Day 109: Learning Regio at the Steelworks

Dialogue

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1. 1
   A

   Ingeniero, ¿me regala cinco minutos? El proveedor de chatarra me llamó en la mañana y le entendí la mitad, siendo generoso.

   Could you spare me five minutes, sir? The scrap supplier called me this morning and I understood half of what he said, and that's being generous.

   Line 1
2. 2
   B

   Siéntate. Los regios hablamos como si se nos estuviera quemando la carne, pero sin mala intención. ¿Qué te dijo?

   Sit down. We regios talk as if the meat were burning on the grill, but we don't mean any harm. What did he say?

   Line 2
3. 3
   A

   “Ocupo la remisión firmada, pariente, ¡fierro!”. Y yo, muy amable, le contesté que si ya la ocupaba, bien por él, y que parientes no éramos.

   “Ocupo the signed delivery slip, pariente, fierro!” And I, very politely, told him that if he was already using it, good for him, and that we weren't relatives.

   Line 3
4. 4
   B

   ¡A la mecha! Son expresiones de aquí: “ocupar” es necesitar, “pariente” es cualquier cristiano y “fierro” es que le metas velocidad.

   Good grief! Those are local expressions: “ocupar” means to need, “pariente” is anybody at all and “fierro” means get a move on.

   Line 4
5. 5
   A

   Con razón me colgó. En Oaxaca primero se pregunta por la familia; aquí son tan parcos que parece que cobran por palabra.

   No wonder he hung up on me. In Oaxaca you ask after the family first; here they're so terse you'd think they charged by the word.

   Line 5
6. 6
   B

   Ahí te va el reglamento no escrito. Artículo primero: sea cual fuere la hora, al proveedor se le contesta antes de que se enfríe el café.

   Here's the unwritten rulebook, then. Article one: whatsoever the hour, a supplier gets an answer before the coffee goes cold.

   Line 6
7. 7
   A

   Anotado. ¿Y el segundo? En el comedor me advirtieron que esta planta tiene más costumbres que tornillos.

   Noted. And the second? In the cafeteria they warned me that this plant has more customs than bolts.

   Line 7
8. 8
   B

   Segundo: quien incurriere en circunloquios perderá su turno. Cuanto más directo seas, mejor te va; aquí nadie se ofende con un no, sino con un “luego vemos”.

   Two: whosoever indulges in circumlocution shall lose his turn. The more direct you are, the better it goes; nobody here takes offense at a no, only at a “we'll see.”

   Line 8
9. 9
   A

   O sea, cuanto menos cortés, mejor. Me va a costar: a mí me enseñaron que pedir algo sin “por favor” es casi una grosería.

   So the less polite, the better. That'll be hard for me: I was brought up to think that asking for something without a “please” is practically rude.

   Line 9
10. 10
    B

    Directo no es grosero; grosero es lo rebuscado. Y el tercero, el sagrado: quien fuere invitado a una carne asada asistirá, llueva o truene.

    Direct isn't rude; what's rude is beating around the bush. And the third, the sacred one: whosoever is invited to a barbecue shall attend, come rain or shine.

    Line 10
11. 11
    A

    ¿Aunque invite un proveedor? El mismo señor de la remisión me invitó a una el sábado, y pensé que era pura cortesía.

    Even if it's a supplier inviting? The very same man with the delivery slip invited me to one on Saturday, and I thought he was just being polite.

    Line 11
12. 12
    B

    Con más razón: ahí se cierran los tratos de verdad. Llévale un mezcal de tu tierra y vas a ver cómo te vuelve a decir pariente.

    All the more reason: that's where the real deals get done. Take him a mezcal from back home and you'll see, he'll be calling you pariente again.

    Line 12