Learn Spanish with Mourinho! Echar.

The Spanish media are obsessed with "Mou". Not a day goes by without two or three reports on Cuartro about “The Special One”. He seems all to willing to play the role of the pantomime villain. However, he has gone a step too far now.

Aprende español con Mou!

It all started with an amazing spat with a journalist in one of the many pre-match audiences with Mourinho. The journalist had the termity to ask Mou whether he would be “complaining” about the fixture pile up.

“No son quejas, son verdades. ¿Eres hipócrita? Entonces di la verdad. ¿Piensas que son quejas? Entonces eres hipócrita", an apoplectic Special One spewed. “They are not complaints, they are truths. Are you a hypocrite? Then tell the truth. You think they are complaints? Then you are a hypocrite.”

The Spanish media had a bite and were in no mood to let the moment pass. Another question, another dig at Mou. This time comparing his record to that of his predecessor, Malaga’s manager Pelligrini. Did the Special One think that he would suffer the same fate come the end of the season, given that his “La Liga” points haul is less than the previous season’s efforts. Touch paper lit. Stand well back!

“Lo mismo no puede pasar, ¿sabes por qué? Porque si el Madrid me echa no voy a entrenar al Málaga. Iré a un club grande en Inglaterra o en Italia, no al Málaga.”. This is the comment that transforms Mourinho into public enemy number one in my book. “The same cannot happen. Do you know why? Because if Madrid sack me I won’t go to manage Malaga. I will go to a big club in England or Italy, not to Malaga.”

"Echar" To sack, to fire (Colloquial)
To Throw. "lo eché a la basura" = "I threw it away".
To give off, mouth off. "Mou echaba espuma por la boca" = "Mou was foaming at the mouth".

So Sr Pelligrini. No need for a team talk this evening when the blue and whites take the pitch at the Bernabeu. Stick Mou’s words up on the dressing room wall. Then let the boys ram them down his throat on the pitch. Aupa Malaga!

Carnaval de Nerja 2010 – Polvo

Walking down Pintada heading towards Plaza de España, I was accosted by a group of “Ladies of the night”. Cue an impromptu lesson in the significance of the Spanish word “Polvo”.


Working outside the Church.

As far as I knew, “Polvo” means “Dust”. Nothing more nothing less. So when the young girl draped her arms around me and said “¿Quieres echar un polvo?, whilst tickling my face with a feather duster, I thought she wanted to dust me. Being quite flustered at the time, I managed to stammer my reply of “No Gracias. Soy limpio!”.

Oh how the others laughed. I spotted the “Quorum” lot from school and thought I´d better ask Mari-Carmen and Nathalie. It turns out “polvo” has quite a few meanings.

Apparently, it is quite a common thing for a professional lady to enquire if the gentleman would like to “echar un polvo”, meaning “have a shag”. So I suppose the reply of “Soy limpio” was apt, meaning “I’m clean” or “I’m innocent”. Not the use of Ser as opposed to estar!


Another Spanish Lesson from "las chicas"

In common with English, the phrase “estoy hecho polvo” can be used when you are really tired, to mean “I’m shagged”. Other uses of “Polvo” other than to refer to dusting are “depressed”, “to be ruined” and you can also “bite the dust” with “morder el polvo”. A new favourite of mine will be the expression “limpio de polvo y paja”. “he ganado diez millones de Euros limpios de polvo y paja” meaning “I´ve won a clear 10 million euros”. I wish!

Anti-Capitalist’s in Nerja?

Walking down the street where Monica works and I was intrigued with the latest spate of graffiti. Two words spayed on to the wall in red paint. “Los Bancos”. Is it the work of a new Anti-capitalised band that is hell bent on bringing Nerja down to its knees? What earth shattering statement would be revealed?


First wave of the attack.

The next day and the work was complete. “Los Bancos nos roban”. I must admit to being a bit disappointed with it. Firstly, it has to score a measly 0 out of 10 for artistic merit. It’s not the busiest place in the world in broad daylight so surely the artist had more time on his hands in the cover of darkness to do a better job. Maybe a bit of forward planning and our vandal may have realised that he needed a bigger canvas for his work.


The banks rob us!

As a protest, the Guardia Civil will lose no sleep over the possibility of an anti-capitalist band causing chaos and destruction throughout town. The placement is a bit poor. I mean, nobody is going to be crying about the damage caused to a pile of temporary bricks. Wouldn’t it have been more appropriate to place the slogan on a symbol of capitalism that has so irked our artist? You know, like the bank that is right next door?

Why I Love Spain!

Back in the UK and Health and Safety has gone mad. You can't do anything these days without a hi-vis jacket or some other ludicrous regulation from the nanny state. In Spain it's slightly different. Rules don't apply if it interferes with fun. As in this case.


What rules?

The sign on the kiosk says "Prohibido Saltar". Jumping prohibited. Yeah right! That would spoil all the fun. The ride operator was actively encouraging the breaking of rules. I love Spain!

Me voy que me estoy cagando!

I spotted this poster down on Burriana Beach promoting a rock concert in Algarrobo, Axarock! One of the band’s names struck me as quite odd. “Me voy que me estoy cagando”. Sounds like a strange name for a full on heavy metal rock band to me. What does it mean?


Poster on Burriana Beach.

OK. Let’s break it down. “Me Voy”. Simple enough. It translates to “I’m off”. The “que” throws me a bit. The Spanish like to throw in the “Que”. Maybe in this context it translates to “cos” as in “because”, rather than “That”.

“me estoy cagando”. Very strange. Does the “me” make it reflexive as in “oneself”? And the use of the present continuous. As in the action is taking place right now and not in the past. And what does the verb “Cagar” mean exactly? My dictionary definition is “to have a crap (vulgar)”. Thus “Cagarse” is “to crap oneself”.

So “Me voy que me estoy cagando” translates to “I’m off cos I’m crapping myself”. I wonder if this is figurative or literal. Curiously, Google translates it as meaning “I’m think I’m shitting”. Anybody know a better translation?

Raquel Welch - Guapa!

Here we see Raquel Welch walking down the pathway to Playa Calahonda in Nerja in the 1967 film "Fathom". She receives the typical Spanish macho welcome. "GUAPA!".

Quorum Centro de Idiomas

I have been an occasional student at Quorum for the past three years. My working hours made it impossible to join a “residents” course so I had to have private lessons. Being the only student has great advantages. You learn at your own pace, you have the full attention of the teacher and the hour is intensive. However, the big downfall is the cost and the feeling of being isolated from the rest of the students at the school. Therefore, I decided to use my holidays to take an Intensive course.

I was placed in the level “B2” which is at the intermediate stage. This course tackles the infamous “Subjunctive” mood. The day is split into two hours of grammar followed by two hours of conversation. For me, the Grammar classes were the easiest, in that I am OK with the written exercises and the “theory” of the language, even the subjunctive! The problem is putting all the theory together and using it in conversation.


Outside classroom "Sevilla".

Having said that, I did find the Grammar lessons extremely useful. Most of the lessons seemed to be revision but a number of lessons stand out as break through moments. Personal highlights include Natali’s explanation of the up to now unfathomable “le/lo/la”, the dreaded direct and indirect objects that even the Spanish get wrong. Then there’s Fran’s easy to understand rules on Grammar that usually include a great little story as a memory aid and a few “Picaso” drawings on the board.


Gramatica con Fran.

Although Fran lists “Torturing Students over the Subjunctive” as one of his hobbies, the real pain comes in the Conversation class with Antonio. There is little more terrifying than suddenly requiring to find the right words, the correct verb tense and remembering all the required rules. Don’t even think about pronouncing it all correctly! It’s a good job Antonio as the patience of a saint. At times he must wonder what the hell we do in the Grammar lessons, as we can never seem to get it right in practice.

I know Antonio well from my earlier visits to the school, as he was my teacher. My usual “get out of jail free card” would be to talk football. Antonio being a passionate Málaga fan. However, in a group situation where the majority of students couldn’t care less about football there was no such safety net. We found refuge in sticking to our favourite phrases. “me gusta”, “vamos a ver”, “creo que si” and anything else we could thing of in the present tense. The discussions were quiet fun, even if I seemed to come out of most of them sounding like a right wing fanatic and disagreeing with virtually every one in the class (bloody socialists the lot of ‘em!).

Overall I have found the course to be highly enjoyable and feel like I have gained more confidence with my Spanish. I feel very confident with the grammar. I just need to kick on with the comprehension and conversation in Spanish. Hopefully I will soon lose my tag as the Black sheep of the school on the next Tapa’s trips out with the School.

Noche de Tapas Otra vez!

Another trip out with the school for tapas around Nerja. This time we headed for the west end of town. The first bar was Los pescaditos near plaza tutti frutti. I was sat next to Fran, one of the teachers, so hablamos en español.


Tapas con Quorum.

An interesting fact was discovered about the various types of tapas bars around. One of the things I don’t like about certain places is the very bright light. Apparently, this marks out the bar as a “marisqueria”. Somewhere you go when you want fish or seafood. Bars with softer lighting are “Mesons” and specialise in Meat. Los Pescaitos as the name gives away is a “marisqueria”. Tapas included “almecas” (shellfish) and “gambas” (prawns).

The next bar we visited was los sevillanos and is a “meson”. Here we had a variety of tapas including a rather nice “ensaladilla Rusa”. It was here that we broke from Spanish as Philipe came over to the naughty corner. He told me that he was a keen guitarist and was hoping to learn Flamenco, so I told him to check out “El Molino”. I didn’t realise we would be going that evening.

The next bar was one of our favourites on this side of town, El Bodeguilla. We took our places at the back of the bar and was soon tucking into more lovely tapas. It was here that Mari-Carmen told Philipe about El Molino also. It turns out that her father owns the place! So off we went for a bit of flamenco.


In El Bodeguilla.


Elena tucking in.

We took pride of place below the virgin and I took my first ever taste of vino de frigiliana. A very sweet wine that has a bit of a kick Monica warned me. Mari-Carmen plonked 3 bottles of the stuff on our table. As the wine kicked in, I discovered other hidden talents of the Quorum staff. Fran fancies himself as a bit of a Flamenco singer. Elena then treated us to a display of Sevillano dancing on the stage. Great night out. I’m sure to have a sore head in the morning.


Fran enjoying the Flamenco.


Mari Carmen enjoying the local wine.

The Procession of the Three Kings

OK, first things first to please Antonio, my Spanish teacher. Its not “una procesión”, its “una cabalgata”. It seems there are at least four words in the Spanish language for a procession. Let’s see how much of the Spanish lesson I remember!


Una Cabalgata.

“Una Procesión” in Spanish refers to a walk from one place to another that usually is a religious ceremony. It involves the carrying of “un trono”, a religious statue or symbol, from a church around town before being taken back or placed in another church. Examples include “La Semana Santa” (Easter Week) and “San Miguel” (Patron saint of Nerja).

“Una romería” refers to a walk from one place to another and is again usually a religious ceremony. However, it is more of a pilgrimage to a place where festivities are then held. The classic example in Nerja is “La Romería de San Isidro”, the annual pilgrimage to Maro held on May 15th.

“Un Desfile” is a parade through town that doesn’t involve a religious statue being carried. The best example in Nerja is held during the Carnival with several parades through town. This year’s carnival will be held the weekend of the 20th February.
Watch on You Tube

“Una cabalgata” is a procession around town that is usually on horseback. I suppose the three kings were riding camels and they count. However, today’s cabalgata los reyes magos go around town on floats pulled by tractors.


Where's the camel?

We went to watch this year’s cabalgata with the Marsh family in Plaza Cantarero. This is a perfect place to ambush the parade. You watch the three kings pass by on Calle San Miguel and then cross the plaza to Calle Pintada for seconds. Local kids that are too lazy to follow the kings hang out here to fill their bags full of sweets.


Calle Pintada for seconds.


Love and Peace all around.

As usual I didn’t catch any sweets thrown at me as I was official photographer. Instead, I had to stand there and take the barrage on the head as usual. Stevo has learned from past visits and neatly stepped to the back of the street to avoid the downpour. Joe and Ben also learned that the trick is not to try and catch the sweets, but to scavenge on the floor for them. They both had pockets bulging at the end. A trip to the dentist is surely awaiting their return to the UK.


Ben and Joe happy with the nights work.

Alejandro Sanz: Enseñame tus manos

Lyrics from LetrasCanciones.org



A veces las cosas se tuercen te digo por cierto
y te encuentras frente a ese desierto abierto
con el hielo mudo y el coraje lento
tan viejo como el mismo mundo
el cariño y el despecho,
el camino se hae andando, si
pero un desierto es un desierto.

ya sé por qué le ganó a nuestro labio el silencio,
y es que el reloj no tiene el tiempo
no tiene el miedo
el caso es que no conseguimos aislarnos del resto de
este mundo
donde los humanos, cambian los sueños por aire
dame alguna excusa que nos salve
o que nos traguen siete mares
pero no me quites el coraje.

Enseñame tus manos
abre las palmas que las veas
y ahora, dime si aun te queda un poco de esperanza
en ellas
enseñame tus manos, esas, con las que nos acariciamos
y hoy nos hacemos, tanto daño, tanto daño amor.

tal vez por qué para ti solo soy un cero a la izquierda
y no hay manera de que multiplique mi cariño por tus
ganas,
y nos den mas que cero

ya se por qué le ganó a nuestro labio el silencio,
y es que el reloj no tiene el tiempo,
no tiene el miedo,
no tiene el fuego...
no te preocupes, que hoy es domingo y Dios descansa
disfrutemos del momento y de este sitio que nos regala.

Dame alguna excusa que nos salve
o qye nos traguen siete mares
pero no mequites el coraje

Enseñame tus manos
abre las palmas que las veas
y ahora, dime si aun te queda un poco de esperanza
en ellas
enseñame tus manos, esas, con las que nos acariciamos
y hoy nos hacemos, tanto daño.

Enseñame tus manos...
que las mias se han cansado de intentar coger el
mundo
con los puños apretados...
enseñame tus manos, esas, con las que nos acariciamos
y hoy nos hacemos, tanto daño

¿Hablas Espanol? "Pary", "porear" y otros pochismos

This BBC Mundo "¿Hablas Espanol?" special blog deals with "Pochos". A "Pocho" being a slang term used to describe someone of Mexican descent that was born in America. "Pochos" normally speak little or no Spanish. A large group of people who fit the "pocho" tag can be found in San Antonio.

As far as the translating the article, 15 "red" words out of an article of 663 words. The common theme appears to be that I am trying to translate "word for word" again.

"Tal Vez", literally translated as "Such Time", meaning the more familiar "Perhaps".
"Hace poco", literally "It makes little", meaning "Recently".
"A lo mejor", "To it better", meaning "Perhaps".

Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps! Seems that there are a few ways to express this simple word. "Quizás" also means "Perhaps". So at least three ways to express "perhaps"! This is where I would normally revert back to type and mutter something like "no wonder I can't learn Spanish!" or "It's too complicated". Take a deep breath and think about it. How else can you express "perhaps" in English? Maybe there is another word. Bingo! Maybe. Possibly. Probably. I suppose so.

Perhaps in time I will also stop making stupid mistakes like seeing various forms of the verb "cerrar" and thinking "Open" instead of "Closed". Maybe. Also, it would be nice to give a bit more thought over a strange word based on the context, rather than go straight to the dictionary. "palpitando", no idea what it means lets look it up. In context "El corazón palpitando". Come on Dino! The beating heart. Not rocket science is it.

Los Blogs de BBC Mundo

As part of my "multi-track" learning of the Spanish language, reading is an essential part. So I have found the Los Blogs de BBC Mundo to be very useful. In particular, I have been reading with interest a particular series of blogs written by José Baig. He is currently touring 8 states of the US and asking people he meets on the way one simple question. “¿Hablas español?”

So the exercise I undertake is to translate the blog into English. Firstly, without the aid of a dictionary. If I don't know the meaning of a word or phrase then I will try to guess based on the context of the paragraph. If I am completely stumped I just enter "xxx" and carry on.

The next stage is to then translate the whole paragraph using "Altavista" . This is by no means an exact science and cannot be relied on. However, I normally have an idea of what the paragraph is about and can tell if the translation is OK or not.

Finally, any suspect words from the translation I will look up in the WordReference.com website. Without a doubt the single best learning tool I have at my disposal. The dictionary section usually gives you a number of different translations, along with any combinations with other words to give a new phrase. For example the word "Vez", meaning "time", usually in the context of "una vez" meaning "one time" or more commonly "Once". But the dictionary also gives you the phrase "en vez de", literally "In time of", which means "instead of".

By comparing my original translations, or guesses, to what I subsequently learn, I use a colour code to highlight my errors. "Red" indicates that I don't know the word at all and could not understand the sentence. "Yellow" is where I know the meaning of the words but was still made a mistake in translation. This is a common fault of mine where I mistake who is doing what to whom. For example "me comentaba.." I would read as "I comented" when in fact it is "he/she commented to me". "Green" indicates that I may not know the word but was able to guess it or understand the sentence anyway.

This colour coding gives me a measure of how well (or bad) I am doing. Surprisingly, I seem to be doing quite well with these blogs!

El Zorro: La espada y la rosa

One way I am trying to learn Spanish is by watching the "tele novela" El Zorro, La espada y la rosa. Don Diego de la Vega has a secret. He is "El Zorro". A good starting point is the theme song: Armor Gitano sang by Beyonce & Alejandro Fernandez. Click the "Play" icon on the video below to view the opening credits, of click here to see it directly in "you tube".

BEYONCÉ: Ven y quédate conmigo. Dame el corazón. Vida mía estoy muriendo lento en mi prisión

ALEJANDRO: ..después te llevaré hasta donde quieras sin temor y sin fronteras hasta donde sale el sol.

BEYONCÉ: Contigo soy capaz de lo que sea no me importa lo que venga porque ya se a donde voy.

ALEJANDRO: Soy tu gitano, tu peregrino
la única llave de tu destino
el que te cuida más que a su vida
soy tu ladrón.

BEYONCÉ: Soy tu gitana, tu compañera,
la que te sigue, la que te espera
voy a quererte aunque me saquen el corazón.

ALEJANDRO:0oh Y aunque nos cueste la vida
Y aunque duela lo que duela

BEYONCÈ: Esta guerra la ha ganado

Alejandro Y Beyonce: nuestro amor

Soy del Pueblo - Entrevista

Este es la primera entrevista con "Pueblo" de Periana. Es un muy famosa pintura. Encontramos a Periana durante la "III Certamen de pintura rapida al aire libre". Es un hombre muy simpatico!


Pueblo:

"Podéis rodearme. no me da vergüenza. Pintura es una satisfacción por me. Soy del pueblo así vota por mi. Pero participando eso es importante. El arte es una pasión para mí. Terminaré esta tarde. hasta luego."

Learn Spanish in 30 days!

One of the reasons I decided to create a blog was for "personal development". The idea was that I could use it to track my development in a wide range of subjects. The main objective at the time was to learn Spanish. Nearly 6 months later and no nearer to my goal. Why? Because I am lazy!

So, Monica has issued a challenge to me. To kick start my drive to learn Spanish. Learn Spanish within 30 days! Well, the challenge is to go a full evening where I am only allowed to communicate in Spanish. That gives me the whole of August to practice. The aim is to use this blog to chart my progress, or as Monica would say, lack of progress. Vamos a ver!

My main focus will be to utilise some of the resources I already have tried in the past. Listen to my Michel Thomas tapes. Flick through the numerous books I have. Although, I am pinning my hopes on my latest idea. Learning through reading a Spanish blog. The blog of choice being on the BBC Mundo site, "Hablas Espanol!". In 30 days, I hope so!

Whats "Tray" in Spanish Dad?

After the "El Classico" game at Meson de Julio, who should we bump into? My Dad's favourite bar maid from Hotel Los Arcos. You remember Dad, the one you really wanted to impress with your mastery of the Spanish Language.




me acuedas Norman?


So Dad, do you remember? The word for "Tray" is ...... I will get your answer when I am next in the UK. I am not holding my breath.

How to Learn Spanish. The easy way...

If someone knows please tell me. I am absolutely clueless. I have been studying for 2 years now and I still cannot understand a bloody word they say. Unless we are in Burriana where the only language is English.

I started by buying a "teach yourself" course. "Hugo Spanish in 3 months". I can do most of the exercises and understand the basics but it doesn't really help me with understanding the spoken word.

I then tried a number of tapes. I am currently trying the Pimsleur course. I have already listened to the Michel Thomas course. Both are great. When you are listening to them. They are easy to understand. Helps you build confidence... But that confidence is blown away with a quick "Que!" down at the bar.

I have had 22 lessons at the local school. Great! Again, it helps build the confidence but you still get the same frustrations in the real world. And the cost is a little steep at €21 a lesson. Why can't I speak Spanish Antonio! His answer. Because I still mentally live in the UK. Its going to take a long, long time....