Notes on Chapter Four
EL PUEBLO QUE FUIMOS
"THE PEOPLE WE WERE"
Isaac Rogel

 

Ometotchtli, or Two Rabbit, the Aztec god of Pulque.  At least in theory, drunkenness was punishable by death.

 

A Mexican alacrán of the most dangerous type.

Notes on Chapter 4 "Tía Casilda"

(1)  Curandera/curandero are the names given to traditional healers.  Some are frauds, but some are real experts in herbal medicine.  Tía Casilda belongs to the latter group.

(2)  Pulque is the fermented juice of the maguey plant.  Pulque's history extends into pre-history: the natives of Mexico had it when the first whites arrived.  For centuries, pulque was the drink of the poor, but since beer brewing was introduced into Mexico in the late 19th century, it has all but replaced pulque among Mexicans, rich and poor alike.

(3)  Aguardiente can be loosely translated as "firewater".  It is distilled all over Latin America from whatever is available that contains some sugar, but is primarily a product of the coastal regions and made from sugar cane.  Aguardiente comes in many qualities, from cheap, raw rotgut to a highly-refined product similar to good vodka.

(4)  Piquete is literally a sting or a bite (of an insect, spider, scorpion, etc.)  In the context of Cunegilda's tea, though, it refers to giving it a "bite", probably with tequila, mezcal or aguardiente.

(5)  Tuna is the fruit of the nopal, known in English as the prickly pear.  In addition to using it to flavor pulque, a delicious jelly is made from it.  Tuna in the English sense is atún.

(6)  It is common all over the Spanish-speaking world to refer to one's wife as "mi mujer".  Mexicans have a saying:  El español dice mi mujer; el mexicano mi esposa; el indio dice mi señora.  (The Spaniard says "my woman"; the Mexican "my wife"; the Indian says "my lady".)

(7)  Milpa literally only means "cornfield".  But for the Mexican campesino it has an enormous psychological meaning.  Having a milpa is a sign of respecting the old ways as well as of being independent.

(8)  Jacal is translated as "hut", but it is more than that.  It refers to any small structure used for human habitation and built from locally available materials (usually adobe in Mexico).

(9)  Alacranado means "stung by a scorpion", literally "scorpioned".  Mexico has some really deadly scorpions, especially the small black one found in the northern part of the country.

(10) Retebueno.  Re- or rete- or even reteque- are colloquial prefixes used to intensify the meaning of the adjective they're attached to.  Thus, retebueno is not just good, it's very, very good.

(11) Many dictionaries give blond/e as the translation for güero/güera, but this doesn't quite fit.  A güero or güera can be anybody of a lighter than normal complexion for the area concerned.  Thus, many people who'd be considered pretty dark in the U.S. or much of Europe, become güeros and güeras once they cross the Rio Grande. Blond/e in our sense is rubio/rubia.

(12) Chamaco (and chamaca) are just colloquial ways of saying muchacho (boy) and muchacha (girl).

x

x

x

x

x

zx

x

x

x

x

x

x

    

A modern curandera visits a patient.  Notice the crucifix on the wall, and the picture of the Virgin of Guadalupe on the bureau.

 

A bottle of one of the higher-class types of aguardiente.  (This one is from Colombia.)