Tag Archives: Mexican American

Frog Tail Saying

Folklore:
“Sana sana colita de rana.” – “Heal heal little frog tail.” – A saying used to help with healing if someone got hurt.

Context:
Informant is a Mexican American senior at USC. Her family originated from Chihuahua Mexico, and she grew up frequently hearing this saying from friends and family. She remembers hearing it from her grandma. The folklore is a part of a larger saying, but the informant commonly used the shortened version.

Analysis:
The folklore is something that shared between elders to youth, who commonly are energetic and prone to injury. It is shared throughout the generations and may even be shared from youth to youth, having learned it from their parents or elder figures.

Left-Handed People Are Evil 

Text: My roommate JS’s grandmother believes that left-handed people are evil. JS himself is left-handed.

Context: Told to me by JS one evening in our apartment. His grandmother’s family is from Texas, and the belief came down through her own family’s Catholic-inflected Mexican folk tradition. JS describes the belief as something his grandmother says with a considerable degree of humor, often teasingly, often when the topic of left-handed people comes up. They laugh together about the contradiction between the stated belief and his own existence as her left-handed grandchild. 

Analysis: What is interesting about JS’s case is that the belief is doing none of the work it was originally meant to do, and yet it still circulates, just in a different way. She says it teasingly, often when JS is in the room, and the two of them laugh about the obvious contradiction between the rule she is pretending to hold and the left-handed grandson she is pretending to call evil. The belief has been domesticated into a running family joke. The “left as evil” belief is one of the most widely distributed folk beliefs in the world, showing up in Latin Catholic, Chinese, Islamic, and Hindu traditions with varying degrees of severity. The Latin American Catholic version draws on the Latin sinister (left meaning unlucky in Roman augury), the goats placed on the left at final judgment in the bible, associations of the left hand with the devil’s preferred side. What JS and his grandmother share is the belief’s late life: a folk rule that has lost its teeth, but is yet useful, here as the setup of a joke that grandmother and grandson perform together.

A Rattlesnake’s Rattle Has the Devil in It 

Text: The belief: the rattle of a rattlesnake is associated with the devil. You should never keep one. The legend that authorizes it: a man once found a rattle in the brush, thought it looked cool, and slipped it into his pocket. He carried it with him for some time. It made him slowly insane. He could not sleep well and would sometimes hear the rattle shaking in his pocket when no one else could hear it. One night he got up in the middle of the night, took a knife, and killed his entire family. He was found in the morning on his porch, rattle in hand, without memory of what he had done. 

Context: Told to me by my roommate JS, who attributes the story to his grandmother. JS’s grandmother is a devout Catholic and Tejano, who grew up in Texas. The legend, as his grandmother framed it, is a general cautionary tale, not something that happened to anyone she knew personally. JS does not believe the rattle is cursed but says he would not pick one up. 

Analysis: This is a classic example of a folkloric rule and a story that demonstrates the consequences of breaking it. The underlying idea is that the rattlesnake’s danger does not leave when the snake dies. The rattle keeps it, and whoever picks it up carries it home. The legend’s shape (find, want, keep, lose your mind, lose your family) is familiar among Latin American cursed-object stories, where the trouble begins whenever someone takes home an object that should have been left where it was. The story’s real work is what it did to JS, and through him to me: neither of us believes a rattle is literally dangerous, and yet neither of us would ever pick one up. The “devil” reading the grandmother gives the rattle is a Catholic name for an older unease, as the rattlesnake as a charged figure predates even the arrival of Catholics to the new world. The geography is also significant: the Texas-Mexico border is where the snakes have a real material presence, and Anglo and Tejano traditions have been swapping folkloric material about them for some time. The dangers of a live rattlesnake are clear, but the story extends the good form of avoiding them even to dead rattlesnakes. 

La Mordida

Nationality: Mexican American
Age: 21
Occupation: Student
Residence: San Francisco
Language: Spanish and English

Text: “In my family, when it’s your birthday, everyone sings the ‘Happy Birthday’ song and then starts shouting, ‘¡Mordida! ¡Mordida!,’ which means bite. That’s when you are supposed to take the first bite of cake, but you are not allowed to use your hands. And as you are leaning in to take the bite, someone, usually my dad, shoves your face into the cake. Sure, it’s messy and your makeup gets ruined, but you’ve grown up with it, so you expect it. You can’t get mad at it; it’s tradition.”

Context: My informant told me this about this life cycle ritual, which is something her family does at every birthday celebration, no matter the age of the person. Even if you are turning 1 year or 90 years old. She first experienced it when she turned 1, and she can’t remember, but there is photo evidence of it. She recalls her first memory of it being around five years old, and her older brother did it to her. She emphasized that while it can be a surprise, it’s not seen as mean or rude. Instead, it’s a sign of affection. She associates this tradition with joy, family bonding, and humor. 

She learned this tradition from her parents and grandparents, who grew up practicing it in Mexico. Getting your face smashed into the cake is a larger constellation of birthday customs that include singing “Las Mañanitas” and having a piñata.

Interpretation: La Mordida is a playful, semi-ritualized disruption of a special moment. While it may appear aggressive to outsiders, the act of smashing someone’s face into a birthday cake works as an affectionate hazing, signaling inclusion into the family and community. It shows us the values of humor, resilience, and shared experience that are important in Mexican and Mexican American family structures. 

The word “mordida” literally means “bite,” but in this context, it’s a rite of passage. Taking a bite that isn’t graceful but instead messy is both funny and intimate. It shows there is a deep cultural heritage to younger generations through memories. They don’t watch the tradition; they experience it; they feel it on their faces.

Spanish Ancestry and Family Heritage (Family Legend)

From My Informant:
 “A family story that has been passed down is the arrival of our Spanish ancestors to Mexico, many of whom were captains or individuals looking for a place to build a better future during the 1600s and 1700s.”

Context:
My informant first became deeply interested(not to say that they weren’t already) in their family history about two years ago, prompting discussions with multiple relatives including their grandmother, parents, aunts, and uncles. These conversations typically took place during family gatherings, celebrations, or holidays—occasions where stories naturally emerged. My informant described the storytelling experience as mixed; while some family members enthusiastically shared memories with vivid hand gestures and smiles, others were notably reluctant, withholding details and even disputing certain aspects of the family narrative.

The lack of visual documentation, such as photographs, due to limited access to early cameras, meant that the oral storytelling tradition became especially significant within my informant’s family. This storytelling environment revealed family tensions and differing attitudes towards their Spanish heritage, often highlighting discomfort with aspects of colonization and historical relations between Spain and Mexico.

Analysis:
My informant’s story underscores the complex interplay between personal identity, cultural heritage, and historical memory. The reluctance of some family members to share certain aspects of their past reflects broader cultural and historical anxieties about colonization and identity in the Hispanic world, particularly between Spain and Mexico. This family legend serves as both a repository of familial pride and an uncomfortable reminder of historical tensions associated with colonization.

Family narratives, such as the one with my informant, are vital in preserving cultural identity and transmitting intergenerational memory. They provide individuals with a sense of belonging, shaping their understanding of their heritage and personal identity. My informant’s effort to uncover this history indicates a desire for deeper personal connection and cultural awareness, despite potential familial resistance or discomfort.

Although my informant did not feel completely comfortable with sharing their family’s “baggage” with the outside world, they ultimately wanted their narrative to highlight the importance of preserving familial stories, regardless of their complexity or discomfort, as a means of fostering cultural pride and a deeper understanding of personal identity. This storytelling practice serves as a vital link, connecting past generations to future ones, enabling individuals to grasp their cultural and historical roots more fully.