La intrusa [The Interloper] Edición bilingüe, español- inglés, de Miguel Garci-Gomez. Dept. Romance Stydies --
La intrusa Reyes 1:26*
The Interloper Reyes 1:26*
Dicen (lo cual es improbable) que la historia fue referida por Eduardo, el menor de los Nelson, en el velorio de Cristián, el mayor, que falleció de muerte natural, hacia mil ochocientos noventa y tantos, en el partido de Morón. Lo cierto es que alguien la oyó de alguien, en el decurso de esa larga noche perdida, entre mate y mate, y la repitió a Santiago Dabove, por quien la supe. Años después, volvieron a contármela en Turdera, donde había acontecido. La segunda versión, algo más prolija, confirmaba en suma la de Santiago, con las pequeñas variaciones y divergencias que son del caso. La escribo ahora porque en ella se cifra, si no me engaño, un breve y trágico cristal de la índole de los orilleros antiguos. Lo haré con probidad, pero ya preveo que cederé a la tentación literaria de acentuar o agregar algún pormenor.
They say (though it seems unlikely) that Eduardo, the younger of the Nelson brothers, told the story in eighteen-ninety-something at the wake for Cristian, the elder, who had died of natural causes in the district of Morón. What is unquestionably true is that as the cups of mate went their rounds in the course of that long night when there was nothing else to do, somebody heard it from someone and later repeated it to Santiago Dabove, from whom I first heard it. I was told the story again, years later, in Turdera, where it had actually occurred. This second, somewhat less succinct version corroborated the essential details of Santiago′s, with the small divergences and variations one always expects. I commit it to writing now because I believe it affords us (though I may of course be mistaken) a brief and tragic window on the sort of men that once fought their knife fights and lived their harsh lives in the tough neighborhoods on the outskirts of Buenos Aires. I will tell the story conscientiously, though I can foresee myself yielding to the literary temptation to heighten or insert the occasional small detail .
En Turdera los llamaban los Nilsen. El párroco me dijo que su predecesor recordaba, no sin sorpresa, haber visto en la casa de esa gente una gastada Biblia de tapas negras, con caracteres góticos; en las últimas páginas entrevió nombres y fechas manuscritas. Era el único libro que había en la casa. La azarosa crónica de los Nilsen, perdida como todo se perderá. El caserón, que ya no existe, era de ladrillo sin revocar; desde el zaguán se divisaban un patio de baldosa colorada y otro de tierra. Pocos, por lo demás, entraron ahí; los Nilsen defendían su soledad. En las habitaciones desmanteladas dormían en catres; sus lujos eran el caballo, el apero, la daga de hojas corta, el atuendo rumboso de los sábados y el alcohol pendenciero. Sé que eran altos, de melena rojiza. Dinamarca o Irlanda, de las que nunca oirían hablar, andaban por la sangre de esos dos criollos. El barrio los temía a los Colorados; no es imposible que debieran alguna muerte. Hombro a hombro pelearon una vez a la policía. Se dice que el menor tuvo un altercado con Juan Iberra, en el que no llevó la peor parte, lo cual, según los entendidos, es mucho. Fueron troperos, cuarteadores, cuatreros y alguna vez tahúres. Tenían fama de avaros, salvo cuando la bebida y el juego los volvían generosos. De sus deudos nada se sabe y ni de dónde vinieron. Eran dueños de una carreta y una yunta de bueyes.
In Turdera they were known as the Nilsens. I was told by the parish priest that his predecessor recalled having seen, not without some surprise, a worn black-letter Bible in the house; on its last pages he had glimpsed handwritten names and dates. That blackbound volume was the only book they owned— its troubled chronicle of the Nilsens is now lost, as everything will one day be lost. The big ramshackle house (which is no longer standing) was of unplastered brick; from the entryway one could see a first interior patio of red tiles and another, farther back, of packed earth. Few people, however, entered that entryway; the Nilsens defended their solitude. They slept on cots in dilapidated and unfurnished bedrooms; their luxuries were horses, saddles, shortbladed daggers, flashy Saturday night clothes, and the alcohol that made them belligerent. I know that they were tall, with reddish hair—the blood of Denmark or Ireland (countries whose names they probably never heard) flowed in the veins of those two criollos. The neighborhood was afraid of the Redheads, as they were called; it is not impossible that one or another killing had been their work. Once they had stood shoulder to shoulder and fought it out with the police. People say the younger brother had once traded words with Juan Iberra and not gone away with the worst of it—which according to those who knew about such things was saying a great deal. They were cattle drivers, teamsters, horse thieves, and sometime cardsharps. They had a reputation for tightfisted-ness, except when drinking and gambling made them generous. About their kinspeople, nothing is known even of where they came from. They owned an oxcart and a yoke of oxen .
Físicamente diferían del compadraje que dio su apodo forajido a la Costa Brava. Esto, y lo que ignoramos, ayuda a comprender lo unidos que fueron. Malquistarse con uno era contar con dos enemigos.
Physically, they were unlike the toughs that gave Costa Brava its reputation for lawlessness . That, and things we have no certain knowledge of, may help us understand how close they were. Having a falling-out with one of them was earning yourself two enemies .
Los Nilsen eran calaveras, pero sus episodios amorosos habían sido hasta entonces de zaguán o de casa mala. No faltaron, pues, comentarios cuando Cristián llevó a vivir con él a Juliana Burgos. Es verdad que ganaba así una sirvienta, pero no es menos cierto que la colmó de horrendas baratijas y que la lucía en las fiestas. En las pobres fiestas de conventillo, donde la quebrada y el corte estaban prohibidos y donde se bailaba, todavía, con mucha luz. Juliana era de tez morena y de ojos rasgados; bastaba que alguien la mirara, para que se sonriera. En un barrio modesto, donde el trabajo y el descuido gastan a las mujeres, no era mal parecida.
The Nilsens were men who sought the pleasures of the flesh, but their romantic episodes had so far been on porches or in entryways or houses of ill repute. There was a good deal of talk, therefore, when Cristian carried Juliana Burgos home to live with him . The truth was, in doing so he had gained a servant, but it was also true that he lavished ghastly trinkets upon her and showed her off at parties—those shabby little tenement house par-ties where certain tango steps (the quebrada and the corte, for example) were considered indecent and weren′t allowed, and where couples still danced "with a good bit of daylight between them," as the saying went . Juliana had almond eyes and dark skin; whenever someone looked at her she smiled. In a humble neighborhood, where work and neglect make women old before their time, she was not bad-looking .
Eduardo los acompañaba al principio. Después emprendió un viaje a Arrecifes por no sé qué negocio; a su vuelta llevó a la casa una muchacha, que había levantado por el camino, y a los pocos días la echó. Se hizo más hosco; se emborrachaba solo en el almacén y no se daba con nadie. Estaba enamorado de la mujer de Cristián. El barrio, que tal vez lo supo antes que él, previó con alevosa alegría la rivalidad latente de los hermanos.
At first, Eduardo lived with them. Then he went off to Arrecifes on some business, and on his return he brought a girl home with him, too; he had picked her up on the road. Within a few days he threw her out. He grew ever more sullen and bad-tempered; he would get drunk by himself in the corner general-store-and-bar and would not answer when someone spoke to him. He was in love with Cristian′s woman. The neighborhood (which probably knew that before he himself did) sensed with secret and perfidious delight the latent rivalry that throbbed between the brothers .
Una noche, al volver tarde de la esquina, Eduardo vio el oscuro de Cristián atado al palenque En el patio, el mayor estaba esperándolo con sus mejores pilchas. La mujer iba y venía con el mate en la mano. Cristián le dijo a Eduardo:
One night, coming home late from a bout of drinking, Eduardo saw Cristian′s black horse tied to the post at the front of the house . Cristian was sitting waiting for him in the patio; he was wearing his best clothes . The woman was walking about the house with her mate in her hand .
-Yo me voy a una farra en lo de Farías. Ahí la tenés a la Juliana; si la querés, usala.
"I′m going off to that bust over at Farias′ place. There′s Juliana—if you want her, use her."
El tono era entre mandón y cordial. Eduardo se quedó un tiempo mirándolo; no sabía qué hacer. Cristián se levantó, se despidió de Eduardo, no de Juliana, que era una cosa, montó a caballo y se fue al trote, sin apuro.
His tone was half-peremptory, half-cordial . Eduardo stood for a moment looking at him; he didn′t know what to do. Cristian stood up, said good-bye to Eduardo—not to Juliana, who was a mere thing—mounted his horse, and rode off at an unhurried trot .
Desde aquella noche la compartieron. Nadie sabrá los pormenores de esa sórdida unión, que ultrajaba las decencias del arrabal. El arreglo anduvo bien por unas semanas, pero no podía durar. Entre ellos, los hermanos no pronunciaban el nombre de Juliana, ni siquiera para llamarla, pero buscaban, y encontraban razones para no estar de acuerdo. Discutían la venta de unos cueros, pero lo que discutían era otra cosa. Cristián solía alzar la voz y Eduardo callaba. Sin saberlo, estaban celándose. En el duro suburbio, un hombre no decía, ni se decía, que una mujer pudiera importarle, más allá del deseo y la posesión, pero los dos estaban enamorados. Esto, de algún modo, los humillaba.
From that night onward, they shared her. No one will ever know the details of that sordid ménage, which outraged the neighborhood′s sense of decency. The arrangement went well for a few weeks, but it couldn′t last. Never, when the three of them were in the house, did the brothers speak Juliana′s name, even to call her, but they looked for—and found—reasons to disagree. They bickered over the sale price of a load of skins, but it was something else they were really arguing about. Cristián′s tendency was to raise his voice; Eduardo′s, to fall silent . Without knowing it, they were jealous of each other. In those hard-bitten outskirts of the city, a man didn′t say, nor was it said about him, that a woman mattered to him (beyond desire and ownership), but the two brothers were in fact in love. They felt humiliated by that, somehow .
Una tarde, en la plaza de Lomas, Eduardo se cruzó con Juan Iberra, que lo felicitó por ese primor que se había agenciado. Fue entonces, creo, que Eduardo lo injurió. Nadie, delante de él, iba a hacer burla de Cristián.
One afternoon in the Lomastown plaza, Eduardo ran into Juan Iberra, who congratulated him on that beauty he′d found himself. It was then, I think, that Eduardo gave him a tongue-lashing. Nobody, in Eduardo′s presence, was going to make Cristian the butt of such jokes .
La mujer atendía a los dos con sumisión bestial; pero no podía ocultar alguna preferencia por el menor, que no había rechazado la participación, pero que no la había dispuesto.
The woman saw to the needs of both brothers with beastlike submissiveness, although she couldn′t hide some preference for the younger, who had not refused to take part in the arrangement but hadn′t initiated it, either .
Un día, le mandaron a la Juliana que sacara dos sillas al primer patio y que no apareciera por ahí, porque tenían que hablar. Ella esperaba un diálogo largo y se acostó a dormir la siesta, pero al rato la recordaron. Le hicieron llenar una bolsa con todo lo que tenía, sin olvidar el rosario de vidrio y la crucecita que le había dejado su madre. Sin explicarle nada la subieron a la carreta y emprendieron un silencioso y tedioso viaje. Había llovido; los caminos estaban muy pesados y serían las once de la noche cuando llegaron a Morón. Ahí la vendieron a la patrona del prostíbulo. El trato ya estaba hecho; Cristián cobró la suma y la dividió después con el otro.
One day, the brothers ordered Juliana to take two chairs out into the first patio and then make herself scarce; the two of them needed to talk. She was expecting a long talk, so she lay down for her siesta, but soon they called her back. They had her put everything she owned, even the rosary of glass beads and the little crucifix her mother had left her, in a sack . Without a word of explanation, they loaded her onto the oxcart and set off on a tedious and silent journey. It had rained; the roads were heavy, and it was sometime around five in the morning when they finally reached Morón . There, they woke up the madam of a whorehouse and offered to sell her Juliana. The deal was struck; Cristian took the money, and divided it later with Eduardo .
En Turdera, los Nilsen, perdidos hasta entonces en la mañana (que también era una rutina) de aquel monstruoso amor, quisieron reanudar su antigua vida de hombres entre hombres. Volvieron a las trucadas, al reñidero, a las juergas casuales. Acaso, alguna vez, se creyeron salvados, pero solían incurrir, cada cual por su lado, en injustificadas o harto justificadas ausencias. Poco antes de fin de año el menor dijo que tenía que hacer en la Capital. Cristián se fue a Morón; en el palenque de la casa que sabemos reconoció al overo de Eduardo. Entró; adentro estaba el otro, esperando turno. Parece que Cristián le dijo:
Back in Turdera, the Nilsens, who had been entangled in the thicket (which was also the routine) of that monstrous love, tried to take up their old life as men among men. They returned to their games of truco, their cockfights, their casual binges. They thought, once in a while, perhaps, that they were saved, but then, separately, they began to take unexplained (or overexplained) absences. Shortly before the end of the year, Eduardo announced that he had business in the capital, and he rode away. When he had gone, Cristian took the road to Morón; there, tied to the hitching post of the house which the story would lead us to expect, was Eduardo′s pinto. Cristian went in; Eduardo was inside, waiting his turn . Cristian, it seems, said to him:
-De seguir así, los vamos a cansar a los pingos. Más vale que la tengamos a mano.
"If we keep on this way much longer, we′re going to wear out the horses. Maybe we ought to have her where we can get at her."
Habló con la patrona, sacó unas monedas del tirador y se la llevaron. La Juliana iba con Cristián; Eduardo espoleó al overo para no verlos.
He spoke to the madam, pulled some coins out of his purse, and they took Juliana away with them. She rode with Cristian; Eduardo put spurs to his palomino so he wouldn′t have to see them .
Volvieron a lo que ya se ha dicho. La infame solución había fracasado; los dos habían cedido a la tentación de hacer trampa. Caín andaba por ahí, pero el cariño entre los Nilsen era muy grande -¡quién sabe qué rigores y qué peligros habían compartido!- y prefirieron desahogar su exasperación con ajenos. Con un desconocido, con los perros, con la Juliana, que habían traído la discordia.
They went back to the old arrangement . Their abominable solution had failed; both of them had given in to the temptation to cheat . Cain lurked about, but the love between the Nilsens was great (who can say what hardships and dangers they had shared!) and they chose to take their exasperation out on others: a stranger—the dogs—Juliana, who had introduced the seed of discord .
El mes de marzo estaba por concluir y el calor no cejaba. Un domingo (los domingos la gente suele recogerse temprano) Eduardo, que volvía del almacén, vio que Cristián uncía los bueyes. Cristián le dijo:
The month of March was nearing its close but the heat dragged on relentlessly. One Sunday (on Sunday people tended to call it a day early), Eduardo, who was coming home from the bar, saw that Cristian was yoking up the oxen .
-Vení, tenemos que dejar unos cueros en lo del Pardo; ya los cargué; aprovechemos la fresca.
"Come on,"Cristian said, "we′ve got to take some skins over to the Nigger′s place. I′ve already loaded them up—we can go in the cool of the evening."
El comercio del Pardo quedaba, creo, más al Sur; tomaron por el Camino de las Tropas; después, por un desvío. El campo iba agrandándose con la noche.
The Nigger′s store lay a little south of the Nilsens′ place, I believe: they took the Troop Road, then turned off onto a road that was not so heavily traveled. The countryside grew larger and larger as the night came on .
Orillaron un pajonal; Cristián tiró el cigarro que había encendido y dijo sin apuro:
They were driving along beside a field covered in dried-out straw; Cristian threw out the cigar he had lighted and stopped the oxcart .
-A trabajar, hermano. Después nos ayudarán los caranchos. Hoy la maté. Que se quede aquí con su pilchas, ya no hará más perjuicios.
"Let′s go to work, brother. The buzzards′ll come in to clean up after us. I killed′er today . We′ll leave′er here, her and her fancy clothes . She won′t cause any more hurt."
Se abrazaron, casi llorando. Ahora los ataba otro círculo: la mujer tristemente sacrificada y la obligación de olvidarla.
Almost weeping, they embraced. Now they were linked by yet another bond: the woman grievously sacrificed, and the obligation to forget her .