Informant:

I had a conversation about proverbs they had learned from their families with three female employees at a local taco shop during one of the less busy times of the day.  Mercedes Rodriguez, 42, Maria Lopez, 23, and Rosalba Valdez, 18 each consider themselves Mexican.  Rosalba was the only one born in the United States, though she is a second generation immigrant.  Maria’s mother used to tell her the following proverb because she never wanted to do her homework right away.

Text:

No dejes para otra hora, lo que puedas hacer ahora.

Transliteration: don’t leave for another hour what you can do now.

Translation: Don’t leave for tomorrow what you can do today.

Analysis:

This proverb is very similar to an American proverb, “Don’t leave for tomorrow what you can do today.”  Who originated the proverb, though, is unknown.