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Bernabe: A Drama of Modern Chicano Mythology
SCENE 3 An open field. Night. BERNABE: (Crying to himself) Primo! Hijo 'e su tisnada madre, to mate! I kill' the primooo! (Pauses. Listens for sounds) I better hide . . , 'scondeme! . , . Cabron desgraciado, I told him . . . Le dije! (Stops, fearful. Looks at sky, sees moon) La Luna! Me va tragar la Luna! Ahi viene, ayyy! Yo no hisce nada! 'Ama, la lunaaaaa! BERNABE sobs like a terrified child. Moonlight gathers into a spot focused on him. Music. LUNA enters, dressed like a pachuco, 1945 style: zoot suit, drapes, hat with feather, multisoled shoes (calcos), small chain, etc. LUNA: Orale pues esa vato. No to escames. (BERNABE looks up too scared to say anything) It's me, La Luna. BERNABE: No, chale! LUNA: Orale pues, you can't be scared of me. You're a vato loco. BERNABE: (Looks up) Yo no soy loco! LUNA: 0, simon! I din't mean it like that, carnal. I meant you're a Chicano, you know? If people don't like the way you are, tengan pa' que se mantengan! Consafos, putos. Inside you're cool, man. You're making it, sabes? BERNABE: Simon. LUNA: A toda madre! (Pauses. Reaches in his pocket) Oye, no le haces a la grifa? Here, lighten up. Have a tocazo. (He gives BERNABE a joint) No traes trolas? (Looks for matches) Orate, here. (Lights the joint for BERNABE) Alivian el esque leto, carnal. Me and you are going to get real locos tonight. (BERNABE gives him the joint) Hayte llevo. (LUNA smokes. Gives it back to BERNABE) Here, no le aflojes. (BERNABE takes it again) Heh, man, you see them stars up there? Some of them got some real fine asses. (He cracks up, laughing) I saw you over at Torres' Place tonight, vato. How was it, perty good? BERNABE: (Nods) Perty good. (Laughs. Gives him back the joint) LUNA: Yeh, that Connie's a real mamasota. But tell me, ese a la bravota-was she your first piece? Chale! Don't tell me. That's none of my busi ness, man. Here, forget I ask you nothing. (Passes joint back) Oye, Bernabe, sabes que? You want me to fix you up a date with my car nala? She's fine, ese. And you know what? She wants to meet you. Me la rayo. She ask me to come down a periquiar contigo. BERNABE: Conmigo? LUNA: She knows all about you, loco. Que tal? Wanna meet her? BERNABE: Tu sister? LUNA: She digs Chicano, (BERNABE laughs) BERNABE:Yo soy uno. LUNA: Orale, let me call her. (Calls out) Oye, sister, vente! There's a Chicano here who wants to meet you. Music accompanies the entrance of TIERRA, who appears as a beautiful soldadera with cartridge belts. BERNABE is spellbound the moment he sees her. TIERRA: (Staring at BERNABE) Quien es? LUNA: Pos who? The vato loco himself! Bernabe, this is my sister, La Tierra. TIERRA: Quiboho pues, Bernabe. (BERNABE makes a slight grunt, smiling idiotically) Bueno, que no me vas a decir jalo si quiera? Pause. BERNABE is speechless, embarrassed. LUNA intercedes for him. LUNA: Give him time, he'll do it. He just a little shy, que no, ese? BERNABE struggles to say something. His mind tries to form words. He ends up starting to laugh moronically, from helplessness. TIERRA alts him off: TIERRA: No, hombre, don't laugh. Not like that. Talk serious . . . Soy La Tierra. BERNABE stares at her. A sudden realization strikes him; he ís talking to the moon and the earth. Fear overwhelms him, and he screams. He runs. LUNA: Epale, where you going? (He stops BERNABE with a wave of his arm) Calmala, you don't have to be scared. (Pulls him toward TIERRA) Look at my carnala, ese. Mira que a toda madre se watcha en la moonlight. She digs you, man. Verdad sister? TIERRA: Si es macho. BERNABE is caught in a strange spell. He and TIERRA look at each other for a long moment. LUNA gets restless. LUNA: Bueno, le dijo la mula al freno. Saben que? I think I'll go for a little walk. A ver to que 'stan chismiando las estrellas. Oye, Bernabe, I'm going to trust you with my sister, eh? Lleve seta, suave. TIERRA toys with BERNABE's hair, deliberately establishing a romantic, coquettish mood. TIERRA: (Softly) De que piensas, Bernabe? (No answer)What you thinking? BERNABE: (Struggles to say it) I kill my primo. TIERRA now reacts to BERNABE's answer with a more characteristic earthiness. TIERRA: H'm, que pelado este! I thought you were think ing about me. Your cousin's alive, hombre. Todavia 'sta vivo. BERNABE: El primo 'sta vivo? TIERRA: Pos luego, you think that little chair was going to kill him? He's over at your house right now, looking for you. BERNABE: For me? TIERRA: He's not going to hurt you. The senso is even worried about you. BERNABE: Mi 'ama, he's going to tell her! Me tengo que ir! (Starts to go) TIERRA: Tu mama? Como que to mama! Aren't you a man? BERNABE: (Stops) Simon. TIERRA: Entonces. Where you going, running like a mocoso? BERNABE: (Searches for answer) El trabajo . . . I got to work tomorrow. TIERRA: Pa' que, hombre? All you ever do is work. Mira, come here. Sit down with me. Andale, hombre, just for a little while. (BERNABE does not move) Don't you like me? (BERNABE nods) Then sit here. (BERNABE sits) Aver, dime . . . tell me about your work. BERNABE: (Shrugs) I'm a swamper. TIERRA: Swamper? BERNABE: En la papa. TIERRA: 0 si, you load the potato trucks. BERNABE: Two hundred pounds! (Proud) Mira. (He makes a muscle) TIERRA: (Pretends) Ay, Chihuahua, que fuerte! (BERNABE laughs, embarrassed) Eres muy macho, Bernabe. Muy hombre! Que no? Menso! BERNABE:(Taken aback) Uh? TIERRA: Well, what makes you so macho? The smell of your sweat? The work you do for the patron? I thought you were a Chicano! BERNABE: SiSOy! TIERRA: How? All your life you work for nothing, como un perro, para que? The patron at least has me, Bernabe-what do you have? I bet you don't ` even have a girlfriend, verdad? (Pause. BERNABE's head is down) Mirame, hombre look at me. I'm La Tierra. Do you want me? Be cause if you do, I'll be your mujer. (BERNABE reaches out to embrace her) Not so fast, pelado! I'm not Consuelo, you know. You'll have to fight to get me. Que no sabes nada? Men have killed each other fighting over me. Are you Chicano enough to kill, Bernabe? BERNABE: Kill? TIERRA: For me. Then I'll be tuya, and you'll protect me. Treat me like a woman . . . make love to me. BERNABE goes to her. He takes her in his arms and starts to lie down on the ground with her. LUNA re-enters. LUNA: Orale, hold it there! TIERRA: ( Peeved) Godblessit, Luna! You're supposed to help me. LUNA: Pos what do you think I'm doing? BERNABE: (A new seriousness in his voice) Go away Luna. LUNA: Oye, you sound different, carnal. What did my sister do to you? BERNABE: Go away! LUNA: Heh, man, no to caldees. I'm your friend, remember? I brought you two together. TIERRA: Fine, now leave us alone. LUNA: Simon, as soon as I find out what's on his mind. Well, vato? What about my carnal, you love her? TIERRA: (Pause) Of course, he does. What man doesn't? LUNA: What man hasn't? TIERRA: Go to hell. BERNABE: Let her alone, Luna! LUNA: Aw come on, ese! What you gooing to do, marry her? (Aware of what he has just said) Oh-oh. En la madre, la regue! (He backs off) TIERRA: (Approaches BERNABE who says nothing) Well, Bernabe? Te casas conmigo? BERNABE: (Strangely sure of himself) Simon. LUNA: Pendejo. TIERRA: Satisfied? LUNA: Chale. You can't get married without his permission. TIERRA: He'll give it. LUNA: Maybe, but Bernabe's got to ask him first. BERNABE: (Pause) Who? LUNA: Her father, loco, my jefito. El Sol. BERNABE: Sol! LUNA: He'll be here in a couple of minutes. It's almost morning. Watcha. There's some light by the mountains already. Sabes que, vato, just to prove I'm your friend, let me do the talking first, eh? To smooth things out. I'll tell him what a good Chicano you are. TIERRA: Stop treating him like that, Luna! LUNA: Like what? TIERRA: (Pause) He can talk for himself. LUNA: Orale, no hay pedo. But you know the jefito. TIERRA: Yoú're going to have to ask for my hand, Bernabe. If you really love me','you'll show mi 'apa that you're a man. BERNABE tries to express something but fails to find the words. Unlike before he is calm, serene, unafraid. He nods. LUNA: Alalva! Here he comes! Get down! And don't look at his face too much, ese. He'll blind you! TIERRA and LUNA kneel before the place where the SUN is rising. Music: majestic flutes and drums, SOL rises in the guise o f Tonatiuh, the Aztec Sun God. A golden disk rises above the, mountains; it turns to reveal a bearded face in a golden feathered headdress. The music ends just as SOL faces his children. There is authority in his voice. SOL: Buenos dias, mis hijos! TIERRA: (Head down) Buenos dias, papa. LUNA: (Head down) Buenos dias, jefe. SOL: Luna! Como va mi pleito con las estrellas? Cuidaste mi cielo por toda la noche? LUNA: Si, jefe, todo 'sta bien. SOL: Y to hermana? La cuidaste a ella? LUNA: Si, senor, como no? SóL: Pues como? Ya to conosco.' Hásta se me hace que a veces cuando no estoy aqui, to metes alla arriba con las estrellas, no? LUNA: No, jefe, nunca! SOL: Calla pues! TIERRA: (Sweetly) Papasito? SOL: Si, hija, digame. TIERRA: There's somebody here who wants to talk with you. SOL: Who is it? TIERRA: Un hombre. (Whispers to BERNABE) Go on! BERNABE stands before the sun, somber and serious. BERNABE: It's me, senor. SOL: Who are you? BERNABE: (Facing him) Bernabe! SOL: (With godly disdain) What do you want from El Sol, Bernabe? BERNABE: (Glances at TIERRA) I want La Tierra. SOL: Mija! BERNABE: Pos for my wife, no? SOL: Many years have passed Bernabe, since men had the courage to ask for the bride, como es debido. Why do you come before me now? BERNABE: I'm a man. SOL: Y que? What is that to me! BERNABE: I love her. SOL: (With disgust) Muchos hombres have loved her. Do you think you're the first? Ella es la chingada! TIERRA: Papa! SOL: (With mounting anger) No, hija, callese. Do you hear me, Bernabe? She has been married before. She has even been raped! Many times. Look at her-this is La Tierra who has been many things to all men. Madre, prostituta, mujer. Aren't you afraid? BERNABE: (Defiantly) No, senor, of what? SOL: (Furious) Of her padre, desgraciado, El Sol!! (There is a tremendous flash o f light and sound. BERNABE runs and hides) Look at him, corriendo como un cobarde! Malora! 1 should kill you for what your kind has done to mija. BERNABE: It was not me, senor. TIERRA: Por favor, papa, es inocente! LUNA: She's right, jefe, he's never done nothing to her. It was others. SOL: (Calms down) What work do you do, Bernabe? BERNABE: I work in the fields. SOL: You are poor then? BERNABE: Si, senor. SOL: Then what do you expect to do for mija? You have no money. You have no power. BERNABE: Senor, yo no soy nadie. I am nobody. In town people even say I am crazy. But I do know that if somebody has done wrong to La Tiérra, it has not been the pobres. It has been the men with money and power. SOL: Dices bien,(Pause) Once there were men like you, Bernabe-de tus mismos ojos, tu piel, tu sangre. They loved La Tierra and honored her padre above all else. These men were mis hijos. They pierced~the human brain and plunged into the stars and found the hungry fire that eats of itself. They saw what only a loco can under stand: that life is death, and death is life. Que la vida no vale nada porque vale todo. That you are one so you can be two, then four, then eight, then sixteen, and on and on until you are mill ones, billones, then you look inside yourself and find nothing, so you fill up the space with one again. Me comprendes, Bernabe? They had the power of the Sun! (Pause) If you marry mija, you will have this power. And you will be my son, un hijo del Sol. (Pause) Tierra, do you love this man? TIERRA: Si, papa! SOL: Bernabe, do you love La Tierra? BERNABE: Con todo el corazon! SOL: Corazon? No, hijo, not with your heart. You may love her with your body, your blood, your seed, but your corazon you will give to me. Estas listo para morir? BERNABE: (Frightened) Morir? SOL: Para vivir. BERNABE is momentarily confused. He looks at TIERRA for help, then at LUNA. TIERRA: I can't help you, Bernabe. LUNA: It's up to you, ese. SOL: Hijo, I offer you the power of the Sun! You have been nothing, you will be everything. I am the beginning and the end of all things. Belive in me, and you shall never die. Will you give me your corazon? BERNABE: (Pause) Si, senor. SOL: Que sea asi! Drums sound with a rapid beat. Flutes cry out. LUNA Strips BERNABE of his shirt and grabs his arms from behind, bending him backward. SOL slashes down with his great macana, pointing down at BERNABE's exposed chest. A clash of cymbals. BERNABE dies. Silence. SOL: (After a pause) Bernabe, levantate! BERNABE rises. His appearance has changed. LUNA hands him an Indian robe. BERNABE is puzzled but serene. He puts on the robe and notices his leg is no longer crippled. SOL: La Tierra is virgin again, Bernabe. She is yours: take her! TIERRA: Bernabe! (She embraces him) LUNA: Ora-LEH! Congratulations, ese, you did it! A toda madre, man! This calls for a celebration, loco. Toma, hechate un pisto de wine. (Pulls out wine bottle. BERNABE drinks, then LUNA) BERNABE: Gracias! LUNA: Anytime, cunado. Salud! (Drinks) TIERRA: (Hugging him) Mi esposo, mi Bernabe! LUNA: Vivan los novios! (He lets out'a grito) SOL: Silencio pues! (Silence) I am still here! Mas respecto, eh Luna? Don't you see the day is dying? The time has come for me to go. Mis hijos, I bless your marriage. Los dejo con mi bendicion. (Blesses them) Luna, take care of my sky during the hours of darkness. Y dale luz a fu hermana, eh? LUNA: Si, jefe, like always. SOL: Bueno, me voy pues. (He starts to sink) Bernabe . . . Tierra, do not waste the night . . . Have hijos . . . muchos hijos. TIERRA: Si, papa, pase buenas noches. LUNA: Buenas noches, jefe! SOL: Buenas noches, . . . hijos. BERNABE:Buenas noches, senor! SOL: (Sinking fast) Buenas . . . nochés . . . Bernabe! (He is gone) There is silence. TIERRA shivers, then LUNA. TIERRA: It's cold! (She goes to BERNABE. He puts his arm around her) LUNA: Simon, it always gets chilly when the jefito leaves. How about lighting a fire and finishing the wine, eh? TIERRA: No! LUNA: Oh yeah, I forgot. This is your honeymoon, huh? Orale, what kind of light you want? Soft, low, romantic? TIERRA: Why don't you just go away. LUNA: Mirala, mirala-just because she's a virgin again. BERNABE: Mira, hermano, no andes con insultos. Como antes fui loco, ahora soy hombre. Y La Tierra es mi mujer. LUNA: Okay, 'ta bien pues! I got to work anyway. (Looks up) Pinches estrellas, I bet you they're just itching to move in on the jefito's territory. I better go check. Goodnight, you two, don't do nothing I wouldn't do, eh? TIERRA: (Pause) Bernabe? (Her back to him) BERNABE: Que? TIERRA: Will you always love me? BERNABE: Always. TIERRA: Hasta la muerte? (She turns. Her face is a death mask) BERNABE: Hasta la muerte. (He lies down beside her) (End of scene) |