Canutito stepped out into the warm sunshine of the school yard pa'l recess. He paused to look at las muchachas jugando Jump Rope. Una de ellas was jumping as the other two were saying: "Mabel, Mabel, set the table. Don't forget los red hot peppers!" And when they said 'hot peppers' le daban bien recio al jump rope so that the other girl would trip and go out.

He just couldn't see the attraction ¿por qué las muchachas liked to jump rope? They looked kind of silly with los chongos flying through the air and sometimes falling and pelándose las rodillas. As he looked at them again, they were saying: "Get out you dirty doctor, get out you dirty nurse, get out you dirty lady with the alligator purse..."

"Y qué fregãos is a 'dirty lady with the alligator purse' doing en Santa Fe, New Mexico?" he asked himself. I could see it if she had been carrying a big ole maleta like that of the other viejas pero to carry una alligator purse she would have to be one of those Texas turistas who come to look at the art of los artistas." He walked away to where the boys were because he didn't like to take stock in no turistas.

Canutito meandered over to los monkey bars dónde sus amigos were. His friend Filimotas was dangling de las rodillas because he liked to hacerles chó a las muchachas. He greeted Canutito as he approached, "Ese bro!" he called upside down, all the while still swinging by his knees. Then he chortled with his vava running up his cachete, "Hey Canutito, if you was a ruca would I have to say, 'Esa bra!' to you?" He laughed and hopped down de los monkey bars.

"I think that you've fallen on your mera güeja too many times and ruptured your mollera!" Canutito called out to him. But he secretly believed that Filimotas had really been a change-of-life baby.

"Hey bro," began Filimotas after he had given Canutito the secret Tesuque handshake. "I didn't see you en la misa for Ash Wednesday last week. Now you are going to go straight to el infierno when you die!"

"No I'm not," countered Canutito. "I bet you que I'm more católico than you are! And besides, my Grama Cuca me dijo que I haven't made my primera comunión yet so God can't send me to Hell even if he wants to. Pero tú," he continued to reprimand Filimotas, "you can go straight pa'l infierno because I have seen you allá atrás de los outhouses de las muchachas poking out the knots pa verles el mero seven. God is going to punish you for sure por andar looking a things que no te importan!" He ended with a note of triumph.

"Oye Canutito," said Filimotas all the while taking out his bag of bolitas. Do you want to play marbles? I want you to check out mi chura."

Canutito looked over to where Filimotas was holding up his shooter so that it glistened in the sun. It was not quite una clearie; it was more como una cat eye. He drooled at the idea that maybe he might win it from Filimotas because he really no valía huevo pa' jugar a las marbles. Maybe he might even win a plomo or a peewee marble from him. And of course if he could pelarlo de un half-pint o de un boulder then his collection of marbles would be complete.

"Do you want to play Follows, al Rín or al Pocito?" asked Filimotas.

"There's a new game that was invented by los bros allá en Agua Fría," said Canutito. It is called 'La Truchita.' Do you want to try to jugar that game with me?" he said, as he drew a fish on the ground and lined up their marbles on a line inside of it.

"Yo primero!" called Filimotas to him.

"No!" said Canutito, "we have to shootear to see who is going to go primero." He drew line fifteen feet away from the fish on the ground and they both stood behind the line. "Let's see who will be the mero fregón and who will be el looser," he said ...

¿Le gustaría compartir sus propias anécdotas o comentar con Torres sobre esta columna? Envíele un correo electrónico a lartor@unm.edu