Category Archives: Proverbs

“Indio comido, puedo al camino”

Nationality: Nicaraguan
Performance Date: 4/27/17
Primary Language: English
Language: Spanish

The following is taken from an interview between me and my friend, Javier, who is from Nicaragua. We were sitting in the lobby of the Caruso Catholic Center. He decided to tell me about a certain Spanish saying.

Javier: “Yeah, so this other saying is called, ‘Indio comido, puedo al camino,’ which translates to… ‘Eaten (laughs) Indian, walking Indian.'”

Me: (laughs) “Wait, sorry, repeat that?”

Javier: “So, um, ‘Indio comido, puedo al camino,’ which means, ‘Eaten Indian, walking Indian.’

Me: “Indian? Like, Native American?”

Javier: “Uh… (laughs) yes.”

Me: (laughs) “Okay, do you know what that’s supposed to mean?”

Javier: “Yeah, it just means that, um, like, like after, like, uh, a worker, like, on the fields or… a farm worker, as soon as, like, they’re, like, finished, like, their meal, like, let’s say lunch or so, like they’re ready to go back to work. Like, as soon as they finish eating, then they can go to work.”

Me: “Oh, okay, cool, so, like, the ‘Indian’ in the phrase is, like, the worker?”

Javier: “Yeah. Yeah, yeah. So, back home, in Nicaragua, it isn’t like Native American Indians but, like, people who, like, live, like, in the… like, in the fields or like… not in the suburbs… or… like, naan fields and stuff. Like, they are called Indians, too. That’s, like, how we translate that.”

Me: “Gotchya. Um, who first told you that one?”

Javier: “Uh, probably my dad. Or, actually my grandpa probably. He–he, like, he has this, um, huge, like… coffee crops. So, he works with a lot of, like, these people. These are, like, mainly the people who work for, like, farms and so. So, yeah.”

It was very interesting to me that the word “Indian” became the term in Nicaragua to define farm workers. I’m not sure where this translated from, or even if it had any connection to Native Americans or people living in India. It doesn’t seem like anyone considers it to be derogatory in this context, so the origins are a mystery to me.

“En guerra avisada no muere soldado”

Nationality: Nicaraguan
Performance Date: 4/27/17
Primary Language: English
Language: Spanish

The following is an interview between me and my friend, Edgar, while he was practicing piano over at the Caruso Catholic Center. He told me about a proverb he knew from Nicaragua.

Edgar: “En guerra avisada no muere soldado,” and this literally means… it literally means ‘If you know about the war, soldiers are not gonna die,’ If you know war is coming, right? If you know someone’s about to attack you, soldiers are not gonna die. that’s pretty much it. And, that’s just from many things, but the one that I heard it the most is from my professor, you know. He would– my professor would go, ‘Okay, so you guys have a quiz on so-and-so day, you have to study this and this and that… ‘En guerra avisada no muere soldado.” which pretty much means… I told you when it’s coming! Be prepared for it. So that would be… that’s probably the most common, like, way to hear about it, I guess.”

Me: “A professor in Nicaragua?”

Edgar: “Yeah. Just saying, like, be ready for the test.”

Edgar’s explanation of how his teacher utilized this proverb came as a surprise to me, as upon first hearing it, I just thought of it as pertaining to actual war. But I guess that’s why it became so widely circulated is due to its capability to relate to multiple situations.

American Proveb

Nationality: Creole/White
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: 4/26/17
Primary Language: English

Informant: My friend, her mom would tell her this who is from the midwest

Original Script:  ‘A watched pot never boils’

Background: The meaning behind this is if you stay on top of your life, you won’t loose control.

Thoughts: I have never heard this proverb but it encourages self-reliance and accountability and in American we highly regard these traits, so it makes sense that it is well known in America.

Urban Sayings in Mexico City

Nationality: Mexican
Age: 46
Occupation: Radiologist
Residence: San Antonio, TX
Performance Date: April 16 2017
Primary Language: English
Language: Spanish

The informant is from Mexico City, currently rotating at UT Medical Center.

The interview occurred at a family barbeque on a Sunday.

 He and I discussed what he thinks about when he thinks of his home, which is originally Mexico City. He said that there is nothing quite like the sights and sounds of the urban squares of the densely populated capital. Here, Jesús discusses the marketplaces and street vendors in further detail.

“Hacerte Maje’ is a way of life, which means to cheat on people, and we sum it up by saying “el que no tranza no avanza”, which translates as “he who doesn’t cut corners doesn’t make progress”. Sadly, there is a tacit knowledge that corruption and lying are widespread; the “gandalla” is a person who breaks the rules in order to come out ahead. Traffic police are called Tamarindos, because they used to wear brown uniforms, the same color as the fruit, tamarinds, and México is known to be the capital of corruption. When an infraction is called, cops get paid to cancel the ticket, that payment is called “mordida,” which literally means bite. Public transport is usually run by organized groups that literally control the routes. People call the short, plump vehicles “peseros”. they used to cost one peso too, and they run the schedules and the routes as they please. The metro is also a place where things are sold illegally, and they pay the police “the mordida”, so that they are not stopped or detained as they carry on their business. On the metro you can be a victim of “bolsear”, which means to have your wallet stolen or “tortear,” to have your buttocks grabbed mercilessly; usually by a Patazo or Tigrazo; a despicable individual with no redeeming qualities. Our national holiday is on September 15th, not 5 de Mayo, as is wrongly assumed in the U.S.; although that commemorates the only victory our army had, the Batalla de Puebla. On Sep. 15th we celebrate “El Grito de Dolores”, which happened in Guanajuato.

This description of some of the folk sayings and forms of informal commerce gives some insight into the secondary economies of Mexico, wherein corruption and off the books dealings often do occur, but are so frequent they’ve become a part of the everyday. “El que no tranza no avanza” is an interesting saying that, although sly in tone, seems to imply that one cannot let others cheat, or to be weary of strangers. He gives the clarification that this saying for the most part applies to trivial happenings for the common person, and is used ironically when large-scale corruption is revealed. The fact of so many sayings surrounding corruption in Mexico gives us insight into the socialized aspect of discussing these exploitive practices. The question remains–is this socialization by folk dictums a form of combatting corruption, or have these sayings merely arisen due to frequency?

The Eagle Doesn’t Hunt Flies

Nationality: American
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: 4 19 2017
Primary Language: English
Language: Catalan

I include this piece after an informant with family in Catalan told me that Catalonian proverbs are excellent. This one I found independently, but I quite like it.

“L’àliga no caça mosques” 

In English translates to”

“The eagle doesn’t hunt flies”

Analysis: This is a brief but captivating proverb. I see it as a good summary of the wisdom that bickering about trivial things, and the accompanying haughty attitude one often finds in such situations, accomplishes nothing, and actually reflects quite poorly on the individual. A truly noble or wise individual deals with things in a just and calm manner, doesn’t chase after meaningless things and knows their position; thus, an eagle (the ruler of the skies) doesn’t bother with lowliness.