Category Archives: Old age

Retirement, seniority, death, funerals, remembrances

The Unlucky Loteria Tab

Informant: CS ; Interviewer’s best friend

“So when you play loteria, early on you start to pick your favorite tabla.”

Interviewer asks: “why do you think that is?”

“Oohh I’m not entirely sure. Like if I like had to take a guess, I think it’s because of um… repetition. Like you form a routine on one single playing card, so you begin to associate it with like good vibes.”

Interviewer asks: “can you elaborate?”

“Yeah so, there are certain like superstitions that go with playing loteria. The main one is that if you switch your playing card after losing, you’ll never win while you play that round. It’s only until you like, form a relationship with one of the 10 playing cards that you’ll win.”

Interviewer asks: “So what’s your lucky tab?”

“It’s 3.”

Interviewer asks: “Do you believe in that superstition?”

“I do! The saying we have in Spanish is ‘te salaste’. Loosely translated, it means ‘you salted yourself’. As in like, you cursed yourself for that round. Almost like you jinxed your own winning. It like gets serious when you’re like playing with older folk and they start betting on the game, like gambling almost. And like the unspoken rules are taken really seriously.”

interviewer asks: “do you think the unspoken rules are meant to be taken seriously?”

“I do. I think that when you switch your playing card to another, you’ll start pulling cards that match the one you switched out. Almost like the game is taunting you.”

my interpretation: This superstition runs deep. I remember the elders in my family yelling at me everything I even hinted at switching my playing card. They would often say that I would jinx myself. In hindsight, I think that the idea of having to stick with the same card could be a metaphor for monogamy. In theory, you build a relationship with this card and you start almost bonding and memorizing the playing card. If you “cheat” on the playing tab/card or toss that tab out, the cards that are pulled in the next round will almost always be matching your old playing tab. Almost as if the game reminds you of how good you could’ve had it if you stayed put.

Los Duendes

Informant:TH; Interviewer’s Sister

“Okay okay, I have one more you can write about. I know that duendes are like a thing in Mexico, but did you hear that my grandma pissed off a duende?”

Interviewer shakes their head.

“So according to my aunt, when they were crossing the river to get here [the United States], they like, found little rocks in a circle with stuff in it. And at first my grandma thought it was a campfire, so she started piling on like leaves and shrub and stuff. And they used it as a fire for the night. In the morning, my aunt was missing her lucky bracelet and her glasses. And my uncle couldn’t find his cross necklace. And so our tios have a theory that a duende’s belongings were in the little rock circle. And when my grandma used it as a fire all their belongings burned up.”

Interviewer asks: “Can you elaborate as to what that means? What is a duende and why is it taking things?”

“Yeah, so. Um, a duende is like…” *they take a moment* “how do I explain it? They’re like um, little elves or like creatures rather. And they can either be very nice or very mean. Kinda like how the witches on TikTok are always like “don’t piss off the fae or they’ll like curse you or whatever’.They’re essentially little guys that can either reward you or curse you. And so in the context of the story, the duende whose things were allegedly burned started stealing their little trinkets as retaliation.”

My interpretation: I don’t think this happened completely. I do think my uncle and aunt were scatterbrained trying to cross into a whole new country and they may have lost a few things, but the idea of my grandmother angering a mystical little being is the funniest thing I’ve ever been told. I think My uncle and aunt started telling the kids in our family this story as a way to build lore to their journey. I don’t necessarily think there needs to be a lesson to be taught here, I think it was more for embellishment.

No One is So Young…Nor So Old

Nationality: Argentinian-American
Age: 20
Language: Spanish

Nadie es tan joven que no se pueda morir mañana, ni tan viejo que no pueda vivir un día más. (“No one is so young that they cannot die tomorrow, nor so old that they cannot live another day.”)

Context

MD is my roommate’s friend here at USC. She is originally from Miami Beach, Florida and has lived there her whole life. She was raised by Argentinian parents who immigrated to Florida when they were in their teenage years. She describes her parents as both free spirited and herself in the same fashion. 

Text

MD: I think my parents both always had these really poetic and pretty sounding sayings growing up just because of the type of people that they are. If I had to pick one I’d say, “Nadie es tan joven que no se pueda morir mañana, ni tan viejo que no pueda vivir un día más.”

DO (Interviewer): Can you explain more about that?

MD: Well a literal translation of it is “No one is too old that they can’t live another day, nor too young that they cannot die tomorrow.” My mom always says it to me. 

DO: What do you think the significance is to her? Or even what does it mean to you?

MD: My mom is a free spirit, live in the moment type of woman for sure. So I think this is her way of saying two things actually. The first part is saying you’re never too old to go after what you want. Never too old for adventure. The second part is more of a warning I guess. I think a lot of people, especially in our generation, have a “live fast, die young” mentality. To me this phrase is like a balance thing. Go after what you want because it’s never too late, but also remember that what you do can have consequences. 

Analysis

Even though the saying is in Spanish it has more of a lifestyle type of folklore than a cultural one. Societal norms may place certain restrictions or even uphold certain ideals based on age and common perceptions of certain age groups. This phrase can serve as a statement to break these ideas of what age means and go against the grain of what expectations are placed on you based on your age. Western culture has a notion of the youth being reckless and free and the older generations being wise and sometimes even sort of stagnant in their lifestyle. With phrases like these, it’s an encouragement to break these norms. Additionally, this phrase can stand to represent the importance of life itself, encouraging others to enjoy it while it’s here but also live in a way that lets you enjoy it as much as possible. It can also stand to talk about time and how we all have these ideas about it. Some believe they have a set amount of time here and others feel, in a sense, immortal. This phrase works to explore that. 

Go Tile the Sea!

Nationality: Lebanese
Age: 47
Occupation: Mother
Residence: Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Performance Date: February 21st, 2023
Primary Language: Arabic
Language: English

Original: روح بلط البحر

Transliteration: Rooh Balit El Baher

Translation: Go tile the sea!

The informant is one of my Lebanese family members who was raised in Lebanon by parents who had lived there for the entirety of their lives and has knowledge of the type of language that is said on daily basis in the culture.

Context:

The informant describes the saying to be a “nasty-phrased comment that is usually said by the elder women of the family.” She states “that they are saying this to their husbands or men of the household that ask for unreasonable demands in the household that the wife is unable to provide.” and that this is a statement that is taken in an insult-like manner to those who might rarely hear it in public, however, she says that “it is typically said at home to close family in order to not allow people to take offence to the phrase”. The informant summarises the interaction when she states that “It is usually meant to tell the men of the household to ‘f**k off’ in a ladylike manner” as she asserts that they go tile the endless ocean floor which is ironic as it is impossible.

Analysis:

There is a comedic factor in the saying as it is a statement that allows the women of the household to mock or make fun of the men. This can possibly be taken from Lebanese culture as women are still known to take care of the children in the household today and must maintain the state of the household whilst the men are working externally. Therefore, this allows women to assert their voice in the household whilst remaining reputable and adding the comedy of impossibly demanding that the men go “tile the sea [floor]” just as they feel the pressure of the household and cannot take any more demands. The private part of the statement also allows the family to feel closer as it is a statement that can only be said to those related in order to not seem like a sinister individual and build their bonds as she asserts her dominance in the household. The endless sea floor might also indicate that the wife’s role as a mother and caretaker is as much work and complex as tiling the bottom of the ocean.

Mexican Adult Riddle

Informant: My informant is my Mexican dad who grew up in Puebla, Mexico.

Original Piece: Bajamos los calozens y chupame lo que tengo  que soy? Mango

Transliteration: We lower our pants, suck what I have. What am I? Mango

Translation: Lower by pants and suck what I have. What am I? Mango

Context: This is said to child at a gathering or to an adult. My dad said he first heard it when he was in Mexico, and when he was a small child. He heard it again when he was a young adult and understood that this was a riddle that was meant for grown people. Inside joke sort off

Analysis: This is definitely a riddle that was meant to be sexualized because the mind of an adult can go directly to the part of man. However, this is said to child because they don’t know what sex is. Therefore, pointing out how much a child can be innocent, and how much an adult’s mind is developed when they first experience what sex is. When someone first heard this, their mind goes to well a man’s private part or a womans. Again, this is all an inside joke between adults and adult humor