It’s been a busy week on my Spanish learning journey personally, with no less than three Spanish C2 exams (covering reading, listening and oral tests respectively). But fear not - we have a cracking edition of El Boletín to close the season with.

We open with something a little different for our curated reading pick - with beloved Argentinian comic strip character Mafalda - resulting in a section which is low of dense literary text, but high on humour and satire. We then move on to enjoy another passionate pop ballad in our curated listening section - and I defy you not to spend the next week trying to get this one out of your head.

Our curated community contribution this week comes from Esther Harder, who shares her Spanish-learning journey from high school in the US, to raising a bilingual family with her Mexican husband. And finally, we end the season with a film pick in our curated culture section, as eight-year-old Moncho navigates childhood in 1930s Galicia.

I hope you enjoy.

- Gareth

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Curated Reading: Mafalda, Joaquín Salvador Lavado (‘Quino’)

Of the many places I’ve visited and taken Spanish lessons, Mendoza in Argentina must be one of the most beautiful - and an absolute must if you enjoy your wine. In truth, the quality of teaching I had there was mixed: one teacher, close to retirement, would rock up with his newspaper under his arm, ask me if I liked football, and then ask me to read out the Argentinian football articles to “practice my pronunciation”. To this day, I’m not sure if it was for his benefit or mine.

But another teacher, who introduced me to some incredible Argentinian films which I’ll share in a future edition, also opened my eyes to the world of Mafalda - an iconic Argentinian comic-strip character created by cartoonist Joaquín Salvador Lavado, better known as Quino, in the 1960s.

Presented as a sharp-witted, socially conscious six-year-old girl, Mafalda quickly became a cultural symbol across Latin America and beyond. Through her innocent yet incisive questions, she reflects anxieties about world peace, politics, inequality, and the contradictions of adult society. Her comics are humorous on the surface, but they carry a strong undercurrent of social critique, mirroring political tensions and global issues.

Surrounded by a memorable cast - such as the consumer-minded Manolito, the conservative and marriage-obsessed Susanita, and her sweet, shy little brother Guille - Mafalda’s world allows Quino to contrast different ideologies and personalities in playful yet profound ways.

Although the original strip ended in 1973, and Quino himself died a few years ago, Mafalda’s relevance endures. She remains a beloved figure whose curiosity, empathy, and rebellious spirit continue to resonate with readers who see in her a timeless voice calling for a better, more humane world. So if you’d likee to do some light-touch Spanish reading practice this week, I encourage you to check out some of Quino’s work.

Curated Listening: Fuiste Tú - Ricardo Arjona ft. India Martínez

Hot on the heels of last week’s curated listening choice of a Spanish pop ballad from Malú and David Bisbal, this week we hop across the pond to enjoy another ballad - this time by Guatemalan singer-songwriter Ricardo Arjona.

Arjona has long been considered one of Latin America’s most distinctive storytellers - using poetic lyrics to explore themes of love, memory, contradictions, and the everyday complexities of human relationships. Over a career spanning more than three decades, he has built an immense following across the Spanish-speaking world, admired not only for his unmistakable voice but also for the emotional precision of his songwriting.

Our specific curated listening choice this week is his song Fuiste Tú - an intimate, melancholic dialogue between two people navigating the ruins of a love that has ended but refuses to fully fade. The lyrics unpack both the blame and bittersweet nostalgia that linger after a breakup, capturing the moments when both partners quietly admit their own share of responsibility.

Upon its release, the song performed strongly across Guatemala, Mexico, Argentina, and Chile, and quickly became a staple of contemporary Latin pop. Although the song was originally recorded as a duet with Gaby Moreno, this live performance features India Martínez. At the start of the second verse, you can almost feel her give up arguing - emotionally exhausted as she walks barefoot at night, the way being lit up only by neon lights.

This passion - matched by the passion of the crowd - make this video one not to miss. As always, you can read along with the full lyrics here.

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Curated Community: Esther Harder

Our final curated community contributor of the season is Esther Harder. Esther is a memoir book coach specialising in stories that cross cultures and languages - and if you’re wondering what exactly a book coach does, there’s an explanation at her substack, Write Like An Outsider.

Here, Esther shares her Spanish-learning journey - from high school in the US, to raising a bilingual family with her Mexican husband. On the way, she notes the trick of building vocabulary in areas you’re actually interested in, and the importance of building a community of fellow Spanish learners.

Over to you, Esther!

1. When and why did you start learning Spanish?

My tiny hometown high school offered a Spanish class for 9th grade, and I jumped at the chance to start a language a year ahead of the other languages they offered. I had a very short-term goal, which was to understand the calls going on during the pick-up soccer games in our city park. Later on, my Spanish language goals broadened; my sister-in-law is Bolivian, and my husband is Mexican, so we are trying to create households where we can flow back and forth from Spanish to English.

2. What advice would you give to other Spanish students?

My 9th grade self understood a key concept: Learning a language while participating in a shared activity can cement learning far more quickly than studying a book. Maybe soccer isn’t your thing, but you can find other people who are fans of your thing with some work. You’ll gain some very specialized vocabulary that you are uniquely interested in, and you’ll have a whole lot of fun while doing it.

3. What’s your proudest or most memorable moment you’d had using the language?

My child’s first words and phrases were in Spanish rather than English. As his primary caregiver, I take great pride in the effort I put in to cement that early learning despite my many misgivings that I was making silly mistakes or teaching him to mimic my less than perfect accent. Those mistakes don’t matter in the long run; the fact that we were sharing life in Spanish far superseded an improper conjugation here and there.

4. What have you found most difficult, and how do you deal with that?

My main challenge is that now that my child has outgrown the age where we would hang out at the park for hours on end and I could chat with the other caregivers in Spanish, I do not have a readily available Spanish conversation practice built into my day, so I continue to struggle to find ways to push my language learning ahead in one-on-one conversation. I will give a plug for Habla Institute in Mérida; we spent a month there this summer, and they had great, leveled programs for children as well as adults.

5. What do you hope to achieve by subscribing to El Boletín?

Community! Finding others who are struggling with similar language learning issues and sharing resources is great. It’s nice to know I’m not alone and we can continue together.

Curated Culture: La lengua de las mariposas

Back when I was learning Spanish at B1 level, I used to use a textbook series where each chapter was divided into sections. Each would start by introducing the key vocabulary, move on to grammar, followed by exercises to help you practice those points. And each chapter would close with a cultural snippet — a song, a film, or an insight into everyday Spanish life. It’s that last cultural section which I used to most enjoy - because it felt like a ticket to go on an adventure to a whole new world. It was also the inspiration for El Boletín.

I remember one chapter touched on Spanish cinema, and while I adore the work of Almodóvar as much as the next person (and he’ll definitely feature in a future edition of the newsletter) - my curated culture pick this week is the film La lengua de las mariposas.

Set in 1930s Spain (in a small village in Galicia) just before the outbreak of the civil war, La lengua de las mariposas follows Moncho, an eight-year-old boy. The film shows how Moncho - shy, asthmatic, and nervous about starting school - comes under the care of Don Gregorio, his new teacher. Unlike the harsh teachers Moncho had heard about, Don Gregorio is patient, open-minded, and encourages learning through curiosity, nature, and kindness rather than fear. Over the course of the film, Moncho blossoms intellectually and emotionally: he begins to appreciate literature, nature (even learning the Spanish word espíritrompa — “butterfly’s tongue”), and the beauty of observation.

But as the political situation in Spain deteriorates, the peaceful rhythm of village life is shattered. The rise of the conflict leads to arrests, fear, betrayal - and Moncho’s world is abruptly transformed.

I love this work for two reasons. Firstly, because for a language learner, the content is just accessible enough for an intermediate student, especially with subtitles. I remember it being the first time I’d achieved such a feat on my Spanish-learning journey, and feeling such a sense of achievement. Secondly, I love the juxtaposition in the film: on one hand, the everyday experiences of a primary-school aged boy - those first awkward days at school, curiosity, friendship, innocence - and on the other hand, the shadow of a looming civil war, political intolerance and violence, which Moncho cannot fully grasp.

At once, the film presents a cultural insight into pre-civil war Spain that is very specific to its time and place, alongside the very universal experience of growing up that we can all relate to. I’m delighted to be able to recommend it to you all.

And that brings us to the end of this first season of El Boletín! If you’re a fan of Mafalda, Ricardo Arjona or La lengua de las mariposas - or you have another song or film to recommend to our community of Spanish learners - why not continue the conversation in the comments below? We’re always happy to include reader recommendations in the newsletter.

I’d like to also take this opportunity to thank you all for supporting the newsletter since it launched just ten short weeks ago. In that time, we’ve gone from zero to a community of over 300 language learners, exploring the Spanish-speaking world together. Please do continue to spread the word and encourage your friends and family to subscribe.

El Boletín will be back from 3 January for the next season - but in the meantime, os deseo una feliz Navidad y un próspero Año Nuevo.

⁃ Gareth

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As we approach edition ten of El Boletín - and the final edition of the season before the Christmas break - I’ve been reflecting on the journey so far.

Using the audience data provided by Substack, the popularity (or not) of various posts and notes, and the responses so far to the El Boletín reader survey - I’ve been pondering six conclusions about what’s working well for our growing community of advanced Spanish learners - and how I can keep making El Boletín even more useful on your journey to fluency.

But we’re a new newsletter, so the sample size for these conclusions is small. And so I wanted to share those conclusions with you all: to see if they feel right to you, and to see if you agree.

I’d love to hear your thoughts.

- Gareth

1. Our ‘average reader’ is from the United States, has an upper-intermediate to lower-advanced level of Spanish, and is a working professional or retired.

Our readers are mostly based in the United States (50%), with smaller contingencies in Spain (20%) and the UK (15%), and a small handful scattered elsewhere across Europe and the Americas. We cluster around the upper intermediate (B2) to lower advanced (C1) levels - with some outliers either side. According to our reader survey, most readers are working professionals or retired, and skew slightly older (55+).

This lines up well with the ‘ideal reader’ I imagined when I first started writing the newsletter. As noted in my original ‘About’ page - I believe that at lower levels, there are so many sources of support (from teachers, YouTube channels, Duolingo - even right here on Substack). But once you reach upper intermediate and above, you need (and want) to start practising with native content.

And the trouble is this: when there’s so much content out there - and when we all live busy lives with jobs, families and other commitments - it’s hard to find the time to seek out interesting and useful content from the Spanish-speaking world. And it’s hard to keep your Spanish alive - without plateauing, or even going backwards.

I hope that’s where El Boletín comes in.

2. Posts with guest contributors and written in Spanish do well. Political topics less so.

The most popular post so far was the fifth edition of El Boletín below (with 19 likes), while the least popular was the eighth edition (with just 6 likes).

Alongside that, we consistently have a strong open rate, averaging just over 50% (with the industry average being between 20-30%) - suggesting high engagement. Indeed, all of our survey respondents said they read El Boletín every week.

It’s hard to draw conclusion for exactly why the popularity of those two posts differ.

Edition five included three guest contributors: including a recipe for Mexican hot chocolate from our friends at Inspired by Mexico (in Spanish); a guest post diving into Toledo from Miguel at History of Spain - and Charlie Marrez sharing his experiences learning English as a Spanish speaker.

The eighth edition opened with a link to an interview with the UN Secretary General during COP30, and featured just one guest contributor: the brilliant Casey Kelly sharing her experiences of learning Spanish.

Both editions contained links to YouTube videos (one on Spanish football podcasters, and the other on the Mascho Piro tribe in Peru).

Potential conclusions? Guest contributions are welcome. Text in Spanish directly in the newsletter does well. Politics is less popular. But I’d certainly welcome your thoughts.

3. Curated reading, listening and culture are consistently voted the most popular sections - but curated community and glossaries are less so.

As part of our reader survey, we asked the community which sections of the newsletter they found most interesting and enjoyable, and which they don’t. Interestingly, even from such a small sample size, a fairly strong trend emerged.

Over 80% of responders said that the curated reading and curated culture sections were their favourite parts - closely followed by the curated listening section (50%).

This tracks with the answers above: with most of our readers here to find interesting and useful resources from the Spanish-speaking world to keep working on their fluency and expand their vocabulary.

I found it more surprising that the curated community section, featuring an interview with a fellow Spanish learner, was consistently voted the least popular section - followed by the free glossaries I used to produce in earlier editions. I know I’ve certainly enjoyed hearing about other people’s experiences of learning the language - and I’m truly grateful for everyone who’s taken the time to contribute over previous editions.

The question becomes - if we were to replace this for the next season of El Boletín in 2026, what would we replace it with? I’d love to hear suggestions from you all.

4. Notes which share my own experiences learning Spanish - and the joy and human connections that come with it - seem to perform well. Shameless self-promotion less so.

Again, strong trends are emerging on which notes are proving more popular with readers, and which are not.

It appears that posts which share my own experiences with learning Spanish - the joy I feel in discovering a cool new resource or cultural snippet, the moments of human connection that come with speaking it, and the sneak peaks behind the scenes at El Boletín - seem to do well.

I also find that posts which say a little about what will be included in the upcoming weekend’s edition perform well, too.

Understandably, notes which blatantly attempt to convert followers into subscribers, or encourage restacks or recommendations, tend to do less well.

Shameless self-promotion is often needed when you’re trying to get a newsletter off the ground - but going forward, I plan to include less of those notes, and let the newsletter speak for itself.

And you’ll certainly never receive click-bait - regardless of however many views it might drive. Because authenticity and quality are important.

5. Posting weekly on a Saturday morning feels right - with breaks to avoid burnout and maintain the joy of sharing resources from the Spanish-speaking world.

When I first started writing El Boletín, I wanted to choose a posting cadence that I could both maintain consistently (alongside the day job!), and would also be useful for the advanced Spanish learners I hoped to connect with.

Substacks which post daily seem to grow quicker, but I know that would never be sustainable for me. And moreover, I don't think that’s helpful for other busy, working professionals who want to keep their Spanish alive alongside their busy lives.

Instead, I feel like one issue a week, every Saturday morning, has been working well.

It gives me the time and headspace to curate each section with care - using examples from the Spanish-speaking world that I genuinely enjoy. And I hope it provides my readers with a manageable slice of Spanish culture that they can enjoy each weekend, in a relaxed way, with their weekend coffee.

I’m planning to build in regular breaks, splitting El Boletín into three seasons, with breaks for Easter, Summer and Christmas. I haven’t decided exactly how that will look yet - but regular breaks will allow me to keep El Boletín going sustainably, avoid burnout, and keep sharing the Spanish content I love. Because it’s been a pleasure connecting with you all so far.

6. In the longer-term, El Boletín could go on the road - to bring you the sights, sounds and joys of Spanish-speaking culture, first-hand.

Finally, as part of the reader survey, I asked the community what they’d like to see from the newsletter in the medium to longer term - and 100% of responders said the same thing: to take El Boletín on the road.

To not only recommend that cool museum, cultural sight or quirky accommodation, but to visit in person and report back with first-hand photos.

To not only describe the Catalan tradition of la calçotada from afar, but to experience it - and send back videos of the barbecue, the smoke, and that delightfully messy sauce.

And to not only recommend podcasts to help you practice your listening skills - but to include real-world audio clips and interviews with native speakers, to bring you closer to the cultural immersion which is crucial to making the jump from advanced to fluent.

I can’t deny that is something I’d love to do - and as I travel on holiday to the Spanish-speaking world, I’ll do my best to report back. But to do so consistently, I think two things would need to be true.

Firstly, I’d need to wait until El Boletín has a large enough audience that it could support a full-time income. Of course, that day may never come.

And secondly, I’d want to work out how it would be different to the sea of expat lifestyle, slow travel and digital nomad content that’s already out there.

Because, most importantly, I want El Boletín to be authentic, high-quality, and useful specifically for advanced Spanish students.

Putting all of the above together, what does the future hold for El Boletín’s next season from January 2026?

El Boletín will continue to be with you every Saturday morning, with guest contributors, and content selected to be useful specifically to advanced Spanish learners looking to keep progressing towards fluency.

It will focus on carefully curated reading, listening and cultural picks - with more written in Spanish, and more of my personal journey, human connections, and joy in exploring the Spanish-speaking world.

And in the long term, I’d love to take El Boletín on the road, to share first-hand some of the sights, sounds and cultural immersion which are key to fluency - but only when the time is right, and only when El Boletín can provide unique, authentic and high-quality content which is genuinely useful for you all.

If you have any other ideas on the future of El Boletín, I’d love to hear them in the comments below, via substack message - or if you’re reading this by email, simply by hitting reply. I read and respond to everyone.

Thanks again to you all for reading - and stay turned for the final edition of the season next week!

- Gareth

We have a great edition to share with you this week, with no less than three guest contributors and two Spanish singers to explore. In our curated reading section, I’m delighted to welcome doctor, polyglot and author Alan Legarde, to share some of his atmospheric and spooky work - which you can enjoy and pick up some new Spanish vocabulary at the same time. While in our curated listening section, we join Spanish pop legends Malú and David Bisbal for a rendition of her song, Te Voy a Olvidar.

We then jump access the Atlantic for our curated culture section - as football author and podcaster Chris Lee recommends his top football-themed book in the Spanish language - giving his recommendation in English and in Spanish so you can practice a little more. And last but not least, we join Erika Andersen, who’s resident in Asturias and is “determined to become bilingual”. Erika shares her Spanish journey so far, along with her thoughts on using Duolingo and AI as part of the learning process.

So grab your Saturday morning cortados, and let’s dive in to the mundo hispanohablante together.

- Gareth

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Curated Reading: La Mancha, Alan Legarde

A few weeks ago, I posted a note asking if any Spanish-speaking writers on Substack would like to feature their work in our curated reading section. And while several reached out, I’m delighted to say that Alan Lagarde, whose work is featured below, was recommended by other readers. And I can see why. His work is atmospheric, gripping, enjoyable to read, and for us Spanish learners, a great way to pick up some new vocabulary by diving into some literature that’s both challenging for non-native speakers yet still accessible.

I won't explain any of the story here, but will just say that if you enjoy the extract from his short story La Mancha below, be sure to check out the rest of it on his site. I loved it.

En esa época aceptaba cualquier trabajo nocturno con tal de no dormir. El insomnio era algo enquistado, una carga que venía arrastrando desde hacía años. Probé de todo, sin resultados. Así que empecé a trabajar en los horarios que nadie quería, en los turnos que todos evitaban.

El estacionamiento era un edificio gris, bruto, sin ventanas ni señales, encajado entre estructuras más nuevas. Tenía cinco pisos en superficie, siempre vacíos, siempre callados. Pero lo turbio estaba más abajo. El nivel menos dos había sido clausurado hacía años, después de un accidente del que nadie quiso hablar.

Pensé que las guardias nocturnas iban a ser tranquilas, casi mecánicas. Pero algo en ese lugar no cerraba. No era solo el silencio, sino la forma en que se estiraba entre las paredes: denso, irregular, como si tapara algo. Los pasos no sonaban igual que en otros edificios. Había rincones donde el eco no volvía. Sectores donde la oscuridad parecía más espesa de lo normal.

Desde entonces, nadie bajaba. Era un piso húmedo, sin señal, donde las cámaras dejaban de grabar por momentos. El menos tres ni siquiera debía existir. No aparecía en los planos, no tenía acceso marcado, pero algunos empleados sabían de una puerta sin cartel al fondo del menos dos.

Al principio era solo una molestia. Después, fue ansiedad. Parecía un error en las cámaras. Era apenas un manchón negro, amorfo, que se extendía lentamente sobre las columnas, como tinta volcada que se desparramaba sin prisa. No se parecía a una mancha de suciedad ni a un problema del lente: siempre aparecía en el mismo lugar, a la misma hora, sin importar cuántas veces revisara las grabaciones. Las 3:33 de la madrugada.

Curated Listening: Te Voy a Olvidar, Malú con David Bisbal

Not one, but two Spanish pop singers in our curated listening section this week, as we join Malú and David Bisbal in a live performance of her song, Te Voy a Olvidar.

Malú is one of Spain’s most enduring vocalists, and has built a career which blends pop, flamenco influence and emotional intensity - bringing raw vulnerability to her performances. Here, she is joined by David Bisbal, who rose to fame through Operación Triunfo - a Spanish singing contest, similar to American Idol or The X Factor. He’s since become an international star, noted for blending pop ballads with rthymic flair.

Together, their rendition of Te Voy a Olvidar becomes an emotional dialogue between two of Spain’s most recognisable voices. The lyrics, which you can read along with here, sing of heartbreak, resolve and moving on… delivered with a passion that feels quintessentially Spanish. And if passionate, pop ballads of heartbreak are your thing, stay tuned because next week we have an even better Latin American equivalent to share with you, too.

Curated Culture: Outside Write, Chris Lee

Something a little different in our curated culture section this week. Fresh from his Substack post about the best books about South American football, I asked football author and podcaster Chris Lee for a book recommendation about the same topic… but in Spanish.

His choice is a book that, as Chris says, “really needs to be translated into English”. And if you’d like to practice your reading skills before diving into the full book, he’s written his recommendation in English and in Spanish below, too.

Over to you, Chris!

My recommendation for a Spanish-language book, especially if you’re interested in the confluence of politics and sport, is El Partido (The Match) by Argentinian journalist, Andrés Burgo.

The book chronicles the story of the infamous quarter-final between Argentina and England at the Mexico ’86 World Cup. It was the first encounter between the two nations since the Falklands/Malvinas War in 1982 and was the match that propelled Diego Maradona beyond football with his infamous ‘Hand of God’ goal, followed five minutes later by the ‘Goal of the Century’.

Burgo interviews many of the players and staff from both sides, and it’s a great way to learn some Argentinian slang at the same time.

Mi recomendación para un libro en castellano, especialmente para ellos que les interesan la confluencia de la politica y el deporte, es ‘El Partido’, por el periodista Argentino, Andrés Burgo.

El libro cuenta la historia del infamoso partido entre Argentina y Inglaterra en los cuartos de final del mundial en Mejico ’86. Era la primera vez que los dos paises habían jugado desde la guerra de Las Malvinas/Falklands en 1982. Era el partido en cual Diego Maradona eleva por encima del deporte con su infamoso gol, ‘La Mano de Dios’, y cinco minutos despues, el ‘Gol del Siglo’.

Burgo hace entrevistas con muchos jugadores y la plantilla de ambos lados, y es una buena oportunidad para aprender el lunfardo Argentino.

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Curated Community: Erika Andersen

Our next subscriber to share their Spanish learning journey with our community is business thinker, author and speaker Erika Andersen.

Erika writes a newsletter here on Substack entitled The New Old, in which she provides advice for those over 65 on how to live a life filled with purpose, connection, discovery, and joy. She lives in Asturias, Spain and in her own words, is “fully committed to being bilingual”.

Here, she shares why she decided to learn Spanish, her thoughts on using Duolingo and AI as a learning tool, and the importance of patience when it comes to learning a language.

Over to you, Erika!

When and why did you start learning Spanish?

When my book Be Bad First, about how to become a master learner, came out in 2016, I decided to learn Spanish as a big, juicy learning challenge that would allow me to practice what I was preaching. My husband suggested that we vacation somewhere that people spoke Spanish, so I could practice. I read a few articles about the Costa Verde, in the north of Spain, and was intrigued - it sounded very different from the south. Then I read an article about Asturias, and it sounded fascinating. In 2017, we rented an airbnb near Villaviciosa, and fell in love with Asturias (where we now live).

What advice would you give to other Spanish students?

I’d say, get a grounding in the language in whatever ways works for you. Duolingo has been my go-to for nine years, but I know others don’t like it - so find an approach that appeals to you and that you’ll stick with. But then, as soon as possible, start having conversations. One of the benefits of current AI is that you can start conversing with AI chatbots (on Duolingo or other apps) in a no-risk, no-embarrassment way even when your Spanish is pretty basic. And then find other ways, that you enjoy, to bathe your brain in Spanish: read books, listen to music, subscribe to a newspaper online. Watch Spanish TV, first with English subtitles, then with Spanish subtitles, then with none. The important things are to listen and talk, in ways that feel fun and not too over whelming to you.

What’s your proudest or most memorable moment you’d had using the language?

In October, I got a call from a journalist in Oviedo (the capital of Asturias, and the city where we live) who wanted to interview me about my latest book, The New Old, and about why we moved to Spain. I’d met her when she asked me a few questions after the Día de America parade in Oviedo in September, where we had marched with an expat group to which we belong. She and I got together and she interviewed me for about an hour, which meant I was talking for most of that time. It felt like a real stretch - I wanted to be clear, articulate and engaging, and all in Spanish off the top of my head. It was exhilarating and a little scary. And the article turned out well!

What have you found most difficult, and how do you deal with that?

My own expectations and impatience. I want to be as fluent in Spanish as I am in English, RIGHT NOW! So, I continually have to remind myself that it’s a journey, that Im progressing, and that even now I can do most of the things I want to do in Spanish.

What do you hope to achieve by subscribing to El Boletín?

It fits perfectly into my strategy of ‘bathing my brain in Spanish’, and I hope to learn things from other subscribers, and perhaps I can be useful to them, as well.

That’s all for this week, Spanish learners! If you'd like to show your support for the newsletter, please do help us grow by sharing it with just three fellow learners, who also feel the joy of learning Spanish and discovering the Spanish-speaking world.

And if you’d like to continue the conversation - why not get involved and share your own book reading recommendations or favourite songs in the comments below? You can also reach out to me directly by replying to this email or sending me a message on Substack. I’d love to hear from you.

Hasta la semana que viene,

⁃ Gareth

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In our curated reading section this week, we explore an interview between an indigenous journalist from Brazil and the UN Secretary General to mark COP30 - a great way to practice your vocabulary around climate change and the environment. And if that’s too heavy and political for your Saturday morning, in our listening section, we have a heart-warming, short video about the Mashco Piro - an isolated tribe in Peru - and their increasing contact with the outside world.

If you’re looking more towards Europe for your Spanish practice this week, our curated culture pick is El Desorden Que Dejas, a 2020 Netflix thriller set amongst the rain-soaked, grey stone buildings of Galicia - it’s moody vibe reflecting its story of intrigue and murder. And finally in our curated community section we’re delighted to welcome Casey Kelly - of We’re Moving to Europe fame - to share the challenges of maintaining her Spanish while learning European Portuguese. I hope you enjoy.

So get yourself comfortable, grab your Saturday morning coffee, and let’s get stuck into it.

- Gareth

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Curated Reading: Las voces indígenas ‘son indispensables’

If there’s one piece of advice I’ve heard most often, when I ask people how to make the jump from advanced to fluent when learning Spanish, it’s to read. Read widely. Read literature and non-fiction. Read things you normally wouldn’t to expand your vocabulary.

Whether this is actually true is for another edition of El Boletín (or probably for a more technical, Spanish-teaching newsletter elsewhere). But given that we’ve already featured some literature in the newsletter, this week we’re exploring a non-fiction interview with the UN Secretary General, released to mark this week’s COP30 climate change summit in Brazil.

What makes this interview particularly cool is that one of the interviewers is Waja Xipai, an indigenous journalist from the Amazon, with the interview published in Spanish, English and Portuguese. In the interview, the Secretary General notes how indigenous voices are indispensable in the battle to avoid climate catastrophe. So if you’d like to practice your vocabulary about “el medio ambiente”, “el calentamiento global” and the melting of “las capas de hielo”, it’s worth checking it out.

Curated Listening: La lucha por proteger a los mashco piro, BBC Mundo

Of all the Spanish I’ve been consuming this week - and my Spanish teacher certainly worked me hard in preparation for my C2 exam in a fortnight’s time - this short, ten-minute video was probably the highlight.

The mashco piro tribe are one of the last isolated tribes in the world - and the biggest that remains - so it was an absolute delight to go on a journey with BBC Mundo to learn more about them. As noted in the video, a report by Survival International has found that half of these tribes could disappear in the next ten years - threatened by the mining and oil drilling which destroys the forest which they need to survive.

The Peruvian government has policies in place which make it illegal to contact isolated tribes, to protect them from abuse, tourism and diseases from the outside world. But what I loved most about the video was hearing from those living close to the mashco piro - talking about the importance of looking after their neighbours, learning their language, sharing their food, and the small moments of joy and laughter in their interactions. I can’t recommend it highly enough.

Curated Culture: El Desorden Que Dejas

In this week’s culture section, we’re exploring a Spanish Netflix show. No, not Money Heist - or La Casa de Papel for you true aficionados out there. And not even Élite - although if you decide to check that one out, you’ll certainly pick up some Gen Z, Spanish slang that you won’t find in any textbook.

Instead, our curated culture pick this week is El Desorden Que Dejas - titled in English as The Mess You Leave Behind. The mini-series centres on Raquel Valero, a literature teacher who arrives at a school to replace a colleague who has died under suspicious circumstances, and quickly finds herself entangled in a web of threats and mysteries. Alongside her, Arón Piper (of Élite fame) stars as Iago Nogueira, a troubled student with a dark secret.

While a pretty average series in itself, I love it for its Galician setting - capturing all the rain, greenery and grey-stone buildings that define this part of Spain. The Spanish itself is pretty advanced for non-native speakers, and there’s even a little Galician thrown in to keep you on your toes.

But if you’re looking for a new Spanish series and you’re keen to explore a side of Spain that’s not Madrid, Barcelona or the whitewashed villages of Andalucía, El Desorden Que Dejas might just be your next binge-watch.

If you do decide to give it a go - do come back and let us know what you think!

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Curated Community: Casey Kelly

Our next subscriber to share their Spanish learning journey with our community is Casey Kelly.

Casey is a Texan who has relocated to Portugal, while her grown-up children have moved from Texas to the Netherlands and Sweden. Her substack, We’re Moving to Europe, shares her experiences to help other Americans who are charting their path to a new life in Europe.

Here, she shares her Spanish-learning journey - from her childhood in San Antonio, formal Spanish teaching at school, to studying the language as part of her linguistics degree. These days, she uses El Boletín to help maintain her Spanish while learning European Portuguese.

Over to you, Casey!

When and why did you start learning Spanish?

I started picking up Spanish as a child from neighbors, classmates, family members, and TV. I grew up in San Antonio, Texas, where a lot of people are bilingual. My grandmother lived in the Rio Grande Valley on the Mexican border for a while before I was born, and she taught me a few phrases and would sometimes switch into Spanish to see if I could remember what she’d taught me. I wanted to learn because I wanted to understand what people were saying or singing in person and on TV.

Formal Spanish-language instruction started in 6th grade and it was optional, but I stuck with it through high school and I was fluent when I graduated. Leaving San Antonio for college in Austin eroded my fluency because I had fewer opportunities to speak Spanish throughout the day, even though I ended up with a concentration in Spanish language and a minor concentration in linguistics for my B.A. But I’ve found that after a couple of days in a Spanish-speaking country, it mostly comes back to me.

What advice would you give to other Spanish students?

Go all in! Immersion is how kids learn and even when we’re older, immersion helps speed up the language learning process. If you don’t have Spanish-speaking friends, colleagues, or neighbors, get on YouTube or a streaming service to find Spanish videos about topics you like. Watch them with Spanish subtitles to reinforce and decode what you’re hearing. Read Spanish news, literature, and social media posts. Read El Boletín!

Be consistent. Even 15 minutes a day of language learning and practice will build your skills over time.

What’s your proudest or most memorable moment you’d had using the language?

This is going to sound weird and so minor but it means so much to me when I can make a joke in the moment and it lands. Being able to make people laugh is the best, and it’s easy to take for granted in our native language.

What have you found most difficult, and how do you deal with that?

I’ve been studying European Portuguese for three years and speaking it daily for two years now that I live in Portugal. Although knowing Spanish makes it easier for me to read Portuguese, Portuguese grammar, vowel sounds, and pronunciation rules are more complex so it’s challenging. Still, the languages are similar enough that for about 18 months I was constantly dropping Spanish words into my Portuguese conversations without realizing it. Then while speaking Spanish on vacation last year I realized I was pronouncing it like Portuguese.

It hit me that I might lose my Spanish altogether if I didn’t get intentional about practicing it. So I started watching and reading Spanish media every day, alongside my Portuguese practice. Surprisingly, that also seems to be making it easier for me to keep the languages separate in my mind – at least a little.

What do you hope to achieve by subscribing to El Boletín?

Because I’m trying to hang onto my Spanish, I was really excited about El Boletín’s focus on advanced learners. I feel like there are plenty of beginner resources out there and then full-on Spanish media for people who are fluent, but less in the middle for those of us who aren’t novices but aren’t native speakers. So it’s the perfect newsletter for my Spanish language goals. Thank you for creating it and sharing it with the world!

That’s all for this week, Spanish learners! If you enjoyed the journey to the Amazon, Peru or Galicia this week - or you’ve got another Netflix recommendation that you’re dying to share with our community - why not let us know in the comments below? I’m always looking for new ideas to feature in future editions of El Boletín. And if you’d like to follow Casey and answer five questions on your Spanish learning journey, do reach out too.

Finally, if you’d like to support the newsletter, I’d be really grateful if you could take a few moments to complete the ten questions in our reader survey. Knowing more about who is reading, and your preferences, helps me to provide more of what you love, and less of what you don’t.

In the meantime, thanks for reading, and have a great weekend.

⁃ Gareth

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In our curated reading section this week, we’re delighted to welcome Elena Gonzalez de Sande, who takes us on a walk to the Reina Sofia Museum in Madrid, where she visits an exhibition of Spanish artist Maruja Mallo. Meanwhile, our curated listening pick this week comes from Spanish pop-rock singer Melendi - who reflects on self-doubt, the past, and the importance of living for now, alongside his live audience.

But this week’s edition isn’t all from Spain! In our culture section, we touch on the city of Santiago, Chile, and a particularly famous Pisco sour cocktail that you can sample on top of the highest building in the Americas. And finally, in our community section, Rosemary DeSena is the next member of our community to share her Spanish-learning journey.

So get yourself comfortable, grab your Saturday morning coffee, and let’s get stuck into it.

- Gareth

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Curated Reading: Maruja Mallo: un reloj de su tiempo, Elena Gonzalez de Sande

We’re going very cultured in our reading section this week, as Elena Gonzalez de Sande takes us inside the Reina Sofia Museum in Madrid.

Name after Queen Sofia, the museum was established in 1992, and is Spain’s premier modern and contemporary art museum, renowned for its vast collection of 20th-century masterpieces. The museum’s main attraction is undoubtedly Pablo Picasso’s Guernica, a piece which captures the horrors of war and remains one of the most iconic works of modern art.

In her piece, Elena visits the museum to see the temporary exhibit of Spanish artist Maruja Mallo. As the museum explains:

Maruja Mallo fue una de las grandes artistas del siglo XX español y una de las principales figuras de la generación del 27, de la que formaron parte Rafael Alberti, Salvador Dalí, Federico García Lorca, María Zambrano, Luis Buñuel y Rosa Chacel, entre otros. Es, además, la más importante representante del grupo de artistas que, por primera vez, presentaron colectivamente una cosmovisión [worldview] femenina desde una perspectiva también inédita, la de la mujer moderna, activa, libre y profesional.

Although very advanced for Spanish learners, Elena’s piece takes us on a journey, from the walk to the museum itself, and her reflections on the works of art she comes across throughout the exhibition. And as she concludes, “A mí, Maruja Mallo me puso el corazón a saltar”.

Curated Listening: Cenizas en la eternidad, Melendi

We’ve featured a few Spanish-language songs in the listening section of El Boletín so far, as a great way to learn new vocabulary - while using the rhythm of the music to help that vocabulary stick. And this week, we’re featuring Spanish pop-rock singer Melendi.

Melendi, whose full name is Rafael Melendi Espina, is one of Spain’s most popular contemporary singers, known for his distinctive voice and fusion of various musical genres. Born in Oviedo in 1979, he first rose to prominence in the early 2000s with his unique blend of pop, flamenco, rock, and Latin rhythms. His breakthrough album, “Sin Noticias de Holanda” (2003), introduced his signature style, marked by a raw and emotional approach to songwriting, as well as his ability to weave together poetic lyrics with catchy melodies.

The particular song we’re featuring in our listening section this week is Cenizas en la eternidad - Ashes in Eternity. In the song, Melendi reflects on his self-doubt when he looks in the mirror, his fear of the past, and the importance of living life for now - because in the end, what we are today will in the future simply be recorded in the ashes of history. The energy he shares with the live crowd in the performance above is nothing short of euphoric.

Curated Culture: Santiago and the Pisco Sour

Rebecca Weston’s contribution last week about the Camino de Santiago, ending in the city of Santiago in Galicia, got me thinking of my trip last year to its namesake of Santiago, Chile. The city is fantastic: rich in culture and history, with some world-class museums - particularly the Museum of Pre-Columbian Art, which showcases a stunning collection of artifacts from indigenous peoples across the Americas. You can also take a cable car up to the top of one of the hills overlooking the city, to see the sprawling metropolis below, with stunning views of the Andes in the background.

But don’t miss the opportunity to visit the Sky Costenera - the tallest building in South America with a height of 300 metres. At the top, you’ll get an amazing panoramic view of Santiago, especially at sunset. And if you’re in the mood for a drink, I highly recommend trying a Pisco cocktail while you’re up there.

A classic Pisco Sour, for example, is made with Pisco (a South American brandy), fresh lime juice, simple syrup, egg white, and a few dashes of bitters. The result is a deliciously tangy and frothy drink that strikes a balance between sour and sweet, with the distinct warmth of Pisco that lingers at the end. The taste is smooth and refreshing with a slight kick, making it perfect for enjoying while soaking in those incredible city views.

The cocktail’s origins, however, are the subject of much debate. While Chile and Peru both claim to have invented it, the exact birthplace remains unclear, and each country has its own variations. It’s definitely worth trying both versions if you find yourself in either country. And if you’d like to try making one yourself, there are recipes for both the Peruvian and Chilean versions here.

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Curated Community: Rosemary DeSena

Our next subscriber to share their Spanish learning journey with our community is Rosemary DeSena.

Rosemary is a poet and essayist living in San Francisco, California whose sister newsletters Life is a Poem (in English) and La Vida es un Poema (in Spanish) explore ways to cultivate joy in the everyday, and how to connect to community while doing it. Rosemary also co-hosts a multilingual haiku club (Quedada Haiku) with our previous contributor Charlie Marrez - in which readers in Spanish and English participate by sharing their haikus which are published in Charlie and Rosemary’s newsletters. They are preparing a call for reader participation in Quedada Haiku 3 soon.

Finally, Rosemary is working on creating a Poetry Play Place as a workshop activity to accompany her newsletters, where English and Spanish native speakers and learners can join together in exploring the creative principles that make up a poem: imagery, memory, rhythm and word play. The hope is that a safe Spanglish space can be created where intermediate+ speakers in either language can participate together.

Over to you, Rosemary!

When and why did you start learning Spanish?

As long as I can remember, I wanted to be bilingual. As young as 6 or 7, I was asking my parents to get me Spanish or Italian lessons: Italian, because of my heritage, and also because a playmate in my neighborhood was from Florence, Italy, and had recently emigrated from there. Spanish, partly because the neighborhood in Queens, NY where my grandparents lived had changed from mostly Italian to Hispanic by the 1980s, and I wanted to connect with the bilingual children I played with by speaking their language.

In middle school, when learning a foreign language was required, I started formally learning Spanish and continued taking classes until my freshman year in college.

As an adult, I started revisiting my dreams of becoming bilingual again. When the pandemic hit in 2020, I used to take daily walks, and native speakers would start talking to me - hoping that I was another native speaker to connect to in a time of isolation. I knew enough to understand what they were saying, but not enough to speak it back. So I started up my studies again.

Now I’m also writing in Spanish here in Substack, despite not being fluent, and growing a unique readership of subscribers in Spanish and English. Interacting with Spanish-speaking Substackers has exponentially improved my Spanish ability.

What advice would you give to other Spanish students?

I’m a perfectionist and I had to learn to be okay making mistakes so I could improve. So my advice would be to get used to the uncomfortableness of messing up and do it - mess it up! What reminds me it’s ok to ditch this self-consciousness is the support of the native Spanish speakers I meet every day, who don’t seem to mind my mistakes, and whom I wouldn’t have gotten to know if I hadn’t put myself out there.

What’s your proudest or most memorable moment you’d had using the language?

I don’t have a particular moment, but I think the moments that mean the most to me are the ones when I have connected with a native Spanish speaker here in the United States who is not yet fluent in English. Since I get mistaken for being a native Spanish speaker a lot, when someone makes this assumption, I feel good when I can help someone get where they need to go, or be there when they want a moment of human connection with someone who can understand them.

What have you found most difficult learning Spanish, and how do you deal with that?

Living in the United States, I’m surrounded by dozens of types of Spanish in my neighbourhood alone. So now that I’m getting more fluent, it’s hard to know how to integrate more colloquial speech into my expression of it. Whose Spanish am I using? Whose grammar should I use? Which idioms should I use? I have no idea if I’m making sense to anybody when I’m grabbing at language to use.

I haven’t found a fix for this yet. I’m open to suggestions!

What do you hope to achieve by subscribing to El Boletín?

I’m always looking for ways to increase my Spanish fluency and to expand my knowledge of the Spanish language and the cultures of the people who speak it, and I like that El Boletín is curating articles to read, videos to watch, audios to listen to, while offering vocabulary lists and links to the places where we can explore topics more. I think it will be a great resource for Spanish learners. I also like the idea of connecting to a community of language learners like me working to meet that next level of fluency.

That’s all for this week, Spanish learners! Have you visited the Reina Sofia Museum in Madrid, or tired a Pisco sour? Are you a fan of Melendi, or would you recommend another musical number from the Spanish-speaking world? Let us know - either by replying to this email or leaving your comments below - and we might share it with the rest of the community in a future edition of El Boletín.

And if you’d like to support the newsletter, please do share it with just three friends who understand the joys of exploring the Spanish language and Spanish-speaking culture. Let’s keep supporting each other on the path to fluency, together.

For now, que tengáis una buena semana!

⁃ Gareth

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In our reading section this week, we’re delighted to welcome Luis Orlando Leon Carpio, a Cuban journalist and author of Cartas desde Europa, to share his experiences with imposter syndrome and his tips on how to overcome it (in Spanish). Meanwhile, in our listening section, we enjoy the song ‘Estrellas’ from the Spanish-language version of the musical Les Miserables. For both, our free glossaries are here to help.

In our culture section this week, Rebecca Weston talks us through the delights of the Camino de Santiago: a network of trails which snake across Europe, ending in Santiago de Compostela in Galicia, Northern Spain. And finally, in our community section, Jen Cook is the next member of our community to share her reflections on her Spanish-learning journey. If you’d like to contribute to a future edition of El Boletín by answering five short questions on your experiences learning Spanish, do let me know.

But for now, sit back, grab your Saturday morning coffee, and let’s get stuck into it.

- Gareth

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Curated Reading: ¿Alguna vez sentiste que no mereces tus logros?, Luis Orlando León Carpio

Imposter syndrome - that feeling that your successes are down to luck rather than your ability, and the fear that you’ll be ‘found out’ at any point - can effect all of us at some point throughout our lives. While particularly common in a workplace environment, it can be particularly acute for those moving overseas - particularly if you’re having a tackle a new language at the same time.

In our reading section this week, we practice our comprensión lectora de español by welcoming Luis to share his experiences with imposter syndrome, and his advice on how to recognise it. You also won’t believe the famous names who’ve felt the same.

It’s a longer, more challenging text for advanced Spanish learners with some colloquial language - but our free glossary of key terms is here to guide you through.

El Boletin Glossary Imposter Syndrome

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Curated Listening: Estrellas, Los Miserables

We explored in a previous edition of El Boletín how music can be a great way to boost your listening comprehension in Spanish - the pace and rhythm of songs helping you to memorise new vocabulary. Moreover, using the Spanish version of songs you already know in English can provide another source of support, as it gives you context before you even start listening.

In our listening section this week, we explore ‘Estrellas’ the Spanish version of the song Stars from the musical Les Miserables. In the piece, Inspector Javert reflects on his pursuit of escaped convict, Jean Valjean, convinced of the moral and religious justice of his pursuit. As Spanish learners, it provides some lovely, poetic vocabulary including las sombras (the shadows), the irregular verb huir (to escape or flee), and a description of the stars as an inmenso mar de luz (an immense sea of light).

As always, our glossary of key terms is below.

El Boletin Glossary Estrellas

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Curated Culture: El Camino de Santiago - Rebecca Weston

Picture Spain and you might just think of the whitewashed villages in the hills of Andalucía, the scorching heat of Sevilla, the cultural sights of Madrid or the Camp Nou in Barcelona. But Northern Spain, extending from the French border, through the Basque Country and across to the Atlantic Coast, is a greener, lesser-known part of the country that’s absolutely worth a visit.

And what better way to explore this part of this country than the Camino de Santiago - or in English, the Way of Saint James. A network of pilgrimage routes which connect across Europe and end in the Galician city of Santiago, you don’t have to be religious to enjoy the incredible scenery, the conversations with those you meet along the way, and the sense of achievement you’ll experience when you finally arrive.

But don’t take our word for it - we’re delighted to welcome Rebecca Weston, author of The Camino Calls, to explain why we should all get our walking boots on. Over to you, Rebecca!

Why did nearly 500,000 people walk into Santiago de Compostela, Spain this year? And why might it be just the experience you’re looking for?

The Camino de Santiago is a network of 1200+ year old trails across Europe ending the northwest corner of Spain. Back in the middle ages, people would leave their homes and walk for months to arrive at the supposed location of the remains of the apostle St. James: Santiago de Compostela, Spain.

Today, pilgrims from over 160 countries --of all faith backgrounds or none--arrive by foot, by bike or by wheelchair to embark on this incredible journey.

Imagine uninterrupted hours to engage in meaningful conversations with people of all different ages from around the world--or to walk in silence, listening only to the sounds in your heart.

Imagine carrying just what you need on your back--or carrying nothing at all while your bag is delivered to your next accommodation.

Imagine sleeping in villages that have welcomed Camino pilgrims for over 1200 years, speaking Spanish with locals whose families have welcomed pilgrims for generations.

Imagine a trip that challenged you in the best of ways -- physically, emotionally, spiritually.

Imagine waking up each morning knowing you just have one thing to do: walk.

Imagine a trip that leaves you believing in the good of humanity, that leaves you in awe of the generosity of strangers, that leaves you with a filled heart.

It exists.

It calls people.

If you’re in search of a vacation that leaves you with something more than just photos, I invite you to consider the Camino de Santiago.

If you’d like to explore more, I write about it on Substack every Sunday and have a live interview with different Camino-related guests every Wednesday. I can’t wait to meet you!

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Curated Community: Jen Cook

Our community section - where a different member of our community each week reflects on their Spanish-learning journey - is quickly becoming one of our most popular sections. There’s something reassuring in knowing that, whatever their level (and in fact, whatever the language), all learners go through the same frustrations, challenges and joys when it comes to attempting to master a second tongue.

This week, we’re delighted to welcome Jen Cook, an American now living in Spain, to share her experiences with learning Spanish. As always, if you’d like to share your own experiences in a future edition of El Boletín, just let us know. It’s always the same five questions, and just a few short sentences for each answer.

But for now, here’s Jen with her thoughts!

When and why did you start learning Spanish?

I began learning Spanish in preparation for my family’s move to Spain in 2023. It started with Duolingo, but once I arrived in Spain, I found a local class to join, which propelled my learning journey quite a bit.

What advice would you give to other Spanish students?

Apps are great. Duolingo is a useful tool for building your vocabulary, but interaction with Spanish speakers and other Spanish learners will take you much farther than any app can. I’m an introvert, so this was hard for me to accept! But it truly works and has been the best method of learning. The Spanish people have been incredibly kind and supportive when I try to speak the language, and their encouragement helps me become braver about speaking Spanish even when I make mistakes.

What’s your proudest or most memorable moment you’ve had using the language?

My most memorable moment was when I went to Mercadona for groceries and discovered the cashier’s boyfriend was in my Spanish class! I was practicing my Spanish, explaining that I was learning and taking classes, and the more details I provided, the more she began to realize that her boyfriend was probably in my class. Interestingly, he’s from South Korea, speaks English, and is picking up the Spanish language incredibly fast. I think having a Spanish girlfriend probably helps. 😁

What have you found most difficult, and how do you deal with that?

Grammar and speaking are my biggest challenges. I pick up vocabulary pretty easily, but the sentence structure is so different from English that I find it challenging to remember how to arrange the words in a sentence. I understand quite a lot when someone speaks to me in Spanish, but when I try to speak, I sound like a toddler. It comes with the territory, though, and you can’t be embarrassed to try.

What do you hope to achieve by subscribing to El Boletín?

I’m hoping to learn some tips and tricks for furthering my language journey from El Boletín. I love hearing what works for others because it might be something I could try that I haven’t thought of yet!

That’s all for this week, Spanish learners! Have you experienced imposter syndrome as Luis describes, or did you learn any new vocabulary from Inspector Javert? Have you been inspired by Rebecca to do the Camino, or perhaps you nodded in agreement with Jen’s experiences learning Spanish? You can share your comments with the rest of the community below.

And if you’d like more structure to your Spanish practice, we’ve also introduced a daily thread in our subscriber chat from Monday to Friday. So you don’t just read the newsletter every Saturday, but you can do a little Spanish practice each day alongside other learners.

For now, que tengáis una buena semana!

⁃ Gareth

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Happy Sunday everyone!

I hope you enjoyed yesterday’s edition of El Boletín. Please forgive me for sending you an additional Sunday email. But I was lying awake last night reflecting on the El Boletín journey so far - and wondering what the future might hold.

If you’ll indulge me, let me start by sharing a little more of my story.

Back in September, I broke my shoulder. After being patched up by the National Health Service here in the UK, I was sitting at home, just me and the cat, with my arm in a sling - facing six long weeks of boredom. I wanted to find something positive to do with that time, and I kept coming back to how much joy I get from learning Spanish.

I love digging up fascinating articles, watching Spanish-language videos, listening to podcasts, and exploring the culture of the Spanish-speaking world. Then I thought: maybe there are other people who’d enjoy these discoveries too. So, despite not being one for social media - I don’t use X, Facebook, or LinkedIn - I started a . Just to see what might happen.

A few weeks later, it blows my mind that more than 200 people have taken the time to write in their email address, and sign up to receive El Boletín each Saturday morning. Moreover, many of you have started sharing your own favourite resources, your own favourite parts of Spanish-speaking culture, and your own journeys with learning the language.

And that’s when I realised that I didn’t really want El Boletín to be about me broadcasting to the world each week, but a two-way conversation. A new group of friends, supporting each other on the road to fluency.

Of course, El Boletín is completely free - and will very likely stay that way. It’s just a cool new hobby that brings me joy, alongside my day job, friends, and family.

So why did I turn on pledges yesterday on Substack?

Not because I plan to monetise anytime soon, but as a way to see whether there’s a group of readers who might one day like to go a little deeper. A smaller, inner circle of paid members who not only enjoy receiving the weekly curated reading, listening, and cultural snippets - but who’d also like to discuss those resources with other learners in a more structured way, share advice and support, and keep each other motivated on the path to fluency.

And moreover, who’d support the idea of me sharing more first-hand stories by taking El Boletín on the road. To not only link to that interesting article about the Catalan tradition of la calçotada, but share videos and photos of how it looks in person, audio of how it sounds, and interviews with the people behind the stories.

Pledges simply help me to know whether there are readers out there who’d like to join that inner circle, and when - if ever - I should take that next step on the journey.

In the meantime, I’ll keep sharing my Saturday morning list of reading, listening, and cultural snippets - the things from the mundo hispanohablante that bring me joy. And next week, I’ll go back to work. Smiling that something positive came out of this time: that I found a little tribe online who share in that joy, too.

Thank you for being part of our small, growing community, and for joining the journey towards fluency - together.

- Gareth

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In our curated reading section, Inspired by Mexico share their recipe for traditional Mexican hot chocolate, which differs from its English namesake and uses a traditional wooden whisk in its preparation.

In our listening section, we enjoy a Spanish YouTube channel which explores the English Premier League for Spanish-speaking audiences - and has a cool little link with a non-league club in the UK.

Meanwhile in our curated culture section, we’re absolutely thrilled to welcome Miguel Balsa Campos from History of Spain to share his love of the medieval city of Toledo - it’s really worth a day visit from Madrid if you’re ever in the Spanish capital.

And last but certainly not least, we welcome children’s author and poet Charlie Marrez to share his experiences learning English as a Spanish speaker. You’ll find yourself nodding along with the struggles he identifies, which are common to all of us language learners.

If their contributions have inspired you to get involved, and share that interesting article, your personal experiences learning Spanish, or that insightful cultural snippet with the El Boletín community - why not reach out to us? The slots are filling up fast, but we’d be delighted to find you a place in an upcoming edition.

For now though, let’s get stuck in!

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Curated Reading: El tradicional chocolate caliente mexicano, Inspired by Mexico

For our curated reading choice this week, we’re delighted to welcome our friends from Inspired by Mexico to share their traditional Mexican hot chocolate with us. We’ll leave it to them to introduce their recipe (in Spanish!) below - but if you’d like to read the English version of their article, you can check it out on their site. And if you do have a go at making it, please do let us know - we’d love to see the photos!

For language learners, there’s also some lovely culinary vocabulary in the below - as always, our free glossary is here to help.

El Boletin Glossary Chocolate Caliente Tradicional

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Cuando el clima se pone fresco, no hay mejor bebida para calentarse que el tradicional chocolate caliente mexicano, batido a mano con un molinillo de madera.

El chocolate caliente en México es menos dulce que el chocolate caliente servido en los Estados Unidos u otros países. Tiene una textura ligeramente granulosa y rústica, esto hace que la sensación al beberlo no sea del todo una bebida suave al beber pues sentirás en tu boca su textura rústica que es una parte integral de la bebida.

El chocolate mexicano se vende en barras llamadas tablillas (tabletas) y está endulzado con azúcar y sazonado con canela. El mejor chocolate proviene del estado de Oaxaca, que es el que usamos para esta receta.

Los molinillos son la forma tradicional de batir el chocolate caliente, piensa en el molinillo como un batidor de madera. Tener un molinillo en tu cocina hará que tengas una hermoso utensilio si no también lucirá hermoso.

Preparación:

1. Para hacer una taza de chocolate caliente, lleva aproximadamente 8 onzas de agua o leche a punto de ebullición. Agrega 2 o 3 cuadritos de chocolate al líquido y deja que el chocolate se suavice durante un minuto más o menos.

2. Luego, coloca el mango del molinillo entre tus palmas y gíralo rápidamente hacia adelante y hacia atrás en el líquido para mezclar el chocolate. Después, airea la bebida para que quede espumosa y suave. Para obtener el chocolate caliente en su punto, se necesita un poco de tiempo y esfuerzo, pero bien vale la pena.

3. Después de batir con el molinillo por un tiempo, el chocolate empieza a adquirir la textura cremosa y espumosa que se desea. Cuanto más giras el molinillo, más ligera y espumosa se vuelve la bebida.

4. ¡Disfrutalo! Servir caliente y si gustas puedes decorarlo con un trozo de palo de canela.

Curated Listening: La media inglesa

Of course, you don’t need us to tell you that football, or soccer for our US readers, is kind of a big thing in the Spanish-speaking world. In our first edition of El Boletín (gosh, that seems like a long time ago!), we highlighted Spanish YouTuber Rafael Escrig, who travels around Spain and Europe, bringing his fans human stories from the lesser-known corners of the beautiful game. If you’re a recent subscriber and haven’t yet checked out Rafa’s video watching football in the Arctic Circle, we really encourage you to do so. Our glossary is there to guide you, too.

But our curated listening pick this week is La media inglesa - a Spanish-language YouTube channel and media outlet devoted exclusively to English football. Founded in 2011, they’ve built a following of hundreds of thousands of subscribers with their dual focus on deep-dive insights for committed fans of the English Premier League, alongside more relaxed, entertainment style content to appeal to more causal viewers.

And perhaps the coolest thing? In February 2025 they began a partnership with English non-league club Harborough Town - streaming their matches to Spanish-speaking audiences across Spain and Latin America. For La media inglesa, this partnership allows them to get involved in an English club project rather than merely commenting on it - while the club in turn benefits from reaching a global, Spanish-speaking fan base.

This week, we particularly enjoyed La media inglesa’s deep dive into the falling number of British-born players in the English Premier League (from 56% in 2000 to 34% in 2025). They discuss what this means for both the league’s identity and international commercial success.

Curated Culture: A visit to Toledo with Miguel Balsa Campos, History of Spain

A few years ago we had the pleasure of visiting the medieval city of Toledo, on a day trip by the high-speed train from Madrid. And since then, we haven’t stopped encouraging other people to go. Arriving into the town at the train station located at the foot of an imposing hill, the walk up to the centre is steep, but it’s totally worth the hike once you arrive. You’ll be greeted by incredible architecture, history, food, and of course, a warm welcome.

But don't just take our word for it! We’re delighted to welcome Miguel Balsa Campos, writer of the History of Spain and Flavours of Spain newsletters, to share with us why he loves Toledo just as much as we do. And if you want more on Toledo, he’s just started a deep dive on his Substack.

There is a city in Spain that often goes unnoticed, but should be a main destination for anyone interested in Spanish history. I’m talking about Toledo. Located approximately 70km (43 miles) south of Madrid, Toledo is one of the most historically important —if not the most— places in Spain. It has held a pivotal role in Spain’s politics for thousands of years, being already a main settlement before Roman times. It later became a key city for the Romans, the capital of the Visigoths, an important city for the Muslims, and the imperial city and capital city of the Spanish Empire.

Toledo was the place where many important historic events either took place, or were decided and discussed. Furthermore, its history perfectly resembles that of Spain, making Toledo a great place to visit and revive each layer of the history of Spain. It held Muslims, Jews and Christians simultaneously within its walls for a long time, earning Toledo the nickname of “City of the Three Cultures”. Of course, this left a great amount of heritage and architecture preserved to this day that evidences a rich past and creates a fairytale-like environment in which to get lost.

Visiting Toledo is like looking through a window to the past of Spain. The fact the capital city status was shifted to Madrid allowed Toledo to not be destroyed making space for the modern requirements of a big city. So this beautiful former capital of an empire remained untouched, almost like in a time capsule. Crossing its centuries-old bridges, gates and walls is a great way to get lost in time and history, and forget the modern hectic world that never stops. Whether for the history or simply for the vibes, you need to visit Toledo, at least once in your life.

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Curated Community: Charlie Marrez, El taller de las palabras

Something a little different in our curated community section this week. We’re pleased to invite Charlie Marrez, poet and children’s author, to share his reflections on learning English as a native Spanish speaker. Through his experiences, we see that the difficulties, anxieties and joys of learning are language are universal - regardless of your mother tongue or the language you’re learning.

We’re delighted to have Charlie as a member of our community - and if you want to practice your Spanish even further, the daily haikus on his site, El taller de las palabras, are absolutely worth subscribing to. Over to you, Charlie!

1. When and why did you start learning English?

In Spain, we start learning English from a very young age. In my case, I began when I was six. At school we had an English class, but it wasn’t many hours a week, and I don’t think it was the best way to learn the language.

It seems that teaching methods are improving now, but for many years learning English mainly meant memorising vocabulary, irregular verbs and expressions. We weren’t really prepared for “the real world”, and I used to panic whenever I had to speak in English.

2. What advice would you give to other students learning a language?

Although having a good grasp of grammar and vocabulary is important, the best way to learn a language is to immerse yourself in it. Listen to the radio in that language, watch films and series in their original version, and, if possible, surround yourself with people who speak it. It’s during those everyday, casual conversations that you actually learn the most.

3. What’s your proudest or most memorable moment you’d had using English?

At work. I have a job in cybersecurity for a multinational company, and the moment I’ve felt proudest was when I realised I was speaking English so comfortably that I’d stopped thinking in my mother tongue. I just understood everything as if it were Spanish. I even made a joke during that conversation, and that’s when I thought: “I can have the same personality in English as I do in Spanish.” 🙂

4. What have you found most difficult, and how do you deal with that?

For me, the hardest thing is having more informal conversations, especially when people use expressions I don’t yet know. But it’s something I’m getting better at with time and experience. As I said, there’s nothing better than getting to know someone who speaks to you in a natural, everyday way - it really helps you express yourself like that too.

5. What do you hope to achieve by subscribing to El Boletín?

I’d like to share Spanish language and culture with everyone subscribed to El Boletín, and to practise my English with you all in a more informal setting than I’m used to in my day-to-day work.

That’s all for this week, folks! As always, if you’re enjoying El Boletín, please do consider restacking us, or taking the time to share the newsletter with just three friends who you think would enjoy it too. In particular, sharing outside of the Substack community really helps us to grow.

Let’s keep building our little community of Spanish learners, supporting each other on the road to fluency, together.

Hasta la semana que viene!

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This week’s edition focusses on community and features two guest contributors. In our reading section, Veronica Llorca-Smith shares her top tips on ensuring her newsletter drives human connection and adds values for her readers, while in our community section, Jordan Thomas from La Liga and Beyond shares his Spanish learning journey.

We also explore the delightfully messy Catalan tradition of la calçotada, and your listening this week comes from beloved Spanish band La Oreja de Van Gogh. As always, free glossaries are here to guide you through.

¡Empecemos!

Gareth

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Curated Reading: Todo cambió cuando pasé de una newsletter a una comunidad, Veronica Llorca-Smith

I’m keen for El Boletín to become a place not only to share a weekly newsletter with helpful resources for advanced Spanish learners, but a small community for us to share resources, advice and support amongst ourselves - and that includes promoting interesting Spanish-language content from right here on Substack.

I’m therefore delighted this week to have Veronica Llorca-Smith sharing her reflections, in Spanish, on how she stopped focussing on numbers and growth, and concentrated her newsletter on community and human connection. And if you’re also writing a substack - which most of us here are - she gives her five top tips on how you can do the same.

For us Spanish learners, there’s also some lovely colloquial vocabulary here too. As always, our glossary of key terms is here to help.

El Boletin Glossary Vls

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Curated Listening: Jueves, La Oreja de Van Gogh

Our curated listening this week comes from one of Spain’s most beloved bands in La Oreja de Van Gogh (LODVG). Formed in San Sebastián in the late 1990s, LODVG have built a reputation for melodic pop, clear vocal lines and emotionally resonant lyrics - which has also seen their popularity expand into South America. Be sure to check out the slower, poppy sound of Rosas, and the higher-tempo dance track Cometas por el Cielo.

But this week’s specific listening pick is Jueves, a track that holds a particular place in Spanish musical memory, reflecting on the terror attacks on four Madrid commuter trains in 11 March 2004. The attack, known in Spain as once de marzo or 11-M, killed 193 people and remains the deadliest terror attack in Spanish history. The song, released in 2008 as part of LODVG’s album A las cinco en el Astoria, tells the story of a romantic encounter on a commuter train, leading up to that shocking day.

Our glossary is below. I’m a particular fan of the word tartamudeando (stammering, stuttering), as the protagonist finally dares to say hello to their fellow commuter.

El Boletin Glossary Jueves, Lodvg

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Curated Culture: La Calçotada Catalana

Of the many, many delights of living in Girona back in 2011-2013, the annual Catalan regional tradition of la calçotada was a particular highlight.

A ritual celebrated during late winter and early spring and built around calçots - a mild, tender variety of onion as seen in the photo above - the calçotada sees Catalans gather to grill the vegetables over open barbecues, before peeling off the charred outside leaves and dipping them in romesco (or salvitxada) sauce. It’s a delightfully messy affair - with the calçots eaten by hand.

Though the tradition has humble agricultural roots (often traced back to a farmer in Valls, Tarragona in the 19th century), nowadays restaurants, rural masías, and even organised “calçotada tours” open their doors during the season. The calçotada is not just about this tasty food, but about bringing friends, family and community together: everyone eats leaning over the fire, with their hands, sharing sauce and stories. If you ever get the chance to attend, I encourage you to do so. It’s messy, smoky, hilarious and unforgettable.

If you’d like to read more (and practise your Spanish), I recommend this piece from El País and this article from El País too.

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Curated Community: Jordan Thomas, La Liga and Beyond

Continuing our new section of inviting members of our El Boletín community to share their Spanish learning tips, I’m delighted this week to introduce Jordan Thomas. His substack La Liga and Beyond takes us on a journey through the leagues of Spanish football, beyond the big two. His latest edition tells the story of Kirian Rodriguez, the captain of Las Palmas, who has just come back from cancer for a second time.

Do give Jordan a subscribe - and if you’d like to be a featured contributor and share your Spanish learning journey in a future edition, just hit reply to this email and we’ll find a slot to include you.

1. When and why did you start learning Spanish?

I moved to Spain in a bit of a whirlwind decision in 2019 - so my Spanish learning journey really began then, as I tried to organise getting an apartment, paying bills and more in a different language.

2. What advice would you give to other Spanish students?

My advice to anyone learning Spanish is simply consistency and determination. Lots of times you can feel like giving up - but preserve and you’ll see the benefits.

3. What’s your proudest or most memorable moment you’d had using the language?

My little boy was born in Spain. My Spanish is very basic but being able to understand everything the nurses and midwives were saying during my wife giving birth was a moment of pride for me.

Other smaller moments are simple things - like ordering a train ticket or having a conversation with a colleague in Spanish.

4. What have you found most difficult, and how do you deal with that?

Something I’ve found difficult in the past was when I would ask something in Spanish and the person would reply in English. I know they were trying to help or speed up the conversation, but it can be disheartening - and not help your learning journey.

5. What do you hope to achieve by subscribing to El Boletín?

I think El Boletín is a lovely addition to the growth we’re currently seeing in the Spanish community on Substack. I hope to use it to motivate me to continue my learning journey and improve my Spanish skills.

El Boletín se acabó for this week, everyone! Have you been to a calçotada or another Spanish festival? Do you have any particular Spanish music you enjoy? Let’s continue the conversation in the comments below or in our subscriber chat.

And as always, if you’ve enjoyed this week’s edition, please do help spread the word by giving us a restack and sharing with others who’d like to join us on the path to fluency, together.

Have a great week,

Gareth

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This week we’re exploring the emotional phases of language learning with an article from Babbel, and enjoying the Spanish versions of ABBA classics with their 1980s album Gracias por la música. We also dive into the seven myths of Paraguayan rural Guarani culture. Finally, we’re delighted to introduce a new community section where one subscriber each week shares their Spanish journey, hints and tips - thanks to Declan for going first!

Que disfrutéis!

- Gareth

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Curated reading: Las fases emocionales del aprendizaje de un idioma, Babbel

I posted a note a few weeks back about how learning Spanish feels to me: like an adventurer exploring an uncharted world, with areas of the map slowly coming into view as my grammar ability and vocabulary expands. So I was pleased this week to come across Babbel’s article on the different emotions involved in the language learning journey.

Most other outlines of language acquisition tend to focus on the cognitive stages involved - and while that’s fascinating from an academic perspective, it often misses the fact that language learning is as much of an emotional journey as an intellectual one. You’ve got to have the resilience to work through emotions of frustration, boredom, a feeling of a lack of progress, and sudden realisations of how much you’ve still got to learn - to arrive at the joys and sense of accomplishment that come with your first conversations and eventual fluency.

As always, our glossary is here to be read alongside the text. But we’d also love to hear your views - do you agree with Babbel’s assessment? How does learning Spanish feel to you, and what have been your highs and lows? Share in the comments below.

El Boletin Glossary Fases Emocionales

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Curated listening: Conociéndome, Conociéndote, ABBA

As experienced, intelligent (and stunningly good-looking) Spanish learners, you’ll no doubt know that listening to music can be a fantastic way to learn new vocabulary, in a way that feels fun, while giving an insight into Spanish language and culture. And while there’s some amazing original Spanish content out there - I’m personally getting into Argentine rock - sometimes it can be fun to seek out Spanish versions of the music you already know and love in English. As just one example, this rendition of Billy Joel’s Piano Man from Ana Belen was a hit in Spain, and I can’t recommend it highly enough.

But our curated listening choice this week comes from the Spanish version of ABBA’s greatest hits album Gracias por la música, released in 1980. Recognising their massive following in Spanish-speaking markets, ABBA decided to re-record some of their biggest songs in Spanish, with translations handled primarily by their longtime collaborator Buddy McCluskey, an Argentine journalist and lyricist, alongside his wife Mary McCluskey.

The album features Spanish versions of iconic tracks such as “Dancing Queen” (“Reina Danzante”), “Mamma Mia”, “Fernando”, and “Chiquitita” - the latter having already become a huge hit in Spanish-speaking countries. For our specific pick, we’ve chosen Conociendme, Conociéndote. Because knowing me and knowing you, it’s the best we could do. (Editors note - sorry, I couldn’t resist). The language is quite accessible and basic, so we’ve not included a glossary this week - but if you want to read along in full, the lyrics are also available from Genius.

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Curated Culture: Mitos del Paraguay

This week’s curated culture section takes us a little off the beaten track to Paraguay and its indigenous Guarani culture. Often overshadowed by its larger neighbours in Brazil and Argentina - and often overlooked by the backpackers hitting the more famous sites of South America - Paraguay offers a warm welcome to visitors, and is rightly proud of its cultural heritage. The Guarani language itself is fascinating, including nasal sounds which are difficult for English speakers - but our curated culture this week focusses on its mythology.

According to Guarani legend, Tau, the spirit of evil, fell for Keraná, the daughter of a tribal chief. Their forbidden union, opposed by the spirit of good Angatupyry, brought seven monstrous children into the world: Teju Jagua, Mbói Tu’i, Moñái, Jasy Jatere, Kurupí, Ao Ao, and Luisón.

What’s particularly fascinating is how these seven children are used in Guarani tradition to warn of the dangers of rural life: Jasy Jatere steals children who skip their siesta, Kurupí punishes sexual transgression, and Ao Ao hunts those who stray from the safety of the village.

Today, echoes of these myths persist across Paraguay, in folk songs, oral tales, and even contemporary art. It’s absolutely fascinating. And If you’re keen to learn more while practicing your Spanish, the Paraguay municipality of Yaguarón offers a concise introduction to each creature in Mitos del Paraguay.

Curated Community: Declan Merbeth

I’m keen for El Boletin to become a community of Spanish learners sharing hints, resources and support with others on the same path to fluency. That’s why I’m introducing a regular community section, for one subscriber to El Boletin to share their Spanish learning journey.

A huge thank you to Declan Merbeth for being the first guest contributor to the newsletter, on the back of his longer post about his experiences. Do check that out if you haven’t already.

When and why did you start learning Spanish?

I began learning Spanish in high school. At first, I enrolled in order to graduate but, as time went on, I fell in love with the language. The people I would be able to meet and cultures I could dive into stoked a fire under me to hone this skill. 

What advice would you give to other Spanish students? 

Speaking is the most fun and rewarding practice. Find a conversation partner, speak out loud to yourself, record your voice. Once you have a hold on speaking, you’ll find that your motivation to continue learning rarely wanes. As for reading, writing, and listening, mold your studying to what you find enjoyment in. Find Spanish books and podcasts with themes that genuinely pique your interest. Don’t allow it to become boring!

What’s one of your proudest or most memorable moments you’ve had using the language?

Two months ago I walked the Camino de Santiago in Galicia, Spain. I struck up conversations in Spanish with other peregrinos (pilgrims) and we spent hours together walking from one town to another. I learned about how many people from Andalucia own their own olive farms, traded slang terms in English and Spanish, and ate traditional Galician tapas like pulpo (octopus) with them.

Even when I wasn’t speaking, I had a smile plastered on my face as I heard them rattling off words at a thousand miles a minute. These memories will stay with me forever and I have Spanish to thank for that. 

What has been the most difficult aspect of learning Spanish and how have you dealt with it?

Aside from pesky conjunctions, the most trying part of my journey with Spanish has been psychological. Whether you’re a beginner or near fluent, there will be “I’m a good at this” and “wow, I’m worse than yesterday” days. It’s important to realize that language learning has its peaks and valleys just like anything in life. To deal with this, I’ve focused on the small wins and have continued to challenge myself despite hiccups. I urge anyone on this journey to do the same. 

What do you hope to achieve by subscribing to El Boletin?

Even though I live in Madrid and speak Spanish daily, I find that there is always more to learn about the language and its associated cultures. Subscribing to El Boletin will broaden the ways I learn and keep me from plateauing in my journey. Through this newsletter I also hope to build a community of people that find as much joy in Spanish as I do.

That’s all for edition #3 folks! If you’d like to be our curated community contributor in the future, please do drop me a DM and let’s set something up - you’ll be helping to make El Boletín better for everyone! And as always, if you’ve enjoyed this edition, the single biggest thing you can do to support us is to share us with just two friends by using the link below. It’s hugely appreciated.

Un abrazo,

Gareth

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This week, we step back in time to discover the poetry of one of Spain’s most beloved writers, Antonio Machado, and dip into a book of short stories that transports us from a Latin American book club to a hotel balcony in Seville. We also watch a news report from Spain to pick up some colloquial vocabulary, and have some fun with the plural forms of Spanish loanwords in our grammar section.

¡Que disfrutéis!

Gareth

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Curated reading: Caminante, no hay camino, Antonio Machado

In contrast to the modern evolution of Spanish and its hybridisation with English that we explored last week, our curated reading this time takes us back to one of the greats of Spanish literature: Antonio Machado.

Born in Seville in 1875, Machado spent his life teaching and writing poetry that explored memory, hope, and the passage of time in direct, accessible language. Exiled to France during the Spanish Civil War, he died there in 1939, just days after crossing the border. Today, a memorial stands at the Hotel Quintana in Collioure, where he spent his final days before being laid to rest in the town’s old cemetery.

Our chosen text, the brief but powerful Caminante, no hay camino, reflects in just ten lines on life’s journey and the nature of time. Particularly noteworthy is the use of la mar — the feminine form of el mar — a Spanish literary tradition that conveys a more intimate, emotional relationship with the sea.

El Boletin Glossary Antonio Machado

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Curated grammar: Loanword plural forms

As advanced learners, you probably have plurals down: add -s (médicos) or -es (leones), and you’re done.

But what happens with loanwords from other languages? Penalty becomes penalti in the Spanish singular — but then penaltis or penalties in plural? And what about hippy? Whisky?

Below, you’ll find a list of borrowed words in their singular form. Can you guess how each becomes plural? Some are straightforward, others have two acceptable options, and a few don’t change at all. It’s really not as straightforward as you think.

Share your guesses in our chat room - and we’ll reveal the answers there next week.

1. póster

2. cómic

3. cruasán

4. jersey

5. espray

6. best-seller

7. Óscar

8. test

9. hippy

10. whisky

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Curated culture: Spanish Short Stories, edited by John R. King

If you’re learning a language at an advanced level, you’ve probably discovered that the reading journey suddenly shifts. Graded readers help you build confidence at the start, but once you’re ready for native texts, the landscape changes: the novels are long, the vocabulary dense, and progress often feels like stop-start, dictionary-in-hand work.

That’s why I’m a big fan of Spanish Short Stories, edited by John R. King (and no - this isn’t sponsored!). Each piece - whether a standalone story or an excerpt from a larger work - is presented with Spanish on the left and an English translation on the right. It’s a simple format, but a powerful one: you can read at a natural pace, glance across to check your understanding when you need to, and even notice how the translator tackles tricky idioms or cultural references.

The collection is deliberately diverse, pulling from across the Spanish-speaking world. One moment you’re in a South American book club, chatting with a group of older ladies and waiting for an author to arrive; the next, you’re on a hotel balcony in Seville, watching the city drift by below. Helpful footnotes offer extra cultural context, deepening your appreciation of the setting and language alike.

If you want to broaden your reading without committing to a full-length novel, this anthology is a perfect middle ground: bite-sized, beautifully chosen, and rich with the kind of cultural nuance that makes Spanish come alive.

Curated video: Las noticias en diez minutos, RTVE

Watching the news - even passively - is one of the best ways to expand your vocabulary across different topics while training your ear for real-world Spanish. We’re big fans of DW Español for its clear, neutral register and broad Latin American coverage.

But if you’re short on time, daily round-ups from broadcasters like RTVE are perfect. This week’s pick is Monday’s Las noticias en diez minutos, focusing on red alerts and torrential rain in parts of Spain, including some regions still recovering from last year’s floods.

RTVE’s coverage tends to be faster and more colloquial than DW, especially during street interviews. Listen out for phrases like estar bajo alerta roja or las lluvias torrenciales, and don’t forget, our free glossary is here to help.

El Boletin Glossary Rtve Noticias

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That’s all for this week! If you’ve enjoyed El Boletín, you can help us grow by sharing it with just two friends who are also learning Spanish. It’s free, and they don’t even need to be on Substack.

Together, we can build the best community of advanced Spanish learners online, supporting each other on the path to fluency.

Hasta la semana que viene,

- Gareth

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In this edition, we have everything from a Spanish YouTuber visiting a Norwegian football club which plays in the Arctic Circle, the end of an era for a nomadic radio show from Spanish National Radio which is closing after 17 years, and our grammar reflections on gender (not just for beginners!). Finally, we have a fascinating article from El Pais on the Spanglish spoken by Latino communities in the United States - which one expert describes as a superpower. Amen to that.

As always, all subscribers also benefit from the glossaries of key words from these sources - ensuring you not only read them passively, but actively engage and boost your comprehension. We hope you enjoy.

- Gareth

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Curated video: The Miracle of Bodo/Glimt

Our chosen video for this edition of El Boletín comes from Spanish YouTuber and football journalist Rafael Escrig.

Rafael (and his trusty cameraman, Álex) travel around Spain, Europe and Latin America, bringing their viewers human stories from the lesser-known corners of football. And you don’t even need to be a fan of the sport to enjoy his content: his report from Paiporta in the aftermath of the devastating floods that hit the community last summer, leaving the town buried under mud, is as much a social commentary on Spanish politics as it is the football club’s attempts to rally the town. It’s genuinely moving.

But the video we’ve chosen for the newsletter is his latest dispatch from Bodo/Glimt, the Norwegian town in the Arctic Circle, as the club battles to qualify for the Champions League. As language learners, Rafael presents a challenge: he speaks quickly and using lots of football-related slang. We particularly enjoyed his description of Bodo as a club ascensor - what in British English we’d call a yo-yo club - as they struggle to be promoted and remain in Norway’s top division.

For our subscribers, make sure to use our free glossary of key terms below to actively engage the video and boost your comprehension.

20250923 Bodoglimt

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Curated Reading: Lo ‘cool’ es hablar spanglish, El País

We particularly enjoyed this article we came across from El País last year, which noted that the mix of Spanish and English was the fastest-growing linguistic hybrid in the world - with 50 million speakers. Not only that, but different geographic areas of the United States speak different forms of Spanglish based on the origin of their Latino communities:

Puertorriqueños en Nueva York hablan nuyorican, un spanglish que combina palabras puertorriqueñas con un inglés sobre todo afroamericano, mientras que los cubanos en Miami se comunican en cubonics.

According to the article, many Latino communities can feel out of place wherever they go: their Spanglish and their identity neither Spanish nor English enough to fit in. But for the expert in the article, this ability to move fluidly between two languages is a superpower - a sentiment that El Boletín is certainly on board with.

Be sure to check out the glossary of key terms for article, and give it a read.

20250923 Spanglish

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Curated Grammar: Gender

One of the things that struck us this week was how, just sometimes, the things you struggle with as a complete beginner to Spanish are things you still struggle with as an advanced learner - although maybe in slight different ways. For example, when you were first learning about masculine and feminine genders, did you ever believe you’d still be struggling with it as an advanced student? It happens.

Often the masculine and feminine forms of the same word will be related. We particularly enjoyed discovering that el manzano, el cerezo and el naranjo are the trees from which la manzana, la cereza and la naranja come from. See also el batería - the drummer who plays la batería, the music instrument. Of course, often these words won’t be related at all: la capital being a city, but el capital referring to money.

The list goes on. Of course, the fundamental issue here for English speakers is that our language lacks gender in the same way, so we have no scaffolding to hang on to - much to the disbelief of our native Spanish friends who find gender so obvious and instinctive.

Curated Culture: Nómadas Podcast

We were sad to read that the Nómadas podcast, produced by Radio Nacional Española, came to an end in July after 17 years.

The podcast visited a different town or city across the world each week, using interviews with locals, Spanish expats and musicians, to bring the place to life. Presenter Álvaro Soto spoke powerfully about the end of the podcast series in a video shared on YouTube.

For language learners, the difficulty of the podcasts can vary by episode - the easiest ones being broadcasts from places which you know (and therefore understand the context) - and the most difficult ones featuring interviews with native Spanish speakers, referencing cultural touchstones which you’re simply going to lack as a second language speaker. Interviews with other non-native speakers in the programme can fall somewhere in between: they often speak more slowly, but sometimes with strong accents and while making mistakes.

Either way, we can’t recommend Nómadas highly enough, and we’ll be sorry to see it go. Do check it out.

That’s all for this week, language learners! We’re really keen to build a community of advanced Spanish learners at El Boletín, so please do share any of your reflections on the content in the comments section below - and ensure to join the chat function on the home page to keep the conversation going.

For now, thanks for reading and see you next week!

- Gareth

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Learning Spanish at the advanced level is hard.

At the beginner and intermediate stages, there is support everywhere: textbooks, apps, YouTube channels, teachers.

But at advanced? The training wheels come off. You’re told: “Just read native content. Just watch everything.”

Which sounds fine — until you’re staring at an endless sea of articles and videos. Overwhelming. Time-consuming. Unsure of where to start.

That’s why so many learners plateau. You feel comfortable… but not fluent.

And that’s where El Boletín comes in.

What you’ll get every Saturday morning

Each issue brings together the Spanish content we’ve been enjoying over the previous week - giving you a starting point and structure to follow, so you can keep making progress:

• One Spanish article: real-world, with a glossary of advanced terms - so you actively engage with the text and grow your vocabulary, instead of skimming.

• One YouTube video: hand-picked, with the key vocabulary pulled out, so listening practice is active instead of passive.

• One grammar snippet: short, targeted, and designed to help advanced students close the final gaps between good and fluent.

• One cultural insight: because fluency isn’t just words, it’s the background knowledge that natives take for granted.

• Full access to the growing archive: every past article, video, grammar tip, and cultural note saved in one place, ready whenever you are.

• A community of advanced learners: which will grow over time, offering support, encouragement, and solidarity from people on the same journey.

The result

Instead of drowning in too much content, you’ll have a clear, focused path.
Instead of studying randomly, you’ll know exactly where to put your time.
Instead of plateauing, you’ll keep progressing.

From advanced. To fluent. Together.

Who’s behind this?

I’m Gareth — a fellow advanced learner and Editor of El Boletín. I’ve been studying Spanish since 2011, and I’ve lived in Spain and South America, working with some inspirational teachers from across those regions on my way towards near-native fluency.

But as every language student knows, you never stop learning. So I established El Boletín in September 2025, to curate the Spanish articles, videos, grammar quirks and cultural curiosities that I enjoy - and bring them to a community of learners on the same journey.

If you’d like to reach out and share your thoughts, feedback and ideas for the newsletter, please do reach out. You’ll be helping to make El Boletín even better for everyone.

- Gareth

Want to join us?

Subscribing is currently completely free. Just click on the button below.

So pull up a chair, order your favourite cortado, and let’s keep going together.

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