1. En la
corrida mas grande
En la corrida
más grande At
the splendiferous bullfight
que vio e Ronda
la vieja. down
in the town of Ronda.
Cinco toros de
azabache, There
were five magnificent bulls
con divisa verde
y negra. and
black and green were their ribbons.
Yo pensaba
siempre en ti; But
of you I was thinking;
yo pensaba; ¡si
estuviera but
of you I was thinking.
conmigo mi
triste amiga, in
my mind you were there, Marianita,
mi Marianita
Pineda! my
Marianita Pineda!
Las niñas venían
gritando All
the Señoritas were laughing
sobre pintadas
calesas each in a painted carriage,
con abanicos
redondos they
were flaunting fans in big circles
bordados de
lentejuelas flashing
with shining sequins.
Y los jóvenes de
Ronda And
the young men of Ronda
sobre jacas
pintureras, mounted
on comical ponies,
los anchos
sombreros grises their
wide grey sombreros
calados hasta
alas cejas. pulled
down over their eyebrows.
La plaza, con el
gentío The plaza, so full of people,
(calañés y altas
pienetas) (simpatico
Andalusians)
giraba como un
zodiaco a
zodiac turning, turning, and turning –
de risas blancas
y negras. black
and white was their laughter.
Y cuando el gran
Cayetano And
then the great Cayetano
cruzó la pajiza rena came into the sandy arena
con traje color
manzana, his
suit the color of apples,
bordado de plata
y seda, embroidered
in silk and silver,
destacándose
gallardo there he stood, so brave and so
graceful
entre la gente
de brega among all the raucous people
frente a los
toros zaínos facing
bulls so brave and so vicious
que España cría
en su tierra, bred
from the Spanish soil.
parecía que la
tarde Then
the light of afternoon
se ponía más
morena. started spreading like a sunburn.
!Si hubieras
visto con qué How
graceful was his manner
gracia movía las
piernas! and
the way his legs were moving!
!Qué gran
equilibrio el suyo With
what equilibrium he dazzled
con la capa y la
muleta! with
his rapier and his cape!
Ni Pepe-Hillo ni
nadie Not Pepe Hillo, no, no one
toreó como él
torea. could
fight the way that he fights them!
Cinco toros
mató;cinco, There
were five bulls. He killed five –
con divisa verde
y negra. green
and black were their ribbons.
En la punta de
su estoque And
his rapier’s point left open
cinco flores
dejó abiertas, five
blooming crimson flowers.
y en cada
instante rozaba So
close, so close upon the creatures,
los hocicos de
las fieras, brushing
up against their nostrils,
como una gran
mariposa butterfly,
a butterfly so gigantic,
de oro con alas
bermejas. glowing
gold and vermillion.
La plaza al par
que la tarde, The
afternoon, the bullring,
vibraba fuerte,
violenta, all Ronda
throbbed with violent passion,
y entre el olor
de la sangre the
smell of blood was mingled
iba el olor de
la sierra. into the smell of the sierras.
Yo pensaba
siempre en ti; But
of you I was thinking;
yo pensaba: ¡su
estuviera in
my mind you were laughing
conmigo mi
triste amiga, in
my mind, you were there, Marianita,
mi Marianita
Pineda! my
Marianita Pineda!
English
translation by Carmen Zapata and Michael Dewell with permission from the Lorca
estate. Copyright 1984. All rights reserved.