True, most Latin Americans remain poor. In fact, in 2001 they were almost certainly relatively poorer than in the early 1960s, even if we set aside the ravages of the economic crises of the past twenty years, for not only has inequality within these countries soared, but the continent itself has lost ground internationally. Brazil may be the eighth economy of the world by the size of its GDP, Mexico the sixteenth, but per capita they rank respectively fifty-second and sixtieth. In the world’s league table of social injustice Brazil remains at the top. And yet, if one were to ask the Latin American poor to compare their life at the start of the new millennium with their parents’, let alone their grandparents’, outside a few black spots most would probably say: it is better. But in most countries they might also say: it is more unpredictable and more dangerous.

It is not for me to agree or disagree with them. After all, they are the Latin America that I went to look for, and discovered, forty years ago, the one Pablo Neruda wrote about in the marvelous baroque poem of poems about his continent, the section ‘The heights of Macchu Picchu’ in his Canto General. It ends with the invocation of the unknown builders of that dead green Inca city, through whose dead mouth the poet wants to speak:

Juan Cortapiedras, hijo de Wiracocha
Juan Comefrio, hijo de la estrella verde
Juan Piedescalzos, nieto de la turquesa

Eric Hobsbawm, “Interesting Times. A Twentieth-Century Life.” Abacus, 2003.

In Spanish, the letters B (be, be larga o be grande, depending on the country) and V (uve, ve corta o ve chica, depending on the country) don’t have any phonetic difference, like the ones they have in other languages (English for example).

In a simple way, they’re pronounced the same way. Their sound is very similar to that of the English B. When either letter is between to vowels, their sound can somewhat resemble the one of the English V, but Spanish speakers will not make the sound by touching the lower lip with the upper teeth. Instead they will make it by always touching the upper and lower lip.

One consequence of this is that it is not rare for Spanish speakers to have spelling difficulties with words that have B or V, because there is no way for them to differentiate them from their sound.

Vaca, bote, jabón, envidia (there are no words in Spanish that have a B right after an N), balde, cambio, (M and V can never be togheter) are some examples.

Argentinean Secretary of Culture, José Nun and former President, Néstor Kirchner

If I were Néstor Kirchner I would give José Nun a raise immediately. The interview we had was an hour and a half unconditional defense and justification of almost every single “kirchnerist” action, included those, such as the INDEC (National Institute of Statistics and Census of Argentina) changes that were criticized by ministers such as Alberto Fernández and Sergio Massa.

It would be better for the government to be backed by the arguments of this serious expert in political science and not by some of those disgraced characters. Nun, a good professor, sometimes exceeds himself in his didactic speech and the extension of his answers. He looked so pro-government he even attributed Kirchner something he did not do: the recovery of the “paritarias” (special commissions where workers and employers are equally represented) and of the “Consejo del Salario” (Salary Council). The program through which the Secretary of Culture gives books together with houses to low-income families looked interesting. He almost got in trouble when he talked about corruption “relapses”. As a good kirchnerist thinker, he gives the media a decisive and malefic role that creates, he says, an unreal image: for a moment, he made me think Néstor Kirchner is Gandhi’s reincarnation.

Ricardo Cárpena on Argentinean Secretary of Culture, José Nun. La Nación, May 31, 2009. Full interview here.

At age 88, Uruguayan writer Mario Benedetti died today. To one of the most influential Latin American writers of the twentieth century, let’s just leave this humble tribute, a poem from Inventario.

Balada del mal genio

Hay días en que siento una desgana
de mí, de ti, de todo lo que insiste en creerse
y me hallo solidariamente cretino
apto para que en mí vacilen los rencores
y nada me parezca un aceptable augurio.

Días en que abro el diario con el corazón en la boca
como si aguardara de veras que mi nombre
fuera a aparecer en los avisos fúnebres
seguido de la nómina de parientes y amigos
y de todo indócil personal a mis órdenes.

Hay días que ni siquiera son oscuros
días en que pierdo el rastro de mi pena
y resuelvo las palabras cruzadas
con una rabia hecha para otra ocasión
digamos, por ejemplo, para noches de insomnio.

Días en que uno sabe que hace mucho era bueno
bah tal vez no hace tanto que salía la luna
limpia como después de jabón perfumado
y aquello si era auténtica melancolía
y no este malsano, dulce aburrimiento.

Bueno, esta balada sólo es para avisarte
que en esos pocos días no me tomes en cuenta.

Mario Benedetti
(1920-2009)

• Why am I learning Spanish? Is it a need? Is it for pleasure?
• How am I going to use my Spanish? Will I speak it? Where? With whom? Will I write? Do I just need to read it?
• What is an realistic, achievable goal?
• How much time do I have (or want) to spend on learning Spanish? Do I have enough time? Is distance learning or online learning an option?
• What kind of a learner am I? How do I learn better? Can I efficiently learn on my own or with little guidance? Do I need structured lessons, with a tutor telling me what to do?
• Am I able to discover and design my learning path? Do I need to trust that to someone else? Can I negotiate it with my tutor?
• How do I work better in class? Do I take the initiative and like to speak? Does it help me to systematically work on drills and exercises? Do I remain focused on what matters when learning through ludic activities?
• What specific topics do I like? What vocabulary area do I need to prioritize?
• Is there anything else I should keep in mind when defining my learning strategy?

Hope it helps.

I am realizing more and more that native Spanish speakers use the verb SER to express location. At least among Argentinians.

Mi casa es en la calle 71.

That’s a sentence I hear a lot. For a Spanish teacher like me, that would be a huge mistake (actually, for anyone). I heard this from professionals and educated people too. But I obviously don’t correct a native speaker.

Every time I hear this, it makes me think of the language. Is this what we call the dynamism of the language? I don’t think so. I think this is related with poor Spanish teaching at school. And it looks like a small detail. They become extended and to some extent, a regionalism.

Spanish learners: there are many native speakers whose Spanish is far from perfect. Don’t let a mistake or your imperfect language skills obstruct your speaking skills. Believe me, you probably are a better speaker than what you think.

We said a few things about por and para a few days ago. Most of the times, explanations about these prepositions look nice and clear but it all becomes confusing when you start using them in conversation.
Out of all of the uses these prepositions have, there are two that probably are the most confusing ones:
Para expresses a purpose, while por a cause, a reason.
Let’s see a two examples:

• Llamaré por teléfono a Carlos ______ pedirle mis cosas.
• ______ levantarte tarde, perdiste el tren.

Which sentence expresses a purpose? Which one a cause? “pedirle mis cosas” is the purpose of the call. Getting up late made me (caused) lose the train.
Now, let´s think of them logically, in terms of time: Temporally, the purpose (not the enunciation of the purpose but its actual fulfillment) comes always after the main action. First, I call Carlos, after that, I will ask for my things. Here, we will always use PARA.
The cause always precedes the main action. I woke up late and only then, for that reason, I lost my train. In this case we will use POR.
Voy a Chile para estudiar español. I go to Chile to learn Spanish. I first go there then, I will study Spanish. The purpose will actually take place after I arrive in Chile.
Estoy triste por lo que le pasó a Miguel. I feel sad for what happened to Miguel. Temporally, something happened to him first and then I feel bad. But the cause takes place first.

No introduction needed. This is a big problem for any Spanish learner. When do I use por? When do I use para? And if you already know the “uses” of these prepositions, how can I use them correctly and spontaneously in conversation without making a 5 minute pause to think which one goes in my sentence (and end up picking the wrong one)?
Without going into a lot of detail, here’s what para expreses:

• Scope or recipient of the action. Estos zapatos son para tí.
• Opinion. Para mí, eso no es importante.
• With verbs that express movement, it indicates direction or destination. El tren para Veracruz sale a las 4.
• With a time value, it expresses the term or limit for an action to take place. It can also mean hasta. El trabajo debe estar terminado para el jueves que viene.

And por indicates:

• The cause or reason of an action. Lo han condenado por homicidio.
• The agent of the passive voice. El fenómeno será estudiado por especialistas.
• Approximate location, when talking about space. Tus libros están por allí.
• With verbs that express movement, indicates transit. Llegaré tarde pues de regreso pasaré por el supermercado.
• With a time value, it can indicate approximate time, periodicity or part of the day. Por las noches saco a pasear a mi perro.
• The means or instrument with which something is done. Te enviaré el documento por fax.
• Price. Este libro lo he comprado por cuarenta pesos.

This is not a complete list of the uses of these prepositions. It only covers the most frequent uses of them.
Perfect, but you know you mastered your exercises, and you still make mistakes when you speak. Well… there’s no final solution for that. Or, maybe there’s something you can try: practice. Not mere repetition, authentic practice. This is valid not only for this, but for everything. Without real practice there is no language learning.
Speaking of por vs para, regardless of the specific uses we just mentioned, I would think of them in terms of two general ideas: Para, generally speaking, will normally express a direction, an intention, while por is clearly more focused on the idea of cause and means.

I know, this is not very clear nor easy to incorporate, but once you start getting the ideas behind these to words, once you hear others use them correctly (and paying attention to how people who speaks well is a great strategy for learning a foreign language) everything will become more natural.

Wilfredo Lam, Cuban painter

Crossing the language boundary is very important if one wants to achieve a high level of confidence at any professional level. Learning Spanish language and culture will impact with an important benefit for the learner, which is to truly appreciate the enjoyment that us, Spanish-speakers, have of our own language and culture.

Music is great start  and will definitely help non-Hispanic professionals develop that cultural appreciation. Music and language are often used to communicate the delight of life itself. Riddles, beliefs, proverbs, traditional songs, poetry… They all are a strong part of Latino culture.

People are trading conversation for television, not only in the US, but everywhere. We are in danger of forgetting many oral uses and habits that promote and stimulate cultural and personal understanding. Truly enjoying and sharing these conversational habits is a huge step towards crossing cultural boundaries.

Know the culture, learn it and enjoy it. And do not separate it from language learning. It will thrive a deep understanding of what being a Latino (a Colombian, a Mexican, a Puertorrican, a Dominican, a Peruvian, a…) means. And that deep understanding will put you in a position that is hard to reach: that of a truly multicultural person.

One of the most remarkable differences I see between learning Spanish on-site and online is how relaxed the student is.

Some of my students live in New York City. A few of them, after taking face to face lessons, decided to try Hespanica online. And I teach this guy who used to perform okay when visiting him at his office who now that is learning from home is doing incredibly well, compared to what he did in the past.

Being able to take his lessons and not having to worry about a phone call, an interruption or that deadline he has to meet is clearly affecting his Spanish. Our conversation is more fluid and complex. Plus he easily understands and remembers concepts and his learning curve is moving up faster.

Te felicito Mike.