The art of painting is a form of expression that has endured beyond time and space, a place where society has projected the lights and shadows of humanity, all that we admire and reject of ourselves. As it happens with historical narratives, the art of painting is the reflection of our actions, a perspective on the events that have shaped our collective and cultural imaginary.

From mythological images and landscapes that elevate the spirit, through illustrious portraits of high society and until the social and individual realities embodied in different scenes of the art of painting; Spanish history has been drawn through different paintings that left an important heritage at a time when we still did not have the faithful reflection of photography or tv.

Keep reading this article if you want to discover the history of Spain through the art of painting in English. Click here to read in Spanish this article.

1. La rendición de Granada (English: The surrender of Granada)

 

 

Although there is another painting —exhibited in the Conference Hall of the Spanish Senate and painted by the great Francisco Pradilla— with the same name and more famous, this other historical painting by the Spanish painter Francisco Bayeu y Subías. It served as a sketch for the fresco decorating in the former dining room of the Royal Palace of Madrid.

After several years of fighting against Arab influence, the Catholic Monarchs of Spain managed to conquer the ancient Kingdom of Granada in 1491, thus defeating the last Muslim kingdom of the Iberian Peninsula. The conquest of Granada marked the end of the so-called Reconquista, which lasted about 700 years and was one of the most important chapters in the history of Spain.

Virtual visit of the painting La rendición de Granada at the Prado Museum.

2. Doña Juana la Loca

 

 

This work by Francisco Pradilla y Ortiz portrays a very important character in the history of Spain: Joanna of Castile. Better known as "Juana la Loca", Joanna of Castile was one of the great muses of the art of painting. Daughter of the Catholic Monarchs, she went down in history for her stormy marriage with her cousin, Philip the Handsome or the Fair. Although she never had any real power, she was Queen of Castile after the death of Isabel the Catholic in 1504. Her supposed mental illness caused her to be locked up in the Royal Monastery of Santa Clara, Tordesillas, from the year 1509 until her death in 1555. In this historical painting we can see her next to her husband's coffin, dressed in mourning and with an indifferent expression.

Virtual visit of Doña Juana la Loca at the Prado Museum.

3. Conquista de México por Hernán Cortés —16 and 17— (English: Conquest of Mexico by Hernán Cortés)

 

 

This is a historical painting by Miguel and Juan González. It belongs to a collection of 24 pieces created especially for King Charles II, "The Bewitched" of the Austrias’ dynasty. Hernán Cortés landed in Veracruz, Mexico, with a small army in April 1519, a fact that marked the beginning of the conquest of the Mexican territory. Thanks to the alliance with indigenous Tlaxcaltecas and Totonatas, the advance of the Spaniards reached the ears of Moctezuma II, the Aztec Tlatoani, and he presented the invaders with presents and riches in the hope that they would leave. This is the moment that immortalized this fantastic historical painting.

Virtual visit of La conquista de México por Hernán Cortés at the Prado Museum.

4. Carlos V en la Batalla de Mühlberg (English: Carlos V in the Battle of Mühlberg)

 

 

Both the power and the gallantry of Emperor Charles V, a great figure of the Spanish history, are reflected in this magnificent oil on canvas work of Titian or Tiziano, the great Italian painter of the Renaissance. This historical painting shows the victory of the young German emperor, son of Juana I of Castile, at the beginning of the 16th century at the Battle of Mühlberg. History says that the theories of religious Protestantism by Martin Luther had spread throughout central Europe. In the year 1530, several Lutheran nobles allied themselves in the so-called "Smalkalda League" and faced the Catholic Carlos V, who defeated his enemies with bravery.

Virtual visit of Carlos V en la Batalla de Mühlberg at the Prado Museum.

5. La Invencible (English: The Invincible)

 

 

An enraged sea comes alive in this impressive painting by Spanish painter José Gartner de la Peña. Although in those years it was known as the Great Navy, the Invincible Navy was a powerful naval fleet sent by King Felipe II to the British Isles in 1588 - Spanish Golden Age - in order to take possession of them overthrowing Queen Elizabeth I. The support provided by the British to the independence of Flanders and the constant pirate approaches on Spanish ships led the king to try to end the Anglo-Spanish war once and for all. However, it was a great storm the main cause of the sinking of the Invincible Navy, becoming one of the greatest enemies in the history of Spain.

Virtual visit of La Invencible at the Prado Museum

6. Las Meninas

 

 

Las Meninas is Velázquez's masterpiece, as well as one of the most studied paintings in the history of universal art. This is the portrait of the family of Felipe IV, in addition to a perfect example to illustrate the unique pictorial ability of this author, especially as regards his masterful use of perspective. While the historical painting reflects in detail the opulent isolation in which both the court and the royal family lived, the country was entering a stage of decline that would end the Austrian dynasty, one of the most important in the history of Spain.

Virtual tour of Las Meninas at the Prado Museum.

7. La familia de Carlos V (English: The family of Carlos IV)

 

 

This historical painting is a portrait of the royal family painted by Francisco de Goya. The painting hides some details that cannot be seen with the naked eye. The reign of Carlos IV passed to the history of Spain for its complete abandonment of the country's needs, which were left to Manuel Godoy while Carlos IV was engaged in hunting and other hobbies. Family and political tensions led his son, Fernando VII, to lead the famous Aranjuez mutiny in order to defeat Godoy and proclaim himself king of Spain. The family distribution in the painting is similar to that of Las Meninas by Velázquez. In addition, the fact that Queen Maria Luisa occupies the central position in the painting, normally reserved for the king, is considered a premeditated mockery by the Spanish painter towards the lack of command of the monarch.

Virtual visit of La familia de Carlos V at the Prado Museum.

8. Los fusilamientos (English: The executions)

 

 

Los fusilamientos are probably the most popular picture by the great Spanish painter of the Romanticism period: Francisco de Goya. This painting represents the massacre of the rebels by Napoleon's forces and the French repression against them in the Spanish War of Independence.

Virtual visit of Los fusilamientos at the Prado Museum.

At don Quijote, we hope you enjoyed reading this article. If you want to learn more about the art of painting in Spain, check out our video about these 5 Spanish painters you should know:

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"Why should they not add a supplement to History, giving it, for example, a very discreet name so that women could figure in it without impropriety?" Virginia Woolf, A Room of One's Own

This quote by the famous British writer Virginia Woolf (1882-1941) criticizes the lack of visibility suffered by women writers. The phrase is an excerpt from the essay work entitled A Room of One's Own, in which Woolf reflects on the fact that women have never been able to enjoy an own space that would allow them to participate in public, political, and social life; thus women had been forced to play a single role in life: the care of the home and the family. But were there women who exercised other roles in the shadow?

"For most of history, Anonymous was a woman." Virginia Woolf

When we say that a literary work is anonymous, we mean that there is no accurate information about its authorship. Many of the great works of the Spanish literature are anonymous, such as El Lazarillo de Tormes or El Cantar del Mío Cid. Similarly, we can find great examples in foreign literature, such as The Thousand and One Nights or The Saga of Erik the Red.

Although today it is impossible to know who is behind the authorship of these great masterpieces —saying that they were all written by women would be too reckless, but some of them surely were— we have enough data to determine the impact generated by women writers who decided to sign their works under a pseudonym in order to have more credibility and visibility. Data that, on a day like today, March 8, 2020, International Women's Day, we want to share with all of you.

Continue reading if you want to know the story behind these 5 Spanish female writers who used a pseudonym to publicize their literary work. If you prefer to do it in Spanish, click here.

1. Cecilia Böhl de Faber and Larrea (1796-1877)

 

 

Cecilia Böhl de Faber and Larrea was a Spanish woman writer who, in order make a space for herself in a men’s wolrd, signed her works under the pseudonym of Fernán Caballero. Remember that we are talking about the Spain of the nineteenth century, a Spain where it was very complicated to be a woman with aspirations beyond getting married and forming a family.

It is curious that, in some way, it was his father who gave her the idea, when what he really intended was to dissuade her from her desire to be a writer. Apparently, he told her not to waste her time on such matters, as they were reserved for the male gender since women were not prepared nor skilled on an intellectual level.

However, it seems that Cecilia was really determined, and, hidden behind the male privilege provided by the pseudonym, she managed to fulfill her dreams, becoming one of the first Spanish female writers. She died in the city of Seville in 1877.

2. Matilde Cherner (1833-1880)

 

 

Matilde Cherner was a great Spanish female writer, although she also stood out in the area of ​​journalism. She was born in the city of Salamanca in the year 1833, and, under the pseudonym Rafael Luna, published her first narrative works —Novelas  que parecen dramas (1877), Las tres leyes (1878), Ocaso y aurora * (1878), and María Magdalena: estudio social (1880)— as well as a large number of critical reviews.

In addition, she wrote some theatrical works signed with her real name —Don Carlos de Austria and La Cruz— which, according to the writer, were rejected to stage El haz de leña (by Núñez de Arce) and Don Rodrigo (by Laserna) instead. In fact, these works dealt with topics and issues very similar to those included by Matilde Cherner in hers. She also wrote several reviews, such as Juicio crítico sobre las novelas ejemplares de Cervantes, and collaborated in La Ilustración de la Mujer —a Madrid magazine of the time that was one of the first adopting feminist perspectives—and in the Ilustración Republicana Federal. She did not hesitate to write about controversial issues such as women's education, prostitution or access to power.

Matilde Cherner has been described as a woman of clear progressive ideas and strong political convictions, and also as a convinced federal Republican. She died in Madrid in 1880 because of an aneurysm, according to different sources.

*It was a work thought to be a serial for the press. It deals with issues such as monarchy and patriotism, ocusing on the impact that historical events generate on the personal lives of the protagonists, especially women. With this novel, Matilde recovers her real name, eliminating the male pseudonym. Somehow, this fact led the writer to rescue her intellectual identity: Republican woman, progressive ideas and marked freedom of thought.

3. María Lejárraga (1874-1974)

 

 

María Lejárraga was a female novelist, essayist, translator and Spanish playwright. She was born in the late nineteenth century in a Riojan town called San Millán de la Cogolla, and, hidden behind the name of her husband —Gregorio Martínez Serra— became a brilliant writer, a great reference of the so-called Silver Age of the Spanish literature - period that covers from 1900 until the end of the Spanish Civil War. She died in exile in the city of Buenos Aires in 1974.

However, in these times when it seems that we are surpassing the canons established in times past, the figure of María Lejárraga has returned to stay. Today, it is well known, that, the works for which her husband took all the credit —such as the adaptations to theater of El sombrero de tres picos and El amor brujo, by Manuel de Falla— were actually written by María de la O Lejárraga. The recovery of her real identity on the covers of her literary works, returns her the recognition that she should never have lost.

4. Carmen Martín Gaite (1925-2000)

 

 

Carmen Martín Gaite was born in Salamanca in 1925. She graduated in Philosophy and Letters and, when she was only 25, she moved to Madrid to do her PHD. Carmen Martín Gaite belongs to the group of Spanish female writers who stood out in the so-called “first postwar period in literature”, along with other pioneers such as Ana María Matute, Carmen Laforet, Elena Soriano and Josefina Aldecoa.

She established herself as a famous writer with the novel entitled El balneario, which was first published in 1957 despite having received the Café Gijón Award three years before. Entre visillos is one of her most popular books. It is an exciting story about youngsters who lived in a small city similar to Salamanca. She won the Nadal Prize thanks to this novel under the pseudonym Sofía Veloso —the name of her grandmother. The reason why she did not use her real name was that her husband - the famous writer Rafael Sánchez Ferlosio— was also in the prize’s short list of that same year.

Carmen Martín Gaite has been one of the best Spanish female writers of all time, coming to reject an armchair at the RAE —Royal Academy of the Spanish Language. She won numerous awards and continue writing until her death in Madrid in 2000.

5. Teresa de Escoriaza y Zabalza (1891-1968) 

 

 

Teresa de Escoriaza y Zabalza was born in San Sebastián on December 7, 1891. She was a great Spanish journalist and writer who, in order to gain visibility, wrote under the male pseudonym Felix de Haro.

Teresa de Escoriaza and Zabala stood out above all as a correspondent during the Rif War, but also collaborated with various publications such as La Libertad, Mundo Gráfico or El Eco de Galicia. In addition, it is said that it was she who gave the first feminist speech in the history of the Spanish radio. She also wrote a large number of war chronicles such as Del dolor de la guerra (chronicles of the campaign of Morocco) or El cresol de las razas.

She lived a long time in the United States, where she moved before the Spanish Civil War and worked as a Spanish teacher. He decided to return to Spain a few years before she died in 1968.

At don Quijote, we hope you enjoyed today's article and we also take the opportunity to wish you a happy International Women's Day.

 

 

 

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Leon Tolstoy said that "Art is one of the means of communication between people." And he was right, because people live in society and communicate through different expressive elements such as words, movements, sounds, colors and shapes. Thus, in the same way that language did, the different artistic disciplines were born. Painters, for example, express themselves through the composition of shapes and colors.

Click here if you prefer to read this article in Spanish.

As we have stated on previous occasions, getting to know a language is also getting to know the context where it is articulated and developed. Language is the tool that human beings have to express what we feel, perceive, dream, believe or even know; the brush we have to paint our reality. Thus, language serves us as not only as the main instrument to decode the world around us, but also to describe and define ourselves as individuals.

Therefore, it is not surprising that the language of a pueblo —remember that there is no language without people using it— cannot be understood without the culture in which interaction is framed, since culture is only the reflection of the concerns and stories that make up a social reality. Similarly, different forms of cultural expression, such as art, have contributed to frame our language within a given social and historical context.

At don Quijote, we want to get you a little closer to the Spanish language through its cultural expression in the art of painting. Spain is a country with a broad historical and social tradition, so the different and major pictorial movements that have accompanied its history also reflect a vibrant and diverse reality.

While it is true that Pablo Picasso —the most international Spanish painter— marked a before and after in art worldwide, it is also true that there were other essential Spanish painters without whom we could not understand the current society of the Hispanic country. To publicize some of their names, we want to share with you 5 famous Spanish painters (that are not Pablo Picasso), as well as some of their fundamental works.

 

 

1. Francisco de Goya (Spain, 1746 - France, 1828)

Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes was an 18th-century Spanish painter who produced mainly oil painting, drawings and an important collection of etchings. He was the greatest exponent of Spanish Romanticism and also the father of contemporary movements, such as modernism and impressionism. In addition, he had great influence on the works of other later painters such as Pablo Picasso and Édouard Manet.

If you click on the title, you can enjoy a virtual view of one of his main works, exhibited at the Prado Museum: La maja vestida

 

 

2. Diego Velázquez (Seville, 1599 - Madrid, 1660)

Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez, known as Diego Velázquez, was the most representative painter of the Spanish Golden Age. Although its great relevance was not recognized until 200 years after his death, Diego Velázquez was one of the most important figures in the history of Spanish painting, but also an authentic master internationally, even considered by many experts as the most talented painter of all time.

If you click on the title, you can enjoy a virtual view of one of his main works, exhibited at the Prado Museum: Las Meninas

 

 

3. Juan Gris (Spain, 1887 - France, 1927)

José Victoriano González-Pérez, better known as Juan Gris, was a Spanish painter of the 20^th century who developed his activity especially in Paris. The great influence he received from artists such as Cézanne, Picasso and Braque led him to identify himself within Cubism, becoming one of the highest representatives of this artistic movement.

If you click on the title, you can enjoy a virtual view of one of his main works, exhibited at one of the most important Spanish museums, the Reina Sofía Museum: La guitare

 

 

4. Joan Miró (Barcelona, ​​1893 - Palma de Mallorca, 1983)

Joan Miró was one of the best Spanish painters of the 20th century. He was also a sculptor, engraver and potter, but his main role was in painting, becoming one of the most relevant figures of surrealism worldwide. In his works, we can see reflected the fascination he felt for the subconscious, the main theme of surrealism, as well as a style marked by parameters that make his art recognizable to the naked eye.

If you click on the title of the painting, you can enjoy a virtual view of one of his main works, exhibited at the Reina Sofía Museum: La sonrisa de las alas flameantes

 

 

5. Salvador Dalí (Catalonia, 1904 - Catalonia, 1989)

Together with Pablo Picasso, Dalí is one of the most popular and famous Spanish painters of all time. He was the most prominent artist of the Spanish surrealism and changed the way aesthetics and were understood worldwide. Dalí was an eccentric as no other, and he knew how to exploit that condition on a professional level. Both his personal image and his ideas are impregnated with its artistic sensibility, something unique of his kind. Salvador Dalí remains as an essential reference in arts nowadays.

If you click on the title, you can enjoy a virtual view of one of his main works, exhibited at the Reina Sofía Museum: El gran masturbador

 

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“El alma que allí canta, que allí en el misterio de la creación poética se cela y a la par se descubre, no es el alma del poeta: es el alma de su Andalucía, es el alma de su España. ¡El alma de su España andaluza, gitana y romana, patente y densa, olor y luz aliviados en música en la poesía de García Lorca!”

“The soul that sings there, that there in the mystery of poetic creation is concealed and at the same time discovered, it is not the soul of the poet: it is the soul of his Andalusia, the soul of his Spain. The soul of his Andalusian, gypsy and Roman Spain, clear and dense, scent and light relieved by music in the poetry of García Lorca!”

Today, we leverage these words said by the great Spanish poet and philologist Dámaso Alonso about Federico García Lorca —the most international granaíno (localism to refer to people from Granada)— to pay homage to one of the most studied dialects of all the linguistic and cultural variants of the Spanish language: Andalusian Spanish. Why? Because today, February 28, is the Día de Andalucía, “Andalusia Day” in English, the day that commemorates the celebration of the referendum that marked the beginning of the process for the creation of the Autonomous Community of Andalusia in 1980.

Click here to switch to the Spanish version.

A first approach to Andalusian dialects of Spanish

 

 

Andalusian Spanish is a linguistic modality of the Spanish language spoken mainly in Andalusia, Ceuta, Melilla and the southern areas of the province of Badajoz. In addition, the Andalusian is a dialect used in the British territory of Gibraltar, in the Bay of Algeciras, and also coexists with the Portuguese in those locations bordering the province of Huelva.

It is not surprising that a language such as Spanish, with more than 400 million native speakers spread throughout the world, presents different and diverse dialect variants. This is the case of the Andalusian dialect or Andalusian dialects,  the rich and abundant subvariants that can be found internally. Andalusia is a vibrant region where we can discover different forms of expression which are unique and proper of each area.

Andalusian Spanish: prejudices and cultural imperialism

As we have already commented above, Andalusian Spanish is one of the most studied dialects of all the variants of the Spanish language. However, this mainly theoretical perspective has not made an impression on the social ground, giving rise to many topics and false myths. It is possible that you have ever heard someone, who is not a native speaker of Andalusian Spanish, imitating the accent, sometimes even making fun of it, as well as the peculiarities of this linguistic modality.

However, it is also true that mother tongues are not an exclusive property of native speakers, and it would be interesting that, just as we adopt Lorca's poetry as one of the most valuable elements of Spanish culture, we also considered Andalusian Spanish as an essential part of the standard variety. Andalusian Spanish is just another form of expression that enriches us all, since, in addition, languages ​​and their variants are not watertight compartments with rigidly established borders and limits.

Andalusian Spanish as an oral form of expression

 

 

As the Research Group called "The Spanish spoken in Andalusia", at University of Seville, say "Andalusian speech is the result of a long historical tradition, and arises from a development —from old Spanish— partially differentiated from the one experienced by other modalities of the Spanish Language.”

In other words, the Andalusian variety is another way of speaking Spanish, a variant of the standard that is the result of hundreds of years of development and evolution, a different speech that brings richness and diversity to oral ways of expression while providing other perspectives to understand and define the world around us. In fact, Andalusians —except some cases that can be found in poetry*— write like any other users of the Spain Spanish, leaving aside their most characteristic features.

* At the beginning of the 20th century, Andalusian Spanish was about to be considered a regional and cultural variant also on a written level. One of the Andalusians that contributed to this development was the great Federico García Lorca. He knew that Andalusian Spanish was a language full of joy and musicality, something reflected in all his poetic and theatrical production. There is also a version of the literary work The Little Prince —written by Antoine Marie de Saint-Exupéry— in Andalusian Spanish.

The great diversity of Andalusian Spanish

 

 

As we said at the beginning of this blogpost, rather than talking about the Andalusian speech, we should talk about Andalusian speeches. The characteristics and attributes of the Spanish spoken in southern Spain occur differently depending on the region, province or town, giving rise to very different traits both in pronunciation and the lexicon: ceceo versus seseo , loss or aspiration of the final -s, illo vs pisha or mi alma (different terms used in Andalusia to refer to men or boys in a colloquial way), and a long etcetera.

In the same way that the Spanish spoken in the interior or northern areas of the Iberian Peninsula show clear signs of diversity, we can discover a melting pot of different shapes and colors within each of the subvariants of Andalusian Spanish. In fact, not all Andalusians speak what we colloquially call Andalusian Spanish, since not all areas of Andalusia manifest the same characteristics nor the signs that we usually classify as Andalusians. For example, in northern areas of Huelva and Seville, the variant is closer to the Spanish spoken in Extremadura, in the same way that the Spanish used in Granada is more similar to the one used in Murcia. Thus, we return to the idea that languages ​​and their dialectical variants are not fixed nor respond to established limits, but rather behave as a continuum whose elements occur without spatial interruption, flowing through the different areas where there is social interaction.

The art of Andalusian Spanish: pronunciation, grammar and lexicon

 

The Andalusian accent is probably one of the most representative features of the Spanish spoken in southern Spain. Researchers have long pointed out three general characteristics of Andalusian speech:

• A faster and more varied rhythm in terms of the tone used, which, in comparison to general Spanish, produces great contrasts due to the rather monochromatic tone of the Spanish used in the interior of the Iberian Peninsula.
• Certain ways of articulating sounds that have a different distribution, so that certain phonemes are produced in a more relaxed way and others in a more tense way.
• A set of pronunciation features – shared with other areas - that occur more frequently in Andalusia, reaching a high concentration and social relevance.

We cannot say that there is a proper grammar of Andalusian Spanish, since the grammar used in the south is the same as that one used in the rest of the country. However, we can observe certain variations in the way personal pronouns are used, for example, the use of ustedes instead of vosotros —although this is not a regular issue. We can also find some archaic uses in certain verbs, such as the use of the verb ser as an auxiliary instead of haber. E.g. Si me fuera dado cuenta instead of si me hubiera dado cuenta.

Lexicon: Andalusian Spanish vocabulary

 

 

The types of meaning refer to specific cases of study from the University of Seville:

Rural and related voices

• Instruments: capacho (basket), barcina (esparto net), almocafre (escardillo), calabozo (pruning ax)

• Rural machinery: alfarje (millstone), atarjea (pipe, ditch), almatriche (id.)

• Land: campiña, marisma, pago (vineyard or olive groves), cortijo, balate (ditch / wall)

• Plants and fruits: alhucema, gurumelo (mushroom), jinjolero (deciduos shrub), alcaucil (artichoke), durazno (peach), papa, pero (apple), habichuela, cañaduz (sugar cane); casco (orange slice); puyar (grow tree guide)

• Agricultural activities: ablentar (throw), esmuir (milking)

Seafaring voices

• Fish: albures (river fish), safio or zafío (conger), breca, lula (coarse squid), cardume (n) (school of fish), brótola, chanquete (two different autochthonous fish).

• Boats: traíña, boliche (a type of boat)

Food

• Human: chícharo (chickpea / pea / bean), alboronia (vegetable stew), hallulla / -o (cake), calentitos y tejeringos (churros), hochío (cake), repápalo (round muffin, donut), pipirrana (Andalusian salad)

• Cattle: afrecho (bran), arvejón (staple crops)

Home

• Soberado y doblado (upper part of the house), sardiné, sardinel, and rebate (entrance step), casalicio (large house), alacena (pantry), falsa (attic).

Weather

• Hacer buena (/mala) orilla, llampo (lightning), boria (fog), claras del día (sunrise), harinear (to drizzle) and harinilla (drizzle), flama (burning heat)

Descriptions

• About people (positive connotations): (d)espelotado (healthy, robust), jirocho (satisfied), marchoso (brave)

• About people (negative connotations): majareta and majarón (crazy), charrán (rascal), chalado and pirado (crazy), gilí (dumb), (d)esabori(d)o, chuchurri(d)o (withered, cracked ), falto (dumb), frangollón (who does things late and badly), parguela (dumb)

• Positive feelings: camelar (want)

• Negative feelings: achares (shame, jealousy), canguelo (fear), coraje (anger, irritation)

As any other language, Andalusian Spanish is linked to people and cultures. Andalusian is the Spanish of Andalusia and the language used by great geniuses like Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer, Pablo Picasso or Federico García Lorca.

At don Quijote, we hope you enjoy this article and that it helps you to expand your knowledge of the Spanish varieties spoken in cities such as Malaga, Seville or Cádiz.

 

 

 

 

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What date is this?

03/04/05

It could be April 3, 2005; maybe April 5, 2003; even May 4, 2003.

Whatever your answer is, you’re right! It all depends the language you are writing or reading in.

So, for you to write your birthdate correctly, and also to date historical moments or clear any doubt, today we’re talking about how to write the date in Spanish.

Continue reading this post in English or switch to the Spanish version.

The correct way to write the date in Spanish speaking countries like Mexico, Spain or Costa Rica is in ascending order: day, month, year. An example of this might be: 10 de agosto de 1992 (English: 10 of August of 1992).

This is the system to write dates in Spanish, putting always the preposition of (de in Spanish) between day and month, and between month and year. In this way, the date is so much clear and will be no doubts about the day.

If you find any date wrote like this: agosto 10, de 1992 (English: August 10, of 1992), that means that it is written in Spanish but with English order. In most English-speaking countries, you must write the dates in a descending order: month, day, year.

 

 

But so that there is no room for error in official or international documents, the ISO 8601 (acronym for International Organization for Standardization) says that it is better to point out first the longer periods of time and end with the shortest. That is year, month, day: 1992-08-10.

In Spanish, you can write the date only in letters and it would look like this: diez de agosto de mil novecientos noventa y dos (English: ten of August, nineteen ninety-two). But this is used exclusively in legal or very solemn documents.

The most common is to see the date written in the shortened format, that is, only with numbers, so you have to separate each figure with dashes, bars or dots, and the year written with the four figures or only with the last two. It would be as follows:

• With dashes: 10-08-1992 or 10-08-92

• With bars: 08/10/1992 or 08/10/92

• With points: 10.08.1992 or 10.08.92

In Spanish, the years do not have points or spaces separating the digits, that is, 1992 is correct, but 1,992 or 1,992 is not.

 

 

When writing dates in Spanish or English, you have to take into account a small difference that not everyone has in mind. Both the names of the days of the week and those of the months of the year are always written in initial lowercase letters, but in English they are capitalized. And while in Spanish the week starts on Monday and ends on Sunday, in English it starts on Sunday and ends on Saturday.

So after all this, if you want to continue learning Spanish, come to don Quijote whenever you want!

 

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A theme park featuring the exotic atmosphere of a Spanish town in Japan

How would you imagine a Spanish kind of Disneyland? Now, let’s go one step further: how would you imagine a Spanish Disneyland in Japan? Well, there is no need to keep on fantasizing. It exists, and it is called Shima Spain Village.

This theme park is all a dream for every Spanish lover. Whether you live in the Land of the Rising Sun or you are just passing through, Shima Spain Village is a stop en route you should consider. If you want to learn more about this unique park featuring Spanish-themed attractions, shows, and restaurants, please join us for the tour!

Click here to switch to the Spanish version of this post.

Shima Spain Village’s main attractions

The park has currently 32 attractions including roller coasters, water rides, mystery houses, and more. Most of them are Spain-themed, with the special appearance of very well-known characters such as Don Quixote. These are some of our favorite ones:

Ironbull

As you can see in the picture, the wagon of this inner roller coaster is a mechanical bull. You will ride these futuristic animals surrounded by steam as they get ready for bullfighting. But watch out! They run at top speed.

Castillo de Xavier

Francis Xavier was the first Christian leading an extensive mission into Asia, and this Medieval museum made of stone is a reproduction of his birthplace in Spain. Inside, you will find a detailed explanation of the Spanish history and culture.

Bosque de Cuentos

The Forest of Tales is a magical place. Once you step there, you’ll begin a journey that will take you to a world of fantasy. Grandpa cuentos will guide you along the way as you hear the stories of four typical Spanish tales.

Don Quixote’s Magical Flight

Jump in this flying galleon and head towards Spanish blue skies! This attractions features one of the mills in La Mancha Don Quixote confused with a giant.

Splash Montserrat

Montserrat is a mountain range near Barcelona with a very peculiar form. Shima Spain Village offers you the chance to explore Montserrat and then finish your ride with a quick dive in the pristine water coming all the way from the peaks.

La Tomatina

To bump or not to bump? That is the question. This spinning tomato ride moves to the swing of La Tomatina, one of the most international Spanish fiestas. In Buñol, participants throw tomatoes to each other. In this attraction, by contrast, you’ll be spinning in a tomato-themed teacup.

Gaudí Carrousel

Did you know that the majority of the most photographed spots in Barcelona were created by Gaudí? Park Güell, Sagrada Familia, Casa Batlló, La Pedrera… Gaudi’s carrousel invites you get into a world which is full of color and music, just like the artistic movement it was inspired by: Modernism.

Entertainment and restaurants

Besides all the attractions mentioned above, Shima Spain Village offers its visitants the opportunity to watch flamenco shows, firework spectacles, carnival parades and many other events deeply rooted in the Spanish culture.

And if you want to try the best of the Spanish cuisine, the park has lots of typical restaurants and bars where you can enjoy a paella meal and have some tapas in an easygoing atmosphere.

We strongly recommend all Japanese Spanish students to pay Shima Spain Village a visit. Don’t forget that getting to know the culture and history of Spain is a crucial part of learning Spanish language! Or at least that’s what our student Ayumi says:

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Spring is around the corner, and we want you to enjoy it to the fullest! At don Quijote, we take our coat off to recommend some of the best plans to explore Madrid in spring, as well as a perfect activity to enjoy the good weather while living the Spanish culture just like another local. We propose a tour through the 4 most important Markets in the city of Madrid. This tour can be done on the same day, since the walking distance from one to the other is not more than 30 minutes. In this way, you will make the most of your time in discovering the stunning stalls inside these historic markets.

Continue reading this post in English or click here to read it in Spanish.

Both the “Mercado de San Miguel” and the “Mercado de la Cebada” are located at squares that are called with the same name. Indeed, they were the squares the ones giving name to the markets. So, if you find the “Plaza de San Miguel” or “the Plaza de la Cebada”, you will also find these emblematic Madrid markets!

Mercado de San Miguel

 

 

The “Mercado de San Miguel” and the “Plaza de San Miguel” got their names from the church called “La Iglesia de San Miguel de los Octes”, where Lope de Vega —the famous playwright of the Spanish golden age— was baptized. The “Mercado de San Miguel” is representative of Madrid that it was declared Good of Cultural Interest. If you want to taste delicious Iberian ham, exotic seafood, paella or any of the many delights of the Spanish cuisine, the “Mercado de San Miguel” is a great point from which to start your market day in Madrid.

Mercado de la Cebada

 

Just 8 minutes walking from the “Mercado de San Miguel”, you´ll reach the “Mercado de la Cebada”, located in the charming neighborhood of La Latina. There, you will have the great opportunity to try excellent tapas and pintxos while discovering one of the oldest districts of the Spanish capital. Moreover, if you’d rather do the shopping, you’ll find delicious food in the different butchers, fruit and fish shops; or even many other high quality products like perfumes, flowers, crafts… and many more!

But if you prefer to spend the day just in one of them, the “Mercado de la Cebada” is a great choice, since it offers a wide range of cultural activities related to food and the products sold in the market.

Mercado de San Fernando

 

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Just 8 minutes walking from the “Mercado de la Cebada”, you´ll reach the “Mercado de San Fernando”, located in the castizo —genuine from Madrid— neighborhood of Lavapiés. It is an area full of life, since the social and commercial activity revolves around the popular “Rastro de Madrid” —main flea market in Madrid— hold on Sundays. Since its opening in 1944, people can get food in most of the stalls, as well as artisan products, books, and many other things you’ll discover when you go!

And, if you stop by at the entrance for a while to see locals and tourists going by, you will discover that, eventually, the most diverse people in Madrid visit the “Mercado de San Fernando”: both elderly and young people; both from Madrid and other parts of Spain, and even from other parts of the world.

Mercado de Antón Martín

 

To end this tour though the best markets of Madrid, walk just 9 minutes to reach the “Mercado de Antón Martín” on Santa Isabel street. It is inside the old quarter of the Spanish capital, very close to important areas such as the Puerta del Sol or the Plaza Mayor. In this market, you will also meet people from all over the world and from all ages, from children accompanying their parents to old ladies and gentlemen who walk every day to do the shopping.

 

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February 14 is approaching. At don Quijote, we want to wish you a happy Valentine's Day. One of the most tragic love stories of the Spanish culture is the one about “The Legend of Teruel Lovers”. It is a medieval origin story that represents the idea pure love, a love that endures, especially in our artistic and cultural imaginary, beyond death and despite the passing of centuries.

Lovers of Teruel

You may have heard a Spanish saying that says: “Los amantes de Teruel, tonta ella y tonto él” ("Teruel lovers, silly her and silly him"). It is a phrase that comes from the Middle Ages, a saying that was used as a mockery to make fun of tragic love. But ... do you know about the legend that has been transmitted from generation to generation?

Continue reading this article in English or switch to the Spanish version to improve your Spanish skills.

The Legend of the Lovers of Teruel tells the love story between two young turolenses (people from Teruel) - named Isabel de Segura and Diego de Marcilla. This story ended up embedded in our folklore thanks to the many and varied interpretations carried out by important Spanish writers and composers. In addition, since 1996, a theatrical recreation of “Las Bodas de Isabel de Segura” takes place in Teruel, which is represented annually during the month of February in that Aragonese town. This event was declared as a Festival of National Tourist Interest in 2016.

Summary

Once upon a time, a rich merchant named Pedro de Segura who lived in Teruel during the thirteenth century. This merchant had a very beautiful daughter, named Isabel de Segura. Isabel met a humble but honest boy named Diego de Marcilla. Diego was the son of a family that, despite being once important and wealthy, had lost his social and economic position in recent years.

Both fell deeply in love, and, some years later, Diego ended up asking Isabel to marry him. Isabel said yes: she wanted to be his wife but would never do it without her parents' consent. However, despite being Diego Marcilla a handsome young man, he did not own land or wealth. But he was dying of love for her, and was willing to wait and seek fortune where he could. With this idea, he asked his beloved to wait five years, when he would be worthy of his marriage. Isabel promised him to wait, and Don Pedro de Segura also accepted the deal. Demonstrating his arrest and bravery, Diego marches into battle in the hope of getting the necessary wealth. After five years fighting the Arabs in the Reconquest, he returned with great riches, enough to offer his wife a prosperous future.

However, Don Pedro de Segura - father of Isabel de Segura - pressed his daughter to get married as soon as possible. She managed to delay the wedding with the excuse of keeping the promise of maintaining her virginity until she was 20 years old. But after five years, Diego de Marcilla showed no signs of life, and Isabel began to lose hope and think that her beloved had died in combat. Don Pedro hastened the wedding with a rich suitor. But on the same day of the wedding ceremony, Diego de Marcilla, who had suffered all kinds of setbacks, returned from the war.

That night, Diego managed to sneak into the bedroom of the newlyweds while they were sleeping, and woke up his beloved sweetly by saying "Kiss me, I'm dying" to which Isabel de Segura responded painfully “For the love of Christ, I beg you to find another, and forget about me. If our love could not please God, then neither should it please me”. But he was not willing to give up and, vehemently, insisted "Kiss me, I'm dying", and she replied again "I don't want to." At that moment, Diego de Marcilla fell dead before Isabel's eyes.

Isabel, shaken to see Diego dead for not receiving the kiss, woke up her husband and confessed. He replied:  "Oh, you wretched! Why did you not kiss him?" "To not deceive my husband", she replied. " "Of course, you are a woman worthy of praise”. Then, Isabel, feeling guilty for being the cause of the tragic event, went to meet him and kiss him before he was buried, hurrying to the church of San Pedro, where women were having a wake for the deceased. Isabel turned away the shroud to undress Diego de Marcilla's face and kissed him with such love and passion that she died on the body of his beloved. Legend has it that neighbors agreed to bury them in the same place, and there, in the Tomb of The Lovers of Teruel, they are lying together for all eternity.

 

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At don Quijote, we usually recommend listening to music lyrics in Spanish, whether to practice the language, learn vocabulary, or even learn about other variants of the language of Cervantes. Today, we move to the rhythm of Spanish again to dance the most listened song of all times: "Despacito", by Luis Fonsi.

"Despacito" means "slowly" in Spanish, but the rise of the song to the top of charts worldwide has been all but slow. Only six months after its release date, Luis Fonsi's song made history for being the top streamed track ever, according to Universal Music Latin Entertainment. Although the Latin influence on pop culture is not new, the Spanish language hadn’t had such a large representation on the music scene since "Macarena" in 1996.

Continue reading this post in English or switch to the Spanish version.

“Despacito” is a song by Puerto Rican singer Luis Fonsi featuring Puerto Rican rapper Daddy Yankee. The song was written by Fonsi, Erika Ender, and Daddy Yankee. But the remix version featuring Canadian singer Justin Bieber “helped to improve the song's chart performance in numerous countries, including various number-one positions”. Anyway, this song has managed to do what more traditional artists of Spanish music couldn’t: to reach more than 4,600 million reproductions across the main streaming platforms, according to the record label mentioned above. "Streaming is a connector for audiences around the world and has helped my music reach every corner of the planet," Fonsi said in a statement. "It's really an honor that “Despacito” is now the most streamed song in history." "Despacito" also leads Billboard's streaming song list with 65.4 million digital song transmissions and sales of 137,000 downloads.

Hence, "Despacito" is not only a musical success for the Spanish-speaking world. Both Latin pop and urban song have millions of international fans who sing songs in Spanish despite not being native speakers. In fact, some Twitter users, such as Madison Sims @madisoncarlei_h, have come to joke about the subject "pretty sure I learned more Spanish by looking up the lyrics to "Despacito" than I learned all year from my actual Spanish teacher ". But Luis Fonsi himself has a hard time explaining the success of this song. "I don't know the exact reason why this song in particular has connected with a worldwide audience, especially with those who don't understand Spanish." In turn, Daddy Yankee defines music as a universal language, a form of expression that brings people together independently of their culture or the color of their skin. "People are more receptive to learn, identify and exchange their opinions in the digital world and learn more from each other. "

Next, we can enjoy the lyrics of the different covers of the song:

1. Luis Fonsi ‒ Despacito (Lyrics / Lyric Video) ft. Daddy Yankee

 

 

[Letra de "Despacito" ft. Daddy Yankee]

[Intro: Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee]

Ay, ¡Fonsi! ¡D.Y.!

Ohhh, oh, no, oh, no, oh

¡Hey, yeah!

Dididiri Daddy, go!

 

[Intro: Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee]

Sí, sabes que ya llevo un rato mirándote

Tengo que bailar contigo hoy

(¡D.Y.!) Vi que tu mirada ya estaba llamándome

Muéstrame el camino que yo voy

 

[Verso 1: Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee]

¡Oh!

Tú, tú eres el imán y yo soy el metal

Me voy acercando y voy armando el plan

Sólo con pensarlo se acelera el pulso (¡Oh, yeah!)

Ya, ya me está gustando más de lo normal

Todos mis sentidos van pidiendo más

Esto hay que tomarlo sin ningún apuro

 

[Estribillo: Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee]

Despacito

Quiero respirar tu cuello despacito

Deja que te diga cosas al oído

Para que te acuerdes si no estás conmigo

Despacito

Quiero desnudarte a besos despacito

Firmar las paredes de tu laberinto

Y hacer de tu cuerpo todo un manuscrito

(Sube, sube, sube, sube, sube)

 

[Post-Estribillo: Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee]

Quiero ver bailar tu pelo, quiero ser tu ritmo (Woah, woah)

Que le enseñes a mi boca (Woah, woah)

Tus lugares favoritos (Favorito, favorito, baby)

Déjame sobrepasar tus zonas de peligro (Woah, woah)

Hasta provocar tus gritos (Woah, woah)

Y que olvides tu apellido

 

[Verso 2: Daddy Yankee]

Si te pido un beso, ven, dámelo, yo sé que estás pensándolo

Llevo tiempo intentándolo, mami, esto es dando y dándolo

Sabes que tu corazón conmigo te hace bang-bang

Sabes que esa beba está buscando de mi bang-bang

Ven, prueba de mi boca para ver cómo te sabe

Quiero, quiero, quiero ver cuánto amor a ti te cabe

Yo no tengo prisa, yo me quiero dar el viaje

Empezamos lento, después salvaje

 

[Pre-Estribillo: Daddy Yankee]

Pasito a pasito, suave suavecito

Nos vamos pegando, poquito a poquito

Cuando tú me besas con esa destreza

Veo que eres malicia con delicadeza

Pasito a pasito, suave suavecito

Nos vamos pegando, poquito a poquito

Y es que esa belleza es un rompecabezas

Pero pa' montarlo aquí tengo la pieza

¡Oye!

 

[Estribillo: Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee]

Despacito

Quiero respirar tu cuello despacito

Deja que te diga cosas al oído

Para que te acuerdes si no estás conmigo

Despacito

Quiero desnudarte a besos despacito

Firmar las paredes de tu laberinto

Y hacer de tu cuerpo todo un manuscrito

(Sube, sube, sube, sube, sube)

 

[Post-Estribillo: Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee]

Quiero ver bailar tu pelo, quiero ser tu ritmo (Woah, woah)

Que le enseñes a mi boca (Woah, woah)

Tus lugares favoritos (Favorito, favorito, baby)

Déjame sobrepasar tus zonas de peligro (Woah, woah)

Hasta provocar tus gritos (Woah, woah)

Y que olvides tu apellido

 

[Verso 3: Luis Fonsi]

Despacito

Vamo' a hacerlo en una playa en Puerto Rico

Hasta que las olas griten "¡Ay, Bendito!"

Para que mi sello se quede contigo

¡Báilalo!

 

[Outro: Daddy Yankee & Luis Fonsi]

Pasito a pasito, suave suavecito

Nos vamos pegando, poquito a poquito

Que le enseñes a mi boca

Tus lugares favoritos

(Favorito, favorito, baby)

Pasito a pasito, suave suavecito

Nos vamos pegando, poquito a poquito

Hasta provocar tus gritos (Fonsi)

Y que olvides tu apellido (D.Y.)

Despacito

 

2. Justin Bieber – Despacito (Lyrics) ft. Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee [Pop]

 

 

[Intro: Justin Bieber]

Comin' over in my direction

So thankful for that, it's such a blessin', yeah

Turn every situation into heaven, yeah

Oh-oh, you are

My sunrise on the darkest day

Got me feelin' some kind of way

Make me wanna savor every moment slowly, slowly

You fit me tailor-made, love how you put it on

Got the only key, know how to turn it on

The way you nibble on my ear, the only words I wanna hear

Baby, take it slow so we can last long

 

[Verso 1: Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee]

¡Oh! Tú, tú eres el imán y yo soy el metal

Me voy acercando y voy armando el plan

Sólo con pensarlo se acelera el pulso (Oh, yeah)

Ya, ya me está gustando más de lo normal

Todos mis sentidos van pidiendo más

Esto hay que tomarlo sin ningún apuro

[Coro: Justin Bieber & Luis Fonsi, Daddy Yankee]

Despacito

Quiero respirar tu cuello despacito

Deja que te diga cosas al oído

Para que te acuerdes si no estás conmigo

Despacito

Quiero desnudarte a besos despacito

Firmo en las paredes de tu laberinto

Y hacer de tu cuerpo todo un manuscrito

(Sube, sube, sube

Sube, sube)

[Post-Coro: Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee]

Quiero ver bailar tu pelo, quiero ser tu ritmo (Woah, woah)

Que le enseñes a mi boca (Woah, woah)

Tus lugares favoritos (Favorito, favorito, baby)

Déjame sobrepasar tus zonas de peligro (Woah, woah)

Hasta provocar tus gritos (Woah, woah)

Y que olvides tu apellido

 

[Verso 2: Daddy Yankee]

Si te pido un beso, ven, dámelo, yo sé que estás pensándolo

Llevo tiempo intentándolo, mami, esto es dando y dándolo

Sabes que tu corazón conmigo te hace bom, bom

Sabes que esa beba está buscando de mi bom, bom

Ven, prueba de mi boca para ver cómo te sabe

Quiero, quiero, quiero ver cuánto amor a ti te cabe

Yo no tengo prisa, yo me quiero dar el viaje

Empecemos lento, después salvaje

 

[Pre-Coro: Daddy Yankee & Justin Bieber, Daddy Yankee]

Pasito a pasito, suave suavecito

Nos vamos pegando, poquito a poquito

Cuando tú me besas con esa destreza

Veo que eres malicia con delicadeza

Pasito a pasito, suave suavecito

Nos vamos pegando, poquito a poquito

Y es que esa belleza es un rompecabezas

Pero pa' montarlo aquí tengo la pieza

¡Oye!

 

[Coro: Justin Bieber & Luis Fonsi, Daddy Yankee]

Despacito

Quiero respirar tu cuello despacito

Deja que te diga cosas al oído

Para que te acuerdes si no estás conmigo

Despacito

Quiero desnudarte a besos despacito

Firmo en las paredes de tu laberinto

Y hacer de tu cuerpo todo un manuscrito

(Sube, sube, sube

Sube, sube)

 

[Post-Coro: Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee]

Quiero ver bailar tu pelo, quiero ser tu ritmo (Woah, woah)

Que le enseñes a mi boca (Woah, woah)

Tus lugares favoritos (Favorito, favorito, baby)

Déjame sobrepasar tus zonas de peligro (Woah, woah)

Hasta provocar tus gritos (Woah, woah)

Y que olvides tu apellido

[Puente: Luis Fonsi]

Despacito

This is how we do it down in Puerto Rico

I just wanna hear you screaming, "¡Ay, Bendito!"

I can move forever cuando esté contigo

¡Báilalo!

 

[Post-Coro: Daddy Yankee, Luis Fonsi & Justin Bieber]

Pasito a pasito, suave suavecito

Nos vamos pegando, poquito a poquito

Que le enseñes a mi boca

Tus lugares favoritos

(Favorito, favorito, baby)

Pasito a pasito, suave suavecito

Nos vamos pegando, poquito a poquito

Hasta provocar tus gritos (Fonsi)

Y que olvides tu apellido (D.Y.)

Despacito

3. Luis Fonsi ‒ Despacito (Lyrics) ft. Daddy Yankee  - English Translation

 

[Intro: Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee]

Yes, you know that I’ve been looking at you for a long time

I must dance with you today (DY)

(Daddy Yankee)

I saw that the look in your eyes was calling me

Show me the path that I will take (Oh)

(Luis Fonsi)

You, you’re the magnet and I’m the metal

I am getting closer and making a plan

Simply thinking about it makes my heart race (Oh yeah)

(Daddy Yankee)

Now, I’m already liking it more than usual

All of my senses are asking for more

We cannot do this in a rush

(Luis Fonsi)

Slowly

I want to breathe in your neck slowly

Let me murmur things in your ear

So that you remember if you’re not with me

Slowly

Iwant to undress you in kisses slowly

Firmly in the walls of your labyrinth

And of your body, I want to create a manuscript

Up, up

Up, up, up

I want to see your hair dance

I want to be your rhythm

Want you to show my mouth

Your favorite places (Favorite, favorite baby)

Let me trespass your danger zones

Until I make you scream

And you forget your last name

(Daddy Yankee)

If I ask for a kiss come, give it to me

I know that you’re thinking about it

I’ve been trying to do it for awhile

Mami this is giving and giving it to you

You know that with me your heart goes bom bom!

You know that from me that babe is looking for a bom bom!

Come try my mouth and see if you like its taste

I want to see how much love fits in you

I’m not in a rush I want to experience this trip

Let’s start slowly, then savagely

Step by step, soft then softly

We come up against each other, little by little

When you kiss me in that state of distress

I see that you are malice and delicacy

Step by step, soft then softly

We come up against each other, little by little

And it’s just that your beauty is a puzzle

But to finish it here I have the missing piece

(Luis Fonsi)

Slowly

I want to breathe in your neck slowly

Let me murmur things in your ear

So that you remember if you’re not with me

Slowly

I want to undress you in kisses slowly

Firmly in the walls of your labyrinth

And of your body, I want to create a manuscript

Up, up, up, up

I want to see your hair dance

I want to be your rhythm

Want you to show my mouth

Your favorite places (Favorite, favorite baby)

Let me trespass your danger zones

Until I make you scream

And you forget your last name

Slowly

We’re gonna do it on a beach in Puerto Rico

Until the waves scream Oh Lord

So that my seal stays with you

(Daddy Yankee)

Step by step, soft then softly

We come up against each other, little by little

(Luis Fonsi)

I want you to show my mouth

Your favorite places (Favorite, favorite baby)

(Daddy Yankee)

Step by step, soft then softly

We come up against each other, little by little

(Luis Fonsi)

Until I make you scream

And you forget your last name

Slowly

We hope you enjoy this post and, above all, that it helps you to continue learning things about the Spanish language and its culture.

Wanting more? Enjoy our video about the las decade’s top tracks in Spanish!

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There are just a few days left for Hollywood's biggest night- Oscar Awards to commence, the most important ones in the film industry worldwide. The 92nd Oscars will be held on Sunday, February 9, 2020, at the Dolby Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center in Hollywood, and, as marked by tradition, will be televised live on the ABC Television Network. However, after realizing last year that the ratings went back up after four years of drop in audience, there won’t be a master of ceremonies at the 2020 Oscars either. In this case, as it happened in the last edition, they will be the actors and actresses the ones who will go on stage to deliver the statuettes. Penelope Cruz will be, once again, the one presenting the Oscar for Best non-English-speaking Film. Hopefully, the ritual will bring luck to Pedro Almodóvar once again.

We already know what The Best Spanish Films of 2019 are according to the Spanish Film Academy, and also the Spanish-speaking films that have won an Oscar on previous editions, but ... What Spanish films are nominated for 2020 Oscars? Today, we roll the red carpet out again for you to come in and enjoy! We deal only with Spanish films because, unfortunately, there are no other Spanish-speaking countries in the shortlist.

Continue reading in English or click here to do so in Spanish.

"Pain and glory" (Pedro Almodóvar)

 

 

"Pain and glory" (“Dolor y gloria”) is a Spanish film written and directed by Pedro Almodóvar and starring Antonio Banderas, Asier Etxeandia, Leonardo Sbaraglia, Nora Navas and Julieta Serrano, with the special collaboration of Penelope Cruz.

The film presents the most intimate and autobiographical vision of the Manchego director. Almodóvar uses the voice of the main character, called Salvador Mallo, to open himself up to the audience. Salvador is a film director who is not at his best. He goes through his whole life to tell us his story, from his childhood to his first contact with the world of cinema, going through his teenage life and first love experiences. Almodóvar uses this narrative pretext to undress himself before us as he had never done before, in a tremendously beautiful and sincere way.  This Oscar-nominated Spanish film is a very personal project, a project that not only deals with cinematographic and theatrical creation, but also with the impossibility of separating creative processes from personal life. Almodóvar himself has stated that "Pain and glory" closes a trilogy along with "The law of desire" (1987) and "Bad education" (2004). In all these films, the main male role is played by a character who is also a film director, being  “desire and fiction” the main themes in the plot.

*Awards:

• 2019: Academy Awards: Nominated for Best Foreign Film & Actr (Banderas)
• 2019: Golden Globes: Nomin. for Best Actor (Banderas) & Foreign Language Film
• 2019: BAFTA Awards: Nominated for Best Foreign Language Film
• 2019: Goya Awards: 7 Awards including Best Film, Director, Actor & Screenplay
• 2019: Cannes Film Festival: Best Actor (Antonio Banderas)
• 2019: New York Film Critics Circle: Best Actor (Antonio Banderas)
• 2019: European Film Awards: Best Actor (Banderas) & Production Design
• 2019: National Board of Review (NBR): Top Foreign Films
• 2019: Los Angeles Film Critics Association: Best Foreign Film & Actor (Banderas)
• 2019: Critics Choice Awards: Nominated for Best Foreign Film & Actor (Banderas)
• 2019: Chicago Film Critic’s Awards: Nom. for Best Actor (Banderas) & Best Foreign Film
• 2019: San Francisco Film Critics Circle: Best Actor (Antonio Banderas). 2 Nominations
• 2019: Satellite Awards: 5 Nominations, including Best Director, Actor & Screenplay
• 2019: César Awards: Nominated for Best Foreign Film
• 2019: Forque Awards: Best Actor (Antonio Banderas). 2 Nominations
• 2019: Feroz Awards: 6 Awards, including Best Film Drama & Director
• 2019: Gaudí Awards: Best Sound. 5 Nominations

*Critics' reviews:

"The result is a mature work of meticulously tuned metafiction, erupting with so many of the director’s signature touches (...) [It rejects] broad melodrama in pursuit of a subtler, more direct form of authenticity" Peter Debruge: Variety

"'Pain and Glory' can be achingly sad, but its pleasures, rainbow hues and humor keep it (and you) aloft." Manohla Dargis: The New York Times

"Pedro Almodóvar Delivers His ‘8 ½’ (...) You can feel his passion for cinema in every frame. Pain and Glory is not just his most personal film. It’s also one of his greatest” Peter Travers: Rolling Stone

“Klaus” (Sergio Pablos)

 

 

"Klaus" is a Spanish animated film directed and written by Sergio Pablos. It is a Spanish/UK co-production with Atresmedia Cine and The SPA Studios. Distributed worldwide by Netflix.

Klaus tells the story of a postman named Jesper who is sent to Smeerensburg - an icy island beyond the Arctic Circle – as a punishment for his poor grades and bad behavior at the postal school. There, Jesper finds a hostile environment, a city whose inhabitants are people of few words and fewer letters. But everything changes with the entrance of Alva, the fishmonger and former teacher of the town, and Klaus, a mysterious carpenter who lives in a humble cabin in the woods, a lodge full of toys made by himself. These peculiar friendships not only change Jesper's life, but also bring joy back to Smeerensburg, giving way to a new stage full of magical legends and kind and generous neighbors.

Klaus is a film that, after a time of experimentation and breakthrough technologies in the sector, returns animation to the most classical procedures, incorporating also the theme of customs and traditions directly into the plot. The film represents a kind of story about the origin of Santa Claus, examining the ways in which traditions are built on and deconstructed. All this through a beautiful and fresh aesthetic that is as innovative as aware of its own story. In the end, the message of the film tells us to move forward, since nonsense routines and customs only prevents us from progressing.

*Awards:

• 2019: Academy Awards: Nominated for Best Animated Feature Film
• 2019: BAFTA Awards: Best Animated Film
• 2019: Goya Awards: Nominated for Best Animated Film & Song
• 2019: Annie Awards: 7 Awards including Best Animated Feature & Directing
• 2019: San Francisco Film Critics Circle: Nominated for Best Animated Film

*Critics' reviews:

"An unexpected charmer (...) it contains echoes of other seasonal favorites (...) while standing completely on its own (...) [Its story] is perfectly complimented by its visual style" John DeFore: The Hollywood Reporter

“Klaus' essentially becomes a metaphor for its unique and refreshing mode of expression”. Steven Scaife: Slant

 

"[It] has storybook charm, and the wonder lands even if the jokes don’t (...) 'Klaus' gets the sentimentality just right" Alonso Duralde: The Wrap

At don Quijote, we hope that you all enjoy this post, and, above all, that it serves you as a good excuse to learn a little more about the Spanish language and culture.

 

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