5 Beautiful Places to Visit in Antigua Guatemala When Quarantine Ends
The unique beauty of Antigua, Guatemala is hard to match. This old Latin American city, seemingly frozen in time with its colonial architecture and cobblestone streets, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It acquired the heritage status by having been “the cultural, economic, religious, political and educational centre for the entire region until the capital was moved,” according to...Read More
How to Talk About Your Home in Spanish
Home is where the heart is, isn’t it? Home is where our roots are, where our ancestors are from, and where our family lives. Home is where we create a comfortable space for living. A house may be anything from a high-rise apartment in the center of a pulsating city to a rustic cabin in the middle of nowhere. We make a house into a home with love, kindness, care, and gratitude. A common...Read More
Independence Day Celebrations in Spanish-Speaking Countries
Here in Guatemala, our HSA teachers celebrate Independence Day on September 15 with parades of marching bands, while you might be listening to the Star-Spangled Banner and watching a fireworks show in the U.S. this 4th of July. Let’s learn about the most fascinating cultural traditions for celebrating independence day in the Spanish-speaking countries of Latin America! ...Read More
Sports in Spanish: Basketball Vocabulary and Popularity
Are you ready to learn about sports in Spanish? The beauty of sports is how they unite people, transcend borders, and generate emotions (and money) all over the world. It doesn’t matter what language you speak, everybody can understand sports. One of the biggest sports in the world nowadays is basketball. The third biggest, by some estimates, with 2.2 billion fans around the world....Read More
Spook your Spanish-speaking Friends with These Popular Costumes!
Halloween is a celebration of all that’s scary. It’s one of the oldest holidays we celebrate and a personal favorite of mine! Traditionally, Mexico and Central America only celebrated Día de los Muertos on November 1st. Halloween has been celebrated to a lesser extent, and it only became a big holiday in recent years. As the month of October creeps in, you can start to hear people...Read More
Spanish Onomatopoeia: Words that Imitate Sounds
Splash, thud, vroom, zap! What is going on in here!? It sounds like a bunch of superheroes are starting to battle it out at a pool party. Herein lies the wonder of onomatopoeia, or words that imitate a particular sound. Now, read those four words at the beginning one more time. What images do you see when you read them? These words have the ability to evoke an image or sensation in your...Read More
Top 10 Spanish Concepts You Won’t Find in English
Most people, as they become bilingual, learn some Spanish concepts that are unique to the language. Some words convey certain thoughts and feelings that are challenging, to describe in any other language! Recent studies have shown that knowing more than one language helps with the development of cognitive function—and prevents its decline as we age. There’s also been research suggesting...Read More
Why Bankers Should Learn Spanish
Understanding the American banking system is complicated –even to English speakers who are reading English documents. Banking and lending institutions, along with credit card companies, make it so darn confusing to understand their jargon that it takes research and good guidance (albeit from someone who has your best interest in mind) to understand what is being said and the...Read More
September 15: a Day of Collective Independence
September in Central America is as colorful as any other holiday should be. Weeks before the 15th, the streets, markets, houses, and cars become adorned with hundreds of flags. Cities are dressed in patriotic colors by their citizens. Schools start practicing for the parades and concerts, marching bands can be heard all around town getting ready for the big day when festivities will take...Read More