HABAS EVERYWHERE
We all strive to express our thoughts and ideas as clearly as possible using the language at our disposal. That is why a broad vocabulary and a rich store of phraseological tools are essential. The notion that people behave similarly or face comparable situations across different regions or countries is captured in Spanish by the idiom en todas partes cuecen habas (“They cook beans everywhere”). — “Pero en todas partes cuecen habas.” — Javier Pérez de Silva et al., La televisión contada con sencillez , 2002. — “Ciertamente en todas partes se cuecen habas, pero aquí el homicidio se ha desbordado hasta límites que contradicen...” — Tiempo , 16/4/1994. In English, we might render this idea with phrases like “It’s the same everywhere,” or by saying metaphorically, “Everywhere birds sing (flowers bloom, dogs bark).” And birds do indeed sing in Spain, in England, in France — even in Cuba, despite everything. Let us then continue to broaden the scope of our language, always.
