Chapter 40 - Ang Karapatan at Lakas (Right and Might)

Ten oclock at night: the last rockets rose lazily in the dark sky where a few paper
balloons recently inflated with smoke and hot air still glimmered like new stars. Some of
those adorned with fireworks took fire, threatening all the houses, so there might be seen
on the ridges of the roofs men armed with pails of water and long poles with pieces of
cloth on the ends. Their black silhouettes stood out in the vague clearness of the air
like phantoms that had descended from space to witness the rejoicings of men. Many pieces
of fireworks of fantastic shapeswheels, castles, bulls, carabaoshad been set off,
surpassing in beauty and grandeur anything ever before seen by the inhabitants of San
Diego.
Now the people were moving in crowds toward the plaza to attend the theater for the
last time, Here and there might be seen Bengal lights fantastically illuminating the merry
groups while the boys were availing themselves of torches to hunt in the grass for
unexploded bombs and other remnants that could still be used. But soon the music gave the
signal and all abandoned the open places.
The great stage was brilliantly illuminated. Thousands of lights surrounded the
posts, hung from the roof, or sowed the floor with pyramidal clusters. An alguazil was
looking after these, and when he came forward to attend to them the crowd shouted at him
and whistled, There he is! there he is!
In front of the curtain the orchestra players were tuning their instruments and
playing preludes of airs. Behind them was the space spoken of by the correspondent in his
letter, where the leading citizens of the town, the Spaniards, and the rich visitors
occupied rows of chairs. The general public, the nameless rabble, filled up the rest of
the place, some of them bringing benches on their shoulders not so much for seats as to
make, up for their lack of stature. This provoked noisy protests on the part of the
benchless, so the offenders got down at once; but before long they were up again as if
nothing had happened.
Goings and comings, cries, exclamations, bursts of laughter, a serpent-cracker
turned loose, a firecracker set offall contributed to swell the uproar. Here a bench had
a leg broken off and the people fell to the ground amid the laughter of the crowd. They
were visitors who had come from afar to observe and now found themselves the observed.
Over there they quarreled and disputed over a seat, a little farther on was heard the
noise of breaking glass; it was Andeng carrying refreshments and drinks, holding the wide
tray carefully with both hands, but by chance she had met her sweetheart, who tried to
take advantage of the situation.
The teniente-mayor, Don Filipo, presided over the show, as the gobernadorcillo was
fond of monte. He was talking with old Tasio. What can I do? The alcalde was unwilling to
accept my resignation. Dont you feel strong enough to attend to your duties? he asked
me.
How did you answer him?
Points of Note:
Rizal describes in vibrant detail the indigenous colors, customs, and traditions that
surround the night of the fiesta.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Question: Why doesn't Ibarra figure out the reason for Maria Clara's silence towards him?
Answer: He does not expect that those practices that are being laughed at in Europe, such
as the punishment of excommunication, are still strictly observed in the Philippines.