Category Archives: Riddle

El Platano or The Banana

Nationality: Cuban
Age: 62
Occupation: House Cleaner
Residence: Torrance, Ca
Performance Date: 4/22/2012
Primary Language: Spanish

“Oro parece plata no es, el que no adivine bien tonto es.”

English:

It looks like gold but silver it is not, who ever does not guess is really dumb.

This cuban dichos, or riddle, is a clever play on words. Anyone who speaks even rudimentary spanish can likely guess at this one when hearing it spoken out loud, hence the insult towards those who cannot answer it. “Plato no es,” or the “it’s not silver,” of the riddle sounds very much like “platanos,” or banana. My informant, as someone who often worked with crops as a field worker in cuba up until her early twenties, heard many riddles and saying involving fruit and other crops. With platanos being one of cuba’s main exports it’s of little surprise that a few of Cuba’s narratives and riddles center around them.

El Mamey

Nationality: Cuban
Age: 62
Occupation: House Cleaner
Residence: Torrance, Ca
Performance Date: 4/22/2012
Primary Language: Spanish

“Iva por un caminito y me encontre un barilito, le meti el dedito y me salio coloradito. Que es?”

English:

I was going down a road & I found a small little barrel, I stuck my finger in it and it came out red. What is it?

Answer: El Mamey ( A fruit with a brown rind and an orange-red center)

This cuban riddle (dichos) is one based on agriculture, as much of their folklore is. Their culture is very much crop-based, so this is logical. My informant, having been raised as a field worker in cuba, knows many of these riddles and sayings.

Chinese-English Spider Joke

Nationality: Chinese
Age: 53
Occupation: CEO of an electronics company
Residence: California
Performance Date: December, 17, 2011
Primary Language: Chinese
Language: English, Vietnamese, Cantonese

蜘蛛是什么颜色? 白色. 是白的.
Translated: What color is a spider? White. It is white.

This joke was heard at a Christmas party for a company that was predominantly made up of Chinese people.  This joke requires an understanding of both English and Chinese in order to fully understand the punch line.  At first, the question seems relatively easy as it is just asking the audience what color is a spider.  Audience members tended to yell out colors such as black or brown.  At this point, the informant would yell out “白色” (pronounced “bai se”), which means white in Chinese.  Then after hearing the confusions from the audience members, the informant would say, “是白的” (“It is white” in Engllish), which is pronounced, “Sh bai de.”  As an English speaker can see, that particular phrase sounds like the word “spider.”

My informant told me that he heard this joke first when he was learning English after coming toAmerica.  He told me that he felt a sense of accomplishment when he was able to understand the punch line as it marked his achievement in English comprehension.  For me, this poem is a symbol for the blending of English/American and Chinese culture since the two respective languages are necessary for this joke.

Black Magic

Nationality: Japanese American
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Anaheim, CA
Performance Date: March 5, 2012
Primary Language: English
Language: Japanese

In order to do Black Magic, you are going to need two performers.  Performer #1 is the asker while performer #2 is the guesser.  Performer #1 tells the audience the he/she has a telepathic connection with #2 and tells #2 to leave the room.  #1 then tells an audience member to pick any object in the room.  #1 will then say that he/she be able to transmit what the object is to #2.  After the audience member picks (we will say a chair for this example), #2 returns to the room.  #1 will then start asking questions such as, “Is it this shirt? Is it her hair?” #2 will then respond with “no” until finally #1 will ask “Is it the chair?” and #2 will say, “Yes.”  At this point the audience member will be shocked that #2 was able to figure out the object.  The trick here occurs when #1 is asking the questions about what the object is; the object that is named right before the chosen object is always predominantly black in color.  For example, #1 will ask, “Is it her shirt?” and points at somebody’s black shirt.  The color black is the cue that the object in the next question is the chosen object.  If people ask for hints as to how the trick work, just tell them to think about the name of the game.

My informant told me about this game during a dinner party.  On this occasion, my informant wanted to play this game but unfortunately for her, nobody else in the group knew about it.  She decided to tell me about it so that I could be performer number two. We both performed the game a couple times with the other people in the dinner party, and everyone was constantly throwing guesses for how I was able to correctly ascertaining the chosen object.

I asked my informant where she got this fun party game from and she said she had learned about it from her cousin at a family reunion party.  Her cousin had wanted to convince her younger relatives that she was psychic and she used this to do so.  Hearing this, I speculate that this game is probably derived from fake psychics who wanted to prove their ability.  By practicing this activity, the “psychic” would then be able to convince customers that there “powers” are real.

Dinner at Pinoy Home

Nationality: Filipino
Age: 56
Occupation: Accountant
Residence: Glendora, CA
Performance Date: 4/23/12
Primary Language: Tagalog
Language: English, Ilocano

(In Tagalong) “Kain lang kayo ng kain, walanghiya kayo, pakiramdam nyo bahay nyo to!”

(First Translation) “Eat all you can, don’t be shy, and you’ll feel at home!”

(Second Translation) “Eat, eat, eat you old son of a gun, you think this your house!”

This is probably one of the most common sayings that is given during a feast at a Filipino home. The informant was born in the northern part of the Philippines on a small province known as Ilocos Norte. He remembers that near the end of each month, he would wake up early in the morning to gather all the vegetables, meats, poultry, and rice to cook for the feast that would take a complete week to prepare. People, including family and strangers, would come to his home, because his family was notable for providing the largest feasts and the best entertainment. And one of the first few greetings they would tell their guests was this phrase. He found this greeting particularly interesting and comical, because it is somewhat an offensive statement when translated correctly, but it is meant to be a statement of hospitality. His family brought this tradition to the United States, which is frequently used whenever they have parties and/or big feasts.

My informant provided the saying in tagalog, as well as two English translations. The First Translation is the intended meaning, and the Second Translation is the actual interpretation.

My review of this piece is to interpret it as both a saying and as a joke. As the informant had indicated, the greeting’s intended meaning is different from its literal meaning. And from my own experience with hearing and using the saying myself, I can agree that many use it as a sign of kindness. I also found this to be very interesting after learning the two translations, because it teaches a lesson that we shouldn’t take things for their face value. For example, this saying can be seen as a joke rather than an insult as suggested by the literal interpretation. Those who can interpret the phrase correctly usually respond by laughing. It is not to be taken as if outsiders are perceived as taking advantage of other’s generosity. Further, one’s interpretation can depend on how someone says it through their tone and physical gestures. Together, these considerations can lead us to believe that statements should not be understood by looking at translations in their literal sense. And there are additional aspects that need to be considered in order to fully understand the meaning of spoken words and phrases.