Y Le Costó La Vida

And It Cost Him His Life

Santa Cruz, how strongly the heart of winter beats
Only the wood fire and mate become tender
Going towards El Calafate, suddenly it started to snow
An endless day without stopping and the white wind that continues
On the descent of Miguens as if heading towards the Glacier

Domingo Parada was going just a few leagues away
To round up some mares when the snowstorm began
It's not a simple storm, for any countryman
A sovereign storm, that even the strongest complain
When the snow covers the sheep, not letting them see their hands

Snow that the wind lifts like an arrow shooting, cracking hands and faces, freezing your breath, no one knows the moment when death comes for us, and seeing Domingo facing such fierceness of the rough weather, fear tied a knot in his throat

He was going in that direction that seeks Cerro Sombrero when with the fierce weather he lost all orientation, then he put his hope on a pin and time, wasting his fleeting braid, came to swallow him in the immense black mouth of the night

So dark, so gloomy, the storm of snow and wind, that the torment that he was going to die of cold scared him
And accepting the challenge with haste and without faltering, he thought if I find death in front of me, I can't take it anymore
I'm going to slit the horse's throat

He took out a light knife as if pushed suddenly
So that the warm blood could warm his hands
And finally he slit Tobiano's throat, which was his only way out
And when from the wound each strong jet came out
It seemed like death was wrestling with life

And that unfortunate night his effort seemed insufficient
Because the arm of death in the struggle was strong
His two hands clenched with the knife in the center
That from the belly to the horse's chest they open a gash
And with effort they empty to be able to get inside

When he felt the warm body of the horse curled up
That sensation of relief revived his strength
He thought if it becomes day, and without loosening he waited, improving the fierce weather
And worried about my absence, a companion will come out from the homestead to look for me

But no matter how much the day came
In healthy light
There are unfathomable mysteries that guard our destinies
The next day a neighbor will find him
The young man who is
With his 20 springs
Asleep in the mountains
For all eternity

And so died the companion
This young ranch hand
From the river a short distance away
Going to Cerro Sombrero
If anyone passes by quickly
On the road downhill
They can see in passing
The end of this sad story
A cross in memory
Of a certain Domingo Parada