A Small, Child-Size Cross
The opening scene of the play begins with a group of children silently entering a grape vineyard wearing skull masks. It continues with the following description: “They carry a small, child-size cross which they erect quickly and exit, leaving its stark silhouetted image against the dawn’s light. The barely distinguishable figure of a small child hangs from it. The child’s clothes and thin clothing flap in the wind.” This is a powerful image to open the play. The religious iconography, the setting of the grape vineyard, and the imagery of death all set the scene for the events that follow.
My Young God
Mario is gay, and is open with Cerezita about his sexuality. Mario recounts an interaction he had with a man he calls his “Mayan god.” Retelling the story to Cerezita, he describes how, “my young god is standing at the foot of my bed. His shirt’s open to the waist…more Mayan rock. It’s kinda sticking to him from the sweat he’s worked up on the dance floor. My little heart is pounding as he tells me he just came to check on me.” That Mario refers to this man as a “god” speaks to the importance that the body and sexuality hold for Mario. He reveres this man’s beautiful, brown body and remembers every detail. Furthermore, the fact that the man came to check on Mario makes him feel special.
In Neat, Orderly Rows of Despair
As Cerezita looks out across the grape vineyards, she describes the scene vividly: “See how the branches look like arms with the bulging veins of suffering. Each arm intertwined with the other little crucified Christs next to it. Thousands of them in neat orderly rows of despair. Syphilitic sacks of grapes hanging from their loins.” Moraga uses imagery to transform an ordinary vineyard of grapes into a field of Christs suffering on the cross. This reinforces the religious imagery of the play and the sense of the large industrial farms as places of suffering and despair.
A Brilliant Beam of Light
Moraga uses imagery to describe Cerezita’s transformation into the Virgin of Guadalupe. She writes: “A brilliant beam of light has entered the room and washed over Cerezita. She is draped in the blue-starred veil of La Virgen de Guadalupe. Her head is tilted slightly toward the right, her eyes downcast in the Virgin’s classic expression.” Moraga uses lighting in the play in connection with the theme of religion. The beam of light that falls on Cerezita gives her an otherworldly appearance. Donning the well-recognized veil and expression of the Virgin, Cerezita transforms herself into the Virgin’s likeness, gaining at the same time the attention and respect of her community.
