“El que se fue a Sevilla, perdió a silla”

Text

C: ‘El que se fue a Sevilla, perdió a silla,’ which means, the one who goes to Sevilla, loses his seat. As in, if you get up and go away and leave your seat unattended, then like, you shouldn’t complain if you loose it.

Context

The informant’s father was born and raised in Spain and she grew up speaking Spanish with her family in the US. The informant claims that this saying is used in the context of a person leaving “any seat, everywhere, or if you’re like in line and you leave”

Analysis

This is an example of a fun, rhyming saying that makes it easy for children to remember important rules about etiquette. In this way, parent’s are able to communicate the social norms of the folk group in a way that is pleasant to hear and easy to remember. The social norm that is being communicated here is that of a system of claiming shared resources and the virtue of patience.