“I have something a teacher told me that I have always said to you…and that is, if you want to dance you have to pay the band.”
Interviewer: What does this mean to you?
Interviewee: That means whatever you want in life, you have to put in to get out. Nothing is going to come free to you. nothing is free. if you want to do something, you have to do it. It’s not free. That wis something that I always live by.
“Every rose has it’s thorn”
Interviewee: My grandmother used to say this to me. Not everything beautiful is perfect and everything that is beautiful has its flaws. Sometimes the most beautiful.”
The informant is Persian. A similar proverb, believed to be from Persia, says “he who wants a rose must respect the thorn.” Here the idea of imperfection is expressed and teaches people to love and respect one another despite individual differences and flaws.
“Live for today, as if you’re going to live forever. Live for the year after, as if you’re going to die tomorrow morning.”
My informant is from a Lebanese family. She is a college student at the California State University Northridge. She is very close with her father, often helping him run the family store. We sat down at a coffee shop to talk about folklore from her family.
My informant explains that you have to live your life to the fullest. Don’t think of the year after. But when the times come, you must remember the year before. You have to live life to the fullest, while also preparing for the future. She heard this saying from her father.
When first listening to this proverb, it too me some time to understand what it was hinting at. I had to spend some time repeating it to myself to understand its meaning. This is an interesting take on living your life to the fullest. It kind of sound like it is cautioning people to live life to the fullest but at the same time make it meaningful.
” No te mais, aquien temio”
Literal Translation: Do not be afraid, of he has been afraid
Joke translation: Do not be afraid, of he who has peed on you
The literal translation comes from the proper Spanish from Spain. The way it is used in El Salvador is they make the last word into two words turning it into “pee.” This joke is usually told to friend or close family member that is having a bad day or is anxious. My father heard this joke from his friends.
I asked my dad for some folklore while walking to the store.
My informant is a building engineer. He migrated to the United States form El Salvador when he was 16 years old. He grew up in a city in El Salvador. Lots of the folklore he has heard has come from his family.
What is interesting about this piece is how a slight shift in space of a word can change the meaning of the whole proverb. Salvadorans are known for being jokers. They like to call it being “trucha.”
“Las muchachas anda tan caliente, que cuando se orinen haste el sacate agarra fuego.”
Translation: Young girls are so hot (horny), then when they pee even the grass catches fire
This proverb was told to my informant by his wife. It represents the stigma that comes with women having free sexuality. it is usually told to daughters as a warning.
My informant is a building engineer. He migrated to the United States form El Salvador when he was 16 years old. He grew up in a city in El Salvador. Lots of the folklore he has heard has come from his family.
What is interesting is that this proverb really attack female sexuality. There is this idea in Salvadoran and most Hispanic culture that there are only two women; saints (women that are pure and do not have sexual urges) and whores (women that give into their sexual urges).