Revolution happens when one group takes power from the other. Once in power, the victorious regimes' authority brings them riches, which make the other groups jealous so they revolt.
Karl Marx said in Das Kapital,
political and historical events are the result of a conflict of social forces caused by material needs.
Revolt rolls the dice of worldwide society, everything's about who controls the money.
The Mexican Revolution of 1910 lasted a year, the armed struggle transformed Mexican culture and government.
The revolution broke out because the election of 1910 was rigged by the despotic Porfirio Diaz regime, which had been in power for 31 years.
Francisco Madero, who ran against Diaz, revolted against the Diaz regime the same year, 1910.
Pancho Villa and Emiliano Zapata were generals in Madero’s revolutionary army, that, after a year of bloody fighting defeated the Mexican Army forces of Porfirio Diaz.
The 2 revolutionaries handed the Mexican presidency to Madero on a bandeja de plata.
Villa and Zapata went on to become legends. And, it could be said of the duo— if you wanted to kick off a revolution in Mexico back in the day, you could count them in.
The practiced revolutionaries would commit to a revolution at the drop of a peso. Revolution was their daily bread and only hustle.
It’s September 22, 1986, in Mexico City somewhere.
The tribe, Henry, Lucia, and Summer Wynd, wake up in their hotel room at 11 AM. Henry insists they travel to Acapulco by bus— a perilous journey in a large motor vehicle driven by a loaded bus driver through winding mountain roads.
Summer Wynd pays the bill at the front desk of the Zocalo Hotel. It’s noon and the tribe hasn’t had coffee. They leave their small bags at the bellman’s station in front of the hotel and walk a few blocks to Maria’s Rosquillas y Cafe.
Standing at the counter of the small coffee shop they enjoy hot churros brushed with cinnamon and sugar washed down with brewed Mexican coffee of unparalleled taste.
Lucia pays for brunch and picks up a dozen churros to go.
The bellman whistles for a taxi, the hack shows and double-parks the cab at the entrance of the hotel, getting out and opening the front trunk of the VW Beetle and loading the bags.
Lucia sits shotgun in the taxi next to the hack. Saying,
Central de Autobuses del Norte, despacio!
It’s a hot, humid afternoon in Mexico City, 33*Celsius. As usual, traffic is heavy.
After driving 30 minutes, the cab stops behind the rows of Mercedes Benz buses parked side by side vertically at the back of the station.
Buses to Acapulco leave every 2 hours. Henry buys 3 VIP Express tickets. The luxury bus has a stewardess who sells beer and snacks. It’s a 5-hour drive to Acapulco with only a few stops.
With an hour to wait until their bus leaves, the tribe secures their bags in peso lockers. Then, buying a box of bean tacos and some iced Fresca, which they carry to a shaded tree-lined park near the bus station.
As they sit around a cement picnic table it's clear no one's hungry. Summer Wynd breaks up the tacos and churros bought earlier into bits to feed the pigeons who are gathered around a sign that reads,
NO ALIMENTES A LAS AVES,
EL FINO ES 1000 PESOS
Don’t feed the birds! They ignore the sign, tossing morsels of donuts and taco shells to the pigeons. Lucia says,
the hungry pelomas are like rats with wings!
A flying rat shits on Henry’s head. Lucia wets a handkerchief at the water fountain, cleaning his hair and saying,
darling, the Chinese believe it’s good luck when a bird poops on you! Vexed he answers,
luck like this, I don't need! Let’s find our bus.
They unlock and open the peso lockers, taking out their small bags and Henry’s cased portable typewriter. Then walking to a brightly painted Mercedes Benz bus with a designation banner over the front window reading,
ACAPULCO VIP EXPRESS
Seats are first come first serve, the threesome is early so they stake out a window and 2 aisle seats next to one another in the back row.
In 20 minutes the bus is full with passengers, gringo tourists, and middle-class Mexicans.
The driver who isn’t loaded yet backs the bus out of the parking stall, maneuvering the large motor vehicle through tight city streets until he reaches Highway 95, the yellow break road to Acapulco. Henry comments,
we're on our way to Acapulco where Elvis's film, Fun in Acapulco was shoot!
In the film, Elvis is a humble and freaked out ex-trapeze artist slash lifeguard in 1963 Acapulco who sings to make ends meet. As the film rolls on he finds he is forced to fight off women who're hot for his body and local bullies.
The bus is 30 minutes into the trip as it cruises the flatlands. The luscious stewy is wearing a once piece fluorescent green uniform— a short skirt, white patent leather go-go boots, and a wedged cap with her hair wrapped inside.
we're on our way to Acapulco where Elvis's film, Fun in Acapulco was shoot!
In the film, Elvis is a humble and freaked out ex-trapeze artist slash lifeguard in 1963 Acapulco who sings to make ends meet. As the film rolls on he finds he is forced to fight off women who're hot for his body and local bullies.
The bus is 30 minutes into the trip as it cruises the flatlands. The luscious stewy is wearing a once piece fluorescent green uniform— a short skirt, white patent leather go-go boots, and a wedged cap with her hair wrapped inside.
She pushes a trolly down the aisle loaded with cans of soft drinks, beer, bottled water, and a choice of mixed nuts, been tortillas or chips.
The tribe buys 9 cans of Corona, willing to drink warm suds, worried it will be the only opportunity they have to buy beer. Proof they were alcoholics, something they knew but were remiss about.
The stewy moors the trolly in the back of the bus, then walking back down the aisle to the front of the bus. Henry, who's sitting in an aisle seat, feels an urge to grab the sexy stewy’s rotund ass, which moves fluidly from side to side as she ambles, but he knows better.
Mature males of all ages on the bus are eyeballing her intently, wanting to grope her fine ass.
In 2 hours the bus reaches the outskirts of Cuernavaca, stopping in a rest area off of Highway 95 with a gas station, restaurant, convenience store, small pharmacy, and restrooms.
The girls make a run for the lady’s room. There's an appalling smell inside, maybe a dead iguana or rat is decomposing in a drainpipe. The toiletry and walls are covered with brown film. They go into separate stalls, closing the doors, hovering inches above but not sitting on the toilet seats, afraid of catching a strain of an awful Mexican funk.
At the sinks they spritz water on their faces, drying with their own handkerchiefs because there are no paper towels available.
Outside the ladies' room in front of mirrors, they refresh their make up. Looking gorgeous was paramount for them, something glamorous women cared about.
Outside the ladies' room in front of mirrors, they refresh their make up. Looking gorgeous was paramount for them, something glamorous women cared about.
Henry walks into the convenience store. There's a small drug store in the rear. An old man with grey hair wearing a white laboratory coat is standing behind the counter. He approaches the pharmacist, knowing you can buy morphine in Mexico with a fake script or no script at all. Saying,
I’d like a bottle of codeine tablets! The old man doesn’t understand so he tries Spanish,
tabletas codeína, codeína! The guy smiles, turning and taking a brown bottle of codeine pills from the shelf saying,
doscientos pesos, Henry hands him 200 pesos.
Back on 95, the bus reaches Ciudad Iquala de la Independencia at the base of La Sierra Madre del Sur— a mountain range extending 1000 kilometers into Southern Mexico from Michoacán east through Guerrero.
Henry pours codeine tablets out of the brown bottle into one hand, swallowing 1 as he tells the girls,
take a codeine pill, it'll make you feel good, sleepy maybe, and help with motion sickness. We're going to be moving uphill on a winding road for the next 100 kilometers.
As he comes on to the codeine, he nods out, dreaming of John Huston’s 1948 film The Treasure of Sierra Madre. Fred C. Dobbs, Bob Curtain, and the grizzled prospector Howard in the Sierra Madre Mountains, living in harsh conditions, fighting off banditos, and panning for gold.
Eventually, the hapless prospectors hit pay dirt, accumulating a fortune in gold dust which is tossed into the wind by peasants who have stollen the miners mules, thinking the gold dust is sand.
The engine of the Mercedes bus hums as the beer-bellied Mexican driver jacks the large steering wheel from left to right, occasionally swigging from a flask of tequila.
The more he sucks on the flask, the more chances he takes passing slow-moving vehicles.
There's a football-sized sticker above the buses’ front window of the Virgin Mary framed by the words,
There's a football-sized sticker above the buses’ front window of the Virgin Mary framed by the words,
ILLUMINATE MY PATH!
The holy sticker was blessed by a Franciscan Padre and it possesses an aura that radiated beams of holy light.
La Virgen María was the stewed driver's co-pilot. Consequently, he could pass cars at will, faithful the virgin was clearing the path as she poured out sacred laser beams.
The loaded driver’s reckless driving terrifies Lucia and Summer Wynd. They're fearful the bus will crash head-on into a truck or tumble down a ravine. Lucia is visibly shaken as she says to Henry,
you knew the bus trip would be dangerous! Are you loco dick clown?
Finally, her green twig snaps, she gets up from her seat, walking directly to the borracho bus driver, speaking to him in Spanish with a Mexican accent,
My uncle is El Presidente of The Black Hand Mafia in Acapulco. Drive with care pendejo or I will tell him to send a hitman to cut your fucking head off! Comprendes?
It was a persuasive lie, she was Cuban, not Mexican. The beer-bellied bus driver believed her, driving the remaining 80 kilometers to Acapulco like a nun pushing a cart of eggs.
At Terminal Central de Acapulco the beer-bellied driver's perspiring, standing outside the bus wishing the departing passengers luck.
As Lucia walks off the bus he bows graciously to her saying in Spanish,
As Lucia walks off the bus he bows graciously to her saying in Spanish,
Madame, I hope you had a pleasant trip. I beg of you, please don’t speak ill of me to your uncle, who I know to be great, great man!
Leaving the bus station they walk a short distance to Acapulco Bay in the central city, howling with laughter all the way.
Lucia was an actress in Cuba, she had supporting roles in many Cuban films of the 70s, such as—Life is a Whistle, Vampires of Havana and The Last Supper, all the while servicing Fidel Castro to help make ends meet. Summer Wynd says to her,
You're so talented darling, the driver was pissing his pants.
You're so talented darling, the driver was pissing his pants.
As they walk on the sidewalk across from the bay Henry’s thunderstruck as he sees Hotel Las Hamacas down the road.
He had stayed there with his deaf nanny Nil in the 60s, a 2-week vacation on his rich Uncle Victor Lucowski’s dime.
Looking at the girls excitedly with big eyes he says,
my God, Hotel Las Hamacas! My deaf nanny Nil and I had so many mind-blowing times there. We tasted many firsts— booze, ganja, sex, and LSD. Lucia who is still pissed about the dangerous bus ride says to him,
did you fuck Nil Henry? He chuckles answering,
of course, I was a virgin and she was wild sexually, deafness enhanced her sensuality.
The tribe walks into the lobby of Hotel Las Hamacas, schlepping their small bags and Henry’s portable typewriter inside.
The hotel is more like a motel— a 2 story L shaped residence partially wrapped around a swimming pool.
It was originally built in the 30s, then demolished and rebuilt in the 50s. The hotel hadn't changed much since the 60s when Henry and Nil had stayed there.
The tribe likes the hotel because it’s centrally located and across the road from the Acapulco bay, which had a sand beach.
Henry books a room with a kingsized bed for 3 days at 500 pesos a day. The room price includes a scrumptious Mexican breakfast of homemade hard rolls, churros, fresh sliced fruit, and coffee with milk.
They walk to their room, 103. The patio opens to the swimming which is shaded by palm trees.
After they settle in the hotel room, Henry begins typing a story on his portable typewriter as Lucia and Summer Wynd put on their bikinis.
The girls walk through the lobby to the beach which is across the street, where they rent beach chairs and umbrellas from a vendor.
They’re not at the beach to suntan, they're there to be looked at, to people watch, and to get loaded on pina coladas served in fresh green coconuts.
They sit in their beach chairs under large umbrellas sipping pina coladas and chatting as they watch the activities in the bay— water skiing, jet skiing, and parasailing.
Beachgoers walking on the shore eyeball Lucia and Summer Wynd, whose skimpy bikinis barely cover their bodies. Both are incredibly built with movie star good looks.
They enjoy the attention of the gawkers, egging on the male beachgoers by tonguing the straws in their drinks and ploddingly crossing and uncrossing their legs at times.
Henry shows at the beach on his way to Sanborns— a department store selling souvenirs and beach goods with a pharmacy and cafe. He would get a bite to eat and check out what opiates were available at the drug store. He says to the girls,
cool it Lolitas, you’re supercharging the serene beach scene. I’m going to Sanborns, want anything? Summer Wynd says,
buy a couple of fifths of mescal, you know, with the worms at the bottom of the bottle.
Sanborns is a few blocks up the road, he walks inside going directly to the pharmacy. After grilling the druggist he realizes he can't buy opiates without a script in a chain store pharmacy. He will have to score at a run downed drug store.
William S. Burroughs's book Queer chronicles his junked up times in Mexico City.
Henry is unconsciously reliving Burroughs's experiences in his book Queer as he searches for script-free codeine in Acapulco drugstores.
William Burroughs was too hip to live in Acapulco. The following excerpt is from his book Queer, about an experience scoring morphine in 50s Mexico City with his junky friend, Old Dave, using a legitimate dope script.
One time Old Dave and I tried to fill a script which he had obtained quite legitimately from the Mexican government. The first pharmacist we hit jerked back snarling from such a sight saying,
no prestamos servicio a los viciosos! (We don't serve dope fiends!) Finally we entered a tiny hole-in-the-wall farmacia. I pulled out the receta, and a gray-haired lady smiled at me.
The pharmacist looked at the script, and said,
We sat down to wait. There were geraniums in the window. A small boy brought me a glass of water, and a cat rubbed up against my leg. After awhile the pharmacist returned with our morphine.
On the way out of Sandborns Henry picks up a couple of fifths of Ozono Rojas mescal which has worms at the bottom of the bottle.
Back at Hotel Las Hamacas, he goes to room 103 and the girls are waiting for him. They are in bed naked, laughing, and roughhousing.
The twosome is rolling drunk, too loaded to go out. Henry calls room service on the hotel room phone,
room service? This is room 103, I want 3 well-done steaks, a large Caesar salad, refried beans, yellow rice, corn tortillas and 6 bottles of iced beer.
The twosome is rolling drunk, too loaded to go out. Henry calls room service on the hotel room phone,
room service? This is room 103, I want 3 well-done steaks, a large Caesar salad, refried beans, yellow rice, corn tortillas and 6 bottles of iced beer.
Lucia and Summer Wynd get out of bed, going to the bathroom and showering together, trying to sober up. After drying they change into underpants and tank tops.
When room service arrives the bellman wheels the trolly to the patio so the tribe can eat outside.
When room service arrives the bellman wheels the trolly to the patio so the tribe can eat outside.
The girls hadn’t eaten all day, they relish the meal, practically licking their plates clean.
After eating Lucia clears the dishes from the folding table. Henry brings a bottle of mescal, placing it on the table and pouring booze into hotel tumblers. They drink wildly, downing shots and guzzling beer.
After eating Lucia clears the dishes from the folding table. Henry brings a bottle of mescal, placing it on the table and pouring booze into hotel tumblers. They drink wildly, downing shots and guzzling beer.
Eventually, they leave the patio and go inside where they sit on the bed, drinking more and watching MTV on the tube.
As the Sheryl Crow video, Strong Enough plays, they recite a particular stanza over and over, screaming so loud the sound of the song is inaudible.
I have a face I cannot show
I make the rules up as I go
Just try and love me if you can
Are you strong enough to be my man?
At 2 AM the tribe has passed out in bed, still dressed. The television is on MTV, Robert Palmer is singing with a group of drop-dead gorgeous models, Addicted to Love.
