Red threads, witches and upside-down tortillas: Mexican folk wisdom from our grandparents

On Aug. 28, Mexico celebrated Grandparents’ Day, an annual tradition since 1983 that recognizes not only our grandparents’ boundless love, experience and wisdom, but also the invaluable contributions they make to Mexican families and communities.

In a country where many parents and caregivers work, grandparents often play a fundamental role in raising children, including picking them up from school, preparing their meals, and keeping them company or supervising them while their parents are away from the home. In fact, according to the University of Colima’s El Comentario, 30% of children in Mexico are cared for by their grandparents.

While capturing the full scope of their impact is nearly impossible, Mexico News Daily did its best, collecting stories from folks across Mexico about the lessons they learned from their grandparents. Some are amusing and quirky, while others are unexpected and confounding. 

No matter their essence, though, each word chronicles the everyday wisdom and legacy of those who have left a deep and abiding impression for generations to come. 

Pregnancy and babies

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• If you are pregnant and there is an eclipse, you must wear a safety pin on your belly to protect the baby.
• If a pregnant woman has a craving and does not satisfy it, the baby will be born with the face of whatever she avoided eating.
• Newborn babies should wear a red bracelet so that a witch will not suck on them.
• Alicantes — a type of snake — hypnotize women who have recently given birth to steal their breast milk.
• If a baby has a cough, fever or hiccups, the mother must stick a red thread to the baby’s forehead with saliva so it will go away.
• If a baby has droopy cheeks, it is because they were made to sit up too early.
• If you shave your baby’s head and rub tomato on it, their hair will grow back curly.
• If a pregnant woman’s belly is egg-shaped, she will have a boy; if it is round, she will have a girl.
• If you are pregnant and go to the beach, your child may be born with blue eyes.

Food

• You should not eat watermelon at night because it bloats the stomach and is hard to digest.
• If you do not eat what you are craving, you may get a sore on your tongue.
• If you get up from the table before you have finished eating, your mouth may become crooked.
• If you do not satisfy a craving, you may develop bile.
• If you do not plant with enthusiasm, your harvest will not come in.
• You must save the best ears of corn from the harvest to attract abundance.
• You must rub the ends of a cucumber to remove “the poison:” meaning, its bitterness.
• You should not drink plain water on an empty stomach when you are hungover, because it is harmful.
• If you eat tortillas upside down, your insides will turn upside down.
• Eat pozole with soda or tea, never with fruit-flavored water.
• You have to scold or hit fruit trees so that they bear fruit.
• To sleep better, drink warm milk before going to bed.

Witches and witchcraft

• If you see red balls in the sky, they are witches. If they look close, the witch is far away; but if they look far away, she is close.
• Rub an egg over your body to remove negative energy.
• If La Llorona’s crying sounds close, it means she is far away; but if it sounds far away, it means she is close. La Llorona is an old legend about a mother who drowned her children in a river and, in sorrow, spends her nights crying for them. She is particularly associated with rivers, lakes and reservoirs.

Weather

• If you bury a knife in the ground, you will prevent it from raining.
• You should not bathe after an earthquake because the water has been “shaken.”
• If you cross your eyes and a gust of air gets into them, they will stay that way forever.
• You should not comb your hair, knit or embroider while it is raining, because lightning could strike you.
• The first 12 days of the year predict what the weather will be like in each month: these are the famous cabañuelas.

Illnesses

The results of our inaugural MND Mexico Healthcare Experience Survey™

• To cure a sore throat, you have to rub roasted tomato on the chest and the soles of your feet.
• To cure a cough, you have to iron some pieces of cloth, place them on the back and chest, and sleep with them warm.
• Cold enters through the feet; that is why you should not walk barefoot inside the house.
• You have to “cool” your eyes — by putting saliva in them — after watching television; otherwise, you could go blind.
• If you feel empachado — with indigestion or a blocked stomach — someone must massage your belly until that person begins to burp; that will relieve the bloating.
• If a dog has a cough, you must put a necklace of limes around its neck so it will go away.

Death

• If you are lying down, about to fall asleep, and a friend invites you out, you must say no; otherwise, you may encounter death.
• If you hear an owl screeching, it means that someone you know will die.

Other beliefs

• To cure espanto — a folk illness associated with fright — you must spit mezcal on the face of the person suffering from it while they sleep.
• Espanto is cured by drinking a bitter beverage bought at the apothecary.
• You should not buy underwear for your partner because it is bad luck: they might leave.
• You should not sweep or do housework at night, because negative energy can enter or money can leave.
• If you are going on a trip, you must leave a light on to prevent thieves from breaking in.
• Stretching at the table is a way of thanking the devil.
• You should not cut your hair after eating because it is harmful.
• To make visitors leave soon, you must place a broom upside down behind the door.

Tell us in the comments: Did your grandparents have beliefs similar to these? Which ones do you think are true, and which ones are part of Mexican folklore?

María Ruiz is the Director of Digital Marketing at Mexico News Daily. She enjoys photographing her hometown of San Miguel de Allende in her spare time.