Be wary of translations

 Early wish for a Happy Cinco del Mayo and "May the 4th" (joke about "May the Force be with you", Star Wars celebration)   Los Angeles used to have largest Cinco del Mayo celebrations in the world, around half a million people in downtown Broadway area, near Olvera Street where city was founded by los pobladores of Mexican ancestry.   

Beware translations.  Telemundo's English subtitles to PALF change initial letter of "Xiclali" to "C"--translators apparently totally oblivious to important symbolism of letter "X" (see my comments on Ep. 3, "Familia").   "Xiclali" is used as stage name, may mean "star" or "star goddess" in Nahuatl, indigenous Mexican language. And did you notice that coffee shop where "everyone" in PARIENTES A LA FUERZA  goes to talk and plot is named "Camino a Xilitla" (Road to Xilitla).    https://visitasanluispotosi.com/en/xilitla/  Hmm, maybe I should watch Road to El Dorado, as well as the famous "Road to" comic movies with Bob Hope, Bing Crosby and Dorothy Lamore.  

Among other examples of translator being ignorant of overall picture creator is trying to convey:  Juancho twice tells his sister Margarita not to be an "agua fiestas" (wet blanket--which expresses repeated theme of clouds, drenching, depressing) instead becomes complaint she's a "buzzkill".   Joke in Ep. 3, "Familia" seems to go over the heads of translator--go unnoticed--when Lara tells her family that "very ugly painting" in black and white is "extracto" (note another "X") which is nullified by "correcting" to "abstract art")

Reminds me of Italian translation of HARRY POTTER books:  Neville Longbottom's pet "Trevor the toad" was changed to a "turtle" (which puzzled writer J.K. Rowling who is fluent in French and also learned Portuguese when she lived in Portugal--a move she made influenced by woman she admired and after whom she named her first child, Jessica Mitford.  With her familiarity with Romance languages and interest in human rights, I'm sure JKR watched first TV versions of novel by journalist Gustavo Bolivar Moreno--crude English translation of title lacks ironic reference to Spanish saying that inspired it.   I made chart of many unusual similarities between Telemundo version and one of her lesser-known novels for adults.  Might be topic for someone's thesis or term paper.

 P.S.  Those new to such writing might be interested in 2012  book How To Analyze the works of J. K. Rowling by Victoria Peterson Hilleque, tho tends to shoehorn into typical topics rather than forge new paths & ideas).

A turtle is more common pet in Muggle world, but not only is it less logical that slow moving turtle would get lost as easily as a hopping toad, but substitution erases all the magical associations attached to toads (Macbeth's witches, and more recently--and other possibly influences on JKR--1975 book Magic in the Mist by Margaret Mary Kimmel with famous illustrator Trina Schart Hyman, 1958 The Time Garden by Edward Eager, and 1993 Jennifer Murdley's Toad by Bruce Coville (in The Magic Shop series) which shares PALF theme seeing beyond outward appearances.   

Since lower level translators are paid more for quickness than quality (and likely never see entire telenovela or book they work on--let alone get time for re-reading and thematic analysis) they aren't really to blame for errors made not knowing the complete picture of what's important to truly understand the whole story. 

Heaven knows what is really being said in original dialogue of Turkish series such as Hercai, although I suspect overall message is about old feuds perpetuated for centuries or millennia making the innocent suffer and poisoning lives for generations.   Dwelling on such a "lesson" may be like having your cake and eating it too--and many viewers may get idea that revenge and hatred are something normal and common.   Imported artifacts produced in another country and culture may never really be understood overseas.   I'd rather watch likeable characters learn to get along and make world a better place from story's start instead of having repentance tacked on at very end.  

In PALF, even characters in most of traditional "antagonist" roles are early on sympathetically shown.   Trend in 21st century fiction often is "flip side" view of former villains such as "Wicked" witch of the West in series of books by Gregory Maguire, and of course, complex characters in HARRY POTTER who aren't what boy first thinks.  

Moral of this post:  Don't rely on translations to give you full meaning intended by original creators of a work.  Yet another reason to try learning another language! 

               

 https://mvsnoticias.com/tendencias/2014/3/19/de-donde-viene-la-frase-ni-que-ocho-cuartos-166224.html    

There may be another reason for repeated reference to number 8 in PALF, but few may make same connection for lack of knowledge about  Academy Award winning films.    

I love colorful papel picado banners, like those shown in PARIENTES A LA FUERZA and attached photo.  Enjoy!