Grasshopper

Grasshopper
 

Is grasshopper el chapulín or el saltagatos or el saltamontes or ...?

'El saltamontes' is used in every country, as far as I know.
Some sources list the other two you wrote, and give places where they are used.
I also found sites that give at least four other names, including 'langosta' and 'saltón'. Can't say I've ever heard any of them used for a grasshopper, though.

I think "chapulín" is used only in Mexico, because it seems to be a Nahua word.
I've never heard "saltagatos".

Langosta (locust) in my country.

Saltamontes is somewhat known, but if you tell the word to a 45+ they'll immediately say pequeño saltamontes with a Chinese accent -following TV series Kung Fu, starring David Carradine-.

Langosta in most of Latin America refers to a kind of shellfish that many people love to eat, but it also translates to locust which is a type of grasshopper.

In the U.S. chapulín is a semi-dried and spiced grasshopper served in fancy Mexican restaurants. I think this can be seen as ironic because what's an exotic food for anglos up north is a major protein source for many impoverished people in southern Mexican states.

¿Comen bichos? ¡Ptuajjjjj!

@Alec: El escrúpulo es completamente natural, pero los insectos --gusanos y orugas, saltamontes, huevecillos de hormigas, y otros que prefiero no mencionar-- forman parte de la dieta tradicional de muchas comunidades indígenas y/o rurales en toda América Latina. Desde luego no es un consumo normalizado en todos los pueblos indígenas ni en todas las comunidades rurales, y en las poblaciones urbanas su consumo es muy reducido.

@Poli: Although insect consumption is often associated to poverty, they may be very scarce and expensive, so they're not often a reliable source of nutrition for poor communities.
They are also a fancy dish at some specialized restaurants in urban areas, because one has to be careful that you're not given other species than the "normal edible" one. ;)

Pasé algunos día en Oaxaca el año pasado. En el mercado central de esa ciudad
hermosa, hay mucha venta de chapulines. Señoras pasan por el mercado ofreciendo pruebas gratuitas de chapulines. Tienen el sabor de chiles, limón y sal con las consistencia de pasitas. Aunque es difícil acostumbrarse con la idea de comer insectos, en realidad es menos cruel comer ellos que comer mamíferos con cerebros más desarrollados. Camerones y almejas son parte de la dieta del occidente, porque no hormigas y saltamontes.

Los mercados de Oaxaca son una maravilla. Hay de todo. Y sí, los "bichos" no son para todos, pero sí son omnipresentes. Es probable que ya se haya encontrado la forma de reproducirlos, porque cada vez hay más en todos lados. :)
Tienes razón, para mí también los mariscos son "bestezuelas". :D

Yo prefiero comer otras cosas menos impresionantes, como ser sangre (morcillas), intestinos (chinchulines trenzados) y cerebros de vacas no-locas (ravioles de seso) :D

¿Comen cuy alla en la Argentina?

@Alec: Al menos a ésos no se les ve la forma. :D

@Poli: Conozco a varios peruanos que lo detestan. :lol:

Según lo que leo, se comen capybaras (ñeques) en Sud América. ¡Qué horror! Me daría miedo caminar las calles de Buenos Aires.

I didn't have any idea what a cuy was. But I once ate vizcacha and it was exquisite to the power of nine! I didn't ate it again because it's expensive and difficult to get in the city. Capibara is from the subtropical/tropical part of South America so I wouldn't know -or give Global Warming a few decades more--

Oh, so I'm safe. Good, so Corrientes here I come.

I looooved Buenos Aires, Poli, you'll like it too. Restaurants have big and varied menus but I don't think you'll find that kind of "exotic" food, unless you explicitly look for it. :D

...

En semejante ejercicio
se hace diestro el cazador;
cai el piche engordador,
cai el pájaro que trina:
todo bicho que camina
va a parar al asador.

Pues allí a los cuatro vientos
la persecución se lleva;
naide escapa de la leva,
y dende que la alba asoma
ya recorre uno la loma,
el bajo, el nido y la cueva.

El que vive de la caza
a cualquier bicho se atreve
que pluma o cáscara lleve,
pues cuando la hambre se siente,
el hombre le clava el diente
a todo lo que se mueve.

...

(from Martín Fierro)

En alguno de mis libros hay una postal con esa primera estrofa. :D

Angelica, I was joking because I think my icon is a capybara. So if capybaras are a staple in Argentina( which I found out is not , and knew it wasn't so. It was my attempt at a joke) I would be hunted down and roasted on the parrilla. It is true Buenos Aires is a wonderful place to visit. I love theater, and for Spanish speakers who like theater, I don't think there's a better place. Like you, I had a very pleasant experience there, but the flight from New York parece interminable. Besides theater, Buenos Aires has something else in common with New York:¡PIZZA!

Pizzas are excellent.
I'm glad you won't be scared off by some food eccentricity. ;)
By the way, the capybara products you can actually find there include shoes, wallets and other leather objects. It's a very soft leather, really nice to touch... if you're not vegan. :D