Word origins

• cañadaSynonym of ravine: a gully, a narrow (often small) canyon.
• CañarA province in the Andean region of Southern Ecuador.
• canchaA toasted grain or grains of corn, a traditional snack in Peru.
• canchalaguaCentaurium cachanlahuen, the original canchalagua
• CancúnA resort city in Quintana Roo, in southeastern Mexico, on the coast of the Yucatán Peninsula.
• Candelaria de la FronteraA town in Santa Ana department, El Salvador.
• candelillaA type of flowering succulent plant, native to Texas and northern Mexico, of species Euphorbia antisyphilitica.
• CanedoA surname.
• CaneteA surname from Spanish.
• canionOne of a pair of fitted tubes of cloth worn in Europe in the 16th and 17th centuries below short trunk hose and above stockings to cover the leg in between them, sometimes joined to the hose (sometimes reduced to ornamental rolls terminating the legs of the hose), and sometimes joined to each other as breeches worn under the hose.
• cantaritoA small, often handleless clay cup, used in Latin America, and encountered elsewhere as the vessel certain cocktails are typically served in.
• Canyon DiabloA canyon in Northern Arizona.
• caobaSynonym of mahogany (“wood”).
• capatazboss, foreman, overseer
• capeaAn event in which small bulls or heifers are released into the arena and members of the audience can interact with them.
• capeadorA person who aids a bullfighter by distracting the bull with his cape.
• caporalA type of shag tobacco.
• CapuchinoA surname from Spanish.
• carabineroA member of the uniformed Chilean national police force and gendarmerie, the "Carabineros de Chile".
• CarancasA village in Peru.
• CaraqueñoA person from Caracas.
• Cara SuciaA river in El Salvador.
• CardenaA surname from Spanish.
• cardosantoA Mexican prickly poppy (Argemone mexicana), a hardy plant found in Mexico, with bright yellow latex.
• CareagaA surname.
• CarijonaA South American indigenous group.
• carimanolaA fried South American meat pie with cheese in a torpedo-shaped yuca fritter.
• CarmenateA surname from Spanish.
• Carmen de PatagonesA city in Patagones partido, the southernmost in Buenos Aires province, Argentina.
• carne asadaGrilled, sliced beef steak, as an element of Latin American cuisine.
• carniceriaA Hispanic butcher shop.
• CarniceroA surname from Spanish [in turn originating as an occupation].
• carnitaA Tex-Mex dish featuring large amounts of slow-cooked pork held in a tortilla, similar to a taco.
• carpinteroThe acorn woodpecker, Melanerpes formicivorus, a woodpecker of southwestern North America, noted for its habit of inserting acorns in holes which it drills in trees.
• carretelaA light horse-drawn carriage or calash.
• CartayaA surname from Spanish.
• cartoneroA person in Latin America who collects discarded waste, such as cardboard, to reuse or resell.
• CarvalloA surname from Spanish
• CasanasA surname from Spanish.
• Casa RosadaThe Casa Rosada, the official workplace of the Argentinian president.
• cascara sagradaA purgative made from the dried bark of an American buckthorn.
• cascarillaA euphorbiaceous West Indian shrub (Croton eleuteria).
• cascaronAn eggshell filled with confetti to be thrown during balls, carnivals, etc, chiefly in Mexico and the southwestern US.
• CaseresA surname from Spanish.
• CasiquiareA distributary of the upper Orinoco flowing southward into the Rio Negro, in Venezuela.
• CastanosA surname from Spanish.
• CasteníAn academic neologism that can be used to refer to a mostly Spanish-based Jopara
• Castilla del OroA former Spanish colony in Central America.
• CastillejoA surname from Spanish.
• castizoThe offspring of a European and a mestizo; someone of three quarters European and one quarter Amerindian ancestry.
• caucheroA worker who gathers rubber.
• caudillismoThe type of government ruled by a caudillo.
• caveachA fillet of fish, typically mackerel, pickled in vinegar.
• CaveroA surname from Spanish.
• cavyardA herd or group of horses on a ranch.
• Cayman IslandsThree islands constituting an overseas territory of the United Kingdom in the Caribbean Sea.
• Cayo LargoAn island.
• cazo processAn old method for amalgamating metal ores by first boiling in a solution of salt.
• CeballoA surname from Spanish.
• CebrerosA surname from Spanish.
• CecotThe Terrorism Confinement Center; a large maximum security prison located in Tecoluca, El Salvador.
• cedulaA community tax certificate, often used as a form of identification in the Philippines.
• ceiboThe tree Erythrina crista-galli.
• celeminA traditional Spanish unit of dry measure, equivalent to about 4.6 liters.
• cencerroA cowbell.
• CenicerosA surname from Spanish.
• centesimoA unit of currency constituting one hundredth of a lira.
• centimoA cent, i.e. ¹⁄₁₀₀, of certain (mainly historic) Iberian and Latin American currencies, and presently of the euro (coinage version in Spanish), as a coin or theoretic value.
• centzontleA mockingbird.
• CereceresA surname from Spanish.
• ceroonA bale or package, covered or bound with hide, formerly used in Central America.
• CerronA surname from Spanish.
• chacareraA genre of Argentinian and Bolivian folk music, a dance form played by contemporary musicians as soloists or in small ensembles of voice, guitar, violin and bombo drum.
• chacareroA small-scale farmer in South America.
• ChacaritaA neighborhood of Buenos Aires, Argentina.
• chachalacaAny of several cracid birds, of the genus Ortalis, limited to the Americas, that resemble the guans.
• ChagollaA surname from Spanish.
• ChagoyaA surname.
• ChalatenangoA department of El Salvador.
• ChalchuapaA town in Santa Ana department, El Salvador.
• chalupitaA bite-sized chalupa.
• chamiseAn evergreen shrub native to California, Adenostoma fasciculatum, in the botanical family Rosaceae
• chamisoAn evergreen shrub, Atriplex canescens, found in the southwestern United States.
• chamoyA type of sauce from Mexico made from pickled fruit, chili and other ingredients
• chamoyadaA sweet and spicy type of shaved ice drink prepared with fruit and flavored with chamoy.
• champetaA form of local independent music from Colombia.
• champurradoA traditional chocolate-based atole found in Mexico, containing panela, vanilla, anise and cinnamon.
• chancletaA slipper or sandal without a heel, such as a flip-flop or mule.
• ChapeltiqueA town in San Miguel department, El Salvador.
• charanguistaSomeone who plays a charango.
• charro beanA pinto bean, as used in Mexican cooking, especially as used to make charro bean soup (a hearty, spicy, smoky soup flavoured with bacon).
• ChatinoA member of an indigenous people of southern central Mexico.
• ChavacanoThe six dialects of the Philippine Creole Spanish spoken in the Philippines.
• ChavanaA surname from Spanish.
• ChavarryA surname from Spanish
• chaveraA female chaver.
• ChavianoA surname from Spanish.
• chavismoA left-wing populist ideology based on the policies of Hugo Chávez (1954–2013), the former president of Venezuela (2002–2013), and the politics of the Bolivarian Revolution (Bolivarianism).
• ChavistaA follower of Hugo Chávez or Chavism.
• ChavollaA surname from Spanish.