“Pretty, too, …” i.e., good to look at; in Latino dialects, “pretty” is an acceptable adjective to be applied to a young man.
“cumbias, salsas, … rancheras… .” Latin dances fashionable in the middle 1960s.
kitchenettes i.e., “efficiency” apartments; small apartments consisting basically, apart from a bathroom, of a single room with a kitchenette.
babushka a headscarf folded into a triangle and tied under the chin.
Marlon Brando an American movie actor, first popular in the 1950s.
“The Walrus and the Carpenter” a “nonsense” poem from Through the Looking-Glass (a sequel to Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland) by Lewis Carroll (1832–98).
45 records seven-inch recorded vinyl disks to be played on a phonograph at 45 rpm (rotations per minute); each usually has a three-to-four minute song recorded on each side.
