n

Voice of Mary Beth White

Voice of Radio Operator
NAME OF MAIN CHARACTER
 BOOK TITLE

The Cuban Swimmer

PLOT
SCENE 3

1. Eduardo on bow with timer in one hand as he counts strokes per minute. Simon is in the cabin steering,
wearing his sunglasses, and baseballcap on backward. Abuela and Aida are at the side of the boat, head downs,
hands folded, praying in Spanish.
2. Eduardo yelling through megaphone that Margarita’s stroking seventy-two.
3. Simon is singing imitate the words that Eduardo said
4. Aida said that they should be grateful for a such beautiful day which there is no cloud in the sky and rainbows
on the water, but she was wrong, it’s oil there.
5. In short, Margarita is caught in an oil spill, and with difficulty, manages to keep swimming

SCENE 4

In the scene four, while Margarita swims, Aida and her husband discuss the night they came to America on a boat
and Aida describes the dream she had that night, "the dream of a big country with fields of fertile land and big, giant
things growing. And there was by a green, slimy pond I found a giant pea pod and when I opened it, it was full of
little, tiny baby frogs". therefore, margarita ask her mother to pray for her.
SCENE 5

1. Family on deck, braced and huddled against the wind and eduardo still push margarita to dig in, but aida ask
margarita not going far from boat.
2. Margarita keeps swimming, stop, startagain, stop, then finally exhausted.
3. Eduardo starts to complain how he told her to concrete and blames it on the others
4. Then, the hallucination comes from Margarita, where she feels that all fishes biting her and exile her. “the fish
are all biting me… they hate me… they whisper about me.... I’m so numb, I can’t feel. Papi! Papi! Am I dead?”. So
after that, Eduardo still force her to keep on swimming even when she needs a rest.
5. Finally, Margarita is disoriented and falls to the bottom of sea.

SCENE 6

The family reports Margarita’s disappearance through radio static. Aida describes the characteristic of margarita and
ask them to find her daughter. While simon, talking that he will bring her sister back.

SCENE 7

At the end of the story, where the family feel very sorry and the father blames himself of losing his daughter. The
family is devastated, but regain their joy when they hear on the radio the miracle that Margarita has reached the
shore of Santa Catalina and has won the competition.
Setting : The Pacific Ocean between San Pedro and Catalina Island

SCENE 1

In the Pacific Ocean, at middday, a small boat enters up stage left, crosses to upstage right, and exits. Lower on the
horizon, the same boat enters upstage right, crosses and exits upstage left.

SCENE 2

1. Margarita Suarez is swimming while Eduardo, her father, and Simon, her brother, on the boat following
behind her.
2. Eduardo shouting Margarita to learn swim by asked her shoulders parallel to the water while Simon wants
look straight into the sun
3. Through megaphone, Eduardo keep ask her daughter to correct her position when she was swimming
4. Simon looking directly at the sun through binoculars, and he show something then asked her father to stop
5. Aida Suares and Abuela, the swimmer’s mother and grandmother, enters and said there is shark there but
nothing according to Simon.
6. When Simon tries to make sure her grandma, suddenly the sound of helicopter is heard. It gets closer. And
Simon looks up at it through binoculars.
7. Simon thought that they are on TV and her mother asked him to not kidding then asked him to wear the shirt
8. Simon, Eduardo, and Abuela tell Margarita that they are on TV. Voices of Mel Munson and Mary Beth White
are heard over the boat’s radio talked about a former Miss Cuba.
9. Helicopter sound gets louder and Margarita frightened. And her father asked her don’t get nervous because
it’s the press while her grandma gives a big wave points to helicopter
10. At the end of the scene, the helicopter with two radio newcasters appears to give an update on her progress,
leaving the family angry because they insulted their family
 ACTION

- Eduardo Suarez, father of Margarita, drive his ambition for his daughter, Margarita to win and success. The is
the coach, the mentor. He is an ambitious father, he pushed his daughter to reach his dream, to be a winner.
“Aida : (interrupting) Pues, do something Eduardo. You are the big coach, the monitor. / Eduardo : vamos, baby,
punch those arms in. come on… do you hear me? Margarita : papi… papi…. Forgive me.... Eduardo still push
his daughter to swim and put in concentration when her daughter was tired and need to rest, like her mother said
“Aida : Por supuesto she’s tired. I like to see you get in the water, waving your arms and legs from San Pedro to
Santa Catalina. A person isn’t a machine, a person has to rest.”
- Simon Suarez, Eduardo’s son, makes a lot of joke and frequently becomes immodest to his parent, he who
steers the boat. “Eduardo : you’re stroking seventy-two! Simon : (singing) mama’s stroking, mama’s stroking
seventy-two….
- Margarita Suarez as the swimmer is one of daughter of Cuban immigrant family who place their hopes
for the family's future on her, as a long-distance ocean swimmer. She is a hard-worker; loyal and obedient
to his parent especially her father. "Eduardo : rainbows on….. Ay cono! It’s an oil slick! You… you… (To
Simon) stop the boat. (Runs to bow, yelling) Margarita! Margarita! On the next stroke, Margarita comes up
all covered in black oil. Margarita : papi! Papi….! / Aida : Swim, hija, swim or the aceite will stick to your
wings. Margarita : Papi?”
- Aida Suarez is Margarita’s mother, over-protective and very sensitive. As in these dialogues, “Aida :
Eduardo, that person insulted us. Did you hear, Eduardo? That he called us a simple people in a ragtag
boat. Did you hear…? / This person comes in his helicopter to insult your wife, your family, your
daughter…” describe Aida as a sensitive mother.
- Abuela, Margarita’s grandmother is very religious, she sometimes speak in Spanish or mix in English-
Spanish, both them believe in magic. “Abuela : Mi hija, insulto a la familia. Desgraciado!! / Si, a big hug to
all my friends in Miami, Long Beach, Union city, except for my son Carlos who lives in New York in sin!
He lives…. In Brooklyn with a Puerto Rican woman in sin! No decente….” (2.71,44), it perhaps because
she is still influenced by culture heritage, and in the following dialogue, we will read the pray of Aida and
Abuela in Spanish, “En el nombre del Padre, del Hijo y del Espiritu Santo amen.
- There are two reporters of English Television, Mel Munson and Mary Beth White. They seem
underestimate Suarez family, “Mel’s voice : look at that enthusiasm. The whole family has turned out to
cheer little Margarita on victory! I hope they won’t be disappointed.”
- At the end of the story, where the family feel very sorry and the father blames himself of losing his
daughter, “Eduardo : forgive me, forgive me. I’ve lost our daughter, our sister, our granddaughter, mi
carne, mi sangre, mi ilusiones. Dios mio take me… take me, I say…. Goddammit, take me!”(7.3) and so the
previous reporters come and reporting the accident, but suddenly and magically, they received word
from Catalina that Margarita is the winner of the Wrigley Invitational Woman’s race. “Mary beth’s voice :
Ah… excuse me, Mel… we have a winner. We’ve just received word from Catalina that one of the
swimmers is just fifty yards from the breakers… it’s oh, it’s Margarita Suarez!”
Eduardo Suarez : He is an ambitious father, he pushed his daughter to reach his dream,
to be a winner.
Margarita Suarez : One of daughter of Cuban immigrant family who place their hopes for the
family's future on her, as a long-distance ocean swimmer. She is a hard-
worker; loyal and obedient to his parent especially her father.
Simon Suarez : Eduardo’s son, makes a lot of joke and frequently becomes immodest to his
parent.
Aida Suarez : Margarita’s mother, over-protective and very sensitive.
Abuela : Margarita’s grandmother is very religious, she sometimes speak in Spanish
or mix in English-Spanish, both them believe in magic.
Mel Munson and : two reporters of English Television, They seem underestimate Suarez family.
Mary Beth White
CHARACTER’S TRAIT
 THE CHARACTER IN THE BEGINNING OF THE
STORY

The Cuban Swimmer is a play that begins with a problem or challenge. Abuela is a nervous and
spiritual woman who is concerned for her grand daughter’s health. Eduardo, her father, is pushy
and determined for his daughter to accomplish his dream of winning the race. Margarita is
physically tiring of swimming the race and also mentally struggling with the idea of being Cuban
and growing up in America.
THE CHARACTER AT THE END OF THE STORY

In the end of story, Margarita escapes the pressures of her family and won the race
on her own. This scheme of escaping and winning the race by herself, act as the
denouement, or solution. Then the win signifies how Margarita becomes comfortable
with herself and her ethnicity.