Spending the Holidays in Latin America? These are 5 Phrases You Need To Know.
A language and cultural guide to Latin America during the holiday season!
Felices Fiestas compadres! If you’re spending the holidays in Latin America, you might notice that we Latinos do things a little different. After learning these five phrases, you’ll be tossing back coquito and making sure you’re first in line to eat lechón. But be warned...you may find yourself a little more than tipsy on New Year’s Eve, eating exactly 12 grapes while swinging empty luggage around the block.
(Puerto Rican coquito)
If you find yourself in Puerto Rico in December, you may hear a lot of rumbling about a parranda. A parranda is a Puerto Rican music tradition and THE social event of the season. Expect a group of friends at your front steps playing loud live music until you let them in. Trumpets, guitars, the whole works. It’s a pachanga, baby! Once inside, the guests are greeted with treats like mofongo (mashed plantains), arroz con dulce (rice pudding), and coquito, whose coconut-sweet goodness puts American eggnog to shame. Warning: NEVER, I repeat, NEVER say whose recipe you liked better. Doing so is a slippery slope and you will become the social pariah of the holidays. Seriously, don’t mess with Puerto Ricans and their coquito.
Nochebuena
Nochebuena is the night of Christmas Eve. In a lot of Latin American cultures, this is a bigger feast than Christmas Day itself, and it features a big family dinner centered around lechón. Physically, lechón is a roasted pig, but emotionally it’s much much more than that. Cooking it takes sweat, dedication, and a whole lot of love. In Cuban tradition, lechón is cooked in a ‘Caja China’ (a large box) below hot coals. Alongside this good food is a night of drinking and dancing until you stumble your way over to Misa De Gallo (Midnight Mass) which concludes the Christmas celebrations.
Para pedir Posadas:
(A holiday-themed pinata fest)
In English, this literally translates to ‘asking for a place to stay.’ The translation may sound odd, but the tradition is rooted back in the biblical story of the Nativity. Celebrated in multiple Latin countries, Las Posadas begins on December 16th and ends on Christmas Eve. These nine days or ‘novena’ represent the nine-month pregnancy of Mary. What follows is this: two people dress up as Mary and Joseph and visit houses designated as “inns.” The community walks down the street, singing songs until one house finally lets them in. At the end of each night, everyone celebrates with Christmas carols, food, and piñatas for the kids.
¡Cantemos villancicos!
“Let’s sing carols!” ‘Villancicos’ are Christmas Carols, and the people who sing them are called ‘Cantantes de Villancicos.’ No matter which Latin American country you’re in, you’ll find yourself singing. Make sure to pack some herbal teas and keep that voice warm, because you’ll have a tiring but delightful evening. Here are some villancicos en español (that aren’t “Feliz Navidad”) to get you into the spirit.
¡Feliz Año Nuevo! / ¡Feliz Año!
(Año Nuevo in Cartagena)
Just like their other celebrations, Latinx people throw the best New Years parties, infused with some special traditions. Some are universal, like eating twelve grapes (each representing one month of the year) as a symbol of good luck. Others are a bit more unique. In Colombia, people walk around the block with an empty suitcase for hopes of traveling more in the New Year. In Chile, you must sweep the house from inside out to erase the past. For Cubans, throwing a bucket of water outside does the trick. All over Latin America, traditions run deep when ringing in the new year!
We hope you enjoy your holiday season, and if you find yourself in Latin America, don’t forget to take these phrases with you! Felices Fiestas!
Comment below and let us know your favorite tradition!
Climate Change & Tourism
There is one big change facing the country that could doom the system…
Climate Change & Tourism
Any country that relies on a tourist economy will always be subject to many factors out of it’s control. Tourism still secures the most jobs in Spain, even though the country is dealing with a higher the usual unemployment rate. Because of this, the tourism sector has been given priority to be supported in any possible way by the Spanish government. However, there is one big change facing the country that could doom the system if not addressed: Climate change.
At the moment, Spain still has to import $45 billion worth of gas and oil annually, mainly from Algeria and Saudi Arabia, but it is believed it could save a portion of that cost by investing in solar energy with it’s 3,000 hours of sunlight per year. Energy costs are also crucial for the tourism sector, being one of the largest energy consumers and accounting for 15% of GDP.
A lot of energy is consumed in the roughly 750 desalination plants, which pump the salt back into the ocean, thus changing the underwater landscape near the coasts to keep tourist destinations running year-round.
In the north of the country, there's mounting soil erosion along the 3715 miles of coast where 90% of all tourists spend their vacations.
Inigo Losada, research director at the Environmental Hydraulics Institute of Cantabria, warns that vacation homeowners and hotel chains will inevitably feel the effects. Diving will become less attractive for tourists if coral reefs disappear, and the danger of coastal areas being flooded will put a burden on all tourist based companies on the coastline.
Losada says German holiday homeowners in Spain should do the same. "I have no way of knowing whether we'll be able to stop climate change," he warns, indicating that in his opinion some people should already relocate to be on the safe side.
We hope you’ve enjoyed learning about Climate Change & Tourism in Spain! Do you think the reduction of energy consumption will help the impending situation for Spain’s tourist economy? Join the conversation below!
Cleaning Up Counterfeit Cocktails
Police have discovered a disturbing trend that vacationers need to make note of if they plan on day-drinking in the sun and sand this summer…
Cleaning Up Counterfeit Cocktails
Beach season is in full effect which means the summer cocktails are flowing endlessly, especially in Spain. Unfortunately, police have discovered a disturbing trend that vacationers need to make note of if they plan on day-drinking in the sun and sand this summer. Spain’s popularity with tourists has been highlighted recently as the most-loved beaches in Europe and unveiled by beach holiday specialist “On the Beach” who surveyed 1,000 families - most of them were in Spain. However, with the coveted beaches comes a few unsavory characters that want nothing more than to make a quick dollar (or euro so to speak).
Illegal alcohol vendors are popping up faster than police can keep up with them and, in a new twist, footage has emerged of ingredients being stored under manhole covers in what most would call less than sanitary conditions. These vendors have been found to regularly sell drinks to tourists on the beaches of Barcelona and Benidorm and it’s believed that they even attempt to trick travelers by selling them cocktails from nearby bars. At €5, they may seem like a bargain, but this probably has to do with the fact that all of theses drinks are made from ingredients and in containers stored in filthy drains and under sidewalks.
Photo: iGuB
Photo: iGuB
A recent video posted on Facebook shows police officers pulling up manhole covers in the pavements in Barcelona and extracting bags of cocktail equipment. The officers claim that the drinks are then mixed on dirty surfaces including public bathrooms and that the fruit used in the cocktails is washed under beach showers. With the fact that a drink from a legal bar is only on average €10, it is advised that tourists avoid buying from illegal beach vendors, no matter how tempting the price.
We hope you've enjoyed learning how the Spanish police are Cleaning Up Counterfeit Cocktails! Be sure to check out our Culture and Language blog for more helpful hints to make the most of your Spanish getaway. Salud!
Spain's Travel Boom
The UN World Tourism Organization has recently found that Spain is currently on track to replace the United States as the world’s 2nd most popular tourism destination!
Spain's Travel Boom
The UN World Tourism Organization has recently found that Spain is currently on track to replace the United States as the world’s 2nd most popular tourism destination.
While France remains the most popular, it is expected that Spain will follow closely behind with 82 million visitors over the past year despite a terror attack in August and the battle for independence by the citizens of Catalonia.
The number of global tourists leapt 7% in 2016, the biggest increase in seven years and Europe benefitted the most with much thanks to the Mediterranean’s sea and sun. While the political crisis sparked a drop in visitor numbers to the northeastern region, it does not hinder overall tourist visitation in Spain in 2017.
Overall, the number of international tourists rose by 7 percent during the past year to an astounding 1.3 billion and is expected to continue growing over this year. One of these said tourists includes our friend, a fashion and travel blogger, Malikah Kelly (www.malikahkelly.com). She’s been jet setting around the globe and created a super helpful article we wanted to share for readers preparing for their next trip to Spain titled, ‘5 Tips To Save For Your Mallorca, Spain Experience!’
Along with Malikah and billions of other travelers, UNWTO chief, Zurab Pololikashvili, stated: "International travel continues to grow strongly, consolidating the tourism sector as a key driver in economic development” and that "As the third export sector in the world, tourism is essential for job creation and the prosperity of communities around the world."
Planning on joining in on Spain's travel boom over this coming year? Our team of native instructors and culturally infused classes will not only ensure that you advance your fluency, but that you will be able to understand and enjoy all that Spain has to offer!