URLLesson Introduction
Cuba! The rhythm, the rum, the sandy beaches, the cigars... Someday my finances and the political situation will align, and I you'll find me at a beachside bar with a stogie in one hand, and a mojito in another; people will walk by and say I'm a Hemmingway stereotype. In today's Spanish lesson, we'll hear about someone's plans to vacation in Cuba. Someday, that someone will be me!
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mharbus says
Hola, A question about pronunciation...in the expansion section under the word plan is the following sentence...Todavía no he hecho ningún plan. What I hear is ...Todavía no hecho ningún plan. I assume an elision is required for the combination 'he hecho'....and therefore I assume one must elide whenever a vowel ending of one word is followed by a word with the same vowel sound.February 13, 2008
shep1582 says
¿Como le va?, En su explicación usan "que se tiene que" bailar, pero en el diálogo and traducción usan en vez de "para" Primero, estoy confundido, pero entonces supuse que cambió después de su grabación, ¿verdad? - ¡Tenga un buen dia!February 13, 2008
oolung says
Para mi hay dos canciones que se tiene bailar: "Hips don't lie" de Shakira y "Crazy in love" de Byonce. Ayer mismo fui a un pequenito club con mi amiga y nadie bailaba, pero nosotras, cuando oimos Shakira, simplemente tuvieramos que bailar - y asi nos quedamos bailando solas por casi dos horas :)February 13, 2008
oolung says
"dos canciones que se tieneN bailar", obviamente :)February 13, 2008
cyberdiva says
Oolung, traducirías "se tienen bailar," por favor? No entiendo "tenerse" aquí. Muchas gracias.February 13, 2008
jpvillanueva says
mharbus, Good intuition. What happens is in English, we used avoid "elision" usually adding a glottal stop, which is the sound separating the two syllables in "uh-oh." Many English speakers try to carry this habit into Spanish. Spanish speakers, however, do not insert a glottal stop between two vowels, they simply pronounce both vowels without a break. Depending on how the stress falls, these two-vowels-run-together sound to English speakers like one single vowel, especially when they are the same vowel, like in "he hecho." That is the official answer: I'm not sure the authorities are ready to admit to full-fledged "elision" like what happens in French or Italian!February 13, 2008
jpvillanueva says
shep1582, You caught us! Somewhere in the process, a change was made that didn't get ironed out. Luckily, neither version is an error, both are correct! So don't be confused! ...música para bailar. music for dancing ...música que se tiene que bailar. music which has to dance itself; i.e., music that one must dance to. cyberdiva, that "se" does not belong to a verb *tenerse. Rather, that's the phrase "tener que bailar" (to have to dance); the "se" is thrown in to make the sentence reflexive (it must dance itself), which is a way that Spanish speakers make an impersonal sentence. Some textbook authors will call this a pseudo-passive. In regular English, that might come out as "music to which one simply must dance." Or, if you speak my kind of English: "music ya just gotta dance to."February 13, 2008
cyberdiva says
Duh....muchas gracias, JP. I guess from now on I should listen to the podcast before asking questions about the comments! :-) In the podcast, you explained very clearly what "se tiene que bailar" means. I think, though, that I might still have been puzzled by oolung's comment, because it doesn't include the "que" after se tiene. Am I right in thinking that the "que" is necessary? Again, many thanks for replying so quickly and helpfully.February 13, 2008
oolung says
Yeah, so I think JP has already made that clear, I was too late. And thanks for reminding me of the "que" :) (Yes, I think it IS necessary). Don't worry, cyberdiva, it took me some time to stop asking questions before actually listening to the podcast :)February 13, 2008
luisita says
Porque no incluyen "a link "(lo siento no se como llamar eso en espanol) en esta leccion para que escuchemos musica de son y de salsa como lo hicieron en Del taco al tango ?February 13, 2008
juana1 says
Me gustaria ir a cuba un dia. Es uno de mis suenos. Me gusta la musica y la comida. Yo disfruti la leccion.February 13, 2008
lilianamata says
February 13, 2008
lilianamata says
Tema: el son no se va a morir Interprete: Carlos Embale Autor: Ignacio Piñeiros Ritmo: SonFebruary 13, 2008
npshirley says
Gracias por el video! El son es un poco como "swing" en los estados unidos. Me gusta la musica. Me gusta mucho los lecciones que tambien hacian algo de los paises y culturos latinos. Gracias.February 14, 2008
luisita says
Muchas gracias lilianamata por el video! Me encanto verlo pero todavia no se como se dice en espanol el "link".February 15, 2008
cicatrix says
Me gusta mucho el video,,,gracias.February 18, 2008
paulohenriques says
Próximo verano, voy novamente a Panamá. Espero estar hablando mejor español. Panameños hablan muy rápidamente.March 4, 2008
steveooo says
si quieres ver un video de salsa cubana!go to you tube y put :yanek y diana-cuban style salsa....it is some of the best salsa dancing you will seeApril 1, 2008