Even if you know the language, every town or culture has its own way of saying things, its own special words and customs. The following are a few of Lima’s favourites.
FINDING YOUR WAY
Streets, depending on their length and importance, can be called avenida, calle, jirón (abbreviated to Jr.), pasaje (abbreviated to Psj.) or malecón (an oceanside or riverside drive). The Via Expresa is the expressway that runs north-south from downtown to Barranco, and the street running parallel on both sides is Paseo de la República.
Street names often change between districts. Examples are Av. Angamos which begins in San Isidro and changes its name to Av. Primavera when it gets up near Av. Velasco Astete in Surco. Or the names may change because the new town council has decided to honour someone else — Av. Republica de Panama, for instance, which runs north-south from the banking section of San Isidro to the entrance to Barranco, has been re-named Av. Roosevelt, but despite even new street signs everyone continues to identify it as Panamá, and if you ask for Av. Roosevelt you will be taken to a short street downtown near the Sheraton Hotel.
Another classic is Av. Wilson in downtown Lima, the hub of everything linked to computers, and small graphic design and printing shops. The street was named after President Woodrow Wilson, and during the nationalist military regime of the 1970s was changed to Av. Inca Garcilaso de la Vega (a mouthful shortened to Garcilaso). But ever practical, Limeños are back to using the shroter, simpler Wilson.
Beyond the residential and industrial zones lie the north and south cones of settlements or shanty towns that are generically known as pueblos jóvenes or young towns. The pueblo joven is also a legal description used when first registering some of the settlements, just as asentamiento humano, or human settlement, is used for community organizations that are a step higher on the legal ladder but similarly new. Note that the bustling, upwardly mobile Cono Norte no longer likes being called a “cono” – it is Lima Norte, plain and simple.
Public transport is still all privately owned except for the new Metropolitano bus system and the soon-to-be electric train route. Transport is provided by microbus (which are now anything but micro), the combi (the ubiquitous, small van-type buses), the cooster (spelled Coaster, a van model), and the soon-extinct colectivo (usually sedan cars, which ply long stretches such as Av. Arequipa, the Expressway or Av. Javier Prado, picking up and dropping off passengers along the way).
LEARNING THE LINGO —just a sampling
Aguinaldo A tip given at Christmas and Independence Day to service suppliers such as your local garbage collector and postman, and to part-time or occasional workers such as window cleaners, gardeners.
Bonificación A bonus given at Christmas and Independence Day to payroll employees.
Boleta A general receipt for purchases or services
Factura An official receipt for purchases or services, to be used for business accounting. To be given a factura, you need to have a tax registration number (RUC).
Cambista Foreign currency exchanger. They are usually on the corners of main thoroughfares, wearing a bright-colored jacket.
Chicha morada Purple maize drink, non-alcoholic, made from boiling purple corn (also available now in packets of instant powder mixes).
Chicha de jora Andean maize beer, not commonly available in Lima except at markets.
Comida criolla Creole cuisine, the dishes of Peru’s coast that are a fusion of Andean, Spanish and African, and a more recent touch in the past century of Chinese and Japanese.
Pachamanca Andean underground ‘barbecue’ – meats, potatoes and other vegetables steamed/roasted with herbs in an underground oven made of fire-heated stones.
Peña Live entertainment, usually local creole and Andean music, in an informal atmosphere.
Cajón Literally box, used as the main percussion instrument in creole music. It was incorporated a couple of decades ago into Spanish flamenco music by Paco de Lucía.
Maestro Master or teacher: traditionally used to address plumbers, carpenters, even taxi drivers, when you don’t address them by their name or when you address them by their surname. If you address older workers by their first name, using the title ‘don’ (as in don Carlos), is a sign of respect or deference.
Soroche Altitude sickness.
Tramites Paperwork, documentary process, red tape. A household word, part of life in Peru, a tradition said to have been brought from Spain with the Conquistadors. British humorist Miles Kington once described it as a game in which no one is intended to win.
SLANG
Bamba Fake, poorly made, or a pirated copy
Chamba Work, a job
Chicha Music: the modern interpretation and rhythms of Andean music played with electric and electronic instruments. Also used to describe tabloid newspapers, even hodge-podge architecture, a whole culture. The best translation would be kitsch.
Chino Anyone of Asian descent. President Fujimori, of Japanese descent, was referred to by his admirers as El Chino
Guachimán Guard, from the English ‘watchman’
Lechero Lucky
Pata Pal, buddy
Señito Almost Ms., a contraction of señora and señorita (but not drawing room use!)
Vivo Cunning, quick to take advantage, a cad
Waipe Industrial rag, from the English instruction to “wipe it” (a number of English words were incorporated during the late 19th and early 20th centuries when British companies operated the railways, flour mills and many of the sugar and cotton plantations).
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