Author Archives: Gabriela Dominguez

El Que Madruga, Dios Lo Ayuda

Nationality: Mexico
Age: 41
Occupation: housewife
Residence: USA
Performance Date: 4/09/14
Primary Language: English
Language: Spanish

El Que Madruga, Dios Lo Ayuda

“El que madruga dios lo ayuda translates into the English saying, early bird catches the worm or something like that. But for us, we don’t use birds or worms, we use god, haha… anyway, this is a saying that just about anyone uses so that people are on time but I think since it used the word ‘God’ it may have be made so that we get up early to go to church I guess. Anyway, I heard this all the time from everyone, especially my mother who wanted me to be up at the crack of dawn doing chores and stuff and now I too catch myself telling my daughters the same thing. I guess since it was so common in my life growing up that I now use it in my own vocabulary.”

My informant is a 41 year old Mexican descendant who was born in Mexico but has lived in the USA for the most part of her life. She maintains most of her ties to her Mexican culture while living in the USA so therefore, most of the things she knows has been passed down by her mother and other relatives. She does not necessarily learn her “cures” for different thing via a specific book or other published material, but rather from relatives in her daily life.

In my opinion, this is a very interesting proverb because it uses a concept that is similar to another culture yet makes it its own to mean the same thing. In other words, the proverb when said in Spanish directly refers to the culture’s religion and in English it refers to its surroundings yet when translated, they essentially mean the same thing. So even though the proverbs use completely different similes, the idea is the same. This is fascinating because one can see how one’s culture can determine how one explains a similar situation.

Los Reyes Magos

Nationality: USA
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: Pasadena, CA
Performance Date: 4/09/14
Primary Language: English
Language: Spanish

Los Reyes Magos

“Los Reyes Magos are the three kings that came to visit Jesus after he was born. Supposedly they arrived January 6th so it is custom that kids receive gifts on that day as did baby Jesus many many years ago. Another big part of the Reyes Magos is that if you line one of your shoes next to the entry door, then they leave money inside of it. I now know that our parents were the ones who put that money in the shoes but back when you’re a little kid, you actually believe this myth. It’s seen as kind of like Santa Clause I guess. Oh and also, the crappier shoe you line up against the door, the bigger pay you get because supposedly the 3 kings give more money to the poorest kids. Anyway, I heard this story from my mom and my grandma, I think my mom was the one who first told me about this but it was probably because my grandma told her to start this tradition with me. I think they use this so that we don’t forget about the whole Jesus story because when believing in Santa Clause, kids can go away from their heritage and follow the more American version of it.”

The informant is an American born Mexican. Her parents and family all were born and raised in Mexico but she was born in the U.S. This essentially makes her a Chicana of 20 years. She grew up with the U.S customs yet still had really strong ties to her Mexican heritage because of her relatives and parents therefore, she fuses her American surroundings with her Mexican heritage. This can explain why she still practices some of the customs that are very Mexican originated.

In my opinion, I believe that my informant really hit the points I would try to make. This is that the 3 kings arriving to one’s house is a way that older folks of the culture can sort of preserve specific aspects and bestow them upon future generations. I find it interesting how the informant mentioned that the reason the mom may have kept this tradition alive may have been because her grandmother told her to do so. This is interesting because yet again, on can infer that this may be a matriarchal type of society in which the alpha male bestows important knowledge onto the young ones of the group. Overall this story is very interesting because it shows how one person can take part of a dual culture while still maintaining both at the same time. This is because the informant celebrated Santa Clause, a very American tradition, while also celebrating the arrival of the 3 kings which is a very catholic tradition, yet is able to distinguish both from one another.

Saying “Bless You” Can Save One’s Soul

Nationality: Mexico
Age: 68
Occupation: housewife
Residence: Guadalajara, MX
Performance Date: 4/09/14
Primary Language: Spanish

Saying “Bless You” Can Save One’s Soul

“Se acostumbra decir salud a alguien que destornuda por obediencia pero hora en dia, no mucha gente se sabe el verdadero significado. En realidad se le tiene que decir ala gente que esta destornudando, ‘Jesus le ayude” porque cuando alguien esta destornudando es porque el cuerpo se quiere desaser de un espiritu maligno… esta historia era muy comun cuando yo era nina. Mucha gente creia en todo esto porque eran tiempos en donde existia mucho la maldad, la brujeria y las brujas… yo no se a quien escuche diciendo esta frase por primera vez, alomejor porque era algo que alguien cresia escuchando… al parecer, ahora no hay tanta brujeria como antes, pore so talvez mucha gente ya no dise la frase como debe decirla. Pero yo la sigo diciendo, y la voy a seguir diciendo.”

“It is custom to tell someone bless you when they are sneezing as a sign of friendliness but now a days, not a lot of people know the real meaning of it. In reality, one has to say to the people sneezing, “may Jesus help you” because when someone is sneezing, the body is trying to get rid of a bad spirit from within… this was a very common story when I was a little girl. A lot of people believed in all of this because they were times where a lot of evilness existed, witchcraft and witches… I don’t know who I first heard using this phrase, maybe because it was something that one just grew up hearing… from the looks of it, now there isn’t as much witchcraft as there was before, maybe that’s why a lot of people now don’t say the phrase as it’s supposed to be said. But I still say it that ways and will continue to say I that way.

My informant is a Mexican native of 68 years. She was born and raised there and continues to reside there. In her times, life was much simpler; there were no schools so anything she had to know was taught by people around her. Even though her stories may not seem plausible, they are the kind of stories she grew up listening to so she will hold her faith to their truthfulness with no hesitation. She now continues to pass on the stories she know to her children and grandchildren.

This specific story was fascinating to hear because even though it may seem like one specific type of folk tale, it ends up incorporating several other folk themes. This story incorporates a sort of cure for evil spirits, as well as incorporating witchcraft and witch concepts. Witches are not scientifically proven to be real so therefore one can infer that this story may be a fallacy, however, just because it has not yet been scientifically proven doesn’t mean it’s false. Furthermore, the fact that my informant believes this story to be completely true, can only serve as point in favor to considering the truthfulness of this story. I however personally don’t believe it’s entirely a true story, but it is fascinating to see the kind of mythical identities that were incorporated into this story which tie in to the time of when this story originated.

Getting Rich From Fire

Nationality: Mexico
Age: 61
Occupation: cook
Residence: Pasadena, CA
Performance Date: 4/09/14
Primary Language: Spanish

Getting Rich from Fire

“Supuestamente se dice que si alguien ve lumbre en cualquier lugar, es que hayi ay un tesoro Escondido. En Zacatecas hay muchos tesoros escondidos porque cuando empeso la revoluccion, la gente escondia sus tesoros para cuando vinieran los soldados no les quitaran nada. Entonces pues a mucha gente la mataron, o los hisieron que se movieran a fuersas, asi que todos esos tesoros se que daron ayi. Por eso dicen que si alguien ve lumbre, es que el espiritu del que le pertenecia el Tesoro te esta llamando para darte su Tesoro… estas historias se cuentan mucho en el rancho y supuestamente asi fue como mucha gente se fue hacienda rica. Dicen que un senor era bien pobre y de un de repente, mando hacer una casonona y puso mucho negocios y pues dicen que de donde agarro tanto dinero para hacer todo esto de repente, asi que se tubo que haber encontrado dinero.”

“Supposedly it is said that if one sees fire in any place, it means that there lies a hidden treasure. In Zacatecas there are many hidden treasures because when the revolution started, the people would hide their treasures so that when the soldiers came, they wouldn’t take their belongings from them. But then they killed off a lot of people or forced them to move out so all those treasures stayed behind. That’s why they say that if one sees fire, it means that the spirit of the owner’s treasure is calling you to give you his treasure… these stories were told back in the ranch and supposedly, this is how many people stared becoming rich. They say that there was a very poor man and out of the nowhere he had a huge house made and also had a lot of businesses so they then say that where did he get all that money to make all that happen in so little time, he therefore had to have found some money.

The informant is a 61 year old man who was brought up and lived in mexico until the age of 26. He then migrated to the US and has lived there since. He never attended school, so most of his education came from knowledge others around him bestowed upon him. He also relies on many first hand experiences to account for the things he believes in. therefore, most of the stories he knows have been directly informed by himself.

This story is interesting because it is in a sense giving people hope in regards to somehow coming up on some money. It is also even more interesting to have found out that the story of lost treasures is very common to the village which lets one infer that the people living in the village tend to know the same stories as one another which means that essentially, what one in the village knows, everyone does. This then means that this society relies on learning from one another rather than by institutions. Regardless, this legend is really cool, because it gives one motivation to begin the haunt for a treasure that is somewhere hidden around the village.

Lo Que Menos Puedes Ver, En Tu Casa Lo Haz de Tener

Nationality: Mexico
Age: 42
Occupation: housewife
Residence: Pasadena, CA
Performance Date: 4/09/14
Primary Language: Spanish

Lo Que Menos Puedes Ver, En Tu Casa Lo Haz de Tener

“’Lo que menos pudes ver, en tu casa lo haz de tener’ se refiere a un refran que dice que no es bueno admirarse de la demas gente porque uno nunca sabe. Por ejemplo, si yo ando a dice y dice que hay unas chamacas bien locas que ni le hasen caso a sus padres, por andar de habladora, alomejor hasta mis hijas me salgan asi. Por eso es major mantener la boca cerrada porque como dicen, en boca cerrada, no entran moscas… este refran me acuerdo que lo desia mucho mi mama, no estoy segura si fue de ella en que lo escuche por primera vez pero se que ella lo usaba mucho tambien. Tambien he escuchado esa frase mucho en las telenovelas, alomejor se deve a que es una frase muy comun para nosotros.”

“’What you can least tolerate, you shall have it in your home’ refers to a proverb that states that it’s not good to talk about other people because you never know. For example, if I’m going around talking and talking that there are girls who are really crazy who don’t even listen o their parents, for being a big mouth, my daughters may end up being like that as well. That’s why it’s better to keep your mouth shut because as they say, in a closed mouth, no bugs go in… I heard this proverb from my mother who used to say it a lot. I’m not sure if I first heard it from her but I do know she used it a lot. I’ve also heard this phrase a lot in Spanish soap operas, maybe this is because it really if a very common phrase among us.”

My informant is a native of Guadalajara Mexico. She was born and raised there until the age of 16 which was when she migrated to the US. She is now 42 years of age and has 6 kids of various ages. Even though she has lived most of her life in the US, she still maintains strong ties with her Mexican heritage through her mother. She is really attached to her mother and therefore most of the things she has learned have been passed on by her mother. She is now also sharing her knowledge with her oldest children and continues to bestow Mexican culture among all her children. Since she migrated to the US she has focused on working and after getting married, to being a housewife. She has not had any formal institutional education, so most of her knowledge comes from others in her daily life.

It was interesting to collect this particular proverb because even though I’m not from Guadalajara, people in Zacatecas, from where my roots come from, also use this phrase a lot. This goes to show that some phrases aren’t necessarily original to one specific place, it can be homogenous to several locations. Furthermore, commonalities among different groups can help bring people together which is why I was able to get along so well with my informant.