Updated December 2005
Charles Hall - 25 Mar 2003
My wife and I have been using Martha Armenta's school since November 2, 2002. We have found it to fit our needs to a "T." We happen to have a super instructor, and the school is located convenient to a bus stop near Gigante/Office Depot on Rafael Buelna. English and Spanish for all is A personalized Language Learning Center offering private or small group classes. Martha Armenta, Chayitoi Romero, Adriana Ashton, and Fernando Del Sordo are experienced, caring teachers who are dedicated to providing students with support and encouragement. As part of their curriculum they offer samplings of cultural activities within the community, trips to places of interest around Mazatlan, and optional home stay with a Mexican family. They provide discount rates for groups, schools, and other institutions. They offer a translation service for a nominal fee. Classes are conducted on premises at their Eloy Cavazos 149 Altos and in various settings for real-life experiences. A website is available at http://www.mexonline.com/efa.htm , and they can be contacted via E-mail at mailto: mailto:spanish@Prodigy.Net.mx... You can telephone them at 986-2471. They came highly recommended by a friend that studied with them last winter.
Lin Robinson - Dec 14 2003
MEXICAN SLANG BOOKS
Can't believe I forgot this one!! Needless to say that compared to the publication of Mexican Slang 101 the creation of the universe pales into insignificance. This is your fast track to true colloquialism, if not downright obnoxiousness. Even experienced Spanish speakers can learn a lot from this little tome...and beginners can get in MAJOR trouble. See more at the WEBSITE , inlcuding some sample slang and jokes! (Clean ones, no less!!!!)
Lin Robinson - Dec 14 2003
HANDY STUDY BOOKS AND AIDS
Here are some of the best books I've found for helping beginners and intermediates. Breaking Out of Beginner's Spanish by Joseph Keenan is a superlative language book. This is the stuff you have been trying to figure out all along and helps pop you up towards true fluency. Spanish Grammar Study Charts should be a part of EVERY learner's package...small, light, and all inclusive. The University of Chicago Spanish-English, English-Spanish Dictionary is the hands-down favorite–small, definitive and containing a very handy guide to irregular verb conjugation.
Lin Robinson - Dec 12 2003
ONLINE SPANISH STUDY GUIDES
OneLook.com Instantly look up words in many languages YourDictionary .
Comparative Cyber Lexicon English-Spanish Dictionary Spanish Resources Links to online dictionaries and vocabularies Spanish DICT.com Over 56,508 entries with over 10,369 audio pronunciations. Spanish to English small, simple dictionaries
Random Spanish Idiom Generator Idioms para idiotas
LESSONS AND TUTORIALS
Learn Spanish Includes a lot of activities for the beginning student, their listing of Spanish language sites is quite impressive Study Spanish A Free Online Tutorial: Grammar explanations Spanish Language Exercises By Juan Ramon de Arana, Ursinus College Spanish Study Site online tutorial Free Online Tutorial Free Online Language Lessons Basic Spanish For The Virtual Student Lin Robinson - Dec 12 2003
Spanish Basics – Politeness 101
We assume the first Spanish words a traveler to Mexico will first attempt to learn would be what Mom used to call the magic words : how to grace sentences with gracias and por favor. But sometimes the trick to social grace is to recognize small difference in usage...and to understand the possible responses. For instance, most people know that de nada is the reply to gracias that's closest to our use of you're welcome. But don't get thrown if you hear a Usted, it just means, Oh no, thank YOU. Or you might hear al contrario: it's not a disagreement, just a very courtly way of returning the thanks, as a restaurant host might do. In the same way, if you say mucho gusto to express pleasure at being introduced to a person, you would understand their of el gusto es mio, that the pleasure is all theirs but they'd be more likely to say iqualmente, meaning they are equally pleased. A more romantic response to meeting somebody would be encantado, meaning enchanted and an exact equivalent of the French enchante. The simplest introduction, by the way, is simply to say Presento, followed by mi amigo Mario, mi mama, or just the name of whoever you introducing. A very common reply to compliments is muy amable, equivalent to you're so kind/. You'll hear musicians acknowledge applause with Gracias, muy amables, and you can use it to appreciate or demur any flattery or admiration you are offered. One of the best compliments to give or get is that the cooking is good. You might say (or hear) that food is delicioso or muy sabroso (very tasty), but the most used comment is muy rico, which means *rich only literally, and is used to mean very tasty. If you're good enough cook to hear somebody call your food muy rico, just smile humbly and say Gracias, muy amable.
Lin Robinson - Dec 12 2003
Spanish Lessons – Politeness 102
There are different Spanish equivalents for excuse me, depending on the situation. To apologize after the fact. for bumping somebody, for instance, use Perdon . It's asking to be excused or pardoned. It also means I'm sorry in the apology sense–lo siento, though often listed in phrasebooks, means I feel it, and is used in situations such as I'm so sorry you're ill. Excuse me the way we use it to ask to be allowed to pass or to leave the table is con permiso in Spanish, asking permission, or simply say permiso when you want to squeeze by or are leaving the company. You will find that Mexicans are much more polite about this, murmuring permiso when they are merely stepping away at a party. Permiso is a very handy expression that can be used for a wide range of English phrases. Use it to ask to join people at their table, or to leave the table. It might mean, Let me help you with that or May I read your newspaper? The reply could be claro, meaning or course or proprio, indicating that they are on their own permission. It's good to learn these graces (which is what the term gracias means) and to listen to see how they are used. Some people say that the best thing about being in Mexico is that it makes them behave more politely at home.
Lin Robinson - Dec 12 2003
Spanish Lessons – LAS MANANITAS, The Mexican Birthday Song
Most visitors who hear Las Mananitas sung at a birthday celebration remark how much prettier it is than our more prosaic Happy Birthday. And no wonder–Las Mananitas (the name Little Mornings refers to the pre-dawn, or wee hours) comes down to us from the old custom of serenading a lover at dawn. The song became traditional for celebration of people's Saint's days, since in oldtime Mexico the anniversary of birth is much less important than the date on the Catholic calendar associated with the Saint a person is named after. However, in recent years, it's become the Birthday Song (and also the song used to serenade Mom on Mother's day) and is heard at parties, restaurants and birthday breaks in workplaces. There's no nicer way to celebrate Mexico than joining in on this lovely air–and it's even more fun to know what the words mean.
Las mañanitas
Éstas son las mañanitas These are the morning verses Que cantaba el Rey David, That King David used to sing, A las muchachas bonitas To the beautiful young ladies, Se las cantaba así. He would sing them like this.
Despierta, mi bien, despierta, Wake up, darling, wake up, Mira que ya amaneció, Look, the dawn has broken, Ya los pajaritos cantan, The birds are singing, La luna ya se metió. The moon has already gone down.
Éstas son las mañanitas These are the morning verses Que cantaba el Rey David, That King David used to sing, Hoy por ser día de tu santo Today because it's your saint's day Te las cantamos a ti. We're singing them to you.
Notice the phrase, dia de tu santo. The true celebration in Mexico is not really the anniversary of person's birth, but the day of their patron Saint, the Saint they are named after. So a little girl named Monica would get her celebration on the day of Santa Monica in the Catholic calendar. By the way, people with the same Saint's day are called tocayos which is not quite the same as *namesake/. If your name is Tom, that's not quite the same as Tomas, but you have the same Saint's day, so you are definitely tocayos.
A Mexican friend once pointed out that the poetic imagry and mentions of ancient verse in these lyrics don't have much to do with birthdays, but an American pal quickly mentioned Auld Lang Syne being just as abstract about New Years. At least. he said, With Las Mananitas you know what the words mean.
Lin Robinson - Dec 14 2003
MEXICAN REGIONAL NICKNAMES--
Mexico is a country of great variety, and people see themselves as citizens of regions, even to the point of having regional nicknames, many as nonsensical as out own monikers like Jayhawkers or Knickbockers. Knowing some of these regional nicknames can be a quick route to acceptance with Mexicans, or just provide a bit of fun.
The most widely used geographical nickname in Mexico is chilango, applied to natives of Mexico City or the surrounding Distrito Federal. Chilangos might use the term proudly, but to outsiders it can be a scornful term–even worse than New Yorker.
Another classic appelation is tapatio for a native of Guadalajara. Tapatios are very much in the mainstream of Mexican culture as seen from outside the country. Tequila, mariachis, civic art murals, and the sombreroed, pistola-packing charros are all Guadalajara exports and the real name for the famous Mexican Hat Dance is Jarabe Tapatio.
People from Monterrey are called regiomontanos. Monterrey has a reputation as a Type A, workaholic city that puts too much emphasis on money, so the standing joke is that regiomontanos are cheapskates, in the same way we stereotype Scotsmen as tight. Of course Mexicans would refer to that thriftiness as codo, maybe even touching their elbow as they say it to mean a penny-pincher.
The Baja nickname is cachanilla, technically the name of short scrub plant that grows all over the desert. Residents of Mexicali proudly claim that they are the true cachanillas, preferrring to use the word Tijua for citizens of Tijuana.
Those from Culiacan (like singing superstar Ana Gabriel) are called culiches. Jarochos are from Veracruz, and have a distinct image as loose, laughing, hedonistic people.
Other regional nicknames include hidrocalidos for people from Aguascalientes, choyeros for natives of Ciudad Constitution in B.C. Sur, alacranes (scorpions) of Durango (an area famous for large scorpions), campechanos from Campeche (the word also refers to sea-food cocktails) boxitos from Yucatan, patasaladas (salty-feet) from Mazatlan, and jaibos from Tampico (a crab-fishing port–jaiba is crab).
Outside Mexico, a borinqueno is from Puerto Rico, a gachupin is a Spaniard, Nicos are from Nicaraqua, Ticosfrom Costa Rica, a franchute a Frenchman, and chale refers to a Chinese or other Asian national. And if somebody is from Argentina, sooner of later somebody will call them che, if they don't call you that first.
