Tag Archives: Spanish Culture
Santiago Calatrava and the World Trade Center Posted by Magda on May 20, 2010
Part of the rebuilding project for the World Trade Center includes a new transportation hub for lower Manhattan, known as the PATH station. It is scheduled to be completed in 2013, and the architect in charge is Santiago Calatrava. Born in Valencia, Spain, Calatrava is one of the most renowned contemporary architects and one of…
El Chupacabras Posted by Magda on Apr 21, 2010
There are several legendary creatures around the world which are part of local legends and lore. Scotland has “Nessie”, the Loch Ness monster; North America has Saasquatch, also known as Bigfoot; and in Asia a similar creature is called the Yeti. In Latin America, they have the scariest one of all: El Chupacabras. The difference…
Semana Santa in Spain Posted by Magda on Apr 2, 2010
We talked about Carnavales (Carnival) a few weeks ago, and now it’s time to do the same about Semana Santa (Easter). The weeks after Carnaval leading up to Semana Santa are known as Cuaresma (Lent), a word related to the number cuarenta (forty), because forty days is the period when Christians prepare themselves with prayers…
¡Carnavales! Posted by Magda on Mar 17, 2010
This last month has been a busy one, not only for the celebration of St. Valentine’s day all over the world, or the beginning of the Chinese New Year, this year in honor to the tiger, but also for the celebration of the Carnival: most of us know about the parades in Brazil, and the…
El horóscopo Posted by Adir on Feb 16, 2010
Estos son los signos del zodíaco en español. Tauro Géminis Cáncer Leo Virgo Libra Escorpio Sagitario Capricornio Acuario Piscis Click on the link below to listen to the description of each sign. To read more about the zodiac in Spanish, click here. �
Word origins: Chiste (joke) Posted by Adir on May 28, 2009
In the early days jokes were not told openly and, if there were people of the opposite sex present, they were told in whispers. To designate these stories, at first obscene ones, the word chiste was used, derived from the verb chistar. Chistar meant “to whisper, to speak in a low voice” or also “to…
Learning tip: Radio y Televisión Española Posted by Adir on Mar 9, 2009
Radio Nacional de España Mi gente, hoy les traigo algo muy pero que muy bueno. The thing is, I just stumbled upon Spain’s National Television and Radio website and I flipped out, ¡me he vuelto loco! You can listen to and watch lots of recorded programs like interviews, music reviews, politics, movies or live radio…