Merry Navidad!
My wife is Cuban, and she has tried--Lord, how she has tried--to raise our children to speak Spanish. The result? The Robinson household rings every day with the sound of...Spanglish.
If your household is at all like ours, you'll recognize the following as a work of purest genius.
'Twas the night before Christmas and all through the casa,
Not a creature was stirring - ¡Caramba! ¿Qué pasa?Los niños were tucked away in their camas,
Some in long underwear, some in pijamas,
While hanging the stockings with mucho cuidado,
In hopes that old Santa would feel obligado,
To bring all children, both buenos and malos,
A nice batch of dulces and other regalos.Outside in the yard there arose un gran grito,
and I jumped to my feet like a frightened cabrito.
I ran to the window and looked out afuera,
And who in the world do you think that it era?Saint Nick in a sleigh and a big red sombrero,
Came dashing along like a loco bombero.
And pulling his sleigh instead of venados,
Were eight little burros approaching volando.I watched as they came and this quaint little hombre,
Was shouting and whistling and calling by nombre:
"Ay Pancho, ay Pepe, ay Cuco, ay Beto,
ay Chato, ay Chopo, Maruco, y Nieto!"Then standing erect with his hands on his pecho,
He flew to the top of our very own techo,
With his round little belly like a bowl of jalea,
He struggled to squeeze down our old chiminea.Then huffing and puffing at last in our sala,
With soot smeared all over his red suit de gala,
He filled all the stockings with lively regalos,
None for the niños that had been very malos.Then chuckling aloud, seeming very contento,
He turned like a flash and was gone como el viento,
And I heard him exclaim, y ¡esto es verdad!Merry Christmas to all, ¡y Feliz Navidad!
With a tip of the sombrero to Maria Urruela of the Stanford Language Center.
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Oct '10
Re: Merry Navidad!
Creative! I like it.
Dec '10
Re: Merry Navidad!
Iontach! Nollaig Shona Duit!
May '10
Re: Merry Navidad!
The image of the "eight little burros" is just too charming... and probably more appropriate for the birthday of a man from Galilee, or for a Saint from Myra.
And I do agree, a work of genius.
May '10
Re: Merry Navidad!
Well, no wonder she's gorgeous. Which gives rise to an associated question.....
Jun '10
Re: Merry Navidad!
Yingle Bells
(a record commonly found in Minnesota attics, safely away from any turntables)
Apr '11
Re: Merry Navidad!
I hope she gave a hat tip to Clemente Moro.
Nov '11
Re: Merry Navidad!
Hahaha Great stuff!
Saludos from Barcelona, Buena Gente! This brings back childhood memories.. My parents are from Spain, and as a child I was quite unwilling to learn Spanish also.
May I offer a capitalist incentive to learn Spanish? Tell your kids that by knowing English and Spanish, they can make more money and get better jobs knowing two of the most spoken languages in the entire world. Lord knows it helped me. I had to learn the hard way though..
Nov '10
Re: Merry Navidad!
The real funny thing is, there are people that actually speak like this.
People like me, at least when I try to speak Spanish. That's what I get for learning it in South Texas instead of somewhere more...fluent.
Re: Merry Navidad!
Love. Sending to mi madre now...
Dec '10
Re: Merry Navidad!
Too charming! In our house it's English and Mandarin. And I don't think we could pull it off as well as done in Casa Robinson. Ole y bravo!
Mar '11
Re: Merry Navidad!
What a great version! I am also gleefully envisioning eight burros flying through the night sky. But I suppose I have it easy with a German wife:
'Twas the night before Christmas, and all through das Haus
Not a creature was stirring, not even 'ne Maus...
Edited on December 16, 2011 at 10:39pmSep '11
Re: Merry Navidad!
This is delightful!
Nov '10
Re: Merry Navidad!
My memories are of Franglish; mostly spoken in Northern Ontario and New Brunswick (never Quebec). People would buzz along drifting from English to French and back to English, all in the same sentence and, without giving it a second thought.
Aug '10
Re: Merry Navidad!
Makes me miss Spy and the Let's Speak Franglais regular. Danged bueno there podner mejor.
Aug '10
Re: Merry Navidad!
Nice lil statue there neighbor , pity if it morphed into a caganer thread....
Apr '11
Re: Merry Navidad!
And I thought I loathed the original.
Mr. Robinson, can your kids switch to straight Spanish when the situation calls for it?
Re: Merry Navidad!
Grendel: And I thought I loathed the original.
Mr. Robinson, can your kids switch to straight Spanish when the situation calls for it? · Dec 16 at 8:40pm
They can, thank goodness--or, rather, thank my wife for her endless struggles.
May '10
Re: Merry Navidad!
This is delightful, Peter. Thanks very much for sharing it!
May '10
Re: Merry Navidad!
Sweet! Thanks for sharing. I'm going to do same to some Spanish speaking friends: amigos Cubanos y Venezueleanos. Good, solid right wingers, as you might expect.
Nov '10
Re: Merry Navidad!
I love this.