Lionel, by Arelis Uribe (Original version in Spanish plus author's translation)

 

Lionel

Lionel aprendió a nadar solo, tirando el cuerpo a los ríos de la Araucanía. Estudió internado en el liceo y se tituló de contador en un pueblo donde la única empresa era un supermercado chico. Migró a Santiago para entrar al Ejército. Al final, se convirtió en guardia y trabaja de lunes a sábado en la farmacia de un mall. Arrienda una pieza en un cité de Mapocho. Algunas noches fuma parado en el borde del puente, tirando las colillas a la corriente del río.

Arelis Uribe Caro, 29 años, Providencia.


Lionel

Lionel learned to swim by himself, diving his body into the Araucanía's rivers, in South Chile. He attended a boarding public school and was formed as an accountant in a town where the only company was a small grocery store. Migrated to Santiago, to join the army. In the end, he became a security guard and works from Monday to Saturday at a drugstore in the mall. He rents a room in a ghetto around the Mapocho area. Some nights he stands on the bridge and smokes, darting the butts to the rippling river.