What Is a "Piragua"?

Quick Answer

la piragua= shaved ice/snow cone

There isn’t anything better than an ice-cold refreshment on a hot day. This is why las piraguas are so popular! Una piragua is a simple treat that consists of hielo raspado(shaved ice) and sirope con sabor a fruta(fruit‑flavored syrup) served in a paper cone.

piragua

If you’re walking around San Juan and you see a carrito de piraguas(snow-cone cart), don’t hesitate to stop and ask for a refreshing piragua. When you get close, the first thing you’ll see is a huge block of ice and bottles full of various flavors of syrup. You’ll be amazed at how the vendor prepares the piragua, manually shaving the block of ice with all his/her might.

Piragua means snow cone in Puerto Rico, but there are different words used in other Spanish-speaking countries. For example, use raspadoin Mexico.

Flavors

¿Fresa(Strawberry)? ¿Uva(Grape)? Which piragua flavor do you prefer? When the piragüero(snow-cone vendor) asks you what flavor you want, you can normally choose one of the following:

General Spanish Term	Puerto Rican Term	Translation in English
anís		anise
cereza		cherry
coco		coconut
crema		cream
frambuesa		raspberry
fresa		strawberry
guanábana		soursop
guayaba		guava
jarabe de caña de azúcar	melao	sugar cane syrup
limón		lemon
maracuyá	parcha	passion fruit
naranja	china	orange
piña		pineapple
sandía	melón	watermelon
semilla de sésamo	ajonjolí	sesame seed
tamarindo		tamarind
uva		grape

As you can see in this table, if you want to order a piragua in Puerto Rico, you’ll need to learn the regional terms for certain flavors. To speak like a native in Puerto Rico, you should order your piragua using the regional words instead of the general words used in other Spanish-speaking countries. Although you would be understood, some of the general terms can mean something a little different. For example, in Puerto Rico naranja is only used to refer to a sour orange. To refer to a sweet orange, china is used.