Agreeable abracadabra - Martín Gardella

Texto en español en El Living sin Tiempo: "Adorable abracadabra"

Traducido al inglés por  Gustavo Sevilla

     

 To Luisa Valenzuela

                                                                           

I adored Ana’s mamma affectionately. Adolescent aura, an authentic Argentinean, anxious, apt to be alarmed. Adorable animal, able actress, astounding artist. She astutely allured adult Adams, with an active attitude, as if in ambush. Amicable angel, amorous archduchess. She aroused adventurous approaches. Advocate of affection, agile abdomen of almond, adorable aquamarine. Ardent, assuring amazon, angular ankles like arrows, abundant appeals, absorbing, adhesive arms, asphyxiating. Admirable aphrodisiac alcohol, awakening appetite, addictive. Astute acrobat. Avid reader of Allende, Arlt and Alfonsina. Her accords of Abba, Aznar and Maná were like allegros. Alas, why are you not around any more? Tired of so many As, she abandoned me without any adieux or advice, after an affluent adversary – an attorney under the name of Ernesto.

Martín Gardella

Quick guide to keeping lucky - Martín Gardella

Texto en español en El living sin tiempo: "Pequeña guía para conservar la buena suerte"

Traducido al inglés por Jamie Hershing

To ensure a life without misfortune, do not cross a black cat's path, walk beneath a ladder, break a mirror, sweep at night-time, break a chain-letter, get up left-foot-first, collect seashells, open umbrellas indoors, sit at a table on three, toast with water, spill the salt, see your fiancé (e) before your wed, or read these instructions.

Martín Gardella

Blind Man’s Bluff - Martín Gardella

Texto en español en El living sin tiempo: "Gallito ciego"

Traducido al inglés por Gustavo Sevilla

I like walking through the empty city at night. It is a pleasure to go around without anybody bumping into me, without racing cars or loud noises that get on my nerves. I feel like the king of the silent metropolis, anarchic, uninhabited, imperturbable.
As I walk along the dusky streets, I try to guess the hidden way, hardly illuminated by the faint light in the corner and the end of my burning cigarette. It reminds me of those unforgettable moments of my childhood, when I played the blind man’s bluff with the kids in the neighborhood and they laughed at my inability to find them in the dark. Poor fool, good-for-nothing, they told me, taking advantage of the fact that I was the youngest and most naive in the group.
They were right to some extent, because while they made progress and managed to buy the luxurious mansions that decorate the avenue, I still live in the old little house that used to be my mother’s. That must be the reason why I like visiting them once in a while, to play with their things, as they sleep.

Martín Gardella

O esquecimento fatal - Martín Gardella

Texto en español en Internacional microcuentista: "El olvido fatal"

Traducido al porqugués por Wilson Gorj

Apagaram-se as luzes do palco e um aplauso prolongado rompeu o silêncio da sala. O jovem mágico acabara de desaparecer em cena diante da atenção do público extasiado, consumando uma ilusão inexplicável e nunca antes alcançada. Foi o último número do ilusionista, que jamais conseguiu lembrar a segunda parte do truque.

Martín Gardella

The solitary boss - Martín Gardella

Texto en español en El living sin tiempo: "El jefe ermitaño".

Traducido al inglés por Gustavo Sevilla.

At the office where I work, we used to have a boss who was too reserved. He was a quiet man who liked to keep aloof inside his small office at the corner, with the door forever closed. He was the first one to get to work and the last one to leave. I never heard him utter a single word, either a reproach or a praise, and he had ordered his assistant to filter all incoming calls. He gradually secluded himself within his small universe crowded with disorderly folders and thick books so imperceptibly that we even forgot he was there. Finally, on an afternoon when we had to abandon the building due to a fire alarm, we had our single chance to see the old loner. The firemen had just found him, taciturn and stinky, among dense spider webs.


Martín Gardella

The companion - Martín Gardella

Texto en español en El living sin tiempo: "El acompañante".

Traducido al inglés por Gustavo Sevilla.

My roommate has strange habits. When the day breaks, he gets up grudgingly to close the blinds. He adores the darkness and silence of nights to sit and watch shooting stars with emotion. He prefers to hide in the closet whenever I receive guests – I don’t know whether he does it as a gesture of politeness, out of shyness, or because he is afraid that the guest may be one of those individuals who, he tells me, seek to catch him. I know the risk, but I protect his secret knowingly. Since that stormy night when he settled at home, he has become my best companion, an extraordinary pal. I see to him and feed him as if he were a harmless baby, and in the afternoons I prepare him a bath so that he can play, for a long while, with the soapy sponge among his tentacles.

Martín Gardella

L’oblit fatal - Martín Gardella

Texto enespañol en Microficicones: "El olvido fatal".

Traducido al catalán por Victor Lorenzo Cinca.

Es van apagar els llums de l’escenari i un aplaudiment perllongat va trencar el silenci de la sala. El jove mag acabava de desaparèixer en escena davant l’absorta mirada del públic, consumant una il·lusió inexplicable i mai abans aconseguida. Va ser l’última funció de l’il·lusionista, que mai va aconseguir recordar la segona part del truc.

Martín Gardella

Le visitatrici - Martín Gardella

Texto en español en El Living sin tiempo: "Las visitadoras".

Traducido al italiano por Stefano Valente.

Ho scoperto che le bambole di mia sorella prendono vita all'alba. Abbandonano furtive la casetta in miniatura nella stanza accanto ed entrano nella mia, seminude, per scivolare nella scatola dei miei pupazzetti. Me ne sto zitto per non disturbare e, con gli occhi chiusi, ascolto il suono della plastica che si contorce, che cavalca contro la scatola di legno. Mezz'ora dopo, si ritirano sorridenti e spettinate, con i loro corpi flessibili stremati e la cosa fatta.
L'episodio si ripete, inevitabilmente, notte dopo notte, ma oggi promette di essere diverso. In piedi accanto alla porta della mia camera, l'allegra faccia di plastica della bambola gigante che ho regalato a mia sorella per il suo compleanno osserva il massiccio lucchetto che ho sistemato sulla scatola dei giocattoli e mi strizza l'occhio. Tutti dormono, eccetto noi due.

Martín Gardella

Martín Gardella Publicado en Il Sogno del Minotauro

Drinks - Martín Gardella

Texto en español en El living sin tiempo: "Infusiones"

Traducido al inglés

Every morning they quarrel over anything. If she prepares tea, he wants coffee. When she serves coffee, he finds it too sweet, cold or scarce, or wants some milk to be added, or prefers to be offered some mate.
However, she has decided not to argue any more from now on. She will obediently follow all her husband’s wishes for breakfast. After all, any of the drinks will be useful to hide the flavor of the poison.

Martín Gardella

Le Cirque Rouge - Martín Gardella

Texto en español en Cultura back: "Le Cirque Rouge".
Y en Letra de Chile: "Le Cirque Rouge".

Traducido al catalán por Víctor Lorenzo Cinca.

La caravana del circ arribà al poble avorrit, anunciant un espectacle diferent. Entre el show de malabaristes i les bromes del vell pallasso, es presentava, al cercle d’arena, un autèntic vampir. El seu número consistia en fascinar un nan, per després beure la sang del seu coll., davant de la mirada magnetitzada del vilatans. La rutina era esgarrifosa, però molt original. L’èxit del show fou tan contundent, que el circ va haver d’allargar la seva estada durant tota la temporada. Però, per desgràcia, l’estoc de nans es va acabar molt ràpidament, i a les següents funcions, el pàl·lid artista va haver de sotmetre a la seva rutina tots i cadascún dels companys del circ, inclosos l’amo i els membres de l’orquestra. Sense música ni presentador, l’exitós vampir anuncia l’espectacle d’aquesta nit amb una novetat. Per primer cop, sol·licitarà la col·laboració gentil i desinteressada d’algú del públic.

Martín Gardella

The Arranged Dreams - Martín Gardella

Texto en español en El living sin tiempo: "Los sueños convenidos".

Traducido al inglés por Gustavo Sevilla.

Under the purplish winter moon, they would unknowingly dream of each other. They enjoyed their company till dawn, giving full rein to their private ardent appetites in the distance. They happened to meet one afternoon and, overlooking the reasons that set them apart, they were able to confess those mutual dreams, freely and without shyness. Since then, they meet every night to love each other passionately at the arranged time, each one in their bed.

Martín Gardella

The Walkers - Martín Gardella

Texto español en El living sin tiempo: "Los caminantes".

Ttraducido al inglés por Gustavo Sevilla.

I love strolling along Florida street. It is nice to watch in silence the swift passers-by of all colors, listen to street performers, and let myself be tempted by roadside vendors. But what I enjoy the most is the casual encounters, among the crowd, with those lifeless beings that wander in the downtown area, invisible to other walkers and so similar to me.

Martín Gardella

Dimenticanza fatale - Martín Gardella

Texto en español en El living sin tiempo: "El olvido fatal".

Traducido al italiano por Stefano Valente.

Si sono spente le luci del palcoscenico e un applauso prolungato ha spezzato il silenzio della sala. Il giovane mago è appena scomparso sulla scena di fronte allo sguardo rapito del pubblico, portando a compimento un'illusione inesplicabile e mai raggiunta prima. È stato l'ultimo atto dell'illusionista, che non è mai più riuscito a ricordare la seconda parte del trucco.

Martín Gardella

The End of the Wait - Martín Gardella

Texto en español en El living sin tiempo: "El fin de la espera".

Traducido al inglés por Gustavo Sevilla

I had waited years for her. I knew that, sooner or later, she would yield to the temptation to come and fetch me.
Finally, she appeared on a rainy day, standing at my door. She had a sad look, but her skin was still white and beautiful, just like in my dreams. I felt her cold arms around my body and found her very thin, perhaps too much for a stocky man like me.
My old heart shook intensely but then its beats slowly soothed. I let myself be carried away by her caresses and I started to forget about the rain, the elapsed years and her awful skinniness.
At that moment, as my eyes shed their last tears, she lifted her scythe in the air.

Martín Gardella