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Una nueva producción española llega a los cines “Fuga de Cerebros”.

Emilio (Mario Casas), estudiante tímido y mediocre, lleva enamorado toda la vida de Natalia (Amaia Salamanca). Ella es la chica guapa y lista del instituto. El último día de clase él decide declararse pero a Natalia le han concedido una beca para estudiar medicina en Oxford. Todo parece perdido para Emilio, aunque sus colegas del instituto no están dispuestos a rendirse y le convencen para ir a la universidad inglesa y conquistar a Natalia.

Esta nueva película está siendo todo un éxito de taquilla y es la confirmación de que el cine español puede generar grandes ingresos sin necesidad de Almodóvar o Amenábar.

“Fuga de Cerebros” es una muestra original de que ir de erasmus puede ser divertido y educativo.

Una pregunta: ¿ será verdad eso de que el amor es loco pero a algunos vuelve tontos?

El cine está de fiesta en Europa. El pasado 13 de mayo una nueva edición del  Festival de Cannes comenzaba. Las calles de este bonito lugar de la Costa Azul francesa se han llenado de estrellas que brillan tanto de día como de noche. Entre ellas encontramos a Penélope Cruz que  ha llegado junto al equipo de la última película del director Pedro Almodóvar “Los abrazos rotos”.  La ganadora del Oscar a la mejor actriz secundaria en 2009 ha posado ante todos los medios de comunicación. Este 2009 es uno de sus mejores años, pero ¿sabéis cómo era esta actriz española cuando empezó? Como el buen vino, Penélope Cruz mejora con los años

Este pasado sábado 16 de mayo el Fútbol Club Barcelona se proclamó campeón de la Liga española (Liga BBVA). El título se marchó hacia la Ciudad Condal tres jornadas antes del final.

Después de una temporada extraordinaria en la que ha creado un juego extraordinariamente estético y efectivo, la plantilla de Pep Guardiola pudo celebrar su merecido triunfo. Las calles de Barcelona se llenaron de aficionados eufóricos y deseosos de fiesta. Como ya es tradición la Font de Canaletes se llenó de aficionados “culés” que tintaron de azulgrana las principales calles de la Ciudad.

Paremos un momento y aclaremos dos conceptos. Primero ¿todos los aficionados en un mismo lugar? sí, así se celebran los títulos por estas latitudes. Por ejemplo, los aficionados del Atlético de Madrid se concentran en la Fuente de Neptuno y los del Sevilla en La Puerta de Jerez.

Lo segundo que deberíamos aclarar es lo de “culés” (culers en catalán). ¿Qué es eso? pues es el sobrenombre, el apodo, el mote. A los aficionados del FCBarcelona se les llama así porque el primer campo de fútbol no tenía gradas y los aficionados se sentaban en lo alto de un muro, de forma que la gente que pasaba por la calle veía desde fuera una fila de culos.
A los aficionados del Real Madrid se les llama “merengues” por el color blanco de la camiseta. El merengue es un dulce madrileño hecho a base de claras de huevo y que tiene un color blanco muy intenso.

En la liga española todos los aficionados tienen un sobrenombre. ¿Cómo nos llamarían a los aficionados de lingus.tv? Lingunianos, los naranjas, lingusfans…

Basándose en la relación de amistad entre los célebres artistas Salvador Dalí, Luis Buñuel y Federico García Lorca, el director Paul Morrison lleva a la gran pantalla “Sin limites” (Little Ashes), película protagonizada por Robert Pattinson (”Crepúsculo”) ambientada en Madrid entre 1922 y el inicio de la Guerra Civil Española.
Con 18 años un joven Salvador Dalí entra en la universidad con el pretexto de convertirse en un gran artista, pronto llamará la atención de otros dos alumnos de la residencia de estudiantes: Luis Buñuel y Federico García Lorca.

Quién nos iba a decir que el vampiro más famoso de todos los tiempos se convertiría en el pintor surrealista español más internacional, y es que de la sangre al óleo sólo hay un paso.

This is the Spanish song that will participate in the Eurovision Song Contest:

Soraya Arnelas (spanish biography) was born in Valencia de Alcántara, in the Spanish region of Extremadura, on 13 September 1982. Her career as an artist started in 2005, after becoming the most popular finalist of the TV programme “Operación Triunfo.” Since then, Soraya’s record trajectory has been meteoric, with four albums made with the record company Vale Music/Universal Music Spain. Her debut came with Kike Santander’s production for her first album, “Corazón de fuego” – a mix of Latin themes with other genres such as ballads and pop dance – a Platinum Disc in Spain in 2006.

(más…)

Years ago, I attended a Catholic grade school throughout my impressionable young childhood. For those who know me, the notion of me in a Catholic school is as humorous as Pat Robertson in a Buddhist temple. My beliefs have always fallen on one simple principle: continually aim for self love and in turn, you will treat others in the same vein.  I would characterize myself as a very spiritual person, but one who bases logic as a key tool in understanding one’s purpose and meaning in life. Flickr photo by Simon Varwel

But now I live in Spain, a country who boasts of Catholics representing 78% of the population – a highly misrepresented number if we define Catholicism in the strictest of terms. Most Spaniards that I have met over my four year stay are more closely aligned with agnostic than they are with Catholicism. Few have read the bible, attend church, are familiar with the doctrines or are passionate about any of the church’s battles for morality. Instead, they define themselves based on what they were born into and what their family declares themselves as. In essence, if they were baptized, they are Catholic.

This wishy-washy religious affiliation is partially why I believe many Spaniards didn’t mind when Zapatero declared gay marriage as legal, speedy Vegas style divorces as acceptable or abortion as a legal right for the female. However, the Prime Minister has taken the separation of church and state to an entirely new level with the compulsory subject called Education for Citizenship for the last cycle of Primary Education and all Secondary education. The course, despite religious cries, speaks of highly controversial topics such as divorce, sexuality (yes, this actually exists) and abortion. So unlike some country’s stance of closing one’s eyes to reality, claiming that absence is the best guarantee to good citizenship, Spain has chosen to face the human need for both connection and separation head on.

Do I agree with such a course? Do I think it is the parent’s right to have full control over a child’s morality?

Although I am coming from a relatively ignorant stance, as I have not attended or seen such a course, the idea ignites my passion. As an adult and child educator, the amount of false information sweeping through our communities on such basic topics such as sex, astounds me. And although Europe is light years ahead of many countries in its presentation of subjects that are morally disturbing to the religious right, there is always room for more objective education. What parents educate in their home beyond science is their choice but to deny basic information that would help a child make an objective and critical choice for themselves when the time comes, for me, is criminal.

What do you think? Is this new compulsory course to promote civic and human values a good idea? Does your country have such a course, and if so, has it worked?

Saludos,

Gabriella

Gabriella Opaz is co-founder of Catavino.net – a website dedicated to Spanish and Portuguese wine

If you’re like me, you are already panicked before you even walk in to the front door of a salon.  On that dreadful day, I have visions of walking out of the hairdresser in Spain looking as if I’ve played on a Canadian hockey team for years. Yeah, the mullet after four years is still going strong, and is still unattractive as ever!

This is partially why I have continually grown out my hair hoping to avoid the inevitable. Unsure of what vocabulary to convey my my desires or wants, I typically end up avoiding the entire process, ensuring I won’t look like an offspring of a KISS member.

That said, I did take the plunge yesterday and went in for my first haircut in quite some time. With light brown hair streaming half way down my back, I was promptly told that it all most go. “Guapa, el pelo es muy seco y tenemos que cortar casi todo.” I have to cut it all?! (Flickr photo by Mr. Juninho)

But life is short, convincing me to go with her expert opinion. Dressed as a pinup girl with bright orange hair rolled in front to small bowtie hair pin, pale skin, bright red lipstick, a mid-knee skirt with suspenders and a corset with fishnet stockings and 2 inch high heels, I was happy to be in Mari Carmen’s hands. She looked adorable, and with her thick Andalusian accent, I couldn’t say no.

However, I did have my limits. I made it clear that I was happy to go “corto“, but that I would not have it layered “con capas“, no bangs “flequillo” and absolutely no mullet! Fortunately, all came out well in the end, and you can see a photo here!

But as I wish you all the luck in the world with your hairdresser experience, I’ve included a list of words you may want to keep handy the next time you decide to take the plunge

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This week I was going to blog about what it takes to be considered an Intermediate Spanish level student, but there are still some more things I’d like to say about the Beginner level.

I’ve seen people post questions in other Spanish learning forums and web sites asking for advice and suggestions on how to ramp up their learning speed. For many, the conventional methods of reading a textbook or attending a class a few days a week isn’t enough to keep them motivated nor to get the concepts to stick.

So how about treating your Spanish learning as a game that you can customize and play whenever you’ve got time? Here’s my proposal to you: Commit to spending a minimum of 10 minutes a day, every day, to learning Spanish. Over the course of one year, you will have magically (and hopefully effortlessly) have spent at least 61 hours solely on Spanish.

Can’t find 10 minutes? Trust me, you can. Monday through Friday a minimum of 40 minutes a day to focus on Spanish automatically falls in my lap. How? That’s the amount of time I spend just in walking to and from the Metro station. Since I’m walking, the only thing I can do is listen to my iPod.  Believe me when I say that you won’t have to make time for this activity because you already have the time.

Here are 10 ways you can find at least 10 minutes each day to study Spanish:

1.    When you wake up in the morning, tune in to Spanish radio or Spanish TV.
2.    In the shower.
3.    While brushing your teeth.
4.    During breakfast.
5.    When you buy your morning coffee or stop at a newstand for a paper or cigarettes.
6.    During your daily commute, when stuck in traffic or waiting for the bus or the train.
7.    In an elevator or walking to your car or the bus or train station.
8.    While on hold or waiting for someone.
9.    At the store.
10.    When you take your dog for a walk.

Depending on what your lifestyle and routine is like, you can certainly find other ways.

And what, exactly, should you study? Well, this is the beauty of the game, you can study whatever you like.

For example, you could draft a list of words or expressions you want to memorize and look for opportunities to “use them” throughout your day. I recommend buying a pocket-sized notebook that you can jot down phrases in and that way you can look at them frequently throughout your day, whenever you’re seated or waiting for something or someone.  If you’re not living in a Spanish-speaking country, you will probably have to say these words or phrases silently to yourself, in your head, just so that the people around you won’t think that you’re crazy. But don’t worry about them, you’re working on your Spanish.

In other situations, remind yourself of the Spanish words for objects or experiences you’re seeing or having throughout the day. For example, if you see a couple hugging and kissing on the street, ask yourself internally what are the Spanish nouns or verbs related to kissing and hugging. The idea is to imprint a Spanish vocabulary on top of the words you commonly use in your native language.

If you’re a beginner, concentrate on memorizing words and expressions related to your daily routine. If possible, get a recording of a native Spanish speaker saying some of these phrases and upload them to your iPod, cellphone or mp3 player. Download a few episodes of Lingus.TV and take them on the go, if you’ve got a gadget that handles video.

Be creative! The bottomline is that you can squeeze the extra time you need to study Spanish and you will be successful if you maintain that focus. ¡Suerte!

-Eleena

Eleena also blogs over at Voices en Español, a bilingual blog and conversational Spanish podcast.

As the holiday season approaches, parties seem to fill up your calendar like sweets fill up your office. Invitations to charity parties, business gatherings and small family get togethers overflow your mailbox, taunting you to leave the warm comforts of your home and celebrate! Working from home, our invitations aren’t as plentiful as I would like, but we always find reasons to celebrate. But every culture has their way of kicking off their shoes and relaxing. Here is Spain, among the numerous unique wines we have at our disposal, we also have mixed drinks! But unlike a simple gin and tonic or Manhattan, Spain has a series of drink combinations that may inspire you to try something new at your next gathering. Flickr photo “Party Button” by Phillie Casablanca

Kalimotxo - Fifty-fifty Coca-cola and red wine typically served without ice. Simple, sweet, and in all honesty, a bit foreign for my tastes. Granted, I love my wine pure, but as this is one of the most consumed mixed drinks in Spain, it behooves all of us to try something once. Native to the Basque country, Kalimotxo is their version of “Sangria”, commonly consumed as the first alcoholic drink among young people.

Pitilingorri - Basque for “a little bit red”, Pitilingorri is made with Sprite instead of Coke.

Tinto de Verano - We typically call this a “spritzer”, but Spaniards call it the “red wine of summer”. Tinto de Verano is a mix of red, and sometimes white, wine and Casera, a sweet soda water with a hint of citrus. Personally, this is a great way to enjoy mediocre wine. It’s a refreshing, a fun way to experiment with wine, and when garnished with a slice of lemon, it’s delicious.

Tawny and Tonic - Here we move to the other side of the Peninsula to the home of Port wine – Portugal. When Ryan and I first visited Portugal in 2003, we learned of this drink and admit to developing a taste for it. Take a good jigger or two of Tawny port and pour it over ice and top it off with Tonic water. It’s tasty with a slight bitterness to balance the sweet port.

Rebujito – Native to Andalusia, Rebujito is a mix of Manzanilla sherry, ice and 7up. The first time I tried this was with the Denominacion de Jerez-Xerex-Sherry last year, after I completed the Sherry Wine Educator Course. To be honest, I was a little appalled when trays of these drinks where carted around from student to student, thinking that it was sacrilegious to ruin a good sherry, but I actually enjoyed it. For those of you who find dry sherry a bit overwhelming, give this a shot. You might surprise yourself.

Zurracapote - Take the legendary Sangria but instead of Brandy, make it with red wine, soda water/citrus soda lemon, sugar and cinnamon. Drank in the Navarra region of Spain and in La Rioja, it is another way to lower the alcohol but not the flavor.

So there you have it. You are now well armed with several new options for this year’s holiday bash. And please, if you try them, let us know what you think!

Saludos,

Gabriella

Gabriella Opaz is co-founder of Catavino.net – a website dedicated to Spanish and Portuguese wine