Author Archives: Joseph Soro

gotta keep your head up

AGE

22

Date_of_performance

2/24/25

Language

English

Nationality

American

Occupation

Student

Primary Language

Spanish

Residence

Los Angeles, CA

Folk Speech: Al mal tiempo, Buena Cara

Translation: Bad times, good face

Context + Text: The individual is my roommate’s girlfriend. I went through a tough time in school, and I would come home crying sometimes because of how hard school was. “One day, I had gotten into a fight with a girl in my class and she threw the kick ball at my face, it really hurt, and I was crying when I went home.” She continued on to say that after her parents had comforted her, they reminded her that ‘al mal tiempo, buena cara”, and that I should not let the rest of my day be ruined by having a pouty face. “I really enjoyed hearing my parents say this because it has helped me in my college life now. I’ve failed midterms, missed my family, and just had bad days overall, but I always try to smile no matter what.” She continued on by explaining how keeping a smile on her face would make it easier to stop the bad thoughts or remembering the bad time she might’ve had that day, and it could also help others around her remember to smile. “If me and my friends all smile, there’s no way I have a bad time.”

Analysis: The above phrase is very similar to what many of us had heard as kids, “Turn that frown upside down”, but it can be used in different contexts. Turn that frown upside down is more related to individuals who may be sad and expressing it out to those around them. If I just received some devastating news or feel like I failed a test, I might walk around my house with just a sad/mad face. The phrase, bad times good face however, relates more to the individual trying to hype themselves up. It’s hard to have a bad time when you’re smiling, so simply waking up and reminding yourself to have a “good face” is a great way to ensure you can stay happy with whatever life throws at you.

Ants in your pants!

AGE

17

Date_of_performance

2/23/25

Language

English

Nationality

American

Occupation

Student

Primary Language

Spanish

Residence

San Jose, CA

Folk Speech: minoi minoi minoi minoi pei o se loi a siva siva ua gaoioi 

Translation: move move move move like an ant, move like you got ants in your pants

Context + Text: The individual is my roommate’s sister. The informant has a large Samoan family, where this saying stems from. She recalls hearing this saying most frequently whenever she was feeling a little down, or just afraid of dancing with her family. “The time I vividly first remember hearing this was at my brother’s 15th birthday, when the whole family was out dancing on the dance floor, and I was hiding in the corner with my other cousins. We then heard our parents and relatives yelling this saying to us, while laughing, as they were egging us on to come dance with them”. It was a very endearing moment, she said, as her and her cousins felt inclined to join the dance floor. 

Analysis: The above saying is actually stemmed from a Samoan pop group called Five Stars, dedicated to making family music. The change to turn some of the lyrics into a saying was successful in creating a cultural connection between Samoan families. For the informant herself, her family has moved over into the US, so it has become a little hard to keep the Samoan culture with such a small community. This little saying to just cheer up children and encourage them to dance is effective in keeping the culture alive. She believes that it is fun to hear this saying, and this is important as she has started listening to more Samoan music, hoping to hear more fun little sayings she wants to carry on. 
We can find a similar and funny version of this in the children’s cartoon, Phineas and Ferb, with the song “Squirrels in my Pants”. This song is performed by one of the main characters as she dances in creative and entertaining ways. 

Healing frogs

AGE

21

Date_of_performance

2/23/25

Language

English

Nationality

American

Occupation

Student

Primary Language

Spanish

Residence

San Martin, CA

Folk Speech: sana sana, colita de rana si no sanas hoy, sanaras manana

Translation: heal, heal, little frog’s tail. If you don’t feel better today, you’ll feel better tomorrow

Context + Text: The individual is my roommate in college for the past 4 years. The informant is from Mexican descent and when he was a little boy, his grandma would say this to him whenever he was sick. He never really understood what it meant, but it had been said to him since he could remember, and he believes that it actually healed him. “When I finally got old enough to understand what was being said, I got a little confused and asked my grandma why this was a cultural saying”, he explains. “She told me it was a little bit of nonsense, but it was a little silly rhyme that kids could learn.” When I asked him how he feels about it today, he said it was his favorite thing to say whenever he was sick, and he would beg his mom to buy little frog plush toys whenever they were at the store. “I built a collection of 12 little frogs, and every time I got sick, I used to sleep with them hoping their tails would heal me.” I then asked him if he still had them, and he said “Of course, I still get sick today and my kids one day will need them!”

Analysis: This little folk saying stems from Latin American culture, and it turned into a belief for little children that a frog’s tail truly had healing powers. The short version of the saying it simply “heal, heal, little frog’s tail”, calling for the child to heal from the powers of the little frog. The longer version provides a better explanation, that if you are not healed by tonight, tomorrow will heal you. It falls along with parental advice that if you sleep while sick, you will always feel better when you wake up. The short version is what many of the kids learned as it was just easier to remember, and in the original Spanish version it rhymes. We have seen that rhymes are easier to remember, especially for children.