["Batuka" by Tito Puente plays] [♪] [♪] [holiday music] [indistinct chatter] <i>LUIS: ¡Ah, conguero!</i> <i>¡Conguero, ah!</i> ¡Mira cómo los Reyes se acordaron de la conga!

<i>[door opens]</i> <i>LUIS: Hey, Lu!

</i> <i>LU [excitedly]:</i> <i>How you doin' ?</i> [overlapping voices] LU: Hey, Angel!

Ey!

I see you finally got it!

All right!

All right!

[claps] If you keep on practicing, you'll be a big star one day!

How you doing?

Oh!

C'mon, gimme some of this!

[both exclaim happily] oh, good.

Happy Three Kings Day, everybody!

Mírate a este.

Sit down, Lu.

Maybe we have enough pasteles<i> </i>for you.

Maybe!

<i>LUIS: Look what</i> <i>we got for you there!</i> Pasteles!

[strumming chords] [singing] ♪ Dénmelos calientes ♪ [All singing] ♪ Que pasteles fríos ♪ [clapping] ♪ Empachan la gente ♪ LUIS: ¿Dónde está Delia?

- Está en el cuarto de ella.

- ¿Delia?

Yeah, where's Delia?

<i>DORIS: She's in her room.</i> <i>DELIA [VO]</i> <i>Dear diary...</i> <i>There's so much to tell you.</i> <i>I just got you today...</i> <i>...from mami.</i> <i>It's the 6th of January</i> <i>Three Kings Day.</i> <i>I'm in my own </i> <i>private room right now...</i> <i>...where nobody </i> <i>is allowed to come.</i> ÁNGEL: Delia, tell your diary about the day you ripped into Santa Claus.

Ángel, get out of here!

[door shuts] <i>DELIA [VO]</i> <i>My brother...</i> <i>He's somewhat spoiled.</i> <i>Pero, that's what I'll start with.</i> <i>The thing about Santa Claus...</i> <i>It was just three weeks ago today.</i> <i>GIRL: He lived in 300s A.D.</i> <i>He was Bishop of Myra,</i> <i>an ancient town in Lycia,</i> <i>now Turkey.</i> He was very kind and went out at night, leaving gifts for the needy.

<i>During the Middle Ages,</i> <i>his fame spread</i> <i>throughout Europe</i> <i>and he became </i> <i>the patron saint of schoolboys.</i> DELIA: This is boring.

Do you like it?

LAURA [whispering]: It's okay.

<i>[speech continues indistinctly]</i> It's boring.

Well, believe it or not this whole thing isn't being staged just for you.

The little kids like it.

Why do we have to sit through it?

Santa Claus is for babies.

I didn't even believe in him when I was small.

You did, too.

Everybody did.

I did not.

He's not a big thing with Puerto Rican kids.

Oh, you... You never think anything is any good unless it's Puerto Rican.

That's not true.

You take that back, Laura.

I never said any such thing.

Shhhh!

But we do have some things.

All right, smartie... What do Puerto Rican kids have, that is so much better than Santa Claus?

Three Kings.

Not just something that babies believe in.

[sarcastically] Oh, great!

[mockingly] "The Three Kings."

Who's ever heard of <i>them</i>?

Everybody's heard of Santa Claus.

The Three Kings sound like a rock 'n' roll group.

DELIA [shouts]: ¡Abajo Santa Clause!

¡Arriba los Tres Reyes!

<i>DELIA [VO]: I don't know </i> <i>where THAT came from.</i> <i>It was out before I knew </i> <i>what was happening.</i> <i>I shouldn't have done it.</i> <i>But sometimes,</i> <i>Laura makes me so mad.</i> BOY: Bravo!

<i>Yeah!</i> [kids cheering] <i>LAURA: Delia Blanco!</i> Boy are you gonna get it!

Sit down, 'cause you're making a big fool yourself.

DELIA [loudly] Why don't we have... <i>a Three Kings Day</i> <i>pageant next year?</i> [crowd cheering] [cheering turns into boos] [crowd booing] I don't get it!

What's she got against Santa Claus?

<i>[crowd booing]</i> <i>DELIA [VO]:</i> <i>Mr.

Peters, the school principal...</i> <i>Sent me home.</i> <i>He said I couldn't go back</i> <i>to school until I apologized.</i> <i>I just couldn't apologize.</i> <i>But I wasn't sure how </i> <i>my parents would feel.</i> DORIS: It's not like you, Delia.

Ángel, yes, but you... Why not me?

Aren't I supposed to feel things, too?

[chair sliding] Mira, mija... There are people starving in the world.

For that matter, aquí mismo, in this barrio, there are people who don't have money to buy enough food.

Si quieres sentir... If you want to feel about something, that's wonderful.

¡Maravilloso!

But there are things that are important to other people, too.

Y debes respetar esas cosas.

You see, mami?

You always make me feel that what I think isn't important.

[exasperated] ¡Ay bendito, nena!

Ahora no te puedo ayudar.

I have no time now, Delia.

I don't always make you feel anything.

But I want you to know that I love you.

Papá loves you.

Ángel loves you.

¿Ves?

See how important you really are to us?

Y ahora, vete.

[chair drags] Take this to don Roberto.

Y avanza.

Hurry back.

I have some pasteles for the Casianos and for Padre Miguel.

[doorknob turns, door opens] And no more cracks about Santa Clause, okay?

<i>[DELIA] Okay.</i> [door closes softly] [exhales] <i>DELIA [VO]:</i> <i>I was really worried...</i> <i>So, I went to see</i> <i>what papi thought.</i> LUIS: Hey... DELIA: Can I talk to you?

Sí, ¿cómo no, mi amor?

Espérate un momentito.

¿Está bien?

[carefully] ¿Tiene que ver con Santa Claus?

Sí, papi.

Santa Clause es estúpido.

Stupid anglo idea-- <i>- Hey!</i> Hey, hey!

What do you care?

DELIA: Well, they make me mad.

They're so smart with their stupid Santa Claus and it's just dumb-- <i>- Hey, hey!</i> That's enough!

That's enough.

Just wait until I finish here, and then we'll talk about it.

[exhales sharply] ¿Dónde estábamos?

[reading] "Marital status" ¿Tú eres casado?

[shakes head] "No".

Children... ¿Tienes hijos?

Alright, then.

"No".

[reading] "Do you like children?"

Papo, ¿qué diablos es esto?

Where do you get this?

En el unemployment.

They told me to go to this place.

¡Qué sé yo!

But it beats the unemployment.

Well, what kind of a job is it for?

Playing Santa Claus somewhere.

No sé.

Siéntate, siéntate.

Delia... Did I ever tell you about the first time I met Santa Claus?

<i>No?</i> [soft chuckle] Well, en mi pueblo, we all went to school in one room.

Once, they sent out this... ...American lady to be our teacher.

She was... very pretty, very nice, but-- very patient too.

But she was determined that we should all know the American things.

How to read English, all about their history.

<i>Todas esas cosas, tú sabes.</i> <i>Well, it was time</i> <i>for las Navidades,</i> <i>and she wanted us </i> <i>to know all about this Santa Claus.</i> [chuckling]<i></i> <i>Lo que pasó fue que...</i> She got this old fellow.

He used to clean up la escuelita.

Pedro, he was called.

So... She dressed him up in a red suit con una almohada-- a pillow!

To make him look fat!

[laughs] Ah... Pues bien.

Then we were all singing jingle bells sitting in our little desk in the schoolhouse.

All of a sudden... There comes Pedro over the window ledge.

Of course, la maestra would have preferred a chimenea but we didn't have none.

So... He comes in-- into the room, bellows out in a big voice "Merry Christmas!

Ho ho ho ho ho ho!"

Algunos de los muchachitos ran out in fear.

They all thought he was the Devil himself!

[laughs] El diablo en persona.

<i>[laughing]</i> That's what I mean, grandpa.

Who is he?

He means nada.

I mean, los Tres Reyes-- the Three Kings.

That's tradition!

They were the ones who brought gifts to Jesus when he was born.

Not Santa Claus!

PAPO: [sighs] [door opens and closes] <i>[bell chimes]</i> LU: Hey, how you doing?

Hey, Luis.

Alright.

- Is it cold out there?

- Yeah.

Hey, Delia.

Heard you shot down old Santa Claus?

Lu!

Aw man, it's alright!

I mean-- that dude needed some straightening out if you know what I mean.

Oh, you don't like Santa Claus either.

Well, I tell you... He alright, but I wouldn't want him to-- - Marry your sister, right?

[laughs] my sister too good for him.

<i>DELIA [VO]: </i> <i>Lou and Pito are nice</i> <i>but I just wasn't in the mood</i> <i>for kidding around.</i> <i>[footsteps retreat]</i> <i>[door shuts in distance]</i> [holiday music] <i>DELIA: Be careful.</i> <i>DELIA [VO]: That night...</i> <i>Ángel and I </i> <i>fixed up el nacimiento,</i> <i>which we do every year.</i> <i>Doña Inés,</i> <i>our next door neighbor,</i> <i>always brings over</i> <i>her little statue of the virgencita</i> <i>and the infant Jesus.</i> <i>They're real old</i> <i>'cause she's had them</i> <i>in her family for years.</i> [knocking] Go get the door.

That should be Doña Inés.

Okay.

[footsteps] [door opens] Hola, Doña Inés.

Hola, mijo.

[door closes] Aquí está.

Con cuidadito, con cuidadito, Ángel.

Con cuida'o.

<i>[Doña Inés groans]</i> Cómo me duelen estas piernas todo el tiempo.

¿Pero qué le vamos a hacer?

Óyeme... ¡Quedó bien lindo el nacimiento!

Mi Julio siempre decía que la virgencita se parecía a mí.

<i>ÁNGEL: Yeah?</i> Boy, I don't see that.

Ouch!

[chuckles] Bueno... Mi Julio siempre decía muchísimas boberías acerca de mí.

He really loved you, huh?

Te quería mucho.

<i>DOÑA INÉS: Sí...</i> ¡Mucho!

Los 25 años más felices de mi vida.

¿Sabes una cosa?

Nosotros nos conocimos cuando éramos pequeñitos.

Nuestras familias se llevaban muy bien y se querían mucho.

Y pa' la época de Navidad, siempre en Puerto Rico Pues, iba mucha gente a la casa... Y daban asaltos.

¿Asaltos?

A holdup?

DELIA: No, silly.

"Asaltos" are what people do in Puerto Rico during Christmas.

A group of people surprise their neighbors with the singing of Christmas carols, and the owners of the house let them in.

Right, Doña Inés?

Sí... Así mismo es.

Eso es.

¡Ay, qué días más felices!

Cuando llegamos hace 15 años... Nos sentíamos tan orgullosos.

"Un hombre siempre debe tener casa propia", <i>[instrumental "Silent Night" plays]</i> <i></i>le decía mi marido a Julito.

<i>Y teníamos el nacimiento...</i> con to's los santos de Puerto Rico.

Y aquella Nochebuena fuimos a oir la Misa del Gallo.

Cuando salimos de la iglesia, estaba nevando.

<i>Y recuerdo que...</i> <i>Julio y Julito sacaban la lengua</i> pa' tragarse la nieve.

They'd never seen snow, I bet.

<i>DELIA: Of course not.</i> No, nunca.

Corrimos a nuestro apartamentito, un hogar bien calientito.

Julio le había regalado a Julito un guante de béisbol.

"Cuando llegue el verano... <i>iremos a todos </i> <i>los juegos de béisbol"</i> <i>le dijo Julio a Julito.</i> [♪] [tearfuly] Pero cuando llegó el verano... [sniffles] [sighs] ...ya mi Julio no estaba con nosotros.

<i>[quiet sob]</i> ¡Ay, Doris!

[crying] Doris, ¿Por qué pasan estas cosas?

[sobs] Con lo mucho que quería Julito a su papá.

Después que murió, yo no podía hacer nada porque él a mí no me obedecía.

Se quedaba en la calle hasta altas horas de la noche con los títeres de la calle.

[crying] Si mi Julio no hubiera muerto, hoy, Julito no estuviera en la cárcel.

Y nos hubiésemos regresado a Puerto Rico.

<i>[sobbing]</i> <i>DELIA [VO]: You know...</i> <i>Life IS very different here,</i> <i>especially for old people.</i> <i>Different from Puerto Rico.</i> <i>And maybe...</i> <i>It's not necessarily better.</i> [ball dribbling] <i>DELIA [VO]:</i> <i>I didn't know it then...</i> <i>but my papi talked</i> <i>to Mr.

Peters that same night.</i> [cheers and claps] The Puerto Rican will table it.

Wait!

A break!

[out of breath] I gotta stop for a minute.

LUIS [panting]: Thanks.

You're the boss.

<i>[ball bouncing]</i> [men panting] <i>MAN: Vamo'a echar otro juego.</i> Jueguen una 21 en lo que Luis y yo regresamos.

Okay!

[loud panting] Agh!

<i>[players exclaim]</i> [panting] [groaning] that was... [shouts] Whoo!

[laughs] - You're pretty good yourself.

- Yeah.

[panting] [grunting] [clears throat] You know... Louie, what you were saying before... You know?

You're right.

You know I tried all I can?

Didn't I have to bring bilingual teachers?

Didn't I get volunteer counselors?

Didn't I even have a little extracurricular Puerto Rican study?

Didn't I do that?-- - I know, I know!

I know.

But I can't do much, Luis.

There's no money.

What am I gonna do?

[coughs] Anyway, see?

This is something different.

You know what I mean?

National pride is one thing.

I mean, it's good that Delia feels a strong sense of her identity.

Nothing wrong with that.

- Hah-- - But, doggone it, Luis!

You don't put the-- the knock on Santa Claus in front of the entire student body, do ya?

[LUIS laughs] But no.

Kidding aside, I don't want this thing to start.

<i>[LUIS coughs]</i> What thing?

What thing?

- Well-- - My daughter just happens to stand up for what she believes in, that's all.

Terrific.

Nothing wrong with that!

And 87 other Puerto Ricans are gonna stand up with her.

[Luis coughing] Next thing, I got a student revolution on my hands.

Come on now, Al!

- Come on!

- It can happen v- very easily.

Now, this kind of polarization that we've seen in other schools and other cities.

I mean, we're a unity, we're a family!

- We're-- - Okay, okay!

Okay, okay, okay, Al.

Take it easy.

Oh, you know, I just feel strongly about it.

I-- <i>Ay, alright!</i> <i>Maybe you're right.</i> [sigh] You know, Al.

I'm sure Delia didn't mean to start anything like that.

And<i> although</i> I don't agree with what she did, I must agree with the motives behind her actions.

<i>[ball bouncing in distance]</i> Well... Anyway!

[sigh] I'll have a talk with her.

[blows nose] [holiday music] <i>["Si no me dan de beber" playing]</i> <i>DELIA [VO]: I took</i> <i>a present to my friend Laura,</i> <i>but her mother said</i> <i>she was spending </i> <i>the holidays with her father.</i> <i>♪ Si no me dan de beber, lloro ♪</i> <i>They're divorced.</i> <i>I felt bad that I hadn't even</i> <i>wished her Merry Christmas.</i> <i>♪ Si no me dan de beber, lloro ♪</i> <i>♪ Si no me dan de beber ♪</i> [♪] [music fades out] [gift wrapping rustles] And... this one's for grandpa with love and Merry Christmas!

- [exclaims] - From Delia and Ángel.

Here you go, pops.

ÁNGEL: I picked it out.

DELIA: A ver qué es.

<i>A ver qué más tenemos por aquí...</i> It's a game, grandpa!

[laughs] [paper tearing] Ángel siempre me da algo en lo que él pueda también participar.

[laughing] <i>DELIA [VO]: It must be terrible</i> <i>when your parents are divorced.</i> <i>I wouldn't want to choose</i> <i>between my mother and my father.</i> [holiday music] <i>[family chattering in background]</i> [fireworks] [crowds cheer outside] Every year, around this time... Right at midnight, they throw water out the window.

And there's a reason for that.

There's a tradition.

That's so all the bad things that happened during the year will be washed away.

<i>[countdown begins]</i> <i>10... 9...</i> And the new year will come in clean.

<i>[countdown continues]: 7... 6...</i> <i></i>Así que, Ángel... <i>[countdown continues]: 5... 4...</i> here's your first pan of water <i>[countdown continues]: 3...</i> on New Year's.

<i>[countdown continues]: 2... 1...</i> Don't forget: "Happy New Year".

<i>[Happy New Year!

]</i> ÁNGEL: Happy New Year!

[clapping] - That's it!

- Feliz año.

- Feliz año, mi Ángelito.

Kiss.

Kiss.

- Feliz año.

- Feliz año.

Feliz año, D- <i>[celebratory music in distance]</i> [♪] ¿Qué te pasa, Delia?

[♪] [♪] I know what's wrong with her.

She's scared to go back to school.

[angrily] ¡Cállate!

Ángel, Delia!

Now stop it!

Don't fight, it's New Year's.

Please.

<i>[music continues in distance]</i> Ángel, let's go upstairs and wish Happy New Year to Doña Inés y Grandpa.

[door opens]<i></i> <i>Then,</i> you must get ready for bed.

Okay?

<i>Mami, how come</i> <i>we have to go back to school</i> <i>before we even</i> <i>have Three Kings Day?</i> [door shuts] [♪] Are you tired?

Worried, then?

Well... Want to tell me how you feel?

Ashamed.

I'm ashamed of the way I acted.

I guess it was a bad thing to do.

I don't even know why I did it.

Oh... Alright.

It's all right.

Alright.

You want me to tell you how I feel?

Well... I've known that you were unhappy all this week.

And, of course, I thought about it a lot.

Yeah, it wasn't a good thing to do, you're right about that.

It was disruptive and it was rude.

But we all do things like that sometimes.

Growing up, Delia... means making mistakes.

But, the important thing is to learn from those mistakes so you don't have to feel ashamed.

Just the same, Mr.

Peters told me he wants you to apologize to the school to show that you have learned from this.

And... Uh... Well, you should apologize.

Now, wait, wait, wait.

I don't want you to apologize for the <i>reason</i> behind what you did.

As a matter of fact, I am glad that you feel proud about the way <i>we</i> celebrate Christmas.

But I do want you to apologize for the way you did it.

Alright?

Delia... You see, we Puerto Ricans, are proud and emotional.

But you see, we are in a strange position.

It is our country, too.

But sometimes we are left out and our traditions... and our values are ignored.

And you're right!

We must hold on to them.

But... quietly.

Firmly!

[growls] But quietly.

<i>[chatter approaches]</i> <i>[door opens]</i> [laughing] [aggravated] Oh, you Puerto Ricans!

That's what happens!

You know?

They move into a neighborhood-- [laughs] ¿Qué pasó?

What happened?

¡Yo no puedo caminar ni por mi propio barrio, chico!

<i>[LUIS laughs]</i> What happened?

<i>LU: I dunno, man.</i> Soon as we get off the squad car, somebody hit him with a bucketful of water.

DORIS [chuckles]: Happy New Year, Lu!

Happy New Year, Doris.

DOÑA INÉS: Feliz año nuevo.

<i>Feliz año nuevo, doña Inés.</i> <i>¡Felicidades!</i> <i>LU: Happy New Year.</i> Felicidades, Abuelo.

Felicidades.

<i>DELIA [VO]:</i> <i>My father was too nice to say it</i> <i>but I realized </i> <i>that I had been jealous</i> <i>because at school,</i> <i>they were ignoring the Three Kings.</i> ["Auld Lang Syne" plays] So, I hope all of you had a very nice vacation.

Now, before we finish, Delia Blanco has something she wants to say to us.

<i>DELIA [VO]: I really had no reason</i> <i>to envy the American Christmas.</i> <i>We have Christmas, too!</i> <i>AND Three Kings Day.</i> <i>Well, Diary... </i> <i>You know what I mean.</i> <i>Anyway, I don't envy</i> <i>anybody anything.</i> I'm very sorry that I caused a commotion the other day in assembly by screaming "Abajo Santa Claus".

Now I know that if I want other people to respect my traditions, that... I must respect <i>their</i> traditions.

Good, Delia.

That's a very fine point.

See, we here in the school have always gotten along I feel it's because we <i>do</i> respect one another.

And, that's the way we want it to be always.

Right, Delia?

Sí.

Yes, Mr.

Peters, but... Can we have a Three Kings Day pageant next year?

[applause and cheering] That's a very good idea, Delia.

I hereby announce that next year, at this time, we're going to have a Three Kings Day pageant.

Now, to organize the planning, we need a committee.

So for chairwom-- uh, chairperson, I nominate Delia Blanco.

LAURA: I second it.

[applause and cheering] <i>DELIA [VO]: I feel that</i> <i>I've grown up some</i> <i>in the past two weeks.</i> [applause and cheering] [applause and cheering fade out] <i>DELIA [VO]: Maybe I'll be a teacher</i> <i>when I grow up</i> <i>or a great leader!</i> <i>[chattering in the distance]</i> DORIS: Delia!

I sent Ángel in here a long time ago.

Come on.

Vente, honey.

We're having pasteles, and grandpa's tuning up his guitar.

Vamos.

<i>[tapping on conga]</i> <i>[indistinct chatter]</i> Oh, man!

Just love these pasteles.

PITO [chuckles]: Take it easy, man.

You have to be born to do that stuff.

Man, what you talking about?

I saw him- [All laughing] ¡Pito, pito, pito coja ahí!

[voices overlapping] - Ven por acá.

- Sí, vamos a sentarnos acá.

<i>LUIS: Aquí tienes</i> la otra mitad del güiro.

[striking the güiro] Lu, Lu, come on!

Alright, alright, alright!

[bangs palitos] He's gonna be our leading palito man.

LUIS: Ay, bendito, Doña Inés ¿qué va a hacer usted ahí?

- Pero mijo... - Recoger un poquito esta coci-- - Deje eso ahí, por favor.

Déjenos ser su anfitrión aunque sea una vez.

Véngase conmigo que estas son Fiestas de Reyes y usted es nuestra primera voz.

- Está bien.

Primera voz del conjunto.

Garantizada.

Estamos listos, ¿no?

Papi, you lead.

I lead?

All right.

Everybody set?

<i>Let's go.

Alright!</i> <i>Go-go-goin right now!</i> [voices overlap] ¿La nota, abuelo?

[strumming guitar] ¿Dónde está el conguero?

[tapping on conga] Alright.

Very well!

A-one, a-two, a-three.

♪ Los magos que llegaron a Belén ♪ ♪ Anunciaron ♪ la llegada del Mesías ♪ ♪ Y nosotros con alegría ♪ ♪ La anunciamos hoy también ♪ [everyone continues singing] ["Batuka" by Tito Puente plays] [♪] [♪] [♪] [♪] [♪] [music intensifies] [music ends]