Act 1, Scene 2
ANTONIO exits. CLARA remains seated on one side of a double-sided park bench; pensive, looking into the void, in absolute self-absorption. Little by little, from the other side, COMPLEMENTO gets up, kneeling and leaning forward, with his hands resting on the back of the bench, and says softly, almost into CLARA’s ear:
COMPLEMENTO
If he thought a little more about you and less about himself…
CLARA (as if the voice were familiar)
If…(reacting) What! What is this, who are you?!
COMPLEMENTO (always softly)
Don’t be afraid, miss; I’m a friend, an old friend of yours.
CLARA
A friend?
COMPLEMENTO
Yes, you don’t recognize me…I have an unfamiliar face; your surprise is understandable.
CLARA
Forgive me, sir, but…
COMPLEMENTO
We haven’t seen each other in many years. When you were little, we were almost inseparable, we played together day and night.
CLARA
Then you’re Juan?
COMPLEMENTO
No, miss.
CLARA
When I was little, I had a friend named Juan, and I played with him every day.
COMPLEMENTO
Yes, yes, with Juan and with me.
CLARA
Huh?
COMPLEMENTO
Yes. You had a big hoop, and you would roll it down the street, and I gave it a bigger push so you would run and your little legs would become strong…then I was the slope of the street. You had a paper doll, you dressed her and undressed her continually, and so she would always be clean you sank her in the pool on the patio…I was the clear water. Do you remember that fall because you were restless, because you wanted to hang from the fragile line where the wet laundry was spread? But it wasn’t serious…I was the soft grass that cushioned your fall.
CLARA
Sir…
COMPLEMENTO
You don’t remember?
CLARA
But…
COMPLEMENTO (each time more persuasive)
You cried a lot…because of the shock, of course, because it really didn’t hurt.
CLARA (already convinced)
Yes, it was the shock…I was afraid of mama’s scolding.
COMPLEMENTO
Ah, mama’s scolding! Fortunately, I arrived just in time. That time I came very well disguised as a coalman. “-Ma’am, would you like to buy some coal? -How much is it? -Well, it’s five dollars a load. -That’s not much…” And we continued talking…and your mom forgot about the scolding.
CLARA
Yes, yes. (Laughing) She forgot.
They both laugh. Pause.
COMPLEMENTO (again with the first tone of voice)
And now…if he thought more about you and less about himself…
CLARA (sharply)
But sir, who are you…?
COMPLEMENTO (Coming to sit beside her)
Me?…You’re going to oblige me to introduce myself, miss. I am Complemento.
CLARA
What?
COMPLEMENTO
Complemento.
Clara laughs loudly. Complemento starts laughing too, a little at first, then loudly like her.
CLARA (laughing)
Complemento!
COMPLEMENTO (He waits for her to finish laughing and then)
Keep on laughing. Has anyone ever told you that you laugh like an angel?
CLARA
Thank you. (Determined) I am a very serious person, and…I can’t talk like this in a public place, with someone I don’t know.
COMPLEMENTO
You don’t know me? And…our childhood history?
CLARA
It is true. How do you know?
COMPLEMENTO
Miss, what is your name?
CLARA
Clara.
COMPLEMENTO
Naturally, Clara, they couldn’t call you anything else with that face full of light, Clara. Haven’t you ever thought that every little girl had paper dolls, played with hoops…fell while trying to reach the clothesline?
CLARA (Disconcerted)
You didn’t know me…
COMPLEMENTO
Yes, I did. Like I knew all the girls.
CLARA (serious)
Why are you making fun of me?
COMPLEMENTO
Me? I’m offended!
CLARA (sharply)
Goodbye, sir!
COMPLEMENTO
You’re leaving? Why?
CLARA
I shouldn’t have asked.
COMPLEMENTO
Don’t go, I beg you, I want to tell you something very important.
CLARA
But, for God’s sake, who are you?
COMPLEMENTO
Promise me you won’t laugh?
CLARA
Yes.
COMPLEMENTO
I am…Complemento.
CLARA
Again?!
COMPLEMENTO
I am Complemento, every time, all the time. Of course, that’s not my first name. But that’s what my friends call me, and I like it so much that if it weren’t for the difficulties that come with legally changing it, I would have.
CLARA
Fine, Mr….Complemento. And what do you do?
COMPLEMENTO
Complement, miss.
CLARA
You keep mocking…
COMPLEMENTO
I’m telling the truth. My job is this: be what the others are not. On my own, I’m of no use and no value. But in the shadow of others, I’m indispensable, super useful, irreplaceable. Would you be willing to do me a favor, just one?
CLARA
I’d be happy to.
COMPLEMENTO
Let me help you.
CLARA
With what?
COMPLEMENTO
With the troubles of the heart you’re suffering from.
CLARA
You heard my conversation with Antonio?
COMPLEMENTO
Yes. Oh! At first it was unintentional, I assure you, but later I felt obligated…my duty demanded the most diligent attention. For the rest, I’m used to hearing everything that shouldn’t be heard.
CLARA
Nice job you have!
COMPLEMENTO
But so useful! If it wasn’t for me, so many misfortunes would have happened. I’m the youngest in a family of five boys. You have no idea!
CLARA
Your parents would have endured a lot…
COMPLEMENTO
No! After the third child, parents resign themselves to the rest, it’s a matter of habit…But to be the fifth! All children’s games require an odd number so that power isn’t balanced, and justice runs out as if driven away by the whimsy of innocence. My four brothers always saw me as a gift from heaven, sent to be: the odd one out, in games; the indispensable, in mischief; the victim, of fouls; the consolation, in apologies. And little by little I grew accustomed to being a complement. Each one of them needed me, they were incomplete without me…Later I had to choose a profession, and naturally I embraced what was most in line with my purpose.
CLARA
I know. You studied medicine!
COMPLEMENTO
No, miss. I became a typesetter.
CLARA (disenchanted)
Ah.
COMPLEMENTO
You’re young, you don’t understand. The typesetter, Clara, is the one who must interpret, correct, edit, smooth out, shade, clarify the thoughts of others. From the little girl writing a winning essay that gets published in the school newspaper, to the statesman, the philosopher or the financier who throws the wealth of his knowledge to the press, all must go through the intelligent and sensitive fingers of the typesetter, who has to palpate the idea, like a rough and coarse object, to soften it, polish it, com-ple-ment it!
CLARA
They’re not so smart, are they?
COMPLEMENTO
They’re incomplete.
CLARA
Is that right?
COMPLEMENTO
Incomplete like Antonio, your fiancé, like you, like all of us.
CLARA
You too?
COMPLEMENTO
Most of all. Everyone else has the consolation of my help; but me…I already told you, alone I’m worthless. (Slight pause. Hastily.) Would you allow me to help you?
CLARA
With what?
COMPLEMENTO
To win your fiancé back, he’s gotten carried away with a crass economic fantasy.
CLARA
Why would you do that?
COMPLEMENTO
It’s ego, miss. When someone is accustomed to being indispensable, he can’t resign himself to not being needed.
CLARA
How are you going to help me?
COMPLEMENTO
It’s very difficult to explain; It’s essential that you have faith. I promise you a resounding success; if you want, I can show you many glowing references: look at this, from a senator; he was almost defeated and I won him the election; look what he says: “Thanks to Complemento I had the greatest triumph of my life: that the people recognized my merits and elected me their spokesperson in the Senate of the Republic.” Beautiful, right? And this from a rural teacher: “Like dew is to the flower, Complemento has been the supreme good for my soul.” Don’t think anything unsavory, it was only that the principal gave her a good review. And this one, and this one…
CLARA
Yes, I see, you’re not short on recommendations…
COMPLEMENTO
I have more at home, I could bring them to you. Will you take me into your service?
CLARA
But…
COMPLEMENTO
You’re still not convinced. I’ll bring out more recommendations. No; I ask you to put me to the test. That’s the best.
CLARA
How?
COMPLEMENTO
Hmmm…(thinking) If I teach you a method to bring your fiancé back to reality, the harsh reality of life, when he returns to pie in the sky, will you believe me?
CLARA
What’s the method?
COMPLEMENTO
You like to sing, right?
CLARA
Yes; but I have a really bad voice.
COMPLEMENTO
Even better.
CLARA
What?
COMPLEMENTO
Great! You know some current songs, no doubt.
CLARA
Yes, a few…
COMPLEMENTO
Very popular ones, the kind musicians write while chewing gum. Well then, when Antonio has his head in the clouds, start crooning one of those absent-mindedly. You’ll see the result, it never fails; there’s nothing like vulgar melodies for feeling the weight of daily toil and the incurable human condition.
CLARA
A popular song like this? (she croons)
COMPLEMENTO
Exactly. Test it and tell me how it goes.
CLARA
You think I’ll be able to win him back with this?
COMPLEMENTO
I beg you, don’t confuse me with a saint – to perform miracles – or with a medicine man – for a quick cure – I’m giving you a method for immediate action, as a stimulant. But the patient needs a long course of treatment to eradicate the disease.
CLARA
So you are a doctor?
COMPLEMENTO
No, but I have typeset many medical books…And now tell me: will you put me to the test?
CLARA
Yes. (Pause.) Mr. Complemento, how much will this work cost?
COMPLEMENTO
My work? If you weren’t so beautiful, I’d do it for free. But it could bring me sentimental complications that I must alleviate by means of a stipend. Five cents a month…does that sound good?
CLARA
And this is going to last months?
COMPLEMENTO
No. If it lasts fifteen days, for example, you pay two and a half cents.
CLARA
That’s cheap.
COMPLEMENTO
Not quite. You have to add meals, a bed and laundry.
CLARA
For who?
COMPLEMENTO
For me. I have to live in your house for a few days. It’s essential.
CLARA
Do you really think that’s going to happen?!
COMPLEMENTO
I repeat: it’s essential. We’ll find a way…You have a brother, don’t you?
CLARA
Ricardo.
COMPLEMENTO
That’s it, Ricardo; We were great friends in school and, when we moved away from each other, our bond was so strong that we remained pen pals.
CLARA
Then you are Enrique Gutiérrez.
COMPLEMENTO
Do you know Enrique Gutiérrez? Other than your brother, does your family know him?
CLARA
No, but Ricardo has told us a lot about him.
COMPLEMENTO
And where is Ricardo now?
CLARA
In the countryside; he comes back next month.
COMPLEMENTO
Then I am Enrique Gutiérrez.
CLARA
What do you mean “then”?
COMPLEMENTO
Yes, miss. Given the happy circumstances you’ve noted, that no one in your house knows this gentleman, that he’s a friend of your brother, and that your brother is absent, I am obligated to be Enrique Gutiérrez.
CLARA
The things you say!
COMPLEMENTO
I trust that he’s proper, educated, without vice. Remember that I enjoy a very respectable reputation.
CLARA
Please sir, explain yourself!
COMPLEMENTO
Impossible. I am Enrique Gutiérrez. Ricardo wrote to me, inviting me to come stay at your house…
CLARA
Yes, he is always inviting him.
COMPLEMENTO
But I haven’t been able to accept because I’m a very busy man.
CLARA
It seems that you have many clients and numerous lawsuits.
COMPLEMENTO
I’m a corporate lawyer…And, as I said, this is why I’ve had to decline the invitation; but now, enjoying some hard earned vacation time, I’ve decided to come. I sent a telegram to Ricardo, but you can’t count on the telegraph service; most likely it never arrived.
CLARA
No, he hasn’t received anything, otherwise…
COMPLEMENTO
Naturally, otherwise he wouldn’t have left. Well, since I’m already here, you all will insist that I stay, isn’t that right?
CLARA
Yes, yes, and we’ll notify Ricardo.
COMPLEMENTO
But Clarita, don’t you see? To you I am Complemento, but to the others in your house…
CLARA
Oh! I get it!; the way you talk in such a serious tone, it’s hard to tell when you’re making things up and when you’re telling the truth.
COMPLEMENTO
Bravo! You’re already understanding me. I swing back and forth between the serious and the laughable, to prevent one from becoming tragic or the other ridiculous.
CLARA (unexpectedly)
Mr. Complemento, I am willing to hire you.
COMPLEMENTO
No!
CLARA
Yes, yes.
COMPLEMENTO
No. The adventure is too transcendental to be based on a frivolous impulse. Take your time to think about it. Meditate on it.
CLARA
Just a moment ago you were begging me…
COMPLEMENTO
Miss, I am in my role; when you were indecisive, I had to encourage you. Now that you are hasty, I must preach calmness.
CLARA
Ah! (pause)
COMPLEMENTO
Enrique Gutiérrez. I will be good in that character. I’ll be Ricardo’s friend, and my relations with the family will have the diaphanous tint of a longstanding friendship, thanks to the good word of an enthusiastic young man. What did your brother say about me?
CLARA
About you? But if you don’t know.
COMPLEMENTO
Forget that I am Enrique Gutiérrez.
CLARA
Ah! He always tells us about your mischief in college; how you didn’t apply yourself. You were terrible, and…
COMPLEMENTO
Don’t remind me of that difficult time…How much I suffered with Enrique. Thousands of times I was the creaking door that forewarned the arrival of the Dean, or the vivacious girl who turned the teacher’s head and forced him to be good-natured during exams; or the benign but persistent fever that allowed him to enjoy extraordinary time off…It’s hard to find excuses for the faults of a college student…they’re so careless that no one can forgive them. The man worships wickedness and offers no shelter from mischief.
(Pause)
CLARA (sighing)
We’ve been talking such a long time!
COMPLEMENTO
We’re old friends by now, seriously this time.
CLARA
Yes, you’re very nice.
COMPLEMENTO
Thank you. Now tell me again what you said earlier: you’ll take me into your service?
CLARA
Yes, Enrique.
COMPLEMENTO
Ricardo will be so sad when he learns I was here and he couldn’t see me.
CLARA
Poor guy!
COMPLEMENTO
Don’t forget, I get in on the morning train; what a big surprise and such preparations! You’ll have to run to tidy up the house, buy flowers, prepare the guestroom!
CLARA
I’ll dress accordingly.
COMPLEMENTO
Don’t get yourself ready, it’s so early…
CLARA
With no makeup?
COMPLEMENTO
It’s essential.
CLARA
And Antonio?
COMPLEMENTO
What time should he come and see you?
CLARA
At five.
COMPLEMENTO
You’ll introduce me to him.
CLARA
I’ll be happy to. He’s adorable, isn’t he?
COMPLEMENTO
Hmmm…he’s a good guy.
CLARA
And he loves me. He’s so noble, so good, so simple-hearted.
COMPLEMENTO
Oh yeah? Sounds complicated.
CLARA
How so?
COMPLEMENTO
I’m speaking…professionally.
CLARA
I’m happy to be with a man like that.
COMPLEMENTO
Are you still talking about Antonio?
CLARA
Naturally!
COMPLEMENTO
Yes, yes, naturally.
CLARA
He is a perfect man…
COMPLEMENTO
Does that mean my work is done?
CLARA
Not at all.
COMPLEMENTO (generously)
Go on dreaming.
CLARA
Such gentleness in his voice, what sweetness in his gaze….His intelligence is staggering, he will be a great man, everyone will admire him, and I will be happy by his side… I’ll take his arm with such pride, like a queen…(Complemento has begun to whistle a vulgar tune) Ah! Why are you whistling that?
COMPLEMENTO
It’s getting late, the park is filling with people; the lovers take a walk before night falls…Look at the wet nurses who rush their little ones because the evening dew might cause them harm; the playful boys return from class and have chosen the longest way back to boarding school. At this hour, the city breathes through the lungs of the park.
(Slowly a murmur of voices is heard, without any distinguishable conversation; cries of children, and isolated voices in distinct tones, in a descending scale; very distant, several notes of wind instruments.)
A woman dreams…you…peek out from the balcony of this moment…it’s a sublime spectacle…Life, in pieces, is woven together by the subtle thread of conformity…This is one of the saddest moments for me…no one is unhappy…no one needs me…
CLARA
I do.
COMPLEMENTO
Not now, later, when you recover the good from the anguish.
CLARA
Antonio!
COMPLEMENTO
Yes, call him, believe in him, put your hope in me. Continue your state of love. The state of love is like the state of grace: it demands an act of faith and a miracle of hope.
(The noises increase for a second, and then diminish rapidly).
If he thought less about himself… and more about you….
CLARA
I love him so much…
COMPLEMENTO
Always him?
CLARA
Yes, him.
COMPLEMENTO
Enrique Gutiérrez is coming on the first morning train; try to forget it.
CLARA
Forget it?
COMPLEMENTO
Yes, he will surprise you -without your makeup on- Clarita: What are your parents’ names?
CLARA
Joaquín and Alicia.
COMPLEMENTO
And their last name?
CLARA
Bermúdez.
COMPLEMENTO
Thank you. See you early tomorrow morning. Where do you live?
CLARA
15 Main Street.
COMPLEMENTO
Near here. Goodbye.
CLARA
Are you going?
COMPLEMENTO
No. Are you?
CLARA
Not yet.
COMPLEMENTO
15 Main Street. Run, Ms. Alicia will get worried…
CLARA
-But…
COMPLEMENTO
Mr. Joaquín is home from work; he’s sitting in his favorite recliner at this moment, reading the evening news. He’s called for you, Clarita.
CLARA
Yes, most likely.
COMPLEMENTO
Run, run. What will the neighbors say if they see you come home alone so late?
CLARA
Oh, yes!
COMPLEMENTO
Don’t you hear it? Silence comes this way, like a sinner.
CLARA
I’m going.
COMPLEMENTO
On the corner you’ll find a guard; greet him graciously so his eyes follow you down the dark street.
CLARA
-See you tomorrow, Enrique…
COMPLEMENTO
-See you tomorrow…
(Clara exits. Complemento yawns, contracts his body as if protecting himself from the cold and…) Ah! This will be the last night…why doesn’t the city put soft cushions on these benches? So poor for sleeping…very poor.
CURTAIN
“Complemento”
Acto I, Escena 2
Sale ANTONIO. CLARA se queda pensativa, mirando al vacío, en un ensimismamiento absoluto. Poco a poco, del asiento posterior se levanta COMPLEMENTO, hinca una rodilla, e inclinándose hacia adelante, con las manos apoyadas en el espaldar de la banca, dice suavemente, casi al oido de CLARA:
COMPLEMENTO
Si pensara un poco mas en usted, y menos en el mismo…
CLARA (Como si la voz le fuera familiar)
Si… (Reaccionando) Eh!, ¿qué es eso, quién es usted?
COMPLEMENTO (Siempre con suavidad)
No se asuste, señorita; soy un amigo, un viejo amigo suyo.
CLARA
¿Un amigo?
COMPLEMENTO
Sí, usted no me recuerda… Tengo una cara tan igual a la de las personas que nadie conoce, que es comprensible su extrañeza.
CLARA
Perdóneme, señor, pero…
COMPLEMENTO
No nos vemos desde hace muchos años. Cuando usted era pequeña, no nos separábamos casi nunca, jugábamos juntos día y noche.
CLARA
¿Entonces usted es Juan?
COMPLEMENTO
No, señorita.
CLARA
Cuando yo era pequeña, tenía un amiguito que se llamaba Juan, y jugaba con él todos los días.
COMPLEMENTO
Sí, sí, con Juan y conmigo.
CLARA
¿Ah…?
COMPLEMENTO
Sí. Usted tenía un aro grande, y lo hacía rodar por la avenida, y yo le daba más impulso para que usted corriera y sus piernecitas se le robustecieran… entonces yo era el declive de la calle. Usted tenía una muñeca de cartón, la desvestía y la vestía continuamente, y para que estuviera siempre limpia, la hundía en la alberca del patio… Yo era el agua cristalina. ¿Recuerda aquella caída por inquieta, por querer colgarse del hilo frágil en donde lucía la ropa mojada? Pero no fue grave…yo era el mullido césped que amortiguó el golpe.
CLARA
Señor…
COMPLEMENTO
¿No recuerda?
CLARA
Pero…
COMPLEMENTO (Cada vez más persuasivo)
Lloró mucho… Desde luego, por el susto, porque en realidad no le dolía.
CLARA (Ya convencida)
Sí, fue del susto… De miedo al regaño de mamá.
COMPLEMENTO
¡Ah, el regaño! Pero yo llegué a tiempo. Esa vez iba muy disfrazado: de carbonero “-¿Mi señora, compra carbón? -¿A cómo lo da? –Pues a cinco pesos la carga –No, se muy caro…”, y seguimos discutiendo… y su mamá se olvidó del regaño.
CLARA
Sí, sí. (Riendo) Se le olvidó
Rien ambos. Pausa.
COMPLEMENTO (De nuevo con el primer tono de voz)
Y ahora…si él pensara más en usted y menos en sí mismo…
CLARA
Sí… (Bruscamente) Pero, señor, usted quién es…?
COMPLEMENTO (Viene a sentarse a su lado)
¿ Yo?… Me va usted a obligar a presentarme, señorita. Yo soy Complemento.
The rest of the original Spanish text may be found on the translator’s website beginning here.
✶✶✶✶
Rafael Guizado served as private secretary to Colombian President Eduardo Santos, as the Colombian delegate to the League of Nations, and as founding director of Colombia’s national radio station. He created the continent’s most prestigious radio theatre, while promoting authors of the “Los Nuevos” and “Piedra y Cielo” literary movements and broadcasting a new wave of their original works. Guizado experimented with new forms of modern theatre and inspired the public to embrace more challenging works than were popular at the time. His radio plays were adapted for the stage, becoming the repertoire of the national theatre, and setting a new literary standard in Colombian theatre. His revitalization of theatrical programming spurred growth and variation in theatre arts in mid-twentieth century Colombia.
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Gigi Guizado is an actor, writer, and translator based in Las Vegas. She received her BA in Drama from San Francisco State University. Recurring themes in her work include feminism, diversity, and mental health. Her writing on psychiatric nursing education has been published in MedEDPORTAL. Her translations and original ten minute plays have had staged readings and productions in San Francisco, Las Vegas, and London. Excerpts of her translations are included online at Performing International Plays, and forthcoming from Asymptote journal. She is a member of Out of the Wings Collective.
*
Alexander Chubar holds a BFA from Hunter College and a MFA from the Pratt Institute. His work has previously been published in Gone Lawn journal, Gemini magazine, Subprimal Poetry Art, The Tishman Review, The Storm Cellar magazine, and several other publications.
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