Speaking of this ravenous predator, can you believe that Carlos had the balls to demand that Alicia give him the papers to my father’s property? Supposedly it’s because he feels that they really belong to his mother Anita. Then, he wants her to go and fix the bakery-inheritance that Grandpa David left. There’s no turning back. Monica and Alicia are screwed.”
Corazon almost choked with emotion as she recollected this story, and asked me to sit down to hear this one: “Carlos demands MONEY because he firmly believes that Alicia has to give him complete accounting of the rentals our father left behind for us. Furthermore, Alicia is obligated to give him a monthly allowance from our father’s trust.
I, of course, enjoyed this moment. I warned my sisters of this, and they both turned against me, stabbing me in the back more than once to defend Carlos. Now, they cannot control him. Although the situation does not make me happy, I want them to learn their lesson.”
At this point Corazon became reflective, wondering whether it was worth going through all of this psychological torment. I tried to be reassuring and she smiled, but her troubles weighed all too visibly on her brow. She then went on to say, “I will not stay in Mexico to rescue them from the monster they created. They got caught in their own web of lies and deceit. Now, let them twist and turn until he has sucked the stupidity and hubris right out of their conceited hearts! I’ll stick around at least until I see them squirm. I hate to be so vengeful, but they put me through this special kind of nightmare!
So, there you have it my dear hermano. This is just one small part of the whole story.”
... And quite a small part of the story it was. I listened to all that, and she still hadn’t arrived at the point!
We hugged, encouraged each other, and went off to bed, and that was it.
As for the riddle of Fulgencio’s family connection, I would just have to wait a bit longer for the next piece of the puzzle.
THE MUSIC OF ‘GOOD-BYE’
A couple of days passed on by before we had a tete-a-tete again. Corazon had been busy attending to problems involving her children. I occupied my time checking with the Hall of Records and Civil Registry, and by arranging my next leg of this crazy journey. I knew she wanted to unload more repressed emotions on me, and I was just as anxious to listen, especially if she did in fact want to share something about Fulgencio.
The whole issue about inheritance nagged at Corazon. She protested that all this in-fighting between families over properties and legacies was getting to be the great unspoken problem in Mexico. According to her, many families were in a similar fix. Apparently there was a lot of wealth to spread around, and Modern Mexicans scrambled to get their share of it. Hence, Carlos was unapologetically doing what many others his age were doing.
Once we got settled down back at her house, enjoyed a great lasagna meal she’d made, and got tipsy on some very dry Chianti, she unburdened her soul once again: “Listen, Freddy, I appreciate your advice about moving. Now we shall see how my silly sisters respond once they get back. It must have been really hard for you to move around so much, but it was equally interesting to note that you have no material attachments. That is generally a good thing, and wish I was more like that.”
I had to interrupt and confess that if I had been unstable about staying in one place, my problem was that I couldn’t retain anyone’s friendship for very long. It just happened that way ~ it is as though people got a close look at me eventually, and realized that I am not the affable, bumbling, funny ass that they thought I was. They find I am a very complex, dark-moody skeptic and deep-thinking cynic that doesn’t let anything get past him. I could be flattering myself, of course, but others, including Becky and Corazon, have drawn that very conclusion and surmise that they just don’t know what to do with my friendship. This is especially true after I demonstrate that I am perfectly content not to have to go through all the bullshit and lies attached to most friendships. But, when it comes to the intellectual pleasures, I just can’t let go, while death permits, of books and music. Now, I have to worry about these archives on hard disk ~ given his philosophy, I think Fulgencio would approve of me.
Corazon, regardless of her fears on behalf of her children, felt that I was best suited to advise her on the pitfalls or advantages of moving to America. She just plainly admitted: “I think I will need your advice, and have you walk me through this, assuming I could store everything safely by some other medium, or have to give up entirely the idea of taking with me the remnants of my life. There is that consolation at least, and thank you for pointing it out for me.”
Then, she started unloading about her sisters and Carlos again. It was all so remarkable I couldn’t help but react with hyperbole, and unload all of my questions in one heap:
“Incredible! All I can say is Incredible to all of it! I can’t believe it. The more you reveal to me, the more incredulous I remain. So, Monica was all chummy with Carlos? I thought it was Alicia with all the guile and bullshit? Now, after a couple of months, Carlos has stabbed both of them in the back? Honestly, what can, or do they expect from you? Why don’t they fix this problem on their own, especially if they helped to create it by giving Carlos wings?
And where is everybody else on this issue, especially Andres? What about Mauricio Jr.? It is just so astounding, the unmitigated gall of this person. How dare He! And, he really expects payment ... for what? Why should he be entitled to anything? What an evil bastard.
But you, you were so close to his family once? And, Manuel is actually related to him? All this is just too close for comfort. I am going to spend all night digesting all that you’ve told me.
You can hang tough in any case, Corazon. Enjoy the irony for the meantime, and I must admit that I do feel a little pity for Monica and Alicia ~ that was rather stupid of them to trust him so much, and now they are in such danger of unseen plots that will leave them without anything to call their own.
Anyway, so what exactly did Carlos do to alienate Monica, especially if Monica once ‘loved’ him so much?
And why do Alicia and Monica need you so much now? Are you the actual ‘inheritor’ to Grandma Ramona’s fortune? Is that why they need you to step in? What is it with these people? And what did Carlos or Pablito have to do with Fulgencio San Roman?
Sorry, I don’t mean to be so nosy, but I can’t help myself. The details are all so juicy!”
After such an avalanche of an interrogation, Corazon just sat back, finished her Chianti, and replied, “Look, my dear hermano, The only reason that they want me in Mexico is that they are afraid of him, really afraid of what he is capable of, and they want me to put a stop to him. To my eyes, he is not a threat but my sisters are very easily intimidated and disturbed by him. I have always told Carlos how I feel about him, that is why they told you that I hate him. They have it all wrong. I just do not need to fight or be a bitch to people to tell them how I feel about them, there is no need.
I think I am the only one crazy enough to kick his ass. I’ve done it before; I can do it again, easily. Carlos is from the barrio, and when he hates someone he uses chingadazos (physical violence). Monica and Alicia are always afraid of that, and although I am really calm, I am also a a girl of the barrio at heart and will gladly kick his ass.
There are things I negated to tell you. Carlos cruelly dumped his first wife Rosario to marry one of my mother’s favorite nieces, Julia. He worshiped the ground she walked on. He committed all sorts of dastardly deeds to win her love. When she died, a very ugly side of Carlos emerged, and we would be on guard against him ever since. The fact that his children, Alejandra and Sergio, are directly related to our branch of the family makes him very aggressive about protecting their interests. He really has come to threaten us with violence, excusing himself that he is doing it all for the sake of his children. Naturally, I think that is bullshit and would extract eye for eye, tooth for tooth if it came to that. Now, that is not what I want, mind you. That sort of comportment is not my preference, but I am n
ot afraid if there is a need. I will avoid physical fights, specially with family members at ALL costs but, like I said, if there is no other choice I will do it. I think that is what my sisters want of me.
Therefore, this is the principal reason why I will not go to America just yet. My sisters only want me when they need me, and I have always put up with it because I love them. I know they love me too, but there are so many things, Freddy, that it is like re-opening Pandora’s Box: once you open it, a whole bunch of demons come out and you just don’t know which one to catch first.”
It was my turn now to sit back, shake my head, and gulp down the Chianti, and then I continued: “My sweet Corazon, you don’t need to tell me about Pandora’s box ~ we created it in our house. If you think it might take chingadazos, then, by all means, go for it!
In any case, this is surprising about Carlos. It just seems like such a shame considering how well, or fond you seem to be of his sisters and his own children. Well, at least when you guys visited last Spring, you seemed fond of them; boy, that visit seems like ages ago now. I never figured Monica and especially Alicia to be such idiots, especially in regards to someone of such little import like Carlos. It is a good thing they have you, but what can I say but support your stance to the hilt. It is bullshit that on the one hand they are conniving behind your back, and then when the demon had revealed his true colors, they ran like mariquitas (pansies), expecting you to ‘put out the fire’ they’d started, right?
On the other hand, Carlos cannot really do anything, am I correct? What freaking right does he have to anything of your parents’? The children maybe, but very little considering there are the rest of you, and all of you have equal rights above mere ‘distant relatives.’ It is just so fascinating, from the time Carlos and you guys were children and right up to the present moment, this could be a great project for Fulgencio San Roman. It would be a great family saga of trial and tribulation.
Alicia had once recounted some of the drama that went back decades, and it would make a great story; a kind of perverse and twisted ROMEO AND JULIET mixed with OEDIPUS REX, and the saga of MEDEA. Carlos certainly does seem like a male Medea incarnate; doing everything for the hero Jason (in this case, Julia) to divorce his old wife, then connives through witchcraft to gain power, commit murder, arson, blood-feuds, pestilence, evil spells which bring madness, diseases. Then, when his beloved Julia dies, our male Medea casts a spell to have your sisters do his bidding, and ruins everyone’s life in the process. He then abuses and exploits his children by her to get what he wants from your family. It’s everyone’s hope that, like the Medea of myth, he’ll hop on a chariot drawn by dragons, and ride off in a dark storm cloud never to be seen again. The rest of you though will end up ruined and cursed. Your sisters will just sit under the bough of their own Argo (the famous ship of the Argonauts), and, ironically, it will fall on them, killing them softly with his song, so to speak. All that after they had courted his favor, and the same devices that he used to rescue our male Medea from his own worst impulses.
I tell you, Carlos, without all of the mythology, magic and mayhem, reminds me of this ancient Greek character of tragedy and horror.
As for the part you play in this grand drama, Corazon, you seem like Hera, the queen of the heavens, who always tried to help. When the others turned their backs on you to do the male Medea’s bidding, your Hera would no longer intercede, basically telling them to their faces, ‘Ya se chingaron, cabronas, por no escucharme!’ (‘You’re screwed, bitches, for not listening to me!’)
And, after the disaster, no matter how much your sisters pray to you, your Hera will not heed their begging. Later, after this controversy dies, you know as I do, you will get your men and others to go after the male Medea, and punish him for being such a cold-blooded, conspiring bastard, then stuff his eye-balls up his own ass that it might have a point of view as you’re kicking the shit out of it.
It is nice to see and learn that throughout our lives we are tied to the ancients by the same mythological themes and moral issues!”
Corazon laughed her head off, enjoying the idea of physically attacking this nemesis they’d taken to their bosoms. We had some more Chianti, and she admitted: “I love the idea of recreating the Carlos and Julia saga, and perhaps twist it a little bit by making it into an Aztec fable. This would make a great project for Fulgencio San Roman. He is like a Mexican David Lean and would bring out the dramatic sweep and romance of the story.
About their kids, they really had nothing to do with what their father has done. I truly love all of them. I have always liked Alejandra a lot. She was for a long time my favorite because she was so cute, and I spent a lot of time with her when she was a baby. She was like my toy when she was a toddler, she would do everything I told her to do. She loved it because like all children, whatever you do bad and makes people laugh she would do. I used to take her out to the streets of Gabino-Barrera with my street friends. I showed her how to fart while pointing her fore-finger like she was shooting someone.
Of course, she was not supposed to relay any of my street secrets to her parents or that would have put an end to our outings. These kinds of things made us ‘accomplices.’ I remember when she was in Junior High she gave me an essay that she had to write in one of her classes about someone who had been a role model for her. She wrote there that she admired me. That was so very sweet and I will always remember that. This happened more than ten years ago so, to tell you the truth, I do not know if she still feels the same way. She’s always polite and loving to me, calls me and we chat online from time to time. She’s admitted a couple of times that she wants to go to America, but she does not want to leave her father alone. He fears that she will like it so much, she will never go back to Mexico.
Carlos’s older children by Rosario, Nancy and Nathan, are sweethearts to me. They have always been very respectful and even to this day they confide their frustrations to me about their father. Just this past January, when I broke my leg, Joaquin (Mauricio’s son) and Nathan spent most of their days with me. Nathan spent most of the time telling me about his feuds with his father, why he left the house to go live with his mother’s family, and how bad everybody’s relationship with his father was. Carlos really treats them as if they were his worthless step-children instead of his real offspring. He always has since they were very little, that is why we all appreciate them at the house. They have suffered too much at the hands of their manipulative father. We all know that because they used to confide some of those frustrations to our Mother as well.
About Sergio, I really didn’t spend much time with him. I think he is a lot like Carlos’ family---the bad side---but I am not saying he is a bad boy. I just have nothing to say about him. I do love him like the nephew that he is, but he is certainly not part of my list of favorite nephews. He has never done anything bad to me, I just do not bear the same affection for him that I feel for Joaquin for example; now here is a nephew I truly love! He is an honest, kind and pure soul. A blithe and generous spirit worthy of our love.
Sergio was born during a transitional period, after Carlos had worked in Fulgencio San Roman’s home office, over in Jalisco.”
(At last, Corazon had finally let the cat out of the bag about Fulgencio!)
She then went on to explain, “I am sure Carlos met him several times. He introduced Pablito to him, as I remember, and then Pablito worked as an intern or something, helping the great director to organize his memoirs. San Roman had endured a bitter legal battle with the studio regarding the retention of rights to his own movies, while the studio argued otherwise. It was a contentious case, and though San Roman got most of what he wanted, the whole affair left him bitter and disgusted with the Mexican Movie Industry as it devolved, as he saw it, into a purveyor of pornography. Before that, the director had shared anecdotes and secrets with Pablito about the Mexican Cinema going back to the 1930’s, including stories about going on drinking binges with (legendary singer) Pedro Infante, and he had been t
here to warn him (unsuccessfully) not to take the flight that led to his death, way back in 1957.
Ultimately, he shunned the Industry which had lent him so much prestige and glory, and retired to a ranch near Reynosa in Tamaulipas, a region he had grown to love. No goodbyes to anyone, no music to commemorate his life, career and marvelous art. The silence of an unspoken farewell was enough to sate his Will, so he packed up, hugged the few he still cared about, and left, and that’s it. Pablito was fortunate enough to be there and helped him with the move. I think they corresponded for a time, but that was a long time ago when Pablito was barely 20 years old or so. He talks to me about all this from time to time; he gets pretty wistful about the subject. I envy him in a way, for having been in close contact with such a great genius of the cinema.
Well, that’s it, Freddy. It’s all about the final music, and saying your goodbye’s before you begin to stink. That’s the way it is in life. That’s how things are going for me, and I’ll be saying my goodbyes before the music is over!”
TOWARDS THE WESTERN HORIZON
I had spent four long weeks in Mexico City. What an experience it all had been! Once the moment had arrived to depart, Corazon and I would tearfully exchange our farewells, a couple of gifts, hugs, fraternal kisses, and part ways ... but not quite yet. There were still a few more things to hammer out between us, and, naturally, I’d impose on her a bit more regarding the next leg of my journey. The danger of getting trapped by my own devices hung over me like the Sword of Damocles. There have been days since I’d arrived in this shadowy country when I felt like I would never get my identity back.
A Wetback in Reverse Page 23
