LA HISTORIA DE DURITO

THE STORY OF DURITO

Por Subcomandante Marcos

By Subcomandante Marcos
Translated by Ellen Green

Te voy a platicar una historia que me pas el otro da. Es la historia de un

pequeo escarabajo que usa lentes y fuma pipa. Lo conoc un da que

Im going to tell you a story about something that happened to me the

estaba buscando el tabaco para fumar y no lo encontraba. De pronto, a

other day. Its the story of a little beetle that wears glasses and smokes a

un lado de mi hamaca vi que estaba cado un poco de tabaco y que se

pipe. I met him one day when I was looking for tobacco to smoke, and I

formaba una hilerita. La fui siguiendo para ver dnde estaba mi tabaco y

couldnt fine it. All of a sudden, I saw that a little tobacco had fallen next

averiguar quin carajos lo haba agarrado y lo estaba tirando. A unos

to my hammock and it had made a little trail. I followed it to figure out

cuantos metros y detrs de una piedra me encontr a un escarabajo

who the hell had sneaked my tobacco and was dropping it behind them.

sentado en un pequeo escritorio, leyendo unos papeles y fumando una

A few yards away and behind a rock, I found a beetle sitting at a little

pipa diminuta.

desk, reading some papers and smoking a tiny pipe.

-Ejem, ejem -dije yo para que el escarabajo se percatara de mi presencia,

Ahem, I said so that the beetle would notice me, but he ignored me.

pero no me hizo caso.

Entonces le dije:
-Oiga, ese tabaco es mo.
El escarabajo se quit los lentes, me mir de arriba a abajo y me dijo muy
enojado:
-Por favor, capitn, le suplico que no me interrumpa. Qu no se da
cuenta de que estoy estudiando?

So I said to him:
Listen, that tobacco is mine.

The beetle took off his glasses, looked me up and down, and said, very
angry:
Please, captain, I must beg you not to interrupt me. Can you not see I
am studying?

Yo me sorprend un poco y le iba a dar una patada, pero me calm y me

I was a little surprised and I was going to step on him, but I calmed down

sent a un lado para esperar a que terminara de estudiar. Al poco rato

and sat next to him to wait until he finished studying. After a little bit, he

recogi sus papeles, los guard en el escritorio y, mordisqueando su pipa,

gathered his papers, put them in his desk, and, chewing his pipe, said:

me dijo:

-Bueno, ahora s. En qu puedo servirle, capitn?

Very well, then. How can I be of service to you, captain?

-Mi tabaco -le respond.

My tobacco, I answered.

-Su tabaco? -me dijo-. Quiere que le d un poco?

Yo me empec a encabronar, pero el pequeo escarabajo me alcanz con
su patita la bolsa de tabaco y agreg:
-No se enoje, capitn. Comprenda que aqu no se puede conseguir tabaco
y tuve que tomar un poco del suyo.

Your tobacco? he said. Would you like me to give you a little?

I started to get ticked off, but the little beetle reached into my bag of
tobacco with his leg and added:
Dont get angry, captain. Please understand that one cannot get tobacco
here and I had to take a little of yours.

Yo me tranquilic. El escarabajo me caa bien y le dije:

-No se preocupe. Por ah tengo ms.

I calmed down. I liked the beetle, and I told him,

Dont worry. I have more back there.

-Mmh -contest.
Mhm, he answered.
-Y usted, Cmo se llama? -le pregunt.
What is your name, seor? I asked him.
-Nabucodonosor -dijo, y continu- pero mis amigos me dicen Durito.
Usted puede decirme Durito, capitn.
Yo le agradec la atencin y le pregunt qu era lo que estaba estudiando.
-Estudio sobre el neoliberalismo y su estrategia de dominacin para

Nebuchadnezzar, he said, and continued, but my friends call me

Durito.1 You may call me Durito, captain.

I thanked him, and asked him what it was that he was studying.

Amrica Latina -me contest.

-Y eso de qu le sirve a un escarabajo? -le pregunt.

Translators note: Durito means little tough one in Spanish.

I am studying Neoliberalism, and its strategy for the domination of

Latin America, he answered.

Despus que acab de hacerlo, me mir a los ojos y me dijo:

-Van a ganar.

And how does that help a beetle? I asked him.

Y l me respondi muy enojado: Cmo que de qu? Tengo que saber

-Eso ya lo saba -le dije. Y agregu: -Pero Cunto tiempo va a tardar?

cunto tiempo va a durar la lucha de ustedes y si van a ganar o no.

And he responded, very angry: How does it what a what? I have to know

Adems, un escarabajo debe preocuparse por estudiar la situacin del

how long this fight of yours is going to last, and whether you are going to

mundo en el que vive, No le parece capitn?

win or not. In addition, a beetle should have a care to study the world he
lives in, dont you agree, captain?

-No s -le dije-. Pero Para qu quiere saber usted cunto tiempo va a
durar nuestra lucha y si vamos a ganar o no?

I dont know I said. But why do you want to know how long our fight
is going to last and whether were going to win or not, seor?

-Bueno, no se ha entendido nada -me dijo ponindose las gafas y

encendiendo su pipa. Despus de echar una bocanada de humo
continu:
-Para saber cunto tiempo nos vamos a estar cuidando los escarabajos de
que no nos vayan a aplastar con sus bototas.
-Ah! -dije
-Mmh -dijo l

Well, you have not understood a thing, he said to me, putting on his
glasses and lighting his pipe. After blowing a mouthful of smoke, he
continued:
To know how long we beetles are going to have to be careful that you do
not crush us with your boots.

Ah! I said.

-Y a qu conclusin ha llegado usted en su estudio? -le pregunt.

Mhm, he said.

l sac sus papeles del escritorio y los empez a hojear.

And to what conclusion have you come in your studies? I asked him.

-Mmh mmh -deca a cada rato mientras los revisaba.

He took his papers from his desk and began leafing through them.
Hmmmhm, he said every so often as he looked over them.

When he had finished, he looked me in the eye and he said:

-Gracias, capitn, nos ser de mucha utilidad tu orden.

You are going to win.

I knew that already, I said. And I added, But how long is it going to
take?
-Mucho -me dijo suspirando con resignacin.
-Eso tambin ya lo saba No sabe cunto tiempo exactamente?

A long time, he told me, sighing resignedly.

-pregunt.
I knew that already, tooYou dont know how long exactly, seor? I
-No se puede saber con exactitud. Hay que tomar en cuenta muchas

asked.

cosas: las condiciones objetivas, la madurez de las condiciones subjetivas,

la correlacin de fuerzas, la crisis del imperialismo, la crisis del

One cannot know exactly. One has to take into account many things: the

socialismo, etctera, etctera.

objective conditions, the maturity of the subjective conditions, the

correlation of forces, the crisis of imperialism, the crisis of socialism,

-Mmh -dije yo.

etcetera, etcetera.

-En qu piensa, capitn?

Mhm, I said.

-En nada -le contest-. Bueno seor Durito, tengo que retirarme. Tuve

What are you thinking about, captain?

mucho gusto en conocerle. Sepa usted que puede tomar todo el tabaco
que guste cuando quiera.

Nothing, I answered. Very well, Seor Durito, I have to leave. It was a

pleasure meeting you. Please feel welcome to take whatever tobacco you

-Gracias capitn. Puedes tutearme si quieres -me dijo.

would like whenever you like.

-Gracias Durito. Ahora voy a dar orden a mis compaeros de que est

Thank you, captain. And there is no need to call me seor.

prohibido pisar a los escarabajos. Espero que eso ayude.

Thank you, Durito. Now I will give the order to my comrades that it is
prohibited to step on beetles. I hope this will help you.
Thank you, captain. That will be very useful to us.
-Como quiera que sea, cudese mucho porque mis muchachos son muy
distrados y no siempre se fijan dnde ponen el pie.
-As lo har, capitn.
-Hasta luego.
-Hasta luego. Ven cuando quieras y platicaremos.
-As lo har -dije, y me retir hacia la intendencia.

In any case, please be very careful because my boys are very distracted
and dont always pay attention to where they put their feet.

I will do that, captain.

See you later.

See you later. Come whenever you like, and we will talk.

I will do that, I said, and returned to headquarters.

Note:
This is possibly my favorite of el Sups stories, and did not present any major difficulties in translation. The few that I had were:

The name Durito. Obviously the name was chosen with the character in mind, but the connotations dont really
carry over into English. I made a note of the names meaning, which seems sufficient.

The varying levels of formality that Subcomandante Marcos uses in the story. For example, the first paragraph and
the beginning of his conversation with Durito is rather familiarly phrased, but the middle of the conversation with
Durito is closer to a discussion between a rather stuffy schoolmaster and an intimidated pupil. Adding to all this is
the normal problem of having no t/usted distinction in modern English. In my earlier draft, I used sir, and added
a few more of them than there were seors in the original text to remind the reader that Marcos was being more
formal than is perhaps to be expected when talking with a beetle, but upon reflection decided that seor sounded
better and probably would not be lost on English-speaking audiences.

Despus que acab de hacerlo, me mir a los ojos y me dijo:

-Van a ganar.
In my first several readings of this story, I took it for granted that he meant you [the Zapatistas] are going to win.
However, in my final read-through, the ambiguity of the written statement struck meVan a ganar is not at all
specific. Literally translated, it means, You all/they are going to win. So the Zapatistas, or the imperialists? Based
on the rest of this story, and based on other stories I have read about Durito, Im betting my translation on the
Zapatistas. But translating into English did end that minor ambiguity.