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Puerto Rican Idioms
One of my goals in writing Luisa was to enlighten readers about the uniqueness of Puerto Rican culture. One aspect of a culture is the language that is spoken. Idioms are an important element of any language and can reflect ways of thinking and behaving within a certain culture. When I was teaching English learners, I always included idioms in the curriculum because just knowing the literal meaning of words was not going to help the students achieve English language fluency. The children needed to know that “elbow grease” was not something that had to be washed off with soap and water, and “break a leg” was not wishing bodily harm to an actor.
You will find Puerto Rican idioms sprinkled throughout Luisa. One of the first ones that you will encounter is, “De una boda sale otra.” This means, “Out of one wedding comes another.” Certainly, many people today can say that they met their mate at a wedding, but back in the late nineteenth century this was even more commonplace, especially in the rural mountainous regions of Puerto Rico. Consider that with their lack of mobility and modern means of communication, their social interaction was limited to church and local gatherings for baptisms, weddings and funerals.