My translation

Ser and estar

Oh marine
oh boy
one of your problems is that you don't know
how to distinguish ser from estar
for you everything is to be

so let us try to clear things up

for example
a woman es buena
when she sings the psalms out of tune
and gets a new refrigerator every two years
and sends her dog to an analyst every month
and only deals with sex on saturday nights

on the other hand, a woman está buena
when you look at her and your puzzled eyes go blank
and you dream of her dream of her dream of her
and think that a martini will give you the courage
but not even then

for example
a man es listo
when he earns millions over the phone
and evades taxes and his conscience
and buys into a good retirement plan
to cash in when he turns seventy
and it's time to fly to capri and paris
where he manages to rape the gioconda right in the louvre
with his speedy polaroid

on the other hand, a man está listo
when you boys
oh marine
oh boy
appear on the horizon
to inject him with democracy.


There are many options for the title. I like "Ser and estar," but there are other options, such as "To be and to be" or "Ser and estar, or to be and to be." It depends on what you want to emphasize, how close you would like to remain to Benedetti's version, and how much knowledge your intended audience would be expected to have of Spanish. I don't think "Being and Seeming" is an appropriate title for several reasons. First off, the point of the poem is the confusion between the two different forms of "To be," to which the Spanish title gives a clue but which this title does not reference at all. Secondly, 'being' and 'seeming' are not accurate translations of 'ser' and estar,' particularly with how Benedetti uses them in his poem.

For the bulk of the poem, I used Hatfield's translation as a guide, since I do think that he is generally a good translator. I think that for this poem, however, he translated too much of it. Since the issue in question is a (political) language lesson about ser and estar, it makes most sense to me to leave all the uses of these words in. This is especially the case because their replacement with 'being' and 'seeming' is actually inaccurate in some of the examples Benedetti uses. For example, a man does not seem done for when the Marines come in--he is done for. The difference between es listo and está listo is that the former means "he is smart" and the second means "he is done/ready." In this case, Benedetti implies that "he is done" in the sense of "done for" because the Marines have arrived to "inject him with democracy": kill him. It does not matter that the average reader may not actually know the difference between the phrases--the poem does indeed explain. In addition, footnotes are easily and not infrequently added to poems for just such explanations. That was my main issue with the translation, but there were a few other places where I translated more directly than he did.

More on translation--a poem by Mario Benedetti

Here is a poem by Mario Benedetti that demonstrates some of the difficulties with translating. I will give the Spanish version first, followed by the English translation in the book I have, and then the way I would translate and why.

Ser y estar

Oh marine
oh boy
una de tus dificultades consiste en que no sabes
distinguir el ser del estar
para ti todo es to be

así que probemos a aclarar las cosas

por ejemplo
una mujer es buena
cuando entona desafinadamente los salmos
y envía mensualmente su perro al analista
y sólo enfrente el sexo los sábados de noche

en cambio una mujer está buena
cuando la miras y pones los perplejos ojos en blanco
y la imaginas y la imaginas y la imaginas
y hasta crees que tomando un martini te vendría el coraje
pero ni así

por ejemplo
un hombre es listo
cuando obtiene millones por teléfono
y evade la conciencia y los impuestos
y abre una buena póliza de seguros
a cobrar cuando llegue a sus setenta
y sea el momento de viajar en excursióna capri y a parís
y consiga violar a la gioconda en pleno louvre
con la vertiginosa polaroid

en cambio un hombre está listo
cuando ustedes
oh marine
oh boy
aparecen en el horizonte
para inyectarle democracia.


Being and Seeming (trans. by Charles Dean Hatfield)

Oh marine
oh boy
part of your problem is that you don't know
the difference between "being" and "seeming"
to you everything just "is"

now let me explain

for example
a woman "is" good
when she sings the psalms out of tune
and gets a new refrigerator every two years
and sends her dog to an analyst every month
and only deals with sex on saturday nights

on the other hand, a woman "seems" good (at least to me)
when you gaze at her and your puzzled eyes go blank
and you dream of her dream of her dream of her
and think that a martini will give you the courage
when not even that'll do it

for example
a man "is" done
when he earns millions over the phone
and evades taxes and his conscience
and buys into a good retirement plan
to cash in when he turns seventy
and it's time to fly to capri and paris
where he gets to rape the gioconda right in the louvre
with his speedy polaroid.

on the other hand,
a man "seems" done (done-for, that is)
when you boys
oh marine
oh boy
appear on the horizon
to give him a dose of democracy.

---
My translation and rationale follow in the next post.