montepío - the musical

Act 2, Scene 6, "The Piñata"

ACT 2: Eden
Scene 6: Sent Forth from the Garden

(DIEGO's office. A single, bare light bulb hangs from above. The PADRE is packing his priest's habit into a small rucksack, along with a crucifix, a string of rosary beads, and his well-worn stole. DIEGO enters in his electric wheelchair and stops at the threshold. Silence.)

DIEGO: You too, huh Padre? Fleeing a sinking ship?

PADRE: That's not what it's about.

DIEGO: You're right... because I don't think this ship is sinking.

PADRE: This isn't why you fought a long, hard war. This isn't what people died for... I can't criticize you from the inside.

DIEGO: What's there to criticize? Criticize the Missionary. Criticize his damn blockade.

PADRE: Don't make this any harder, Diego... I'm leaving you because I think you're wrong... Church and State need to be separate, don't you see that? The only way I'm of any use to you is if I'm on the outside, if I can be critical... I got too close.

DIEGO: Maybe you didn't get close enough. Isn't that what it is? Maybe you didn't get close enough.

PADRE: You're not who you used to be. You're just another Mussolini, now; another Stalin.

DIEGO: You're talking two very different kinds of politics, there, Padre.

PADRE: Am I? ...Take care of yourself, okay Diego? I'll see you around...

(The PADRE exits with his belongings. The ghosts of JOMORRA and SALAMÓN enter, bearing a RADIO and the ever-present bottle of rum.)

SALAMÓN: There's still some left at the bottom.

(They hand DIEGO the bottle and place the RADIO atop the old podium. They turn it on and listen to its static-laden voice.)

RADIO: ...final results in what has become a very personal struggle between Diego, head of the present revolutionary government, and his electoral rival and former wife, Imaculata Jomorra. The results: Miss Jomorra and her fourteen-party coalition by a clear majority! Tides turn. The winds of time change. Montepío, we have a new government as we enter the new decade...

(The voice of the RADIO announcer fades, followed by a long bout of numbing static. Finally DIEGO sweeps the radio from the podium, sending it crashing to the floor. Silence. DIEGO digs out a small revolutionary flag and gives it to SALAMÓN.)

DIEGO: Put it on me.

SALAMÓN: What is it?

DIEGO: It's a blindfold now just shut up and put it on me.

(SALAMÓN looks to JOMORRA, who nods. SALAMÓN ties the blindfold over DIEGO's eyes.)

DIEGO: You remember this game, don't you, General...

JOMORRA: La piñata.

(One by one, piñatas drop from above, each in the shape of an angel wearing a tattered white dress. The ropes form nooses around their necks. Taking part in a familiar ritual, JOMORRA takes a wooden chair and shatters it against the stage. Using the resulting pieces as club, the three men destroy the piñatas over the course of the coming song.)

"The Piñata"

JOMORRA: IF YOU CAN TAKE IT, TAKE IT...
IF IT'S NAILED DOWN, BREAK IT.

DIEGO: LEAVE NOTHING BEHIND FOR THE WH*RE!

BOTH: BLIND BUT STILL SWINGING,
OUR FRESH WOUNDS STILL STINGING,
JUST BASH THE DAMN THING TO THE FLOOR!

DIEGO: DRAIN THE CASH FROM THE VAULT!

JOMORRA: TEAR THE PLAQUES FROM THE WALL!

SALAMÓN: STEAL THE KNOBS OFF THE DOORS
ALL THE WAY DOWN THE HALL!

ALL: YOU TAKE THE XEROX
AND YOU TAKE THE FAX.
YOU TAKE THE GOOD OFFICE CHAIR
BECAUSE OF YOUR BACK.

DIEGO: LEAVE NOTHING!
LEAVE NOTHING FOR HER!
LET NOTHING FALL PREY
TO THE SCENT OF HER HAIR!

IF YOU CAN TAKE IT, TAKE IT!
IF IT'S HEART-SHAPED, BREAK IT!

SALAMÓN: TEAR EVERY SCAB FROM THE SORE!

ALL: BLIND BUT STILL SWINGING,
OUR FRESH WOUNDS STILL STINGING,
JUST BASH THE DAMN THING TO THE FLOOR!

BREAK EVERY WINDOW
'TIL GLASS LITTERS THE GROUND.
GO OUT TO THE FLAGPOLE
AND KNOCK THE THING DOWN.

DIEGO: SHE STEALS WHAT I WON THROUGH WAR.
SHE'S AGAINST EVERYTHING
I FOUGHT SO HARD FOR.
WHAT HAPPENED TO THAT WOMAN I SAW
THROUGH THE EYES OF A BOY
WHO WAS BLIND TO HER FLAWS?

DIEGO &
JOMORRA: GOUGE OUT YOUR EYES AND CUT OFF YOUR HANDS!
BURN EVERY INCH OF SKIN THAT SHE TOUCHED!
YOU WERE NOTHING.
YOU WERE NOTHING TO HER!

DIEGO: YOU WANT TO F*CK 'EM, F*CK 'EM!
ONCE YOU NAIL 'EM, CHUCK 'EM!

JOMORRA: STRIP THE B*TCH DOWN TO THE CORE!

ALL: BLIND BUT STILL SWINGING,
OUR FRESH WOUNDS STILL STINGING,
NO ANGELS LEFT SINGING...
WE'VE BEATEN THEM ALL TO THE FLOOR!

(They lift DIEGO out of his chair. Protecting his hand with the flag he had used as a blindfold, he reaches up to the bare bulb and unscrews it. Blackout on the destroyed and gutted office. In the darkness, IMACULATA calls his name. As the lights hesitantly rise, DIEGO is motionless in his electric wheelchair, surrounded by the idyllic coffee fields. The CAMPESINOS have gathered playfully around him. IMACULATA calls his name again. She enters, leading EL SEÑOR by the hand, both of them on stilts. EL SEÑOR blows his whistle, sending the reluctant CAMPESINOS, JORGE and JOMORRA's ghost among them, back to work.)

IMACULATA: I'll see you next time.

EL SEÑOR: Anytime, 'Maculata. Anytime at all.

(IMACULATA kisses EL SEÑOR on the cheek and he exits into the coffee fields.)

IMACULATA: Diego...

(He stares up at her over a vast, empty space. She wants to bend down and embrace him but the distance is too great. DIEGO begins to cry, silently and without shame.)

IMACULATA: Oh, it's okay, dear. It's okay now.

DIEGO: Hate me! Hate me like I hate you!

IMACULATA: Diego...

DIEGO: Why are you bringing everything back? Bringing back all those old ideas, all those old demons! Why?

IMACULATA: I–

DIEGO: People believe you! Half my party believes you. We're split, we're broken... Just the look on Padre's face as he left. We're not what we were, 'Maculata. We used... We used to be so right but people believe you... You tell them what they want to hear.

IMACULATA: (Looking down at him.) Kiss me.

DIEGO: How could I ever kiss you?

IMACULATA: Diego.

♩♫ ♬  MUSIC ♬ ♫♩

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