Tag Archives: Mexico

Oaxacan Legend

TEXT: “Una vez, en mi pueblo, había una niña bonita y joven. Tenia como dieciséis anos. Ella se enamoro de un hombre muy viejo. El hombre tenia como cincuenta y estaba todo gastado por la vida. Todos en el pueblo le dijeron que no salga con el pero ella deicidio vivir con el. Despise de un tiempo, la niña se empezó a very muy vieja. Le salieron arrugas y su pelo se hizo feo y seco. Empiezo a actuar amargada y cansada. A cambio, el hombre salía y cada día se veía mejor. Empiezo a caminar mas derecho, su piel resaltaba y su pelo se oscurezco. Tenia mas humor y actuaba mas joven.”

INFORMANT DESCRIPTION:

CONTEXT: Female, 42, Oaxacan

ANALYSIS: This woman is from a pueblo in Oaxaca. We were discussing a relationship between a woman and man with a very large age gap. She then told me this myth. I asked about the origin and validity and discovered it was a myth that is told to girls when they want to date older men. It is used to discourage inappropriate relationships but also to point out the psychological occurrence of chameleonizing within a relationship. She said her aunt told this to her when she was young and an older man was courting her in her village. It worked and she decided not to go out with him.

TRANSLATION: “Once, in my village, there was a pretty and young girl. She was about sixteen years old. She fell in love with a very old man. The man was about fifty and was all worn out by life. Everyone in town told her not to go out with him but she decided to live with him. After a while, the girl started to get very very old. She got wrinkles and her hair became ugly and dry. She start to act bitter and tired. In return, the man went out and looked better every day. He began to walk more straight, his skin stood out and his hair darkened. He had more humor and acted younger.”

THOUGHTS: I think this myth obviously very dated and I can see the tactics used to instill fear or a bias around taboo relationships. While I think we now live in a modern world where nothing is as rigid and there is room for experimentation I do understand the psychological aspect portrayed here and can see why its use would be employed.

Mexican Joke: Why did God put Mexico next to the USA?

TEXT: “Sabias due cuando dios hizo el mundo, decidió hacer un país, y dijo así, ‘ a este país le voy a dar millones de kilómetros de playas con el mar mas bonito y caliente, le voy a dar el 90 por ciento de la plata del mundo, le voy a dar petróleo, oro, el mejor clima, y la belleza natural mas increíble que hay’. Entonces un asistente le pregunta , ‘pero dios, porque le das tanto a ese país Mexico?’ “porque le voy a poner a los Mexicanos al lado de los Gringos.’”

INFORMANT DESCRIPTION: Male, 58, Mexican

CONTEXT: This joke is at the expense of Americans but in the context that Mexico lost half of its territory to the US. The joke is to say that God compensated for all the beauty and riches in Mexico by making its neighbor the States. He learned it from his parents, he said it is traditional that parents would tell this joke to their kids when talking about American domination of the world. It is also a joke out of spite, considering Mexico has an economy that lags to the States’ to this day. To him it means that we are subservient to American influence and better joke about it. He likes it because both it reminds him of his childhood and is also historical and witty. Light hearted fun to realpolitiks.

TRANSLATION: “Did you know that when God made the world, he decided to make a country, and he said, ‘to this country I am going to give millions of kilometers of beaches with the most beautiful and warm sea, y am going to give it 90 percent of the silver in the world, I am going to give it petroleum, gold, the best weather, the most incredible natural beauty there is’ and so an assistant asks him, ‘but God, why are you giving so much to this country Mexico?’ ‘Because I am going to put the Mexicans next to the Americans’.”

THOUGHTS: I think this joke is funny to hear as a Mexican-American. I think while it does poke fun it also sheds reverse light on the insecurities and resent of the Mexicans. It is also quite light hearted and seems benign. 

La Zandunga

TEXT: La Sandunga song lyrics:

Sandunga

Sandunga mamá por Dios

Sandunga no seas ingrata

Mamá de mi corazón

Ay Sandunga, Sandunga mamá por dios

Sandunga no seas ingrata

Mamá de mi corazón

Antenoche fui a tu casa

Tres golpes le di al candado

Tu no sirves para amores

Tienes el sueño pesado

Mi Sandunga, Sandunga mamá por dios

Sandunga no seas ingrata

Mamá de mi corazón

Me ofreciste acompañarme

Desde la iglesia a mi choza

Pero como no llegabas tuve que venirme sola

Ay Sandunga, Sandunga mamá por dios

Sandunga no seas ingrata

Mamá de mi corazón

A orillas del Papaloapan

Me estaba bañando ayer

Pasaste por las orillas y no me quisiste ver

Ay Sandunga, Sandunga mamá por dios

Sandunga no seas ingrata

Mamá de mi corazón

INFORMANT DESCRIPTION: Male, 83, Mexican

CONTEXT: My grandfather played this song for me. I had recognized it from my entire childhood so I asked him to explain it to me. It is a very traditional Mexican folk song specifically from Oaxaca. He explained to me that although the song is very old, from the mid 1800s, it is a symbol of freedom. It appears to be about a woman but is really about the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, in Oaxaca. He said in Oaxaca people sing it all of the time, while working and doing chores, to each other at night, even to lovers. The actual word is zapotec, the native tongue, and means “profound music.” The song is a song from a man to a woman originally but has been molded and shaped to fit many context when speaking about something lost or something freed.

TRANSLATION: Oh! Sandunga, Sandunga by God woman!

Don’t be so ungrateful Sandunga, woman of my heart.

Oh! Sandunga, Sandunga by God woman!

Don’t be so ungrateful Sandunga, woman of my heart.

Last night I went to your house,

I knocked three times by the door knocker,

You’re no good when it comes to love,

You’re deep in sleep.

Oh! Sandunga, Sandunga by God woman!

Don’t be so ungrateful Sandunga, woman of my heart.

You offered to accompany me

From church to my house,

But you never came,

And I had to come back alone.

Oh! Sandunga, Sandunga by God, woman!

Don’t be so ungrateful Sandunga, woman of my heart.

At the edge of the Papaloapan

I was bathing yesterday,

You passed by the edge (of the river),

And you didn’t want to see me.

THOUGHTS: This song is very beautiful by the artist Lila Downs but seems to be just as compelling by any singer due to its heartfelt and emotional qualities. It seems this variation truly encompasses its folklore and makes it very interesting to listen to every time and by different singers.

Link to other variation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CV4Ot_fYRb4

“El que se fue a la villa, perdió su silla.”

TEXT: “El que se fue a la villa, perdió su silla.”

INFORMANT DESCRIPTION: Female, 60, Mexican

CONTEXT: This proverb was said to me when I got up from a table and when I retuned my seat had been taken.  It is used when situation like that occur and can also be applied in any situation where someone leaves a metaphorical post and then someone else takes their place. Common proverb said to children when first learning responsibility and possession. Also used jokingly between adults. The informant learned it from her parents as a baby and continued to use it sparingly in her life.

ORIGINAL SCRIPT: “El que se fue a la villa, perdió su silla.”

TRANSLITERATION: “Eh-l keh seh foo-eh ah l-ah vee-yah, peh-rr-dee-oh soo see-yah.”

TRANSLATION: “He who went to the town, lost his chair.”

THOUGHTS: I have always heard this saying and also learned it growing up. I have used it on occasion when it fits but have also heard other variations.

LINKS TO OTHER VARIATIONS: https://www.inmsol.com/spanish-proverbs/el-que-se-fue-sevilla-perdio-su-silla-finders-keepers-losers-weepers/

https://www.buenastareas.com/ensayos/Pancho-Villa-Se-Fue-a-La/6667926.html

 “Lluvia antes de las tres, buena tarde es.”

TEXT: “Lluvia antes de las tres, buena tarde es.”

INFORMANT DESCRIPTION: Male, 58 years old, Mexican.

CONTEXT: This phrase was said in and is only applicable to Mexico City when it would be raining in the morning. He learned it from his mother who learned it from her mother. Said in the morning with knowledge that the rain would clear by the afternoon, which in Mexico was after lunch so by 2:30pm or 3:00pm.

ANALYSIS: Mexico City is the center of Mexico. It is like if you combined Los Angeles, New York and Washington D.C. all in one city. It is where politics, centralized government, and business has happened for many decades. Families have been living there for centuries. The city is a valley surrounded by mountains, the valley itself is already at a very high elevation, it is the coolest weather within a very tropical country. Therefore it has its own ecosystem/weather. These inhabitants have seen this pattern, that if it rains in the morning it will be lovely afternoon for hundreds of years, making this proverb very reliable and common. The informant grew up with it and it still applies. He would plan his day on it, if it rained in the morning he would make afternoon plans to be outdoors.

ORIGINAL SCRIPT: “Lluvia antes de las tres, buena tarde es.”

TRANSLITERATION: “Yoo-vee-ah ahn-teh-ss -deh-lah-ss treh-ss boo-eh-nah tah-rr-deh eh-ss.”

TRANSLATION: “Rain before three, good afternoon it is.”

THOUGHTS: I think it is really fascinating to be in a place with a climate that follows a pattern so closely. Sort of like a rainbow after the rain but you know it will always happen no matter what. I’ve spent time in Mexico City but never noticed this and am excited to go back and hopefully see for myself if it is true.