1 American Mariachi, Scene 1 BOLI Hey, you remember when we were little, your dad, Mino, and the muchachos would come home late after a chamba and start playing? Lights shift. Music: “Lo Abandoné” is played as underscore. BOLI & LUCHA’s memory. The MARIACHIS enter with a youthful FEDERICO, MINO and PARTY GUESTS. AMALIA joins them. The MARIACHIS are relaxed and partially dressed. BOLI We’d hide under the dinner table in our pijamas to watch. LUCHA The house filled up with family and neighbors. Everybody would sing and dance their troubles away. BOLI The women flocked to the kitchen to gossip while their men threw back a few more cold ones. LUCHA My dad and my godfather Mino were still the best of friends. Mom and dad were so happy. FEDERICO and MINO shakes hands and FEDERICO crosses to AMALIA to dance. MEN (singing)
Lo abandoné, porque era un ladrón— WOMEN Lo abandoné, porque robo mi corazón— MEN Él se fue con otra mujer—
2 WOMEN Dejando a su querer— FEDERICO & AMALIA Lo abandoné, porque era un— (spoken) --cabrón.
¡Baboso!
BERTA
BERTA slaps DRUNK UNCLE and storms off. DRUNK UNCLE ¡¡¡Perdóname, Berta!!!
(singing)
LUCHA Lo abandoné, ‘cause he was a big jerk! BOLI Lo abandoné, ‘cause he drank all my beer! LUCHA & BOLI I said, “Goodbye,” ‘cause you weren’t true I’m out of here I don’t need you. The girls bust out laughing. AMALIA crosses to them.
AMALIA Muchachas, that was one of my Tía Carmen’s favorite songs! She played mariachi. Can you believe that? There was a brief time in México when women were allowed to play. Oh, the stories she would tell me about her adventures! They would come into towns or villages and either be greeted as stars or run out. She was a strong, brave, and beautiful lady. My secret dream was to be just like her. She was going to teach me to play her violin.
3 LUCHA ‘Amá, I’ve never seen girl mariachis.
Me neither, tía.
BOLI
AMALIA We may have never seen them but that doesn’t mean they didn’t exist. BOLI The gringos complain that mariachis play too loud, wear those funny suits, and bother people when they’re eating. AMALIA That’s what people may first see but if you really dig deeper there’s so much more. The music calls to you and sweeps you up. BOLI Like The Mamas & Papas.
The Monkees are way better.
LUCHA
AMALIA Muchachas, mariachi es amor, familia y tradición. LUCHA Why didn’t you become a mariachi, ‘Amá? AMALIA Well, I met your father, we got married, and that dream faded away. MINO Amalia, dance with me! AMALIA I hope you’ll find yours one day and follow it.
4
No, Mino, she’s my mujer!
(aside to AMALIA) I’ll meet you later.
(to MARIACHIS) ¡Ándale, muchachos!
(singing)
FEDERICO
MINO
AMALIA
ALL Lo abandoné, porque era un ladrón— MARIACHIS and PARTY GUESTS exit. AMALIA returns to her chair.
LUCHA & BOLI Lo abandoné, porque robo mi corazón— (music ends, singing, acapella) Él se fue con otra mujer Dejando a su querer Lo abandoné, porque era un cabrón. Lights shift back. The present.
Oh, let’s play ma’s old record!
LUCHA
LUCHA places the 45-disc on the record player and turns it on. “Mi Rosa Como Ninguna Record (Prerecorded)” is heard. AMALIA becomes animated.
(singing)
AMALIA Mi rosa como ninguna Un bello perfume en flor—
5
¿‘Amá?
Sing your little heart out, tía!
LUCHA
BOLI
FEDERICO enters fully dressed in his mariachi suit carrying his guitar case. FEDERICO ¿Qué estan haciendo?
Look at her ‘Apá, she’s so happy!
Where did you find that record?
LUCHA
FEDERICO
AMALIA
(panicking) ¿Tía Carmen? ¿Dónde está mi Tía Carmen?
FEDERICO Look what you’ve done! You’re upsetting her!
¡¿¡Tía Carmen!?!
AMALIA
LUCHA She was fine a second ago. FEDERICO removes the record. A scratch of the record is heard. LUCHA intervenes.
No, ‘Apá!
¡Suéltalo!
LUCHA
FEDERICO
6 The record gets broken between them. Beat.
No, no, no!
AMALIA
FEDERICO drops the record crossing to AMALIA.
Cálmate, mi bella. Cálmate.
No, no, no!
FEDERICO
AMALIA
FEDERICO Shh…. Shh… Shh… AMALIA disappears into herself. Beat.
Why did you do that?
LUCHA
FEDERICO ¡Despiértate, Lucha! ¡Chingao! FEDERICO takes his guitar case and exits. LUCHA Oh, my god, ‘Amá’s record’s broken.
Why was he so mad?
BOLI
LUCHA We got to do something.
Call the record store.
BOLI
7 LUCHA pulls out a telephone book flipping through it. LUCHA Okay! Music… Music Store… Morey’s Music Store. (Dialing the phone. beat) Hello? Yes, I’m looking for a record. “A.M.” I don’t know who made it. (snapping her fingers, BOLI hands her the broken record) All it says is, “Voice-O-Graph.” Ah huh. It was recorded in a booth? Okay, thank you. She hangs up the phone leaving the broken record in the living room. BOLI Well? LUCHA It’s a self-recording. That was the only copy. BOLI What if we glued it back together?
No, that won’t work.
LUCHA
BOLI Maybe your godfather Mino could help us? LUCHA I haven’t seen him in years.
How’d the song go? (singing)
BOLI
“Mi rosa como—” LUCHA
(speaking) “--ninguna—”
8 BOLI
That’s it!
(singing)
AMALIA Un bello perfume en flor…
LUCHA We could patch the words together—
--and learn to sing it.
BOLI
LUCHA We can’t sing the song without playing the music like the record.
Like a mariachi band? Yeah…
BOLI LUCHA
BOLI You expect us to play instruments, too? Get out. LUCHA Why can’t we learn just one song?
Women playing mariachi?
Really, Boli?
Tío Federico would never allow it.
BOLI
LUCHA
BOLI
LUCHA My dad wouldn’t have to know.
9
You smoking funny cigarettes.
BOLI
LUCHA Don’t you want to be like those women that you’re always talking about? BOLI Gloria Steinem and Dolores Huerta play mariachi? LUCHA Boli, let’s do something a little crazy before we grow old and become stone faces. We’ll learn just one song for ma. BOLI Chale. LUCHA What are you chicken? Why can’t we?
I ain’t chicken! Take it back!
No!
You really want to do this?
BOLI
LUCHA
BOLI
LUCHA I miss singing with you, prima. We used to harmonize pretty good together. (singing) Lo abandoné, porque era un…
You got some big cojones, Cuz.
BOLI
LUCHA I know. What do you say?
10
¡Órale!
BOLI
LUCHA We’ll have to look for singers and musicians. BOLI We could try the schools or better yet, the churches. There’s so many of them. LUCHA We’ll need a guitar, a trumpet, a violin, a vihuela, and a guitarrón. BOLI We’re putting together a mariachi band! This is so badass, prima!
Yeah, we’re doing it for ‘Amá!
We’re doing it for ourselves!
LUCHA
BOLI
LUCHA We’re doing it ‘cause we’re— LUCHA & BOLI --mujeres!” Sound of bus.
The bus!
BOLI
LUCHA Oh, shit! LUCHA picks up her book bag.
We’re going to be mariachis!
LUCHA
11 LUCHA throws a grito and its unsuccessful. She exits. TÍA CARMEN appears playing “Mi Rosa Como Ninguna in G” on violin.
¡Tía Carmen! ¡Tía Carmen!
AMALIA
Music offstage: “Aleluya.”