Friday, January 11, 2013

Que Pasa USA - revisiting my teenage years

If you were lucky enough to grow up in Miami or in my case in Hialeah in the late 70's and early 80's, you  probably had a weekly front row seat, on your living room floor, facing an old box television watching   ¿Qué Pasa, USA?
No doubt, you and your entire family were
(ROFLOL) rolling on the floor laughing out loud!

TV matters mark lawson tv set

This home grown sitcom created by, WPBT & Luis Santeiro, comprised of 39 episodes with a duration of 27 minutes each.  Those choice 1,053 minutes  of ¿Qué Pasa, USA? became the mirror to our lives and struggles   in our new country through the eyes of the Peña family.

The Peñas were a Cuban American family who lived in Miami's Little Havana neighborhood. Their family was very similar to mine, Mom (Juana), Dad (Pepe) and two kids, Carmen and Joe.  I, in turn was an only child with an extended family. The Peñas shared their small home with their parents, Adela and Antonio, as I did with my grandparents Abuela Mercedes y Abuelito Lopez. 

Like our family, the Peñas were also struggling to find their place in the U.S.  They spoke Spanish and English (many times mixing the two in one sentence - Spanglish). They worked really hard and never lost sight of their dream to return to Cuba - just like my folks. Cuyo sueño cambio a pasar de los años en el exilio. 

Although, Spanish was strictly enforced and English was frowned upon in our home, I can still hear abuela Mercedes chide, "Hablen Español en la casa porque el Ingles lo van a aprender en la escuela".  This was written in some Cuban stone somewhere in her room and my cousins and I obeyed. No choice. 

While in the 'Yuma', (which was supposed to be a temporary stay since the return to Cuba was 'un paso' away) they always embraced their 'Cubanissmo' and made sure their children valued the old ways as they did; from religion to traditions. L'est not forget, we children from  the land of the sacred palm trees needed to maintain our education expectations high and 'preparados' for our return to the Island one day.

Boom boom pow! Now that I give it some thought, I bet I can still name every street in Santa Clara and the addresses to all of the familial homes and stomping grounds e.g. Conyedo y Tudurri, el parque Central....   

The stories of their lives, collectively, is now my personal memory despite the fact that I did not live it. This funny first bilingual situation comedy appealed to all of us that share the same immigrant condition and addressed all of our issues of adaptation in this great new world; growing up American with Cuban values.  


My favorite aspect of the series was clearly the bilingual tone.  They spoke the colloquial slang of the time and or the mix of language often heard in Cuban-American neighborhoods - from Spanish in the home and English at the supermarket to the final lexicon cocktail that we have all mastered 'suavemente' the combining of both into " Spanglish."
Here are some favorites below:

SAYINGS
Spanish
English Meaning
Literal Translation
¡Botó la casa por la ventana! That rocks! "He threw the house out the window!"
Eso no lo brinca un chivo. It's a big problem. "Not even a goat can jump it."
Cantó el manicero. He died. "He sang the peanut vendor."
Qué Mona. She's cute "She's very much a monkey."

These darling 'dichos' of our homeland require the assistance of un abuelito o abuelita viviendo en casa to explain... 
A que hora mataron a Lola?* A las 3
* ¿Qué le pasó a Chacumbele? Él mismito se mató
* ¿Niño que no llora...? No mama
* ¿A qué se le da la patada? A la lata
* ¿Y si voy al cobre, qué quieres que te traiga? Virgen de la Caridad
* ¿De quién era el platanal? De Bartolo
* ¿A qué hora se tira el cañonazo en La Habana? 9:00 P.M.
* ¿Qué canta la gente cuando se muere? El manicero
* El que siembra su maíz.... Se come su finoro
* El que no tiene de congo....Carabali
* Una cosa es con guitarra, y la otra es....Con Violín
* ¿Cuándo cultivo una rosa blanca? En junio como en enero
Enjoy!


QuePasa USA: Citizenship Clip - vignette


Scene description                 Pena Living Room discussing

Character                              Abuelo; Abuela, Carmen,  Violeta

1. Pena Living Room

Grandparents are seated in living room. Carmen and Violeta are talking standing up.

dissolve to

2. Conversation

Carmen: It’s a lost cause. They’ll never pass.

violeta: Sure they will


Carmen: How?


Violeta: There are ways. Hay muchos truquitos. Like the trick about the yes and no questions


Carmen: What trick is that?


Violeta: My mother figured out that in the yes and no questions there is an 80 percent chance that the right answer will be yes.


Carmen: Hey! That is a good one.


She walks over to Abuelo and abuela


contd- Violeta dice que las preguntas de si y no el 80 % de las veces la respuesta es Yes       

abuela y abuela excited: speaking at the same time, smiling

abuela: a lo mejor tenemos una oprtunidad.


Abuelo: Dale vamos. Preguntanos algo.  (The all walk to dining room table and sit across from Carmen and violeta.)


abuela: Vamos a ver Pregunta hija


Carmen to abuelo:Have you been living in this country for more than five years?


Abuelo: (hesitating) Yes (very serious


Everyone looks at each other laughing confident that answers are correct.


Carme to Abuela: Do you swear that the answers to these questions will be truthful?


Abuela: excited smile: Jesss!

Violeta: que te dije? Es un tiro.

Everyone excited happy faces

Carmen to Abuelo: Are you willing to take the full oath of allegiance to the united states.

Abuelo: with serious affirmation: Yesss

Everyone laughs. Happy answers are good.

          Abuelo: Que Bueno

          Violeta: Great


Abuela: Estamos hecho


Abuelo: Yo creo que no vamos a tener que estudiar

Carmen to abuela: have you ever committed adultery?

Abuela: happy faced: Jess

Carmen and violeta have frozen nervous expressions

Carmen to abuelo: she appears scared as she asks: Have you ever been arrested for the posession of drugs?

abuelo: serious look. Yess

Carmen looks upset.

carmen to abuela: Have you ever engaged in prostitution?

carmen has a scared looking waiting for the answer.

abuela: screams out smiling and nodding her head yes.

 Yess. Yess.

Pause: ahh, very good , I like it very much.


Violeta and Carmen reach for the head in their hands.  Scene over.

End.

No jorobo mas - hasta la proxima!
Will edit this piece later - p'alante como dice Chirino!

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