Learn Spanish (Latin America): Decidí desechar el reloj, y eso que costó mucho dinero. - I decided to throw away the watch, even though it cost a lot of money.

The phrase y eso que (even though / and to think that) introduces a statement of fact that makes the main action surprising. Unlike aunque, which can take either the indicative or the subjunctive, y eso que always takes the indicative because it brings up an established reality. The fact that the watch was expensive is an undeniable truth, not a hypothetical scenario.

Is desechar the most common way to say to throw away in Latin America?

Desechar means to discard or reject something no longer useful, and it works perfectly here. However, in everyday spoken Latin American Spanish, you will also frequently hear botar or tirar (often as botar a la basura) for throwing things away. Desechar sounds slightly more formal or deliberate.

Why use the preterite costó instead of the imperfect costaba?

Using the preterite costó focuses on the specific event of buying the watch. It refers to the actual price the speaker paid at that specific moment in the past. If you used costaba, it would describe the watch's general ongoing price tag or value over time, rather than the completed action of purchasing it.

Can I start the sentence with y eso que, like I can with even though in English?