More Spanish Humor

February has come in like a lion. Actually, considering the kind of weather we’ve been having, it should be a wetter animal. Let’s say that February has come in like a giant squid. The sun came out this afternoon, so maybe we´re past the worst of it.

One of the other teachers at Gran Capitán told me a good joke the other day. Like many jokes, it requires some knowledge of the culture. Let´s go back to the 1960´s and 1970´s, when Franco was still in power, and the Guardia Civil was the national police force. They were a pretty rough bunch. They were particularly nasty to the gypsy population, resulting in a mutual antipathy which has lasted to the present day, although the Guardia Civil has cleaned up its image considerably.

So, back to the joke. Two gypsies were walking along the road when they saw a discarded Guardia Civil uniform in the ditch. One of the gypsies said, “Look, Paco! What nice clothes! I´m going to try them on!”

Paco said, “But José! Why would you put on a Guardia Civil uniform?!”

José said, “Look at the nice cloth! It still has lots of wear.” And he proceeded to put in on.

When José had the uniform on, Paco asked, “So, how do you feel now?”

José replied, “You know, I have the sudden urge to beat the @#$%&!! out of you.” (Rimshot)

By all accounts, the Franco years were not a particularly nice time. It’s an interesting comment on the resiliency of human nature, that people can joke about it now.