BS: What does Ricky say to Lucy?

Subject: BS: What does Ricky say to Lucy?
From: lefthanded guitar
Date: 11 Feb 09 - 07:21 PM

Here is something I'd like to add to the bucket list- something I'd like to know, but it is so silly, I decided to start a separate thread. You know how Ricky is always getting flabbergasted and exasperated with Lucy when she shows up unannounced at the nightclub, or spends all her allowance, etc et al.?

Well he always says something that sounds like "Mira ca kirra" and then he rants on. I always wondered what he's saying. Anyone who can dust off their Spanish 101, I would be in debt.

Gracias.

Subject: RE: BS: What does Ricky say to Lucy?
From: John on the Sunset Coast
Date: 11 Feb 09 - 07:43 PM

I just thought he said, "Loooooooocie!"

Subject: RE: BS: What does Ricky say to Lucy?
From: lefthanded guitar
Date: 11 Feb 09 - 07:47 PM

lol He does. But then he has this rant that always sounds the same, at least to my untutored ear. Would love to know what it is.

Subject: RE: BS: What does Ricky say to Lucy?
From: Don Firth
Date: 11 Feb 09 - 09:06 PM

"Lucy, you gotta lotta 'splainin' to do!"

Don Firth

Subject: RE: BS: What does Ricky say to Lucy?
From: Little Hawk
Date: 11 Feb 09 - 11:15 PM

"Mira!" means "Look at that!" or just "Look!" in Spanish, but I can't help you with the rest.

Subject: RE: BS: What does Ricky say to Lucy?
From: lefthanded guitar
Date: 12 Feb 09 - 11:37 AM

thank LH, altho I did know that mira means 'look'. Guess I'll have to find a Spanish speaking friend to 'splain this to me ;-)

Subject: RE: BS: What does Ricky say to Lucy?
From: Sorcha
Date: 12 Feb 09 - 03:21 PM

Is it Mirra, Mi cara? Look, my love! ?

Subject: RE: BS: What does Ricky say to Lucy?
From: Maryrrf
Date: 12 Feb 09 - 04:08 PM

Can anybody find a clip where he actually says this? I might be able to figure it out.

Subject: RE: BS: What does Ricky say to Lucy?
From: RangerSteve
Date: 12 Feb 09 - 05:10 PM

Somewhere in my mess of books is a book devoted to the most influential sitcoms ever produced. The section devoted to I Love Lucy includes the rant, but I'm not sure where the book is. If I find it, I'll let you know.

Subject: RE: BS: What does Ricky say to Lucy?
From: GUEST,Audra1976
Date: 28 Feb 09 - 10:27 PM

He says, "Mira que tiene cosa la mujer esta!" Which I THINK means something like, "Look what thing this woman has done!" if you translate word for word.

Subject: RE: BS: What does Ricky say to Lucy?
From: GUEST,Slag
Date: 28 Feb 09 - 10:54 PM

Ay que mas?

Subject: RE: BS: What does Ricky say to Lucy?
From: Azizi
Date: 01 Mar 09 - 09:37 AM

Here's some information that isn't what Ricky said to Lucy, but it is what "Ricky" sung:

""Babalu" was the signature song of "Ricky Ricardo," the character played by Desi Arnaz in the classic television series I Love Lucy. In its sixth and final season, Ricky becomes part owner of the fictional "Tropicana" nightclub, where he was a regular performer, and renames it "Club Babalu."...

In the religious system of Orisha worship, Babalu Aye (also known as Omolu, Shonponno, Obaluaye, Shakpana, Sakpata) is the spirit of illness and disease. He is an Orisha, the son of Yemaja and Orungan.[citation needed], in certain places he is known to be the son of Nana Omolu, the Fon deity added to the Yoruba pantheon, and associated with Female power and creation. Babalu Aye is also known in Brazil as Obalu Aye. Omolu means the father of this Earth or the king of this Earth, because of his great powers detailed in many Odu Ifa. He is known as the deity associated with insanity,aging ,illness, disease and death, but is also the deity that cures same. He is appeased on the earth and cool water is one of the mainstays of his appeasement.

The origins of this deity trace back to the Fon traditions of Yoruba mythology [Nigeria, West Africa] and appear in Cuban Palo Mayombe (as Pata en Llaga or Cobayende), Haitian Voodoo, Brazilian Umbanda (as Abaluaye), and Candomblé Ketu (as Obaluaiê).

In Cuban Santeria, Babalu Aye has been syncretized with Saint Lazarus"...

Subject: RE: BS: What does Ricky say to Lucy?
From: Azizi
Date: 01 Mar 09 - 09:56 AM

Sorry, the information that I posted about Babalu Aye was from this Wikipedia page:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babalu_Aye

Here's a link to a YouTube video of Desi Arnez performing a song titled "Babalu" on the "I Love Lucy" television show:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSU9WNRjVTg

-snip-

There are specific chants, drum beats, and dances for the orisa (pronounced "oh-REE-shah") Babalu Aye. I have friends in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania who are followers of the Yoruba religion and they told me that people don't like to say the name of this orisa because they don't want to get on his bad side and be given small pox or other dreaded diseases.

Here's a link to a YouTube video of Afro-Cuban Dance for Babaluyae


****

Also, here's an excerpt from a website which focuses on the orisa (god) Babalu Aye*:

December 17th, is Babalu Aye day in the Afro-Cuban religion. Babalu Aye is the Orisha name for St. Lazarus, who is commonly referred to as the father of the world.

BabaluAye is the Orisha who governs epidemics and heals infectious diseases.
Though originally associated with smallpox, many of today's worshippers appeal to BabaluAye for healing from HIV/AIDs. His colors are brown, black, and purple. His number is 17. His symbols are two dogs and crutches. He is portrayed dressed in burlap. He is offered white wine, popcorn, sesame seed candy, and a variety of grains, beans, and seeds.

Many Cubans hold a vigil starting the night of December 16th. They get together and light candles and make offerings to Babalu Aye and wait for him to arrive at midnight. Come midnight they ask for San Lazaro to watch over them and keep them and their families safe and healthy."...

* The Yoruba believe in one Supreme God, Olodomore, who gives lesser gods dominion over aspects of nature and life. This is very similar to the pantheon of European gods such as the Greeks & Romans.

Subject: RE: BS: What does Ricky say to Lucy?
From: Azizi
Date: 01 Mar 09 - 10:00 AM

Again, my apologies.

The name for the Yoruba Supreme God is Olodumare, also known as "Olorun" and other referents & praise names.

Subject: RE: BS: What does Ricky say to Lucy?
From: Monique
Date: 04 Jul 09 - 05:38 AM

Here is a long explanation

Subject: RE: BS: What does Ricky say to Lucy?
From: catspaw49
Date: 04 Jul 09 - 12:06 PM

I think what Ricky was saying translates as, "Why did I marry this broad? She has great gams but she's pain in the ass."

On the other hand, Desi saying it translates as, "Thank gawd I married this broad because otherwise I'm half-assed, washed-up, Cuban bandleader."


Spaw

Subject: RE: BS: What does Ricky say to Lucy?
From: gnu
Date: 04 Jul 09 - 12:08 PM

I think Desi would have made a few bucks on his own. Somewhat less, maybe.

Subject: RE: BS: What does Ricky say to Lucy?
From: catspaw49
Date: 04 Jul 09 - 12:10 PM

Yeah, and they say he was pretty shrewd about Desilu and all.....but it doesn't make for a good joke! Gotta' go for the joke, truth be damned!

Spaw

Subject: RE: BS: What does Ricky say to Lucy?
From: SharonA
Date: 05 Jul 09 - 04:26 AM

"Mira que tiene cosa la mujer esta!" I think that the most literal translation would be a command or urgent request to "Take note that the woman here has a thing." Since it is a colloquial phrase, I'd assume that to say someone has a "thing" (cosa) is a more-or-less polite way of saying she has a mental deficiency or a psychological disorder!

Subject: RE: BS: What does Ricky say to Lucy?
From: SharonA
Date: 05 Jul 09 - 05:25 AM

Hmmm, I'm wondering whether the word "que" has an accent over the "e" or not, and whether the word "esta" has an accent over the "a" or not. It matters:

que with accent = what ("What hump?" or "What a world!")
que without accent = that (as part of a conjunction: "...so that...")
esta with accent = is (verb)
esta without accent = this (as an adjective: "this woman")

It would help to hear a recording of Desi saying this phrase, so that I could hear which syllables and words are emphasized, but I haven't found it online yet.

Subject: RE: BS: What does Ricky say to Lucy?
From: Monique
Date: 05 Jul 09 - 06:18 AM

"Mira que tiene cosa la mujer esta" wouldn't make sense with an accent on either words. If "que" had an accent ("qué"= what/how) it'd mean "look what/how..." and a noun, an adjective or an adverb should be the next word while "tiene" is a verb. If "esta" had an accent, it'd be the verb "estar" which indeed means "to be" but Spanish has two verbs equivalent of "to be" and "estar" in this case wouldn't make sense.


Here is the copied and pasted explanation from WordReference I linked to some posts above:
***
"I'm a professional translator & the whole idea of "quality" translating is to not translate literally from 1 language to the next but to use the best "equivalent" in the receiver language, especially with colloquial phrases where word-for-word or exact translations are rarely possible.
While yes, the "idea" behind Ricky Ricardo's phrase may be "Can you believe this?!!", the more "natural" equivalent in [American] English would be as follows:

RICKY: "¡Mira que tiene cosa la mujer esta!"
ENGLISH: "How do you LIKE this woman!!!" (expressing both incredulity & exasperation)

Or the following: when in Hollywood, Ricky discovers that Lucy, Ethel & Fred have stolen John Wayne's footprints from Grauman's Chinese Theater & have hidden them under the Mertz' hotel room bed:

RICKY: "¡¡¡Mira que tiene cosa de ir al frente de Grauman's Chinese Theater y robarse los footprints de John Wayne!!!"
ENGLISH: "How do you like THAT!!! Going to the forecourt of Grauman's Chinese Theater & stealing John Wayne's footprints!!!"

You get the idea.

These translations say nothing about "can you believe it?" yet that feeling is certainly conveyed in the "very natural" & quite common American English expression of "How do you like THAT!!"

Meanwhile, Ricky Ricardo is Cuban, so this is a very common colloquial expression from Cuba. In other Spanish-speaking countries, while no doubt this phrase would for the most part be generally understood, there may be other phrases specific to each of those countries that's more "natural" to them & would be heard more frequently than Ricky's "Mira que tiene cosa...". Which would explain why the native Mexican speaker responded that he/she didn't understand this phrase."
***

Subject: RE: BS: What does Ricky say to Lucy?
From: SharonA
Date: 05 Jul 09 - 08:28 AM

"Mira que tiene cosa la mujer esta" wouldn't make sense with an accent on either words. If "que" had an accent ("qué"= what/how) it'd mean "look what/how..." and a noun, an adjective or an adverb should be the next word while "tiene" is a verb. If "esta" had an accent, it'd be the verb "estar" which indeed means "to be" but Spanish has two verbs equivalent of "to be" and "estar" in this case wouldn't make sense.

True enough. The only way it would make sense with both words accented is if the word we think is "tiene" has been misheard. If that's the case, then the translation would be "Look at what a _____ thing the woman is!" Hmmm, that makes the most sense to me of any explanation given thus far.

But what Spanish adjective sounds similar to "tiene"?

Subject: RE: BS: What does Ricky say to Lucy?
From: SharonA
Date: 05 Jul 09 - 08:42 AM

...or perhaps what we think is "tiene cosa" is actually ONE misheard word. This would make sense as a word describing a woman because the word ends with an "a".

"Look at what a __________ the woman is!"

Subject: RE: BS: What does Ricky say to Lucy?
From: Monique
Date: 05 Jul 09 - 10:09 AM

What Spanish adjective sounds similar to "tiene": seems that none (check "diccionario de rimas")
+ no Spanish speaker would say "la mujer" unless s/he'd be speaking about "the" woman, meaning all women while la/el + noun + esta/este is the usual way to insist ("THIS woman")
+ the verb would then be "está" : "to be a .... thing' would be a definition, so it'd be "qué .... cosa la mujer es" (can't be "está" in this case)

Subject: RE: BS: What does Ricky say to Lucy?
From: Mrrzy
Date: 05 Jul 09 - 11:42 AM

I think it's "bless her heart" - the phrase you use when saying something awful about somebody.

As a polyglot, I can really feel for translators... you have to go for what means the equivalent of a phrase in info and emotion, which may or may not have anything to do with translating the actual word in the sentence.

One of the best examples of this is watching a foreign film like FInd The Crouching Animals or whatever it was on DVD, where you can have it dubbed and subtitled at the same time, and the two have NOTHING to do with each other, it's a riot.

Subject: RE: BS: What does Ricky say to Lucy?
From: gnu
Date: 05 Jul 09 - 04:11 PM

I like watching opera with the TV muted.

Subject: RE: BS: What does Ricky say to Lucy?
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 05 Jul 09 - 08:34 PM

I take it this thread isn't about Eastenders...

Subject: RE: BS: What does Ricky say to Lucy?
From: maple_leaf_boy
Date: 05 Jul 09 - 08:40 PM

My first impression was Trailer Park Boys. Lucy is Ricky's girlfriend.
That's another great program.

Subject: RE: BS: What does Ricky say to Lucy?
From: SharonA
Date: 06 Jul 09 - 03:07 AM

Monique: Good point about "es" versus "está". Reminds me of this quote by Bill Clinton: Click here

However, I disagree with your logic concerning "tiene". If Desi said a word that was misheard as "tiene", the correct word does not necessarily have to rhyme with "tiene". For instance, some similar-sounding words are "quiere" and "dime".

I'm afraid that until someone comes forth with a YouTube clip or an mp3 of Desi saying the phrase, and a Cuban-to-English dictionary, we will only be talking in circles about this to no purpose. Even if we had a recording, the sound quality on those old tapes and films is so poor that we may never know what he said. Also, according to WikiAnswers.com, "he usually says different things in each episode."