Time for some Mexican folk masks!

Everyone loves a good mask. We learn in childhood that a mask ignites our imagination. A mask allows us to pretend, to experiment with different identities, to become something other than we are. Adults use masks too, for disguise or to perform or entertain.

Ana Darcy Méndez, hailing from the planet Thomo but now living on Earth, in New Mexico (as detailed in Distant Cousin), remembers masks from her childhood. Some of those masks demonstrate the Thoman people's cultural memories of animals on Earth, still recognizable after several thousand years of separation. Others are devoted to animals from the planet Thomo. Both types retain considerable totemic power.

This may explain why Ana is so fascinated with the imagination and creativity seen in Mexican folk masks. She has a small number hanging in her house, but she has friends and acquaintances who actually collect them. Fortunately for us, those friends have allowed us to present a representative sampling here. You may come to realize why someone from another planet would find them fascinating! Click any to enlarge.

                   

MORE!

Textile art: Arpilleras!  Molas! Clothing! Dolls!

Ceramics

Painting

El dia de los Muertos

Meet the fascinating extraterrestrial Ana Darcy!

"Thoroughly enjoyed the whole series. After B. reads them I'm thinking of starting from the beginning again."

Ana finds a treasury of molas and Mexican art!

You might expect that the first human extraterrestrial woman to return to her home planet (Earth) would be a collector, and that she would be delighted by all the novel things to be found around her and want to keep a selection with her at all times.

If you'd expect that you would be wrong. Ana Darcy does indeed love much of Earth's surprising bounty, but such is her personality that she prefers living simply, and having around her only the most utilitarian, necessary objects for daily life. She loves museums, however, and loves visiting other people who are collectors--which is why she was so delighted to meet the friend of a friend who collects Mexican art, something Ana feels a spiritual connection to.

We have already presented some of the arpilleras, molas, murals, paintings, clothing, and sculpture that Ana has enjoyed to date. Below is a preview of some of the Mexican folk art (and some slightly more formal art) in the collection of her friend's friend. (Click any to enlarge; click the X to return.)

The total collection is astounding. In the near future we will present more of these delightful, imaginative artworks.

Molas! See the mermaid?

Clothing (huipil):

Masks:

Ceramics:

Ana discovers El dia de los muertos

Mexican folk masks

Textile art: Clothing  Arpilleras  Molas

Spanish dichos  (proverbs)

Meet Ana Darcy!

"What a nice surprise Distant Cousin was - quite unique.  It has humor, moves along at a pleasant pace, and the main characters have realistic flaws and faults that I could identify with.  ...I found myself smiling the entire time I was reading it.  There is a subtle wisdom and numerous life philosophies throughout this book.  To sum it up: good story - thoughtful, comfortable, and fun!"

Aun mas dichos! Even MORE proverbs from the Mexican-American Grandmother!

Everyone loves a good proverb. Proverbs (dichos) in Spanish are especially clever, poetic, and to the point. Here is Chapter 3.

Although the first two are rather slangy and are unlikely to be heard on the lips of Matt Méndez's grandmother, his extraterrestrial wife Ana loves them all, and supplied some from her own planet, Thomo, not too long ago.

Traditional proverbs are often similar across languages. Therefore, the ones below are translated more or less literally. If there's an English proverb with a similar meaning, we leave that to you to realize. Only a couple need explaining.


Ya te conozco, mosco.
(I know you, fly, i.e., I see through you)

No me chingues, Juan Dominguez
(You don't say, don't try to kid me (NOT for grandmothers))

Taparse con la misma cobija
(To cover oneself with the same blanket, i.e., birds of a feather stick together)

El que canta, sus males espanta.
(He who sings scares away the blues)

Quien no oye consejos, no llega viejo.
(He who doesn't take advice doesn't get old.)

Por los acciones se juzcan los corazones.
(By deeds hearts are known.)

No siendo verdad ni coraje da.
(Not being true, it doesn't make me mad.)

No es lo mismo decia que hacer.
(Saying and doing are not the same.)

Lo barato cuesta caro.
(Cheap is expensive.)

Los niños y los locos dicen la verdad.
(Chidren and crazy people say the truth.)

La verdad no mata, pero incomoda.
(The truth doesn't kill, but it's uncomfortable.)

Más claro no canta un gallo.
(A rooster can't crow more clearly, i.e., it's perfectly plain)

Ser mas viejo que la luna
(To be older than the moon)

La suerte de la fea la hermosa la desea.
(The beautiful one desires the luck of the ugly one.)

Haz bien y no mires a quien.
(Do right and don't look at anyone.)

Estar como perro en barrio ageno
(To be like a dog in a strange neighborhood.)

Comer frijoles y repetir pollo
(Eating beans and talking chicken)

Camarón que se duerme se lo lleva la corriente.
(A sleeping shrimp is carried away by the current.)

A cada santo, se le llega su día.
(Every saint has his day.)

A quien madruga, Dios le ayuda.
(God helps those who get up early.)

Dichos, Chapter 1

Dichos, Chapter 2

More Mexican-American nursery rhymes, games, and a song

Proverbs from Thomo, Ana's planet

Mexican-American-Extraterrestrial Language Games

Meet Ana Darcy!

"What makes a book outstanding to me is that I am sad when I come to the ending and the characters stay with me for a long time after reading. This series is one of the few that is on my "Must Read" list when others ask me for book recommendations."  

See more of Ana's favorite recipes, poems, and art in the column on the right!

Language games in a Mexican-American-Extraterrestrial family

It's normal for families to have at least a few special words just within the family. These might include names of family members garbled by a toddler and picked up and used by adults, like "bubba" for "brother," or a mispronounced name for a food they like, like "spaghetti" (which might be pronounced "pesketti").


The family of Matt and Ana Darcy Méndez is different only in degree. For one thing Ana comes from another planet, and her language is now extinct on Earth! Not only do the parents speak four or five languages, and not only are they eager students of language (Matt majored in English), they made a special effort to teach their twins to read well before kindergarten, and to grow up multi-lingual. The whole family is language conscious and they love nothing better than to find a new, imaginative use for an old word, or to turn words around to catch other family members by surprise.

Some of the Méndez family words originated in the conventional way, in the attempt of a toddler to pronounce a word. They love to drink a "foofy," for example, which is known to most people as a (fruit) "smoothie," a word their young daughter was unable to negotiate. Even after their daughter was older, they continued enjoying foofies. Their son renamed another dish, chicken fried steak fingers, which his grandmother called "steakies." The boy thought she said "snakies," which had a certain logic, since the meat stips could conceivably have been cut from a snake. This beloved dish was called "snakies" for ever after (see Distant Cousin: Recirculation).

The family keeps a grocery shopping list on the refrigerator, where any one of them might write down an item to be shopped for later. "Catte littre," written down by Chaucer-loving Matt, is obvious enough, but can you guess what "carrotas" might be? They are carrots, of course, although the proper Spanish word is "zanahorias." It amounts to a sort of joke, a bilingual joke. "Olivas," rather than the correct "aceitunas" ("olives") is another such. Ana was once defeated, coming home without the desired item after she read on the list, "Shed and Holders." Can you guess? It's a popular brand of shampoo.... One more item buffaloed her, written down by her son: "die John mouse turd."  Do you know what that is? It goes on hamburgers.... Poor Ana!

Spanish has its own word play, to be sure. Matt sometimes refers to his wife not with the Spanish words, "mi esposa," but as "mi esposible," which is a pun on the phrase "es posible," or "it is possible." There are many of these. There is a joke we need not detail here, where the punchline is a pun on "cincuenta" (50) and "sin cuenta," or "beyond counting."

As does English, Spanish has rhyming lines, like "¿Qué tal, animal?" That's roughly equivalent to "Wassup, dog?" except it rhymes. The answer can be "Perfecto, insecto," which we surely need not translate. Every once in a while, when Matt wants to be sure a fatherly point is understood, he will end with a question: "¿Me entiendes, Méndez?" meaning basically, "Have you got that, Méndez?" Again, however, it rhymes. Another such rhyming line is "¡Qué gacho, Nacho!" which means "How humiliating, or disgusting, Nacho." (Nacho is the nickname for the name Ignacio.)


Here is more of the Méndez family's English language trickery. See if you can guess what is really meant by

sheen cleats


shattered scours


beard knife, and


barn muffins.



They also enjoy creating Spanish phrases which make little sense unless translated to English, like these:

frijoles frescos (cool beans)

dame un freno (give me a break, actually a 'brake,' i.e., on a car or truck)

plátanos duros (tough bananas, i.e., too bad), and

no hace centavos (literally, "it doesn't make pennies," or, of course "cents"~"sense")


We bet that your family has its own special words too. If you'd like to add some, please comment!

More language fun:

Mexican-American dichos (proverbs): chapter one  chapter two chapter three

Mexican-American nursery rhymes, songs, & games

A grandmother's Spanish nursery rhymes
Folk Toys from around the world
Meet Ana Darcy!

Ana gives us some Luvit proverbs from the planet Thomo!

Ana Darcy's native language, Luvit, is spoken by the people of the planet Thomo. (The photo above represents Thomo and its two moons.) There are a number of Luvit words scattered throughout the various Distant Cousin books, but there is no point in providing more than a few, because Luvit is almost completely unintelligible to us. (There is, on the other hand, a fair amount of Spanish in the books, and not all of that needs to be translated. There is also a bit of French, in the first volume.)

We know, however, that Luvit is related to English, Spanish, and French, and to all the Indo-European languages generally. It was, in fact, one of the first languages to split off from the original, long-lost Proto Indo-European of some thousands of years ago. This knowledge comes to us from Dr. William Sledd, a linguist and philologist, as a result of his studies with the assistance of Ana in volume 1. A more complete account of what he discovered is found elsewhere on this blog.

A number of readers have asked for more samples of Luvit, however, and because the various posts of Spanish proverbs on this blog have been popular, we asked Ana if she would provide us a few proverbs in Luvit. We felt sure there would be proverbs in Luvit, and there are. She graciously assented, and they are listed below. Thoman proverbs are as colorful as Earthly proverbs!

Some preliminary notes:

1. The Thoman writing system is as unintelligible to us as the spoken language. While the International Phonetic Alphabet can precisely indicate the sounds of all languages through the use of an elaborate system of symbols, that too is difficult to decipher by all but practiced linguists. Accordingly, we will render the proverbs as closely as we can using standard English orthography.

2. Ana's editor, your humble servant, happens to be a practiced linguist, and while not terribly familiar with Luvit, we will attempt to point out, in notes which follow, a few words which may show possible connections between three of the great families of Indo-European languages: Germanic, Balto-Slavic, and Italic. (See a chart of the branches here.)

3. You might be surprised, after looking over what seem to be harsh sounding words below, to hear spoken Luvit. It is generally rather soft and smooth sounding.


The Proverbs

1. pez bra:sh nyesu kola:sh

      Without work, there are no cakes.


2. pez bensh, do hoshpodzh nelesh.

      Don't go to the pub without money.


3. neilepsh kuchakh ye hlad.

      Hunger is the best cook.


4. vnochi cherna: kazht

      Every cat is black at night.


And a nonsense tongue twister, with NO vowels:

5. strsh prsht skrz khrk

      Stick a finger through your throat.



NOTES:

1. "Pez," in proverbs 1 and 2, would seem to mean "without." "Bensh," in #2 reminds us of "pence."

2. The symbol "a:" indicates a low central vowel, like the vowel sound in "thought."

3. In proverb #1, "kola:sh" probably means "cake," and might be related to Czech and Polish (and English, for that matter) "kolace."

4. In proverb #3, "kuchakh" must mean "cook." German is "koch." English has "cook" and "kitchen," of course.

5. In proverb #4, "vnochi" probably means "night" or "at night," and might be similar to Spanish "noche," French "nuit," and Italian "notte," not to mention Latin "nox, noctis." Also, "cherna:," "black," might be related to "czerny," "black" in Polish. And perhaps "kazht" is similar to "cat" or German "katte," or even Spanish "gato."

6. For tongue twister #5, we have only one comment: if you say, carefully, "shtrk," you can say a "word" with no vowels. A linguist would say it has a "semi-vowel," that is, a way to slide from one consonant to the next. Apparently, that's all that's needed for a few select words.


Thanks, Ana!

A look at Luvit

Ana has language questions for US

Meet Ana Darcy!

Mexican-American proverbs: One  Two Three

Spanish nursery rhymes: One  Two

A Spanish puzzle about New Mexico

Ana learns to love the Mexican observance of El Día de los Muertos

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We may not know many specifics of the human society on the planet Thomo, but we can be sure of certain features in general. Families are important; ancestors and descendants are important. The arts--music, painting, poetry, literature, and so forth, are important. Religion is important. So is food. Security, love, manners, means of getting along, are very important.


We would expect when Ana Darcy (née Anneyn Darshiell) came to Earth she recognized the importance of those things in our society, even if she was unfamiliar with the details. (Her first impressions are recorded in Distant Cousin.) After all, where her people had one basic set of beliefs and customs, we have thousands of cultures and languages and cuisines. These were an unimaginably rich treasure for her to explore. They still are.

Given that she settled in southern New Mexico in an Anglo/Hispanic area, it stands to reason that she would be intimately exposed to the customs of both those cultures. One Mexican tradition struck her as so appropriate to her own society on Thomo that she adopted it herself, immediately. This customary observance might seem strange to the English-speaking world, enough so to deserve a note of explanation here: the custom of El Día de los Muertos, the day of the dead.

The origin of the observance lies some 400 years in the past, with the arrival of Spaniards in Mexico. The Spaniards--Catholic, of course--already observed All Souls' Day, the day following All Saints' Day. They blended this observance into the indigenous Indian celebration of their ancestors. The result is El Día de los Muertos, in effect, a Catholic celebration with Aztec overtones, among others. (This process, common in Catholicism, is called syncretism.)

There is nothing morbid about it--it is a joyous remembrance of one's ancestors. In the English-speaking world, we remember those who went before to some degree, with perhaps a few photos or paintings, a hymn or two, perhaps, and, if we're really thorough, a reading of old correspondence or sharing of family stories with younger family members. In Mexico, this process is formalized and elaborate. Cemeteries are cleaned up and decorated. Whole families spend the day there, have picnics and music, and decorate their houses with altars and flowers. Unlike Halloween, death is regarded as another phase of life, something to be commemorated and revered. Even food and drink are provided, for the spirits of those ancestors.

In Ana's Thoman society, each generation is numbered and remembered individually. There are many epic poems about deeds and persons of the past, somewhat like the ancient Greeks, which keep the past alive and help guide people into the future. Ana herself is the subject of one of these epics (in Distant Cousin: Regeneration). In any case, Ana instantly understood the importance of El Día de los Muertos, and enthusiastically adopted it. (Many Anglo families have as well. Being Catholic is not required for remembering one's ancestors!) The appropriateness of Ana's observation of El Día de los Muertos was featured in Distant Cousin: Reincarnation.

Below are two photos of observances of an El Día de los Muertos celebration (a third is above, at top). These three, from central Mexico, show a cemetery, elaborately decorated and crowded with celebrants, musicians, and the like. (You may right click these to open in another window to better see the details.)

The two below show observances in Mexican homes.

This one shows an altar in a college Spanish classroom in the United States. One of the students evidently remembered an ancestor who enjoyed weight lifting (left foreground).

And here is an altar in a non-Catholic Anglo household, with photos of ancestors, flowers, and items those ancestors enjoyed--including a bottle of liquor, center rear.

If anyone is interested in trying this custom, nothing could be simpler. Several days before November second, merely set out photos or representations of one's dear departed, add characteristic items they enjoyed, along with flowers and candles. Light the candles each night. You will find yourself thinking of those who preceded you more than you ever have before!

The humor in El Dia de los Muertos
MORE humorous Dia de los Muertos figurines

Distant Cousin: Reincarnation (where El Dia de los Muertos plays a part)
Meet Ana Darcy!

MORE Mexican-American Nursery Rhymes, Songs, Games

Has the news got you down? Not feeling that great? Maybe a dose of pure fun will help, as it did with this reader:  “Things have been extremely difficult around here…. The adventures of the Mendez family provided a wonderful distraction. And the ending filled me with hope, for some inexplicable reason. I love the warmth and togetherness of the family.”

Add the Mendez family to your list of friends!

-------------------------------

Ana's people on the planet Thomo are devotedly child-centered. Their early problems surviving on a harsh, new planet were mentioned in Distant Cousin and several of the later volumes. Children, lots of children, saved them.


If you'd expect them to have lullabies, nursery rhymes, and games for children, you would be correct. We are working on obtaining some examples, but it is far from a simple matter. Not only is their language, Luvit, unknown on Earth, their writing system is illegible to us. The words could be rendered in the International Phonetic Alphabet, but how many of us can read that (or write it)? Nevertheless, before long we hope to have at least a sample or two of children's rhymes, proverbs, or other common refrains heard on Thomo. [Editor's Note: We have now obtained some "dichos," or proverbs, from Luvit, Ana Darcy's native language, here: post.]

Closer to home, Ana's family has been raised speaking Spanish as well as English. (Her children also speak Luvit and Hindi, and have a basic familiarity with several other languages as well, as explained in Distant Cousin: Reincarnation. There is a discussion elsewhere on Ana's blog about raising bilingual, biliterate children--see below.)

All Spanish-speaking countries have many, many traditional children's rhymes, games, songs, and verses, of course. Below are some examples of the ones that Ana learned from her mother in law and grandmother in law in southern New Mexico. Most would be familiar to Spanish speakers from other countries, with minor variations. Ana's children know these by heart!



If you've ever seen the moon reflected in the waves of a lake, you should like the imagery of this little verse.

Allá está la luna,
Comiendo su tuna
Tirando las cáscaras
en la laguna.

(There is the moon, eating its tuna, throwing the husks into the lake. The husks, you see, would be the crescent-shaped reflections on the water!)

Here is a counting game with toes, similar to "This little piggy went to market...."

Éste compró un huevo.
Éste trajo la sal.
Éste encendió el fuego.
Éste lo guisó.
¡Y éste pícaro gordo se lo comió!

(This one bought an egg. This one brought the salt. This one lit the fire. This one cooked it. And this fat bully ate it!)



Here's a song for sleepy children:

Los pollitos dicen:
"Pio, pio, pio,"
Cuando tienen hambre,
Cuando tienen frio.


La gallina busca
el maíz y el trigo,
les da la comida
y les presta abrigo.


Bajo sus dos alas,
acurrucaditos,
hasta el otro día
duermen los pollitos.

(The chicks say pio, pio, pio when they're hungry and when they're cold. The hen finds corn and wheat to feed them and lends them an overcoat. Under her wings, snuggled together, the chicks sleep until another day.) This is the melody:

A traditional nonsense verse with a rollicking rhythm:

Pin, marín,
De Don Pingüe,
Cúcara, mácara,
Títere fue.

Here's a singing game, with children sitting in a circle. A girl sings, counting the syllables and pointing at children in turn. When she gets to the last syllable, that child must get up and dance with her.

Arroz con leche,
me quiero casar
con un mexicano
que sea cantar.


El hijo del rey
me manda un papel,
me manda decir
me case con él.


Con éste no,
con éste sí,
con éste mero
me caso yo.

(Milk with rice, I want to marry a Mexican who knows how to sing/The son of the king sent me a note ordering me to say I would marry him/with this one no, with this one yes, with this very one I will marry.)

Finally, perhaps the most popular and most used rhyme, for when a child is hurt and needs comforting. (If a teacher performs this, generally with a stroking motion or a gentle pat, it's likely that every child within earshot will locate some tiny scratch and form a line so they too can be healed.)

Sana, sana,
Colita de rana.
Sí no sanas hoy
Sanarás mañana.

(Heal, heal, tail of a frog. If you're not well today, you'll be well tomorrow.)

Ideas on raising bilingual, biliterate children  1  2  3  4

Nursery Rhymes Chapter 1

Mexican-American Dichos (Proverbs) Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3

Mexican dolls: handmade folk art

Mexican-American-Extraterrestrial Family Language Games

Meet Ana Darcy!

MORE Mexican-American Dichos (Proverbs)

Ana's father in law, and his mother (Abuelita), eventually figured out that their son's/grandson's wife was the famous but elusive woman from outer space--the planet Thomo. Each kept her secret to themselves for a good while, however, because they realized that if word of her real identity were to get out, their peaceful family life in rural New Mexico would be over.


Ana Darcy, for her part, also welcomed her low profile life as the home-making wife of a moderately prosperous landowner. One way she did this was by following her interests in the languages of Earth and becoming fluent in Spanish, since her husband's family was bilingual in English and Spanish, and Spanish is the second language of New Mexico. Abuelita, in particular, was her devoted tutor in the social customs of southern New Mexico and in Spanish, which included many, many dichos (proverbs) from Abuelita's enormous store of practical wisdom.

They are great fun. Many are similar to proverbs in English, of course, but some reflect novel cultural differences. Some of these have already appeared here. Here are some more:


Cada oveja con su pareja. (Each sheep with its twin; birds of a feather stick together)

A cada santa se le llega su día. (Each saint's day arrives; every dog has his day)

Lo barato cuesta caro. (What's cheap is expensive (in the long run))

Panza llena, corazón contento. (A full stomach makes a happy heart.)

Es mejor que haya un tonto y no dos. (Better there's one fool and not two; you've made enough of a fool of yourself already)

El hábito no hace al monje. (A habit doesn't make a monk; clothes don't make the man).

Antes te hablar es bueno pensar. (Think before speaking.)

Comer frijoles y repetir pollo. (Eating beans and talking chicken; talking big but acting small)

De lo perdido a lo que aparezca. (From having lost it to whatever may appear; something is better than nothing)

La mala yerba nunca muere. (The bad weeds never die; the bad penny always comes back)

Más vale andar solo que mal acompañado. (It's better to be alone than in bad company.)

Quien a feo ama, hermoso le parece. (Love makes even the ugly beautiful.)

Mexican-American Dichos Chapter 1

Mexican-American Dichos Chapter 3

A grandmother's Spanish nursery rhymes

A Spanish puzzle about New Mexico

Meet Ana Darcy!

A reader comments:  "Even though it was the fifth book the characters seemed fresh and alive. Al has always done a great job at character development and it continues in Recirculation. The book is about family values, but it doesn't stop there. There is plenty of adventure to keep you reading to the wee hours."

A Mexican-American Great Grandmother Passes on Some Nursery Rhymes

By the time Ana arrived on Earth she had already taught herself passable English, and studied some Spanish, French, and other Indo-European languages, thanks to her years of study on the moon. She was lacking many of the fine points, of course, including the homey kinds of language characteristic of family life, with children. Fortunately, she was able to fill in many of those empty areas.



She learned a great deal of Spanish from her husband's grandmother, Reyes Méndez, including a number of nursery rhymes and simple poems. Ana found them useful language-learning devices, being easy to remember and full of good vocabulary words. She happily passed them along to her children!


The catchy verses below are among her favorites, for their cheery, humorous meaning and their rhyming patterns. If you read them out loud in reasonably accurate Spanish, you might enjoy their music too. Interlinear translations are provided for those whose Spanish may be a little rusty.


Ojos de sapo, patas de rana,
que tengas suerte toda la semana!


Toad's eyes, frog's feet,
May you have good luck all week!



¡Alas de murciélago, cola de lombriz,
que hoy y siempre seas muy feliz!


Bat's wings, earthworm's tail
May you be happy today and always!



¡Muelas de hipopótamo, cuernos de dragón,
que nunca nadie hiera tu corazón!


Hippopotamus molars, dragon's horns,
May no one break your heart!



¡Dientes de culebra, huesos de chucho,
NUNCA olvides que te quiero mucho!


Snake's fangs, hound's teeth
NEVER forget that I love you a lot!



¡Uñas de gato, plumas de gallina,
que siempre te lleves bien con la vecina!


Kitty's claws, rooster's feathers,
May you always get along well with the neighbor!



CONJURO:


Escobita, escobita,
que cada año me ponga más bonita.
Sapo, sapito,
que este año me vaya mejorcito.
Caldero, calderito,
que me abunde el dinerito!


SPELL:

Little broom, little broom,
May each year make me more pretty.
Toad, little toad,
May this year go a little better.
Cauldron, little cauldron,
May I have an abundance of money!



 

 
 
There are more of Ana's favorite poems in the right column about halfway down, under the LOVE sculpture.

More Mexican-American nursery rhymes, games, song

Mexican-American Proverbs Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3

Mexican-American-Extraterrestrial Family Language Games

Folk toys from around the world!

Meet Ana Darcy!

A reader comments: "I love the Distant Cousin characters, they feel like family to me, I am interested in their lives, I worry about them, and I just adore them. I think I've said this about each book, but I think [Recirculation] is my favorite."