A group of friends and I hopped the border for our senior year spring break trip and landed in Playa Del Carmen, Mexico. As are all senior spring break trips to Mexico, it was simply an excuse to drink, soak up the rays, and drink some more. For one week we had a slice of the good stuff. Tequila and sunshine, the ocean and black-eyed girls. At a small bar off the main road, an American named Jerrid tended the bar. Jerrid was around 22 or 23 years old, and he was from Colorado. Apparently, he had dropped out of school, packed his bags, and left his family and home when he was 15. So like Kerouac and others before him, he headed to Mexico. And he'd been bumming around in Mexico ever since. We all went to a different bar with him one night, and all ordered drinks. When the drinks came, he told us he'd teach us how to toast Mexican-style. "Repeat after me," he said. Raising his glass: "Salud!"
"Salud!" the eight of us echoed. "Deniro!"
"Deniro!" we sang. "Amor!"
"Amor!" we howled. And Jerrid drowned his shot glass, and likewise we followed suit. Health, money, and love. What else do you need?

rescued nodeshell

Salud! Dinero! Amor! is an interesting cultural idiosyncracy of Cuba*, and is not found in any other Spanish-speaking country.

Many people when they sneeze, sneeze more than once; rapidly, in succession.

So now that the stage is set, this would be a prospective interaction:

Person A: ::ah-choo!::
Person B: Salud!
Person A: ::ah-choo!::
Person B: Dinero!
Person A: ::ah-choo!::
Person B: Amor!
Person A: ::ah-choo!::
Person B: Resfriado!

So here's how it goes: The equivalent to 'bless you' in Spanish is 'salud' (which also means 'health'); 'dinero' means 'money'; 'amor' translates to 'love' (in the romantic sense); and 'resfriado' basically means 'rest up!' because you're sick.

*According to qousqous, this is also found in Guatemala, and according to Joyquality, this is also found in Nicaragua.... Screw it, I guess it's not a cultural idiosycracy.... ::sigh::


Source: Information I gathered from Spanish class with Senora Logue. During college, she spent a year travelling to various Spanish-speaking countries and encountered this only in Cuba.

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