Ser Guiri en España

En España, no se usa la palabra “gringo” a los extranjeros. En lugar, se usa la palabra “Guiri”. Guiri es una palabra de origen Vasca—que llamaban los Vascos a los guerras civiles para reconocerle como un extranjero—hoy día esta usado por cualquier extranjero. Pregunte' a un taxista cuando oí la palabra la primera vez si era insulto, y el dijo que no—al contrario—es para un extranjero algo chistoso y torpe pero no es negativo. Refiere a una persona que, por ejemplo, camina en el lado de la calle asoleado en lugar de la sombra, como dicen, “only mad dogs and englishmen go out in the midday sun.” Supuestamente, Ernest Hemmingway, un escritor muy amado aquí, es un ejemplar del Guiri.

Being Guiri in Spain

In Spain, one does not use the word "gringo" to denote foreigners. Instead, there is the word Guiri (pronounced like "Gidi" in English). Guiri is a word of Basque origin, which the Basques used during the Spanish civil war to recognize you as a foreigner, and it is today used to refer to any foreigner. I asked a taxi driver when I heard the word the first time if it was an insult, and he said no, it’s just used for non-Spanish people, and implies that they are funny and silly but not negative. It could refer to a person who, for example, walks on the sunny side of the street instead of the shaded one. As they say, "only mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the mdday Sun." Supposedly, Ernest Hemmingway, a writer beloved here, is a prime example of a Guiri.