II. Voces
II. Voices

III. La diosa diabla
III. The devil goddess

IV. Albedrío
IV. Free will

V. Zarpazo
V. Zarpazo

"Entra, dicen unos y otros que sale
con el aire, por rendijas,
traspasando.
No percibimos su presencia, hermano,
entre todos y sin sobresaltos empujábamos
de mala gana la rutina.
No rondaba, no envió sus heraldos negros
la muerte.
El televisor zumbaba en tu cuarto:
la gente se duerme sin apagarlo;
y hay quienes aman cubiertos por su luz;
engañan sus ruidos a la soledad.
¿La viste tú, hermano, sentiste el frío
de su guadaña, te quejaste
cuando rompió el hilo, te dolió
la muerte?

No escuchamos, hermano, estertores
ni gemidos, rezos, voces.
No te oímos. El televisor hablaba
en inglés.
¿De qué reía
cuando te descubrimos, ya sin vida,
en el sillón?"

de Zarpazo

People say she comes and goes
with the wind, seeping through
cracks.
We didn’t sense her presence, brother,
unsuspecting, we all grudgingly
endured the daily grind.
Death
didn’t come around, didn’t send her black heralds.
The television buzzed in your room:
People fall asleep without shutting it off;
and there are those who make love covered by its light;
Its sounds deceive the solitude.
Did you see her, brother? did you feel the cold
of her scythe? did you complain
when she cut the thread? did dying hurt?
We didn’t hear the death rattle, brother,
nor moaning, prayers, voices.
We didn’t hear you.
The television was speaking
in English.
What was it laughing at
when we found you lifeless
In the armchair?

from "Zarpazo"*

* As the translator notes: "Zarpazo is literally translated 'swipe or lash of a claw or paw.' No single-word English equivalent maintains the intensity derived from the original Spanish. 

 El autor: Alfredo Espinosa (Delicias, Chihuahua, 1956)

Como escritor ha publicado cerca de 21 libros abarcando diferentes géneros como poesía, ensayos y novelas. Ha recibido importantes premios y distinciones a nivel local y nacional. Parte de su obra está siendo traducida al inglés. 

La traductora / Translator:

Jeannette Geiman Minnie was born in Hamilton, Montana and received her B.A. from the University of Montana in Spanish with a minor in Latin American Studies. She received her Masters' Degree in Spanish at New Mexico State University. 

Presently an instructor at El Paso Community College she has translated three works and articles to be included in a book on the women of Chiapas, Mexico to be published shortly. 

PURCHASING INFORMATION

PASO DEL NORTE HOME