Spanish Stories

    A2Moderate · 6 min read · 622 words

    La última función

    The Last Show

    A university student takes a summer job at a small, old-fashioned cinema and discovers why its final night matters so much to the man who has run it for forty years.

    Topics

    • work
    • friendship
    • small businesses
    • change

    Tap or hover any underlined word for its English meaning.

    Listen to the story

    Learner-paced · Spanish

    What you'll encounter

    Grammar
    Preterite vs. imperfect in narration, Present perfect (pretérito perfecto), Relative clauses with que, Direct object pronouns (lo, la)
    Vocabulary
    Cinema vocabulary (proyector, butacas, sala, letrero), Work and daily routine vocabulary, Descriptive adjectives
    Language skills
    Narrating change over time, Describing nostalgia and emotion, Understanding a personal story shared by another character

    Elena empezó a trabajar en el Cine Rex a finales de junio. Era un cine pequeño y antiguo, con una sola sala y un de neón que decía «REX» en letras rojas, aunque la primera letra ya casi no se encendía. Elena no sabía casi nada sobre proyectores ni sobre películas clásicas, pero necesitaba el dinero para pagar sus estudios, y el cine estaba a solo diez minutos de su casa.

    Show English
    Elena started working at the Cine Rex at the end of June. It was a small, old cinema with a single screening room and a neon sign that read "REX" in red letters, though the first letter barely lit up anymore. Elena knew almost nothing about projectors or classic films, but she needed the money to pay for her studies, and the cinema was only ten minutes from her house.

    El primer día conoció a don Basilio, un hombre que llevaba cuarenta años trabajando allí. Don Basilio todo: vendía las entradas, limpiaba la sala y, sobre todo, manejaba el viejo proyector del segundo piso. Era un hombre serio pero amable, y siempre llevaba un pañuelo doblado en el bolsillo de la camisa.

    Show English
    On her first day she met don Basilio, a man who had worked there for forty years. Don Basilio was in charge of everything: he sold tickets, cleaned the screening room, and, above all, operated the old projector on the second floor. He was a serious but kind man, and he always carried a folded handkerchief in his shirt pocket.

    «Aquí las cosas se hacen despacio», le dijo el primer día. «La gente ya no tiene paciencia, pero el cine sí.» Elena sonrió, aunque no entendió muy bien qué quería decir.

    Show English
    "Things are done slowly here," he told her on the first day. "People don't have patience anymore, but cinema does." Elena smiled, though she wasn't quite sure what he meant.

    Durante el verano, Elena aprendió a preparar las , a con una linterna y a subir al segundo piso para ayudar a don Basilio con las . Al principio le pareció un trabajo aburrido, pero poco a poco empezó a disfrutar del silencio de la sala vacía antes de cada función y del olor a palomitas recién hechas.

    Show English
    Over the summer, Elena learned to make popcorn, to show the audience to their seats with a flashlight, and to go up to the second floor to help don Basilio with the film reels. At first the job seemed boring to her, but little by little she began to enjoy the silence of the empty room before each screening and the smell of freshly made popcorn.

    Sin embargo, algo preocupaba a don Basilio desde hacía semanas. Elena lo notó porque, por las tardes, él se quedaba mirando el letrero desde la calle, en silencio, durante varios minutos. Un día, mientras cerraban la sala, ella preguntar.

    Show English
    Something had been troubling don Basilio for weeks, though. Elena noticed it because, in the evenings, he would stand looking at the sign from the street, in silence, for several minutes at a time. One day, while they were closing up, she worked up the nerve to ask.

    «¿Está usted bien, don Basilio?»

    Show English
    "Are you all right, don Basilio?"

    Él suspiró. «El dueño va a vender el edificio. Van a construir un supermercado. El Cine Rex cierra a finales de mes.»

    Show English
    He sighed. "The owner is going to sell the building. They're going to build a supermarket. The Cine Rex closes at the end of the month."

    Elena se quedó callada. En dos meses de trabajo, había llegado a querer aquel lugar más de lo que esperaba: las butacas , el ruido del proyector, incluso el olor a humedad del sótano. «¿Y usted qué va a hacer?», preguntó.

    Show English
    Elena fell silent. In two months of work she had come to love that place more than she expected: the worn seats, the noise of the projector, even the musty smell of the basement. "And what will you do?" she asked.

    «No lo sé todavía», respondió don Basilio. « en esta sala.»

    Show English
    "I don't know yet," don Basilio answered. "I've spent my whole life in this room."

    La última semana de julio, alguien publicó una fotografía del letrero del Cine Rex en las redes sociales, con un mensaje que decía que era la última semana del cine más antiguo del barrio. En pocas horas, el mensaje se compartió cientos de veces.

    Show English
    In the last week of July, someone posted a photo of the Cine Rex sign on social media, with a message saying it was the final week of the neighborhood's oldest cinema. Within a few hours, the post had been shared hundreds of times.

    El sábado por la noche, para la última función, que llegaba hasta la esquina. Vinieron antiguos vecinos, familias enteras y hasta gente que nunca había estado allí. Todos querían ver la última película en la pantalla grande del Cine Rex.

    Show English
    On Saturday night, for the last showing, a line formed that reached all the way to the corner. Old neighbors came, whole families, and even people who had never set foot there before. Everyone wanted to see the last film on the Cine Rex's big screen.

    Antes de empezar, don Basilio subió al escenario, algo que nunca había hecho. «Gracias por venir», dijo con la voz un poco . «Este cine lo abrió mi padre en 1962. Yo aprendí a proyectar películas aquí cuando tenía quince años, y nunca me imaginé haciendo otra cosa.» El público aplaudió durante casi un minuto.

    Show English
    Before it began, don Basilio walked up onto the stage, something he had never done. "Thank you for coming," he said, his voice a little shaky. "My father opened this cinema in 1962. I learned to run the projector here when I was fifteen, and I never imagined doing anything else." The audience applauded for almost a minute.

    Esa noche, Elena subió con él al proyector por última vez. Mientras la película avanzaba, don Basilio le contó que, después de cerrar, pensaba donar el proyector a una escuela de cine de la ciudad. «Alguien tiene que seguir usándolo», dijo. «Y quizás tú puedas ayudarme a llevarlo.»

    Show English
    That night, Elena went up to the projector booth with him one last time. As the film played, don Basilio told her that after closing, he planned to donate the projector to a film school in the city. "Someone has to keep using it," he said. "And maybe you could help me bring it there."

    Cuando terminó la película, el público se quedó aplaudiendo en la oscuridad, y varias personas se acercaron a abrazar a don Basilio. Elena lo miró desde arriba y pensó que, aunque el Cine Rex iba a cerrar para siempre, aquella última función había sido, , la mejor de todo el verano.

    Show English
    When the film ended, the audience kept applauding in the dark, and several people came up to hug don Basilio. Elena watched him from above and thought that, even though the Cine Rex was going to close forever, that last showing had, without a doubt, been the best of the whole summer.
    Show English translation

    Elena started working at the Cine Rex at the end of June. It was a small, old cinema with a single screening room and a neon sign that read "REX" in red letters, though the first letter barely lit up anymore. Elena knew almost nothing about projectors or classic films, but she needed the money to pay for her studies, and the cinema was only ten minutes from her house.

    On her first day she met don Basilio, a man who had worked there for forty years. Don Basilio was in charge of everything: he sold tickets, cleaned the screening room, and, above all, operated the old projector on the second floor. He was a serious but kind man, and he always carried a folded handkerchief in his shirt pocket.

    "Things are done slowly here," he told her on the first day. "People don't have patience anymore, but cinema does." Elena smiled, though she wasn't quite sure what he meant.

    Over the summer, Elena learned to make popcorn, to show the audience to their seats with a flashlight, and to go up to the second floor to help don Basilio with the film reels. At first the job seemed boring to her, but little by little she began to enjoy the silence of the empty room before each screening and the smell of freshly made popcorn.

    Something had been troubling don Basilio for weeks, though. Elena noticed it because, in the evenings, he would stand looking at the sign from the street, in silence, for several minutes at a time. One day, while they were closing up, she worked up the nerve to ask.

    "Are you all right, don Basilio?"

    He sighed. "The owner is going to sell the building. They're going to build a supermarket. The Cine Rex closes at the end of the month."

    Elena fell silent. In two months of work she had come to love that place more than she expected: the worn seats, the noise of the projector, even the musty smell of the basement. "And what will you do?" she asked.

    "I don't know yet," don Basilio answered. "I've spent my whole life in this room."

    In the last week of July, someone posted a photo of the Cine Rex sign on social media, with a message saying it was the final week of the neighborhood's oldest cinema. Within a few hours, the post had been shared hundreds of times.

    On Saturday night, for the last showing, a line formed that reached all the way to the corner. Old neighbors came, whole families, and even people who had never set foot there before. Everyone wanted to see the last film on the Cine Rex's big screen.

    Before it began, don Basilio walked up onto the stage, something he had never done. "Thank you for coming," he said, his voice a little shaky. "My father opened this cinema in 1962. I learned to run the projector here when I was fifteen, and I never imagined doing anything else." The audience applauded for almost a minute.

    That night, Elena went up to the projector booth with him one last time. As the film played, don Basilio told her that after closing, he planned to donate the projector to a film school in the city. "Someone has to keep using it," he said. "And maybe you could help me bring it there."

    When the film ended, the audience kept applauding in the dark, and several people came up to hug don Basilio. Elena watched him from above and thought that, even though the Cine Rex was going to close forever, that last showing had, without a doubt, been the best of the whole summer.

    Vocabulary in this story

    letrero
    sign
    se encargaba de
    was in charge of
    palomitas
    popcorn
    acomodar a los espectadores
    show the audience to their seats
    bobinas de película
    film reels
    se atrevió a
    dared to
    gastadas
    worn out
    Llevo toda mi vida
    I've spent my whole life
    se formó una fila
    a line formed
    temblorosa
    trembling
    sin duda
    without a doubt
    Comprensión(check what you understood)

    Answer a few quick questions about the story. This is just for you: there's no account or score saved.

    1. ¿Por qué empezó Elena a trabajar en el Cine Rex?
    2. ¿Por qué estaba preocupado don Basilio desde hacía semanas?
    3. ¿Cómo se llenó la sala para la última función?
    4. ¿Qué planeaba hacer don Basilio con el proyector después de cerrar el cine?