Machuca: The sequel
Summary
In 1988, fifteen years later after the incident of Silvana’s death Gonzalo has just finished his university degree in business and gets the possibility to enter into the company of a friend of his mother. Pedro’s alcoholic father prophecy of his assured future welfare thanks to the social and political Status Quo is becoming a reality. During the days of the coup his father was working in Rome and begged to join him there but his mum preferred to stay with her rich and older lover, Roberto and he decided to stay in Italy and never return. She is now a widow and has inherited the fortune of Roberto. On the other side of the city, Pedro lives with his mum and her sister in a poor suburb of Santiago. After Silvana’s death his father quit drinking but one day returning from home he was run over by a bus. They both work hard to keep the family going while his younger sister attends secondary school but he is also compromised with the struggle of his people and as an amateur photo journalist he denounces the social and political reality; a very risky business during those days of dictatorship.
One day the caprices of faith brought Pedro and Gonzalo together. Since the episode that ended with Silvana’s death they never met. Their worlds were so different that it was almost impossible to bump into each other. A political demonstration for the coming plebiscite in which the two factions, those who will vote YES if they want the military regime to continue and those who oppose to that voting NO will bring them face to face in an antagonist scenario. Pedro while taking photos of some paramilitary YES supporters beating and slashing a member of a heavy metal tribe who dared to joke of their political choice gets a pointy knife on his throat from a secret police who asked for the film. Gonzalo is a witness of the whole scene.
Re-Write of the movie Machuca
The Sequel
When Gonzalo entered into the store room he saw the old bicycle dying at a corner as a silent witness of yesteryear. He could not avoid a picture seizing his brain; the image of Pedro taking him at the back of that same bicycle through the dirt football field into what was for him a completely new and unknown world. Pedro’s world was so different to his. The whole expierence of meeting Pedro and Silvana during his early adolescence left profound traces in his memory and his soul and those traces appeared from time to time, as ghosts of the past bringing the torment of Silvana’s tragic death that could have been avoided.
That happened long ago, fifteen or sixteen years back and although he did not do anything wrong but saving his life, he felt guilty that there was one moment in which he had to draw a line that separated him from his friends and their family to survive. Maybe there was nothing wrong with that but having had to appeal to his European look and the good clothes that he was wearing to achieve his salvation made him feel deeply ashamed; still today.
When Gonzalo entered into the store room he saw the old bicycle dying at a corner as a silent witness of yesteryear. He could not avoid a picture seizing his brain; the image of Pedro taking him at the back of that same bicycle through the dirt football field into what was for him a completely new and unknown world. Pedro’s world was so different to his. The whole expierence of meeting Pedro and Silvana during his early adolescence left profound traces in his memory and his soul and those traces appeared from time to time, as ghosts of the past bringing the torment of Silvana’s tragic death that could have been avoided.
That happened long ago, fifteen or sixteen years back and although he did not do anything wrong but saving his life, he felt guilty that there was one moment in which he had to draw a line that separated him from his friends and their family to survive. Maybe there was nothing wrong with that but having had to appeal to his European look and the good clothes that he was wearing to achieve his salvation made him feel deeply ashamed; still today.
The telephone ringing in the living room brought him back and interrupted his yearly rite of searching for his skies. It was the beginning of the skiing season and he would go to the neighboring ski resorts for the weekend. He rushed to get the phone before it stopped ringing but when he got there the answer machine was already delivering his message and he could not resist the temptation of listening who was calling and then decide if pick up the phone or let the machine to take the message.
- Gonzalito, How are you my darling. It’s mum. I spoke to my dear friend Nicolas Errazuriz the one I told you and he said he would be happy to consider you for a position at his company. He said that he will like to meet you and have lunch with you. In his company they are looking for someone young and full of talent to be part of the international business team.
- What do you think? Call him as soon as you can because he is a busy person. He will be in his office until two today. Well, my sweetheart maybe you can ring me later and tell me how did it go. Good luck. Bye, my dear son.
- What do you think? Call him as soon as you can because he is a busy person. He will be in his office until two today. Well, my sweetheart maybe you can ring me later and tell me how did it go. Good luck. Bye, my dear son.
Gonzalo had recently finished his business studies at the university and now he was ready to be another piece in the machinery of the neo liberal economy that was implemented in the country after a coup ended the socialist government of the president Salvador Allende who died defending his government when two Hawker Hunters bombed the presidential palace in 1973.Since then a dictatory government ruled the country. At the beginning, radical changes were implemented over the whole nation. Four years of imposed curfew changed people’s habits. The regime changed the economic system and opened the economy to the world but as a result of that, other things arisen. People’s values and the perception of all that was native became depreciated. The overrating of the foreign became the norm. It turn out to be that radios broadcasted music mostly in English and TV showed series from Hollywood that did not reflect the reality of the country but that fed the escapism of people and that was good for the regime. The press manipulated the reality and instead of informing they misinformed. In time, the country grew into polarization among those who supported the dictatorship just because they profited from it and those who could managed to see the reality among so much deception.
When the coup occurred Gonzalo’s father was working in Italy and when he knew about it he told Gonzalo’s mum to sell everything and join him with the family in Rome but then it was too late. The relationship with Luisa, Gonzalo’s mum, was already in a point of no return and she decided to stay and go to live with her rich lover Roberto with whom she seemed to have more affinities. Roberto, as a businessman profited a great deal with all these changes, especially the economic changes that encouraged free market and his prosperity allowed him to provide generously to Luisa, Gonzalo and his sister.
But Gonzalo in spite of his well-being disagreed with the political and social situation. He had still a conscience and he could not fully enjoy this welfare knowing that there were people who were having a hard time day by day and he felt that this was a major divergence with his mum and sister who seemed completely immersed in their own world of abundance. Of course, they were not interested in discovering how other people lived although the evidences of inequality were everywhere outside their bubble. Still, he could not blame them for that and for a moment he doubted if they did not have the joy or the misfortune to discover such a world. Maybe it was better not to have a conscience.
It was Thursday and it was better to try to arrange the job appointment with Mr. Errazuriz for the following day rather than leave it for next week. He rang to his office and everything went so smoothly that he thought that it had been easier than expected. He even didn’t have to talk to him and managed to arrange an appointment only by talking to his secretary. Contacts were very influential and being well connected facilitated the possibility to get an opportunity.
On the other side of the city, Pedro worked in a warehouse of a North American bank were all the cheques and financial documents that needed to be kept were stored. It was a big contradiction for him that in spite of strongly opposing to the imposed capitalist economic system he worked for a bank. At times he felt guilty but later he thought over and he knew that for the time being, the job was perfect for him. He spent most of the time in his small hidden office that was located on the second level at a corner of the big warehouse. From that corner sounds of classical music and dramatic opera often emanated. These sounds were the background curtain for his thoughts. There, he had the freedom to create his own world. He spent most of the time reading “key books” as he liked to call some of the works from Plato, Machiavello, Rousseau, Freud and others. Not to mention the other literature that was considered subversive and was prohibited by the regime like Marx, Lenin and the endless speeches of Castro and Che Guevara.
Every time someone approached his office, he could sense the vibration produced by the steps on the stairs of the metal structure that sustained the whole second level warning and allowing him enough time to hide whatever he was doing in the intimacy of that little office and pretend to work.
That Friday he left the warehouse earlier. In two weeks the plebiscite that would decide the faith of the country was going to take place and there will be political manifestations from both fractions in the streets of the city. Authorities were always struggling to avoid that crows from opposite sides met each other but almost always these manifestations ended in serious incidents among the YES and NO supporters or the No supporters against the repressive forces. the repressive forces never went agaisnt the YES supporters.
Gonzalo’s passion was photographic journalism. He had always been fascinated by the power of images and how could one of them tell more than thousand words. His passion grew spontaneously because at the beginning he was just another opponent in the crow showing his discontent but one day overwhelmed by the amount of images of all kind that his eyes witnessed he decided to start document them by taking pictures. His passion became an obsession and now he was in an tireless search for that single image that would go from one press agency to another all over the world denouncing the repression and social conditions in his beloved country.
When the coup occurred Gonzalo’s father was working in Italy and when he knew about it he told Gonzalo’s mum to sell everything and join him with the family in Rome but then it was too late. The relationship with Luisa, Gonzalo’s mum, was already in a point of no return and she decided to stay and go to live with her rich lover Roberto with whom she seemed to have more affinities. Roberto, as a businessman profited a great deal with all these changes, especially the economic changes that encouraged free market and his prosperity allowed him to provide generously to Luisa, Gonzalo and his sister.
But Gonzalo in spite of his well-being disagreed with the political and social situation. He had still a conscience and he could not fully enjoy this welfare knowing that there were people who were having a hard time day by day and he felt that this was a major divergence with his mum and sister who seemed completely immersed in their own world of abundance. Of course, they were not interested in discovering how other people lived although the evidences of inequality were everywhere outside their bubble. Still, he could not blame them for that and for a moment he doubted if they did not have the joy or the misfortune to discover such a world. Maybe it was better not to have a conscience.
It was Thursday and it was better to try to arrange the job appointment with Mr. Errazuriz for the following day rather than leave it for next week. He rang to his office and everything went so smoothly that he thought that it had been easier than expected. He even didn’t have to talk to him and managed to arrange an appointment only by talking to his secretary. Contacts were very influential and being well connected facilitated the possibility to get an opportunity.
On the other side of the city, Pedro worked in a warehouse of a North American bank were all the cheques and financial documents that needed to be kept were stored. It was a big contradiction for him that in spite of strongly opposing to the imposed capitalist economic system he worked for a bank. At times he felt guilty but later he thought over and he knew that for the time being, the job was perfect for him. He spent most of the time in his small hidden office that was located on the second level at a corner of the big warehouse. From that corner sounds of classical music and dramatic opera often emanated. These sounds were the background curtain for his thoughts. There, he had the freedom to create his own world. He spent most of the time reading “key books” as he liked to call some of the works from Plato, Machiavello, Rousseau, Freud and others. Not to mention the other literature that was considered subversive and was prohibited by the regime like Marx, Lenin and the endless speeches of Castro and Che Guevara.
Every time someone approached his office, he could sense the vibration produced by the steps on the stairs of the metal structure that sustained the whole second level warning and allowing him enough time to hide whatever he was doing in the intimacy of that little office and pretend to work.
That Friday he left the warehouse earlier. In two weeks the plebiscite that would decide the faith of the country was going to take place and there will be political manifestations from both fractions in the streets of the city. Authorities were always struggling to avoid that crows from opposite sides met each other but almost always these manifestations ended in serious incidents among the YES and NO supporters or the No supporters against the repressive forces. the repressive forces never went agaisnt the YES supporters.
Gonzalo’s passion was photographic journalism. He had always been fascinated by the power of images and how could one of them tell more than thousand words. His passion grew spontaneously because at the beginning he was just another opponent in the crow showing his discontent but one day overwhelmed by the amount of images of all kind that his eyes witnessed he decided to start document them by taking pictures. His passion became an obsession and now he was in an tireless search for that single image that would go from one press agency to another all over the world denouncing the repression and social conditions in his beloved country.
He knew it was a risky business but he didn’t seem to fully realized of the level of danger he was exposing himself to.
While he traveled on the bus he noticed the walls of the city papered will posters supporting YES and NO. The whole idea of having only two options seemed so bizarre to him. In a normal situation political posters had pictures of a candidate in whom people could deposit their trust and their dreams but this time it was not the case. He couldn’t avoid thinking on; how ridiculous this dilemma was? Having to choose in between accepting something or not, did not make much sense to him especially after fifteen years of dictatorship. Instead, choosing among several different options seemed much more sensible. That was real democracy. But he held back his anger when he further thought that this was just the first step. A hypothetical victory of the NO option was a preliminary step for regular elections the coming year. So among the two options, the NO represented the hope of the people and Pedro’s hope.
The more the bus approached to the central avenues the more people with flags of the YES seemed to surround the bus. Soon the bus seemed to move so slow that Pedro decided that it was better to continue walking.
The clock marked 13:05.He had 55 minutes to arrive to Mr. Errazuriz company headquarters. Gonzalo was a bit nervous. While driving he thought that it was essential to arrive on time to give a good impression. He knew that in spite of the influences Mr Errazuriz would not take someone who did not have the skills nor the talent for such an important position in the company. Gonzalo like the mayority of the rich and influential people lived at the foot of the Andes in the highest part of the city and from there the city spread eastward.
The office was allocated in Providencia an area that became a sort of symbol of the successful new economic system full of shops and modern buildings with lots of glass not far from Gonzalo’s house. When he reached the traffic light at an intersection of two main avenues a battalion of street vendors approached to the cars offering their products. It wasn’t a new sight for Gonzalo. In fact these hard working people were always there and for some reason that day Gonzalo seemed to be paying special attention to them.
Using his business knowledge he started to examine minutely the whole modus operandi of these hard working people and he thought how after so many years of brutal neo liberalism at gun point even the most humble people in the country had assimilated the principles of business operations in order to survive. They were five of them and most likely all members of a single family that in order to stay alive saw themselves as a partnership. They were there everyday so that corner belonged to them and nobody else could sell there, so the corner became their premises and they all sold different things; so they had product diversity; from newspapers to seasonal fruits. They even incorporated the spirit of the plebiscite by selling flags but there was only one option available in that part of the city; the YES option.
These thoughts intertwined with a memory that brought Gonzalo fifteen years back to evoke the episode in which he together with Pedro and Silvana were selling flags in manifestations of both sides of the political spectrum of that time. He then smiled just like we all do when we remember our child pranks. Suddenly, the green light was there and he had to press the gas pedal and leave his thoughts behind.
As he approached to his destination he noticed that there was a march ahead. He parked his car and started to walk. He did not know about this demonstration, otherwise he would not had come to this area but it was too late to cancel his important appointment. Since the shocking episode that ended with Silvana’s death he avoided any political demonstration. At times he thought on participating on them but it was like a trauma inside of him and he deeply feared them. Unfortunately for him the more he approached to the address of Mr. Errazuriz headquarters the closer he got to the epicenter of the demonstration.
Gonzalo arrived to the meeting point on time. It was almost a rite that before any manifestation all the photographers, national and international correspondents and amateurs photographers got together in order to know who was there. Taking pictures in those circumstances was a very risky business and sometimes photographers disappeared and they were never seen anymore. Those who were most at risk were the amateur photographers like Pedro, who did not represent any important agency or newspaper who could claim and denounce his disappearance to the international public opinion. They were around twenty photographers from which eight were international correspondent. They were easy to spot them because they all wore gas masks and water proof clothing but Pedro relied on sucking a lemon to combat the effect of the tear gas if it was necessary. Along the main avenue there was a huge gathering of supporters of YES marching in a parade. Among the people marching, singing and shouting there were cars and trucks decorated with flags and slogans. These vehicles were crowded with supporters and had loudspeakers that encouraged the people on the side of the avenue to vote YES but the silence and impassiveness of the public implied that they were for the NO. The whole country knew that the only way that the YES could win would be through an electoral fraud but the people was not sure if the regime would dear to commit such fraud considering that the eyes of the whole world were on this plebiscite and there will be international observant that will denounce any irregularity.
Pedro excited moved around looking for his best shots. Gonzalo nervously tried to swim among the sea of people with the only purpose to arrive to Mr. Errazuriz office as soon as possible. The area was a commercial and business area and on a Friday at lunch time was always busy. Just like Gonzalo there were many people who happened to be there and their curiosity incited to remain there and observe. He needed to cross the same avenue where the demonstrators were parading. The only alternative was to cross the avenue through the subway access. A tribe of heavy metal fans who traditionally gather outside a record shop instinctively approached to the avenue to satisfy their inquisitiveness. What kind of people could support the YES?-they wanted to see. The truck that was passing in front of them had a group of suspicious supporters with military haircuts and sunglasses. Anyone with a little bit of sense to smell what is rotten would realized that those were paramilitary members supporting the regime. Soon, the temptation to unmask and make fun of them was too big. They replied instantly with the only way that they knew to make their point heard; with brutal repression and violence. Nobody knew that the truck was full of stones. They bent down, picked the stones up and started to throw them to the heavy metal supporters who were mixed among the public. In a second everything was a chaos. Everybody was searching for a place to take refugee. The heavy metal fans improvised weapons from anything they could find in such urban battle field; paving stones and street post. Other blocked the avenue with huge ornamental street flower pots so the cars could not continue and got trapped. Three of the paramilitaries decided to descend from the truck and followed the most audacious of their enemies who tried to break the glass of the truck on the driver side with a post. He attempted to escape descending at high speed the stairs of the subway station but he felt. Soon, he was surrounded by his pursuers and one of them extracted a curved knife and started to slash him on his upper legs.
Pedro was there and when he saw the man slashing the young guy he started to shoot his camera incessantly until someone took him from behind and he felt a pointy knife in his Adam’s apple.
-The film. Give me the film – a commanding voice ordered him.
The caprices of faith brought Gonzalo right in front of the scene to witness the secret police threatening Pedro. He recognized him immediately in spite of the years. In that instant that seemed to freeze the whole scene he thought that life was giving him the opportunity to repair the mistake that he made in the past. He always thought that the time when he appealed to his European look and the good clothes that he wore then, as a passport to avoid being arrested was a coward act.
-Let him go –he shouted. The police turned to see who was talking.
-Who are you?- asked the police .
-Gonzalo Larrain.- he replied. If you don‘t let him go I can assure you that tomorrow you will be in the street with lots of troubles. Gonzalo’s assertiveness and appearance made the police believe him and the fear for consequences made him released Pedro.
Nobody else moved or talked. Gonzalo approached Pedro and took him downstairs silently through the subway station far from the crowd and the battle that still continued upstairs.
Once again Gonzalo appealed to the Status Quo to impose his authority. Once again he appealed to the same weapons but with this time with a different purpose. This time, he used it to save a friend; the same friend he felt had abandoned in the past, relieving his conscience of an old guilt.
Apparently, not many things changed in this country after fifteen years.
While he traveled on the bus he noticed the walls of the city papered will posters supporting YES and NO. The whole idea of having only two options seemed so bizarre to him. In a normal situation political posters had pictures of a candidate in whom people could deposit their trust and their dreams but this time it was not the case. He couldn’t avoid thinking on; how ridiculous this dilemma was? Having to choose in between accepting something or not, did not make much sense to him especially after fifteen years of dictatorship. Instead, choosing among several different options seemed much more sensible. That was real democracy. But he held back his anger when he further thought that this was just the first step. A hypothetical victory of the NO option was a preliminary step for regular elections the coming year. So among the two options, the NO represented the hope of the people and Pedro’s hope.
The more the bus approached to the central avenues the more people with flags of the YES seemed to surround the bus. Soon the bus seemed to move so slow that Pedro decided that it was better to continue walking.
The clock marked 13:05.He had 55 minutes to arrive to Mr. Errazuriz company headquarters. Gonzalo was a bit nervous. While driving he thought that it was essential to arrive on time to give a good impression. He knew that in spite of the influences Mr Errazuriz would not take someone who did not have the skills nor the talent for such an important position in the company. Gonzalo like the mayority of the rich and influential people lived at the foot of the Andes in the highest part of the city and from there the city spread eastward.
The office was allocated in Providencia an area that became a sort of symbol of the successful new economic system full of shops and modern buildings with lots of glass not far from Gonzalo’s house. When he reached the traffic light at an intersection of two main avenues a battalion of street vendors approached to the cars offering their products. It wasn’t a new sight for Gonzalo. In fact these hard working people were always there and for some reason that day Gonzalo seemed to be paying special attention to them.
Using his business knowledge he started to examine minutely the whole modus operandi of these hard working people and he thought how after so many years of brutal neo liberalism at gun point even the most humble people in the country had assimilated the principles of business operations in order to survive. They were five of them and most likely all members of a single family that in order to stay alive saw themselves as a partnership. They were there everyday so that corner belonged to them and nobody else could sell there, so the corner became their premises and they all sold different things; so they had product diversity; from newspapers to seasonal fruits. They even incorporated the spirit of the plebiscite by selling flags but there was only one option available in that part of the city; the YES option.
These thoughts intertwined with a memory that brought Gonzalo fifteen years back to evoke the episode in which he together with Pedro and Silvana were selling flags in manifestations of both sides of the political spectrum of that time. He then smiled just like we all do when we remember our child pranks. Suddenly, the green light was there and he had to press the gas pedal and leave his thoughts behind.
As he approached to his destination he noticed that there was a march ahead. He parked his car and started to walk. He did not know about this demonstration, otherwise he would not had come to this area but it was too late to cancel his important appointment. Since the shocking episode that ended with Silvana’s death he avoided any political demonstration. At times he thought on participating on them but it was like a trauma inside of him and he deeply feared them. Unfortunately for him the more he approached to the address of Mr. Errazuriz headquarters the closer he got to the epicenter of the demonstration.
Gonzalo arrived to the meeting point on time. It was almost a rite that before any manifestation all the photographers, national and international correspondents and amateurs photographers got together in order to know who was there. Taking pictures in those circumstances was a very risky business and sometimes photographers disappeared and they were never seen anymore. Those who were most at risk were the amateur photographers like Pedro, who did not represent any important agency or newspaper who could claim and denounce his disappearance to the international public opinion. They were around twenty photographers from which eight were international correspondent. They were easy to spot them because they all wore gas masks and water proof clothing but Pedro relied on sucking a lemon to combat the effect of the tear gas if it was necessary. Along the main avenue there was a huge gathering of supporters of YES marching in a parade. Among the people marching, singing and shouting there were cars and trucks decorated with flags and slogans. These vehicles were crowded with supporters and had loudspeakers that encouraged the people on the side of the avenue to vote YES but the silence and impassiveness of the public implied that they were for the NO. The whole country knew that the only way that the YES could win would be through an electoral fraud but the people was not sure if the regime would dear to commit such fraud considering that the eyes of the whole world were on this plebiscite and there will be international observant that will denounce any irregularity.
Pedro excited moved around looking for his best shots. Gonzalo nervously tried to swim among the sea of people with the only purpose to arrive to Mr. Errazuriz office as soon as possible. The area was a commercial and business area and on a Friday at lunch time was always busy. Just like Gonzalo there were many people who happened to be there and their curiosity incited to remain there and observe. He needed to cross the same avenue where the demonstrators were parading. The only alternative was to cross the avenue through the subway access. A tribe of heavy metal fans who traditionally gather outside a record shop instinctively approached to the avenue to satisfy their inquisitiveness. What kind of people could support the YES?-they wanted to see. The truck that was passing in front of them had a group of suspicious supporters with military haircuts and sunglasses. Anyone with a little bit of sense to smell what is rotten would realized that those were paramilitary members supporting the regime. Soon, the temptation to unmask and make fun of them was too big. They replied instantly with the only way that they knew to make their point heard; with brutal repression and violence. Nobody knew that the truck was full of stones. They bent down, picked the stones up and started to throw them to the heavy metal supporters who were mixed among the public. In a second everything was a chaos. Everybody was searching for a place to take refugee. The heavy metal fans improvised weapons from anything they could find in such urban battle field; paving stones and street post. Other blocked the avenue with huge ornamental street flower pots so the cars could not continue and got trapped. Three of the paramilitaries decided to descend from the truck and followed the most audacious of their enemies who tried to break the glass of the truck on the driver side with a post. He attempted to escape descending at high speed the stairs of the subway station but he felt. Soon, he was surrounded by his pursuers and one of them extracted a curved knife and started to slash him on his upper legs.
Pedro was there and when he saw the man slashing the young guy he started to shoot his camera incessantly until someone took him from behind and he felt a pointy knife in his Adam’s apple.
-The film. Give me the film – a commanding voice ordered him.
The caprices of faith brought Gonzalo right in front of the scene to witness the secret police threatening Pedro. He recognized him immediately in spite of the years. In that instant that seemed to freeze the whole scene he thought that life was giving him the opportunity to repair the mistake that he made in the past. He always thought that the time when he appealed to his European look and the good clothes that he wore then, as a passport to avoid being arrested was a coward act.
-Let him go –he shouted. The police turned to see who was talking.
-Who are you?- asked the police .
-Gonzalo Larrain.- he replied. If you don‘t let him go I can assure you that tomorrow you will be in the street with lots of troubles. Gonzalo’s assertiveness and appearance made the police believe him and the fear for consequences made him released Pedro.
Nobody else moved or talked. Gonzalo approached Pedro and took him downstairs silently through the subway station far from the crowd and the battle that still continued upstairs.
Once again Gonzalo appealed to the Status Quo to impose his authority. Once again he appealed to the same weapons but with this time with a different purpose. This time, he used it to save a friend; the same friend he felt had abandoned in the past, relieving his conscience of an old guilt.
Apparently, not many things changed in this country after fifteen years.
No comments:
Post a Comment