Author Archives: emiliano

Mexican saying

Nationality: Mexican
Age: 50
Occupation: Housewife
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: 04/17/2020
Primary Language: Spanish

Main piece:

“Calladita te ves más bonita” 

Transliteration: 

Quiet you look more pretty

Full translation: 

You look prettier quiet 

Background: My informant was my mom and this proverb was something I collected while she was scolding my sister. I asked her later about the proverb (what it meant exactly even though I knew). She gave me valuable insight and mentioned that my grandma would tell my mom and aunt that as kids whenever they sounded silly attempting to defend themselves from wrongdoing. 

Context: My sister was being scolded by my mom for having a mess in her room. My mom started going off tangent and bringing more and more stuff into the argument. My sister would retaliate and call out my mom on certain things. But there was a line that my sister said that did not help her case a lot and that’s when my mom said the recorded proverb above. 

Thoughts: Sometimes I feel like my mom overuses this proverb in order to keep my sister from talking but other times it hits right. In this example it fits right because whatever my sister has said, all I know is that it didn’t help her case, was nonsense and my mom pretty much said to stop talking because she’s not helping herself. In other words, my sister would be doing herself a favor by not talking and metaphorically flopping all over the place with words.

Mexican proverb

Nationality: Mexican
Age: 77
Occupation: None
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: 03/27/2020
Primary Language: Spanish

Main piece: 

“Más vale que la lleves y no la ocupes a que no la lleves y la necesites” 

Transliteration:

More better that the takes and no the uses to that no the takes and the needs

Full translation:

It’s better to have it and not use it than having to use it and not having it 

Background: My informant here was my grandma who’s staying with us during COVID-19. She was born in Guadalajara, Mexico but lives in the U.S. with us for the most part. This recorded proverb wasn’t really an interview. I heard her say it to my mom during mid sentence and I was able to catch on to it. After I asked my grandma to repeat it for me so I can jot it down. She added that she learned it “a long time ago” and that because of it she’s always prepared for everything. 

Context: My mom was going shopping and paying bills. It was mid to late afternoon and the sun was still. She was saying bye to us when my grandma asked “do you have a sweater” to which my mom replied “no, it’s still kind of warm” and my grandma countered with the transcribed proverb and my mom ended up taking it (although I think she did just to please my grandma). 

Thoughts: I’ve heard the proverb many times, usually because my mom tells it to me when I go out. And after analyzing it a little more, I guess it’s true. It’s better to be prepared, even over prepared,  than to need something and not have it (unprepared). For example, in the case of taking a sweater when you go out. Sometimes you don’t use the sweater and you just carry it along with you. But other times, maybe it gets cold or it rains and you happen to take the sweater, so you put it on. It is in these scenarios where you benefit a lot.

Mexican lullaby

Nationality: American
Age: 17
Occupation: School
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: 03/18/2020
Primary Language: English
Language: spanish

Main piece: 

“Sana, sana, colita de rana, si no sana hoy, sanara manana” 

Transliteration: 

Heal, heal, tail of frog, yes no heal today, healthy tomorrow

Full translation: 

Heal, heal, tail of frog, if today it doesn’t heal, it will tomorrow

Background: The one who provided this lullaby was my sister a while back when hurting my younger cousin on accident. My sister was born in LA and she goes to school in Downey. Her spanish isn’t good, or even decent, but somehow she knows this song well. According to her, it stuck because “it’s catchy” and because apparently I would sing this same lullaby to her when I hurt her. 

Context: We were playing basketball in the driveway. It was my sister and my two cousins. And somehow my sister bodied into my younger cousin who’s underweight and knocked her to the ground. She’s currently 12 but she scraped her elbow pretty bad and wanted to cry. That would not have been good news for either my sister or me so my sister sang the lullaby and massaged her arm and my cousin laughed a little and then stopped any potential crying. 

Thoughts: This a fun one because I honestly don’t know what a frog’s tail has to do with healing a wound or bruise. I asked my sister who was my informant in this case, but she didn’t know either. 

Maybe a frog’s tail has luck and it’ll help heal a bruise quicker? But what I did notice from this experience, and even from my own experience, was that it’s funny to the victim. It makes them laugh, or chuckle at least, and eases the pain and tension. So it’s a helpful tool if someone gets hurt and wants to cry. 

Las Mananitas

Nationality: Mexican
Age: 54
Occupation: Restaurant worker
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: 04/22/2020
Primary Language: Spanish

Main piece: 

“Estas son las mañanitas que cantaba el rey David

Hoy por ser día de tu santo te las cantamos a ti.

Despierta mi bien despierta

Mira que ya amaneció

Ya los pajaritos cantan

La luna ya se metió.

¡Qué linda está la mañana en que vengo a saludarte

Venimos todos con gusto y placer a felicitarte.

El día en que tú naciste, nacieron todas las flores

Ya viene amaneciendo ya la luz del dia nos dió.

Levantate de mañana, mira que ya amaneció.” 

Full translation (transliteration not included since it’s a relatively long song) :

These are the morning lyrics that King David sang

And today for your birthday we sing them to you.

 Wake up my loved one

The sun has risen

The birds are chirping

And the moon has set.

What a beautiful morning it is, to come and visit you

We are all happy to be here and congratulate you.

 The day you were born all flowers bloomed

The sun is rising giving us its light.

Wake up it’s morning, morning has come.

Background: I’m going to give credit to my dad on this one because he knows it very well and I sang along a little but don’t know the full lyrics very well. My dad was born in Mexico and moved to LA when he was 15 years old. He is bilingual and we (led by my dad) sang “Las mananitas” to my mom on her birthday very recently this month. He sings this song instead of the “Happy Birthday” song. 

Context: It was my mom’s 50th birthday a couple days ago. We got her flowers, baked a cake, and made lasagna and salad. We went to her room and started recording and singing the above song. I only know the first four lines and from there on I sang sporadically. My dad knows them really well and my sister was on the same boat as me. This took place inside my parents bedroom around early morning. 

Thoughts: I’ve heard of “Las mananitas” very often because I have a big extended family and whenever we go to Mexico over the summer, we attend various birthday parties. And in Mexico, no one sings Happy Birthday, we all sing the song transcribed above. So I kind of know it but not fully. Anyway, it is a song that upon reading more into it, is really special and nice. The lyrics provide a perfect environment and are very loving. The birthday person feels special and knows what’s happening with the first line.

The story of the Popocatepetl

Nationality: Mexican
Age: 73
Occupation: None
Residence: Los Angeles and Mexico City
Performance Date: April 24, 2019
Primary Language: Spanish

Main piece: 

The following is transcribed from a conversation between informant and interviewer. 

Infromant: The story of the Popocatepetl is of a umm…. I think of an Aztec warrior. He pretty much falls in love with her but is called into battle. So before he goes he tells her dad that upon returning, he will marry his daughter with his permission. The dad allows it and he goes but the news breakouts that he dies in battle. 

Interviewer: So he dies? What happens then with her? 

Informant: No he doesn’t die but the news got to her and the dad and she ends up dying from depression and loneliness. A week later he comes back from war, with riches and honor, but finds out she’s dead. So he asks the dad if he can take her body to give her a proper ceremony. He allows it and Popocatepetl takes her to the top of a pyramid. He holds a torch and watches her body. He plans to stay the night and he does but umm there’s a snow fall and he gets buried in it. Over time, annual rain and snowfall buries them even more and the mountaintop becomes the volcano that you can see from the house in Mexico. 

Interviewer: Oh it’s that volcano? I remember that name but I wasn’t sure it was the same name. 

Informant: Yeah that’s his body… his spirit. And whenever the volcano erupts or has activity… It means that Popocatepetl is remembering his love for the Aztec princess. 

Background: My informant here was my grandma who’s staying with us during COVID-19. She was born in Guadalajara, Mexico but lives in the U.S. with us for the most part. She says that she heard about this story from school textbooks and that she always remembers the story whenever there’s news about Popocatepec’s volcanic activity. For her it represents a true love story and a tragedy. She says that there is no longer love like that one in today’s world. 

Context: I asked my grandma during dinner if she can tell me the story of Popocatepetl because my mom heard it from my grandma but I wanted to get someone else’s view on it so I asked her. She complied and gave me this version while I recorded. Setting was at our house during dinner so it provided nice entertainment and I personally loved the story. 

Thoughts: I really enjoyed the story. When my grandma finished, my sister and I looked at each other and said “wow that’s true love” at the same time. I had known about the volcano for many years but I had never heard about the story behind it. I want to say I don’t believe in it fully but I do admire the love they had for each other. That love is scarce in today’s world so it was nice hearing that story.