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Let´s practice with songs: “No voy a cambiar”, by Malú. Posted by Magda on Aug 29, 2013
We are still in summer, but autumn time seems to be coming closer. Today is not a warm day in Granada, it´s almost raining. But if it is cold or grey outside, we can always make it brighter with some music. And if the video is funny, as the one I´m sharing with you, even…
Americanisms in the Spanish language Posted by Magda on Aug 22, 2013
What do you think is the first Americanism that came into Spanish? Yesterday, while I was looking for the origin of some funny expressions, I found an interesting article talking about the first words that came into Spanish from the New World. Borrowings from different languages have always been a good source to increase a…
Some common linguistic mistakes in Spanish Posted by Magda on Aug 8, 2013
To learn a language also implies to avoid some native speakers´ typical mistakes. In some previous posts, we have talked about “dequeismo” (to know more, click here) and “laísmo” (to know more, click here), for example. Today, I want to share with you some linguistic mistakes, or vulgarisms: Así (this way): Things are this way…
Did you know that the madwoman “En el muelle de San Blas”, (Mana´s song) really existed? Posted by Magda on Jul 11, 2013
Songs are usually a product of imagination and circumstances, but sometimes they are inspired by real life events. Some days ago I was talking with a friend about the Mexican group Mana, and he mentioned the story behind the lyrics of one of their songs, “En el muelle de San Blas”. The song talks about…
Spanish traditions in St John’s night: the Galician queimada and its spell. Posted by Magda on Jun 27, 2013
Hi all! Some days ago we welcome summer in this part of the world, and we also celebrated St John’s night (or witches’ night) burning good wishes and bad memories, washing our faces in rivers or natural springs to keep our beauty, and trying to find out our future using eggs (read more about all…
One of our favorite places during summer… ¡Mediterraneo! Posted by Magda on Jun 20, 2013
We are having sun, sun, sun… and where do most of us Spanish people go on sunny days? To the Mediterranean Sea! Not only for holidays, but also to spend the weekend or just the day, as in my case. It is so big the influence of this sea in our culture, that there are…
Seven reasons for not using air conditioning Posted by Magda on Jun 13, 2013
Summer is here, and one of the bloodiest battles we can have at home, or in the working place, begins: the battle to control the air conditioning. As I don’t like it very much, because I’m very sensitive to cold, and I’m not very good at fighting, I have memorized all the arguments I have…