Original subtitles

When tigers are pointed at innocent hearts, and muskets are ready to fire.

When tyrants ride high and govern with fear, as the forces of evil

confire. Then from out of the night, a hero must rise.

This is the one who

strikes back for the poor and oppressed, a hero.

Buenos dias, Sarge. Good to have you. May I join you?

Looks as if the entire population of Los Angeles is eating here today. All 700

of them.

The town is getting far too crowded.

Buenos dias.

My name is Ignacio. I'll be your waiter this afternoon. Today, we have a lovely

pollo zorro. That's chicken roasted with onions and a lot of chili peppers. It's

hot, hot, hot.

Served on a skewer, bathed in a black bean sauce.

and resting on a delightful saddle of tornadoes. It's very nice. I'll take

please. Felipe should be here any moment.

Excellent. Thank you.

Tell me, Sergeant, if the Alcalde is running the tavern, then who is running

office?

Sergeant, you're wanted at once.

Pull it in.

Stick it out.

Oh, Sergeant, you are a disgrace to the uniform.

Speaking of which, try this on.

It's a new uniform I just designed.

And if it looks good on you, it'll look good on anybody.

Oh. And I almost forgot. This place looks like a pigsty.

And by tomorrow morning, I want pink lace on all the windows.

Excuse me, Alcalde, but I don't think pink lace curtains are standard

issue. Then pay for them from the Pueblo's Taxi, Sergeant.

Now, if I don't see freely pink lace by tomorrow morning, I guarantee you heads

will roll.

Why don't you try on the uniform?

most unsettling dream.

Señorita Galante wouldn't act like that if she were Alcalde, would she?

Well,

Sergeant, some people believe that dreams are just another means for

our innermost feelings, our hopes, our fears, that in some inexplicable way we

end up making them come true.

Madre de Dios.

I hope not.

Diego, you're right.

Sometimes dreams do come true in a strange, roundabout kind of way.

What are these?

Sergeant, can you explain this?

Oh, si, Don Diego.

The alcalde feels that the plaza's too congested. This is his new tethering

If you tie your horse, you put 50 centavos in the box. If you don't put

centavos in the box, your horse gets taken to the municipal corral, and you

be fine.

That's a dreadful idea, sir.

This town is getting far too crowded.

Madre de Dios.

That's what you said in my dream.

What is this? It is a voucher, senor, a reimbursement voucher.

Your voucher won't pay my rent.

Give me my vegetables back. Relax, amigo, you'll be paid.

When?

When will Carlos see his money?

The garrison is unfortunately suffering from an embarrassing cash flow problem

at the present due to budgetary constraints stemming from a certain

impecuniousness in the territorial coffers.

So, in other words, you're broke.

I refuse to allow my men to starve because of bureaucratic red tape in

They must be fit, always on the alert for forces of evil lurking in this

And that includes that archfiend, that menace to society. Let me guess.

Me?

Hit the ground, a dead man, senor.

Hold your fire!

What do you want?

An honest day's pay for an honest day's work.

These people cannot exist on credit. Pay them.

Impossible. This pueblo is operating on a deficit and short of raising taxes,

which I have sworn never to do. Spare me the political rhetoric.

You have 6 ,000 pesos.

You're safe.

I can't.

What?

That is the reward money for your capture.

No one is ever going to collect it. So why not use it for something worthwhile?

Now pay them.

No. The people of Los Angeles are willing to tighten their belts in

the garrison?

I insist.

Very well.

You still believe the people of this pueblo support you?

I'll wager that in a free election, you'd be lucky to get one vote.

Well, maybe one. His own.

The people of Los Angeles respect me.

then why not prove it by holding a fair and open election?

Or do you choose to govern by intimidation and fear?

Senor, I would be pleased to hold a free election.

But an election requires more than one candidate to run, and since there's no

one to run against me... I will.

What did you say?

If that's all it takes to get you out of office, you have an opponent.

So be it.

I dream.

It's coming true.

You'll be the finest Delcalde in California.

And certainly the most beautiful.

I must take my leave.

For your vegetables.

a vote for an alcalde who will see that your taxes will be spent justly.

For a better water supply. For schools.

And not for pink lace curtains in my office.

Guess

what?

Victoria has asked me to organize her political campaign.

Wise choice.

Thank you.

We are going to unseat the desperate de Soto, Diego.

I know I can count on you two for help.

Well, Felipe's free to do as he chooses, but as editor of the only newspaper in

the Pueblo, it is my duty to be as fair as possible to both candidates.

What fair, Diego?

We're talking about Ignacio de Soto. The word fair doesn't exist in his

vocabulary. Does it follow that we should exclude it from ours?

Diego, we have a chance for a free Los Angeles at last.

And I just can't believe that...

No, no, no. Wait, wait.

Good thinking, Diego. I can just see it now. After impartially weighing all of

the issues in the election, the Guardian firmly endorses La Señorita Victoria

Escalante as Alcalde.

You're right, Felipe.

every means at his disposal to defeat Victoria.

But... I must remain neutral, Felipe.

The Los Angeles Guardian has a duty to the voters of this pueblo.

I applaud your integrity, Diego, if not your suit.

Please, stop by my office a little later. I would like to outline for you

five -year expansion plan for the pueblo.

Excellent. Until eight, then.

Calde.

Sonalita Escalante is very popular.

Relax, sergeants. I have no intention of losing this election. You see, I'm very

well aware of the fundamental political verities.

Excuse me, Calde. What is a verity?

I want you to make 500 copies of this for me by election day.

Comprende? Oh, this verity.

Two thousand pesos. It's all yours.

Provided the Los Angeles Guardian endorses Ignacio de Soto for the office

Caudi. I knew we spoke the same language. After all, we're both men of

world. Si, Don Diego?

Democracy.

It's just a plaything we give to the people when we need them.

We both know where the real power lies, huh? With men like us, the movers and

the shakers of this world.

I understand the Pueblo funds were at an all -time low. How did you come by

this?

I took it from Zorro's reward money.

He gave me the idea himself. Isn't that fantastic?

It does have a certain irony.

Well, what do you say?

2 ,000 pesos is a lot of money.

The Los Angeles Guardian endorses Ignacio de Soto for the office of

pleasure.

Excellent.

I'm so nervous, Don Alejandro.

What if the Guardian doesn't endorse me?

Rest easy, Victoria. There's no way on God's green earth that my son is going

endorse Ignacio de Soto.

Trust me.

What now?

My friends, in a few short minutes, the latest edition

of the Los Angeles Guardian will announce its endorsement for one of the

candidates. I suggest very strongly that you heed its wise and informed opinion.

My friends, you have before you a very simple choice.

On one hand,

Ignacio de Soto.

A man trained for this position. A man who will labor day and night for your

welfare.

And on the other hand, you have Senorita Escalante.

that, senorita? Oh,

for heaven's sake. I was five years old.

All right. I took a pencil from Jose Puro.

But everyone knows it. I've told the story a million times.

My friends, I want you to ask yourselves a question.

Is this the kind of person you want to govern you?

She stole pencils then. What will she steal now?

Happy to continue to serve as your alcalde.

The Los Angeles Guardian proudly and happily endorses Ignacio de Soto for

alcalde of San Diego.

Well,

it's a wonderful town.

You mean you wanted to be endorsed as alcalde of Los Angeles?

Yes!

I'm so sorry.

Ignacio, you should have been more specific.

I want my money back now.

Well, I'd love to oblige you, senor, but unfortunately last night on my way home

I was robbed by Zorro.

He said something about wanting to make a donation to the Mission Poor Box.

Maybe he wanted to make mints for that pencil Victoria stole.

Anyway, good luck.

I'll be voting early in the morning. Avoid the crowd.

It says here that the Guardian thinks Victoria Escalante is a welcome change

local politics.

Oh, well done, Diego.

Although I have to admit, you had me worried there for a moment.

Me?

She

can't

win.

Beaten by a woman?

What's wrong, Sergeant?

Father, is it your plant?

Yes.

It just arrived from Europe.

It's in fashion there now.

It's time, Alcalde. So it is. I declare this polling place closed.

Mendoza, count the ballots.

I will assist.

And so will I.

$5 .99, Señorita Escalante.

$5 .99, Alcalde de Soto.

Oh, that's a tie after all our hard work, Victoria.

I don't believe it. It's just one more citizen level.

Oh,

Señorita Escalante, I completely... forgot to vote.

It will never happen again, I promise.

I declare this polling place officially reopened for 30 seconds while my idiotic

and absent mind, my, uh... My ever -faithful and astute sergeant records

civic duty.

Sergeant, it's up to you.

Don't make me do this.

No matter which way I vote, half of the town is going to hate me.

Not so, Sergeant!

There's a fuse that runs right into the armory.

So it's a shame I can't come into this Pueblo for a pleasant chat without

to resort to such dramatic schemes.

The sergeant was about to elect me a colonel.

That's not true. He was just about to elect me.

Actually, he was going to elect no one.

I understand there were 599 votes for each candidate.

That makes nearly 1 ,200 votes cast by the citizens of Los Angeles.

But at the last census, there were only 700 people in the entire Pueblo.

Yes, my friends.

Someone has been tampering with the ballot box.

I suggest you vote again in the morning.

That won't be necessary.

I've been waiting for the appropriate moment.

You see, I've discovered a law written by King Ferdinand II in

1484. A wonderful law.

a sublime law which forbids females from holding public office.

Oh, that's absurd.

That was over 300 years ago.

Well, that may be, but it is still the law.

So, if you want to be a colleague, go right ahead, take office.

You'll be immediately...

I don't know that much about mathematics, but if Zorro's calculations

correct, the señorita had 599 votes. You only had 99, because the 500...

And this is 1820, and we're still forced to live by the laws of the old world?

Even so, you put up a great fight.

I salute you.

You may have lost the battle, but don't give up the war.

Victoria.

Saludos, amigos.

Sergeant.

You are still my friends, no?

By the way, Sergeant, which way would you have voted?

Oh, no, no, señorita. My lips are sealed.

I don't want to lose my job.

Or your delicious enchiladas.

Oh, that's a better reason.