MIGUEL BARNET
Biografía de
un cimarrón
Biography of a
Runaway Slave
Plants of the Neotropical Realm
Amaranth / Bledo
Number of times mentioned: 2
Latin name: Amaranthus spp.
Region of origin: South America
Quotations:
"El yonyó era como un quimbombó. Se preparaba con bledo y especias de todo tipo." (60)
"Yonyó was like a gumbo. It was prepared with wild amaranth and all sorts of spices." (77)
"Lo más que podía hacer un libertador en Las Villas era robar ganado, recoger malanga, retoños de boniato, bledos, verdolagas, en fin..." (140)
"The most a revolutionary could do in Las Villas was to steal livestock, collect taro weeds, sweet potato shoots, amaranth, purslane, and such." (175)
Botanical reference: Pedro Acevedo and Mark Strong, “Catalogue of Seed Plants of the West Indies,” Smithsonian Contributions to Botany 98 (January 1, 2012): 20-21, https://doi.org/10.5479/si.0081024X.98.1.
Banyan / Jagüey
Number of times mentioned: 1
Latin name: Ficus trigonata
Region of origin: West Indies
Quotations:
"África estaba llena de árboles, de ceibas, de cedros, de jagüeyes." (16)
"Africa was full of trees, ceibas, cedars, banyon trees." (24)
Botanical reference: Pedro Acevedo and Mark Strong, “Catalogue of Seed Plants of the West Indies,” Smithsonian Contributions to Botany 98 (January 1, 2012): 573, https://doi.org/10.5479/si.0081024X.98.1.
Jaboncillo / Soap-tree
Number of times mentioned: 1
Latin name: Gouania polygama
Region of origin: West Indies
Quotations:
"Para lavarse los dientes usaban bejuco de jaboncillo, que los dejaba muy blancos." (23)
"To clean your teeth you used soap-tree bristles that left them very white." (32)
Botanical reference: Pedro Acevedo and Mark Strong, “Catalogue of Seed Plants of the West Indies,” Smithsonian Contributions to Botany 98 (January 1, 2012): 793, https://doi.org/10.5479/si.0081024X.98.1.
Black bean / Frijol negro
Number of times mentioned: 1
Latin name: Phaseolus vulgaris
Region of origin: Mesoamerica
Quotations:
"Daban una ración buena, aunque siempre era lo mismo; arroz con frijoles negros, blancos o de carita y tasajo." (46)
"They gave a good-sized portion though it was always the same — rice and black beans, white beans or black eyed peas and beef jerky." (63)
Botanical reference: Elena Bitocchi et al., “Mesoamerican Origin of the Common Bean (Phaseolus Vulgaris L.) Is Revealed by Sequence Data,” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 109, no. 14 (April 3, 2012): E788–96, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1108973109.
Cacao (chocolate)
Number of times mentioned: 2
Latin name: Theobroma cacao
Region of origin: South America
Quotations:
"Era como decir un chocolate frío." (60)
"It was like cold chocolate." (77)
"Nunca les faltaba tabaco, ni chocolate caliente, ni viandas, ni carne de puerco." (88)
"They were never without tobacco or hot chocolate or greens or pork." (111)
Botanical reference: Pedro Acevedo and Mark Strong, “Catalogue of Seed Plants of the West Indies,” Smithsonian Contributions to Botany 98 (January 1, 2012): 524, https://doi.org/10.5479/si.0081024X.98.1.
Cayenne / Ají guaguao
Number of times mentioned: 3
Latin name: Capsicum frutescens
Region of origin: West Indies, Mexico, South America
Quotations:
"Se le daba pimienta de guinea, ajo y ají guaguao, la cabeza de un muerto y una canilla tapada con un paño negro." (98)
"The offerings were Guinea pepper, garlic, and guaguao peppers, a dead man's skull, and a shin bone wrapped in a black cloth." (124)
"La comida la ordena el dueño de la prenda, que es quien pone los resguardos. Casi siempre se alimentan de ajo y ají guaguao." (100)
"The food is selected by the owner of the prenda, who is the one who makes the charm. They are almost always fed with garlic and guaguao pepper." (126)
"Se le agregaba limón y ají guaguao." (140)
"You added lemon and hot guaguao pepper." (175)
Botanical reference: Pedro Acevedo and Mark Strong, “Catalogue of Seed Plants of the West Indies,” Smithsonian Contributions to Botany 98 (January 1, 2012): 900, https://doi.org/10.5479/si.0081024X.98.1.
Cedar
Number of times mentioned: 6
Latin name: Cedrela odorata
Region of origin: West Indies, Mexico, South America
Quotations:
"África estaba llena de árboles, de ceibas, de cedros, de jagüeyes." (16)
"Africa was full of trees, ceibas, cedars, banyon trees." (24)
"Detrás se tocaba con dos palos en dos troncos de cedro ahuecados." (22)
"Behind the drums someone played two hollowed-out cedar trunks with two sticks." (31)
"Escaparates grandes, como caballos de cedro." (75)
"Wardrobes as big as horses made of cedar." (95)
"Se llevaron caobas, cedros, jiquís; bueno, todo el monte se vino abajo." (80)
"They took out mahoganies, cedars, indigo trees." (102)
"Se reunían allí y al cochino asadito lo colocaban arriba de la mesa en una bandeja de cedro con la boca llena de flores silvestres." (116)
"They all got together, and the roasted pig was put on a cedar serving board on a table with his mouth full of wild flowers." (144)
"En el lugar donde lo enterraban quedaba una lomita y sobre esa lomita colocaban una cruz de madera de cedro para que el negro tuviera protección." (95)
"There was a little mound in the place where they buried him, and on that mound they put a cedar wood cross so the man would have protection." (119)
Botanical reference: Pedro Acevedo and Mark Strong, “Catalogue of Seed Plants of the West Indies,” Smithsonian Contributions to Botany 98 (January 1, 2012): 562, https://doi.org/10.5479/si.0081024X.98.1.
Ceiba
Number of times mentioned: 2
Latin name: Ceiba pentandra
Region of origin: West Indies, Mexico, South America
Quotations:
"África estaba llena de árboles, de ceibas, de cedros, de jagüeyes." (16)
"Africa was full of trees, ceibas, cedars, banyon trees." (24)
"El campamento estaba al lado de una ceiba." (132)
"The camp was next to a ceiba tree." (166)
Botanical reference: Pedro Acevedo and Mark Strong, “Catalogue of Seed Plants of the West Indies,” Smithsonian Contributions to Botany 98 (January 1, 2012): 502, https://doi.org/10.5479/si.0081024X.98.1.
Coffee senna / Guanina
Number of times mentioned: 1
Latin name: Senna occidentalis
Region of origin: Tropical America
Quotations:
"El café lo hacía con guanina achicarrada." (40)
"I made coffee with guanina leaf." (51)
Botanical reference: Jeanine Vélez-Gavilán, “Senna Occidentalis,” November 17, 2020, https://doi.org/10.1079/ISC.11450.20203483090.
Maize (Corn) / Maíz
Number of times mentioned: 15
Latin name: Zea mays
Region of origin: Mexico and Guatemala
Quotations:
"Y para secarse el fotingo, después de la descarga, había que coger yerbas como la escoba amarga y las tusas de maíz." (16)
"And to dry your fotingo, afterwards, you had to use plants like feverfew and corn cobs." (24)
"Ahí se cosechaba de todo: boniato, calabaza, quimbamtoó, maíz, gandul, frijol caballero, que es como las habas limas, yuca y maní." (18)
"They grew everything there: sweet potato, squash, okra, corn, peas, horse beans, beans like limas, limes, yuca and peanuts." (26)
"Uno de los que más jugaba en los barracones era el tejo: se ponía una tusa de maíz, partida por la mitad en el suelo, encima se colocaba una moneda, se hacía una raya a poca distancia y se tiraba una piedra desde la raya para alcanzar la tusa." (18)
"You put a corn cob, split in half, on the ground." (26)
"Si la piedra alcanzaba la tusa y el dinero caía sobre ella, el individuo lo recogía y era de él." (19)
"If the stone hit the corn cob, and the coin fell on the stone, the man took the coin as his." (26)
"Entonces se medía con una pajita para ver si el dinero estaba más cerca de él que de la tusa." (19)
"In such cases, you had to measure with a straw to see if the coin was closer to the player than to the corn cob." (27)
"Dentro de la cazuela, ponían patas de gallinas, que era una yerba con paja de maíz para asegurar a los hombres." (19)
"They put star-shake, which was an herb, in the pot with corn straw to hold human beings." (27)
"Si caía cerca de la tusa, no." (19)
"If it fell close to the corn cob, no coin." (26-27)
"Las calles se llenaban de vendedores de frituras de maíz, de empanadas de dulces, de toronjas, de coco y de refrescos naturales." (56)
"The streets were full of vendors selling corn fritters, sweet popovers, grapefruits, coconuts, and natural juices." (72)
"Se hacía con harina de maíz y agua." (59)
"It was made with corn meal and water." (76)
"Cuando el maíz se hervía, lo pelaban y le quitaban la cáscara." (59)
"When the corn was boiling, they peeled it, and they took off its husks." (76)
"También comían masango, que era maíz sancochado." (60)
"They also ate masango which was boiled corn." (77)
"Después, si seguían faltando, los hincaban y les ponían granos de maíz o sal en las rodillas." (65)
"Later on, if they kept on making mistakes, they were made to kneel down on grains of corn or salt." (83)
"Los novios, si tenían parientes, sobre todo la novia, se enamoraban con granitos de maíz o piedrecitas." (75)
"The couple, if they had parents, especially the young women, could be made to fall in love by using grains of corn or pebbles." (94)
"Si ella había aceptado las pretensiones, ese día se lo decía a él: 'Oye, mira, aquí tengo todavía los granitos de maíz que tú me tiraste.'" (75)
"If she had accepted his advances, she would say to him, 'Listen, look here, I have these kernels of corn you threw to me.'" (95)
"Cogían tierra de los cuatro vientos, la envolvían en paja de maíz, y hacían cuatro montoncitos a los que amarraban cuatro patas de gallinas y los llevaban a la cazuela, para que se les cumpliera el pedido." (100)
"They took dirt from the four winds, wrapped it in corn husks, and made four little piles, each with a chicken foot tied to it, and carried it all to the cazuela so the request would be fulfilled." (125)
Botanical reference: Pedro Acevedo and Mark Strong, “Catalogue of Seed Plants of the West Indies,” Smithsonian Contributions to Botany 98 (January 1, 2012): 765, https://doi.org/10.5479/si.0081024X.98.1.
Cotton / Algodón
Number of times mentioned: 1
Latin name: Gossypium barbadense
Region of origin: South America
Quotations:
"Las balas eran algodones para nosotros." (128)
"The bullets were like puffs of cotton to us." (162)
Botanical reference: Pedro Acevedo and Mark Strong, “Catalogue of Seed Plants of the West Indies,” Smithsonian Contributions to Botany 98 (January 1, 2012): 504, https://doi.org/10.5479/si.0081024X.98.1.
Cuajaní
Number of times mentioned: 1
Latin name: Reynosia wrightii
Region of origin: Cuba
Quotations:
"El agua de lluvia me daba un poco de catarro que se me quitaba con cocimiento de cuajaní y miel de abejas." (41)
"Rain water gave me some sniffles, which I got rid of with a brew of cuajani berries and bee honey." (52)
Botanical reference: Pedro Acevedo and Mark Strong, “Catalogue of Seed Plants of the West Indies,” Smithsonian Contributions to Botany 98 (January 1, 2012): 504, https://doi.org/10.5479/si.0081024X.98.1.
Curujey
Number of times mentioned: 2
Latin name: Guzmania lingulata
Region of origin: West Indies, Mexico, South America
Quotations:
"¡Ah! mucha agua de curujey." (140)
"And lots of curujey juice." (176)
"Los caballos se ponían flacos. Envejecían más rápido. A ellos no se les podía dar agua de curujey." (140)
"The horses got skinny. They got old quick. You couldn't give them curujey water." (176)
Botanical reference: Pedro Acevedo and Mark Strong, “Catalogue of Seed Plants of the West Indies,” Smithsonian Contributions to Botany 98 (January 1, 2012): 180, https://doi.org/10.5479/si.0081024X.98.1.
Diez de la mañana
Number of times mentioned: 1
Latin name: Portulaca pilosa
Region of origin: Greater Antilles
Quotations:
"China no, allá lo que había más era yerba de la que se arrastra, dormidera, verdolaga, diez de la mañana." (16)
"Over there they had plants that grew along the ground, creepers, purslane, morning glories." (24)
Botanical reference: Pedro Acevedo and Mark Strong, “Catalogue of Seed Plants of the West Indies,” Smithsonian Contributions to Botany 98 (January 1, 2012): 779, https://doi.org/10.5479/si.0081024X.98.1.
Epazote
Number of times mentioned: 1
Latin name: Chenopodium ambrosioides
Region of origin: Mexico, Central America, South America
Quotations:
"Se mezclan todas, la albahaca, el apasote, el piñón de botija, se meten en la lata con un poco de azúcar y sal." (101)
"You mix them all up, basil, apasote, pine nuts, put them in the can with a little sugar and salt." (126)
Botanical reference: Pedro Acevedo and Mark Strong, “Catalogue of Seed Plants of the West Indies,” Smithsonian Contributions to Botany 98 (January 1, 2012): 22, https://doi.org/10.5479/si.0081024X.98.1.
Feverfew / Escoba amarga
Number of times mentioned: 3
Latin name: Parthenium hysterophorus
Region of origin: West Indies, North America, South America
Quotations:
"Y para secarse el fotingo, después de la descarga, había que coger yerbas como la escoba amarga y las tusas de maíz." (16)
"And to dry your fotingo, afterwards, you had to use plants like feverfew and corn cobs." (24)
"La escoba amarga acaba con las pulgas y con las niguas." (51)
"They did no harm, but you had to keep scaring them away all night with feverfew. It gets rid of fleas and ticks." (66)
"Si había algo flojo, asobaban la cazuela con escoba amarga y a caminar se ha dicho." (100)
"If there was anything wrong, they struck the cazuela with feverfew, and then, as they say, get going." (125)
Botanical reference: Pedro Acevedo and Mark Strong, “Catalogue of Seed Plants of the West Indies,” Smithsonian Contributions to Botany 98 (January 1, 2012): 127, https://doi.org/10.5479/si.0081024X.98.1.
Grapefruit
Number of times mentioned: 1
Latin name: Citrus x paradisi
Region of origin: Barbados
Quotations:
"Las calles se llenaban de vendedores de frituras de maíz, de empanadas de dulces, de toronjas, de coco y de refrescos naturales." (56)
"The streets were full of vendors selling corn fritters, sweet popovers, grapefruits, coconuts, and natural juices." (72)
Botanical reference: Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Grapefruit." Encyclopedia Britannica, March 19, 2021. https://www.britannica.com/plant/grapefruit
Guano de cana
Number of times mentioned: 1
Latin name: Sabal maritima
Region of origin: West Indies
Quotations:
"Los guajiros sí vivían cómodos; en casas de guano de cana o guano real." (37)
"The guajiros sure did live easy, in houses of thatch, cane thatch or real palm." (48)
Botanical reference: Pedro Acevedo and Mark Strong, “Catalogue of Seed Plants of the West Indies,” Smithsonian Contributions to Botany 98 (January 1, 2012): 81, https://doi.org/10.5479/si.0081024X.98.1.
Guayacán
Number of times mentioned: 2
Latin name: Guaiacum sanctum
Region of origin: West Indies, Central and South America
Quotations:
"Llevaban dos palos duros de caña brava o de guayacán." (73)
"The dead man's fellow workers carried him. Four of them carried him. They used two strong lengths of wild cane or palm." (92)
"Encima de estos guayacanes ponían la caja, que la hacía un carpintero del ingenio. Una caja de madera barata y floja, de pino. (73)
"The sugarmill's carpenter made the coffin that was placed on top of the palm fronds. A box made of cheap, flimsy wood, pine wood." (93)
Botanical reference: Pedro Acevedo and Mark Strong, “Catalogue of Seed Plants of the West Indies,” Smithsonian Contributions to Botany 98 (January 1, 2012): 947, https://doi.org/10.5479/si.0081024X.98.1.
Ítamo real / Itamo
Number of times mentioned: 3
Latin name: Euphorbia tithymaloides
Region of origin: West Indies, Mexico, Central America, South America
Quotations:
"Lo mismo me pasaba con el sol; entonces ponía unas cuantas hojas de itamorreal al sereno y al otro día me limpiaba los ojos." (39)
"In that case I would put out a few leaves of the itamo plant to catch the dew, and the next day clean my eyes with them." (50)
"El itamorreal es lo mejor que hay para eso." (39)
"Itamo is the best thing there is for that." (50)
"Hoy lo que venden en las boticas es itamorreal." (39)
"Nowadays what they sell in the pharmacy is itamo." (50)
Botanical reference: Pedro Acevedo and Mark Strong, “Catalogue of Seed Plants of the West Indies,” Smithsonian Contributions to Botany 98 (January 1, 2012): 336, https://doi.org/10.5479/si.0081024X.98.1.
Jicaras cimarrona / Wild gourd
Number of times mentioned: 1
Latin name: Crescentia cujete
Region of origin: West Indies, Mexico, Central America, South America
Quotations:
"En jicaras cimarronas que se criaban nada más que para eso." (74)
"In cups of wild gourd that were grown only for that purpose." (94)
Botanical reference: Pedro Acevedo and Mark Strong, “Catalogue of Seed Plants of the West Indies,” Smithsonian Contributions to Botany 98 (January 1, 2012): 148, https://doi.org/10.5479/si.0081024X.98.1.
Jiquí
Number of times mentioned: 1
Latin name: Pera bumeliifolia
Region of origin: West Indies
Quotations:
"Se llevaron caobas, cedros, jiquís; bueno, todo el monte se vino abajo." (80)
"They took out mahoganies, cedars, indigo trees." (102) [erroneous translation]
Botanical reference: Pedro Acevedo and Mark Strong, “Catalogue of Seed Plants of the West Indies,” Smithsonian Contributions to Botany 98 (January 1, 2012): 343, https://doi.org/10.5479/si.0081024X.98.1.
Lima bean / Haba lima
Number of times mentioned: 1
Latin name: Phaseolus lunatus
Region of origin: Tropical America
Quotations:
"Ahí se cosechaba de todo: boniato, calabaza, quimbamtoó, maíz, gandul, frijol caballero, que es como las habas limas, yuca y maní." (18)
"They grew everything there: sweet potato, squash, okra, corn, peas, horse beans, beans like limas, limes, yuca and peanuts." (26)
Botanical reference: Pedro Acevedo and Mark Strong, “Catalogue of Seed Plants of the West Indies,” Smithsonian Contributions to Botany 98 (January 1, 2012): 449, https://doi.org/10.5479/si.0081024X.98.1.
Macagua / Macaw
Number of times mentioned: 1
Latin name: Exostema caribaeum
Region of origin: West Indies, Mexico, Central America
Quotations:
"La hoja de palo de macagua me servía para fumar." (39)
"I smoked the leaf of the macaw tree." (50)
Botanical reference: Pedro Acevedo and Mark Strong, “Catalogue of Seed Plants of the West Indies,” Smithsonian Contributions to Botany 98 (January 1, 2012): 809, https://doi.org/10.5479/si.0081024X.98.1.
Mahogany / Caoba
Number of times mentioned: 1
Latin name: Swietenia mahagoni
Region of origin: West Indies, Central America, South America
Quotations:
"Se llevaron caobas, cedros, jiquís; bueno, todo el monte se vino abajo." (80)
"They took out mahoganies, cedars, indigo trees." (102)
Botanical reference: Pedro Acevedo and Mark Strong, “Catalogue of Seed Plants of the West Indies,” Smithsonian Contributions to Botany 98 (January 1, 2012): 563, https://doi.org/10.5479/si.0081024X.98.1.
Mora
Number of times mentioned: 1
Latin name: Mora excelsa
Region of origin: Trinidad and South America
Quotations:
"La hoja de tabaco o la yerba mora sirven para las picadas." (39)
"Tobacco or mulberry leaves work for bites." (50) [erroneous translation]
Botanical reference: “Mora Excelsa Benth.,” Plants of the World Online, 2017, http://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:509104-1.
Peanut / Maní
Number of times mentioned: 2
Latin name: Arachis hypogaea
Region of origin: South America
Quotations:
"Ahí se cosechaba de todo: boniato, calabaza, quimbamtoó, maíz, gandul, frijol caballero, que es como las habas limas, yuca y maní." (18)
"They grew everything there: sweet potato, squash, okra, corn, peas, horse beans, beans like limas, limes, yuca and peanuts." (26)
"También me acuerdo que se vendían unos dulces que les llamaban "capricho", de harina de castilla y ajonjolí y maní." (20)
"I also remember that they sold some candy called capricho, made of white flour, sesame seeds and peanuts." (29)
Botanical reference: T.H. Sanders, “Peanuts,” in Encyclopedia of Food Sciences and Nutrition (Second Edition), ed. Benjamin Caballero (Oxford: Academic Press, 2003), 4420–27, https://doi.org/10.1016/B0-12-227055-X/00897-X.
Pineapple / Piña
Number of times mentioned: 3
Latin name: Ananas comosus
Region of origin: South America
Quotations:
"Se hacía metiendo todos los ingredientes en un depósito de barro o en una lata grande y batiéndolos con una maza de madera en forma de piña, a la que se le daba vueltas con las manos." (114)
"It was made by putting all the ingredients in a clay bowl or in a big tin can and beating it with a wooden stirrer in the shape of a pineapple that you spun between your hands." (142)
"Mal Tiempo era un caserío chiquito. Estaba rodeado de arroyos, cañas y muchas cercas de pina." (127)
"At Mal Tiempo there was a tiny bunch of houses, surrounded by ravines, creeks, and many stands of pineapple." (160)
"Cuando la matanza terminó nosotros veíamos las cabecitas de los españoles por tongas, en las cercas de pina." (127)
"When the slaughter ended, we could see mounds of little Spanish heads along the fence of the pineapple grove." (160) |
Botanical reference: Pedro Acevedo and Mark Strong, “Catalogue of Seed Plants of the West Indies,” Smithsonian Contributions to Botany 98 (January 1, 2012): 178, https://doi.org/10.5479/si.0081024X.98.1.
Piñón de botija / Pine nut
Number of times mentioned: 1
Latin name: Jatropha curcas
Region of origin: West Indies, Mexico, Central America, South America
Quotations:
"Se mezclan todas, la albahaca, el apasote, el piñón de botija, se meten en la lata con un poco de azúcar y sal." (101)
"You mix them all up, basil, apasote, pine nuts, put them in the can with a little sugar and salt." (126)
Botanical reference: Pedro Acevedo and Mark Strong, “Catalogue of Seed Plants of the West Indies,” Smithsonian Contributions to Botany 98 (January 1, 2012): 339, https://doi.org/10.5479/si.0081024X.98.1."
Plátano indio / Wild plantain
Number of times mentioned: 1
Latin name: Heliconia caribaea
Region of origin: West Indies
Quotations:
"Me meto allí y empiezo a darme banquete de plátanos indios, panetelitas dulces de almíbar y cocos." (102)
"I go in there, and I begin to have myself a banquet on the bananas, sweets, and coconut." (127) [erroneous translation]
Botanical reference: Pedro Acevedo and Mark Strong, “Catalogue of Seed Plants of the West Indies,” Smithsonian Contributions to Botany 98 (January 1, 2012): 365-366, https://doi.org/10.5479/si.0081024X.98.1.
Purslane / Verdolaga
Number of times mentioned: 2
Latin name: Portulaca oleracea
Region of origin: West Indies, North America, Central America, South America, Old World
Quotations:
"China no, allá lo que había más era yerba de la que se arrastra, dormidera, verdolaga, diez de la mañana." (16)
"Over there they had plants that grew along the ground, creepers, purslane, morning glories." (24)
"Lo más que podía hacer un libertador en Las Villas era robar ganado, recoger malanga, retoños de boniato, bledos, verdolagas, en fin..." (140)
"The most a revolutionary could do in Las Villas was to steal livestock, collect taro weeds, sweet potato shoots, amaranth, purslane, and such." (175)
Botanical reference: Pedro Acevedo and Mark Strong, “Catalogue of Seed Plants of the West Indies,” Smithsonian Contributions to Botany 98 (January 1, 2012): 778, https://doi.org/10.5479/si.0081024X.98.1.
Sweet potato / Boniato
Number of times mentioned: 6
Latin name: Ipomoea batatas
Region of origin: New World tropics
Quotations:
"Ahí se cosechaba de todo: boniato, calabaza, quimbamtoó, maíz, gandul, frijol caballero, que es como las habas limas, yuca y maní." (18)
"They grew everything there: sweet potato, squash, okra, corn, peas, horse beans, beans like limas, limes, yuca and peanuts." (26)
"Lo mejor de todo era la vianda; el boniato, la malanga, el ñame." (48)
"'Taters were the best of all, sweet potato, taro, yam." (63)
"A veces tenían que guarecerse en casa de los guajiros y coger su platico de boniato para no quedarse con hambre." (86)
"At times they had to hide out in the house of a guajiro and eat their plate of sweet potatoes so as not to go hungry." (109)
"Los pobres desayunaban café y boniato." (113)
"Poor people had coffee and sweet potato." (140)
"Lo más que podía hacer un libertador en Las Villas era robar ganado, recoger malanga, retoños de boniato, bledos, verdolagas, en fin..." (140)
"The most a revolutionary could do in Las Villas was to steal livestock, collect taro weeds, sweet potato shoots, amaranth, purslane, and such." (175)
"Un boniato riquísimo que se asaba con ceniza a la manera africana." (113)
"The tastiest kind of sweet potato cooked over the ashes, the African way." (14)
Botanical reference: Pedro Acevedo and Mark Strong, “Catalogue of Seed Plants of the West Indies,” Smithsonian Contributions to Botany 98 (January 1, 2012): 239, https://doi.org/10.5479/si.0081024X.98.1.
Tobacco / Tabaco
Number of times mentioned: 8
Latin name: Nicotiana tabacum
Region of origin: North America, South America
Quotations:
"Si un hombre iba a pedirle a un brujo cualquiera una mujer, el brujo le mandaba que cogiera un mocho de tabaco de la mujer, si ella fumaba." (29)
"If a man went to a witch to ask for help getting a woman, the witch sent him to get some of the woman's tobacco if she smoked." (39)
"Ese se lo tiraba a la mujer en el tabaco." (29)
"You put it in the woman's tobacco." (39)
"Después les pasaban por las llagas compresas de hojas de tabaco con orina y sal." (30)
"Afterward they would cover the wounds with compresses of tobacco leaves, urine and salt." (40)
"La hoja de tabaco o la yerba mora sirven para las picadas."
(39)
"Tobacco or mulberry leaves work for bites." (50)
"La rellenaba con andullo y me ponía a fumar para pasar el rato." (73)
"I filled it with a plug of tobacco, and I set to smoking it to pass the time." (92)
"Nunca les faltaba tabaco, ni chocolate caliente, ni viandas, ni carne de puerco." (88)
"They were never without tobacco or hot chocolate or greens or pork." (111)
"Cuando veía que una picada de algún bicho se me iba a enconar, cogía la hoja de tabaco y la mascaba bien." (39)
"Whenever I saw that the bite of some bug was going to get swollen up on me, I took hold of the tobacco leaf, and I chewed it well." (50)
"Aun así cuando se disolvió el ejército, los libertadores negros fío pudieron quedarse en la ciudad. Regresaron al campo, a la caña, al tabaco, a cualquier cosa, menos a las oficinas." (157)
"Even so, when the army was disbanded, the black revolutionaries were unable to remain in the city. They returned to the country, to the cane fields, tobacco fields, to whatever, except to the offices." (195)
Botanical reference: Shanu Mishra and M B Mishra, “Tobacco: Its Historical, Cultural, Oral, and Periodontal Health Association,” Journal of International Society of Preventive & Community Dentistry 3, no. 1 (January 2013): 12–18, https://doi.org/10.4103/2231-0762.115708.
Watercress / Berro
Number of times mentioned: 1
Latin name: Nasturtium officinale
Region of origin: Europe, Africa, Asia
Quotations:
"De esas comidas, la más rica era el ochinchín, que se hacía con berro, acelga, almendras y camarones sancochados." (60)
"But the most delicious of all those foods was ochinchin that was made with water cress, chard, almonds, and boiled shrimp." (77)
Botanical reference: Pedro Acevedo and Mark Strong, “Catalogue of Seed Plants of the West Indies,” Smithsonian Contributions to Botany 98 (January 1, 2012): 176, https://doi.org/10.5479/si.0081024X.98.1.
Yarey
Number of times mentioned: 1
Latin name: Copernicia yarey
Region of origin: Cuba
Quotations:
"Le daban un abanico grande de yarey y largo." (14)
"They gave him a big long fan made of a palm frond." (22)
Botanical reference: Pedro Acevedo and Mark Strong, “Catalogue of Seed Plants of the West Indies,” Smithsonian Contributions to Botany 98 (January 1, 2012): 77, https://doi.org/10.5479/si.0081024X.98.1.
Yucca / Yuca
Number of times mentioned: 2
Latin name: Manihot esculenta
Region of origin: South America
Quotations:
"Ahí se cosechaba de todo: boniato, calabaza, quimbamtoó, maíz, gandul, frijol caballero, que es como las habas limas, yuca y maní." (18)
"They grew everything there: sweet potato, squash, okra, corn, peas, horse beans, beans like limas, limes, yuca and peanuts." (26)
"Uno le daba un medio o dos y a comer frituritas de yuca, de carita, de malanga, buñuelos... veinte cosas más." (114)
"You gave her a half peso or two and started right in eating little fritters of yuca, black eyed peas, taro, or doughnuts. ..and twenty more things." (142)
Botanical reference: Pedro Acevedo and Mark Strong, “Catalogue of Seed Plants of the West Indies,” Smithsonian Contributions to Botany 98 (January 1, 2012): 342, https://doi.org/10.5479/si.0081024X.98.1.
Yuquilla / Arrowroot
Number of times mentioned: 1
Latin name: Maranta arundinacea
Region of origin: Mexico, Central America, South America
Quotations:
"Se parecía al atol que se hacía de sagú: yuquilla que se rayaba y salta igual que el almidón." (60)
"It was like atol that was made with sagu, arrowroot that was rolled and came out like corn starch." (77)
Botanical reference: Pedro Acevedo and Mark Strong, “Catalogue of Seed Plants of the West Indies,” Smithsonian Contributions to Botany 98 (January 1, 2012): 529, https://doi.org/10.5479/si.0081024X.98.1.
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Image credits:
Tomás Sánchez, Autorretrato En Tarde Rosa, 1994, Acrylic on
linen, 1994,
https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2020/03/tomas-sanchez-landscape-paintings/.
Tomás Sánchez, Orilla y Cielo Gris, 1995, Acrylic on canvas,
1995,
https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2020/03/tomas-sanchez-landscape-paintings/.
Text editions:
Esteban Montejo and Miguel Barnet, Biografía de Un Cimarrón, 223
p. (La Habana: Editorial Letras Cubanas, 1980),
catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/005222640.
Esteban
Montejo, Biography of a Runaway Slave, ed. Miguel Barnet, trans. W. Nick
Hill (Connecticut: Curbstone Press, 1994).
Image credits:
Tomás Sánchez, Autorretrato En Tarde Rosa, 1994, Acrylic on linen, 1994,
https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2020/03/tomas-sanchez-landscape-paintings/.
Tomás Sánchez, Orilla y Cielo Gris, 1995, Acrylic on canvas, 1995,
https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2020/03/tomas-sanchez-landscape-paintings/.
Text editions:
Esteban Montejo and Miguel Barnet, Biografía de Un Cimarrón, 223 p. (La Habana: Editorial Letras Cubanas, 1980), catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/005222640.
Esteban Montejo, Biography of a Runaway Slave, ed. Miguel Barnet, trans. W. Nick Hill (Connecticut: Curbstone Press, 1994).
Tomás Sánchez, Autorretrato En Tarde Rosa, 1994, Acrylic on linen, 1994,
https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2020/03/tomas-sanchez-landscape-paintings/.
Tomás Sánchez, Orilla y Cielo Gris, 1995, Acrylic on canvas, 1995,
https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2020/03/tomas-sanchez-landscape-paintings/.
Text editions:
Esteban Montejo and Miguel Barnet, Biografía de Un Cimarrón, 223 p. (La Habana: Editorial Letras Cubanas, 1980), catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/005222640.
Esteban Montejo, Biography of a Runaway Slave, ed. Miguel Barnet, trans. W. Nick Hill (Connecticut: Curbstone Press, 1994).