Author Archives: Jessica Stempel

Legend – Mexico

Nationality: Mexican, Salvadorian
Age: 22
Occupation: Sub-Contractor
Residence: South Central, CA
Performance Date: April 22, 2008
Primary Language: English
Language: Spanish

The Legend of Pancho Villa

“There was a man named Pancho Villa who was a Mexican revolutionary. He was a leader. He didn’t agree with certain laws set by the gringos. He stole from them, he stole like important things that they were using like weapons, food, money, and he gave it to his people, (Mexicans). Pancho Villa was mostly known because he helped the people- but not only that- he got away with a lot of shit. But in the end his people gave him up, they set him up because of money that the gringos bribed them with. This motherfucker was smart, he put his horseshoes on backwards so that the gringos would follow him the wrong way. The most important part of Pancho Villa though, he had skills with guns, that made him powerful. He could kill people blindfolded. This type of shit you don’t hear in college. My uncle told me the real shit because he’s related to Pancho Villa. American history- they don’t like Pancho Villa. Who would like a Mexican to be smart?”

In the eyes of many descendants of Mexican ancestors, Pancho Villa was a hero. To them, they hear Pancho Villa’s story and feel a sense of pride of the heritage. Just as we learned in class, no actual linkage can back their connection to Pancho Villa to anyone who lived during those times. However, the story is passed down though generations to spark feelings of appreciation for Pancho Villa and resentment towards the white man. Even today there are tee shirts, murals, and other dedications to Mexican revolutionaries done by first or second generation Americans who still feel a strong sense of hostility towards the “gringos”. There are many racial conflicts that exist especially in Los Angeles today. Passing down stories of “heroes” who killed the white man allow future generations to remember what happened to “their people”.

Although I describe this in a questionable light, I can appreciate to the stories of glorified underdogs whose people are being repressed. As I have learned in one of my classes, “Religions of Latin America,” the Spanish conquest of the Indigenous peoples in the 16th and 17th centuries were absolutely horrible. Millions of innocent indios were beaten, forced into slavery and killed over their land to which they naturally inhabited. If the same new generations of Mexican-Americans hear about this story adjacent to the legend of Pancho Villa, it is with obvious understanding that Pancho Villa will be looked at as a hero.

There will always be numerous angles in which Pancho Villa is remembered, positive or negative. But Frank’s interpretation of the legend of Pancho Villa is funny to me. It uses modern day slang to tell a story in which others might find boring in history class. He is a first generation American with Mexican roots who definitely appreciates Pancho Villa in ways to which he can relate.

Superstition

Nationality: Mexican
Age: 12
Occupation: Student
Residence: Riverside, CA
Performance Date: April 27, 2008
Primary Language: English
Language: Spanish

The Bermuda Triangle

“Some people say that ships and airplanes have disappeared in the Bermuda Triangle. My teacher told us about it because she passed through it but noting happened. I believe in it but I’m not scared.”

To be honest, I had never known of the superstitions of the Bermuda Triangle. I always thought the Bermuda Triangle was a name for a triad of islands. In fact, it is a triangle of islands with an eerie reputation. The apexes of the triangle are relatively Miami, Florida, San Juan, PR, and Bermuda. Encyclopedia Britannica describes the Bermuda Triangle as a “section of the North Atlantic Ocean off North America in which more than 50 ships and 20 airplanes are said to have mysteriously disappeared”. While this encyclopedia leaves an unbiased opinion, there are many firm believers, as well as many firm disbelievers.

According to encyclopedia Britannica, reports of missing vessels dates back to the mid 1800’s. Recovered ships were found abandoned without explanation. Then, with the rise of airplanes as a means of transportation, reports of missing airplanes started to come through over that area and still have not been recovered.

With unexplained circumstances, theories rose about the Bermuda triangle. Some thought it was the work of the supernatural. This superstition is one in which believers are not identified to any specific race or religion, just a shared belief due to their interpretation of the information. Others discount any paranormal activity and with that, many scientific theories have arose. Most common is the role of geography and the environment. According to the Naval Historical Center’s website, a strong current called the Gulf Stream could be the culprit. The Gulf stream, they say, is very “swift and turbulent and can quickly erase evidence of a disaster.” Likewise, discounting the superstitions, they also say that in the past, the combination of hurricanes and the lack of detection equipment for them on boats could leave the ships unaware of a disastrous storm until it was too late. Other explanations they offer include the variations in topography of the ocean floor; and the fact that many ships have been wrecked around the world, and that they occur more frequently in the Bermuda Triangle because it is a popular place with more traffic.

The Bermuda Triangle mystery remains an argued and unsolved mystery today. Like many unexplained events, people will always have opposing theories based on their personal rationalizations. Just like Area 51 or the Lock Ness Monster, unexplained events will always try to be solved and therefore always yield a variety of explanations. However, one conclusion can be drawn- these mysteries make great storylines for Hollywood movies. In addition, they spark curiosity and leave people wondering.

Sources:

“Bermuda Triangle.” Encyclopædia Britannica. 2008. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 30 Apr. 2008 <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/62319/Bermuda-Triangle>.

“The Bermuda Triangle.” Naval Historical Center. 11 Apr. 2007. 30 Apr. 2008 <http://www.history.navy.mil/faqs/faq8-1.htm>.

Holiday Tradition

Nationality: Mexican
Age: 6
Occupation: Student
Residence: Riverside, CA
Primary Language: English
Language: Spanish

Easter

“On Easter we hunt for eggs. After hunting eggs we get more eggs and hide them and ask our Mom and Dad to find them. We go to my cousin’s house and we play there and then we paint Easter eggs and then we go on the monkey pars with our hands ful of paint. After we do everything we eat chocolate eggs and cupcakes- I like the chocolate cupcakes.”

This interpretation of Easter makes me confused. There is no evidence of any church going or celebrating the belief that Jesus was resurrected from the dead on Easter. However, observing this child’s room, I find a shrine dedicated to La Virgen Guadalupe, adorned with rosary, bible, and pictures. She tells me she prays every night before bed. Yet, her account of Easter has no religious significance whatsoever. The non-religious westernized interpretation of Easter is spot-on to Roxy’s accounts.  Easter seems to have lost its religious significance to many modern day Americans. While in fact, as we discussed in class, Easter is also a celebration of spring and fertilization, for a Catholic girl, I expected her account of her Easter to include at least some mention of Jesus or reflection on the past. Yet for children, the ideas of eating chocolate and decorating eggs probably sounds much more enticing than going to church.

But as an elder, I feel religious holidays should be a happy medium of remembrance, sacrifice (if called for), and then celebration. Although I cannot account for personal opinions to Christian holidays, I can relate to the variation of religiousness in my faith. As a conservative Jew, we have Passover, which bans us from eating leavened bread for eight days. Likewise, on Rosh Hashanna, the New Year, we fast to cleanse our bodies of sins. Then, after our sacrifice, reading of the prayers, and perhaps synagogue services, we feast. But, this comes only after we have done what is required of us as loyal Jews. Yet I have come across a few, (though not as abundant as those Christians I have met) who call themselves Jewish yet choose to skip the holidays which actually require some effort and sacrifice. Instead, they may get presents on Chanukkah, the most non-religious holiday in the Jewish faith.

While folklore draws on the way in which people celebrate and does not show a critical eye, I cannot help but think when evaluating this account of celebrating holidays that perhaps they have lost some of their significance. However, I cannot be one to dictate how people choose to spend their days, nor can I judge their overall devotion to their religion based on accounts like this.

Joke

Nationality: Black
Age: 60
Occupation: Unemployed
Residence: Compton, CA
Performance Date: April 29, 2008
Primary Language: English

Slim’s Dirty Joke

“A girl playing golf came home and her husband said to her, ‘how was your game?’. She said, ‘not too cool’. He said, ‘what happened?’. She said, ‘I got stung by a bee’. He said, ‘where?’. She said ‘between the first and second hole’. He said, ‘maybe your stance was too wide!’

To give a proper interpretation of this joke, I first have to give a proper explanation of whom it came from. Slim is a homeless man very notorious around USC. He usually can be found at the corner of 28th and Figueroa hollering at all the students who instantly recognize him and usually reply with a “Hi Slim!”. There have been articles written about him in the Daily Trojan and someone even created a facebook for him, to which Slim proudly tells everyone about.

He told me this joke in exchange for three dollars, to which I happily obliged. He told this joke to me and I was impressed. Although Slim is homeless and enjoys the daily case of beer and whatever else, he told me this joke, which not only has a good punch line, but it derives from a dual meaning inside a multi dimensional joke. The humor in the joke comes from the fact that the husband misinterpreted the wife’s account of the location of the bee sting. While it is probably obvious, the wife was referring to the first and second hole on the golf course, while the husband read her description as telling the location on her body in which she was stung. I do not want to go into too much detail about the whereabouts of the husband’s belief of the location of the sting, but the punch line concludes that it is within a close distance of the woman’s genitalia.

This joke can be classified as a “dirty joke” or a “sex joke”. It does not completely surprise me that Slim chose a joke from this category, as he often tries to get a peek up female students’ skirts. However, dirty jokes are a very popular genre of jokes in the present time because they are a bit of a taboo and perhaps because sex is something enjoyed by a very large age range and percent of the population. While it came from a homeless man, I could have easily gotten many similar jokes from people of all professions and age ranges if I had asked. In the past, my parents have even told me dirty jokes.

Proverb

Nationality: Black
Age: 60
Occupation: Unemployed
Residence: Compton, CA
Primary Language: English

Proverb

“A closed mouth won’t get feds.”

“A closed mouth won’t get money.”

“If you don’t speak up, you won’t earn a lot of money.”

Slim, a homeless man around USC, notoriously popular with the students told me this proverb in exchange for three dollars. He told me that his parents said this to him when he was growing up and he firmly believes it. Slim is a very outspoken and animated man, though I am not sure how much influence the numerous beers that he drinks has on this. Regardless, I was a bit suspicious of how well he lives by this or how much luck he has had with this motto. This is because he is, well, homeless and therefore most likely does not have very much money, although he definitely does not have a closed mouth. However, after thinking about the times that I have observed him, his technique of asking for money requires some talking, and his success rate is the highest I have seen of any homeless man. Unlike other homeless man who just asks for change, slim has a friendship with many wealthy USC students, which he has acquired by simply showing his strong personality as they walk by. Without anything but his whits, Slim has managed to find a way to wiggle into the hearts of many with his talk alone. This then results in happily obliging students who spare their extra change.

So in the end, I guess Slim does live by his motto. His successful acquisition of money, or “feds” indeed comes from his big mouth. Consequently, this motto can be used for anyone, even in the work force. Speaking up and standing out can definitely help in one’s career, whether it is landing a job or getting promoted… or asking for money.