blood The of the Conquistadors ( Mami, papi, & the 4 girls)
Father notices 2 men walking to the house in khakis, and
sunglasses, and sees a gun.--> motions to the cook standing
beside him
Girls are playing in the bedroom when father runs by to the
bedroom, Yolanda sees
In closet, small revolver wrapped smuggled, in extra clothes
that are dark for escape in the night
Yolanda thinks father playing one of his games do you have
the blood of the conquistadors holds her upside down by
feet and blood rushes to her head, he repeats and she says yes
because she feels blood rush to her head. He holds her and
laughs like conquistador, motherland hills of spain
2 men let inside by chucha coffee with milk color skin
match their khaki, their belts with gun catch yoyos eye,
knows guns are illegal unless secret police or in uniform
chucha talks to guards very loud, repeats whats said, intends
for father to hear the convo from wherever he is hiding
time yoyo almost got father killed very serious, yoyo tells
neighbor, old general made up story of how father has a gun.
Father actually did have a secret gun, nursemaid Milagros
tells on her to parents and shes hit very hard with a belt in
the bathroom with shower running so noone can hear
men asks questions to mundin ( only boy) asking where
father is, says at office, ask where mom is says maybe home
but he says maid said shes not home mundin says you
mean tia laura, but see I live next door
men pass around the revolver to the children, scares the girls
makes fifi cry and yoyo wants to by saying need lockes on
doors for having 4 girls but knows guards will get suspicious
maybe take away father or whole family
yoyo imagines self in a jail sell like felicidad, mamitas
canary in birdcage. Imagines guards poking in revolver to jail
cell like she pokes in sticks to the birdcage
when mamita ( dona laura) gets home, men look at eachother
and put away revolver cjicja exists she drops a fine power
and her lips are moving as if she is doing her usual under her
breath talking but Yoyo knows she is casting a spell that will
leave the men powerless, becalmed.
Laura realizes gate already opened and sees black VW
( secret police car) passenger seat is country girl who took
months of convincing, imaculada
Chino says looking for don carlos, laura says to go to dona
carmens and tell her to call don victor to come over and pick
up his tennis shoes trusted to put 2 and 2 together
Chino been with family forever, not as look as chucha, been
since lauras born
Laura talks to guards who insist on waiting for husband to get
home from the office, and she uses grandmanner to disarm
them who joined the SIM to get money
Code word for any trouble = tennis shoes state department
chicken out of plot they had him organize, promise to get
men out safely
Ferando, pobrecito hang himself in jail cell by his belt, so
dont give out others names under torutures trujillos
hunchmen gave a month in grave, san judas is protector
Laura raising children American stylereads literature,
knows shouldnt have beaten yoyo
Now wants to do something wild and mad like women in old
movies do to distract attention from troubles unbutton
blouse to give men pleasure instead of taking away husband
and children
Tells men husband played tennis game with victor hubbard,
says name slowly so it will registersays my home, your
home ( Dominican welcome)
Chucha tells laura don carlos in the bedroom, laura knows the
sealed in secret compartment
Trujillo story forces his cooks to taste his food before he eats
Laura gives casabe to yoyo and fifi next to her, and she eats
peanuts and puts them in her mouth like a schoolgirl one
by one in mouth
Phone call from americans secretary, tactica told to call don
vic immediately, urgent and tatica must obey
Tatica goes to casita #6, always dress in red as a promise
made to her santo, candelario so he will cure her of horrible
burning in gut stomach cut out women machinery,
candelario stayed and filled empty space with spirit, trouble
coming she can feel burning in stomach
Casita #6don victors regular cabin, tatica pleads to
candelario ( feels burning) tells don victor urgent, feels
burning in whole body as if dress on fire
Don victor CIA crash course in spanish, prep school latin,
college French, dicks and dollare talk in ell paraiso
Don victors old classmate, Mundoold wealth families, kids
to states to prep school, boys to college, state department
wants him to groom for revolution, fixed up with tatica kept
him in the little girls he likes ( hot, dark, sweet)
Vic goes into the door and hears guns, men spread around
room, mundo behind door, Fidelio( nervous) trying to find
escaping, mundo says thought you might be SIM
Yale mispronounced for jail
Vic operation zaptos Tenis, does whats been done since
boy in Indiana when he was a boy and shit first hit the fan:
cracks knuckles and grins
Mamis rules: ( 1) told Carla and sandi to SCRAM so eating
at Tia Carmens house, (2) rule is unless youre grounded, can
eat at any aunts house as long as let Mami know
Mami says something fishy going on tio mundo arrive for
lunch & go straight to study, all uncles coming like theres a
family decision about mamitas drinking or papitos business,
mundi jabbering away about gun Carla sees shiver tia like
when at home and aunts wear pretty shalls, twice in the pool
in 1 day and tia has shivers in heat( something fishy)
Noone been to the us to buy chocolates latelymamita and
papito left after Christmas but never returned and its august,
mami says bc of mamitas health seeing sepcialists
Carla says hears papito resigned to united nations and not
very liked by government now, guards surround papitos
house chino tells mami mami calls tio vic to pick up
tennis shoes ( Carla never saw tio vic bring any shoes)
Tio vic always shows up in limousines, which Carla has only
seen at weddings, when Trujillo goes by in motorcadetio
talks to head guards and gives money and they go away
Tio vic asks everyone if they want to go to NY to see statue
of liberty and empire state building
Laura terrified men quizzing her for half hour, their hands
travel to holsters reminds of men playing with genitals
vague sexuality behind violence around her that turns her off
to lovemaking for months
Victor hubbard- consol at the embajada Americana, tells the
police they were playing tennis and hes a personal friend, vic
tells them news that the doctor granted fellowship at a
hospital in the US and family just got immigration clearance
Laura thinks of her ancestors the fair skinned conquistadors
who unaware the gold their looking for is a blazing light
( inside one of the police officers mouthtooth)
Fag on corner sells lottery ticket and says hand of god
descends some up and others checo twist the fags arm
and threatens to give his manhood the hand of god scares
pupo the meanness bc their both campesino cousins
Don Fabio calls in pupo and checa for special assignment:
report Garcia doctors coming & goings, pipo knows checo
drive the jeep up to Garcia house.--> if nothing turns up and
family has connections, they go back to prison beat, cleaning
interrogation rooms, watering down cells the poor, scared
bastards dirty with their loss of self control
Pupo meets old Haitian women stronghold money, arms,
spirits talks about red haired gringo who asks about their
supervisor ( don Fabio)
American calls pupo hears talking spanish, talking to Fabio
about misunderstanding and making sure to talk to
immigration himself to get the doctor out of country within
48 hours
When police leaving went for a kiss Carla gave hand and
curtsied ( manners she was taught)
Kids all went to room to take best clothes and pick 1 toy
wanted for the US everyone can pick besides sandi,
something was missing not filling her hole
Carlos youngest of 35 children: 25 legit, 15 from own
mother, second wife, no past of own
Primogeniture- clean slate of oldest making past out of
nothing but faint whispers, presences, tones
Carlos nervous laura will break when talking to the 2 men
with fifi and yoyoprays to san judas does not break
All know consulship is only frontvic is a CIA agent
organizes the underground gets SOB
Carlos puts ears into front of panel, hears steps in bathroom
and shower goes on to block out any noise, closet door opens
and hears breathing on other side of wall
II
Fifi doesnt remember island because youngest, so other 3
tell what happened on the last day
Almost got papi killed bc mean to secret police who came
looking for him
Yoyo says she almost got papi killed with gun story all
competing for horror story
Fifi remembers chucha from mamis family wrinkley facy,
not Dominican caf con-leche black Haitian ( like camp bc
had nicknames for every name chucha cant pronounce)
Chucha showed up at mamis dads house begging to be taken
in the night of the massacre when Trujillo decreed that all
black haitians on our side of island would be executed by
dawn
50 yrs later still a river where the dead bodies were thrown
into , supposively still runs red
chucha escaped from canepickers camp, asking for asylum
and papito ( grandpa) took her in
mamita taught chucha how to cook, clean, iron, was like a
nun joined de la torre clannever married or went anywhere
on days off, she pray in room for de la torres
last day spies left, mam and tio vic in bedroom telling papi
who hid in secret closet leaving for airport in tio vics limo
fifi last day on island: chucha not liked by the rest of the
maids ( nivea) bc was black and Haitian( below others),
chucha always peformed spells and voodoo ( in closet is jar
of something wicked not supposed to be touched, candle
burning in her room in front of a picture & cigar dish certain
days crisscrossing her room)
chucha got room by herself bc no other maids liked her,
afraid bc she would cast spells on them, she slept in her
coffin, forbidden to go into her room to see it
chucha calls the girls muchasas( girls)
chucha left country when young girl never seeing family, had
a statue with her wrapped in sheets, brown statue carved of
wood, put water on the head and it evaporated and made look
like statue was crying said prayer over every girls head
American girls in white uniforms with gold braidsto pale
to be living, color of zombies, girls dona laura moving
among men the color of living dead
Chucha watches everyone leaving, including the rest of the
maids lights 6 candles for the 4 girls, dona laura and don
carlos
Hard day wash arms and face in agua florida, throws water
in prayer to loa of the night