Dialogue

Vocabulary

Learn New Words FAST with this Lesson’s Vocab Review List

Get this lesson’s key vocab, their translations and pronunciations. Sign up for your Free Lifetime Account Now and get 7 Days of Premium Access including this feature.

Or sign up using Facebook
Already a Member?

Lesson Notes

Unlock In-Depth Explanations & Exclusive Takeaways with Printable Lesson Notes

Unlock Lesson Notes and Transcripts for every single lesson. Sign Up for a Free Lifetime Account and Get 7 Days of Premium Access.

Or sign up using Facebook
Already a Member?

Lesson Transcript

INTRODUCTION
Eric: Hello and welcome to Culture Class: Mexican Superstitions and Beliefs, Lesson 2 - The Weeping Woman and Sneezing. I'm Eric and I'm joined by Alex.
Alex: Hola! Hi, I'm Alex.
THE TWO SUPERSTITIONS
Eric: In this lesson we’ll talk about two common superstitions in Mexico. The first superstition is about bad luck. What’s the superstition called in Mexican Spanish?
Alex: La Llorona
Eric: Which literally means "the Weeping Woman." Alex, can you repeat the Mexican Spanish phrase again?
Alex: [slow] La Llorona [normal] La Llorona
Eric: So Alex, do you think it’s fair to call this a ghost story?
Alex: I think so. This story always terrified me as a child. If I heard a noise at night, I always thought it was la Llorona, crying for her children.
Eric: In Mexico, it's believed that you should not walk by a river at night because of a beautiful, female ghost.
Alex: La Llorona. The story says that she drowned her children.
Eric: Now she looks for children who have wandered off and drowns them. No one’s sure where this story comes from.
Alex: And it depends on the region. La Llorona may be the spirit of la Malinche, the woman who betrayed the Aztecs to Cortes. Or, the Aztec goddess Cihuacoatl.
Eric: So remember kids don’t wander off at night, or you might not come back.
Alex: oooOOOOOooooOOOOoooo. Spooky.
Eric: The second superstition is about good luck. What’s the superstition called in Mexican Spanish?
Alex: desearle salud a alguien que estornuda
Eric: Which literally means "wishing good health to someone that sneezed." Let’s hear it in Mexican Spanish again.
Alex: [slow] desearle salud a alguien que estornuda [normal] desearle salud a alguien que estornuda
Eric: So in the US, we say “bless you” when someone sneezes. Do you say the same thing in Mexico?
Alex: Not quite. We say salud.
Eric: Which means "health." This was to protect that person from evil.
Alex: Now, saying this is just good manners.
Eric: It's probably because people used to believe that the devil could get in through your mouth.
Alex: or that your soul could be expelled with the force of the sneeze.
Eric: Wouldn’t want that to happen.
Alex: I think you’ll be alright.

Outro

Eric: There you have it - two Mexican superstitions! Are they similar to any of your country’s superstitions? Let us know in the comments!
Alex: Hasta pronto!

Comments

Hide