Border Brujo: A Performance Poem (From the Series "Documented/Undocumented")

Author(s): Guillermo Gómez-Peña

Reviewed work(s):
Source: TDR (1988-), Vol. 35, No. 3 (Autumn, 1991), pp. 48-66
Published by: The MIT Press
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1146131 .
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 Border Brujo
A Performance Poem
(from the series
"Documented/Undocumented") *

GuillermoGomez-Pena

San Diego/Tijuana 1989 It fuses postmodern techniques with popular

I dedicatethis piece to my son, Guillermo
voices and dialectical forms borrowed from a
dozen sources, such as media, tourism, pop cul-
Emiliano, hoping that when he grows
up, most of these wordswill be outdated
ture, Pachuco and pinto slang, and political
and unnecessary. jargon. These voices are intertwined with meta-
commentary and epic poetry. The epic tone re-
flects the epic experience of contemporary
Mexican Americans.
Preface BorderBrujo speaks in Spanish to Mexicans, in
BorderBrujo is a ritual, linguistic, and performa- Spanglish to Chicanos, in English to Anglo-
tive journey across the U.S.-Mexico border. Americans, and in tongues to other brujos and
border crossers. Only the perfectly bicultural
Border Brujo first crossed the border in costume can be in complicity with him.
in June of 1988.
BorderBrujoexorcises with the word the demons
Border Brujo unfolds into 15 different personas, of the dominant cultures of both countries.
each speaking a different border language. And
BorderBrujoarticulatesfear, desire, trauma, sub-
the relationship between these personas is sym-
bolic of the one between North and South; An- limation, anger, and misplacement.
glo and Latin America; myth and social reality; BorderBrujosuffers in his own flesh the pain of
legality and illegality; performance art and life. his ruptured community.
The structure is disnarrative and modular, like BorderBrujo puts a mirror between the two
the border experience. countries then breaksit in front of the audience.

* Workin progress
The Drama Review 35, no. 3 (Ti31), Fall 1991

Guillermo Gomez-Penia wants everyone to be able to use his work so he places no limitations on its use. As far as Gomez-Pena is concerned, his
work is in the public domain.

49
. Still from the film, Border Brujo, by Isaac Artenstein and Guillermo Gomez-Pena, 1990. (Photo by
Max Aguilera Hellweg)
50 Guillermo Gomez-Pena
Border Brujo loves and hates his audience; loves Introduction
and hates himself. Tarahumara violins. Border
[Soundtrack:
Border Brujo creates a sacred space to reflect on Brujo organizes his altar table, while speak-
the painful relationship between self and other. ing in an Indian dialect. When he is done
He dances between self and other. He becomes fixing the altar he grabs megaphone and
self and other, with himself. switches to English.]
dear audience
BorderBrujo negotiates several artistic traditions, feel at home
including performance art, Chicano theatre, rit- this continent is your home
ual theatre, and Latin American literature.
grab a cigarette
BorderBrujo is a character, but he is also an alter- this is a smoking world
native chronicler of life in a community. kick back
grab the crotch of your neighbor
BorderBrujo is a performance artist, but he is also & allow me the
privilege
a cultural prisoner, a refugee, a migrant poet, a of
reorganizing your thoughts
homeless shaman, and the village fool. dear foreign audience
His performance language has no artifice what- it's January Ist, 1847
soever. His sole instruments consist of an altar & the U.S. hasn't invaded Mexico yet
this is Mexico carnales!
jacket, a hat, a wig, a table, a ghetto blaster, and
a megaphone. There's no backstage magic. there is no border
we are merely divided
Border Brujo practices the aesthetics of poverty
by the imprecision of your memory
and the culture of recycling so chracteristic of
[He enters into a trance & begins speaking
Latin America. in tongues. Then he switches to the voice of
Border Brujo performs distinctly inside and out- a drunk.]
side the art world. He has appeared in galleries hey, would you just leave me alone?
and theatre festivals, and also at youth centers, just leave me alone ...
migrant worker centers, high schools, commu- you're just a border-crosser
a "wetback" with amnesia
nity events, political rallies, and performance
who the hell invited your ancestors
pilgrimages.
to this country by the way?
Border Brujo is another strategy to let you know
we are here to stay, and we'd better begin devel-
I
oping a pact of mutual cultural understanding.
[With eyes closed & in an epiphanic voice.]
Gomez-Pefia I came following your dream
desde la herida infectada your dream became my nightmare
toward 1992. once here,
I dreamt you didn't exist
COSTUMES: altar jacket, Pachuco hat, wig, I dreamt a map without borders
dark glasses, banana necklace. where the Latin American archipelago
reached all the way
PROPS: portable altar, megaphone, cassette re-
to the nuyorricanbarrios of Boston and Man-
corder, tequila bottle, toy violin, knife, syringe,
hattan
shampoo bottle, etc. The props lie on a table. all the
A digital billboard announces, "SPONSORED way to the pockets
of Central American refugees
BY TURISMO FRONTERIZO." On the back
in Alberta & British Columbia
wall a pinta reads, "Border Brujo (2000 BC-
[He opens his eyes.]
1989)." & when I dream like this
Music plays as audience enters space. A collage you suffer
of tambora, German punk, bilingual songs from my dream becomes your nightmare
Los Tigres del Norte, and rap opera. & pot, your only consolation
 Border Brujo 51
II ser bilingiie, bihemisferico
macizo, sereno, proto-hist6rico
[Sounds of rooster, the soundtrack: danzon
ininteligible luego expedi-mental
"Imposible" by Los Xochimilcas. Voice of
e incompatiblecon usted
a Mexican soap opera actor; parts in Spanish
sr. Monochromatic
are mispronounced.]
victima del melting plot
today, the sun came out in English
the world spins around en ingles [He turns into a Mexico City niero (deroga-
tive for urban mestizo).]
& life is just a melancholic tune
in a foreign tongue. pinto mi raya
salto la tuya
like this one
me dicen el Borges de Calexico
[He shows his tongue to the audience.] el Octavio Pus de San Isidro
ay Mexico hablo en espanol, digolo intento
Rrrrrooommantic Mexico
& los gabachos me escuchancon recelo
"Amigou Country"
(unos me interrogancon las uias
para el gringo desvelado
otros me filman en Super-8)
Tijuana Caliente, la "O"
Mexicali Rose soy posmoderno . . . pos qu?e
para el gabacho deshauciado conceptual . . . con que?
El Pasou y Juarrezz experimental . . . pos que experi-mentira
ciudadespara encontrarel amor mentiramesobre tu pin-che-es-pa-ci-o-cu-pa-do
amor que nunca existi6 [He does sound poem based on Mexican
ay Mexico street voices.]
rrrrooommantic Mexico
paraiso en fragmentacion IV
mariachisdesempleados
concherosdesnutridos [He begins walking in circles and howling
bandidousalegris like a wolf, keeping a rhythm with his feet.]
beautiful senoritas crisis
mafioso politicians craises
federalis que bailan el mambou the biting crises
el ronchero, la cumbia, la zambia the barking crises
en-tropical skyline sprayed on the wall [He barks.]
"dare to cross the Tequila border" la crisis es un perro
dare to cross "the line" without your Cop- que nos ladra desde el norte
pertone la crisis es un Chrysler le Baron con 4 puertas
transcorporate breeze sponsored by Turismo [He barks more.]
maquiladorapower for the business macho soy hijo de la crisisfronteriza
crunchy nachous to appease the hunger soy hijo de la bruja hermafrodita
[He turns into a transvestite.] producto de una cultural cesarean
Tostadas Supreme para aliviar las penas punkraca heavy-mierda all the way
enchiladasy MacFa-ji-tas el chucofinkahudtl desertorde 2 paises
mmmnn . . . peso little-eat so grandi! rayo tardio de la corrientedemocratik
where else but in Mexico vengo del sur
el unico de 10 que se pint6
III [He turns into a merolico (Mexico City street
performer).]
[He manipulates objects from the altar ta- naci entre epocas y culturasy viceversa
ble, speaks in a normal voice.] naci de una herida infectada
vivir y crear en California herida en llamas
es un tormentoprivilegiado herida que auuuuuulla
vivir en los '8os [He howls.]
esperara la muerte total I'm a child of border crisis
52 Guillermo G6mez-Peia
a product of a cultural cesarean cambio de dolar y de nombre
I was born between epochs & cultures cambio de esposa y oficio
born from an infected wound de poeta a profeta
a howling wound de actor a pelotari
a flaming wound de narco a funcionario
for I am part of a new mankind de mal en peor
the 4th World, the migrant kind sin cover charge
los transterradosy descoyuntados here, everything can take place
los que partimos y nunca llegamos for a very reasonable fee
y aqui estamos aun anything can change into something else
desempleadose incontenibles Mexicanos can become Chicanos
en proceso, en ascenso, en transici6n overnite
per omnia saecula saeculorum Chicanos become Hispanics
"INVIER TA EN MEXICO" Anglosaxons become Sandinistas
bienes y raices & surfers turn into soldiers of fortune
vienes y te vas here, fanatic Catholics become swingers
pudrete a gusto en los United & evangelists go zen
estate still si no te chingan at the clap of my fingers
[He continues with a sound poem.] for a very modest amount
I can turn your pesos into dollars
V your "coke" into flour
your dreams into nightmares
[With thick Mexican accent, pointing at spe- your penis into a clitoris
cific audience members.] you name it Califa
I speak Spanish therefore you hate me if your name is Guillermo G6mez-Pena
I speak in English therefore they hate me I can turn it into Guermo Comes Penis
I speak Spanglish therefore she speaks inglenol or Bill "the multi-media beaner"
I speak in tongues therefore you desire me or even better, Indocumentado#00281431
I speak to you therefore you kill me because here Spanish becomes English ipso facto
I speak therefore you change & life becomes art with the same speed
I speak in English therefore you listen that mambo becomes jazz
I speak in English therefore I hate you tostadasbecome pizza
pero cuando hablo en espanol te adoro machos become transvestites
but when I speak Spanish I adore you & brujos become performance artists
it's fun, it's fast
ahora, why carajosdo I speak Spanish? it's easy, it's worthwhile
political praxis craneal
I mean . . . you just gotta cross the border
I mean . . . [He stands up & performs a biblical gesture.]
Ldzaro gabacho wake up and cross!!
crossss/cruzzzzz /crasssss
VI
VII
[Soundtrack: Supercombo. He delivers text
in the fast style of a Tijuana barker.] [He begins the following text with a psalm
welcome to the Casa de Cambio in Latin. He delivers text like a Catholic
foreign currency exchange chant.]
the Temple of Instant Transformation Cyber-Bwana
the place where Tijuana y San Diego se entre- Tezcatlipoca Electronic
piernan Fabricantede la Imagen Internacional
where the Third becomes the First Padrastrode la IncertidumbreMundial
and the fist becomes the sphincter Legislador de la Terceray Ultima Realidad
here, we produce every imaginable change Gran Mano que todo lo acorrala
money exchange kasse you ordered us to come
cambiogenetico verbal via TV via rock & roll
 Border Brujo 53
Imevision here we are my my ma-ma, ma-ma-cita . . . mamita!!
SPANISH INTERNATIONAL NETWORK [He cries.]
& we are here ...
to stay
IX
[He continues with norteiio (Northern Mexi-
can) accent.] [He speaks through the megaphone.]
Cyber-Bwana dear Californian
we are your product in a way we harvest your food
we are what you can only dream about we cook it
we hold the tiny artery & serve it to you
which links you to the past we sing for you
the umbilical cord that goes back to the origins we fix your car
from Homo Punk to Homo Pre-Hispanic we paint your house
from high-tech to Aztec without missing a beat we trim your garden
without us you would go mad we babysit your children
without us you would forget who you really are & now
without us you are just another tourist lost in we even tell you what to do:
Puerto Vallarta go South Califa
[He grabs megaphone.] abandon your dream
we perform, we scold you, we remind you & join the continental project
'cause we are so little
dear Californian
so fuckin' minute
what else can we do? your hours are counted
by the fingers of your unwillingness
to become part of the world
you must be scared shitless of the future
VIII
[He speaks in tongues.]
[Soundtrack: Tambora Sinaloense. He speaks I've got the future in my throat
like a drunk.] [He speaks in tongues.]
... & you think we have nothing in common? take me or kill me Pochtlani
well, well look South or go mad
you are a victim of your government I mean it vato
& so am I ... of yours [He speaks in tongues.]
I am here 'cause your government ... & you dare to ask me
went down there where have I been
to my country all these years?
without a formal invitation
& took all our resources
so I came to look for them
x
just to look for them [He continues to speak through the mega-
nothing else phone.]
[He drinks from a bottle of shampoo.] estimado companero
if you see a refugee tonight del otro lado del espejo
treat him well there's really no danger tonight
he's just seeking his stolen resources estoy completamentedesarmado
if you happen to meet a migrant worker the only real danger lies
treat him well in your inability to understand me
he's merely picking the food in your unwillingness to trust
that was stolen from his garden the only real danger is in your fingers
[He begins to scream.] your thumb lies on the button
has anyone seen my stolen resources? your index finger on the trigger
has anyone seen my coffee, you have the weapons maestro
my copper, my banana, my gas, I merely have the word
my cocaine, my wrestling mask? my tongue is licking your wounds
54 Guillermo G6mez-Pena
it hurts but it makes sense XII
it's up to you to dialog
it's up to you to dialog [He speaks in broken English.]
no, I did not qualify
my ex-landlord didn't recognize me when I
called
XI my employers said they'd never seen me before
those art lords didn't want to sign the form
[Soundtrack: Ry Cooder. He speaks like
a smooth-talker, kisses audience with a "there's no recognizable form in your
smooth-talker style.] art"-they said
smack! smack! "there's no recognizable form for your fear"-I
told them
hey, baby... baby, giierita
duraznito en almibar, nalguita descolorida. . . "your aggressivity is an expression of cultural
It's me, the Mexican beast weakness"-they replied
we are here to talk, to change, to ex-change "but which is the form of my dignity?"-I asked
to ex-change images and fluids rhetorically
to look at each other's eyes [Pause.]
to look at each other's mmmhhj they were shocked by how articulate I was
so let's pull down the zipper of our fears [Voice becomes softer.]
& begin the . . . Binational Summit mi vida form, form
but remember, form without content
I'm not your tourist guide across the undeter- love without saliva
mined otherness art without ideas
this ain't no tropical safari to Palenke or tacos without salsa
life without redemption
Martinique
much less a private seminar on interracial form, form, form
relations [Voice changes to stylized Pachuco.]
form a coalition carnali
[He changes to normal voice.]
this is a basic survival proposal no te duermas Samuraii
from a fellow Mex-american get a computer piratai
in the debris of continental culture but buzo
& all this blood is real if your umbilical cord breaks
the hoopla is false but the blood is real there's nothing we can do
come taste it mi amor you're gone
lost in the all-encompassing fog
[He grabs the megaphone.]
subtext: of the United States of America
dear border lover & then,
Euridice Anglosajona you es-tassjou-didou
the state of interracial communication com-pre-hen-di?
has been seriously damaged by the AIDS crisis [He continues in a normal voice.]
we are no longer fucking our brains out the day I was born
no longer masturbating across the fence September 23 of 1955
no longer exchanging binational fluids eternity died
we are merely stalking & waiting & the border wound became infected
the day my father died
waiting for better times
& more efficient medication February I7 of 1989
we are horny & scared my last tentacle with Mexico broke
& I finally became a Chicano
very horny & very scared
tonight we must look for other strategies
& place additional importance on the word
XIII
I love you querida amante extranjera
but this time you have to be content with my [He holds bottle & delivers commercial as
words Latino transvestite.]
la palabra alivia las heridas de la historia Tequila Guero . . . with menthol
 Border Brujo 55
the new breath of old Mexico can you hear them?
for the contemporary warrior can you really hear them?
who doesn't
want to give up
XV
his language, his identity, or his . . . mmhhjj
[He then proceeds to announce a shampoo [He speaks through the megaphone.]
bottle in an Indian dialect.] hello, this is authentic Latino performance art
zero bullshit/lots of style
[He puts on shaman wig, delivers text with
XIV a breathy drunken voice.]
[Soundtrack: "La Negra" fading in & out. I am 33, the age of Christ
He speaks like a transvestite and clearly ex- & this is the year of Armageddon
periences a lot of pain.] the "Year of the Yellow Spider"
ay! according to the Tasadays
ayy!! & the Chinese "Year of the Snake"
aayyy!!! di go la neta es que
las leyes que emasculan your president & bunch have brought
la orden mortal en forma de cup6n sadness, radioactivity, & death
de imagen televisiva to the whole damn world
. . tremula voz electrica [He burps & coughs.]
al otro lado del telefono they've killed thousands of people
0095-619 down south & overseas
al otro lado del other side & you are also responsible
[He grabs the megaphone, speaks with como dice Chomsky
overdone Mexican accent.] "we are all responsible
hellou, hellou for the crimes of our governments ..."
alo Jack but ...
can you hearr me? you are particularly responsible
can you rreally hear me? for the crimes of the CIA, the FBI,
I am finally speakin' English the Border Patrol, the Contras . . .
. . no, no, you are not blame for the invasion you are responsible for all civilian mercenaries
of Grenada . . . engaged in foreign causes
the air-raid to Libya wasn't your fault . . . both military & artistic
the Iran-Contra aid wasn't really your initiative you are also responsible for . . .
nor were the last economic sanctions to Mexico [Pause.]
[Pause.] why are you responsible?
Jack, you have delusions of grandeur [He answers in an Indian dialect, then con-
you were merely receiving instructions tinues as hipster.]
... & please forgive my bad English hey, I grow the pot ... & you smoke it
I came too old to this country I need dollars, you need magic
& I haven't been domesticated yet a perfect transaction I'd say
[He puts down the megaphone & addresses we both need to overcome
the audience with real voice.] our particular devaluations, que no?
the marine stood up
kicked the table
XVI
spit at my face
"you goddamn terrorist wetback!!" [Soundtrack: Gregorian chants. He delivers
& began to cry like a chihuahua text as a TV evangelist.]
[Pause.] you can leave this space if you wish
. . . but the mariachisnever stopped playing there's really nowhere else to go
they are still playing right now your house has been culturally occupied
what beautiful paradox your mind is already invaded
California sinks trust me
& the mariachis keep playing let's begin to talk
2. "The birth of Border Brujo." Balboa Park, San Diego, 1988. A collaborationby Guillermo Gomez-
Pena (kneeling) and Hugo Sanchez. (Photo by Isaac Artenstein)

let's stop performing they say I sound like Pablo Neruda gone punk
this is an art of emergency they say my art is a declaration against the Holy
there's nowhere else to go Virgin of
the South is in flames Mexican aesthetics
the border is canceled they say my politics are endangering the party
& the North is occupied they say I'm sleeping with a poststructuralist
by Reagan's conceptual battalion feminist troublemaker
I'm sorry for being so direct they say I have to stop riding my experimental
but we are running out of time, pesos, & faith donkey
but we are running out of time, pesos, & faith & put my feet on the ground
once & for all
but let me tell you something
I feel no ground under my feet
XVII
I'm floating, floating
[Very fast Cantinflas-like voice.] on the ether
they say I talk to gringos of the present tense
they say I wasn't born in East L.A. of California
they say I left the Committee by choice & the past tense
they say I promote the "negative stereotypes" of Mexico
of my people [He speaks in tongues.]
 Border Brujo 57
XVIII you thought all Mexicans were dark-skinned &
short & talkative like me
[He speaks in a normal voice.]
. . .porque sufjo la gran ruptura you thought Mexican art was a bunch of candy
skulls & velvet paintings
fJacturaparietal en 5? grado
estar does unidos es pura ilusion you thought Mexico represented your past
& now you're realizing Mexico is your future
. . .porque sufro el gran destierro
la vida es un lento destierro you thought there was a border between the Ist
& 3rd world
good-bye compadretranshumante & now you're realizing you're part of the 3rd
Ulises ranchero
world
te apano la migra por ga ocasion
& your children are hanging out with us
te quedastesin cruzar
& your children & us are plotting against you
sin cruisin' no hay redemption
hey mister, eeeh mister ....mister
somos nadie en el eter desunidos
& suddenly you woke up
en USA desunidos
& it was too late to call the priest, the cops, or
mita y mito
the psychiatrist
partidos por la mitad a que pinche sustote te pegaste
[He grabs knife, gestures as though wanting
to commit hara-kiri. Speaks like a macuarro y en espanol
(Racist depiction of a Mexico City urban
mestizo).] XX
soy carne de canon
papel de hoguera [He grabs the megaphone.]
ardo en las llamas del arte comtempordneo hello, this is the uncensored voice of the "Latino
arde el ingles en mi garganta boom":
arde el D.F. en mi memoria I mean to ask you some questions
arde la llama del movimiento dear editor
dear curator
apenas
dear collector
apenas
dear candidate
apenitas
dear anthropologist
[He stabs himself.]
where can we draw the line between curiosity &
aaaaaaggggggghhhhhhhh
[He continues with normal voice.] exploitation?
& as I was crossing the border check point between dialog & entertainment?
this somewhat intelligent migra between democratic participation & tokenism?
confiscated a copy of this text where is the borderline
he read a few pages between my Spanish & your English?
& asked if I was a member ce n'est pas ici
of the Partido Chicano-Cardenista between my sperm & your mouth
"no, senor," I replied there is a cultural void
"I am a member of the Tribe of the Inflamed between my wings & your knife
there's uncontrollable panic
Eyelids"
he tore my passport in half between my words & your ears
& I proceeded to kick him in the balls there are 33 years of rain
for the sake of experimentation & between my art & yours
there's I0,000 miles of misunderstanding
[He subvocalizes, then speaks in an Indian
XIX dialect, then continues text with a noncha-
lant attitude.]
[Soundtrack: cumbia. He speaks like a Tiju- what I think is avant-garde, you think is passe
ana street hustler.] what I think is cool, you think is corny
hey mister .. .mixter what I think is funny, you think is cruel
& you thought Mexico was South America? what I think is fascism, you think is just life
you thought Castillian Spanish was better than what I think is life, you think is romantic
Mexican what I think is true, you think is literature
you thought salsa was Mexican music what I think is art, you just have no time for it
58 Guillermo G6mez-Peia
what I think is West, you think is South los treis caballerous, RicardouMont'lban
what I think is America, you think is your the Baja Marimba Band y sus cantina girls?
country when did they disappear?
[He stands up & screams.] were they deported back to Mexicorama?
we are so far away from one another how? through Mexicannabis Airlines
we are so far away from one another!! & who let these troublemakers in?
[He mouths as if screaming, then continues are they for real? 'cause
text in cool style.] I want to witness a real representation . . .
I speak therefore you misinterpret me [His voice goes back to normal.]
I am in Tijuana, you are in ........ hmmm, how ironic
I exist therefore you misunderstand me I represent you
I walk back into Spanish yet, you don't represent me
for there are many concepts to protect & you think you still have the power to define?
good-bye compita please ...
extranjero en tu propio pais please . . .
chao, chaocito, adieu please ...
auf Wiedersehen, caput, puut' . issimus ......
[He performs "offensive" sign language
from Mexico. Lights fade out.] XXII
[He speaks in a very elegant & soft-spoken
-TEN MINUTE INTERMISSION- manner.]
please don't touch me
I've got typhoid & malaria
don't dare touch me
Part Two
I haven't been documented yet
I'm still an illegal alien
XXI
my back is wet
[He chants text in the style of a merolico. my nipples are hard
Soundtrack: bullfight music.] I'm ready to fight
so, ia que vienes extranjero? I'm ready to rape
ca experimentar "peligro cultural?" don't like me too much
ia tocarle los pies al brujo? 'cause I'm a drug smuggling
Capedirle perdon? welfare recipient-to-be
ca ver si te reorientahacia el poniente? sexist communist car thief
pero sus palabras te confundenaun mis fanatically devoted to the overthrow
te hieren, te desconsuelan of the U.S. government & the art world
you can't even understand the guy [Pause.]
'cause he speaks in a foreign tongue no, just kiddin'
seems real angry & ungrateful don't listen to me
& you begin to wonder I'm just a deterritorialized "chilango"
[He begins to mumble like a "redneck," who claims to be a Chicano
mispronounces Spanish.]. & I'm not even eligible for amnesty
whatever happened to the sleepy Mexican 'cause I never documented my work
the smiley guy you met last summer the only photos of my performances
on the "Amigou Country" cruise, remember? are in the archives of the FBI
whatever happened to the great host & I'm a bit too shy to ask them for copies
the helpful kimozabe can anyone document me please?
the sexy mariachi with pencil mostachio [Pause.]
the chubby cartoon character can anyone take a photo of this memorable
you enjoyed so much in last Sunday's paper? occasion?
whatever happened to Speedy Gonzalez [Pause.]
Fritou Banditou, Johnny McTaco, Pancho de come on, for the archives of border culture
Nacho, for the history of performance art
 Border Brujo 59
can anyone be so kind as to authenticate my from where?
existence? Sao Paolo, Manila, or Cuernavaca?
[He freezes for 20 seconds.] [He changes voice to that of a drunk
tourist.]
XXIII well, I don't care
it's all the same
[Soundtrack: old instrumental blues. He the world is filled with colorful creatures
speaks like a "macuarro."' like me, like them
cameras I & 2 rolling I simply adore Mexico
musica maestro! its fleshy senoritas
[Music doesn't start.] with humongous black eyes
imusica!! pss, que paso? . . . pos nos la echamossin walking down Revoluci6n
musica like hundreds of thousands of Carmen Mirandas
[Music finally begins.] with sombrerograndi & Coppertone
I was born in the middle of a movie set & man, they sure don't complain about machismo
they were shooting La Migra Contra El Principe they love it!!
Chichimeca porqui let's face it,
I was literally born in the middle of a battle el machou Mexicanou no ser tan machou como el
I'm almost an aborigine you know texanou
a Hollywood Indian, ajjuua!
me dicen el Papantla Flyer XXV
de la Broadway, bien tumbado
'cause I love to show my balls to strangers [Super-flamboyant Latino accent & exag-
& to talk dirty to gringas feministas gerated gestures.]
& if it wasn't for the fact that I've read please, check my pronunciation
too much Foucault & Baudrillard I'm a child of the fallen Latin American
& Fuentes & Subirats & Roger Bartra
oligarchy
& other writers you haven't even heard of I dream of a beautiful beautiful condo
I could fulfill your expectations much better in Coronado or Key West
if it wasn't for the fact that I wrote
away from my homeland in turmoil
this text on a Macintosh
& I couldn't even memorize it all I dream of a disinfected environment
& I shot my rehearsals with a Sony-8 one that only my memory can inhabit
I would really fulfill your expectations & only the memories I want
le bon sauvage du Mexique she dreams of a beautiful suburb
l'enfant terriblede la frontiere somewhere in the periphery of her fears
she's tired of suffering
XXIV she lost her man in Santiago
her son in Guatemala
[Soundtrack: Ry Cooder's "Cancion Mix-
teca." He speaks with an unbearably snob- her daughter raped by a U.S. marine
bish accent.] she walked all the way from Tegucigalpa
oui, oui, oui she came to ask for an explanation
Mexique ooh la la can anyone explain to her why?
Chingada da-da [A pre-recorded text in an Indian language
les enfants de la chingada will continue throughout the next text.]
Mexico rrromantic Mexico
paraiso para tizos XXVI
para todos tifoidea
Chili Ortega pa'la giiera [He switches to a "redneck" accent, speaks
muchiou machou el muchiachou through megaphone.]
ay, que rricogaspachou "no, no, too didactic" ...
oh, pardon too romantic, too, too ...
don Giovani tampocou Mexicani? [He barks.]
60 Guillermo Gomez-Pena
not experimental enough we are the new generation
not inter-dizzy enough [Pause.]
[He barks again.] of laboratory rats & experimental patients.
looks like... [He begins to cut coke/speak like a
[He barks.] druggie.]
old-fashioned Anglo stuff ... at night
I mean not enough ... picante alone in my condo
not enough bravadou & passionadou when I pray to my 3-D virgin
I want mucho more it's strange you know
I want to see Garcia Marquez in 3-D I'm happy yet I feel like killing myself
a post posty rendition of Castaneda so I take more pills to fall asleep
holographic shamans flying onstage the pills you sent me last month are terrific
political massacres on multiple screens they make me forget all the pain
[He gets progressively crazier.] & alienation I thought I used to feel
what's wrong with you pre-technological they make me feel part of it all
creatures?! with them I feel one with California
a-ffir-ma-ti-ve-ac-tion-pimps! one with the art world
you can't even put together a good fuckin' & a thousand within myself
video!! justo a tu imageny semejanza
[He breathes heavily & rests his head on the so I turn on the radio ...
table.]

XXVIII
XXVII
[He grabs megaphone/speaks like a barker.]
[He delivers the text in broken English with alien-ation
an artificial smile.] alien action
please check my pronunciation alienated
this is the year of the Hispanic alguienate it
alien hatred
Hispanics on MTV
aliens out there
Hispanics on Broadway
Hispanics in Hollywood hay alguienout there
"Aliens"the movie
Hispanics in the Museum of Modern Art
"Aliens"the album
Hispanics in ........
Hispanics in the Calendar Section "Cowboys vs. Aliens"
"Bikers vs. Aliens"
Hispanics in Ripley's Believe It or Not
"The Wet Back from Mars"
Hispanics in Congress
"The Mexican Transformer& his Radio-active
Hispanics in General Dynamics
Torta"
Hispanics in the Border Patrol
"The Conquest of Tenochtitlan"by Spielberg
Hispanics in the Federal Jail
"The Reconquest of Aztldn" by Monty Python
Hispanics in Skid Row
"The Brown Wave vs. the Micro Wave"
Hispanics in AIDS clinics
"Invadersfrom the South vs. the San Diego
Hispanics in the cemetery
Padres
Hispanics in different sizes
reinforced by the San Diego Police
buy one/get one for free
it's in, it's hot, it's cheap, it's durable reinforced by your ignorance dear San
& like the bumper sticker says, Diegan..."
"A TRUE HISPANIC IS NOT JUST YOUR good morning
PANIC this is Radio Latino FM
BUT EVERYONE'S PANIC" spoiling your breakfastas always
[Pause.] [The remainder of this text is prerecorded.
as I was saying He sub-vocalizes.]
thanks to marketing efectivamente,anocheasesinaron
& not to civil rights a un nino mexicano de escasos 8 anos
 Border Brujo 6I

la patrulla fronteriza asegura estoy muy triste en pais ajeno

que se trata de "peligroso asaltante" estamos tristes en pais ajeno
a continuaci6n, mds noticias en ingles: pais de todos/pais de nadie
& there's nothing you can do to ease my pain
the Mexican fly is heading North
the Mexican fly is coming to destroy your crops nothing sadder than a Mexican artist in Southern
California
the Mexican fly is now in Chihuahua
under the present Administration
there's no insecticide for the Mexican fly
no antidote for your fear of otherness nothing is really administered but death
the Simpson-Rodino bill is an emergency plan [He speaks in tongues.]
I mean, death as a "lifestyle"
to regulate your fears
death as a media celebrity
some call it an act of political fumigation
death as a mandatory practice
the Amnesty Program has been designed to le-
la gran calacagiiera que todo lo gobierna
galize otherness
for otherness keeps leaking into the country into [He speaks in tongues.]
in order to operate without physical
your psyche
repercussions
dear listener/dear audience I chose the temporary safety of the art world
your country is no longer yours [He continues to speak in tongues.]
your relationship with otherness has reached a
point of crisis XXX
you love me/you hate me
you are in good company [He screams over the heads of the audience,
but you don't know it yet as if wanting to reach someone far away.]
the Mexican fly will be coming soon to a garden hermanode alla
near you de hasta alla' abajo
si tan solo supieras lo que es
good evening
this is Radio Latino FM pasarse una noche solitario
en un motel de Alabama
interrupting your coitus as always en una cantina de Oxnard o Detroit
[He sings an Indian song & covers his face caminarpor las calles desiertasy peligrosas
with the hair of the wig.]
de Marin County o Pasadena
amar en Nueva York
con el temor de un contagio mortal
XXIX
y por si fuera poco
[Soundtrack: New Age percussion. He en- sentir la luz del helic6pteroen Imperial Beach
ters into a trance.] la voz forastera por la espalda . . .
I see Tenochtitlan Island [He freezes for 20 seconds.]
resting peacefully on the surface of a daiquiri
I see the Aztec warrior in a straitjacket
XXXI
facing a Ioo-year sentence in Chino
I see the Spanish landowner & the American [He speaks in very broken English.]
tourist no, I have no green card
getting wasted at Margarita's Village I was illegally hired by this gallery
I see the border guards masturbating & vomiting the director might receive employer's sanctions
under the border fog the INS might raid my audience
under the very fog that covers us right now one of these nights
I see the first sparks of the 2nd Mexican one of them might even shoot me
Independence from the audience
& the final kicks of a drowning saurus perhaps tonight
I see other more personal things one never knows nowadays
like friendly women & friendly men anything can happen in America
really trying to understand we are so fuckin' vulnerable in America
but despite all of these visions I'm scared therefore you exist
estoy triste en pais ajeno so look out for me
3. Guillermo Gomez-
Pena as Border Brujo at
Sushi Gallery, San
Diego, 1988. (Photo
courtesyof Sushi
Gallery)

I'm going through the Big Smoke can you please identify yourself?
I'm going through the Big Smoke [Long pause.]
& so are you !cobarde!!
[He walks around the audience speaking in
tongues. He suddenly stops, and seems very XXXII
irritated.]
there is a Border Patrol agent in the audience [He uses the megaphone & points a hand
can he please identify himself? flashlight at the faces of the audience.]
 Border Brujo 63
dear friends unplugged the lights . . .& the camera
let me ask you a few questions before we even realized it
has anyone ever crossed a border illegally? [He smokes more pot. His voice becomes
has anyone ever smuggled any "illegal sub- muddy.]
stances" or radicalliterature? the "quebequization" of the Southwest
have you ever harbored or hired an "illegal was effectively co-opted by the NSA
alien"? & our communities were fragmented
have you ever worked illegally yourself? by the asymmetrical distribution of funding &
have you ever visited a "communist country" space
or a transvestite cantina? we all know it ... & suffer it
have you everjoined an anti-Americanorganiza- [He snorts fictional drugs. Speaks like a
tion named (the name of the place he is junkie, moving his head like a pendulum.]
performing)? today, once again
have you ever engaged in sexually illicit we are alone
practices? like in the early days
come on, be honest alone like children in the forest
this is just a performance like Chicano performance artists
no big deal in Anglo alternative spaces
I've been asked myself each of these questions we are alone & waiting
at least a couple hundred times like the popular corridosays
& I've been violently frisked at least 20 times "some are waiting for Amnesty
for not having answered them & others for the guillotine blade"
[He puts down the megaphone, raises his [He repeats this phrase several times as if
hands & freezes.] totally drugged out. Then he puts on a
& you ask me wrestler's mask & stands up.]
"are you implying that the U.S. is a police
state?"
but I can only answer in ndhuatl XXXIV
[He answers in an Indian dialect.]
but you insist [He speaks like a hard-core political ac-
isn't Californiathe ultimate utopia for Latinos?" tivist.]
"whatever happened to the leaders?" you ask me
& this time I answer with a violent question
some died of a heart attack
"isn't Disneyland the capital of California?"
with a little help from the CIA
& you interrupt me with a knife
some are mortally wounded by the media
"... but Guillermo, you're cheating
& others paralyzed by chemical nostalgia
you're exercising your political freedom" a few created an impenetrable bureaucracy
& I think for a second, "hmmm"
& reply "sure . . . emulating their enemies
or found refuge & comfort in the university spa
but how many people are here tonight
to listen to my political freedom?" today (date)
& we begin to count them standing on the edge
& as we count them in Spanish of the 20th century cliff
we begin to wonder about freedom in America I finally dare to ask you
& the show goes on where are all my Chicano compadres?
& the critic over there is falling asleep I can't accept that they all went crazy like me
wondering why Latinos are so bloody dramatic or yuppie like some of you
can't accept the Indian leaders are still in jail
can't believe the Puerto Rican independentistasare
XXXIII
still in jail
[He lights a joint and speaks as though he after all these years
were "high."] still in jail in America
our moment arrived & you worry about Nelson Mandela?
we did have a chance to speak out [Long pause.]
but we hesitated & you worry about Lech Walesa?
& someone up there [Long pause.]
64 Guillermo Gomez-Pena
& you worry about cigarette smoking? you have a friend in me
[He cries for a few seconds & covers his a solid but critical friend
face.] a friend who will never betray you
but never again will accept
your asymmetrical conditions
XXXV I SAY:
[He continues like a hard-core political generic citizenship
Norteamericahas grown
activist.] back to its original size
last night at the "Main Intersection"
from Yucatdnto Greenland
someone told me
from Michigan to Michoacdn
that all we want is
I toast to Nuestra America
access to the suburbs
from the Papago to the punk
access to the museums
I toast to the beginning of an era
to the City Council
a true multicultural society
to the media
from ritual art to "neo-geo"
to your girlfriend
I toast in equal terms with you
that all-we-want-is-access
access! access! access!! my dear Anglosaxican partner
well, I'm sorry to disappoint you "someone" waspano de 2nda o 3a generacion
in my performance country
all we want is to go back
but for the moment Repablica de Arteamerica
there's nowhere to go back to you're just a minority
but you have some rights
[Pause. He changes to normal voice.] like the right to listen respectfully
our past was destroyed by your government
& as long as you continue
therefore dear "someone"
to fear moi or desire me
this is our land for the moment
without proportion to my dignity
& you gotta share the pie
to regain your peace of mind then, my dear involuntary neighbor
entropy will keep creeping
[He speaks in tongues, then switches to nor- like magma into your tract home
mal voice.]
into your troubled spirit
& you insist on asking me
& I won't be there to rescue you
what am I doing here?
from the flood of your guilt
comopodre explicdrtelo
sin ofenderte . . . [He puts down the megaphone.]
& you, my dear negro, latino, indigena, asidtico
if Spalding Gray can go to Cambodia
or hybrid in between
why can't I come to (the city where he is
you're next
performing)? like it or not
you have till January Ist of '92
to incorporate this country into the world
XXXVI
to turn the continent upside down
[Soundtrack: Rossini or Beethoven. He & infect English with Spanish & Japanese
speaks through megaphone.] and many other verboten imbricalingiiis
tonight, I am the one who determines remember
the exact nature of our relation you have 3 years to get your shit together
even if only for one night
I SAY:
XXXVII
you are no longer my spectator
you are my object of adoration [Soundtrack: "Ojos Espanioles" by Los Xoch-
your country is losing weight & size imilcas. He speaks like a smooth-talker,
your skin is losing its privilege while applying orange or red makeup.]
your crisis is graver than mine so, my dear audience
I SAY: we are finally in the same room
ciudadanodel mentadoprimer mundo even if only for an evening
 Border Brujo 65
we are truly conversing right now they call me El Corny, El Slickoid
in your language, but conversing after all ... El Nahudl Conceptual, El Suddenly Violento
so I mean to ask you El Channy Fumigamitos
where is the threshold of your desire? I'm getting tired coraz6n
Baghdad, Sio Paulo, Berlin, Tangier, where demonios are you?
Calcutta, Tijuana, Ibiza, La Chingada I want to read you something from my heartii
where are your memories running loose? are you coming to visit me tonight?ii
in which bed are they going to let you in?ii
in whose arms
on which stage
XXXVIII
in which language are you dreaming?
in Spanish, Jamaican English, or Persian? [Music continues. He speaks like a stylized
where will your permanent home be erected? Pachuco.]
in Jakarta, Managua, or Oro Preto hey!
perhaps somewhere on the shores of Catalufia my Spider Babe
beyond the borders of panic & boredom? my Surfin' Loca
I envy your capability to desire my Mambo Jane
I really do my Bless Me Ultima
[His voice changes to that of a drunk.] la Jazzercise
I'm here in prison hdzmela buena
right in the center of the wound la Nena Radioactiva
right in the crack of the 2 countries la Biker Lacandona
I am a prisoner of thought la Corporate Chingona
a prisoner of art la "bascamea horcajadasen noches de neon"
a prisoner of a media war la gimme those besitos across the border fence
I'm each & every bad guy in the film ay, ay, Pantera Feminista
a one-man film so to speak la gran Bruja Marxista

4. Guillermo G6mez-
Pena as Border Brujo at
Centro Cultural de la
Raza, San Diego, 1989.
(Photo by Isaac Ar-
tenstein)
66 Guillermo Gomez-Pena
abrdxame retuerxeme next year Latinos are "out"
soy tu loco encaramadoal muslo izquierdo & albino Romanians are "in"
y no me suelto por nada therefore my dear audience
soy el pendejo permanente I'm going back to Hell
que llevas tatuado en una chichi en cami6n de tres estrellas
la izquierda, la grandota como vine
y no me borro back to the origins maextro
ay, Batichica de Mexicali
let me know if you are coming back soon
for I'm tired of fighting la migra by myself XL
ay, my little brown self [He begins to walk into the audience, while
is almost nonexistent tonight
delivering final text as a merolico. He holds
ay, la pinche velita se me apaga two baskets; one is empty & the other is
filled with food & ritual objects.]
XXXIX
but before I go back
[He drinks from the shampoo bottle. Speaks ladies & gentlemen
like a drunk, covering his face with his I'm going to ask you to give me
hands.] whatever you no longer need
I hate to say it but we failed please feel free to get rid of everything
[Pause.] you wish you didn't have:
we are still alive but .. .we failed money, IDs, ideas, your keys, your sins
still awake, sort of your telephone number, your credit card
but kind'a clumsy & fuzzy your leather jacket, your contact lenses, etc.
the food tastes like shit please make sure that whatever you give me
the music is awful you're prepared never to see again.
it's all been done before Some objects I will bury right on the
one artist replaces the other U.S.-Mexico border ditch.
one minority replaces the other & others will become part of my traveling altar
& the other, other, other, others damas y caballeros .. aflogen!!

Guillermo Gomez-Peiia is a writer, interdisciplinaryartist, and journalist.

He is coeditor of The Broken Line and a founding member of Border Arts
Workshop.

FIN

TDReading

For an earlier view of intercultural performance see the special

issue on it: I982 vol. 26, no. 2 (T94).