In other languages, such as English or French, when a sentence contains a negative expression (e.g. never or jamais), we don’t add the usual negative adverb (not in English or pas in French). Why? Because we would be creating a double negative sentence, which is incorrect in these languages. In Spanish, however, grammar works differently in this regard.

Do you want to know more? Don’t worry, after reading the explanation below you won’t be in doubt anymore. Keep on reading this article in Spanish or click here to switch to the Spanish version.

When not to use double negatives in Spanish

When words such as nunca or jamás (never), tampoco (neither), nadie (no one), and ninguno (none) precede a verb, then we don’t add the adverb no, as it occurs in other languages. For example:

Nunca hago deporte (I never do sports)

INCORRECT: Nunca no hago deporte*

Yo tampoco hago deporte (I don’t do sports either)

INCORRECT: Yo tampoco no hago deporte*

En mi familia nadie hace deporte (No one in my family does sports)

INCORRECT: En mi familia nadie no hace deporte*

Nada de lo que haces puede considerarse deporte (Nothing you do can be considered sports)

INCORRECT: Nada de lo que haces no puede considerarse deporte*

Ninguno de ellos hace deporte (None of them does sports)

INCORRECT: Ninguno de ellos no hace deporte*

 

When to use double negatives in Spanish

On the contrary, when these negative words go after the verb, we must place the word no before the adverb. For example:

No hago deporte nunca (I never do sports)

INCORRECT: Hago deporte nunca*

Yo no hago deporte tampoco (I don’t do sports either)

INCORRECT: Yo hago deporte tampoco*

En mi familia no hace deporte nadie (No one does sports in my family)

INCORRECT: En mi familia hace deporte nadie*

No puede considerarse deporte nada de lo que haces (Nothing you do can be considered sports)

INCORRECT: Puede considerarse deporte nada de lo que haces*

No hace deporte ninguno de ellos (None of them does sports)

INCORRECT: Hace deporte ninguno de ellos*

In any case, the core message does not change. The only difference is a reinforced negative nuance.

Surely you won’t ever have any more doubts about double negatives in Spanish!

(Also: surely you will never have any more doubts about double negatives in Spanish!) ?

Thank you very much to Ignacio Sellés, Spanish teacher at don Quijote Alicante, for contributing to the blog with today’s article. Keep posted to continue receiving Spanish language tips and tricks weekly.

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Today we are going to cover some characteristics of some indefinite adjectives and pronouns in Spanish. Are you familiar with any of them! ? Click here to read this post in Spanish. Let’s go for it!

Algún, alguno

They both express an undefined quantity somehow relatable to the speaker or an indeterminate fact.

1. Algún, as well as alguna/algunos/algunas, is a determiner (in this case masculine and singular). It refers to someone or to something and it precedes a noun that must be masculine and singular as well. It occupies the first position in the sentence.

¿Algún huevo para hacer la tortilla?

(Do you have) any egg to make a Spanish omelet?

 Algún año viajaré a Chile.

One day I will travel to Chile.

2. Alguno (not algún) is a masculine, singular pronoun that refers to someone and specifies the gender and number of the word that follows.

En Andalucía no todo el mundo pronuncia la “z” como una “s”. Yo sé de alguno que lo hace con el sonido “z” también.

In Andalusia, not everyone pronounces the letter “z” as an “s”. I know some people who do use the sound “z” as well.

3. Besides, alguno can also have the same role as algún + [pronoun]. It can be used this way when the speaker does not want to repeat the name.

- ¿Tienes algún libro de gramática?

- Aquí no, pero creo que tengo alguno (= algún libro de gramática) en casa.

- Do you have any grammar books?

- Not here, but I believe I have some (=grammar books) at home.

Ningún, ninguno

They are both indefinite adjectives. However, these two words have different meanings and they can’t be used in the same way. Let’s find out why:

1. Ningún and ninguna mean not one, and therefore they must be used in plural. You’ll find them always placed before a masculine, singular noun.

No queda ningún bombón en la caja. (There is not even one chocolate left in the box)

No hay ningún cliente en la tienda. (There are no customers in the store)

2. Ninguno has the same meaning as ningún + [nombre], but we use it when we don’t want to repeat the name we are referring to.

- ¿Tienes algún libro de gramática?

- No, aquí no tengo ninguno (= ningún libro de gramática).

3. When talking about people, we use nadie instead of ninguno. But we’ll get deeper into that in our next blog post.

We thank Lucas, Head of Studies at our Spanish school in Seville, for his contribution to our blog. Keep on learning with don Quijote!

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Let’s talk about machine translation. Often abbreviated as MT, it refers to automated software that can translate text inputs from one language to another. Google Translate or DeepL are some of the most popular machine translation services on the Internet.

Although the machine translation market size is expected to grow worldwide in the next years, as Statista data shows, Google Translate will never achieve the efficiency of human-powered translation. Do you want to know why? Keep on reading to discover some of the funniest Google Translate Fails in Spanish and why they can’t (yet) be avoided.

Switch to the human-translated Spanish version of this post.

Polysemic Words: A Nightmare Scenario

Without the right context, polysemy can be a great challenge for translation machines, especially in short text strings. When a word has multiple meanings, Google Translate chooses one according to the information given in the rest of the sentence. But, as you can see in the example below, that doesn’t always work.

The word school refers not only to a teaching organization, like don Quijote Spanish schools, but also to a large number of fish swimming together in the same direction. However, Google Translate does not quite grasp the difference. The result? A target text stating that some fish spend most of their time being schooled.

Proper Nouns Hinder Proper Translations

Proper nouns should only be translated in very specific cases. For example, when a fictional character’s name defines something about his personality. If you’re a Lord of the Rings fan, you’ll know how important it is for Gandalf the Grey to become later Gandalf the White. That’s why, for once, Spanish movie translators did well in translating this character’s name for ‘Gandalf el Gris’ and ‘Gandalf el Blanco’.

However, in most cases we shouldn’t translate proper nouns. In the example below, Google Translate didn’t realize that Pink is (also) a proper noun and ended up saying a that a color went straight into the Billboard Hot 100 list.

Proverbs and Sayings: A Long Way to Go

Google is getting more and more efficient thanks to artificial intelligence. However, and even if English<>Spanish is one of the language pairs most human input, it makes mistakes. It can translate well-known sayings, like it’s raining cats and dogs, but it doesn’t work with the less common ones.

The equivalent Spanish saying in the following case would be mejor pájaro en mano mejor que ciento volando.

Cultural Differences: Guaranteed Failure

Even professional translators can sometimes overlook cultural differences… imagine how often machine translation does so. How many lives does a cat have in your language? In English it’s nine, but in Spanish it has seven, and in Arabic only six. And believe us, Google can’t tell the difference.

Final Thoughts

Automation is taking over the world, but there are some tasks that a machine will successfully perform on its own. Translating is one of them. If you work in an international environment, we strongly recommend you to take a business-oriented Spanish course so you don’t need to rely 100% on Google Translate for your emails and presentations.

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As the 2010s come to an end, don Quijote wants to take the opportunity to pay tribute to this last decade’s top tracks in Spanish. Because the end of a decade is almost the end of an era, especially when we talk about artistic movements such as music.

Switch to the Spanish version to improve your reading skills.

As a Stevie Wonder song says: "Music is a world within itself, it is a language we all understand." Although it is true that the language of music is universal, understanding the lyrics helps a lot when making the most of the them. In fact, music can be an effective and fun way to learn a language. For this reason and for all those who are studying Spanish as a foreign language, we have selected a playlist with last decade’s top tracks in Spanish. We are sure that you’ll learn some very useful expressions while enjoying these dance floors’ greatest hits.

2010 Enrique Iglesias & Juan Luis Guerra: Cuando me enamoro

 

 

Cuando me enamoro is a Latin pop and bachata song performed by pop singer-songwriter Enrique Iglesias (Spain) and featuring singer-songwriter Juan Luis Guerra (Santo Domingo). It was released as the first single from Iglesias ninth album on 26 April 2010. The song is the main-theme of soap opera very popular in Mexico and became a contender for Latin Grammy Award in 2010.The single has sold around a million digital downloads worldwide.

2011 Don Omar & Lucenzo: Danza Kuduro

Danza Kuduro is a bilingual song (Spanish-Portuguese), performed by Puerto Rican singer Don Omar and Portuguese–French reggaeton recording artist Lucenzo. It was released on August 11, 2010. In 2011, a remake was included in the soundtrack of the movie Fast Five, in which Don Omar plays a role. Danza Kuduro was the Top song in Spanish in 2010 and the music video has received over 1 billion views on YouTube.

2012 Juan Magán, Pit Bull & El Cata: Bailando por el mundo

Bailando por el mundo is a song by the Spanish artist Juan Magan, featuring vocals from American rapper Pitbull and El Cata. It was launched in October 2011 and became Top track on Latin music lists in several countries. Currently, the music video has more than two million views on YouTube.

2013 Marc Anthony: Vivir mi vida

 

 

This is a Spanish cover of the original song C'est la vie, by the Algerian artist Khaled. It was the first single from the 3.0 album, by Dominican artist Marc Anthony, and was released on April 15, 2013. It has sold more than 300,000 units worldwide.

2014 Enrique Iglesias, Descember Bueno & Gente de Zona: Bailando

Bailando is a song by Spanish singer Enrique Iglesias, Cuban artists Descemer Bueno and Gente de Zona. The song was written by all of them and produced by Carlos Paucar. It was released by Universal Republic Records as the sixth single from the record.

The original Spanish version served as the theme song of the soap opera Reina de Corazones. Bailando was the tenth best-selling song in 2014 with 8 million units.

2015 Nicky Jam & Enrique Iglesias: El perdón

 

 

El Perdón is a song by American singer Nicky Jam and Spanish artist Enrique Iglesias. On 10 July 2015, an English-language version of the song, titled Forgiveness, was released.

2016 Nicky Jam: Hasta el amanecer

"Hasta el Amanecer" is a song by American singer Nicky Jam. It won the Billboard Music Award for Top Latin Song and the Urban Song of the Year in 2017. It was also nominated for Single of the Year at Lo Nuestro Awards in the same year.

2017 Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee: Despacito

 

 

Despacito is a song by Puerto Rican singer Luis Fonsi featuring Puerto Rican rapper Daddy Yanke.  It was released by Universal Music Latin in January 2017. It has been ranked among the best Latin songs of all-time as well as the most successful Spanish-language tracks in pop music history.

2018 Nicky Jam & J Balvin: X

 

 

X is a song by American singer Nicky Jam and Colombian singer J Balvin. It was released by Sony Music Latin on March 2, 2018. A Spanglish version of the song was released on April 27, 2018. The music video has more than 1.7 billion views on YouTube up to now.

2019 Bad Bunny & Drake: Mía

 

 

Mía is a song by Puerto Rican singer Bad Bunny featuring vocals from Canadian rapper Drake. The song was released by Rimas Entertainment Records on October 11, 2018 as the second single from his debut studio album. The song topped the charts in Spain, and reached the top 10 in Argentina, Canada, Colombia, Greece, Portugal, Romania, Switzerland and Venezuela.

Here you have the video of our YouTube channel for you to enjoy!

 

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As Mark Twain said, 'One must travel to learn’. At don Quijote, we are perfectly aware of the importance of exploring and discovering new cultures and ways of seeing the world, especially when we want to learn a foreign language and truly master it. For this reason, we want to dedicate today's blog post to propose a fascinating road trip through the Patagonia of Chile and Argentina, a trip to awaken all the senses, as well as a perfect opportunity to escape winter and learn Spanish in Latin America.

Continue reading or switch to the Spanish version and practice your reading skills.

We have designed this road trip for all those who want to have an unforgettable experience full of adventures and challenges to overcome, an experience full of paths to travel and landscapes to admire. We have prepared a travel itinerary with 8 stops in some of the best destinations to visit in the Patagonia of Chile and Argentina. It is highly recommended to take this trip at this time of year (between the months of December and March), since they are in summer and temperatures are much more pleasant.

But Chile and Argentina are huge, so it would be too long to take a road trip through all their territory. For this reason, we have focused our route on Patagonia. We will cross the borders of both countries on different occasions, being able to enjoy a great variety of scenarios: from inhospitable places with majestic glaciers, to bustling metropolises and wonderful mountain landscapes.

1. Buenos Aires, Argentina

 

 

Buenos Aires is the capital city of Argentina, a place that gives off a contagious energy, a city that spreads fascinating enthusiasm to the millions of people who visit it every year. It is the cultural heart of the country, but also the birthplace of tango and the world capital of theater. Take advantage of this stop to meet the sociable porteños —the “people of the port” in the Buenos Aires region— and enjoy a total immersion in the language and culture of this vibrant metropolis.

 

2. San Carlos de Bariloche, Argentina

 

 

After a long (but fascinating) drive from Buenos Aires, we will arrive in San Carlos de Bariloche. Located in the province of Río Negro and next to the Andes mountain range, it is the most populated and visited city in Patagonia. The main attractions of Bariloche are its incredible natural reserves, full of forests and lakes, and its well-known ski resorts. In addition, Bariloche was declared "world capital of adventure tourism" in November 2012 and has one of the most important scientific and technological centers of the American continent.

 

3. Puerto Varas, Los Lagos, Chile

 

 

And, through the wonderful landscapes of the Puyehue National Park, we move to Puerto Varas, in the Los Lagos region, southern Chile. It is a beautiful city of German colonial style that is located on the banks of the great Llanquihue lake, and from which we can enjoy spectacular views of the still active Cabulco and Osorn volcanoes.

 

4. Chiloé Island, Los Lagos, Chile

 

 

Taking a ferry in Puerto Coronel, we will reach Chiloé Island, within the same region of Los Lagos, in Chile. Castro, its capital, offers a great group of churches that were declared World Heritage by UNESCO in 2000; as well as the characteristic palafitos, a type of construction carried out on a kind of wooden pillars by the sea.

 

5. Punta Arenas, Magallanes and Antártica Chilena, Chile

 

 

After one of the longest journeys on our route, we will arrive at Punta Arenas, very close to the so-called “end of the earth” (excursions are made to Antarctica and nearest deserts).  Located in the Strait of Magellan, where the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean meet, it is the southernmost point of Chilean Patagonia. You will admire the monument to Hernando de Magallanes, located in the famous Muñoz Gamero square; as well as the interesting Nao Victoria Museum, where you will contemplate a replica of one of the galleons of the Portuguese explorer and navigator.

 

6. Puerto Natales, Natales, Magallanes and Antártica Chilena, Chile

 

 

Puerto Natales is a port city located in the southern part of Chilean Patagonia, on the banks of the Señoret channel. In the city, we can visit the Municipal Historical Museum, where some history and tools of the indigenous population of the area are exposed. In the northern area, we can explore the impressive Milodon Cave, an important settlement during prehistory. In addition, Puerto Natales is the main entrance giving access to Torres del Paine National Park, as well as the port from where ferries crossing the Patagonian fjords leave.

 

7. Torres del Paine National Park, Chile

 

 

It is a National Park known for its impressive mountains; its turquoise blue lakes; its majestic glaciers; and its golden-colored meadows, home to different endemic species of South America (such as the guanaco, a kind of alpaca typical in the area). Some of the main attractions in Torre del Paine are the construction composed of three white granite towers giving name to the park, and the popular horn-shaped peaks, known as “Cuernos del Paine”.

 

8. El Calafate, Santa Cruz Province, Argentina

 

 

Once again, we cross the border, this time to reach Calafate, in the Argentine region of Santa Cruz. It is a city near the Southern Patagonian Ice Field, the gateway to Los Glaciares National Park. In this park, you will admire the impressive Perito Moreno glacier. In addition, you will have the opportunity to explore the interpretive center called Glaciarum, which serves as an introduction and presentation for the numerous glaciers of the place.

 

As you can see below, in the route that we have designed especially for you, we have marked the path to return to the city of Buenos Aires, place from which we started this wonderful trip. We hope you love today's blog post, and, above all, that you are fortunate enough to make this exciting road trip through the Patagonia of Chile and Argentina. Just don't forget to share all your experiences!

 

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Spoiler: same as ‘little’ vs ‘a little’

Our latest post about Spanish language talked about quantifiers such as mucho, bastante, demasiado and poco. In today’s article, we are going to go over the differences between poco and un poco when used with uncountable nouns.

If what we are saying is all Greek to you, switch to the Spanish version of this post and keep on reading.

Countable or Uncountable?

To better understand this blog post, you need to know first what countable and uncountable nouns are:

• Countable nouns are realities that ca be counted unit by unit. In other words, they can be assigned a number. For example, libro (book), niña (girl), casa (house), botella (bottle), or beso (kiss) are countable entities.

 

Tengo tres libros de terror

(I have three horror books)

 

En España es normal saludarse con dos besos

 

• However, uncountable nouns depict realities that, due to their nature, can’t be broken into units. Therefore, they can’t be counted. Substances, materials and abstract concepts usually fall into this category: leche (milk), agua (water), azúcar (sugar), paciencia (patience), miedo (fear)… For example:

 

En esta piscina hay mucha agua

(This pool has a lot of water)

 

Mi profesor tiene bastante paciencia

(My teacher has a lot of patience → is very patient)

In this case, it would be incorrect to say, for example, tres aguas* (three waters) or 20 paciencias* (20 patiences). The quantity of this kind of nouns is determined by quantifiers such as mucho (a lot of), bastante (quite some), demasiado (too much) and poco (too few), but not with numbers.

                                                                     

Poco vs un poco

The type of nouns we’ve just reviewed, uncountable nouns, can use the formula we introduced at the beginning of this post: un poco (a little). The difference between poco (little) and un poco (a little) depends mostly on the speaker and the message he or she wants to convey.

• Poco (little) highlights the idea that there is almost nothing. In other words, the word has a negative connotation. For example:

 

Hay poco café en casa. ¿Puedes ir al supermercado por favor?

(There is few coffee left at home. Can you please buy some more?)

 

• Un poco (a little) expresses that there is a bit of something, although not that much. In other words, the word has a positive connotation. For example:

Hay un poco de café en casa. No es necesario que vayas hoy al supermercado hoy

(There is little coffee left at home. You don’t need to go to the supermarket today)

In the first instance, the speaker considers that there is not enough coffee left, while in the second example he or she considers that there is few coffee left, but it is enough.

To summarize, with poco the glass is half empty and with un poco de the glass is half full.

Many thanks to Ignacio Sellés, from our Spanish school in Alicante, for writing this post. Keep on learning Spanish with don Quijote’s language resources!

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For Catholics all over the world, Christmas is a traditional holiday that starts on December 25. It commemorates the birth of Jesus of Nazareth, but it is also a time to celebrate with our loved ones, exchange gifts, eat typical products, say goodbye to the year that ends, and welcome the new one that begins.

Click here to continue reading this blog post in Spanish.

But, in Spain, we have our own holiday traditions, and when New Year’s celebrations are over and January 6 is approaching, we start to prepare one the most exciting festivities —especially for the youngest of the family: the arrival of the Three Wise Men. We have already told you in other posts of this blog what this tradition consists of, but today we are going to give you some tips for you to enjoy the ritual of writing the letter with your children, nephews, cousins ​​or little siblings. Not only is it about making a list of all the things they want to be given, but it can be also a good opportunity to teach them to think about their actions and the situation of the world around them.

1. Teach them to reflect on their behavior

Writing the letter to the Three Wise Men can be a great way to perform an exercise in self-criticism in which children reflect on their behavior and improve it in the future. It is therefore a good time to teach them that they should evolve day by day and have a conscious life, not only on these dates, but also during the rest of the year. They will learn to value that every effort has a reward.

2. Teach them to make decisions

Each year in the month of December, children start to decide what gifts they want to receive on January 6. But since they can't ask for everything in the toy catalog —because the Wise Men would go bankrupt— the little ones must learn to choose what they really want. They will be also learning that every decision we make has some kind of impact on our lives. Explain also that, although their desires are reasonable, they may not be given everything they asked for, as the Wise Men must reach every child in the world and, sometimes, they make mistakes. Thus, they will learn that we ​​cannot have all we want, even when we deserve it.

3. Recommend them to ask at least for one non-toy gift

Although we all know that children love toys, it can be a good point to teach them that there are other valuable things to ask for. Maybe, something to make the world a better place, like the ending of war, hunger or pollution throughout the world; or even something for their future, such as a family trip, or an unforgettable experience in a Spanish summer camp! They will learn a new language and make friends from all over the world.

4. Recommend them to choose one other gift that encourages exercise —physical or mental

Hottest toys today encourage sedentary lifestyle, that is, they are designed for children to play without much effort. However, this can be a good time to change habits and ask for some toy that promotes outdoor exercise, teamwork or intellectual development. Good examples of this are puzzles, bicycles, skates, sports balls, or even Spanish courses in Spain!

5. Teach them some history

Take this opportunity to teach some history to the youngest of the family. Tell them about the origin of cultural holidays . They will be learning interesting facts about our past and having fun at the same time, since history can be told as a story. They’ll love it!

At don Quijote, we hope you make the most of this blog post, so that you can perform the ritual in the best way! Here, you can find a letter template that you can download (click on the photo) and complete with the children around you. Do you take the challenge?

 

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New Year’s Eve is the sweetest moment of the year for those who love making lists and putting things into perspective. Putting your objectives down on paper will help you stick to them and make your resolutions happen in 2020. However, sometimes it’s hard to decide what’s next on the list. Let us help you!

In this blog post, you’ll learn which are the most popular New Year’s Resolutions for 2020 and what you can do to follow through with them. Keep on reading in English or click here to switch to the Spanish version of the article!

What does the data say?

The following chart by Ipsos details the most popular New Year’s Resolutions among Americans. Although adopting healthy habits tops the 2020 resolutions list, data shows that some classics are still there, e.g., loosing weight and learning a new skill.

This survey presents an interesting fact. Only 38 percent of Americans said they would go for at least one resolution. However, this percentage is way higher among Hispanics, as 56 percent of them plan to accomplish their goals in 2020. Vivan los latinos!

Let us go through each of these resolutions and help you craft an action plan for 2020!

1. Manage Finances Better

Everyone likes to be in good financial shape. To improve your finances, there’s nothing like planning ahead. First of all, you need to have a good understanding of the money you earn and the money you spend. You can keep track of your income and your expenses using an app. Then, create a realistic budget and stick to it by removing unnecessary expenses. This way, you’ll save some money and build an emergy fund that will help you feel relieved.

2. Eat Healthier

If this is among your New Year’s Resolutions, we have good news! Have you ever heard about the Mediterranean Diet? Apart from being delicious, eating as the Spanish, Italian, and Greeks do has many benefits for your health. The Mediterranean Diet has been proved to lower cardiovascular disease risk, reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s and increase longevity, among other things. Why don’t you give it a try?

3. Be More Active & Losing Weight

Cold weather is no excuse! There are many things you can do during the winter to stay fit and lose weight, and winter sports are one of the best ways to break the ice, quite literally, and start the new year full of energy. If you’re up to do some travelling, here’s a list with the top ski resorts in Spain. Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

4. Improve Mental Well-being & Social Connections

You need to be introspective and accept your own emotions to be happy. No mental-wellness guide will deny this. In the social aspect, getting surrounded by people who share the same interests as you will definitely help as well. Now, they key question is, how do I do that? If you are a language lover, like us, you can travel and meet people from different cultures who will change your perspective. If you can’t afford travelling at the moment, you can attend events or simply smile at your neighbor! You never know how interesting people you see every day can be.

5. Learn a New Skill

Learning a new skill is not only good for your resume, it is also good for your brain and your well-being! Not to mention that you automatically become a more interesting person. In 2020, our golden suggestion is for you to learn a new language. Choose one whose sound and associated culture please you. If you’re not sure which language you want to study, here are several reasons why you should go for Spanish!

6. Be More Eco-Friendly

The Globate Climate and Health Summit 2019 in Madrid changed many people’s minds about climate change. Although we still have a lot to work on, being aware of the problems Earth is facing is the first step to change. There are a lot of small sustainable actions at your fingertips that can help you fight the climate change, such as using public transportation, saving energy and implementing the 3 “Rs”: reduce, reuse and recycle. Our planet will thank you!

We hope you found this post useful. When the clock strikes twelve tonight, you’ll be ready to begin a New Year full of challenging, exciting goals!

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At this time of the year, you have probably already heard about the most iconic New Year’s Eve tradition in Spain: eating twelve grapes at midnight. A couple of minutes before the clock strikes twelve on December 31, you’ll find 46 million Spaniards staring at the TV. That night, all broadcasters in the country show the same scene: Puerta del Sol square, in Madrid. And as the bell strikes, they eat their twelve grapes one by one.

Everything has to run smooth as a Swiss watch (quite literally), because any failure or delay in the procedure may ruin the whole ceremony. For this reason, the master watchmakers in charge of the clock at Puerta del Sol test the system 24 hours in advance. This rehearsal before the moment of truth is called preuvas (pre-grapes). Want to know how you can join the pre-celebration? Keep on reading or switch to the Spanish version of this post.

A Bit of History

At the beginning, preuvas was nothing but a technical run-through. Did you know that Madrid’s Post Office’s clock is almost 186 years old? That being the case, it is not surprising that technicians feel more confident testing its gears before running any event.

However, at some point people from all over the country started joining in and rehearsing New Year’s Eve ritual. The only difference was that, instead of grapes, they used to have twelve candies. Why? Well, simply because grapes are supposed to be bad luck if eaten before New Year.

Over time, the number of attendees increased and now around 25000 people gather each year at Puerta del Sol to rehearse for New Year’s Eve.

Where and When

Puerta del Sol is in downtown Madrid, close to the Royal Palace, the Parliament and the Plaza Mayor. Two of its most iconic symbols are the Tío Pepe advertisement and the Bear and the Madroño Tree statue.

Normally, you can get to Puerta del Sol by train, metro, and bus. But watch out! On December 30 and December 31, there are access restrictions due to the number of people that visit the square. That’s why we recommend you to step down at any nearby station and simply walk there.

Regarding the time of the ceremony, we are glad to tell you that you have two chances to attend preuvas within the same day! The first rehearsal takes place at midday, and the second one at midnight, December 30. But let’s be honest: most people prefer joining the latter.

Please note that in order to attend any of the two, you’ll need to be in the area at least two hours in advance, as the venue quickly becomes crowded and security guards cordon off the whole area.

This Is What You’ll See

This might be your first time rehearsing for Nochevieja, so let’s go over what you have to do. The first thing you will see is a golden globe descending from the top of the clock 35 seconds before the bells start striking. After that, you’ll hear four bell tolls. They are the so-called cuartos. But don’t go that fast! You don’t need to do anything yet.

After the four strikes are complete, it’s your time to start eating. By the end of the twelve strikes, you should have eaten all your grapes or candies.

This is all you need to know to successfully attend preuvas. We encourage you to visit Spain’s capital city on December 30 and join this fun activity while you learn Spanish at don Quijote!

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“For it is good to be children sometimes, and never better than at Christmas.” – Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol

THAT time of the year is right behind the corner and all of us, children and adults, can’t wait to celebrate the joy of these days with our beloved ones. Yes, we are talking about Christmas time, a time of giving. And if there is one giving character, that’s the one we are going to talk about in this post. Keep on reading in Spanish if you prefer.

Santa Claus, Papá Noel, Saint Nicholas, Sinterklaas… There are few people with so many names and faces such as Santa. This character is not as popular in other parts of the world as it is America. In some cultures, it has a different name, and in some others, it doesn’t even exist. Not to mention that in some countries there are other magical beings (like the Three Wise Men) who deliver all children’s presents at this time of the year.

Accompany us in our particular Christmas Carol and find out the many faces of Santa around the Spanish-speaking world!

Santa Claus in Spain and Latin America

In Spain, the most popular name for this lovely old man is Papá Noel. Papá means ‘daddy’, while the word Noel is derived from the French Noël, which stands for ‘Christmas’. Father Christmas is a popular nickname for this character in countries such as the UK, France (Pére Noël) or Italy (Babbo Natale).

Although Santa is growing popularity among Spaniards due to globalization and advertising, for many people in Spain and Latin America he is just the leading character of many Hollywood movies. The tradition of leaving presents under the Christmas tree belongs actually to The Three Wise Men – three Kings coming all the way from the Orient with their camels and gifts (or charcoal, if one has not behaved properly throughout the year).

Other Holiday Characters

Only within the Spanish territory, there are five more characters fulfilling Santa’s role: delivering presents to all good boys and girls around the country. And in Latin America you can find at least two more. Learn more about them:

1. Olentzero

This coalman comes out of the forest where he lives only once a year to bring presents to all children in the Basque Country. Initially, he used to announce the arrival of baby Jesus, but with time he ended up becoming the Santa’s counterpart in this Spanish region.

2. Tió de Nadal

Nope, we are not talking about Rafael Nadal, the popular tennis player. Tió de Nadal is a human-shaped log with a smiley face and a red hat coming from the Catalan mythology. This funny character is fed nuts and covered with a blanket for several days until December 24. Then, it comes the miracle: kids look under the blanket to find out he has pooped out their presents.

3. El Esteru

In Cantabria (Northern Spain), the presents that kids find under their Christmas tree are not necessarily delivered by The Three Wise Men, as in most households in the country. It is El Esteru, a woodcutter, who brings happiness to the little ones on January 6.

4. Apalpador

You might know the region of Galicia in Spain for its Celtic roots and its own different language. Apart from that, Galicia also has its own kind of Santa, called Apalpador. He is a coalman (as well as the Olentzero) who comes down from the mountains on Christmas Eve and New Year’s to touch children’s belly while they sleep and checks if they’ve eaten well throughout the year. If so, he gives them sweets and presents.

5. L’Anguleru

This fledgling character was created in 2008 to foster the celebration of a Christmas that’s closer to the unique traditions of Asturias. L’Anguleru is a Fisherman who goes fishing on December 24, then sells what he has caught and uses the money to buy children gifts.

6. Colacho

Colacho is short for Nicolacho, a reference to Saint Nicholas. At the end of the day, this is just another name they use in Costa Rica for good old Santa, with his red suit and his reindeers carrying the sleight. 

7. Viejito Pascuero

In many Spanish-speaking countries, the translation for Christmas time is Navidad. However, in Chile they call this time of the year Pascua. Viejito Pascuero (literally old Christmas guy) is one of the names Chileans know Santa for, along with Papá Noel.

Now that you know the many faces of Santa Claus all around the world, we encourage to travel to any of these countries and get presents from a different Santa this year. With the Winter Break program offered in don Quijote schools, it will be easy to live a full immersion into the Spanish and Latin Christmas traditions.

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