Monthly Archives: April 2019

Eternal Youth Face Mask

Nationality: American
Age: 56
Occupation: Writer/Poet
Residence: Santa Monica, CA
Performance Date: 3/23/19
Primary Language: English

Context

I was interested in finding an example of a folk remedy or natural beauty regimen that had been taught to my mother from someone else in her family. While she could not think of any folk medicine examples, she did find a copy of her mother’s face mask recipe, which she read aloud.

Main Piece

Okay, this is the Silver Eternal Youth Mask, “Silver” meaning — that was her maiden name, and um… Grandma, and um, what she did was, she used to make this mask and put it on her face so she would look younger, and it was something that was passed on through her family — she learned it from her mom. When she turned 40, she decided that she was gonna create a business called 40 Plus, it was a line of products, and, so, this was one of the products that she was gonna try to sell. And so she tried it out on me, but it turned my face beet read. Anyway, so I’m gonna just read you the recipe:

Silver Eternal Youth Mask

3 egg whites, beaten until frothy.

One tablespoon honey.

  1. Mix together. 
  2. Place mixture all over face and neck. Feel how the mask tightens face and neck.
  3. Lie down with feet elevated. Place moistened cool cotton balls over eyes.
  4. Rest for 15 minutes. Think sweet thoughts.
  5. Remove mask with whole milk.

Notes

This piece gives insight into 20th century beauty standards (particularly the fact that it was passed from mother to daughter) and the association of beauty with “eternal youth.” I also was intrigued that my grandmother had planned on selling this product. As we have learned in class, many supposed Western medicine innovations are adaptations of indigenous methods; essentially, commodified and mass-marketed versions of things for which no one person can truly take credit. It would be interesting to know if commercial beauty products have similar folk origins.

A Wart in Your Eye

Nationality: Salvadorean
Age: 56
Residence: California
Performance Date: 2019
Primary Language: Spanish

Main Piece:

I asked the informant if she remembered what she told me would happen to me if I stared at dogs having sex… She laughed and then: “Yeah, I told you you would get a perrilla on your eye.” I asked her to describe what that was, because to this day I have no idea what it is. “Well, I am not completely sure of what it is. When I was young my mother, in El Salvador, would tell me not to stare at dogs when they…you know…because a perilla would appear in your eye. I think it is a kind of wart, or something similar to a wart. I am not sure. I just knew it was not something I wanted to grow out of my eye!”

 

Context: The informant is a middle-aged woman, born in El Salvador. She learned this myth from her mother. She believes that this was a way to maintain a child’s innocence, and to stop them from learning about sex too early.

Analysis: I agree with the informant; I think this myth was created to stop kids from growing up too fast and raising questions about what sex is.

NEWLY WEDS HORROR STORY ON THE HIGHWAY TO CHIHUAHUA

Nationality: Mexican-American
Age: 27
Residence: california
Performance Date: 2019
Primary Language: English
Language: spanish

Main Piece:

“Growing up…wherever we were in a car on the road to…pretty much anywhere, one of my uncles or aunts would tell us this one story. Apparently in Chihuahua there is this long highway with very few exits or cars passing by. So this couple, who ad literally just married, were on their way to Chihuahua. It was during the night…it was extremely dark. Their car broke down and the husband told his wife that he would walk down the road until he found help, and that she was to stay in the car and lock all the doors. He emphasized that she only opens the doors to him. She agreed and he left. An hour or two after he left, the wife noticed a raggedy man with a brown bag walking down the highway toward her car. The man stopped beside the passenger door and knocked on her window. He smiled at her and pointed at the bag. He knocked again and smiled. Just then a car passed the highway and the man rushed into the trees to hide. The woman flickered her headlights to try to get the car to stop but it did not. After the car was gone, the man with the bag approached her car door window again. He looked at her, smiled, and pointed toward the bag. The wife looked away from him, the man knocked, she turned to face him, again he smiled and pointed toward the bag. Just then another car was making its way down the highway. The man ran into the trees to hide again. The woman flickered her headlights and the car stopped. She told the man from the car that there was an old raggedy man with a bag bothering her and trying to get her to open her door. The man told her that he would hide and when the old man with the bag came back, that she honks many times and he would rush over in his car.

So, the wife waited for the old man to return. He finally did and again he knocked on the window, smiled, and pointed toward the bag. The wife honked and turned her headlights on. The other car rushed over. The old man then tried to escape and in doing so dropped the bag he was carrying. The wife got out of her car and ran toward the bag. The other man stood next to her as she opened the bag. The wife screamed and fainted from the contents in the bag. Inside was the severed head of her husband.”

Context:

The informant is a 27-year-old Mexican-American college student. He learned this story from his uncle, father, aunt, and any and all other family members. It is a very popular story to tell in his family. He believes to a certain extent that the events in this story might be based on true events, but he also believes that it might just be a scary story to tell around a campfire.

Analysis:

This legend seems to have some possibility of being true, which makes for a great legend. I believe that the reason this story continues to be told through generations in this informant’s family is because of how real the legend feels.

This story highlights the idea of sticking together in all circumstances.

When a Boat Reaches a Bridge (Chinese Proverb)

Nationality: Chinese
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: 1-15-19
Primary Language: English
Language: Chinese

Background Info/Context:

My friend was laying in bed while browsing through her phone, listening to me pace across my room after not hearing back from an internship I applied to multiple weeks ago. She told me that I did my part, and all I had to do now was wait, and trust that if the company finds me to be a good fit for their internship role, they would reach out. She tried calming me down with a proverb that her dad used to tell her to go with the flow and help her trust the system.

 

Piece:

“When a boat reaches a bridge near a river… it naturally, like, bends the… right way, so it doesn’t crash. Meaning that if the boats at a slight angle, and it’s about to crash, you just have to have faith that it will correct itself and like not crash into the bridge and just like keep going smoothly.”

 

Thoughts:

The proverb my friend shared definitely gave me perspective on what I should and shouldn’t stress about. After something been all said and done, the best thing you can do is trust that you worked hard enough to not “crash” or fail. Although this proverb was used in the context of career, it could easily be applied to many other situations. If someone is stressing out because of an argument they had with a friend, feeling anxious about being a first time parent, or even worried that their pet might not recover from a surgery, the proverb is focusing on fate, and that things that are meant to be, are going to be happen regardless of worrying or panicking. 

Clear Water Trickling Down A Mountain (Korean Proverb)

Nationality: Korean
Age: 48
Occupation: Co-business Owner
Residence: Texas
Performance Date: 2016
Primary Language: Korean
Language: English

Background Info/Context:

Because my mom is the oldest sister, she always had to set the example for her 2 younger sisters. So whenever she would disobey her parents, my grandma told her this proverb to explain why she needed to be a good role model. This saying actually annoyed my mom a lot, because although she understood the message of it, she felt like everything she was doing as an adolescent was being analyzed, to make sure her younger sisters would be happy and good.

 

Piece:

Korean:

윗물이 맑아야 아랫물이 맑다

 

English Transcription:

Weet mool ee mal ga ya ah rae mool ee malg dah.

 

Transliteration:

High water clear so bottom water clear.

 

English Translation:

The water at the top of the mountain has to be clear for the water at the base of the mountain to also be clear.

 

 

Thoughts:

I think this type of “role model” sentiment is valid, but instills Asian family household stereotypes and expectations. There is almost a lack of freedom for the eldest child, because he/she is reprimanded for making mistakes, exploring less developed paths, or even just not listening to his/her parents. For example, I was not allowed to quit piano lessons or go to a PG-13 movies, because it could negatively affect my younger sister. 

Although this proverb was always used in the context of sibling relationships in my family, it could also apply in a wider scope. Because the basis of the proverb pertains to being a role model, it could be used in other hierarchical systems, such as a place of work, an organization, or a class setting. If the person at the top (CEO / President / Teacher) is kind and understanding, the people that work alongside or beneath that person will also be respectful of others. While in the case that the “water at the top of the mountain” is rude and disrespectful, people will feed off of that negative energy and perpetuate these bad actions.