Category Archives: folk metaphor

Arroz con Mango

Nationality: Cuban
Age: 54
Occupation: Customer Service Supervisor
Residence: Miami, FL
Performance Date: 4/15/18
Primary Language: Spanish
Language: English

Cuban culture in general is incredibly vibrant and colorful. With recent tourism to Cuba rising, foreigners often underestimate how vibrant the buildings, cars, and clothes are in Cuba. And this powerful expression also transfers over into language and proverbs. When visiting home recently, my aunt and grandmother came over to share common Cuban vernacular with me.

One idiom is: “Arroz con Mango”. Phonetically, it’s easy to pronounce since it utilizes the same Latin alphabet. It’s literal translation is “Rice with Mango”. Although it may sound like a delicious Cuban delicacy, it’s actually shorthand for describing “a terrible mess.” It’s such a specific description that if said in the right way many Cubans could be laughing up a storm. My aunt was cracking up as she remembered the phrase, suddenly taken back to many memories of growing up in the Cuban section of San Juan, Puerto Rico. So if something is chaotic or messy, and it can be tied to metaphorical things too like relationships, then it could be “Arroz con Mango”.

“Cruzar el Niagara en Bicicleta

Nationality: Cuban
Age: 58
Occupation: Retired
Residence: Miami, FL
Performance Date: 4/15/18
Primary Language: Spanish
Language: English

Cuban culture in general is incredibly vibrant and colorful. With recent tourism to Cuba rising, foreigners often underestimate how vibrant the buildings, cars, and clothes are in Cuba. And this powerful expression also transfers over into language and proverbs. When visiting home recently, my aunt and grandmother came over to share common Cuban vernacular with me. This one specifically came from my mother.

Her idiom is: “Cruzar el niagara en bicicleta”. Phonetically, it’s easy to pronounce since it utilizes the same Latin alphabet. It’s literal translation is “Cross Niagara Falls on a bicycle.” However, when one says the idiom they really mean that something is incredibly difficult or impossible, like crossing Niagara Falls on a bicycle.

My mom was the oldest of three children, witnessing and remembering the most out of her siblings. Also as the oldest, more emphasis was put on her by her father to be successful. In high school, when she expressed interest in a career that fulfilled her, her father would refuse by using the idiom. She was severely limited, but ultimately found ways to overcome her father’s presence by moving out to seek a college education. She’s such a badass she makes crossing Niagara Falls on a bicycle look easy.

“Tu No Pintas Nada”

Nationality: Cuban
Age: 58
Occupation: Retired
Residence: Miami,FL
Performance Date: 4/15/18
Primary Language: Spanish
Language: English

Cuban culture in general is incredibly vibrant and colorful. With recent tourism to Cuba rising, foreigners often underestimate how vibrant the buildings, cars, and clothes are in Cuba. And this powerful expression also transfers over into language and proverbs. When visiting home recently, my aunt and grandmother came over to share common Cuban vernacular with me. But this one came from my mother.

The idiom is: “Tu No Pintas Nada”. Phonetically, it’s easy to pronounce since it utilizes the same Latin alphabet. It’s literal translation is “Do not paint anything.” However, when one says the idiom to someone they really mean that something does not concern them.

My mom was the oldest of three children, witnessing and remembering the most out of her siblings. Also as the oldest, more emphasis was put on her by her father to be successful. As a child if she expressed interest in something else besides school, she would be shut down by her father through this idiom. It was also a common retort amongst my mom and her sisters, as they constantly got into fights when they were children. My mother’s personal interpretation for the idiom is that for one to achieve their objective, they must not get caught up in distractions that could get them off task. There’s a time to paint, “pero ahora (but right now) tu no pintas nada.”

“Mas Rollo que Una Pelicula”

Nationality: Cuban
Age: 58
Occupation: Retired
Residence: Miami, Fl
Performance Date: 4/15/18
Primary Language: Spanish
Language: English

Cuban culture in general is incredibly vibrant and colorful, with a attentive focus on the arts. With recent tourism to Cuba rising, foreigners often underestimate how vibrant the buildings, cars, and clothes are in Cuba. And this powerful expression also transfers over into language and proverbs. When visiting home recently, my aunt and grandmother came over to share common Cuban vernacular with me. But this one came from my mother.

The idiom is: “Mas Rollo que Una Pelicula”. Phonetically, it’s easy to pronounce since it utilizes the same Latin alphabet. It’s literal translation is “You are more roll than a movie.” However, when one says the idiom to someone they really mean that they act like they’re better than they actually are.

Throughout my mother’s childhood, my grandfather would take her to work with him so that she could slowly learn what it took to run a business. That’s when she would encounter the charismatic nature of salesmen, who knew how to talk the talk but not walk the walk. If my grandfather could see through the ruse–and according to the stories he usually did–he’d say “Mas Rollo que Una Pelicula” to the salesman. For my mom, it means when someone is gloating about their accomplishments, flaunting something they deem valuable, or bragging about opportunities. They just want attention, my mom would say, because their actions don’t deserve the praise they are looking for.

Swedish Proverb

Nationality: USA
Age: 45
Occupation: Attorney
Residence: USA
Performance Date: 4/19/2018
Primary Language: English

“De är inte alla karlar som bär byxor.”

Swedish: All are not men that wear trousers. 

G’s Scandinavian father used to say this to her and her siblings in Swedish while growing up. He immigrated to the United States from Sweden when he was young, and it was a phrase that he heard growing up. It’s a phrase that G repeated (albeit slightly butchered, as she does not speak Swedish) when she grew older, because it was relevant, reminded of her childhood and her father.

G’s father would say this to his five children to encourage them to break from the mold and be different. He said it to emphasize that his daughters could play sports and listen to rock music, and his son could design clothing and play musical instruments. He didn’t believe his kids had to do strictly things designated by society for their respective genders.

I love this phrase, and I think it is especially applicable in this age, where the previously-designated boundaries of gender are being pushed. Girls do not equal pink and boys do not equal blue. I think a variation of this proverb exists in every language and culture—not every woman has to be girly and not every man, manly.