another I Love Lucy language lesson

[katz112]

(If I posted this in the wrong place, please fell free to move it).

I thank all who are helping me in my learning! I am so far on the second chapter of my beginning book!
And as you all know..I am also having fun with watching Lucy while I learn. (Just so you know why I post about Lucy).

I am lost here.
What is the phrase that Ricky says all the time? Here is the sentance I found on a calendar. I am not sure if it is all there.

"Mira que cosa tiene la mujer esta"
Mira: admire, admirable, admiringly..etc...
que: what, which, that
cosa: thing
tiene: priceless
la: the
mujer: wife
esta: these, this here

I'm still lost! Anyways...this phrase Ricky says all the time when he throws up his hands and starts out..Mira....etc...in his funny mad way. Ok, what is he saying?
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Also, I got a biggie here. Can anybody explain to me what "babalu" is? A friend long ago said it was a spanish god and that Latins belong to some religion group and this "chant" they do in their group. Ok thanks whoever can figure this out.
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IN another ep, "Lucy's Mother-in-Law" (which I would love for someone to explain to me, like the whole ep!)
I need help translating
#1. Ricky reads mom's letter in the beginning, which is all in spanish.
#2. What is he saying in the scene when he is on the couch between Mom and Lucy?

Or better yet is there anybody who lives near me and can come over to my house and translate for me? I fell kinda stupid posting about a tv show when I should be reading my book.

Thanks
Andrea

[Rusty]

mira: command form - look at
que: what (which, that)
cosa: thing
tiene: 3rd person present tense form of 'to have' - has
la: the
mujer: woman (wife)
esta: this

The last three words, 'la mujer esta,' is the emphatic form of 'esta mujer' if that would make more sense.

"Look at what this woman has," is the literal translation of the phrase, but I believe it is akin to saying 'Look at what this woman is up to (now)!'

It is also possible that he said, "¡Mira qué cosa que tiene la mujer esta!" This means about the same thing, idiomatically. It's literal translation is, 'Look at the thing this woman has!" '¡Qué cosa!' can mean 'What a mess!' '¡Qué lío!' is another way to say the same thing.


'Babalú' appears to be a homage to the orisha Babalu-Aye, the spirit of illness and disease. Check out this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babalu_Aye

[sosia]

A variation of Rusty's good answer.
"Mira que cosas tiene la mujer esta"
look at what things this woman thinks ( here "tiene" meaning more "thinks" than "has", but "has" is the proper tanslation)
so it's like Rusty's 'Look at what this woman is up to (now)!'
Very good answer the "babalu" thing
saludos
PDPerhaps you have the scene in youtube?????

[Elaina]

buenos Dias.

Rusty and Sosia have done an excellent job giving their interpretation.

Lucy is hilarious! Ricky would throw Spanish and sometimes it would be senseless. I WOULD NOT USE THE LUCY SHOW TO LEARN SPANISH.

BABALU........was the name of a God. NOT A GOD THAT LATINS WORSHIP. In general terms. I always thought it was a song that alluded to a God but nothing else.

Elaina

[poli]

Santaría, Voodoo,Candomblé are religions based on African belief. Creole society in Cuba Brazil and Haiti tried to break the spirit of the slaves, but the slaves maintained their Yoruba beliefs and chants which morphed into
Charanga and later Salsa music. The music Desi played with the canga drums and bongos is a watered down version of African religious chants. Sometimes Catholic saints secretly represented African gods (Santa Barbara). Babalu aye, Yemaya, Ochun,Changó are other West African deities. These deities are part of daily life for many Cubans and people other Latin American nations. If you're interested finding out more in a colorful and easy-to-take manner, I suggest renting the movie "Black Orpheus". It's in Portuguese, filmed in Rio during carneval. It is full of beautiful music, humor, color and tragedy. Additionally Candomblé is presented with respect.

[Elaina]

Good explanation but I beg to differ in the explanation of where Salsa music came from.

Salsa - which is a term that is accepted and not accepted by different musicians is a name given to a compilation of different dances of the Caribbean. For example, Cha cha chá, Mambo, Son, etc. Maybe these dances are related to the slaves' beliefs in Yoruba and their chants but I don't think Salsa would fall into that category.

Cuban and Puerto Rican immigrants began calling "their" music Salsa 40 or 50 years ago. It was a style back then and boy did it catch on! I think Salsa is the reason we have Reggae and other styles of music.

Elaina

[poli]

De verdad. Sin embargo muchos salseros, y charangueros capturan el el espirtu de Santeria o son/eran Santeros. La Lupe por ejemplo era Santera y la incorporaba los cantos de los Santeros en sus canciones y Celia Cruz usaba el estilo y palabras de Santeria. Ruego que oiga la música de Tito Puento. Alli los ritmos están vinculados con raices viejos y misteriosos y su alma no parece mucho el alma de la música Reggae que es mas calmada y marijuanera.