Free The Disappearance of Irene Dos Santos by Margaret Mascarenhas Page A

acute embarrassment and frustration, they can never find him. The international community
     has tried to bring pressure to bear upon the government in locating him, claiming that he is a guerilla leader affiliated
     with the rebels who is wanted for innumerable offenses, like stealing cars from rich people on one side of the border and
     selling them to rich people on the other side, to help fund the rebellion. They insist that he is in league with a guerilla
     sympathizer called El Malandro Yoraco, also known as Zorro, who delivers the money from the cars Catire allegedly steals and
     sells to the indio and mestizo poor.
    Efraín has seen his grandfather on only two occasions. Both times he was driving a different expensive car without license
     plates.
    Whether or not these stories are true, Catire has become a living legend, a folk hero to the Guajiro and mestizo populations
     on both sides of the border, a man they will protect even with their lives. As for El Malandro Yoraco, Efraín has never met
     anyone who has seen him; some think he was killed in a shootout with the militares, some believe he is still alive. Dead or
     alive, followers of Maria Lionza, whether they are white, black, indio, or mestizo, believe El Malandro Yoraco is an instrument
     of the goddess. Many revere him as a saint and pray for his protection, allocating to him his own court, La Corte Malandra,
     which is comprised of gangsters with names like El Ratón, Miguel Pequeño, Chama Isabelita, who run guns and drugs.
    In addition, most Marialionceros are united in their belief that El Presidente is a believer in Maria Lionza and her pantheon,
     and that they are under his protection. Whatever the reason, so far the government has turned a blind eye to the alleged activities
     of both El Negro Catire and El Malandro Yoraco. The local authorities routinely give false information to the bounty hunters
     from the other side, sending them on elaborate wild goose chases.
    Efraín hides his stash of tobacco, coca paste, and rolling papers in his back pocket. He likes to smoke when he takes his
     morning shit. When he smokes tobacco and coca he has visions. He does not tell La Vieja Juanita about them because then he
     would have to explain how they came to him. If she were to find out about the coca, she would become upset. Efraín does not
     like to upset her. She is already upset enough, even if she does not speak of it. The word in Chivacoa is that Moriche has
     also gone missing.
    La Vieja Juanita tells Efraín to bring back some wood from the forest. As he walks through the forest, he collects one kind
     of wood for the stove and another kind for making mobiles, as La Vieja has taught him. He stuffs the wood in a large burlap
     bag. It is not long before his stomach begins to rumble. He finds a good leafy place, rolls and lights up his cigar. He pulls
     down his trousers and squats. He inhales deeply, letting the smoke out through his nostrils. While he empties his bowels,
     he blows smoke rings by making his mouth into a circle, watching the rings float upward, break against the leaves, dissolve
     into the air. The air grows darker and darker until it becomes a cave. Outside the cave some people are calling. Slowly, with
     animal caution, he steps, one foot in front of the other, closer and closer to the light. When he emerges, there is a roar
     from the people gathered outside in the clearing. Efraín can barely hear his own thoughts or distinguish them from the yells
     of the crowd. At first the noise is dissonant, garbled, but within seconds it is as though the people are shouting in one
     voice.
    Maria Lionza, Maria Lionza, they chant, over and over.
    Blinded by the light, Efraín holds up his hands in front of his face, then drops them to his sides as his eyes adjust. The
     crowd falls silent. He wants to ask the sea of expectant faces before him whether they have seen his parents. But when he
     opens his mouth to speak, no sound comes out. His