Essential Spanish phrases

The caleño verbal tic — 'hey', 'listen', 'come on', dropped into almost any sentence. You will be identified as a local the day you start using it without thinking.

'What's up, mate?' — literally 'my son/daughter', used between friends of any age. Warmer and more informal than the Bogotá greeting.

Cali's own style: much faster footwork than Cuban or New York salsa, danced upright with the arms quiet. It is not a tourist thing — people learn it as children here.

Shaved ice piled with tropical fruit, condensed milk and syrup — the Cali afternoon institution, best from a street cart in Jamundí or on the Sexta.

The orange peach-palm fruit sold from carts with salt and honey, brought in from the Pacific coast. An acquired taste that says a great deal about where Cali gets its food and its people.

'Will you gift me…?' — the polite way to order or ask for anything. '¿Me regala una lulada?' is not asking for a free drink.

The Masivo Integrado de Occidente, Cali's articulated-bus system. Everyone calls it this. Tap in with a MÍO card; the flat fare covers the whole network.

Avenida Sexta and Calle Quinta, the two arteries everyone navigates by. Cali is not gridded like Bogotá — you orient by avenues, the river and the western hills.

The 1-to-6 socioeconomic rating attached to a property, which sets your EMCALI utility tariffs. The first question any caleño asks about a flat.

'Don't give papaya' — don't offer anyone an easy opportunity. In Cali it applies block by block rather than city-wide, and locals will tell you exactly where.

Help! Dial 123 for any emergency nationwide; 165 reaches the GAULA anti-extortion and kidnapping unit.