phrase/ke si ˌkjeɾes aˌroθ | kataˈlina/
it fell on deaf ears; it came to nothing; nothing came of it
“Llevo tres días buscando a ese desalmado de Ari, sin éxito. He removido cielo y tierra, lo que significa todo mi barrio y parte del siguiente, pero que si quieres arroz Catalina.”
Literally, “if you want [some] rice, Catalina”. The phrase is said to go back to the time of John II of Castile. The story goes that there was a lady called Catalina who was on her death bed, and all the townsfolk were continuously asking her "do you want rice, Catalina?" She didn't respond to the question and died soon thereafter. It is possible that she was ignoring the people's questions deliberately, or that she was too weak to answer. We will never know. Nor will we know if the story was re