Category Archives: Folk Beliefs

Don’t step on the falcon

Nationality: American
Age: 22
Occupation: student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: April 30, 2014
Primary Language: English

“Our mascot for my high school is a falcon. They have a big tile mosaic thing of a falcon in the quad and you’re not supposed to walk on it, especially on game days. And especially when we played our rivals, Los Gatos High School. It’s right in the middle of the quad. It’s supposed to be bad luck if you step on it. I’m not really sure if it works or not but I never stepped on it just in case. Also I never played sports but I still didn’t do it.”

My participant is not an athletic person and did not participate in athletics in high school. I found it intriguing that despite her lack of interest or involvement in sports she still subscribed to the superstitions associated with her high school mascot. I was also surprised that it was bad luck to step on the falcon when it was located in such a public place as the school quad since it would be an easy mistake for pedestrians to make.

Dirty jokes

Nationality: American, Mexican

“My grandpa, gosh, use to love to tell dirty jokes. He would say,’Want to hear a dirty joke? A white horse fell in the mud. Want to hear a dirtier one? It fell in again!’

My brother and sister and I use to try to come up with other things that were white to fall in the mud. We didn’t understand the dirty joke part because we were too little.”

So about how old were you?

“Like elementary school age. Six or seven.”

So you and your siblings would try and make up your own versions?

“Mhm. But it was just amongst ourselves. It was more to try to make our grandpa laugh right after he would say his joke.”

This was a repeated thing?

“Ya. I think it kind of stopped though. We ran out of white things and then we also realized what a dirty joke really was. We kind of just grew out of it.”

 

Dirty jokes are a popular genre of humor, but this joke is particularly funny because it uses both meanings of the word “dirty.” In doing this my informants grandfather ensured the joke was funny for both himself and his audience: children.

Suzie Homemaker

Nationality: American
Age: 50
Occupation: high school teacher
Residence: San Jose, CA
Performance Date: April 26, 2014
Primary Language: English
Language: Spanish

Tell me about some of the other customs or experiences in your Culinary Arts Program:

“Another thing that caught me off guard was that the chefs used “Suzie Homemaker” as an insult. One time the chef saw me holding my knife as I was slicing pears and he shouted, “Rebecca, you look like a Suzy Homemaker holding your knife like that! You don’t look like a chef! Why aren’t you holding your knife the way I showed you?” and then shook his head at me. Another time we used pastry bags with interchangeable, decorative tips while learning different techniques to frost cakes. He scoffed and looked at me and said, “You probably have one of these don’t you? All Suzy Homemakers do.” I had to confess that I didn’t. The assumption is that amateurs often try to learn pasty skills at home and that we would be unsuccessful at it. Often times he ridiculed non-professionals who make themselves out to be experts by making Youtube tutorials or even publishing books that use wrong techniques. Before now, I thought the title Suzy Homemaker referred to somebody who was skilled and now I’ve learned a new use of the term.”

 

“Suzie Homemaker’ was a line of toys released in the 1960’s and is the derivation for the now commonly used term. The line of toys included dolls and other faux appliances. As such, it has been linked to domestic roles traditionally played by women. The participant, my mother, and I had similar a understandings of the meaning to be positive and descriptive of a female who was a good cook, kept a clean organized home and supported the needs of her family in the domestic sphere. Upon doing some research, I learned that the term has been adopted by feminists as a means of scorning women who still conform to these gender roles.

My mother was exposed to a new meaning for the term; in the culinary world it is used as an insult to ridicule amateurs. Depending on the context of the term, it can have different meanings.

 

Jokes about the Catalan

Nationality: Spanish
Age: 21
Occupation: Student
Residence: Madrid, Spain
Performance Date: April 26, 2014
Primary Language: Spanish
Language: English

“Este es un chiste sobre los catalanes que dice la gente de Madrid:

Este es un Catalan que va conduciendo su coche y tiene un acidente. Entonces le gente se para para ayudarle y llaman a un ambulancia. Entonces viene la ambulancia y el esta mal errido como aturdido. Entonces sale el camillero y le dice a sus companeros de la ambulancia, “rapido trae me una mascara” y el tio medio sangrao, aturdido dice “la mas cara no, por favor. la mas varata.”

Hay el estereotipo que los catalanes son unos agarados con el dinero. ”

Translation:
This is a joke about the Catalan that people from Madrid say:

“There is a Catalonian man that is driving along in his car and has an accident. So then the people stop to help him and call an ambulance. Then the ambulance comes and he is badly hurt and dazed. Then the paramedic steps out and says to his co-workers, “Quick bring me a mask.” And the guy, half-bleeding and dazed says, “Not the most expensive one, the cheapest one.”

Analysis:
The joke is found in the play on words between ‘mascara’ (mask) and ‘mas cara’ (the most expensive). They both sound the same in Spanish but have, obviously very different meanings. The injured man thinks the paramedic is saying to bring out the most expensive, when really the paramedic is saying to bring out a respiratory mask. In response the injured man requests the cheapest one despite being severely injured. The joke plays off the stereotype that the Catalonian people are very cheap. This joke is similar to jokes in the United States about Jewish people being frugal with money. Also, there is lots of cultural tension between the Catalan people and the rest of Spain due to a political movement on the part of the Catalonians trying to declare independence from the rest of Spain. This joke is a means of putting down the Catalonians therefore making it easier to separate themselves from them.

Colchonero

Nationality: Spanish
Age: 51
Occupation: professor
Residence: Redlands, CA
Performance Date: April 27, 2014
Primary Language: English
Language: Spanish

“Back in 1969, I was 7 years old. Kids at that age, even today too, declare allegiance to a soccer club which usually is the one that represents your city. Every town, even small towns have a local soccer team that you root for. But you also have to be a fan of a team in ‘La Liga,’ the national league even if you live in a city which doesn’t have a team playing in ‘La Liga.’. The choice is usually by birthplace, if you were born in a big city that determines which professional team you become a fan of. But if you were not born in a big city or a city without a professional team in ‘La Liga’ then your choice is based off of other factors. For example, a family member like a dad, uncle or a cousin or even a classmate. It can also be based on geographical proximity to a team with a professional team in ‘La Liga.’ And in the big cities that have more than one professional team that is usually shaped by your family, neighborhood, part of town that you were born in, usually. Many kids also by default, in virtually any city, even cities that have professional teams, also follow one of these two teams, Real Madrid or Barcelona. So you can be a Sevilla fan or a Valencia fan but also either Real Madrid or Barcelona, which are the two most powerful clubs. So it’s like in the U.S. that the Lakers or Celtics have fans all over the country. In Spain, the country is always divided into two camps, the Real Madrid followers or Barcelona followers.

So when I was 7, so the American equivalent to second grade, there was a three way split since first grade that I remember. We would always play and talk soccer. So all my classmates were divided into three groups: Athletic Bilbao, Real Madrid and FC Barcelona. Every kid was a fan of one of those three. In 1969 I saw one day, right after school that season the national championship had been won by Atlético de Madrid. So I saw a poster that featured them on a window of a bookstore. I was looking at that poster and recognized their faces from watching them on television; I knew somewhat the players. In that moment I decided to be a fan of them and no one else from the school was rooting for that team. I particularly liked the striker, Garate. I kind of wanted to, I liked the fact that no one else at the school was rooting for them and also because they had just won the championship I decided that was the team I was going to follow. So that day I became a ‘colchonero.’ That’s the nickname that the followers of that team are known by. The nickname ‘colchonero’ was born in 1913 when the team switched it’s original white and blue colors for red and white vertical stripes. Which up until today are the team colors. The nickname was born because the colors and vertical stripes reminded people of the design of mattress covers of the time. Mattresses of the time, early 20th century were striped and white and red. So it reminded people of mattresses or ‘colchones’ and from that point on the team and it’s followers were known as ‘colchoneros.’ The team has had, over it’s 100 year history some reasonable success, winning several national championships and European titles. However, it has not been as successful as Real Madrid, their neighbors, or Barcelona. And the team itself and it’s fans have given rise to a now nationally known spirit or attitude. The reason for this is that there had been intermittent, sprinkled success but usually the wait in between titles has been long. On a couple of occasions the team lost it’s standing in the first division, ‘La Liga’ and had to drop down to the second division, what would be the minor leagues in the U.S. Like for a big team like Atlético de Madrid to drop down like that is a big deal. The history of the team is alot of success mixed with hardship and disappointment. A few years back there was a spot on television that shows this attitude, issued by the team as a promotional campaign to increase the following and season passes for the club. Purposely this commercial reflects the ‘colchonero’ spirit of living through disappointment and hardship. So you are a fan of them because it’s almost like your own personality. They emphasize that it’s almost like being a masochist because you know you’re going to be disappointed. It showed scenes after past disappointments. And at the end the son asks the dad, “Papa porque somos del Atleti?” (Dad, why do we belong to Atlético de Madrid?) That is the question that all kids, in my days it was only boys but now it’s boys and girl, ask each other, “De quien eres?” (Who do you belong to?). Every boy had to “belong” to a team.  The spirit of my team kind of represents an alternative path or approach which manifests itself often in life. We have situations in society, in politics, in business, or art where people tend to gather around what seem to be the two majority options, paths, or schools of thought but that sometimes a third alternative or way may emerge. For example in the United States, most people would identify themselves as being either republican or democratic. And now in more recent years, the Independents have gained more momentum. Even in English we would use the question “who do you belong to?” more to describe your political inclination. While in Spain, your sports allegiance is a huge factor within your identity. Although it’s not perfect, it’s a stronger predictor of a persons general attitude, mindset or view of life than sports allegiance in the United States.  I’m trying to say that a person who follows Atlético de Madrid is in general, more likely to be more a third way person in politics and other things in life. It’s an important, popular statement or way to gauge or ascertain a persons general outlook. Also, people who follow Real Madrid or Barcelona have other generalizations.”

There are several interesting facets to this description of folklore:
Firstly, the group of fans that support the national teams all have nicknames. These nicknames however are not derived from the team name or a team mascot, like many of the teams in the United States. The nicknames are based on other factors or criteria. The participant gave the example of followers of Atlético de Madrid being nicknamed, “colchoneros.” Fans of FC Barcelona are known as ‘Culés’ and those of Real Madrid are called ‘Merengues.’ Merengues comes from a” Spanish dessert, usually white, made from whipped egg-whites and sugar, and served amongst the elites.” ‘Culés’ is “Catalan for asses. People passing by their old stadium, Les Corts, would sometimes see their buttocks hanging over the side of the benches, hence the nickname for the supporters.”
These two explanations were provided by: http://www.laligaweekly.com/2010/05/la-liga-nicknames.html. The site provides some of the other nicknames for the followers of teams in ‘La Liga’ and their descriptions.

Also interesting is that there are some stereotypes surrounding the individuals depending on the national team they support. Doing some more research I was able to figure out that fans of Real Madrid have the stereotype of being wealthy and elitist. I was unable to find a ‘stereotype’ regarding the followers of Barcelona, but the team has become a symbol of Catalan pride throughout their desire to break free from the rest of Spain. Atlético de Madrid is “the 3rd club of Spain in terms of fans, although far from Barça and Madrid. The image of the club is the story of the most “unlucky” team in Spain. Atlético is the club where everything can happen and it’s always lived by big passion, the good and the bad things. This history of “losers” and compared with their neighbors have made Atlético a special club. Atlético is considered the team of the people, the team of the artists, even sometimes linked to the left in politics. They say ‘it’s easy to be madridista, but being atlético is something that can’t be explained, you have it in the blood’.” A similar explanation of Atlético de Madrid’s reputation to that of my father’s is provided above by http://www.xtratime.org/forum/showthread.php?t=145703.

Additionally the language they use surrounding sports and especially soccer is indicative of how crucial it is to their national identity. In English we ask people who they are a fan of or who which team they root for. Usually it has something to do with your geographical proximity to a particular team but not always and/or can have something to do with your family culture. However, in Spanish the question that is asked is “To whom (what team) do you belong?” It is meant to ask for whom does a person root for but they type of language that is used implies a very strong connection with a persons being and identity. Also, since the country is much smaller than the United States the rivalry may be more augmented due to the fact that the teams and fans are confined to a smaller geographical space which creates more tension. This could be compared to the rivalries between Los Angeles Kings and San Jose Sharks in California or the San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers in California. Most rivalries are not cross-country, they are between teams of closer geographic proximity. But still, it seems that an individuals loyalty to one of the three national soccer teams in Spain is a much greater indicator of personality and/or political inclinations and an integral part of a citizens national identity than in any sport in the United States.