"hacer el focus"

English translation: Hacer interrogatorio

14:41 May 3, 2020
Spanish to English translations [PRO]
Government / Politics / torture/ prisons/ slang
Spanish term or phrase: "hacer el focus"
I think this means "just do the basics" but want confirmation. The context is the boss of the prison guards (Nicaragua) comes in and says “A ella solo le haces el focus no le hagas nada más”. The report is detailing torture conditions in Nicaraguan prisons, so it could be in reference to a certain type of torture.
Robin Ragan
United States
English translation:Hacer interrogatorio
Explanation:
Mira hacer el focus se podría equiparar a "hacerle el básico". Mi país esta en una crisis poítica aguda. En tiempos normales significar+ia algo como hacerle el ingreso a la prisión. Pero en el contexto actual donde muchos prisioneros son torturados presumiría que significa hacer interrogatorio + algún tipo de tortura. Lamentablemente esto es algo de contexto y no hay fuentes para determinar el significado exacto.
Selected response from:

Jorge Beteta
Nicaragua
Local time: 05:05
Grading comment
Having consulted with other NIcaraguans as well and learned that this expression is not used in Nicaragua, and may also be a typo. This is the best explanation we have for now.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4 +1just focus
AllegroTrans
5Hacer interrogatorio
Jorge Beteta
2 +2keep an eye on her
Muriel Vasconcellos
3monitor everything she does
Barbara Cochran, MFA
1take the close-ups
Chema Nieto Castañón


Discussion entries: 4





  

Answers


9 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +1
hacer el focus
just focus


Explanation:
..

AllegroTrans
United Kingdom
Local time: 11:05
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 123
Notes to answerer
Asker: I don't think that makes sense given the sentence structure. "Just do X to her and nothing else" IF you say "just focus on her" and don't do anything else to her? If you "just focus" on her, she gets more attention. It sounds like he is saying just do X and not all that other stuff we normally do.


Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  EirTranslations
17 mins

neutral  Muriel Vasconcellos: Agree with asker.
7 hrs

neutral  Barbara Cochran, MFA: Agree with asker and Muriel.
1 day 2 hrs
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7 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 2/5Answerer confidence 2/5 peer agreement (net): +2
hacer el focus
keep an eye on her


Explanation:
This is my understanding. Don't do anything to her; just keep an eye on her. I think the text is saying *not* to torture her.

Muriel Vasconcellos
United States
Local time: 04:05
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 468

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Chema Nieto Castañón: Pues sí, también tiene sentido; "sólo vigilarla".
1 hr
  -> Thank you, Chema!

agree  Michael Grabczan-Grabowski: Yes, that's an interesting angle. Without more context, however, it could very well mean various things.
2 hrs
  -> Thank you, Michael!
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9 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 1/5Answerer confidence 1/5
take the close-ups


Explanation:
En el contexto dado, diría que podría referirse más bien a hacerle las fotos de detalle y nada más (marcas, tatus, etc., y en el contexto dado tal vez también otras rutinarias). "Hacer el focus" es expresión realmente extraña. Mi interpretación se base en el sentido fotográfico de focus en tanto que enfoque. Sigue siendo una suposición sin apenas fundamento. También podría tratarse de un error de interpretación o incluso de un typo, pero no hay ninguna pista que apunte a qué otra palabra podría sustituir a "focus" aquí.
Complicado...

Chema Nieto Castañón
Spain
Local time: 12:05
Native speaker of: Native in SpanishSpanish
PRO pts in category: 16
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9 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5
\\\\\\\"hacer el focus\\\\\\\"
Hacer interrogatorio


Explanation:
Mira hacer el focus se podría equiparar a "hacerle el básico". Mi país esta en una crisis poítica aguda. En tiempos normales significar+ia algo como hacerle el ingreso a la prisión. Pero en el contexto actual donde muchos prisioneros son torturados presumiría que significa hacer interrogatorio + algún tipo de tortura. Lamentablemente esto es algo de contexto y no hay fuentes para determinar el significado exacto.

Jorge Beteta
Nicaragua
Local time: 05:05
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Spanish
PRO pts in category: 4
Grading comment
Having consulted with other NIcaraguans as well and learned that this expression is not used in Nicaragua, and may also be a typo. This is the best explanation we have for now.

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
disagree  AllegroTrans: Question is SP->EN
27 mins

agree  Chema Nieto Castañón: ¿Es esta expresión común en Nicaragua? ¿Se entiende así, como "lo básico" ("la rutina habitual")? No estoy seguro sobre interrogatorio pero podría tener sentido.
51 mins
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1 day 2 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
monitor everything she does


Explanation:
...

Barbara Cochran, MFA
United States
Local time: 07:05
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 23
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