So here we are back in our favorite Mexican cafe. We now know that there are many ways to order soup, such as caldo, sopa, sopa seca, and crema. We remember that we are going to “pay the waiter,” and not tell him we “want to peg him.” You are on your best behavior and alert for those humiliating mispronunciation moments. It is lunch time, and you are in the mood for a sandwich. You see a list of tortas, or sandwiches, offered on the chalkboard over the service bar. You are offered tortas de queso, (cheese), tortas de res, (beef), tortas de pollo (chicken), and even hamburgeses, or hamburgers. But you are in the mood for a tuna fish sandwich, so you ask if you they have tuna. “Claro qui si, señor!” Of course we do, sir. And, you want that on whole wheat, or trigo entero, please. In a short time you are served a lovely sandwich on whole wheat bread, with lettuce, tomato, and a layer of crimson, thinly sliced rounds of prickly pears, or cactus fruit.

Tuna: atún

Prickly Pears: tuna