Tag Archives: Literature
“La Llorona”, a Mexican legend Posted by Magda on Aug 19, 2010
There are stories you hear when you are a child, and they scare you do death. In Spain we were always threatened with “El hombre del saco” (The man with a bag) or “El sacamantecas” to make you eat, vegetables in my case, or behave appropriately. That must be the reason why I found this…
Instantes Posted by Adir on May 18, 2010
People say, rather wrongly, that the poem below is by Jorge Luis Borges, but in fact no one knows for sure who it is by. You can practice your Spanish conditional tenses, the Past Subjunctive and also think about what is worth in your life. Instantes Si pudiera vivir nuevamente mi vida. En la próxima…
Tears of Stone, by Victoria Frances Posted by Magda on May 4, 2010
Lagrimas de Piedra, de Victoria Francés Obra de siniestra belleza, que une a sus palabras plagadas de leyendas y espectros las imágenes que tales pesadillas recrean en la mente del lector. Victoria Francés es una ilustradora que adorna sus dibujos con palabras, o una escritora que consigue dar forma a sus pensamientos en imágenes, consiguiendo…
Greguerías Posted by Magda on Mar 26, 2010
Today we are going to talk about a literary device that is part of Spanish culture: a mixture between “juego de palabras” (pun) and metáfora (metaphor), known as Greguería. The name was coined by the Spanish author Ramón Gómez de la Serna, one of the first writers to use this device. He was born in…
Pablo Neruda Posted by Adir on Aug 3, 2009
Pablo Neruda was born on July 12th 1904 in Parral, Chile and died on September 23rd 1973 in Santiago de Chile. His real name was Neftalí Reyes Basoalto and, besides being a poet, he was a translator and a diplomat. He won the Nobel Prize of Literature in 1971 and his writing has strongly influenced…
Mario Benedetti, Uruguayan writer Posted by Adir on Oct 27, 2008
Mario Benedetti was born in Uruguay and is not well known in the English-speaking world, but he is considered one of Latin America’s most important living writers. He lived in Argentina, Bolivia, Cuba and Spain from 1973 to 1985, during a military dictatorship in Uruguay. Nowadays he divides his time between Montevideo and Madrid. Benedetti…
Manolito Gafotas Posted by Adir on Aug 7, 2008
Have you ever heard of Manolito Gafotas? Manolito is a series of kids’ books written by Spanish author Elvira Lindo. They tell the story of Manolito in the district of Carabanchel, in Madrid. Manolito is a common kid and his stories are written with lots of humor and tenderness. These stories started on the radio…