It Took Me 48 Years To Understand My Spanish Uncle’s Joke!

I grew up being told that I was a "quick study." This apparently was not the case when it came to understanding Spanish. It took me more than half a lifetime to completely understand my Spanish Uncle's pokerfaced sense of humor. God, I love him, even more, knowing that he was playing with my head and making a double-entendre political joke! ?

The year was 1973 and I was a naive “left coast Californian” liberal whose 2nd homestay in Segovia Spain was with an amicable story-telling Pharmacist; who was a conservative, devote Catholic and member of the local Rotary Club.

I thought he was ..ONLY.. teaching me a useful street-slang expression to use to seem cool and blend in with the native Spanish speakers I used to hang out with during “la Ronda.”*? (*Dinner traditionally was at 8 pm, so “kids” my age, would walk through town stopping at multiple bars and coffee shops to get something to drink which traditionally was served with a free “pinche” small snack.)?

The phrase Tio Anas taught me was “Anda Leche!” which literally meant "milk walks." But, basically was a way to tell a guy to go milk himself!”* (*If you catch my drift.)

Earlier this week (probably due to a phone call I received from a friend in Taiwan regarding China's alignment with Russia re: Ukraine) I dreamt about a time in Tio Anas’ living room when some young relatives from Madrid showed up (seeking refuge, basically). They were talking excitedly about a recent crackdown on students at the University of Madrid.?A student with a Che Guevara tee-shirt was speaking rather animatedly about his run-in with the Guardia Civil.* (*Machine-Gun toting military police who were stationed at just about every major intersection in Madrid)

It was at the point that Tio Anas turned to me with his poker face, cigarettes in hand, and said: “Anda Leche!”?To which I whispered I didn’t understand. So, he explained it was a slang phrase.

It wasn’t until I recounted this story to my wife this week, that I realized that Tio Anas was actually making fun and politically criticizing the left by changing the inflection of his accent!

The phrase: “ánda-le Che” praising Che Guevara’s socialist legacy by basically saying “go ahead (or go forward with ) Che, is just an inflection away from: “Anda Leche!”

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