Costa Rican Spanish Word of the Day: Tepezcuintle

The tepezcuintle ('paca' in English) is a large endangered rodent native to Costa Rica. When you travel to Costa Rica you won't likely see one, not only because it's endangered but also because it's quite shy and only lives deep in the countryside.

Unfortunately, hunting tepezcuintles and keeping them captive is still deeply rooted in local culture. People will hunt them for their food or trap them to breed them in captivity. To do any of this without a permit is highly illegal and carries considerable jail time. Still, people do it. Regardless of this activity, though, humans are encroaching on the natural habitat of the tepezcuintle--and other animals--making its long-term outlook rather bleak.

In rural areas of Costa Rica I have most often heard this animal's name pronounced as if it were spelled tepezcuinte (without the 'l' as the penultimate letter).

Measuring Land in Costa Rica

Land in Costa Rica is most often sold by the square meter, which is about 10.76 square feet. For larger plots of land, other units of measure become necessary. For example, rural land is usually referred to in hectáreas (hectares) or manzanas. 

A hectare measures 10,000 square meters.

A manzana measures 7,000 square meters.

Many Costa Ricans will also have a good idea of what an acre is, giving it an approximate 4,000 square meters--which is quite close to the more accurate 4,046 square meters. 

An approximation that seems a little more perplexing is the approximation of the lenght of a city block as 100 meters, which would make the total area of a city block a full hectare (100 X 100 = 10,000). However, the original idea behind the the manzana as a unit of measure was that it approximated the area of a city block. While this strange approximation does not create any functional problems because it is so widely accepted, it is nonetheless interesting for those of us interested in etymology. 

Another interesting approximation that Costa Ricans make is for the gallon, which is often assumed to be four liters. This gallon measurement comes somwehere between the 3.79 liters used in the United States and the 4.54 liters for the imperial gallon. 

Although I am stressing these approximations, it's important to point out that they're quite accurate. I would actually say that Costa Ricans generally have a better grasp on units of measure and their conversions than most people in the US. Costa Ricans--on average--have to economize on a daily basis. Costa Ricans are constantly calculating per-unit prices to stretch out their money as much as possible--in ways that most Americans are only now learning how to do. 

Word of the Day: Matricidio

Matricidio, slang for matrimonio (matrimony, marriage), playfully and melodramatically points out that your life ends once you get married.

Word of the Day: Guaro

Guaro is Costa Rican Spanish for a cane alcohol that's quite popular in the country. Cacique is the national brand and can be found at any local pulpería (rural general store) or supermarket. It is a relatively weak 70 proof and goes down smoothly without a very noticeable taste. In other Spanish-speaking countries similar products are called aguardiente. It is also very similar to the Brazilian cachaça that goes into its famous caipirinha drinks.

Guaro can also be synonymous with alcohol. 'Tomar guaro' as an expression usually implies drinking alcohol, regardless of the variety. Since my name is Tomás, many Costa Ricans would jokingly ask me "Tomás guaro"? Brilliant.

Word of the Day: Machetazo

A machetazo is a blow landed with a machete. In rural areas of Costa Rica fights that break out in the local cantinas sometimes--but not often--involve machetes. A friend of mine who used to live in a remote part of Los Chiles once had to do a turnakit on a guy's arm because it was bleeding after being almost completely severed by a machetazo. Also, when I was living near Guatuso, a man was walking late at night through the town's center and killed--by machetazos--a kid who was allegedly among a group of teenagers who were harrassing the man (a Nicaraguan) with insulting (and racist/nationalist) language.

Keep in mind that these examples of violence in Costa Rica--a very peaceful country--are purely anecdotal and brought up simply to illustrate the meaning and relevance of the vocabulary. Also, these altercations almost always involve lots of alcohol and beligerence, so you don't have to worry about it if you're not looking for trouble.

Word of the Day: Vacilón

Vacilón is a very common Costa Rican word for 'fun'. The verb vacilar is also very common, which most often means 'to kid' (transitive as 'to kid someone' or intransitive as 'to kid around'). Sometimes vacilar is used in the context of a man or woman "playing" someone of the opposite sex. This might involve showing interest in someone for some purpose (often sex), without actually having true feelings or intentions.

In formal Spanish vacilar has the same meaning that 'to vacillate' does in English. If you try to convey this meaning with vacilar you will likely get confused looks from ticos.

Word of the Day: Paja

Paja is Spanish for 'straw', as in stalks of dried grain. Of more importance to this blog, paja is Costa Rican Spanish for 'fluff', as in words that lack substance and might be spoken for mere showmanship. In some cases 'bullshit' (pardon the vulgarity) might be a good translation.

This term paja is often used to describe the words of a politician who habla bonito (talks pretty) but lacks the moral fiber to follow through on his promises. "Pura paja", a bitter tico might say after listening to the President addressing the country via television (which he does on a regular schedule on the major networks).

This form of 'straw' should not be confused with the straw for drinking, which is pajilla.

Word of the Day: Chingo

Don't be alarmed--this has nothing to do with a similar word in Mexican vernacular. On the other hand, it still isn't church talk. Chingo is slang for 'naked'.

Side note:

In rural areas there are always stories going around about crazy people who sneak into houses and steal things. One time in my community rumor spread about an old man, dubbed "robatangas", who would sneak into homes and steal women's panties. On another occasion a neighboring town had a similar case (although not with panties) of a naked white man called "macho chingo". (I swear it wasn't me.) People were dead-serious about their belief in these crazy characters, just as people in my community were dead-certain that witches existed in our bucolic town. Needless to say, I meet rural Costa Rican stories with a healthy dose of skepticism.

Word of the Day: Caja

Caja, of course, means box in Spanish. But in Costa Rica it also refers to someone's torso.

In the Costa Rican countryside you get used to people being openly descriptive with respect to physique. Ticos will often comment on the shape and size of cattle, as well as humans. Some people I know comment on how much skinnier or fatter I am than the last time they saw me. Apparently these things change from one day to the next.

I guess that "does this make me look fat" question is a relevant one after all.

Word of the Day: Machorra

Machorra essentially means tomboy in Costa Rica. I don't think this needs any further explanation.

Word of the Day: Rancho

Rancho in Costa Rica is a thatched roof enclosure, often in the shape of a cone. The frame is most often made of wood. Ranchos are typically roadside bars/restaurants in rural areas; however, a person of considerable economic means may have a rancho to accompany his home (like the one in the picture). In such a case, a rancho is the equivalent of a gazebo you'd find in some yards in the US. In order to prolong the waterproof seal formed by the grass roof, many ranchos are lined with plastic from the inside.

Costa Rican Earthquake: Antes y Después

As many of you may already know, on January 8th, a devastating earthquake hit Costa Rica. It registered 6.2 on the Richter Scale and caused massive mudslides around Volcán Poás, killing around 40 people and causing massive destruction to many people's homes.

At the time of the earthquake I was in Santa Fe de Guatuso, a place that is not incredibly from the epicenter but very flat and not prone to mudslides. I could feel the incredible force of the earth beneath me, but the amplitude of the movements was great, causing a forceful swaying of the house back and forth without any damage to its structure. I assured my family back in the States that "not a single tchotchke fell from atop the TV". Anyone who's seen the living room of a typical tico home knows what I'm talking about.

Of course, the earthquake was no laughing matter for the many people near the epicenter and their relatives across the country. Thanks to these photos provided by the Costa Rican Volcanology and Seismology Observatory (OVSICORI-UNA) you can get a good idea of the earthquake's severity:


The La Paz Waterfall, before and after the quake



The Río Sarapiquí valley after massive mudslides




A Costa Rican soda (diner) near the epicenter, demolished

Costa Rican Spanish Word of the Day: Alto

OK, so alto isn't exactly a Costa Rican word, but I have had some very serious run-ins with Costa Rican stop signs as of late, so I thought I'd expound a bit...

First of all, just to get the language straight, ALTO--in all caps--is what you'll find on stop signs in Costa Rica. (Some countries use 'PARE'.) Alto is also a noun used to mean 'stop sign'. So, you might hear someone say: "en el próximo alto, a la derecha", which means "at the next stop sign, to the right".

Stop signs are all over the place in Costa Rican cities, but they're not always obeyed. First of all, most people don't come to a complete stop. To those who would point out that many people in the US execute a "rolling stop", let me just submit that a Costa Rican rolling stop is more roll than it is stop.

Also, even when cars are indeed forced to stop, they will only stop after having crept far beyond the stop sign to ensure visibility around the corner of adjacent buildings and parked cars. Often this is necessary for visibility, but for the most part it's out of habit. When driving in Costa Rica, you must be aware of this, so as not to be alarmed, while also being defensive of people who indeed are encroaching on you at an intersection. Easier said than done.

The most difficult part about stop signs in Costa Rica is that they are often accompanied by stop lights or "semáforos". This, digo yo, seems like a very deadly combination. First of all, if you obey the stop sign (which I assume most foreigners do out of habit) while you have a green light, you could get rear-ended by someone who obeys the green light. If you're a pedestrian, you could assume that a car with a stop sign is going to stop while you cross the street, but if that car also has a green light, it will likely keep on going. The picture featured above shows an intersection where I tried to cross in front of a stop sign without knowing there was a green light for crossing traffic. Luckily I noticed what was going on, narrowly avoiding a rough encounter with a moving automobile.

Aside from the contradiction of having both signs and lights, another problem is that the street lights are largely invisible to pedestrians. Imagine a street light that hangs down into the middle of a very small, crammed intersection. You can only see one of the four sides of the street light, and you can only see that one side if you're looking almost directly overhead.

As I was driving around Heredia with a Costa Rican friend, I had a hard time running through the stop signs, even after she assured me that it's the street light you must obey. I was finally able to get rid of that silly impulse to actually stop at stop signs, but I couldn't help but wonder why on earth there are still stop signs where stop lights are implemented.

I'm open to explanations (but I have to admit that I'm erring on the skeptical side).

Word of the Day: Jupa

Costa Ricans will often say "jupa" instead of head in informal situations.

Other informal names for parts of the body are as follows:

nariz (nose) --> trompa
trasero (butt) --> culo (vulgar)
pies (feet) --> cachos (which also means horns/antlers)
boca (mouth) --> pico (which literally means beak, but can also be an informal--and vulgar--way to say penis)

I'll save more for later.

Word of the Day: Despedida de Soltera

Sorry, ladies. This Costa Rican equivalent of the bachelorette party isn't a drunken night out on the town with fallic-ridden props. These despedida de soltera parties are quite tame...so they say.

Word of the Day: Quemado

Besides meaning 'burned' or 'burnt', quemado is also a game of tag (the verb quemar meaning 'to tag').

Another use of the term is for burnt (or burning) trash. Just about everywhere in Costa Rica, except for the larger cities (Costa Rica is still largely a rural society), people burn their trash because of either habit, lack of garbage pickup, or both. If you have ever smelled burnt trash, you won't forget it. When plastic burns it gives off toxic dioxins that are--as far as I know--proven carcinogens. Even in some of the more open environments, the burning of trash can be smelled all around town (remember, these are small towns I'm talking about).

Anyway, back to the point...In Costa Rica you might hear someone say "huele a quemado", which basically means "it smells like something is burning". Whenever I've heard the term quemado for when something is literally burning, it has always been in this context of burning trash.

Word of the Day: Pelo de Gato

Pelo de gato is a term Costa Ricans use to describe a very light, soft rain.

Word of the Day: Dormilón

Dormilón is a Costa Rican word that means "sleepy head", as in someone who likes to sleep, sleeps too much, or tends to sleep in. This can be dormilona for a woman, which is also a very common weed throughout Costa Rica. It's pretty neat because its leaves appear to shrivel up upon touching them. This defense mechanism--along with its sharp spines--protects it from ruminant animals and makes it a very successful species.

Word of the Day: Cabecera

Cabecera is Costa Rican for 'pillow', as in the one you use to sleep on in bed. The more common Spanish term 'almohada' would likely be understood as well, but be aware that most people just say cabecera.

Word of the Day: Estudiar

Estudiar means 'to study', but in Costa Rica it's used more broadly to mean 'to read'. People would often say to someone trying to talk to me while I read, "Déjelo, ¿no ves que está estudiando"? (Leave him alone--don't you see that he's reading?) Confused by this reference at first, I used to respond, "Don't worry, I'm just reading", which was always met with odd looks.