Friday, May 27, 2011

Learning Spanish the Easy and Fun Way

One of the best ways to learn Spanish is by speaking it constantly. If you see a sign somewhere that says “HIPOTECA”, ask yourself in Spanish, “¿Qué quiere decir hipoteca?” What does “hipoteca” mean? Then, go up to some random vato who is just sitting there, and go “Perdón, Señor…¿qué quiere decir 'hipoteca'?" Then, taken aback by your outstanding command of the Spanish language, the dude will answer “el préstamo sacado por la compra de una casa”. And then you’ll go “¿Qué quiere decir 'préstamo'? and then he’ll get bored and walk away and then you will have to go on to the next random guy and annoy the hell out of them, too. Sure, it might be an odd way to start a conversation but look at that, you’ve gotten an exchange of four Spanish sentences! Increíble. As an added bonus, you also will give these random cuates something to talk about for the rest of their life, on how they met that guero en la calle, preguntándose de hipotecas.

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Here are several ways to say "What's up?" in Spanish. Note that in addition to the phrase is the approximate phonetic pronunciation in parentheses.

¿Qué tal? (kay - TAHL)

¿Qué hubo? (kay - OO - boh)

¿Qué hay? (kay - EYE)

¿Qué onda? (kay - OHN - dah)

¿Qué hubiéndole (kay - oo - BYEHN - doh - lay)

Ways to Say "What's Up?"

Immediately improve your Spanish conversational skills with the following conversation starters (equivalent to "what's up?" in English):

¿Qué tal?

¿Qué onda?

¿Qué hay?

¿Qué hubo?

¿Qué hubiéndole?


BTW, I am sorry I haven't added any content in awhile, but I have had to rejoin the corporate IT world for the time being. Ho-hum.

Thursday, May 5, 2011

"La Troca del Moño Negro" por Los Originales de San Juan (with lyrics and translation)



Yo se lo dije a mi padre,
Quiero que vengas conmigo
Quiero pistiar esta noche
como dos grandes amigos
para decirte papá, lo mucho que te he querido...

¿No más me acompañarás?
hasta ver la madrugada
porque cuando raye el sol
Tengo una bronca pesada
si no me vuelves a ver
la suerte ya estaba echada

No es que te quiero alarmar
pero tengo un sentimiento
no más te quiero decir
que se ha llegado el momento
la muerte viene por mi
yo tengo el presentimiento

No más te quiero pedir
que no me llores si muero
desde muy chico creí
que eras el hombre de acero
no te vayas a doblar
cuando me quiten el cuero

Dáme un abrazo papá
Tal vez sea la despedida
Tú has sido mi protector
también mi madre querida
tú fuistes un gran señor
y eso, nunca se me olvida

Me tienden sobre mi troca
si de ésta no salgo vivo
en la cintura mi escuadra
También mi cuerno de chivo
para que en mi funeral
quiero que vayan conmigo

Pónganle un moño a mi troca
y me la pintan de negro
que me sirva de carroza
con rumbo así al cementerio
y guárdenla en el garage
que tiene mucho recuerdo...

Here's the translation:

I said to my dad
I want you to come with me
I want to have a few drinks
Like two great friends
In order to say dad how much I've loved you...

Will you come with me?
Until we see the dawn
Because when the sun comes up,
I am going to have a huge problem.
If you don't see me again,
Then my luck has run out...

I don't want to alarm you,
But I have this feeling
I just want to tell you,
that the moment has arrived.
Death has come for me,
I have a sinking feeling.

I just want to ask you
Not to cry, if I die.
Since I was a small boy, I believed
that you were my man of steel
Don't give up
when they tear me to pieces...

Give me a hug, Dad,
Maybe it'll be goodbye
You have been my protector
as well as my beloved mother,
You were a great man,
and that, I will never forget.

They will have me laid out on my truck
if I don't come out alive from this,
My squad at my waist,
as well as my AK-47,
because at my funeral
I want them to go with me...

Put a ribbon on my truck,
And paint it black for me
And it will serve as my hearse
like it is On its way to the cemetery
And keep it over there in the garage,
that has so many memories...

Using "¿qué? and ¿cuál? in interrogative sentences; You know them better as "questions".

Both ¿qué? and ¿cuál? mean "what?" in English, but the verbs in Spanish change depending on where they are used.  " cuál &q...