Advanced Audio Blogs: Mexico
Learn about Mexican history and culture with these all-Spanish lessons.
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Advanced Audio Blogs: Mexico

In this 19 lesson series, you'll learn about Mexico and different aspects of Mexican culture and society through audio blogs entirely in Spanish. Along the way, you'll pick up sophisticated expressions and advanced grammar in this Audio Blog series geared towards higher level students..

L# Title Topic Summary Cultural Fact Vocab
1 Day of the Dead (Mexico) Day of the Dead Ways to celebrate: altars w/orange marigolds, colorful flags, and toys, candies, chocolates, and honey for deceased children; bakery buildup to the holiday History of Day of the Dead muertito, -a
banderita
pulque
mole
tamal
atole
cigarrito
mezcal
2 Christmas Season in Mexico: 1 (Mexico) Christmas Definition, dates (12/8-2/2), Mexican menagerie (mule and ox), variable scope/mobility Nativity Scene aguinaldo
arrullo
barro
epifanía
nacimiento
olla
3 Christmas Season in Mexico: 2 (Mexico) Christmas Length (9 days), program: procession around house with candles and nativity trays, people inside play innkeepers and refuse to let them in until holy message is delivered, snacks, piñata, dance The 9 days before Christmas (Las Posadas) aguinaldo
colaciones
copla
letanías
peregrinos
piquete
posada
4 Christmas Season in Mexico: 3 (Mexico) Christmas Piñatas: origin in the Inns, significance (7 corners for 7 cardinal sins, destroying sin, candy/fruit=blessings); pastorelas (shepherd's plays): funny face-offs between good and evil involving Archangel Gabriel The history of the piñata and pastorelas piñata
picos
humorístico
huestes
Náhuatl
5 Christmas Season in Mexico: 4 (Mexico) Christmas Santa=infant God, comes on Christmas Eve; 3 wise men bring toys+candy on 1/6 (wish balloons in Pachuca) The Three Wise Men asimilar
humilde
mirra
petición
provenir
víspera
6 A Mining Tradition (Mexico) Pastes (empanadas) Mexico's 1st mining strike and soccer match in Real del Monte, pastes and what they're made of, origin of pastes as miners' lunch The word "paste" constatar
empanada
hojaldre
picadillo
fortuito
mole
7 Sweet 15 (Mexico) Quinceañeras Preparation, dress, mass, speech, dances, dinner, more dances, duration The significance of 15 years ampón
chambelán
chico, -a
coreográfico
color pastel
pretensión
8 The Serenades The serenade Purpose (declaring love, often on Mother's Day), where the musical groups hang out (Plaza Garibali in Mexico City) El sereno farol
norteño
recurso
sereno
trío
vía
9 El Tianguis (Mexico) Tinaguis Dispersal, definition, influence on artists, peak on Sunday Two types of markets tianguis
prehispánico, -a
parasol
dispersar
preestablecido, -a
10 Gifts between Worlds (Mexico) Culinary commerce between Mexico and Europe Foods that crossed from Mexico to Europe; foods that crossed from Spain, Germany, Italy, and the U.S. to Mexico Chocolate bolillo
chocolate
embutido
guajolote
migajón
11 Candlemass (Mexico) Candlemass Date (2/2), origin (presentation of baby Jesus to temple), customs (taking a Jesus doll to church to have it blessed), foods (tamales and atole) Niñopa de Xochimilco Candelaria
chinampero
fiel
mayordomo
Xochimilco
12 The Subway (Mexico) Mexico CIty's subway 9 lines, things to see, starts running at 5, men and women separated, crowdedness, shops The Mexico City subway de correspondencia
excavar
templo mayor
Tenochtitlan
de reojo
13 Petates (Mexico) Petates Definition, many uses, linguistic contributions Expression about petate tiempos inmemorables
junco
mortaja
palma
Tollan
14 Taquiza prehispánica (Mexico) Taquizas Pre-Spanish origin, diversity of ingredients, enduring appeal Worldly influences criollo, -a
epazote
guajolote
jícama
jumiles
taquiza
tompiate
15 El Carnaval (Mexico) Mexico's Carnival Popular customs (floats, flower wars, election of king and queen), unique customs (Chinelos' Hop) The start of the tradition carnaval
Cuaresma
fuegos pirotécnicos
terciopelo
túnica
16 Chamanes (Mexico) Shamans Ideal climate of Tuxtlas region for growing medicine, corresponding rise of shamans, modern persistence The shamans of Catemaco Catemaco
chamán
curandero
limpia
mal de ojo
malas vibras
17 Snakes and Sharks (Mexico) Legends Old people migrate to caves, grow feathers, fly away, drop into the sea, and become sharks Quetzalcoatl, the Mesoamerican deity ¡buenas!
enigmático
fijarse
leyenda
mitología
18 Day of the Masons (Mexico) Day of the Holy Cross Bricklayers decorate construction sites w/flowers, candles, colored paper, and crosses made from building materials; feasts Catholicism and working-class solidarity albañil
barbacoa
carnitas
poner
pozole
19 Plaza Day (Mexico) Plaza Day Variety of goods, measurements, bustling nature What's a "plaza"? cucurucho
Día de Plaza
galvanizado, -a
pajarear
peltre
pendiente