agua (AH-gwah) Water.
amigo (ah-MEE-goh) Friend.
amor (ah-MOHR) Love. (te amo (TAY ah-MOH) I love you).
atole (ah-TOH-lay) A drink, served hot or at room temperature, made with corn (or cornmeal) and water or milk, and can be flavored with sugar, cinnamon, chocolate, or fruits. Atole, an ancient Mesoamerican food, is still enjoyed in Mexico today, especially on the Day of the Dead (Día de los Muertos), which also originated in ancient times and today is celebrated on November 1st and 2nd.
bonita (boh-NEE-tah) Pretty. (bonito: masculine form of pretty: handsome).
buenos dias (BWAY-nos DEE-ahs) Good morning. A greeting used until twelve noon.
caballo (cah-BAH-yoh) Horse.
castizo (cah-STEE-soh) One of the racial classifications of 18th century New Spain, a castizo was born of mestizo and a Spaniard. If someone was born of a castizo and a Spaniard, he or she was considered a Spaniard.
cigarro (see-GAH-rroh) Cigarette. In mid-18th century New Spain, men, women, and even children smoked. They carried paper wrappers, tobacco, flint, steel, and cotton wick in a paper or tin box. Wealthier people had special boxes decorated with gold, silver, and jewels. Cigarros were offered to guests along with cocoa. For special guests, women would light the cigarro, take the first puff, and then give it to the guest. It was considered rude if the guest refused the cigarro.
coyote (co-YO-tay) One of the racial classifications of 18th century New Spain, a coyote was born of a mestizo and an Indian.
culebra (coo-LAY-brah) Snake. (culebra de agua: water snake. Besides the name of an actual snake, this term was used to describe devastating thunderstorms that could flood and destroy entire villages).
duros (DOO-rohs) Hard. (see peso).
fandango (fahn-DAHN-goh) A dance, or the music accompanying the dance. The fandango, one of the oldest dances of Spain, was a courtship dance where the man and woman faced each other and danced without touching, clacking castanets, snapping their fingers, and stomping their feet (a form of flamenco). Later, in Mexico, fandango became a general term for dance.
Feliz Navidad (fay-LEES nah-bee-DAHD) Merry Christmas.
galleta (gah-YAY-tah) Cracker or cookie
hediondilla (AY-dee-ohn-DEE-yah) This is a shrub found in the deserts of the Southwestern United States. Another name is creosote bush. It has resinous leaves and small yellow flowers. In Spanish, hediondilla means “little stinker,” although some people enjoy the smell of the plant.
hermano (ehr-MAH-noh) Brother. (hermana: sister)
hola (OH-lah) Hello
laguna (lah-GOO-nah) Lake (laguna del hospital (ohs-pee-TAHL) Hospital lake)
madores (mah-DOHR-ays) At the Sonoran missions in mid-18th century New Spain, the madores were Indians who supervised the grown children and arranged their marriages, pairing the ones that they felt were most suited to each other. The madores also cared for the sick.
mestizo (may-STEE-soh) One of the racial classifications of 18th century New Spain, a mestizo was born of an Indian and a Spaniard.
metate (may-TAH-tay) A stone used to grind corn. Pfefferkorn described it as “a flat, somewhat roughened stone, which is three to three-and-one-half feet long and about two feet wide. This is the millstone on which, with the aid of another stone, likewise roughened, the maize [corn] is ground.” This would be similar to a mortar and pestle.
mi (mee) My.
mi’ja (MEE-hah) This is an endearment, a contraction of mi hija (mee EE-hah) meaning “my daughter.”
mi’jo (MEE-hoh) My son. See mi’ja.
muchacho (moo-CHAH-choh) Boy. (muchacha: Girl).
mulatto One of the racial classifications of 18th century New Spain, a mulatto was born of a Black and a Spaniard.
mula (MOO-lah) Mule (mulo: masculine form—a male mule)
niño(s) (nee-NYOH) Masculine form of child (children) niña Feminine form
peso (PEH-soh) The peso is the currency used in Mexico and some Central American and South American countries. The peso originated in Spain during the time of Ferdinand and Isabel in 1497, but today Spain uses the euro for its currency. The word “peso” means “weight” in Spanish. Pesos duros, in mid-18th century New Spain, referred to the silver coins minted in Mexico.
pobrecito (POH-bray-SEE-toh) Poor little boy. (pobrecita: poor little girl).
por favor (pohr fah-BOHR) Please.
posole (poh-SOH-lay) A soup made from corn kernels and flavored with pork or other meat and various vegetables and hot sauce. Like atole, posole, also spelled “posole,” is an ancient Mesoamerican food and is still enjoyed in Mexico today. You can find it on menus in many Mexican and Spanish food restaurants.
potra (POH-dra) Filly—a young female horse.
presidio (preh-SEE-dee-oh) The presidios were military posts or garrisons used to protect the missions and settlements as the Spaniards expanded their frontier from central Mexico into California. The presidios were usually built with logs or adobe bricks. Storage facilities, a chapel, and housing for soldiers were constructed within a high wall with only a front gate, and sometimes a rear one, for entrance and exit. Taking advantage of the soldiers’ protection, settlers built homes and planted crops near the presidios.
pueblo (PWAY-bloh) Village or town
querida (kay- REE-dah) Beloved
rábanos (RAH-bah-nos) Radishes.
rebozo (ray-BOH-soh) A shawl women in New Spain wore usually over their heads, or across their shoulders, as adornment and as protection from the weather. Some historians also believe the rebozo was worn for reasons of modesty, a tradition possibly brought from Spain and started during the time of the Moors, Muslim inhabitants of medieval Spain.
señor (say-NYOHR) Mister.
señora (say-NYOH-rah) Mrs. (Title for a married woman).
señorita (say-nyoh-REE-tah) Miss (Title for an unmarried woman).
sí (see) Yes
tiempo (tee-EHM-poh) Time. (tiempo de aguas literally means “time of waters” but can be translated as “rainy season”).
vaquero (bah-KAY-roh) Cowboy. The American cowboy originated from the vaqueros who started the cowboy tradition in 16th century New Spain when Spaniards brought horses to the new world.
viejo (bee-AY-hoh) Old.