Compared to the relatively androgynous English, Spanish is a highly sexed language.� Every noun is either masculine or feminine.� To be fair, no one ever notices this on a conscious level, any more than anyone notices that English has no way to distinguish between "you, singular" and "you, plural", except in the Southern dialect "y'all".� Then too, some languages., such as Arabic, are more highly sexed than Spanish, as the verb requires different forms whether the performer of the action is male or female.

Nevertheless, in Spanish, some of the archtypes obtain; "sun" is masculine, "moon" is feminine, the sky is masculine (cielo), whereas the earth is feminine (tierra).� There are some interesting anomalies - "contentment", "love", "affection", and "silence" are masculine, whereas "strength", "courage", and "destruction" are feminine.� As in language, so also in the culture.� Sex roles are much more highly marked, and more highly prized, in Spanish culture than in Anglo-American culture.� Macho and machismo are words that have "crossed over" into the English vocabulary, unfortunately with something of a stigma.� In Spanish, macho is used mostly to refer to a male animal as opposed to a female animal, which is hembra, and machismo, the cult of the male in the family, in politics, and in society, is balanced by a kind of hembrismo, an acceptance of the spiritual superiority of the female.

Any story about Spanish girls or women that attempts to remain true to their culture has to take this hembrismo into account.� Also, the ideal of virginity is still powerful in Spanish cultures, and its definition is more technical than ours is.� Mina and Miranda are both virgins because they have never had their hymens broken.�� A Spanish girl could conceivably "lose her virginity", with all the consequent shame and dishonor to her family, by playing vigorous sports.� For this reason, marimachas, girls who display masculine tendencies towards physical expression, are looked down upon.� Gringas are widely held to be both easy sexually, and somewhat masculine, by Spanish men.� This does not mean that Spanish women cannot be sportswomen.� I have an ankle injury sustained against the Guatemalan women's Olympic basketball team that bespeaks otherwise.� It also does not mean that gringas are not desireable to Spanish men.� They are highly desireable.� They are just not considered to be much of a challenge.

Spanish men tend not to be breast men. �This does not at all mean that Spanish men do not appreciate breasts.� To the contrary, there is a highly specialized vocabulary to describe and idolize this part of the female anatomy, some of which I use in Mina and Miranda.� However, Spanish men tend to be, if they specialize at all, attracted to women's posteriors, and my cousins would be far more lethal to breast-obsessed gringos than they would be to their own countrymen.� Spanish men have noticed that Anglo men tend to have this breast-obsession, and call them mamones (unweaned babies) in derision.� To the defense of the gringos, it must be pointed out that, from the breast man's point of view, the Spanish television channels are some of the most volcanically erotic real-estate in the spectrum.� Witness Claudia Lisaldi, Odalys Garcia, or Sofia Vergara �

Shit.

Anyway, here is paragraph-by-paragraph commentary:

1: ������� catechumen This is actually and English word.� It means someone who is being initiated into the Catholic religion.

2: ������� encomienda� The whole of Spanish America belonged to the Spanish Crown.� Direct management by the Crown, though, was impossible.� Parcels of land were distributed to nobles or ambitious commoners with the idea that these lands and their inhabitants would be developed for the benefit of the Crown.

7,9:������ la tetona dulce, la tetona brava� �A tetona is a women whose outstanding feature is her tetas, her "boobs", therefore tetona - a big-breasted woman.� dulce means "sweet"� In a woman it would mean one who was gentle, compliant, and submissive, whereas brava would mean one who was more of a spitfire - aggressive, jealous and acquisitive.

10: ������ hacienda� The "plantation house" of an encomienda.

17: ������ cumplea�os� Birthday

22: ������ se�orita� Not every unmarried girl is a se�orita.� You have to have curves.� Otherwise, you're a ni�a.

26:������� chichotas �The expansive form of chichis.� Chichis is Mexican slang for "big tits"� Therefore chichotas = very big tits indeed.

27: ������ cholo� A dark-skinned Latino with lots of Indian blood.� In the US, it has come to mean a gang member.

27:������� verde�� Literally "green", but almost universally "dirty-minded"

31:������ te has crecido, ni�a� "You've grown up, baby sister"� would capture this phrase well.� Hippolito hasn't seen his sister in years, since she was a little girl, and the contrast is a surprise to him.

34:������� primita� The diminuitive form of prima, "cousin", used here out of affection.

35:������� el gringo Ricardito� Hippolito likes Richard, but doesn't think much of him, hence the diminuitive.� This could be because of Richard's inability to bed his cousin Miranda.� He needs to eat more Salvadoran food to make him more of a cholo.

40: ������ 'manita� Contraction of hermanita, "little sister"

44:������� Que grandototas que son�� grandotota is an extreme expansive of grande. �Grandota is the common expansive.� "My God, those things are (disgustingly) huge" would be a good rendering.� Como esta posible esto is straightforward:� "How did you do that?"

48: ������ ni�as� Sexually immature girls.� Mina is emphasizing how much of a child she was when she met Benson

49:������� tetazas� Expansive form of tetas� "boobs"� Hence "these big boobs", or even, "these knockers".� Tetas is a term women use to refer to their own breasts.� The polite form is senos.� Men,of course, have a thousand words, mostly rude.

51:������� la bruja Monica� Monica the witch.

55:������� Abuelita� Grandma

56, 58, 61:�������� chichotas� "big titties"� Mina is using the male term to emphasize their power.

62: ������ Chupa mi pepita, primita!� Tu Imperatriz te lo exije� This is translated in the next sentence.

64, 65: concha, pepa �Literally, "(sea)shell" and "seed", but here, "cunt" and "clit"

66: ������ Las salvadore�as somos putas todas, �no?� "We Salvadoran girls are all sluts, aren't we?"

69:������� tetotas� Mina here is using a very polite form.� She could use this in conversation with the Archbishop.� "Big breasts"

70:� ����� chichotas� but she is back to the rude form in the next sentence.� Mina really wants Miranda to experience the power and authority her breasts have given her.

71:������� pezones� "nipples"

72:������� puntitas� "Little points"� The first stage of breast development, where the nipples thicken and darken.� tetitas� refers to the next stage, where a little cone forms beneath the nipple and lifts it away from the chest wall.

73: ������ galan��� loosely, a boyfriend.

74:������� pervertido, grosero� "pervert!"� "disgusting (bastard)!"

76: ������ grosero is used here as an adjective.� "Gross"

77, elsewhere��� verga� "erection", "stiff dick"� A rude term.

81�������� tetitas� Mina has grown pointy little boobs

82:������� Que puta que eres, primita� With affection.� "What a little whore you are, cousin"

83:������� Si, soy rete putona� "Yes, I'm a whore-and-a-half"� putona is the expansive of puta, a sexually expressive woman.� Not just a whore or a slut.� pendejo - "shithead", "stupid fucking bastard"� Pretty strong, but also prety common term.�� There are a lot of pendejos in the world, unfortunately.

87:������� tetas� Mina has round, adult-style breasts now.

89:������� novia� a formal girlfriend.� Almost a fianc�e.

90�������� chipote is "dick", and the capullo is the head of that organ.� Most Latin men are uncircumcised, hence the realtion to "hood"

91:������� imag�nate� "Imagine that"� Oscar el virolo� "Cross-eyed Oscar"� bolos� "balls"� vergaza� expansive of verga, "big, hard dick"

94: ������ la loca Monica� "crazy woman, Monica that nutcase"� Witches are respected for their powers, but not considered quite right in the head.

95:������� �Tu me vas a hacer la cubana como lo hiciste con Juliocito�.� "You're gonna let me push my dick between your tits like you did with Julio!"� I don't know why this particular act is attributed especuially to Cuban women.

96: ������ viejo cabr�n� "Old bastard".� Quite strong.

97:������� pibe� A boy who still pees his bed.

98:������� aguardiente� "moonshine"� A fiery liquor made from sugar cane juice.

99:������� prodigio, fenomeno� two terms used to describe anything out the ordinary.� Both have connotations of the supernatural.

101:����� hechicera� "sorceress"

103:����� vellitos� little body hairs

118:����� la bella tetona� "The beautiful big-breasted girl"� The similarity in language to the ancient goddess is deliberate.

121:����� Nosotras las salvadore�as� "We Salvadoran women"

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