SD: Whenever I visit my family in Puerto Rico, If I ever put my purse on the floor they would get mad at me. The same thing happens to me at my house because I always leave my purse and by backpack on the ground and my mom gets really mad because they really believe it. It kind of like makes her scared that I am going to bring bad luck to us and it is just passed down to her from her relative in Puerto Rico. There is not really a reason why it is just a think they get taught when they are little, um and they just carry into adulthood and it is made to feel so real that you actually believe it. I think it is mainly like say you have a test coming up, you just screwed that up.  

Context

SD is a 21 year old student at UCLA whose mother is from Puerto Rican and dad is American. This was taken from a casual interview over FaceTime talking about any folklore she had when she mentioned her mom has many superstitions about things that are bad luck. Neither of the know why, but her mother follows then very strictly. 

Analysis

It is interesting that these superstitions have so much power with SA’s mother and her whole family living in Puerto Rico following it religiously. There is a great deal of trust and respect for tradition that these practices are followed without knowing the reason why. 

Additionally, the tension between the younger and older generation is interesting because one firmly believes it while the other does not and repeatedly breaks the rule. SD does not see it as having any merit, which gives her mother a great deal of worry that she will bring bad energy into the house.