DALILA is the alias of the Sevillian DJ, singer and producer María José Márquez Suárez, who in recent times has become known practicing a mix of flamenco, pop and drum ‘n bass. His single ‘Cieguita’ has half a million listens on Spotify, and the singles ‘Ojitos’, ‘Otra ciudad’ and ‘Tempestad’ have also been magnetic. DALILA has played at festivals like Sónar or collaborated with GAZZI or the Welshman Saol Nua on a garage remix of ‘Body Could Dance’.
DALILA, one of the gems that you have been able to discover on the line-up of Alhambra Monkey Week, which was held recently, is the new guest in the “Meister of the Week” section curated by Jägermusic. DALILA comes from Pilas, a town in Seville, and in this interview she aims to make known her sayings and expressions, unique to this town of 14,000 inhabitants, as well as those of its neighboring areas.
In an interview that is as enriching as it is fun, María José discovers expressions such as “estar ajirbaná”, “estar a mi batahola” or “not giving a breath in one eye”, or words that you will read for the first time in your life such as “escunitas” or “zarceneta”. And share a recipe to take note of.
Credits:
Photo and Address Creative Alejandra Amere @alejandraamere
MUAH Sarah Kceres @sarahkceres
Photo & Making Off Assistant Paula Campos @paulacamposp_
Dress Cherry Massia @cherrymassia
You have decided to talk about popular expressions and sayings from your town, Pilas, in Seville. Why do you think they are worth commenting on or highlighting?
It seemed like a unique topic to me, mainly because many of the expressions and sayings used in Pilas have people from the town as protagonists and tell their history and customs. Also because at home I have always heard these types of expressions and I have them very integrated, but sometimes they are not understood outside my environment, so I think it’s nice to share them for this interview.
You also propose to comment on expressions from the surrounding areas. What would those areas be?
Yes, because given the geographical proximity and cultural kinship, the neighboring towns in the area share certain expressions, sayings and words. Pilas is located in the Aljarafe region of Seville, but its character and customs are more similar to those of the regions that surround it: the Bajo Guadalquivir Marismas, in Seville, and the Condado, in Huelva. This area includes other towns with similar idiosyncrasies, such as Villamanrique de la Condesa, Aznalcázar, Hinojos, Almonte and Chucena.
Are many of these sayings unknown beyond Seville or even your town?
As I said, some of these expressions appear carried out by people from the town, local events, customs and specific enclaves, so they can be reduced to a local transmission area, resulting in incomprehensible or decontextualized for the people of Seville or other towns.
An example comes to mind: “You are blonder than the couriers.” This saying is typical of Pilas and other towns in the area, since Correones is a typical dish of the towns where the vine is grown. However, in Seville, if you talk about Correones, you don’t understand it. As we see, in this case the differentiating element is a dish or a typical recipe from the town and/or the area.
By the way, I include the recipe for the Correones in case anyone is interested: the Correones are made by boiling the juice of the Zalema or Mantua de Pilas grapes, boiling them for a very long time until they concentrate and solidify. Then it is put through a process called arrope, then meloja and finally correón, now solid. When hot and with a little oil in your hands, it was stretched like a kind of chewing gum until it became malleable. When it cools, it becomes caramel. Its final color is bright blonde.
Recipe source: Cultura Ayto. Pilas.
What are your favorite popular sayings and why?
One of my favorite expressions is “Glorión de Robaína”. It is a strictly Pilena expression, since Robaína is an enclave of the town, a place that was dedicated to the extraction of clay for the manufacture of mulch with which bricks were made in the traditional way. This expression is used to show despair or distress. The term “Glorión” is also used in other local variants, such as the hyperbolic expression “ni un Glorión”, which means “nothing at all”, with a derogatory suffix: not a false glory (Fernando José Sánchez Bautista, ‘Vol VIII About the History of Batteries’, 2009).
What is a saying that you remember learning from a very young age?
“It matters little to me if a bird in the mall moves from one tree to another.” My grandfather José María said this a lot. I thought it was something typical of the town, because I only heard it from him, but, investigating the subject, I discovered that it is a popular flamenco lyric that we can find, among others, in some bulerías by Inés Bacan included in her album ‘ Pasión’ (2005), or even translated into English in the song ‘Alameda’s Blues’ (1978) by Smash: «In the Alameda, I really don’t mind, baby / if a bird flies from a tree to another tree.
Do any of these sayings coincide with those used in other parts of Andalusia?
Yes, many of these expressions have their variants in other parts of Andalusia or even outside the community. To illustrate this issue, the expression “That’s where Marco put the Granados” comes to mind, which means “That’s very far away.” In this case, Marco is a person from my town, who apparently planted pomegranates in a very distant place. However, to express the same thing, we have other analogous expressions such as “That’s where Christ lost his flip-flops.”
What is an expression from your people that you use daily, in your everyday life?
More than expressions, I have certain words very integrated, I learned them from my family and during my childhood in the town and I use them quite often. It would stand out for its peculiarity:
-Pirrichis: blush
-Randa: torn in the stockings.
-Plinth: skirting board.
-Patinillo: threshold.
-Atestao: stubborn.
-Enreína: mess, something convoluted.
-Traveler: bus.
-Juye (Run away): to indicate that you move away.
-Escunitas: fair attractions.
-Pirriaque: alcoholic drink.
-Naiya: nadillo, little thing, its use is similar to “oh no!”
-Miaque, Miaque: “look what.” My great-uncle Antonio told me this a lot in a mocking tone.
-Toston: bread with oil and garlic.
-Zarcereta: funny.
-Tinaó: storage room,
etc.
What expressions do you use most with your family? And with your friends?
With my family, especially with my mother, we use these expressions a lot:
-“To be cleaner than a jasper”: When something is very clean and shiny, since jasper is a mineral that when polished is very shiny.
-“Do not breathe in an eye”: Do nothing.
-“Hijo/a la Reata”: Someone who is extra naughty.
What would be the wisest saying?
I don’t know if it is the wisest, but, in my opinion, it is the most poetic: “Let yourself come.” It’s like “calm down” or “put on the brakes.” I really like the combination of “leave” and “come”, something that a priori could be contradictory, but that, together, makes complete sense and matches perfectly with the meaning of the expression.
And the most fun and hilarious?
For this question, a TikTok video by Shannis about the expression “estar ajirbaná” came to mind. I attach it:
@shanniiss ajirbana
♬ original sound – Shannis
This expression refers to being lazy, listless, and I suppose it comes from “basting”, which in sewing is making a loose guide thread before putting in the sewing machine, hence the relaxed mood.
Which expression is unique to Pilas, and which are unique to the surrounding areas?
In my town it is very typical to say “mare” and “pare”, not to refer to mother and father, but as a vocative. The most widespread use is “what do you want mare/pare?” to address someone, or “Fó, mare/pare” to express despair.
From the surrounding areas, some expressions from Villamanrique de la Condesa would stand out, a town very close to Pilas. Now that Christmas is approaching, it is customary in the area for young people to rent old houses to have Christmas parties. First you have dinner with your family and then you have a party with your friends in the rented house. There these festivals are called “buñolá”.
Can you think of an expression that everyone should apply in their life?
Everyone should have a “Cisco Cup” in their life. In this case, the cup is a brazier and the cisco is charcoal. Sitting in the glass in winter is a ritual, a time to share talk, food, coffee or board games. What I miss most about living in the city is not having a drink.
Any expression so, so, so from your town, that it would be impossible for anyone else to know it?
“You are more of a liar than Trianita.” Trianita was my great-great-grandfather, my father’s mother’s grandfather. His name was José Pérez Sevilla, and from Seville they called him Trianita. He was very exaggerated, more than a liar and they coined the previous saying for him. As indicated previously, this type of expressions are very typical of towns, since they are generated from local events and/or peculiar personalities of its inhabitants, as is the case.
Any expression that describes your sound or your musical career?
This is complicated, I can think of a saying from my town which is “You have more kilometers than Tani”. The Tani was a truck that took people from my town to the Aznalcázar station and had a lot of transportation, because it was always from top to bottom.
What Pilas expression defines you?
“Being on my toes”, which means: being on my own, focused on my things. It has metaphorical value from the meaning of “buzz, big noise.”
