Customs, Traditions & celebrations Christmas is known as ‘Navidad’ in Spain and is celebrated passionately every year. The celebrations begin on December 8th with the ‘Feast of Immaculada’. On the 22nd of December, a Christmas lottery is drawn and everyone in Spain purchases tickets to win the ‘El Gordo’. Christmas Eve or ‘Nochebuena’ is a…
What is “El Gordo”? As a misconception in many non-Spanish speaking countries people often assume that the term El Gordo is specific for the Christmas Lottery. Some even think that El Gordo is in fact the name of the lottery. However, the real meaning of El Gordo is simply “the first prize” (literally “the fat one” or more accurately “the big…
DAY OF CELEBRATION The Wine Fight takes place on the 29th of June each year in La Rioja, Spain. THE WINE FIGHT HISTORY The Wine Fight takes place on the outskirts of Haro, a small wine-producing town that is one of the most important in Spain’s La Rioja region. La Rioja is world famous for…
Learning Spanish from telenovelas My journey learning Spanish started almost 10 years ago when I started watching telenovelas almost every day before bed time. It started as a curiosity and it ended up as a passion for learning more and more. Every time I watched the telenovelas I could not miss the resemblance between my…
The Day of the Region of Valencia is celebrated on October 9th (Día de la Comunidad Valenciana). This day, Valencian celebrate the entry of King James I The Conqueror in the Valencia city, who conquered the city of Valencia from Moorish forces in 1238, ending the reign of the Arab King Abdul Djumay. It is…
We are now in October, and that means that many of us are now back at school, work and university. However, like myself, if you’ve just graduated, this could be a new chapter for you which you’ve not found yourself in before. Having always had the routine of education in September through to July, it…
¿Cuál es el origen de la expresión “dar gato por liebre”? La literatura está llena de alusiones, muchas de ellas irónicas, acerca del valor de los alimentos ofrecidos en las posadas y hosterías, durante los siglos XVI y XVII. Era tanto el descrédito de este tipo de lugares de descanso. que se llegó a…
FAIR OF ALBACETE The grand Albacete festivity, known as the Fair, takes place in the permanent fairground commonly known as ‘the pan’ or ‘the circles’ situated near the centre of the city since 18th century. The opening parade, with regional costumes, music and food on the streets, takes there the Llanos Virgin, patron saint of…
This week, I am on my annual family trip to Brixham in Devon, along the beautiful English south west coastline. I bet you’re thinking, “in what way is this linked to Spain or Spanish culture?”. Well.. you’re about to find out! Family of fishing towns The past few days I have been thinking about the…
It’s that time of the year! The summer holidays are nearly over, but tomorrow I am off to Barcelona and it has had me thinking about the vital things I will need to take. Speaking Spanish helps me out a lot, but my sister doesn’t know a word of Spanish. Therefore, I have tried to…
