Thesis

Synopsis

On an afternoon, in the quarters of the sakadas, Mang Sixto is playing a guitar with the chords of an emotional song, "Walay Angay", while her daughter, is playing outside the quarters. They were indifferent of each other for a while, but there is a sudden change in the mood of the two. The daughter of Mang Sixto finally notices the chords that her father was playing and along with the music is her father's very emotional presence. They were then engaged in a sudden conversation. The daughter interrogated her father of the about the sad song he was playing along with his guitars. Her father told her that he was nostalgic. The daughter then realized, it was the memory of her past away mother that was bothering her father. Mang Sixto somehow both agreed and disagreed to the girl's realization. But before her daughter was able to continue, Mang Sixto interrupted with his story of grief and loss of his wife and her beloved mother. But Mang Sixto ended the story with a joke that did not made her daughter burst into laughter but rather, a sudden dislike and disapproval. The joke which contains the love of Mang Sixto for another woman. Mang Sixto then compensated the feeling of her daughter with a change of mood in the music, where Mang Sixto is already playing a different tune, the tune that made her daughter dance and forget what had just happened. Then Mang Sixto confessed to his daughter his true feelings for the loss of her beloved wife, which was relevantly played through his music.

On the other side of the "hacienda", Castor and Onofre are discussing about the visitor that they will encounter within the "hacienda". A Jesuit priest which they feel pity for having left the seminary in exchange of the grueling life with the sakadas. Little did they know that the priest left the seminary not for good, but for a study that the sakadas do not have a hint of its purpose. As they go deeper into their discussion of the priest, they soon realized their worth as human, being degraded by their supervisor and his goons, and see the priest as the only light in their darkness that will bring them into exodus.

As the days pass, there is still no change in the way the sakadas live through and through. Then one morning, as the sakadas and their wives pile up outside their headquarters, they engage into a deep conversation. This conversation includes realizations as their worth as humans, being overpowered by another human of equal worth. Arguments arise as they head to work continuing their talk. Some are contented with how they live through each day, but some hopefuls are determine to change their lives, wanted to live fairly and follow their aspirations, but there's a thing that is holding them back, their smallness over the great. Little did everybody know that this conversation in the morning did lead to something that will shock them.

As Kardo's spirits soar with hope, little did the women know that a revolution against the owner of the hacienda is drawing near them. He gathers a force he believes will give them the freedom and the voice that they wanted, beyond his knowledge, all of his plans will be useless against a traitor, whom he never would have expected.

On a morning before a day's work, some of the sakadas, including Mang Sixto and Kardo, were confronted by their supervisor. The supervisor blames Mang Sixto for the sudden absence of their fellowmen on another field, where Mang Sixto as pointed out by the supervisor, is hold responsible for the debts of these workers. These debts, oblige Mang Sixto to pay with his earnings. This incident made Kardo and the rest agitated,