In Mexico, we have many romantic songs; we have some of the best soap operas, and we love drama. Well, maybe we don’t love drama, but the drama is always there. We drink and listen to a lot of romantic songs; we scream and we cry for love. We have mariachis singing outside of a lover’s balcony, waiting for her to turn on the light to signal yes to her man. We also have fireworks—a lot of fireworks.

We have mariachis singing outside of a lover’s balcony, waiting for her to turn on the light to signal yes to her man.

You might be wondering, What is he talking about? To put it simply, you can’t write about Mexico and love without fireworks in the background. So put your dogs in another room, away from the noise, and keep reading.

I moved to Canada ten years ago to learn English. I came here because I needed to find a place where I didn’t know anyone. I needed to move to a place with few Spanish speakers so it would push me to speak with strangers and learn the language.

When you are learning a new language, it is always a challenge to express your feelings. You are adapting to a new culture as well as standards and values that you didn’t even know existed. If you go to Google Translate and type the words te quiero, you will get I love you. If you Google the words te amo, you will get the same: I love you. (Thanks for nothing, Google!) But in Spanish, te quiero is so much different than I love you.

If you go to Google Translate and type the words te quiero, you will get I love you. If you Google the words te amo, you will get the same: I love you. (Thanks for nothing, Google!) But in Spanish, te quiero is so much different than I love you.

If you say te amo to someone that you like, you are expressing a very strong feeling. Saying that means you want to “Netflix and chill” with that person for the rest of your life. But if you say te quiero, it means you care about that person, with no strong feelings attached. On a scale of one to ten, I would say te amo is a ten, and te quiero is six.

Here is another example: If someone says I love you, you would feel Monarch butterflies in your stomach. If someone says te quiero, you will crave some taquitos and move on. Te quiero—we will be friends, Te amo—I want to be more than your friend.

So, the next time you see the person that you love, picture yourself in a soap opera: You are moving slowly, your name is Julio Hector or Estefania Patricia. Keep moving, Estefania Patricia. Grab your lover, surprise him, look him in his eyes, say, “Te amo,” and kiss him like it is the end of the world. (Insert the sound of fireworks and mariachi here). I told you we were going to need fireworks!

This article was originally published in print in January 2021.