BERNABE
Bernabe concerns a mentally retarded, unemployed farm worker in a dusty southern California town, whose friends and relatives have deemed him a harmless source of amusement. While they’re not looking, Bernabe finds refuge in a hole in the earth. Here he revels in and makes love to the dirt.
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The story begins one morning when Bernabe, pursued by his haranguing mother, stumbles upon the local whorehouse. The mother, played on the night I attended by assistant director Susana Aguilar, hurls a mouthful of insults at Consuelo, including a completely gratuitous “Lesbiana!” She nags at Bernabe and sends him off on an errand. When Primo sees her, he lends her some money and inquires about Bernabe. She tells him Bernabe needs a job and that he’s crazy. This insanity is confirmed when Primo and Torres hear Bernabe babbling about his lover the earth.
