Dork Lessons

by Giovanny Gutierrez

On my trip to Cuba I fell in love with Cuban Dicharachos. Dichos for short, are colloquial expressions used to describe common day-to-day occurrences. These spicy expressions are colorful examples of how Cubans approach life with humor and inventiveness. Everywhere I would go, I would hear them and jot them down to later ask a family member.

For example, what does it mean when someone says “A buena hora, mangos verdes?”

I left Cuba with a book full (see attached photo) of dichos that I wanted to personally archive, organize, and share with the rest of the world. My vehicle: an iPhone/iPod/iPad app (perfectly appropriate for the geek that I am) called simply enough “Cuban Dichos“.

This app is the #1 Cuban App now on iTunes and I can’t tell you how many e-mails I get filled with dichos I didn’t have, including some new ones from the younger reggaeton generation in Cuba (ex: Hasta cuando son los 15 de Jacqueline?).

Nowadays, discovering a part of my culture is “un jamon.”