Pecks
Note: the title of this section, "Picatozos", means "Pecks"
Do not cut the beak of the Parakeet (“El Perico”). I have learned that one of the Franciscan Fathers said from the pulpit1 “I will cut the beak”.. Would the reverend be so kind as to tell me what the motives might be for such a charitable offer?
So far I have been a harmless parakeet, I have only tried to fulfill my agenda that I have recorded in the form of a prayer in my first flight2. As I have stated herein, consider the good intentions by which I am animated; and this very day the Reverend will see that I am engaged in calling to the true path of Christianity those who are perplexed with the idea of the Kingdom of Our Lord Jesus Christ here on earth, whereby the prestige of that divine religion would be taken away, amalgamating it with politics for profitable ends. We refer to those who attempt to force the religion of the Crucified One into the service of vulgar ambitions and by this means ascend to power.
THE NARUSITO3 is one of the characters of note in the last elections for municipal councilors ...an employee working in a tax office, on the official list of course, and in effect he proceeded equipped with a roll of bills for the lawful trade of votes. He approached a friend of ours who was at the table of the sanctuary4 inviting him to vote for the official list to which he replied teasing that as this was a commercial city, all should be present subject to the ajio5 and consequently he was soon selling his vote. Then the narusito said enthusiastically all right, here is a peso and the receipt. My friend replied with a laugh and turned away. Poor Narusito!
[TRANSLATOR's NOTE: A translation of the last paragraph of this section is not included here because the meaning of some parts are unclear to the translator. It is satirical; it mentions “another descendant of Don Quixote” who is to be added to the “Gallery of Contemporary Celebrities”. ]
Footnotes:
1. Dr. Martinez is here responding to a real event that occurred; by this time "El Perico" had been in circulation for about six weeks and had aroused opposition from friars. It is mentioned in one of the most well-known works on Eloy Alfaro "La Hoguera Barbara" ("The Barbaric Bonfire") by Alfredo Pareja Diezcanseco, page 194: "Some friars started a campaign against 'El Perico'..." ↑
2. Each issue of “El Perico” was called a flight, so Dr. Martinez here refers to the first issue of El Perico. Gomez Iturralde, in his historical coverage of "El Perico", quotes another unnamed author who had said: "El Perico (the Parakeet) took flight every week on Saturday afternoon ...". ↑
3.The meaning of “the Narusito” is unclear to the present translator. It appears to be a reference to some contemporary individual running for an elected office. ↑
4. The spanish word here translated as “sanctuary” is “sagrario”. The meaning is unclear to the translator; it could be a reference to some location in a church. The context of this passage is clearly a discussion of some kind of election fraud. ↑
5. The meaning of "ajio" is unclear to the translator. ↑