Doorway to Mexico
Episode 2
Bonus Lesson Street Food
Language Spotlight
LA COCINERA
Unos taquitos gerita?
Want some tacos, gerita? Oye, fjate en esta
foto, gero.
Gerita is a diminutive of gera. Hey, check out this
photo, gero.
Gera/gero is a non-derogatory
term used informally to refer to
people that have light hair or
a light complexion, regardless
of their nationality.
Language Spotlight
LA COCINERA
Venga, sintese, y cmase unos Tacos al pastor being
taquitos al pastor. prepared in a street food
Come on, sit down, and have eatery in Mexico.
some tacos al pastor.
Tacos al pastor are a
In Mexico, taquitos refers to
popular form of street food,
small tacos.
traditionally prepared with
The fried, rolled-up tortillas spit-grilled pork meat.
that are called taquitos in America
are called flautas in Mexico.
Language Spotlight
LA COCINERA
Vlgame Dios! Pus (pues),
de dnde son?
Oh my God! So, where are !Vlgame Dios! Mira lo
que me est diciendo el
you from? chavo que me gusta.
The expression vlgame Dios! Oh my God! Look what
literally means,God protect me! the guy I like is saying.
However more generally, its used
as a mild exclamation, similar to
the English expressions, Gosh!
My goodness! or Oh my God!
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Doorway to Mexico Episode 2
Bonus Lesson Street Food
Language Spotlight
MICHAEL
Es nuestra primera vez aqu en Mxico, por lo que no estoy seguro cmo funciona.
Its our first time here in Mexico, so Im not sure how it works.
Por lo que is a phrase that can be translated in many ways depending on the context, such as therefore,
hence, so, for which reason, which is why, which was why, etc.
Com tacos para la comida, por
lo que prefiero comer algo
diferente para la cena.
I had tacos for lunch, which is
why Id rather get something
different for dinner.
(in Mexico, la comida can
refer to the midday meal.)
No me gusta mucho la comida
picante, por lo que no le ponga
mucha salsa, por favor.
I dont like spicy food too much
so please dont put a lot of salsa
in it.
Language Spotlight
LA COCINERA
Le reencantan los tacos y nunca los haba probado en Mxico antes?
You really love tacos and youve never tried them in Mexico before?
Reencantan = re + encantan. Adding the prefix re before some verbs and adjectives is a colloquial way
to add emphasis to a statement (similar to the word really). Its not a very refined form of Spanish and
its not used by everyone, so perhaps its best for students to use sparingly. Its sometimes written as one
word or two, for example reencantan or re encantan.
Te ves re guapa en este vestido.
You look really pretty in this dress.
Est re bien este nuevo celular.
This new phone is really nice.
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Doorway to Mexico Episode 2
Bonus Lesson Street Food
Language Spotlight
LA COCINERA
ndele! Me encanta hacer
tacos pa (para) los gringos!
Julie, la gringa, standing in front of
Alright! I love making tacos a public art sculpture in Chapultepec
for gringos! park, Mexico City.
Gringo/gringa is a non-
derogatory term for a person
that is born in the U.S.
ndele (usted) / ndale (t) is a colloquial term in Mexico that can be translated in various
ways depending on the context. Some common translations are, come on, go on or lets go.
Other times it might be used informally as an affirmation, as if to say okay, right or thats it.
ndale, agarra una rebanada de pizza!
Come on/Go ahead, grab a slice
of pizza!
Uf, esta laptop siempre tarda una
eternidad, ndale... funciona!
Ugh, this laptop takes forever,
lets go already!
Tienes que probar esta salsa, no
pica tanto, confa en m... ndale!
Youve got to try this salsa, its
not too hot, trust me, go for it.
Listo para un cctel?
- S. ndale pues!
Ready for a cocktail?
-Yeah, lets do it!
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Doorway to Mexico Episode 2
Bonus Lesson Street Food
Language Spotlight
LA COCINERA
No come usted carne para nada?!
You dont eat meat at all?
Para nada is a colloquial, adverbial expression, commonly used in the spoken language, which means
en absoluto, de ningn modo, or not at all.
Te gusta el sushi?
-Para nada.
Do you like sushi?
-Not at all.
No llovi para nada hoy, el
pronstico se equivoc.
It didnt rain at all today, the
forecast was wrong.
Language Spotlight
LA COCINERA
Ni siquiera se asemejan.
They dont even resemble each other.
(Or) Theyre not even close.
Asemejarse means to be similar to, to compare, to resemble or to look like.
El D.F. no se asemeja para nada
a lo que haba pensado.
Mexico City doesnt look at all
like I thought it would.
Son hermanas, pero no se
asemejan en nada.
Theyre sisters, but they
dont look anything alike.
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Doorway to Mexico Episode 2
Bonus Lesson Street Food
Language Spotlight
LA COCINERA
Tenemos tacos al pastor, de bistec, suadero, longaniza.
Tambin tenemos gorditas, quesadillas y las tostadas!
Understanding common street food menu items:
Una gordita.
Meat or cheese filling
in a corn dough pocket.
Tacos de suadero.
Tacos with thinly cut
beef.
Tacos de longaniza.
Pork sausage tacos.
Atole
Traditionally served hot, atole is
a popular street beverage, made with
masa, cinnamon and brown sugar.
There are also other popular atoles
made with rice, milk and sugar
called atole de arroz.
Tostada
In Mexico the tostada generally is
prepared with a flat, cripsy tortilla
underneath various toppings.
Guisado
Tacos de guisado refer to meats
stewed or braised with various
seasonings, as well as vegetarian
stews like potatoes, cactus,
mushrooms, etc.
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Doorway to Mexico Episode 2
Bonus Lesson Street Food
Language Spotlight
LA COCINERA Marchantita is a diminutive
Mire usted marchantita, of marchanta/marchante
las gorditas son muy populares! (merchant). She is being playful
with the language here, she means,
Look, marchantita, the gorditas my dear client, my valued
are very popular! customer.
Language Spotlight
JULIE
Qu me recomienda?
What do you recommend?
Its not uncommon to find different regional foods and cuts of meat you may be unfamiliar with on
menus in Latin America. Here are some ways to ask for recommendations that may suit your preference:
Me gusta la carne, pero no me gusta
la molleja ni la tripa, entonces,
qu me recomendara?
I like beef but I dont like sweet-
breads or innards, so what would
you recommend?
Me gusta el pescado, pero, podra
recomendarme algo que no tenga
mucho sabor a pescado?
I like fish, but can you recommend
something that doesnt taste too
fishy?
Qu me recomendara que no est
muy frito o muy grasoso?
What would you recommend that isnt
deep fried or very greasy?
Podras recomendarme algo que
no pique mucho?
Could you recommend something
that isnt too spicy?
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Doorway to Mexico Episode 2
Bonus Lesson Street Food
Language Spotlight
DANIELLE
Deme dos gorditas, por favor.
Ill have two gorditas, please.
Deme (usted) / Dame (t) is a very common and natural sounding way to order food.
Its similar to other English expressions used to order food, like give me, Ill have, or let me get.
S, deme dos tacos de bistec,
por favor.
Yeah, let me get two steak tacos,
please.
Dame una agua fresca, por
favor.
Ill take an agua fresca, please.
(a sweet, water based beverage)
Language Spotlight
LA COCINERA
Tengo el queso de Oaxaca, que se derrite. El requesn, ah, ese queso que no se derrite.
I have cheese from Oaxaca which melts. The Ricotta, ah, that cheese doesnt melt.
Oaxaca cheese is similar to Mozzarella, it melts easily.
Lets review the verb derretir/derretirse, and the ways we can say melt.
A Julie le encanta meter sus
churros en el chocolate derretido.
Julie loves to dip her churros in
melted chocolate.
Tu helado se est derritiendo por
todos lados.
Your ice cream is melting all over
the place.
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Doorway to Mexico Episode 2
Bonus Lesson Street Food
Language Spotlight
LA COCINERA
Ta (Est) geno (bueno)!Y qu se la antoja a usted pues, seora?
Good! And what do you feel like then, seora?
Ta (or t) is a very informal way of saying est. Geno is a very informal way of saying bueno.
They are both Mexican slang terms and are not considered grammatically correct. They are mostly
heard either by people from small villages, people who are part of the indigenous population or
sometimes it can be heard among friends who are just playing around with the language in a silly way.
Now lets review the verb antojarse, which means to feel like, be in the mood or have a craving for.
Se me antoja algo dulce, qu
tipos de conchas tiene?
Im in the mood for something
sweet, what kind of conchas
do you have?
(concha is a type of sweet bread)
Se nos antoj dar un paseo
antes de la cena.
We felt like taking a walk before
dinner.
Language Spotlight
LA COCINERA
Va a acabar chupndose los dedos!
Youre going to end up licking your fingers!
Acabar is one of the verbs we can use to say end up.
Voy a acabar con una cruda si sigo
tomando ms, pero, pues ni modo.
Im going to end up with a
hangover if I keep drinking more,
but, oh well.
Acabamos pasando todo el da
relajndonos en la playa.
We ended up spending the whole
day relaxing at the beach.
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Doorway to Mexico Episode 2
Bonus Lesson Street Food
Pronunciation Spotlight
LA COCINERA Other common
pronunciations:
Ntonces, va a probarlos?
So, are you going to try them? Ora = Ahora
Pus/Pos = Pues
Its not uncommon to hear people Ust = Usted
on the streets of Mexico pronounce Verd = Verdad
words incorrectly. In this example Ntons = Entonces
we hear the word entonces being Pa = Para
pronounced as ntonces Ta = Est
Language Spotlight
DANIELLE
In Mexico, we call tomatoes
Con todo, menos jitomate jitomates
With everything but tomato.
Language Spotlight
LA COCINERA
Tambin, le podemos poner lechuga, crema, salsa, cilantro y cebolla!
We can also put lettuce, sour cream, salsa, cilantro and onion on it.
In this example, le podemos poner lechuga... means we can put lettuce on it...
However, the indirect object pronoun le sometimes doesnt require a translation at all.
It can be used as a way to add emphasis to a statement, as the following examples illustrate.
Por favor, no le ponga mucha
cebolla a mi taco, gracias.
Please dont put a lot of onion
on my taco, thanks.
Le puede poner un poco de chile
y mayonesa al elote, por favor?
Can you put a little chile and
mayonnaise on the corn on the cob,
please?
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Doorway to Mexico Episode 2
Bonus Lesson Street Food
Language Spotlight
LA COCINERA
Pngale guacamolito.
Put a little guacamole on it.
Adding the ending ito/ita to a word is an extremelly common way to express something as a diminutive,
or add a touch of tenderness or playfulness to a word, depending on the context.
You can add ito/ita to almost any noun, so have fun with it. But be careful because there are several
grammar rules to follow, for example, sometimes ito/ita must become cito/cita, or ecito/ecita/ececito
depending on the word. Here are a few examples to help familiarize yourself with how it works.
Tuvimos una fiestecita.
We had a little party/get together.
(fiesta becomes fiestecita)
Podemos pararnos en ese lugarcito
tan lindo para tomar un cafecito?
Can we stop at that cute little place
to get a little coffee?
Visit a su abuelita. Mira las pobrecitas gatitas. Levanata tus piececitos.
She visited her grandma/ Look at the poor little kittens. Put your feet up (or) put/lift your
her dear grandmother. little feet (to a child).
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Doorway to Mexico Episode 2
Bonus Lesson Street Food
Language Spotlight
LA COCINERA
De verdad que trae hambre!
You really are hungry! (or) Its true that youre hungry!
Traer hambre is a colloquial way to say to be hungry.
Traamos mucha hambre despus
de un vuelo tan largo.
We were really hungry after such
a long flight.
Empiezo a traer hambre, te importa
si me paro para comer algo?
Im starting to get hungry, do you
mind if I stop to eat something?
Cultural Spotlight
DANIELLE
Una horchata para m, por favor.
A horchata for me, please.
Una horchata is a very popular rice-based
drink, traditionally served chilled and flavored
with cinnamon, vanilla and sugar.
Because horchatas may be made with water,
as a food safety precaution, its not advisable
for tourists to purchase this drink from
street vendors in Mexico. To avoid any
risk of contamination, purchase the drink
from establishments that must use filtered water,
such as restaurants, supermarkets and hotels.
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Doorway to Mexico Episode 2
Bonus Lesson Street Food
Language Spotlight
MICHAEL
Cul de estas salsas pica menos?
Which of these salsas is the least spicy?
Picar is a very versatile verb, in this context, it means to be spicy. It has several other common
definitions as well, here are some examples of how you might hear it being used.
Este suter me pica, me lo quiero
quitar.
This sweater itches, I want to take it off.
Mariana se la pasa picando todo el da.
Mariana keeps eating/snacking all day
long.
Me pic un mosquito y no puedo
dejar de rascarme.
A mosquito bit me and I cant stop
scratching.
Te pic la abeja?
Did you get stung by a bee?
Pcale al botn para prenderlo.
Press the button to turn it on.
Pica el jtomate muy chiquito.
Chop/cut the tomatoes really
small.
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Doorway to Mexico Episode 2
Bonus Lesson Street Food
Language Spotlight
MICHAEL
S, no los aguantan.
Yeah, they cant stand them.
Aguantar means to put up with, tolerate, endure or stand.
S, es hermoso, pero cmo aguantas
la humedad que hay aqu todo el
tiempo?
Yeah its beautiful, but how can
you tolerate the humidity here
all the time?
Uf, no puedo aguantar ni un
minuto ms en este trabajo.
Ugh, I cant take one more minute
of this job.
Language Spotlight
LA COCINERA
Porque tambin vende hartos tamales oaxaqueos y atole!
Because he also sells tons of Oaxacan tamales and atole!
One definition for the word harto is to be fed up or sick and tired of something. However the cook
is using the word harto as if to say a lot, as in a lot of tamales/hartos tamales. You may hear it used
more in this manner from people who come from smaller villages or who are part of the indigenous
population.
Estoy harta de esta clase.
Im sick of this class.
Ahorita estoy harto de mi
novia.
Right now Im fed up with my
girlfriend.
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