Free Spanish Lesson 37 – Hagamos fiesta!

Parties (Fiestas – [fee-es-taws]) in Latin America are very different from fiestas en países donde hablan inglés.

To give you un breve ejemplo, a friend from Latin America vino a quedarse conmigo y con mi esposa and yo le dije that we were going to a family party. When we got there, we ate, talked, and played games.

Mi amigo looked muy confuso and said, “Where’s the dancing?” I said, “What you mean ‘Where’s the dancing?'” Él dijo, “This is a party isn’t it? — So, where’s the dancing?” To Latin Americans, the word “fiesta” means that, among other activities, siempre habrá dancing. No podía entender how there could be a “fiesta” without “dancing.”

La cultura Hispana is rich with música y baile. They have salsa music, merengue [meh-rang-geh], tango and many other types of música y baile. It is a wonderful experiencia cultural to watch these types of baile and hear su música.

Si alguna vez ha tenido the chance to walk down the streets of a Latin American pueblo in the evening, especially en un fin de semana, the air will most likely be filled with Latin music. A typical setting is to see a house con las ventanas y puertas abiertas so you can hear the music from the street and see a true “fiesta” in progress — con baile of course.

Any fiesta in Latin America, whether con amigos, parientes, o grupos de escuela will have music and dancing. If not, it’s simply not a “fiesta.”

Remember, si invita a native Spanish speaker to a “Fiesta” (party), you should either make sure there is baile or be prepared to explain why our culture no tiene baile at “parties.”

Just a little side note, if any of you ever tiene preguntas about our complete Visual Link Spanish™ course, please let us know and we’ll answer them as respuestas in the newsletters cada semana. I don’t personally know of any other Spanish courses disponibles that provide this type of service. We are here to provide you complete support y ayudarle to be successful in learning Spanish!

Vocabulario de la semana – Vocabulary of the Week

hagamos fiesta – let’s party!

en países donde hablan inglés – in English speaking countries

un breve ejemplo – a brief example

vino a quedarse conmigo y con mi esposa – came to stay with me and my wife

yo le dije – I told him

mi amigo – my friend

muy confuso – very confused

él dijo – he said

fiesta – party

siempre habrá – there will always be

no podía entender – he couldn’t understand

la cultura Hispana – the Spanish culture

música – music

y – and

baile – dance (dancing)

experiencia cultural – cultural experience

su música – their music

si alguna vez ha tenido – if you’ve ever had

pueblo – village

en un fin de semana – on a weekend

con las ventanas – with the windows

y puertas – and doors

abiertas – opened

con baile – with dancing

con amigos – with friends

parientes – relatives

o grupos de escuela – or school groups

si invita – if you invite

baile – dancing

no tiene – doesn’t have

tiene preguntas – has questions

respuestas – responses

cada semana – each week

disponible(s) – available

y ayudarle – and help you

¡Hasta luego! (“Until later”)

[custom_script adID=97]

Written by David S. Clark President/Director, U.S. Institute of Languages. Copyright © 1999-2010 US Institute of Languages All rights reserved.

Andrew Makarik

to@welovecostarica.com

Andrew Makarik is the main editor of WeLoveCostaRica, a fan of this sunny country. He is also a loving husband and a has a lovely daughter. By being a devoted family man and the biggest Costa Rica fan, he wants to make more people feel at home there. WeLoveCostaRica unites people and helps them find new home or a new travel destination. This website is a friendly community where everyone can find not only information, but also new friends and travel pals. Andrew is also passionate about IT and programming, so he himself maintains a friendly atmosphere in this cozy environment of WeLoveCostaRica.com.