Episode 22: Punta Borinquen

ALEXA/BENI
Locus.

ALEXA AND BENI GASP AND THEN TRAVEL THROUGH THE TAPESTRY VORTEX.

JOSIE
Welcome back to San Juan. / A coloring book of Caribbean lighthouses?

BENI
Nice find, Janelly. 

JANELLY
I am the research captain.

***

JOSIE
Hola, Lalo!

LALO
Buenas, buenas, Josie. 

JOSIE
How are you and Oscar holding up?

LALO
I’m still looking for work. 

***

HORACIO
Ready for the Great Guanín Hunt?

ATABEY
First up: faro.

***

BENI
We’re looking for the lighthouse.

LEANDRA
This is the lighthouse.

ALEXA
We need to stay long enough to find out the hiding spot of the guanín medallion.

ILEANA
Me llamo Ileana. / I sense the unseen. / You are...travelers. / What year?

ALEXA
Twenty-eighteen.

ILEANA
Leave before the tremors!

ALEXA
Tremors?

ILEANA
You must return to your time.

ALEXA
I don’t think we can leave until you tell us the hiding spot.

ILEANA
El guanín...está en la boca de una gallina de palo. 

BENI
In the mouth of a stick-chicken?

THE TWINS ARE ZAPPED FROM THE LIGHTHOUSE. ILEANA GASPS.

ILEANA
Leandra. Go outside. Away from the shore.

FRANCISCO
What has happened, Ileana?

ILEANA
Not what has happened—what’s about to.

THE EARTH BEGINS TO SHAKE. ILEANA GASPS.

FRANCISCO
Terremoto.

LEANDRA
No.

MUSIC: THEME SONG - "IN THE TIMESTORM"

Witness. Find. Remember.
The hidden past seeks its dawn,
showing us that we all belong.
Horacio, Alexa, and Beni take back time,
find history in the timestorm.
Witness. Find. Remember.

THE TIMESTORM. ANOTHER DIMENSION.

MUSIC: “TIMESTORM” TRANSITION.

ALEXA AND BENI LAUGH AS THEY LAND IN THE TIMESTORM.

BENI
Did they make it out of the earthquake?

ALEXA
(overlapping) Were they okay?

ATABEY
The Cavallieris all survived. They ran inland to avoid the crumbling lighthouse and the tsunami.

BENI
I didn’t even know there were earthquakes in Puerto Rico.

HORACIO
I felt the earth shake a few times when I was a kid. But nothing like that San Fermín earthquake you just missed.

ATABEY
It was caused by the Puerto Rico trench where the Caribbean Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean.

HORACIO
First part of the quest is complete. Now you know where to look for the guanín.

BENI
In the mouth of a chicken? Some clue.

ATABEY
Animals will help you in your search. Many can sense the guanín.

HORACIO
Clothing!

A WHOOSH OF CLOTHING CHANGE.

ALEXA
I’m glad we get to do this part in our own clothes.

HORACIO
When you return to your present, you’ll need to return to the same spot in Punta Borinquen.

ATABEY
Ask Josie to transport you in her motorized vehicle fueled by extracted ancient remains of organisms.

ALEXA
You could just say car, you know.

ATABEY
Quest: Find a guanín medallion in Aguadilla in two thousand eighteen.

A THUNDERCLAP INTO PORTAL FX. THE TWINS YELL AS THEY TRAVEL THROUGH THE PORTAL.

2018. TAÍNO COMICS AND GAMES, SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO.

MUSIC: “TAÍNO COMICS AND GAMES - SAN JUAN” TRANSITION.

THE TWINS LAUGH AS THEY LAND INSIDE THE STORE. ALEXA THROWS OPEN THE CURTAIN.

BENI
And we’re back! What’s with the eyes, Janelly?

JANELLY
From?

ALEXA
A lighthouse in Aguadilla.

JOSIE
El faro en Aguadilla?

JANELLY SHUFFLES THROUGH PAPERS.

JANELLY
Let me see...aha! The Punta Borinquen lighthouse! So, that’s where you found the artifact?

BENI
Nope. We’ve gotta find it here.

JOSIE
In my San Juan comic book store?

BENI
No, no. I meant in here—as in the year twenty-eighteen, Josie. But Atabey did say what the artifact is.

ALEXA
A guanín medallion.

BENI
It’s kinda like a really shiny bronze.

ALEXA
Super sacred to the Taínos.

JANELLY
So, this guanín medallion is inside the lighthouse?

BENI
The lady in nineteen-eighteen said we’ll find it in the mouth of a chicken.

JOSIE
Pérate, pérate. You gotta find a chicken in Aguadilla with a medallion in its mouth?

ALEXA
Mm-hm.

JOSIE
Sounds like a fun road trip. You coming, Janelly? There’s room in my car.

JANELLY
I wish I could, but my mother’s expecting me home for lunch back in New Jersey.

JOSIE
Well, then you better teleport to Newark and get home in time.

JANELLY SLIDES A FEW PAPERS ACROSS A TABLE.

JANELLY
Here’s all I’ve got on the Punta Borinquen lighthouse. See ya later.

BENI | ALEXA | JOSIE
Thanks! | Later! | Enjoy lunch, Janelly!

TAPESTRY ELECTRICITY.

JANELLY
Locus.

JANELLY GASPS AND THEN WHOOSHES THROUGH THE TAPESTRY VORTEX TO NEWARK.

BENI
I can’t believe how easy it is to travel from Newark to San Juan and back with that magical tapestry.

JOSIE
Uh, you travel through time.

BENI
Yeah. That’s pretty amazing too.

ALEXA
But right now, it’s time for an old-fashioned, non-magical road trip.

JOSIE
Let’s go to Aguadilla and find a chicken.

2018. JOSIE’S CAR. A STREET IN AGUADILLA, PUERTO RICO.

MUSIC: “PUNTA BORINQUEN” TRANSITION.

JOSIE SLOWS THE CAR.

GPS VOICE
You have reached your destination.

JOSIE PUTS ON THE BLINKER AND SLOWS THE CAR TO A STOP. JOSIE STARTS TO OPEN THE CAR.

ALEXA
This isn’t the right place.

JOSIE
The lighthouse is right there.

BENI
Not the one we visited.

JOSIE
What year did you visit?

ALEXA
Nineteen-eighteen.

JOSIE
A hundred years ago. It’s not gonna look the same.

BENI
Yeah, but it was right on the ocean.

ALEXA
Wait, wait, wait. Leandra said a lighthouse was being built on higher ground. This must be the replacement.

BENI
Then where’s the old one?

JOSIE
I’ll find out.

JOSIE OPENS THE CAR DOOR.

JOSIE
(shouting) Hola. ¿El otro faro—dónde está?

PEDESTRIAN
(Distant) Ahhh. Las ruinas.

ALEXA
I guess they would be ruins.

PEDESTRIAN
(Distant) Pues, mira. Cuando llegas a la esquina, dobles a la derecha y vas a ver un flamboyán. Sigues directo y pasa las cancha de tenis...luego hay una parada de guagua y allí vuelves a doblar a la derecha. Entonces sigue esa calle por allí pa bajo y al final…lo verás cerca del mar.

JOSIE
(shouting) Muchísimas gracias, cariño! (to ALEXA and BENI) Ah, sometimes directions by tennis courts and flamboyán just make sense.

ALEXA
Who needs GPS?

JOSIE
To the lighthouse ruins.

2018. PUNTA BORINQUEN LIGHTHOUSE RUINS, AGUADILLA, PUERTO RICO.

MUSIC: “PUNTA BORINQUEN” TRANSITION.
JOSIE, ALEXA, AND BENI APPROACH THE LIGHTHOUSE RUINS. THE OCEAN AND OTHER VISITORS ARE HEARD IN THE BACKGROUND.

ALEXA
Wow. There’s so little left of it.

JOSIE
The original Punta Borinquen lighthouse.

BENI
Whoa. I didn’t think anyone else would be here.

JOSIE
Ruins attract adventurers.

BENI, ALEXA, AND JOSIE CLIMB UP A FEW STEPS. ALEXA SCREAMS.

JOSIE
What is it?

ALEXA
That huge green iguana. Beni, remember that gray one that freaked me out in fourteen eighty-eight?

JOSIE
Huh. I’ve never seen a gray iguana. But then again the green ones weren’t even in Puerto Rico back then.

BENI
Really? They’re all over Puerto Rico now.

JOSIE
They were brought here from South America about fifty years ago.

BENI
Gray iguanas, green iguanas. What we need is a chicken.

JOSIE
We just got here. We can wait for a chicken to show up.

ALEXA
I’ll just move away from the creepy lizard staring at me.

JOSIE
It’s probably making sure you don’t eat it for dinner.

BENI
Who would eat an iguana?

JOSIE
Lots of people. They call green iguanas gallina de palo.

ALEXA/BENI
What?

JOSIE
¿Qué? What’d I say?

ALEXA
Ileana said we’d find the medallion—

ALEXA/BENI
—en la boca de una gallina de palo.

JOSIE
Ohhh. Ha! Yeah, that’s not a chicken.

ALEXA
Beni, look at the mouth of the iguana. It’s guanín.

JOSIE
How are you supposed to get that thing?

BENI
Maybe I can catch the iguana?

ALEXA
Have you lost your mind?

BENI
I can sneak up from behind and—

JOSIE
You are not wrestling an iguana.

BENI
Why not?

JOSIE
Claws. Teeth. A tail that whips.

ALEXA
Which are all very good reasons. Just listen to Josie.

BENI
Do you have a plan then?

JOSIE
Ay, the iguana’s walking towards the ocean!

BENI
With the guanín in its mouth.

ALEXA
Oooh! Make it hiss!

JOSIE
Hiss?

ALEXA
When that gray iguana hissed at me, its mouth opened like this—

ALEXA HISSES.

BENI
(laughing) What the heck was that?

ALEXA
Let’s see.

ALEXA PICKS UP A ROCK AND THROWS IT NEAR THE IGUANA.

JOSIE
Why are you throwing rocks at the iguana?

ALEXA
I’m throwing them near the iguana. To make it hiss.

ALEXA THROWS ANOTHER ROCK TOWARD THE IGUANA.

VISITOR
Ay, mira esa chica.

JOSIE
You really think that’s gonna—

THE IGUANA HISSES.

ALEXA
The guanín! It’s on the ground! Grab it!

VISITOR
Pero, ¿Qué están haciendo?

JOSIE
My cousins were just, you know, saving that iguana from choking.

BENI
Got it!

ALEXA
Nice! We did it!

ALEXA AND BENI HIGH-FIVE.

JOSIE
They really love iguanas.

VISITOR
Okaaaaay.

JOSIE LAUGHS.

JOSIE
All right, you two. How about we get back to San Juan?

2018. A STREET IN OLD SAN JUAN. SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO.

MUSIC: “OLD SAN JUAN STREET” TRANSITION.

ALEXA, BENI, AND JOSIE WALK ON THE SIDEWALK. A CAR DRIVES BY.

BENI
Come on! Do the iguana hiss again.

ALEXA
Leave me alone!

BENI
Hiss at me!

ALEXA
Hey, it worked, didn’t it?

BENI
I still can’t believe I’m holding what a cacique wore.

JOSIE
Does it make you nervous to have it?

BENI
Kind of. We usually bring the artifact right into the timestorm and up it goes into the artifact cloud. Better make sure I don’t lose it.

ALEXA
We’ve kept the barometer safe and it’s made of guanín too.

THE THREE SLOW TO A STOP.

JOSIE
I still don’t know who bought this storefront next door. Oferta de trabajo. Huh. Whoever they are, they’re hiring. Wonder what’s gonna be in there.

A DIGITAL SPACE.

VOICE
Please leave your message.

VOICEMAIL BEEP.

LAURA
(voice message) Hi, Kaylee. It’s Laura. So, I just got word that the Hellinger Foundation now owns a building in San Juan? You’re really getting around this year with the properties—Brazil, Kenya, Indonesia, and now, Puerto Rico. Just remember why dad started the organization. He wanted our family to serve communities. That’s what he said when he left it to us. Both of us. Call me when you can.

VOICEMAIL BEEP.

KAYLEE
(voice message) Hey, Laura. Thanks for your message. I meant to call you before buying this new property in Puerto Rico, but time just got away from me. Anyway, you really should come check out this new building. I think you’d love it here. It’s such a charming place with tons of culture and history. Of course, Dad had Puerto Rico on his list of places to explore. You know I’m doing this for him, right? Going to all of the places he never got to. I think he would have been proud to see the family foundation set up a community center here—

A LONG BEEP INTO A WHOOSH BRINGS KAYLEE’S VOICE FORWARD.

KAYLEE
—in Old San Juan.

2018. KAYLEE’S PROPERTY. OLD SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO.

MUSIC: “KAYLEE’S JOINT” TRANSITION.
KAYLEE TAKES A COUPLE OF STEPS IN HEELS INSIDE HER EMPTY PROPERTY.

KAYLEE
Sorry to make you stand during an interview. I’d offer a seat if I had one.

LALO
Not a problem, Ms. Hellinger.

KAYLEE
Please. Call me Kaylee. So, Lalo, tell me more about this small business you owned.

LALO
Yes. Well, my partner and I—we had a tent down by el Paseo de La Princesa.

KAYLEE
Oh!

LALO
You heard of it?

KAYLEE
That adorable promenade down by the bay? How fun. What did you sell?

LALO
Well, my partner—you see—he’s an artist. He makes pottery. Taíno-inspired.

KAYLEE
Really? I love that.

LALO
And we ran ghost tours. El Morro, Teatro Tapia, and Hotel El Convento.

KAYLEE
Ooh. Spooky. You know, I definitely could use someone like you.

LALO
Someone like me?

KAYLEE
An island resident who understands the community and culture. Someone to be the face of this community center.

LALO
Oh. What kind of community center?

KAYLEE
A technology hub. We’ll have kids coding, creating video games, innovating with 3D printers. It’ll be free and open to all.

LALO
Wow. Sounds amazing. And expensive.

KAYLEE
Yes. Well, I’ve got a foundation with several sources of funding.

LALO
Oh. I see, I see. Can I ask—why Puerto Rico?

KAYLEE
I want to help. I can tell you want to help too.

LALO
A lot of us are helping already.

KAYLEE
And in ways I’ll never be able to, I’m sure. But I can provide resources so you can reach more people. Tech’s the future. Look, Lalo. I really do need someone like you on my team. And I can offer you financial security.

KAYLEE WRITES DOWN A NUMBER ON A PIECE OF PAPER.

KAYLEE
How’s this?

LALO
So...this is what I would be paid each month?

KAYLEE
Weekly.

LALO
Oh. Oh.

KAYLEE
Think it over. If you want the job, you know where to find me.

MUSIC: THEME SONG "IN THE TIMESTORM" (INSTRUMENTAL).

NARRATION
This episode of Timestorm was written and directed by me Dania Ramos, with audio engineering, sound design, and original music by Michael Aquino.

The role of Alexa Ventura was played by Leilany Figueroa. Beni Ventura was played by Claudio Venancio. Horacio Méndez was played by Orlando Segarra. Atabey was played by Alicia Rivas. Josie was played by Angelica Ubiera. Janelly was played by Frances Ramos. Lalo was played by Kelmi Bermúdez. Kaylee was played by Kate Hernandez. Laura was played by DeAnna Ramos. Additional roles played by Kristian Otero, Frances Ramos, Carmen Yolanda Rivera, and Angelica Ubiera. The guest musician was Deivis Garcia.

Timestorm is produced by Cocotazo Media and is a proud member of TRAX from PRX. Support for TRAX comes from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Learn more at t-r-a-x-dot fm.

All episodes of Timestorm are available at TimestormSeries dot com and on all podcast apps. If you enjoy the show, please share it with two friends.

Timestorm is produced in Essex County, New Jersey, which is situated on the traditional territory of the Leni Lenape people.

ATABEY
Witness. Find. Remember.