Cuban sayings? 10 expressions you’ll only know if you’re from Cuba

Let’s travel to an island with its own wonderful language, personality, authenticity and freshness, located in the middle of the Caribbean Sea. Sounds difficult, doesn’t it? However, if we were to whisper “Cuba” into your ear, you’d probably realize that this incredible Caribbean island fits perfectly with all of the above-mentioned criteria.

The people are warm and welcoming, and have a great zest for life, with one of their most distinct features being their specific way of speaking Spanish. Colloquially, these different utterances are referred to as Cuban expressions, or cubanisms. Words, idioms or small phrases of Castilian Spanish that Cubans defend vehemently as part of their particular world view.

But before taking a look at their 10 most amusing and peculiar expressions, let’s learn a bit about their rich history and how this has influenced their unique way of using the Cervantine language.

A little bit of history

Having been inhabited by migrant fishermen from Central America, and other nomadic communities from the mouth of the Mississippi River for more than ten thousand years, Cuba was then colonized by Spain through the discovery of America (1492), which allowed the Spaniards to forge their own identity alongside the local natives.

One thing is for certain: the settlers had not planned to cross the Atlantic Ocean on old wooden galleons with the aim of exchanging ideas and conversing with the locals. The main aims were to impose traditions, expand the empire and plunder resources, with the teaching of the language, culture and traditions in every settlement being a sort of secondary collateral damage, to express it more colloquially.

This was how, over centuries, Spanish slowly but surely permeated the culture, becoming an excellent vehicle for the unity of all generations of Creoles, Indians and Mestizos, who lived alongside each other under the same flag of the Spanish empire throughout what is now known as Central America, the Caribbean Sea and South America.

A possession of the Spanish Crown for more than 400 years, it was after its independence in 1898, and its subsequent treaty with the United States, when Cuba made itself known to the rest of the world. Decades after, following the Cuban revolution, the country became immersed in a turbulent military regime, which spread through the country for years of influence from Russian ideology.

It could be concluded that the long period of Spanish reign, along with the influence of the United States and the interference from Russia in the last few decades, has given rise to a Spanish language that is brimming with words stemming from a diverse mix of those three languages in particular (though there is moderate French and Portuguese influence) and their respective pronunciations.

Another aspect that contributed to Cuba’s historic development was the massive influx of African slaves. As the native population was almost entirely killed off at the start of the conquest, it was necessary to import cheap labor. Galleons were loaded with slaves whose purpose was to build and put up cities, churches, bridges and strongholds that would protect the colonies from the ships and troops of other colonial empires (such as the Dutch or the English).

In fact, nowadays, in each and every Cuban town there remain Afro Cuban communities deriving from various African countries.

The Cuban education system

Although it’s easy to think of Cuba as an impoverished country, it’s worth noting that it is actually one of the countries with the highest school enrollment rate on the planet. The free and universal nature of its education system (from primary school to university), its dedicated effort to professional training and strong impetus in promoting culture on all governmental levels have been the main actors resulting in the population's high literacy rate and its excellent cultural general knowledge.

Cuba's lack of materials and human resources over the last few decades in the economic sphere is, without a doubt, a factor that must be taken into account when studying the way in which its people express themselves in Spanish. In spite of this, there are many intellectuals in the country who are capable of producing sharp, profound and high quality literature.

The most common local expressions used by Cubans when expressing themselves can be identified in the way they conjugate verbs, the gender and number agreement, the famous fillers or reversing complex sentence structures. Another aspect to highlight is that, in many cases, correcting the typographical syntax of official and professional texts (such as, for example, medical or public administration documents) is left exclusively to computer software proofreaders. This means that, as our language is so rich, diverse and full of variants, it is practically impossible to carry out said process using a machine. This makes it essential to use a professional linguist or proofreader for the job.

The negative impact that text messaging services for mobile phones have had throughout the world also plays a big part. The immediacy of replies and the lack of control over the most essential writing conventions when exchanging messages have meant that young people in particular have started to accept serious grammatical errors regarding syntax and spelling as being the norm.

Features of Castilian Spanish in Cuba

As it is largely similar to Spanish spoken in the Antilles and other surrounding countries, its minimal differences are based on certain lexical and phonetic aspects. It’s also worth noting that within the same island there are different cultural expressions depending on the area you’re in, but without reaching the level of being an actual dialect.

The main difference is most likely between Western areas (with a more modern, dynamic and up-to-date language) and Eastern areas of the island (where a more traditional and conserved Spanish is spoken). As well as the location, other factors such as age and sex also have a strong influence. Among the most common general features of cubanisms are:

• Pronunciation of the letter "S" as if it were a"J". An example of this would be the word ‘casco’ [caj-co].
• Assimilation of the "R" by the consonant that follows it in that particular word. A prime example of this norm is the word ‘argolla’ [ag-goy-a].
• Substituting the letter "R" with the letter "L". The word ‘amor’ is one of the most universal examples of this pronunciation [a-mol].
• Use of personal pronouns (yo, tú, él, ella) in any situation or context, possibly due to the influence of English, and the predominance of using the informal pronoun of ‘tú’ as a way of rebelling against the norms are two of the most traditional features of Cuban people.
• Avoiding the use of the second-person plural pronoun (vosotros).
• Vocabulary. Without a doubt, this aspect of the language represents the largest variation. The Cuban lifestyle, their love of pleasure, celebrating, and anything related to the social sphere have given rise to an enormous amount of rich and new cultural expressions over the centuries.

The streets of Havana breathe life

The famous and renowned habanero intellectual, Argelio Santiesteban, explained in various press conferences led by European capitals several years ago that “Spanish in Cuba forms part of a collective daily effort made by Cubans to find the artist that every human being carries within themselves.” Resourceful, lively and full of the joys of spring, the average Cuban approaches life from a street-life point of view, thriving off contact with their social surroundings. “The metaphor is without a doubt one of our strengths.”

The truth is that the words and phrases used by the average Cuban harbor a huge amount of tradition, humor, myths and profound popular sentiments.

It must be emphasized that, if it is true that this is an intrinsic feature of any place on the planet, then Cuba has reached unimaginable heights, and is most likely one of the smartest and most inventive communities in the world in this regard. For example, people who aren’t very bright are asked “not to throw stones at the Morro” (no tiren piedras al Morro) in reference to the remoteness and height of the construction which is on the other side of Havana Bay, whilst for those who are about to experience a serious disaster, people say “they are at the tip of the canoe” (están en el pico de la piragua). Euphemisms also have a particularly significant influence within Cuban culture.

Some examples are the way in which they refer to the flu ("la cariñosa", meaning "the loving one") or to death ("ir a vivir el reparto bocarriba" literally meaning "to go and lie face up in the cemetery").

Among the most common proverbs are many versions and adaptations of traditional Castilian Spanish sayings. Short and snappy phrases with a double meaning which, for centuries, have preserved the oldest and most rooted popular knowledge.

From the most sophisticated culture to the most basic instincts

Various studies show that, over the last few decades, there has been a gradual progression towards equality in terms of vocabulary and expressions between Cuban elites and ordinary folk, an occurrence that has been openly celebrated by the national authorities.

The urbanization and reconstruction of cities, mobility related to work or social purposes experienced by everyone in the country, the standardized education system or the slow but steady industrialization process in the more rural areas, together with other factors such as administrative centralization or the lack of diversity in the media, have all contributed to a generic uniformity that has been passed on to all Cubans.

According to Argelio Santiesteban, the aforementioned Cuban linguist: “Despite this standardization, Cuban jargon has not suffered any losses, as it is spoken everywhere, from palaces to brothels, or down on the seafront to political party meetings."

What is more, Cuba is light, laughter, transparency, frankness and the sincerity of open hearts.  Its people show this through their own version of Spanish. There is no room for sobriety, respect, decorum or airs and graces, as it's spoken loudly on Cuba’s streets in the most vibrant and spiritual way. Souls seeking connection with others, with nothing other than emotion to think about. Egalitarianism in every sense of the word.

However, it is worth noting that there are people who are not in favor of achieving total equality, at least in this cultural aspect. Some respectful forms of address (particularly to elderly people or authorities), using colloquial words in difficult or sensitive situations or the growing tendency among young people to confuse confidence with lack of respect have led to, for the first time in a while, various intellectuals speaking out and asking for more control and measures to be taken.      The 10 most popular and amusing expressions or cubanisms

Despite having left out hundreds of expressions, here are what we consider to be some of the funniest phrases used in the Cuban lingo today:

1. Asere ¿Qué volá? [Acere Ke Boola] – How’s it going? How are you doing, pal?
2. Ando a la my love [Ando a la mailó] – Meaning "to be relaxed" and "to be care-free." It also means to be naked.
3. Coger botella – To hitch a ride.
4. Irse pa'l yuma – Literally this is to travel to the United States, but in more recent times it has been used as a synonym of "to travel abroad", to any country. The word "yuma" is also used as an appreciative suffix to refer to people from the United States.
5. ¡Sirvió Rodríguez! – This is a witty play-on-words, using the Spanish affirmation "sirvió" and the name of the famous Cuban poet Silvio Rodríguez. It is used to show enthusiasm about something that has gone perfectly to plan or a plan to meet with friends, and the word "sirvió" can be substituted with the word "jugó."
6. Tirar un cabo – This isn’t to throw a lit cigarette butt at somebody, but the opposite; this expression simply means to lend somebody a hand. For example, you can "tirarle un cabo a tu amigo en la mudanza" (lend your friend a hand when they’re moving house), help somebody out in an exam, or look after their kids. If you’re in Cuba and you have a flat tyre or your car breaks down, you can say to the first Cuban person who walks past "Socio, hazme el favor y tírame un cabo con el carro" (Excuse me, can you do me a favor and lend me a hand with the car?).
7. Eres un punto – A pejorative term used in Cuba to refer to innocent people who are easily fooled or swindled.  This can also be used when somebody is cheated on by their partner or to refer to people who are extremely honest and good-hearted.
8. Las tengo a pululu – Commonly used by men to boast about the fact that they’re sleeping with different women.
9. Completo Camagüey – This means that something has been finished or has reached its end, for example to refer to finishing a chore or job.
10. "...ARRIBA DE LA BOLA!" – To be on the ball and up to date with the latest news or trends. To be the greatest.

These cubanisms are examples of how an indomitable community of people used to expressing themselves without fear of being judged, speaking the Spanish language and bringing it to life.

Unique phrases, of which we’ve only shown 10 of the most interesting and amusing, are just a small glimpse into this lively Caribbean community’s way of speaking.