Dolores

“WHAT a beauteous girl!” exclaimed Antonio, seeing a radical connected horseback passing done the mediate of the quadrate successful the colony of N***^[1], conscionable past arrived to instrumentality portion successful the section festivities, appointed for the pursuing day.

Antonio González had been a chap pupil and my favourite person from my youth. Upon saying goodbye astatine university, some of america having obtained the grade of Doctor, helium offered to sojourn my municipality during the parish festivals, and accordingly had arrived the time earlier astatine N***. Looking for amusement – and uncovering everything interesting, with the enthusiasm of aboriginal younker – we were overseeing the operation of the barriers successful the quadrate for the bullfight happening the adjacent day. It was past that, similar I said before, determination passed a enactment connected horseback, successful the midst of which stood out, similar a precious lily successful the mediate of a field, the astir beauteous angiosperm of the district: my relative Dolores.

“What I respect the most,” added Antonio, “is the complexion, truthful achromatic and delicate, arsenic it is seldom to beryllium recovered successful this blistery clime of ours.”

Indeed, Dolores’ jet-black eyes and hairsbreadth contrasted with her blushed complexion and her crimson lips.

“You are right,” exclaimed my father, who was lasting adjacent to me, “her complexion is overseas to our climate… My God!” helium added with immoderate emotion a infinitesimal later, “I ne'er thought of it before!”

Neither Antonio nor I understood the exclamation of the aged man. Years aboriginal we would retrieve the content that vague fearfulness made connected us, which seemed truthful strange…

My begetter was the doc of N***, and would person been noted for his applicable subject and his foundation successful immoderate different colony much civilized than ours. Contrary to the wide customized of parents, helium had ever wanted maine to survey medicine, successful the hope, arsenic helium expressed himself, that I mightiness 1 time excel him successful the profession.

An lone son, satisfied with my ain luck, pampered by my father, and good loved by a ample family, I had ever felt blessed successful my lot. I was past astatine N*** temporarily, to put immoderate matters of concern and soon beryllium capable to finalize my national to a young woman whom I had met and fallen successful emotion with successful Bogotá.

Of each my relations, my aunt Juana, a precise respectable and affluent lady, had ever been the astir attached to me. She had protected and taken attraction of maine from childhood, since the decease of my mother. Dolores, the girl of a deceased sister, having mislaid some begetter and mother, had besides lived with her for galore years. And truthful Aunt Juana divided her affections betwixt her favourite niece and nephew.

When we had arrived astatine an property to deliberation of the subject, it became palpable to Dolores and myself that our national was a cherished entity of our bully aunt; but quality quality often prefers the hard to a beaten path, and it became tacitly understood betwixt america that our attachment should beryllium purely fraternal. I deliberation that a tendency to render our national intolerable had its power successful inducing maine to betroth myself successful Bogotá, without vacillation and portion I was inactive a assemblage pupil without prospects. Considering past Dolores arsenic a sister, from my archetypal entranceway into assemblage I wrote to her frequently, recounting the incidents of my assemblage life, and afterwards of my hopes arsenic an engaged young man.

This abbreviated mentation is indispensable to comprehend the elemental narration that existed betwixt us.

After remaining successful the quadrate for immoderate time, we went home. My father’s location was situated a abbreviated region from the village; but arsenic the solemnisation was to commence with fireworks successful the evening, Antonio and I acceptable to instrumentality successful clip to spot the fashionable amusement.

The satellite illuminated the landscape. A warm, delicious breeze fanned the trees, wafting the perfume of innumerable flowers. The smaller birds, disturbed by the moonlight, we heard successful gentle murmurs, portion the philosophic owl, ever taciturn and upset, acceptable distant his hoarse and ominous complaint.

Antonio and I had to transverse a paddock and the main roadworthy earlier reaching the quadrate successful N***. As we walked, we conversed joyfully astir our hopes and prospects—for to younker the aboriginal ever symbolizes happiness and fulfilled expectations. Antonio had selected the arduous but superb assemblage of the law, which, from his wide endowment and earthy eloquence, promised him a agleam future. I proposed, aft a fewer years of survey and signifier nether a doc of repute, to marry, and settee successful my autochthonal colony to bask the quiescent beingness successful the country. It indispensable beryllium acknowledged that N*** was thing much than a large village, contempt the choler that the sanction inspires successful its inhabitants, since it had present each the paraphernalia of a large city: a mayor, justices, judges and the remainder of immoderate section government. Unfortunately, each of these caused the colony countless inconveniences. It was similar a mediocre countrywoman who has gone each her beingness barefoot, with abbreviated petticoats, being enactment into choky boots, corset, and crinoline.

As we came person to the village, the soundlessness of the state changed to boisterous hilarity: 1 could perceive singing to trebles and bandolas, large cries and laughter, sometimes a rocket announced that the fireworks were astir to begin. The quadrate presented a merry sight. In the mediate of the enclosure for the bullfight of the pursuing day, castles made of straw and oil-lamps that needed to beryllium rekindled implicit and implicit again had been collected. For the time, the shaper of the amusement was the astir absorbing antheral successful the place; each the children followed him successful admiration of his science, anxiously listening to the orders and proposal fixed to his assistants arsenic to the bid and mode of lighting the castles and firing the rockets masterfully.

Antonio and I arrived astatine Aunt Juana’s location which, being situated connected the square, was the champion successful town. At the door, and seated upon handbasket chairs placed on the beforehand wall, were galore of the section young ladies, talking and laughing, portion their mothers and respectable ladies were wrong the house, discussing graver matters, specified arsenic infirmities, provisions, and maids. Cachacos^[2] from the colony and from different places who had been to the festivities, passed up and down successful beforehand of the doorway without daring to attack the young ladies, who reveled successful their kingdom and their charm without revealing the involvement with which they regarded the young men.

I approached the feminine phalanx afloat of spirit, definite to beryllium good received; first, due to the fact that I had conscionable travel from Bogotá, a large proposal successful the provinces; and 2nd due to the fact that I knew myself to beryllium among friends and relations. I introduced my person to the enactment gathered some wrong and extracurricular of the house, and, taking chairs with us, we proceeded to articulation the speech of the young ladies outside.

The fireworks commenced soon after: the vacaloca, the buscaniguas^[3],and different fashionable games, acceptable the full assemblage successful question with noisy merriment. The fume of pulverization partially obscured the airy of the moon, which had hitherto shone truthful poetically upon the scene. The castles burnt retired 1 aft different amid the joyous cries of the multitude. After a fewer minutes, a stringent bang was heard and the fireworks closed with a volley of reddish lights accompanied by the suffocating quantity of smoke: this signaled that the extremity of the fireworks, and the assemblage moved dilatory distant successful assorted directions, each agreeing that the amusement had been astir superb and entertaining, though the other could person been proven to them, by making them deliberation astir their fatigue, sore feet, torn dresses, and tiny burns; connected specified occasions the imaginativeness is apt to transcend the reality.

I past projected that the enactment collected astatine Aunt Juana’s should marque a circuit circular the square.

The feminine unit formed successful column, and the unfair sex, scattered similar guerrillas, circled astir them. Sympathy is ever inexplicable: successful a abbreviated clip Antonio and Dolores got together, and a lively speech ensued.^[4] The quadrate was filled with tables, and each sorts of lottery games were going on: bisbis, pasadiez, cachimona, etc., for those who would effort their luck for the humble sum of a quarter. At different tables and nether awnings immoderate had drinks of each kinds: chicha de coco, guarapo, anisette, mistela, and adjacent brandy and vino – not of the purest, however. Others recovered the perfect of their aspirations connected succulent stews, ajiacos, roasted turkeys, and lechonas filled with ail and cummin-seed. Farther connected were horchatas, naranjilla, blackberry and pineapple juice, maize and atom guarruz, presented successful bottles covered with small clusters of carnations oregon roses. Sponge cakes covered with achromatic batter oregon cinnamon, eggs chimbos, candied fruit, cocadas, panderos, and tiny arepas successful a assortment of shapes; the full assortment of sweets concisely known arsenic “collation” was dispersed retired connected trays of assorted colors and sizes, successful rows connected coarse but cleanable array linen.

Here and determination were groups of radical singing fashionable airs to the euphony of treble guitars, alfandoques and carrascas, going from spot to spot wherever guarapo oregon brandy was to beryllium found, singing always, but ne'er changing the languid, melancholy code of the refrain, portion improvising funny verses. This mode they walk the full night, singing, dancing and drinking continually, but ne'er smiling — ever successful a lugubrious tone. Extremes meet, and the ne positive ultra of civilization is insensibility. The celebrated Lord Chesterfield^[5] counselled his lad that helium should ne'er beryllium seen to laugh; and that gravity with existent oregon evident insensibility is simply a cosmopolitan diagnostic of the savage.

Suddenly  we heard the chilling, sharp, unmusical dependable of the chirimia, which drowned retired each different noises.

“The festivities person begun!” everybody shouted joyfully.

*

^[1] The writer uses the archetypal N to notation to towns whose names she does not privation to specify. In the 2021 variation of the caller published by Ediciones Uniandes, Carolina Alzate speculates that this could beryllium referring to a municipality adjacent Natagaima, presently successful Tolima. She besides noted that, astatine the time, universities were successful the capital, Bogotá, and well-positioned young men went determination to get education. Transportation was difficult, truthful students sometimes spent years abroad.

^[2] A cachaco was a young antheral successful 19th-century Bogotá. Elegant and gentlemanly, helium was antithetic from the period’s “dandy” due to the fact that helium was not peculiarly thought of arsenic overly acrophobic with his appearance. I person chosen to permission the word successful the archetypal Spanish due to the fact that it was besides utilized to mean accepted men from Bogotá – making it lone of the city.

^[3] The vacaloca (literally, “crazy cow”) was a fashionable 19th-century firework show successful Colombia: a cow-shaped framework covered successful fireworks, carried oregon chased done the crowd. Children played with buscaniguas, tiny chasing firecrackers that darted unpredictably crossed the ground.

^[4] The pursuing paragraphs incorporate an assortment of fashionable Colombian 19th-century array games, food, drinks, and euphony instruments. To specify them I followed Alzate, who successful turns follows the Nuevo diccionario de americanismos, the Diccionario de bogotanismos, and the DLE; positive wide knowledge.

^[5] Lord Chesterfield was an English statesman and writer (1694–1773), writer of Letters to His Son and Letters to His Godson, celebrated for their wit, elegance, and daring benignant (Alzate).

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From Dolores by Soledad Acosta de Samper. Used with support of the publisher, Cita Press. Translation copyright © 2026 by Sara Abadía Alvarado.