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For example, how would one say 'More Cuba Libres' in Spanish?

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Not really relevant, as almost no one will understand what "Cuba Libre" is. In Spanish it's "cubata". –  vartec Jan 5 '12 at 13:39

3 Answers 3

I mostly hear Cuba libres, my view point is that of a native speaker, not a linguist, so it may not be right, but in matters of languages, how the living language is, is sometimes more important that what books say.

One clear example is Medialunas ( literally half-moon, means croissant ) although sometimes but not often, I've heard medias lunas

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You can either write Cuba Libre as:

  • Cuba Libre: in this case the plural is either Cubas Libres or Cubas-Libres.
  • cubalibre: in this case the plural can only be cubalibres.
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never heard someone saying Cubas Libres, not in South America at least –  juliomalegria Jan 5 '12 at 4:33
I haven't either, but it's grammatically correct. –  Rellikiox Jan 5 '12 at 11:09

The problem here is the difference between proper and common Spanish. In proper Mexican Spanish a proper name is never pluralized. For example if there are 3 people named Jose in a room you say “Dale la sopa a los Jose nomas.” Give the soup to the Joses only; this is because the name always refers to an individual that cannot be plural. It may sound funny but the proper way to say it is “Dame 3 Cubalibre para mis compañeros”. The rules for when to use the plural are very specific in proper Spanish. I found an example back in a previous question about “Buenas Noches.” The proper form is if you are addressing an individual you say “Que tengas una buna noche” now if you are addressing a group you say “Tengan buenas noches” it is plural because the night refers to each person so multiple people have there individual night.

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according to RAE (section 2.8 of this link: buscon.rae.es/dpdI/SrvltGUIBusDPD?lema=plural) the plural of proper names is done as the general rules, so it should be "los Josés". You can see there examples: "las Cármenes, los Pablos..." –  Javi Jan 3 '12 at 22:37
I see your correction and by the RAE you are correct. I was taught never to pluralize a proper name obviously incorrect. My Spanish is old school I will refrain from further answers. –  Fortunato Jan 5 '12 at 5:04
@Fortunato Whilst I guess following the RAE is preferred, I still found your answer interesting, and will possibly be useful if I ever come across this use. –  jasonmcclurg Jan 5 '12 at 23:25

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