Original subtitles

Many years later,

as he faced the firing squad…

Colonel Aureliano Buendía

was to remember that distant afternoon…

when his father took him to discover ice.

ONE HUNDRED YEARS OF SOLITUDE

José Arcadio Buendía and Úrsula Iguarán were cousins.

They had grown up together in the old village

their ancestors had transformed into one of the finest towns in the province.

José Arcadio Buendía, let Úrsula breathe for a second.

Just wait a little longer!

Let's celebrate. This is your party.

- Let's go, man. Come on. - Let's go!

Although their marriage was predicted,

when they expressed their desire to wed, their relatives tried to stop it.

They feared that two healthy products of two races

interbred over the centuries

would suffer the shame of breeding iguanas.

They would've been happy if Úrsula's mother had not frightened her

with all manner of sinister predictions about their offspring.

Hey! Come here!

What's this?

Mom gave it to me.

I can't believe she's still tormenting you with superstitions

or that you even listen to her.

This isn't a superstition. She told me something horrible.

What could be more horrible than what you have on?

Bearing a monster.

My mother's cousins married and had a deformed son.

He lived a life of shame because of that.

What kind of deformity?

He had a pig's tail.

A coiled intestine with a hairy tip like a corkscrew.

Why would she make that up?

She told me he bled out

after they cut off his tail with a cleaver.

I don't care if I have piglets

as long as they can talk.

I do care.

I will not bear pigs!

During the day,

he would take care of his fighting cocks,

and she would embroider.

At night, they would wrestle for hours in an anguished violence

that seemed to be a substitute for the act of love.

José Arcadio Buendía and Úrsula Iguarán lived like that for several months.

I didn't think you'd come.

I bet on your rooster. Is he ready?

I brought him because he's ready, my friend.

Magnífico, how are the odds?

- José, they have faith in you, as always. - There you are, Buendía!

You've waited so long to face me, only to be defeated today.

Unbelievable!

I hope you like chicken soup because he's a goner.

You hear me?

Come on!

Come on!

Peck him! That's it!

Kill him!

Peck him!

Kill him! Get him!

Kill him!

Peck him!

Come on, damn it! Get him! Do it!

That's it! Kill him!

Get up!

Come on! Get up!

My rooster!

Let's go.

Look, my friend, that's life.

You have a good animal. Congratulations.

Come here, beautiful.

Hey, Buendía!

Maybe that rooster of yours

can do your wife a favor.

Go home and get a weapon.

I'm going to kill you.

He's angry.

He's angry.

What's the matter with you?

- It was great. - True.

José Arcadio.

José Arcadio!

If you bear iguanas, we'll raise iguanas.

But there'll be no more deaths in this town because of us.

As the senior officials of this town,

the mayor and I have reached a conclusion.

While the death of Prudencio Aguilar is a tragedy,

we have found that it was the result of a duel of honor.

Therefore, the honorable José Arcadio Buendía

has been found not guilty.

- No! - That's not fair!

Outrageous!

Enough! Show some decorum!

Well done. Thank you.

You just need a few drinks to put all this behind you.

What are you doing here?

You know you asked for it.

Go to hell.

If you keep coming back, I'll just keep killing you.

José Arcadio Buendía did not dare throw his spear,

and Prudencio Aguilar did not go away.

They never had peace after that.

They were tormented by the immense desolation

with which the dead man had looked at them that night…

his deep nostalgia as he yearned for living people…

the anxiety with which he searched the house

looking for some water to soak his esparto plug.

Úrsula was so moved after seeing the dead man uncovering the pots

that she placed water jugs all over the house.

What do I have to do for you to go away?

It's all right, Prudencio.

We're going to get as far away from this town as we can,

and we'll never come back.

Where will we go?

We'll find the sea beyond the mountains.

That's absurd. No one has made that journey.

Exactly.

We'll find a place

where the fears of our ancestors won't weigh us down.

Where we can love each other in peace…

and raise a family.

The sea.

The sea.

Thanks, Dad.

Goodbye, Mom.

Úrsula…

no matter where you go…

you will never escape your fate.

Take care of yourselves.

Let's go, friend.

That was how they undertook crossing the mountains.

Several friends of José Arcadio Buendía, young men like him,

excited by the adventure,

packed up with their wives and children

to head toward the land that no one had promised them.

Danger.

The Hanged Man sees the world differently.

Has she read the cards to you?

She has for some time.

Thank you.

Big push!

One more! Push!

Hard! Here it comes!

With her stomach ravaged by monkey meat and snake stew,

Úrsula gave birth to a son who was all human,

with the help of Pilar Ternera.

Let's go!

Whoa! Easy!

Easy, boy!

Stop him!

Come on, Geri.

Don't worry, Gerineldo. We're close to the sea now.

One morning, after almost two years of crossing,

they became the first mortals to witness the western slope of the mountain range.

From the cloudy summit,

they saw the immense aquatic expanse of the great swamp

as it spread toward the other side of the world.

But they never saw the sea.

- Where the hell is the sea?! Where is it?! - Hey! Cut it out!

Gerineldo, calm down!

It must be beyond the great swamp.

Hey!

Stop, please!

Stop!

We're walking in circles.

He has no fucking idea where we are.

We need to find our way by land.

One afternoon,

after several months of lost wandering through the swamps,

they camped on the banks of a stony river

whose waters were like a torrent of frozen glass.

The great swamp has to end somewhere.

We need to find a way to get to the other side and reach the sea.

José Arcadio Buendía,

it's time to get out of your head.

Have you seen the state of your people?

José Arcadio Buendía dreamed that night

that a noisy city rose up there…

with houses that had mirrored walls.

He asked what city it was,

and they answered him with a name that he had never heard,

that had no meaning at all…

but had a supernatural echo in his dream…

Macondo.

Come on.

Come on.

Gerineldo…

I know we haven't found the sea

or a place to live,

but it's ludicrous to keep searching.

Everybody is free to choose their own path…

but we're going to stay here.

We'll build the place we've dreamed of.

The home of our children.

A place where no one can decide for others. Not even how they die.

And this place…

shall be known as Macondo.

José Arcadio, why are you naked? Go back home.

Macondo was a village of 20 houses made of adobe and reeds,

built on the bank of a clear water river

that ran along a bed of polished stones,

white and enormous, like prehistoric eggs.

- Hi, Daddy! - My boy!

The world was so new that many things lacked names.

To mention them, you had to point.

José Arcadio!

Sweetie, give these corozos to your mom so she can make you some juice.

Thank you.

José Arcadio Buendía had set the houses up in such a way

that from each one, you could reach the river

and draw water equally.

He had arranged the streets with such good sense

that no house got more sun during the heat of the day.

- Hi, Mommy. - Naked again?

Have you no shame?

And these corozos?

Do you want some juice?

All right. Come on.

Look!

It's beautiful.

- Where is it going to live? - Come on.

The little birdie will live here.

Over the following years,

José Arcadio Buendía filled with troupials, canaries,

bluebirds, and robins, not only in his own house

but all in the village.

The chorus of so many birds became so disorienting

that Úrsula would plug her ears with beeswax

to not lose her sense of reality.

Put that over there.

Úrsula!

A bed.

It's comfortable.

Let's try it out.

Right now?

What was that?

Who are you?

My name is Melquiades.

And this is my family.

Our fair comes from afar.

How did you find us?

The birds.

We've been traveling through the great swamp

and were drawn to their song.

It's a pleasure to meet you.

I am José Arcadio Buendía…

and Macondo is the name of this town.

Ladies and gentlemen, we've brought to these faraway lands

the eighth wonder of the sage alchemists of Macedonia.

For all who wish to witness this extraordinary invention,

come with me, please.

Today you shall see things come to life.

It's just a matter of awakening their souls.

That's witchcraft!

No, ma'am.

It's science.

And if you want to see more,

you're all welcome to visit our fair.

José Arcadio Buendía,

whose unbridled imagination

always went beyond the genius of nature,

miracles, and magic,

thought it was possible to use that useless invention

to extract gold from the earth.

You're not taking them.

But metals are drawn to those things.

And we need goats for sustenance.

Can't you see that we could be full of gold?

What good is gold in this town?

Darling, Macondo won't stay like this forever.

We need to think about the future.

I'm afraid I can't sell you the magnets for that purpose.

Your logic makes sense,

but paradoxically, precious metals are not drawn to them.

It may not work with small quantities…

but I'm sure it'll work to unearth large rocks

or entire treasures.

I can pay for them.

I cannot sell them in good conscience, believe me.

You'd lose your investment.

Let me see that for myself.

You have nothing to lose.

Very well.

I like your enthusiasm.

Gerineldo, what are you doing?

We already tried here. Look over there.

Why didn't you tell me that earlier?

That's obvious. You're an idiot.

- Stay there. I'll look. - Fine. Get back to work.

Hey! Come here!

It has to be something big.

A dead man.

The only thing we were able to find after a week is a damn dead guy.

Where is all that gold you were going to dig up?

You have to bring the goats back.

They're no longer ours.

If you won't talk to that cheating gypsy, I will.

We can't afford to give our animals away.

Much less now.

Much less now?

I'm pregnant.

Wonderful news.

My wife doesn't even want them in the house.

At least you saw it for yourself.

Experience… is everything in life.

Feel free to take your goats. They're waiting for you.

Melquiades…

can I ask you something?

Of course.

How did you not get lost in those swamps?

They're treacherous.

It was a long and difficult journey,

but our instruments always guided us.

What instruments?

Just a moment.

Look. This right here is an astrolabe.

For centuries, humans have tried to study the skies to understand Earth.

Here.

Science is eliminating distance.

Look. This is a compass.

And a sextant.

Before long, man will be able to see what is going on

anywhere in the world

without leaving home.

Portuguese maps. They're old.

Look.

This will help you learn how to use them.

They're yours.

Thank you, Melquiades.

On that day, José Arcadio Buendía had the certainty

that it was the beginning of a great friendship.

He spent entire nights watching the course of the stars.

When he became an expert in the use and manipulation of his instruments,

he conceived a notion of space that allowed him to navigate unknown seas,

visit inhabited territories,

and establish relationships with splendid beings.

I don't know what you're doing with those maps, but do it elsewhere.

I want to understand where Macondo is

to see if I can finally find a path to civilization.

I know the answer.

Macondo is here, and your head is in the clouds.

José Arcadio, time to eat!

Wash your hands first. They're dirty.

Let's go.

Goodbye, Dad!

Goodbye, my son!

This ship must be about 200 years old.

It has to be close.

What has to be close?

The sea!

That discovery broke José Arcadio Buendía's spirit.

He considered it a trick of his fate

to have searched for the sea without finding it,

after many sacrifices,

and to have found it without looking for it.

We gave up just before finding the sea, Úrsula.

Macondo is surrounded by water.

We took several measurements, but we need more to complete the map.

We need to go on another expedition.

We need to contact the world.

You can't leave again, José Arcadio Buendía.

Can't you see that we need you?

José Arcadio.

Listen.

What is that?

Come here.

Listen.

The baby's crying in my belly.

Matilda, the compresses!

- Hurry! - I'm here!

Breathe! Take deep breaths!

Don't push. Just breathe.

Úrsula shuddered from the certainty that the deep howl

was the first indication of the fearful pig tail.

She begged God to let the creature die in her womb.

You're almost there.

Here it comes!

Come on! One more! That's it!

Aureliano was the first human to be born in Macondo.

He was born with his eyes open,

examining the world with an indifferent curiosity.

Úrsula did not remember the intensity of that look again

until years later

when, one afternoon, Aureliano Buendía had his first premonition.

Mom, the pot is going to fall.

The pot's fine, Aureliano.

When he had begun to be aware of his premonitions,

Colonel Aureliano Buendía thought that death would be announced

with a definite, unequivocal, irrevocable signal.

But just moments before his death…

the signal had not come.

BASED ON THE NOVEL BY GABRIEL GARCÍA MÁRQUEZ

Subtitle translation by: Alison Woods