Death At The Fracaso

[dagosd2000]

This one was not only for the championship,it was for the people of Mexico. Julio Cesar Chavez was going to defend his title against the American challenger,Greg Haugen, in front of more than 120,000 people at the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City. I didn't want pay 50 bucks for cable on the U.S. side so I decided to take a spin across the border and watch it for free. Besides the atmosphere in the Zona Norte ,I thought ,was in step with the fights in Mexico.

I parked the car in the lot. I started walking towards the Coahuila. The closer I got the more the world came to life. The street musicians were on the corners. Taxi cabs slowly moved into the streets. It was getting noisy. I was hungry. The guy selling Tacos al Pastor was putting together tacos in front of a growing crowd of people.He shaved the meat that was cooking on the spit,the meat falling on a warm corn tortilla that he dipped first into the manteca. Then he grabbed a big spoon and quickly put chile and cilantro on top of the meat,placed the taco on a piece of paper and handed it to an anxious eater. In front of the cart was a pile of radishes,onions,guacamole,and a variety of red and green salsas. A small lamp lit up the cart and the vendor in front of a darkening and busy street. The crackle of the manteca dripping onto the grill and the aroma of the meat drifted down the block. Next to the cart was a big jug of fresh lemonade with slices of lemons floating on the top. There were a lot of people in front of the cart. You never told the guy how many tacos you'd eaten when you were finished. He keeps shoving them at you until you hold up your hand and say,"Ya"(enough).I'd eaten 4 and told him I'd eaten 3. I never got an argument because I never over exaggerrated how many I had eaten.

Now that I'd had my fill,I looked for a good place to watch the fight. I picked out the "Fracaso".The joint was packed. I slowly pushed my way through to the bar. The tables were filled with men who looked like they'd been drinking for hours. The bar was filled with cigarrette smoke. You could see the smoke slowly rising towards the ceiling.On the wet tables were bottles and bottles of "cahuamas"(liters of beer). Coronas in those brown bottles with the mustard colored lables. There were cases of beer reaching to the top. Cases and cases. The bartender was going non stop. He caught my eye as I reached out my arm. "Una cahuama"
"Vaso?(glass?)
"Por favor"
I poured the beer,then looked across the "Fracaso" It had a low ceiling and fans were spinning crookedly,but all they did was move the heat around. I felt something run across the top of my hand on the bar. It was a cockroach. There were TV's in each corner and the men were gathering around watching the preliminaries. The noise was getting louder and everyone was getting more excited waiting for Chavez to fight. As always when there is a fight,the girls were left alone. They didn't like it when there was a fight. Nobody paid them any attention. They sat huddled together on the four benches around the dance floor talking to each other. They sat bent over, shoulders rounded, not caring and bored. Some pulled out their gum and pulled it with their fingers. No one wanted to dance with them or buy them a drink. They weren't making any money. They didn't like it when there was a fight.

I saw this one girl sitting by herself. She was at the end of one of the benches. She was pretty. She had those high Indian cheek bones and that curved Indian nose at the top. She was a "morena"(dark skinned girl). Her hair was black,and she wore it up. She had on a white tight dress and her legs were crossed. I walked towards her and she looked up at me. The front of her dress revealed a little of her cleavage. She wore a delicate chain with a little medallion of the Virgin around her neck. She smiled and squinted her eyes slightly.
"Quieres cerveza?"(want a beer?) I asked.
"Seguro". She was very pretty.
I figured it would be a while for the fight to begin. The place was really getting crowded and loud,but I felt that I was alone with her. I liked that.
"Como te llamas?"(what's your name?)
"Maria". She bent over slightly, revealing a little more. I caught a slight whiff of her perfume. I lost interest in the fight.
"Vamos arriba?"(go upstairs?)
"Si" She grabbed her purse and said"Sigame"(follow me)
I followed her out to the street. I don't think anyone saw us leave. She quickly turned into a doorway and started walking up a narrow flight of stairs. At the top of the stairs was an old woman behind a counter. She was listening to music. You could barely hear it. Maria turned to me. "Diez"( meaning ten dollars) I gave the woman the money and she gave Maria a roll of toilet paper and a sealed condom. I felt very awkward.
"Ven". Maria was slowly looking for a room. "Aqui", she said. "Este no huele"(this one doesn't smell) She latched the door shut. "Este cuarto es mio"(this room is mine)
"Vives aqui?"(you live here?)
"No mas el fin de semana"(only the weekend)
I saw a big picture of a young child that was taped slightly crooked on the wall.
"Quien es?"(who is she?)
"Mi nina",answered Maria."Se llama Beatriz"
"Cuantos anos?"
"Tiene tres anos"
"Y su papa?"
Maria clenched her jaw. "Se fue con otra mujer"(went with another woman)
Maria was standing in front of me. She smoothed down her dress. "Voy al bano. Quitate su ropa" (I go to the bathroom. Undress)
I sat at the edge of the bed. There was a smaller room next to the one I was in. The light from the room I was in brightened slightly the smaller room. I tried to see what was inside. My eyes adjusted and I could see a small couch with stuffed animals and dolls covering the seat. There was a little doll with blonde hair that was nearest to me. Around the doll's neck was a small heart.It said "Por mi Betita. Con carino,Mommy" I heard the water of the sink turn off. Maria came out of the bathroom.
"Listo?'(ready?)
I started to get a little dizzy. "No puedo."(I can't)
Maria looked a little confused. "Algo mal?"(something wrong?)
"No. Tome mucho. Por favor."(I drank too much). I wanted to leave. "Aqui es vente dollares. por favor."(here's twenty dollars)
Maria looked at the twenty dollars I put on the bed. She stood still. I got up. I couldn't think of nothing. I turned the door handle. It didn't open. I forgot to unlatch it. "Yo lo tengo"(I have it). I opened the door and looked back at Maria. She looked dissappointed. She was standing in front of the picture of her daughter. "Adios" ,I said and walked down the stairs.

I went back to the "Fracaso". It wasn't crowded as before. I heard some guys talking. Chavez had fought and knocked Haugen out. I sat at an empty table. It was covered with empty beer bottles. A waiter came over. "Una pichel" ( pitcher of beer),I said.
Just then the juke box came on. The men started going over to the girls asking them to dance. The music was loud and lively. The girls were happy again. The fight was over. The waiter put the pitcher down on the table with a glass. ""Limpio la mesa"(I clean the table)
"No,esta bien,gracias"(no thanks. It's Ok) I was watching the dancing when I saw something plop into the pitcher from the ceiling. I saw at the bottom of the pitcher that it was a cockroach. He was struggling to survive.I wasn't going to put my arm in the beer to get him out. It looked like same cockroach that ran across my hand when I was at the bar, so I let him drown. Anyway I figured it was a suicide. He'd probably bet everything he had on Haugen.

[granberry]

Good writer.