La llegada de María Vocabulary and Key Concepts

Vocabulary list and key character/event definitions from the story La llegada de María.

iba a llegar

it was going to arrive

unos vientos y una lluvia

winds and rain

estaba embarazada

she was pregnant

ojalá pudiéramos escapar de esto

I wish we could escape this

pase lo que pase

whatever happens

se inundaron las calles

the streets flooded

está embarazada

she is pregnant

Huracán María

A powerful hurricane that struck Puerto Rico at six in the morning on September 20th, bringing tornado-force winds and three centimeters of rain per hour.

Huracán Irma

A hurricane that passed Puerto Rico two weeks before Hurricane María, bringing only winds and heavy rain.

Natalia

A heavily pregnant woman in Puerto Rico who remained in her apartment during Hurricane María and gave birth to her daughter in a car during the storm.

Enrique

Natalia's boyfriend and the father of the baby, who stayed with her, prepared their home, and drove through flooded streets to get her to the hospital.

Osvaldo

A police officer who helped Enrique move a fallen tree blocking the road, called the hospital on his radio, and delivered Natalia's baby girl in the car.

María (hija)

The newborn baby girl born in the back of a car during the storm, named María by her mother Natalia after the hurricane.

autoevacuaran

To self-evacuate; the action recommended by the television news reporter for everyone in Puerto Rico before Hurricane María hit.

20 de septiembre

The date at six in the morning when Hurricane María made landfall in Puerto Rico.

tres centímetros de lluvia por hora

The rate of rainfall pounding Puerto Rico half an hour after Hurricane María hit.

tres semanas

The amount of time remaining before Natalia's baby was scheduled to arrive when labor unexpectedly began during the hurricane.