cuentos de barro - DSpace Universidad Don Bosco

la ZIGuaNaBa
Pedro estaba metido dos veces en la
noche; una, porque era noctámbulo,
y otra, porque era pescador. La noche
prieta se había hundido en la poza,
y Pedro, metido en el agua hasta la
cintura, arronjaba la atarraya. Cuando
la malla caiba, los plomos chiflaban
al hundirse. Una luz de escurana, luz
acerosa y helada fingía pescados. Hacía
frío. Pedro iba recogiendo, recogiendo.
Algún chiribisco aparecía primero,
negrito y puyudo. Pedro se estaba
desenredándolo. Su paciencia rimaba
con el callar. Las hojas, trabadas,
mentían pepescas. Cerca de los plomos
venía la plata vivita y coleando. Un
pocuyo enhebraba su “¡caballero,
caballero!” detrás de la palazón tupida
de los huiscoyoles.
Pedro llamó al ayudante. Era el cipote
de Natividá.
—¡Oyó... tréme la bolsa!
El cipote se metió al río; y, empujando
el agua con las rodillas, llegó hasta el
pescador y le alargó la matata.
—¿Cayen, O?
—¡Sí, O!..., chimbolos y juilines, nomás.
108
la SIGuaNaBa 192
Pedro went deep into the night twice:
the first, because he was a night owl, and
the other, because he was a fisherman.
The dark night had sunk into the pond,
and Pedro, having waded into the water
up to his waist, was throwin’ the fishnet.
When it touched the water its weights
whistled as they sank. A dim light, a
shiny, cold light, pretended to be fish.
It was cold. Pedro pulled and tugged
the fishnet in again and again, but his
first catch was a small black and pointy
stick. Pedro unraveled it. His patience
was in sync with the silence. The leaves
stuck on his net also feigned small fish.
Alive and flopping the silver weights
were being pulled in. A Whippoorwill
bird was singing his song 193 behind the
palisade full of palms of huiscoyol.
Pedro called his helper, Natividá’s kid.
“Hey kid... bring me the bag!”
The kid went into the river and, pushing
the water ahead of him with his knees,
went over towards the fisherman and
held out the bag.
“Hey, are they bitin’?”
“Yep, buddy... but just small fish and
juilines 194 ”
192. To avoid mispronunciation of the word, the translator decided to drop the ‘Z’ and keep the name
as it sounds.
193. Sounds like “ka-ba-ye-ro, ka-ba-ye-ro.”
194. “Juilines” are the most common fish. Like catfish