Cecilia Gowar Jan 25, 2019:

Thanks Eliza! of course you have to keep the format and I do not recall an exact equivalent in English, but you could say ¨We should imitate El Cid: Few words and many deeds¨or ¨talk less and do more¨.

Chema Nieto Castañón Jan 25, 2019:

Sólo como aclaración, no se trata de una cita del Cid sino de una manera laudatoria de describirlo; presto a la acción y menos a las palabras.
Se atribuye a Benjamin Franklin aquello de "Well done is better than well said". La idea es muy parecida. La única diferencia es que, en su formulación original, largo para facellas es algo que se dice de alguien, no algo que se recomienda a alguien; i.e. he is (was) ready to do and not to talk.

Eliza Ariadni Kalfa (asker) Jan 25, 2019:

Thank you. There's not much more context than that. The entire sentence is "Tenemos que emular al Cid: 'largo para facellas y corto para narrallas'." Los jóvenes de hoy tienen muy pocas ganas de hacer. Your translation seems to fit, thanks.

Cecilia Gowar Jan 25, 2019:

It means someone values deeds (facellas: to do things) more than words (narrallas: to talk about things). I dare say the popular ¨obras son amores y no buenas razones¨is similar. You might say ¨actions speak louder than words¨but more context is needed.