Confusing sentence translation?

Question

"Por supuesto que te estoy agradecida... a ti no, a Miro, porque tú eres mi hermana, pero él no tenía por qué recibirnos después de que Arsenio perdió la casa en la valla."

The best I can do is:

"Of course I'm grateful ... not to you, but to Miro, because you are my sister, but he didn't have to take us in after Arsenio lost the house in the fence."

The sentence, particularly the "Lost the house in the fence" really doesn't make sense to me....does anyone have insight on this?

I asked a prof about this. He wouldn't tell me outright but apparently it is NOT a typo and is a cuban idiom. - Sharstar25, Nov 23, 2012

Answer 1

It seems "la valla" is a cuban slang reference to a cockfighting ring, so the reference would mean that Arsenio lost his house gambling on cockfights.

Thanks Noetol. I had a vague memory that maybe "valla" was somehow connected with betting but vague ideas don't cut the mustard. - geofc, Nov 24, 2012

That was indeed the sense. Thanks very much! - Sharstar25, Dec 6, 2012

Answer 2

I can't find a single clue and I'm reduced to postulating a double typo for "casa en el valle".

I don't believe that it's correct but it's all I've got.

Thanks for giving it a shot! - Sharstar25, Nov 22, 2012

If this is out of a book it might help to chase up another edition and see if it's any different. - geofc, Nov 22, 2012

Jaja.Sí, con "el valle" sí tiene sentido. - -cae-, Nov 23, 2012

Answer 3

I think la valla is a place and doesn´t mean fence.