Tag Archives: Spanish Culture
El amor brujo, de Manuel de Falla Posted by Magda on Jun 24, 2011
Noche de San Juan… noche de brujas, seres sobrenaturales y leyendas. Dicen que en esa noche se abre una puerta “al otro lado”, ese que nunca percibimos. En cada playa, en cada rincón se encenderán hogueras para pedir deseos y quemar malos pensamientos. Saldrán los trasgos, danzarán las hadas, los tesoros encantados quedarán a manos…
Volviendo a Chichén Itzá: sus edificios. Posted by Magda on Jun 21, 2011
Se acerca el solsticio de verano, y me preguntaba como sería pasarlo en un lugar especial, mágico. ¿Se os ocurre alguno? Dejadme que os hable de uno de ellos… En la península del Yucatán, en México, quedan las reliquias de una de las ciudades mayas más poderosas: Chichén Itzá. Los mayas, una civilización que apareció…
¡Se me traba la lengua! Posted by Magda on May 13, 2011
After a hard week, can you think about a good plan for the weekend? I have one to share: to practise our pronunciation while we enjoy ourselves. And to do it, there is nothing better than to recite loudly a tongue twister. By creating these puns we invent funny sayings and expressions, depending on their complexity, and…
Language learning success: the story of Victor González Posted by Adir on Feb 28, 2011
Hey, there! How’s it going? Today we have a guest writer here on the blog: Victor González. Victor is a Peruvian friend of mine who lives in São Paulo and he wrote something really cool about his experience with learning Portuguese when he came to Brazil. Victor is a translator and you can check out…
Ya vienen los Reyes Magos… Posted by Magda on Dec 30, 2010
En la noche del 5 de enero, todos los niños del país se deben marchar pronto a la cama, no sin antes dejar en su ventana sus zapatos bien limpios, un poco de agua, y un poco de leche. Este ritual se realiza porque en esa madrugada se espera la llegada desde oriente de los…
How Guaraníes Celebrated Christmas Posted by Adir on Dec 20, 2010
A long time ago, when Paraguayan Guaraníes indigenous customs started to mix with the settlers’ Catholic traditions, a new way to celebrate Christmas was born. The guaraníes started to worship a tree in the jungle because, according to them, Jesus’ father, Joseph, had swept the stable where Jesus was going to be delivered in with…
Spanish mythological creatures: el trasgo Posted by Magda on Dec 14, 2010
Mythological creatures were a deep-rooted belief in Spanish popular culture well into the 18th century. The Catholic Church had to fight against these myths, even recruiting the Inquisition as an instrument to control them, since some of these creatures were considered minor demons, and a danger to Christian faith. Today we will talk about one…