A MALAMBO DANCER PREPARES HIMSELF ALL HIS LIFE FOR THE TOURNAMENT,
IF HE ACHIEVES VICTORY, IT WILL BE HIS END,
THE WINNER CAN NO LONGER COMPETE, THEY MUST RETIRE,
THEY MAY ONLY TRAIN OTHERS TO FACE THE SAME CHALLENGE,
THIS IS A FICTION ABOUT THE EXPERIENCES OF SOME MALAMBO DANCERS,
Bravo!
SUBWAY
Fernando watches the city as if it was new to him,
With the same amazement he had when he came from his small town,
Like any newcomer, he feels like a ghost,
Fernando tries to sleep that night,
He has a headache,
It’s the sea sickness that lingers on dry land,
When he manages to sleep, he dreams of shipwrecks
and electrical storms,
Careful,
Okay, let’s go up, but be careful,
He doesn’t know that he’s about to meet the protagonist,
He’ll be the coach, the initiator, the guide,
MEETING THE COACH
Good,
When was the last time you did footwork?
About five, six years ago,
I want to compete again,
We got some hard work ahead,
Gringo,
The first one,
Gaspar remembered how tired he was at the tournament,
He tried to defeat Lugones, but his efforts were useless,
While dancing, he remembered when he was a child
and the river flow dragged him,
He thought he was going to die young, having lived so little,
That’s what he thought of when he was defeated,
“All this useless effort, all this aimless winning force,”
“I can’t beat him,”
Gaspar hated someone else for the first time,
He felt the bitter taste of resentment in his mouth for the first time,
He still feels it every time he thinks of that defeat or of Lugones,
You want one?
No, thanks,
GASPAR’S PAIN
I see some rectification here,
Your left hip is okay,
But in the right hip, I can see a herniated disk, See?
This thing?
That’s a herniated disk,
How big is it, doctor?
Big enough to bother you considerably,
Do you work out hard?
Yes, I dance malambo,
Is there any quick solution for that?
The solution is surgery, but in your case,
I wouldn’t recommend it,
You’d have six months of rehabilitation
and there’s no guarantee of a 100% recovery,
I have a competition coming, doctor,
- That would be impossible, - Definitely,
Do you,,, swim?
No,
Swimming will help you ease your upper back pain,
An alternative method is using salt bags,
You heat them in the oven and apply them at night,
They will absorb any liquid,
- Okay, - And there’s a new successful treatment,
The heat beds, Have you heard of them?
No, never,
Give them a try and see me in three weeks, okay?
- Okay, - I’ll write the address for you,
- Hey, what’s up? - Gaspar, how are you?
- What are you doing here? - I wanted to see if you could teach him,
I’ve been encouraging him,
Sure,
Would you like that? Yes, definitely,
I’d love to teach him, but you’ll have to wait a bit,
I have a bad back now,
- But as soon as I get better,,, - Sure, we can wait,
Great, I got to go, The kids are waiting for me,
- Bye, - Bye, Nahuel,
Bye, honey, good luck,
Come on! Firm!
Good!
Come on!
Don’t forget your T-shirt,
- Bye, coach, - Take care,
You too,
- It’s all there, - Where?
- In the back, - Right, and in the neck,
It’s like carrying a heavy backpack,
And there are bricks in there, iron, jade stones, anything,
It’s so heavy that it doesn’t let you sleep,
Your neck gets stiff, you’re like Frankenstein,
It’s that backpack, that agitation, that tension, that nervousness
that becomes a muscle contracture,
These little things supply the brain with blood,
That blood carries oxygen,
Our brain needs that oxygen,
When the oxygen doesn’t get through,,,
Boom!
You get a stroke,
So even a small neck or back pain can lead to a stroke
or a facial paralysis,
Sometimes we’re so uptight, so tense,,, We get tense every day,
Does it hurt?
Yes, it does,
You want a massage or is it okay?
- It’s all right, - Yeah?
Yes,
You’ve been feeling that pain for long?
Yes,
I’ve been bearing with it, hiding it,
Well, you’re not very good at hiding it,
It shows,
I mean, I can tell,
I’m quite sensitive to other people’s pain, though,
Seriously, sometimes,,,
When I get home from work,,,
I’ll get aches and pains
in the exact same areas where my patients are feeling them,
They’ll disappear after I get some sleep,
You can put this on wherever you feel pain,
- Is there any other part? - My leg,
All right,
That will help, It has infrared rays,
I’m going to leave you now,
I’ll check other patients over there, If you need anything, let me know,
- See you next time, - Okay,
- Thank you, - You’re welcome,
That’s how it’s done,
I work hard,
But it’s not enough,
Maybe I’m not the right person for you now,
Think about it,
Hey,
Are you okay?
- I fell asleep, - I know,
I was dreaming,
You were having a nightmare,
- Yeah, - It’s okay, breathe in,
It’s okay now, We’re here,
Don’t worry, most people fall asleep
and most of them have nightmares,
It’s very common,
- You feel okay now? - Yeah,
- Sorry, - Don’t worry,
It’s all right,
What’s your name?
- Gaspar, - Gaspar,
You were supposed to ask for my name,
It was your turn,
I can ask you now if you want,
That’s not how it works,
Don’t ask me,
I won’t tell you and we’ll keep it professional,
As it should be,
All right,
Okay, see you next time,
- Okay, - Bye, Gaspar,
Thank you,
I don’t see any improvement,
I’m doing everything you told me, doctor,
Swimming, the beds,,,
But it seems it’s not enough,
Do you feel pain?
Kind of, my knee bothers me now and then,
That will affect your back, too,
Do you still work out hard?
Yes, I’m rehearsing,
Getting used to pain is not good for you,
- Can you show me what you do? - Sure,
Yes!
Hey,,,
Hey,
Are you okay?
Yes,
Gaspar pondered, “I like the morning silence,
In fact, I like silence,
I am a quiet person,
I have nothing important to say,
I’m not very talkative,
I enjoy the silence that follows feet stomping,
The silence that lingers in suspense,
I’m the owner of my silence,
That’s my only certainty,”
Later on, his thoughts vanished,
the morning light blinded him and he knew he’d have a long day,
Go!
Look ahead,
Open your back,
Big movements, Show them,
Stomp,
Go!
Now!
There,
Come on!
One more time,
Watch your arms!
That’s it!
Watch it!
Watch it, watch the spin,
Stop,
It’s no good,
Your arms are too sloppy,
You’re not showing the line, the style, the essence,
It looks sloppy,
It’s not working,
Breathe, We’ll do the turn,
Chin up,
Figure and turn at the end,
Breathe,
Look ahead,
Lift your chin up,
Let’s go,
Come on, Figure and turn at the end,
You can do it, Gaspar,
Go!
There, you got it!
Watch your arms, Gaspar!
Come on!
You can’t sleep?
No,
Because of your grandma?
Yeah,
She’s very ill,
I wanted her to see me win,
You’ll see her tomorrow, and,,,
she knows you’re working hard and training hard,
I know,
That’s why I want to visit her,
To say hi and receive her blessing,
Why don’t we go to a bar and have breakfast?
I want to eat croissants,
Count me out,
I’d rather stay here in silence,
If you don’t mind,
Okay, I’ll shut up,
Just let me know if you need anything,
Thanks, I’m fine,
Gaspar looked at the never-changing landscape,
The countryside was boring, but soothing,
That landscape was there since forever,
and would continue to be there even if he wasn’t looking,
I was waiting for you, You took so long,
- Are you tired, honey? - Hi, Mom,
It’s been so long,
- How are you? - Fine, and you? Tired?
- Yeah, it was a long journey, - You’re here now,
Is it too hot in the city?
It’s hell,
Same here,
Although it’s more windy,
I was thinking,,,
You have to finish the vest,
- I’ll get it finished tonight, - It’s okay,,,
- There are a few days to go, - When are you leaving?
A day before my performance,
I want to get some rest,
Remember when you used to stomp in the pigpen?
I was telling your uncle not get rid of it
because you still have to rehearse,
I remember,
It’s empty, but you should stay there,
I remember,,,
- I’d stomp on that machine,,, - The flax harvester?
That had that long metal sheet,
Yeah, but also on the back of,,,
- The combine? - Yes, the yellow one,
- Was it yellow or red? - The Daniele model,
My legs would get covered in dirt,
But I loved it, it was so noisy,
Yeah,,,
When you were a baby, your Dad would wash you
and change you into your pajamas,
and he’d hold you and go,,,
With your crooked legs,
You never told me,
- I didn’t know, - Yeah,
Hi, honey,
- How is she? - Not good,
She’s been waiting to see you,
So you should try to,,,
- Can she talk? - No, but she can hear you,
She can hear everything,
It doesn’t look like it, but,,,
she’s aware of everything,
It’ll be good for both of you, she’ll leave in peace and you,,,
She’ll open her eyes when she hears you,
- Can I go in now? - Yes, go in,
Hi, Granny,
How are you?
It’s Gaspar,
It’s me, Granny,
I came to visit you,
I wanted to tell you that,,,
I’m training to dance at the Cosquin Festival,
I need your blessing, Granny,
I know you’re always with me,
Can I show you a bit of what I do?
No, please, What are you doing?
- I’m sorry, - You can’t do that here,
- The patient needs to rest, - I know,
I just wanted my grandma to see it,
- Oh, I see, - Sorry, I’ll come back later,
Okay,
- Marta, - Hey, Gaspar, how are you?
- Where are all the kids? - The teachers are on strike,
- Nobody told you? - No,
I must have written it down, but I forgot,
It’s just me here, Want a mate?
No, thanks, I gotta finish some stuff,
- Okay, - See you next week,
- Have a good day, - Bye!
Bye-bye!
Gaspar went out to the street and felt reassured,
For just one moment, inside the empty building,
he felt like a ghost or as if he were sound asleep,
The sun now brought him back to the present
and gave him strength and hope,
He walked aimlessly and with no rush, Time was on his side,
He was young and there was a future,
He had time to spare,
MEETING THE RIVALS
Gaspar,
Lugones,
- Is he your kid? - Yes,
- He’s grown, - Yes,
It’s been a long time,
Since the tournament,
You beat me last time,
- I’ll never forget that, - That’s competition,
You win some, you lose some,
Hey, kiddo,
Do you still dance?
Yes, I got back at it,
I’m training for a competition,
Cool,
Let’s see what happens,
One more chance,
- Yes, - You’ll do great,
I hope so,
We live around here, near the park,
Really?
I was spending some time with him, We’ll go back and have something to drink,
- Okay, - He’s Gaspar,
-Have I introduced you? -No!
You wanna come over, have some mate and talk?
All right, I have some free time,
- Okay, Let’s go then, - Okay,
- Will you lend him a sword? - Yes,
- May I? - This one,
This one?
He watched Lugones play with his son and thought,
“I’m a good man, He’s a good man, too,
I hated him, I envied him, I directed my meanest thoughts towards him,
I couldn’t keep away that bad force that lived within me,
Am I still a good man despite what I felt?”
He then felt remorse
and a cold sweat ran down his back,
He said to himself,
“This uneasy feeling, this confusion, is passing by,
I am alive and I have a good but thorny soul,
Kindness doesn’t come naturally, It’s something I have to build day by day,
This man doesn’t know he’s hurt me,
Now, as I watch him play with his son, I let go of my resentment,
Now I become lighter,
Now I’m back to being human,”
What happened?
- Did you fall asleep again? - Yes,
I can’t help it,
Yes, nobody can,
The heat, the beds, being relaxed,,,
It all gets you sleepy,
And the exhaustion,
I bet you’re exhausted,
Yes,
It’s so relaxing,
That’s good,
The pain is gone?
I don’t know,
You don’t know? That’s good, actually,
If you felt any pain, you’d know,
Coming to these sessions all the time
is slowly making your pain,,,
wear off,
That’s why you don’t feel it,,,
Would you like to go out with me?
- What did you say? - You heard me,
I’m married, I have two kids,
That’s a no?
Thanks, anyway, Thank you for,,, your proposal,
I’m flattered,
Thank you,
It’s definitely a no,
Your session is over, so,,,
go get dressed,
Okay,,,
See you next time,
- All right? - Okay, thank you,
There,
There you go,
Louder,
That’s it,
Good,
Wait, hold on,
- Can you do this one again? - Yes,
It goes,,,
- It’s bigger,,, - There’s not enough room,
See if you can put more weight on this leg,
There you go, Oops!
- Okay, - It’s just a thought,
If do that, when you unwrap your other leg,,,
it will make the move bigger,
Okay,
THE TOURNAMENT AND RESOLUTION OF EFFORTS
- Northern style? - Southern style,
Ten,,,
twenty,,,
thirty,,,
forty,,,
fifty,
LAST NAME: JOFRE FIRST AND MIDDLE NAME: GASPAR MARIO
ID NUMBER: 30458512 NATIONALITY: ARGENTINIAN
Competitors, please, come to the open stage,
- Here, - It’s okay, thanks,
All right,
Time to get tested,
FOOD COURT
Let’s welcome the malambo competitors,
In the single category, competitor number 14, from Lobos, Buenos Aires,
Gaspar Jofre,
Again, dance judges, competitor number 14,
category, single malambo,
And so time disappeared,
There wasn’t even silence,
A new, unknown euphoria took complete hold of him,
He was enormously, irrationally happy while he was on stage,
The strength of his feet was a part of everything that lives,
Gaspar felt young and time opened up to infinite,
Everything was possible,
Is it for many months?
Yes,
And how is it?
How’s what?
The world,
I don’t know,
EVERY HERO HAS TO LEAVE EVENTUALLY
All right!
MALAMBO THE GOOD MAN