Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Juárez Imitates a Robert Rodriguez Movie

Headlines like these make Juárez feel like a tragic parody of itself: "Seven are killed in a Ciudad Juárez brothel". Here's the story's lead:
Six men and an exotic dancer were assassinated today in a brothel in the border city Ciudad Juárez.
Update: One of the dead was a member of the US Air Force.

4 comments:

Noel Maurer said...

"Seven shot in Ciudad Juárez brothel" might be a better translation, no?

pc said...

I thought about that, but I believe acribillar is generally used when someone is killed, while balear is usually used when the shooting isn't fatal. Although I guess the most literal translation (filled with holes) would have been even more Rodriguez-esque.

Noel Maurer said...

"Seven shot dead in Ciudad Juárez brothel," no?

But "seven ventilated" or "seven plugged" or "seven shot to pieces" sounds like something the New York Post would have run with.

That said, acribillar is a bit less informal than the English equivalents. "Plugged full of holes" isn't quite the same. Thinking about it, you're right: it's one of those places where a direct translation is probably impossible

pc said...

"Shot dead" would probably be better. Although I dont have any problem with Post headlines.