Talk Rain Like a Costa
Rican
www.costaricapages.com
For many Costa Ricans
and residents, winter,
or rainy season, is the
favorite time of year.
Temperatures drop,
plants grow at
astounding rates, and
rooftop raindrops evoke
the kind of comfortable
feeling that makes you
want to wrap up in a
blanket and watch a
movie. It’s good to be
here during rainy
season, enjoying the
moister side of Costa
Rica Weather, but if
you’re going to spend
the winter here, you
need to arm your
vocabulary.
They say that the Inuits
(Eskimos) have hundreds
of words for snow.
That’s not actually
true, but obviously, in
places with
extraordinary amounts of
snow, there will be
several words to
describe its texture,
density, and color.
Likewise, ticos have
many different words to
describe their winter
rain, and your Spanish
acquisition won’t be
quite complete until
these terms rolls
smoothly off of your
tongue:
* pelo de gato:
Translated directly,
this term means “cat
fur,” a perfect mental
image for how this
light, gently misting
rain feels against your
skin.
* garúa: This
refers to those long,
soft, misting raindrops
that almost evaporate
before hitting the
ground. Enjoy them while
they last.
* llovizna: Known
in English as “drizzle,”
a llovizna rarely stays
a llovizna for long,
usually making for the
perfect transition into
the heavier rains
typical of a Costa Rican
winter.
* cilampa: A
pedestrian’s worst
nightmare, cilampa is
the sideways drizzle
that is usually
accompanied by
irritating winds,
managing to evade your
protective umbrella, and
soak your clothing.
* goterones: A
goterón is one of those
giant raindrops that,
when it lands, makes an
equally large plopping
noise. Though they’re
fun to watch and listen
to, hope that you’re
indoors when they
arrive, as they are
always a warning for the
aguacero to come.
* aguacerillo/acuacerito:
Embodying the tico
proclivity to use a
word’s diminutive, an
aguacerillo is like a
small aguacero, or
essentially a steady
rain that isn’t quite
torrential.
* aguacero: Best
translated as a
torrential downpour,
aguaceros are the staple
of a Costa Rican winter.
Aguaceros can be so
powerful that you can
hardly see 5 feet in
front of you, though
thankfully, they rarely
last more than an hour
or two.
* tormenta:
Spanish for
thunderstorm, tormentas
are much less common
than aguaceros. However,
if you do get caught in
a Costa Rican tormenta,
prepare: the lightening
is bright enough to
light up the entire
landscape, and the
thunder rumbles so
powerfully that your
house shakes and car
alarms get set off.
* baldazo: It can
rain so hard here that
Costa Ricans need a noun
for “it’s raining
buckets.”
* cielo roto: A
baldazo’s older, meaner
brother, cielo roto
literally means “broken
sky.” In English, we’d
probably say that the
“heavens had opened up,”
but somehow, the Spanish
seems a much more
appropriate description
for Costa Rican rain.
* temporal: By
the time the October
temporales roll around,
almost everyone is ready
for the rains to end.
Though exactly the
opposite of what you’d
hoped for, the
days-long, no-respite
rains of a temporal are
actually the best sign
that summer is right
around the corner.
Likewise, there are
several phrases you may
expect to hear when a
storm is coming:
* “Ya viene la señora
con los frescos”:
Here comes the lady with
the refreshments.
* “Viene la que moja”
Here comes that which
makes you wet.
* “Ya viene la agua”:
Here comes the water.
* “Van a caer sapos y
ranas”: (For a very
heavy rain) Toads and
frogs are going to fall.
* “El cielo esta
encapotado”: The
sky’s all covered up.
* “San Pedro esta
enojado”: (When it
thunders) St. Peter is
angry.
The next time that the
rains begin, test your
vocabulary, and describe
the falling water like a
Costa Rican. Pride in
your new knowledge might
be just enough to
forgive the unforgiving
skies. |
