Original subtitles

♪ [ trumpet ]

A hundred years ago,

when the United States acquired the area,

the people of what became known

as the territory of New Mexico,

continued many of the old Spanish traditions

including the system of peonage.

The Spanish word "peón"

gave natural birth to the English word "pawn,"

because a peon was a person whose body was in hock

as security for a debt.

In many ways, a peon was worse off than a slave.

The people of the territory accepted the system

without argument however, until...

well, until...

Mariana! Mariana!

Yes, papa?

Oh, you look so pretty today.

Gracias.

I am so sorry, Mariana.About what?

Well, if we were still rich, I would buy you pretty dresses

with the silver buttons.

I know you would,

but don't you worry, I'm happy as it is.

But I would like to see you more happy.

I will be one day.

Now what did you call me for?

When you go to the market, you go to the SeñorFranklin.

You tell him I must talk to him, eh?

Sí.

Mariana!

You forgot the rebozo.

I didn't forget. The sun is so nice today.

But the head of a girl, it must be covered.

Why?

Because that is--

Well, just because it is right.

Does the Bible say that?

No.

And if I don't put on the rebozo,

will it hurt somebody?

It is how a girl does.

Always.

No, I didn't wear it all the time

in school at the convent.

But this is Taos,

and a girl should wear the rebozo.

It has always been that way.

Just because something is old

does not mean it is always right.

Mariana...

But if it will please you, I will wear it.

You came early today.

Because I am happy.

And why is that?

Today, I speak with my patrón.

I tell him I want to marry.

He say yes.

Mariana, he say yes.

He says yes? Why did you ask him?

He's my patrón.

He owns the burro. He does not own you.

He is a good patrón.

He says he will speak with the Padre

and arrange for us to be married here

inside the church.

That costs many dollars.

He will pay.

How much?

Cuarenta.

$40?

A good patrón!

That is almost as much as he pays you to work

for one year.

He will add it to what I already owe now.

He always finds a way so you owe more,

more dollars, more years to work.

There is time.

We are not old.

Many peónsdo not get to be old.

How much do you owe the patrón?

Ask him.

Then you must find a way to pay him.

All right, Mariana.

Today, when I bring the wood, I will speak with your father.

If he says yes,

then I will find a way.

For you, Mariana...

I can do anything.

Well, you're just in time for a drink.

SeñorFranklin, I pay you to be my lawyer,

I do not pay you to drink.

[ laughs ] You couldn't afford it.

Not even you've got enough money to pay me

to drink this slops.

Why, back East, we use better tasting stuff than this

to wash windows.

You stop drinking or...

Or what?

SeñorRomero, don't try to scare me.

Last year, I came out here to die.

Well, I didn't do it.

The way I figure it,

this aguardientetastes so horrible,

the good Lord wouldn't accept me

if I had any of it in me.

You know, I can't understand

why it doesn't leak clear through the glass.

SeñoritaJaramillo, come in, come in, come in.

Jaramillo? Sí.

Yes.

Domingo, the bootmaker, is her father.

He wants you to come for your new one.

You tell your father Don José wants the money

for the hides he uses to make his boots.

Those hides come from El RanchoRomero.

He will pay when it is time.

He is honest.

He knows better than his daughter

how to speak to an hacendado.

Tell your father I'll be over after siesta.

Gracias. De nada.

Next week, you bring some more dry wood, eh, Pedro?

Sí.

Señor...

SeñorJaramillo, today I speak with my patrón.

He said if I want to marry, it's okay.

Well, that is good.

The girl, she is a lucky one.

She gets a good man,

a strong one.

Oh, señor,for so long, I have been so afraid.

Afraid?

Afraid to ask you.

To ask me?

Why? I'm not your patrón. I have nothing--

Pedro...

It is my Mariana!

Why, yes.

SeñorJaramillo,

I think I can make Mariana very happy.

No, Pedro.

But why, señor?

Pedro...

A man, a woman,

if they have never had any money,

to be poor is not a bad thing,

but...if they have had the money,

then become poor...

they are not happy.

When I was a rich man,

Mariana, she went to school.

She had many pretty dresses,

nice, nice things,

but now...

now she is poor.

No. No, Pedro.

She will not be the good wife

for the peón.

But I will not always be a peón, señor.

I will get the money.

Where?

I'll get it,

and then I'll pay my patrón all that I owe him.

Pedro...

Pedro, you are a good man,

strong and smart,

but you will not get the money.

I promise I will!

Every peón, when he is young,

says he will get the money, pay the patrón,

but it's talk, only talk.

I will!

For how many years have you been the peón,Pedro?

Since I was eight-years-old.

There, you see? It is only talk.

But before today, I have never tried.

Now I'll get it. I'll get the money.

If it is the will of God, but Pedro, in my years,

I have seen so many peónes.

Not like me, señor.

I will be a free man.

We will see.

I swear it![ chuckles ]

You do not think I can do it?

I have heard the same words

so many times.

If I become a free man,

then you will say yes for Mariana and me.

Whenyou are free.

Jaramillo?

Don José!

Buenos días, señor.

I expected to see you at my ranchothis morning.

Oh, because I could not.

Your daughter tells me you are an honest man.

She said you would pay.

It is true.

I have almost all of the money.

Almost.

$51 I still owe to you,

but Don José, I will pay it.

The Judge from Santa Fe will come here next week.

If you do not pay, he will put you in jail.

If you are in jail, you can't make money.

Uh...

Maybe I won't tell the Judge.

That is, if you are agreeable to one condition.

One condition, señor?

That your daughter works for El RanchoRomero.

You...

You mean my daughter...

She will be my peón.

You want Mariana to be a peón?

You owe me $51. It is very little money.

Why, she'll be a peón less than a year.

My name is Jaramillo.

My people are not peóns.

Our name is in big books.

My Mariana, she show this to me

when she was in the school.

Four hundred years ago,

when Coronado, he came here

with the soldiers--

The big soldier! You know his name?

No.

Miguel Jaramillo.

But, uh...

Miguel Jaramillo is dead a very long time.

He cannot pay me.

Domingo Jaramillo is alive.

He pays Don José

or Mariana works at El RanchoRomero.

No! No! My Mariana, she will not be the peón!

When the Judge comes, you tell him that!

When you are in jail,

how will she get the money to eat,

to live?

Oh, think, Jaramillo.

Use your brain.

When you are in jail, she'll be helpless.

No food, no money,

nothing!

No. No!

Listen to me!

I tell you what is good for you.

Let her work for me.

Each month, I pay her $5.

Also, you sell boots and make money.

She will be free in no time.

Oh, you have no choice, old man.

All right.

All right.

She will be...

your peón.

Muy bien.

Papa, you are all right?

My little one, I have come from El RanchoRomero.

That ranchois a bad place.

You should buy the hide you need

from the other ranchos.

I...

I was there to sign a paper.

A paper? What kind of a paper?

This paper, it says...

Mariana...

it says you are a peón.

No.

Oh, no!

But soon, I will pay Don José,

and then-- then you will be free!

I will not go!

But-- But I have signed this paper!

Don José does not own me. I am free.

I own Mariana Jaramillo.

No, no, my little one. I am so sorry,

but it is not so.

It is all wrong.

Men, women, they should not be peóns.

Don José owns many animals, a big rancho,a hacienda.

That is all right,

but to own people, that is a bad thing.

It is the way of life.

Always...

some people are peóns.

I will not go to Don José! Never!

Mariana!

Mariana!

Pedro! Pedro!

Sí, señor?

Go on in the courtyard.

But señor--

Don't argue with me.

Now come down to the saloon...

when you want your elephants.

Go on. Scoot!

Go! Vamoose! Shoo!

Pedro!

Mariana!

I waited by the church.

When you didn't come, I was afraid.

If I went there, Don José's men would find me.

Don José? Don José Romero?

Today, my father made me a peónfor Don José.

No.

When he told me, I ran away.

Now Don José has his men searching for me.

SeñorFranklin is my friend,

so I came here.

What are we going to do?

SeñorFranklin says I can take his horse.

To run away? Sí,to Santa Fe.

I can work in the school at the convent.

Santa Fe is so far away.

I must go quickly or Don José's men will find me.

You can hide here.

Here in Taos?

Sí.

I know a place where you can hide,

a good place where no one will find you.

Where?

Here in the church.

Come. Come with me.

Mariana, you hide in here,

in the backroom where the Padresleeps.

It is only one room. He will see me.

He is not here. He went away this morning into the mountains.

But he will come back.

No, not until Sunday.

Each day, I will bring you food.

But Sunday is only three days away.

Before Sunday, I will find a new place,

a place that is near so I can come to you.

If it is near, Don José's men will find me.

Then I will kill them.

He has many men.

If you fight, he will kill you.

Then I will die for you.

No!

Mariana, I love you.

I love you. That is why I will not let you die.

If you love me, then you must stay here.

No, I will not be a peón.Never!

I will hide in the church until it is dark.

Then I will get the horse from SeñorFranklin,

and I will go to Santa Fe.

Then I go, too.

To Santa Fe?

Sí.

Tonight, I'll get the horse, and we'll go to Santa Fe.

Now you tell me,

where is she?

I don't know.

By Santa Maria, I swear it.

You tell me or I will kill you!

Don José-- Don José, listen to me!

Talk!

The Judge, he comes today, from Santa Fe.

I know.

You come inside.

I will give you a new paper.

For what?

You take it to the Judge.

On this paper, you write that I...

I am your peón.

You? I don't need old peóns.

I will make the boots for you

and for the vaqueros at el rancho.

Good boots.

Mariana is my peón.

Where are you going?

I go to find the Judge.

I will ask him to put me into the jail.

No.

You didn't break the law. Mariana did.

When my peónsfind her, she will go to jail.

Then she will work at El RanchoRomero!

PEDRO:Señor!

SeñorJaramillo.

Your name is Pedro?

Sí.

To a Spaniard, you say, "Sí, señor."

Sí, señor.

My men have told me about you...

about you and the girl.

You came here to tell him where Mariana hides.

No, señor.

I come to bring wood.

You know where Mariana hides!

No, señor!

Don José!

Now you tell me or you die.

Uno...

dos...

Mariana!

Don José!

If the Judge says I am your peón,

I will come to el rancho.

Muchas gracias.

Mariana, why did you have to come back?

Because she is smart,

she knows the men of Don José would find her.

No. I came back because I want to be free,

and SeñorFranklin says--

SeñorFranklin?

I told him I want to go to the American Judge.

He will put you in jail because you ran away.

Mariana, it is the law.

SeñorFranklin says it is the old law.

He says maybe the Judge will make a new law

so all peónswill be free.

All peóns?

SeñorFranklin says he will come with me to the Judge

and speak for me.

Don't listen to SeñorFranklin.

He drinks all day.

No, I am your friend.

I don't want to see you in jail.

You come to el ranchonow,

and I won't tell the Judge you ran away.

No.

If the Judge says I am wrong,

then I will go to jail,

but if he says I am right,

maybe allpeóns will be free.

I want to impress on all concerned

that this is a legal court of justice.

I have moved the court outdoors

so that all interested people may attend.

However, this court is just as official

as it would be inside that courthouse,

for I am the United States Judge

for the territory of New Mexico,

and the court is wherever I choose to hold it.

This court is now in session.

And when Jaramillo could not pay the money

he owes me for the hides,

he signed this paper.

May I see it, please?

Of course.Thank you.

That makes Mariana Jaramillo my peónuntil the money is paid.

According to this paper,

the girl is to be paid $5 a month.

That is correct.

But her clothes or food, everything she needs,

she must buy from the store at your ranch.

Sí.

And you can charge whatever you like

for these things.

Well, if she does not have the money,

then I add it to how much she already owes me.

At that rate, she might never pay off

the $51.

Then she will stay my peón.

That is how it has been since my country Spain

brought civilization to Mexico.

This is New Mexico.

It was better when it was a part of old Mexico,

when people like them knew

they were not as good as Spaniards.

Now, Mariana,

when you were hiding in the church,

you were safe.

You could have waited for darkness

and then run to Santa Fe.

You were free.

No, sir.

If I must always run, if I must always hide,

then I am not free.

When I was a little girl in school,

I learned how the Americanos fought to be free.

In the book, it said that always people have

to fight to be free.

That is why I fight now.

I see.

When this territory became a part of the United States,

I thought I was free

because my papa became a citizen of your country.

It's your country, too.

It belongs to all of us.

Thank you. You may go.

Counselor, do you have a statement?

Yes, I do, Your Honor.

Proceed.

Thank you, Your Honor.

We have proven that Mariana Jaramillo

is no longer a child in the eyes of the law.

Therefore, to be valid,

any contract for her services

must necessarily signed by her,

and not by her father.

That is the cold, precise law.

Your Honor, this is not the Dark Ages.

This is...1857,

in a territory of a nation which, only 80 short years ago,

was engaged in a long, bitter war

to secure the rights of her people to be free.

After that war, a great document was produced

by that nation.

It is called "The Constitution of the United States."

I'm familiar with it.

Of course, Your Honor.

In common language,

that Constitution declared to the world,

that we, the people of the United States,

secured the blessings of liberty

for ourselves and for our posterity.

Correct.

Ten years ago, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo

gave the United States possession of this area.

At that time, the citizens of Mexico

residing here,

were given one year to make the choice

as to whether they wished to retain their status

or wished to become citizens of the United States.

Domingo Jaramillo did not wait that one year.

He signed immediately

and became a citizen of our country.

When he did,

both Domingo Jaramillo and his daughter Mariana

became as free as you or me

or President James Buchanan,

and as such, they both enjoy

the full protection of all our laws,

for nowhere does the Constitution define

different classes of citizens.

I, therefore, respectfully request

that Mariana Jaramillo be set free.

Thank you, Mr. Franklin.

I agree on your point of law.

Since Mariana Jaramillo is no longer a minor child,

she is not bound by any contract

signed for her...

by any third-party.

Thank you, Your Honor.

I also agree with you completely

that, in spirit, the entire system of peonage

directly violates everything

for which our nation fought its revolution.

Unfortunately, however,

peonage is not yet against the laws of the United States,

so I shall have to limit my judgment to a decision

for the plaintiff, Mariana Jaramillo,

with all costs to be paid by the defendant.

This court is adjourned for one hour.

Fortunately, records of the case of Mariana Jaramillo

have been preserved,

so the story of this brave girl could be retold now

to inspire us more than a hundred years later.

By her courage,

Mariana not only won freedom for herself,

but also for the other peons in the territory.

Because the case drew such attention

throughout the country,

Congress passed a special law

abolishing peonage in all of New Mexico.