Tag Archives: spanish

“El burro trabaja doble”

Translation: “The donkey works twice”

Information Info

Age: 19

Date_of_performance: 02/16/2025

Informant Name:  YP

Language: English 

Nationality: Mexican

Occupation: Student

Primary Language: Spanish

Residence: Los Angeles, CA

Text:

“The phrase I grew up hearing from all my relatives, but particularly my mom was: “el burro trabaja doble.” 

It’s a funny, straightforward saying and it essentially means to do things all the way right the first time, and don’t take shortcuts or else you’ll have to redo it. It’s basically telling you “don’t be lazy, you’ll regret it when you’re doing the same thing again, fixing your silly mistakes.” Whether I accidentally made my clothes pink cause I accidentally threw red shirt in with my white clothes or I failed an exam because i didnt go back and check my work, my family repeated this phrase to me over and over. At this point, it’s an engrained part of my life. Everything I do, I try to put in my best effort and make sure to take my time with things that I care about so I don’t have to worry about them again later. It’s simple, but it’s made me a pretty methodical person and I credit that to my mom and that saying. And every time I don’t go about my tasks thoroughly, it echoes back in my head that “el burro trabaja doble”

Analysis:
I never heard this proverb before, so I enjoyed hearing her talk about it and the history it has in her family. She mentioned to me before i started recording was that the translation comes off a bit funny ““The donkey works twice” and i would assume she is the donkey in this situation. It is a proverb that gets you thinking about not completely tasks just so it can be done with, but putting your best foot forward and completely it to the fullest extent and correctly. I feel like from the moment people enter high school there is so much pressure put on us that we need to rush to plan our future out in a second and we carry that rush into everything we do because it is ingrained in us that is is better to get things done in a fast way than in the correct way. This proverb could be a wake up call for people, to realize that it is better to take a step back and do things slowly and properly to avoid making mistakes we may regret. I’ll always take this proverb with me as I go through life and hold myself accountable for any mistakes I make because I was doing things quickly and without focus.

Santa Barbara Fiesta Spanish Celebration

Text 

Collector: “Do you have any specific rituals or festivals you have participated in?”

Informant: “In Santa Barbara there’s Fiesta. We celebrate the Old Spanish Days the first week of August every year.”

Collector: “How do people celebrate fiesta?”

Informant: “There are parades with dancers and Clydesdale horses. We make paper mache eggs that are filled with confetti and you place confetti over people’s heads by cracking the eggs. Eating tamales, corn on the cob. They make all kinds of tamales and Spanish drinks. We have different concerts and bands playing mariachi in the center of town.”

Collector: “Is it restricted to only a certain group of people?”

Informant: “Anyone can join in. It’s a festival for the whole town to celebrate.”

Context

The informant is a black forty-eight-year-old woman from Santa Barbara California.

Analysis

After learning about Fiesta’s rituals, I found it interesting that the informant participated in Spanish cultural events when she was black. Though she doesn’t share Hispanic ethnicity, attended Fiesta annually as a child and it is now part of her identity. Thus it can be argued that one’s culture does not come from race, but from customs and traditions one participates in. The informant said Fiesta is for the whole town to celebrate. I found it ironic that outsiders felt welcomed in Fiesta, as it is very culturally specific to the Spanish. Instead of “othering” the community, this celebration brought people together.

Siete Infantes de Lara

Nationality: Spanish

Primary Language: Spanish/English

Age: 25

Occupation: Student

Residence: Madrid

Date: 3/28/2024

Text:

J.M- “The tale of the “Siete Infantes de Lara”, is a story in which seven Spanish brothers get double-crossed by their uncle because he’s holding a grudge. He sends them off to Cordoba on a mission that turns out to be a trap and they all end up getting killed. It’s a pretty sad turn of events. But then, their younger half-brother, Mudarra, steps up. Mudarra has both Christian and Muslim roots, which is significant to the story. He decides to go on a mission of his own to settle the score and gets revenge on the uncle for what he did. The whole story represents betrayal, and a quest for family honor amidst the backdrop of the old Christian-Muslim clashes in Spain.”

Context:

The participant was told this tale as a young boy by his parents. He describes it as an action filled story that also holds family values, and teaches the importance of loyalty. Recounts it as a bedtime story that made him value heroistic qualities.

Analysis:

Although this is a childhood story, it has many themes that help with instilling familial values and lightly explains historical tensions in Spain. The tale reflects the broader cultural and religious tensions between Christians and Muslims in medieval Spain, with Mudarra’s mixed Christian and Muslim heritage. It is also more than just a story of medieval conflict; it is a reflection on human values, the complexities of familial and political relationships, and the enduring quest for justice and honor

Cafecito

 MR is a student at Carleton University but currently lives in Texas with her family. Her parents are both Mexican immigrants and she was born in Canada, but they have all lived in the United States for over a decade. She is a linguist who speaks multiple languages. 

TEXT: ‘cafecito’

MR- It’s used when, like, you’re done with a meal and now it’s time for talking at the table. Maybe you have a cookie or like a little dessert or like a little cup of coffee or tea and you just table talk. You have cafecito to have table talk. Cafecito is commonly used by Spanish-speaking people because it’s just a diminutive of cafe (coffee), but me and my family and friends use it a lot more frequently and more versatile. My non-Spanish speaking friends know what it means when I ask for them to come over for a quick cafecito. 

ANALYSIS: The progression of cafecito as a phrase represents the values of MR and her bilingual family. Dinner time is an important time for many families, eating all together and not leaving the table until everyone is done. Sharing time together around a meal is crucial to MR’s lifestyle, and the evolution of the use of the word cafecito captures that. While the direct translation of the word just means coffee, when asking for some cafecito there is a desire for communal gathering and conversation, not just a drink. In a world where having a screen in front of your face throughout the whole day is becoming ever more pertinent, it’s important to have moments of true connection and honest conversations, without any added social pressures. Having cafecito after a meal allows for a calm and open area for people to commune and relax, with just good company and treats to keep one occupied. Using the word Cafecito in this way is also very reflexive of the bilingual experience. In many multilingual families, words and phrases quickly take on new or double meanings. The abundance of communication routes does not always mean that there are words that can capture what one means, and often there is a word in one language that better captures the feeling you are trying to convey in another. Cafecito evolved into a multilingual term, having various meanings depending on the sentence in which it is included and able to be used in multiple languages. The varying uses of the word Cafecito all represent the importance of community and communication in our modern world and the ways that language can evolve to fit our needs.

Habla Hasta por los Codos

MR is a student at Carleton University but currently lives in  Texas with her family. Her parents are both Mexican immigrants and she was born in Canada, but they have all lived in the United States for over a decade. She is a linguist who speaks multiple languages. 

 ‘habla hasta por los codos’

MR- if someone who can talk and talk and talk forever, or someone who can talk to rocks, you’d say ’habla hasta por los cados’, which means that they could talk even with their elbows. Instead of their mouth they use their elbows would be a more literal translation of it. I don’t know where it came from but I first heard it from my mom, and since she’s from Mexico City I’ve always assumed it was a more popular phrase there.  

ANALYSIS: In every culture, some people never seem to know when to stop talking. This specific phrase reminds me of English terms like ‘chatterbox’ or ‘gabber’, which are used to describe a similar type of person. It’s a universally understood metaphor to describe a person who exists throughout every culture. The saying highlights the cultural value of knowing oneself and being able to read social scenarios. People who talk too much or talk over others are looked down upon, and often seen as brazen and self-centered. Metaphors like this one emphasize the resentment that is fostered toward self-serving individuals. Typically, people who can talk and talk and talk are not very good listeners, and many don’t enjoy it when a person only wants to talk about themself and never listens to what others have to say. The commonality of metaphors about these types of people showcases the importance humankind puts on being able to listen and communicate with others properly. Having playfully negative remarks to make about these people allows them to be made aware of their brazen talkativeness while also spreading a message about what is socially correct. While it is unclear how long this metaphor has been around, it has been popular within Mexican culture for many years and continues to be used, being spread to new generations.