In an impromptu crash course in vocabulary, attendees at one of Bad Bunny’s concerts in Madrid faced the challenge of deciphering Puerto Rican slang while waiting in line.
Accompanied by our colleague Priscilla Malavet, a native of Puerto Rico, a reporter tested the young people’s cultural knowledge to see how much they really understand about Caribbean expressions.
The street quiz began with a visual test: identifying a characteristic straw hat. After a hesitant first attempt by a young man sitting on the ground, it was revealed that the correct name is the “pava,” the traditional hat historically worn by peasant jíbaros in rural areas of Puerto Rico. From this point on, the quiz focused purely on urban and everyday slang.
From ‘piquete’ to ‘chinchorreo’
The vocabulary questions revealed how deeply these expressions have taken root. The term “piquete” was defined without hesitation by one of the interviewees as “your flow” or a style of dress, an answer immediately celebrated by the interviewers. However, “pichar” caused much more confusion among the group. Initial guesses mistakenly pointed to “celebrating something big” or “showing off,” until its true meaning was clarified: to ignore something or someone.
On the other hand, the influence of urban music left its mark when asked about “janguear,” a term that attendees quickly identified as going out to party or hitting the town.
The concept of “chinchorrear” required a bit more deduction, but found its perfect translation in the local context: it is the equivalent of “hopping from beach bar to beach bar,” since on the island a “chinchorro” refers to this type of informal leisure establishment.
The surprising Balearic etymology
The most curious moment of the survey came with the word “mahón,” commonly used in the Caribbean country to refer to jeans. The explanation revealed a direct link to Spain: the term originates from Mahón, on the island of Menorca, the area from which the fabric used to make these garments historically came. This fact served as the basis for understanding the phrase “guayar mahón,” which literally means “to brush against jeans” and is popularly used as a synonym for the action of “perrear.”
The linguistic challenge concluded with the term “algarete,” which the participants correctly defined as doing something “crazy” or letting oneself be carried away in an uncontrollable situation.
