You know those moments when you’re left with your mouth open? When somebody tells you something so shocking you just can’t help but stand or sit there unable to utter a single word for a couple of moments? Or when the chisme is so good que empiezas a mover la cabeza from left to right, then eventually your hands start fluttering back and forth as the chisme gets better and better, as if in some way your body is physically reacting to the juiciness of what you are actually hearing.
In those instances you might find yourself uttering these three words…
¡Ave María Purísima!
If you do, whether you’re fluent in Spanish or not, don’t fret! It’s sort of like you’re saying Oh My God! in English. Well it is actually, only that you’d be invoking the Virgin Mary’s name instead of Jesús’. Think of it as a great substitute for OMG! That three letter acronym is kind of overrated anyway if you ask me. ¡Ave María Purísima! is so much more dramatic and telenovela-esque.
That’s why I’d rather use it any day.
I tried looking up the phrase in the Urban Dictionary, ¡pero nada! Mejor I’ll tell you about how my momma used to use the word in her own vocabulary.
When someone told her some really bad news.
When someone told her some really sad news.
When someone told her something really scary.
When we did something extremely awful as a travesura.
When someone told her something extremely exciting.
When she was extremely proud or happy.
Basically, anytime the phrase could be used to accentuate her message, in whatever context. As with most of our Mexi-Vocabulario words and phrases, this one can also be used quite varyingly at your discretion.
¡Ave María Purísima!