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Cielito Lindo - Mexico's unofficial national anthem

Cielito Lindo We have heard the ‘unofficial’ national anthem of Cuba – Guantanamera – this week’s song is the unofficial national anthem of Mexico which is Cielito Lindo. They sing it whenever they get the opportunity and, like Guantanamera, the tune has also been stolen by football fans. For me it has extra poignancy because I used to sing it to my granddaughter when she wouldn’t go to sleep. Cielito lindo was popularized in 1882 by  Mexican   author Quirino Mendoza y Cortés, who died in 1957. It is roughly translates as "Lovely Sweet One". The word  cielo  means "sky" or "heaven", but is also a term of endearment comparable to sweetheart or honey.  Cielito , the diminutive, can be translated as "sweetie"; l indo  means "cute", "lovely"  or "pretty". Commonly played by mariachi bands, it has been recorded by many artists in the original Spanish as well as in English and other languages. It is...
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Mexicans furious about being subtitled in Spanish

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One of the surprise hit films from 2018 was Roma, a Mexican film showing on Netflix written and directed by Alfonso Cuarón. Set in 1970 and 1971, the film is a semi-autobiographical take on Cuarón's upbringing in Mexico City and follows the life of a live-in housekeeper to a middle-class family. The title refers to Colonia Roma , a neighborhood in the city. It has sparked a lot of controversy in the Spanish-speaking world because the film is recorded in Mexican Spanish and Netflix decided that, for the European Spanish market, it would put subtitles in Castellano. I often talk about the differences between Spanish spoken in different parts of the world. It seems Netflix now believes that Mexican Spanish and Spanish Spanish is so different that one cannot understand the other. This is what Ana from Butterfly Spanish had to say: Hola a todas y a todos: Espero que estén muy bien. Muchas disculpas por no haber escrito pero aquí estoy. ...
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Classes start again in September

Classes will start again on September 19 th , 10am to noon at the Copeland Centre, Bretton. Subs will be £6 per term (to pay for the hall rental) and £1 for printing and pens. Tea and coffee will be available at break, with the usual contribution to keep funds topped up. This has been 10p per tea and 15p per coffee. I believe that Anita will co-ordinate our drinks fund. Biscuits are by kind donation, with birthdays and holidays a good excuse to donate! Anyone in the current class who wishes to continue will have a place reserved if they have put their name down. New people will be accommodated on a first-come, first-served basis. The book we will be using is Sueños World Spanish (Book 1). You might also find Collins Easy Learning Spanish Grammar and Collins Easy Learning Spanish Verbs useful companions. These are all available secondhand on Amazon or at high street bookshops. We have a Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1676535839023535/ which contains dates,...
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