The Sages long ago concluded that people have a disturbing emotional propensity to excesses. People lust, greed, gloat, and, above all, envy.
One of the worst cardinal sins, Envy, often turns destructive when one person covets another person’s possessions. The envious, lacking the attributes or possessions of the person they envy, feels mortified and wounded and destructively retaliates. An envious guy may even murder the subject of his Envy.
As the saying goes, “If I can’t have it, you won’t either.”
I
Block G, circa 1985. The kids played on the street, goofing off about the latest wrestling match. At the time, the local version of WWW wrestling was becoming extremely popular among the countryside people. One figure of legendary proportion was Jack Veneno. He, along with Vampiro Kao, his archenemy, hijacked the people’s imagination.
Every Saturday, “Todos los caminos conduce al Parque Eugenio Maria the Hostos,” the announcer proclaimed. The Parque Eugenio Maria de Hostos was a small auditorium on Geoge Washington Boulevard, across from the Caribbean Sea. A lovely spot.
The multiplying effect of the new medium, TV, was bringing wrestling to the masses. Jack Veneno became a legend. Wrestling was a major TV success in the country, especially for the people from the countryside.
On Saturday afternoons, everyone was glued to the TV, waiting for the moment when Jack Veneno would render his archenemy Vampiro Kao into submission. However, Vampiro Kao not only had a big mouth but more confidence than skills. He constantly challenged Jack Veneno, threatening to whip his ass. He was also treacherous and vindictive. Each time Jack Veneno was about to defeat him, he grabbed one of the metal chairs from the audience and whacked Jack Veneno’s head, drawing blood. After many fights, Jack Veneno’s forehead was full of scars resembling a chicken coop metal net at the hand of Vampiro Kao.
The people hated Vampiro Kao and loved Jack Veneno. The wrestling show became one of the Island’s most successful show business.
It turned out that Jack Veneno was the star, promoter, and intellectual architect of the whole show. But, as successful as the show became, over time, he noticed that the show was getting stale. Or he grew tired of getting whacked with metal chairs. He decided to bring new blood to the show and spice it up.
First, he brought the “Sensational” Carlitos Colon, a wrestler from Puerto Rico. Since he was foreign, he must be good, they all thought. After a few fights, however, Carlitos Colon could not defeat Jack Veneno because no Puerto Rican man could beat a Dominican man. Unimaginable. Carlitos Colon was a dud. He had no charisma, anyway. In a game of Showmanship, Carlitos was a rather rude, stoic individual, not in the least attractive. Again, the show risked getting stale.
Jack Veneno, the promoter-in-chief, was again in a predicament. The show had an unimagined success but risked running out of juice. But he was a wise guy and knew the Dominican people very well. He knew that Dominicans loved everything foreign, especially if they were coming from the United States. Soon enough, Jack Veneno schemed his way to any new feature. He brought in, with great fanfare, “The ultimate, the glorious, blond, blue-eyed gringo, Rick Flair.”
As his stage’s name announced, Rick Flair was tall, but not really, big, blond -probably chemically blond- and “a real American” with blue eyes. The stereotypical American of the fifties. He was very showy and a master at working the crowds. He also had a big mouth, a very necessary ingredient for success, and loved attention. He immediately caught the people’s imagination. All the kids soon became either Rick Flair or Jack Veneno. Very few confessed in public their love for Vampiro Kao.
The latter grew very resentful because he was not getting the right slice of the show’s profits, and in the end, Jack Veneno pushed him aside. The great Vampiro Kao left the show broke. He was often seen in the city riding in his moppet. Meanwhile, Jack Veneno made millions. Jack Veneno turned out to be quite a Capitalist; he ended up being, among other high-priced enterprises, a major investor at the largest Dominican bank. Vampiro Kao, perhaps out of necessity or vindictiveness, tried to start his wrestling show, but it never took hold. He died broke. Shameful!
II
One of the kids on Block G, as he played outside with other kids, Arthur, after watching a wrestling match on TV, thought that he was a big guy, a monumental figure, a mix of Rick Flair and Jack Veneno. Reality check: he was not even a big kid. That’s the way children’s imagination works.
There were a few kids on the street: Ramon, aka the White boy, a dirty, unknown kid, and Rene la Rana. The latter was not Arthur, Ramon, or the dirty kid’s friend, but he was always around. They kept on their pretend game. Soon, a street vendor passed by selling “JaniKeKe.” A culinary invention of a town one hundred or so miles east of Santo Domingo, consisting of a flattened, salty, deep-fried flour dough. It was shaped like an LP. It was said that the original name was “Johnny’s cake,” but the Dominicans changed it and pronounced it like they heard it: “Janikeke.” It’s a staple of a day at the beach in Boca Chica.
Arthur bought one of the Janikeke because it turned out he was a rich kid, or so the rest of them thought. His parents had given him fifty cents. Rene la Rana, who was already known to be infested with Envy, never missed a chance to comment about Arthur’s clean attire. Whatever other kids had, Rene la Rana wanted it or found faults in it.
Rene la Rana was having a hard time in life because he always wanted and felt that he deserved a lot, and he was not getting much from his parents. He constantly criticized other people’s possessions, which were often better than his own.
He immediately remarked about Arthur’s Janikeke: “Ugh, that’s nasty… It don’t look good!”
He repeated it a couple of times until Arthur clearly heard him. Rene la Rana looked at Arthur with a peculiar look, part deception, part disgust, as he said how bad the Janikeke looked.
Arthur did not pick up on his intentions but was upset that the Janikeke was not good. Soon enough, Arthur decided to get rid of the Janikeke, and he dropped it on the ground.
In a matter of seconds, Rene la Rana bent his back, godspeed, and picked up the Janikeke that lay on the dirty street sidewalk and started eating it. It turned out that he was acting out of pure Envy. Evidently, he was also hungry. Rene la Rana wanted the Janikeke that Arthur was eating and could not fathom that Arthur and not him was eating it.
The act firsthand demonstrated to Arthur what later became Rene la Rana’s evil trademark: envy.
III
A decade later, the guys on Block G were all adolescents. Their area of movement grew larger. The childhood games were gone. They grew indifferent to the Wrestling show. Now, it was all about fashion and sport, especially Basketball.
Time changed everything. Like awakening from a dream or the lifting of a thick fog, people understood their surroundings better. People showed their colors, and others saw them for what they were.
The guys from Block G mingled with other guys with higher frequency. One of them was Freddy la Salsa. He was a salty mulatto of a very nice complexion. Very gregarious and extremely popular. Genuinely a magnetic individual. He had a natural smile and a superbly friendly disposition. He walked with confidence and musical rhythmicity but had a naturally attractive disposition that made others like him. He was a natural. He made friends at the speed of a politician but without their fakeness and deceit. Freddy la Salsa was, without a doubt, destined for greatness.
Every so often, he would come around Block G, as he was friends with guys from the Block. He fell soon into Rene la Rana’s envious radar. Rene la Rana’s Envy worsened over the years. He was now fully conscious of his precarious situation and his lack of resources to alleviate it. He had already commented on Freddy la Salsa’s appearance, and others, including Arthur, could tell that Rene la Rana’s envy machine was running at full capacity.
Freddy la Salsa was a fixture on the basketball court. He was passionate about Basketball and always talked about the New York Knicks. He was fortunate that his family traveled often to the United States and brought him nice clothes. At the time, the Converse Chuck Taylor All-Star sneakers were rocking the world. Everybody who was somebody had a pair of Converse All-Star.
As one can imagine, they were very expensive even in the United States and not found in the Dominican market. The only people wearing Converse were rich people or those with relatives residing in the United States.
Freddy La Salsa was the only one around all the nearby blocks who owned a pair of Converse. This fact was particularly noticeable on the baseball court. Everyone, including Arthur, looked in awe, desperately wanting the beautiful white sneakers lined with red and blue lines. There was not a piece of clothing more coveted among young men than the Converse.
One night, they were all on the basketball court, and tragedy also made an appearance. Like several years before, Ramon, the White boy, the dirty, unknown kid, and Arthur were on the Basketball court. Unfortunately, Rene la Rana was also there. Freddy la Salsa came by later.
Freddy la Salsa, as it was his natural disposition, came by and started saluting everyone. He joined the group, including Rene la Rana.
“Hey guys, what’s going on?” he said.
The rest of the guys engaged him in friendly terms; he was a very nice guy, after all. Then, out of the blue, Rene la Rana said, “Those sneakers are ugly,” in the same fashion that in the past, he badmouthed Arthur’s Janikeke.
Freddy la Salsa either did not hear him or chose to ignore him. Again, as in typical fashion, Rene la Rana could not let it go. “Your sneakers are ugly,” he repeated with a louder voice. Freddy La Salsa finally heard him.
As nice as he was, he was not going to let another guy put down his property, especially knowing that he was the only one who had it. “What did you just say?” he asked Rene la Rana.
Rene la Rana, who was not only envious but arrogant, puffed his chest. “I said, your sneakers are ugly,” while displaying a hideous, sarcastic grin in the same fashion he had done with the Janikeke. But Freddy la Salsa was not having it. He was full of self-esteem and knew enough not to let others cut him down in public.
He was a smart guy, but he was not going to dive at Rene la Rana’s level. He replied, “I don’t see you wearing one. What brand are yours?”
Freddy la Salsa showed a side of his character no one had seen before. He had some aggression that belongs in the same department of confidence. He continued with some corrosive comments that, as deserving as they might have been, were humiliating to Rene la Rana,
“I don’t think the Marifinga truck gives away Converse sneakers.” Ouch!
That was the worst offensive remark to be made to a Dominican from the city. Marifinga was a flour-made porridge -resembling dog food- that the government would go around giving to the people in need in the town. In the local culture, eating Marifinga was the same as being at the bottom of society.
Freddy la Salsa, intentionally or not, perhaps, touched Rene la Rana’s most sensitive nerve. He was making public what we all knew. His family was dead broke.
Not satisfied with that huge blow to Rene la Rana, he continued with the final dead blow.
“I have seen you at the head of the Marifinga line”.
It was the truth, but not all truths, if any, are meant to be said publicly.
Rene la Rana went immediately on the offensive and started throwing blows at Freddy la Salsa. They started fighting with hatred driven by wounded pride. Both felt deeply offended. Freddy was not going to let a Marifinga eater talk crap about his sneakers, which he knew full well Rene la Rana would never be able to wear.
Rene la Rana retaliated for feeling naked and humiliated in front of others. What he kept his secret, or so he thought, his need to eat Marifinga, was now public knowledge.
They exchanged blows for a few minutes, but it was clear that Freddy la Salsa was having a field day with Rene la Rana. He had not only been humiliated with words, but he was also now humiliating him with his fists.
Then, the unexpected happened. We did not know it at the time, but Rene la Rana had a knife. He had become a fan of carrying a knife, and very few of the guys knew. He felt that he was losing the fight. This combat was the worst type. The cumulative burden of the hatred he carried against all people who ever put him down intentionally or not was fueling his rage.
He grabbed his knife from his left ankle, and quickly, to everybody’s shock, he stabbed Freddy la Salsa several times in his liver. Freddy stumbled backward three steps and fell on the ground with his right arm extended as if trying to grab something.
The adults nearby grabbed him, threw him into a cab, and took him to the nearest clinic. He did not make it. When they arrived at the private clinic, he was dead.
People from all the blocks, F, E, and G, were in mourning. They could not comprehend how such a young man, full of life, with such a bright future ahead of him, was dead. They did not understand how Rene la Rana, who was a quiet, barely noted guy, harbored such hatred toward him.
Only Arthur, who had been at the receiving end of Rene la Rana’s Envy, knew what drove him to kill Freddy.
Rene la Rana never accepted his life’s misfortunes and hated all those who were better off than him. He accumulated years of resentment, and his yearnings for vengeful retribution grew too great for him to bear.
To Arthur, it was clear that Rene la Rana’s Envy of the Converse drove him to kill Freddy la Salsa.
P.R. Thompson
July 20, 2024