Excerpts
Translation
My translation into Spanish of the following excerpt from Caramba, the novel by Nina Marie Martinez, received the 2006 Alicia Gordon Award for Word Artistry in Translation:
“Esa noche, todo se sentía distinto en el pantalón de Javier: el llavero nuevo en forma de herradura que descansaba en su bolsillo delantero, que contenía las llaves de su casa, del cobertizo del jardín trasero, de la Iglesia de Dios y su Hijo Jesucristo, de la oficina de la compañía de basura, que conducía al patio, que contenía el camión de la basura, las llaves del camión de la basura mismo, del Monte Carlo, así como la llave de los patines de Javier; la cartera de piel de avestruz que descansaba en su bolsillo trasero, que contenía los noventa y dos billetes de cien dólares que hubieran sido destinados a agasajar y conquistar a esa chica caída del cielo; las botas elegantes que albergaban sus tobillos y le apretaban los dedos del pie, que iban con el traje que Javier no pudo resistir, pero sobre todo, esa parte de Javier que lo hacía más hombre, la cual, debido a todo el espacio dentro de ese traje, gozaba de movimiento lateral así como longitudinal. Todo era distinto esa noche, y no sólo dentro de su pantalón de vestir. El Stetson® descansaba con seguridad en su cabeza, ligero como el pantalón, no siempre presente como la gorrita de béisbol, o demasiado presente como su sombrero elegante de mariachi; pero de vuelta al pantalón, le brindaba a Javier algo que tanto su traje de charro como su traje de basurero carecía, espacio y libertad de movimiento, pero más que cualquiera de esas dos cosas, ese traje y sus atavíos le daban a Javier cierta chigonalidad”.
“That evening, everything felt different in Javier’s pants–the new horseshoe key ring that rested in his front pocket, that held the keys to the house, the backyard shed, the Church of God and His Son Jesus Christ, the office at the garbage company, that led to the yard, that held the garbage truck, the keys to the garbage truck itself, to the Monte Carlo, and Javier’s skate key as well; the ostrich skin wallet that rested in his back pocket, that held the ninety-two hundred dollar bills that would have went, to wine, dine, and woo the girl that was Heaven-sent; the fancy boots that hugged the ankles and pinched the toes, that went with the suit that Javier had to have, but most of all, that part of Javier that most made him a man, which, due to all the room in that suit, enjoyed both lateral and longitudinal movement. Everything was different that night, and not just in his slacks. The Stetson® resting confidently on his head, light like the pants, not ever-present like a baseball cap, or over-present like his fancy mariachi hat; but back to the pants that gave Javier something that both his traje de charro and his garbageman suit lacked, room and freedom of movement, but more than either of the two, that suit and its accoutrements gave Javier attitude.”
–From ¡CARAMBA!. Copyright © 2004 by Nina Marie Martínez. Published by Vintage Español, an imprint of Random House, Inc. in 2006. Reprinted by permission of Susan Bergholz Literary Services, New York, NY and Lamy, NM. All Rights Reserved. Translation copyright © 2006 by Liliana Valenzuela. Reprinted by permission of Stuart Bernstein Representation for Artists. All rights reserved. NO FURTHER REPRODUCTION OR DISTRIBUTION IS PERMITTED.
“Esa noche, todo se sentía distinto en el pantalón de Javier: el llavero nuevo en forma de herradura que descansaba en su bolsillo delantero, que contenía las llaves de su casa, del cobertizo del jardín trasero, de la Iglesia de Dios y su Hijo Jesucristo, de la oficina de la compañía de basura, que conducía al patio, que contenía el camión de la basura, las llaves del camión de la basura mismo, del Monte Carlo, así como la llave de los patines de Javier; la cartera de piel de avestruz que descansaba en su bolsillo trasero, que contenía los noventa y dos billetes de cien dólares que hubieran sido destinados a agasajar y conquistar a esa chica caída del cielo; las botas elegantes que albergaban sus tobillos y le apretaban los dedos del pie, que iban con el traje que Javier no pudo resistir, pero sobre todo, esa parte de Javier que lo hacía más hombre, la cual, debido a todo el espacio dentro de ese traje, gozaba de movimiento lateral así como longitudinal. Todo era distinto esa noche, y no sólo dentro de su pantalón de vestir. El Stetson® descansaba con seguridad en su cabeza, ligero como el pantalón, no siempre presente como la gorrita de béisbol, o demasiado presente como su sombrero elegante de mariachi; pero de vuelta al pantalón, le brindaba a Javier algo que tanto su traje de charro como su traje de basurero carecía, espacio y libertad de movimiento, pero más que cualquiera de esas dos cosas, ese traje y sus atavíos le daban a Javier cierta chigonalidad”.
“That evening, everything felt different in Javier’s pants–the new horseshoe key ring that rested in his front pocket, that held the keys to the house, the backyard shed, the Church of God and His Son Jesus Christ, the office at the garbage company, that led to the yard, that held the garbage truck, the keys to the garbage truck itself, to the Monte Carlo, and Javier’s skate key as well; the ostrich skin wallet that rested in his back pocket, that held the ninety-two hundred dollar bills that would have went, to wine, dine, and woo the girl that was Heaven-sent; the fancy boots that hugged the ankles and pinched the toes, that went with the suit that Javier had to have, but most of all, that part of Javier that most made him a man, which, due to all the room in that suit, enjoyed both lateral and longitudinal movement. Everything was different that night, and not just in his slacks. The Stetson® resting confidently on his head, light like the pants, not ever-present like a baseball cap, or over-present like his fancy mariachi hat; but back to the pants that gave Javier something that both his traje de charro and his garbageman suit lacked, room and freedom of movement, but more than either of the two, that suit and its accoutrements gave Javier attitude.”
–From ¡CARAMBA!. Copyright © 2004 by Nina Marie Martínez. Published by Vintage Español, an imprint of Random House, Inc. in 2006. Reprinted by permission of Susan Bergholz Literary Services, New York, NY and Lamy, NM. All Rights Reserved. Translation copyright © 2006 by Liliana Valenzuela. Reprinted by permission of Stuart Bernstein Representation for Artists. All rights reserved. NO FURTHER REPRODUCTION OR DISTRIBUTION IS PERMITTED.
Nina Marie Martínez and Liliana Valenzuela
reading from Caramba at the Chicano Latino Writers Festival
St. Paul, Minn. 2006
reading from Caramba at the Chicano Latino Writers Festival
St. Paul, Minn. 2006
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