Advanced - La Mafia Italiana

(E0120)

El escritor Mario Puzo, a la hora de escribir su novela “El Padrino”, se baso´ en hechos reales. The author Mario Puzo, when he was writing his novel ”The Godfather,” based it on reality.

De hecho, el personaje de Vito Corleone tiene grandes similitudes con Willie Moretto o Lucky Luciano, personajes reales de la mafia italiana. In fact, the character Vito Corleone has many similarities with Willie Moretto or Lucky Luciano, real personalities from the Italian mafia.

´ El termino “Mafia” aparece por primera vez en 1863 en Palermo, cuando se presenta un drama popular de Giuseppe Rizzoto y Gaetano Mosca titulado “I mafiusi di la Vicar´ıa”. The term ”mafia” appeared for the first time in 1863 in Palermo, when Giuseppe Rizzoto and Gaetano Mosca’s popular drama titled ”I mafiusi di Vicar´ıa” was presented.

Segun ´ diferentes historiadores, la palabra ”mafia” ´ ser´ıa el acronimo de la frase: ¡Muerte a Francia, Italia Adelante!, According to various historians, the word ”mafia” was an acronym for the phrase ”Death to France, Forward Italy!” motto adopted by a secret rural militia which resisted against the invasion of Sicily by Charles d’Anjou in 1282. Visit the Online Review and Discussion (text version).

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2008 Praxis Language Ltd.

˜ ´ lema acunado por un ejercito clandestino de ´ de Sicilia campesinos, que resistio´ a la invasion por parte de Carlos de Anjou en 1282. The mafia, also called ”La Cosa Nostra,” originally came from a Sicilian group dedicated to vigilante justice and the protection of the law.

´ llamada “La Cosa Nostra”, en La Mafia, tambien ´ siciliana su origen proven´ıa de una agrupacion ´ dedicada a la justicia vigilante y a la proteccion de la ley. The way a mafia operates is similar to a business with a hierarchy.

La manera de operar de una mafia se asemeja mucho a la de una empresa donde existe una jerarqu´ıa. It’s members call themselves ”mafiosi,” which is to say, ”men of honor.”

Sus miembros se denominaban a s´ı mismos con el nombre de ”mafiosi”, es decir, ”hombres de honor”. The different mafia clans use a series of inviolable ”codes of honor,” such as: never shoot someone in the back, or similar actions.

Visit the Online Review and Discussion (text version).

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2008 Praxis Language Ltd.

Los distintos clanes mafiosos emplean una serie ´ de ”codigos de honor”, inviolables, tales como: disparar siempre por delante, o acciones similares. It’s important to note that there is no one absolute head of the entire Mafia; the organization is divided into ”families,” and within each one there is a hierarchy:

Cabe destacar que no hay un jefe absoluto de ´ esta´ dividida en toda la Mafia, la organizacion “Familias”, y dentro de cada una se distinguen por ´ orden jerarquico: the boss or ”Don,” the advisers or ”consiglieri,” who have the most advantageous position of being the advisers of the Don and his right hand; and beneath them are the ”sotto capo.”

el jefe o “Don”; los consejeros o “Consiglieri” que ´ ventajoso por ser los contienen el puesto mas ´ sejeros del Don y su mano derecha; y bajo estos los “Sotto Capo”. In the United States, the mafia was spread by the arrival of Italian immigrants at the beginning of the 20th Century.

En Estados Unidos, la Mafia se propaga con la llegada de inmigrantes italianos a comienzos del siglo XX. During the 20s, with Prohibition, different organizations took power and got rich.

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2008 Praxis Language Ltd.

´ ˜ En la epoca de los anos 20 con la “Ley Seca”, diferentes organizaciones toman poder y se enriquecen. In the 40s and 50s, the Cosa Nostra expanded to both sides of the Atlantic and became the power which was behind the development of what is today the city of Las Vegas.

˜ 40 y 50, la Cosa Nostra se expandio´ En los anos ´ a ambos lados del Atlantico y se convirtio´ en el ´ de la creacion ´ de lo que poder que estuvo detras hoy es la ciudad de Las Vegas. In the 80s they lost their influence, but they are still influencing North American culture, creating a culture which has been featured in films, television series, and novels.

˜ 80 pierde fuerza, pero siempre sigue En los anos influenciando la cultura norteamericana creando una cultura que ha sido plasmada en pel´ıculas, ´ e incluso novelas. series de television According to a study published last year, 20% of the businesses in Italy are still controlled by the mafia, earning annual benefits of 13 billion euros.

Key Vocabulary

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2008 Praxis Language Ltd.

mafia

Noun (f )

mafia

similitud

Noun (f )

resemblance

hecho

Noun (m)

fact

´ acronimo

Noun (m)

acronym

lema

Noun (m)

motto

clandestino

Adjective

clandestine

provenir

Verb

to come from

operar

Verb

to operate

asemejar

Verb

to resemble

propagar

Verb

to spread

plasmar

Noun (f )

to capture

beneficio

Noun (m)

profit

asesino

Noun (m)

assasin

crimen organizado

Phrase

organized crime

Supplementary Vocabulary

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2008 Praxis Language Ltd.

contrabando

Noun (m)

contraband

arma

Noun (m)

weapon

capo

Noun (m)

gangster

ajuste de cuentas

Phrase

settling of scores

venganza

Noun (f )

vendetta

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2008 Praxis Language Ltd.