purfle

pur⋅fle 
–verb (used with object)
1. to finish with an ornamental border.
2. to decorate (a shrine or tabernacle) with architectural forms in miniature.
–noun
3. Also called purfling. an ornamental border, as the inlaid border near the outer edge of the table and back of a stringed instrument.

This definition instantly made me think of ¡la guitarra! More specifically, for some reason it made me think of mariachi music - not only because the guitars are "purfled", but so too are their costumes! The hats and suits are so carefully and meticulously embroidered:

Mariachis are some of the most popular musical groups in Mexico. A mariachi group usually consists of between two and four violins, two trumpets, one Mexican mariachi guitar, one Vihuela, and one Guitarrón. In more traditional times, the Guitarra de Golpe has been added to the mix.

Mariachi music has its origins in Mexico in the state of Jalisco around 1880. According to myth, mariachis evolved from the theatrical orchestras in Spain which had harps, jawharps, and guitars. The term mariachi is derived from the French word mariage which means marriage or wedding. So, of course, mariachis play weddings but they are also hired to play at public venues and other celebratory events. Mariachis typically dress in silver-studded black charro (cowboy or toreador) uniforms with very wide brimmed hats.

Below is an example of a mariachi band that is both relevant to Mexico and the United States. ¡Diviértase!

whipsaw

I'm embarassed to admit this (especially as I read everyone else's posts, because they are SO interesting and informative), but as I logged on today to play a much-overdue game of catch-up, I realized that I still have not written a post for the last word of the day, which was:

whip·saw
n. A narrow two-person crosscut saw.
whip·sawed, whip·sawed or whip·sawn (-sôn'), whip·saw·ing, whip·saws
1. To cut with a whipsaw.
2. To win two bets from (a person) at one time, as in faro.
3. To cause to move or alternate rapidly in contrasting directions.
4. To defeat or best in two ways at once.

Immediately this makes me think of the issues that are being played all over the news with regard to Mexican drug cartels, the U.S. Department of defense, and the ever-controversial issue of border control. The U.S. Defense Department told the Washington Post that two of Mexico's deadliest drug cartels have reached 100,000 foot soldiers, threatening the U.S. border states more so than ever before. The cartels apparently rival the Mexican army in size, and it's moving to crisis proportions - more than 1,000 people died in January alone at the hand of these cartels, and the murders are gruesome. The two most dangerous cartels are the Sinaloa cartel, nicknamed La Federación and the Gulf Cartel, or Los Zetas. The New York Times reports that they are discussing a truce or merger in order to better withstand government forces. On the list of U.S. national security concerns, Mexico is behind only Pakistan and Iran - they are ahead of even Afghanistan and Iraq.
It should not be surprising to you that nearly 100% of the guns used in drug-related killings come from smuggled U.S. weapons. The guns pass through Mexico via what is known as the "ant trail," which is the nickname for a steady stream of people who sneak two or three weapons across the border ever day. The "ants," along with much larger smuggling operations, are feeding this rapidly expanding arms race. The U.S. weapons are crucial in this drug war. Mexico's attorney general Eduardo Medina Mora called last week for more U.S. prosecutions of people who sell guns illegally to cartels, as well as more efforts to stop drug profits from going south.

So, why whipsaw? Well, it seemed very in line with definition #4, "to defeat or best in two ways at once." It's as though we in the United States are being "bested" twice by our own lax gun laws - within our own borders we suffer from more gun crime than any other nation, and we are also threatened by these drug cartels who taking advantage of our poor policies and using our guns to commit egregious crimes.