Dichos

I have been collecting “dichos”—sayings—for a little while because I like the poetic nature of these pithy little communication tools. There are many in English which I have tried over my time here to (roughly) translate to Spanish, but somehow, they don’t retain their zippy rhymes and connotative meaning in the other language. In the same way, some in Spanish don’t really work in English but here are some of my favorites with attempted translations:

Es mas madre la que cria que la que engendra
It is more motherly to nurse than to give birth.

Agua que has de beber, déjala correr.
Water that has to drink, let it flow.

Palabras necias, oidos sordos.
Harmful words, deaf ears.

El camarón que se duerme, se lo lleva la corriente.
The shrimp that sleeps is taken away by the current.

Musico pagado, no toca bien son.
Music having been paid doesn’t play a good song.

Cuando el gato va a sus devociones, bailan los ratones.
When the cat tends to his duties, the mice dance.

Pobre Nicaragua, tan lejos de Dios, tan cerca de las Estados Unidos.
Poor Nicaragua, so far from God, so close to the United States (when I recited this to a family member the response was: “Nicaragua no esta lejos de Dios!”—“Nicaragua is not far from God!”)

Hay que capitalizar el socialismo y socializar el capitalismo.
We must capitalize the socialist and socialize the capitalist.

El criterio de la verdad es la práctica.
The judgment of the truth is practice.

Hace mas el que quiere que el que puede.
It is more that which you want than that which you are able to.

(The picture is of the bay which I took on a hike to the lighthouse on a hill in town)