Gustavo and the Sandwich Tax
At my school, there was a bully called Gustavo.
He acted tough. Thought he was handsome.
Nobody could stand him.
Between the ages of eleven and thirteen, I had to put up with him.
My mum made bloody good sandwiches for break.
Chorizo, salchichón, ham, mortadella…
Big sandwiches. Proper fillings.
There was just one problem.
Gustavo.
Every morning, he came to collect his “revolutionary tax”.
A third of my sandwich.
My mum packed lunch for one.
Two of us ate it.
I handed it over to avoid trouble.
Apparently, wanting to eat my own bloody lunch was asking too much.
One day, a friend had had enough.
Gustavo came over for his usual payment.
My friend stepped in.
“He’s not giving you any. Not today. Not again.”
Gustavo tried to act tough.
Picked a fight.
And got one.
He thought he was stronger than my friend.
He wasn’t.
They fought. Gustavo lost.
Back then, we called that “being taught a lesson”.
He never asked for my sandwich again.
I got my whole lunch back.
Spanish vocabulary: more than just un bocadillo
Un matón — A bully Someone who uses threats or force to intimidate others.
Un bocadillo — A sandwich made with a bread roll or baguette In Spain, usually different from un sándwich, which is made with sliced bread.
Un bocata — A sandwich Informal Spanish for bocadillo. Same lunch. Shorter word.
El embutido — Sausage products / cold cuts such as chorizo or salchichón Not every cold cut is an embutido: ham, for example, is not.
Enfrentarse a alguien — To confront someone / stand up to someone Mi amigo se enfrentó al matón.My friend stood up to the bully.
Una pelea — A fight Gustavo buscó pelea. Gustavo picked a fight.
Un escarmiento — A painful lesson / a punishment intended to discourage repetition Llevarse un escarmiento means “to be taught a lesson”. Not the classroom kind.
Your turn: tell it in Spanish
For IGCSE practice: describe the people and explain what happened.
Cuando era pequeño, en mi colegio había…When I was little, at my school there was…
For IB discussion: consider the bystanders’ responsibility.
Los compañeros podrían haber…The classmates could have…
For DELE practice: explain how you would respond and justify your answer.
Si presenciara una situación así…If I witnessed a situation like that…
One final question:
¿Se solucionó el problema o simplemente ganó el más fuerte?Was the problem solved, or did the strongest person simply win?
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