Author Archives: Eric Jimenez

‘El Cipitio’

Age: 48


Date of performance: 4/5/25


Language: Spanish


Nationality: Latino/a


Occupation: Caregiver


Primary Language: Spanish


Residence: United States

Text:

  • El Cipitio is a legendary character from Salvadoran folklore portrayed as a 8-10 year old boy with a large conical hat and a pot-belly.

Context:

  • ‘El Cipitio’s’ name is derived from the Salvadoran word for child, “cipote” translating‘El Cipitio’ to ‘The boy’. Cursed by the god Teotl, Cipitio was condemned to live eternity as a small boy with backwards feet. He is known to be a trickster, wandering into farmers fields, throwing pebbles at beautiful ladies, hiding in bushes to scare people, and eating ashes leftover in rural kitchens.

Growing up in the rural parts of El Salvador, my informant has heard various stories about the Cipitio. Considering their family always cooked in lumber fueled stoves, when ashes laid scattered the day after cooking, the fault would always lay to ‘El Cipitio.’ Or whenever foot prints would lead to no suspecting figure, it would be perceived as a trick from ‘El Cipitio’ and his backwards feet.

My informant interpreted these stories from ‘El Cipitio’ to explain some of the oddities of life, or some of the things children would do but would never explicitly take fault for.

Analysis:

I interpret ‘El Cipitio’ as a legendary character who is just meant to be an entertaining factor in life. Made to make light of some oddities and serve as a easy cop out for things we just aren’t able to explain. I find that he is made to represent childish wonder and all that makes up being a kid growing up. In term, I believe that he is meant to represent the literal sense of a child, a boy to be exact as he is described to do some of the ‘stereotypical’ actions of a boy at his age.

‘La Llorona’

Age: 48


Date of performance: 4/5/25


Language: Spanish


Nationality: Latino/a


Occupation: Caregiver


Primary Language: Spanish


Residence: United States

Text:

“La Llorona” is the name of a sad ghost who roams along riverbanks looking for wandering children at night.

Context:

“She is said to have lost her children in a tragic accident along a riverbank to drowning. Mournful for her children, she took her own life and drowned herself. As a result of this, she wasn’t allowed to cross into the afterlife and remains on earth as a vengeful spirit looking to reunite with her children. She cries out loud, wandering around searching for her children, often mistaking living humans for her deceased children and taking them to riverbank to drown them to reunite in the afterlife.”

Growing up in a small village in El Salvador my informant often listened to this story from some of the older people in their community such as their grandparents, specifically Grandma. They’ve never first hand experienced hearing the wails of a lady in the night, but have continued to hear some of the older generations tell their own personal stories encountering such when they were younger.

My informant interprets the myth of “La Llorona” as a folk story told to children to deter them from wandering out in the village at night through the use of fear. It worked for them as these stories they were told growing up all felt like scary stories and not lessons so they were always scared to go against them and question their validity.


Analysis:

I agree with my informants interpretation of this myth. Commonly, most Hispanic folk stories are meant to teach the younger generation to be careful in the vast fields that surround our home. These pose dangerous environments with wild animals out in the wild in the midst, especially at night. I find that it makes sense for the elders to warn children in a more ‘grounded’ format that’d stick to a children’s mind through fear. Considering the location and environment my informant grew up in, the myth is further amplified by the common misinterpretation of the screams or wails of a big cat to that of a woman’s. A factor, that could’ve served as the foundation of the myth itself.

“Dripping water can penetrate the stone”

Age: 20


Date of performance: 2/22/25


Language: Chinese


Nationality: Chinese


Occupation: Student


Primary Language: Chinese & English


Residence: United States

Background:

“水滴石穿 (shuǐ dī shí chuān)” is a Chinese proverb commonly used by teachers, parents, and adults in general to encourage young kids.

Context:

For context, the interviewee was told this proverb as a kid growing up whenever they would attend their art class. Upon getting frustrated with their work, their teacher would recite the phrase, “水滴石穿 (shuǐ dī shí chuān)” which translates to “Dripping water can penetrate the stone.”

Interviewee Interpretation:

As understood by the interviewee, this phrase means to have patience and persistence, or that if you have enough patience, you can achieve anything.

Analysis:

Per my interviewee’s understanding, I interpret this metaphor similarly to having an ease of mind and clear consciousness; just like water. Not only then through patience and perseverance can you achieve that which is beyond expectation; dripping water deteriorating stone gradually over time. I found it interesting that dripping is involved with the water asset. Based on my interpretation, it serves to emphasize and directly change the direction of the entire saying. Through its addition, it presents the passage with the additional concept of time which helps guide listeners to gain the insight that patience holds immense power.

“I whisper secrets, , make trees sway, My voice is felt, but not seen in play. Though I’m invisible, I can be heard all day.”

Age: 20


Date of performance: 2/22/25


Language: Chinese


Nationality: Chinese


Occupation: Student


Primary Language: Chinese & English


Residence: United States

Riddle:

“I whisper secrets, make trees sway, My voice is felt, but not seen in play. Though I’m invisible, I can be heard all day.”

Context:

This riddle is usually heard at Chinese lantern festivals in which is meant to be interacted with predominantly by children. This is the case because it is considered a beginner-level riddle. Children interact with these riddles from the festival as they are attached to lanterns during the event. These lanterns serve as a reward system and if you get a riddle correct, you are awarded a rice dumpling.

Interviewee mentions that most riddles from Chinese Culture are predominantly from Chinese Lantern Festivals. They heard this knowledge while growing up from their mom, but it is also generally well-known in Chinese culture. Furthermore, they mentioned it was such an easy riddle and refused to provide the answer upon introduction of the riddle having me try to figure it out on my own.

Analysis:

I was able to answer the riddle pretty easily despite feeling like I was being tricked by my friend. The answer was the wind, which felt pretty self-explanatory to me in the end. I find myself so used to the trend that riddles try to trick people through the use of making the answer something you can’t see that I naturally fell back to thinking of the wind first; which in this case was right as it’s a common riddle answer.

I found it quite interesting how riddles were introduced to children at events, not only that but through the use of lanterns. I’m so accustomed to them just being a verbal challenge that this is such a fun way to implement them and challenge kids. I find it such a fun way to help children integrate into Chinese festivals and help them feel involved in their culture

Fox Window Hand Sign

Age: 20


Date of performance: 2/22/25


Nationality: Chinese


Occupation: Student


Primary Language: Chinese & English


Residence: United States

Context:

The interviewee believes that the hand sign provides a window for the user to see someone close that’s deceased. They originally heard it from other kids while growing up. Despite this knowledge, and influence as a kid growing up, they have never tried the hand sign as a result of superstition. This superstition stems from the fact that they believe that if it’s done incorrectly, the dead will haunt them instead. According to them, they believe that its origins stem from Japan. Furthermore, this concept is also seen in general throughout Asian Literature

Analysis:

I found this concept to be interesting as I feel like I’ve heard of this hand sign before in media. Despite having a faint memory of previous references, I’ve never encountered one with a concept such as this one and its connection to a dead loved one. I feel like I’ve naturally heard of ones with similar ideas that are all connected to some vision of the dead. Much like my interviewee’s interpretation, I’ve heard of one that serves as a lens to the world of the dead in general, with the consequences serving from staring at the ghosts or certain animals.