by Ruta Sepetys
Buenos días
Good morning
Buenas noches
Good night/evening
Buenas tardes
Good afternoon
Caballero
Gentleman/Sir
Cálmate
Take it easy/Calm down
Capea
Caping
Caramba
Wow
Caray
Wow
Cariño
Darling
El Caudillo
Leader/Leader of armies (in reference to Franco)
Cava
Sparkling wine
Chabolas
Shanties
Chaquetilla
Short jacket worn by bullfighters
Chico
Boy
Churros
Fried dough dusted with sugar
Claro
Clear, understood/Of course
Cocido a la madrileña
Stew of chickpeas, meat, and vegetables
Corrida
Bullfighting
Cuadrilla
The matador’s team
¡Cúcú!
Cuckoo/Peekaboo
Culón
To have a big bottom
De nada
You are welcome
¡Dios Mío!
Oh my God!
Entonces
So/Then
España
Spain
¡Espere!
Wait!
Estamos más guapas con la boca cerrada
We (women) are prettier with our mouths shut
¿Estás ahí?
Are you here?
¿Estás bien?
Are you okay?
Estás loco
You’re crazy
Exactamente
Exactly
Excelentes
Excellent
Fabulosa
Fabulous
La Falange
Fascist movement founded in Spain in 1933
¡Qué fantástico!
How fantastic!
Felicidades
Congratulations
El fin
The end
Flamenco
A genre of Spanish music and dance from Andalusia
Franco ha muerto
Franco has died
Fuga
Escape
Futbolista
Soccer player
Generalísimo
General (in reference to Francisco Franco)
González Byass
A well-known Spanish sherry producer
Goya
Francisco Goya—Spanish painter and printmaker
Gracias
Thank you
Los grises
The grays. Slang term for police in gray uniforms.
Hermano
Brother
Hola
Hi
Huérfano
Orphan
Inclusa
Orphanage
Jerez
Sherry
Federico García Lorca
Spanish poet, playwright, and theater director
Lo siento
I’m sorry
Madre
Mother
Maletilla
Untrained, amateur bullfighter—a novice
Manzanilla
Chamomile; also a type of sherry
Maravilloso
Marvelous
El matadero
Slaughterhouse
Matador
During a bullfight, the one who kills the bull
Mentirosos
Liars
Mi amor
My love
Ay, mi madre
Oh, my mother/Oh, my goodness
Miedo
Fear
El momento
The moment
Morcilla
Blood sausage
Mucho gusto
Nice to meet you
Muleta
In bullfighting, a stick with a red cloth that is used in the final third of a bullfight
Muy bonito
Very beautiful
Muy guapa
Very pretty
Nenaza
Sissy
Nepotismo
Nepotism
Niño
Child
No era mi intención asustarte
I didn’t mean to scare you
No le hagas daño
Don’t hurt her
Novilladas
An event with younger bullfighters who have not yet achieved the rank of matador
No, soy yo el que lo lamenta
No, I’m the one who’s sorry
Novillero
Junior bullfighter
Oh, qué chiquitita
Oh, she’s so tiny
Olé
Exclamation of approval at a bullfight
Padre
Father
Papá
Papa
Pasodoble
Musical Spanish military march
Pequeñines
Little ones
Perdón
Excuse me
Periodista
Journalist
Permiso marital
A set of laws that prohibited a wife from employment, owning property, and traveling away from home without her husband’s approval, and in most cases, written marital permission
Pesetas
Monetary unit, currency in Spain until 2002
Placita
Plazita, plaza
Por favor
Please
¿Por qué?
Why?
Portales
Entrance gates to apartment buildings
Qué bien
How good, that’s great
Qué bonito
How beautiful
Qué duro
How difficult/tough
¿Qué haces aquí?
What are you doing here?
¿Qué hay, amigo?
What’s up, friend?
¿Qué pasa?
What’s the matter?
¿Qué piensas?
What do you think?
Él quería ser torero
He wanted to be a bullfighter
Querida
My dear
Rioja
Spanish wine, region in Spain
Rojilla
A derogatory term for a woman who aligns with the political left
Sección Femenina
Women’s section of the Falange political movement in Spain
Señor
Sir or Mr.
Señora
Madam or Mrs.
Sensacional
Sensational
Sentido
Bullfighting term describing the bull’s realization that the man is the challenger, not the cape.
El Sereno
Night watchman
Sí
Yes
Siesta
Break period in the afternoon when the heat is most intense
Sin datos
Without data or information
Sí, tú
Yes, you
Sorolla
Joaquín Sorolla, Spanish painter
Suerte
Luck/Good luck
Tandas
Bullfighting term describing a series of passes with
the bull
Tesoro
Treasure
Texano
Texan
Tío Pepe
A brand of Spanish sherry produced by González Byass
El torero
Bullfighter
El torno
The lathe or wheel
Toro
Bull
Tortilla de patata
Potato (and often onion) omelette
Traje de luces
Suit of lights
Tranquilo
Calm/Calm down
Uy
Oops
El Valle de los Caídos
The Valley of the Fallen
Virgen Santa
Holy virgin
¡Viva España!
Long live Spain!
Voy a ser torero
I’m going to be a bullfighter
¿Y qué?
And so?
Ya lo veo
I can see that
Yo
I
Yo hablo español
I speak Spanish
Creative Commons via Wikimedia
General Francisco Franco.
Pictorial Press Ltd / Alamy Stock Photo
Francisco Franco waving to the Spanish people from the balcony of the Royal Palace.
World History Archive / Alamy Stock Photo
Children in Spain salute an image of Francisco Franco on the street.
Sueddeutsche Zeitung Photo / Alamy Stock Photo
Maternity ward in Madrid.
World History Archive / Alamy Stock Photo
Auxilio Social home for boys.
Author Collection
Original ad for the Castellana Hilton in Madrid.
The LIFE Picture Collection / Getty Images
The Guardia Civil.
Creative Commons via Wikimedia (Jorge Díaz Bes)
The Valley of the Fallen, which contains the remains of forty thousand people who fought in the Spanish Civil War. The site remains controversial in Spain.
World History Archive / Alamy Stock Photo
Nationalist painting on a building in Bilbao, containing symbols of the Falange.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ruta Sepetys (www.rutasepetys.com) is an internationally acclaimed, #1 New York Times bestselling author of historical fiction published in over sixty countries and forty languages. Sepetys is considered a "crossover" novelist, as her books are read by both teens and adults worldwide. Her novels Between Shades of Gray, Out of the Easy, and Salt to the Sea have won or been shortlisted for more than forty book prizes, and are included on more than sixty state award lists. Between Shades of Gray was adapted into the film Ashes in the Snow, and her other novels are currently in development for TV and film. Winner of the Carnegie Medal, Ruta is passionate about the power of history and literature to foster global awareness and connectivity. She has presented to NATO, to the European Parliament, in the United States Capitol, and at embassies worldwide. Ruta was born and raised in Michigan and now lives with her family in Nashville, Tennessee. Follow her on Twitter @RutaSepetys and Instagram @RutaSepetysAuthor.
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