About Lydia

• Remembering Chris Webb: 1973-2008
• A Note from The artistic director
• Border Play
• Close my eyes and you're there:
  A Poem by Octavio Solis
• LOTERÍA: La Vida Cecilia
• Slanglish Glossary
• Mining Memory: An Interview with Octavio Solis and Juliette Carrillo

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SLANGLISH

A Spanish/English/Slang Glossary for Octavio Solis’s Lydia

In Lydia, the characters speak a fluid mix of English and Mexican/Texan Spanish that has come to be known as Spanglish—a switching between idiomas to find the best expression of emotions and culture.

Abuela:	grandmother
¡Andalé!:	Come on!
Baboso:	asshole
Carnala/Carnal:	sister/brother
Cerveza:	beer
Cholo:	slang term, sometimes used derogatively, for a Hispanic teenager who dresses in jeans and a spotless white t-shirt and often sports tattoos. Cholos hang around in groups and may or may not be associated with a gang.
Criada:	maid
¡Dios mio!:	My God!
Espera:	wait
Idioma:	language, means of expression
Jefe (heff-ay):	chief
Madre	mother
Migra:	short for Migración, slang for the border patrol
Mija/Mijo (mee-ha/mee-ho):	slang conjunction of mi hija/mi hijo, meaning my dear daughter/my dear son
Molé:	a spicy cocoa-based sauce
Mojada/Mojado (mo-ha-da/ mo-ha-do):	literally meaning wet but also the derogatory term “wetback”
Noche:	night
Pecados:	sins
Pinche:	an all-purpose curse word, slightly stronger than “damn”
Prima/Primo:	cousin
Quinceañera:	a woman’s fifteenth-birthday celebration; her coming-of-age celebration
Sangrita:	blood
Sobrino:	nephew
Tía/Tío:	aunt/uncle
Trucha:	police
Vieja/Viejo (vee-ay-ha/ vee-ay-ho):	old woman/old man
Vete:	go

—Matt Cornish, Production Dramaturg