be allowed to enter. There wi l I be no excuses, and don't come to me saying that you have no money to b~y one. I know you waste your money on other things. Now, let's see. Ahr frilctions! You, Antunez, tell us, what is the common denominator? BLACKOUT Scene Ten light comes up on the news stand, as in scene eight. Two UN!VE~SITY STUDENTS arc reading the newspapers. There is a GIRL and a BOY. GIRL Did you see this? Some kids derailed a train. look at them. BOY What creeps! Anyone killed? GIRL No. luckily, it was a freight train. BOY What kind of stuff were they on? (He laughs.) GIRL 1 (Reading) "Two cars were overturned and the engtne carried a tree away as though it were a necktie. It was completely smashed." (She laughs) What would they do it for? BOY They were smashed ana on a tripi Gll\l 'What acid heads! They were real !y inspired. (They both laugh.) BLACKOUT 58 Scene E I even Light comes up on a garage. There is a workbench, tools, and stacks of tires. A phone is on the wal I along side the workbench. MAX, dressed in mechanic's garb~ Is working on a motor. The phone r1ngs. MAX .Hello ••• Pepe's Garage ••• Max speaking ••• What's up? ... Which friends of mine? ••• To jail? ••• How'd they get there? ••• They caught them in a telephone booth! What? ••• ·A train! . . . How could they derail a train? ••• Real !y? ••• Where'd they take them? . . . Sssss ••• How rotten! •• ~ Ho\:J can that be? ••• Good. 1'1 I see what can do ••• Yes. :They're my friends. Thanks for cal I ing me. Thanks. Bye. (He hangs up the phone. He's worried. The owner of the garage enters. He IS middle aged and dressed in a suit.) 'Oon Pepe, I have to leave. Some friends of m1ne were taken :to ja i i, OON PEPE 1 How did you get mixed up 1n this? MAX Some one just cal led me. They're ju~t kids. DON PEPE What'd they do? Why were they arrested? 59 60 MAX They derailed a train. DON PEPE (Horrified) Communists! MAX No. No. They're kids, I ittle kids. You know them. Some times I bring them here on my motorcycle. leo and Toni. DON PEPE (Shaking his head) They did something to a streetcar. They were hanging out of the side MAX No. No, a train. Not a streetcar, a railroad train. They say that they overturned it, but I'm not sure. DON PEPE Okay. Go! But come back in an hour and finish with this motor. They asked that it be fixed quickly. MAX Okay. Sure. DON PEPE Th~ l~ter you are, the longer you' I i have to stay h~re. MAX Okay. Certainly. (He starts to go) Don Pepe ••• If I find that I'm short ••• could you lend me ... some money? DON PEPE It always comes to that. Don't they have any family? MAX Well, l don~t think that their families can., 61 DON PEPE Weui I talk latera We' I I see. MAX Thanks. ( 1-le I eaves.) DON PEPE But~ what the hel I were they doin9 with that train? BLACKOUT Scene Twelve The dump at the railroad yard, the same as sc0ne five, but 6Vcn m0re clutte~ed. A SCAVENGER MAN comes from the train, happily carrytng a large sack. SCAVENGER MAN Hey, run! There's stuff alI over the yard. It was a II thrown from the cars! (A SCAVENGER WOMAN comes towards the tracks.) SCAVENGER \'JOMAN I took a bag ful I of beans. SCAVENGE!~ MAN There's sugar too! The train only carried food. (They run off to opposite sides. A POOR BOY and a POOR GIRL enter.) POOR GIRL Won't anyone say something? POOR BOY No one's watching. Hurry up, the car is sitting wide open. POuR GIRL It's turned over! POOR BOY Sure. Come on. No one wil I say anything. The pol ice wil I be here soon. Hurry! POOR GIRL Weren't there any people on the train? 62 POOR BOY . They've gone to give evidence. (They leave runn;ng. Tho SCAVENGER WOMAN returns with two large bags, which she can hardly hold. She sees others coming and ca I Is to them.) SCAVENGEr\ WOMAN Hurry up! There are stilI lots of things. (A very POOR WOMAN enters, with a large shawl wrapped around her and a rosary in her hand.) POOR WOMAN Blessed Virgin! Aren't there guards watching? SCAVENGER WOMAN They left some men, but they took bundles too and carried them home, (She catches her breath and leaves running) Right now, no one IS there. POOR WOMAN Holy Mother! I think this is stealing. (To a POOR MAN who ~as entered) Say mister, isn't it robbery to take things from the train? POOR ~1AN (Thinking) \veil, let's look at it. If it's robber·y ••• oh, not in a hundred years. POOR \~OMAN Oh, my God! (She crosses herself.) o.q.r ' POOR MAN (Convincing her) Altogether, I would say ••• POOR \vOMAN Those bags must be very heavy ••• POOR MAN 11 11 help you. Where do you I ive? POOR WOMAN Over there, at the end of the neighborhood. POOl~ MAN I I ive there too. Let's go. POOR WOMAN ;My man is so strict, I hope no one says that you came with me. We I I • • • It must be the wi I I of God! (They leave, almost running. The two young POOR CHILDREN return, carrying bags.) POOR GIRL We'd better hurry or they'll take everything. POOR BOY Not even if they made twenty trips. POllR Gl h'L I'm going to get my little sister. She's smal I, but she could carry something. (They leave. The POOR MAN and the POOR WOMAN return, loaded down with things.) POOR WOMAN Blessed Virgin! do believe that this Is stealing! POOR MAN Stop that stealing crap • It's not. It's only corn and . beans. POOR WOMAN :I'm go~ng to tel I my brothers. They have so many children. lt'A too bad my children are in schoolr they can't come and help me. Ugh! This is heavy. (They leave. They pass the SCAVENGERS who are returning.) SCAVENGER MAN I'm going to throw everything into my bag. SCAVENGE!\ \10MAN 'Good. Then we' I I cover it with paper 1n case we•re caught. I told my best friend. She has the right to get some too. Doesn't she? Right now she's coming with her children. SCAVENGER MAN :Tel I everyone that there's plenty for alI. There's plenty. (They leave.) BLACKOUT Scene Thirteen The MEDIATOR enters dressed 1n much brighter colors. As she speaks, two dancers wi!! illustrate her tale behind her. MEDIATOR lrm go1ng to tel I the story of two men who dreamed. They were two good men, filled with faith. One I ived in the city of Chalma, famous alI over for its sanctuary, and the other I ived in the town of Chalco, also famous everywhere for its sanctuary. One version tel Is us that these two men were brothers. Another adds that they were twins and extra- 'ordinarily alike. In another it is said that they were merely friends. And it happened that they dreamed, the same night, at the same hour, each one in his own town, they dreamed. And this was their dream. A prodigious, radiant figure fi! led with miraculous symbols, advised each one, "You must go immediately to the vii lage of your friend, your brother. You must be with him before three days have elapsed. Together, you must both comply with an offering :of dance and prayer, there in the great sanctuary next to your brother's home.n They, prostrated, agreed in the dream. And the 1mage repeated with great emphasis, "Before three days, not aft~rwards. And the two of you together, not each one tn his own town~ there in the great sanctuary next to your brother's house." They both awoke, startled, and told of the dream to their WIVes~ And while speaking, 66 they thought they heard, stil !, the sound of many I ittle clay bel Is and the persistent reed flute. Both left their vi! lag?, the one from Cha!ma soing towards Chalco, the other from Chalco going towards Chalma, tn order to tel I the other the news and comply with the command which was miraculously asked of them. Shortly after a day's journey, the two met exactly half way. They told each other of their dreams, which were the same, I ike images of two contradictory mtrrors. They couldn't decide which town to go to together. To Chalma or to Chalco? They tossed a coin into the air and lost it as it fel I into a crevice. "It is a sign," they said. And they camped there in the same place to wait for another sign or another dream. They ate, they slept, they awoke and time was running out. The stgn did not come. The terror of the contradictory miracle grew within them and the sign did not come. At the begin- ntng it was not yet time to go to the two sanctuaries and now there was no time to go to either one. The sign did not come. They finally decided to carry out the command right there, 1n that same piace. There were some busnes and rocks. They cut the bushes with their machetes, and together they removed the rocks until they had cleared a piece of land the size of the atrium of an extremely smal I church. Night had fallen and a cool, dusty breeze dried the sweat from their bodies. They took gulps of tequila and afterwards they danced and prayed. They danced the complicated rhythmic patterns that had come from their 68 ancestors. They prayed the prayers they had learned in childhood. The two tired and dirty men, adorned with fea- 'thers . ana' mirrors,. aancea' ' an d praye d .in tne.• nocturnal' am b"ig- uity of that hi! I with no answers, below the pol len bath which dripped from the constellations. After the time had of the arbitrary being which had spoken to them in their dreams. They took leave of one another, each returning to his own home, before the skies split into dawn. Both feel- ing that only half the intentions of Providence had been met. (She starts to leave, when she has almost exited, she turns back.) And do you know what happened to that piece of land that they had cleared and cleaned for dancing? (She is silent. She looks at the audience$ She half smiles with maliciousness.) Oh, but that is another story. (She leaves quickly.) BLACKOUT Scene Four·teen light follows the NEWS VENDOR as he enters sl•ow i ng his newspaper's. NE\vS VENDOR Read alI about it! Read what the two young jackals did. The rebels without a cause, create half a mil I ion dol Iars damage. News! News! (l-ie leaves.) BLACKOUT 69 Scene Fifteen Light comes up on TONI's MOTHER. She is I ' an~ar.g 1 ng a Sri'lcli 1 bag and some packa9es on a table. One of her daughtersg PACA, enters carrying a newspaper. PACA look! They published a picture of Toni here, too. MOTHER Let me see ••• She looks very ugly. PACA (Agreeing) In the other paper she looked better. What are you bringing her? MOTH El~ A blanket, some clothes and some candy that she I ikes • • (Worried) It's so far away ... I hope I get there on time today. If they don't let me in this time# you' I I have to 'go to the hospital 1n my place tomorrow. I've already told them. Then I 'I I be able to see your sistero PACA :But~ I 1 i I hev~ to empty bedpans ••• MOTHER ,(Angrily) So? Your mother has to empty them everyday. don't see why you can't. PACA I wanted to go with you to see Toni. MOTHER You stay here and \>:atch your s istcrs ·~ I don't want them to 70 ';>I I ! go out derailing trains too. PACA a dumb thing for her to do! (She ! uughs.) MOTHER Don't I a ugh. It's not a joke. PACA But who thought she'd think of it. Toni Is really crazy! MOTHER (Almost laughing) Oh, that Toni! She's always into mischief. (Thinking) I don't think that thay're going to let her out very soon. PACA 'Are they going to keep her in prison? MOTHER It's not a prison • • • it's .•• I ike a ••• boarding school. ,(She wipes her eyes) This happened because she doesn't .have a father. How could she have done this? PACA The paper says some pretty terrible things about her. Give that to me. (She begins to furiously r1p it.) PACA Wait. let me cut out the picture. Leo looks so funny. Look at his face! MOTHER Oh, that girl! She's always been the most helpful to me. So good.e~ my poor baby! (Sobbing.) 72 PACA (Cutting out the picture) I think they'll let her go. What do they want to keep her locked up for? There's no way that she could pay for the train. MOTH£}( (Through tears) ••• They' I! say that ••• they' II say it's to keep her from doing it again. (She takes the newspaper, tears it without conviction, into many pieces.) PACA Oh, sure. She's gotng to keep on derailing trains! MOTHEr~ It's very late. I don't think we're go1ng to get ther-e today either. Yesterday one of the men told me to leave the things with him. But 1'1 I be damned if 1~1 I do it. That's alI I need. They're bigger thieves than the ones they're watching inside. PACA (Removing a brooch) Take this pin to her. She always put it on. Tel! her that it's a gift from me. MOTHER I wi I I. We need to cal I her school; who knows when she's going to come back. I think that git•! is s-Joing to lose a whole year. BLACKOUT Scene Sixteen The I ight changes. it is somber and shows the shadows from pt~isotl bc:ws. LEO iS 11'1 a chair, his MOTHER ts 1n another. MOTHER (.. c ry! . !1~L ) This disgrAce had to happen to us • It's not. enough that your father 1s a good-for-nothing drunk, you have to go and turn into a highway robber. Even the papers cal I you that! I've already told them, outside, that they can't th!nk that we're going to pay for that train. With what? The woman ! work for was shocked when she saw your picture in the newspaper. I even thought she was going to fire me! I've struggled so long so that you could get a decent education, and now look what I get. should have let your father beat you every time he wanted to. He's right! It's my fault for spoi I ing you. I gave 1n to you, ·over and over. I've asked myself, why were you so stupid, you and that thieving, sniveling girl, that you just stood there? Eh? Wei I, couldn't you have run away? There you both ~ft, ~va-'::chinsi until the poli~e come and pick )lO'J up! LEO j(Quietly) The pol ice didn't come. MOTHER What did you say? LEO (Quietly) The poi ice didn't come. It was the engineer of 73 74 MOTHER And you couldn't run? What are your feet for? (She cries) ' I \.,tus f:ivl rl8 to Luy you sho0s t.h is next we ...:k. My bos;:, knows a man \vho is a terrific lawyer, but who knows· how .much he charges? And the newspaper says that the train was valued at half a mill ion dollars. (She gets furious and shakes him.) But I should beat you to death for being so stupid$ Who would think it, seeing you sit there so glumly? You're a worthless, idiotic goat. And no\ (She bur~ts into tears) Now they're going to keep you here. Who knows how long? Going around with a bunch of criminals. Your father was right, l was too lenient with you. I kept you too close to me. missed you alI the time, and I even thoughtr God forgive me for this, wouldn't it be better if one of your bt•other•s were here 1n jail instead of you. That's a woman for you, always favoring the worse one! Oh, leo, what are we going to do to get you out of here? How :can we do it? BLACKOUT Scene Seventeen light follows the NEWS VENDOR as he enters. His p.uj:>ers iH'c now filled with :nk blotr., I ike Rorschach tests. He holds them out wh i I e he shouts. NEWS VENDOR News! News! Read the news in the press. Young schizo·· phrenics produce serious pub! ic trauma ••• Moment of ob .nubilation costs half a mil I ion dol Iars ••• Today's news! News! (As the NEWS VENDOR leaves, the PSYCHOLOGY PROFESSOR enters. Extremely wei I dressed, he walks with an air of self-assurance.) PSYCHOLOGY PROFESSOR Our century has come to place special emphasis on collect- · ive problems. It is natural in certain \vays; we I ive massively. Industrialization, syndication, unionization, ,enormous urban problems, place before us great human con- gl omera-tes. Great conglomerations ••• (Smi I ing) of individ- . ua Is. The nucieus is herec in the e~o. A complex ego, composed of many layers which envelop one another, as ... ;as ••• the petals ••• as the petals of a •• a rose. We are intricate and the word "complex" has been anchored into our everyday language in a way that now its use to the common ·patientQ ! mean, the common man, 1s as if it dealt with interlocking gears which move daily conduct, which leads to traumatic nuclei. We should carry for the patient his own 75 intel I igence, until he himself can discover the secret reasons for his impulses. The subconscious manages the ·inhibited act as a kind of specific formulation. and the most neutral of the conversations manifests a charge of hidden context which, correctly interpreted, leads us to the diagnosis about aberrations of conduct. Let us take a difficult fact to explain if we are to ~onsidcr the con- scious act- two adolescents derail a train. Some antece- dents wil I permit us to expose the submerged factors of this case. Formulating these~ we shal I see how it becomes logical and coherent. {He goes to a side and remains there.) Scene Eighteen Lights come up on the street scene, as in scene three. We see LEO and TONI as the PROFESSOR begins to speak. PSYCHOLOGY PROFESSOR 'Leo is in the telephone booth trying to take out money. Tord is look out. Obse r-v·e this verba I expr•ess ion, "I ook out." The telephones are sexual communication symbols. TON I When was very smal I, I saw some dogs doing things ••• You know what I mean ••• things. Unti I my mother came "looking out" to separate them by throwing a pail of water on them. I was look out. Now I am acting as look out to break com- . . munication. Hurry up, take the money out, a man Is coming. (LEO goes next to TONI. A MAN comes.) (Ferociously) It doesn't work. You can't use this phone. (The MAN goes. LEO re-enters and removes the money.) LEO My father d~inks end alwAys wants to beat me. ! don't love him. I got this money out and I'm happy that I have broken 'communication. With this, I'm going to buy bananas and I'm going to give some to you. TON I With this money I want a sno-cone. My daddy always bought me sno-cones. 77 78 (The VENDOR with the sno-cone wagon enters. They quickly re-enact the gambling scene i~ pantomima.) PSYCHOLOGY PROFESSOR .Now they hope to lose the money they obtained, rapidly. This clearly symbolizes the act and desire for self-punish ment. (The VENDOR exits.) Scene Nineteen The scene is now as it was 1n scene four. MAX ente~a and TON! grab~ h!s arm. The PROFESSOR is off to a side. TON I You are my father tmage. I want to ride with you on your mot orcyc I e. PSYCHOLOGY PROFESSOR Motorcycles are sexual symbols. LEO I want to ride with you on your motorcycle too. PSYCHOLOGY PROFESSOR Abnormal sexuality is normal in alI human beings. Incest, fetishism, homosexuality, they are normally latent in alI of us. They are simple stages which we overcome if there are no traumatic elements which drive us to regression. LEO What's happened to your bike? MAX :rhe motor stopoeci and the pistons are bent. (TON I I aughs.) PSYCHOLOGY PROFESSOR Watch her laugh~ LEO (Passionately) She doesn't understand anything about bikes, but I do. Pay attention to me, to me. Please pay attention to me~ 79 80 TONI (To MAX) This happened because your bike is very old. attitude) Now, ! am lon~ing for some pretext to touch your" body. LEO Don't touch him. (TONI removes MAX's wai let from the back pocket of his trousers.) TONI (Looking through the wallet) How handsome you are in this photograph. Give it to me. Write something for me • .will cherish it. PSYCHOLOGY PROFESSOR Fetishism. (MAX writes.) LEO (With animosity) You prefer her and you wrote friend with 1a "ph." I want that photo but I didn't dare ask for it. ,wish I could destroy both of you, her and you. TONI hate your gir-l. I hate her. I could kil I her. I could scratch out her eyes. She's cross-eyed. She's horrible. (TONI spits on the photograph.) PSYCHOLOGY PROFESSOR We see the first destructive impulses being born. Observe the association: girl friend - broken motorcycle • . (MAX I eaves.) Scene Twenty The railroad yard once more. Now, hvwe ve r·, the p l c.n ts and objects g i Vt: a more or less discreet sexual suggestion. The PROFESSOR is off to a side and speaks as the action takes place. TONI and LEO dance, without singing. PSYCHOLOGY PROFESSOR ,Here is the dump next to the rai I road tracks. It isn't use I ess to point out that, by i nst i net, inside each of lJS there exists a garbage dump. (Pause) Watch the mechanics of the dance. There is a mutual discharge of I ibido. Leo alternates a virile attitude with a passive one. Toni 1s, alternately, mother and lover. (The dance stops. LEO I ifts a p1ece of a motor, which this time has a susp1c1ous form. He holds it up toward TONI.) LEO A piece of motor! I am going to bring this to Max. TON! (With a I ittle scream) Blood! Look, I have lost my vrrg1n- ity. LEO I went to see a mov!e where a superego fought sadistically and won. TONI last SundayJ l went to a symbolic realization of masochistic 81 incest. Afterwards, dreamt of gratifying things and the censorship woke me, screaming of guilt. Of course, I've forgotten everything. (LEO is balancing himself on a rail.) LEO The tightrope walkers are I ike a dream of the realization of flying. PSYCHOLOGY PROFESSOR Dreams of flying are sexual fantasies. TONI identify myself with the woman horseback rider, standing on a large gal loping horse. My daddy took me to the circus. PSYCHOLOGY PROFESSOR Horses are sexual symbols. TONI (Exalted) Bears on bicycles! Gal loping horses! Circus! Filled with fierce male beasts! Flowers of virginity . attacked by wasps with long stingers which bite and suck ... blood! And there IS a round drum, empty as my womb, ready to propagetc •.• flowers. (TON I indicates the drum. LEO goes to I ift it. He can't. He inches away.) LEO This maternal womb 1s frightening and fascinating. TONI It scares me! It scares me! Take it away! LEO it must be rolled to the other side of the tracks. PSYCHOLOGY PROrESSOR The tracks. Communication! Identical symbol to the tele- phone. Here opposite things wil I be realized, as tn dreams; impul~ion to succeed crossing 1:he trAcks" Do you see the symbol? And at the same time obstruction of the track. (LEO and TONI rol I the drum, shouting.) LEO Incest! libido! Max! TONI Defloration! Daddy! Max! TOGEHIER Maniacal lust! Crime! (The sound of the approaching train.) PSYCHOLOGY PROFESSOR Psychology. How much seems inexpl icab!e 1n the ways of man ••• can be explained. (The confusion of the derailment. Rlackout. lightning. ) BLACKOUT Scene Twenty-one Light fo! lows the NEWS VENDOR. He Is Cdrrying red ~nd blilck newspapers. NEWS VENDOR News! News! Communications sabotaged! Derailment denoun ced as the lack of guarantees for the workers! Read the press today! (As the NEWS VENDOR exits, the SOCIAL SCIENCE PROFESSOR enters. He 1s care lessly dressed and completely out of fashion. He moves rather slovenly.) SOCIAL SCIENCE PROFESSOR The manifestations of the individual cannot be judged without the function of collectivity. The isolated indiv idual does not exist. We are alI social beings. Robinson Crusoe I ives only in the function oF the society of which he had been accidentally segregated. We have been witness es of the comments made by the press - a clear expression of the struggle of the classes. 84 Scene Twenty-two Light comes up on the telephone scene, scene thr'ee, once again. LEO is in the phone booth and TONI is keeping watch. TON I Hur-ry, I think a bourgeois .Is comtng. . (A MAN enters. TONI confronts him.) . This phone does not work. Because this entePprise IS a monopoly, the service is very bad. (The MAN is indignant. He swears at the phone and goes. The CHILDREN mock h i m.) SOCIAL SCIENCE PROFESSOR Watch ingenuity function. It is typical of the weapons of the people. Now, 1n front of this machine, which is not. working for her, the girl makes her first rebel I ious gesture. (TONI bangs the phone and shakes it.) TONI What should we buy? LEO Bananas. They have the most nutritional value. TONI Sno-cones. They have more caiories. LEO We had a very insufficient breakfast. 85 TON! It 1s typical of the capitalistic society 1n which we I ive. SOCIAL SCIENCE PROFESSOR The lack of decent purchasing power for the money makes it necessary to look for compensation in games of chance. A typical feature of underdeveloped countries - an examole of the popular appeal of gamb! ing. (The VENDOR with the sno-cone wagon returns. We see, 1 n pent om i me, the scene of the gamb- i ing. The FRUIT VENDOR Llso enters and the buying of jicama 1s re-enacted. The children eat voraciously.) TONI Aren't you go1ng to school? LEO I can't. TONI \'/h y? LEO Becnu~f"t of the exagge!"ated e("onomtr. demr.mds of e bad e~uc- ational system. have expenditures for transportation and the demands of the teacher. How can I? TONI The locales of the schools are insufficient! They have purposely planned this to drive us away. Scene Twenty-three MAX enters, clean and freshly ironed, radiant. The SOCIAL SCIENCE PROFESSOR is of to a side. He comments on the action as it takes place. SOCIAL SCIENCE PROFESSOR They wil I now meet the I iving epitome of their youthful aspirations, a young worker. An authentic representative of his class, exploited, cooperative, self-sacrificing, self-denying, uncorruptible, brotherly, vigorous and alert. With his example, he is going to ingrain his ideas and principles in their minds. MAX And where are you thinking of going this morning? LEO \ve I I ••• Let's see. Let's go to the ra i I road yar•d. TONI There 1 s only garbage there. LEO Maybe ~c'!! find nome th1nss there. And you can ~ct~h the trains go by! SOCIAL SCIENCE PROFESSOR In Max's face they can read how the corrupt unions have delivered the workers to the power of capital ism. It has made those trains~ 1n which we had made our revolution, carry cargo which is the merchandise of the monopolies. 87 (The three have mute expressions. TONI sees MAX's wallet in his trousers.) Now the g i r· I asks for' a photogPap!;; she is not go 1 ng to exalt the false idols of the movie industries, which serve imperial ism. She is going to cherish the picture of a comrade. TON I (Looking through the wallet) Who IS this? MAX My girl. (TONI studies the photograph.) TONI (Cautiously) She is cross-eyed. She has one eye go1ng north and the other go1ng south. MAX What do you mean by that? TONI She is a petite bourgeois and her ideas are cross-eyed. Take care. (MAX l~aves very concerned.) Scene Twenty-four The railroad yard. The trash has changed. Instead of sexual symbolst there nre trade marks of many Yankee products: gum, soft drinks, soup, et cetra. TONI and LEO are dancing ridiculously. The SOCIAl SCIENCE PROFESSOR is off to a side. SOCIAL SCIENCE PROFESSOR Now we can see an expression of the dance with which capi tal ism corrupts the true spirit. The authentic expression of vital happiness of those children could be different. (TONI and LEO begin to dance an ethnic dance.) Notice that the garbage dump Is an eloquent picture of what unplanned production has done, and the false needs that it has created. Now you wil I see the fraternal relationship of the children with the poverty stricken proletariat. (The SCAVENGER MAN enters, begging.) SCAVENGE!~ MAN (Feebly) Help me to cure myself. am very sick. TONI Help him. He does not have social security or Medicare~ LEO Neither do we. It is for the few privil iged. (They take friendly leave of th2 SCAVENGER MAN. Then they see the drum and they are astonished. They look at one another and 89 90 look aga1n at the drum.) SOCIAL SCIENCE PROFESSOR We are witnessing the birth of a confused social conscience. The extreme contradictions produce extreme results. TONI LEO Fright 1s the principle of revolution. TONI Trees are cut for the benefit of the forest ••• LEO And who •s go1ng to blame the woodsman who clears the field for the seeds? (A hymn Is heard. The children push the drum with heroic gestures. They hear the train. Derailment. Blackout. lightning, which is longer lasting and permits us to see the children together as statues.) SOCIAL SCIENCE PROFESSOR . eccno;n ~ c;;, ~ econorn a c substructure. There is not here any inexplicable act; but, rather one that is typical of one's class even in the lack of true intellectual direction. BLACKOUT Scene Twenty-five The I ights are somber and show the shadows f ,•um the pr-ison bat's. MAX and TON I aPe seated on chairs. MAX But you're idiots. How did you come to turning ~ trAin ove~? TONI (Quick I y) We I I~ it \vas on I y that we wanted to see ·what would happen. MAX So you saw. Didn't it occur to you that someone could have been k i I I e d? TONI Wei I, later, yes. That's why we didn't run away. It scared us so much that we couldn't move. Oh, it was horrible. MAX Of course. The engtne nearly fell. Three cars turned over and smashed. And then crowds of people came and stole the merchandise. Do you know how much this prank cost? One h8!f mil! ion dol lers~ TONI So much? (Thinking) How much would that be? MAX Geezi Are you stupid! wanted to see if I could pay a fine and get you released. But, no deal. That was an expensive joke. 91 (A silence.) TON! (Fiercely) The~e arc girls in here who thraw a pot of boil- ing water on a man, when he came to collect the rent. They said that they didn't do it on purpose. Do you bei ieve that? l~ere is another girl who sold marijuana. And there is yet another who col !ected money for showing some girls naked. And the mothers of those girls complained! But she said that the girls I iked to strip. Do you believe that? And then there is another ... MAX (Desperately) Don't mtx with any of them and don't talk to them. Don't talk to any one. TONI But they're good girls. They're better than my friends at school. They laughed when I told them I had derailed a train. MAX You see? Don't speak to them. They're a bunch of brash, shameless scouncireis and hardened criminals. TONI (Sadly) That's what the newspapers say I am. MAX (Embr•aclng her•) Anyway~ don't get mixed up with them. (A silence.) 93 TONI The night scares me. wake up and I forget where I am and my mattress smel is heavily of urine, because a girl who wet the bed slept there. And no one wi I I tel I me ~hen I'm going to get out. The girls think ••• that I'm going to stay here +or yeers, !ma£ine thet! MAX We' I I get you out, you' I I see. Don't feel that way. (He tries to comfort her.) Besides, now you're famous and your picture is in the news papers and everything. With luck, you' I I get a movie contract. TONI Oh, sure. h1ho says so? That picture ts ugly, it doesn't even look I ike me. MAX You look great. look. (He takes out his wallet) I keep your picture here. See. TONI You have it? Oh! hadn't seen that picture. If you have it in your wnllet, I ittle Cross-eyes is going to see it and get angry. Let's see her picture. Take it out. Look at it closely. Isn't it true that she's cross-eyed? MAX Don't be so mean. It isn't so. TONI It isn't so? 94 MAX It's your i magi nation • on it's because of the pose, See? TONI (Coaxing) Don't carry this picture any more. Take out everything except mine. Okay? (Pause. They look at each other. TONI gets serious.) Are you only going to keep mine? MAX Okay. I 'I I carry only yours. TONI Promise? MAX prom:se. TONI (Quickly embracing him, crying) And come to see me a lot. Every chance you get. Come see me often, often, often ••• (MAX embraces TONI sadly.) BLACKOUT Scene Twenty-six The railroad yard at night. There are the SCAVENGER MAN anJ SCAVENGE!~ VJm:AN with the POOR MAN and the POOR WOMAN. They are huddled around a camp fire§ SCAVENGER MAN Well, it's very modest and may be falling apart, but my house is never cold. I built it myself with some boards found and I put cardboard in the cracks. Then I put up a good sheet metal roof, that I worked hard to steal from a chicken coop. Let's see when you' I I come to visit me. SCAVENGER \VOMAN Wei I, whenever you say. SCAVENGER MAN Ah, for the pleasure your company g1ves us, I'm go1ng to dedicate this song to you. (He sings and accompanies himself on the guitar.) You are the rose of Castille Shriveled and bent by the dew. It's a shame you are withered, Only thorns I inger about you. You have eyes I ike bright starsi When the clouds darken the sky. You have a body I ike the Venus, A two-ton statue you cannot deny. 95 96 SCAVENGE!~ WOMAN Why you stupid, ugly, lousy, son-of-a-bitch. You' I I get .-wh.:1t;s cOi;iing to you SCAVENGER MAN (Laughing) Pass the bottle ••• (He drinks.) POOR MAN And you took tequila from the train too? SCAVENGER MAN Just about! We sold a I ittle bag of garbanzos 0 0 G SCAVENGER \'lOMAN I traded a few pounds of sugar for some tamales. POOR VVOMAN (Intimately) Hey! Lookr this guy IS shrewd. I know him. Watch it, he's very sharp when it comes to getting money. SCAVENGER WOMAN As far as getting money, I do okay on that score myself. POOR MAN As they say, it's better to have bad company than none at a I I. SCAVENC.:ER WOM,AN Oh, you! Who knows who says such things? SCAVENGER MAN (Singing.) Your I ittle mouth excites me If you could keep it shut for long. You have such beautiful teeth, lt~s a pity that so many a-re gone. Your vo1ce Is I ike a r1ver, I know its roar by vocal type. Your throat is I ike a stream, It looks just I ike a sewer pipe. (AI I shout and applaud.) SCAVENGER \vOMAN You bastar-d! I don't I ike your damn songs. SCAVENGER MAN Come on baby! You don't I ike them? Not even a I itt!e? SCAVENGER \\'OMAN How can I I ike someone who sings such crappy things about me? How? What kind of a shit are you? SCAVENGER MAN Come close to me and you' I I see. Come closer, my sweet one 1 it's getting very cold. SCAVENGER \vOMAN No. I'm very comfortable where I am. SCAVENGER MAN Come closer. Come on. SCAVENGE!~ \A/N1AN I don't know how you could expect me to come close to you. (She inches closer) You sing me those vile, coarse songs. SCAVENGE!~ MAN (Embracing her) ln a little \•:hile, !'li sing you a beauti- ful song. You'll seee You' I I see. POOR MAN Pass us that bottle first. My friend and 1 have hearts too. 98 Right, f I" i end? (They hug and laugh.) BLACKOUT Scene Twenty-seven The garage of scene eleven. MAX IS talking on the phone. MAX What happened? ••• Wei I, no. couldn't go ••• No. There wasn't e phone around to cal I you ••• Good, think whatever you want ••• I did not say that I had to stay here • • • v, es, I work, but on the other hand Such as? If you want 1'1 I give you the address and then you can go find out for yourse If ••• Look, I have to hang up, my boss gets angry if I ta I k on his phone too I ong • • • ~ve I I , if you don't \\'ant to talk to me, that's your business ••• (Makes a gesture) Cali me then, in about ••• What now? ••• Okay. Okay. (He slams the receiver down) Stupid cross-eyed imbecile! BLACKOUT 99 Scene Twenty-eight The I ight comes up and il lumir.ates the LECTURER and three enormous color photo graphs. Pictured are a red rose, a petal, and a microscopic view of the tissue of a petal, The I_ ECTURER fs very animated and holds a pointer. LECTURER ladies and gentlemen, good evening. I am here to ask you a few questions. For example - whom of you I ad ies or gentle- men can te I I me what this is? (He points to the photograph of the rose) Do we have before us the Image of the flower of a dicotyledon shrub of the rosaceous fam ~I y? Or IS this, on the contrary, a divine rose, which, accordin9 to gentee I cultures, is the unfulfilled promise of human architectui~e? let's see, Miss, let's see ••• or you, Sir .... It's one thing or the other, but not the two. Doesn't anyone dare to answer? (A short disappointed pause. He becomes animated ag~in.) let's go aheadw It is now necessary to definitely condemn, in order to suppress with absolute rigor, the images which have been denounced as false. Look at them carefully, there are three. Only one ts authentic. The other two are to be erased, obi iterated from the books. No one should know about them. Those who divulge them should be persecut- 100 I Oi ed. Those who bel !eve 1n them should be watched, isolated, abolished. Attention! This is supposed to be a rose. I•J • . , t' ) ,r.e poincs 1:.0 -ne r•ose :s it? This is supposed to be a pet a I. (He points to the photograph of the petal) Is it? This is supposed to be a petal eel I as seen through a microscope. (He points to the photograph of the eel I) !s it? First hypothesis: Without the petals there are no roses. Contemplate this one, (He IS holding a real rose) take off the petals. (He proceeds to tea~ off the petals) What's left? There are no roses! They have never existed! There is nothing more than petals. Second hypothesis: The petal alone is nothing. When have you ever seen it grow I ike this? (He holds up one of the petals he has removed) Which stem produces it? Who notices if two or three are missing from a rose? There are no petals! There are only roses. Third hypothesis: There are neither petals nor roses. There 1s only a collection of eel Is, a tissue. Eliminate this and t~ere i~ no+~ino. A~d this tissu~ is pr~me ~otter alone, I iving matter. And this matter- isn't matter, it's energy. There isn't any matter, there aren't any petals, there aren't any roses, there isn't any perfume, there is nothing! There is only a series of miraculous fictions and one is cal led a rose and the others are cal led other names. One miracie after another, everywhere, without the possib- (•') I ,__) ,--,_fl i! ity of some rational explanation. (He points to the three photographs) If you accept one of these as true, than the 0ther two would have to be false, because no one wil I attempt to accept these various replies to one and the same question. Any intel I igent person wil I tel I you that one response excludes alI the others. That ts how things are and we are among intellectuals, aren't we? Which is the true picture? This? Or that? Or that? (He continues to point to the three different photographs.) The people who respond sensibly wil I deservingly received magnificent prize which they can pick up from the manage- ment after the play. You have ten seconds to answer. listen, ten, nine, eight, seven ••• BLACKOUT Scene Twenty-nine The NEWS VENDOR enters with his papers. ! • The I j gh (:; f 0: I OV N E\\1 S V END 0 R News! News! Everything is true. Everything Is reported! Pick out whatever is convenient. AI I have the same value! AI I are the same! Ne \vS! Ne \•Js ! (He leaves. fhe MEDIATOR enters in a spotlight. She is now dressed in white with a touch of vivid color. The fabrics are soft and diaphanous, they billow and move airly about her.) MEDIATOR Now has come the time to shout the news of springtime or eel ipses or to explain any algebraic theory and to find it filled with thorns and petals ••• But I ~hould tal~ !ess, should stick to the subject. I am going to explain how the accident happened. (TONI and LEO are balancing on the rails.) They were changing, converting into everything about them - they were the trash, the flowers, they were the clouds, astonishment, joy and they understood and they saw every- 103 i 0,} thing, they were everything. (With a flash! ight, the MEDIATOR points to the flowers in the garbage. Choral voices are heard.) VOICES I have energies am the product of the strength of the entire universe tt • a The flies love me . ·-· I greet the wasps and the bees. (The CHILDREN dance. The railroad yard is I it from behind. It shines I ike j ewe I s • ) MEDIATOR With these gestures, we summoned the ra1n. This rhythm attracted fertility. Thus we invoked the rain and the sea. (The CHILDREN stop dancing. LEO picks up a metal object.) LEO This came from some m1ne. Its form was g1ven by the accum ulated efforts of the great peoples of history. It was part of a machine. It 1 ies here but concealed are •~s energ1es 6 its changes, its surprises. TONI There Is a smel I of violence in the a1r - fire and change. There is no death. The flies and the wasps circle overhead, they know the secret of f! ight. 105 MEDIA TO I~ They are seetng stgns, as one who recites the alphabet.