The Cubans and the Pyropos.
Cuba is a hot country, both because of the climate, typical of a tropical island; and the character of its inhabitants, always extroverted, humorous, emotionally explosive and also passionate about saying and acting, especially in the art of complimenting.
In fact, all these elements, and so many others, that define Cubania, without the compliments that are lavished on us every day, would be like dominoes without rum; that we can play well, but that we will enjoy less.
Years ago, Cubans might have shown their interest in a woman with the sobriety of furtive glances, poems, flowers and other amorous subtleties, a romantic procession that would have given way to other customs, to a more spontaneous, frank and direct expression.
The compliment, el piropo, would however be something else, like shooting stars in the great sky of everyday life. They are words of ephemeral value, improvised in the middle of a public road, in unexpected circumstances, before the passage of a beauty that inspires and attracts attention, especially of these Cuban women so monumental that they deserve to be classified as heritage of the nation.
To succeed in giving a compliment, we must have imagination, sensitivity and good taste to attract a girl's attention, perhaps to make her smile and even, hopefully, start a conversation, and take her phone number.
Insensitivity and rudeness only get faces of contempt, disinterest and even a well-deserved slap against the harasser.
Tourists are often horrified when they walk through the streets of Cuba, and they hear the avalanche of kisses resounding from the top of the balconies, or from the construction scaffolding, and the flatteries of all kinds from the Cubans, often from the steering wheel of cars that exceptionally stop to let them pass and admire them to the sound of horns. In fact, many women who have never been exposed to such care, would not understand a behavior, for us very natural, but which in many countries is considered serious sexual harassment.
The compliment grows on the island as a wild ritual, almost always performed by men, heirs of an ancestry of authentic hunters, always with the rifle on their shoulders, loaded and ready to take down a good prey. Cuban men like to admire women when they pass by, without discretion, rather with an intense look and tell them point blank: "Salvaje" (Wild), "Bárbara" (Barbarian) or "Yegua" in a clear reference to the dimensions of a mare.
However, it sometimes happens that these hunters in turn become the prey of women who increasingly take the initiative to surprise us with advances that completely disarm us.
The compliment can also be fueled by the context, so we hear phrases like: “Mami, el país con tanta hambre, y tú con tanta carne, pa'comer y pa' llevar...” (beauty, the country in famine, and you with so much meat, to eat and take away...), or even more topical: "Mami... y si pasamos la cuarentena juntos" (Beauty... don't you want to spend the quarantine together). Queues are sometimes an ideal scenario for such exchanges while remaining polite.
There is no doubt that Cubans are not fans of skinny women. Cubans rather like roundness, curves, beautiful balconies of beautiful houses and spacious trunks of our cars.
Cuban women also walk with a sensual movement, from side to side, and many compliments express how crazy a Cuban becomes when faced with the colossal gifts of a woman's body when moving, such as: "Mami, tú con tantas curvas y yo sin frenos" (beauty, you with so many curves and me without brakes), or: "Si cocinas como caminas, me como hasta la raspita" (If you cook as well as you walk, I could even lick the bottom of the pots). It is an ode to the typical Cuban body, with its narrow waist and wide hips that drive us crazy. To the woman who has the buttocks, the good buttocks, it is often said: "You are like Santa Barbara, Santa in front and Barbara behind." And to those who have ears to hear... hello.
If the beautiful woman, with very tight clothes, is called "Capitalista" in the street, one should not be offended, it is the political compliment, the one that refers to the fact that the woman in question is dressed like "capitalism oppressing the masses".
Don't be surprised if suddenly Cubans get sick, and from a street corner they shout: "Oye, tú eres lo que me recetó el doctor" (Hey, you are what the doctor recommended to me).
And if they also say: “Mami, camina por la sombrita que el sol derrite los bombones” (beauty, walk through the little shadow that the sun melts the chocolates), it is because they consider you a "little sweet, fragile, and addictive bite". And do not be surprised either if, suddenly, the machos return to childhood and say: “Mami, estás como la caperucita, ¡para comerte mejor!" (Beauty, you are like Little Red Riding Hood, and I will be the bad wolf to better devour you). Suddenly, some compatriots even become religious, and they can even bless you: “Todo eso que Dios te dio, que San Pedro te lo bendiga, mujer” (For all the grace that God has given you, may Saint Peter bless you, woman) ... and then we can only thank them for the kindness.
The Cuban, who gestures as if he were on stage all the time, provokes laughter and even confusion among his people when he starts to compliment with whistles; or hands on his head like someone who has seen an apparition or the fall of a meteorite, and even the imminence of the end of the world.
These light, bold and spicy compositions; sometimes very humorous, others of a beauty that makes them even poetic and that sometimes can also become vulgar, are part of the national idiosyncrasy. The piropos nuance the hectic, picturesque and authentic Cuban life, which then becomes more interesting.
If with elegant and poetic formulas our grandmothers were compared to the beauty of flowers and the sweetness of honey; today it is more likely that the most original compliments establish analogies with more modern technological components, at a time when everything is updated.
I once heard a driver say, as a very beautiful Cuban woman passed by, that it was "...incredible to see how many new models of young cars were driving around town, while he still had the same old American car at home" which may still work, but often has something wrong with it.
Creations such as: "Si me dejas te descargo un Giga de cariño" (If you allow me, I will gladly download you a Giga of affection), "Aunque me tumbes la WIFI yo seguiré sentado en tu Parque" (Even if you cut off the WIFI, I will continue to sit in your park), or "Para ti la navegación en mi Internet es gratis" (For you, browsing my Internet is free) ... are examples of the evolution of the compliment in Cuba.
Because even though times have changed, and the situation is becoming more and more difficult, there are things that never change, traditions and beautiful women for example, who will inspire and deserve praise for their beauty forever, because there are women in Cuba who may not be like Google, but who still have everything and in abundant quantities.
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