turbio

Hola!

En esta frase:

"Las habitaciones de la pensión serán ocupadas por nativos de provincias pobres; ninguno de estos recién llegados guardará relación con el pasado cosmopolita, más bien turbio de la pensión".

¿Turbio significa turbulent?

Muchas gracias!

I often do these late at night and read too much into them, but I think it might go like this:

The rooms of the housing will be occupied by natives of poor provinces; none of the recent arrivals will be connected with the cosmopolitan past. This position of the housing (authority) seems a bit unclear.

I suspect the intent was that the housing authority used to take all comers, but now they are choosing who will go there for unknown reasons, but again, it's late. A native may have a much clearer idea.

I told my wife there is a Greek person on the internet doing Spanish to English translation. She said obviously you are brilliant.

Hi, gernt, thanks for the reply. I wonder, "turbio" doesn't refer to "pasado"? Could it mean something like "the cosmopolitan, or rather unclear past of the house?

I can’t tell without more context, but pensión probably refers to free housing and also the organization that provides the free housing. Turbio refers to the actions of the organization. I do not know, but I suspect the pensión is a former hostel being used for displaced persons.

Dear Gernt and Elisatas

I’ve had a go based on what Gernt suggested, taking that there should (perhaps) be a comma between “mas bien” and “turbio” …

“con el pasado cosmopolita, mas bien, [pasado] turbio de la pensión."

I have also taken the liberty of embellishing the English version in order to make sense of the sentence as a whole (admissions policy); only you will know from the context if this seems plausible.


The rooms of the boarding house will be occupied by natives from poor provinces; non of these new arrivals will adhere to the previously unrestricted [cosmopolitan], or rather, vague admissions policy.


Saludos
Mexish

Yes, "turbio" is modifying past as well as cosmopolita. Turbio in this context means murky, questionable, dark, secret, suspicious, dubious, shady.
Good luck!

Or...

Taking Nadia's post into account:


The rooms of the boarding house will be occupied by natives from poor provinces whose arrival will break with [contrast / differ from] the cosmopolitan, or rather, dubious past of the pension.


or

Natives from poor provinces, whose arrival will break with the cosmopolitan or rather dubious past of the pension, will occupy the rooms of the boarding house.

Good luck
Mexish

Creo que ya está claro. Mil gracias a todos por la inestimable ayuda