Language is always evolving, and that’s also true for American Sign Language. A century ago, the sign for “telephone” was one fist below your mouth and the other at your ear, as if you’re holding an old-fashioned candlestick...
A listener named Lita who grew up in Cuba shares her favorite Spanish idiom for “working hard”: sudando tinta, or literally, “sweating ink.” This is part of a complete episode.
Carlos in Augusta, Kentucky, says that in Cuba, when it was raining while the sun was still shining, he used to hear people say la hija del diablo se está casando, or literally, “the devil’s daughter is getting married.” A friend...
dusty foot n.— «Most head north along the same routes that Mexicans and Central Americans have long taken in their attempts to get to the US. Yet unlike other immigrants, Cubans simply walk across the US border and apply for residency:...
unresolved mourning n.— «But Cuba still dominates Cuban-American life to a remarkable degree, which psychiatrist Eugenio Rothe blames on what he calls “unresolved mourning.” “One thing very observable here, especially...
cast eye n.— «The Jamaica/Cuba Eye Care Programme is to target children who are affected with Strabismus, commonly referred to as “cast eye,” through an extensive outreach.» —“Cuba eye care project to target ‘cast eye’...