THE INSURGENCE
of CHAN SANTA CRUZ
"One
month," the patron said, removing his shoes in the empty ballroom.
"Think upon what I have said."
"I
will, father," replied José and then turned at a scratching noise outside.
"Aha,"
said don Antonio, "it's Anibal.
Now that my Visigoths have gone, he chooses to return. Well, let him in."
José
opened the door and the retriever trotted in. "Aha, he's brought us
something. What is it, son?"
"Good
dog," José said, bowing, "what's the... "
And he
went white as the retriever dropped his find, which rolled towards José's feet;
a human hand, neatly severed. Had the dog... reflected the young man with shame
and horror... been to the Street of Four Winds?
Fin del Siglo... climax of the
century. In the far-off capital, the Presidential theme was Tivoli del Eliseo; one thousand children
in costumes of all of the ages of the Mexican Republic dancing
before don Porfirio and his retinue. A pageant of the
last days of Moctezuma... staged on a papier mache
replica of the pyramid of Teotihuacan... drew
accolades from the throng, and overwhelming odors of perfume and gunpowder
competed with the vision of flags and flowers and... for
the ears of the many guests of the President, who had passed the morning with
General Ignacio Bravo, newly assigned to pacify the insurgent Maya of Yucatan's eastern
coast... orchestral versions of "The Marseillaise", "God Save
The Queen" and "The Star Spangled Banner".
In Campeche, an
American trader was married to his Mexican bride in the splendor of a sugar
mill. Matrimony Fin del Siglo
- con Obispo Fin del Siglo in presidence. To the
north, in the state of Sonora, a convivial party gathered around an ouija board and rolled with derisive laughter as the frail,
fair-haired imbecile of the Madero family, Francisco,
was told he would one day be President of all Mexico. Wielding the planchette, Madam Fin del Siglo. And, even farther north, earnest and passionate
Americans actually came to blows over whether the electricity of Tesla or that
of Thomas Edison would light the streets of New York.
In the Merida stable of his patron, Esteban Chan
rolled over, drowned in dreams of Clara. So romantic... that Fin del Siglo!
That
romantic Fin del Siglo! From the tropics to the desert... Juchitan
to Juarez, Veracruz to Villahermosa,
all Mexico celebrated
the turning of the wheel. From pole to equator... from Japan to London to Havana... in the
homes of rich and poor, and in the streets of those without homes, all the world celebrated a simultaneity of funeral and
christening. (All but those few reprobates, mostly Spiritualists, vegetarians
and contrarians of doña Julia's acquaintance...
besides, of course, don Andre and certain other cunning dissolutes
who insisted that the Twentieth would not commence for another year, at which
time another round of festivities must take place!) Le roi est
mort - viva el rey! Long live king Fin del Siglo a billion hopeful voices
shouted in unison... the dictator and the downtrodden... the dog howling on his
chain, the donkey braying from his stall...
Long
live this nascent epoch of progress, of culture, peace and of science!
Long
live the Twentieth Century!
RETURN to HOMEPAGE
– “THE INSURGENCE of CHAN SANTA
CRUZ”
RETURN to GENERISIS HOMEPAGE
