Princess Leti does a Marilyn, somthing you just can’t get away with on Spanish TV! (Direct link)
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Marina and Ben visit the Feria del Libro (book fair) in the Retiro park and discuss the rise of the book in post-Franco Spain. The image above is of Mario Vargas LLosa, author of the extremely powerful ‘Feast of the Goat’. Other titles mentioned include ‘The Shadow of the Wind’ and ‘The New Spaniards‘ by John Hooper.
Comment on/discuss this episode in the forums.
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10 years old and still one of the clearest insights into the sociology and culture of Modern Spain available today. A must. After the death of Franco, Spain underwent social and cultural changes on a level previously unseen anywhere else in Europe. One moment it was illegal to kiss in public, a year later the streets were awash with liberalism, democracy, creativity, pornography, and reemerging cultural distinctions. This incredibly informative book really is essential to an understanding of how Spain made that change. Pick up a copy at: Amazon.co.uk (Europe)  Amazon.com (USA)<img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=booksonspainc-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0140131914" width="1" height="1" border="0" alt="" style="border:none !important; margin:0px !important;" |
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A photo from out recent trip to Ibiza. Photo by Ben.
Isn’t that a lyric from a Beatles song? Lennon and McCartney must have been on holiday in Spain when they wrote it. The point is this: when you pass a neighbour in the street in the UK, you say ‘Hello’, or ‘Morning’ to each other. In the same situation the Spanish will usually say ‘Hasta Luego’, or ‘Adios’ (See you later/Bye…) to each other as they pass.
Plus, it is a common to say ‘Buenas Noches’ (Good Night) when you walk into a house/bar/restaurant at night, a phrase I would only use just before heading for bed. I wonder if that tells us anything about the two cultures…
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Notes in Spanish transcript – new format
The transcript for the latest Notes in Spanish podcast has changed slightly. There is now an exercise before the actual conversation transcript. The idea is to listen once without reading at the same time, just trying to complete exercise 1 (there is real teaching theory behind this idea!) After the conversation transcript there are 3 more exercises, but not the usual list of vocab and grammar – instead exercises 3 and 4 challenge you to find the words and phrases in a different way. The idea is that by actively seeking the answers to these exercises, the vocab stays in the memory for longer (forever, we hope!) Finally, the answers are included at the end of the transcript instead of in the forums.
Any feedback on the new format will be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
Marina has a birthday, Notes from Spain celebrates its first birthday – sounds like an excellent excuse for a trip to Ibiza!
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Photos from Spain’s Past
The daily paper ’20 Minutos’ has put together a wonderful collection of old photos sent in by readers, an interesting window on the country’s past. Thanks go to Marbella for bringing this to light in the forums.
Lumpsuckerpig from the forums has set up a Skype cast called Spanish Notes (thanks also to Viajero, see forum posts here and here), and we will be chatting in Spanish today at 3 pm GMT, come and join us and let’s see how it goes!
Update: time change to 3 pm GMT, sorry, more planning next time to avoid this happening again!
Just do a search for Spanish Notes on the Upcoming Skype Casts page and you should find us. Hasta luego!
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Barca win the European Cup
Somehow my friends and I, hoping for an Arsenal win, managed to end up watching the game in a bar in Madrid full of Barcelona supporters! We didn’t hang around at the end of the game… (Press clipping from El Mundo)
Update: … and some Catalans use it as an opportunity to tout independence again, see comments below.
Update 2: Looting, 45 arrests, and 107 injured in Barcelona celebrations (article here in Spanish). To all the banner wavers who claim ‘Catalonia is not Spain’ – perhaps you are right: this would never happen in Spain.
Notes from Spain by Ben Curtis 