In the Plaza de Armas in Huancayo, Peru, I saw the old gentleman-beggar, dressed in semi looking textiles, close to rages his cloths wereor so it looked from where I was(about thirty feet away specifically); mainly in front of the opened door cathedralopened I believe for the worshipers, but he of courselike a good business man, positions himself wellso the old man positioned himself centerfold like, paced back and forth within this area, in front of the church. Oh I had seen him before here, it wasnt my first time, but it was the first time I did a double take on him. I visit Huancayo, the most beautiful place in the Andes, that and the whole of the Mantaro Valley: that and White Mountain, which is part of all three: the Andes, Huancayo and Mantaro Valley. I have a home there, a small one for visiting, and although I do not make it up there as often as Id like, it always numbs me, makes me feel calm, brings my pulse down, and gives me fresh air.
So here I am in t he Plaza de Armas, and the old beggarwoops, did say old again, pardon me, when he got close to me, his skin was smooth, deep eyes, solid looking face, perhaps 48-years old, or 54-years old, not as old as me Im sure, Im 58-years old and he looks healthier than me. He had wide lowered shoulders, to make him look more decrepit, and his teethhe tried not to smile too muchwere not overly dull, that is why he tried to speak with his lips down, closed, say as few words as he had to: his teeth were of a more well today person, one not malnourished, as he was portraying to be. He was robust, healthier than a fat Ginny pig [Cuy. As I watched him, it reminded me of users, like a few people I know who got nothing else in life to do but to feed off others.
The sun is out today; it is hot with a breeze, and he asks me if I can spare a coin or two. I have done that in the past, given him a coin or two, a few times Ive done that, thus, at this point of our lives, hes gotten a few too many coins from me I think. Hence, he gives me a smile, and lowered head, and he walked on by and asked others, the poor looking gentleman. Poor soul, hell, he is a taker, user, and lazy bum, like those critters Ive mentioned before, it is just this one has found his home, his clientele, his free meal.
So I see him coming to me again, in this bright sunny afternoon, early afternoon, the water fountains are reaching up to the sky todayvery beautiful, and lots of people visiting the church. He approaches me and as he does I remember what my brother-in-law told me a few days ago: Hes in the bank, saw him myself, made a deposit (looked like a healthy one), my friends saw him also, depositing his moneyhes in there every day. Ah, so he has a bank account I tell myself: it takes money to have an account in Peru, if you do not have $500-dollars in it, you have to pay to keep it, and pay all those little fees, so I assume he has a fat little account, or perhaps a fat, fa t account.
Now I get thinking as he approaches me, thinking of Lima, thinking at the big chain store in Limathe big picture you could say, not one but many, but I will just talk about one, Metro, in Miraflores: every time I go in there, buy a few things, which is almost every day, they want to keep my change; oh, it is a small sum I know, not all that much, and they always say or used to say, used to ask: do you want your change and I think: why wouldnt I? when I say yes, they say do you have change for this .001 or .004 cents of a cent of a soles)) not much indeed but lets look at this after a while, how it grows: they do this knowing most people do not carry .001 or .004 cents of a cent of a soles (and they are too lazy to put it into their cash register, or is it by purpose? And they think no one notices and thus, they are the smart ones); therefore, they want to keep itbottom line. Last time they just kept my change, and didnt even ask me if I wanted to contribute .003 or was it .001 s/.? Just kept it as if it was theirs: they are getting so used to it they dont even ask anymore.
Now I never said a word the first 20-times, but it is getting old, very old indeed, by the time, the time Im 70-years old, at .002, if I continue to go there everyday, Ill will have contributed 876 soles, or $265 (I could use that to buy a colored TV). Now they are a busy store, perhaps one of those tellers takes in 100-customers an hour, if not more, and at .002 [the mean average, is two soles an hour, and we got 24-hours to a day, so we got 48-soles for one line of business in one store (and remember they have many stores), and we got about 8-lines in one store, now we got apex. 400-soles in one day from one store (and remember we got many stores in Lima, Peru), and in one year we got, 146,000 s. /. [Soles Now if I live to be 70-years old, and they are still in business, that is, 1752000, s/. $531,000 dollars (over a half million dollars)) soles at 3.30 s/.)); now I heard someone say they give it to charity, the money they take from their customers they give these forced donations to charity, but Ive not seen it, and in Peru, seeing is believing, so Ive learned; and this money is not given freely, it is given out of pressure as you are standing in line wanting to get through. No guns involved here, just psychology.
Anyhow, we are back in the Plaza area, and the beggar is coming to me, and as expected, he asks for money, but this time I am not so gullible, I say to him:
How is your Bank account? he pretends not to understand me, so my wife speaks in, Peruvian Spanish, loud and clear for me (she is Peruvian of course). He is walking fast now. And I repeat myself, Dinero, dollars! he understands that, but has picked up his pace. He almost runs to the police standing on the sidewalk in his pathway, almost falls on him, and begs him to stop me from following him: what has happened to the begging dinero conc ept, he doesnt want to talk anymore. The Police laugh: perhaps he is getting what he deserves, like most people do, sooner or later. Im not sure how but he escapes me, perhaps I was laughing too hard, and he zipped by the corner of my eye. The next few days, I do not see him, and then I had to go back to Lima, and the United States, but Im back in Lima, and on my way to Huancayo pretty soon, I wonder if Ill find the rich beggar there?
In Spanish by Nancy Penaloza
El Mendigo Rico De Huancayo
En la plaza de Armas en Huancayo, Per, Vi al viejo caballero-mendigo, vestido en textiles poco parecidos, cercano a la locura sus ropas eran -o parecan desde donde yo estaba -(especficamente cerca de treinta pies lejos); principalmente delante de la puerta abierta de la catedral-abierto yo creo para los creyentes, pero l por supuesto-como un buen hombre de negocios, bien posicionado As, el viejo hombre se posicionaba el mismo como abatido se paseaba de arriba par a abajo dentro de esta rea, delante de la iglesia. Oh, Yo ya lo haba visto antes aqu, esta no era mi primera vez, pero era la primera vez que hice una reaccin tarda de l. Yo visito Huancayo, el lugar ms hermoso de los Andes, y de todo el valle del Mantaro: eso y la Montaa blanca, el cul es parte de los tres: los Andes, Huancayo y el valle Mantaro. Tengo un hogar all, uno pequeo para visitar, y aunque lo hago sin planearlo y no tan a menudo como quisiera, me adormece siempre, me hace sentir calma, trae mi pulso abajo, y me da el aire fresco. Entonces, aqu estoy en la plaza de Armas, y el viejo mendigo-woops, dije viejo otra vez, disclpeme, cuando l logr acercarse a m, su piel era lisa, ojos profundos, cara pareciendo slida, quizs 48-aos de edad, o 54-aos de edad, no tan viejo como yo, seguro, yo soy, de 58 aos de edad y l parece ms sano que yo. l tiene hombros anchos cados, para hacerlo parecer ms decrpito, y sus dientes-l trat de no sonrer mucho-no eran demas iado opacos, por eso, l intent hablar con sus labios cados, cerrados, diciendo tan pocas palabras como l tuvo que hacerlo: sus dientes eran mejores que los de una persona hoy en da, a uno desnutrido, como l trataba de representar. l era robusto, ms sano que un cerdo gordo de Guinea [Cuy. Mientras lo mir, me record de los drogadictos, como a pocas personas que yo conozco, quienes no consiguen nada mas en la vida para hacer sino, la comida de otros.
El sol ha salido hoy; esto esta clido con una brisa, y l me pregunta si puedo darle una moneda o dos. He hecho eso en el pasado, darle una moneda o dos, algunas veces he hecho eso, as, a este punto de nuestras vidas, el ha conseguido muchas monedas de m pienso. Por lo tanto, l me da una sonrisa, e, inclina su cabeza, y pasea cerca y pide a otros, l, que parece pobre caballero. Alma pobre, diablos, l es un tomador, drogadicto, y vago perezoso, como esos bichos que he mencionado antes, este es justo, aquel que ha encontrado su hogar, su clientela, su comida gratis.
Entonces lo veo viniendo hacia mi otra vez, por esta tarde asoleada brillante, tarde temprana, las fuentes del agua estn alcanzando hasta el cielo hoy da-muy hermoso, y mucha gente visitando la iglesia. l se me acerca y mientras que lo hace, yo me acuerdo lo que mi cuado me cont hace pocos das: l est en el banco, lo vi personalmente, hizo un depsito (pareca uno muy saludable), mis amigos lo vieron tambin, depositando su dinero... l est en all cada da... Ah, Entonces el tiene una cuenta bancaria. En Per, si, t no tienes $500-dlares en l, Tu tienes que pagar para guardarlo, y pagar todos esos pequeos honorarios, Entonces asumo que l tiene una cuenta un poco gorda, o quizs una gorda, cuenta gorda.
Ahora consigo pensar mientras l se me acerca, pensando en Lima, pensando en la cadena grande de almacenes de tiendas en Lima- la gran ilustracin usted podra decir, no uno sino muchos, pero apenas hablar de uno , Metro, en Miraflores: cada vez que entro all, compro algunas cosas, lo cul es casi cada da, ellos quieren guardarse mi vuelto; OH, es una suma pequea lo s, todo eso no mucho, y ellos siempre dicen-o acostumbran decir, acostumbran a preguntar: ... usted desea su cambio y pienso: por qu no deseara? - cuando digo s, ellos dicen ... usted tiene cambio para estos s/.001 o 004 centavos de un centavo de soles (y ellos son demasiado perezosos para ponerlo esto en su caja registradora, o esto es a propsito? Y piensan que nadie lo nota y as, ellos son los listos); Sin embargo, desean guardar esto, bajo la lnea. La ltima vez ellos justo se guardaron mi cambio, e incluso no me preguntaron si yo deseaba contribuir. S/.003 o era 001? Solo se lo guardaron como si fuera de ellos: estn haciendo una costumbre de esto, ya ni siquiera piden. Ahora, nunca dije una palabra las primeras 20 veces, pero se esta haciendo viejo, muy viejo de hecho, por el momento, al momento yo te ngo 70-aos de edad, en el 002, si contino yendo all diario, habr contribuido 876 soles, o $265 (podra utilizar esto para comprar una TV a colores). Ahora ellos son un almacn concurrido, quizs una de esas cajeras toma en 100-clientes a la hora, si no ms, y en el 002 [el promedio significativo, son dos soles a la hora, y tenemos 24-horas en un da, entonces conseguimos 48-soles para una fila de negocio en un almacn (y recuerden que ellos tienen muchos almacenes), y conseguimos cerca de 8-filas en un almacn, ahora nosotros conseguimos aproximadamente.
400-soles en un da de un almacn (y recuerde que tenemos muchos almacenes en Lima, Per), y en un ao conseguimos, s/.146.000. [Soles ahora si vivo hasta los 70 aos de edad, y ellos todava estn en el negocio, es decir, s/.1752000. $531.000 dlares (sobre medio milln de dlares)) de soles en s/.3.30)); ahora yo o a alguien decir que le dan a la caridad, el dinero que toman de sus clientes ellos dan estas donaciones forzad as a la caridad, pero yo no lo he visto, y en Per, ver es para creer, he aprendido eso; y este dinero no se da libremente, esto es dado fuera de presin mientras tu estas esperando en fila, queriendo conseguirlo a travs. Ningn arma implicados aqu, solo psicologa.
De todos modos, estamos de vuelta en el rea de la plaza, y el mendigo est viniendo hacia m, y segn lo esperado, l pide dinero, pero esta vez no soy tan crdulo, y le digo:
cmo esta tu cuenta bancaria? l finge no entenderme, entonces mi esposa habla en Espaol Peruano, alto y claro para m (ella es peruana por supuesto). l ahora est caminando rpidamente. Y me repito, Dinero, dlares! l entiende eso, pero ha tomado su paso. l casi corre hacia la polica que est parado en la acera en su camino, casi cayendo sobre l, y les ruega para que me pare de seguirlo: qu ha sucedido al concepto de peticin del dinero, l no desea hablar ms. La polica re: quizs l est consiguiendo lo que se merece, como la mayora de la gente, tarde o temprano. No estoy seguro cmo l se me escapa, quizs yo estaba riendo demasiado fuerte, y l se movi rpidamente por la esquina de mi ojo. Los das siguientes no lo vi, y entonces tuve que regresar de nuevo a Lima, y los Estados Unidos, pero estoy de regreso en Lima, y en mi camino a Huancayo muy pronto, Me pregunto si encontrar al mendigo rico all?
See Dennis' web site: http://dennissiluk.tripod.com
Author:: Dennis Siluk
Keywords:: Article
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