DEEP DIVE
Border Glosario: Frontera Glossary
Quixote Nuevo is a play that welcomes both English and Spanish speakers into its audience. There are phrases in Spanish; however, most are usually translated into English phrases immediately following or before the phrase is spoken in Spanish.
“It was important for me to douse the language of Quixote Nuevo with the idioma of my borderland. The characters glide easily from English to Spanish to colloquial Spanglish because that is how we speak in my house. Additionally, this is how I was interested in wresting Cervantes’ novel from the vise of Spain and making it New World, making it Nuevo. Therefore, the characters express themselves through high-flown lyricism like the original novel, but also in language that’s profane and kooky, codeswitching from English to Spanish and vice versa at will and inventing their own neologisms. But it’s also an expression of how languages can so easily defy borders and nationalities, in art and in life.” —Octavio Solis, playwright
Below are a few words your ear might encounter as you follow Don Quixote on his journey throughout La Plancha, Texas.
ATORMENTAS: torture
CABALLERO: a knight or horseman; lately a term meaning “gentleman”
CALACA: colloquial Mexican Spanish word for skeleton
CENIZAS: ashes (also a small town in the state of Querétaro Arteaga, Mexico)
CHANTE: home (corruption of “shanty”)
CHUCO: filthy
COLLIGE VIRGO ROSAS: Latin term generally meaning “gather ye rosebuds while ye may,” with similar meaning to “seize the day” or “enjoy yourself while you have the chance”
CUCUY: boogeyman
DALE GAS: go for it (literally “give it gas!”)
GÜEY: the Mexican slang equivalent of dude; or sometimes idiot
INFANTA: a Spanish or Portuguese royal princess
LOCURA: madness, craziness
MIGRA: border patrol
MITOTE: commotion, uproar, ruckus
MOLE: a slang term for blood (also a type of dark Mexican sauce)
MUERTE: death
OLIVIDADO: forgotten
PALETAS: ice lollies, sometimes sold by a paletero
YONQUE: junk
In addition to the words and phrases above (reprinted with permission from Hartford Stage), you may also hear:
ADELANTE: forward; often used as encouragement to keep going
BABOSO: slang for stupid
BRACEROS: temporary laborers from Mexico
CABRÓN/CABRONES: slang for bastard, badass, or dude depending on context
CASTILLO: castle. The last name of the owners of Rosario’s Lounge and Karaoke—which Jose thinks is a castle—is also Castillo. (The Castillos own the “castillo.”)
CHOLA: in this context, slang for a tough Mexican woman
COMPADRE: buddy
EL RIO BRAVO: a.k.a. the Rio Grande in the U.S. southwest and northern Mexico, the fourth-longest river in the U.S.
FLACO: nickname for a man or boy who is skinny
GUAPO: handsome
IDIOMA: language
ÍNSULA: island kingdom
MIJO/MIJA: “my son” or “my daughter,” a term of endearment
NOMBRE: name
ÓRALE: an exclamation expressing approval or encouragement, or slang for “hey,” “come on”
PENDEJADAS: bullshit
PEPE: a diminutive of the name José
PURGA: medicine with laxative qualities
SOBRINA: niece
TÍO: uncle
VATO/CHAVO: slang terms for a man or boy; “guy,” “dude”
VIEJO: old, or in context, “old man”
Don't worry, there won't be a quiz! Come join us for a vibrant performance that will bring these words to life. Quixote Nuevo is on stage now through Feb. 11, 2024.
