Be careful when you open your mouth.
You can think your command of Spanish is perfect, and you may be right. But when you live in a city populated by Hispanics from different countries, you can easily be misunderstood, even though you are using the right words.
Chicago has a large Mexican community, followed in size by Puerto Ricans, according to the Center for Latino Studies at the University of Notre Dame. Once Hispanics get established in a city, they usually get used to the words and expressions of other Hispanics. But until then, you have to pay your word dues.
Trust me, if you are a newcomer, you can easily make a fool of yourself. I remember talking to a Puerto Rican co-worker a few weeks after I moved to the U.S. from Peru in 1994.
We were looking at some pictures to illustrate a story on santeria. The picture showed a “santera” (a woman who practices this syncretistic religion of Caribbean origin) who was behind a stuffed animal. The animal was blurry in the image, so I said: “Este bicho esta fuera de foco” My colleague blushed a little, and while laughing responded: “I’ve never seen a bicho out of focus.”
I was confused. “Bicho,” according to the dictionary and to my understanding, translates as “bug,” and it can be used to replace a living object. But then I learned that for Puerto Ricans, “bicho” means “penis.”
What an embarrassing moment.
Gladys Rios, a designer I knew who lived in Chicago before moving to Texas, made fun of me the day I said: “They have bought a ‘torta’ to celebrate his birthday.” She responded: “Torta with ham and avocado?”
“No, a chocolate torta,” I answered. Well, a “torta” in Mexico is a sandwich, and in Peru it’s a cake.
When Hispanics from any of the 19 countries south of Texas meet, a Babel tower can be erected. And if we add Spain, things get even more complicated.
Ismael Romero, a Colombia native and social worker, says he has had a hard time understanding Mexican immigrants he works with in an Uptown citizenship program. “I always try not to make them feel bad, so I ask for further explanation. Usually a lot of the terms that are confusing are related to sex,” he adds.
Honduran Rosa Castellanos recalls hearing a friend saying “Que guapo!” She turned to see what she thought would be a handsome man, but her Colombian friend was saying the guy was courageous. Rosa was disappointed.
But things can get trickier.
In Spanish, a “china” is a Chinese woman. In Puerto Rico, it is also an orange. Puerto Ricans call orange juice “jugo de china.”
Let’s go to a Mexican restaurant. You can choose flour or corn tortillas, right? But remember that if you ask for a tortilla in Spain, you will get an egg omelette.
What about a taco? What in Mexico is a typical food, in Peru is a shoe heel.
And we all thought that Hispanics spoke the same language. We do, but we need some help to understand one another.
I remember talking to another co-worker of Mexican origin who told me that her grandmother was a “ruquita.” I couldn’t help but laugh. She demanded an explanation and I answered: “Isn’t it time for her not to be a ‘ruca’?” Well, “ruca” in my country means to be a sleazy woman, while in Mexico it means to be an old person.
See? It can be a Babel tower.
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ritaredeye@tribune.com
