Dime con quién andas y te digo quien eres.
Tell me with who you are and I you tell who are you.
Tell me who your friends are, and I will tell you who you are.
Margoth said that this proverb held a lot of truth. She gave the example of having a girl friend who is rude, gossips, a lot, and has bad habits in general. She suggested that if you are friends with a woman like this for example, then surely you must also be more like her thank you think. She also told me that she says this the most to her son who can be disobedient and gets in trouble at times because of his friends and the things they do when they are together.
Margoths example really gets to the essence of the proverb; the company that you choose to keep says a lot about you. Your friends and lovers reflect back on you and may reveal things about your character etc. that others may not see so easily. For example, you may not think of yourself as being particularly inclined towards gossiping, but if all of your close girl friends are gossips, then what does this in fact say about you? You may not spend your days gossiping freely all day long, but your girl friends habits of doing so may reveal that you still enjoy hearing it and engaging in it in that way. This proverb also speaks to the influence your friends can have on you and how that might affect you or alter your personality in some ways. Perhaps your friends enjoy shoplifting because of the thrill they get when they get away with it; their actions and all of the time you spend with them may one day make you more vulnerable to behaving similarly. You could end up succumbing to their habits, thinking etc. because of your close relationship with your friends. However, I do not think that this proverb is completely negative. It works both ways. If your friends perhaps enjoy cultural events or philanthropy, then this might reflect your own appreciation for similar activities. Like attracts like and you may have more positive things in common that a close look at who your friends are and what they do can say about you. Moreover, I think that this proverb also encourages you to examine the company that you chose to keep, your closest relationships, and prompts you to choose wisely with all of this in mind.
Annotation: Arora, Shirley L.. “Reviewed work(s): A Dictionary of Mexican American Proverbs by Mark Glazer.” The Journal of American Folklore Vol. 103, No. 40701-03 1990 115-117. <http://www.jstor.org/pss/541124>.