Mototaxis line the side street beside Jama Ecuador’s central park.
Frizztext pointed out that my post, Remembering Jenny covers the J, and I was pleased to be a day ahead on the next letter for the alphabet challenge. Disciplining myself to select words in Spanish for this round forces me to learn a bit more Spanish. As an artist, I have often taken shortcuts to get my point across without using Spanish – I sketch the essence of what is needed, and most people understand!
Sometimes no language is needed; the AWOL spinning top landed in the market gutter! (Photo by Marie Groff) Guaranda Ecuador
The J in Spanish usually takes on the H sound. I often type, “Ja-Ja-Ja-Ja” for “Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha” and hope that my friends make the connection in Spanish; otherwise they must think I’m losing my mind! Junio and Julio (June and July) are two more Spanish words that are easy to convert from English.
When I listened to a song by Jarabe de Palo, I smiled and thought, “Eureka! J is for Jarabe!”
Jarabe usually refers to a syrup, though it can also be a Mexican folk dance!
Here is Jarabe de Palo singing “Agua.” This is a very easy video to follow while enunciating the words, even if you’re not sure what they mean! Agua – Everyone knows what that means, right? (Water!) Sed? – Thirsty!
Here’s a link to a lyrics translation for the song. Scroll down to suggestion #3.
After watching the version with the lyrics, enjoy this official version!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEQqN3oQ8Vc
Visit Wilkipedia for more about Jarabe de Palo.
Just an expression sometimes communicates volumes! (Photo by Marie Groff)
See more at Frizztext’s post HERE.
Happy weekend, everyone!
Z
Zeebra Designs & Destinations 
The Agua is a happy song 🙂 Thank you, z! Love your smile.
Hey! Thanks so much! That was a funny moment when the spinning top careened across the market and landed in a yucky gutter! z
😀
I like your moral it is so pretty, and you look very guapa and happy with the spinning top there too, love jarabe de palo, can listen to them forever.
thanks, amiga! i’m not surprised that you enjoy jarabe de palo’s music as well! z
Jarabe de Palo is also use when someone threatens to beat you, “si no haces los deberes, te voy a dar jarabe de palo” 😉
That is great trivia! Thank you!
I like that you sketch to communicate. We rely so heavily on the spoken word and yet there are other ways to communicate and we don’t exercise them enough.
that’s a sweet and open-minded way to look at it! thanks! i am very lucky that i can do that. long ago after a car break-down in rural costa rica, i locked my trooper and sketched the wheel that was pointing out in the wrong direction, and then i began my walk to the next town. without saying a word, i smiled and presented the sketch to the mechanic (i knew him) who smiled and nodded! when he got a break, he gathered some parts and we drove back to the trooper, and he fixed the problem in a few hours!
z
A great solution all round. But it’s just as well you can sketch well. Some very amusing things might happen if I sketched my way through a problem 😀
ja! i remember once when i needed a certain size screw for kitchen cabinets. i drove the hour to the fereteria/hardware store and walked up to the counter. the men, accustomed to my blunders, prepared for this next round of communication attempts. i smiled, dug into my ‘coin pocket’ of my blue jeans….. and the first thing that i pulled out and placed on the counter was my lipstick! we all laughed. then i retrieved the screw and scribbled down how many more i needed.
that worked well!
z
Oh Funny.
And I should add to the above that one of the greatest women and one of the greatest communicators of our time was Helen Keller. This comment sort of links back to your previous post 🙂
you are so right! thanks so much for adding that! z
thanks to Marie Groff!
ha (or Ja!) – we had a great trip, and that was a great moment, one of many that she captured! z
Thanks for the Spanish lesson (and for giving us a peek at Z)
ha! yes, we can thank marie for those fun images! z
No problem with the wate being too far away lately here. We have had a bit a respite on rain for two days and I am hoping you are faring well there too.
Loved the song and I enjoyed reading between the lines.
Thanks for helping me study my Spanish! 🙂
Con mucho gusto!!!
z
Jarabe de Palo……..The Best!!! I Love this song!!
Si, it’s melody is relaxing, and I find that it lingers in my memory and plays over and over!!! z
Z, I love this song. Thanks for including it. Best regards, BTG
So nice to see pictures of you amiga! I’m also glad to be learning Spanish this way.
Harabe! sounds like a greeting not a word for syrup.
in the top photo are those horse drawn carts outside the market?
those are motorcycle-pulled carts; we call them ‘moto taxis.’ for fifty cents they will drive you to the other end of town. it costs two to three dollars for my three-mile ride home. when i have a lot of items, i use a mototaxi, but i usually enjoy the walk! when the roads are bad, and they almost always are where i live, the mototaxi ride is brutal!!! if i buy eggs, several have usually cracked by the time i get home!
When you buy eggs are they packed in a paper bag?
ja! they are carefully places in a clear plastic bag!!!! they are brown as well, and i am always in shock when i return to the usa and see white eggs!
z
I always buy brown eggs at the farmer’s market.
hey listen amiga would you like me to save some of my egg boxes and send them on to you?
Thank you for sharing such a lovely song, Lisa. Very calming…
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