"Barbaro..." at the hippodromo (horsetrack)

"Barbaro" is a word we use all the time in Argentina.

¿Te gusta la comida?
Si, es barbaro.

However, as much as I hear this commonly used word here, I see bullshit on the internet about some horse with the same name, "Barbaro."

I mean, this is in the headlines all the time. Grown-up news channels. Is this for real?

Yahoo, CNN, etc. American media outlets that somehow think the world cares about some horse that won a race and lost another. I never did get around to seeing that one movie with the kid who plays Spiderman in it, this story reeks of the same stink.

Now, how about the human jockey that rode Barbaro when it fell? Does he need economic support? I think these are better questions than, did the horse have a good night?

Was he sleepy? Whiny? Horesy? (who is asking these questions, the journalists 7 year olds?)
Will he get better, worse, good night, bad, should Cheney take him hunting? Good lord.

If the mass media wants to push stories on us when real news is happening, I think the blogosphere will surely cut their empire faster than anyone thought.

By the way if you ever go to the track in Buenos Aires, it is somewhat elegant and affordable depending on your bets, but they do not sell liquor there.

But check it out. There is always another horse to run another race, and that is quite "barbaro."

HERE is some more lunfardo for you...

Lunfardo, spoken in Buenos Aires, is typically the tongue of the poor immigrants in Buenos Aires, who mixed Spanish grammar with their native tongue. Although it cannot be considered widely understood or a mayor "Argentinean dialect", a lot of words from lunfardo have slipped into normal Argentinean use. A peculiar element in the Lunfardo slang is that some words are pronounced with inverted syllables: tango then becomes gotán, mujer becomes jermu, pagar is garpar, pedazo is zopeda and so on. If you want to read more about Lunfardo, try "Nuevo Diccionario Lunfardo" from José Gobello, or "Ché Boludo", an small English-language introduction written by James Bracken.

¿Castellano or Español?

An ever recurring questions among students of Spanish is wether in Argentina they speak "Español" or "Castellano". "Castellano" was originally the dialect of the Castilla region in Spain, where the crown was seated. Talking "Castellano" meant talking "the king´s" Spanish. Nowadays the two terms mean EXACTLY the same, though people might have their own definition of terms. In Argentina, most people will refer to "Spanish from Spain" with "Español", while they consider themselves talking "Castellano".

PERSONS
Pibe Chico Nene Mina Viejo/a Porteño Boludo Pelotudo Tarado Chorro	kid/guy kid kid young girl lit: Old man/old woman, used for father and mother habitant of the city of Buenos Aires “jerk”, “asshole”, mostly used friendly between friends idem “dumbass”, normally no friendly use Thief
CLOTHING
Campera Saco Calzoncillo Bombacha Remera Pollera	Winter coat jacket mens´ underwear womens´ underwear t-shirt skirt
FOOD
Dulce de leche Alfajores Churros Masitas Garapiñada Pochoclo Bife de Chorizo Mate Bombilla	Typical argentinean caramel spread, made of milk and sugar, often found in pastries Filled, chocolate covered cookies. Typical pastries, often filled with “dulce de leche” Typical pastries of all sorts Peanuts covered with sugar or chocolate Popcorn Tenderloin steak (and that means TENDER in Argentina!) Herb tea, made of a native shrub called "yerba", cultivated and drunk extensively in all southern countries of South America, but more even in Uruguay and Argentina. "Mate cebado" is drunk in a typical vase, called a mate in itself. The metal straw you drink “mate” with
TRANSPORT
Colectivo Remise	City bus Taxi with radio service, often paid in advance at airports.
OTHER
Guita	Money
EXPRESSIONS
Estar en pedo Estar de franco No dar bolilla Embromar Afanar Bancar Laburar No tener ni la pálida idea Dar cuete	Be drunk To have a day off (from work) To ignore To cheat, fraud To rob To stand To work Not have a clue Give attention to
PET PHRASES
Ché ¿Viste? Bárbaro Regio Bacán ¿Qué onda?	Used as both at the end of phrases and to address people informally, it means something like “you”. Ernesto “Ché” Guevarra got his nickname because he used it so much among his fellow Cuban guerilla fighters. Pronounced very often at the end of phrases, it means literally: “understood?” “Great!”, “perfect” “Great!”, “perfect” “Great!”, “perfect” something like “What´s up?”

El Voseo


The use of “vos” instead of “tu” (you in informal sense) is common in both the Río de la Plata region and parts of Central America, but the conjugation of the corresponding verbs is a little different. In Argentina it derives from the “vosotros” form (which is otherwise not used as in all Latin American countries.

Examples:

Spain & Central South America Argentina parts of Central America

Present tense

Tú tienes Vos tenés Vos tienes

Tú eres Vos sos Vos eres

Tú vienes Vos venís Vos vienes

Commands (Imperative)

Anda Andá

Come Comé

Ven Vení

Siéntate Sentate

Sírvete Servite