Today I would like to show you a very popular saying, in Spain, and that I have heard it many times, but I have never known its origin.
This is the saying: “Armarse la marimorena” (“The marimorena was a great commotion”) and this is its meaning: Explode, for whatever reason, some pendency, quarrel or brawl of importance. The somewhat misty origin of this saying seems to be found in a certain "tavern-keeper", named after this, María Morena, who, in connivance with her husband, an Alonso de Zayas, kept some leathers of wine, at their home, and whatever, for some unknown reasons, she refused to sell them, she caused a public uproar of such proportions, that the phrase became proverbial. Example: "There everyone had three more cups, and, in the end, then that: the marimorena was a great commotion".
A brawl cause of a game of cards
In Spain Marimorena was not a great commotion, in the time of Maricastaña, but almost or at least with this expression. Two centuries after the brave Galician, Maria Castaña (Mary Chestnut, literally said), gave cause for the popular saying, another Maria, indicted in 1579, united her name to the one of the dispute, brawl, trouble and fight, forever.
In the year 1834, Jose Maria de Zuaznávar and France, a jurist and member of the Real Spanish Academy and of the History, adviser of Isabel II, by those dates, already talks about María Morena. In his search, for judicial cases prior to 1700, Zuaznávar found an inventory of Juan de Valcárcel Dato, in which he referred the case formed, in 1579, against Alonso de Zayas and his wife, Mari Morena, court innkeeper, for having, in her house, leathers of wine and not want to sell them. It is said that she refused to serve her best wine, to a group of soldiers, who had arrived thirsty and eager to drink up to there.
The Mari Morena´s tavern in the Sixteenth century
That wine, with better quality, was kept to serve customers of greater age, because the canteen was regularly visited, by illustrious officials and members of the Court.
After refusing to serve a good wine, in the local began a brawl and, as far as the writings of that time explain, the one who shared more sticks was the innkeeper herself, known as Mari Morena by all the locals.
Maria Morena was a brave woman, of who they did not recast themselves, in the moment to draw attention or to put a mess to those clients, who tried to leave without paying or had drunk more of the account; so its fame preceded it, reaching to the present day the famous expression "the marimorena was a great commotion", as a synonym of quarrel or row.
We must not confuse the Marimorena with this expression, with which is named, in the popular Christmas Carol, since that other is the way in which the Virgin Mary is known (La Virgen Morena, La María Morena, La Moreneta ... ) in some places.
Well, I hope that you have liked to know this story.
Until my next post, kind regards,
Luis.
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