Before you go to The Spanish Caribbean: eras, customs, phrases and what is still there

Eras in a line

Before 1492 (15000 BC–1492) — The islands Columbus reached in 1492 were not empty.
Empire and the colonial Americas (1492–1808) — Spain governed its American lands through viceroys who represented the king: New Spain from 1535 (Mexico City) and Peru from 1542 (Lima), joined in the…
Revolutions and new nations (1808–1898) — The first decades of independence were hard.
Revolution, war and dictatorship (1898–1975) — After 1945 Latin America became a front in the Cold War.
Democracy and today (1975–) — Since 1990 almost every Spanish-speaking country has chosen its governments at the ballot box, though democracy has been tested by economic collapse (Argentina…

El cafecito cubano — A thimble of very sweet coffee with a foam on top, bought at a window in the street; a colada is the big one, for sharing between four or five at work.
Carnaval de La Vega — Every Sunday in February a Dominican town fills with limping devils in handmade papier-mâché masks who are entitled to hit you, from behind, with an inflated…

Un cafecito, por favor. — A little coffee, please.
Todos los domingos de febrero, La Vega se llena de diablos cojuelos, y quien pasee por la avenida acepta las reglas del juego. — Every Sunday in February, La Vega fills with limping devils, and anyone strolling down the avenue accepts the rules of the game.