Customer Reviews

Folk Wisdom of Mexico / Proverbios y dichos mexicanos

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This is a concise choice collection of dichos or sayings that are like folk proverbs. Known a dichos, these are various small sayings that carry a lot of wisdom in their delivery. Reflective of Mexican cultural values, the dichos are expressive manipulations of language, creative rhythms and reasons for life and its complexities. One can hardly turn a page without laughing or at times scratching your head in the simplicity and yet profound sayings. Given to me as a gift recently, this book is a fun read. My only complaint is I wish it were longer and had more dichos. It is geared for a younger reader in my estimation but the universal themes have the wisdom of an ageless appeal. The drawing or paintings are numerous and very colorful and attractive further revealing the dichos. Based in the oral tradition of tales, the dichos cover a variety of subjects including love, money and politics amongst others, offering insights and wisdom for the reader. A simple read , it can be shared or read alone but regardless can be read in the time span of your average tv show. Now there's a concept, read something insightful intead of watching a not so funny sitcom!! The forward is written by noted writer and poet Gary Soto and the translations are loose, not literal. The idea is to catch some of the flavor of the original. A collection of dichos always has one you might not have possibly heard. A bilingual edition, my favorite newest dicho discovery is "La amistad sincera es uns alma repartida en dos cuerpos/True friendship is one soul shared by two bodies", just beautiful and quite fitting if you know what I mean. Very enjoyable and worth the small price every child, young or old can enjoy the flavor of old Mexico in our modern times. Recommended for teachers, parents and all who enjoy sayings that are short and insightful glimpses into human nature.

I was very disappointed in this book. The Dichos have been sanitized and there are numerous mis-translations. Dichos as a rule are rather earthy.

In what is described as "a delightful mixture of laughter and love, fatalism and fate", the author has gathered priceless Mexican proverbs in this small book, capturing "the wisdom, spirit and vibrancy that is Mexico". A proverb may inform, advise or make a point; it is amusing and wise; it is by turns soothing and judgmental: "It is the unwritten literature and philosophy of the poor, particularly rural folk."

Passed from generation to generation, these proverbs have European roots, but regional applications in common usage, distilled cultural truths that provide the wisdom of centuries. In a bilingual format, the reader can compare the English and the Spanish, the pages illustrated with bright prints that feature the folk art style of Mexico, frogs on a lily pad, a pig, a great sleeping bull, a man grappling with the Grim Reaper on the Day of the Dead.

The messages are simple, yet profound: "Flies don't enter a closed mouth; One needn't study to become a fool; The brave one lives as long as the coward lets him; Stupidity closes the door of kindness; In the matter of pigs, all is money, and in the matter of money, all are pigs; Though the cage be made of gold, it is still a prison." Both charming and thought-provoking, this collection is beautifully rendered, balanced by the clever illustrations, each page contributing yet another proverb, small but powerful reminders of thoughts, actions, and consequences. Luan Gaines/ 2006.