Noli Me Tangere: Don Santiago's Dinner

Don Santiago's Dinner Party

• Don Santiago (Kapitang Tiyago) is hosting a dinner party in late October.
• The event becomes a widely discussed topic throughout Manila.
• Kapitang Tiyago is a well-known and generous man, opening his home to many, but not those with business ventures or risky plans.
• News of the party spreads quickly, with many preparing to attend, including social parasites called "colado".
• Some attendees plan how to greet Kapitan Tiyago, aiming to remind him of their past acquaintanceship.

Kapitan Tiyago's House

• Kapitan Tiyago's house is located beside the Binundok River on Anluwage Street.
• The river is used for bathing, boating, washing clothes, transportation, and waste disposal.
• The house is large, but low in height.
• The house's construction is flawed due to the architect's mistakes or damage from past storms.
• The staircase is lush and green, with carpeted steps.
• There are plants and flowers on pedestals on either side of the wide entrance.

The Party Atmosphere

• The hall is decorated with images of saints, large mirrors, shining chandeliers, and a grand piano that is not played.
• A large oil painting of a distinguished man is hung on the wall.
• The house is crowded with people, men and women separated as customary in Catholic churches, speaking in hushed tones.
• The atmosphere is lively with bright lights, and the sounds of clanging silverware and an orchestra.
• Kapitan Tiyago's cousin greets the guests, offering cigarettes and betel quid to the women.
• She also invites guests to kiss her hand, similar to friars.
• She quickly grows tired and angrily leaves after hearing a plate break.

Guests

• The men are in groups, noisy, and lively.
• Some cadets are conversing.
• Two foreign men in white suits are seen walking with their hands behind their backs.
• A lively group includes a Dominican, a Franciscan, a layman, and a soldier around a table filled with alcohol and English biscuits.
• The soldier is an older civil guard lieutenant who is quiet and speaks briefly.
• The Dominican is Padre Sibyla, the curate of Binundok and a former professor at San Juan de Letran, with glasses and a refined look.
• The Franciscan is Padre Damaso, known for his loud voice and unwavering belief in his opinions, which is forgiven because of his hearty laughter.

Arguments and Opinions

• Padre Damaso asserts his experience in the Philippines, contrasting it with governing in Madrid.
• The Franciscan interrupts, boasting of his 23 years of eating rice and bananas, recounting being assigned to a small town where he became beloved, receiving gifts and music when reassigned.
• Another priest notes that the musicians were paid to leave.
• Padre Damaso interrupts again, asserting he is the one who understands the natives, emphasizing his 20 years in San Diego where he knew everyone's secrets, and the only people to send him off were old women and members of the Third Order.
• A young man with red hair interjects mentioning tobacco, angering Padre Damaso.
• The young man argues the natives' supposed laxity is a result of governance.
• Another man agrees, that the natives are ignorant and ungrateful.
• The red haired man notes that they are in a native's home.
• Padre Damaso assures they have nothing to fear and they will change their minds when they attend a fiesta and taste their tinola.
• Padre Damaso jokes about tinola being chicken with squash.
• The red haired man asks whether that is the tinola made from the 'loto' plant which causes forgetfulness.
• Dialogue ensues concerning Padre Damaso’s past assignment in San Diego with a Dominican, and the priest vehemently denies being happy there.
• Padre Damaso gets angry and hits the chair.
• The young man with red hair asks what he means.
• Padre Damaso explains that God is the cause of all misfortune due to the government opposing the friars.
• The lieutenant asks again, and Padre Damaso directly states that even the king has no right to interfere when a curate orders the exhumation of a heretic's body.
• The lieutenant tells him to take it back or the General will find out tomorrow.
• The Dominican orders them not to fight each other.
• The Dominican tells the lieutenant that Padre Damaso's statements as a priest are separate from his person, and are simply due to heated debate.
• The lieutenant mentions that in San Diego, a sacristan was buried as an honorable person, known to him as a frequent guest, but the priest had the body exhumed to be reburied elsewhere, and after finding out, the General had Padre Damaso transferred to another town.
• Padre Sibyla regrets mentioning such a sensitive issue, and Padre Damaso expresses resentment that many documents and things are lost in the shuffle.

The Party Continues

• Peace returns, and more guests arrive, including shopkeepers and an elderly Spanish man, accompanied by an old Filipina woman wearing heavy makeup and European attire.
• The old man is Doctor de Espadaña, and the lady is Donya Victorina.
• The red-haired young man asks to be introduced to Kapitan Tiyago.
• Laruja says he has not seen the host.
• Padre Damaso states there is no need for introductions because Santiago is kind.
• They then discuss the discovery of gunpowder; Donya Victorina joins the conversation and is called ignorant by Padre Damaso, who states that a Franciscan priest discovered gunpowder in the seventh century.