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Today is a very special day for language lovers because Europeans are celebrating their Day of Languages. All 47 member states of the Council of Europe are shining a light on the linguistic diversity of the Old Continent and encouraging everyone, both young and old, to embark on the adventure that is learning a new language. If that new language for you is Spanish, don Quijote is always here to help!

Today we’ll discover what the European Day of Languages is all about and how you can participate in the special events scheduled around the world (including the ones our schools have prepared for you). Keep reading in English or click here to practice your Spanish. 

What is the European Day of Languages?

The day first went down in history on September 26, 2001. The European Council’s mission was to have people from different backgrounds celebrate Europe’s diversity through one of their greatest treasures: languages.

18 years after its birth, the European Day of Languages is more important than ever. Thousands of people move freely through the European Union in search of new academic and career opportunities, and globalization has made knowing more than one language a powerful advantage for personal and professional growth.

There are more than 200 European languages, and even more languages are spoken on the continent thanks to the diverse origins of the people who live there. Knowing English alone is not enough anymore, and learning foreign languages like Spanish has become an integral part of Europeans’ education.

Join the Party!

Over 760 events have been organized around the world in honor of the European Day of Languages, including conferences, language exchanges, open houses, film screenings followed by talks, games, and meetups of all kinds. In Spain alone there are more than 40 activities to choose from, so we have the perfect plan for you: book a Spanish course, travel to Spain, and celebrate the European Day of Languages with new friends from every continent.

In addition to the considerable number of official events around the country, our Spanish schools have also prepared a special program for the occasion.

At don Quijote Valencia we are providing a forum for our students to give brief presentations about their native languages. We’ll also have fun with tongue twisters learn typical Spanish sayings and expressions by making murals. Other activities include making word clouds, inventing a new language, and learning about different types of non-verbal communication.

Our Spanish school in Tenerife has prepared activities to build awareness and celebrate languages in all their forms. If you check out our Instagram profile, you can take a special quiz made just for today and discover if you are a real wiz at languages.

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Humans are full of prejudices. Although this can be negative, it’s something that helps us to categorize and understand the world in a faster and easier way. No one is completely free from stereotypes, but in Spain, we often complain that the way other countries see us doesn’t always correspond to reality, nor can it be extended to all regions and cultures living together within our borders.

The influence that Hollywood has exerted on the image we have of other cultures has played a leading role. The stereotypes about Spain seen in American series and films have spread common misperceptions about Spaniards: we all love napping, soccer, bullfighting, and flamenco. In this way, our special traditions are not always understood as well as we would like.

In today's post, we take the opportunity to share with you some of the most famous film scenes that have created false myths about Spain.

You can continue reading in Spanish if you’d like to practice your reading comprehension.

Mission Impossible II

To begin with, let’s look at one of the best known and extravagant examples: Mission Impossible II. In the film, Tom Cruise lives a unique experience: Holy Week in Seville, the Fallas in Valencia, and San Fermines in Pamplona, ​​all together in the same scene. (In fact, not only do these festivals take place in different cities, they also happen at different times during the year.) Anthony Hopkins (Swanbeck in the film) himself is amazed and puzzled at such a spectacle: "Festivals are a pain in the ass. Honoring their saints by setting them on fire. Let's you know what they think of saints, doesn't it?” We Spaniards were even more perplexed at these tremendous cultural misconceptions. (For the record, saints are not burned in any of the three separate festivals untruthfully mixed together here.)

McGyver and the Basque conflict

In the first season of the MacGyver series, we can see a very original, and hilariously inaccurate, representation of the people living in the Basque Country. This action hero of the 80s fights against some mountaineers wearing the traditional Basque txapela hat; or as they’re referred to in the episode, "Basque mountain men who’d been feuding with France or Spain for as long as anyone can remember." The departure from the truth is such that the village looks more like a military jungle camp than anything else. In addition, the series shows bananas being grown there, very common in the Basque Pyrenees (note the sarcasm). And of course, you could not miss the “typical” local clothing, which, according to the series, is no more than a loincloth.

Knight & Day

Oops, he did it again! Tom Cruise messed about with Spanish traditional festivals once more. On this occasion, he and Cameron Díaz attend very peculiar bull runs or encierros and run in front of a herd of eight steers and two placid bulls. In addition, this recreation of the San Fermines of Pamplona was actually filmed on Calle Ancha street in Cadiz, and (due to the script's demands) ended in the Maestranza bull ring in Seville.

Vantage Point

It is often said that Americans think Spain is like any country in Latin America. But in this particular case, the film makers of Vantage Point took this too far. The film shows the U.S. president’s visit to Salamanca, where he will be a terrorist target. The movie supposedly takes place in Salamanca, Spain but when local authorities refused to accept the conditions of the producer (who wanted the city to close access to Plaza Mayor for three months), the shooting moved to Mexico. For anyone who’s ever been to Spain, just by looking at the scenery and the people it’s very obvious that the movie was filmed somewhere else entirely (halfway around the world, in fact!)

If you want to learn more about Spanish and film, we encourage you watch this video with some of the funniest Spanish translations of classic movie titles.

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Fiesta time in Barcelona

For many, September is a time to say goodbye to summer and head back to school or work. However, people in Barcelona have something spectacular that softens the blow of returning to the daily grind: their biggest celebration of the year. 

During the La Mercè festival, the streets of Barcelona fill with gigantes, concerts, exhibitions, and, of course, traditional human towers called castellers.

Continue reading in English or click here to change to Spanish version and fully immerse yourself in the modernism, international ambiance, and vast cultural agenda Barcelona offers its visitors during this special time.

The origins of the festival

As we explained in our article about the different types of Spanish fiestas, many cities and towns dedicate their biggest yearly celebration to their patron saint. La Mercè, or the Virgin of Mercy, is the patron saint of Barcelona. Do you know how she got that title?

According to legend, around the year 1200, the Virgin appeared to three important people: King James I of Aragon, Saint Peter Nolasco, and Saint Raymond of Panyafort. She asked them to create a new monastic order to face the attacks of the Saracens during wartime.

Centuries later, when Barcelona was suffering a terrible locust infestation, the people asked the Virgin of Mercy for help. When the infestation was eradicated, the city named La Mercè patron saint of Barcelona in thanks for her protection.

La Mercè Program

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Today’s Spanish grammar topic is gender and number agreement. Let’s jump right in!

Read this grammar guide in Spanish.

Gender and Adjective Agreement in Spanish

General rule: the adjective must have the same gender and number as the noun it describes.

Examples:

• La escuela [femenino singular] es bonita [femenino singular]
• Los manuales [masculino plural] son prácticos [masculino plural]
• Los estudiantes [masculino plural] son simpáticos [masculino plural]
• El café [masculino singular] es barato [masculino singular]

Invariable adjectives: some adjectives do not change gender. These invariable adjectives usually end in l, e, i, s, a, or z.

Examples:

• Mi compañero es muy amable
• Nuestro profesor es budista
• Mozart fue un músico precoz
• El animal salvaje más peligroso de África es el búfalo

Variable adjectives: these adjectives become female by adding -a. They can be divided into two groups:

1. Masculine adjectives that end in -o, -ete, or -ote

Examples:

• Ending in -o: bonito/-a; feo/-a; cansado/-a
• Ending in -ete: regordete/-a; guapete/-a;
• Ending in -ote: grandote/-a; malote/-a

1. Masculine adjectives that end in a consonant

Examples:

• Trabajador/-a; andaluz/-a; chillón/-a

Number and Adjective Agreement in Spanish

There are two main types, depending on if the adjective is gender invariable (doesn’t change) or variable (does change).

For invariable adjectives, form the plural by adding -es.

• Examples: precoz/(c)-es; azul/-es

For variable adjectives, there are two ways to form the plural:

• By adding  -s: for adjectives that end in a vowel, when the last syllable is unstressed
  • Examples: bueno/-s; bonito/-s; barato/-s
• By adding -es: for adjectives that end in a vowel when the last syllable is stressed, or adjectives that end in a consonant
  • Examples: ceutí/-es; ideal/-es

Need some practice? Travel to Spain and Latin America to learn Spanish and see the world.

Thanks to Lucas from our school in Seville for teaching us how adjectives work in Spanish.

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As the song says in Cinema Paradiso, "The life I dream of can come true. Or is it just a dream?” The magic of cinema has transformed some real-world Spanish settings into incredible imaginary worlds. We have seen, for example, how the desert of Almeria became the Wild West; the coast of Cadiz transformed into the exotic beaches of Cuba; and the spectacular Plaza de España in Seville turned into a planet from a galaxy far away.

It is true that many times the reasons have been economic, since it is cheaper to shoot in Spain than in other European or American countries. However, we cannot ignore the fact that Spain’s varied geography, warm climate, fascinating landscapes, and wealth of monuments have turned it into a marvelous movie set containing the perfect conditions for many film makers.

So, let’s get this show on the road!

Enjoy this post in Spanish to improve your reading skills.

1. Star Wars. Episode II: Attack of the Clones (2002)

 

As mentioned above, the Sevillian Plaza de España is one of those cases. Not only was the square chosen by George Lucas to immortalize Amidala’s arrival to the planet Naboo in The Attack of the Clones, but we can also see it in other blockbusters shot in Seville. Other examples are the famous Game of Thrones series and the comedy The Dictator.

 

2. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)

 

In this case, the chosen place was Almeria. Steven Spielberg and his team shot several scenes of this famous film in the Tabernas desert, on Monsul beach, and also in Almeria’s capital.

 

3. Mission Impossible II (M:I-2) (2000)

The second part of this famous action saga was also filmed in Seville. This time the focus was on the Andalusian capital’s city center, where Tom Cruise stars in a scene full of cultural inaccuracies. We see an unnatural mixture of Spanish fiestas: Holy Week, Fallas, and the San Fermín festivities all happen in the same scene, when in reality these celebrations happen at different times of the year.

 

 

4. A Fistful of Dollars (1964)

 

We must of course mention the most famous examples: the numerous Westerns filmed in Spain. Sergio Leone was one of the great directors who made it possible: A Fistful of Dollars (1964) and For a Few Dollars More (1965) were both filmed in Almeria. In these films, we had the opportunity to see the Tabernas desert turned into the wild American west. Also in Spain, the third part of The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966) was shot in the valley of the Arlanza river, in Burgos.

 

5. 007, Die Another Day (2002)

The most popular spy in the United Kingdom has also been to Spain. The breathtaking scene in which we see an impressive Halle Berry coming out of the water in Die Another Day, supposedly in Cuba, was actually filmed on La Caleta Beach, in Cadiz.

The famous 007 has been to Spain on other occasions: In The World Is Not Enough (1999), the filming was based around the world-famous Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao; in From Russia with Love (1963), the chosen place was Madrid; and, lastly, in Doctor Zhivago, Soria, Salamanca, Segovia, and Madrid appear.

Nevertheless, these are not all the movies ever filmed in Spain. The list is long, and many have been left out. Lawrence of Arabia, The Bourne Ultimatum, Exodus: Gods and Kings, The Kingdom of Heaven, Perfume: Story of a Murderer, 55 days in Beijing, and even Kubrick’s Spartacus have also played a role in making Spain a star of the silver screen.

If you want to learn more about Spanish and film, we encourage you watch this video with some of the funniest Spanish translations of classic movie titles.

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Latin America’s Top Writers According to Google

Birthdays are always a good reason to celebrate, and commemorating the birth of someone who’s done their part to enrich Hispanic culture is an even better one. Google is no stranger to this fact, which is why it has dedicated Doodles to some of the greatest literary figures of Latin America.

Do you know what a Google Doodle is? Would you like to take a graphics-based trip through the history of Latin American literature? Read on in English or click here to switch to the Spanish version of this article and we’ll tell you all about it.

What is a Doodle?

Google Doodles are the graphic modifications made to the Google logo to commemorate noteworthy holidays, anniversaries, and historical events. When you open Google, one day you might find a doodle announcing the discovery of water on the moon (2009), and another a musical game in honor of Johann Sebastian Bach (10 years later).

Since 1998, when the first Doodle was designed, the American tech giant has dedicated many of its creative logo variations to Spanish language literature. In today’s post, we’ll go chronologically through the brilliant minds that have earned their day in the digital spotlight: the best Latin American writers in history.

10 Doodles for 10 Latin American Authors

1. Rubén Darío

In 2003, Google celebrated the 146^th birthday of this Nicaraguan writer with a Doodle of a white swan, a memorable figure from one of his best-known poems. Swans are also the most representative symbol of the literary Modernist movement, a genre that Rubén Darío embraced so artfully that he became its leading figure.

2. Gabriela Mistral

Chile is a fertile ground for female authors. Along with her compatriot Isabel Allende, Gabriela Mistral is one of the few female writers whose name has gone down in history books. Thanks to poems like Dame la mano (Give Me Your Hand), featured in this 2015 Doodle, Gabriela became the first Ibero-American woman to win a Nobel Prize in Literature.

3. César Vallejo

Journalist, translator, and writer, César Vallejo has a powerful presence in the literary canon of his native Peru. On the 120^th anniversary of his birth, Google decided to celebrate the life and work of this Vanguardist icon with a Doodle. In it, César is sitting on a bench in Paris, a city he loved with all his soul and where he spent his final days.

 

 

4. Jorge Luis Borges

 

In the literature of Argentina, there is a name that shines brighter than all the rest: Jorge Luis Borges. His works, rich in philosophical undertones, are some of the most analyzed pieces of literature of the 20^th century. One of his most famous short stories is La biblioteca de Babel (The Library of Babel), which was the source of inspiration for this Doodle. In it, Borges stands in front of a library that represents the world’s complexity and the mysteries of memory.

5. Pablo Neruda

Once again, an autor from Chile brings us to the next Doodle. For many, Pablo Neruda was the greatest poet of the 20^th century. The Nobel Prize in Literature he won in 1971 and the honorary doctorate he received from the University of Oxford give us no reason to think otherwise. This Google Doodle evokes Pablo Neruda’s close relationship with the sea, a recurring element in much of his work.

6. Ernesto Sábato

It only took Ernesto Sábato three novels to carve out his place in Argentinian literature. One of them, El túnel (The Tunnel), is the story behind this Doodle. In addition to his literary work, Ernesto was a notable essayist, painter, and physicist. Who ever said that art and science can’t go together?

7. Julio Cortázar

The quote in this Doodle comes straight out of Rayuela (Hopscotch), a Spanish language literary classic. The Argentinian author Julio Cortázar was a master of short stories, an artist who knew how to play with the dimension of time, and a participant in one of the biggest literary movements to emerge from Latin America: magical realism.

8. Octavio Paz

Modern Mexican literature was reinvented in the 20^th century thanks to authors like Octavio Paz. One of his greatest contributions was the invention of topoemas, pieces of literature that focus more on the dimension of space than on the traditional perspective of time. This concept introduced by the Mexican author is precisely what Google tried to capture in the cosmic circles of this Doodle.

9. Gabriel García Márquez

The Buendía family poses in front of the jungle of Macondo. To the left, the face of Gabriel García Márquez presides over the scene. Cien años de soledad (A Hundred Years of Solitude) is possibly one of the best novels ever written in Spanish. Its author, a jewel in the crown of Colombian literature, knew better than anyone how to weave together fantasy and reality and was largely responsible for putting Latin American magical realism on the map.

10. José Emilio Pacheco

The last author on our list of Doodles is José Emilio Pacheco, a Mexican poet, essayist, novelist, and translator. Of the objects that appear in the image, the illustrated turtle stands out. It’s from the cover of El viento distante (The Distant Wind), one of his most famous novels.

We hope this list has helped you learn a bit more about the rich literary tradition of the Spanish language. If you’d like to immerse yourself in Hispanic culture and live it firsthand, we recommend you have a look at our multi-destination Spanish programs. They allow you to combine different cities in Spain and Latin America on your magical journey through the Spanish-speaking world.

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In today's post, we roll out the red carpet and put on our best outfit to talk about films in Spanish that have won an Academy Award. Set your Spanish homework aside and put your listening skills into action by watching these cultural touchstones.

Did you know that the first Hispanic Academy Award-winning director (from outside the US) earned his statue for a movie that was filmed mostly in French, not Spanish? The Spanish filmmaker Luis Buñuel had to shoot the 1972 film The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (French: Le Charme discret de la bourgeoisie) in France due to the censorship in force during the Franco dictatorship. Hence, the Spanish language had to wait until the early 80s.

Enjoy this post in Spanish if you prefer. 

Remember also that the new awards season is beginning, and with it, all the film festivals in Spain... do not miss the best premieres!

Academy Award-winning films in Spanish

1.- Begin the Beguine (Volver a empezar) (Spain, 1982)

Director: José Luis Garci.

Cast: Antonio Ferrandis and Encarna Paso.

Begin the Beguine tells the moving story of a prestigious writer, winner of a Nobel Prize, who returns to Gijón (Asturias, Spain) to die in his hometown after many years of exile.

The movie won the first Oscar for a Spanish-language film in 1983 (Best Non-English Language Film), an international recognition that opened the door for Spanish to make its way into Hollywood.

 

2.- The Official Story (La historia oficial) (Argentina, 1985)

Director: Luis Puenzo.

Cast: Norma Aleandro, Analía Castro, and Héctor Alterio.

The Official Story (1985) was the first Latin American film to receive the valued statuette (Best Non-English Language Film). It is a cinematographic work that takes us to the last days of the Argentine military dictatorship (1976-1983). In the film, Puenzo depicts a country in crisis after the loss of the Falklands in 1982; a nation going through the final stage of an oppressive regime that led to the “disappearance” of thousands of people.

The plot takes place between the house of Alicia, Roberto, and Gabi (the main characters of this story) and the high school where Alicia teaches Argentine History classes. In this way, the home is linked to the family atmosphere of the time, while the educational center represents the Argentine sociopolitical sphere.

3.- Belle Époque (Spain, 1992).

Director: Fernando Trueba.

Cast: Miriam Díaz Aroca, Penélope Cruz, Ariadna Gil, Fernando Fernán Gómez, Jorge Sanz, and Maribel Verdú.

Although Belle Époque was canceled three times due to lack of budget, the film was finally shot in Portugal to reduce costs. The movie won the Oscar for Best Non-English Language Film in 1993.

According to Trueba himself, Belle Époque represents a "bright and cheerful vision of Spain," “something we were not used to in 1992." It tells the story of a young man named Fernando who arrives in a small Spanish town in 1930, just before the proclamation of the Second Spanish Republic. After deciding to  leave the army during the Jaca uprising, the handsome soldier is taken in by a widowed artist who has four daughters with very different personalities.

4.- All About My Mother (Todo sobre mi madre) (Spain, 1999)

Director: Pedro Almodóvar.

Cast: Cecilia Roth, Marisa Paredes, Penélope Cruz, Candela Peña, and Rosa María Sardá.

All About My Mother tells the story of Manuela, a mother who, after losing her son the day he turned 17, returns to Barcelona to find the boy's father. During the trip, we enjoy a tragicomedy in the purest style of the Spanish director, suffering the pain along with Manuela.

In the end, Almodóvar received the Oscar (Best Non-English-Speaking Film) from his muse Penelope Cruz, an iconic moment that went down in Spanish film history.

5.- Talk to Her (Hable con ella) (Spain, 2003)

Director: Pedro Almodóvar

Cast: Javier Cámara, Darío Grandinetti Leonor Watling, Geraldine Chaplin, and Rosario Flores.

Four years later, Almodóvar won the Academy Award again, but this time on a larger scale. For the first and only time in history, a Hispanic film won an Oscar under one of the main categories: Best Original Screenplay. The director also broke his own mold with this film by shooting with two male characters, in defiance of those who said that he was only able to direct women.

Talk to her tells the story of two men who fight against loneliness as they care for the women they love: both are in a coma. Benigno is a nurse who has fallen in love with a dancer who is in a coma after an accident. In the meantime, Marcos looks after his girlfriend, who undergoes the same situation after being gored while bullfighting.

6.- The Sea Inside (Mar adentro) (Spain, 2004)

Director: Alejandro Amenábar.

Cast: Javier Bardem, Belén Rueda, and Lola Dueñas.

This movie put on the table the debate on the use of euthanasia and assisted suicide for people with irreversible or terminal illnesses. The Sea Inside tells the real story of Ramón Sampedro, who, after a tragic dive into the sea, remains bedridden for the rest of his life. After three decades in these conditions, claiming his right to die, he succeeds with the assistance of his lawyer and a close friend and neighbor.

Alejandro Amenábar won the Oscar for Best Non-English Language Film in 2005.

7.- The Secret In Their Eyes (El secreto de sus ojos) (Argentina, 2009)

Director: Juan José Campanella.

Cast: Ricardo Darín, Soledad Villamil, Pablo Rago, and Javier Godino.

Benjamín Espósito is an official who used to work at a Criminal Court in Buenos Aires and has just retired. He is obsessed with a crime he witnessed 25 years ago and decides to write a novel about the murder. During the creation process, he also recalls a past and not forgotten love.

This is a thriller with a captivating plot and high technical quality. The Secret In Their Eyes won the Oscar for Best Non-English Language Film in 2010, the second Academy Award for Argentina’s film industry.

8.- A Fantastic Woman (Una mujer fantástica) (Chile, 2017)

Director: Sebastián Lelio.

Cast: Daniela Vega and Francisco Reyes.

A fantastic woman was the second cinematographic work to receive the golden statuette in the history of Chilean cinema, after the animated short film Historia de un oso (2014). It won the Oscar in 2018 in the category of Best Non-English Language Film.

The plot focuses on Marina (a young waitress who wants to be a singer) and her partner, Orlando, twenty years older than her. One day, Marina has to take Orlando to the emergency room, where he dies in her arms. Then, she must face the rejection of Orlando’s social circle due to her transgender identity.

To sum up, Spanish language movies have plenty of reasons to be proud. From Luis Buñuel to Pedro Almodóvar, Spanish speakers started winning the hearts and earning the praise of Hollywood film critics and audiences in the second half of the 20th century and have been reaping success ever since. This year it’s Almodóvar’s turn again…we wish him all the best with his film Pain and Glory (2019), which has been selected by the Spanish Academy as its submission for the international feature film Academy Award. 

If you want to learn more about Spanish and film, we encourage you watch this video with some of the funniest Spanish translations of classic movie titles.

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As the song of the Spanish music band Los Piratas says, "No te echaré de menos en septiembre" (I won’t miss you in September). Every year, Spanish schoolchildren get prepared for the new course that begins with the arrival of the fall.

Click here to read this post in Spanish to improve your reading skills.

1.- The beginning of a new term:

While in Canada and the US back-to-school shopping is associated with Labor Day (first Monday of September), in Spain, we know the new term is approaching when we see publicity campaigns advertising the back-to-school season. Now it’s time to buy textbooks and cover them with great care, a ritual I imagine will be disappeared soon since the tendency is to change paper for modern tablets.

September is the month to get hold of back-to-school supplies: a new diary, some pencils, pens and an eraser (I still can remember that characteristic smell of stationery shops). Some will even have to get a new backpack as the old one is tattered after so much rattle!

But what we really need before starting this new stage are a good attitude and a lot of enthusiasm to commence this new cycle and take up new projects: studying languages, doing some sport, and, especially, being persevering students.

In don Quijote, we encourage you to visit us if you are considering learning Spanish in Spain or improving your level.

Here you go some basics you should know if studying in Spain and want to be prepared for the new school year.

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If you are a film lover who enjoys watching foreign films, you may have realized by now that movie titles change a lot when translated into another language. Spanish speakers know that very well, because movie titles are usually transformed into something completely different compared to the original version.

Keep on reading to find out the reason behind this metamorphosis and have a laugh with some of the seventh art’s funniest translations. If you prefer to read this post in Spanish, click here. Lights, camera, action!

Mistranslation or localization?

When a new movie is released, many viewers criticize its title’s translation. However, we don’t usually ask ourselves why it changed so much. In don Quijote we want to stand up for translators, because this lack of textual coincidence with the original title is not always due to mistranslation.

Professionals who are in charge of the translation need to adapt to the culture and the market where the movie is going to be distributed. As it occurs with brands, when thinking about a title, translating is not enough – copyright, cultural issues, and more need to be considered as well. However, that doesn’t mean that those little marketing experiments don’t end up giving us very funny titles every now and then.

One language, several titles

Did you know there are several Spanish versions for the same foreign movie? Due to the richness of the Spanish language, producers order several dubbed versions for Spain and Latin America. As a consequence, movie titles are also different in each Spanish-speaking country.

Watching movies and series in Spanish is one of the best ways to practice the language. However, having such different titles, sometimes it is hard to find out the name of that film you’ve been wanting to watch. Here’s a trick for all Spanish students: Internet Movie Database is a website which hosts information about thousands of movies. Among other things, it lists the title of a movie in each country.

Movie titles in Spanish

Let’s get down to business. Here are some of the funniest movie titles in Spanish. Some of the titles we have chosen for this post belong to the Spanish version of the movie and some other to the Latin American versions. Enjoy!

1. The Sound of Music is… Sonrisas y lágrimas (Smiles and Tears)

This popular Broadway drama film tops our list for obvious reasons. The literal translation would be ‘El sonido de la música’, but ‘Smiles and Tears’ sounds equally beautiful, right? Fun fact: in Latin America, this movie was called La novicia rebelde (The Reckless Nun). 

2. Home Alone is… Mi pobre angelito (My Poor Little Angel)

Although in Spain they kept the title as ‘Solo en casa’, in Latin America they chose something more emotional: ‘My Poor Little Angel’. Truth is, the face of the little Macaulay Culkin is sweet as sugar.

3. Die Hard is… La jungla de cristal (Glass Jungle)

Ok, got it. There is a huge difference between ‘Die Hard’ and ‘Glass Jungle’. But the first option doesn’t sound very appealing in Spanish: ‘muere fuertemente’. Long life to free translation! In Latin America they got a little bit closer to the original title and named this movie ‘Duro de matar’.

4. 101 Dalmatians is… La noche de las narices frías (The Night of the Cold Noses)

Spain and Latin America never come to an agreement. While in Europe they kept the translation as ‘101 dálmatas’, across the pond they let their imagination run free with this funny title. Like it or not, this title describes the movie’s protagonists.

These are just some examples among plenty of funny titles you can find all over the Internet. Hope this post encouraged you to get hands on Spanish through cinema. In case you didn’t know, don Quijote’s web shows how much an average cinema ticket costs in each of our destinations in Spain. Start planning your trip and enjoy your movies in Spanish!

Learn more about the movies above by watching this video.

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Ordering food abroad can be tricky sometimes. Eating out is often one of the first things people do when they travel, so at that early stage you may not know the expressions and vocabulary to communicate properly.

Don’t worry! Here you’ll find everything you need to know to get by fluently and order your food in Spanish without batting an eye.

You can also read this post in Spanish.

How to get a table

The most important thing if you want to sit down to eat is to get a table. You can call the restaurant in advance to book, or just go in person and try your luck. If you are with a large group, we recommend you make a reservation ahead of time to ensure you can get a table.

Remember that meal times in Spain may be different from what you’re used to. (How does dinner at 10 p.m. sound?)

Here are some expressions you can use as an example to get a table:

 

Cliente (customer) —Buenos días/ buenas tardes/ buenas noches, ¿para comer / cenar?

(Good morning/afternoon/evening. For lunch/dinner?)

 

Camarero (waiter) —¡Hola! Claro, ¿tienen reserva? / ¿cuántos son?

(Hello! Of course, do you have a reservation? How many people?

 

Cliente —Sí, tengo una reserva a nombre del señor Smith. / No, solo somos dos personas

(Yes, I have a reservation for Mr. Smith. / No, we need a table for two.)

 

Camarero —Por aquí, por favor

(Right this way, please).

 

Cliente— ¡Gracias! (Thank you!).

 

Frequently Asked Questions about Spanish menus

Although you can often find an English version of the menu, it’s good to know what to order and how to do it so that no one has an unpleasant surprise.

There’s one question almost always comes up if you order meat (especially beef). The waiter will usually ask you how you’d like your meat, or as Spanish would say,

¿Cómo quiere el punto de la carne? / ¿Cómo quiere la carne?

You can answer with poco hecho (rare), al punto (medium), and “muy hecho / pasado” (well done). If they don’t ask, don’t hesitate to tell them anyway (e.g. “me gustaría tomar la carne al punto.”)

In Spain, it is also very common to ask what the specialty is. You can say, for example, “¿Qué nos recomienda tomar?” (What do you recommend) or “¿Cuál es la especialidad de la casa?” (What is the house’s specialty?)

If you need to know the specific ingredients of a recipe, you could ask something like this: “¿Este plato lleva algo de marisco / gluten / cebolla…?” (“Does this dish contain seafood/gluten/onion?”), “Soy alérgico al huevo, ¿me puedes recomendar algo que no lleve?” (“I’m allergic to eggs, could you recommend something for me?”).

Also, don’t forget about the menú del día. It is a set-price menu usually offered Monday to Friday at midday. It generally consists of a first and second course and a dessert or coffee, and a drink and some bread are usually included, too.

 

How to order food in Spanish

When the moment to order comes, the confusion arises. This may occur since protocol varies from one culture to another and depends on the different customs of each country.

Here are some useful expressions in Spanish to use in restaurants:

Camarero (waiter) —¿Ya saben lo que van a tomar? / ¿Qué quieren tomar? (Are you ready to order? / What would you like to order?).

Cliente (customer)—Sí. De primero tomaremos la crema de verduras y una ensalada mixta. (Yes. We’ll have the creamy vegetable soup and a salad to start.)

Camarero —Perfecto. ¿Y de segundo? (Perfect. What about the main course?)

Cliente —De segundo tomaremos solomillo de ternera. (We’ll have the sirloin steak.)

Camarero —¿Cómo prefieren la carne? (How would you like the meat?)

Cliente —Al punto y muy hecha, por favor. (Medium and well done, please.)

Camarero —¿Qué quieren para beber? (Anything to drink?)

Cliente —Para beber, una botella de agua y una Coca-Cola, por favor. (Sparkling water and a Coke, please.)

Camarero —¿El agua fría o del tiempo? (Do you want the water cold or room temperature?)

Cliente —Fría, por favor (Cold, please.)

Camarero —¿Desean algo más? (Anything else?)

Cliente —Así está bien de momento, gracias. (That’s all for now, thanks).

 

How to order dessert and coffee in Spanish

As a rule, the waiter will ask if you are going to have dessert or coffee when you finish the second course:

Camarero (waiter) —¿Desean algo de postre o café? (Would you like any coffee or dessert?).

Cliente (customer) —Sí, por favor ¿podría traernos la carta de postres? (Yes, please. Could we see the dessert menu?)

Camarero —¡Claro! Aquí tienen. (Sure! Here you go.)

Cliente —Probaremos el arroz con leche y la tarta de chocolate. (We’ll have the rice pudding and a piece of the chocolate cake).

You might also want to have a coffee or tea. In Spain, the most popular options are café cortado (espresso with a small amount of milk), café solo (espresso, which you can ask for “con hielo” or with ice in the summertime), and poleo menta (mint tea). Café con leche is usually enjoyed in the morning, but you can order it any time you want.

 

Asking for the check in Spanish

In some countries it’s common for waiters to bring the check automatically when customers finish their meal, but Spain is not one of them. Spaniards like to take it easy and enjoy what they call la sobremesa. This means people like to chat while they have a coffee or even a digestif. But, if you’re in a hurry,

Cliente (customer) —¿Me/Nos puede traer la cuenta, por favor? (Could you bring me/us the check, please?).

Camarero (waiter) —¿Van a pagar en efectivo o con tarjeta? (Cash or card?)

Cliente —Con tarjeta. ¿Me puede traer el datáfono? (Card. Could you bring the card reader?)

*Note that in Spain when you pay with card, the waiter will usually bring a wireless card reader to the table.

Camarero —¡Por supuesto! (Sure!)

By the way, tips aren’t mandatory in Spain, but they are very common. The better the service, the higher the tip should be.

 

Useful Spanish phrases to use in a restaurant

To finish, we propose some helpful language you might want to use at the restaurant:

• La comida está muy fría/caliente – The food is too cold/hot
• ¡Felicite al cocinero! – My compliments to the chef!
• ¿Dónde están los aseos / el baño / los servicios / los lavabos, por favor? – Where is the bathroom, please?
• No estoy satisfecho con el servicio. ¿Tenéis hojas de reclamaciones para clientes? —I’m not satisfied with the service. Are there any complaint sheets available for customers?

 

¡Que aproveche! (Enjoy your meal!)

 

 

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