Читать книгу Cubanisms - Pedro García-Menocal - Страница 10

When you are in Havana and have iria (hunger), look for a nearby paladar, which literally means palate, but in Cuba the word is used to describe a privately owned restaurant, usually run from a person’s home. Although, of course, in the end, you will have to pay La Sangrienta (the Bloody One), which is the bill you receive after a meal or a party. “Joven, tráeme la sangrienta” (“Young man, bring me the bill”).

Chaúcha and iriampo are just a few of the many slang words for food or a meal in Cuba. Jama is a popular Cubanism for food or a meal. Jamar is “to eat.” Nobody likes a glutton, so don’t be gandío or gandía (a glutton or gluttonous), from the Spanish word gandido, which describes a person who eats too much. If you eat too much, then they will say that “te echaste un buque” (“you ate a boat!”).

Food can also be used to describe people, things, and situations. For example, if you are gandío then you are a person who always wants the lion’s share, sometimes at a meal, but most often in a business transaction. Can be used as a noun or an adjective.

At a party, you may coger cajitas (literally, “to get a little box”), which, in Cuba, means to get a piece of the pie or cake, figuratively or not. In Cuba, many birthday parties had the food pre-boxed in small cardboard containers. “No cogió cajitas” means that somebody missed out on a good opportunity.