Over the past year, I've been collecting sounds of the city with my audio recorder. Last week, I went live with my new blog - Escucha. Happy listening ahead!
Vocabulario esencial (And don't blame me if you get in trouble - * means use with care)
antro - bar/nightclub
bar de mala muerte - a dive
bien muerta - very cold
cajuama - giant cup of beer
cañon - major, ridiculous like the traffic today esta cañon
chafa - shoddy, crappy
chavo, chava - guy, girl, chick, dude
chela - drink (alcoholic), like "Let's go for drinks"
chilango - person from Mexico City
como un burro en la primavera - a horndog
cuate - buddy
de mala espina - sketchy
de mala pinta - sleazy
De tin marin de do pingüe, cucara, macara, titere fue. Yo no fui, fue te te, pegale pegale que ella fue. - Eeny meeny miney moe, catch a tiger by the toe, if he hollers, let him go, eeny meeny miny moe
echarle el ojo - to check someone out
echarle los perros - subtly hitting on a person you like, over time
guey - (WAY) dude
huateque - party
huevon - lazy ass
la neta - the best, the ultimate
mota- pot, weed
pacheco - stoner
rompecorazones - heartbreaker
Tenemos que comer un pollito - we need to have a talk
tirarle la onda - hit on someone
tocayo - someone who has your name
vamos a chupar* - let's go drinking (chupar means to suck)
Vete a la verga* - go to hell
Votate - f-off
¿Que transa? - what's happening?
¿Te late? - You like that? Sound good?
Palabras que me gustan (más que nada por como suenan o solo porque existen)
aguacate - avocado
bufanda - scarf
castaño - chestnut
chatear - to chat online
cherimoya - custard fruit
chinos - curls
Chupezon – hickey
Claxon – car horn
el internet - pronununciation Eeen-tehr-net
Favorsote – huge favor
fisioterapeutica - physical therapist (If not for my mother, I would never attempt to say this word)
Galan – literally handsome man, also gentleman friend or boyfriend/lover boy?
Glorieta – traffic roundabout
googlear - to google
Guajalote – turkey
Hijole - ? gosh?
Hipsterista – hipster
La musica ponchis ponchis – bumping music
Manifestacion – protest (This one requires an explanation. The second time I came to Mexico City, I was driving with my sister’s driver several times and there was a ton of traffic and he said, “Hay una manifestacion,” which I translated in my mind as “There’s a manifestation.” I thought this was just maybe some resigned Catholic go-with-the-flow thing like, “Well there’s traffic, we don’t know why. It’s just a manifestation.” That, or someone had actually seen a flickering image of the Virgen down on Reforma…Even having learned the actual meaning of the word – which is used pretty much daily here in Mexico City – I still like it.)
maracuya - passion fruit
Marcapasos – pacemaker
naco - hill billy, hick, redneck
Orale - ? okay, great, gee whiz?
pantuflas - slippers
Parachoques – car bumper
pinche - damn, effing
rimbombante - exaggerated, overblown
tatarabuelo - great, great grandfather
Cartas de Amor
Here are some selections from a book I picked up here called Cartas de Amor, which has example letters for every situation from apologizing after cheating on your girlfriend to courting a recently-widowed woman. This information is undoubtedly so useful I thought I'd put it here for easy reference.
MARRIAGE PETITION
Dear Sir, Clearly convinced that it is undignified of an honorable man to proceed in secret with a matter so grave, and desiring to avoid later punishment, I must take the liberty of confessing, with complete frankness, the love I feel for your beloved daughter, Miss Dolores. I trust that my family’s honor and our esteemed social position will completely satisfy your exacting demands and I may realize the sweetest of my hopes. I have reason to believe that your kind daughter is not entirely indifferent to my affections, but I have not judged it wise to declare my love to her without first having obtained your consent. I await your response, deeply hoping that it will be favorable –
Your name here
DECLARACIÓN DE UN JOVEN QUE AMA POR PRIMERA VEZ DECLARATION OF A YOUNG MAN IN LOVE FOR THE FIRST TIME
Yes, kind woman; I love you, and I can’t remain silent any longer. I’ve fought with all my willpower to erase from my heart this passion that already dominates it, or, at the least, to hide it, but I’ve had to convince myself that all my effort will undoubtedly be in vain. This passion was born from a soul that already exists only for you. That is precisely why I wish for you to be queen of this heart and this soul.
CARTA DE RECRIMINACIONES LETTER OF REPROACH
It seems you want to take a step back, deny your oaths and that you’ve secretly condemned your true feelings. This is too much cruelty. Now you don’t miss any opportunity to avoid me, putting me ill at ease and offending me when you can. For a while, you have made fun of all my actions, if I pass below your window, you look at me with an ironic and scornful air. …If I were less in love, I wouldn’t be so susceptible…I have endlessly suffered your imperiousness, it’s true, but it seems to me too generous to add even more weight to the chains that I have voluntarily chosen. As I don’t want you to put me on the list of disgruntled lovers, I will end this letter; a bit bitter, I confess, with new certainty. But afterwards, Might I see new sparks of feeling shining through the false mask of scorn? Lower yourself to send a smile my way and I will fall at your feet to surrender to you my apologies. I’m yours.
The Mega-Mexican Hit List - Todo que me falta hacer
Okay, I'm starting to do stuff off the list!
Oaxaca Museo de Dolores Olmeda Museo/Casa de Luis Barragán Desierto de los Leones Menudo Tortas ahogadas Carnes en su jugo More mezcal
Guanajuato
Jumex Collection (what a bizarre place!)
To go
Iztapan de la Sal Museum in Tepotzotlan Weird garden place by Xilitla Camping in Chico Museo del Zapato Wine country of Baja UNAM Museo Soumaya Basílica de la Virgen de Guadalupe (hace 5 años que no voy, ojalá que la Virgen me perdone)
To do
Plaza del danzón (sábado) Subir Nevado de Toluca y Iztaccihuatl Limpia en el Zócalo Pastorela en Tepotzotlán Xochimilco at night Go to las luchas Go to el toreo Temascal Go to cemetery for Día de los Muertos
To read El Laberinto de la Soledad Historia verdadera de la conquista de la Nueva España
To watch Amar te duele La Ley de Héroes Los Olvidados Un mundo maravilloso El Violín Cero y van cuatro Un mundo raro La perfume de violetas Películas de Cantinflas y Pedro Infante Chocolate
Parpados Azules
El Laberinto del Fauno
To learn
What all those herbs in the market are and what they´re for To cook pozole, enchiladas, sopa de fideo, huachinango a la veracruzana, mole (Oaxaca y verde), ensalada de nopal Nahuatl (some) To sing 10 songs in Spanish (pop, rock, trio – just to have my bases covered) To get albures. Well, at least 1 out of 10 maybe.
To eat and drink
Tripa and requesón (supposedly what I tried before wasn´t the best of what Mexico has to offer so I have to buck up and try them AGAIN) Escamoles Colorin Flor de maguey
Already eaten and highly enjoyed – I will be eating as much as possible in fact.
Pozole Enchiladas Huitlacoche Flor de calabaza Agua de todos sabores (hasta pepino) Tacos Flan Pastel de Tres Leches Buñuelos Atole Chapurrado Birria Mole Gorditas Tortas Quesadillas Tlalcoyos Chicharrón Sangrita (con tequila, claro!) Sopa de lima Sopa de Tortilla Sopa de Flor de Calabaza Guacamole Pulque (maybe I wouldn´t say highly enjoyed this one) Churros Machaca Chilaquiles
Enrique - too sexy for the library or the perfect weapon in the campaign for literacy?
And the answer is...
...that piercing whistle is the Banana Man. He has a small cart with a wood-burning stove with metal drawers above it. The heat cooks the bananas and sweet potatoes he puts in the drawer, then he serves them up with condensed milk. Mmmmm....
1 comment:
I worked on the background building, Mexican Stock Exchange, such good memories , snif... thanks for posting.
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