Desapariciones

Disappearances

Desapariciones

Can someone tell meQue alguien me diga
if they've seen my husbandsi ha visto a mi esposo
asked the ladypreguntaba la dona
his name is Ernesto and he's forty years oldse llama Ernesto y tiene cuarenta años
he worked as a laborertrabajaba de peón
in a car businessen un negocio de autos
he wore a dark shirtllevaba camisa oscura
and light pantsy pantalón claro
he left at night and hasn't returnedsalió de noche y no ha regresado
and I don't know what to thinky yo no sé ya que pensar
because thispues esto antes
had never happened to me beforeno me había pasado

I've been searching for three daysLlevo tres días
for my sisterbuscando a mi hermana
her name is Altagraciase llama Altagracia
just like grandmaigual que la abuela
she left work to go to schoolsalió del trabajo para la escuela
wearing jeansllevaba puestos jeans
and a white shirty una camisa blanca
it wasn't her boyfriend...no ha sido el novio...
the guy is at homeel tipo está en su casa
they don't know about her at the policeno saben de ella en la policía
or at the hospitalni en el hospital

Oh oh oh ooohOh oh oh oooh

Can someone tell meQue alguien me diga
if they've seen my sonsi ha visto a mi hijo
he's a medical studentes estudiante de medicina
his name is Agustínse llama Agustín
and he's a good boyy es un buen muchacho
he's sometimes stubborn when he gives his opiniones a veces terco cuando opina
he's been detained...lo han detenido...
I don't know what forceno se que fuerza
white pants striped shirtpantalón blanco camisa a rayas
it happened the day before yesterdaypaso ante ayer

Oh oh oh ooohOh oh oh oooh

Clara QuiñonesClara Quiñones
is my mother's namese llama mi madre
she's a saintella es un alma de Dios
and doesn't mess with anyoney no se mete con nadie
they took her as a witnessse la han llevado de testigo
for a matterpor un asunto
that's only about meque es nada más conmigo
and I went to turn myself iny yo fui a entregarme
today in the afternoonhoy por la tarde
and now I see they don't knowy ahora vi que no saben
who took herquien se la llevó
from the station!del cuartel!

Oh oh oh ooohOh oh oh oooh

Last night I heardAnoche escuche
several explosionsvarias explosiones
gunshots from shotguns and revolverstiros de escopeta y de revólver
speeding cars, brakes, screamsautos acelerados, frenos, gritos
echoes of boots in the streetecos de botas en la calle
doorknocks,toques de puerta,
complaints, by gods, broken dishesquejas, por dioses, platos rotos
they were watching the soap operaestaban dando la telenovela
that's why no one looked outsidepor eso nadie miró pa'fuera
ostrichavestruz

where do the disappeared goa donde van los desaparecidos
to look in the water and in the bushesbusca en el agua y en los matorrales
and why do they disappeary por que es que desaparecen
why are we not all the samepor que no todos somos iguales
and when the disappeared returnsy cuando vuelve el desaparecido
every time brought by thoughtcada vez que lo trae el pensamiento
what's the name of the disappearedcomo se llama al desaparecido
an emotion squeezing inside.una emoción apretando por dentro.