Hasta siempre

[laepelba]

Huh?

Some Peruvian friends stayed at my house this past weekend. After they left, I sent her a facebook message that said "La casa está tan vacía y demasiado tranquilo.... Pero me alegra que su viaje era seguro. Hasta pronto!" (The last part is because I'm going to see her again in New York in a few days...)

She responded with "Hasta siempre amiga!"

But I thought that "hasta siempre" means "farewell" or "so long".... Huh? I don't get it..... What does "hasta siempre" mean in this context?

[irmamar]

Are you sure they said "hasta siempre"?

- Hasta luego = see you soon (or write each other soon)

- Hasta nunca - when you're angry, like saying: "I'll never see you again"

- Hasta siempre - long goodbye, for an indefinite time. It's quite used in funerals, but also as a very polite goodbye (in a letter to somebody you don't know very well and who you're not pretending to write soon)

Maybe they wanted to be polite.

[laepelba]

No! This is my BEST friend. And I double and triple checked. She definitely said "hasta siempre"......

[irmamar]

Maybe it's common in his/her country. Don't be angry with me

In Spain we would say: "No maten al mensajero"

[EmpanadaRica]

Originally Posted by irmamar

Maybe it's common in his/her country. Don't be angry with me

In Spain we would say: "No maten al mensajero"

Ahhww (Es lo mismo en inglés, 'Don't kill the messenger' )

Nunca podríamos matarte irma, no te preocupes..

Aunque ya quieres dejarme ser comida por tu gatito...

[laepelba]

Originally Posted by irmamar

Maybe it's common in his/her country. Don't be angry with me

In Spain we would say: "No maten al mensajero"

Yes, Laura is correct on both counts. First of all, we definitely say "Don't kill the messenger" or "Don't shoot the messenger" (the latter phrase is more common).

And, NO, I couldn't be angry with you. I was just frustrated because everything I find about "hasta siempre" says the same thing: "farewell" or "so long" in a very permanent sense.

BUT ... I e-mailed my friend and she said that there's ANOTHER meaning and that she will explain it to me when I see her in a few days. Sigh.... I'll check back in here when she explains it to me so that I can explain it to you. I'm sure that it's a Peruvian thing........

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

In general, I agree that "hasta siempre" means that you don't want exactly to say farewell, but you might not see that person ever again.

Btw., Ché Guevara made famous "Hasta la victoria siempre" (which would mean something like we'll keep on fighting until we win). Maybe her use of "hasta siempre" is a personal interpretation...

But before I keep weaving more strange thoughts, let us know when she explains, will you?

[laepelba]

I will definitely ... because I am dying to know. If I didn't already know that she is UBER overwhelmingly busy, I'd press her for an answer to the question right now.... It will have to wait until later in the week.....

[bobjenkins]

Quizás es
Until always, como ella siempre quiere verte. No sé

[laepelba]

Maybe... that would be kind of sweet, huh?

[EmpanadaRica]

Originally Posted by AngelicaDeAlquezar

Btw., Ché Guevara made famous "Hasta la victoria siempre" (which would mean something like we'll keep on fighting until we win). Maybe her use of "hasta siempre" is a personal interpretation...

Ohhhh don't remind me... !!

Don't get me wrong, nothing wrong with Che.. just a bad memory..

It was actually a tv series (el topo, the mole) that was filmed in Mexico (beautiful Mexico!!) and one joker thought it would be funny to say ' Hasta la victoria siempre!' while blowing up bombs (fake bombs that is..) in a test.. Anyway it convinced me he was the mole, el topo, the saboteur..wrongly as it turned out..

For those who are interested.. : http://player.omroep.nl/?aflID=6327576
(needs about 10 sec to start/ boot, he says 'hasta la victoria siempre' at 32 min 7 sec.. )

But,..! It's a great piece of history!!

@ Lou Ann, I am sure there is a very logical explanation and your friend will tell you.
But I can certainly see how it feels somewhat unsettling because it seems very strange especially knowing that you will meet again pretty soon, so it's confusing..
Let's just hope it was a mixup/ misunderstanding or a 'Peruvian thing' like you said.

[sosia]

I only think the sentence "hasta siempre" it's more due the great distance that really a "farewell". It's only to give more emotive accent. It's like saying "cuidate" or "Hasta que Dios quiera"
Or perhaps it's the "peruvian thing"
Saludos

[pjt33]

Originally Posted by AngelicaDeAlquezar

Btw., Ché Guevara made famous "Hasta la victoria siempre" (which would mean something like we'll keep on fighting until we win).

¿Es una frase del Ché? Eso no sabía, aunque la he visto en varias murallas de La Habana.

Para lo que vale, la traduciría, "Ever onwards to victory".

[irmamar]

Originally Posted by pjt33

¿Es una frase del Ché? Eso no sabía, aunque la he visto en varias murallas de La Habana.

Para lo que vale, la traduciría, "Ever onwards to victory".

Why "onwards" instead of "towards". What's the difference?

[pjt33]

Originally Posted by irmamar

Why "onwards" instead of "towards". What's the difference?

My intuition is that "towards" has connotations of direction, whereas "onwards" has connotations of advancing. I'll look it up in a dictionary and see whether I can crystallise that a bit.

Edit: dictionary seems to agree. In this context it's the difference between "Hasta la victoria siempre" and "Hacia la victoria siempre", although I'm not sure how far that can be generalised.

[laepelba]

Now I know! And it IS a Peruvian thing.

Apparently, Bob had the closest "sense" of what my friend meant when she wrote "hasta siempre". Her meaning was that she is ALWAYS happy to see me. So when I wrote "hasta pronto", she wanted to say that she was so happy to see me two weeks ago and is going to be so happy to see me soon......... Quite the opposite of what was explained by Irma as "hasta nunca".

Thanks for your efforts on this one, everyone!

[irmamar]

I'm sorry, Lou Ann. I'm glad because your explanation

[laepelba]

Not sure what you're apologizing for, Irma, but it's not necessary. And, yes - I'm glad for the explanation, too.

[CrOtALiTo]

I want to clear your question.

Hasta siempre is used in Mexico, when the person is saying good bye but without return to see you again.

She should to says, I see you soon.

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

@Crotalito: Laepelba ya aclaró el uso que su amiga le da a la expresión "hasta siempre". Es una apreciación personal o regional de esa forma de despedirse para afirmar su amistad y decirse que permanecerá en contacto siempre.