Tag Archives: spain

Jose the Ripper

Age: 21

Text: “So they’re telling me that down the road, there’s a mental asylum, where a man named Jose the Ripper sneaks out every night, and as punishment for his crimes, which I don’t remember, he had his arms and legs chopped off. So he sort of scuttles around on the ground, using just his torso and then carries a knife between his teeth. And so when little children are outside at night, and they’re very quiet, they can see his glowing eyes through the bushes and the blade of the dagger being illuminated by them. And when they hear whispering and rattling wind on the windows at night, and they draw the blinds they can see the glowing eyes of Jose the Ripper as he’s about to smash through the window and murder them. 

Context:

“Okay, so I was seven years old and we were staying with some family friends in Spain. I was about seven years old and I was sitting on Julio, our family friend’s lap after having dinner. My siblings were trying to scare me about being outside in the dark at night.”

“And so then, believe it or not, that scared the shit out of me when I was seven. And so I was like crying in Leo’s lap for the rest of the night.”

Analysis:

This contemporary legend imparts a moral lesson, as the informant said, to get children to not be outside during night for their own safety. It does so by tying horror tropes to localized details, the mental asylum where this mutilated killer escaped being “down the road.” The name “Jose the Ripper” is likely a reference to the 19th century British serial killer Jack the Ripper, recast across cultures. 

Dia De Los Muertos “Ofrendas”

Text: “Every year in late October we make a shrine of all of my family member who have passed away, like the one in Coco, and we put out their favorite things. For example we put tulips for my grandma and one of the great grandpa’s ties on the shrine. The idea is that in November 1st they will come visit the shrine and interact with the items and watch over us for the rest of that year in return for us honoring their memory. The shrines are called ofrendas and the kids usually make them but the parents make sure they are structurally sound and beautiful. Making ofrendas is one of my favorite things to do with my siblings and cousin.

Context: GB is originally from Madrid Spain but his mother has strong roots in Mexico, where the tradition was created centuries ago. GB told me stories about making the ofrendas with his siblings and was excited to show me pictures of an example of a shrine from a past holiday. The tradition is very important to GB’s mother because she would make a family ofrenda with her siblings as a child and it seems to be a very long standing tradition from her side of the family.

Analysis: The ofrendas are a central part of the Day of the Dead celebration, which is a time for families and communities to come together to remember and celebrate the lives of those who have passed away. The brightly decorated shrines are meant to welcome the spirits of the dead back to the world of the living, and they are often decorated with offerings such as food, drinks, and personal items that were important to the deceased. The twist of this tradition regards the fact that making these ofrendas means the ghosts of the dead will look over them for the rest of the year, because traditionally the dead can only interact with the living on the days of dia de los muertos. I think this addition is sweet, especially for younger children, for them to be able to feel close to loved ones they may have never gotten to meet. Furthermore, it is a great way for them to get to know what their family members were like based off of what they put on the ofrendas.

El Cucuy-The monster: Legend

Nationality: American
Age: 18
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: 3/23/23
Primary Language: English
Language: Spanish

Text: 

Me: “Within your Mexican culture, did you grow up hearing any scary stories?”

EC: “um yeah, it’s pretty crazy how affected we were by it actually. My parents always used to tell us about El Cucuy. My parents used to use it to scare me and my siblings from going to unsupervised places. It’s supposed to be a monster that scares kids”.

Me: “Ok, so was it like a generalized monster? Like did it have a name?”

EC: “yeah, it’s super generalized, El Cucuy literally translates to monster so it didn’t have a name. My parents would just say “don’t go over there! The Cucuy will get you!”

Translation: “The monster”

Context (informant’s relationship to the piece, where they heard it, how they interpret it):

-EC’s relationship to this piece stems from her Mexican culture within her childhood home considering this legend is said primarily in Mexico, Spain, and other Latin American countries. EC would hear this legend at home, at family gatherings, from her aunts, or from a random person that was attempting to warn her from going anywhere she wasn’t supposed to. EC interprets this legend as a scaring tactic that parents use to control the ways in which their kids behave. Not to mention, EC interprets this legend as a light-hearted joke that tells kids to ultimately listen to their parents. 

Analysis (what kind of personal, cultural, or historical values might be expressed) YOUR interpretation:

-The overall cultural value within this legend stems from the various origin stories that can be told considering it is a popular phenomenon among Mexico, Spain, and other Latin American households. Not to mention, the cultural value can be seen within how these Latin American cultures raise their kids within their similar lifestyle values. Not to mention, the personal values that can be expressed within this legend is the way parents raise their kids regarding their own personal beliefs and customs. I see this legend as an overall motive to control bad behavior in children and to scare them into following the commands of their parents. I interpret this legend as an idea of obedience as scary methods can be made considering this legend showcases a parent’s overall motive to scare their children from going anywhere alone. Considering that I have heard about this legend myself and grew up with it, I ultimately interpret El Cucuy as an embedded concept that is directed towards children in order for them to be scared of the unknown. Given the fact that this entity is nameless, leads me to think that this scary tactic allows children to interpret this monster in any way they choose which can determine how scary they make it seem in their own perceptual minds. One similar legend that has similar qualities to El Cucuy is the legend of La Chupacabra considering that they are creatures that are intended for behavioral motives. However, the main difference between El Cucuy and La Chupacabra is that there have been actual sighting reports on La Chupacabra while there hasn’t for El Cucuy. This leads El Cucuy to be represented as an imaginative creature in kids minds. The overall idea of El Cucuy can fall under the concept of an ostension considering actual kidnappers can be placed as the given ‘monster’ that can take you if you go wander around places unattended.

The 12 Grapes of New Years

Background: The informant is a 19 year old girl who is currently a college student in Chicago, Illinois. She was also born and raised in the city.  One winter break in high school, the informant did a study abroad program in Spain, where she was able to stay for 4 weeks and immerse herself in the culture

Context: The context was over a phone call, the informant was asked if had any New Year’s traditions, and she shared one she saw while overseas.

Text:

IT: In Spain, when New Years comes around, when the clock is clicking at the last 12 seconds, people will eat 12 grapes to represent the last year. If they eat all the grapes – which is a bit of a choking hazard – it’s considered good luck.

Me: Is it considered bad luck if you don’t finish?

IT: Hm, I don’t think it’s considered bad luck. I believe it’s like, you won’t have as much good luck as someone who did finish all the grapes. I was surprised when I saw them doing it because I’ve never seen it before. It was really interesting. Eating a certain amount of fruit is popular in a lot of places. It reminds me of Persephone eating 7 pomegranate seeds, symbolizing seven months of time.

Analysis: 

Informant: She was very excited to learn about a new culture, and it was interesting and impactful enough to her that she wished to share it. It seemingly stuck out more in her head than her own traditions.

Mine: Grapes are a unique fruit to choose and why they could be considered lucky is interesting. It could be because grapes bring in a large amount of money from the wine industry, hence, they become associated with wealth and good luck. It could be that given their shape, they somewhat represent a circle which could be time and the continuity of the year restarting. The comparison to Greek mythology is a great parallel, understanding that basic ideas and symbols can transcend the bounds of one society and into another. It doesn’t matter truly what the fruit is but eating the fruit symbolizes the same thing, it’s the concept that is the same.

Spanish Fruit Eating Dance

DESCRIPTION OF PERFORMANCE: Spanish music was playing. She was standing, swaying her hips back and forth. She took her right hands and gestured it upward as if grabbing something out of a tree. She twisted her hand like pulling it out and pretended to take a bite out of the imaginary object. She then pretended to wipe the object all over her body until she reached her left hip and then it a swift movement, pretended to throw the object onto the floor. 

INFORMANT DESCRIPTION: Female, 72, Spanish

CONTEXT: This dance is supposed to symbolize taking an apple or fruit from a tree, eating it and then throwing it away. She learned it in a dance bar in Spain growing up in the 50s. It was a somewhat known dance that she said was very sensual and attractive. It involved the hip movement of her culture’s dance and incorporated themes of Adam and Eve and the countryside. She always loved this dance and would do it constantly to different music. To her it represented femininity and her country’s beautiful dance culture. 

THOUGHTS: When I saw this dance in person I was mesmerized. I had never seen anything like it and it was interesting because I could immediately understand that she was picking a fruit from a tree, the movements were very clear yet melodic.