There’s nothing like a chela bien muerta, and all the better if it’s straight from the caguama.
Mexicans enjoy their leisure time, and this country’s party culture is always just around the corner. However, as the beers go down the slang often comes out, and knowing what certain phrases refer to in the context of drinking can be essential.
The author of The Mexican Slang Dictionary, Alasdair Baverstock, gives us ten lesser-known Mexican expressions and phrases to take your Pachanga to the next level.
Caguama – noun
- A sea turtle.
- A large bottle of beer, usually measuring 1.2 litres. Often shared between friends as a cheaper alternative to individual bottles.
Ballena – noun A Caguama, specifically of Pacifico beer, found only in Mazatlan, Sinaloa, where the brewery is based. Literally, a whale.
Chela – noun Beer. The etymology of this slang stems from the name Graciela, which sounds similar enough to the word Cerveza to be substituted for it. The abbreviated nickname for Graciela, is Chela, which therefore applies also to the slang for beer.
Cheve – noun A Norteño equivalent of Chela.
Hasta ver la cruz –
- expression To ‘down’ a drink in one go. Comes from the religious prayer candles, the containing glasses have a crucifix at the bottom, and are commonly used for drinking mezcal after the candle has been spent. By doing so, the drinker would ‘see the cross’ at the bottom of his glass only when it is upturned. Consequently also:
- adj Very drunk.
Hecho una Cuba – adj Extremely Drunk.
Mala Copa – adj Descriptive of a person who cannot hold their drink, becomes drunk easily, or is prone to foolishness once drunk.
Medios Chiles, Estar a – adj The ‘merry’, or ‘tipsy’ state of drunkeness. Also happysón.
Paloma – noun A mixed drink containing Tequila, lime juice and grapefruit soda
Torito – noun Jail cell where those who have committed offences while unde the influence of alcohol are taken to sober up overnight. The ‘drunk-tank’.
You can buy The Mexican Slang Dictionary on Amazon in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico.
Alisdair Baverstock is the Mexico City based author of The Mexican Slang Dictionary.
Me encantan estos, por favor sigan viniendo.
I’ll be sure to print this out. One thing is for sure: I will never ever again buy or even try mezcal. I was curious and bought some before Christmas and it was pretty awful!! Not only did it smell bad but tasted like something between shoe polish and Swedish red alcohol used for polishing or clean furniture with and always marked with a warning sign in red saying “Farligt att Fortara” or “Dangerous to consume”. I have since been told that some batches are worse than others and, if you are lucky, you might run into a very good mezcal that doesn’t taste all that bad… Great, but I am afraid I’ll pass and leave it to the experts in this area. COSTCO gave me my money back but the second bottle I already gifted to my eldest son and family last Christmas. I have warned him but he seems to think it will work if mixed with something or other… I can’t take it back but will never ever do it again!!
Actually, you are Wrong: Good Mezcal is superior to Tequila in most ways. When I lived in San Agustinillo (Oaxaca) my taxi guy would take me toward the outskirts where a chap Dispensed liters of Oaxaca elaborated in the mountains beyond…3 grades, the most expensive, 400 pesos/liter…..EXQUISITE…the flavor, palatability. As for COSTCO, you’re kidding, right?
Tequila is a type of Mezcal. And like Tequila, some Mezcals are bad and some are good. Personally, I prefer and excellent Tequila but, if I am offered an excellent Mezcal, I’ll take it in a heartbeat.
What does Chelo stand for?
Try Googling “Mexican slang for Chelo.” I can’t cut and paste here, but it can be derogatory, including “gangster.” Also a person with somehow a “wrong split” of ethnic backgrounds, etc.
Anyway, it ain’t nice. 😠
FYI. Cerveza Pacífico is readily available here in Cancun.