Quick Answer
Una caguama is the 940ml shared bottle of beer you buy at a Mexican corner store or depósito. The name comes from the loggerhead turtle. It is meant for a group rather than for one person, and the glass carries a deposit you get back when you return the empty.
- Una caguama is the large shared bottle of beer sold in Mexican corner stores and depósitos.
- At 940ml it is meant for a group. It gets shared - poured into cups if there are cups, passed around if there are not.
- The glass carries a deposit. Bring an empty, or pay for the envase and get it back when you return it.
What it is
One big bottle, several people. That is the whole institution - 940ml, the cheapest way to drink beer in Mexico, and built for sharing rather than for one person's evening. Cups if somebody asks for cups; passed around the circle if not.
It is also a plan rather than an object. Vamos por una caguama does not mean somebody is thirsty; it means sitting somewhere for a couple of hours, usually outside, usually with whoever is around.
The facts about caguama
- What it is
- The 940ml shared bottle of beer - about two and a half regular bottles.
- The other sizes
- Media caguama is 473ml. A caguamón is 1.2 litres. Ballena is the northwest name for roughly the same idea.
- Where the name comes from
- The loggerhead turtle - squat and brown-green, much like the bottle.
- Where to buy it
- A depósito or a tiendita. An Oxxo has them too and costs a little more. A bar undoes the point entirely.
- The deposit
- El envase, or el casco, is worth money. Bring an empty, or pay for the glass and get it back.
- How it is drunk
- Shared. Cups if somebody asks for cups, passed around the circle if not.
- Where it happens
- A folding table on a sidewalk, a doorway, a roof. It is a plan more than a drink.
Literal meaning
Una caguama is a sea turtle - a real animal, and a protected one. The bottle got the name for its size, and nothing about the association survives into daily use.
The other name for the same thing is ballena, whale, which follows the same logic. Which word you hear depends on the brand and the region, and both are ordinary.
How it works in Mexico
You buy it at a depósito or a tiendita, not at a bar. The whole point is the price per milliliter, and a bar undoes that.
The deposit is the part foreigners miss. El envase - the bottle - is worth money, so you either arrive with an empty to swap or you pay for the glass and get it back later. ¿Traes envase? is a normal first question from whoever is serving you.
Vasos are a request, not a given - ask and you get a stack of plastic cups. Plenty of circles skip them entirely and pass the bottle, which is completely normal. What is not normal is buying one for yourself while other people are there.
It is a sidewalk drink as much as a house drink. A folding table, a doorway, a roof - the bottle in the middle is the shape of a very large number of Mexican evenings.
Examples
- Vamos por una caguama.Let's go get a big beer.
- ¿Traes envase o te cobro el casco?Did you bring an empty, or am I charging you for the bottle?
- Pide unos vasos, no nos la vamos a empinar.Ask for some cups, we're not going to swig it.
- Ya se nos acabó, ¿vamos por otra?It's gone, should we grab another?
Where you'll hear it
- A folding table on a sidewalk in Portales, one bottle in the middle and four plastic cups around it
- Somebody walking to the depósito with two empties in a plastic bag, because the deposit is the point
- A match on a television dragged into a doorway, and the bottle passing along a row of chairs
- A rooftop at ten, somebody topping up everybody else's cup before their own
Mini dialogue
Common mistake
Treating it as a single-serving beer. At 940ml it is about two and a half regular bottles, and it is designed for a group - buying one for yourself while other people are standing there is a small social misfire rather than a language error.
Walking off with the bottle. The glass is not yours - it carries a deposit, and the shop expects it back. Leaving empties in the street is the local equivalent of throwing away coins.
Don't sound gringo
a caguama is 940ml and it is a bottle for a group, not a big one for you.
That is about two and a half regular beers, and it gets shared - cups if somebody asks for them, passed around if not. What reads oddly is buying one for yourself while other people are standing there.
You are also paying a deposit on the glass. The envase, or casco, is worth money, so you either bring an empty when you buy or leave a few pesos and get them back when you return it.
Buy it at a depósito or a tiendita rather than at a bar, where the whole point - that it is the cheapest beer per milliliter in Mexico - stops applying.
FAQ
What is a caguama?
The large shared bottle of beer sold in Mexican corner stores and depósitos. It is meant for a group and poured into plastic cups.
Why is it called a caguama?
Because una caguama is the loggerhead turtle - squat and brown-green, much the shape of the bottle. Ballena, whale, is the northwest name for the same idea.
How big is a caguama?
940ml - about two and a half regular bottles. Media caguama is 473ml and a caguamón is 1.2 litres.
What is the envase deposit?
The glass bottle is worth money. You either bring an empty to swap or pay for the bottle and get that back when you return it. ¿Traes envase? is a standard question.
Can you drink a caguama alone?
Nothing stops you. What reads oddly is buying one for yourself while other people are there - the bottle is built for a group, and that is the whole institution.
What is the difference between a caguama and a chela?
Chela is beer in general, usually a single one. Una caguama is one specific big bottle, and it is a plan for several people rather than a drink for one.
Where do you buy a caguama?
A depósito or a tiendita. An Oxxo works and costs a bit more. Bars sell them too, but the point of a caguama is the price and a bar cancels it.
caguama vs chela, ballena and caguamón
caguamavschela
Chela is beer in general and usually a single one - ¿vamos por unas chelas? A caguama is one specific bottle, and it is a plan for several people rather than a drink for one.caguamavsballena
Roughly the same idea under a different name - a ballena usually runs larger, closer to the caguamón - and it is regional rather than brand-specific - ballena belongs to the northwest, Sinaloa and Sonora and Pacífico territory. A chilango almost never says it.Page coming sooncaguamavscaguamón
A different bottle, not another word for this one - a caguamón is the 1.2 litre version. Going the other way, media caguama is 473ml, half the size.Page coming sooncaguamavsla caguama (the turtle)
Still the literal meaning - a sea turtle, and a protected species. Context does all the separating, and nobody in a depósito is thinking about wildlife.Page coming sooncaguamavsenvase
The bottle itself, and it costs money. El envase or el casco carries a deposit, which is why people carry empties back and why the price changes depending on whether you brought one.Page coming soon
Related words
Test yourself
Tap an answer.
You buy a caguama and the shopkeeper asks '¿trae envase?' What are they asking?
Your friends buy a caguama. What arrives with it?
The one thing
una caguama is the 940ml shared bottle of beer, named after the loggerhead turtle. it gets passed around, and the glass carries a deposit you get back when you return it.
Sources
- DictionarycaguamaDiccionario breve de mexicanismos, Academia Mexicana de la LenguaThe academy's entry, turtle and bottle both.
- PressCuál es el origen de la palabra caguamaInfobae MéxicoTraces the turtle name back to the Caribbean languages, and dates the beer sense to the mid-twentieth century.
- ContextNi tortuga ni cerveza: la razón por la que le decimos caguamaDirecto al Paladar MéxicoOn the size names - caguama, guama, Kawasaki - and what they actually refer to.
- PressLos diferentes nombres que se le dan a la cervezaEl UniversalThe full inventory of Mexican beer words, by size and by region.
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