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!

For this week’s Spanish language topic, since we’ve covered some serious topics during the last few weeks, I thought we’d cover a fun, lighter topic today. We’re going to talk about Spanish-speaking animals and what they say.

We will start off with the rooster. A U.S., U.K. or Australian rooster says “cock-a-doodle-doo.” If you look in most major English dictionaries, you won’t find this wonderful, useful rooster word that wakes up the world. I think our major dictionary publishers have missed the point. Since it isn’t even in the dictionary, I’m not sure if I spelled the last part correctly: “do” or “doo?” Anyway, if you go south of the border, (into Latin America,) all of a sudden roosters speak Spanish! It’s amazing, if you’ve ever heard them, they say “kikiriki” [key-key-ree-key.]

Now we’ll take a look at what some other important animals say in Spanish:

 To learn more Spanish words, click here!

This week’s topic on Spanish Culture can be a sensitive issue for many people in the U.S. There are people that have very strong feelings on both sides of the issue. I am going to touch on this topic and share insights from my own perspective.

As I have mentioned in previous newsletters, I lived in Latin America for two years. Here in the U.S. I have also worked extensively with many Latino people. I have provided business training seminars for them, become friends with them, and my business has taught hundreds of Latinos to speak English.

There is an overwhelming sentiment in the U.S. that when Latino people come here to the U.S. they ought to learn English—end of discussion. People argue that when many of our European ancestors came to the U.S., they had to learn English and so should the Latino people. (more…)

 To learn more about speaking Spanish, click here!