Meterse un buho en los ojos

[Chris Brandt]

Hello, I translate a lot of poetry, and once in a while I come across a phrase none of my dictionaries can help me with. Today's is this: "nos metemos un buho en los ojos" - from context, I'm guessing that this means we put on a blindfold. But can anyone help? The poet is Puerto Rican, so this may be a strictly P.R. idiom.

Thank you,
Chris

[Rusty]

It doesn't appear to be an idiom, nor is it slang. I would say it's simply allegoric in nature. 'Eyes wide open' or 'eyes forward' would be my try at a reasonable meaning.

An owl's eyes appear to be wide open when they look at something. An owl's eyes don't move in their sockets; they must turn their head to look in another direction.

[JPablo]

What Rusty says makes sense, but probably a bit of context could be of help to really understand this.

There is a joke by Eugeni (Catalonian/Spanish stand-up comedian) talking about "búho", which is very funny (in the way he used to say it...) But the register is obviously of a humorist range.

However, this link may help some,

http://books.google.com/books?id=-X__c9VkTH8C&pg=PA149&lpg=PA149&dq=%22buho+en+los+ojos%22&source=bl&ots=WzPb7no-Uh&sig=NhGpu0WddncRzl-VdfEidTxLMp8&hl=en&sa=X&ei=LixLT9KVAfKssALwh43rCA&ved=0CEcQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=%22buho%20en%20los%20ojos%22&f=false

[Chris Brandt]

Thanks to Rusty and JPablo for the quick replies - I had thought of that, but it didn't seem to make sense.

The whole context - the whole poem - is: "Cuando vivimos / de rodillas ante el poder / todas las agujas del reloj / apuntan a un solo lugar; / nos metemos uin buho en los ojos / y se nos abre / las mas grande vidriera / en el corazon. / Nos hacemos turistas / de la vida / y terminamos pagando / el pasaje / a plazos mensuales / por toda la eternidad."

I was thinking it meant that the powers could see into our hearts, but we were blind to the world. Because if we can see better, like an owl, then kowtowing to power would seem like a good thing, and I don't believe that's what this Puerto Rican poet means.

Best, Chris

[aleCcowaN]

I would translate it literally, as it is not an idiom. I think the author is trying to convey the notion that we trust on traditional wisdom and tradition (el buho en los ojos) instead of developing our independent opinions.

[JPablo]

Well, there is also a lot of different symbolic meanings with the owl... (Searching "búho es un símbolo de" in google, I got few ideas...)

- Búho de Atenea: El búho es un símbolo de la sabiduría de Atenea
- Recordemos que el Búho es un símbolo de los “Iluminati”, una deidad mesopotámica llamada Moloch, asociada a Satanás...
- Yo creo que el buho es un simbolo de la filosofia porque levanta el vuelo al anochecer, solo iluminado por la luz de la luna...
-Por ejemplo, en algunas culturas el búho es un símbolo de la muerte y en otras, de la sabiduría
- El buho es un simbolo de desgracia para la familia...
- En Puerto López, Ecuador, el Búho es un símbolo de brujería y mala suerte.
- y el buho es un símbolo de Moloch, el dios de la usura,