The term "cuerda" (Spanish for rope) refers to a unit of measurement in some Spanish-speaking regions, including Puerto Rico, Guatemala, Cuba, Spain, and Paraguay. In Puerto Rico, the term cuerda (and "Spanish acre"[1]) refers to the unit of area measurement.[2] In Guatemala, cuerda is both a unit of length measurement as well as of area measurement.[1] As a unit of area measurement, the Guatemalan cuerda can have various meanings.[1] [3] In Cuba, cuerda refers to a unit of volume measurement;[1] in Spain and Paraguay, it refers to a unit of distance (length).[2]
Cuerda is a unit of area, volume, and distance (length), depending on the country of use.
In Puerto Rico, a cuerda is a traditional unit of land area nearly equivalent to 3,930 square meters,[1] [2] or 4,700 square yards, 0.971 acre, or 0.393 hectare (ha). The precise conversion is 1 cuerda = 3,930.395625 m2.[2] The term "Spanish acre" instead has been used sometimes by mainlanders.[1] A cuerda and an acre have often been treated as equal because they are nearly the same size.
According to Carlos Menocal Villagran,[3] in Guatemala, the term cuerda refers to a unit of area and can have various meanings. Cuerda can refer to areas that are 50 x 50, 40 x 40, 30 x 30, 25 x 25 or 20 x 20 varas (i.e. 2500, 1600, 900, 625, or 400 square varas). In addition, some sources describe a cuerda as 32 x 32 varas. In Guatemala, the linear vara is equivalent to 0.8421 meters. Thus,
In Cuba, a cuerda is a traditional unit of volume for firewood,[1] about 21% smaller than the U.S. cord. A cuerda of firewood is equivalent to 0.79 cord or 2.87 cubic meters (128 cubic pies).[1]
In Guatemala, a cuerda is a traditional unit of distance, equal to exactly 25 varas[1] or almost 21 meters (nearly 69 feet).
During 19th-century Spain, a cuerda was a unit of length, of nearly 6.889 m (approx. 7.554 yd).[2] However, in Valencia, Spain, the cuerda measured 40 varas, over 5.4 times longer, as nearly 37.21 m (approx. 40.7 yd).[2]