Folklore: Proverb

My mom always says:

“Cuando suena el rio, es que piedras trae.”

When sounds the river, is that rocks bring.

“When the river sounds, it’s bringing rocks.”

Analysis

It means, when you hear the sound of water, it means a stream is going to come by. Like rumors about people. When there’s something going on, their suspecting this guy for burglary, there’s a reason to believe it. When you hear something, it’s really coming down. If people are saying something about other people, it might be true.

Sometimes I’ll be like, “they’re accusing this guy but I don’t think it’s correct,” Then my mom will say [the proverb], saying there might be truth to it.

My Analysis:

This Guatemalan proverb is quite popular, and the moral of the story is that when you think you hear something, the impact is actually more than you think. There’s probably more to the story than you first think, so it’s crucial to take a step back and carefully consider the truth of the words.
Annotation: Spanish newspaper in Bolivia

Soriano, Claudia. “Si el rio suena es por que piedras trae.” Los Tiempos.com, puntos de vista. 5 April 2008. <http://www.lostiempos.com/noticias/05-04-08/05_04_08_pv2.php>