Bote Pateado/Kick the Can

Nationality: Mexican-American
Age: 27
Residence: California
Primary Language: English
Language: spanish

Main Piece:

This is a game similar to hide and seek, but it involves a can and you don’t have to tag a person with your hand. These are the rules:

Pieces: A can or bottle that is heavy enough to go far, but not too far, when kicked.

Number of players: At least 3

Rules: The person that is “it” stands next to a can that is inside a drawn circle. One of the other players kicks the can as far as they can and then they all run to hide. The person that is “it” must walk to the ca, pick it up, then walk back to the circle and pace the can inside. The person that is “it” then begins to search for the other players. If the person that is “it” spots another player they must race toward the can and say “1,2,3 (Name of player caught).” “It” does this until all the players are caught. Other players in hiding can try to release the caught players by beating “it” to the can and kicking it out of the circle. This act releases all the caught players and “it” must again walk to the can, pick it up, walk back, and then set the can in the circle. This continues until “it” catches all the players hiding.

Context:

The informant is a 27-year-old Mexican-American college student. He learned this story from his uncle. His uncle would gather all the nieces and nephews to play this game. It was a way to entertain the kids when they didn’t have any other form of entertainment. Also, to make the kids exercise more.

For another version, see “Kick the Can.” Play & Playground Encyclopedia. 23 August 2012.

The Lady in White

Nationality: American
Residence: california
Performance Date: 2019
Primary Language: English

Main Piece:

“A couple of weeks before my first husband was diagnosed with cancer, I woke up in the middle of the night and saw a spirit of a woman floating in the middle of my room. She was staring toward me but was not looking at me. She looked sad. I decided to close my eyes and hide under the covers. After a while I fell asleep. The next night though, she appeared again, but this time she was much closer to my bed. She was at the end of my bed actually. I was so afraid and decided to slowly walk around her and out the door. My husband woke up after I left and he rushed out of the room as well. He was panting and his face was white. He said he had seen a woman in a white dress floating in the middle of the room and that she was staring right at him. I told him I had also seen her. It was so creepy. A few weeks later he was diagnosed with cancer and he died some months later.”

Context:

The informant is an elderly Caucasian woman born and raised in Tennessee. She had this spiritual experience while married to her first husband who died of cancer. She now believes that the spirit was trying to warn her about her husband having developed cancer. A couple of days after seeing this spirit, her husband was diagnosed with terminal cancer.

Analysis:

I believe that the informant now believes that the spirit she saw was trying to communicate to her the terrible news to come. Maybe back then she might have just felt fear but today the informant truly believes that that spirit was a good spirit.

How to stop a dog from pooping

Nationality: Mexican-American
Age: 27
Residence: california
Performance Date: 2019
Primary Language: English
Language: spanish

Main Piece:

“Do you remember what your dad used to tell us when we were little, about how to stop dogs from pooping? (laughter) So, he said that when you saw a dog pooping you should stare at it and interlock your index fingers and pull on them while staring at the dog. I did it many times, and it worked! Or maybe the dog was just creeped out by me staring at it.”

 

Context:

The informant is a 27-year-old Mexican American college student. He heard this “trick” from his uncle. He is not sure why he was told this but continues to try out the “trick” to this day.

 

Analysis:

I believe that this gesture was a way to entertain us when we were children. It might just be a prank to pull on naïve individuals.

“La famiglia è la patria del cuore”

Nationality: American
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Dallas, Texas
Performance Date: 4/6/19
Primary Language: English
Language: Italian, Spanish

Main Piece: Proverb 

“La famiglia è la patria del cuore”

Translation:

“The family is the home of the heart”

Background info: 

Informant is Italian American with family from Italy who use Italian proverbs. She learned while spending time with her grandmother who would often say it when she was pleased that she could spend time with her entire family. Her grandmother helped teach her the importance of loving and enjoying being with family above all else through using this proverb. 

Context: This is an Italian proverb that directly translates into English as “the family is the home of the heart”. My informant is Italian American and many proverbs she knows translate differently because the language or pronunciation is “Americanised” however this proverb comes directly from Italy. This proverb was collected in person at the informant’s dorm in Dallas, Texas.

Analysis: This proverb is neat because it is something my informant has gotten directly from Italy through her grandmother who grew up there. It shows that being connected with family is a large part of Italian culture and how the family is a large part of Italian culture.

 

“Salud Chindon”

Nationality: American
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Dallas, Texas
Performance Date: 4/6/19
Primary Language: English
Language: Italian, Spanish

Main piece: Proverb

“Salud Chindon”

Translation:

“Good health for a hundred years”

Background Information:

Why does the informant know this piece?

Her family is Italian American and uses this proverb.

Where did the informant learn this piece?

She learned it from her family who uses the proverb when drinking or making toasts.

What does it mean to them?

It means to always keep your health as a priority and to wish good fortune and health to your loved ones and friends.

Context: This is an Italian American proverb that descends from the Italian word “Salute”, which means well being, and the Italian phrase “cent anno” which means one hundred years. It is a phrase that Italian Americans have blended the original Italian words to both sound differently and a slightly different mean than the direct translations. This proverb was collected in person at the informant’s dorm in Dallas, Texas.

Analysis: I find this proverb to be interesting because it is an example of a language being “Americanised.” It is an example of Italian Americans still connecting with their Italian culture but creating their own folklore for their community.