Monthly Archives: May 2018

“Camaroón que se duerme se lo lleva la corriente,” Mexico

Nationality: Mexican
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: 04/24/18
Primary Language: Spanish
Language: English

This proverb was collected from a friend, who was born and raised in Monterrey, Mexico and is 20 years old. The proverb “camarón que se duerme se lo lleva la corriente” translates into English literally as “a shrimp that falls asleep gets carried by the tide.” It is similar in meaning to the American saying “if you snooze, you lose.” It can be interpreted in terms of laziness, opportunity, or devotion, depending on the context it is used in, according to her.

 

My friend first related it to laziness. To her, the “tide” represented life since, it is always moving, and the shrimp represents lazy people who refuse to move with it. It is something that her mother always used to say to her and her siblings in order to motivate her to stay focused at school, and she thinks that it was very encouraging. As she grew up, she related it to opportunity when comparing the tide to an opportunity, and if you “sleep” on it you can miss it. It was her dad who gave it this meaning as he was encouraging her to apply to jobs and network as she got to college. When she had a bad experience with a close friend, another good friend said it to her comparing the tide to toxic people.

 

Even though I am from a Latin American country myself, I had never heard this before, but it is hardly surprising since Latin Americans have a reputation for being lazy so I could see why this would be popular. Like most proverbs, this one can be interpreted differently by different people depending on context, and I think it is really interesting how one person could use the experiences she was having at a certain time in her life to assign different meanings to a phrase she has been hearing since she was a child. It speaks to the universality and flexibility that some proverbs can have when looking at them from different perspectives.

La Llorona, Mexico

Nationality: Mexican
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: 04/24/18
Primary Language: Spanish
Language: English

This story was collected from a friend, who was born and raised in Monterrey, Mexico and is 20 years old. She told me her version about La Llorona, a widespread legend in the American Southwest, South America, and Central America. A lot of versions of the story exist in different regions, and this is the one her nanny used to tell her when she was growing up. Most versions have themes of maternal love, marriage, and death and suicide.

 

According to my friend’s version, La Llorona is about a woman whose husband left her, which made her lose her mind and kill her three children. When she came into her senses and realized what she had done, she couldn’t live with it so she committed suicide. She couldn’t go to heaven for having killed herself, so she stayed on Earth. She is supposed to go around looking for her children and taking all of the children she can find thinking they are hers.

 

My friend says it didn’t have much of an impact on her since she didn’t really believe in ghosts or anything of the sort, but it did make her scared to leave her house at night when she first heard it since she was so young. She also believes that was its intended purpose; something a parent would say to their child to scare them into behaving more safely, since Mexico has some dangerous areas.

 

I think it’s very interesting that her version has some religious undertones in its incorporation of heaven, since the one that I heard growing up didn’t, which speaks to how religious Mexico is as a country. Also, some other versions portray the woman as “bad,” condemning her behavior saying she intentionally killed her children as a form of revenge yet this version seems to portray her as more of a victim of a terrible situation. This is surprising to me, for Mexico is a sexist country in a lot of ways.

 

For more versions of this legend, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Llorona

Winchester Rubber Duckie Festival

Nationality: Venezuelan American
Age: 18
Occupation: student
Residence: usc
Performance Date: april 17, 2018
Primary Language: English
Language: Spanish

What is being performed?
TA: I’m from Winchester, Massachusetts which is like 30 minutes from Boston and every year
we have a Rubber Duckie Festival that the whole town comes to.
AA: What’s the rubber duckie festival?
TA: I don’t even really know. But I’ve been going my whole life. Basically, though, it happens
every summer and every kid brings a rubber duckie and a crane drops all the rubber duckies
into the river and they race. The duckie that makes it to the end gets a cash prize but it’s really
hard and completely dependent on luck.
AA: What are you celebrating?
TA: It’s about summer. I’m not exactly sure if other places do this but the rubber duckies are
supposed to just be symbols of happiness.

Why do they know or like this piece? where/who did they learn it from? What does it mean to
them?
AA: When did you first discover this festival?
TA: When I was a little kid my parents took me. And then I kept coming back because my dance
class would always perform.
AA: Do you like the festival?
TA: When I was a kid it was super fun because I would want my duck to win but now it’s just a
time for me to catch up with my friends and do something for Winchester. For my incredibly
small town, it means the world.
Context of the performance- where do you perform it? History?
The Winchester Rubber Duckie Festival happens annually in June. It brings the entire
community out, features youth performers, and has live music. It is a way for Winchester to be
united for a day.

Reflection
I have never heard of this festival before but think it’s cool and wish my town did something like
that. Having the racing of the rubber duckies is a fun way to get even the littlest children
involved. I think this is something that only works super well in small towns like Winchester but
is a good idea in theory for all towns.

Baseball Hats at Baseball Games

Nationality: American
Age: 18
Occupation: student
Residence: usc
Performance Date: april 17, 2018
Primary Language: English

What is being performed?
JJ: So if it’s late in the game and your team’s losing. You turn your hat, like, inside out and wear
it on top of your head to bring good luck.
AA: What teams do you do this for?
JJ: Well, I’m pretty sure all of baseball does this but you’re only supposed to do it for the team
you want to win.
AA: Have you ever done it?
JJ: Uh, yeah, at almost every game, actually. It’s a pretty big thing.

Why do they know or like this piece? where/who did they learn it from? What does it mean to
them?
AA: Where did you learn this trick?
JJ: I’ve been doing this since I was a kid and watching Red Sox games with my dad.
AA: Do you think it works?
JJ: I mean, I don’t know. But it makes you feel better. You feel like there’s still something you
can do and it’s not over yet.
Context of the performance- where do you perform it? History?
This is usually performed at baseball games or wherever people are watching baseball on TV.
This doesn’t happen in other sports but baseball fans participate.

Reflection
I am not a big baseball fan or big sports fan in general but this is interesting to me. I see this
mostly as a way that baseball fans, who aren’t on the field and have little control over what
happens in the game, get to feel as if they can control the fate of the game. I think it just shows
how serious people are about their sports teams and how much they can identify with a single
team.

Thanksgiving Song

Nationality: American
Age: 18
Occupation: student
Residence: usc
Performance Date: april 17, 2018
Primary Language: English

What is being performed?
JJ: Have you heard the Thanksgiving song?
AA: No, what’s the Thanksgiving song?
JJ: Well, I don’t know if it’s called that but my family sings it before we eat on Thanksgiving. It
might be called Thank You for the Food.
AA: How does it go?
JJ: (singing) Thank you God for the food we eat. Thank you God for the world so sweet. Thank
you God for the birds that sing. Thank you God for everything. Amen.
Why do they know or like this piece? where/who did they learn it from? What does it mean to
them?
AA: Where did you learn the song?
JJ: My mom would make us sing it before we ate on Thanksgiving.
AA: Do you like the song?
JJ: Uhhh, I guess it’s kind of catchy, haha.
AA: It is catchy! What does it mean to you?
JJ: I guess it’s just about giving thanks. It’s nice and it reminds me of my childhood with my
brother and family.

Context of the performance- where do you perform it? History?
This is usually performed at Thanksgiving dinners before eating. It’s a catchy way of giving
grace and is Christian in nature. It could be performed outside of Thanksgiving but my informant
believes it is specifically about Thanksgiving.

Reflection
I have attached an audio of the song in the Folklore archive. My informant agreed for it to be
used for the folklore archive purpose but wants me to get rid of it otherwise. I think the song is
catchy and have never heard it before. I could see this being an important part of Thanksgiving
for religious families.