ACT 1
SCENE 1 (early spring)
GERALDO
Agua-refrescos-cigarros-chicle-chocolate-pistache-garapiñados-los purOOOOS.
[Drinks, refreshments, cigarettes, gum, chocolates, pistachios, sugared almonds, cigarrrrrs!]
SHAMANAS
TAMALES! ATOLE!
RAFAELA
Papaya, coco, guayaba.
[papaya, coconut, guava.]
TITO
TWENTY DOLLARS!
RACHEL AND LUCY
FIFTEEN!
SIRE
We’re just friends. And she happens to be a girl. Gimme a break already!
ELENITA
Open the path to my powers, and let all the demons depart, yeah!
BUM MAN
It was the best of times; it was the worst of times.
EDNA
I SAY OFF MY PROPERTY, YOU BIG STUPID!
MRS. VARGAS
Reynaldo, Marcus, Rigoberto, Javier, McGyver, whatever your name is, shut up!
PREACHER MAN
Have you made a friend with the Lord today?
DARIUS
See this stick? It touched a rat!
LUCY & RACHEL
Aaaaah!
CHORUS (ALL)
You know me.
I don’t like to talk.
SOLO 1
I don’t even know the name
of the creep across the street.
ALL
But that house,
they bought that house.
SOLO 5
You know which one I mean.
ALL
You know me.
SOLO 2
I mind my own business.
SOLO 6
Never dish the dirt.
SOLO 3 & SOLO 7
I keep my hocico [snout] shut.
ALL
But that house,
they bought that house.
SOLO 1
You know which one I mean.
SOLO 8
It cost them….
SOLO 4
How much?
SOLO 9
No!
ALL MEN
Just wait until the rain comes through.
ALL WOMEN
Wait until the rooftop leaks.
ALL MEN
Wait until the cold comes in.
ALL WOMEN
Wait until the mouse comes out.
ALL
Get what I’m saying about that house?
About that house?
SOLO 6
I don’t like to talk
But I hear the pipes leak.
SOLO 8
Imagine!
SOLO 9
You’re kidding!
SOLO 1
Cockroaches waltz in the door without a knock.
SOLO 10
¡Valgame Díos!
[Oh my God!]
ALL
Yes, that house,
They bought that house.
SOLO 3 & SOLO 8
I’m just telling you what they told us.
SOLO 9
You must be kidding!
ALL
You know me.
SOLO 7
Bochinche [gossip} is beneath me.
SOLO 1
No like el güiri-güiri [yadda yadda].
SOLO 2 & SOLO 5
Too much trash around here talking trash.
ALL
But that house,
they bought that house.
SOLO 1
It gives me escalofrios [shivers].
SOLO 8
That piece of….
SOLO 7
¿Cuanto?
[How much?]
SOLO 9
¡No me digas!
[You don't say!]
ALL MEN
But Edna the landlady says….
ALL WOMEN
Agnes the dog lady says….
ALL MEN
Mister Benny from the corner store says….
ALL WOMEN
His wife Blanca says….
SOLO 1 & SOLO 3 & SOLO 8 & SOLO 9
Earl the juke box repairman says….
ALL
Wouldn’t set foot inside that house,
Inside that house.
ESPERANZA
One day a real house, they said. One day we won’t have to share with the downstairs landlord, they said. One day a bathroom all our own, so we don’t have to tell the whole world when we take a bath. One day… A house with flowers, and all around green. Yeah, right.
PAPA CORDERO
Mija, no te worries. Un día cuando ganemos la lotería.
Daughter, don't worry. One day, when we win the lottery.
MAMA
For crying out loud? What do you want?
ESPERANZA
What do I want?
Some place
quiet enough to hear
pen talking to paper.
GUY
Aw, Baby, you a yellow taxi with the keys in the ignition!
MOTHER
Esperanza, Come inside. You’re not one of those girls!
ESPERANZA
Some day, some way
I’ll jump out of my skin
And shake the sky
Like a hundred violins.
But today I’m just me.
PAPA
Esperanza. Pórtate como una mujercita.
[Esperanza. Behave like a lady.]
NENNY
How many kids you want when you grow up?
BROTHER
No dude’s gonna kiss you, the way you look.
ESPERANZA
What do I want?
I don’t know.
But I know
I don’t
want this.
ESPERANZA
Not a flat.
Not an apartment in back.
Not a man’s house.
Not a daddy’s.
A house all my own,
With my porch and my pillow,
My books and my stories.
A house all my own.
A house all my own.
With my porch and my pillow,
My pretty purple petunias.
A house all my own,
With my books and my stories.
My two shoes waiting beside the bed.
A house of my own.
Nobody to shake a stick at.
Nobody’s garbage to pick up after.
A house of my own.
Only a house quiet as snow,
A space for myself to go,
Clean as paper before the poem.
A house of my own.
CATHY
You live there? What’s your name?
ESPERANZA
I wish my name was Lisandra or Maritza or Zeze the X. Esperanza.
CATHY
Je suis Cathy . . .
[I am Cathy . . .]
I am the great great grand cousin of the queen of France.
I live upstairs, over there,
Next to Joe the baby-grabber.
Keep away from him! Beware.
He is full of danger.
Benny and Blanca own the corner store.
They’re okay except don’t lean on the candy counter.
BENNY
I heard they moved in today.
BLANCA
You mean THAT house?
CATHY
Two girls raggedy as rats live across the street.
You don’t want to know them.
Edna is the lady who owns the building next to you.
She used to own a building big as a whale,
but her brother sold it.
CHORUS
Their mother said . . .
EDNA
No, no, don’t ever sell it.
ONE MALE CHORUS MEMBER
I won’t.
FULL CHORUS
And then she closed her eyes and he sold it.
CATHY
Alicia is stuck-up ever since she went to college.
ALICIA
Due process, habeas corpus, equal protection under the law ….
CATHY
She used to like me but now she doesn’t.
CATHY & ESPERANZA
La la la la la la la la la la la
La la la la la la la
CHORUS
Cathy who is queen of cats has cats and cats and cats.
Baby cats, big cats, skinny cats, sick cats.
Cats asleep like little donuts.
Cats on top of the refrigerator.
Cats taking a walk on the dinner table.
ESPERANZA
Her house is like cat heaven.
CATHY
You want a friend.
Okay, I’ll be your friend.
But only till next Tuesday.
That’s when we move away.
Got to.
The neighborhood is getting bad.
TITO
Tweeenty dollars, brand new!
LUCY & RACHEL
Tito! Tito! Tito! Tito!
CHORUS
Cathy’s father will have to fly to France one day
And find her great great distant grand cousin on her father’s side
And inherit the family house.
ESPERANZA
How do you know this is so?
CHORUS
She told me so.
In the meantime
They’ll just have to move a little farther north from Mango Street.
ESPERANZA
A little farther away
Every time people like us keep moving in.
La la la la la la la la la la la
La la la la la la la
RACHEL
What’chu looking at? Jealous?
ESPERANZA
Those clothes are so . . . glamorous.
RACHEL
Got a light?
LUCY & RACHEL
Tito! Tito! Tito!
RACHEL
We gots ten.
TITO
I said fifteen, cootie girls!
RACHEL & LUCY
If you give us five dollars
We will be your friend forever.
Si nos das cinco pesos
We will be your amiga pa’ siempre.
Five dollars, I will be your friend forever!
ESPERANZA
If I had a friend forever, all my own,
I would never never never never ever be alone.
Nenny’s too young to be my friend.
She’s just my sister. And that’s not my fault.
RACHEL
You don’t pick your sisters.
LUCY
You just get them.
RACHEL & LUCY
Five dollars! Five dollars!
If we had a bike forever, all our own,
We would never never never ever be uncool.
We gots ten dólares already.
ESPERANZA
A friend forever all my own.
RACHEL & LUCY
A bike forever all our own.
ESPERANZA
A friend I can tell my secrets to.
A friend who will understand my jokes
Without my having to explain.
RACHEL & LUCY
A bike we could show off around the block.
One that will make the other kids cry.
Five dollars! Cincos dollars!
ESPERANZA
[to the audience] Five dollars is cheap
Since I don’t have any friends.
Except Cathy, who is my friend till Tuesday.
RACHEL
Five dollars! Only five!
ESPERANZA
Wait a minute!
RACHEL
Uuuuyyyy, ahi viene el cucuuuy.
[Uh-oh, here comes the boogieman!]
LUCY
I ride first, huerca [kid].
RACHEL
Cállate el hocico, babosa.
[Shut your snout, fool.]
LUCY
My name is Lucy. This here is Rachel, my sister.
RACHEL
I’m her sister. Who are you?
ESPERANZA
. . . Esperanza. In Spanish it means . . .
LUCY & RACHEL [together]
Hope! We know, you dope!
LUCY
Her was born here, but ME, I’m Texas.
ESPERANZA
You mean SHE.
LUCY
No, I’M from Texas.
RACHEL
Today the bike is mines! Lucy’s tomorrow, and you day AFTER tomorrow.
ESPERANZA
Why don’t we take turns tomorrow? Today it belongs to all of us.
RACHEL
Lucy, wáchale, ¡WÁCHALE [Watch out]!
LUCY
Can’t help it! The wheels are like spaghetti.
LUCY & RACHEL
We will be your friend forever.
We will keep your secrets
and braid your hair.
We will laugh at all your jokes.
Peel a scab from your knee
and eat it on a dare.
We would. For you.
We will be your friend forever.
When the snobby kids in school
Try to make you feel not cool
We’ll pretend that we don’t hear (la la la!)
Chew a piece of gum
And stick it in their ear
We would. For you.
We will be your friend forever.
VERY LARGE LADY
My, you got quite a load there!
RACHEL
You got a quite a load there too!
ESPERANZA
If we had a phone . . .
LUCY & RACHEL
We don’t!
ESPERANZA
We could text each other.
LUCY & RACHEL
We won’t!
We don’t need nobodies but each other.
LUCY
Her and me.
RACHEL
I and she.
LUCY & RACHEL
Us and you.
We will be your friends forever.
RACHEL
Come on, or we’re never ever going to be your friend again forever!
ESPERANZA
Wait. I just wanna watch for a sec.
LUCY
Ay, tú, Maria Cantú.
[You think you're so special!]
Traca Traca
Traca Traca
[Rattle-rattle]
Beware of being where you ought not to be.
Beware of being where you ought not to be.
SIRE
To be or not to be; that’s the way it got to be
Mango Street — optimum spot for me
Sweat my block, now you playing the lottery
Got to remove you from my property
You wack MCs trying to speak hip-hop to me
I melt ya dome, now ya brain all chocolatey
Like a doctor giving you a lobotomy
Droppin’ psychology, can’t stop me, G
No college be teaching this knowledge thoughtfully
I’ll serve ya hemlock tea like Socrates
Knock ya knees, now heed my philosophy
All’s well that ends well, so let’s end this properly
All good, ‘cause in your ‘hood you’d be on top of me
Cold gang-banging like a human shopping spree
So step off because we playing monopoly
Mango Street is my beat; to be or not to be
SIRE & TITO
Traca Traca
Traca Traca
Beware of being where you ought not to be.
Beware of being where you ought not to be.
TITO
One night coming back from the game
Fell asleep on the El train
Hopped off at the last stop
Made my way to a bus stop
But I had no change
Now in my hood I’m a tough guy
Kinda rough guy
Never woulda dreamed I’d be a cream-puff pie
But now you see me out my element
‘Cause my skin got too much melanin
Bystander make me feel like a felon and
Trying hard to look intelligent
Legs like gelatin, shake like a skeleton
Toes like dough, walking heavy like an elephant
Wanna yell, but it wouldn’t go well and then
5-O gonna put me in a cell again
Breathing hard, heaving down the boulevard
Large front yards with armed guards
It’s a dragnet, I’m a target
Don’t wanna die by the bullet yet
Can’t forget where I come from
Mango Street call me home like a talking drum
Please God, just lemme make it back
To my one-block universe—
Traca Traca
SIRE & TITO
Traca Traca
Traca Traca
Beware of being where you ought not to be.
Beware of being where you ought not to be.
SIRE & TITO
Try not to die
The Rule we live by
SIRE
Me personally,
I’m sick of getting jumped
I’m sick of getting thumped
Sick of getting chased, chopped, erased
Sick of getting stabbed, jabbed, robbed, nabbed
Sick of getting out the way of melee mayday
I’m sick of gun-running and funerals
I’m sick of being called delinquent juveniles
Yo, I’m sick of fists, rocks, bricks, cops
I’m sick of only hearing shots when the music stops, while we
SIRE, TITO, & DARIUS
Try not to die
The Rule we live by
Try not to die
The Rule we live by
Try not to die
The Rule we live by
PREACHER MAN
You’re not my daughter! Come home right now and wash that cheap paint off your face!
RACHEL
¡Hijo Jesuuuuuuu! [Son of Jesus!] Now she’s gonna get it.
LUCY
Shut up, flaca [skinny girl]
RACHEL
I’m only saying . . .
LUCY
I told you cállate! [be quiet!]
ESPERANZA
I hope she’ll be alright.
LUCY
Maybe.
ESPERANZA
Might.
RACHEL
Could.
LUCY, ESPERANZA, & RACHEL
Maybe might could!
ESPERANZA
I wish I had a black coat and black suede shoes like that girl Sally. If I did maybe the boys . . ..
RACHEL
Boys! ¡Fuchi! [Phooey!] Wish I had twelve dozen socks that matched.
LUCY
¡Órale! [That's it!] Instead of a dozen that doesn’t. Wish I had a Big Gulp and a Twinkie.
RACHEL
Have you ever eated dog food?
LUCY
Wish I had two chilidogs with cheese, two pops, French fries, and a frozen cream pie. . . . And wish I didn’t have to share.
ESPERANZA
Wish I didn’t have to share a room with my sister Nenny.
RACHEL
Wish we had a bedroom alls our own, so we don’t gots to sleep with the six pissy baby sisters. Chinelas [Dang], I wish we had a bedroom.
LUCY
A bedroom with a door. Maybe one day we might. Maybe one day we could.
ESPERANZA
Maybe.
LUCY
Might.
RACHEL
Could!
ESPERANZA, LUCY, & RACHEL
Maybe might could.
ESPERANZA
If I had a house of my own, it would be quiet and clean.
ESPERANZA, LUCY, & RACHEL
Maybe might could.
LUCY
Wish we had a ‘frigerator with an ice cream machine.
RACHEL
Wish we had a ‘frigerator that worked!
ESPERANZA
Maybe.
LUCY
Might.
RACHEL
Could.
ESPERANZA, LUCY, & RACHEL
Maybe might could.
LUCY
Wish I had two hips like holsters, and a baby on each side like a pair of pistols. Pyoo pyoo! Pyoo pyoo! Wish I had . . . a handsome husband.
RACHEL
You crazy!
ESPERANZA
All she wants is to love and to love and to love, and no one could call that crazy.
RACHEL
I call it CRAY-ZEE!
LUCY
Who you calling crazy, loca?
RACHEL
Babosa! Cut it out!
SCENE 2 (late spring)
RUTHIE
Once I was beautiful.
Once we met at a school bazaar.
Once he said he loved me.
Once I said I do.
Once long ago I had a house,
pillowcases and plates,
towels and a toaster,
an alarm clock and drapes.
scrubbed linoleum roses,
ceiling smooth as wedding cake.
Once when I was beautiful.
Once when he said he loved me.
Could’ve been.
Might’ve been.
Should’ve been.
Once.
BUM MAN
Once was good at numbers—twice.
Once with women and once with dice.
Got a kid, maybe two somewheres.
And somewheres a wife and a wife.
Seemed easy to run when I was young.
Lately think might’ve been better to stay.
Water over the bridge, water under the . . .
Damn! Never could keep that shit straight.
Even before my life ran away
from me. Always a few
steps ahead or behind.
Try not to let it upset me.
No use to live with regret.
All I need is my bottle of forget.
Could’ve been.
Might’ve been.
Should’ve been.
Once.
RAFAELA
Once,
around my neck
I wore a key.
Locked and unlocked
the door myself.
I fed my brothers.
I was the oldest.
It was up to me.
My mother left early.
She came home late.
Worked two jobs,
Sometimes three.
And though I loved
my island home and family,
I dreamed the dream of a silver key.
Once a silver man arrived
promising to look after me.
Mother gave her blessing,
cried, threw rice, gave no advice.
We left the island for our new life.
My husband calls me
his precious thing.
That’s why he keeps me
on a silver string.
Now I dream again
the dream
of a silver key.
GERALDO
Una vez
tuve una vida
donde nadie me preguntaba.
¿De dónde eres?
Una vez fui hijo
hermano, marido, y padre.
Un pobre fui
sin darme cuenta,
que era rico.
¿Mi días ahora?
Agua
escurriendo
de mis dedos.
¿Mi vida ahora?
Un catre
y almohada.
Una vez fui hijo
hermano, marido, y padre.
Un pobre fui
sin darme cuenta,
que era rico.
Sueño en volver
a esa vida.
Un día.
Ojalá.
Quizás.
Ojalá.
[Once
I had a life
Where no one asked me
"Where you from?"
Once I was son,
brother, husband, and father.
I was poor
without realizing
I was rich.
My days now?
Water
running through
my fingers.
My life now?
A cot
and a pillow.
Once I was son,
brother, husband, and father.
I was poor
without realizing
I was rich.
I dream of returning
to that life.
One day.
I hope.
Maybe.
God willing.]
PAPA CORDERO
Once you wanted to sing
with velvety lungs
powerful as morning glories.
All you wanted was
to sing with velvety lungs
powerful as morning glories.
For love of me
you put aside your
glory dreams.
But sometimes
now and then when
you add the tomato sauce
to the rice browning in oil,
the roar rises from the skillet
like a Carnegie Hall applause.
And I catch you take your bow.
I catch you take your bow.
MAMA CORDERO
Once you wanted a job
where you came home
with your hands clean.
All you wanted was
to come home
with your hands clean.
Wanted to use this [points to head]
and come home
with your hands clean.
One job. Two.
Leave early.
Come home late.
Never complain.
Yet each night
in front of the TV,
your same command:
hot water and a wash tub please
to soak my calloused hands.
CHORUS
Once we believed in maybe might could.
Once
PAPA & MAMA
Could have been….
CHORUS
Once
PAPA & MAMA
Might have been….
CHORUS
Once
PAPA & MAMA
Should have been….
CHORUS
Once
PAPA
Always
MAMA
Siempre
PAPA & MAMA
What I’ve done with love, and only love,
siempre sale bonito
[always turns out beautiful.]
SCENE 3 (early summer)
CHORUS
The Monkey Garden.
Far away from where mothers can find them.
The Monkey Garden.
Far away from where mothers can find them.
ESPERANZA
Sally, come on!
SALLY
Cut it out, you’re getting my stockings muddy! Play with the kids if you want, I’m staying here.
SALLY
Come on! Give them back. You guys! Come on!
SIRE
Ha! Come and get ‘em!
TITO
They’re over here.
SALLY
You jerks. Quit it already. I’m gonna get in trouble.
SIRE
You can have your ol’ keys . . . But you gotta pay. A kiss for each key.
ESPERANZA
Don’t do it, Sally! You’re not . . . one of those girls.
SALLY
It’s just a kiss. So?
BOYS
Why doesn’t she go play with her dolls?
ESPERANZA
No, no, no!
ESPERANZA
Your son and his friends stole Sally’s keys and now they won’t give them back unless she kisses them and right now they’re making her kiss them.
MRS. VARGAS
Those kids.
ESPERANZA
That’s all?
MRS. VARGAS
What do you want me to do, call the cops?
ESPERANZA
Hold on, Sally, I’m coming! Let her go, you creeps!
MAMA CORDERO [offstage]
Esperanza!
BOYS
Esperaaan-zaaa! Your mommy’s calling.
SALLY
Don’t embarrass me.
ESPERANZA
They are the only ones who understand me.
I am the only one who understands them.
Four skinny trees
With skinny necks and pointy elbows like mine.
Four who do not belong here but are here.
Four raggedy excuses planted by the city.
From our room we can hear them.
TREES
Keep, keep, keep
ESPERANZA
Trees say when I sleep.
TREES
Keep, keep, keep
ESPERANZA
They teach.
Their strength is their secret.
They send ferocious roots beneath the ground.
They grow up and they grow down
And grab the earth between their hairy toes
And bite the sky with violent teeth
And never quit their anger.
Let one forget his reason for being.
They’d all droop like tulips in a glass
Each with their arm around the other.
This is how they keep.
When I’m too sad
And too skinny to keep keeping
When I’m a tiny thing against so many bricks
Then it is I look at trees
When there is nothing left to look at on this street
Four who grew despite concrete.
TREES
Keep Keep Keep
Oooooo.
ESPERANZA
Four who reach and do not forget to reach.
Four whose only reason is to be
Whose reason is to be and be.
SALLY
Holy mother of a father! Were you crying?
ESPERANZA
I tried to help you. I tried to save you.
SALLY
Save me? I don’t need to be saved. We was just kissing. Haven’t you never been kissed before?
ESPERANZA
Sure. Plenty of times.
SALLY
Ha, I bet!
SALLY
Listen Miss Priss,
I’m gonna give you an education.
A kiss is just negotiation.
It don’t mean yes.
Don’t mean no.
Might mean . . .
ESPERANZA
Maybe might could?
SALLY
Do I gotta school you
in every little thing, Miss Priss?
Miss Little-Lost-in-the-City.
If you don’t know
your way around town by now
How you gonna belong?
How you gonna belong?
Don’t you wanna belong?
SALLY + CHORUS OF YOUNGER WOMEN [RAFAELA & OTHERS]
Take and take.
Take and take.
Have your cake
and have your eat it.
Take and take.
Take and take.
Have your cake
and have your eat it too.
SALLY
Toss your eyes like dice.
Tell him that he’s so hot.
Even if you know he’s not.
Best him, test him.
Tell him, “Tie my shoes.”
ESPERANZA
And if he does?
SALLY
Grand prize.
ESPERANZA
Whoa!
SALLY [laughs]
I know what I know.
If he says, “You fine”,
What’s your answer?
ESPERANZA & CHORUS
Maybe, might, could?
SALLY
No!
Tell him, “I got no time.”
“I gotta go.”
ESPERANZA
[disappointed]
For real?
SALLY
For real.
You want him to know,
but you gotta go slow.
Poco a poco [little by little]
But not too little,
Or he maybe might go.
First ojitos [eyes],
Then besitos [kisses],
Then... quizás [maybe]…
ESPERANZA
Maybe what?
SALLY
[rolls eyes]
Forget it.
SALLY & CHORUS
Take and take.
Take and take.
Have your cake
and have your eat it.
Take and take.
Take and take.
Stay awake,
or you’ll get eaten too.
SALLY, ESPERANZA, & CHORUS
Take and take.
Take and take.
That’s the lesson you can follow.
Take and take.
Take and take.
Nunca sabes what tomorrow brings.
SIRE
Pssst, Sally! I got cigarettes . . ..
SALLY
I gotta go, Espy.
Wait, will you? Waaaaait!
ESPERANZA
Wait, wait, wait. That’s the story of my life.
CHORUS
[the nosy neighbors watching all come forward from their perches]
Good girls wait.
ESPERANZA
For what?
ALTOS
For exactly the right moment.
CHORUS
Good girls wait.
BASSES
Till someone comes to fetch you.
ESPERANZA
You gotta be kidding.
CHORUS
Good girls wait.
SOPRANOS
You don’t want to be called a floozy.
SALLY
Who you calling a floozy, floozy?
CHORUS
Good girls wait.
ALTOS
A good girl is choosy.
CHORUS
Good girls wait.
SOPRANOS
Wait ‘til you’re old enough to get married.
TENORS
You don’t really want to make us ashamed.
BASSES
Do you?
SOPRANOS
Can’t you see we’re much better than that trash?
TENORS
We’re just here ‘til we get back on our feet.
BASSES
You’ll see.
CHORUS
Good girls wait.
ALTOS
Get a job where you keep your hands clean.
ESPERANZA
Dishwasher!?
CHORUS
Good girls wait.
ALTOS
Study hard so you can become Presidenta!
CHORUS
Good girls wait.
SOPRANOS
Make sure you earn your own money.
ESPERANZA
You got that right!
CHORUS
Good girls wait.
ALTOS
Never marry a Mexican.
SIRE
Bull!
CHORUS
Good girls wait.
TENOR SOLO
Take your little sister with you.
ESPERANZA
Always!
BASSES
How are you going to manage if you can’t cook?
ESPERANZA
I’ll have a chef!
ALTOS
Don’t go out in the sun without a slip on.
ESPERANZA
Hello! I’m wearing jeans.
SOPRANO
Don’t wear a bra till you’ve got something to fill it!
ESPERANZA
Mind your own business!
CHORUS
Good girls wait.
Good girls wait.
Good girls wait.
Good girls wait.
MAMA
Esperanza, get in here. It’s getting dark.
ESPERANZA
(on the stoop)
Sheesh! Can’t a girl get any privacy around here!!!
ESPERANZA
I want to sit out bad at night.
I want to be all new and shiny.
A boy around my neck
And the wind under my skirt.
I want to sit out bad at night.
I want to feel like I’m a real human being.
That can’t be wrong.
I want to be bad so bad, so bad.
I want to know what it feels like to love.
To feel I belong to someone.
Just for a little. Just once.
To feel not alone.
Just for a little. To finally belong.
To feel at home.
Everything’s holding its breath inside me.
Everything is waiting to explode.
I’m tired of stretching my neck outside my window
Imagining what I don’t know.
Once a boy held me so hard, I swear,
I could feel the weight of his arms around me.
But it was a dream.
TREES
Wait, just wait. Wait. Wait.
ESPERANZA
I’m sick of waiting all my life.
I’m tired of never ever after.
Is it a crime to want to sit out bad?
All I want is to love and to love and to love.
And no one can call that crazy. To love.
Just for a little. To love.
To never feel alone.
Just for a little. To finally belong.
To feel at home.
To finally come home.
CHORUS
(THREE MEN)
Ay que calor
Ya no aguanto.
Ay que calor
Ya no aguanto.
[Oh, it's so hot
I can't take it anymore.
Oh, it's so hot
I can't take it anymore.]
SCENE 4 (late summer)
GERALDO
Aguas, refrescos, cigarros, chicles, chocolates, cacahuates, pistaches, garapiñados, los puroooos!
[Drinks, refreshments, cigarettes, gum, chocolates, pistachios, sugared almonds, cigarrrrrs!]
LUCY
Fresh air! Fresh air! Five cents five minutes.
EDNA
I pay you ten cents FOR YOU TO GET LOST.
RACHEL
Okay, okay. How’s about FIFTEEN and we get lost?
EDNA
GET OUTTA!
LUCY
FRESH AIR! GET YOUR FRESH AIR!
PREGÓN
La tarde suda como un borracho.
[The afternoon sweats like a drunkard.]
CHORUS (coro)
Ay que calor.
PREGÓN
El pobre sufre como un mártir.
[The poor man suffers like a martyr.]
CHORUS
Ay que calor.
PREGÓN
Si esta noche es mi último baile…
[If this night is my last dance…]
CHORUS
Ay que calor.
PREGÓN
…por lo menos baila conmigo, mi amor.
[…at least dance with me, my love]
CHORUS
Ay que calor.
Ay que calor
Ya no aguanto.
Ay que calor
Ta no aguanto.
SALLY
You think I’m blind or something?
SIRE
I told you, we’re just . . . friends.
SALLY
Friends? Friends?!!! Awright. I’m gonna dance with MY friend.
SIRE
Yeah, right. You ain’t got no friends but me.
CHORUS
Ay, que calor, tanto aguanto.
PREGÓN
Ya no aguanto.
CHORUS
Ay, que calor, ya no aguanto.
PREGÓN
Que calor, que calor.
GERALDO
Agua/refrescos/cigarros/chicles/chocolates/pistaches/garrapiñados/los purooooos!
SALLY
¿Como te llamas?
[What's your name?]
GERALDO
Geraldo.
SALLY
Geraldo que?
[Geraldo what?]
GERALDO
Pues . . . solo Geraldo.
[Just . . . Geraldo.]
SALLY
¿Bailamos?
[Wanna dance?]
CHORUS
Ay que calor.
GERALDO
No, no puedo.
[No, I can't.]
CHORUS
Ya no aguanto.
SALLY
Ándale.
[Come on.]
CHORUS
Ay, que calor.
SALLY
Te enseño.
[I'll teach you.]
PREGÓN
Si el sol seca mis aspiraciones…
[If the sun dries my dreams…]
CHORUS
Ay que calor.
PREGÓN
Si el huracán borra mi camino...
[If a hurricane erases my path…]
CHORUS
Ay que calor.
PREGÓN
Si el río llora y me ahoga…¡Ay, que dolor!
[If the river weeps and drowns me… Oh, what pain!]
CHORUS
Ay que calor.
PREGÓN
…por lo menos baila conmigo, mi amor.
[…at least dance with me, my love.]
CHORUS
Ay que calor.
PREGÓN
Que calor, que dolor.
CHORUS
Ay que calor
Ya no aguanto.
Ay que calor
Ya no aguanto
PREGÓN
¡Bailemos (todos)!
[Dance (everyone)!]
SIRE
¿Oyes, buey, que haces bailando con mi mujer?
[Hey, you big ox! What are you doing dancing with my woman?]
GERALDO
Hombre, no busco pleito. ¿Que te pasa, cabrón?
[Man, I'm not looking for trouble. What's the matter with you, jerk?]
SIRE
Who you calling cabrón . . . MOJADO?
[Who you calling a jerk, wetback?]
HOLD ME BACK!
LUCY & RACHEL
¡Pleito!
[Fiight!]
COP ONE
Police! Freeze!
COP ONE
I told him FREEZE! Shit! Call an ambulance . . .. Damn it. No pulse.
SALLY
It’s my fault. Like my daddy said.
ESPERANZA
It’s not your fault. It was the . . ..
MAMA CORDERO
Mija!
[My daughter!]
PREACHER MAN
Ya vez. Te dije. Ya no eres mi hija.
[You see, I told you. You're not my daughter.]
COP ONE
You all saw what happened. I said “freeze.” I told him “freeze.” And he kept…running, I mean, grabbing, for something. Like a gun. Could’ve had a gun.
COP TWO
Self-defense. Anybody could see that. Even you, Missy, with the camera. Anyone know his name?
ESPERANZA
His name is . . . was Geraldo . . . .
COP TWO
Geraldo. Geraldo what?
ESPERANZA
That’s all I know. He sold candy.
BUM MAN
And cigarettes. Sometimes he gave me one for free.
COP TWO
Operating an illegal business. Address?
DARIUS
He ain’t got no address, no family here, he’s from . . . .
NEIGHBOR LADY MOM
Shhh. Cállate.
[Be quiet.]
COP TWO
Okay, folks. Uhhh, from the looks of it, just another wetback. Probably didn’t even speak English. Tssk. ¡Por favor, amigos, por favor, si un oficial de policía te dice "Freeze!" significa “¡Alto!” ¿Entendido? Que pena. [Please, friends, please. If a police officer says 'Freeze', it means 'Stop'. Understand? What a shame.] Geraldo. No last name.
ESPERANZA
Everybody’s got a last name.
MAMA
Mija, please!
CHORUS
His name was Geraldo
and his home is in another country.
The ones he left behind are far away.
His name was Geraldo.
CHORUS
Do you remember? Say his name.
SHAMANA 1
Geraldo se fue al norte.
SHAMANA 2
He went north.
SHAMANA 3
We never heard from him again.
CHORUS
We never heard from him again.
CHORUS
Ay, que dolor.
que horror.
Ay, que dolor.
Que horror.
[Oh, how horrible.
Oh, what pain.
Oh, how horrible.
Oh, what pain.]
