Posted by eugene williams on March 23, 192003 at 12:41:28:
Lo Tejanos
This play seems to be set in the context of Battle between the New Mexicans the Texans, with the Indian and Don Jorge being used as decoys. Or are these two individuals clever deceivers- ethnic outsider and criminal using their marginalized positions to cunningly survive? I have been unable to access the introduction that is in Spanish.
I find the manipulative guile of he Indian, his ability to use his disempowered circumstance, to be among the major parodic and political dynamics of the piece. First of al he capitalizes on the notion that the Indians are harmless children who like to smoke tobacco and chat, by his endearing greeting and practical requests for food and clothes in return for ‘intelligence’. Later when Mcloed threatens to kill him he spins a threatening and convoluted tale of what seems like ‘outlawed characters’ using familiar biblical imagery of power and mystery that are apparently aimed, and succeeds, in arousing the Commander’s religious beliefs and combative ego:
He could take a rock and
Turn it into gold without delay
……………………………….
And for you for you, the same he’s do
As did Judas with his master
Bring Armijas straight to you
The irony is that he together with Don Jorge, lead the Texans into the hands of the New Mexicans. Also when he gathers that his life is further threatened with the bribe of a watch, he invites the wrath of the devil, earns his freedom and probably the watch as well.
In the end the question arises: Was the Indian in collusion with Don Jorge and/or were they together in cahoots with the New Mexicans? Or were they both outsiders/boundary dwellers (ethnic outsider and criminal) transforming their marginality into survival and resistance?