# malecón



## Red Queen

Hello!

I am searching for the correct English translation of the word 'malecón', understood not as 'pier', which is the translation the site gives, but as the following RAE definition:

_Cuba_ y_ Ecuad._ Paseo que corre paralelo a la orilla del mar o de un río.


If anyone has any ideas, I will be immensely grateful.

Thank you, 

RQ


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## güerita25

No estoy tan segura, pero me imagino que puede ser "boardwalk"


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## Red Queen

Thank you, I think it could work. The thing is the boardwalk in question is not exactly on the beach, but overlooks the sea from a cliff. Would 'boardwalk' apply in that case?


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## güerita25

Then maybe the best word would be "bluff"


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## Red Queen

That's certainly a new one for me!

Thank you, and good night,

RQ


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## Jimena Ledgard

Hola,

no estoy muy segura de como decir malecón en inglés, cuando busco la traducción aquí, obtengo jetty o pier. Pero no es ninguna de esas dos opciones.

Jetty o pier son más como unos muelles, mientras que malecón se refiere a una vereda o pista que bordea toda la línea de la playa o del mar.

Si alguien piensa en alguna idea, sería genial.

!Gracias!


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## unspecified

¿Será _boardwalk_?


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## unchartedwaters

Yo diría: *breakwater* con el sentido de "rompeolas" no conozco otro sentido de la palabra...


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## Lis48

The Malecón in Guayaquil was translated in English as Waterfront Promenade when I was there last year.


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## Fantasmagórico

Lis48 said:


> The Malecón in Guayaquil was translated in English as Waterfront Promenade when I was there last year.



 Here in Montevideo we call it “rambla”, but it is really the same thing under another name.
  I also have found it translated as “waterfront promenade” in a blog by an American living here:



> For those of you who don’t know, La Rambla is Montevideo’s *waterfront promenade*.


 http://www.amavericko.com/2006/12/home-on-the-rambla.html


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## MarcusDevildog

for me "malecon" = "waterfront"


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## Jimena Ledgard

!Gracias a todos!

Creo que waterfront sirve muy bien....


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## Red Queen

Me he vuelto a topar con esa palabra en una traducción. Esta vez la estoy traduciendo como 'sea promenade', ya que es específicamente, en este caso, un borde al lado del mar para pasear.

Saludos,

RQ


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## Cubanboy

Hola. 

Si es como el Malecón de La Habana, lo traduciría así:

Sea-front drive o Waterfront drive.

Saludos.


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## voltape

Red Queen said:


> Hello!
> 
> I am searching for the correct English translation of the word 'malecón', understood not as 'pier', which is the translation the site gives, but as the following RAE definition:
> 
> _Cuba_ y_ Ecuad._ Paseo que corre paralelo a la orilla del mar o de un río.
> 
> 
> If anyone has any ideas, I will be immensely grateful.
> 
> Thank you,
> 
> RQ


 
Hola Red Queen y hola a todos - Heme aqui, otro peruano, tratando de traducir MALECON. Pareciera que solo en el Peru hay malecones . (yo vivo a 2 cuadras del malecon de Barranco) - la frase, tan simple, hablando de Miraflores: "en sus playas se practican el Surfing, y en sus malecones el Parapente, alas delta" la he traducido asi: "You can surf in its beaches and give a try to paraglides and delta wings from the beautiful promenade along the seashore cliffs". Habia que dar la idea que es un sitio bonito, no un atracadero de barcos; que es un paseo, pero no a nivel del mar (al menos en Miraflores, para diferenciarlo del circuito de playas, y etc.


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## Jobani

La mejor traducción que se me ocurre es "*embankment*".

Esta otra suena más fina: *waterfront promenade* de aqui.


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## voltape

sigo pensando que esto esta mas proximo a lo que tenemos en el Peru y que en puesto en otro thread de WP:

Hola Red Queen y hola a todos - Heme aqui, otro peruano, tratando de traducir MALECON. Pareciera que solo en el Peru hay malecones . (yo vivo a 2 cuadras del malecon de Barranco) - la frase, tan simple, hablando de Miraflores: "en sus playas se practican el Surfing, y en sus malecones el Parapente, alas delta" la he traducido asi: "You can surf in its beaches and give a try to paraglides and delta wings from the beautiful promenade along the seashore cliffs". Habia que dar la idea que es un sitio bonito, no un atracadero de barcos; que es un paseo, pero no a nivel del mar (al menos en Miraflores, para diferenciarlo del circuito de playas, y etc. 
Estoy viendo que WATERFRONT y EMBANKMENT no estan mal, pero Waterfront siempre me hace recordar a la vieja pelicula de 1954 con Marlon Brando que aqui se llamo "nido de ratas" y me he quedado con la idea de que waterfront es un sitio feo y sucio.  Embankment me suena a atracadero de buques con todo lo antiestetico que se pueda encontrar en un sitio asi, pero ahora que mencionan la palabra me acuerdo de mi epoca en Londres y por cierto el embankment es un sitio miu simpatico.


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## alvarezg

Malecón es un sea-wall, un rompeolas.  Llega a llamarsele igual all paseo que sigue a lo largo del malecón.  Waterfront es el distrito cercano a los muelles.  Embankment es un terraplén u otra pila de tierra alargada .


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## voltape

Red Queen said:


> Me he vuelto a topar con esa palabra en una traducción. Esta vez la estoy traduciendo como 'sea promenade', ya que es específicamente, en este caso, un borde al lado del mar para pasear.
> 
> Saludos,
> 
> RQ


 
Definitivamente Queen, insisto despues de casi medio año que tienes razon y que SEA PROMENADE es lo que mejor traduce al "malecon" peruano!  (salvo que sea River Promenade) . Pero insisto en PROMENADE.


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## zhaul-san

*Atención: hilos unidos *​ 
He buscado en varios diccionarios y encuentro las siguients palabras

waterfront, pier, embankment, dike, levee, jetty

Como por ejemplo el malecón de Campeche. (siento no poder poner una enlace a una foto, no me lo permite el sitio hasta que haya completado requisitos)

Escribo pequeños artículos para un blog en Inglés, y he utilizado waterfront y pier como definiciones, pero no estoy satisfecho, ya que las búsquedas en la red sobre malecones no me da los resultados esperados.
Como dato, estoy tratando de saber cuál es el malecón más largo del mundo.


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## spodulike

Hello zhaul-san and welcome to the forum!

¿No puedes poner un enlace a una foto semejante de Google Images?


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## Cess007

Yo lo he visto escrito varias veces como waterfront (o seafront), y tengo entendido que esa es la definicion correcta.

(Como dato, creo que el Malecón de Dubai sera el mas grande del mundo aunque no esta terminado)
Saludos!


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## mellow-yellow

ProZ: Abu Dhabi Corniche ->El 'Corniche de Abu Dhabi // Malecón en Abu Dhabi 
ProZ: seawall    malecón 
ProZ: promenade    costanera / malecón / rambla / paseo marítimo


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## swift

Hola:

A boardwalk?


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## craig10

UK - a promenade

US - a boardwalk


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## cocuyo

Literally, the _malecón_ is a _levee_, a protective wall against the sea. However, often the term "El Malecón" refers to a street or road that is stretced along the levee, rather than the levee itself. It is definitely not the boardwalk, but the wall that is raised to keep the sea from flooding the place.


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## craig10

cocuyo said:


> Literally, the _malecón_ is a _levee_, a protective wall against the sea. However, often the term "El Malecón" refers to a street or road that is stretced along the levee, rather than the levee itself. It is definitely not the boardwalk, but the wall that is raised to keep the sea from flooding the place.


That would be 'a sea wall' then


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## zhaul-san

swift said:


> A boardwalk?


So is this the most common word for it? the picture is of the "malecon de Campeche" great picture.  
I think I will use this word instead of the others.  Thanks!


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## craig10

zhaul-san said:


> the picture is of the "malecon de Campeche" Thanks!


 
http://www.campeche.ca/mar_azul_beach_campeche_carpizo_gallery.htm

In the UK this would be called a 'promenade'


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## zhaul-san

craig10 said:


> http://www.campeche.ca/mar_azul_beach_campeche_carpizo_gallery.htm
> 
> In the UK this would be called a 'promenade'


The picture you show here is about a "boat" and we are talking about a wall, with sidewalk that goes along the beach line.

Anyway, thanks for the insight.


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## cocuyo

There is one picture showing the Malecón at:
http://www.campeche.ca/images/malecon_campeche_facing_flag.jpg 
There the text says _embankment_, which seems good enough.


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## chiwiki

Many foreign people call to the "Malecón de Guayaquil" simply "riverfront"...


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## Smitch18

Where I grew up on the coast of England everyone referred to the 'malecón' described in the original question as the promenade, and official signs pointed the way to 'The Promenade'.  However, having researched the question a bit, it seems that the most precise term for this is esplanade, because it is especially applicable to a walking area along side a body of water, while a promenade is apparently just a walking area in general.  Boardwalk is an Americanism for a 'malecón' made of wood or boards, which seems like something quite particular to the US.  Certainly in the UK a wooden 'malecón' wouldn't last for very long.  So, I think the most correct answer is esplanade, though I wouldn't have used it myself.


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## Smitch18

Perhaps the most natural usage would be seafront or riverfront.  At first I thought they sounded too vague, but then remembered that we used to say 'We're going down to the seafront' on a city beach, and that there were also signs saying 'seafront'.  It encapulates the 'malecón' and the beach, which is why I thought it was too vague, however imagining a sandy beach with no 'malecón' I realised that I would never call it the seafront.  For me I would use seafront if it is a raised pavement, low wall below, and the beach, and I would use promenade if it is a high wall or railings and a clearly defined 'paseo', as opposed to just the pavement next to the beach.  Wow! I would never have imagined it could be so complex.  I've even changed my answer from promenade to esplanade to seafront.  I've finally made up my mind though, seafront is the most natural where I come from and is applicable to all of it, whether there is a malecón or not, which I guess takes us back to square one.


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## Arrius

*esplanade*
*▸ noun:* a long stretch of open level ground (paved or grassy) for walking beside the seashore.
_(Pero no sé si se dice también en EEUU)._


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## Smitch18

'Esplanade' certainly appears to be the most accurate translation according to dictionary and other definitions.  However, it is a word that, though it rings a bell, I don't remember actually having heard.  Common usage is spoken English is clearly something different, at least in the UK, where I would say that 'Seafront' is the most commonly used term (though it seems to lack precision).  They may use 'esplanade' more in the US, I can't remember having heard it though.  It looks like a good example of some dictionary definitions and real everyday usage not coinciding.  I wonder how common it is that the most accepted dictionary definition of a word does not coincide with actual usage.  Perhaps it happens with words where there is such a wide variety of locally used words that the lexicographers just plump for something easily generic and a touch artificial.


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## Arrius

Maybe like so many other words so common in my youth._ esplanade_ has become oldfashioned, like _railway station_ which is now _train station_. I used frequently to hear and read on signs the word _esplanade_ on the English south coast, where there were also many _milk bars_ (of happy memory) that one no longer hears about.


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## voltape

Peruvian (an a few neighbouring countries') "Malecones"   (malecones is the plural of malecón) seem to be a real headache, as in Spain and seemingly many Latin American countries give them other meaning.  Definitively, a Peruvian Malecón is not man made, say, for protection.  It's a natural geographic accident, bordering the sea (or river, or lake) which generally is embellished by the city with sidewalks , the street and generally fashionable houses along.  So you park your car beside the sidewalk and go walking with your girlfriend along the malecón, watching the see


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