When you are confronted with large problems, just make sure that you have everything organized and in place to fix it. If it’s a big problem, don’t come with some small idea to patch over the situation. Make sure you solution will eliminate the problem.
A falta de pan, galleta
Make do with what you’ve got. When one thing is not available, one must make do with something else.
A ése no lo salvan ni las once mil vírgenes
To be beyond saving, either in a medical health sense or in the sense that someone is so bad, there is no way to pull him out of it.
A Dios rogando y con el mazo dando
To keep at something. It is fine to ask for God’s help, but one must keep working so that the project moves forward.
A cualquiera se le muere un tío
It can happen to the best of us. Refers to commonplace occurrences that happen to everyone.
A cada santo le llega su día / hora
His time will come. Anyone’s good deeds will be recognized eventually, if at no other time, than when the person faces their Creator.
A cada puerco le llega su sábado
He’ll get his, He’ll get what’s coming to him, He’ll get what he deserves, His time will come. Sooner or later whoever does something wrong will be caught.
A cada lechón le llega su San Martín
A cada guaraguao le llega su pitirre
Brains over brawn. The pitirre is a small bird that attacks specifically the guaraguao, a large hawk. The implication of the phrase is that just because someone or something is physically large does not mean that it will automatically dominate over someone much smaller.
A caballo regalado no se le mira el colmillo
Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth
MÁS PERDIDO QUE UN JUEY BIZCO: Puerto Rican Spanish Slang Expression
Translate the Puerto Rican Spanish slang expression: MÁS PERDIDO QUE UN JUEY BIZCO The Puerto Rican saying estar más perdido que un juey bizco is one of my favorites. This particular phrase is one of the most commonly used by locals on the island. It also uses the Puerto Rican Spanish word juey for crab. […]
Puerto Rican Words in Spanish for US Currency: Infographic
“Más de un siglo después de uso de la moneda estadounidense, seguimos buscando el peso, tramitando la peseta, pidiendo el medio peso, luchando el vellón, sudando los chavos…” -Luz Nereida Pérez from the book Puerto Rico y el lenguaje Puerto Ricans say chavos instead of dinero Puerto Rico is a United States territory since […]
MANTECADITOS: Puerto Rican Spanish Slang Word for Butter Cookie
Here’s a photo of a pack of mantecaditos taken in a store in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Mantecaditos is the local Puerto Rican Spanish Slang Word for a type of butter or shortbread cookie. Mantecaditos and polvorones are similar and many people use both names interchangeably. Know of any other words for cookies used throughout […]
ALMOJÁBANAS: Puerto Rican Spanish Slang Word for a Rice Flour Fritters
Photo: Puerto Rican Spanish Slang Word for a Rice Flour Fritter Almojábanas are fritters made of rice flour, cheese, Parmesan cheese, milk and egg. This mixture is used to make a dough that is fried in a ball. Other Latin American countries make their own versions of almojábanas with different ingredients, sizes and cooking methods. […]
PILÓN: Puerto Rican Slang Word for a type of lollipop
Photo: Puerto Rican Slang Word for LOLLIPOP Above is a photo I took one day at the grocery store in Puerto Rico. The word Pilón or Pilones in plural is the Puerto Rican Spanish word for a type of “lollipop”. Here are two more pictures of how a pilón looks: Do you know any other […]
FRITURAS: The Illustrated Puerto Rican Spanish Guide to Fried Food
If you are talking about frituras (fried treats) you are talking about Puerto Rico. And if you are talking about the frituras de Puerto Rico, you are taking about Los Kioskos de Luquillo. The other day I spent some time at this iconic place on the northeast coast of Puerto Rico. The legendary Luquillo’s Kiosks […]
Navidad en Puerto Rico: Plano Arquitectónico del Lechón a la Varita
Preparar un lechón a la varita es una de las tradiciones de Navidad en Puerto Rico. El lechón a la vara no es solamente una costumbre culinaria puertorriqueña, sino una de las representaciones más comunes de la Navidad boricua ya que se disfruta en una gran fiesta de familia y amigos. A los puertorriqueños nos […]
9 Musical Instruments Used in Puerto Rican Parrandas [PHOTOS]
Parranda, trulla, asalto… all these Spanish words are synonyms for the same thing in Puerto Rico: a group of people that show up at a house the night singing traditional Christmas songs and having a party. While in other countries parranda is a word meaning to go out to party, in Puerto Rico it is […]
Puerto Rican Spanish: An Interview With Luz Nereida Pérez
Today Puerto Rico commemorates the date when Christopher Columbus arrived to the Island in 1493. Referring to this historical event as a “discovery” has become controversial recently. A “discovery” or not, we can say without any doubt that this was the date that Borikén –native name of the island of Puerto Rico- met the Spanish […]
4 Confusing Puerto Rican Spanish Slang Words: BICHO, BICHA, BICHERÍA and BICHOTE
Although the Spanish slang words from Puerto Rico bicho, bicha, bichería, and bichote seem to have the same “root” they don’t mean the same. For foreigners this will be confusing to the point that I consider them “false friends”. The two similarities these four words have are the root bich- and that they all have […]
Which Are the First 3 Puerto Rican Spanish Words Kids Learn to Read?
When I started learning to read at 5 or 6 years old we used the traditional Cartilla Fonética or a phonetics booklet. The Cartilla Fonética is a tool used at school to teach the name and particular sound of each letter, how to make the consonant and vowels liaison to form syllables and how to […]
The Boricua Bar: 10 Alcoholic Drinks From Puerto Rico
This article about alcoholic drinks from Puerto Rico by Jared Romey was originally published in English on Matador Nights. An updated and translated version was also published in the Puerto Rico newspaper El Vocero de Puerto Rico. 10 Alcoholic Drinks From Puerto Rico Probably best known for giving the world the piña colada, Puerto Rico […]
10 Vulgar Spanish Slang Words and Phrases from Puerto Rico: Infographic
If you are in the process of learning Spanish and plan to travel to Puerto Rico, keep in mind the following list of words and phrases. These 10 sayings are common in Puerto Rican Spanish but are too strong to be taught in school. You need to know them. If you find them useful, download […]