La falla
_Nos están llamando de todas partes - anunció Emilio con verdadero entusiasmo, mientras editaba el más reciente video que habían hecho para montarlo en todas las plataformas sociales.
El gancho era tomar el coro de las canciones y repetirlo varias veces en varios y cotidianos escenarios: la cocina, el baño, el supermercado. El video que tenía más visualización era donde William imitaba perfectamente a Prince. Su estilo, su coreografía y hasta su vestimenta, eran iguales. Emilio, que era un crack en el diseño y la edición de sonido, había hecho magia con la voz y la imagen; todo lo demás lo hizo las redes.
Iban por su segundo ensayo, cuando el teléfono de Jamesom sonó. Cuando tomó el celular, se dio cuenta que era el hombre que los había contratado para el viernes: el hombre preguntó si podían presentarse el jueves y no el viernes como estaba previsto:
_Lo que pasa es que el grupo del jueves nos canceló y pensamos en ustedes - dijo el hombre al otro lado de la línea.
Luego de consultar con Emilio y William, Jamesom le informó que no habría problema: partirían el jueves bien temprano, para presentarse en la noche.
Luego de colgar, Jamesom se tomó de un solo trago el whisky y volvió a llenar el vaso:
_¿Estás seguro de que te dijeron el jueves? - preguntó Emilio con dudas.
_Seguro - dijo afinando la guitarra.
_¿Cuántos whiskeys llevas? - preguntó William.
_Todos, pero estoy seguro de que dijo jueves. Así que nos enviarán los paisajes hoy mismo - aseguró Jamesom y comenzó a cantar.
_¿Vas a comenzar tan temprano? - preguntó Emilio.
_¿Cómo vamos a venir a la isla y no vamos a aprovechar a comprar whisky?
El chofer aparcó el auto al frente de la tienda y los tres se bajaron para aprovechar a comprar algunas cosas. Luego de comprar, se fueron rumbo al hotel donde los estaban esperando.
La presentación de los muchachos fue a las 3 de la madrugada cuando ya mucha de la gente se había ido y los que quedaban, estaban casi dormidos. Sin embargo, los muchachos subieron al escenario muy animados, especialmente Jamesom que con el alcohol tenía una fiesta prendida en la cabeza. Emilio se botó con el sonido y la interpretación que William hizo de Prince quedó perfecta: como nunca antes. La presentación duró 30 minutos, en los que los muchachos intentaron mostrar todo su talento.
_¿Qué te pasa? - preguntó Emilio- Por qué estas tan pálido?
Emilio solo dijo mientras cerraba los ojos con fuerza y se recostaba de la puerta del auto:
_Creo que bebí mucho whisky anoche o me estoy volviendo loco.
_Las dos cosas -expresó Emilio riendo- A esta hora estaríamos llegando si hubiésemos venido hoy.
_Tal vez estamos llegando y los que vinimos ayer, no fuimos nosotros -expresó Jamesom y todos negaron con la cabeza, casi dormidos.
La imagen principal fue creada por mí en Canva, y el texto fue traducido con Deepl Translate
HASTA UNA PRÓXIMA OPORTUNIDAD, AMIGOS
![Click here to read in englis]
It was Monday, and the boys were rehearsing because they had a concert in the eastern part of the country for the Virgen del Valle festivities. They would be performing on Friday on the island and then on Saturday and Sunday in Cumaná and Puerto la Cruz. They were enjoying relative success after Emilio came up with the idea of posting several videos online while they rehearsed the songs from their latest album.
“We're getting calls from everywhere,” Emilio announced with genuine enthusiasm as he edited the latest video they had made to post on all social media platforms.
The hook was to take the chorus of the songs and repeat it several times in various everyday settings: the kitchen, the bathroom, the supermarket. The video with the most views was the one where William perfectly imitated Prince. His style, his choreography, and even his clothing were identical. Emilio, who was a whiz at sound design and editing, had worked his magic with the voice and image; everything else was done by social media.
They were on their second rehearsal when Jamesom's phone rang. When he picked up the phone, he realized it was the man who had hired them for Friday: the man asked if they could perform on Thursday instead of Friday as planned:
“The thing is, the Thursday group canceled on us and we thought of you,” said the man on the other end of the line.
After consulting with Emilio and William, Jamesom informed him that it would be no problem: they would leave early Thursday morning to perform that night.
After hanging up, Jamesom downed his whiskey in one gulp and refilled his glass.
“Are you sure they said Thursday?” Emilio asked doubtfully.
“Sure,” he said, tuning his guitar.
“How many whiskeys have you had?” William asked.
“All of them, but I'm sure he said Thursday. So they'll send us the landscapes today,” Jamesom assured him and began to sing.
Indeed, they left early Thursday morning and arrived on the island around 10 a.m. They took a taxi, and on the way, Jamesom asked the driver, a fat man with glasses and a mustache, to stop at a liquor store.
“Are you going to start so early?” Emilio asked.
“How can we come to the island and not take advantage of buying whiskey?”
The driver parked the car in front of the store and the three of them got out to buy a few things. After shopping, they headed to the hotel where they were expected.
The boys' performance was at 3 a.m. when most of the people had already left and those who remained were almost asleep. However, the boys took the stage in high spirits, especially Jamesom, who was in a party mood thanks to the alcohol. Emilio rocked out to the sound, and William's rendition of Prince was perfect: like never before. The performance lasted 30 minutes, during which the boys tried to show off all their talent.
The next day, Friday, at around 10 a.m., a car picked them up to take them back to the ferry. The boys, half asleep, got into the car in silence. Jamesom's head was spinning from the hangover, so he tried to lean against the window. Then he opened his eyes and saw three guys, identical to the three of them, entering the bar where they had been the day before. He sat up quickly and rubbed his eyes, unable to believe what he was seeing. They were three men identical to the three of them; then he saw the taxi stopped in front of the bar and, unable to believe it, he looked for the face of the taxi driver in the parked car: a fat man with glasses and a mustache.
“What's wrong with you?” Emilio asked. “Why are you so pale?”
Emilio just said as he closed his eyes tightly and leaned against the car door:
“I think I drank too much whiskey last night, or I'm going crazy.”
“Both,” said Emilio, laughing. “We'd be arriving now if we had come today.”
“Maybe we're arriving, and those who came yesterday weren't us,” said Jamesom, and everyone shook their heads, almost asleep.