Thread: slang from peru

I have heard the word Bamba used in Peruvian spanish.... I believe it means imitation, but im not sure..anyone know?

I think that believe in Mexico Bamba is a kind of dance. have you heard the song?

Emily, I'm not sure what "bamba" means in Peru, but rest assured, I'll ask next time at Carlito's, the best restaurant in Buenos Aires (1000 times better than anything in Palermo!), across from the Abasto. It's a Peruvian joint.

As for the song la bamba, I'll tell you that I was 17 years old before it occurred to me that "yo no soy marinero, soy capitán" means "I´m not a sailor, I´m the captain". Before that, I´d heard it a million times but had never paid attention to the words, I guess.

haha, thanks for both the replies! i will have to check out this restaurant Elmeromero.

emilyb, "La Bamba" es una tradicional canción latina,ni se de que pais viene
pero se conoce en varios,y parte de la letra por si te sirve:

"para bailar la bamba se necesita un poquito de gracia,
un poquito de gracia se necesita y arriba y arriba,
bamba,bamba,bamba

yo no soy marinero,yo no soy marinero soy capitán soy
capitán soy capitán.

bamba bamba bamba,
para subir al cielo,para subir al cielo se necesita una escalera larga,
una escalera larga y otra cosita y arriba y arriba,etc"

como verás la letra no es muy rica en contenido pero el
ritmo sí es contagioso,normalmente cuando en una fiesta
hay una guitarra,es típico que alguien toque la bamba(o era típico..)

saludos

Mario

hi,

Bamba could be two things. The first one as you said before, "imitation", but I'd rather to say "cheat", because it's colloquial. And the other meaning could be the name of a spanish song, and you have the explanation provided by the other users.

Have a nice day,

Cindy (peruvian native)

I'm agree with lima1peru (Cindy)

"the name of a spanish song" ju ju ju please, emilyb was asking about a peruvian word specifically.

In Italy Bamba means Idiot

Well emily, bamba means fake... Imitation of something... Here's an example if you understand Spanish. "oye, ese choche tiene una cassaca gucci bamba. Se cree pituco pero es un achorado de ica. Gana 9 lucas la hora como combi." that's like saying that dude has a fake gucci coat... See, I'm Peruvian. I grew up in miraflores... But I was born here in the US on my parents vacation.

Well emily, bamba means fake... Imitation of something... Here's an example if you understand Spanish. "oye, ese choche tiene una cassaca bamba. Se cree pituco pero es un achorado de ica. Gana 9 lucas la hora como combi." that's like saying that dude has a fake coat... See, I'm Peruvian. I grew up in miraflores... But I was born here in the US on my parents vacation.