A Spanish Word for Today

[D. Allan]

Guantanamera*

(From a poem by José Marti)

Estribillo:

Chorus:

Guantanamera, guajira** guantanamera

Guantanamo girl, country guantanamo girl

Guantanamera, guajira guantanamera

Yo soy un hombre sincero, de donde crece la palma

I am an honest man, from where the palm tree grows

Yo soy un hombre sincero, de donde crece la palma

Y antes de morir you quiero cantar mis versos del alma

And before dying I want to sing the verses from my soul.

Estribillo

Cultivo una rosa blanca, en julio como en enero,

I'll grow a white rose in July just like in January,

Para el amigo sincero, que me da su hano franca.

For the honest friend, who gives me his open hand.

Estribillo (dos veces)

Chorus (twice)

Mi verso es de un verde claro, y de un carmin encendido

My verse is [of] a light green, and [of] a burning scarlet

Mi verso es de un verde claro, y de un carmin encendido

Me verso es un clervo herido, que busca en el monte amparo.

My verse is a wounded stag, who seeks refuge on the mountain.

Estribillo (dos veces)

*Guantanamera means a girl from Guantanamo, where the U.S. has maintained a naval base for over 100 years.

**Guajira is a colloquial term used in Cuba for a country girl.

[D. Allan]

locura , noun:

madness, insanity

La locura, madness, is the noun derived from the adjective loco.

Huyen de la hambruna y la locura colectiva que asola sus países.

They’re fleeing the famine and collective madness devastating their countries.

Locura is used in a couple of very idiomatic phrases. First, es una locura, it’s crazy, it’s mad:

Es una locura pero tenía que venir.

I know it’s crazy, but I had to come.

And then in the phrase hacer locuras:

No hagas locuras.

Don’t do anything crazy or stupid.

http://dictionary.reference.com/wordoftheday/es/

[D. Allan]

medida , noun:

measure; measurements; size

La medida is the noun derived from the verb medir, to measure, and translates into English as measure or measurement.

Tomaron medidas contra la inflación.

They took measures to prevent inflation.

una de las medidas urgentes adoptadas

one of the urgent measures adopted

When you’re shopping, it can be a useful word to find out how big something is:

¿Qué medidas tiene la mesa?

What are the measurements of the table?

And it’s very useful when shopping for clothes. You may be asked:

¿Cuál es su medida?

What size are you?

from dictionary.com