Proverbios de Mexico

Since I got to hear the former President of Mexico speak yesterday, and I'm teaching Proverbs this week in my Old Testament class, I thought I would commemorate both with a post full of some traditional Mexican folk wisdom.

En boca cerranda no entran moscas
Flies don't enter a closed mouth.

No es lo mismo hablar de toros que estar en el redondel
Talking about bulls is not the same as facing them in the ring.

Como dijo la mosca, "Andamos arando!"
The fly atop the ox declares, "We are plowing this field!"

Para tonto no se estudia
One needn't study to become a fool.

El que nunca va a tu casa en la suya no te quiere
He who never goes to your house doesn't want you in his.

La amistad sincera es un alma repartida en dos cuerpos
True friendship is one soul shared by two bodies.

Mas vale morir parado que vivir de rodillas
Better to die on your feet than to live on your knees.

En cuestion de puercos todo es dinero, y en cuestion de dinero todos son puercos
In the matter of pigs, all is money, and in the matter of money, all are pigs.

Mas hace una hormiga andando que un buey echado
An ant on the move does more than a dozing ox.

Dios habla por el que calla
God speaks for the man who holds his peace.

Contestacion sin pregunta, senal de culpa
An answer without a question signals guilt without question.

No hay mejor salsa que un buen apetito
There is no better sauce than a good appetite.

Solo lo barato se compra con el dinero
Money buys only what is cheap.

Cada quien puede hacer de sus calzones un papalote
Everyone is entitled to make a kite from his underwear.

Mar tranquilo hace mal marino
Calm seas make sorry sailors.

Cri-Cri - El Raton Vaquero (The Cowboy Mouse)

I always enjoy learning things about Mexican culture. Carolina has told me about a show that they had with really great kids' songs. Francisco Soler is a very well known writer of childrens' songs; many of which were featured on this show. The show itself was called "Cri-Cri", which is Spanish for "Cricket". I guess this was their answer to Jiminy Cricket, but who knows.

We were driving back, and this song came on the radio on a Spanish station. I thought it was really great. It's a song about a little gringo cowboy mouse who is trapped inside a house behind bars. The chorus of the song is in English where the mouse is begging to be set free, but the person singing remarks (in Spanish) that as long as the cowboy mouse has his dangerous looking pistols in the air, even if he speaks Chinese (listen for the word "Chino") he will never let him out. Watch the video, and see if this doesn't get stuck in your head. "What the heck is this house? For a manly cowboy mouse?"

Here is a youtube video of the song on Cri-Cri, and below are some of the lyrics.



EL RATON VAQUERO

(Francisco Gabilondo Soler)



En la ratonera ha caído un ratón,

con sus dos pistolas y su traje de cowboy;

ha de ser gringuito porque siempre habla inglés,

a más de ser güerito y tener grandes los pies.



El ratón vaquero saco sus pistolas

se inclinó el sombrero y me dijo a solas:



"What the heck is this house

for a manly cowboy mouse

hello you let me out

and don't cath me like a trout.



Con que si, ya se ve

que no estás a gusto ahí

y aunque hábles inglés no te dejaré salir.



Tras las fuertes rejas que resguardan la prisión,

mueve las orejas implorando compasión,

dice el muy ladino que se va a reformar

pues aunque hable en chino, pues ni así lo he de soltar.



El ratón vaquero tiró dos balazos,

se chupo las balas y cruzó los brazos.



"What the heck is this house

for a manly cowboy mouse

hello you let me out

and don't cath me like a trout.



Con que si, ya se ve

que no estás a gusto ahí

y aunque hables inglés no te dejaré salir.

Food In Mexico #1 - Las Pampas

So you've never eaten at a Brazilian Steak House? I can quite honestly say it doesn't get much better than this. There is a restaurant in Durango, Mexico called Las Pampas. Here's what you do:
First, you go to the salad bar and get a plate full of side items, like those in the picture.
Next, these guys come around with swords and offer you different kinds of meat that they carry on these swords. It's all fantastic. There are 18 different kinds of meat that they serve total. It includes beef, pork, chicken, and veal cooked in several varieties. The first time I ate here, I managed to sample 16 kinds of meat. It's all you can eat buffet. Amazing.
They finish it off by serving grilled pineapple that is thickly coated with cinnamon. It is out of this world. This is my personal favorite restaurant of the many excellent places there are to eat in Durango.

Humorous Things In Mexico #3

I think this may have actually been an American vehicle, but it's pretty funny for a Mexican to be driving it. We would see "P'up" as an abbreviation for "Pickup". The Mexican driving this car would pronounce it the "Isuzu Poop".

About Mexican Culture #1 - Dia de los Reyes

If you didn't wake up on January 6th rushing to your shoes to look for goodies, then you probably are not familiar with Dia de los Reyes. Dia de Reyes (Day of Kings) is something celebrated in Mexico in honor of the wise men visiting Jesus when he was born. There are a couple of elements involved in celebrating it.

First, the children leave their shoes under the Christmas tree on January 5th, and when they wake up in the morning, they find presents--money, candy, toys, etc.--in your shoes! Further down in Mexico, such as in Mexico City, the Kings take the place of Santa Claus. Santa just brings clothes. It's the Kings who bring you toys! When we first got married, Carolina informed me on January the 5th that she was leaving her shoes under the tree for los Reyes, and she expected something to be in them in the morning. I wished her good luck.
The next part of this tradition is that everyone buys and eats a cake called "Rosca de Reyes" (Bundt Cake of Kings). It's kind of a sweet pastry. It has less sugary stuff than sweet roles, but it has bits of fruit and sugar baked into it, and decorating the top of it. Pictured here is myself cutting the cake, Carolina's dad, and our friend Rocio. The rosca goes very well with hot chocolate. There is a great deal of importance to this cake, however, as fruit is not the only thing that is baked into it.

They also bake a little plastic baby Jesus into it that they call "Niño Jesus" (pronounced ninyo haysoos). Everyone eats a piece of the cake, hoping that they don't get the niño Jesus. If you get this plastic baby Jesus (in the picture below), it means that you are in charge of throwing a party and providing tamales for everyone on February 2nd. After eating one of these, you could quite literally say "I found Jesus in a piece of cake". (note: humor attempted here)

As much as I love my American heritage, I've come to a point in my life where I must admit that Mexicans are much better at enjoying holidays than we are.