The monkey's tail wraps up the monkey. (from Google links that show partial translations). It appears to be a refrain from a Cuban Salsa (rhumba) song, but as to what it actually means I have no clue and didn't see it in the links.

What I find interesting is that rabo mean , but all the links translate it as . as the monkey's tale wraps up...

cut from one of the links:
She transcribes the words of a Havana rumbero, who recalls unlocking the secret of a local refrain, "Rabo de mono amarra a Ramon [the monkey's tale wraps up Ramon]" (p.56). The phrase, nearly an aural palindrome, reveals the foundational influence of both medieval Spanish verse, with its complex verbal doublings, and central African tales of trickster deities in the guise of animals. The requisite musical response, discovered by the rumbero in the midst of improvisation-"Por que rabo de mono no me amarra a mi? (Why doesn't the monkey's tail wrap up me')"-adds the elements of thinly veiled sexuality and gamesmanship, completing the rumba palette.

In a compilation of Cuban slang, I find that amarrar is defined as "Asegurar la fidelidad por medio de
encantamientos." That might make more sense here.

I know almost nothing of Cuban slang, but I would think that the entire phrase in Spanish would be "el rabo de mono amarra al mono." Otherwise, it's just a string of nouns with a verb.

Quentin said:

The monkey's tail wraps up the monkey. (from Google links that show partial translations). It appears to be a refrain from a Cuban Salsa (rhumba) song, but as to what it actually means I have no clue and didn't see it in the links.

What I find interesting is that rabo mean , but all the links translate it as . as the monkey's tale wraps up...

cut from one of the links:

She transcribes the words of a Havana rumbero, who recalls unlocking the secret of a local refrain, "Rabo de mono amarra a Ramon [the monkey's tale wraps up Ramon]" (p.56). The phrase, nearly an aural palindrome, reveals the foundational influence of both medieval Spanish verse, with its complex verbal doublings, and central African tales of trickster deities in the guise of animals. The requisite musical response, discovered by the rumbero in the midst of improvisation-"Por que rabo de mono no me amarra a mi? (Why doesn't the monkey's tail wrap up me')"-adds the elements of thinly veiled sexuality and gamesmanship, completing the rumba palette.

This phrase began a chapter in Christina Garcia's "Monkey Hunting" which dealt with a cuban-chinese army draftee from New York trying to stay alive in the Viet Nam war... I think "the monkey's tail wraps him up" might be the closest translation of the idiom- and monkeys play a key role in the story...

http://www.mostlyfiction.com/latin/garcia.htm
Thank you for filling in some of the blanks.

Michael Twombly said:

This phrase began a chapter in Christina Garcia's "Monkey Hunting" which dealt with a cuban-chinese army draftee from New York trying to stay alive in the Viet Nam war... I think "the monkey's tail wraps him up" might be the closest translation of the idiom- and monkeys play a key role in the story...

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