Travelandtips.com

Spanish lessons: common words in Mexico

2010-07-06T05:54:00.000-07:00

The official language of our country (Mexico) is Spanish, but it is common to find people who speak at least some English. And do not discard the possibility of running into someone who can assist you in any other language.

If your goal is to practice your Spanish, do it with confidence, because Mexicans like helping foreigners who are learning to speak our language. If this is the case for you, we'd like to give you a little “ayudadita” with some common words that we use everyday, and which you definitely won't find in an ordinary dictionary.

* Agarrar la onda .- Understand, “get it.”

* ¿Ah, chinga? - “Your messing with me.”

* Antro - Place of vice and perdition, where everybody wants to be.

* Canija or canijo - If referring to a person, means ill-intentioned, treacherous, whereas a thing that is “canija” is difficult.

* ¡Carajo! - Expression of strong disagreement.

* Carnal - The maximum a friend can aspire to, like a brother.

* Cascarita - Street soccer game where the participants think they're Ronaldo and the spectators think they're at the World Cup.

* Chafa - Of poor quality.

* ¡Chale! - "Something's not right" or "I don't like this."

* Chamacada - Practical joke that makes the person who falls for it look like a naive child.Chamaco - Child, lad, someone under the age of about 13.

* Chanclas - Shoes that are falling apart and look embarrasingly bad.

* Changarro - Shop or business.

* Chava - Young woman.

* Chela - Beer.

* Chescos - soft drinks.

* Chido - Cool.

* Chingón - Someone who does things very, very well.

* Cuate - Friend.

* Dar el rol - Take a walk.

* Desmadre - Chaos, craziness, excessive and out-of-control partying that is enormously pleasurable.

* Enchilado - What you feel when you overdo it on the chiles or you're upset about something.

* Está pinche - Lacking quality.

* Fritanga - Any food made from corn or flour that has been fried in oil.

* Madre - One of the richest words in the underground Spanish vocabulary. Expressions using it include: vale madres - it doesn't matter; hasta la madre - “up to here”; es una madre - said about something small or tiny; ¡en la madre! - an expression denoting surprise; ¡ni madres! - no; ¡está pocamadre! - excellent! ... and the list goes on ... and on ...

* Madrazo - Violent impact.

* Madriza - A beating.

* Neta - The truth.

* Pa'cá - Contraction of the words "para” and “acá” meaning “over here,” as in “come over here.”

* Pa'llá - The opposite of “Pa'cá.”

* Pancho - Affectionate name for Francisco; slang for a big problem.

* ¡Qué onda güey! - Friendly greeting; ¡está güey! - innocent and vulnerable.

* Rola - Melody, song.

* Un chingo - a lot.

* Varo - Peso (Mexican currency).

* Wero - A person with blond hair.

* Ya merito - “Almost there” or “almost done.”

Mexico Eases Visa Requirements

2010-05-26T07:17:00.000-07:00

In order to make it easier for international tourists to come to Mexico and to increase tourism, the federal government has launched a new visa policy that will come into effect on May 1, 2010. It has two main provisions:

1. Tourists, business travelers and individuals in transit (traveling through Mexico to another country) of all nationalities who currently require a Mexican visa and are in possession of a visa issued by the United States of America, can enter Mexico at any established border crossing point or port of entry with a passport from their country of origin. They will not need to present a Mexican visa, although Mexican visas continue to be valid documents for entering Mexico. In all cases, the documents presented to the immigration officers must be valid and unexpired.

2. Tourists, business travelers and individuals in transit of all nationalities who currently require a Mexican visa and who arrive in Mexico on flights from the United States of America and are not covered by the provisions of the preceding paragraph, can enter the country by presenting their valid, unexpired passport and their boarding pass to the immigration officer. The boarding pass must show that the passenger arrived in Mexico on a flight from the United States of America.

These measures strengthen Mexico’s international competitiveness vis-à-vis other tourist destinations and are part of the strategy of President Felipe Calderón’s administration to confirm tourism as a national priority for Mexico’s economic development.

Sectur: http://www.sectur.gob.mx/

Mexican Social Customs

2010-01-28T13:29:00.000-08:00

The usual greeting is the handshake. Women often greet each other and men with a kiss on the cheek. There are a number of common verbal greetings, like “Buenos días,” “Buenas tardes,” and “Buenas noches” (for morning, afternoon, and evening, respectively), and “Cómo estás?” meaning “How are you?” A common informal greeting is the omnipresent “Hola!” (hello). To address men, the word “señor" is used, whereas “señorita" is used for women. You only use “señora” if you are certain a woman is married. If someone sneezes, the custom is to say “Salud,” to which the sneezing person replies, “Gracias.”

Unannounced visits are commonplace, and unexpected guests usually get a warm welcome. Not too much emphasis is put on punctuality, and meal invitations typically involve a fair amount of conversation before the meal is served. Post meal conversation can also go on for quite a while.

Mexico has many official holidays. Days when schools, businesses and/or government offices close include January 1 (New Year’s), Holy Thursday and Good Friday, Mother's Day (May 10), Day of the Dead (Nov. 2), Day of the Virgin of Guadalupe (Dec. 12) and Christmas (Dec. 25).

Soccer is the most popular sport in Mexico, followed by bullfighting, in terms of the number of spectators. Mexicans as a group also carry music close to their hearts and love dancing, and big events almost always have a mariachi band or other live music. Elaborate fireworks are also a common site on national holidays.

Mexican customs: food

2010-01-25T06:17:00.000-08:00

In Mexico, the norm is to eat three meals a day: breakfast, late lunch (the main meal) and a light supper. This is fairly standard wherever you go, but there are exceptions as Mexico has absorbed customs from elsewhere, and you'll also find some variation in meal times depending on people’s occupations. On average, we can say that breakfast is between 7 and 10 in the morning, lunch between 2 and 5 p.m., and supper after 8.

Corn, beans, rice and chili peppers are Mexico’s staple foods. They’re often combined with spices and vegetables, and meat or fish. Mexican diet varies somewhat from region to region, but no matter where you go, you’ll find tortillas, spicy salsas and beans.

Tortas, quesadillas and tacos are also everywhere. For the uninitiated, tortas are sandwiches on fresh crusty bread with meat, cheese, avocado or whatever you feel like eating. Quesadillas are tortillas folded in half with melted cheese inside, and tacos are tortillas wrapped around beans, meat, salsa, rice… there really are no limits – you can pretty much make a taco of anything.

Mexican cuisine is immensely varied and uniformly delicious. You will find excellent restaurants where you can try pozole (a chicken or pork stew with hominy), enchiladas mineras (Guanajuato’s special red enchiladas with sautéed potatoes and carrots on the side), tamales, atole (hot corn drink, sweetened or unsweetened), birria (stewed goat), enfrijoladas (like enchiladas, but with a bean sauce), and much more.

Mexico: Immigration Requirements

2009-12-17T10:24:00.000-08:00

If you’re planning a visit Mexico and don’t know if you need to apply for a visa, or what documents you’ll need to bring, here are some tips I hope you’ll find useful:

Citizens of the following countries don’t need a visa to visit Mexico:

Andorra, Argentina, Aruba, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bahamas, Bulgaria, Canada, Cyprus, South Korea, Costa Rica, Denmark, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, USA, Estonia, Finland, France, Great Britain, Greece, Hungary, Hong Kong, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Netherlands, Panama, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Romania, San Marino, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, Uruguay and Venezuela.

People from these countries only need to show their passport and the immigration form they can get at a travel agency or airline, or simply on arrival in Mexico, which will classify them as either a tourist, business visitor, or transmigrant.

On entering Mexico, visitors may be asked to produce documents showing financial solvency and their return ticket to their country.

Those from countries not on the list will need a visa to enter Mexico, which can be applied for at the Mexican consulate in their country, where information on requirements will also be available.

Source: Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The Long-Awaited Oasis of the Seas

2009-12-16T06:00:00.000-08:00

The name on everyone’s lips is Oasis of the Seas, the world’s largest cruise ship, part of the famous Royal Caribbean line.

Like I’ve said before: cruises aren’t my thing, but seeing Oasis of the Seas almost had me going to get my bags ready to climb aboard. Of course I’ll have to save up first. I’m looking into just what one of these cruises costs, and I’ll post the details as soon as I have them.

This is a BOAT – 361 meters long, displacing 225 thousand tons of water, with 16 decks, 2769 cabins and capacity for close to 6300 passengers plus over 2 thousand crew members... awesome!

And besides all that, it has never-ending leisure, sport and fun areas, like a basketball court, an ice rink, a shopping mall (surely with top brand stores), restaurants, bars, a casino, a gym, a spa, children’s entertainment areas, the largest swimming pool on any boat, a theater, a giant park called Central Park, which they say has over 12 thousand real plants and trees, a climbing wall, a panoramic jacuzzi, and it just goes on and on.

As this idea of the immensity of the ship sinks in, what comes to mind is: I’d definitely get lost. But that doesn’t happen on the Oasis of the Seas, thanks to a sophisticated big-screen system in the halls that helps passengers easily get their bearings.

My conclusion: I think it’s time for me to overcome my fears and finally take a cruise, but I want it to be this one. What do you think? Good idea?

Day of the Dead in México

2009-12-14T10:27:00.001-08:00

The celebrations around Day of the Dead, principally in Latin American countries where there is or has been a significant indigenous presence, are fascinating because Catholic traditions have combined with indigenous ones along a common thread: the remembrance of those that have passed.

In our country, these celebrations have become more and more visible over the past twenty years, and now it's common to find altars and offerings in places where the tradition didn't use to exist, were it was celebrated only by recent arrivals from the countryside, or where the tradition was on its way to extinction as a result of the commercial and cultural onslaught of Halloween, that day so poorly understood both in Mexico and among our neighbors to the north.

The celebrations around the Day of the Dead have traditionally had a very particular set of characteristics. The celebration has revolved around a visit to the cemetery to bring flowers to deceased relatives, arrange their resting places and, in some cases, have a meal in their presence. And in their houses, townspeople have offered family and friends cajeta made from sweet potato, walnuts or guava on aniseed bread or the special bread known as muertitos.

Another tradition has been the offerings and altars for the deceased. These have always been very serious and sober. The typical altar has had a purple altar cloth, a crucifix, a photo of the deceased loved one, several of his or her most prized possessions, water, salt, and a sprinkling of straw.

The closest thing to how the Day of the Dead is celebrated today are the traditions of the municipalities near the state of Michoacán and in the few indigenous communities in our state. There has also been a notable influence on today's celebrations by the large numbers of people who have come to live in Guanajuato from Oaxaca, Veracruz and Tamaulipas, specifically to work at the Pemex oil refinery in the city of Salamanca from the mid '60s to the mid '70s. These relatively recent arrivals brought their recipes and their particular styles of offerings.

Some parts of Mexico are known for their elaborate offerings on the Day of the Dead. Guanajuato is known for its amazing craftwork: alfeñique sugar figures and all kinds of handmade toys and curiosities.

About me and my Traveler Tips

2009-12-14T08:44:00.000-08:00

I created this blog to share my experiences as a traveler, who is one of my greatest pleasures in life.

Every time I plan a trip, compare prices, situations and try to find the best options for my budget and interests, and now I want people who love to travel, as I know them and perhaps serve them something.

I have been fortunate to visit many countries and meeting its people and its monuments and increasingly know more in this wonderful world of travel.