El Carnaval

Tradicionalmente, el carnaval es una época para disfrutar y celebrar la vida antes de empezar la cuaresma.

Traditionally, carnival is a time to enjoy and celebrate life before starting Lent.

En España, muchas personas llevan disfraces muy elaborados y hay comparsas en la calle, desfiles de grupos disfrazados y músicos y bailarines.

In Spain, many people wear very elaborate costumes and there are comparsas on the streets, parades made up of dressed-up groups, musicians and dancers.

Es una oportunidad de sentir lo que nos une como sociedad, el sentido de comunidad y la felicidad sin restricciones de disfrutar juntos de las cosas buenas de la vida.

It´s an opportunity to feel what binds us together as society, the sense of community and the unrestricted joy of enjoying the good things in life together.

Este año, hay muchas referencias a la pandemia y es curioso ver el sentido del humor pero también responsabilidad y cuidado.

This year, there are many references to the pandemic and it is interesting to see the sense of humour but also responsibility and care. 

 

¡Qué agradable pensar cuánta gente está disfrutando, sonriendo y siendo feliz al mismo tiempo en diferentes partes del mundo!

How nice to think how many people are enjoying themselves, smiling and being happy at the same time around the world!

 

Si quieres, puedes ver un vídeo informativo e ilustrativo de videoele sobre el carnaval en general al final del post.

If you like, you can watch an informative and illustrative video from videoele about carnival in general at the end of the post.

Escenas del Carnaval de Santa Cruz de Tenerife 2022: alegría, celebración de la vida y mucho arte

Some of the lyrics:

Oye, abre los ojos              Hey, open your eyes

mira hacia arriba                Look up

disfruta las cosas buenas que tiene la vida   Enjoy the good things that life has

Escenas del carnaval de Cádiz 2022: alegría, humor y mucho arte

En Cádiz, la gente canta chirigotas, canciones folclóricas corales, satíricas y divertidas. Grupos de personas disfrazadas las cantan en la calle durante el carnaval de Cádiz, que dura dos semanas.

In Cádiz, people sing chirigotas, folk choir songs, satirical and fun. Groups of people in fancy dress costumes sing them on the streets during Cádiz carnival, which lasts two weeks.

Coristas con mucho humor

Disfraces (meteoritos) hechos a mano y mucho humor

Hand-made costumes and lots of humour

Videoele A2 
El Carnaval

Videoele ´El Carnaval´

Josep - Amazon Prime Video

 Josep

La experiencia de los refugiados españoles en Francia, tras la Guerra Civil Española

Amazon Prime Video

An international production about the Catalan cartoonist and revolutionary Josep Bartolí, directed by the French illustrator and cartoonist Aurel (Aurélien Froment).

Winner of the French César award for Best Animated Film and European Film Award for Best Animated Feature Film. 

The film is a tribute to the legacy of the Catalan artist, who like thousands of other refugees from the Spanish Civil War in 1939, experienced appalling conditions, starvation and ill-treatment in French concentration camps.

Amongs the cruelty and desperation, Bartolí finds a way to deal with the extreme situation through the small but life-saving gesture of a gentle French gendarme: pen and paper. With these, Bartolí records the ominous scenes that surround him through Goya-esque drawings that will one day be shown to future generations. 

With some horrifying experiences setting the early black and white grim background, the film also shows the transition to a more promising future of colourful freedom. 

The film features popular Catalan/French actor Sergi López as Josep Bartolí and flamenco artist Sílvia Pérez Cruz, voicing Frida Kahlo, with whom Bartolí had an affair. She also sings the main theme in the soundtrack.

The film is in French, Catalan and Spanish with English subtitles and it is currently included in Amazon Prime Video.

 

Futuras madres del mundo

Letra: Miguel Hernández (poeta español)

Voz: Sílvia Pérez Cruz

Ingenuity in the age of Velázquez

 Charla de arte online - 

Ingenuity in the age of Velázquez

 ¡Feliz día de los inocentes!

El 28 de diciembre es el día de los santos inocentes en el mundo hispano.

Posiblemente, el origen de esta celebración es cristiano: la orden del Rey Herodes de matar a todos los niños de Belén.

Sin embargo, ahora, hoy en día, es una fiesta alegre y divertida.

Es similar al anglosajón ´April Fools´ Day´.

Aquí hay información sobre esta celebración con un video que contiene ejemplos de bromas o ´inocentadas´ (jokes or pranks): Día de los inocentes (el vídeo tiene subtítulos. Check the icon on the screen). 

If they speak too fast, try to catch a few words and identify the type of pranks that can be seen on a day like today in Spain. You can also read the subtitles.

Vocabulario

Inocente: innocent, naive

Broma: joke (but ´chiste´: an established joke we can pass on, often initiated by comedians), prank

Inocentada: prank someone plays on ´día de los santos inocentes´

A 1000 Km de la Navidad - Spanish Christmas film in Netflix

 A 1000 Km de la Navidad

En Netflix

Película navideña en español (make sure you select Spanish for the audio options)

Subtítulos en inglés (you can select subtitles in English or Spanish)

Recomendada para mayores de 15 años

Raúl es un chico de unos 30 años que odia la Navidad porque tiene recuerdos terribles de desastres que tuvo en navidades anteriores.

Raúl is a 30 something guy who hates Christmas because he has terrible memories of disastrous events that happened to him in previous Christmasses.

Prefiere pasar la Navidad en una playa, lejos de la Navidad tradicional.

He´s rather spend Christmas on a beach, far from traditional Christmas.

Pero este año tiene su peor trabajo: inspeccionar una fábrica de turrones y dulces navideños en un pueblo de los Pirineos, un pueblo que adora la Navidad.

But this year he has his worst job: to audit a turron and Christmas sweets factory in a Pyrenees village, a village that absolutely loves Christmas.

¡Atención!

You might already know and might even have tried the fantastic Spanish Christmas sweet that is turrón. There are many kinds but one of the most popular ones is ´turrón de Jijona´, so called because of the town where it comes from in the Valencian region, or Comunitat valenciana.

In the film the turrón we can see is only the turrón de Jijona. ´Turrón´ is translated as ´nougat´, which might give a good indication of what sort of sweet this is. However, turrón is an entirely different product, with its own flavour, texture and consistency, very characteristic, not really that similar to ´nougat´. 

The good thing about this type of turrón is that you can buy it all year round and it doesn´t have to come from a ´pastelería´. You can find a very good turrón de Jijona in the supermarket. 

Sometimes, ´turrón de Jijona´ is known as ´the soft turrón´ (el turrón blando) to distinguish it form the ´hard turrón´ (el turrón duro), which also comes from the Valencian region. It is a tooth-defying rock of caramelised almonds. 

My favourite turrón is by far ´turrón de yema´ (blowtorched or ´burnt´ sugar and yolk on a soft egg and almond bar). I don´t usually like things with such concentrations of sugar but the creamy melted sugar and yolk on top, called ´cremat´ in Catalan (meaning burnt), is such a familiar taste, and so unique, so exquisite, it is well worth a small bite or two every 12 months.

Here´s a link to a British site with a recipe for this type of turrón: Turrón de yema

The only problem with the turrón de yema is that supermarket options are just no substitute for the real thing. For a truly divine experience you need to head for the pastelería and you only have a small window, from about early December to about 6th January, el día de Reyes.

La templanza - Amazon video

 La templanza

Pasión, intriga y aventura

The Vineyard

En Amazon Video

Basada en una novela histórica de María Dueñas, en inglés y español. 

HAY QUE SELECCIONAR ESPAÑOL EN LAS OPCIONES DE LENGUAS Y SUBTÍTULOS

Based on a historic novel by María Dueñas, in English and Spanish. 

YOU NEED TO SELECT SPANISH IN THE LANGUAGE OPTIONS AND SUBTITLES

En esta historia, podemos ver a dos personajes principales y su trayectoria por entornos muy diferentes de mediados del siglo XIX.

In this story, we can see two main characters and their trajectory in very different environments in the mid 1860´s.

A lo largo de la serie de 10 episodios, vemos las aventuras de Mario (español que logra una fortuna en las minas de México) y Soledad o Sol (española jerezana de una familia de productores de jerez).

Throughout the 10 episodes of this series, we can see the adventures of Mario (Spaniard that makes a fortune in the Mexican mines) and Soledad or Sol (a Spanish girl from a Sherry producing family in Jerez de la Frontera, Spain)

Interesante: 

1. Referencias históricas como la invención de los barcos de refrigeración.

2. Exploración de mundos diversos como Jerez de la Frontera, en España, México, Cuba y Londres.

3. Ilustración de una época, con relaciones sociales, el papel de la mujer, la esclavitud y el abolicionismo.

4. Ilustración de diferentes variantes del español, con diferentes acentos y vocabulario.

5. Muchos de los personajes hablan despacio. 

6. Mucha intriga y aventuras.

Advertencia:

La mayor parte de la serie está recomendada a un público mayor de 12 años pero hay dos escenas cortas que pueden ser desagradables en dos episodios recomendados para mayores de 15 años. 

Most of the series is for 12+ audiences but there are two short scenes that can be unpleasant in two episodes that have been rated 15+.

Fuet y longaniza de Vic en Marks and Spencer

 Fuet y longaniza de Vic

Estas fantásticas delicatessen están disponibles en algunos supermercados de Marks and Spencer

They call it ´salami´ to help shoppers get an idea of what sort of thing this is but considering the wide range of deli products available (each with its own distinct flavour and characteristics), this is not very accurate at all. Salami has a very different taste. The proper name for this product is simply ´longaniza´, (´llonganissa´ in Catalan). It´s considered one of the finest in Spain and it is produced in a small village called Vic, in Catalonia. 

You can find some information on this prestigious longaniza here: Llonganissa de Vic

If you´re worried about the beautiful flora decorating this sausage, you can peel it off and just eat the inside meat. 

¡Que aproveche!