Salud, dinero, amor... y tiempo para gozarlo.. desde luego, si no hay tiempo para gozar la lana, uno se convierte en borrego, mucha lana, mucha lana, pero si no la gozamos, nos la trasquilan y nos dejan todos pelones, como los de hospicio.....
Arriba, abajo, al centro... y pa'dentro... sal£.
LOL..... Honest, I do appreciate your effort, the above paragraph is full of slang.... slang in any language is difficult to learn, and sometimes to translate, however I will try....
The above was in response to Don Marcos, drinking toast. A not so well known drinking toast, that wishes for all present,
Health, money, and love... and the time to enjoy it
So "gozarlo" = "enjoy it" This is truly a wise (so far, no slang all normal language).
Now, the above was what Marcos had said simply repeated it, and then my response that accentuated the very concept of the toast said:
desde luego, si no hay tiempo para gozar la lana, uno se convierte en borrego, mucha lana, mucha lana, pero si no la gozamos, nos la trasquilan y nos dejan todos pelones, como los de hospicio.....
Which you got correct most of it....
And so it goes:
"Of course, if there is not much time to enjoy the money, then one becomes like a lamb, lots, of money, lots of money, but if we do not enjoy it, then everyone will shear it off us, leaving us all bald-headed, hospice boy(girl).
O.k..... a number of explanations:
Lana = Wool in English, also "dinero" in Mexican Slang.
The word "Plata" (silver) is similar, even in Mexico, but that is mostly used in the rest of Latin America.
"Pelon de hospicio" this is the hard one.... in earlier times, if you were a kid, your parents died, (also, you were poor and had no relatives), you were sent to these horrible "poor houses" or (the hospice), where as a matter of "practice" the first thing they did to you, was to shear your hair, and everyone looked the same, I assume to clean off lice and/or any other sundry infestation...
From there, the expression "pel¢n de hospicio" was born..... essentially meaning (if you were told so), that you were poor and destitute.
So, the "moral" of the saying is go have all the money, (lana - wool) you can make, but do not forget to enjoy it since if you do not, sooner or later, someone (or several somebodies), will shear it off, (take it, borrow it, steal it, etc. etc).... i.e. taxes, relatives, lovers, wife, your own children, bureaucrats etc, etc, etc,
As for:
Arriba, abajo, al centro... y pa'dentro... sal£.
That is another drinking toast.... a far more simple one, all it means, you take your glass, raise it up... take it down.... then to the center, and then it goes in.... (and drink it.)
Here the slang is only in the contraction of the words... para and adentro. or = pa'adentro. the literal translation is:
para = for, towards....
adentro = inside
So it goes..... up, down, center, and in (as you make the motions with your glass, of course this is a much more "simpleton" toast... it is used when you are already wasted, and talking becomes a true liability.... (for you and others).
Finally... Sal£ It should be Sal£d (Cheers)... but in following the above paragraph, at this point, you are supposed to be so wasted
that the saving of a single letter in your speech is of great benefit to you.
If you do not believe me, next time you are totally drunk, try to say both words.... Sal£ and Sal£d then we will talk....
The complete expression would be:
Sal£d Compadre.
Salud means Health, or in this instance it is equivalent to "Cheers"
The word Compadre (For the woman the word is "Comadre") describes the relationship between someone who has become a "Godfather" and the man that names you so. This title in the Mexican culture is an important title, not only do you become the potential father of your "ahijado" "ahijada" ("godson/goddaughter") but in addition:
In the old tradition, (it is no longer followed to the same extent in today's world), this is what it meant:
This "entitlement" originates in the "baptizing" of one's children, if a friend names you the PADRINO (GODFATHER), of his child, then a number of responsibilities come about.... for starters, you became the potential father of your friend's child, (in case of his death), however marital fringe benefits were NOT part of the deal.... at least officially.....
If you had children, then you were supposed to "return the favor" (i.e. get back at him, and name him the Godfather of your child).
The day of the baptize, you are expected at the end of the baptize to execute a "bolo padrino" i.e. get a bunch of GOLD and SILVER coins and send them flying up in the air so the children around will pick them up... this shows your generosity and wealth and it means that you are fit to become a proper PADRINO = GODFATHER
Where the meaning takes a new dimension is in.....
This comes from becoming a: Co-father... (and/or if you are married, your wife becomes the Co-mother), therefore, a degree of a more closer relationship is supposed to be achieved, after all, you are now "part of the family"
Such "closer relationship" is easier to achieve by drinking TOGETHER... as you would get rid of all your inhibitions, therefore, it is easier to "bond" together.
And this is where tradition continues.... to this day.
In fact, you can become a "drinking compadre", without the other liabilities....
Then, drinking becomes much easier, as you are nurturing a relationship.... where it can become touchy is if the drinking is executed between the "compadre" and the "comadre"..... I am sure that you have heard the expression of "one thing leads to another".... you get the picture...
One must be careful in choosing one's Compadres and Comadres, as I said, they become part of your family.....
To illustrate the point: One would not want to name his compadre, say, for example one individual like William Jefferson Clinton, not only is the man liable to assist you in, enthusiastically, drink your finest Burgundies, Bordeaux's, Tequila A¤ejos, XO Remy Martin, or Lagavulin's, but the chances of him assisting you with the "comadre" (i.e. your wife), are high, or "more than likely"....
Perhaps, modern society, after all, does show some signs of wisdom (not to mention practicality), and such tradition is no longer as common as it was in the past. While there were some important "family values" that were practiced, sometimes no doubt, the values were extended to less desired ones by some....
As for drinking compadres..... those certainly are more common, and in many instances instantaneous.
I hope the above did not created more questions than what it attempted to answer.
Z. |
