Jennet Rodriguez Betancourt

Barcelona who does everything, but study (a highly condemned topic by Alonso in many
of his narrations).
During the characters first meeting, the wealthy, spoiled student constantly
disapproves of Barcelona (where Alonso deliberately places him) which he insolently
refers to as “…un país en que hay tan poco trato, ese maldito dialecto o jerga que me
horripila, estas costumbres, estas comidas, todo en fin me aburre tanto…” (Alonso 4).
Several days later, the three characters meet again and the Puerto Rican (Alonso) decides
to play a joke on the cubanito, (creating a story within a story), constructing an imaginary
conversation with an Englishman who has become wealthy in Puerto Rico by exploting
the land and its people “…cuatro años negrero, otros cuatro semicontrabandísta, y siete
hacendado: total quince, para llegar después a propietario acomodado, _y no perdona
usted sus faltas a aquel país que las ha pagado en libras esterlinas? (Alonso 6). The
Englishman angrily replies that he will never like that terrible country whose disgusting
food has made him fat and ill.
After listening to the narrator’s words, the upset cubanito wants to know the
response to the arrogant, abusive Englishman. At this point Alonso humorously turns the
focus on the cubanito asking him what he would’ve replied. The student replies exactly
what was expected, “¿Yo?, que era una bestia, un mal educado, que no tenía presente que
hablaba con un puertorriqueño” (7). Nothing more needs to be said, Alonso’s trick has
been successful and the cubanito, not Alonso, not a Puerto Rican, has voiced the lack of
respect, humiliation, and total discontent that a human being feels when an offense of this
manner is directed towards him and or his country.
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