Bring your Spanish-speaking accent and read aloud.
The quote below is the awesomest piece of writing I’ve run across recently, and is courtesy of a professorial candidate that presented this afternoon. It has to be read as though it were completely Spanish, though, or it loses all effect (I may have left an accent mark off somewhere—don’t shoot me).
Rafael Pernett y Morales, Loma ardiente y vestida de sol
La noche cayó, y Macorina volvió del monte con Pito, justo a tiempo, just-a-time, para subir al autobús latino que volví a la ciudad… En el autobús latino se cantaba en español. En los autobuses chombos se cantaban calipsos con ukeleles y las mujeres decían que iban a los stiets to bai som clots bicos ai jav notin to put uen ai got to a pic mi buai. Y la vecina la decía que di las taim ai uen to di stiets ai brot a lot of fanci suts and den dei tel me ai uas a licu yonga, yu si, and di buais on di stit chout mi a lat, you si? (Pernett y Morales, 69).
If I could read it correctly (damned French…), I’d post a recording, but my current Contemp. Latin America professor happened to be the one that read it, and his face when he got to “que iban a los stiets to bai…” was just wonderful.
If someone (*nudge*, *nudge*, all my Spanish-speaking amis) is inclined to record a reading of this, I’d host it, because it’s all kinds of cool.
Then again, this could just be a case of “simple minds, simple pleasures”…
5 Comments
rackrent
um, Lissa, this piece started to read well and I understand it but some phrases, i.e. “los stiets to bai som clots bicos ai jav notin to put uen ai got to a pic mi buai.” and “taim ai uen to di stiets ai brot a lot of fanci suts and den dei tel me ai uas a licu yonga, yu si, and di buais on di stit chout mi a lat, you si?” I have absolutely no idea what it’s saying. It might be archaic spanish, I’ve been reading some of that in my Spanish lit class or you might not have copied it right when your prof read it, or it might be I’m a total idiot and don’t know what I’m talking about.
Lissa
That’s the point, Rackrent. Read the vowels like they’re Spanish, and you should get a sentence in Spanish-English… It’s fun.
Hannah
Wow. I love that. I understand it exactly. Maybe it’s that I’ve been in Mexico all month hearing this type of English, but, wow.
Michael
i’ll record juan reading it
Lissa
Yay Michael! That would make my day.