Author Archives: Lore15

Dime

Background:

The informant is my best friend from middle school. He has a twin sister and is older by a couple minutes. He currently works for the California Gas Company and on the side does voice overs for D.J. drops. 

Transcript : 

Me: So what do you mean by Dime. Are you talking about money?

Informant: Not necessaruly. It can mean different things depending on how it’s used.

Me: Give me some examples.

Informant: Alright so in basketball if you throw a nice ass pass without looking to where the ball is headed that leads to a score you can call that a “dime” instead of an assist.

Me: I see I see. So you can say someone like Chris Paul or Stephen Curry dishes out a ton of dimes

Informant: Exactly.

Me: where did you first hear dime used in basektball terms?

Imformant: I can’t remember exactly but I hear it said a lot while playing and watching games on T.V.

Me: Alright. Well what else can it mean?

Informant: Well if you’re talking about a beautiful girl you can call her a dime which means she is a ten out of ten.

Me: (laughs) That’s interesting. Where’d you pick that up?

Informant: The term is big in Hip-Hop culture. And I would always hear my uncle say it and when I was younger and I would copy everything he did.

Analysis: 

I think the use of dime to describe a beautiful girl is clever with a dime being worth ten cents hence the idea ten out of ten. In the context of basketball, it hints to the idea of dropping a dime because people tend to drop change a lot without knowing or seeing. Obviously a player knows when they intend to pass but it has to do with not looking towards the direction the ball is going. It is a way of being finese and slick on the basketball court. Dropping something (a dime) and making it look EASY!

Las Mañanitas

Background:

The informant is my best friend from middle school. He has a twin sister and is older by a couple minutes. He currently works for the California Gas Company and on the side does voice overs for D.J. drops. 

Informant: 

Every year on my birthday my grandma wakes my ass up early in the morning to sing me Las Mañanitas which is the Spanish version of Happy Birthday. Basically, she’s my alarm clock on my birthday. She’s been doing it for 20 years without fail. I love my grandma, but that shit drives me crazy. She wakes me up at 6AM to sing to me.

Lyrics:

Estas son las mañanitas
que cantaba el rey David.
Hoy por ser dia de tu santo
te las cantamos a ti.
Despierta, mi bien, despierta;
mira que ya amaneció.
Ya los pajaritos cantan;
la luna ya se metió
Que linda está la manãna
en que vengo a saludarte;
venimos todos con gusto
y plazer a felicitarte.
El dia en que tu naciste
Nacieron todas las flores
En la fila del bautizmo
cantaron los Ruiseñores
Ya viene amaneciendo
Ya la luz del dia nos dio
Levántate de mañana
mira que ya amaneció
Si yo pudiera bajarte
las estrellas y un lucero
para poder demostrarte
lo mucho que yo te quiero
Con jazmines y flores
Este dia quiero acordar
Hoy por ser dia de tu santo
Te venimos a cantar
Translation:
These are the mañanitas
King David sang.
Today to be your holy day
you sing them to you.
Wake up, my love, awake;
look already dawned.
And the birds sing;
the moon and got
The morning is bordering
when I come to say hello;
we all come willingly
and plazer to congratulate you.
The day you were born
They born all the flowers
In the row of baptism
nightingales
It is already dawning
And the daylight gave us
Get up tomorrow
look already dawned
If I could get off
stars and a bright star
to prove
how much I love you
With jasmine and flowers
I agree this day
Today to be your holy day
We come to sing
Analysis:
This version of the happy birthday song is a lot different from the American version. It has many religious ties which makes the song quite unique in its own light. It shows how much Mexican culture intertwines with Catholic religion.

18 and Mexico

Background:

The informant is my best friend from middle school. He has a twin sister and is older by a couple minutes. He currently works for the California Gas Company and on the side does voice overs for D.J. drops. 

Transcript: 

Informant: Alright so you know how everyone does the cliche ass trip to vegas when they turn 21?

Me: Yea what about it?

Informant: Well in Mexican culture its all about hitting up Mexico when you turn 18!  At that point you’re considered a man.

Me: did you go on your 18th birthday?

Informant: Hell yea. That shit was crazy.

Me: who took you? (laughs)

Informant: my pop’s and my uncles (laughs).

Me: how was that?

Informant: It was insane man. I’ll never forget that shit. It was pretty funny getting fucked up with my dad too. That was an experience, having my first beer with him. I ain’t gonna lie though, My ass ended up puking at the end of the first night.

Me: Let me guess…shots?

Informant: Fucking tequila man. that shit is unforgivable (laughs)

Me: so is it like a ritual for the guys in your family to hit up Mexico when they turn 18?

Informant: yea, pretty much. My fam says it’s a lot less expensive than vegas too (laughs) Have you ever been?

Me: Nope.

Informant: we going this summer! You’re already 20 you’re two years behind!

Analysis: 

This is a pure example of multiplicity and variation when it comes to a coming of age ritual. In addition, it is very common to see college students take their spring break trips down to Mexico because the legal drinking age down there is 18. I think the age is 18 down in Mexico because it helps draw an untouched market of customers who can’t drink in the U.S. Mexico nightlife is what drives the economy down there.

 

The Legend of Juan Tamad

Background:

The informant is my Uncle. He was born in the Philippines and came to the United States when he was twelve. He went to Hollywood High School and after he attended chiropractic school. He enjoys watching basketball and is also on the verge of retiring from work. 

Informant: 

Well, when we were young the grownups always told a story about Juan Tamad which means Lazy John or Lazy Juan. He was so lazy, super, super lazy, that he would lay down under the guava tree with his mouth wide open and wait for a guava to fall into his mouth. He was too lazy to climb the tree. The adults would always say don’t be lazy or else you’re going to end up just like Juan Tamad.

Analysis: 

Moral of the story…Don’t be lazy. If you want something go out there and get it done.

Don’t fall asleep in a bathroom

Background:

The informant is a good friend of mine who attends California State University, Northridge where she is studying to become an occupational therapist. She is a second generation American citizen who was born and raised in Burbank, California. Her parents came to the United States from Egypt shortly before she was born. She is a Muslim and can read, write, and speak Arabic fluently.

Transcript:

Informant: In Muslim culture, well at least in my family they say that you must NEVER…EVER… sleep in a bathroom.

Me: And why is that?

Informant: My parents say because your soul leaves your body at night while you are sleeping.

Me: But what does that have to do with sleeping in a bathroom?

Informant: My dad said because the bathroom is considered the dirtiest room in a house there is belief that Jinn which is the Muslim version of the devil or a demon likes to hang out in there well…because it’s dirty.

Me: So what happens if someone were to fall asleep in a bathroom?

Informant: The Jinn will enter their body and they will become possessed because their soul has left your body since they were sleeping.

Me: Wow…that escalated quickly. So what’s the remedy for someone who becomes possessed?

Informant: Something similar to an exorcism.

Me: Damn. Are you a believer or is it just your parents?

Informant: No, I’m not, at least not anymore. When I was younger it used to scare the crap out of me but now it really doesn’t phase me. Plus I have a perfectly comfortable bed why the hell would I sleep in the bathroom (Laughs). But my dad swears it’s true. Ever since I got my cat he’s been extra paranoid because the bathroom can get really messy at times because of the litter box.

Analysis:

I find it crazy how a bathroom can be equated to basically hell, or a demon’s dwelling place simply because it is “dirty”. I asked my informant what happens if you clean the bathroom? She responded that she mentioned this to her dad, but he said it makes no difference because it will eventually be dirty again. This shows how symbolic and metaphorical the Muslim culture can be with dirtiness being parallel to evil. But after talking more with my informant this belief makes sense because Muslims take hygiene very seriously. Before prayer, they must be clean and as pure as possible. For many Muslims, taking a bath is symbolic for washing off impurities. Impurities that may involve sin therefore reinforcing the idea of the bathroom being dirty and a common place for the Jinn to thrive and like to hang out.