Author Archives: Sabrina Pina

A story of La Llorona

PP is a teacher who currently resides in Bothell Washington. She is originally from Yakima, WA but her family descends from Guadalajara in Mexico. Much of her family spoke Spanish as their first language and her grandma was the first to immigrate to America. Much of her influences and culture come from that region and her upbringing in a single-mother low income household.

Are there any pieces of folklore or tradition that you felt taught you a lesson you will never forget?

PP: Well I feel like every person of Mexican descent has heard of La Llorona, the ghost woman. She was meant to warn kids not to play near rivers or leave home alone at night.

What is the story and how is it significant to your history?

PP: The story of La Llorona is about a widow who her children are killed by their husband I think? Or maybe the husband dies from being sick and so do the kids, I don’t really remember it as well but, then she kills herself out of grief and is doomed to haunt the river she lived near as a weeping ghost. Many people have had stories of seeing her when next to a river in Mexico, because you can hear her wailing and crying out for her children. I had a cousin who always said he saw her when he was around ten years old. He said he was walking on a road which was next to a river during the day and heard someone yelling and wailing and then saw her ghost. Many other relatives of mine has claimed to have seen her as well so it is common in the culture to actually believe in her ghost.

So what is the lesson that you will never forget?

PP: The main lesson of it all for me was not to walk outside alone when I was younger or anywhere near a river where I could get hurt or drown I think. It was mostly a warning to all younger kids not to wander off alone or be disobedient because then something bad could happen to you and you would be scared.

Analysis:

La Llorona is one of the most universally known ghost stories among Mexican culture. This piece of folklore has been around for a very long time and can vary. Some people say they see her and some people say they just heard her and ran. There is no real documented proof the ghost exists but the legend has existed for so long that many people believe in its truth. Although it is possible this legend was invented to teach kids a lesson it is entirely possible the ghost does exist. Right now, it exists through the belief of the people.

Capirotada

LW is a retired 74-year-old woman who lives with her husband in Sunnyside, WA. She was born and raised there and came from an immigrant mother and father who came from Guadalajara, Mexico. She never went to college but became a mother to three children and a grandmother to several grandchildren. She was remarried twice and worked two minimum wage jobs to support her family. Her primary language is Spanish but her English is perfect as well.

Are there any holiday traditions or rituals that you have?

LW: I used to make this Mexican pudding on Easter called Capirotada. It is similar to bread pudding and it was made with cheese and raisins and my mother taught me how to make it. It was fairly easy to make and it was a fun thing to do for Easter with my kids. When my oldest daughter got, old enough I tried to teach her, but I don’t think she makes it anymore and neither do I.

Is there an importance to the dish and why its associated with Easter?

LW: It was a reminder of Christ’s suffering on good Friday and the ingredients have something to do with the passion of Christ. I am not sure how but that is what my mother told me when she taught me how to make it. I just know the bread in it symbolizes the body of Christ, as they say in the bible ‘broken and shared so we might live’.

Is there a reason this tradition has become more lost to your family?

LW: I think it was something we just started to forget about. We used to celebrate Easter every year with family, including my grandkids when they were born. But now we live so far and I have gotten older so I don’t spend Easter with them as a family as much anymore.

Analysis:

This dish is common as a Mexican tradition during Easter. As LW explained, it is symbolic of the passion of Christ as the bread of life who suffered to forgive the sins of mankind. The other ingredients stand for the passion as well such as the cinnamon sticks that represent the wood of the cross he died on, the cloves for the nails on the cross, and the cheese for the holy shroud. The dish still continues to be served and has many variations and other recipes as well.

Song Wars

SP is a current student at California Polytechnic University at San Luis Obispo where she studies Geography and Anthropology. She is originally from Seattle, WA and grew up in a small town nearby. She grew up in a typical American middle-class family. She attended a public high school in Washington where she grew up with a sister and her mother and father. She has a background of being half-Mexican and half Irish/Italian that has in some ways heavily influenced her beliefs as well as her religious beliefs rooted in Catholicism.

What is something, perhaps a game or activity, you participate in or know of that you believe is lesser known?

SP: Well me and my family learned this game from some family friends that we always play together and have a fun time with. It is called ‘song wars’ and it is a game where you pick categories of music and each person plays a song that they feel best fits their category and the person who chose the category judges whose song is best. The only rules are that you cannot replay someone else’s song and that no one truly wins. You play in multiple rounds but no one keeps track or score of whose song is the best because sometimes it is too hard to choose or sometimes we just decide to play for fun and not say whose is the best. They game is not a game that is about strategy or smarts, its more about listening and enjoying others music no matter what different tastes you have.

How did you come up with this game and why do you think you enjoy playing it together so much?

SP: I think my friends came up with it when they were at their cabin in the winter and were bored and had nothing to do so they came up with the game to pass time and make sure everyone got a chance to hear the kind of music they liked. The game helps when you have all kinds of generations of kids, parents, and grandparents with you who can choose the music of their taste that they think the others will also enjoy. The game makes you laugh and cry and just have an enjoyable time together. Every time you play it you get the chance to get to know each other better and just enjoy each other company. Music is a way to connect people together and what a better time than with family or friends? I think that is why we enjoy playing it so much. It is not about a competition or who is the best it is just about setting the mood and creating memories together.

Analysis:

This game is one I have never heard of but I find it is almost perplexing that it isn’t a popular game yet or patented somewhere. Music is a huge interest of all generations and is a valuable tool of unification or experience when you are with others. I find this game interesting because it is played mostly amongst family and across many generations. The game has no clear objective or strategy other than to have an enjoyable time and relax which is what makes it unique. It has not aspect of competition which is at the core of many games no matter how many players are involved. I think if there was a game similar to this that were to get exposure it would because very popular and modernized quickly.

Claddagh Ring

claddagh

SP is a current student at California Polytechnic University at San Luis Obispo where she studies Geography and Anthropology. She is originally from Seattle, WA and grew up in a small town nearby. She grew up in a typical American middle-class family. She attended a public high school in Washington where she grew up with a sister and her mother and father. She has a background of being half-Mexican and half Irish/Italian that has in some ways heavily influenced her beliefs as well as her religious beliefs rooted in Catholicism.

Is there anything else that you have or do that you feel specifically connected to or you resonate with?

SP: I wear a ring every day that my mom gave me that is a Irish Claddagh ring that is very sentimental to me and has meaning to me. You wear it to show whether or not your heart is open or closed. The ring has two hands holding a heart with a crown on top of it. The direction you where the ring in tells people whether or not you are single. If you wear it with the crown turned towards you that means your heart is closed because it is not facing out. When the crown faces out it means your heart is closed because the point is towards you.

Why do you wear it and what does it mean to you?

SP: It is most important to me because when my mom gave it to me she told me that I should hold my heart as a special thing and not give it away so easily and since then I feel like I have always heard her words in my head when I look at my hand and think about it. It also makes me thing she is still with me at the time. I am not very in touch with my Irish heritage but this ring and its tradition makes me feel closer to my religion in ways I can’t express normally. The Claddagh ring has been around for a long time and it makes me feel attached to Irish history. We don’t celebrate much else of that heritage except for the fact that I am a practicing catholic, but even then, this is sentimentally the only Irish thing I know of that I practice. It has become very modernized but I still value it nonetheless.

Analysis:

The Irish Claddagh ring has been around since around 300 years ago. It symbolizes love, loyalty and friendship. The hands represent friendship, the heart represents love, and the crown represents loyalty. They once originated in a small fishing village in Ireland that created the style of the universal Claddagh today. The design makes it perfect for weddings or gifts for any occasion to women and men who value the three meanings of the ring. It can be a very sentimental symbol to people but also represent the Irish heritage. Many women today I have met wear them but do not know the true meanings behind the ring or where it originated from. I think it makes the value of it stronger to know the meaning and the origins behind it. It can make one resonate more deeply with the heritage or tradition if they know and understand the true meaning or are Irish themselves.

Line Dancing

SP is a current student at California Polytechnic University at San Luis Obispo where she studies Geography and Anthropology. She is originally from Seattle, WA and grew up in a small town nearby. She grew up in a typical American middle-class family. She attended a public high school in Washington where she grew up with a sister and her mother and father. She has a background of being half-Mexican and half Irish/Italian that has in some ways heavily influenced her beliefs as well as her religious beliefs rooted in Catholicism.

Are there any traditions that are new you have come across that you just started to partake in, possibly at college?

SP: Well at Cal Poly I have recently started to go to line dancing with my friends. It is on Thursday nights in a small bar with an open dance floor. Around 100-200 people will go a night and it gets really hot and crowded but it is one of the most fun things I have done here. It is something you can go to with your friends even if you are a bad dancer.

What is it like? I have never been line-dancing and don’t know what the experience is like.

SP: Well line-dancing is a lot of steps and remembering the pattern. They always play the same songs and each song has a dance. Most of the regulars know all the dances from going so often so if you watch them for a while sometimes you will eventually be able to do it and try it. I am not very good so I can only pick up the slower or easier dances and even then, sometimes I mess up. They aren’t that serious so if you mess up you just laugh it off and keep going but some people are so good and never mess up. I am guessing those people have time to go every week and that’s how they can memorize it and get so good.

Why is this so popular or a tradition at Cal Poly?

SP: I think it is because a lot of people at Cal Poly like country music and dancing and drinking and at Line-Dancing you can do all of those at the same time with you friends. When I go, I like to go with a group of my friends that I can dance with and have fun with but still make a fool of myself. That’s why so many people at Cal Poly go, because it is fun and easy to go with a bunch of your friends.

Analysis:

Line-dancing is popular across the united states but it has died out in places that are not in the south for the most part. IT is making a revival and the small town of San Luis Obispo through college kids because college kids love dancing and most love music that is popular like country. The act of line-dancing is portrayed in many movies and television as people having a ton of fun in pre-choreographed dance that they just happen to be able to learn easily during the night. It doesn’t require as much precision or skill as other kinds of dance which makes it friendly to all people especially young people. It is interesting to see it growing in California, which is not known as a typical southern state.