Given Circumstances
Time
Time is listed at the beginning of El Nogalar as “the present”. El Nogalar was written in 2010 and published in 2011.
This can also be seen mid-play by the reference from Lopez about the “iPad 2’s that just came out” (79)
Scene One and Two:
No specific time is given. We learn that Anita and Maite are landing at the airport and that it has been reported their flight was delayed by two hours (74).
Scene Three:
Valeria and Dunia discuss how the plane has been delayed by two hours and how they will have to drive in the dark. (75) This gives us the impression that it is the late afternoon or evening.
Scene Four:
Dunia tells Lopez that he has been asleep for less than 10 minutes (75), so the scene takes place shortly after scene three.
Anita and Maite arrive from the airport on time, meaning the airplane was not delayed.
Scene Five:
This takes place almost directly after scene four according to Lopez’s monologue (7
. We also learn the time period of the play from this monologue [referenced at the start of the section]
Scene Six:
Stage directions tell us this takes place the next morning (79).
Alternatively, we can tell this from Anita’s first line, “I would have stayed inside that purple bed all day and all night and… can we talk about what a good night’s sleep I had”? (79).
Scene Seven:
This takes place a day after scene six according to stage directions (80).
We hear that Anita, Vale and Maite all left to the cascade “not 20 minutes ago”. (81)
Scene Eight:
This takes place a day after scene seven according to stage directions (81).
Alternatively this can be assumed by the conversations from the last scene about how Anita, Vale and Maite went to go to the cascade for the day and are now back (81).
Scene Nine:
This takes place directly after scene eight, because Lopez references the end of scene 8 during his monologue. “What is all they’re burning over there?” (84).
Scene Ten:
This takes place a few days after scene nine, referenced by the fact they are throwing a party. “I told Mami no one would come.” (85)
Scene Eleven:
This is directly after scene ten, referenced by the drunken state of Lopez. “You’re in no state to drive home.” (86)
Place
The play takes place in a town in Mexico, run by the cartel. It is two hours away from the nearest major city with an airport, which means it is fairly rural.
The play is always within the house or directly outside of it.
Scenes One, Two and Six take place inside the master bedroom with the Porfirio Diaz bed. “It belonged to Profirio Diaz… Profirio Diaz himself slept on it!” (74)
Profirio Diaz is a mexican president from Oaxaca, in the south of Mexico. This, and the distance to the nearest major city, implies the play takes place in south Mexico rather than close to the US border, although it is not stated.
Scenes Three, Four, Seven and Ten take place in the playroom. It is described as a dusty room, where all of the toys and belongings are covered and in a state of disuse. “Why are they all in boxes?” (76)
Scene Five takes place outside of the house, by Lopez’s car.
Lopez has a car with an auto-start feature (albeit one that doesnt work all of the time), which was extremely uncommon in 2010.
Scene Eight takes place outside of the house on a wooden porch. Vale is cooking goat on a stove or grill.
Although it’s not stated the porch is wooden… it catches on fire. (84).
Scene Nine takes place farther away from the house, near the gate at the end of the property. Lopez is able to see the wooden porch smoking but not discern what is on fire. (84).
Scene Eleven takes place somewhere outside, although it isn’t specified somewhere. Dunia tells him he can’t drive home, so we know it is still on the property. (86)
Society
Families
The play’s dynamic between the three characters Vale, Anita and Maite heavily drives the play. Maite’s money spending habits are a major force behind the plot issues, forcing Anita to drop out of college, and forcing Vale to have to save electricity.
Vale and Anita have a unique relationship, being stepsisters with a major age gap. They are connected but they are not from the same generation.
“This is from the times of Porfirio Diaz… but he didn’t actually sleep on this bed.” (79)
“Oh don’t start crying, I’m sorry Vale” (79)
“I’m sure I can find something. Anita you will go to school somewhere in Monterrey and everything will be alright” (85)
Vale and Maite have a strained relationship from how Vale has been essentially looking after the house while Maite has been spending the family money in the USA for the last few years. Vale has had to be the mature member of the family.
“‘Before I claimed it as mine?!’ Claimed it?! I was TOLD to come here!” (80)
“Is Mami talking to Pedro? She shouldn’t be talking to Pedro at all.” (82)
“Valeria is always enveloped in a cloud of despair. [Don’t take it so seriously.]” (84)
“No one would come [to your party]. There’s no one left” (84)
Anita and Maite are closer because they have similar levels of immaturity. Anita is spoiled with money and is still a college student. Neither character understands the gravity of the situation.
“Look at this, Ana Maria. This was one of my first dolls.” (77)
“I will not even consider the notion! [Subject closed. Enough!]” (80)
“Is nobody going to feed me?!”
Love and Friendship
Love and Friendship ties all seem to run through Lopez in this script. Lopez’s connections with Maite and Vale complicate his feelings, and his connection with Dunia ends up taking the story in a different direction.
Lopez and Maite’s relationship is all kinds of fucked.
“Shit, after that I followed her like a puppy” (84)
“Stay there little man. You can look at me, but you can’t touch.” (84)
“What?! You would let your sister marry a man who’s been absolutely obsessed with her mother for, what, 20 years?” (86)
Lopez and Vale are an extremely complex relationship because it’s not actually clear whether or not Lopez is interested in Vale for her, or because Vale reminds Lopez of Maite. The fogginess behind this relationship is furthered by the fact that the two characters rarely share stage time.
“No, we treat him as if he still worked here. And it’s absolutely embarrassing.” (75)
“Her eyes. They’re like her mother’s but deeper.” (81)
“Valerias a saint. Ah, man. I should go talk to her.” (86)
Lopez and Dunia are a much tighter duo. Their relationship grows a lot throughout the script. What starts as a kind of older vs younger sibling relationship grows into an interesting romantic relationship. It is up to Dunia’s actor to decide if Dunia is actually interested in Lopez, or if she is just using him as a stepping stone. The script allows for it to go either way.
“Oh you don’t wipe your ass with your money? Look at you in your new snakeskin boots.” (73)
LOPEZ: “I’m not playing with you.”
DUNIA: “I’m not playing with you.” (80)
“Just look at us. We can touch.” (87)
Occupation
Occupation is only a major point of the play for Lopez. Lopez is a member of the cartel, and has learned to use the cartel to further himself and to protect the people around him. This status in the cartel enables him to purchase Los Nogales eventually, which is the final driving force of the play.
“I’m going to have a hard enough time making them understand that we are under an occupation.” (74)
“Thats when I blurt out, ‘Chato… I’ll give you half of everything I own if you let me keep the nogalar.’” (86)
Social Rank
Social rankings are present in El Nogalar and are a major part of the conclusion. At the start of the play, Dunia is a housemaid, and Lopez is an outsider. Vale, Anita and Maite are the major family. Quickly it is established that the power is not held where Anita and Maite think it is held- within the family- and is instead held with Lopez. At the end of the play, the shift of power completes, and Lopez is the lord of the property, with Dunia next to him.
“If we don’t negotiate now while I got [Chato] in a good mood, they will just come down from the mountains and take it all by force.” (74)
“Los Nogales is mine, Dunia. Can you believe that?” (86)
“If my grandfather, who didn’t even speak Spanish… could see me now.” (86)
“These people, they’ve been the keepers of something that maybe wasn’t theirs to keep in the first place.” (86-87).
“You did a brave thing, Memo. Who better than you to make something of this place?” (87)
Social Standards
The social standards in El Nogalar are vastly different than the social standards in the United States because of the setting of the play. Maite, for example, grew up in Mexico in the 70’s, a very different world than the United States now, or even the US during the 70’s. Now, granted, this is a little bit nullified by the fact that Maite doesn’t seem to care about social standards.
This is additionally murked by the fact that societal standards in Mexico in 2010 are nowhere near the same as 10 or 20 years prior. The Cartel takeover completely changed
Scene One
Lopez establishes that there is no place for women in the cartel. He advises Dunia to keep her distance from them. (74)
“All the men your age. Killed. Why Memo?” (74)
“Understand that in all of this, there is no way for girls like you to ‘figure it out.’ Women are zeros” (74)
Scene Two
Lopez runs through his life in the house and how the cartel has changed how he has to behave.
“Nowadays if someone sees you open your mouth, even to take a breath, a black truck with tinted windows will come… take you to the most unfortunate corners of the hills” (74)
“This was the last room I got to see inside this house… we were never allowed upstairs.”
Scene Three
Vale warns Dunia (and, really, the audience) about how the way they have to treat Lopez has changed drastically due to his position in the cartel.
“Just say Guillermo. Better yet, call him Mr. Lopez” (75)
Scenes Four and Six
This is the point where Maite and Anita enter the play. They are used to the bustling social standards in the US, and are unaware of the massive changes occurring in Mexico through the last 15 years. Vale tries to explain the gravity of the situation.
Scene Six is slightly different due to the subject of the house purchase but I have lumped them together here due to them being otherwise very similar.
“Pedro Trevino is not a teacher guy anymore.” (76)
“Pedro is [a cartel member]... a very dangerous man to have around” (7
“Mom we have to have a conversation about Pedro” (80)
Scene Five
No societal standards are present in this scene
Scene Seven
Dunia asks Lopez to teach her the internet. Dunia knows that the internet is a crucial thing to have knowledge of in the coming era, and wants to be ready when it becomes more normal in rural Mexico
This scene also touches more on marriage, something hinted at in scene four, but is much more present here. Dunia discusses how Lopez should propose to Vale, even though the two are clearly not very close.
“So when are these wedded nuptials supposed to happen, huh?” (81)
“You don’t have to work too hard with her.” (81)
“the Internet is too dangerous for you. Or better yet, you’re too dangerous for the Internet.” (82)
Scene Eight
This scene contains more discussion about Maite and the cartel.
“If I have to watch Mami accidentally pull up her skirt again to fan herself when she laughs, when she’s really just showing off her legs, I will proceed to barf.” (82)
“She’s over there gambling our money away?!” (82)
We also see Dunia’s perception of men here, and how it seems to go against the new societal norms.
“Men are stupid animals. They are smart but they are stupid animals.” (83)
“Men like to know they are masters and owners of you. And you must let them know that this is so. Even if it is a lie.” (83)
Scene Nine
No societal standards are present in this scene.
Scene Ten
This scene contains more references to marriage.
“I mean, if we get married maybe we can just stay here, you know?” (85)
Scene Eleven
No societal standards are present in this scene.
Economics
El Nogalar is centered around money. The lack of money drives Maite and Anita back to Mexico. The family’s lack of money makes the lighting usage a plot point, and by extension, the language barrier changing is also based on the economic issues the family faces. The play is concluded based on an economically centered shift of power, where Lopez spends half of what he owns on purchasing the house from the cartel.
Scene One
Dunia establishes the economic problems
“If valeria walks by and sees us… using up the electricity in the middle of the day… she’s going to say something.” (72)
“It’s a sad state of affairs when the Galvans have to save their pennies and watch how much light they fucking use” (72)
“I don’t go around wiping my ass with money like these people do!” (73)
Scene Two
Economics are not discussed in scene two
Scene Three
“HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO TELL YOU NOT TO TURN ON THE LIGHTS IF THERE IS STILL LIGHT OUTSIDE!” (74)
This quote speaks for itself
Scene Four
In scene four we begin to understand the extent of the economic problems the family faces.
“She comes on a random Tuesday with no warning. Wild-eyed and super hyper and she just goes and pulls me out of school, just like that.” (77)
“She lost the loft downtown. She sold it and still managed to have no money for my tuition.” (77)
“She lost her passport, now the cell phone, we almost didn’t have money to get here!” (77)
“He took all our money. He drained her.” (77)
“The economy has made good boys, from good families todos manosos” (7
Scene Five
“Five years ago this offer might have been ridiculous, but the way things are today, it is as generous as it’s going to get.” (7
Scene Six
“I just got here and I’m already bombarded with Memo and his asinine offers to lend us money which will do I don’t know what exactly!” (80)
“They are the bank now, Ana Maria.” (80)
“Mama if we don’t sell it to them, they will just take it. You’re not understanding.” (80)
Scene Seven
“You can’t have the light on like this, you know who will come on her broomstick.” (80)
Scene Eight
“She’s laughing and not inventing dramas. Gambling relaxes her.” (82)
“Why does she keep it so dark out here too? Where are the lights, Dunia? For out here?” (82)
I find this quote interesting because it shows that Anita doesn’t still understand the depth of the situation. Anita turns on the porch lights the moment Vale leaves.
“We can barely pay Dunia!” (84)
“No one would come, Mama. There’s no one left and if there is someone left, we probably owe them money” (84)
Scene Nine
Economics are not referenced in scene nine.
Scene Ten
Lopez has bought the house.
“They wouldn’t take a monthly payoff so El Senor Lopez bought it himself!” (85)
“Does this mean we have a bit of money, now? Yes this means we’ll be able to at least live on it for a time.” (85)
Scene Eleven
“So thats when I blurt out, ‘Chato, I’ll give you my warehouses and the three gas stations. I’ll give you half of everything I own if you let me keep the nogalar.” (86)
Politics and Law
Politics and Law in El Nogalar is curious, because it’s almost more of a “Politics and lack of law”. El Nogalar is set right after a government shift, where the cartel basically runs the town.
Scene One
“I’m not trying to end up dismembered by a landfill. All I’m trying to do is learn to swim in it like you.” (74)
Scene Two
“You know why I end up worrying about other people’s shit? Because people don’t know when to shut the fuck up around here, that’s why” (74)
“Nowadays if someone sees you open your mouth, even to take a breath, a black truck with tinted windows will come driving down the road and carry you off to the most unfortunate corners of the hills.” (74)
Scene Three
“You shouldn’t call him [Memo]” (75)
“I’m sorry, but I’m not going to call him Mr. Lopez.” (75)
Scene Four
“Pedro Trevino is not a teacher guy anymore.” (76)
“Well be scared. We are all contaminated here. They look like you and me now.” (7
Scene Five
“The fact that she even gets an offer is short of a miracle really! Every other piece of land has been taken by force.” (7
“Maybe we should give her a little bit of time to say hello and good-bye to things. Ah, NO PLEASE CHATO. Let me.” (79)
Scene Six
“There are no friends left, Anita! All the people like us sold their lands and moved to Monterrey a long long time ago” (79)
“They’ve taken our Mexico.” (79)
“Mami, don’t get confused about Pedro. He is a beast, not a man.” (80)
Scene Seven
This scene doesn’t reference politics or the cartel.
Scene Eight
“OF COURSE SOMETHING BAD IS HAPPENING! I’m making the fucking goat! Why my mother got it in her head to eat goat, I will never know. Wasn’t she a vegetarian?” (82)
“She shouldn’t be talking to Pedro at all.” (82)
Scene Nine
This scene doesn’t reference politics or the cartel.
Scene Ten
“I told mami no one would come. We have no friends left. Puros nacos y narcos, Ana Maria. Those are wolves downstairs. Ten years ago the governor would’ve been downstairs.” (85)
Scene Eleven
“Next thing I knew, Los Nogales was mine. Los Nogales is mine, Dunia. Can you believe that?” (86)
Learning and the Arts: This is never specifically referenced in El Nogalar.
Spirituality
I believe there is a singular event where Spirituality is referenced, and it is in Scene Six.
“I think I want to go put some flowers in Gustavito’s tomb. What do you say Anita, want to come put flowers in your brother’s tomb?” (80)
The World of the Play
Saracho’s play, El Nogalar, takes place in 2010 over the course of around a week in and around a manor and pecan orchard in rural Mexico. The house ties all of the characters of the play together, and the characters motivations all centralize on trying to keep or take El Nogalar by the end of the play.
The play revolves heavily around themes of Social Rank, Economics, and Politics. It tells a story of a boy in an unusual scenario who placed himself in the cartel, and used his position of power to purchase the house his “idol” grew up in when she couldn’t pay for it. Dunia also makes a transformation, going from a house servant to becoming the de facto Lady of El Nogalar. The noble family of the manor runs out of money and has to return home to find that they can’t return to the way their life was 15 years ago. The world has changed a lot, and they can’t afford to keep it the way it was. The cartel now runs the region and they have no power here.
El Nogalar is a play that shows the lower class rising against the upper class, and that position does not equal power. It shows that time does not stop when you aren’t there, and it teaches powerful lessons about self-centrism. It is written in a way that promotes thinking, and will leave the audience wanting to know more about the current condition of Mexico, as well as the importance of family.
Total Awards: 5
Originally Posted by S-FM Unfunny
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