The Tattooed Soldier

We encounter Longoria playing chess in the park. His opponent is García, a Cuban who is far superior at the game. The players who gather here represent a range of nationalities, and they speak English; Longoria enjoys the chance to improve his English. Despite the chess books in Longoria’s apartment, he still cannot beat players like García. During the game, García plays offense even though he controls the defensive side, which is black. This angers Longoria, but García admonishes him for playing so conservatively.

At home, studying his chess books, Longoria fumes at the unruly behavior of the children in the building’s halls and apartments. He imagines that he was much more disciplined as a child. He recalls how he was a mere child when the army took him. He remembers boot camp, where he was beaten and deprived of sleep. The training camp’s higher officers once disappeared for an extended period, then suddenly reappeared, led by a drunk officer. The officer made the recruits slow dance together to humiliate them.

Longoria also recalls how the army transformed him from Guillermo to Longoria. The army forced him to do bad things, forcing him to love the army in the process. This love was a precondition of survival.