What does "la quebrada" translate to, literally?

Question

I am speaking of the popular tourist/diving site in Acapulco. I always thought the name, "La Quebrada," meant, "the break," as in the sharp cliff that the divers jump off of. But now that I'm looking it up, I see that it translates to the "gulch" or "ravine" that they dive into. Is this correct?

Answer 1

Hi Nora, welcome to the Forum. That is a good question and quebrada besides meaning 'ravine' and 'gully' can also be 'broken'. There is a (to me) a quite nasty old saying: "la mujer en casa y con la pata quebrada". (The woman (belongs) at home and with a broken foot). Which kind of translates like that one about women belonging barefoot and in the kitchen. I can't quite remember how the English one goes but same idea. Ugh.

Really brave men in Britain say "a woman's place is in the home" Yeh, right!!!! - MaureenPeters, Aug 14, 2010

There's an English phrase that women should be 'barefoot and pregnant'. The 'barefoot' part means they should stay in the home. - lkelly, Aug 14, 2010

Aha! That's it. Good for you to remember, I couldn't but yes this is the Spanish version, with the idea being that if the wife has a broken foot she can't go out looking for 'trouble' or 'someone else' Yikes!!! - margaretbl, Aug 14, 2010

Please be a little careful with what you say on this topic. When a woman decides to stay home and raise her children she should not be demeaned by people trying to "liberate" her. I'm not saying we should force women to stay home, but we should not... - tc84, Sep 22, 2011

... force them to work and leave their children in daycare either. - tc84, Sep 22, 2011

Answer 2

In slang it can also mean to take a break, as a coffee break, or a rest from work. We use it like this all the time. Vamos a la quebrada.

qué interesante :) - Kiwi-Girl, Sep 21, 2011

Thank you for this answer. It really fits with the book I'm writing. - noraestela, Sep 21, 2011

Kimbillro, I would love it if you filled in a little more information on your profile -- especially your language fluency. Thanks! - territurtle, Sep 21, 2011

Answer 3

Ravine is the geographic meaning. We have a famous one in Argentina:

La Quebrada de Humahuaca

Answer 4

That's funny, and disturbing! Well, I always associated the name "la quebrada" with "quebrar" -to break-. But I see that it has different meanings. I was just doing some research and came across the translation of the name, and I realized I had been mistaken all these years. Thank you all for your help!

Answer 5

This isn't answering your question, unfortunately, but "quebrada" (female: noun) means a narrow mountain pass.