The Curse of California - Part 1

The following is a wee bit long so, I'll only post half of it at a time. Please overlook the dismal lack of rhyme. I'll more comfortable writing prose than poetry, but I tried my best.

The chronicles of Spanish California,
Recount events that horrified some,
But gave others hope.
Ecclesiastical power had now been eclipsed,
By the Authority of Man.
Corruption replaced generosity;
God’s kindness was superceded by man’s cruelty.
Pueblos took the place of churches,
As areas of influence.
The evil Captain Monestario deposed,
The humble Senor de le Vaga,
And took his place as alcalde of Los Angeles.
Peons were enslaved by the army,
To mine for Monestario’s gold.
Taxes were doubled,
To satisfy Monestario and the King.
The reigning governor and his friends grew opulent.
This was the main villain;
The scene is set.

Into this rode an outlaw,
A savior to the poor,
To the rich he was a contender.
Dressed in jet-black and wielding a blade of silver,
This hero brought justice to poor California.
The scourge of cruelty was answered,
By the sting of the blade of justice,
And the whip of retribution.
Theft from the peons was rejoined,
By disruption of gold shipments.
Mistreatment of a caballero,
Merited the destruction of a gold mine.
No man was exempt from his judgment,
Even Monestario had tasted of the blade and the whip.
This man was el Diablo to the corrupt,
And el Zorro to the oppressed.
It was the latter he adopted,
He was a man of the people.
Thus has another performer been introduced,
The hero.

Among the new hierarchy was a monster,
This person outshone the alcalde with his cruelty,
Who out-Heroded Herod.
Diego de la Gras was his name.
It was impossible to call him a man,
For a man he was not.
His servants were treated as slaves,
His tenants broken.
It was he who deserved the title,
El Diablo.
He fell prey to the dark avenger more than anyone else.
He offered 10,000 pesos for the bandit.
The price on his head only emboldened el Zorro.
He replied in kind,
Offering 15,000 pesos for de la Gras.
Now we have the second villain.

The final actor in this drama,
Is the young Rebecca De le Vaga.
This senorita was kind and gentle.
Her father, the alcalde,
Had been deposed by Monestario.
This young maiden marveled,
At the exploits of the dashing young rouge,
El Zorro,
The man who, to recall,
The description of another like him,
“Had robbed the rich to feed the poor”.
Long and hard she dreamt,
Of this hero in ebony.
Dreamt of holding his love,
In her heart.
The final ingredient of this tale,
Has been introduced to you,
The heroine.