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colibri1

Aug 27, 2008, 2:22 PM

Post #1 of 14 (3520 views)

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antes muerta que sencilla?

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could someone 'splain me this one?
Gracias,
Marianne

quevedo

Aug 28, 2008, 9:39 AM

Post #2 of 14 (3495 views)

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Re: [colibri1] Antes muerta que sencilla

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I'd rather be dead than ordinary.

Saludos,

Quevedo

colibri1

Aug 28, 2008, 10:28 AM

Post #3 of 14 (3488 views)

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Re: [quevedo] Antes muerta que sencilla

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Oh thank you!!!.....now I get it. I'm still struggling with the order of words in Spanish.
Marianne

Rolly

Aug 28, 2008, 10:59 AM

Post #4 of 14 (3486 views)

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Re: [quevedo] Antes muerta que sencilla

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Antes muerta que sencilla = I'd rather be dead than ordinary

I think I'll have a T-shirt imprinted with that. Smile

Rolly

Rolly

Aug 31, 2008, 8:31 AM

Post #5 of 14 (3436 views)

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Re: [Rolly] Antes muerta que sencilla

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I asked my friend Nery were I could get a T-shirt imprinted with

Antes Muerta
Que Sencilla

He nearly busted a gut laughing. He said that is the title of a teeny-bopper song that is very popular. Sure enough, YouTube has several versions of the song. Here is one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RrpDCdtM424 They are all uniformly bad from my geriatric point of view.

Rolly Pirate

colibri1

Aug 31, 2008, 11:18 AM

Post #6 of 14 (3429 views)

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Re: [Rolly] Antes muerta que sencilla

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Hi Rolly,
I first heard the version by Horoscopos de Durango. That's the one I like best. In this usage, it seems that "sencilla" would be used as meaning "plain", as in "plain-jane". Si? What does Quevedo think?
Marianne

sergiogomez / Moderator

Aug 31, 2008, 10:46 PM

Post #7 of 14 (3407 views)

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Re: [colibri1] Antes muerta que sencilla

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Yes, "sencilla" is closer in meaning to "plain" than "ordinary." The message of the song, which is quite clear when viewing the music video, is "I'd rather die than be plain/ugly." An exaggeration, of course, in true Latino style, but true to the underlying cultural thought, which is that women without makeup are less attractive or desirable. Wearing makeup is a status symbol for young (and not-so-young!) Mexican women, and you won't have trouble finding a Mexican lady who is quite reluctant to go out sin maquillarse. The poorer, and especially the indigenous girls often don't have the privilege of wearing makeup.

wendy devlin

Sep 2, 2008, 3:12 PM

Post #8 of 14 (3377 views)

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Re: [colibri1] antes muerta que sencilla?

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This thread demostrates, in quite an interesting fashion, how the 'literal' meaning of a word, in this case, sencilla-simple, plain, unaffected. Or even 'ordinary'.

Can become 'interpreted' in a cultural context. In this case, a pop song, sung by a nine year old.

Like Rolly, and a grandmother, I too might like a T-shirt with 'Antes muerta que sencilla'. At least in the context as Señor Quevedo translated. After reading these comments however, went and watched the video.

Oh my! I'd rather be dead, then 'plain'. ( a woman without make-up!)

That a person's identity(worth) is totally invested in their looks...is a far cry from anything, learned from this oh-so-brief...but beautiful lifetime.

However just to see, if this was just my sensibilities kicking in, read several pages of comments about the video, most in Spanish, many of which decried, the mesage superficial, asco, naca, etc.

So you see, 'ordinary' (interpreted!) or 'plain'(interpreted)...world of difference in meaning. And then you have each person, interpreting, that meaning, again.

Through the lens of their life experience.

(This post was edited by wendy devlin on Sep 2, 2008, 3:15 PM)

Georgia