¡Ay, caramba! (pronounced: [ˈai kaˈɾamba]) comes from the Spanish interjection ¡ay! (denoting surprise or pain) and caramba (a minced oath, a euphemism for carajo, a vulgar word meaning "fuck"),[1]; which is an exclamation used in the Spanish of Spain to denote surprise (usually positive). The term caramba is also used in Portuguese (Ai, Caramba!), where it used to be a minced oath for caralho, the Portuguese equivalent of the Spanish carajo.
The exclamation was the signature nickname of the flamenco dancer and singer, La Caramba, in the 1780s in Madrid. Her head-dress of brightly coloured ribbons became known as a caramba too.[2][3]
In Chapter XLIII of Herman Melville's "Moby-Dick", Cabaco, a sailor, uses the exclamation as a curse word.
The phrase is regularly used by stereotyped Mexicans in (especially Wild West) fiction, for example the adventures of Zagor, Tex Willer or Lucky Luke and select Warner Brothers cartoons, such as the bull Daffy Duck encounters in the 1947 cartoon Mexican Joyride.
Also often used in frustration by the character General Alcazar in The Adventures of Tintin comic books by Hergé.
Ay Caramba! was the name of a 1998–2006 Spanish-language television series featuring funny home videos. It was broadcast on Mexico's TV Azteca network.
The fictional character Bart Simpson from the American animated sitcom The Simpsons further popularized the phrase in modern pop culture. It became one of his most notable catchphrases, and something he would say when he was positively surprised by something or in connection with women. Bart said the line not always in positive surprise, but in negative/general surprise as well. For example, in the episode Selma's Choice, Bart, Lisa, and their Aunt Selma approach a very popular ride at Duff Gardens. Once seeing the exceptionally long line for said ride, Bart exclaims, "Ay, Caramba!", obviously not conveying any positive sentiment.
On ChalkZone in the episode "Bullsnap" Rudy said it with a red scarf with a bull running over him.
On the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, whenever Craig curses on air, his mouth is usually censored with a Spanish flag and the phrase "¡Ay, caramba!" has been dubbed over the curse word. This has become the most common method of censoring on the Late Late Show after Craig announced he wished to broadcast the final show of 2010 in Spanish. Previously, Craig's mouth had been censored over with the French flag and the phrase "Ooh la la!"