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Monthly Archives: August 2008
Question of the week: Caló y Spanglish
When you’ve been blogging for a while, you realize something. People quit blogging all the time. Some of my favorite bloggers no longer post or took long breaks from their blogs. They’re off becoming attorneys or working on their dreams of becoming professional writers. Sometimes, we just realize that we shared too much and need to take a step back.
Anyway, one of my favorite bloggers was the <a href="http://dailytexican.blogspot.com/"Daily Texican. He stopped blogging when he moved to Seattle for law school a few years ago. One of my favorite DT features was the “cholo word of the day.” DT defined Caló, Spanglish, or common Spanish phrase (e.g., chota, Entiendes Mendez). He’d also use the words/phrases in clever sentences and translate them for non-Chicana/o consumption. I loved the translations.
In honor of DT, I’m focusing the QOTW on Caló and Spanglish.
La Pregunta: Do you use Caló and/or Spanglish words/phrases in your daily life? What’s your favorite Caló and/or Spanglish word/phrase(s)? If you’d like, define the word/phrase a la DT (see above for an example).
Mazatl
En la esquina de Breed y la Primera esperé detrás del autobús anaranjado. Aunque que el área sea familiar, parece muy distinto con la construcción del metro. Ya no existe la escuelita pre-kinder cerca de Utah. En esa escuela adornada con un lindo mural, ensayabamos con Sergio y su grupo, Danza Tenochtilán.
En un momento, la luz cambió de rojo a verde y el autobús avanzó rumbo al este. En la esquina al sureste vi una palabra pintada en la pared: MAZATL.
***
MAZATL. Inmediatamente traducí la palabra. ¡El venado!
No tengo que explicarte que Mazatl significa venado en Nahuatl, el idioma de los Mexica (o Aztecas) por que tú me enseñasté Mazatl, una danza en que se recree el juego entre cazadores y los venados.
Me avanzé más y MAZATL se convertió en MAZATLAN MARKET.
MAZATLAN. Una linda ciudad. Quiero recordarme de los cinco días que pasé allí hace cuatro años. Quiero acordarmé de la sensación de volar sobre la playa en paracaídas, del agua tibia de la mar y del asombro de ver el más lindo atardecer de mi vida. Pero no. Esas memorias lindas de Mazatlán se convierten en memorias de ti, el Venado.
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July Project, Part 3
The July Project documents each day in July. For the first twenty days check here and here.
July 21: On my way to meet with freshmen, I saw this sign in the parking structure. This photo is the reason I never leave home without my digital camera.
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July Project, Part 2
A photo a day for the 31 days of July.
Photos from the first ten days of the month are here
July 11: Roberto Sifuentes, a member of La Pocha Nostra, and his partner reminded me of Ixtaccihuatl and Popocapetl in this pose, especially with the landscape in the background. These performances at San Francisco’s de Young Museum were part of The New Barbarians. The show featured four performance art pieces in four galleries in the museum’s American and New Guinea art collections. I had no idea what to expect about the show, but was fascinated. I’m glad I received Rio’s invitation in time and just happened to be in the East Bay for the long weekend. After the show, Rio, his girlfriend and I got in to the reception, snacked on appetizers and got to meet some of the main performers like Guillermo Gómez-Peña. Awesome. (More photos from the show.)
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Lotería Chicana 