Comments on O.C. History Roundup: Golf, H.B., Woodimals, and the Santa Ana winds

Chris: If all you know is enough Spanish to get yo...

2009-10-28T09:34:44.379-07:00

Chris: If all you know is enough Spanish to get you in trouble, then you know the right words ;-)!

Whatever you call them, they trigger my allergies ...

2009-10-27T21:36:37.633-07:00

Whatever you call them, they trigger my allergies and make me miserable. There are reasons we Orange Countians chose not to live in the desert. It's not fair for the desert to come find us.

Growing up in Santa Ana in the '50s, we always cal...

2009-10-26T20:07:04.269-07:00

Growing up in Santa Ana in the '50s, we always called them the "Santa Ana" winds. However; I went to school with a lot of Spanish speaking peoples, many of which were friends, and they always said "Vientos de Santana". We all knew that it was the same.

Thanks for the Spanish language perspective. (I kn...

2009-10-26T10:12:33.689-07:00

Thanks for the Spanish language perspective. (I know just enough to get myself in a lot of trouble.)

I'm unaware of any record of the Spaniards or Californios using terms like "diablo" in reference to these winds. However, I have seen some references to names dealing with the direction the winds came from. (e.g. "El viento del norte.")

Personally, I'd *like* them to be known as "devil winds" -- Both because I hate them, and because the it's a more colorful name. But I'm afraid it comes down to them being named for Santa Ana Canyon.

This "debate" again! Simple Spanish cancels folk e...

2009-10-25T15:05:20.239-07:00

This "debate" again! Simple Spanish cancels folk etymologies easily, as Jim hinted at in his Almanac. "Santana" is merely "Santa Ana" combined, a result from the process of elision, nearly mandatory in Spanish whenever a word ends in a vowel and the following word starts with the same one--for instance, us less-assimilated Mexicans will say "pa'tras" instead of "para atrás" (toward the back).

Also, if the Spaniards really wanted to call the Santa Ana winds the devil winds, why didn't they? Chris: You would know better than anyone--is there any record the Spaniards or Californios called them "los vientos del diablo" (the devil winds)? And they would've used the term diablo instead of Satanás (Satan), as Beezelbub's name is one not really used in the language of Cervantes.