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raferguson


Dec 5, 2011, 8:10 PM

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El oso de Peña Nieto

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Some of you may of heard of what happened at the book fair in Guadalajara. Peña Nieto, presumed PRI candidate for President of Mexico, was asked about his three favorite books, and not only demonstrated that he does not read books, but that he cannot think on his feet. Basically, he made a fool of himself.

Anyway, aside from the interesting political story and implications, the Economista headlined this story with "El oso de Peña Nieto". That seemed like an odd use of the word "oso", although when I looked it up in the Real Academia they had a similar usage. "Hacer alguien el oso" was to "Exponerse a la burla o lástima de la gente, haciendo o diciendo tonterías." But the dictionary only listed oso with hacer as having this kind of meaning, where somebody is being made fun of, and did not show oso by itself as having this meaning.

Is this usage of "oso" as obscure as I think it is? More likely it is just something new to me. The meaning was clear from the context, even if the dictionary did not seem to exactly support the way it was used.

Richard


http://www.fergusonsculpture.com

cbviajero

Dec 6, 2011, 8:16 AM

Post #2 of 12 (8833 views)

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Re: [raferguson] El oso de Peña Nieto

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My wife recognized the usage I didn't.Did you see where his daughter went on Twitter and called his critics a bunch of idiots and part of the proletariat,God help us.
Chris

joaquinx


Dec 6, 2011, 9:57 AM

Post #3 of 12 (8816 views)

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Re: [raferguson] El oso de Peña Nieto

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I've heard oso used in futbol describing a fumbling or awkward movement such as a easy shot on goal that goes over the crossbar or a defensive player's attempt to block a shot that turns into an own-goal.
_______
My desire to be well-informed is currently at odds with my desire to remain sane.

raferguson


Dec 6, 2011, 10:02 AM

Post #4 of 12 (8812 views)

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Re: [cbviajero] El oso de Peña Nieto

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Yes, I did see that his daughter said that. Kind of reveals the view of the Mexican elite towards the population as a whole. I could not find the Carlos Slim quote that applies here. Also a nice irony that Peña's mistake was not a mistake than a truly educated person would have made, suggesting that Peña is no better educated than the people his daughter looks down on, just richer and more powerful.

Also, as we have discussed before, Mexico is not a book-reading culture, by and large. You rarely see people in public places reading books. I have even seen statistics that indicate the Mexican book sales per person are much lower than other countries.

Richard


http://www.fergusonsculpture.com

La Isla


Dec 6, 2011, 10:24 AM

Post #5 of 12 (8809 views)

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Re: [raferguson] El oso de Peña Nieto

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In Reply To
Yes, I did see that his daughter said that. Kind of reveals the view of the Mexican elite towards the population as a whole. I could not find the Carlos Slim quote that applies here. Also a nice irony that Peña's mistake was not a mistake than a truly educated person would have made, suggesting that Peña is no better educated than the people his daughter looks down on, just richer and more powerful.

Also, as we have discussed before, Mexico is not a book-reading culture, by and large. You rarely see people in public places reading books. I have even seen statistics that indicate the Mexican book sales per person are much lower than other countries.

Richard

I've been following this story, including the online reader comments on the El Universal website. Several people have commented that the daughter's remarks reflect badly on how she has been brought up and mimic the attitudes she must learned from her father, not things apt to endear her to the average Mexican voter, though all too typical of the Mexican elite. On the other hand, the fact that Peña Nieto is not a great reader might tend to endear him to this same population!

cbviajero

Dec 6, 2011, 11:12 AM

Post #6 of 12 (8803 views)

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Re: [cbviajero] El oso de Peña Nieto

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Actually she called the critics (una bola de pendejos) not idiots, very vulgar,common language coming from the next first daughter of the republic.BTW Peña nieto is the ahijado of the worst ratero in the history of mexican presidents, salinas de gotari and that's saying saying something.
Chris( prole forever)

La Isla


Dec 6, 2011, 3:52 PM

Post #7 of 12 (8792 views)

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Re: [cbviajero] El oso de Peña Nieto

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Actually she called the critics (una bola de pendejos) not idiots, very vulgar,common language coming from the next first daughter of the republic.BTW Peña nieto is the ahijado of the worst ratero in the history of mexican presidents, salinas de gotari and that's saying saying something.
Chris( prole forever)

What she called them was "una bola de pendejos de la prole". I think that "idiot" is an accurate translation of "pendejo". In any event, "pendejo" is a pretty vulgar word, in its meaning in both English and in Spanish. The use of it by this young woman reveals her class snobbery and the fact that she is quite "cursi" herself!

cbviajero

Dec 6, 2011, 4:19 PM

Post #8 of 12 (8785 views)

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Re: [La Isla] El oso de Peña Nieto

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IMO pendejo is more vulgar than idiota,I would also substitute naca for cursi.
Chris 100% prole

La Isla


Dec 6, 2011, 4:36 PM

Post #9 of 12 (8781 views)

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Re: [cbviajero] El oso de Peña Nieto

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IMO pendejo is more vulgar than idiota,I would also substitute naca for cursi.
Chris 100% prole

Yes, it is. Perhaps cursi is more commonly used in Spain than in Mexico. Of course, in Mexico City naca is more appropriate.

Maesonna

Dec 7, 2011, 7:35 AM

Post #10 of 12 (8756 views)

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Re: [La Isla] El oso de Peña Nieto

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Pendejo has a north-south gradient of vulgarity. While it is pretty mild (“silly”) in South America, it is pretty much a “four-letter” word in Mexico.

I learned “oso” from a magazine for teenage girls that has a feature called “Mi peor oso” where girls write in about their most embarrassing moment.

raferguson


Dec 7, 2011, 2:43 PM

Post #11 of 12 (8730 views)

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Re: [cbviajero] El oso de Peña Nieto

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I wonder if using "oso" to be an embarrassing moment might be more of a Mexican usage. Both dictionaries that I checked do not support that use of oso without the hacer. But languages evolve, and maybe the next edition of the dictionary will reflect this usage, which is apparently fairly well known in Mexico. "Mi peor oso" captures it very well.

Richard


http://www.fergusonsculpture.com

blogs

Feb 24, 2012, 7:15 AM

Post #12 of 12 (7961 views)

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Re: [raferguson] El oso de Peña Nieto

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I learned “oso” from a magazine for teenage girls that has a feature called “Mi peor oso” where girls write in about their most embarrassing moment.
 
 
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