Bolero de Los Celos

Marcos Mundstock: Les Luthiers will perform the Jealousy Bolero. Prior to that, we will read the poem 'And how jealousy hurts', from the book by Luis Carlos Álvarez Fresón titled 'Sunset of a twilight sunset'.

(A guitar melody starts playing in the background and Marcos begins reciting the poem)

Marcos Mundstock:
And how jealousy hurts!
I followed you, Elena, desperate and defenseless,
by the sea of iridescent foam,
defenseless to the extreme.
Maybe you didn't want to see me, maybe it was the mist...
or maybe it was your astigmatism.

And how jealousy hurts! Aaayyy!
You walked barefoot on the sand and I walked behind,
dragging my silent condemnation,
adoring you silently from afar.
And I shouted when I couldn't take it anymore:
Watch out for the crabs!

And how jealousy hurts the cr... uh... jealousy!
You didn't answer me, Elena.
But I followed you along the beach with my sorrow,
hallucinated by the magic of your jet-black eyes.
And I hesitated to write your name in the sand,
because I never knew for sure if Elena is spelled with an 'h'.

(Marcos makes a theatrical gesture and exits the scene. The lights come on and Ernesto Acher appears with the timbales, Jorge Maronna and Daniel Rabinovich with the guitar, Carlos Núñez with the fushé, and Carlos López Puccio with an electric bass. They all start singing the bolero.)

Chorus: Jealousy
Jorge Maronna: I'm jealous of the breeze...
Chorus: ...that caresses your hair
Ernesto Acher: Of the sand that touches your feet
Chorus: Jealous of the gloves...
Carlos Núñez Cortés: ...that touch your hands
Chorus: Jealous of the necklace...
Carlos Núñez Cortés: ...that touches your neck
Chorus: Jealous of the chair...
Carlos Núñez Cortés: ...you use to sit.

Daniel Rabinovich: I wake up in the middle of the night, I think of you and I'm jealous
Chorus: ...jealous
Daniel Rabinovich: Dawn comes and sleepless, I think of you and I'm jealous
Chorus: ...jealous
Daniel Rabinovich: I spend the day consumed, I think of you and I'm jealous
Chorus: ...jealous
Daniel Rabinovich: And at night, hallucinating, exhausted and powerless, I think of you and I'm dreaming
Chorus: ...dreaming.

Carlos López Puccio:
My life is torment, jealousy is my cross.
It's hard suffering to live with this 'anguish'.
Carlos Núñez Cortés: Anguish?
Carlos López Puccio: ...aunt.
Carlos López Puccio:
My life is torment, my soul is already withered.
It's hard suffering to live with this... terrible anguish.

Daniel Rabinovich:
Since that afternoon when I met her, my life has changed;
I spend the day watching her furtively, I'm disturbed.
I intercept her calls and discreetly check her letters.
I've installed a microphone in her room,
between her and me there are no secrets.

Chorus: Jealousy
Jorge Maronna: I'm jealous of the moon...
Chorus: ...that watches you at night
Ernesto Acher: Of the rain that...
Chorus: ...wets your skin
Chorus: Jealous of the birds
Carlos Núñez Cortés: ...that you hear singing
Chorus: Jealous of the flowers...
Carlos Núñez Cortés: ...that brighten your home
Chorus:
But, more than anything, I'm jealous...
but, more than anything, I'm jealous...
of your husband.