"¤ THE DARK PROFESSION ¤" "What are you selling, traveling salesgirl?" "Pitchers." "Are they good quality pitchers?" "And they won't streak very quickly?" "Come in!" "Come in!" "Sit down, don't feel uncomfortable." "Aren't you tired of the street?" "Sit!" "Sit down, you!" "Although at your age, you'll have the vigor for that and more." "I'd guess you're 16-18 years old." "I don't know I am, ma'am." "My nurse never told me when I was born." "Do you still live with your nurse?" "Hasn't she already coupled you with man?" "~ Not yet, ma'am." "~ Why not?" "My nurse didn't want me to leave her." "Maybe it's because you can already help her with her work." "Could be." "That's to raise your value." "She'd ask for a big jug of booze in exchange for you." "So how much do you want for your pitchers?" "30 pesos, patron." "I won't be able sell them at a profit." "Well, by God!" "Are going to take them all, ma'am?" "Don't call me ma'am." "My name is Mercedes." "Mercedes Solórzano." "You'll have heard of me." "No, ma'am." "So much the better." "Yes, I'll take them all." "Wait a moment." "All right." "Leave there your pitchers and come with me." "They'll pay you in here." "Come on!" "In here." "What are you doing?" "They're waiting." "You're told to go in, they're waiting for you." "Enter!" "Close the door." "This Leonardo!" "As if I didn't know my job well!" "Ah, there you are, traveling salesgirl!" "Wait, let me give you your pay." "Here you go. 30 pesos." "Redskin, wretched, bloody bitch, if I catch you I'll break your cunt!" "If I catch you I'll kill you!" "How dare you do this to me?" "I won't put up with this from you!" "Miserable bitch!" "How can you do this to me?" "I'm not going to put up with it!" "Hear me, you damned one:" "I'll break your cunt!" "Miserable redskin!" "Bitch!" "Daughter of a bitch, bitch, bitch, damn redskin!" "Damned bitch!" "Why were you so late?" "It's almost sunset!" "Because of you, we'll be late!" "The pay, give me the pay!" "Where is the money, you great bitch?" "Are you going to say you were robbed because of going gaping about with the money?" "I don't deserve the blame, Mother!" "My feet hurt a lot!" "And money!" "Is your daughter a nuisance for you?" "Give her to me." "I'll take good care of her." "I'd give her to you, mother, if this Marcela weren't so lazy!" "Then it's better to be with me and not with you." "You no longer have the breath to straighten her out." "I hope tonight you'll honor us with your assistance." "Because I guess you've heard I'm giving a party at my house." "By the way, I wanted to thank you for the inconvenience that you've borne." "No doubt because of them the dance will be successful." "You didn't need me." "Doña Mercedes was there." "It doesn't matter who provides them to me." "Your duty as a patron..." "I, as your patron, have no obligation to entertain your beloved." "You're jealous, Isabel?" "Are you going to deny what I've seen, that you've fallen head over heels for that so-called "Chestnut"?" "That "Chestnut", as the maids and the rabble of the street call her, has a name:..." "Doña Julia Acevedo,... and she's the wife of a respectable man, a friend of mine, whom I wouldn't dare to go against." "It would be the first time since I met you that you've been so scrupulous." "You weren't so scrupulous about me." "Shut up." "That case was different." "Yes, different --- because Isidoro, my husband, listen well, my husband,... not what you were to me later,... was more than a friend to you, he was like a brother." "Who but him picked you up,... and forced his parents to give you asylum at home... because you were just an orphan,... who was abused by the nuns and not even fed by them?" "You should feel proud, Isabel." "For you I didn't hesitate to trample the duties imposed by gratitude,... friendship, even the very morality." "Why did you do it, Leonardo?" "Don't you know?" "Isidoro was rich." "From the beginning you believed the best way to keep me attached to your waistband... was to keep your inheritance away from me." "A big mistake, Isabel." "I'm rich, too... and to get richer I didn't need to touch a penny of your inheritance." "You're happy, too... and you didn't need anything that I could provide." "Did you notice, Isabel?" "You'll have to forgive me." "I did everything possible to hide it, but..." "So you killed Isidoro Fuentes for nothing?" "So say the gossips of the town,... and so you say as well." "But if it were true, I wouldn't be here but rotting away in jail." "And who witnessed?" "The gun was yours, a brand-new gun you were about to try out." "You pointed it here as a game and then you shot him by accident." "All this time you've lived with your first husband's murderer." "And do you think that I wouldn't prefer anything to this hell?" "To fulfill your whims you don't even hesitate to neglect your daughter's health." "Don't confuse the dates and try to dump her on me." "Idolina is your daughter and Isidoro's." "You've wanted her as dead as Isidoro." "You hate her, right?" "Why would I hate her?" "Because of what she knows." "She knows nothing." "All she knows is what you've taught her." "She can talk." "No." "Besides, no one would pay attention a child unbalanced by illness and confinement." "Isabel, I again beg you to honor us with your attendance at the dance tonight." "It would contribute to my political aspirations." "Why not let it be?" "I know where you're headed... for Leonardo to buff up a little capital to you,... so that when your concubine wants to fly away... you won't have to follow through." "You have a good eye for silver." "Money is what swells the pockets of that Cifuentes!" "Now you need him to be willing to give it away." "Finally, it's good that you didn't want to grant him anything,... but for this to become a proper relation will be a long time coming." "Well, why not have your fight?" "Nothing's lost in the end." "Tell Mr. Cifuentes I don't want to snub him,... it's just in consideration of the friendship that has been shown to my husband,... that I'll premiere this shawl at tonight's dance." "And walking at night the Boogeyman appeared to them." "Shut up, nurse, I don't want to hear more stories." "Girl!" "I don't want to hear it, you're tormenting me!" "Why do you leave me on my own?" "Everything bores you." "You're totally jaded." "Come on." "Won't you come here, nurse?" "See how your heart jumps beneath your shirt." "Blood's falling into it." "Girl, you've behaved very badly with me." "I won't come to you." "All right." "Then I'll go myself." "Girl, you're going to faint, girl!" "Let someone who doesn't know you buy it." "And who did I get it from?" "You raised me." "You spoiled me!" "Well, let's make peace." "Now you can sleep." "Hey, the marimba showed up!" "I've never seen a party." "When you're good and healthy, girl, then." "Right?" "When she and my stepfather have died,... when this house is burned... when you and I have walked the world around." "That was an omen." "It was game!" "It was no game." "You swore to me." "You also swore you'd let me see the party." "For your sake, dearest, lie down." "Go on." "If anyone comes, may God forbid they see you in this shape." "Who could possibly come?" "Her." "She only comes when she had nothing else to do, and then just out of a sense of duty." ""How are you?" "OK, I see." "I'm glad."" "I can't wait any longer." "The omen said..." "Nothing ever happens and I rot within these walls!" "For how long?" "Blessed Virgin of Charity, protect us!" "Give me my shawl." "Girl!" "Girl, no!" "Girl!" "Oh, God!" "Oh, girl!" "Hey, girl!" "Why not get up?" "She's sick." "Ah!" "So this is the famous daughter of Leonardo Cifuentes." "Leonardo Cifuentes not my father." "You surely don't look like him." "But he really cares about you, your health." "And when he knows that you're getting better he'll be very happy." "I'm in your hands." "What are you doing here?" "The toilet." "I don't know the house and got lost." "Who are you?" "My name is Julia Acevedo." "Why are you barefoot?" "They don't buy me shoes because they think I can't walk." "You won't tell on me, would you?" "Those are the pictures of my father." "Did you love him a lot?" "No." "I didn't love mine, either." "He was a drunk." "You're going to have to get used to my style." "We Mexicans are hearty." "I have nothing to hide." "I only hide my friends' secrets,... and you are my friend." "As far as I'm concerned, no one will know that we've met." "You stay mum, too." "Come on, girl!" "Let's go!" "Before they come, come on!" "Julia Acevedo... is my friend." "Girl!" "Last night, at Cifuentes's party... you were not as exemplary as would have been desired." "Urbanity is not my forte, Monsignor." "You were biased against the homeowner." "They tell stories about Leonardo Cifuentes,... feats not very edifying,... but what can we do?" "Our job isn't to judge, it's to forgive." "That's handy as long as it's no skin off our back." "But we already know the answer: offer the other cheek!" "Is this a dressing-down, Don Alfonso?" "Very well, you choose your preferred cheek... and we'll start the punishment." "Last night I made a mistake." "Most notably with Mrs. de Ulloa." "Julia Acevedo, "Chestnut"." "You chastised her quite rudely." "And rightly so." "Her dishonesty..." "My son, we have to draw a distinction." "Dishonesty in an ordinary woman... is elegance in a lady." "And who assures us that "Chestnut" is a respectable lady?" "The best families in Ciudad Real receive her." "Hardly!" "And if they did they would be even more naïve than you, Monsignor." "Who is this upstart?" "No one knows." "~ She's the wife of a gentleman." "~ A honest working man?" "Fernando Ulloa's position is very clear." "He's an official occupying a position of some importance in the administration." "Which is not enough for him to be received by men of means like the prodigal son,... to kill the ram for a feast, and for dessert he dishes out the lies he tells." "People from Ciudad Real are not hospitable." "However, sometimes they free up their tight-lips,... not to be hospitable, but out of boredom." "Whatever breaks the routine, whatever distracts us, is welcome." "And "Chestnut" knows please and dazzle men." "Don't you dare think I summoned you here to discuss... your dancing last night." "I want you to take charge of the parish of San Juan Chamula." "May that morning light your field, Seer Rosendo Gómez Bear." "We hope you'll forgive us for have brought this gift... but don't take it for what it is, but for the thought behind it." "How will this year's harvest be?" "Very little." "Very bad, sorry, the harvest has already failed." "Everyone agrees with the actions of Seer Rosendo Gómez Bear." "They say they are going to force him to accept being the religious leader for another year." "Marcela is fine." "It will cost me a lot of blood, my heart." "It's Marcela we came to talk about." "You want to give her back?" "No, we already found her a husband." "How much will he pay for her?" "She's not worth what he'll pay for her." "She's a very lazy girl, this one, my daughter." "You don't know her well." "She doesn't know how to weave, nor how to grind pozol." "She can't even tend to beans." "The man agrees." "Who is this man?" "My brother, Lorenzo Diaz Puilja." "What's your problem?" "I mean, what's your problem?" "That Lorenzo is off his head!" "It was a disgrace." "A big demon carried him off as a child." "He was in the cornfield." "The big demon flew him away to another place." "Many saw him fly." "Many of our elders, those who don't lie." "Lorenzo was found lying in the woods." "He will never regain his soul." "He'll never regain the power of speech." "I don't want you to sabotage my daughter's prospects, Catalina Diaz Puilja." "So I tell you that if she's going to be your brother's wife..." "I will ask for five fat rams,... three bottles of hooch,... and a bushel of corn." "My brother isn't going to pay." "Why?" "Because your daughter not worthy." "~ How much will you pay, then?" "~ Nothing." "Is your wife's proposal to me worthy, Pedro Gonzalez Winiktón?" "It's fair." "But why should I give my daughter away for nothing... to a man who won't even know how to have her?" "No man but Lorenzo Diaz Puilja would accept your daughter." "But why do you wish to condemn her like this?" "In Jobel a half breed abused her." "That's not true." "Not true!" "I'm not falling for that old trick!" "You raised this slander because you want to take her without paying her value." "Do you want to embarrass your daughter in front of everyone?" "Let's summon them." "May she be asked and inspected." "Pedro and I thought a lot... and we're in agreement about warning you about Marcela's being compromised." "...just to be nice to you." "You are her mother... but your consent is not required." "This is well understood." "Right?" "Tell the Seer Rosendo Gómez Bear... when he recovers from his drink." "Rosendo!" "Come to our house,... at Majomut district." "I swear, I can't work anymore!" "I swear!" "My feet pain me unmercifully!" "Tell them all to get out!" "The Lord's house deserves respect!" "You're out of here, I'm telling you!" "Get out of here!" "I'm telling you to get the hell out of here!" "I'm talking to you!" "Get up, father." "Who are you?" "I'm Pedro Gonzalez Winiktón, the former judge." "~ Please, take your broth, daughter." "~ No more." "~ I beg you!" "~ I'm not hungry!" "How is it that you don't want to eat?" "No, it's not that you feel worse,... it's just that you spend all day in bed." "No one can get hungry just by doing that." "~ But if you had some exercise..." "~ Exercise...!" "Idolina, you know that I'm not asking for the impossible,..." "I just want you to put yourself into this,... to demonstrate your good will." "Look, you could start by sitting up." "But not in bed, in the chair." "It will fatigue her a lot, Julia." "When she's tired, she can rest." "Surely we aren't her executioners." "Come on, Idolina, give me your hand." "Lean on me." "Come on, don't trouble the others,... this is our business." "Come on." "Feet firmly on the ground." "I can't." "I've known you to be more courageous at other times, eh?" "Don't play with me." "I only want your happiness." "What is my happiness?" "Why go on pretending to be sick?" "The only thing you'll achieve is that your mother and stepfather will get bored with this farce and call a halt." "I've known this for a while." "They want to get rid of me." "Kill me, just like my father." "Don't be silly, child!" "As if it were that easy!" "You don't know them." "They're capable of anything." "But you don't have your hands tied, and you're not alone." "~ I'm scared, Julia!" "~ Of who?" "Leonardo?" "He's just a weak soul." "What about her?" "In her own way, she's also weak." "She says she loves you." "She's fooled you, too." "Make her believe that you love her, too." "So she'll stay quiet." "I'm scared." "I'm scared." "I want to leave here." "People from Ciudad Real are unique." "No one's better at inventing nicknames." "In small towns there's no other entertainment." "But here they're special, they don't even forgive the Holy Virgin Mary." "You'll never guess the nickname they've come up with." "On who?" "On you." "I haven't the foggiest idea." "But promise me not to be upset, they're just so awful!" "Come on, talk, if you're so eager to tell me!" "They call you "Chestnut"." ""Chestnut"?" "And why?" "Just for your hair color." "They name mares the same." "Doctors don't understand how my daughter got cured." "Neither do they understand why she got ill." "They're very clumsy." "Their brains are full of cobwebs." "And those are the graduates, you just imagine the rest,... the ordinary people, the masses, as it were." "And what do they say?" "They say that what happened to Idolina was a witchcraft spell,... that you made a pact with the devil." "Sure, a chestnut is capable of any atrocity!" "Don't declare victory too soon, Julia." "So you don't get too proud of yourself, I'm telling you that... she whom you expelled from Idolina's heart was not her mother, just the nanny,... the Indian, Teresa." "Really?" "I've seen how she takes care of her." "It's nothing new." "The roots are old." "When Idolina was born I had no milk." "They squeezed my breasts, they made me take gunpowder dissolved in booze." "~ How awful!" "~ And all useless." "The girl was already hoarse from crying." "She was hungry and I couldn't feed her." "We lived on the farm from my first marriage, out in the middle of nowhere." "There the rains isolated us and it was time for my bad trance." "The was no one to advise me --- I had to make do as best I could." "A doctor?" "A pipe dream!" "Among the Indians there were experienced midwives, and some treated me." "I got through my labor without major setbacks." "The difficulties began later on." "Idolina was crying with hunger!" "I knew there lived another new mother like me nearby:" "Teresa Entzin López." "I made them bring her to me." "I offered her the pearls of the Holy Virgin to serve as wet-nurse to Idolina, but she refused." "She was skinny and bony, she insisted that her milk wouldn't stretch for two mouths." "And she even fled the farm." "But I gave orders to the cowboys that they bring her to me." "They beat the bush as if hunting an animal... they found Teresa holed up in a cave with the child in her arms." "There was no way to bring her to the big house other than by dragging her." "And in all this, I...was on my own." "My husband had been looking for any excuse to leave,... so not to hear that cry of hunger that was my soul fleeing." "And Teresa?" "She consented to stay?" "No way would she agree! "You brought my temper out," I said." ""Now we'll try the hard way."" "In the livestock shelter of the big house there was a hunting cage." "There I kept her day and night." "But she fooled us all." "So that we'd let her go, she pretended to agree to all our orders." "Then I realized that she was shorting Idolina's milk to give to her own daughter." "I had to separate them." "And the other child?" "She died." "And why wouldn't she die?" "What saint was behind her?" "Teresa's just an Indian woman and her daughter was just an Indian, too." "So you condemned her to death because of her race." "I didn't say that." "You foreigners come from another world,... you don't understand what happens here in Ciudad Real." "I heard the preaching of Don Fernando:... that we people of class are savages,... that we treat the Indians even worse than beasts." "But that's not true, by God!" "We are all baptized with the same water... and in front of Him we will be judged without regard to the money or color or language which define us." "No, it's not us who despise them, it's them who sneer at us." "You don't know their customs." "I've lived for years among the Indians and I swear I've seen this with my own eyes." "When a sheep is lost, her lamb is helpless." "Women nurture him, nursing him, even if they have to wean their own kids,... even if they die out of starvation." "And my daughter, a Hispanic, was she going to be worth less than an animal to them?" "So from far away, and in the cold light of day, can you really be shocked and even raise a ruckus,... but properly taken care of at that point,... listening to Idolina cry as I heard hour after hour without comfort... certainly, I did...with what was to hand." "And my conscience is totally clear." "Wow, it's my friend, Don Fernando Ulloa!" "Come this way, engineer, carefully, to avoid tripping." "Do me a favor and take possession of your house." "Thank you very much, Don Leonardo." "I didn't want to give you any discomfort,... but the night caught us, and we got lost." "And instead of ending up at San Juan Chamula as was our plan,..." "I don't know what chance led us here." "This accident has given me the opportunity to attend and serve you." "But what happened to you, boy?" "Nothing, really, but we happened to take a lot of false trails due to the rain and darkness." "Forgive me for not attending to you well." "Where there is no woman one has come to terms with the hardship." "I'd like you to check the farm." "Not because I want to show off, but..." "I have things to do early tomorrow morning in Ciudad Real,... but I'll still check it out." "You know I'm drafting a map of the area." "Why undertake such a useless task, engineer?" "The plats are settled." "Each landowner has his own set." "It's funny:... the Spanish who settled here didn't think to build fireplaces." "You seem to have followed the tradition." "In Europe, where the climate is less vigorous than here..." "Have you ever been in Europe, engineer?" "For a few months." "The late..." "I mean, the first husband of Isabel,... was also in Europe, and not for just a few months, but for several years... and I assure you, he didn't become any smarter." "Mightn't it be the same for you?" "That still remains to be seen." "You are more educated than we are, engineer." "You've traipsed around the world around, you've seen things,... but we know very well the fat of our cattle,... and it won't be easy to change our minds." "An Indian here, or wherever else you want, will always be poor and ignorant." "There's no cure for that." "We're here precisely to cure that." "Let's hope that cure wouldn't be worse than the disease!" "I'll tell you what they've told me." "We have always been people of order,... and we're very quiet in our corner,... as long as we're allowed to sort out our affairs in our own way." "But suddenly the revolution comes and everything's turned upside down." "Times change, Don Leonardo." "Now there's no need for bloodshed." "The battle will only be fought in the courts." "We believe that a bad deal is better than a good fight." "You can try." "There's no shortage of prison guards." "The word is strong." "What we need is not to have a scoundrel... but a man who understands reason and helps us to keep order." "And is this help going to be free?" "All work should be rewarded." "When so minded, we can be generous." "And you already have a viable candidate?" "You." "And what has made you assume that I would accept such a proposal?" "It suits you, engineer." "The ones who trusted me would be better suited." "If you're talking about the government,... you'll do it a great favor by sparing it such a mess." "I was referring more to the Indians." "You'll help them, right?" "On that we agree." "Why shouldn't we also agree on how to help them?" "The only way is specified by law." "And who made the law, engineer?" "As far as I know, someone who has no idea of the details of the problem." "It demands that laborers be paid a minimum wage... making them unaffordable for the owners." "That there be a school on the hacienda,... and, naturally, paid for by the owner." "But then no teachers will come here." "And if they do come, they don't speak the language." "And since Indians don't understand Spanish they stay with their heads in the clouds." "These problems don't fall onto my back, Don Leonardo." "I came here to arrange the redistribution of land." "Nice job, light the fuse and let the others take the heat!" "But the way you're leaving things means there will be a fight." "And the Indians will lose out, we bosses are still the stronger." "I'll leave now." "I have to be in San Cristobal by early morning." "You're awake...!" "Then you realized." "Yes, I thought I heard his voice." "We had a little altercation... about Indians." "The Indians, I don't even want to hear you mention them!" "I hate them all!" "Dirty, miserable, lazy!" "So what about the shawl I gave to you?" "Why don't you ever wear it?" "Don't you like it?" "There's no occasion." "I never go anywhere." "And to stay here in this icy suite, well..." "I need something that warms me better." "Don't tell me it's cold today." "So you gave me the shawl!" "What can I do with it?" "Frame it?" "Put it on to please me." "I'm nobody's clown, no, sir!" "If you want a woman to serve as your puppet, then look elsewhere,... because on mine, you chose the wrong door to knock." "Be careful what you say." "If you provoke me..." "If I provoke you, what?" "Are you going to threaten to find another lover?" "Come on, hurry up, you're already tiring me, right?" "I know what you're looking for, you big cheater: a reason to disrespect me." "It's not you who I owe respect to." "Who, then?" "The unfortunate Fernando?" "Look who's talking!" "But the blame for making Fernando unfortunate belongs to you." "Like Isabel, when I mention Isidoro to her." "What has Isabel to do with this?" "This is about me and me alone." "It was you who invited me in with your flattery." "You've given them a good workout." "How many more have you used them on, eh?" "You're going too far, Leonardo." "Julia keeps Leonardo amused, but I don't see why." "For me personally, I think he's an idiot." "But I won't forbid her to speak with him." "The people murmur, engineer." "In these villages, friendships between men and women aren't accepted." "Leonardo himself may have misinterpreted this freedom you granted." "Suppose Leonardo falls for Julia." "It's only natural." "But what hold can she have on him?" "Between them, there's an abyss." "Because of their training, their ideas." "Even their age." "I know these people, engineer." "When they nail someone, they don't quit until they're used up." "Do you know what the revolution was for, César?" "So there'll be no difference between the rich who exploit you and you yourself." "To give you a dignity that others respect." "Good morning." "Good morning." "The President asked me personally to oversee the redistribution of their lands." "When everyone owns their own plot, all must work,... all of you must raise good crops,... and bring them to sell at the markets." "With what you get for it, he says,... you can dress better,... can buy medicine,... can send your children to school." "Now is the time for justice,... to rein in the privileges of the owners,... and give the Indians redress for all offenses received... for all the humiliations, for all the infamies." "You can have a rest here, sir." "Thank you, Mr. Chairman." "Goodbye, sir." "How about the way we've been received?" "We couldn't expect anything better." "We must come to terms with the lack of facilities." "I don't mean that." "I have the impression they didn't understand a word you said." "Nothing else explains why they reacted that way." "Some seemed very happy,... but others viewed us with distrust..." "The Indians are very ungrateful." "Don't say "Indians" as if they're inhabitants of some other planet." "They distrust us, and it's quite natural." "All things considered, they don't know us." "We're Hispanics... and they bear no very good opinion of Hispanics." "It's up to us to convince them that our intentions aren't to harm them,... but to enforce the law which protects them." "Their ancients are very stubborn." "You can't count on them." "Who knows what they think?" "Who knows how they interpret what they're told?" "I certainly can't." "Oh yeah?" "Are you going to say that that priest of San Juan,... that Manuel Mandujano --- is he strong?" "No way." "I've seen him lose control madly in anger, in fear." "I've seen him tremble at my voice." "Where are these ravings leading us to?" "You dug images of a wild and bloody past,... abandoning the practice of a religion based on humility and obedience,... endangering the order established by your natural masters." "Where could all this lead... but to breaking the truths of Christianity, to turn them into rude and barbarous superstition,... as a product of ignorance?" "The water." "You, you, the idols." "You're the boy who was born during the eclipse,... from the dishonor of a girl of my race by a white from the city,... my own wound that won't stop bleeding." "You are always present." "The idolatry of the Indians is not heresy, it's ignorance,... and who else but us is responsible for this state of affairs?" "Efforts should be made to remedy it." "This matter is not for us only to see to, your Grace,... is necessary for civil authorities to be in possession of the facts." "The civil authorities are our enemies." "If we don't inform them of what's happening in Tzajal-hemel, they may later accuse us of complicity." "Don't you realize that this is the beginning of an uprising?" "Who will protect our farms, our stores?" "Who will defend our lives and those of our families?" "As the Indians overcome their confusion... you'll see what happens." "The Scriptures say there are times to attack and times to withdraw." "Exactly." "It's time to attack now." "How?" "In the eyes of the governor, we would seem like provocateurs." "He's been looking for pretexts, and now if we provide one..." "Your Grace, you don't seem to care about your home town." "Nor do I." "The pastor must guard his sheep." "But the flock of Chamula is ownerless." "I saw the priest, Manuel Mandujano, everywhere except in his parish." "He has the right to some time off." "I'm pondering whether to reinstate him in his position here in Ciudad Real." "Manuel is a man of a very violent mien,... and has nosed in San Juan, the same as you, all of us, with a political goal." "And who's to replace him?" "A white?" "A coward?" "Among the Indians, they need someone who can take the reins,... someone capable of facing down an Ulloa." "Don't you agree?" "Surely what we've discussed here, Leonardo, remains under seal,... as confidential as the confessional." "Not even the farmers, Monsignor?" "They should be warned." "They would be the first casualties in the event an uprising erupted." "If you're looking to pursue a retaliation against Fernando Ulloa... or against the people of Tzajal-hemel,... go first to the City Hall,... convene the trustees and aldermen,... and put the town on a war footing." "It's easy to frighten them because everyone, everyone to some extent,... has a guilty conscience,... and you know how to treat these people." "I'm willing to keep the secret, Monsignor,... but I also have my conditions:... the priest who goes to San Juan will be Manuel Mandujano." "Why?" "He knows the land." "Be very tactful... with a conciliatory spirit." "And don't condemn them because they're now are idolaters." "It is ignorance, helplessness." "Try to console them." "Let them sense through your ministry that our Church welcomes and protects them." "A beating, Shamal Monsignor, at Tzajal-heme, in a cave with rocks, sticks,... women... killed..." "Father Mandujano was beaten to death." "I saw everything, they hit him, they hit him." "They... they must have been the first to attack." "They were flaunting their strength." "What temerity, the imbecile!" "But this didn't relieve me of the responsibility." "I'm the one to blame." "Go to the kitchen." "There you'll get a drink." "They'll come in due time." "They'll hunt me down." "Yeah, yeah,... they'll chase me." "The land, Catalina, tell them to give us back the land." "If they ask for our blood, if they ask for our lives, we'll give them, but give us back our land." "I hope you don't mind the clear allusion to my professed beliefs." "I don't condemn anyone's beliefs, Counselor,... nor even discuss them." "So I demand from all an equal courtesy." "~ You don't believe in hierarchical society?" "~ No." "And that brings us to deal directly with what I came to talk to you about today." "These women at Tzajal-hemel were apprehended for worshiping idols." "Would you care for one, Mr. Engineer?" "It's not a religious problem but a political one." "What the women at Tzajal-hemel are accused of, and their accomplices,... because they must exist, and still be very numerous,... and perhaps very influential, is sedition." "And on what basis do they make such absurd accusations?" "You should know better than me." "You've been identified as the main instigator of the rebel movement among the Indians." "I advise you to put yourself in the hands of a capable defense attorney." "I'd assumed that you would be my advocate." "Thanks for the compliment, but I can't take care of your business." "And I warn you, it's not prudent for you to display any relationships with those people." "It would be child's play to find evidence that you encouraged the Indians to revolt." "And how could I, if I don't even know how to speak Tzotzil?" "There are many ways." "Your profession, your commitment, allows you to take advantage of them." "I've adhered strictly to the fulfillment of my duty." "Yes." "To defend myself I need a person versed in law." "I'm counting on you." "I would be happy to serve... but to take your case under my cognizance would mean a betrayal of my colleagues." "There is among us a gentlemen's agreement not to intervene in this process." "And let injustice be perpetrated on the innocent?" "Let me tell you, Counselor, that your professional ethics are very suspect." "They aren't innocent, engineer." "What was brewing in the cave has happened before." "I present the history: uprisings in 1712, in 1862, in 1917." "Why not now?" "The difference is that the timely discovery before they threatened Ciudad Real." "What are you talking about?" "One thing that we know better than snooty foreigners." "When the Indians band together, it's just to hurt Hispanics." "In their celebrations, in their drunkenness, the outcome is always some white person injured or killed,... or some burned store or warehouse." "It takes little to turn them against us,... then you come and bribe them, incite them with your preaching." "They are afraid." "It is natural,... because every time they've tried to rebel, they've paid dearly." "So turning to their superstitions, their witchcraft... since they believe that their idols protect them, they throw themselves at us, to kill, to destroy, and they forget that our God is stronger and more powerful than theirs." "Defend them?" "Would you defend someone who killed your parents,... who raped your sisters?" "Defend them?" "Those who have reduced you to living in poverty?" "Does this apply to you, counselor?" "To me, and to any other gentleman!" "Such things happened this way in the past... but this doesn't mean that the same thing is inevitable this time." "The guilt of the Indians can't be based on prophecies." "Nobody prophesizes!" "We just remember, that's all!" "You can't understand." "While I understand, I don't accept it." "Engineer, don't get yourself between the legs of horses." "What for?" "You're a young person, you have a career, a future." "There's time yet." "Ask for a transfer, quit, do what you want,... but don't stay in Ciudad Real." "I guess you've probably heard about Tzajal-hemel." "They're hidden." "They're afraid troops will fall onto them." "There are spies in the hills." "At this time, they know we're here." "Relax, or you'll get me excited." "What time are your visitors coming?" ""My visitors"!" "Since I have nothing to offer... my visitors have always find one reason or another for not coming." "Is it true that Indians have besieged us... and we haven't done anything to defend ourselves?" "Do you really believe what the newspapers say?" "Before there was just one." "Do you remember?" "Now, every day new ones sprout in heaps, like mushrooms after the rain." "What, they exaggerate when they talk about them?" "They miss the point." "The danger isn't the Indians." "There are many of them, I don't deny it,... but they have no equipment or leaders." "I didn't mean to offend you." "For a moment I forgot that one of their leaders is your husband." "Not my husband." "We have nothing to defend ourselves." "A toy gun and soldiers of chocolate!" "And no one will help us!" "Mexico is far away, and as for Tuxtla,... there are old scores that haven't been forgotten." "According to them, the uprising of the Indians is a fable invented by us." "But events depend on you." "You're the head of operations in the highlands." "Or isn't this the title that you were awarded at the last meeting of notables?" "They called me that because they were scared,... and because there was no one with the courage to face whatever came." "You were born to go high." "Ciudad Real is little." "The very Chiapas, too." "Please, enough!" "I'm foreseeing the future." "I'm something of a witch." "If you don't believe me, ask Idolina." "She's not easy to talk about now." "She spends all day in her room." "What, is she sick again?" "I don't know, nor do I care." "Your prophecies will not come to be, Chestnut,... because those notables who obey me now are wary of me." "No, they don't doubt my courage, but rather my loyalty, thanks to you." "Ciudad Real ladies complain that they can't end the plague of ants." "And you want their husbands to get rid of the Indians?" "There are many ways to go about it,... and we must implement them all." "For the pushy rebels who put us between a rock and a hard place, death is not enough punishment." "Yes, their deaths, those of their families,... the razing of their countryside and their people,... and then we have to sow salt into their fields so that they'll never again support a crop." "Those are few, the leaders." "But, what about the others?" "The government must send them elsewhere." "What if the Indians don't want to go?" "You just kill them." "Xaw Ramírez Paciencia." "What the hell is he doing here?" "He came with Winiktón." "He's taken shelter in Ciudad Real." "He was afraid." "If he's back, it means everything's going well." "Everything seems quiet." "You're so innocent, engineer." "The owners won't settle for an apology from the Indians." "They want to punish those responsible for the death of the Father Mandujano,... and make an example of them." "Otherwise, who'll guarantee that crime won't be repeated?" "That depends a lot on them." "Father Mandujano was a provocateur." "Who cares about Father Mandujano?" "It's about not unleashing the Indians,... so they feel the jolt in their very teeth... so that they finally recognize their place and condition,... yet don't even think to ask for their land back." "We must talk to Pedro Gonzalez Winiktón." "What is it, Pedro?" "Why have the people gathered?" "Don't they know that at any moment Chamula's troops could fall on them?" "Didn't you warn them of the risk, Winiktón?" "In Ciudad Real tempers are running high." "The troops are coming." "They're seeking you and your wife over the death of Father Mandujano,... but they'll capture everybody." "There's still time to flee for the moment." "Maybe they'll listen to you if you explain it." "You're a man of reason." "Gather them as soon as possible." "I come from Tuxtla." "I was with the governor." "The issue of land distribution is well advanced." "The farmers want an excuse to override the orders." "Let's not give them one." "Let's not put the noose around our own necks." "This is the time to make use of force." "You must return to the woods." "You have to hide." "We can't leave the church alone at San Juan, least of all at Easter." "They have soldiers." "Many." "They will come here." "They'll bring rifles, bullets." "You'll be responsible for this massacre if you don't force them to disperse." "The troops will arrive, Winiktón." "The Hispanics of the city have brought in procession of Our Lady of Charity?" "No." "Our Lady of Charity is in her alcove, within the church." "~ But what did you tell them?" "~ The truth." "The Virgin of Charity, an enemy to the native Chamulas from time immemorial,... is not involved in this conflict." "And don't you think that might embolden them?" "Naturally." "You see those Indians, these poor lambs." "They're angry, and when they decide to move against Hispanics, nothing can stop them." "And you are glad." "At least I won't become an obstacle for them to trample." "I have nothing else to do but go along." "But you, who care about them,... and think they're victims of exploitation and injustice,... why don't you lead them?" "Because I don't believe in violence." "You won't believe in it even when they kill all these people?" "I came to prevent that." "And asked them to disband?" "As if that would do any good!" "The farmers have convinced the governor to make an example, and he will." "They'll hunt down the last Indian in the last corner to kill him." "At least here, together, they can better defend themselves." "With what weapons?" "Whatever they find." "A machete, a stone." "Whatever works." "Haven't they told you that in times of revolution..." "Chamulas covered the mouths of the cannons with straw hats, them still on their heads?" "And they were blown to pieces, as expected." "But another would come, with another hat." "There are lots of them." "They're not extinguished." "What would we achieve by leading this uprising?" "It would scare the gentry." "Not enough." "Tell me they'll win, and I accept it." "But due to that fear, expect reprisals, not concessions." "What if we win?" "I don't trust miracles." "The rebellions were always incubated among the Chamulas like today's,... in drunkenness and superstition." "A tribe of desperate men launches themselves against their oppressors,... and they have all the advantages on their side,... even justice, and yet they always fail." "And not out of cowardice, you understand,... or stupidity." "Victory simply requires more... than an outburst or a fluke." "It takes a dream to fulfill,... a new order to be established." "That's exactly what you could give, engineer." "Now we also have a Christ." "Not born and suffered in vain, nor has he died in vain." "His birth, his agony, and his death served to level the Tzotzil, the Chamula,... the Indian, with the Hispanics." "So if the Hispanics threaten us, we have to face them and not run away." "If they pursue us, we must face them." "What is there to fear?" "Above our heads drips the blood of the Greatest!" "And those who are baptized with blood rather than water cannot die." "Let's go to meet the Hispanics." "Let's defy them and we'll see how they run and hide." "And if they resist we'll join them in the fight." "We are equal now that our Christ counterbalances their Christ." "It's your turn next!" "Out!" "Fernando Ulloa." "He emboldened the Chamula with his preaching,... and then he led them." "Do you have proof?" "We wouldn't even be talking without it." "The charge is serious." "Ulloa was with the Indians until --- seeing that they'd lost --- he would parley with us." "Rather he wanted to put a price on their surrender." "The price is unacceptable: full amnesty." "He believed he was being clever, but when we saw him arrive alone at the rendezvous... realized that Ulloa had betrayed the Indians... and so his promises were worthless." "Or the Indians had dispersed and were no longer a threat." "So we arrested him." "If peace and order are maintained, what are we going to complain about?" "Surely there will be no more riots." "Gone was the reason behind it all --- right?" " Ulloa." "There may be another to replace him." "He'd take great care to be more prudent." "They'll tell him what happened to his predecessor." "Will the bishop receive me?" "We've been abusing your time, Governor,..." "I'm going to announce you now." "So this is the rooster." "Don Alfonso awaits you, Governor." "I want to talk to him alone." "It is comforting to see how the contradiction between earthly powers... and spiritual power are annulled,... how everything is reconciled when pursuing common goals:... justice, order, peace." "Doña Cristina, there's someone you need to see." "Will you forgive me for not receiving as you deserve?" "Rather, it's an abuse for me to be here." "What happened can't be remedied, Monsignor." "And I'm glad to have clean hands from the crimes that have been committed here." "You could have prevented them." "The farmers wanted to use the army as executioners... not as defenders." "If you're so sure..." "I can't understand why you come to talk to me." "Since arriving in Ciudad Real I've resumed receiving letters." "To write, typical lonely women's mania!" "But this time they raise a very serious point I want to confirm." "Because it refers to who sooner or later will be my successor." "Leonardo Cifuentes?" "They say that from the beginning he's played dirty." "They say he was in collusion with Fernando Ulloa through that "Chestnut"." "That woman doesn't live in Ciudad Real anymore." "Could you swear to it, Monsignor?" "The letters state that she never left here,... that Leonardo concealed his trip,... prepared the hideout where he guarder her,... and ordered Ulloa's murder so he could have her." "I will not go without a response, Monsignor." "Why I'm supposed to respond?" "What do you want me to say?" "That it's not true?" "I don't know." "That it's not possible?" "Anything is possible." "How did you know who reported you?" "When you are alone, all the way to the core,... and for so long,... you guess the intentions of others... before they put things into action... and feel other people's delusions... and you completely figure out the machinations... that others dream on without them even being aware of." "That girl has always been alone." "What girl?" "The writer." "Do you know who she is?" "Someone who puts her trust in priests as much as you do... and whom I won't betray." "She was already quite betrayed enough by Mandugano and many others." "Go on, my son." "Let the dead bury their dead." "Before leaving, Governor,..." "I beg you to close the shutters of the window." "I can't stand the light." "Ah, finally, the dark again!" "Don't confuse the dates and try to dump her on me." "Idolina is your daughter and Isidoro's." "And do you think that I wouldn't prefer anything to this hell?" "To fulfill your whims, you don't even hesitate to neglect your daughter's health." "How is it that you don't want to eat?" "No, you don't feel worse, it's just that you spend all day in bed." "No one can get hungry just by doing that." "But if you had some exercise..." "This healer woman had, to the fear of all, a child of stone." "People from Ciudad Real are unique." "Idolina, you know that I'm not asking for the impossible,..."