Bacane concept

Living like a bacán is the dream of many, and that is that, in some Latin American countries , such as Argentina, Colombia and Uruguay, it is used, in general, to say that one is rich and free from economic worries, being able to give all the luxuries you want. In Chile, someone pretentious is vain or presumptuous.

The etymology of the lunfarda slang term, bacán, is found in the Genoese "baccán", which, in turn, comes from "bacco" which can be translated as "command stick", for which a bacán is a pattern or person with power. Italian immigrants would have brought the word to South American lands.

But in addition to this positive use, and the one that can also be applied to any business pattern, and to behaviors that may appear stupendous and worthy of replicating, it can also be used in a pejorative way, for those who pretend to have an economic and social position that they do not have, borrowing, consequently , and defrauding their creditors; and to qualify that man, who obtains economic returns, from the provision of third-party sexual services, or who has prohibited sexual relations. In Cuba, it is the man who lives at the expense of the income of his wife or lover.

The cool things are those refined, expensive and elegant, only accessible to those who have great purchasing power .

In these usage examples, we will try to show that its meaning depends a lot on the context: "I went to a cool party, full of nice and fun people", "My cousin lives like a cool guy, surrounded by service personnel, and all kinds of comforts”, “I bought a very cool car, and I will be the envy of the neighborhood”, “This show is very cool , I managed to have a lot of fun and forget my worries” “That evil cool exploits women and lives off them”, “He bought many luxury items, because he wanted to look like a cool guy and today he has many demands because he couldn't pay off his debts" or "Everyone despises Juan in the city, because it is known that he lives like a cool guy, earning from the sex work of the men and women he hires." .

In Music “Bacán” is the title of a tango from 1925, whose lyrics belong to José Diez Gómez and the music, to Armando Baliotti, where the life of a bacán man is described, in the sense of proud, arrogant and seductive, that humiliated women, and ended up alone and sad. Another song that deserves to be mentioned in the same genre is "A cool friend of mine" with lyrics and music by Roberto Medina, where he compares his poor life with those of his friend who grew up in luxury, but lost his father at the age of twenty years, and failed to be happy.

Bacchanalia concept

Bacchanalia were the festivals that, in Ancient Rome, were offered in honor of the god of wine, Bacchus, taken from the Greek god Dionysus, in whose honor the Dionysias were celebrated in Greece.

Bacchanalia, is a term that comes from the Latin "Bacchanalia", and is applied, as we said, to the festivals that began to be celebrated in Rome, due to Greek influence, from the year 200 before the Christian era. It was only, in its beginnings, carried out with the participation of women, and the priestesses who were in charge of organizing them, were known as bacchantes, meeting near the Aventine Hill, in the grove of Simila. The meetings were secret and were held in January and March, with the first full moon, and on March 16 and 17. Later, men also participated. Social class was not a problem to participate in the bacchanalia, and even the presence of slaves was admitted.

Debauchery and lust characterized these festivities, and, being in honor of the god of wine, they undoubtedly drank excessively. They also ate and practiced collective sex, without moderation , breaking ancestral taboos. It was said that they also performed sacrifices.

The authorities of the Roman Republic were frightened by the actions of this group, which they considered an evil sect, by the possibility that in these secret and vicious parties, conspiracies could be hatched, which would endanger the stability of Rome, which was growing more and more with the conquests, both in extension and in social differences, due to the impoverishment that the wars had brought about and the massive entry of foreigners.

An accusation before the Roman authorities, about what happened in the bacchanalia, by a young man named Ebucio, whose mother tried to initiate him into the cult of Bacchus, unleashed an investigation and persecution against the sect. Ebucio had been informed of what was happening in the bacchanalia by his girlfriend, Híspala Fecenia, who was the instigator of the complaint, as she stated that she had witnessed the violations that occurred there, when she had accompanied her master, before being released, to those rituals.

In the year 186 a. C, the bacchanalia were prohibited in Italy by a senate consult (senatorial decisions). They could only be carried out if required and obtained the approval of the Senate. Despite the prohibition , and the death sentences, they continued to be carried out in the south of the Italian Peninsula, although with much fewer members.

From these ancient festivities, disorderly and classified as orgies, where men were accused, among many other things, of passive homosexual practices, the term has now come to designate any party where debauchery reigns. Also, like other Roman celebrations, such as Lupercalia and Saturnalia, they gave birth to our carnivals.

Bacillus concept

The word bacillus, recognizes its etymological origin in the Latin word "bacillus" whose meaning is rod. From there it went on to designate in Biology the microscopic bacteria that have the shape of little rods, whether straight or curved, which often cause diseases in living organisms.

The genus is bacteria, which are unicellular microorganisms, without a nuclear membrane, with a single chromosome; and the bacilli are the species, characterized by its special format. Other bacteria have spherical or spiral shapes.

They differ among the bacilli, the Gram positive, which are visualized with violet or purple color, because they do not have a lipopolysaccharide layer, and they form spores, being very resistant to antibiotics. In these bacilli, the cell envelope is integrated by the cytoplasmic membrane and by a cell wall , which is attached to the cytoplasmic membrane by means of lipoteichoic acid molecules. This cell wall is integrated, in turn, by a thick layer of peptidoglycan. Some, like the via flagella, are mobile and others are immobile, such as Corynebacterium and Lactobacillus. Although some species are photosynthetic, those that are heterotrophic predominate.

Gram-negative bacilli have a second lipid membrane outside the cell wall, which is why they appear red or pink. These bacilli are responsible for urinary tract infections, peritonitis, gonorrhea, meningitis and diarrhea, among other diseases.

A well-known bacillus is the cause of tuberculosis , a disease that has caused a true scourge in humanity, since about three million years, called Mycobacterium tuberculosis perphinges, or Koch's bacillus in homage to its discoverer, Robert Koch, in 1882. The richness of the lipid content of its cell wall, where mycolic acids predominate, make it extremely resistant to external aggressions, and to a large part of antimicrobials.

It is not often that the cold kills it, but it is sensitive to heat, ultraviolet rays and sunlight, for which a form of prevention is to have the rooms ventilated and exposed to sunlight, in addition of course to the vaccination.

Tetanus is also produced by a bacillus that proliferates in dirty or contaminated places. Others are typhoid and anthrax.

Salmonella is caused by a primary or obligate pathogen, a Gram-negative bacillus, which was isolated from pigs with cholera and is generally transmitted through foods of animal origin, such as raw eggs.

There are other bacilli that can benefit health, such as lactobacilli, which are Gram-positive bacilli, whose function is to transform lactose and other monosaccharides into lactic acid, which inhibits negative bacteria, and balances the intestinal flora.