means of their owners - in a remote corner of such a villageforgotte~ wh!le some newly rich estate owner has not yet though;of erecting his ~ream house on it, some of the unendowed daringhave-nots of this day have had the temerity to put up
barongbarong
shelters that cower in the shadow of the beautiful man-sions of the rich. These are the typical eyesore structures of theimpermanent, the hounded, the often dispossessed. TiD hammeredto flatness, leftovers from some cruel fire, shakily ereCted, intendedto be as quickly torn down as they have been so.quickly put up.T~ese then are the houses of the people - are they people? _ inthis play.LIGHTS OUT
It is open st'ason lor politics in the country again, and dema-' gogues en/er the world of the lamished, make capital 01 their 'chronic hunger, and enable uS to witness the latter's despair.Characters:
CLARO: an indigent young man who looks old at the age
of
30LUMEN: his wife, a thin, famished-looking woman whos~'gaunt frame belies her 25 yearsMRS. HASPLENTY: a wealthy matronMRS. TAMALAMANG: another matron but of much moremodest meansCOCKCROW on high note - Crow 1: BLUE LightCrow 2: RED LightCOUGHING, prolonged fit of coughing from man
o n
;~"ft
in CENTER of stage draped in red but looking Jlkc •coHin bier.BOY: a child of about 8ENING: younger sister to Boy. FIRST NEIGHBOR: a hungry-looking man of about 35SECOND NEIGHBOR: a woman, again-looking older than
her years ..'~:
LUMENEning " Boy .(Enter ESCO, with cock in arms. He sits on tree stump.fondles rooster, flies it in air several times to test its wings.Walks around dais, off to another side, calls to man lyingon raised bed.) .THIRD NEIGHBOR: a pregnant woman who carries asloall child, about a year and a half, on her hip '.OTHER NEIGHBORS: mostly raggedy, including the littlechildren, mostly half-dressed and mostly in tatters, withunwashed faces
•
Pareng
Claro. Claro! The sun is high. Wake ~p!
Tanghali na,
Pare.
Cising na ang Kristiano.
One of the modern, very prosperous subdivisions in the suburbs,where the land has been subdivided by the well-to-do into fencedlots, grown with well-tended, well-manicured Bermuda grass andlushly £lowering bougainvillaeas and fragrant roses. Among thesebeautiful houses, fairly shouting their prosperity and the status and(Enter STREETWALKER. Slightly drunk, as seen by theway she walks. And tired, with her night wor~, wearied
with the coming of the bright day. Sits on the same treestump ESCO sat on. CLARO coughs.)
~'
Psst. Hey, Rosie! Why are you running away? Are you afraid?. Afraid? Afraid of what? (Pausing, looks back. Hesitates. Thengoes slowly away.) It is none of your business.ESCOWasn't he your
querido
for a long time?ROSIEOh, shut up! So what? That was a long time ago.
;..
Nangangamoy kandila na yang bata mo,
Rosie.
Tuluftgan monaman..
ROSIE
Ako?
Why should I? After all, he has his wife and .. , chil~dren ...ESCO
Hey.' Walang t.b. ito.' Materiales fuertes, blue seal, Choy!
ROSIE
Bastos.' Walong hiya.' Manok mo na lang ang pagtiagaan monghimasin! ...
MUSIC(Enter LUMEN.)LUMEN(Calls to children off scene): Boy... Ening ...
CHIIDREN
LUMENOaro.
Mahol.
Wake up. It is morning.(Looks up at the day, the listless tired look.of the sleeperwho has found no rest in his slumber, tortured through.the night by his coughing, and fearful now of the traits'that the relentless day brings.) ..LUMENIt is Sunday. What do you want for breakfast?(She has been busy with the small things a wife finds to dparound a sick spouse. The pillows to flu££; The blankets·to smooth out. She walks around to the other side of himso she can change his clothes. She is never still. Whilethe conversation here takes place, there are motions for herto go through, all of them connected with the duties of ahousekeeper with a helpless husband.)
,
We haven't any money. What breakfast can you get without",acent?
'ii\:l,.d
,':
LUMEN
\ '.. .. ··1
God is always kind. Maybe I can still borrow something from
Aling
Bibang.(LUMEN proceeds to change the shirt CLARO has sIep,tddfor a ~ean one. The process is often interrupted ~byCLARO'S coughing, and LUMEN massages 'his baeJt ashe
struggles with his phlegm. She wipes his back with theshirt she has taken off him, wipes his agonized face withit. Then she lays it aside as he rests his head on herbosom. She reaches for a T-shirt and puts it on him ashe submits to her attentions with the limp docility of ababy. As this goes on, there's business off-stage of a groupof men fighting their cocks. Shouts and calls typical of acock-fight crowd.)VOICES
Sa pula! Sa puti! Sa pula! Sa puti! Tumakbo! Naka! Tumakboang manok! 'Duwag! Iluto na lang natin 'yan! Ang
1 0 1 0
mo ang duwag! Sa pula! Sa puti! Sa pula! Sa puti!
(Sounds of cocks in furious wing beat and tattoo of cock-fight. Yells and shouts of excited onlookers.)LUMENIn fact,
Aling
Bibang said she would bring a Mrs. Hasplenty withher. From the S. W. A.l You know the S. W. A.(OFF STAGE: SOUNDS)VOICE #1
Mang
Esco,
subukan natin 'yang manok mo.
NEIGHBOR
Siyanga naman, Mang
Esco.
Naku! Ang ganda!
Blue seal!MUSIC, strains of a march.ESCO
Aba, huwag. Isasabung ko ito sa Linggo.
CHILDREN'S VOICES ' ,
Si Aling
Bibang,
pala. Si Aling
Bibang.
Mga kapil·bahay, ito ';~ "si AJing
Bibang.NEIGHBORS
Magandang umaga po, Aling
Bibang.(Enters
ALING
BlBANG on scene, followed by crowd, andarm·in-arm with MRS. HASPLENTY, who IIIdreslIed Instylish
kimona
and
patadyong
and retinued by a uniformedchauffeur bringing big boxes under each arm; a photograph'erwith his camera and flash at ready, and several re~rter.with bored looks, pencils ready to take notes on small note.books. March music. Cheers.) ~
ESCO
Huwag, sabi. Bakit matataleoO Ha!
ESCO
Magsisi ka, 'pare. Hindi takot ita.
1
S.W.A.: SocIal Welfare Administration, a relief agency of the
government.
(Waves her hand flutteringly at people to make them quietdown so they can hear her.)
! ~ I
" . ~
c l i f .1
'~~.
"\
,
' : 1 ' ·
' , : ' J , ' " , "
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