El usurpador
_¡Oye, qué te pasa!, por qué estás como asustado –dijo Boby que era un cubano que tenía años en la industria y era un águila.
_Simplemente borré el nombre, porque de lo nervioso que estoy, puse mal mi nombre. No todos los días firmo un contrato millonario con una disquera –expresó Tony masajeándose las manos.
_Lo del contrato no es hoy, Tony. Quiero llevarle esto al jefe. –enseñó el CD de prueba y se lo metió en la lujosa chaqueta- Yo quiero que te escuchen bien, así que envíame algo más completo, por favor, para que podamos comenzar con una gira, la presentación a los medios, la grabación de tu primer disco ya. ¡Este material te llevará a la gloria! –aseguró Boby levantándose del asiento y estrechándole la mano a Tony que sonreía como una hiena.
El único detalle era que el CD que Tony había entregado a Boby era de Tommy, su mejor amigo, el cual tenía un talento como pocos:
_Pero a Tommy le faltan garras, ambiciones. Lo que tiene de buen cantante, lo tiene de estúpido –expresó Tony bajito, para él mismo – En cambio yo. Yo sí. Yo mato si es posible. Tengo sed de gloria, de fama. Y solo el que es capaz de batallar por sus sueños, gana –afirmó sintiéndose ganador.
_Yo voy a ver cómo hago. Con la guitarra que le compré a Jacinto, el amplificador que arreglé, hago unos retoques y puedo hacer que mi voz se escuche mejor –iba pensando Tony a medida que avanzaba el autobús- Tampoco es que yo no tengo lo mío: ahorita con un chorrito de voz puedo hacer magia y llegar lejos sino que le pregunten a Bab Bunny.
_¿Chamo, entregaste el demo?
_Sí. No me dieron esperanza, aunque yo le dije a mi contacto que hiciera todo lo posible por ti –expresó Tony de mala gana. Quería hacer los arreglos y entregar el material lo más pronto posible ,y con Tommy allí no podía hacer los trucos que pensaba hacer.
_Te entiendo. Ayer, mientras estaba en el metro, tocando para ver si ganaba algo de platica, un tipo se me acercó y me dijo que le enviara algo, para mostrarlo a una disquera. Me dio su tarjeta. ¿Tú qué dices?
_Oh, espera, de repente este amigo mío te consigue algo bueno y si tienes otro contrato, puedes perderte la oportunidad de tu vida.
_¡Sí, te voy a hacer caso! –afirmó Tommy, le estrechó la mano a Tony y luego se marchó, sin ver la cara de desprecio y rabia que Tony ponía a sus espaldas.
_Oye, tú creías que te ibas a salir con la tuya. Cuando tú vas con el maíz, ya yo vengo con las cachapas. Vete de aquí antes de que te denuncie por estafador –advirtió Boby y Tony salió rápidamente sintiendo que sus sueños se esfumaban.
Esta es mi participación en el concurso semanal de Risigstar, de la comunidad #nftgamelatino. Si quieres participar, aquí te dejo el enlace del post de invitación
HASTA UNA PRÓXIMA OPORTUNIDAD, AMIGOS
[Versión en inglés]
Of course Tony knew what he was doing when he erased Tommy's name on the test CD and handed it to the music producer: Boby, who picked up on the boy's nervousness and asked him:
_Hey, what's the matter with you, why are you kind of scared?” said Boby who was a Cuban who had years in the industry and was an eagle.
I just erased the name, because I'm so nervous I put my name wrong. It's not every day that I sign a million dollar contract with a record label,” said Tony, massaging his hands.
The contract is not today, Tony. I want to take this to the boss. -I want them to hear you well, so send me something more complete, please, so we can start with a tour, the presentation to the media, the recording of your first album right away. This material will take you to glory,” Boby assured, getting up from his seat and shaking Tony's hand, who was grinning like a hyena.
After that, Tony headed for the neighborhood. On the public transport he was thinking about all the money he would earn if he signed that contract. “No more food delivered by the government, no more hardship with gas, water and electricity, no more anger because of public transportation,” thought Tony, looking with disgust at everything around him: the sweaty people, smelling of onions, of dirt, of shortages. He would finally have the opportunity he had dreamed of: he would be a famous singer.
The only detail was that the CD Tony had given to Boby belonged to Tommy, his best friend, who had a talent like few others:
_But Tommy lacks claws, ambitions. What he's good at singing, he's stupid at singing,” said Tony quietly, to himself, ”I am. I do. I kill if possible. I thirst for glory, for fame. And only the one who is capable of fighting for his dreams wins,” he affirmed, feeling like a winner.
I'm going to see what I can do. With the guitar I bought from Jacinto, the amplifier I fixed, I'll make some adjustments and I can make my voice sound better - Tony was thinking as the bus went on - It's not that I don't have what it takes: right now with a little bit of voice I can do magic and go far, but just ask Bab Bunny.
In the afternoon, when he was mixing sound, Tommy arrived at Tony's house and after greeting him, he asked him:
_Chamo, did you deliver the demo?
Yes, they gave me no hope, although I told my contact to do everything possible for you,” Tony said reluctantly. He wanted to make the arrangements and deliver the material as soon as possible, and with Tommy there he couldn't do the tricks he was planning to do.
I understand you. Yesterday, while I was on the subway, playing to see if I could win some money, a guy came up to me and told me to send him something to show him. He gave me his card. What do you say?
Oh, wait, suddenly this friend of mine gets you something good and if you get another contract, you may miss the opportunity of a lifetime.
Yes, I'm going to listen to you! -Tommy affirmed, shook Tony's hand and then walked away, not seeing the look of contempt and anger on Tony's face behind his back.
After a week, Tony was called by Boby, who received him at the Sony International offices. Tony was overjoyed because after a long wait, his fame had arrived. He was surprised when instead of entering an office, Boby took him to a recording studio. There the lights came on and there was Tommy with a microphone. With his eyes closed he sang. Tommy's melodious and matchless voice sounded beautiful, clean. Apparently, he was recording his first album:
_Hey, you thought you were going to get away with it. When you go with the corn, I come with the cachapas. Get out of here before I denounce you as a swindler,” warned Boby and Tony left quickly, feeling that his dreams were vanishing.