Lorenzo lived very comfortably in his apartment, where Catalina visited him daily to tidy up his things and prepare his meals. Lorenzo always wore an olive green jacket with yellow accents, very much like a highway patrol officer.

Rigo, on the other hand, lived in a small room at the back of the big house that Catalina looked after. She also prepared meals for the other residents of the house.

Lorenzo had an excellent relationship with Catalina, who made every effort to satisfy all his tastes and needs. He was happy enjoying the tropical fruits Catalina offered him: Cavendish bananas from the Zona, sugar mangos grown in the Papare cove, as well as the juicy papayas from Aguacoca and Sevillano; he also loved tres leches and Napoleon cake, which were his favorites.

Rigo saw all the attention Catalina gave Lorenzo and couldn’t help but swallow hard and grow increasingly jealous day by day towards Lorenzo, who was completely unaware of the feelings that Catalina’s care provoked in Rigo.

Rigo, less particular about his clothing, wore a brown and white uniform and black pants. He was extremely messy and careless with his appearance, but he prided himself on displaying an impeccable, white set of teeth.

Unlike Lorenzo, who loved fruits and sunflowers —which sparked rumors about his sexual orientation— Rigo was one hundred percent carnivorous and there was nothing he loved more in life than a fatty flank steak, an overcooked rib, a chicken leg, or a fish fillet.

Rigo enjoyed parties and noise, while Lorenzo hated them. There was no time of year that made Lorenzo’s life more bitter than the Day of the Little Candles, Christmas, New Year’s, or the patron saint festivals of Saint John the Baptist and the celebration of the Virgin of Mount Carmel. Precisely on June 24th, Saint John’s Day itself, as the song says, the town overflowed with joy. Noise, music, and fireworks filled the streets. Fireworks… precisely what Lorenzo couldn’t stand, whether due to his old age or some childhood trauma. Nearby you could hear firecrackers, whistling fireworks, party horns, sparklers, rockets, “choriceras” and castles lighting up the sky.

Driven to despair by so much noise, Lorenzo tried to seek refuge in the San Alejo room while the celebrations came to an end. Due to the fear tormenting him, Lorenzo didn’t realize he was being watched by Rigo, who, from behind a palm tree, observed him with intense anger, the result of his jealousy knowing Catalina preferred Lorenzo and not him. When Lorenzo came close, he struck the first blow to his head. Somehow, Lorenzo got up, grabbed him by the head, and with his own claws, literally took out one of his eyes; this enraged Rigo even more, who continued hitting, kicking, and biting every part of his body until he was completely dead. Upon seeing the scene of the terrible crime he had just committed, he dragged Lorenzo’s body with great difficulty to a rainwater drain and dropped it there so the current would carry it away.

Catalina never understood why Lorenzo had left the house without even saying goodbye after being such good friends.

Rigo became withdrawn, sullen, bad-tempered, and exploded at any situation. Those who knew him say that every time he heard the song “Grito Vagabundo” by Guillermo Buitrago and his boys, he would sing from the depths of his heart, especially the verse that says:
I want to let out a cry and they won’t let me,
I want to let out a vagabond cry

What Rigo wanted was to shout to the world that he had been the murderer of innocent Lorenzo, but sadly he never had the courage to do it.

I forgot to tell you who the characters in this story are:

  • Lorenzo: Green parrot, yellow head. Amazona oratrix or Yellow-headed parrot, 20 years old

  • Rigo: Dog, Beagle breed, 2 years old, restless and playful

  • Catalina: Afro-Colombian woman from Bolívar, in charge of household chores

This story is fiction, no animals were harmed.