aficionado — “fan,” from aficionar (“to inspire affection”)
bodega — “cellar”
fiesta — “party”
macho — “the property of being overtly masculine”
matador — from matar (to kill)
patio — “inner courtyard”
plaza — “public square”
piñata — Mexican Spanish, from Latin pinea (pine cone)
pueblo — “small town,” derived from Latin populus
quinceañera — a celebration for a girl’s 15th birthday, from quince (“15”) and años (“years”)
quixotic — derived from the name of Cervantes’ famous, delusional knight Don Quixote
rumba — from Cuban Spanish rumba (“spree”), it was the name of a popular tango melody in the early 20th century and became a more general type of Cuban dance music
tango — this word comes to English from Argentine Spanish, but like originates from the Niger-Congo language Ibibio’s tamgu (“to dance”)
telenovela — “soap opera”
