nohablamucho

I have tried the automatic online translators like google and babelfish and none can translate.
There is a canyon in the mountains of New Mexico, USA . It is a beautiful place with a stream and wonderful views of the valleys below. It is called Laborcita Canyon. I have asked many local hispanic residents the origin of this word, and nobody will answer. Laborcita is always spoken with a spanish accent, with the trilled "r" sound........ does anyone have any idea what this word means? I do not speak and understand very little Spanish. I always assumed it was a descriptive term decribing the canyon....i also wondered if it should be 2 words "La Borcita" , but it is always written and spoken in English as one word "Laborcita." Thanks for your help!

matthewg

In Spanish, "labor" means "job" or "task," depending on the context. The suffix -ito/a, or -cito/a, if it comes after a consonant, is a diminutive, so in this case "laborcita" would, very literally, mean something like "little task." Taken out of context, it doesn't make much sense, but I'm guessing it must be related to the history of the canyon somehow.