Archive for 'Spanish Culture'
Latin music: Luis Fonsi, from Puerto Rico Posted by Adir on Jan 30, 2009
Luis Fonsi was born in Puerto Rico, but spent most of his childhood in Florida. He went to the Florida State University to study vocal techniques. While in FLU he was overheard singing by a music department president, who offered him his first contract with a large disquera (recording company). Below is a video of…
Singing … en español, ¡por supuesto! Posted by Adir on Jan 12, 2009
Since Ricky Martin’s appearance on the Grammy Awards ceremony in 1999 singing La Copa de la Vida, Spanish has received a lot of attention throughout the English-speaking music world and many English-speaking artists decided to follow this path. Here’s a collection of videos from some artists singing in Spanish (well AND badly). Check it out!…
Cuco Peña, ay alma en pena – The history of corridos Posted by Adir on Jan 7, 2009
“Corridos” are Mexican songs that tell stories. They are made up of three parts: a) introduction of the characters, b) the story itself and c) a moral or farewell. The website Corridos Sin Fronteras offers history, songs, and you can even compose your own corrido corrido. OK, now let’s get to the fun part: in…
La Bolsa – Stock Market vocabulary Posted by Adir on Dec 27, 2008
A lot has been said and written about the world’s economic crisis, mostly concerning the Stock Exchage. Here’s some useful vocabulary to talk about it. la Bolsa – the Stock Exchange parqué – floor (in Stock Exchange) sala de la Bolsa – Stock Exchange hall tablón con las cotizaciones bursátiles – (Stock Exchange) prices board…
Idioms with Numbers Posted by Adir on Dec 23, 2008
There are several idioms formed with numbers. Check them out! Cero ser un cero a la izquierda – to be useless Uno una y no más, Santo Tomás – once is enough Dos cada dos por tres – very frequently estar entre dos fuegos – to be caught in the crossfire estar entre dos aguas…
Getting into trouble? Te la vas a cargar. Posted by Adir on Dec 19, 2008
There are a number of verbal expressions in Spanish that involve a reflexive verb and the pronouns -la or -las. Check them out. 1. apañárselas, arreglárselas – to manage, to get by. No te preocupes, me las apañaré. (Don’t worry, I´ll manage.). Jorge vive solo y se las arregla bien en la cocina. (Jorge lives…
Christmas, Latin style! Posted by Adir on Dec 15, 2008
We’re used to seeing Christmas in movies and TV and it involves snow, cold, chimneys, and all of the North American and European style feature. However, things are different in Latin America: it is warmer, and for Latinos, we like to party! Usually we have supper at someone’s house and return for the famous Christmas…