Author Archives: Cesar Valladares

Joke – Mexican

A Pepito joke.

Un dia, pepito tenia hambre y fue a la tienda a comprar chocolates. El compro bastantes chocolates y cuando iva saliendo de la tienda se cayo y boto todos los chocolates en el suelo. Los empezo a recogers pero una vieja le dijo: “no, no pepito, no recojas eso del suelo. Los lameo el Diablo.” El pobre Pepito camino a casa bien triste. Estando en casa se cae la abuela y la mama de Pepito le pide que le ayude a recojer a su abuela. Pero Pepito le respondio: “ no, no no la recojas, ya la lameo el Diablo.”

One day, Pepito was hungry and went to the store to buy some chocolates. He bought a bunch of chocolates and when he was exiting the store, he fell and drop all of them on the ground. He started to pick them up, but an old lady told him: “no, no, Pepito, don’t pick those up, they have been licked by the devil. Poor Pepito walked home sad. When he got home, his grandmother fell and his mother asked him to help her pick grandma up. But Pepito answered: “no, no don’t pick her up; she has been lick by the devil.

Adrian told me that he learned this joke from his friends when he was about ten years old. He also told me that there is a variety of jokes called Pepito jokes. We also have them in El Salvador, these are usually jokes that do not necessary connect with anyone but the character needs to have a name. Adrian thinks that Pepito jokes are hilarious and that they tell stories about the men or little kids. He thinks that this story is emphasizing that little kids believe everything that they are told and apply it to their whole life. In this case, Pepito applied that if one item falls to the ground, that item has been liked by the devil. Adrian told me that these jokes are usually told between friends, mostly only friends of the male sex as they are sometimes about the female sex.

I agree with Adrian. I do believe that Pepito jokes tell a story behind the scenes and it is usually something about men or kids in general. They are usually really funny and are great to share around friends. In this joke I can see how they are portraying kids to be very naïve. When the old lady told Pepito that his chocolates were licked by the devil, he applied his new knowledge to anything he could think of. Even if it involved not helping his grandmother get up from a fall. We can see how children also can learn really fast and try to connect everything they learn in life together.  I believe that these jokes are usually only told within friends and not between adults and kids as they sometime involve some immaturity to them.

Marchen – American

“John Henry was a fabulous man that worked in the rail road system. He was always very efficient and a nice guy. One day, the company he used to work for bought a new machine that could make tunnels and built railroads faster than any man. He thought he was able to beat the machine and decided to challenge it. The challenge started the next day and room, boom, room, both the machine and John Henry were head to head. At the end, John Henry had 3 stakes left; he hit one, bam!, then the other, bam! and finally the last one. Then he dropped dead, however he won, YAY!!! He beat the machine”

Lindsey told me that she learned about this story when she was in third grade. They used to have a story time in her school and teacher or students would tell the kids random stories that they knew. She told me that she and her classmates loved this specific story. The reason is that it is really exciting, there is competition and the kids could somewhat imagine what was going on in their heads. Lindsey told me that she thinks that the story has a meaning behind it; she believes that one has to try their best at everything they do, no matter what the situation is. Lindsey told me that the story is perform generally for small kids in order to guide them and persist that if your heart is set on some goal, you should follow it until the end. Although John Henry died at the end, he still beat the machine and was looked at as legend.

I agree with Lindsey’s interpretation if the story. I believe that John Henry’s story tells kids that they should try to attempt anything that they have set their hearts for, even thought it may seem impossible. In this situation, nobody thought that John could actually beat the machine, however he still fought hard and at the end he came out as the winner. I think that this story is perfect to tell kids that they need to follow their opinions. If told to adults, it would still push the lesson but I think it would be harder for an adult to value John’s actions. This story is great to get kids thinking that they can do whatever they want to.

Proverb – El Salvador

“El Burro por delante”

“The donkey in front”

“The ass is going first” or “Put the cart before the horse”

I learned this proverb when I was about seven or eight years old when I used to lived in El Salvador. I remember that this proverb was used heavily by my friends and my older brother. This is used to correct someone when they accidentally put themselves first, for example saying “Me and Rodolfo” rather than “Rodolfo and I.” I don’t remember exactly, but I do not think that my teachers ever used this on us; however, I do remember my parents using this whenever I was wrong. This proverb is a great way to teach kids the right way of speaking and writing. This tells the receiver that they are a burro (could mean ass or stupid) because they put themselves first when it is impolite to do so.

I have heard this proverb in El Salvador as well as in California by Mexican and Salvadoran families. I think is a very popular proverb to teach people to be polite. The funny thing about the proverb is that they are telling the person that made the mistake to be more polite and put themselves last, but at the same time they are being impolite because they call them an ass. It is a great lesson because it sticks with you for a long time; I was recently having an instant messaging conversation with a friend trying to ask her if she knew any folklore (for this collection). However she asked me what I did that day and I responded:  “me and my friend …” and I corrected my self saying “el burro por delante, I must be a burro then.” I then realize that I was not a real ass because I had another item for my collection.

Joke – Mexican

A Pepito Joke

Pepito estaba en el colegio y nadie lo recogia. Su profesora le dijo que si quiera que fuera pa su casa hasta manana que vengan por el y Pepito dijo que si. Cuando estaban en la casa y ya se iban a dormir, la profesora se dio cuenta que Pepito estaba un poco triste y le pregunto que le pasaba, a lo que Pepito respondio: “Es que siempre antes de irme a acostar yo me acuesto con mi mama y le meto mi dedito en su ombliguito.”Y la profesora no se le pudo resistir a la inocencia de Pepito y lo deja meterselo. Pasado ya un buen rato, la profesora le dice con ternura: “Pepito, Pepito, ese no es mi ombliguito.”Y Pepito, con una cara de pendejo, responde, “Ya se senorita, y tampoco es mi dedito…”

Pepito was at school one day and no one picked him up. His teacher asked him if he wanted to come to her house to spend the night and he said yes. When they were at her house and were about to fall asleep, the teacher noticed that Pepito was sad and she asked him what is the matter, Pepito answered: “before I go to bed, I lay down with my mom and she lets me put my finger in her belly button.” The teacher could not resist Pepito’s innocence and she decided to let him stick his finger in her belly button. After a while, the teacher softly tells to Pepito: “Pepito, Pepito, that is not my belly button.” And Pepito answered with a stupefied face: “I know teacher, and that is not my finger…”

Adrian told me that he learned this joke about two or three years ago. He learned it from one of his friends in Inglewood, CA. He told me that in this joke Pepito symbolizes the male sex and how they can manipulate and lie to people in order to get what they want. In this joke Pepito is a man that can easily outfox anyone, even the college professor. He told me that these jokes are usually only told within your friends and not with adults as they seem to be inappropriate. He also told me that this joke might also symbolize that college kids have a fantasy of sleeping with attractive professors. Finally he sent me an email later on with a final comment: Hahahahahhahahahah!!!!! That was a good one!!!!

Adrian has some good points on the definition and uses of the joke. I think that this joke is only told to close friends. It is really inappropriate for a minor to tell this type of joke to an adult or vice versa. It is a nice representation of how tricky man can be in order to get some action. In this joke, the teacher trusts Pepito because he seems innocent, but he ended up taking advantage of her. This joke also tells us that sometimes women thrust men too much to a point that it does them harm. This can also be seen in today’s society. For example, there are many movies where a girl falls in love with a guy because she think he is nice, but then she learns that he was just trying to win a bet and is not really nice at all. Some of the movies that use this plot include She is all that and 10 things I hate about you. Although there is so much more in their plot, the main thing is that the main male character tricks the girl like the Pepito joke.

Proverb – Mexican

“Bebe que no llora, no mama”

“Baby that does not cry, is not breastfed”

“He/She who does not speak, will not be heard” or “the Squeaky wheel gets the oil.”

Adrian told me that he learned this proverb about one year ago, he was talking to his friends about wanting to apply for an internship and he was unsure if he should apply or not. One of his friends responded with the proverb trying to say that in order to be heard and get a job, one must apply and make noise so companies know that they are there. He told me that he thinks that this proverb is great as it gives you a lesson in a funny form. He said that this proverb is usually told to someone that is quiet in order to make them realize that they need to make noise to be noticed in this world.

I agree with Adrian, this proverb is kind of funny and gives you an important lesson. If a baby does not cry, the mother will not be able to figure out that he is hungry. In order to achieve attention, one must make sure that they are putting themselves on the line. I have also heard the same proverb from my mom and my aunt. My aunt told me this proverb when I was denied some scholarships because I am considered an international student and one needed to be an American citizen. She told me the proverb in order to show me that if I don’t fight for the money, I will never get the scholarships I need. I think this proverb can be used with anyone that is quiet when they should be fighting for their rights. It is a good lesson to shows that some fighting is good.

There are many variations to the same proverb within El Salvador and also the United States. In El Salvador, we don’t only have the baby one, but also one that is more religious. It goes something like: “In you don’t pray, God will not hear you.” In the United States, there is the one that appears as the translation “the Squeaky wheel gets the oil.” In my opinion, the Proverb is very powerful so it is adapting to different cultures.