BajaNomad - Ensenada - Powered by XMB

Ensenada

capt. mike - 9-15-2006 at 05:06 AM

a Q - if "nada" means no, or nothing ----------

what does "ense" mean?? :light:

Bruce R Leech - 9-15-2006 at 05:11 AM

:lol:

Bruce R Leech - 9-15-2006 at 05:23 AM

Ensenada, Zenón de Somodevilla, marqués de la (Spanish statesman),

ensenada

sylens - 9-15-2006 at 10:44 AM

means cove. if that's what you were getting at.

and the full name is ensenada de todos santos. or cove of all saints. so called because it was discovered on all saint's day (november 1, i believe).

capt. mike - 9-15-2006 at 11:34 AM

ok, so what? cove of nothing?? :biggrin:

Taco de Baja - 9-15-2006 at 12:01 PM

If "no va" means "Will not go"; why did the Chevy Nova sell so well in Mexico????
:lol:

bajalera - 9-15-2006 at 02:30 PM

"Ense" is a Spanish-speaker's pronunciation of "ants," and Ensenada means it doesn't have any.

FARASHA - 9-15-2006 at 02:43 PM

Look's like this thread is turning into a Neologism competition. Like the one from the Washington Post. I Like this kind of play on words :lol:

Phil C - 9-15-2006 at 04:23 PM

Discovered by Whom?

Oso - 9-15-2006 at 05:10 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Phil C
Discovered by Whom?

Indians. But, as usual, some Eurotrash took the credit. In this case Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, a Portuguese captain sailing under a Spanish flag.

Closest I could come was "Enseñar"- to teach or to show. So "Teach nothing" or "Show nothing". Neither seems very accurate. As for the former, the local gendarmes are quite happy to teach gringos the consequences of running non-existent stop signs and as for the latter, well it depends on which establishments one frequents...

Bob H - 9-16-2006 at 02:30 PM

Ahhhhhhhhh hahaa :lol:

"Jalapeno, Jalapeno, Jalapeno, Jalapeno."
I've discovered a wonderful new philosophy that has
raised my consciousness as well as my cholesterol.

It's called Tex-Mexistentialism.

It all started with the philosopher Juan-Paul Salsa, who wrote, "To Bean, or Nacho to Bean, that is the Queso."

He was followed by his great disciple, Descarta Blanca, who said, "I Pinto, therefore, Cayenne."

Some trace it to ancient Grease, where the great thinker Aristortilla wrote the book Plata's RePulpo.

Meanwhile, over in ancient India, they believed in Chili con Karma - that what Casa round, Carne's around.

And back in the Holy Land, The prophet Masa brought The Ten Comidas:

"Thou Salt not Tequila."
"Honor Tamale and thy Papaya."
"Blessed are the Migas, for they shall Ranchero the Burps."
"Give a man an Enchilada, he'll Taco Mole."

"Arroz is Arroz by Flameada name."
"In the Picante, Guisada Cerveza'd the Hongas and the Verde.
And he saw that it was Food."

I'd like to close by reciting The Lard's Prayer:

"Our Fajita, who art in Huevos, Pollo'd be Muy Bueno.
Thy Corona come, thy Chili be Con, on Cuervo it is El Jefe.
Forgive us our Tres Amigos, as we forgive those who Seis Salsas against us.
Lettuce not into Tomatillo, but Nuevo us from Fritos.
For thine is the Gringo, the Agua and the Chorizo.
In the name of the Flauta, and of the Flan, and of the Frijole ghost.

A-Menudo."

FARASHA - 9-16-2006 at 02:54 PM

BOB - I declare you as the WINNER of todays post's.
Absolutely great, really enjoyed this one!

[Edited on 16-9-2006 by FARASHA]

Cypress - 9-16-2006 at 03:00 PM

Amen!! :yes:

capt. mike - 9-17-2006 at 06:09 AM

hey BOB!!??

do ya do any stand up by chance? :lol:

bajalera - 9-19-2006 at 02:21 PM

Bob, you get the gold medal.

pargo - 9-19-2006 at 02:53 PM

Daaaaamn Bob that was a much needed side spliting laugh Bro! Hey do you mind if I use your material?

Bob H - 9-19-2006 at 02:58 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by pargo
Daaaaamn Bob that was a much needed side spliting laugh Bro! Hey do you mind if I use your material?

Thanks for all the kind words folks, but I can't take credit for writing it - only telling it. I don't remember where I found this, but years ago I saw it, or somebody sent it to me, and I saved it. From time to time when I need a great laugh I pull it up and read it out loud! Nobody knows who the author is so go ahead .... it still cracks me up after all these years!
A-menudo!
Bob H

Edit.... hey, I found a link regarding this...
http://www.stevebrooks.net/texmex.htm

[Edited on 9-19-2006 by Bob H]

capn.sharky - 9-19-2006 at 09:48 PM

Bob---If the Pope had written that, all hell would break loose in Mexico.

catwoman888 - 9-23-2006 at 04:26 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Bob H
It's called Tex-Mexistentialism.

It all started with the philosopher Juan-Paul Salsa, who wrote, "To Bean, or Nacho to Bean, that is the Queso."

Bob
Being French I should be happy that you give credit to Juan-Paul Salsa for Tex-Mexistentialism, but the quote really is from Sh'expire - who is surely called that way because he must have died upon discovering existentialism before Juan-Paul....

Love the Baja humour on this site!

kellychapman - 9-23-2006 at 04:58 AM

omg......I am LMAO over this one......it is true you are a natural standup even if it not your own material.....made my day.....muchas gracias.....Kelly

QuePasaBaja - 9-26-2006 at 10:28 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Taco de Baja
If "no va" means "Will not go"; why did the Chevy Nova sell so well in Mexico????
:lol:

Claim: The Chevrolet Nova sold poorly in Spanish-speaking countries because its name translates as "doesn't go" in Spanish.

Status: False.

Origins: It's

the classic cautionary tale about the pitfalls of doing business in foreign countries that can be found in hundreds (if not thousands) of books about marketing: General Motors introduced their Chevrolet Nova model of automobile into a Spanish-speaking market, then scratched their heads in puzzlement when it sold poorly. GM executives were baffled until someone finally pointed out to them that "nova" translates as "doesn't go" in Spanish. The embarrassed automobile giant changed the model name to the Caribe, and sales of the car took off.

This No va. No va.anecdote is frequently used to illustrate the perils of failing to do adequate preparation and research before introducing a product into the international marketplace. It's a wicked irony, then, that the people who use this example are engaging in the very thing they're decrying, because a little preparation and research would have informed them that it isn't true. (The sources that repeat this little tale can't even agree on where the Nova supposedly sold poorly, variously listing locales such as Puerto Rico, Mexico, South America, or simply "Spanish-speaking countries.") This is another one of those tales that makes its point so well — just like the apocryphal one about George Washington and the cherry tree — that nobody wants to ruin it with a bunch of facts. Nonetheless, we're here to ruin it.

The original Chevrolet Nova (initially the Chevy II) hit the U.S. market in 1962. (This car should not be confused with the smaller, front wheel drive vehicle which was produced in 1985 as a joint venture between General Motors and Toyota and also assigned the Nova name.) Between 1972 and 1978 the Chevrolet Nova was also sold in Mexico and several other Spanish-speaking countries, primarily Venezuela. Shortly afterwards the great "Nova" legend arose, a legend which a little linguistic analysis shows it to be improbable:

* First of all, the phrase "no va" (literally "doesn't go") and the word "nova" are distinct entities with different pronunciations in Spanish: the former is two words and is pronounced with the accent on the second word; the latter is one word with the accent on the first syllable. Assuming that Spanish speakers would naturally see the word "nova" as equivalent to the phrase "no va" and think "Hey, this car doesn't go!" is akin to assuming that English speakers woud spurn a dinette set sold under the name Notable because nobody wants a dinette set that doesn't include a table.

* Although "no va" can be literally translated as "no go," it would be a curious locution for a speaker of Spanish to use in reference to a car. Just as an English speaker would describe a broken-down car by saying that it "doesn't run" rather than it "doesn't go," so a Spanish speaker would refer to a malfunctioning automobile by saying "no marcha" or "no funciona" or "no camina" rather than "no va."

* This legend assumes that a handful of General Motors executives launched a car into a foreign market and remained in blissful ignorance about a possible adverse translation of its name. Even if nobody in Detroit knew enough rudimentary Spanish to notice the coincidence, the Nova could not have been brought to market in Mexico and/or South America without the involvement of numerous Spanish speakers engaged to translate user manuals, prepare advertising and promotional materials, communicate with the network of Chevrolet dealers in the target countries, etc. In fact, GM was aware of the translation and opted to retain the model name "Nova" in Spanish-speaking markets anyway, because they (correctly) felt the matter to be unimportant.

The truth is that the Chevrolet Nova's name didn't significantly affect its sales: it sold well in both its primary Spanish-language markets, Mexico and Venezuela. (Its Venezuelan sales figures actually surpassed GM's expectations.) The whole "Nova = "doesn't go" tale was merely another in a long line of automotive jokes, like the ones about "Ford" being an acronym for "Fix or repair daily" or "Found on road dead" or "Fiat" being an acronym for "Fix it again, Tony!" These humorous inventions might adequately reflect the tellers' feelings about the worthiness of various types of automobiles, but we don't really expect that anyone ever refrained from buying a Ford because he actually believed they needed to be repaired on a daily basis.

The one bit of supporting evidence offered to back up this legend is spurious as well. General Motors, we're told, finally wised up and changed the model name of their automobile from Nova to Caribe, after which sales of the car "took off." One small problem with this claim: the Caribe sold in Mexico was manufactured by Volkswagen, not General Motors. (The Caribe was the model name used by VW in Mexico for the car more commonly known in the USA as the Volkswagen Golf.) The Nova's model name was never changed for the Spanish-speaking market.

The Chevy Nova legend lives on in countless marketing textbooks, is repeated in numerous business seminars, and is a staple of newspaper and magazine columnists who need a pithy example of human folly. Perhaps someday this apocryphal tale will become what it should be: an illustration of how easily even "experts" can sometimes fall victim to the very same dangers they warn us about.