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Spanish to English: memorias de un salvaje General field: Social Sciences
Source text - Spanish El narcotráfico era un negocio eminentemente familiar. Se traspasaba generacionalmente de abuelos a nietos y de padres a hijos. Los niños eran familiarizados con los términos, las estrategias, las tretas y el ocultismo que debía seguir a las operaciones y tratos. Veían, aprendían y repetían. Como el que tiene un padre que dice «por favor» y «gracias» y se educa en ello, el que tenía padres traficantes aprendía exactamente igual. Cosas del negocio, las llamaban. Como que cuando uno llevaba carga encima, un coche sin carga —los llamados «lanzaderas»— debía ir delante para avisar de los controles de la policía en las entradas y salidas de las ciudades o en autovías para travesías largas dentro de un mismo país. Los teléfonos, siempre a nombre de personas sin hogar o adictas, a cambio de un pico o de algo de dinero, para que quedaran registrados por otra persona. La mercancía, siempre almacenada en lugares ajenos a la vivienda oficial. Garajes a nombre de amantes, donde también se guardaban coches comprados con dinero negro y lanchas de transporte. Todo ello se aprendía desde que uno sabía mirar y oír. Simplemente.
El oficio se convertía en toda una subcultura. Una manera de vivir al margen de la ley. Mujer oficial como ama de casa, cuidadora y madre, mujeres extraoficiales como objetos de valor de los que presumir. Varios vehículos y propiedades a nombre de testaferros inmobiliarios. Alta gama en todo, desde los coches hasta el alcohol que se sirve en las salidas nocturnas continuas, donde se hacen los mejores tratos. Opulencia al vestir y al comportarse. Altivez. Relojes de oro, cadenas pesadas de precio desorbitado, camisas de seda, tatuajes violentos intercalados con iconografía religiosa.
Cuando los niños cumplían la edad apropiada, se los llevaba a los prostíbulos, primero a mirar y escuchar a sus padres hablar de trabajo, después, cuando tenían edad para «estrenarse», a perder la virginidad con una prostituta. Allí era donde se cerraban los negocios mientras se invitaba a los socios a copas, y a mujeres, como si fueran el chupito final, el que cierra la transacción y materializa el buen trato.
La prostitución, la violencia explícita, la traición, la soberbia. La dureza en todas sus formas. La necesidad continua de imponer. Grotescos en sus manifestaciones, gastaban el dinero como si se tratara del agua de un grifo que se abre y cuya factura paga otro al que no se conoce. No importaba la proveniencia geográfica en cuestión de criminalidad organizada, tampoco el tipo de trabajo. Todos —fueran de donde fueran y se dedicaran a lo que se dedicaran— participaban de la cultura de los criminales, que se rige y se conforma con sus propias normas y costumbres.
Constituía toda una socialización aparte. Y, como toda mala educación, se transmitía de padres a hijos. De padres a hijos: solo hombres. Como cualquier negocio, el objetivo oficial y directo era enriquecerse. Pero, ulteriormente, lo que los negocios ilegales aportan no es dinero, no son coches, casas, oro, mujeres. La criminalidad organizada conlleva algo casi más importante que todo lo anterior: poder. Pugna por la cúspide, por tomar el mando, por ostentar el poder. ¿Y no está claro quién ostenta el poder en las sociedades?
Translation - English Drug trafficking was eminently a family business. It was passed on through the generations, from grandparents to grandchildren and from parents to children. The young were familiar with the terms, the strategies, the tricks and were aware of the secrecy that surrounded the operations and the deals. They observed, learnt and repeated. In the same way that a child is educated by imitating their parent in saying ‘please’ and ‘thank you’, a son with a drug trafficking father likewise learnt the trade in the same manner. Business stuff, it was called. For example, when someone was carrying merchandise, another car, known as a ’shuttle’, would drive in front to warn of any police controls at entrances and exits of cities or on motorways when doing long journeys within the same country. Their telephones were always placed under the name of a homeless person or an addict in exchange for a hit or some money, so that they were registered to someone else. Merchandise was always stored in exterior properties and never in the official home. Garages, registered under the names of lovers, were used to store cars that were bought with dirty money and boats. It was all learnt in simple fashion from the moment that one could see and hear.
The trade became an entire subculture. A way of living outside of the law. A legitimate woman as a housewife, carer and mother, and illegitimate women as valuables objects to brag about. Various vehicles and properties under the names of front men in real-estate. Everything high end, from their cars, to the alcohol they drank in their continuous late-night outings where the best deals were made. They displayed opulence and arrogance in the way they behaved and dressed: gold watches, exorbitantly priced heavy chains, silk shirts and tattoos of violence interspersed with religious symbols.
When the boys reached the appropriate age, they were taken to a brothel. First, to look and listen to their fathers talk about work, then, once they were old enough, to ‘test themselves’, to lose their virginity with a prostitute. That was when negotiations were finalised and their business partners were invited to drinks and women, as if they were the final components that confirmed the transaction and consolidated the deal.
Prostitution, explicit violence, betrayal, pride. Hardness in all its forms. The constant need to impose. They were grotesque in their appearances, spending money as if it were water pouring from a running tap and as though the bill would be paid for by someone else. Geographical origin did not matter in organised crime, nor did the type of work. No matter where they were from or which activity they dedicated themselves to, they formed part of the criminal culture, which is governed by its own respected rules and customs.
It constituted of a detached society that, like all bad behaviour, was transmitted from parents to children. From father to son: only men. Similar to any other business, the official, principle objective was to be rich. However, ultimately, the main focus of illegal businesses does not revolve around money, cars, houses, gold and women. Organised crime entails something almost even more important than all the previously stated, power. Rivalries reach tipping point, with everyone fighting to be the one in charge, to hold the power. And is it not it clear who holds the power in society?
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Translation education
Bachelor's degree - University of Leicester
Experience
Years of experience: 7. Registered at ProZ.com: May 2020.
I am a graduate in modern languages with management from the University of Leicester. During my four year degree, i have studied translation extensively and perfected my translating skills. Additionally, i have 6 months experience working for a worldwide translation company, one of the most important in Europe, called Acolad. There I was able to practice my skills in a professional setting. Both during my degree and my internship, i translated a wide variety of texts including journalism, historical articles, media, literary texts and much more.
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