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    The Channel of the Stain

    The English Channel’s name in Spanish El Canal de la Mancha, literarily translates as The Channel of the Stain. This is historically an unfortunate translation mistake from its French name Canal de la Manche, which in French means Channel of the Sleeve, yes, as in a shirt. Probably the channel’s shape resembled a sleeve to the […] More

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    Beto, Pepe y más.

      Here are some examples of diminutives for common Spanish names for men and women. Most of these names are used in Mexico but they may be a little different in other countries. Ale, Alex » Alejandro (Alexander) Beto » Alberto, Roberto Bety » Beatriz Carmela, Carmelita » Carmen Coco » Socorro (women’s) Concha » […] More

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    Charlie Chaplin in Mexico.

    This Charlie Chaplin movie, The Pilgrim, was made nearly a century ago, in 1923.  It was not really made in Mexico, but more north in a California movie studio.  In this scene, Charlie Chaplin is deported to Mexico.       Charlie Chaplin really traveled in Mexico. He married 16 year-old Lita Gray, who had […] More

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    Sample list of translated proper nouns in Spanish

    This is a sample list of proper nouns in Spanish. Very often, I speak using proper nouns that I take for granted, but some of my students just can’t figure out what they mean, even during a conversation and in context. Some proper nouns are easy to identify, like Jorge Washington but I’m listing them […] More

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    The 10 Best Cities in the World in 2021, according to Condé Nast.

          Which really are the best cities in the world? Our readers voted for their favourite urban destinations – ranking them for architecture, their buzzing food scenes and smart places to stay. How many have you been to? And – do you agree with the list? https://t.co/Yrks4vCvaZ — Condé Nast Traveller (@cntraveller) March […] More

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    La Kahlo

      The use of “La” only for famous ladies. It’s a pop culture thing to refer to famous ladies using the definite article plus her last name to convey something like “the one and only.” For example: La Monroe The one and only Miss Monroe. It’s like if there were no other famous woman with […] More

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    An interesting video about the history of the X in Spanish.

      Lola Pons Rodríguez explains a brief history of the letter X, she mentions that it has had several sounds that have changed every few centuries, and she also explains that the letter H was not mute in some regions. It was pronounced in a similar manner to English or German. This video is in […] More

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    Telenovelas mexicanas locas.

    This is one of the most memorable moments in Mexican telenovela history. Extremely dramatic, overacted, politically incorrect, internet meme material. This segment has subtitles for your amusement. Excuse some of the subtitles. Obviously, if they were exact translations, this telenovela would’ve never been shown on TV.       ¡Maldita lisiada! Itatí Cantoral cuenta su […] More

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