Cristina Prieto
February 11, 2009
Mr. Aponte
Puerto Rican History
The world is full of young men and women who every once in a while need a little
sense knocked into them. That’s where sayings come into the picture. Usually
grandparents and parents say them to their grandkids and their own kids. In Puerto
Rico they are called “refranes” and I myself growing up in both the United Sates and in
Puerto Rico have heard many of them.
“Dime con quién andas y te diré quién eres,” is one of my favorite ones. It
literally means tell me who you hang out with and I’ll tell you who you are. It really
means you are who your friends are. No matter how much you deny it when you hang
out with people whom are different then you, their attitude rubs off on you. That’s why it
is so important to choose your friends wisely. Don’t give into peer pressure, and be
yourself.
“¿Donde va Vicente? Donde va la gente,” literally means where Vicente goes
is where the people go. It really means don’t be a follower. When you’re young most
people worry about fitting into a certain social group. Peer pressure plays a big role in
adolescence that’s why most parents always tell their children to not give in to it. You
shouldn’t be a follower because what would happen if that group of people decided to
do something illegal or life-threatening? Would you tag along? This saying is also a
very popular one in English, “If he jumped off a cliff, would you do it too?”
“Del árbol caído todos hacen leña” literally means from fallen tree branches
people make firewood. This refers to the fact that when you are down on your luck
people come and take advantage of you. This is why you as a person should always be
aware of your surroundings, and whom you trust. Because people who don’t care, will
come and take advantage of you without not even a wince. Friends, family, the closest
people that you would never expect, just for their own benefit, would take advantage of
that person who is down in the dumps. This is pretty sad considering that the person is
probably in need of help and support and their just suffering more. This leads me to my
next saying about luck.
“Las desgracias no vienen sola,” is a saying that I believe everybody can
relate to. This literally means that bad things don’t come by themselves. They come in
clusters, which I believe is true. When something bad happens things don’t get better
they get worse. There is another saying that isn’t used as often but almost means the
same, “Cuando no es una es la otra.” Meaning when it isn’t one thing it’s another. I
believe that I could be the state of mind your in as well, that everything has gone bad
and nothing is going to get better. When something bad happens people may seem to
be down or get an attitude, then things, just keep on getting worse, so their attitude gets
worse. But it all does seem to happen all at once. The best thing that you can do is try
to have a positive attitude and not think about the bad but about the good that will come.
“Gallina vieja da bien caldo,” literally means the old hen gives good broth. But
it really means with age comes experience. This is a saying most parents say to their
young to try to get them to take their advice. Parents have been there and done it all (or
most of it at least) that’s why their advice most of the time is the best advice. Most
children don’t want to except that their parents are right but they should because they
know more and have gone through the experience already. Remember that your
parents went through the same thing already and that’s why they say, “ Gallina vieja da
bien caldo.”
[Standard 2b]: Identify characteristics of culture and tradition. [Anthropology]: You
grow up hearing advice from your grandparents and parents, and it kind of just sticks in
your brain. Growing up in Puerto Rico means hearing these sayings daily at your
grandparent’s house and from your parents. These are part of our culture and tradition;
these sayings originated a long time ago and you still hear them today. When children
do something stupid or are about to, it is expected from an adult to say a saying and
give them advice. When peer pressure occurs or their child is being a follower to
another; parents take this seriously and try their very best to knock some sense into
them, but it takes some time. It is part of our Puerto Rican culture to make our children
the best and as street smart as they can be.
