It is usual that in almost all languages there are processes of contamination between the terms that name different areas of reality. This is the case of the vegetable universe, with an extended glossary of fruits and plants whose qualities, flavors, textures or simple appearance make it easy for them to be used metaphorically for different purposes or integrated into popular speech through phraseology.
Very unique, in the case of American Spanish, is the analogy between “papaya” and the female sexual organ. Some texts record that contrast between the American dysphemistic use and the original value that spread to the rest of the world, which lasts until today. Extremely interesting is the fact that, when botanically registered, the fruit was called “Carica papaya”, combining the Greek root karike (name of a fig tree) and the term derived from the Mayan páapay-ya (marbled sapote). From “carica” the even more tabooed “crica” seems to have been born, from a process of synonymous parallelism. In the case of Cuba, there were logical processes of intensification that allude to the volume of what is designated (the papayón) or to the character and temperament of the person who owns it (a papayúa). However, being a papayúa can modify its meaning depending on the context, since it designates both a woman with special courage, and one who is very obstinate in a company or indifferent to reasons. This last variant has given rise to phrases like “I get out of the…” (I do it because I want to) or “I pass it by…” (I ignore what you say).
More than men, women have been the repository of multiple analogies with the fruit orb. In Matanzas, for example, the reference to a beautiful girl as “mamey del primer gajo” is still heard. And even more widespread today is the use, with the same purpose, of the name “mango” or “mangón” (if it is of superior quality), although being denotative of beauty, it works for both sexes. That positive value, however, tends to get lost in “manganzón”, to refer to a man who is already grown up and especially slow or slow in carrying out a task. In the case of the mango, he also left us a phrase that is rarely heard: “the mango is buzzing”, to express annoyance.
Another fruit that has undergone various modifications is the pineapple, which due to its similarity to the dysphemism “pinga” generated funny appropriations such as the classic guaracha “María likes pineapple pelá”. In his walk through popular speech, pineapple left us “piñazo” (strong blow with the fist) and “piñacera” (collective brawl), and if a pineapple is “assembled”, it is known that it is a lump, molote, agglomeration of people , or compromise between a few to get something (“they have a tremendous gang between them”). In the same way, the guava came to mean a lie, something incredible, a toupee; or it derived in “guayabito” and, if we believe one of the theories of that history without deciphering yet, also in “guayabera”. The Cuban history of the guayabera recounts that the peasants on the banks of the Yayabo shaped this garment. Its relationship with the cultivation of guava soon made the “yayabera” become “guayabera”, since its large pockets were ideal for collecting the fruit. However, Dominicans, Mexicans and Filipinos dispute the origin of the garment, without knowing yet who is “putting the guava”.
The parts of the body have also received the influence of fruits. Thus, the head can be called “güiro” (immortalized in the children’s game of “roulette in the güiro”) or “coconut”, the latter with its own derivations: lose the coconut (go crazy, lose your mind) , descocado (crazy, out of control) or descocarse (fall headfirst). Güiro is also a party, cumbancha, revelry… And Coco, who comes at night to look for children who do not sleep or misbehave. Before we mentioned the gajo, which in some areas of Cuba designates the penis, and this is also associated with yucca (if it is dry, as the traditional son says, okra is put on it so that it slips). In general, any elongated and hard plant element has served to creatively replace the male sexual organ, such as the “bejuco”, the “trunk” or the “cuje”, the latter widely used in the West as a device for curing leaves. of tobacco, but with its own verbal derivations: “cujear” (to incite a person or prepare someone to face a task or life) and “cujeado” (who masters an art or skill). The use of “melons” to refer to women’s breasts is rare today, but its use is more common for a significant amount of money or profit that has been received: “they paid you a tremendous melon.”
There are many plant-based phrases that the Spanish we speak today treasures, some of them very popular, such as “being the cane in three pieces”, indicative of a difficult situation. To speak “banana peel” is to say things that are unimportant or that start from ignorance about an issue or topic. “Malanga and the food stand” is a grouping criterion for those who want to express a point of view, reason, or simply substitute “everyone”: malanga and the food stand went to the party. If a brawl breaks out, it’s an “aubergine” and if they’ve commissioned us to do something impossible or something they don’t want to do, well, “the stem snores.” Also who does not want to bathe, says that “the shell saves the stick.”
Its historical relationship with poetry may be the reason why the universe of flowers has left us with very popular references for proper names: Rosa, Jasmine, Flor, Violeta, Azucena, Dalia, Margarita, Hortensia, Orquídea… Also the toponymy of Our peoples have appropriated the names of fruits and trees typical of certain regions: Guásima and Guasimal, Guanábana, Jagüey, Ceiba, Palma, Pinar, Uvero, Tamarindo, Manguito, Avocado…
If that universe of relationships between flora and language that we have just outlined today is rich, the one that emanates from our fauna is much broader and more diverse. But that’s a story for another day.
