Comments on: Glossary for “Un día de estos”

By: August

August — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 21:53:09 +0000

Hola otra vez, Eleena!

Thanks for your quick response!

Funny thing, I suddenly saw my error in the translation, when I had posted my question; it says “nos paga” and not “nos pagamos”, and I clearly see why you put in the [usted] to emphasize the 3rd person singular.

So thanks for your help; I understand your opinion of the episode as a “payback”-remark, it makes good sense to me now.

Only I hadn’t thought our “dentista rígido y enjuto” would have the guts to say that to the mayor’s face – but as you noted, he does have the upper hand in the situation.

These podcasts with texts attached to them are great! I’m going to keep listening to them!

Best regards:
- August (de Dinamarca, a proposito)

By: eleena

eleena — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 21:24:14 +0000

Hi August,
I’d have to go back and reread the story but I believe that this is the first indication in the story that the mayor is not only the mayor but also a military man. What kind of town has an active soldier as mayor? A town that is part of a brutal dictatorship where violence, not civil discourse, is used to solve problems and disputes. That explains why the mayor threatened to shoot the dentist at the beginning of the story when the dentist was initially refusing to treat him.

Once the dentist sees that the mayor/lieutenant is a man in pain, he treats him, because he is a medical professional and he’s doing his professional duty. But he (the dentist) finds all sorts of little ways to rebel and show his distaste for the mayor (i.e. the ruling dictatorship). The dentist pulls the teeth without using novacaine ensuring that the procedure will be as painful as possible. Then he can’t resist getting a dig in at the mayor and so he makes that comment about how the pain of the tooth extraction is payback for the deaths of 20 people.

“Aquí nos paga [usted] veinte muertos, teniente.” My translation of this in English would be “Here’s payback for those 20 people you killed, lieutenant.”

We don’t know how many people, in total, the mayor has killed or ordered to be killed. The story doesn’t say. I think the point of stating a number here is to show clearly that the mayor is a very bad man who has destroyed the lives of many people. The mayor’s “suffering” (having a tooth pulled without local anesthetic) is nothing compared to the suffering he has inflicted on the townspeople.

For a brief moment, while the mayor is sitting in that chair, it is the dentist who can inflict pain on the mayor. It is the dentist who is all powerful and the mayor who is powerless and dependent on the dentist to relieve his suffering. The dentist takes this opportunity to rebel and clearly show the mayor that the tables have turned. Of course, it’s only during that brief visit and at the end of the story everything returns back to “normal.”

Hope this clear things up for you. Thanks for the question/comment!

Eleena

By: August

August — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 20:01:49 +0000

Hi, Eleena,

I’ve listened to this story quite a bit, thanks for uploading it!

Ever since the first time I heard it, though, I’ve wondered about the “punch-line” phrase from the dentist:

“Aquí nos paga veinte muertos, teniente”

I think I understand all the words (teniente = “lieutenant/ vice mayor”, right?), but I still can’t figure out the idea and overall meaning of it.

I would translate it “Here we pay by twenty dead (persons), lieutenant”; still, as mentioned, it just doesn’t make sense to me.

Have this many people died in the “pueblo”, and the dentist is making a point of emphasizing it for the mayor (as he “punishes” him by janking away at his molar), since the latter is in reality a dictator?

Well, the Spanish narrator of the story (who’s got a good voice for that, btw) at the end of the podcast seems to insist that this quote is an important part of the story, since it expresses the dentist’s only real “jump into character” and that this is where he wants the mayor to understand his real opinion about him. All played down neatly, of course.

Well, I hope you can clear things up for me!

Thanks in advance,
- August

By: Voices en Español » VEE #040 - Un día de estos

Voices en Español » VEE #040 - Un día de estos — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 02:38:29 +0000

[...] means “dentist’s drill” not “strawberry.” A glossary of words is here on the [...]

By: eleena

eleena — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 01:58:33 +0000

Katrina,
Me suena el título del cuento a que te refieres pero no sé de qué se trata. ¿Es bueno?

By: Katrina

Katrina — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 00:24:08 +0000

Escuché la historia esta mañana mientras me vestía. Gracias por los términos. Me preguntaba, “fresa”.

Leí la historia por la primera vez durante mis años undergraduates. Se publicó la historia junta con una que se llamaba “Walimai.” ¿La conoces?

By: Marilyn

Marilyn — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 13:19:42 +0000

THANK YOU, Eleena!!
“Buen madrugador,” huh? I love that one!

By: Voices en Español » February Book Club: Un día de estos

Voices en Español » February Book Club: Un día de estos — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 12:04:42 +0000

[...] Glossary of words is here. [...]

By: Voices en Español » VEE #040 - Un día de estos

Voices en Español » VEE #040 - Un día de estos — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 12:03:23 +0000

[...] VEE #040 – Un día de estos Un día de estos [10:21m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download Listen to the complete podcast. After the reading there is an analysis of the story that does not appear here on the blog. By the way, in this story, the word “fresa” means “dentist’s drill” not “strawberry.” A glossary of words is here. [...]