Author Archives: Haley Valdez

“Mejor sola que mal acompañada”- Mexican Proverb

Description (From Transcript): “The literal translation in English is “Better alone than in bad company”. This is something that is commonly said in the Mexican culture but I don’t know if it’s said in other Latin American cultures as well. But essentially it’s talking about how it is better to be alone than in a toxic relationship. And I think most of the time, it’s referring to like- uh- a relationship with like a significant other, but also, I think it can be referring to a friendship or really just anyone’s company. It’s better to be by yourself than with that negative company. And I think when it’s most commonly used is when someone asks you about like your significant other or something. People kind of use it as a joke, honestly, but I think it has a deeper meaning…”

Context: The informant (LV) is a first generation Mexican American woman residing in Denver, Colorado. This proverb is something that she grew up hearing a lot in school with her friends. She spent a lot of time with other Mexican or Latina girls. She also heard it in media such as telenovelas (a genre of Spanish soap operas). She heard it from younger people mostly or single people. It was used as a way to defend yourself– you would rather be single than with someone not deserving of you. 

She also explains that there is a lot of toxic masculinity in this culture specifically, and it’s not something that’s talked about with older generations. But growing up in the US, it’s something her generation is a little more aware from. This little saying highlights that. She likes it because it uses the “a” at the end for women or people who identify as women but it could also be “Mejor solo que mal acompañado” but women are mostly the ones she hears saying this. She thinks it uplifts women to not settle, that it’s okay to be alone than be with someone who doesn’t deserve you. She says that in this culture, there is a lot of pressure to settle down and be with someone. This [saying] fights that idea.  

My Interpretation: I think the informant did a wonderful job of explaining this saying in detail as well as the cultural implications it carries. The emphasis of the subject being feminine is very telling of the rigid gender expectation for women to be in relationships, marry, have children, take care of their parents and elders, all while enduring toxic or, in some cases, abusive behavior from these relationships. Because the saying is particularly common among younger women, it leads me to believe that it is a fairly newer saying, adopted by younger people as a way to challenge generational patriarchal beliefs that worsen and endanger the lives of people, especially women, in this culture. Consequently, I would also expect for this saying to become ever more widely used as internet cultures begin to tackle injustices that parents and grandparents suffered but could not challenge due to a lack of tools and language to do so. 

“La Llorona”

Description (From Transcript): “Basically what I know is there was this woman, she was like someone important in her town. Either that or the man that she was gonna marry was like someone that had some sort of credibility. And so they got married, and they had children but then the guy cheated on her and I think he had children with another woman. And she was so sad that she drowned her children and I guess she had a meltdown. She went into a downward spiral and apparently, according to the legend, you can still hear her calling out for her children that she drowned. I think [she was] crying in agony because she drowned them. I always thought that she was looking for them but she drowned them and immediately regretted it and started mourning for their loss. Also, I’m not sure about this, but I think she was half Indigenous or something. I’m not sure if I’m making this up… It takes place in a rancho (Ranch) because there has to be a lot of open space because she drowns them in a lake, or river, or some sort of body of water. ”

Context: CL is a Mexican American student at USC. Her parents are from Michoacan, Mexico and her family currently resides near Bakersfield, California. Her parents were the first ones to tell her this story but she also later came across a book of myths and legends across different cultures and read a more “formal” story there. She explains how there is a lot of misogyny in Mexican culture, which is where the story might have come from. She says:

“What a coincidence that one of the scary stories that people tell is about a woman that murdered her children because her husband cheated on her”. 

She also says that she always imagined the story took place outside of her house because there was a creek. She was always scared of hearing her (La llorona) in the middle of the night. She says that people tell this story to scare their children. It’s an obedience tactic. She explains how it’s not meant for adults. It’s not told to men as a warning to not cheat on their wives. 

My interpretation: While most of the informant’s version of this story matched other popular versions, what stood out to me about her analysis was the way she categorized it as an obedience tactic used on children, even though the children in the story did nothing wrong. As someone who also grew up hearing this story I had never wondered why it was never used as a way to ensure men didn’t cheat on their wives. It’s very telling of the ways in which women and children in this culture suffer the consequences of men’s actions the most. 

“Vibora de la Mar”- Mexican Wedding Dance

  1. “Vibora de la Mar”- Mexican Wedding Dance

Context: CL is a Mexican American student at USC. Her parents are from Michoacan, Mexico and her family currently resides near Bakersfield, California.

Transcript: 

CL: Okay so this is a game played at a wedding. Okay there’s two different ones: The bride gets on a chair… I’m trying to remember if it’s the bride and the groom both get on a chair, and then they carry the bride’s veil, the groom carries the bride’s veil so that people grab each other’s hands and then they go around in circles. First, it’s the women that are at the party, and then after they’re done, it’s the men that go. I think they’re objective is to try to knock down the bride and the groom… 

HV: That’s so silly goofy *laughs*. To try to knock down who?

CL: The bride and the groom. 

HV: Oh they’re praying on their downfall?

CL: Yeah, pretty much. 

HV: Is it all the single people?

CL: Yeah maybe!

HV: Why do you think they’re trying to knock down the bride and the groom? Do you think there’s a significance behind that? 

CL: *quietly* let me look it up… 

HV: That’s not fair! What do YOU think it means?

CL: I think it’s just… it could be one of two things. It could be like “oh we’re celebrating the union of you guys”. Maybe the chairs symbolize… it’s the beginning of a new era, you guys are so happy right now but eventually, it’s just gonna be like any common thing, being married, and if you fall, it’s like you’re joining us, welcome back to the real world. 

HV: Is there music?

CL: Oh yeah! There’s a song! The song is called “La vibora de la mar”?

HV: Screaming, it has the same name? 

CL: uh, yeah. 

HV: How does it go? Sing it for us. 

CL: “A la vibora, vibora, de la mar, de la mar, por aquí pueden pasar, los de adelante corren mucho, los de atras se quedaran”. 

(To the snake, snake, of the sea, of the sea, you can pass through here, the ones in the front run a lot, the ones in the back stay behind). 

HV: What is the translation of “vibora de la mar”? 

CL: Ooooo, snake of the sea? I think it’s “vibora” because the people are holding hands and they’re going in a snake motion. I’ve mainly seen it with adults because it can get kind of aggressive so I don’t think that they want children to get trampled. I think it’s aggressive because they’re trying to knock down the bride and groom. If the men were to go first, since they tend to be a little more aggressive, then the women wouldn’t be able to go. Cause then what if the groom falls or the bride falls or someone gets hurt. 

My Interpretation: The significance of this tradition to me seems like it’s a way of testing the newlyweds’ bond. By physically trying to knock down the couple, who are now connected, literally through the bride’s veil, and figuratively through marriage, the community is giving them their first test of endurance in this new chapter of the life cycle. It’s also interesting to me how segregated the tradition is by gender because it demonstrates how separate men and women are in the culture and how their roles in marriage will also be separate and distinct. 

“Ponte Las Pilas”

  1. “Ponte Las Pilas”- Hispanic Proverb

Context : CL is a Mexican American student at USC. Her parents are from Michoacan, Mexico and her family currently resides near Bakersfield, California. She’s not sure where this saying originated from but she knows that it’s mainly used a lot when people graduate. She thinks it’s a saying that’s become popular among people in Hispanic culture. While explaining it, she also thought of another similar saying: “Ponte Trucha”. 

Description (From Transcript): 

CL: Okay so “ponte las pilas” is like you have to constantly be on your guard… you have to like make sure that you’re on top of things, that you don’t fall behind… The literal translation would be “put your batteries on” or “put on your batteries”. Figuratively it would be like… you have to start grinding, working hard. I think “ponte trucha” is kinda similar, like stay aware. 

Interviewer: What does trucha mean??

CL: *laughs* I have NO idea. My mom tells me this, like whenever… if we’re talking about something and she tells me something I didn’t know and I’m like “oh, what?”, she’s like “yeah, ponte trucha”. 

Interviewer: ohhhh, like smarten up kind of?

CL: Yeah! Or like if I am telling her about something that happened to me and she’s like “oh, well you should have done this” and she’s like “ponte trucha”. I think I’ve only heard this from my mom. I think she got it from her family or friends or something. Both of my parents are from [Michoacan]. 

My Interpretation: The way that I interpret this proverb is that humans often work like machinery and when they put their batteries in, they function at their best. I also think it might be a common saying among Hispanic communities because they were so largely disenfranchised from higher education therefore when people graduated high school and decided to go to college, families encouraged them to work extra hard with this saying. As for the second phrase, I think it adds to ideas such as “working hard” and “working smart”. It also makes sense that parents would tell their children these phrases because they would want them to succeed and do their best in all contexts of their lives, whether it be in education or everyday situations like my informant described for the second phrase. 

For further reading on this proverb, see: 

Pearson. “Ponte Las Pilas – Meaning, Origin and Usage.” English-Grammar-Lessons.com, 2 Feb. 2022, english-grammar-lessons.com/ponte-las-pilas-meaning/.