Title: Pepe Pecas

General Information about Item:

Informant Data:

The informant is Yasmin Ochoa. She was born in Michoacán, Mexico. She came to the United States when she was a toddler. She is currently a sophomore at Dartmouth College. She is a Spanish native speaker and only speaks with her family in Spanish. A lot of her family still resides in Mexico and she returns there for a month every year. She still feels very connected to the culture and people due to her visits to see her family in Mexico.

Contextual Data:

Cultural Context: Tongue Twisters in Spanish speaking countries are used in a similar way and in similar places as other cultures. Tongue Twisters are most common with children who are taught them in order to learn difficult sounds and methods of speaking. These tongue twisters can be used as entertainment for children during playtime or be part of a tongue twister contest where students compete be able to speak it the fastest or the best at speaking it are some of the most popular uses. Spanish language has many difficult sounds and words with many consonants that have to be said rather fast
Social Context: This is a common Spanish language tongue twister. There is no specific group that this is said by, but it is extremely common to hear young children on playgrounds challenging each other to say it to show off to their friends and classmates. It is more popular in Mexico than in other Latin American countries. The longer length makes it more difficult to learn.

Item:

Original Spanish: Pepe Pecas pica papas con un pico, con un pico pica papas Pepe Pecas. Si Pepe Pecas pica papas con un pico, ¿Dónde está el pico con pepe pecas pica papas
Translation: Pepe Pecas chops potatoes with a pick, with a pick chops potatoes Pepe Pecas. If Pepe Pecas chops potatoes with a pick, where is the pick with which Pepe Pecas chops potatoes?

Associated file (a video, audio, or image file):

Tongue Twister

Full Interview:

Informant’s Comments:

Collector’s Comments:

I had heard this one before the informant told me about it from taking Spanish classes. You are supposed to say it extremely fast while having perfect pronunciation. It is found in other places than Mexico.

Collector’s Name: Caroline Atwood

Tags/Keywords:

Dartmouth Folklore Archive