Age: 20
Date of Performance: 2/24/2025
Language: Spanish
Nationality: Mexican
Occupation: Student
Primary Language: English
Residence: United States
- Text
The informant is a junior student at USC, who is studying Health Promotion & Disease Prevention. He quoted a Spanish saying that reads “Cuando el río suena es porque piedras trae.” It translates in English to “When the river makes noise, it is because it brings rocks.”
2. Context
“It means if you have suspicions of something happening, it’s because you have to trust your gut because something is happening.”
“My mom told it to me when I was 10. It’s just always to trust your intuition, you feel it because something is happening and you should listen to that.”
3. Analysis
This metaphorical proverb uses a natural environment to make a comparison to human intuition. A river is often making subtle noises; however, a loud river is unusual and alarming. Therefore, this proverb references a loud river as being because the river has rocks– warning signs, if you will. This compares directly to the idea of if you feel weary about something, it is likely because you have reason to. For the informant, it stems from his upbringing and his mother sharing it in her primary language, which is Spanish.