A spongy cake soaked in three types of milk — evaporated, condensed, and heavy cream. It's the most beloved Latin American dessert: impossibly moist, dangerously sweet, and completely irresistible.

A Mexican word with a thousand uses: 'exactly,' 'the real one,' 'right here,' 'the boss,' or just emphasis. Context is everything — 'el mero mero' means the top dog, 'ya mero' means almost.

A lot, a huge amount of something in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. It's the quintessential Central American intensifier that adds punch to any sentence.

Aguardiente, a strong spirit typical of Venezuela and Central America. It can also refer to any hard liquor you drink to celebrate or warm up.