¡Ay, caramba!

¡Ay, caramba! (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈai kaˈɾamba]) comes from the Spanish interjection ¡ay! (denoting surprise or pain) and caramba (a minced oath, a euphemism for carajo), which is an exclamation of disgust or surprise in Latin American Spanish.

Caramba is also a lace worn on the head and derives from La Caramba, the nickname of María Antonia Fernández (1751-1787) a Spanish singer of zarzuelas, who wore an enormous, brilliantly coloured bow in her hair.

References in Western culture

In a poem published in 1859 (Template:Fr icon Après la bataille), Victor Hugo describes a Spanish soldier shouting "Caramba!" during the Napoleonic Wars.

The phrase is regularly used by stereotyped Mexicans in Wild West literature (for example the adventures of Tex Willer or Lucky Luke).

The character General Alcazar in the Tintin books by Hergé regularly used "caramba" as an exclamation, as did Eduardo (of the Flash-animated television series Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends).

It is used by the character Bart Simpson on the animated television series The Simpsons, usually as an expression of shock or surprise, as to replace more vulgar terms i.e. "Holy Crap!", as well as the character's first word, and was commonly misspelled on Simpsons merchandise.

Television series

Ay Caramba! was the name of a 1998–2006 Spanish-language television series featuring funny home videos. It was broadcast on Mexico's TV Azteca network.