Category Archives: Life cycle

El CuCuy

Informant: TH; Interviewer’s Sister

“So our parents, uncles, aunts- the elders in our family I should say- they would often tell the younger kids: ‘El Cucuy te va llevar si no te portas bien’. I thought it was really funny to like see these kids freak the fuck out over an imaginary character.”

Interviewer asks: “Can you, in your own words, explain who the Cucuy is?”

“Yeah so in a nutshell, he’s like the LatinAmerican version of the boogie man. Legend has it that he waits in the closet of naughty children. Or even, like, under their beds, and he waits for children to misbehave so he can take them.”

Interviewer asks: “Where does he take them?”

“How should I know? He scared the shit outa me.” *interviewee lets out a chuckle*

Transliteration: “The Cucuy you is take is no you behave good”

Translation: “The Cucuy will take you is you misbehave”

My Interpretation: This was just a way to scare kids into behaving and staying away from trouble. My family used to tell my sisters and I all the time, and we sometimes still do to the younger ones. It’s funny, but it’s also a way to scare kids into behaving. The most productive manner? No. But it did the trick!

Swedish-American Happy Birthday

Text: 

This tradition involves bringing in a Swedish apple cake with candles on it to the birthday person and waking them up with first the American Happy Birthday song:

Happy birthday to you

Happy birthday to you

Happy birthday dear  [the name of the person]

Happy birthday to you

Followed by the Swedish Happy birthday song:

Swedish:

Ja må hon leva! 

Ja, må hon leva! 

Ja, må han leva! 

Ja, må hon leva uti hundrade år! 

Javisst ska hon leva! 

Javisst ska hon leva! 

Javisst ska hon leva uti hundrade år! 

Ett fyrfaldigt leve för [the name of the person], hon leve, 

hurra, hurra, hurra, hurra!

Transliterate/translation: 

Yes, may he (she) live!

Yes, may he (she) live!

Yes, may he (she) live for a hundred years!

Of course, he (she) will live,

Of course, he (she) will live,

Of course, he (she) will live for a hundred years!

Hooray, hooray, hooray, hooray!

If any of the candles are not blown out that is the number of new partners that person will have in the next year of their life.

Context:

The informant is the daughter of a Swedish immigrant who came to the US for college and ended up staying here and marrying an American. This tradition is done at every birthday by all people present.

Analysis: 

For me, this indicates the merging of cultures, Swedish and American. As neither one wants to let their culture go the traditions are combined to form a new one. The Swedish song is very common throughout Sweden and is not unique to the family, however, combining the two songs is something only done by the half Swedish half American side of the family. In addition, the Swedish apple cake with candles on it was part of the Swedish tradition as well as the idea of the number of remaining lit candles correlated with the new partners. The reason for the keeping of these traditions is to preserve a sense of identity and culture. All of the grandchildren participate very strongly in all of the traditions and are proud of their Swedish heritage. Even when new people like significant others join the family it is very important to keep these traditions, although the addition of the American Birthday song may also be there to soften the entry.

Birthday Celebration

Text:

K.L. grew up in the United States and every birthday his friends and family presenting his birthday cake with sing to him and with lit candles on top of the cake. Most birthday songs he would often hear was, ” Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday to [name], happy birthday to you, and many more!”. And every time after the end of the song he would blow out his candles with a wish in mind, and would never tell anyone about the wish, or else it would not come true.

Context:

Every birthday celebration that K.L. went to growing up had people blowing out candles on a cake. He described, “I never really thought it was weird because everyone around me normalized it for me. But thinking about it now it does seem a little weird that we sing to a people on their birthday and they blow out candles on a cake”.

Analysis:

This is a form of homeopathic magic because the lit candles represent light and possibility of a wish. When a person blows out the candle the intention/ wish floats from the person’s mouth to the candle then into the universe with the smoke. The idea of a wish is transformed from a thought into physical form. The song and the candle also connect with the United States’ ideology of moving forward into the future, rather than reflecting on the past. The United States celebrates each new year looking forward for more. Wishing for something usually dose not involve the past but hopes for the future. This futuristic idea is often depicted in American pop-culture through movies and TV shows.

La Nahuala

Age: 21

Context
VS is my friend here at USC. They are from San Jose, California, raised by parents who were born and raised in Mexico. They travel to Mexico multiple times a year and consider it to be like their second home. They translated the story into English for this interview.

Text

DO (Interviewer): Do you have any ghost stories that you remember as a child?

VS: Yes dude. There was one that always scared me. My parents would tell me and my sisters it and I would have nightmares about her sometimes. The story is called La Nahuala. Apparently, some lady, well, La Nahala, sold her soul. She wanted to be beautiful and young forever because she was conceited. When she sold her soul the devil didn’t make her pretty. Actually, the opposite. He turned her into some ugly monster thing. Because she was obviously upset by this she wanders around Mexico and tries to get revenge on people she feels like wronged her. 

DO: What does she look like? Is she described in a certain way?

VS: She’s like dressed in all white, which is already super creepy. But then she’s also a skeleton and has dark hair and her eyes glow. My dad also told me that she can like change into different shapes like spiders and cats. I think the point is that she can turn into animals and stuff that people think are creepy, since she’s a ghost and all.

DO: Is this a famous story?

VS: I’d say yes. Obviously it’s more of a Mexican thing. I think it’s mostly told to kids to scare them because La Nahuala is known to snatch up kids and like younger people. I think there’s even movies about her. 

Analysis

This myth has cultural ties to Mexican culture, specifically Oaxacan culture. I believe that it serves the purpose of frowning upon and discouraging vanity and being conceited. Because this character wanted more beauty and youth she was punished and given the exact opposite. It can be a metaphor for showing that while she used to be externally beautiful she was internally “ugly” for being vain. As a punishment, she was then forced to be ugly externally as well. It can also show Mexican ideas on religion. This story showcases someone selling their soul to the devil and then being tricked into something terrible. It can be told as a way of discouraging people, especially children, from the occult and anything that goes against religion and God.

Spanish Earth Riddle

Nationality: Argentinian-American
Age: 20

“¿Qué cosa es redonda como una pelota, pero pesa más que un elefante?” “El Planeta Tierra!” (“What is round like a ball, but weights more than an elephant?” “Planet Earth!”)

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: My dad would always tell me riddles growing up while he drove me to school in the morning. Sometimes if we were taking my friends to school with us after a sleepover he would tell them to both of us. I remember trying to figure them out and getting upset if my friend got it first. 

DO (Interviewer): Can you remember one that was hard for you to get?

MD: Yeah. He would turn around in his seat at the red light and make hand motions with it. So like he would start off asking “Qué cosa es redonda como una pelota?” Which translates to “What is round like a ball?” And he would make a circle with his hands. And then he’d follow it up with “pero pesa más que un elefante?” And would make this funny elephant sound. Then we would guess. After a few times he finally would tell us. The answer to this one is “El planeta Tierra” which means planet Earth. I remember I was so upset after and thinking how stupid it was. But now I laugh at it. 

DO: What did these riddles mean to you growing up?

MD: Well they were pretty fun to do every morning. Looking back, I don’t know how my dad didn’t run out of ones to say. Riddles were part of our little routine that we had going on. I also loved when I got them right, it made me feel like the smartest kid ever. But it was also just a way for me to chill with my dad and bond with him so I guess there’s a little bit of nostalgia in them now.  

Analysis

This riddle was part of children’s lore for this family. It was a way for her dad to bond with the kids and continues to be an important part of their childhood memories. This was one of the earliest and most impactful introductions to folklore for her. After this specific riddle, I was told a few more that stood out from this time. The riddles being simple and silly allow the kids to have enough knowledge about the topic to understand it but were still challenging enough to have them think hard about the answers. It also served as a confidence booster for the children if they solved the riddle and allowed them to think about things differently since the answer is not obvious.