Monthly Archives: May 2017

El Ratón Pérez

Nationality: Mexican
Age: 11
Occupation: Student
Residence: Mexico City
Performance Date: 03/16/17
Primary Language: Spanish

Informant: Valentina Williamson. 11 years old. Born and raised in Mexico City. My little sister,

Informant: “Whenever a tooth fell out, I would put it under my pillow and the “Raton Pérez” (Mouse Perez) would take it away and leave me money.”

Collector: “When did you first hear about the Ratón Perez”

Informant: “I guess I heard it from my parents. When my first tooth fell out they told me to place it under the pillow as and the ratón would exchange it for money.”

Collector: “Do you know why the ratón took teeth?”

Informant: “My parents told me he wanted my teeth because he collects teeth from all the children around the world. Also, all my friends had the same experience. We all believed in the ratón and would show off the money he gave us.”

Me: “Why did you believe in the Raton Pérez and not the tooth fairy.”

Informant: “If my tooth fell out in Mexico it was the Raton Perez’s job. If I was in the U.S. it was the Tooth Fairy’s job. Like once my tooth fell out when I was in New York and I believed the tooth fairy took it. It was all about where I was. HA HA!  I even thought they would meet up and compare their tooth collections.”

Thoughts: The Raton Perez and Tooth Fairy are classic folklore parents tell their children. What interested me the most from my sister’s performance is that she believed it was locational rather than sticking to one belief. I also know that in Spain they call it “Ratoncito Pérez” or “Little Mouse Pérez.”

 

Interesting read on the origins of the Ratón Pérez: “http://2yearsinmadrid.blogspot.com/2011/07/el-raton-perez-spanish-tooth-fairy.html”

Asian Pears with Honey Remedy

Nationality: South Korean
Age: 55
Occupation: Homemaker
Residence: Cerritos, CA
Performance Date: 4/10/17
Primary Language: Korean
Language: English

Background: Stella is a 55-year-old woman living in Cerritos, CA. She was born in Seoul and has lived in South Korea for the majority of her life until she moved here for college. She stays at home. Before that, she worked at a hair salon as a beautician. She is married and has two grown children.

 

Main piece:

So what do you usually do when you or your children are sick?

Stella: “I always always say eat some pears… Asian pears!.. with a little bit honey. It is cool… and feels good in mouth. It is soothing to throat and the best for when you have cold.”

Where did you learn this from?

Stella: “My mother, so your grandmother, tell me this all the time. It is old, old tradition.”

Does it work?

Stella: “Yeah! Always feels good. It has worked for generations and generations.”

Performance Context: I interviewed the informant over the phone, as she was in the Orange County area and I’m in Los Angeles. This folk remedy seems to originate from back when my mother was a child. She learned this from her mother and has passed it down to me.

My Thoughts: I love this home remedy – it reminds me of my childhood and maybe it’s also psychological, but this remedy always seems to work for me. I plan to pass this down to my children as well.

 

Texas Sheet Cake

Nationality: American
Age: 48
Residence: Brentwood, TN
Performance Date: 15 March 2017
Primary Language: English

Informant: My mother found culinary recipes that have been passed on through generations, and become a part of our family folklore

Original Piece: I can claim this recipe because I’ve made several adjustments to the one passed on to me from Grandmama. This is THE go-to cake—birthday, graduation, family reunion. Growing up we always ate it on a blanket in the front yard with homemade peppermint ice cream while we watched the fireworks. My mother-in-law always requests I bring it to any family function. You will thank me for this cake.

Context of Performance: My mother was sifting through old family recipes to send to me and my sister at college, so we wouldn’t forget our “southern heritage”.

Thoughts about the Piece: I liked this recipe because it is an example of a recipe that has been passed down in my family for several generations, and was originally grabbed from a copy of “Southern Living”. However, over the years, the women in my family have changed and altered it to produce the best form of this, which is a good example of what folklore is.

Louis and Clarke Reenactments

Nationality: American
Age: 74
Occupation: N/A
Residence: Ava, IL
Performance Date: 15 March 2017
Primary Language: English

Informant: My grandmother has always lived in a small town in southern Illinois. Its population is a little under 600 and dwindling quickly. However, she recounted some of the unique folklore and traditions that have remained alive throughout the years.

Original Script: Some Ava folklore is that Louis and Clarke spent the night on their trek to the west. They even had reenactors a couple of years ago who came through, and it was, it must have been mid-July, so you know it’s in the nineties and they’re wearing their furs. But, you know, people love it.

Context of Performance: At the breakfast table, she told the story to myself and my sister.

Thoughts about the Piece: I enjoy hearing about the little quirks and traditions that small towns, specifically in rural agricultural areas, keep throughout years.

Why Jinn are Good

Nationality: Persian
Age: 53
Occupation: N/A
Residence: Tustin, CA
Performance Date: 4 March 2017
Primary Language: Persian
Language: English

Informant: My friend’s mother tells stories about the Jinn, as her grandfather told to Shiva. She says she does not know if Jinn exist, but there are certainly people in Iran who swear they are real. She has fun telling these stories because of their potential for belief.

Original Script: “Okay so initially, this is what my grandpa told, this is the story that has been passed down to him. The reason they were all good—the villagers were all good with the Jen, because, apparently this one girl one day comes home and the mom had peeled a lot of garlic. But she didn’t want to dispose of the garlic skin anywhere because they’re so light they fly away. So she had put them in a little bag and she gives it to the daughter and says, ‘take it to that pond over there and release it to the water’ because then it won’t get—spread out all over. So she goes and there is this pretty, pretty girl sitting by the pond and she says, ‘no, don’t dispose these here, just give them to me.’ And she says, ‘Okay, here they’re…they’re just garlic peels, whatever.’ And she gives her, the pretty woman gives the young girl, a bag of something and she says take these to your mom. And she takes these to her mom, the bag, and the mom says, ‘why did you accept anything, that was trash I gave you.’ And she says, ‘well this was a nice lady, she asked me to do this, I am doing this.’ And they open it up and the bag is full of pearls. So since then, the villagers have been good to these creatures. They aren’t scared of them, if they see them they won’t freak out.

Context of the Performance: Over dinner, family members exchanged old folk stories they remember from Iran.

Thoughts about the Piece: I love the Jinn stories. I especially loved the story, passed down through generations of families. The storyteller said she might believe that it is true, which made listening to it all the more enjoyable.