Paroles et traduction Quilapayun - Relato, Pt. 3

Relato, Pt. 3

Del quince al veintiuno,
Mes de diciembre,
Se hizo el largo viaje
Por las pendientes.
Veintiséis mil bajaron
O tal vez más
Con silencios gastados
En el Salar.
Iban bajando ansiosos,
Iban llegando
Los miles de la pampa,
Los postergados.
No mendigaban nada,
Sólo querían
Respuesta a lo pedido,
Respuesta limpia.

Algunos en Iquique
Los comprendieron
Y se unieron a ellos,
Eran los Gremios.
Y solidarizaron
Los carpinteros,
Los de la Maestranza,
Los carreteros,
Los pintores y sastres,
Los jornaleros,
Lancheros y albañiles,
Los panaderos,
Gasfiteros y abasto,
Los cargadores.
Gremios de apoyo justo,
De gente pobre.

Los Señores de Iquique
Tenían miedo;
Era mucho pedir
Ver tanto obrero.
El pampino no era
Hombre cabal,
Podía ser ladrón
O asesinar.
Mientras tanto las casas
Eran cerradas,
Miraban solamente
Tras las ventanas.
El Comercio cerró
También sus puertas,
Había que cuidarse
De tanta bestia.
Mejor que los juntaran
En algún sitio,
Si andaban por las calles
Era un peligro.

Narration, Pt. 3

From the fifteenth to the twenty-first,
The month of December,
The long journey was made
Down the slopes.
Twenty-six thousand came down
Or perhaps more
With worn-out silences
In the Salar.
They came down anxiously,
They arrived
The thousands from the pampa,
The postponed ones.
They begged for nothing,
They only wanted
An answer to what was asked for,
A clear answer.

Some in Iquique
Understood them
And joined them,
They were the Guilds.
And they showed solidarity
The carpenters,
Those of the Maestranza,
The carters,
The painters and tailors,
The day laborers,
Boatmen and bricklayers,
The bakers,
Plumbers and provisions,
The loaders.
Guilds of just support,
Of poor people.

The Gentlemen of Iquique
Were afraid;
It was a lot to ask
To see so many workers.
The pampino was not
An upright man,
He could be a thief
Or a murderer.
Meanwhile the houses
Were closed,
They watched only
Behind the windows.
Commerce closed
Its doors too,
It was necessary to take care
Of so many beasts.
Better that they gather them
In some place,
If they walked the streets
It was a danger.