Sunday, January 24, 2010

Translation: El Tiempo Borra


El Tiempo Borra (Time Earases) escritó por (written by) Javier de Viana de (from) Uruguay


Indalecio Returns

In the pure-blue sky not a cloud moved. Spread across the plain grazed a multitude of cows. Some were black and white, others yellow and red. It was neither hot nor cold; there was no breeze, no sounds. Only light and silence, an intense light and an infinite silence.
As his horse advanced through the countryside in a zigzagged trot, Indalecio could feel a deep sadness in his soul, but it was a gentle sort of sadness. He wished at times that he did not have to continue with this voyage, and sensations of fear pulsed through his body when he thought of the surprises that might await him.
How miserable was his return! Fifteen years and two months of absence. He relived in his memory the gray afternoon, the dispute with Benites over the ill-won race, the fight, the farewell to his beloved land, to his cattle, to the rancho so recently constructed, to the wife he had been married to for only a year... Then he was only twenty-five years old and now he returned aged, destroyed by those fifteen years in prison. He returned... what for? Did his wife and son still even exist? Did they remember him, love him still? Could one really wait for another to escape from the tomb of prison? Was he even certain that this was his land? He did not recognize it. Before there were no white structures, such as those that had sprouted to his right. Still, he continued along the countryside with a broken heart, propelled by an irresistible force.

The encounter

He stopped his horse. Was this really his ranch? He doubted it for a moment. Nevertheless, in spite of the zinc roof that had replaced the one of straw, it was the same ranch.
"Hey! Come down!" An old woman, standing in the kitchen door, cried out to him. She rearranged her hair hastily as he approached. She was surrounded by half a dozen curious children.
"How are you?"
"Well, thanks. Come inside."
She did not remember him. He could see his pretty wife in her tired face, and in her gray hair, which was tied with a large handkerchief.
They entered the house and sat down. He asked:
"You don't know me?"
She looked at him carefully, then paled and exclaimed in astonishment:
"Indalecio!"
She began crying, and the children surrounded her. When she calmed herself a little, she began talking, trying to justify herself:
"I was alone; I couldn't look after the property. One day someone would steal a cow, another- someone would butcher one of the sheep; and after... five years had passed. Everybody told me you would never return again, that you were condemned for life! And then... Manuel Silva proposed. I resisted for a long time... but then..."
The sad woman continued talking, talking, repeating, recollecting, defending herself, defending her children. But for quite a while Indalecio was not listening. He was seated in front of the door, looking at the landscape, at the vast green plain, which trailed into the eastern forests of Uruguay.
"Do you understand?" the woman continued, "if I had known you would return..."

The Departure

He interrupted her:
"Is
La Banda Oriental still fighting?"
She stopped speaking, astonished, and responded:
"Yes; a few days ago another group of soldiers passed through here, headed for the black lagoon, and..."
"Bye,"- interrupted the gaucho.
And, without another word, he got up, went to find his horse, got on, and rode toward Uruguay.
She stood in the porch, watching him in astonishment until he was out of sight. A small satisfied sigh escaped past her lips and she returned to the kitchen, to sizzle the grease in the frying pan.

58 comments:

  1. Thank you so much for posting this.It doesn't seem like anything was lost in translation.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. "Revivia en su memoria la tarde gris , la disputa con Benites por cuestion de una carrera mal ganada, la lucha, la muerte de aquel, la detencion suya por la policia.."

      Living in his memory the gray night, the dispute with Benites for question of a race unfairly won, the fight, the death of him, the arrest of him by the police.
      Trust me 6 years o spanish taught me well as for the translator not so much!!

      Delete
    2. Keep in mind I can't put any accents or anything but trust me Indalecio killed the guy over a race unfairly won.

      Delete
  2. Thanks for this!! I needed a good translation to finish my homework with!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. omg thank you so much. can u do other stories in the Album book por favor?

    ReplyDelete
  4. i can't tell u how appreciative i'm for this translation thank you alot.

    ReplyDelete
  5. THIS IS GOLD! THANKS SO MUCH!!! NOW OFF TO FIND THE REST FROM ALBUM!

    ReplyDelete
  6. wow you are a lifesaver

    ReplyDelete
  7. THANK YOU!!!!!! !SOO MUCHHH moy mucho i suck at spanish -clearly

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hows Spanish going? I'm in high school right now and I am swamped with homework plus i'm struggling in Spanish.

      Delete
  8. This is awesome. Thank you so much for the translation!!!

    ReplyDelete
  9. this is a great translation, but the worst story ever written

    ReplyDelete
  10. this story is worse than a broken sphinctor and a bag of iranian pubes

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That was innapropriate and insensative

      Delete
    2. kill yourself faggot

      Delete
  11. this is mucho sad !!!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  12. hey people!!! i have no life i am mucho sexy and white add me on facebook dey sailormoon!!!!!!! gracias mucho love!!!

    ReplyDelete
  13. This translation is not completely correct. Sorry. You might want to correct some of the errors.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. how?, you ass, be thankful for him doing this for us

      Delete
    2. He's not trying to be an ass, he's just pointing out a flaw. I'm sure he's still thankful

      Delete
  14. your awesome! keep at it :]

    ReplyDelete
  15. Is anyone in spepulvada's class...

    ReplyDelete
  16. anyone know why he was sent to prison?

    ReplyDelete
  17. Indalecio got in a fight and killed a guy named Benites, because he thought that Benites won the race unfairly. Then he went to prison and just was lucky enough to be released early.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Lemme guess. 90% of you guys are finishing homework at the last minute. Me too :P

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. More like late but it's still good

      Delete
  19. Indalecio didn't kill Benites; he merely got into a dispute with him. That doesn't mean he killed Indalecio...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. it says in the footnote that Benites was killed

      Delete
  20. Thank you thank you thank you!!!

    ReplyDelete
  21. annie ripp and katherine ripp are sooooooooo hot.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. i know i looked them up on fb

      Delete
    2. YES!!! DOING HOMEWORK AT THE LAST MINUTE GREAT TRANSLATION BY THE WAY =D

      Delete
  22. YOU DON'T KNO WHAT I'VE BEEN THROUGH

    ReplyDelete
  23. MY NAME IS MIKE CALL ME AT 6314333848. PLEASE CALL ME. I LIKE ALL SHAPES AND SIZES.

    ReplyDelete
  24. So did he go to join the military at the end?

    ReplyDelete
  25. She went back to the kitchen to make him a sandwich

    ReplyDelete