The Color of Summer: or The New Garden of Earthly Delights by Reinaldo Arenas

ASTÓN D ACUERO : (trying to ignore Sardoya)
    I shall wait for you on every corner—
    radiant as an amapola—
    there, where in robes of glory
you beach your little boat— olé!
    Z EBRO S ARDOYA : (on the screen)
Jesus Christ, give me a break!
Enough of this coochie-coochie, artsy-fartsy
stuff—come on, get it over with and let’s party!
    B ASTÓN D ACUERO : (in a voice of thunder)
I am here to sing a welcoming anthem
to the undying Rose of Villalba
not to have a mano-a-mano
with some bald foul-mouthed queen . . . ahem!
    And at that, Bastón Dacuero leaps headfirst at the movie screen on which Zebro Sardoya appeared. But he crashes through the screen and tumbles out on the other side. For a second the only thing we see is the screen in tatters, and on it, the shattered image of Zebro Sardoya, swaying gently.
    C HORUS OF P OETESSES : (jumping up and down around the torn movie screen)
What on earth’s gotten into you two?
Stop that nonsense right this instant!
Don’t you know we’re not here for you,
we’re here for our beloved Gertrudis.
So behave yourselves—say a novena
for that poor dear Avellaneda.
While you’re at it, make a sign of the cross,
and let’s get Father Gastaluz to give her a pep talk.
    The poet Angel Gastaluz steps up onto the stage in K EY W EST . He is wearing his priest’s habit and around his neck there hangs a gigantic scapular that ends in a sterling-silver cross that keeps getting all tangled up between his legs. In one hand he is carrying a smoking incense-burner with which he seems to be exorcising the ocean and the huge crowd gathered in Key West, applauding him madly. Standing on the stage, the priest untangles himself from the long scapular, whose cross, still on its chain, is hanging down into the water.
    A NGEL G ASTALUZ :
Liberare me O Deus: quoniam intraverunt aquae usque ad animam meae . . .
    Suddenly a shark, apparently still loyal to Fifo, takes the huge silver cross in its mouth and, pulling on the scapular, drags the priest into the ocean.
    A NGEL G ASTALUZ : (in the ocean, being towed by the shark)
Save me, O my God!—for thy waters have penetrated to my very soul . . .
    The poet disappears into the water. Immediately a spontaneous demonstration breaks out in Key West. The demonstrators are carrying big posters insulting Fifo and asking for clemency and freedom for Padre Angel Gastaluz. Now the gigantic movie screen descends, and on it an announcer is saying that the president of the United States is about to arrive at any moment in Key West, and that to support the demonstration and steal a little publicity from Fifo, he’ll be making love, in public, to his beloved rabbit. Tremendous air of expectancy. And now, on the screen, we see Air Force One landing. The door to the plane opens and the president begins to descend the steps, cradling a white rabbit in his arms. The screen goes dark. We see the poet Angel Gastaluz being towed along by the shark. The poet passes alongside Avellaneda’s dinghy, and he desperately makes a grab at it. Miraculously, he snares it, but that turns Avellaneda’s boat around and heads it toward Cuba at full speed. Avellaneda picks up an oar and starts beating at the priest’s hands. He falls back into the water.
    A VELLANEDA :
Turn loose, turn loose, what are you doing?
You’re going to drag me back to Cuba!
Please, Angel, accept your fate—
make peace with your God, it’s not too late.
Besides, you know this worldly mire is filed with hate;
you’re going to a far better place.
Be brave—that shark is the ferry of Acheron;
it’ll take you to the Great Beyond.
    Shark and priest disappear in the middle of the ocean, while the lights on the M ALECÓN come up.
    P AULA A MANDA , AK . A . L UISA F ERNANDA : (to Fifo)
Quick, the Orígenes gang has launched a counterattack!
    F IFO :
Stop them, you idiots! Push them back—
Grab a stake and drive it through their heart.
    P AULA A MANDA :
I’ve got a better idea. Call in the official