Author Archives: aeatkins@usc.edu

Pabellón Criollo

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

What is being performed?
TV: In Venezuela we eat something called Pabellón Criollo or creole. It’s basically just black
beans, white rice, shredded beef, and plantains but it’s symbolic of Venezuelan history and
culture.
AA: What does it symbolize?
TV: The brown and yellow in the dish are for indigenous peoples, the white is for European
people that colonised, and the black is for the black slaves. Each ingredient is separated to pay
tribute to each of the peoples.
AA: Is this eaten at a certain time?
TV: It’s a very regular meal and a staple in the Venezuelan diet, there’s just symbolism that
goes along with it.

Why do they know or like this piece? where/who did they learn it from? What does it mean to
them?
AA: When was the first time you heard about the dishes symbolism?
TV: My dad told me when I was very young. It sort of just got ingrained in my food palate.
AA: What does it mean to you?
TV: I enjoy making it, I enjoy eating it. It is a way to appreciate Venezuelan history.
Context of the performance- where do you perform it? History?
Tata makes Pabellón Criollo herself. It is served as lunch or dinner in Venezuelan culture and is
something she will continue to make for her family. It is simple but meaningful and has been
apart of her diet for as long as she can remember.

Reflection
This meal seems both tasty and important. I can’t think of a single meal that I eat that I’m well
aware of it’s cultural relevance and significance. I think it’s cool to have something be so apart
of your diet but also a constant reminder of your ancestry and heritage. I will have my informant
make me this dish one day.

Erre con Erre

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

What is being performed?
TV: There’s this little riddle Venezuelan’s teach their children to learn how to roll their “r’s”
AA: How does it go?
TV: Erre con erre cigarro. Erre con erre barril. Rápido corren los carros, cargados de azúcar del
ferrocarril.
AA: What does it mean?
TV: Nothing real, it’s just a way to practice rolling your “r’s” by saying as many “r” words as
possible.
AA: What could it translate to?
TV: I guess roughly it translates to R with R, uh, cigar, R with R, barrell, the cars go fast and
they’re carrying sugar from the railroad. It’s a lot of gibberish.

Why do they know or like this piece? where/who did they learn it from? What does it mean to
them?
AA: Has this helped you?
TV: It actually has. It sticks with you and it’s fun so you get good practice rolling your “r’s.”
AA: What does it mean to you?
TV: I see it as a way I can help my future children embrace their Venezuelan culture and learn
how to speak with an accent when speaking Spanish. The Venezuelan accent is very different
from other Latin American accents, too, so it’s a way to embrace that.
Context of the performance- where do you perform it? History?
AA: Where do you perform this?
TV: It’s mostly performed amongst young children in school as sort of a little competition or
between a parent and a child as practice.

Reflection
I think this is a very catchy and fun way of practicing rolling “r’s”– something that’s fundamental
to proper pronunciation in Spanish. I think it’s a special trick that gets to be shared with families
and passed down. I also think it’s a celebration of Spanish and a language that is very beautiful
because of it’s pronunciation.

Venezuelan New Year’s

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

What is being performed?
TV: There are actually a lot of folk traditions that go along with New Year’s for Venezuelans
AA: Okay, like what?
TV: Well, for one, you’re supposed to wear yellow underwear on New Year’s for good luck.
AA: Does it bring you good luck for the day, forever, or is it just for the year?
TV: It’s for the year, but I don’t know why. I guess it could be cause yellow is a happy color.
There’s also the tradition of running around the block with a suitcase after dinner. It means that
you will travel during the year and everyone I know does it except for me.
AA: Do you believe in that?
TA: I think running around with a suitcase makes you want to travel and maybe that makes you
more likely to book a flight and actually go. But I don’t know how magical it truly is.
Why do they know or like this piece? where/who did they learn it from? What does it mean to
them?
AA: What do you get from this tradition?
TV: I don’t usually partake in it but my family takes it pretty seriously. I guess I see it more as a
symbolic way of hoping for a good year than a magic trick.
AA: Who did you learn it from?
TV: I learned it from my parents and other relatives that wanted to share what color their
underwear was, haha. The suitcase one I just saw happen when I was a kid and still see
happen every New Year’s.

Context of the performance- where do you perform it? History?
AA: When is this performed?
TV: It’s only performed on New Year’s Eve in Venezuelan culture.
AA: And are you going to perform this with your children?
TV: I think I will.

Reflection
I think these are very interesting traditions and have never heard of them. I think of yellow as a
bright color and could see why it could be connected to luck and good fortune. I think what’s
most interesting is that it is associated with New Year’s. As my informant noted, it seems that
there are a lot of folk traditions that revolve around New Year’s and New Year’s Eve. I definitely
want to try running with my suitcase. It seems a little funny but it means well.

An Eye for an Eye Makes Everyone Blind

Nationality: African American
Age: 57
Occupation: musician
Residence: carson, ca
Performance Date: April 21, 2018
Primary Language: English

What is being performed?
DA: There’s this saying that goes, “an eye for an eye makes everyone blind.”
AA: What does it mean?
DA: It means, uh, basically that striking back won’t solve anything.
Why do they know or like this piece? where/who did they learn it from? What does it mean to
them?
AA: Why do you know this proverb?
DA: I remember growing up hearing it in the context of the civil rights era.
AA: Why do you like it?
DA: I think it’s important to advocate for nonviolence with logic and I think that’s what this saying
is about.
AA: What do you mean with logic?
DA: I just mean that this quote simple enough to understand logically and that’s why it’s
effective.

Context of the performance- where do you perform it? History?
Delward Atkins has shared this proverb with his children as they were growing up and had to
learn how to deal with people on the playground. He sees it as an important life lesson that
especially needs to be taught to the younger generations.

Annotations
Quote Investigator, quoteinvestigator.com/2010/12/27/eye-for-eye-blind/.
This annotation shows the many people who have coined this phrase. Notably, Mahatma
Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., Louis Fischer, and Henry Powell Spring have said variations of
this proverb. This publication also shows the different ways this proverb has been used. For
example, instead of just “an eye for an eye makes everyone blind” there’s also “an eye for an
eye makes the world blind.” The publication gives a chronological timeline of how the proverb
has changed over time and famous people that have helped change it.
Dear, John. “An Eye for an Eye Makes the Whole World Blind.” The Huffington Post,
TheHuffingtonPost.com, 25 Nov. 2016,
www.huffingtonpost.com/john-dear/an-eye-for-an-eye-makes-t_b_8647348.html.
This article shows how the proverb is used in a more recent context. It uses the phrase to
discuss the Paris terrorist attacks and shows how the phrase is still relevant- from protest signs
to songs and other forms of art that are being created to push for a world of nonviolence. It is a
proverb that might’ve been most famous in the 60s but is still present in the 2000s and can be
used as a strong argument for the cyclical nature of violence.

Reflection
I see this proverb as extremely important and relevant today. With the Syrian crisis going on and
the proxy war that now surrounds it, I think it’s important that we remember grass root political
movements and why nonviolence can be so effective for them. I think this proverb is about
creating change that is positive and doesn’t have to harm others in the making. I think that’s
what we need today.

Demon Dog

Nationality: American
Age: 18
Occupation: student
Residence: USC
Performance Date: March 27, 2018
Primary Language: English
Language: Spanish

What is being performed?/Interview description
D: My grandma told me this story in Mexico. At a certain time she had to cross a river to get back before sunset. If you were to cross it before sunset you would see a demon dog. One time her and her sister were fighting over a banana but the sun hadn’t sat. She said that they saw the dog and the only way to outrun it was to cross the river and they all had to get under a table
AA: Have you ever seen the demon dog before?
D: No, but people talk about it, especially in my family.
AA: What does it look like?
D: It’s just a dog but it’s possessed and rabid.

Why do they know or like this piece? where/who did they learn it from? What does it mean to them?
AA: Why do you know this story?
D: My grandmother told me this story.
AA: What does it mean to you?
D: It’s just scary to me. I tell it when my friends tell ghost stories.

Context of the performance– where do you perform it? History?
This story is performed by Danielle around her friends but originates from her grandmother in Mexico. She performs it still in college and has performed it in high school.

Reflection
I think the concept of a demon dog is really interesting. I tend to think of dogs as pure or purer than humans so to have such an animal demonized is interesting. I can understand it though because of how scary rabid dogs can be or stray dogs. Getting bitten is a real fear and I can see how it gets manifested out through folklore.