10/05/2026
Ojalá, que si!
Isn’t our history interesting!!!!
Every time your mother said ojala she was speaking Arabic, and neither of you had any idea she was doing it. 🕌
Ojala comes from the Arabic in sha Allah, God willing. The meaning survived the journey perfectly. When she said it over a hospital phone call or a job interview, she was saying exactly what the phrase has always said, in a language nobody in the house spoke.
It is not one word. Roughly four thousand Spanish words come from Arabic, left behind by nearly eight centuries of al Andalus between 711 and 1492. Almohada, your pillow. Aceite, your oil. Azucar, your sugar. Aduana, the customs house. Alcalde, the mayor. Even hasta.
They are the plainest words in the language. Pillow, oil, sugar, mayor. Not decoration, the furniture.
Which of those words does your family say most, and did you ever suspect it?
