SpanishPod101.com Blog

Chilanga Banda
(Juan Jaime López; performed by Café Tacuba)

Check out the video here:

Christmas time here is Veracruz is unique not only within Latin America, but also within Mexico. Beginning about mid-December, posadas and la rama are expressions of the holiday season.

Posadas (inns) are held throughout Mexico and are generally religious fiestas in which people ask for shelter for the baby Jesus. In my suegra’s house, one group of people goes outside with candles and a ceramic baby dressed in white. The other group stays inside. Together, we sing a call-and-answer song that depicts the biblical moment in which Mary and Joseph went looking for an inn. We huddle together and drink warm ponche (punch) and eat pambazos (round, bean, lettuce and tomato sandwiches). The night ends with a piñata and plenty of treats for everyone.

There is another tradition here that seems to be particular to the area. It’s called la rama (the branch). Like the posadas, la rama takes place between December 16 and December 24. Children anywhere from 5 to 15 find a branch and decorate it with tinsel, ornaments, balloons, stars or any other piece of festive material. They then go door to door singing a song and requesting treats, drink or even money. They often make their own instruments: bottle caps on a wire serve as rattles; glass soda bottles make for great maracas; and maybe even a tambourine or a guitar.

These festivities are only those leading up to noche buena (Christmas Eve). On noche buena, my husband’s family gets together to celebrate with ponche and tamales until midnight, at which point we all sit down to Christmas dinner. We spend the night, laughing, talking, eating and drinking. Then, on Christmas day, we meet up again for the recalentado, or leftovers (literally, reheated). Christmas is a magical time anywhere, but this is especially true here in Xalapa.

Vocabulary

Navidad – Christmas
Posada – Inn
Las posadas – Celebration
La rama – The branch, literally
Ponche – A hot, natural fruit punch
Noche buena – Christmas Eve
Recalentado – Leftovers, literally re-heated

Once you’ve mastered slang in any given language, you know you’re immersed. You’re in up to the crown of your head and there is no going back now.

In Mexico, there are words and phrases that are used throughout the Republic. Phrases like, “¿Qué onda?” (What’s up?), chido (cool), and simón (yes) are common enough and understood by the majority.

However, there is a vast vocabulary that is specific to any given region. Take, for example, Mexico City. People from Mexico City are often referred to as chilangos. They generally have a way of speaking that is unique in intonation and vocabulary to, for example, people in Yucatán, Chiapas, or Sonora.

Within Mexico City, there are numerous areas that also have their distinctive way of speaking. The most notorious of these is Tepito. This is the kingdom of contraband, the blackest of the black markets and home to any number of colorful characters. About thirty years ago, no one outside of Tepito would have been able to understand the locals. Now, though, most chilangos and more and more Mexicans can follow along with the jerga (slang). We can thank the writers Luis Zapata, José Agustín and the following song, “Chilanga Banda” for a lot of the renown that Tepiteños have now.

The following song, “Chilanga Banda,” (gang/ group from Mexico City) is no easy translation. It is written entirely in jerga from Mexico City, spefically, Tepito. It is a must for anyone hoping to learn about Mexico’s underbelly, street talk, and underground culture. I strongly recommend checking out a translation to common Spanish before trying to really understand it. There is a great translation by Toni Merchant here. I also recommend checking out Jergas de Habla Hispana here. They offer Spanish definitions of the palabras chilangas (words from Mexico City).

When I sat down to do the translation, I had to decide if I would do a literal translation that wouldn’t have any rhythm or a loose translation that might. I decided to mix it up. So, all excuses aside, in the next post I will provide you with the impossible: my English translation of “Chilanga Banda.”

Vocabulary

¿Qué onda? – What’s up?
Chido – Cool
Simón – Yes (an extension of Sí…)
Chilango – A person from Mexico City. This term was originally pejorative, but it is now widely accepted.
Jerga – slang

Palabras - Words

I remember my Spanish teacher in college reading off a list of vocabulary words that appeared in a short story. She came to the word ya. “Pues, ya es ya,” she said and quickly moved on. We all looked at each other blankly.

It’s a short word, seemingly inoffensive. It is also quite deceiving. A simple word that simultaneously means now, already, later, and enough poses a challenge for language learners.

My son, who is only one, holds his hands up and says, “¡ya ya ya!” when he doesn’t want to eat any more vegetables. In this case, it means enough.

My husband came home yesterday and asked me, “Did you pay the phone bill yet?”

I said, “Ya lo pagué.” (I already paid it.)

Then he turned to his daughter, “Have you cleaned your room yet??”

“Ya lo voy a hacer,” she said. This could be understood as, “I’m going to do it now” or “I’m going to do it already.” But, instead, she keeps watching la tele.

“¡Sofía!” he says, “¡Ya!” That simple word, with the right tone and the look that only an angry father can give, means “You’d better clean your room right now or you can forget about going to that party on Saturday!”

You see, it’s all in the context. Ya is an example of the nuances of a language that one can only learn through immersion, through practice listening and speaking on a daily basis.

I might also say to my husband, “Ya lo pagaré.” This means, “I’ll pay it…” (eventually). Sofía might say, “Ya que estas aquí, lo voy a hacer.” This translates as, “Now that you’re here, I’ll do it.” But if she said, “Ya que estes aquí lo voy a hacer,” that would mean, “I’ll do it once you get here.” But that’s a topic for a whole new post.

It might be easiest, for the time being, to think of ya as already, which can also be used in reference to the past, present or future. To really get ya, though, you’ll have to immerse yourself in Spanish and all of its intricacies.

Learning another language is hard enough. Learning to pronounce like a native is even harder. The most obvious challenge to Spanish pronunciation is the r and double rr sounds. However, the vowels can also be tricky. By themselves, they’re straightforward and easy to master. Once you get going in a rolling conversation though, the vowels often pose the biggest threat for mispronunciations.

A few weeks ago, my stepdaughter brought home a book of trabalenguas (tongue twisters). We sat down together and went through them. I realized that this is an excellent way to pay close attention to the individual sounds that one makes while speaking. Here are a few simple tongue twisters to get you started.

R con R cigarro,
R con R barril,
rápido corren los carros
cargados de azúcar al ferrocarril.

(R with R cigar
R with R barrel
Fast go the cars
Loaded with sugar for the railroad)

En tres tristes trastos de trigo,
tres tristes tigres comían trigo;
comían trigo, tres tristes tigres,
en tres tristes trastos de trigo.

(In three sad dishes of wheat
Three sad tigers ate wheat
They ate wheat, three sad tigers
In three sad dishes of wheat)

El que poco coco come, poco coco compra;
el que poca capa se tapa, poca capa se compra.
Como yo poco coco como, poco coco compro,
y como poca capa me tapo, poca capa me compro.

(He who eats little coconut, buys little coconut
He who uses little cape, buys little cape
Since I eat little coconut, I buy little coconut
And since I use little cape, I buy little cape)

Pancha plancha con cuatro planchas
¿Con cuántas planchas plancha Pancha?

(Pancha irons with four irons.
With how many irons does Panch iron?)