Part 5


  Juan Palazzo, Un visitante nocturno (A visitor at night)


Desde arriba, otro hombre, también grasiento y ventrudo, vaciaba el lienzo y lo devolvía al papelero junto con unas monedas. Siempre como siempre se oían insultos, regateos, amenazas. Un centenar de hombres, en su mayoría escuálidos y alcoholistas, llenaba la calle esperando turno.
From above, another man, also greasy and ventrudo, was emptying the linen and was returning it to the stationer together with a few coins. Since always insults, negotiations, threats were always heard. A hundred of men, mostly squalid and alcoholistas, was filling the street waiting for shift.

Permanecían inmóviles, algunos fumando; otros, estoicos, viendo fumar; otros con los ojos entornados; otros sentados en cuclillas; otros durmiendo; otros hablando con monosílabos; otros rascándose de abajo a arriba y viceversa; y cuando alguien prorrumbía en quejas contra el tirano, todos despertando de ese ancestral embrutecimiento, alzaban los puños, rugían, aullaban, blasfemaban con el odio, el desprecio y la rabia del menesteroso, del desesperado, del vencido, del que jamás tuvo nada.
They were remaining immobile, some smoking; different, stoic, seeing to smoke; others with the half-open eyes; seated others in squatting; others sleeping; others speaking with monosyllables; others scratching of below to above and vice versa; and when someone prorrumbía in complaints against the tyrant, they all waking up of this ancestral stultification, were lifting the handles, they were roaring, were howling, blaspheming with the hate, the scorn and the anger of the needy one, of the desperado, of the defeated one, of which it never had anything.

En ocasiones contendían entre ellos. Al menor descuido, desaparecía una bolsa. El ladrón andaba por ahí, escondiéndose, alejándose.
El otro seguía sus pasos, le corría dando vueltas; se paraba, volvía a correr, hasta atraparlo. A la disputa de derechos, sucedía la violencia, triunfando el más fuerte.
Sometimes contendían between them. To the minor oversight, it was eliminating a bag. The thief was walking round there, hiding, moving away. Other was following his steps, was covering him turning; it was stopping, was was running again, even was catching it. To the dispute of rights, the violence was happening, triumphing the strongest.

vocabulary
grasiento = fatty
ventrudo = with a big belly
vaciar = to empty
devolver = to give back
el papelero = actually paper salesman, here: paper gatherer
escualido = dirty, seedy
en cuclillas = cowering
rascarse = to scratch (oneself)
el puño = fist
prorrumpir = to burst (prorrumpir en llanto = to burst out in tears)
entornar = to lean against
entornado = ajar
el embrutecimiento = brutalisation
alzar = to lift
aullar = to cry, to whimper
rugir = to roar
el descuido = carelessness
atrapar = to catch
suceder = to ensue
la violencia = violence





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