''THE MEANING OF THE FAMOUS SPANISH QUOTE: I´M HUNGRIER THAN CASCORRO''

''THE MEANING OF THE FAMOUS SPANISH QUOTE: I´M HUNGRIER THAN CASCORRO''

Right here, right now. This is the moment you've been waiting for and you never even realised it. After hearing ‘’Tengo más hambre que Cascorro´´(which literally means 'I´m hungrier than Cascorro') so many times, you finally get to learn the meaning. The places you are most likely to hear this phrase are probably Castile & Leon and Madrid, in the centre of Spain, however it is also commonly heard in South America, in fact the phrase actually originates in the new continent.

A phrase which grew from this, which isn't as well known, is ´´que volvió de la Guerra y se tragó un fogón´´ (which literally means 'he who came back from the war and swallowed a stove'). The story behind these phrases dates back to 1896, a key year in the war between Cuba and the USA against Spain, which resulted in the surrender of the Spanish kingdom and the loss of control of the Caribbean island.

The hero of Cascorro has a name, a surname and a very sad story. Eloy Gonzalo was born in Malaguilla (Guadalajara) and forsaken by his biological parents, he grew up with his adoptive parents in San Bartolomé de Pinares (Ávila) and Peñafiel (Valladolid) and subsequently he was adopted again living in Chapineria (Madrid) when his original adoptive parents died. At the age of 21 he was enlisted in the Spanish Army.

Appointed to the infantry battalion in America, he moved to Cuba in 1895, which is when the war between Cuba and Spain began. The war in 1896 comes out with a key point for this battalion happening in the village of Cascorro.

3,000 cuban insurrectionists rounded up the 170 Spaniards in the abovementioned village on 22th September of 1896, compromising the advance and consequently the war, causing trouble for the Spanish forces. The village continuously bombed the Spanish front from the houses of the village. This is what caused Captain Neila to ask for volunteers to set fire to these positions, Eloy proposed himself claiming that he didn´t have any family, he was single and had no one to care for.

Using more of his heart than head, Eloy took a can of oil to burn one of the houses and a rope to bind himself for

the army to recover his body and give him a grave, risking his life while the bullets whistled by his head. Howlucky he was when he passed the enemy lines alive, he set fire to the enemy houses, giving the Spanish army a chance to escape.

After the battle, the starved Spanish army came back to the base settlement, when they learned about Eloy's brave achievement a banquet was prepared for them all. This is the moment when Eloy, unable to resist his hunger, he arrived into the kitchen and swallowed the stove.

Unfortunately, Eloy's story is as tragic as much of his life. Eloy died in Cuba before the end of the war, as a result of tropical fevers. Later his remains traveled to the port of Santander, where he was finally buried in the cemetery of the Almudena in Madrid.

The heroic act of Cascorro recieved little acknowedgement by the military, but his figure became popular in Madrid for his courage and his brave act in the war. In 1897, the Madrid City Council decided to honor him by naming a street after him and erecting a statue in Nicholas Salmeron Square, more commonly known as Plaza de Cascorro (Cascorro Square). Some years ago, pressure from society caused the city council to change its name, baptizing it as the '' Plaza de Cascorro ''. In the statue, Eloy appears with a can of oil, a bayonet and a rope.

Cheers for this story to be extended, because its origins are known and spread and maybe for the next version of Office to have a decent dictionary that includes Cascorro not as a proper name, but as a legend.

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