A short translation excercise for Spanish learners 3. Answered
I am still reading the same little book about the Méxican revolution written by Rius.
The author is up to his usual cynical, humorous mischief. and as usual there is a hook. This one is more straightforward though
This short paragraph goes like this:
"En aquellos hombres,peones casi todos, sin escuela, sin cultura, sin armas casi, sin ninguna preparación militar, sin pertrechos, se apoyó Madero para combatir al que lucía como poderoso ejército de la dictadura."
****Read the clue in a separate post below**
A vote for all who try the translation. And "best answer" for the best translation
21 Answers
"En aquellos hombres,peones casi todos, sin escuela, sin cultura, sin armas casi, sin ninguna preparación militar, sin pertrechos, se apoyó Madero para combatir al que lucía como poderoso ejército de la dictadura."
In those men ,laborers, almost all without schooling, without culture, not armed , without any military preparation or supplies, supported Madero to fight what shone as the powerful army of the dictatorship
Madero relied on those men--nearly all unschooled, uncultured peasants, with almost no/scarcely any arms, ammunition, or military training--to fight what appeared to be the powerful army of the dictatorship.
"En aquellos hombres,peones casi todos, sin escuela, sin cultura, sin armas casi, sin ninguna preparación militar, sin pertrechos, se apoyó Madero para combatir al que lucía como poderoso ejército de la dictadura."
By those men, almost all peasants, without schooling, without culture, almost without weapons, nor military training, nor supplies, Madero was supported in his fight against what looked like the powerful army of the dictatorship.
"En aquellos hombres,peones casi todos, sin escuela, sin cultura, sin armas casi, sin ninguna preparación militar, sin pertrechos, se apoyó Madero para combatir al que lucía como poderoso ejército de la dictadura."
Madero relied on those men, most of them peasants, who had no schooling or education, almost without weapons, without any kind of military training, without supplies...to fight what seemed to be one of the most powerful armies of the dictatorship.
I hope I can do it too
I had to look up pertrechos. 
¡Hola a todos!
Thank you all for your participation!
All of you have gotten the concept of the paragraph. I will have quite a struggle to find the best answer among you.
Read this as though you were giving a short speech. you will find a sad elegance in it.
Lets look at the answer:
In those men, peons almost all, without schooling, without culture, almost without arms, no military preparation, without supplies, Madero relied on to fight what shone as the powerful army of the dictatorship.
"En aquellos hombres,peones casi todos, sin escuela, sin cultura, sin armas casi, sin ninguna preparación militar, sin pertrechos, se apoyó Madero para combatir al que lucía como poderoso ejército de la dictadura."
Comments:
"Peon" works in English or Spanish, referring to farm workers.
"Pertrechos" can be all forms of military supplies or items, " arms" were addressed in the first phrase so then "pertrechos" become supplies.
Madero was the one doing the relying in this case.( Se apoyó en ellos)
"Lucía" is important here as " shone as" or "was shining as", to strongly mark the contrast between the two forces. The army of the dictatorship had the prestige,and was well equipped and trained, compared to the rag tag band of revolutionaries.
"En aquellos hombres,peones casi todos, sin escuela, sin cultura, sin armas casi, sin ninguna preparación militar, sin pertrechos, se apoyó Madero para combatir al que lucía como poderoso ejército de la dictadura."
Those men, almost all of them pawns most of them peons, without schooling, without culture, almost without weapons, without military training, without equipment, they supported Madero to fight in against what looked like a powerful exercise army of the dictatorship.
En aquellos hombres,peones casi todos, sin escuela, sin cultura, sin armas casi, sin ninguna preparación militar, sin pertrechos, se apoyó Madero para combatir al que lucía como poderoso ejército de la dictadura."
Among those men, almost all peons, without school, without culture, nearly without arms, with no military preparation, without ammunition, Madero was supported (or leaned on) to fight against what appeared like a powerful army of the dictator.
Okay, one more attempt:
En aquellos hombres, peones casi todos, sin escuela, sin cultura, sin armas casi, sin ninguna preparación militar, sin pertrechos, se apoyó Madero para combatir al que lucía como poderoso ejército de la dictadura.
Madero relied on those men--nearly all of them unskilled laborers, with no schooling or culture, with scarcely any weapons, with absolutely no military training, with no provisions--to fight the mighty-appearing (the splendid and powerful) army of the dictatorship.
Thanks, Paco! This is fun.
¡ Madero relied on almost all footsoliders, without education, uncultured almost without arma without any military training,without supplies to fight which stood out as the dictatorship´s powerful army.
In those times men, pawns almost all of them, without school, without culture, almost without weapons, without military preparation, without "petrechos" supplies, "Madero" was supported to fight for against those what seems to be a powerful army off the "dictadura" dictatorship.
En aquellos hombres, peones casi todos, sin escuela, sin cultura, sin armas casi, sin ninguna preparación militar, sin pertrechos, se apoyó Madero para combatir al que lucía como poderoso ejército de la dictadura.
(It was) Upon those men, peasants almost all of them -- without schooling, without culture, nearly without arms, without any military training and without provisions -- (that) Madero relied in order to combat what were exhibited as all-powerful forces of the dictatorship.
(uh, well. . . this is perhaps more of an interpretation than a direct translation. . .)
Hello everyone!
A clue or two.
There is a sad elegance to this paragraph and a comparison of extremes, "lucía" is very important as is "pertrechos"
There is no metaphor here this time.
I wish that cannon and weapons were replaced by flowers
"En aquellos hombres,peones casi todos, sin escuela, sin cultura, sin armas casi, sin ninguna preparación militar, sin pertrechos, se apoyó Madero para combatir al que lucía como poderoso ejército de la dictadura."
In those men, almost all peons, without education, without knowledge, almost without weapons, with no military training, without supplies, Madero was supported in order to fight the army of the dictator.
These men, uncultured uneducated peasents with almost no weapons without any military preporation preparation or supplies, supported Madero in his fight against an army that proved to be the dictator´s powerful army.
Thanks for the exercise.
