Author Archives: Vanessa Acatitla

“Cría cuervos y te sacarán los ojos”

  • Informant: My informant is my Mexican dad who grew up in Puebla, Mexico. 

Main Piece: “Cría cuervos y te sacarán los ojos” 

Transliteration: “Raise crows and they will take out your eyes” 

Translation: “Raise ravens, and they’ll gouge your eyes out” 

Background: My informant is my dad, who grew up in the small town of Puebla, Mexico. He was raised by a single mother and is the youngest of all 5 siblings. As the youngest of all, he said he was a good kid, yet there were times that when he or his siblings did something wrong his mom (my grandma)would say the proverb above. 

Context: This proverb is known to usually comes up when a child has done something wrong such as anything that goes against a parent’s expectation. This highly includes betrayal. In especially betrayal in this case or when a child is not appreciative of what their parents have given to them. 

Analysis: This phrase seems to have been a staple of my childhood, part of which I have heard so many times when I do something that displeases my parents. Although the proverbs in a sense seem sort of harsh, I think it has been an important phase in my life, which has allowed me to realize that one has to appreciate their parents a little more. 

El Vaporu Magico – The Magical VapoRub

Informant: My informant is my Mexican mom, who grew up in Puebla, Mexico. While she stayed with her mom for about 16 years, she learned many remedies to keep herself away from developing colds, and flu, and even erase bruises. My mom stated that the reason why she turns towards magical Vicks/mentolato is that she has a stronger belief in home remedies than in actual prescribed medicine. 

Context:  This conversation occurred when I asked my mom why she always brought extra Vaporu, when we already had some at home. 

Main Text: “Cuando yo crecí mi mama siempre me dijo que cuando me sintiera mal que siempre tuviera un vaporub a la mano. Ella siempre me decía que esto era mágico y de lo mejor porque siempre ayudaba a mi mama con sus migrañas, moretones, y cuando tenía síntomas de algún resfriado. Lo que hacía mi mamá específicamente es que nos ponía un chingo de vapor en mis pies y me ponía calcetines. Y luego me ponía detrás de la espalda y enfrente del pecho. Para mantenerlo caliente entre medio de mi ropa me ponía papel. Al final antes que nos acostáramos a dormir nos ponía un poco alrededor de la nariz para que pudiéramos respirar mejor. Sabes, mi mama no solo me enseño a usar esto para resfriados pero también para la piel y infecciones. Si te pones poquito de esto en tu barro es más que seguro que se te quite al otro dia, Por ultimo, si te duele el oído lo que tienes que haces es agarrar un algodón, ponerle un poco de vaporub y ponerlo en oído.” 

Translation: “Growing up my mom always told me that when I felt bad I should always have a vaporubby my side.. She always told me that this was magical and the best because it always helped my mom with her migraines, bruises, and when she had cold symptoms. What my mom did specifically is she put a lot of  thi product on the sole of my feet and with socks on me. And then she would put some behind my back and in front of myst chest. To keep the warmth, my mom would put paper between my clothes. In the end, before we went to sleep, she put a little around our noses so that we could breathe better. You know, my mom taught me not only to use this for colds but also for the skin and infections. If you put a little of this on your pimples, it is more than certain that it would go away the next day. Finally, another use was for infection. If your ear hurts, what you had  have to do was take a cotton ball, put a little VapoRub on it and put it in your ear.”

Analysis: It is interesting how this product, which was not initially created to be used for bruises, nor for infection has become a huge part of the Mexican culture. I believe it just showcases, how my mom and many other who use this product have become accustomed to use it and has become integrated so much into their health lifestyles. So much to the point that many rather than going to a doctor, now rely on VapoRub. I for one have no problem in relying in folk medicine, because I also have the belief that VapoRub fixes almost all. I myself, coming from a low-income family, rely on this product so much. Why? Because when a member gets sick, we pull out the VapoRub. VapoRub is efficient, cheap and lifesaver for many low-income families.

Break the Tortilla – Quiebra la Tortilla

Informant: My informant is my Mexican mother, who grew up in Puebla, Mexico. While she stayed with her mom for about 16 years before coming to the U.S, she grew up with many superstitions that derived either from her mom or from her grandmother.

Main Piece: “Esto lo escuche de mi mama en mi niñez. Ella siempre decía, que si sobraban tortillas era importante de intentar de no tirarlas a la basura porque si no uno se hacía más pobre y era mala suerte. Era muy importante que las agarres y las quiebres en pedazos más pequeños y dárselos a cualquier animal que encuentres en la calle como un perro. O si tenias puerquitos dárselos ellos” 

Translation:  “I heard this from my mom when I was a child. She always said that if there were leftover tortillas it was important to try not to throw them in the trash because if you didn’t you would become poorer and it would be bad luck. It was very important that you grab them and break them into smaller pieces and try to give them to any animal that you would find on the street like a dog. Or if you had little pigs, give it to them”

Context: My mom stated that she grew up hearing this superstition for as long as she could remember when she lived with her mom back in her town. She still performs it up to this day because it’s not that she believes that something bad will happen out of throwing out a tortilla, but because she states that this superstition has taught her to value even the simplest of foods. Growing up poor, she stated that sometimes the only thing her mom could provide for her was a tortilla with some salt or green pepper. Whenever there were one or two tortillas left and they had been overheated too many times and were too bland/hard to eat anymore her mom would break them into pieces and offer them as an offering to the animals.  Again, throwing them away was a big NO NO because God would punish them.

Analysis: I agree with my mom’s analysis of this superstition. My mom grew up in very difficult circumstances and I am sure that she was not the only one in that town who had to go through this. I also don’t believe that merely throwing a tortilla into the trash will necessarily make you any poorer is true. However, I do see where my grandma and great-great grandma/others who believe in this superstition come from. The tortilla in Mexico is a very sacred item, a symbolic perspective, and a pride-inspiring symbol of the nation and its people. Therefore, if this sacred item is thrown away it symbolizes not being grateful for the food that was created by previous ancestors, and ultimately when thrown away it’s a sign of ungratefulness. Not only do I believe that this custom has to do with culture and heritage itself, but also with religion. Throwing away a tortilla might also be considered rude in the Catholic religion because it refers back to Jesus’s last meal where he broke bread for his disciples. I’m assuming that this custom has transcended throughout generation to do the same with the idea of not wasting food or sharing to those less fortunate.

Beetle on a String – Mayate Verde en Hilo

Informant: My informant is my Mexican mother, who grew up in Puebla, Mexico. While she stayed with her mom for about 16 years before coming to the U.S, she grew up very poor. Therefore, throughout her childhood, she never really had any toys to play with. It was up to her and her siblings to create ingenious ways to create games. My mom explained that one of these games included the following. 

Main Piece: “Creciendo pobre siempre nos inventábamos juegos que no necesariamente involucra tener un juguete. Por ejemplo unos de esos juegos no tiene nombre pero básicamente es encontrar un mayate verde. O, en otras palabras, es un escarabajo que esta casi igual que el size de la pulagade de tu dedo o mas grande.  Después atrapar uno agarras un hilito y lo amarras alrededor del cuerpo del mayate. Y listo!! Tienes un mayate que te guíe. Si usabamos la imaginacion Nosotros usabamos nuestra imaginación y pensábamos aveces que eran hadas o cometas!“

Translation: “Growing up poor, we always made-up games that didn’t necessarily involve having a toy. For example, one of those games, which has no name but basically, it is to find a green mayate (beetle). A beetle that was about the same size as the inch of your finger or larger. After catching one, you would grab a little thread and tie it around the mayate’s body or leg. And ready!! You have a beetle to guide you and that you could fly.  If we used our imagination, we would see these beetles as fairies or kites! 

Context: My mom explained that she usually performed this game in the 1980’s whenever she was by herself between the ages of 5-10 years old because it was the best way to entertain herself. It was easy to just let oneself engage in their imagination when being so young. Just as her mom taught her how to tie a beetle on a string for entertainment purposes, she also taught her siblings how to engage in this game. 

Analysis: I think this game really portrays the innocence of children. As an adult some might see this as practice as wrong because they are hurting the beetle. However, if one puts themselves in the shoes of a poor child, I don’t think these children would have any bad thought/bad intention when it comes to trapping a beetle for a little fun. It’s not like they are torturing the beetle. In fact, I think it’s very ingenious of them to have come up with this game. This practice/game itself demonstrates just how intelligent children are, and how our imaginations can become so powerful. I think it’s a beautiful practice that siblings pass on these customs/games in order for their siblings to have the best childhood despite the challenges that they and their parents might face.

Don’t Sweep the Feet

Informant: My informant is my Mexican mother, who grew up in Puebla, Mexico. While she stayed with her mom for about 16 years before coming to the U.S, she grew up with many superstitions that either derived from her mom or from her grandmother. 

Main Piece: “No dejes que te baran los pies porque luego vas a terminar no casandote.” Translations: “Don’t let anyone sweep your feet because later on, you will end up not marrying 

Context: My mom heard this as a kid whenever her mom was sweeping. However, now that my mom thinks back to when she was small. She doesn’t believe that it literally meant that she would never get married, but I think this was used to intimidate my mom and “encourage” her to look for a partner.

Analysis: I see where this myth is coming from. I think that when this proverb is used illustrates some of the values in the Mexican culture. One of those, is marriage. think it also just demonstrates how much in the Mexican culture; marriage is an important factor to a happy life. When one should know that should not be the case. Unfortunately, because of beliefs such as these back then and still today in the Mexican culture, it’s normal for women/girls to get married at a very young age and have children at a very young age.

Annotation: For more broom lore superstitions/myths similar to this one take a look at the following list of similar brooms myths/superstitions derives from Kentucky folklore

Roberts, Hilda. “Louisiana Superstitions.” The Journal of American Folklore, vol. 40, no. 156, 1927, pp. 172-173, https://doi.org/10.2307/534893. Accessed 26 Apr. 2022.