Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Reinaldo Arenas was born in Cuba in 1943. In 1980, he was one of 120,000 Cubans who arrived in the United States on the Mariel boatlift. Arenas settled in New York where he lived until his death from AIDS ten years later.
Andrew Hurley is a translator of numerous works of literature, criticism, history, and memoir. He is professor emeritus at the University of Puerto Rico.

Thomas Colchie is an acclaimed translator, editor, and literary agent for international authors. He is the editor of A Hammock Beneath the Mangoes. He has written for the Village Voice and The Washington Post. His translations include Manuel Puig's Kiss of the Spider Woman and (with Elizabeth Bishop, Gregory Rabassa, and Mark Strand) Carlos Drummond de Andrade's Travelling in the Family.

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The Color of Summer

Penguin Books

Chapter One

The Flight of Gertrudis Gómez de Avellaneda

A light comedy in one act
(of repudiation)

* * *

SETTINGS: The Antilles and their surrounding waters (the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea) Key West The Malecón in Havana.

TIME: July 1999.

DRAMATIS PERSONAE:

On the sea: Gertrudis Gómez de Avellaneda José Martí

On the Malecón:(In order of appearance)
Halisia Jalonzo
Virgilio Piñera
Fifo (played by a double)
Delfín Proust (also in Key West)
Nicolás Guillotina
Dulce María Leynaz
Tina Parecía Mirruz
Karilda Olivar Lubricious
H. Puntilla (also on the sea and in Key West)
José Zacarias Talet
A chorus of rehabilitated prostitutes
Rita Tonga
Paula Amanda, a.k.a. Luisa Fernanda
Odiseo Ruego (also in Key West)
Endinio Valliegas
José Lezama Lima
Julián del Casal

Chorus on the Malecón in Havana: Made up of minor poets such as Cynthio Métier, Retamal, José Martínez Mata, Pablo Amando, Miguel Barniz, and a hundred or so others; also including members of the Comité para la Defensa de la Revolución (a.k.a. the Watchdog Committee), midgets, high-ranking military officers, and anybody else that's on the Malecón at the time.

In Key West:(In order of appearance)
José María Heredia
Raúl Kastro (also on the Malecón)
Fernando González Esteva
Zebro Sardoya
An announcer
Primigenio Florido
A chorus of children
Bastón Dacuero

Chorus of poetesses: Angel Gastaluz (This character possesses, by papal bull, the gift
of omnipresence, so throughout the work s/he is able to be in several
places at the same time if s/he so desires.)
The Mayor of Miami
The President of the United States
A leading politician
The female editor of a fashion magazine
Kilo Abierto Montamier
A prizewinning poetess
A congressman from the state of Ohio
The Attorney General
The Bishop of Miami
Ye-Ye, a.k.a. PornoPop, The Only Remaining Go-Go Fairy
Queen in Cuba (who also possesses the gift of omnipresence, bestowed
by St. Nelly)
Mariano Brull
A society lady from Miami
An old woman
A priest
A nun
A female professor of literature
Another poetess (who's awarded herself her own prize)
An astrologer
Alta Grave de Peralta
A woman wearing a great deal of jewelry
A university type
The director of a Cuban museum (in exile)
Andrés Reynaldo

Chorus in Key West: Three thousand poetesses, professors of Latin, hundreds of aspirants to the office of the presidency of Cuba, and other notable politicians; sometimes includes the entire population of Key West, sometimes subdivided into small choruses.

Credits, Havana location:

Director: Fifo

Makeup and Choreography: Raúl Kastro

Resurrections: Oscar Horcayés

Music: Cuban National Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of Manuel Gracia Markoff, a.k.a. Yechface and the Marquesa de Macondo.

Key West location:

Director: Moscoso

Makeup and choreography: Kilo Abierto Montamier

Resurrections: Alta Grave de Peralta

Music: The Guadalajara Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of Octavio Plá, a.k.a. (according to lies told by Tomás Borge) Fray Nobel.

    The action begins in Havana, and as the curtain rises Gertrudis Gómez de Avellaneda,who has been brought back to life on Fifo's orders so that she will be able totake part in the festivities honoring Fifo's fiftieth year in power, escapes in a littlefishing boat and heads for Florida. Learning instantly about the escape, Fifo sendsout orders for her arrest, but realizing almost in the same breath that an arrestwould cause an international scandal, he orders the people of Cuba to stage an actof repudiation against the poetess, while secretly ordering his trained sharks and diligentmidgets to do everything in their power to block her flight. The act of repudiationbegins with the appearance of a group of eminent poets who are still on theIsland, some of whom have been brought back to life especially for this event. Theidea is that all these poets will be able to persuade Avellaneda not to leave the country.On Fifo's orders, they will throw at the fleeing poetess large quantities of rotteneggs, which thousands of midgets have piled along the edge of the ocean. Meanwhile,although at first it isn't clear where Avellaneda is headed (the part about"headed for Florida" was a taunt flung by Radio Aguado), the Cuban poets in exile,including some brought back to life for this event, decide to have a huge demonstrationon the southernmost tip of the United States (i.e., Key West) in order to encourageAvellaneda and show their moral support for her. In addition to reciting agreat number of poems dedicated to her, they shower her with candy bars, Californiaapples, bonbons, and even fake pearls.

Avellaneda: (On the Malecón in Havana, throwing a small, frail boat intothe water) Pearl of the ocean/Star of the West! Once glorious isle, now pain in the ass! I've had it up to here with you! Farewell! I mean, Adios! And a thousand times adios, for tell me, how is one supposed to put up with this mess? See these big ugly bags under my eyes? I haven't slept for days, because this brilliant sky of yours, no longer does Night cover with her sable veil?and so I'm off! Don't try to stop me! The ubiquitous mob has forced me to flee my native land. Adios, once happy homeland, beloved Eden where even Numero Uno, the head hoodlum, has to keep one eye on his behind. No more of this for me; I've made up my mind! (Plus?however far and wide I searched, however hard I tried I never...