From the ridiculously amazing introduction to Querida: An Anthology, edited by Caroline S. Hau, Katrina Tuvera, and Isabelita O. Reyes:



A querida is defined by what she does, and with whom. Her name in Spanish means &ldquo;beloved,&rdquo; and tells us something about the passion she kindles, the affection she commands. Some names show her in action: live-in, for example, and patiki, which alludes to &ldquo;a sexual act where the female mimics the bird (like kingfisher) that feeds on fish.&rdquo; Other labels such as kalunya (from the root word alunya, &ldquo;illicit caress&rdquo;) and kaapid (from apid, &ldquo;illicit sexual intercourse&rdquo;) are less about her as a person and more about the bounds&mdash;legal, moral, and social&mdash;that she transgresses. &ldquo;Kabit&rdquo; dates back to the 1970s and originally refers to buses or jeepneys that plied the streets illegally alongside legitimate franchises. Having an affair is commonly described in folksy, dated language such as paglalaro ng apoy (playing with fire), pamamangka sa dalawang ilog (rowing in two rivers), pagsusunog ng uling (burning charcoal), pangangaliwa (literally, turning or moving left), pangkukulasisi (keeping a parakeet in a cage), and pangtsitsiks (tsiks may either derive from the Spanish chica, &ldquo;girl,&rdquo; or the American slang &ldquo;chick&rdquo;), a sure sign that the act and the stock characters in the family drama have been with us for as long as we can remember.




[x]
