Tag: A to Z Challenge

Latino culture

A to Z Challenge: J is for Jesús

Mona Alvarado Frazier

Today, I’m at a lost for a Spanish word beginning with the letter J that I frequently use so I’m going back to my childhood experiences in elementary school.

Most of the J words I heard used are men’s names: Juan, Jose, Javier, and Jesús.

Jesús means Jesus, as in Jesus Christ-Jesús Cristo.

Photo by Robert Nyman on Unsplash.com

When I was growing up, the neighborhood was predominately Catholic, and photos of Jesús were in most homes; with John F. Kennedy or the Pope alongside the picture.

Jesús is also a common name for Mexican boys. Most of the kids who are named Jesús shortened their name to Jess or Jessie or Chuy. I don’t think they wanted to be mistaken for Christ, as they couldn’t live up to the name.

I don’t know why Chuy is a popular nickname for Jesús, but if you had three boys named Jesús in class, it was easy to distinguish who was whom by calling one Jess, the other Jessie, and the last one Chuy.

Photo by Toia Montes de Oca on Unsplash.com

If four boys you knew had the name Jesús, someone would specify short Jess, tall Jess, el flaco (skinny) Jess, or Jess gordo (fat Jess).

So there you have it, Jesús.

 

 

 

Latino culture

A to Z Challenge: I is for ¡Imagínate!

Mona Alvarado Frazier
¡Imaginate! photo by ben white, unsplash.com

Some more words in Spanish or Spanglish this week for the A to Z Challenge.

Today is the letter I, as in ¡Imagínate!

After a juicy bit of gossip, amongst close friends, or comadres, I’d frequently hear the listener of said gossip shout ¡Imagínate! : Imagine that!

The word always perked up my ears. As a child, I’d inch closer to the comadres* and eavesdrop.

If the word was shouted, the gossip was really good.

Following the shouting or whispering of the word is the body language:

  • Sometimes the listener would slap her knee and laugh; which meant ‘go figure.’
  • or place her hand on her chest and inhale, which meant ‘I can’t even imagine.’
  • or make the sign of the cross, which meant ‘that’s unimaginable, I’ll pray for you’ or ‘I hope that doesn’t happen to me.’

The tone and body language usually told the story.

I think this “investigative” side of me is what helped me in my career in law enforcement, lol 😉

Until tomorrow, ¡adios!

*A comadre is technically the godparent of a child, however, the word is used to denote a close relationship