Monique: Good point about "es" versus "está". Reminds me of this quote by Bill Clinton: Click here

However, I disagree with your logic concerning "tiene". If Desi said a word that was misheard as "tiene", the correct word does not necessarily have to rhyme with "tiene". For instance, some similar-sounding words are "quiere" and "dime".

I'm afraid that until someone comes forth with a YouTube clip or an mp3 of Desi saying the phrase, and a Cuban-to-English dictionary, we will only be talking in circles about this to no purpose. Even if we had a recording, the sound quality on those old tapes and films is so poor that we may never know what he said. Also, according to WikiAnswers.com, "he usually says different things in each episode."