Fake Flamenco

7 Tips to Improve Your Spanish Reading and Writing

Ready to move onto the next phase with your second language? I have good news, once you’ve mastered the sounds of Spanish, spelling will be fairly easy! The accents and tildes may be new, but there are fewer vowel sounds than English. ¡Excelente! With a notebook, masking tape, a permanent marker, a library card, a […]

7 Cheap Ways to Better Your Spanish

I’ve been working on my Spanish for a while, let’s say more than two decades. Here’s what I’ve discovered works for me to keep it fresh. Taking a class or learning online can be good methods to better your Spanish, but if that’s the full extent of your language input and output, your progress will […]

Chile, Latinas, Life as a Woman, Spanish Culture and Language

5 Great Reads by Isabel Allende

Isabel Allende’s published 23 and sold a total of 74 million books. She writes in her first language, Spanish, and translates the books into English when they are finished. Allende was born in Peru to Chilean parents. Her parents separated, and she and her mother moved to Chile. After high school, she worked as a […]

Spanish Culture and Language, The Americas

Mother’s Day in Spain & Latin America

We tend to think of holiday calendar traditions as fixed and universal. However, in the United States, we honor our nurturers the second Sunday in May, and in the UK they do in March! When we go south through the Americas, the variation gets wider. Mexico, Guatemala and El Salvador have a set date of […]

Latinas, Mexico, Music, Spanish Culture and Language

Latina Superstar Linda Ronstadt

Rock, country, folk, mariachi, opera, bluegrass, jazz; Linda Ronstadt loved to sing them all. She pursued her singing passions, even when her record labels discouraged her from orbiting in additional genres. Linda possesses talent, good sense, and great taste, and most of her albums turned platinum. She’s sold over 100 million records. Linda Ronstadt was […]

Mexico, Spanish Culture and Language

¡Feliz Cinco de Mayo!

In the United States we celebrate Cinco de mayo as a day-long happy hour. Parties are fun, but let’s look at the story behind May 5th. In the 1862 Battle of Puebla, the Mexican Army triumphed over the invading French Empire; it was a lot like David and Goliath. No one expected them to win […]