beachy

The articles appearing in British papers and the statements from Clarence Mitchell regarding alleged leaks of statements made by the tapas 9 are based on a television programme, 'El Programa de Ana Rosa' (Ana Rosa's Programme) which ran on the Spanish television station Telecinco earlier this week;Telecinco is the second-largest private television station in Spain, after Antena 3. On the programme itself, as I understand it, two presenters discussed the statements. Excerpts were then published on Telecinco's web site.

In the interest of providing background information to explain what all the fuss is about, I copied the statements as published on the Telecinco web site and have translated them. Both the original Spanish and an English translation are provided below. Kudos to our friend Pear for seeing this on television and initially bringing it to the attention of all of us on 3A.

I should also like to say that it is my personal opinion that this leak is highly unlikely to have come from the PJ. In addition to Paulo Rebelo's aversion to leaks, I cannot imagine why they would take such a risk in order to release information which is almost all already in the public domain.

So, from the Telecinco web site:

'El Programa de Ana Rosa' ha conseguido en primicia, y por primera vez en el mundo, las exclusivas declaraciones de los padres y amigos de Madeleine MacCann, horas antes y después de la desaparición de la pequeña. Estas impactantes y escalofriantes declaraciones, dejan clara la inocencia de Kate y Gerry en la desaparición de su hija, y apuntan a la ventana del apartamento donde se hospedaban, cómo elemento clave dentro de la famosa desaparición.

'El Programa de Ana Rosa' has achieved a scoop, and for the first time in the world, the exclusive statements by the parents and friends of Madeleine MacCann, hours before and after the disappearance of the little girl. These shocking and chilling statements make clear the innocence of Kate and Gerry in the disappearance of their daughter and point to the window of the apartment where they were lodging as the key element in the famous disappearance.

Madeleine McCann desapareció la tarde del jueves 3 de mayo de 2007. La niña inglesa, de entonces tres años de edad, estaba de vacaciones con sus padres y hermanos en un hotel de Praia da Luz, en el Algarve, Portugal. Los días previos a su desaparición, Gerry y Kate estuvieron muy pendientes de mantener las cortinas bajadas y las ventanas cerradas. Así mismo, entre todos los amigos, habían llegado al acuerdo de mantener vigilados entre todos a los niños.

Madeleine McCann disappeared the evening of Thursday, May 3, 2007. The English girl, then three years old, was on holiday with her parents and siblings in a hotel in Praia da Luz, in the Algarve, Portugal. [In] The days leading up to her disappearance, Gerry and Kate were keeping a watchful eye on the lowered curtains and closed windows. Likewise, among all the friends, they had agreed to maintain supervision among all the children.

Los días previos

Dos días antes de la desaparición dos trabajadores entraron a reparar las persianas de la habitación y la ventana, tal y como relataban los padres de la pequeña desaparecida.

The previous days

Two days before the disappearance two workers came to repair the shutters of the room and the window, as related by the parents of the little missing girl.

Un dato significativo se produce el día antes cuando Maddie les reprocha haber llorado la noche anterior y que sus padres no acudieran. Gerry y Kate preocupados le preguntaron porqué había llorado, pero la niña no respondió. "Mientras desayunábamos Maddie dijo: Mamá, ¿Por qué no viniste cuando llorábamos ayer por la noche? (...) Gerry y yo lo hablamos un par de minutos y decidimos vigilar más a los niños por la noche".

A significant piece of information occurs the day before when Maddie reproaches them; she had cried the night before and her parents did not come. Worried, Gerry and Kate asked her why she had cried, but the girl did not respond. "Whilst having breakfast Maddie said," Mum, why didn't you come yesterday when we were crying at night? (...) Gerry and I talked a couple of minutes and decided to monitor the children more at night. "

Note: 'llorabamos' is the first person PLURAL of the verb ' to cry, to weep.' It means 'we were crying,' rather than 'I was crying.' Wonder if this means the twins were also crying? It wouldn't be uncommon for the crying of one child to set off the other two. If so, no wonder Mrs. Fenn was perturbed!

El día transcurrió con normalidad. Durante la tarde fue Kate la que se encargó de Maddie y los gemelos. "Cuando llegué al apartamento me sorprendió que Kate se había ocupado de los niños y hasta los había duchado. Me senté con los niños y les leí un cuento", declaraba Gerry. Por tanto, solo tuvieron que acostar a los niños, tras lo que se tomaron un par de vinos y una cerveza en el salón, y se dirigieron al lugar donde habían quedado para cenar.

The day passed without incident. During the afternoon Kate was responsible for Maddie and the twins. "When I arrived at the apartment I was surprised that Kate had dealt with the children and had even showered. I sat with the children and read them a story," said Gerry. Therefore, they only had to put the children to bed, and then had a couple of glasses of wine and a beer in the living room, and went to the place where they had been meeting for dinner.

"No revisamos la seguridad de la ventana asumiendo que todo estaba bien con la persiana bajada, la ventana cerrada y las cortinas corridas", declaraba Gerry.

"We did not check the security of the window assuming that everything was fine with the blinds down, the window closed and curtains drawn," said Gerry.

La cena

A las 20:35 horas llegan al 'Tapas Bar', donde había quedado con sus amigos. Gerry elige un asiento desde el que puede ver su apartamento, preocupado por las palabras de Maddie durante el desayuno de ese mismo día.

Dinner

At 20:35 hours they arrived at the 'Tapas Bar', where they had arranged to meet their friends. Gerry chooses a seat from which you can see his apartment, concerned with Maddie's words during breakfast on the same day.

El primero en revisar el estado de los niños fue el propio Gerry. "Note que el ángulo de la puerta había cambiado y que estaba abierta unos 45º (..) tal vez Maddie se había despertado y salido de la habitación. Miré de refilón en nuestra habitación pero ví que Maddie no estaba (...). Abrí la puerta 60º, miré a la izquierda y vi a Maddie dormida".

The first to check the state of the children was Gerry himself. "I note that the angle of the door had changed and that it was open about 45 degrees (..) Perhaps Maddie had awakened and left the room. I looked at an angle in our room but I saw that Maddie was not there (...). I opened the door 60 degrees, I looked to the left and saw Maddie asleep."

Note: I interpret this to mean that Gerry checked on the children by first opening the door to their room 45 degrees and did not see Madeleine. He then looked "de refilon" (at an angle) into his and Kate's room and did not see her either. He then opened "the door" 60 degrees, looked to the left and saw Maddie sleeping. I can't tell from the original which door he opened 60 degrees. He probably means the door to the children's room, but it isn't clear from the text.

Todo había quedado en un susto. De regreso al restaurante Gerry se encuentra con otro huésped con el que conversa unos cinco minutos. En ese tiempo, una amiga de los McCain abandona el restaurante para ver a sus hijas, y relata como vio a un hombre con un niño entre sus brazos a unos metros del apartamento. "Yo fui cinco minutos después y cuando subía hacia los apartamentos vi a Gerry hablando con otro huésped. A unos 20 metros de la intersección ví a un hombre con un niño en sus brazos (...) asumí que era el padre. No fui a los otros apartamentos porque Gerry ya lo acababa de hacer y regresé".

It had all been a scare. Returning to the restaurant Gerry meets another guest with whom he talks about five minutes. At that time, a friend of the McCain [sic, perhaps Ana's thinking towards America's election but obviously means 'McCanns,' LOL] left the restaurant to see their daughters, and recounts that she saw saw a man with a child in his arms a few meters from the apartment. "I was five minutes later and when I came up towards the apartments I saw Gerry talking with another guest. About 20 meters from the intersection I saw a man with a child in his arms (...) I assumed that he was the father. I did not go in the other apartments because Gerry had already done it and just returned."

Kate tenía que haber sido la siguiente en ver a los niños, pero es un amigo de la familia quien se ofrece."Fui a ver el apartamento de Kate y Gerry. No noté si la persiana estaba subida o no (..). Vi la puerta de los niños parcialmente abierta. No entré dentro de la habitación. Vi las cortinas cerradas, y estoy seguro de ello ya que hubiese notado el movimiento (..). No entré a ver si estaba Maddie. Regresé al Tapas bar y le dije a Kate que todo estaba bien.

Kate should have been the next in seeing the children, but it is a friend of the family who offers. "I went to see the apartment of Kate and Gerry. I did not notice if the blind was raised or not we (..). I saw the children's door partially open. I did not go inside the room. I saw the curtains closed, and I am sure since I would have already noticed the movement [he's saying that he's sure the curtains were closed because he would have seen them moving if they were open] (...) I did not go in to see if it was Maddie. I returned to the tapas bar and I told Kate that all was well.

Note: "No entré a ver si estaba Maddie." I do not see how this can be translated other than, "I did not go in to see if it was Maddie." This seems an odd thing to say. I wish we knew what came just before it in the statement.

A las nueve y media de la noche, por tanto, no se sabe con certeza que Maddie estuviera dentro de la habitación, pero como solo había pasado media hora desde que Gerry había visto a Maddie durmiendo, se presupone que se encuentra dormida y en buen estado.

At half past nine at night, therefore, it is not clear that Maddie was inside the room, but as only half an hour had passed since Gerry had seen Maddie sleeping, it is assumed that she is asleep and in good condition.

La siguiente en visitar la habitación sería Kate, con la triste sorpresa de que su hija ya no se encuentra en el dormitorio.

The next in visiting the room would be Kate, with the sad surprise that her daughter is no longer in the bedroom.

La misteriosa desaparición

"Cuando fui a ver a Maddie me di cuenta de que no estaba, Miré en todo el apartamento, regresé a la habitación de los niños y en ese momento vi las cortinas moverse hacia mi dejando visible que la persiana estaba abierta hacia arriba. Fui hacia la ventana y abrí las cortinas para ver si había escalado por ahí pero no vi ni rastro de ella. No se si cerré o no la ventana en ese momento." , relata la madre de Maddie. "En shock corrí al Tapas Bar y grité a Gerry: "Maddie no está, alguien se la ha llevado".

The mysterious disappearance

"When I went to see Maddie I realized that she was not there, I looked in all the apartment, I returned to the children's room and at that time I saw the curtains move leaving visible to me that the blind was opened up. I went to the window and opened the curtains to see if she had climbed out there but I did not see any trace of her. I do not know whether or not I closed the window at the time," says Maddie's mother. "In shock I ran to Tapas Bar and shouted to Gerry:" Maddie is not here, someone has taken her. "

En ese instante todos salieron corriendo a buscar a la pequeña. "Cuando vino Kate corriendo y dijo: Maddie no está, alguien se la ha llevado", pensé que no podía ser y corrí al apartamento por el mismo camino de siempre. Mire por todas partes, volví al cuarto de los niños y empecé a pensar lo que podía haber pasado. Para mi sorpresa me di cuenta de que podía levantar la persiana sin esfuerzo y casi sin ruido. Cuando entré vi que la cama de Maddie casi estaba intacta. La parte del rincón de fuera de las sabanas estaba un poco girado el cojín, el peluche rosa y el trozo de manta suyo estaba casi en el mismo sitio que lo vi la última vez".

In that instant all started rushing to look for the little girl. "When Kate came running and said, Maddie is not here, somebody has taken her", I thought that it could not be. I rushed to the apartment by the same path as always. I looked everywhere, I went back to the kids' room and started to think what could have happened. To my surprise I realized that one could lift the blinds without effort and almost no noise. When I went in I saw that Maddie's bed was almost untouched. The corner of the sheets was a little turned [back], the pillow, the pink cuddly toy and the piece of her blanket were almost in the same place that I last saw it. "

Tras comprobar que la niña había desaparecido, fue un amigo el que telefoneó inmediatamente a la policía portuguesa, dejando claro que no esperaron 45 minutos tal y como apuntaban algunas especulaciones.

After making sure that the girl had disappeared, it was a friend who immediately phoned the Portuguese police, making it clear that they had not waited 45 minutes as some suggested.

Comment: This is the one that breaks your heart: "el trozo de manta suyo" means literally "the piece of her blanket." There's no other way to translate it. Picture a ratty old piece of a blanket, all that is left after having been dragged around for years and loved almost into extinction by a little girl not quite four.

Edited by beach to improve translation