Archive for the year 2008
Argentinean Barbecue Posted by Transparent Language on Mar 17, 2008
Argentineans love to eat “asados” o “parrilladas” (barbecues) and unlike Americans, Argentinean asados are done on a parrilla (grill) and include meats like chorizo, sweetbread (molleja), chitterlings, morcilla (blood sausage) and some regional meat cuts. The barbecue is almost always served with chimichurri, which is a popular sauce used also in many Latin American countries…
Colombian Pop Posted by Transparent Language on Mar 12, 2008
So if you think that news from Colombia only mean Latin bombshell Shakira and drug trafficking, think again: Juanes (Juan Esteban Aristizábal Vásquez) is here to stay. The 35-year-old was a member of the heavy metal band Ekhymosis but disbanded the group in 1998 to pursue a solo career. Besides being a best-selling recording artist…
To Become or Not to Become? Posted by Transparent Language on Mar 10, 2008
Spanish is widely known for having various ways of expressing some ideas. The verb “to become” is one of them. It takes many forms depending on several factors. Here are some uses: 1. If you want to indicate physical or emotional change, often involuntary, use ponerse. (Yo me pongo, yo me puse, yo me he…
Common Mexican Expressions Posted by Transparent Language on Feb 27, 2008
In this post we will learn some words and expressions typically used in Mexican Spanish in everyday speech . Let´s take a look at them: Agüitado – sad A poco no … – I bet you didn´t .. Fresa – snob person, high class person Güera – blond (for a girl) Escuincle/escuincla – boy, girl…
Pablo Neruda Posted by Transparent Language on Feb 19, 2008
As I mentioned in my Reading List the previous month, one of my favorite poets is Pablo Neruda. Originally from Parral, Chile, Neruda is widely acclaimed as one of the world’s most influential poets and was the recipient of the Nobel Prize in 1971. Neruda’s poetry runs the gamut from sensual love sonnets to politically…
Pronunciation, Natural Stress, and Written Accents Posted by Transparent Language on Feb 11, 2008
PART I One of the things I often noticed about my Spanish students was the difficulty they had knowing where to place the stress when pronouncing words. I don’t remember learning this explicitly in my high school Spanish classes (although I probably did) and I suppose I expected my students to intuit this aspect of…
Refranes: Spanish Proverbs and Sayings Posted by Transparent Language on Feb 4, 2008
Today we will learn about “refranes” in Spanish. “Refranes” are sayings or proverbs and they are part of a country´s histoy and folklore. Below are some Spanish refranes, their correspondent in English and their literal translation. 1. El que no oye consejo no llega a viejo. (He who hears no advice will not reach an…