Why Being Bilingual Makes Your Brain Rock!

VOCABULARY:
tigres= tigers
triste= sad
trigo=wheat
trigal=wheatfield
tragar= to swallow whole, eating(only when speaking of animals)
más= more
Cuál= which
de= of

Mexican Sayings & Colloquialisms

Posted on January 7, 2011 by cottonkandydiamonds

Today’s saying is : “Ponte las pilas” which literally means “Put your batteries in”. LOL to someone hearing this for the first time it might sound weird, but it’s a very common saying. The saying is referring to comparing yourself to being a toy or robot of sorts. This saying is used to mean: get on the ball! , straighten up and fly right! , put some effort in!

A parent might tell their child “ponte las pilas” if he or she brings home a not so great report card.

If a girl has a not so great boyfriend, her friends might say “ponte las pilas” & advise her to look for a better man.

If someone wants a promotion, but there’s a lot of competition they could be told : “ponte las pilas” and you’ll get it.

Mexican Food: Machacado con Huevo

Posted on November 3, 2010 by cottonkandydiamonds

It’s that time again! Time for some delicious Mexican gastronomy! Today’s dish is know as “Machacado con Huevo”, “Machaca con Huevo”, or simply “Machaca” = Eggs & Mash/ shredded with eggs. Pronounced something like : mah-chah-kah-doh-kohn-oo-eh-boh. The verb “Machacar” means to mash/grind.

This is a typical dish from Monterrey & is “said to have originated in the town of Ciénega de Flores, about an hour north of Monterrey, Mexico.” – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Machacado_con_huevo

This yummy & easy recipe makes use of eggs & cured, dried meat. In other words beef jerky, but not the kind you buy at the 7 eleven, the one you buy at the butcher shop. Although, hmm who knows? Maybe if you’re in a bind the 7eleven jerky could work? lol Maybe not =S The original dish, traditionally would call for beef jerky, since people in the olden days use to swear by cured meats due to the convenience and shelf life. Variations do exist , some use shredded beef instead. I’ve seen my mom make this with “carne seca” (meaning dehydrated meat) she’s brought home from Mex, meat like this: http://www.vtdviaje.com.mx/vtd/images/stories/Nuevo_Leon/Gusto_Gourmet_Nuevo_Leon/carne-seca.jpg & shredded beef, so both ways.

In the first video they have a pre-machado mix, which I had never seen, actually… But in the end it’s up to what’s to your liking & or convenience =) You can look for “carne seca” in packages in your local Mexican, Latin American Supermarket. Like this for example: http://loscorrales.net/products.htm This is just me, but I think the dish is neatest when you can start with whole pieces of “carne seca” from the butcher shop.

*Notice how the first recipe adds a tomato sauce, but in the succedent recipes the tomatoes are diced and added. See there are many variations, just learn the basics and make the recipe your own.

This chef notes that, the dish is typically eaten with flour tortillas, but is equally tasty with corn tortillas.

Cool Mexican Stuff: More fun with Nahuatl aka Aztec

Posted on October 27, 2010 by cottonkandydiamonds

Soulful Mexicans

Posted on October 26, 2010 by cottonkandydiamonds

Just heard on Twitter that the 1st song “Besame” (Kiss Me) is doing really well on the charts & I had heard talk about it before, but just hadn’t gotten around to listening to it. I finally listened to it and it’s really good, very romantic song. Once again Camila makes it on to the blog with this live performance of the song. These guys are so talented! They’re brilliant composers and awesome musicians. Song number two is a song I found and knew instantly I had to share. This girl’s got some killer vocals. She’s classy, she’s jazzy what a mellow and soulful vibe. Hope u have a romantic evening & ENJOY!

Mexican Pop! Music Video of the Day

Posted on October 23, 2010 by cottonkandydiamonds

Happy Saturday here’s a fun little ditty to get your toes tapping! Song: Crazy Woman, By: Aleks Syntek ENJOY! =)

LYRICS TRANLSATION by: MegaSuper Chido

I’m a singular case.

One that I should analyze.

Don’t know what they gave or what they did to me, but I am no longer normal.

Fate outdid itself and a prank wrung me out.

This is not my house & this is not my wife.

And this guy you see before you isn’t me.

This isn’t me.

Crazy, you looked like a crazed woman to me.

I love it when you’re crazy, come closer to me and kiss me here on the mouth.

Don’t be like that. I love it when you tease.

You looked like a crazy woman to me.

And come kiss me here on the…

Everything is confusion and we’re looking for salvation.

This is not my story nor is this my memory. I wasn’t’ me who killed you.
How to make you understand? You are not going to believe me.

This is not my bed, this is not my spectrum, And this guy you see before you isn’t me.

Crazy, you looked like a crazed woman to me.

I love it when you’re crazy, come closer to me and kiss me here on the mouth.

Don’t be like that. I love it when you tease.

You looked crazy to me.

And come kiss me here on the….

I don’t do anything other than dance & dance.

With your sweet little face I live dreaming & Thinking .

And If you wish, I will live fighting & fighting. I will bring out the animal instic in you

I’m a singular case. One that I should analyze.

Don’t know what they gave or what they did to me, but I am no longer normal.

Fate outdid itself and a prank wrung me out.
This is not my house & this is not my wife. And this guy you see before you isn’t me.

Crazy, you looked like a crazed woman to me.

I love it when you’re crazy, come closer to me and kiss me here on the mouth.

don’t be like that I love it when you tease

You looked like a crazed woman to me. And come kiss me here.

I don’t do anything other than dance & dance.

With your sweet little face I live dreaming & Thinking

If you wish , I will live fighting & fighting. I will bring out the animal instic in you

Crazy, you looked like a crazed woman to me . I love it when you’re crazy, come closer to me and kiss me here on the mouth.

Don’t be like that. I love it when you tease. You looked like a crazed woman to me.

Crazy, you looked like a crazed woman to me

You make me….. Crazy woman, come closer to me. You make me…you looked like a crazed woman to me. You make me….. Crazy, you looked like a crazed woman to me come closer to me. And kiss me here on the….

Sing a long Friday : “Xochipitzahuatl” (traditional Mexican song)

Posted on October 15, 2010 by cottonkandydiamonds

So many beautiful things about our cultures, things that are worth: admiring, learning about and most of all keeping alive & thriving. One of those things most definitely has to be language. In Paraguay 88% of the population speaks Guarani along with Spanish. In Taiwan though most people speak Mandarin and the older generations are most knowledgeable when it comes to traditional Taiwanese, and though Taiwanes youngsters outside of Taiwan are a little sketchy on it, native Taiwanese kids are still taught about it (traditional Taiwanese) and understand it a bit even if they don’t practice it as often as say their grandparents, or so I’ve heard. So, I listen to different kinds of music and there’s this Taiwanese pop girl group I like. I totally fell in love with one of the songs off their latest album, and I especially thought it was super cool when I heard the group recorded that particular song not in main stream Mandarin but instead in traditional Taiwanese. This is our heritage ,our vestige…. We should take pride in these beautiful treasures. That is why in today’s post I’d like to share a traditional Mexican song. This post as they all are is for everyone, but especially those who’d like to learn a short little something in Nahuatl(aka Aztec). The song is called “Xochipitzahuatl” pronounced: soh-chee-pee-tzah-hoo-wah-tahl, meaning: little flower. This song is AKA “Flor Menudita” in Spanish.

Are these kids too COOL or what?! And such talent =D Plus they look so cute in their outfits.

It’s just a few short lines, but it something cool you can learn & impress your friends with. Show ’em you can sing in Nahuatl!

This song is usually sung at weddings in the Huasteca region of Mexico. From what I’ve been able to research, it is sometimes danced rather than sung. The song is preformed for the Virgin of Guadalupe as away of asking for the event to be blessed. I’m not incredibly familiar with this song, so not sure how long the song actually is . The girls in the first vid seem to be singing more lyrics than the guy in the 2nd vid =S Went on a hunt for the lyrics online and can not for the life of me find proper lyrics. There’s very little info online, could be that is due to the fact that the song is often know as a dance rather than a piece that is sung. I can only get little excerpts here & there, plus everyone’s version differs =(

Still so glad to see people taking pride in their roots and passing them on especially youngsters. =) Hope you ENJOY GUYS!!

Cool Aztec Names

Posted on September 23, 2010 by cottonkandydiamonds

I’d been dying to do a post like this, thought it’d be super fun to share with the readers! I had already done a post on the meanings of last names in Spanish, so I went in search of names in Mexican indigenous languages next. I searched the web, and I found this cool list of Aztec/Mayan names. Sorry if there are any discrepancies, feel free to add your two cents on the subject if you’d like. You can do so by visiting the comments section. I’m learning along the way too =) Ok, so a million thanks to my source all credit goes to them. I only excerpted some names & tanslated their meaning. You can find the complete list by following the link =D

Source : http://mx.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070317122716AAbQUdd

TLEXOCHITL= Fire flower

METZTLI / MEXTLI= Moon

CUAUHTÉMOC = descending eagle

TONALLI= Day, energy, warmth

TOPILTZIN= our dear little boy, our prince

TLAZOHTZIN= he who is loved

IZTACOYOTL= white coyote

TEOXIHUITL = Turquoise divinity, beautiful one

EHÉCATL = Wind

ATLANXOCHITL= The most beautiful flower of the sea.

CEYAOTL = Warrior

CITLALTONAC = Dazzling star

CITLALTZIN = little star

QUIAHUITL = rain

TLEYOTL = heart of fire

YAOCIHUATL= woman warrior

There are so many gorgeous and inspiring names, but if I had to pick just one… I guess I’d like to be named: QUIAHUITL( rain) because I adore the rain, it’s so romantic. Plus I’m from So Cal where we don’t get that much rain, so it’s all the more precious to me . Then again, CITLALTZIN (little star) is such a cute and pretty name too. But with a name like TEOXIHUITL (Turquoise divinity, beautiful one) wow who wouldn’t feel like a godess?! Lol So super hard to choose, all the names rock!

Mexican Bicentennial’s Official Theme Song (free download)

Posted on August 19, 2010 by cottonkandydiamonds

A cool song has been released as the official theme song for the Bicentennial entitled “El Futuro es Milenario” (The Future is Millennial) sung by Aleks Syntek & Jaime Lopez, and it has been made available for free download ! Just go to the following link and it will take you to the official Bicentenario website where you can get the song. http://www.bicentenario.gob.mx/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1922