If you would like to learn more Spanish words, please visit our website www.spanishprograms.com

This week’s lesson on Spanish culture, we will cover a few fascinating ruins located near areas where I lived. Next week we will discuss the Legend of Quetzalcoatl, the Aztec Indians, Hernan Cortés the conquistador, and theories about the origins of the Aztecs, Incas and so forth.

One I want to talk about briefly is called Chan Chan. Loca ted near the modern Peruvian city called Trujillo [true-he-yo], Chan Chan (above) is claimed by some to be the largest Pre-Colombian city known to man. It was divided into nine “palaces” forming independent units. (credits: photo – Museo de la Nación)

A unique feature of Chan Chan was that it had a ceremonial square, where I was told, you can stand on one side of a wall, and speak through an opening where your voice is amplified for a large group of people on the other side to hear. I can only imagine what type of events were held at such a mysterious place.

Huaco replica photos and products are found at: http://www.inca-ceramics.com/products.php#

As you can imagine, it is a crime to take an original huaco out of Perú. So, just before leaving the country, I bought a few “legal” replicas, put them in my suitcase and went to the airport in Lima to board my plane. As my bag was going through the scanner, the huacos were detected, security was summoned, and I was carted off to a back interrogation-type room by a very stern-looking officer. As you can imagine, I was sweating and extremely nervous. Thoughts raced through my mind like, “What if someone had sold me an original huaco instead of a replica? What if I never make it back to the United States? . . . .” After what seemed like an eternity, and my life passed before me at least once, they finally determined that the huacos I had were truly replicas, and I was allowed to board my plane and go on to my next country. Whew! What a relief it was!

Ancient Latin America is truly fascinating and I encourage all of you if you have the chance to read more about it, or even better, go visit as many of the fascinating locations as you can.

vamos a cubrir – we’re going to cover
ruinas – ruins
donde vivía – where I lived
la Leyenda de – the Legend of
y teorías – and theories
la semana pasada – last week
yo creo que – I believe that
información – information
ubicado – located
por algunos – by some
fue dividido – it was divided
me dijeron – I was told (they told me)
una pared – a wall
grupo de gente – group of people
qué clase de eventos – what type of events
la parte triste – the sad p art
de cerca – up close
y lo podía ver – and I could see it
más información – more information
tesoro – treasure
lugar turístico – tourist site
por más o menos tres meses – for around three months
un museo – a museum
pueblo – city/village
el Museo Bruning – the Bruning Museum
caja fuerte – safe
adentro había – inside there were
había un grupo – there was a group
encima – on top
queda – remains
donde vivía – where I lived
el gobierno – the government
calles de polvo – dirt streets
en las calles de la ciudad – on the streets of the city
como puede imaginarse – as you can imagine
el país – the country
mi maleta – my suitcase
oficial – officer
una eternidad – an eternity
por lo menos una vez – at least once
me permitieron – they permitted me
qué alivio – what a relief
disfr&uac ute;telas – enjoy them
artefactos – artifacts
el resto de su vida – the rest of your life

If you would like to learn more Spanish words and phrases, please visit our website www.spanishprograms.com

Please visit our website to learn more Spanish words

como mencioné – as I mentioned
la semana pasada – last week
en mi opinión – in my opinion
voy a compartir – I’m going to share
información acerca de – information about
en que me gustaría enfocar – I’d like to focus on
una ruina llamada – a ruin called
una ruina increíble que – an incredible ruin that
la cultura – the culture
y creencias – and beliefs
mientras visité – as (while) I visited
información interesante – interesting information
apa rentemente – apparently
habían encontrado – had found
y empezaron a excavar – and they began to excavate
habían excavado – they had excavated
esfuerzos ilegales – illegal efforts
excavaron – they excavated
y encontraron – and they found
contenía – it contained
toda clase de – all types of
América antigua – ancient America
nos explicó que – explained to us that
a un museo – to a museum
había réplicas – there were replicas
explicó – explained
murió – died
y fue enterrado – and was buried
fueron enterrados – were buried
y dos otras mujeres – and two other women
para que pudieran acompañar – so that they could accompany
que contiene – that contains
en español – in Spanish
que contenían comida – that contained food
y su gente – and his people
uno de los detalles más interesante s – one of the most interesting details
y la otra mitad – and the other half
de acuerdo con – according to
dinero para excavar – money to excavate
la parte triste es que – the sad part is that
ruinas increíbles – incredible ruins
cuando viví en el Perú – when I lived in Perú
mientras vivía – while I lived
al abrir nuestros ojos – as we open (upon opening) our eyes
existencia – existence
más completa – more complete

If you would like to learn more Spanish words or maybe you would just like to learn more about our courses to learn Spanish, please visit our website

We will continue on from last week’s Spanish lesson and further explore more about ancient cultures of Latin America.  As have mentioned before, I had the opportunity to live in Perú, South America for an extended period of time. In my opinion, as with parts of Mexico, Perú is a mecca for ancient American ruins. This week and next, I will be sharing information about some of the fascinating ruins I have visited personally.

The cultural tidbit I would like to focus on this week comes from a ruin called “El Señor de Sipan” (The Lord of Sipan.) It is an incredible ruin that sheds light on some of the culture and beliefs of the ancient Pre-Inca people of South America (from about 1700 years ago.)

As I visited this site, the tour guide gave us some interesting information about its discovery. Apparently some grave robbers had found this site (a “huaca” [wah-cah] or ancient burial tomb) and began to excavate. They had excavated quite a lot when authorities found them and stopped their illegal efforts. Then an authorized excavation team continued to dig; they excavated one foot further down than the grave robbers had gone and found the tomb of the Lord of Sipan. (more…)

hay muchas culturas – there are many cultures
gente – people
y – and
leyendas – legends
grupos de gente – groups of people
en la historia de México – in Mexican history
una época más recién – a more recent era
vino a México – came to Mexico
en – in
una gente – a people
ruinas – ruins
una gente desaparecida – a vanished people
hay también – there are also
tuve la oportunidad de vivir – I had the opportunity to live
ruinas fascinantes – fascinating ru ins
sin embargo – however
ruinas increíbles – incredible ruins
me contaron – (they) told me
ruinas misteriosas – mysterious ruins
tan pronto como – as soon as
planeo llevarlos – I plan to take them
las ruinas asombrosas – the amazing ruins
uno de los sitios más conocidos – one of the most well-known sites
está en la parte sur – it is in the southern part
en la cima de – on top of
vea foto arriba – see photo above
que lleva turistas – that takes tourists
a la cima de – to the top of
(el) sistema de agua – (the) water system
han descubierto – have discovered
todavía está – it still
en la cima de – at the top of
es muy misteriosa – is very mysterious
es una ciudad costeña – is a coastal city
en la arena – in the sand
conocimiento – knowledge
que se puede ver – that can be seen
han estado allí – they have been theresupuestamente – supposedly
la pregunta – the question
de arriba – from above
en la tierra – in Earth
figuras de animales – animal figures
por kilómetros – for kilometers
pueden ser misteriosas – can be mysterious
durante las próximas semanas – During the next few weeks

To learn more Spanish words, click here

This week’s Spanish culture lesson, we will discuss ancient some of the ancient cultures of Latin America.  In ancient Latin American there are many cultures, people and legends. Three of the most famous groups of people are the Aztec, the Maya, and the Inca. The Maya are from a more ancient time period in Mexican history. The Aztecs are from a more recent era; they were found when Hernan Cortez, one of the “conquistadores,” came to Mexico in 1519. The Incas were a people in ancient South America who lived specifically around the areas of Peru and Ecuador.

In Mexico there are numerous majestic and mysterious ruins that leave the legacy of a vanished people. In Peru, there are also several incredible ruins. I had the opportunity to live in Peru for an extended period of time and was to see some fascinating ruins in northern Peru. However, there are many incredible ruins in Southern Peru that I never had a chance to visit. Many of my native friends told me all about these mysterious ruins. As soon as my children become teenagers, I plan to take them and my wife to visit the remarkable ruins of southern Peru. (more…)

To learn more Spanish words, click here

para empezar – to start out
respuestas – responses, answers
boletín – newsletter
respuestas recibidas – responses received
he incluido – I have included
al pie – at the bottom
puesto que – since
durante las pasadas semanas – during the last few weeks
hoy – today
vamos a hablar – we are going to talk about
acerca de – about
vamos a empezar – we’re going to start
con – with
dice – says
diccionarios de inglés – English dictionaries
que despierta al mundo – that wakes up the world
ni está en el diccionario – it isn’t even in the dictionary
sur de la frontera – south of the border
dicen – (they) sa y
otros animales importantes – some other important animals
en inglés – in English
en español – in Spanish
los mismos sonidos – the same sounds
la frontera – the border
han nadado – (they) have swum
básicamente – basically
animales – animals
en el mundo – in the world
nuestra percepción – our perception
que hablamos – that we speak
en los sonidos que hacen – in the sounds they make
parecen tener – they seem to have
en este tema tan importante – on this very important topic
parte del mundo – part of the world
como en español – as in Spanish
sonidos muy diferentes – very different sounds
personalmente, yo pienso que – personally, I think that
sonidos de animales – animal sounds
de esa manera – that way
España – Spain
página web – website

To learn more Spanish vocabulary words, click here!