Author Archives: Megan Angulo

Spanish Proverbs

The informant’s mother is from northern Mexico, specifically Sonora. She came to America during the Mexican revolution when she was very young (~1910).  She lived in the territory of Arisona before it became a state. The informant was raised in Arizona, but brought up bilingual. Her mother would speak spanish to her and her siblings because she did not want to kids to lose it.

The informant told me 3 Spanish proverbs that her mother used to say to the kids growing up.

1. “No hay mal que por bien no venga”

Translates roughly to “something good comes out of everything”

Context via informant: Let’s say something went wrong… you didn’t get something you wanted. Mom would say that meaning that something good will still come out of it.

Interpretation: This proverb exhibits a mindset focused on always looking at bright side.  It warns people against getting upset over things not always going their way, but instead believing that something better is on the way.

2. “Entre menos guros mas elotes”

Translates roughly to “The fewer the people who want something, the bigger your share is going to be.”

Context via informant: Mom used this proverb whenever somebody doesn’t want something (typically food).

Interpretation: The English equivalent for this proverb would be saying “more for me” after someone declines food or some object. It emphasizes that nothing will go to waste, and at times can make one feel guilty for not wanting what is so graciously given to him.  Someone else will make use of what you do not want. The food/thing in front of you is not worthless even if you do not want it.

3. “El diablo sabe mas por viejo que por diable”

Translates roughly to “The devil knows more because he is not rather than because he is the devil”

Context via informant: “Mom said this ALL the time. The idea is that experience mattered more than anything. If you’re the daughter and she’s the mom, you’ll never know more because she’s older. You can never catch up.  It was very discouraging.”

Interpretation: It makes sense that a parent would frequently say this proverb because parents will always be older than their children, meaning they will always be wiser. Older people know more, and they always will, because they will always be older than you.  It is emphasizes respect and reverence of elders. You should never stop respecting or listening to people older than you because they will always be wiser.

La Llorona

The informant’s mother is from northern Mexico, specifically Sonora. She came to America during the Mexican revolution when she was very young (~1910).  She lived in the territory of Arisona before it became a state. The informant was raised in Arizona, but brought up bilingual. Her mother would speak spanish to her and her siblings because she did not want to kids to lose it.

I asked the informant if she remembers any myths or legends from when she was younger, and her first response was La Llorona (The Weeping Woman). When I asked her to tell me about it, she said she doesn’t remember it clearly and that there are a lot of different versions to the story.  The version of the legend she best remembers is as follows:

Informant: There is a woman who lost her child somehow and now goes around crying because she is looking for the lost child. If you are quiet at night, and it’s windy, you can hear her wailing.  And if you’re a little kid, it’s best to go to bed when your parents tell you to because La Llorona is always around, looking for a child to replace hers.

Interpretation: This legend a classic example of a story told to children as a way to get them to listen to their parents.  Whenever there is wind, which is always easier to hear late at night, it can be identified as the weeping of La Llorona.  This makes it easy for parents to tell it to their kids because it can be applicable on most nights of the year.  While this story is particularly popular in Spanish speaking countries, there are legends in other countries that follow a similar plot line. This makes it difficult to pin point exactly where is originated, but it is a great example of how certain motifs, such as listening to parents, can be cross cultural.

A most comprehensive version of this story can be found here:

Hayes, Joe, and Vicki Trego. Hill. La Llorona: The Weeping Woman: An Hispanic Legend Told in Spanish and English. El Paso, TX: Cinco Puntos, 1987. Print.

Our Lady of Guadalupe

Context: The piece collected is a myth about Our Lady of Guadalupe, known as the Blessed Virgin Mary to all the Americas. The informant first heard of this story at least 30 years ago, prior to moving to where she currently resides in Arizona.  When she did move to Arizona, though, she went to a celebration of Our Lady of Guadalupe. It was on December 12th, and there was a big feast and mariachi band.  She said that the story is much more prominent in Arizona.  She also came across this story when visiting San Ildefonso Cathedral in Merida, Mexico, where there is a shrine and stature erected in Our Lady of Guadalupe’s honor.

“This is my understanding of the whole story.  A lady of Guadeloupe was the Patron saint of the americas. There was a peasant named Juan Diego.  He was a farmer. He was praying, and the blessed mother appeared and told him to make a church at a certain place. No one believed that the blessed mother appeared to him.  And he even went to the bishop. Bishop said that you have to find proof to show me that the Virgin Mary really was there and told you this stuff. So he went back to pray where he had visions of the blessed mother, and he told her what happened.  When he was getting ready to leave, there were roses growing in the snow. He brought the roses back to the bishop and the people began to believe that he did see her. Then they did build the church in her honor and things got better for the farmers.”

Interpretation: My grandmother knows a very butchered version of this story. I looked it up online later (the link is attached below), and I discovered that it a very well known, sacred story to Latin Americans. The story is clearly based in Christianity.  I am Lutheran, but have never heard this story told before.  Even in the butchered way that she tells it, the moral of the story, to trust and put faith in the Blessed Virgin Mary, is still very clear.  There are statues, school, churches and shrines all dedicated to Our Lady of Guadalupe, and people living in Mexico would undoubtably be very well versed in the story.

For a more comprehensive version of this story, see:

Anderson, Carl A., and Eduardo Chávez. Our Lady of Guadalupe: Mother of the Civilization of Love. New York: Doubleday, 2009. Print

Christmas Tradition

The informant is a 21 year old girl, and one of my closest friends. She told me about a tradition she takes part in at Christmas time every year.

Informant: So, every year, the day before Christmas, since we were little, my mom acts like she is the elf…  And puts out Christmas presents and rings a little bell. We all run into the living room, and there are presents. And they are our Christmas pajamas to wear so that when we wake up we are all matching in Christmas clothes.

Me: You used to think it was an elf though?

Informant: Oh, definitely I used to think it was an elf.

Me: And then she told you?

Informant: Well it was her handwriting.  Back when I thought it was the elves, I really thought it was them. I pictured them as the little ones, you know? Little guys with green and red hats and little outfits with little boots. Like the size of… a pencil… that height.

Me: When did you start practicing this?

Informant: As long as I can remember.

Me: When did you figure out it was your mom?

Informant: Probably in 4th or 5th grade I figured it out.

My analysis: When I first heard this story, I was not very drawn to it.  Christmas is somewhat the “go to” topic when talking about different traditions. Looking back, though, that in and of itself is what makes it so interesting. Once I interviewed another informant (transcribed under: Hungarian Christmas), I ended up coming back and rethinking this tradition.  Both of the informants talked about a very very similar Christmas tradition, but one learned it at her home in North Carolina and the other in Budapest, Hungary.  The concept is the same: some figure puts out presents the night before Christmas, a bell is rung, and kids can go see those presents the night before. Which one of these cultures started practicing this first is beyond me, but the fact that they all do gave me a newfound appreciation for something I originally did not think much of.