El abecedario

Hello again!

In this post we'll talk about the alphabet, something essential for those who want to speak Spanish. As most languages in Europe, Spanish has a latin alphabet, You'll probably recognise most of the letters, except for the ñ, a letter that doesn't exist in many other languages. In the image underneath, you'll find all the letters with typical Spanish words that you may know. Some of them (such as Barcelona, Cádiz or Huelva) are cities, while others are food (jamón, tomate, kiko, paella, ostra, yogur), countries (Francia, Irlanda), common words (nariz, león, ratón), etc.

In opposition to English, in Spanish each letter will usually represent a phoneme (sound), for example: J = /x/, but there are exceptions that we'll explain underneath. 

Consonants!

B, b and V, v represent both the following phoneme: /b/. So, when you pronounce Barcelona and Valencia, remember that both will start with the same sound.

C, c can change its sound depending on the letter which it's followed by. With a, o and u, c it will sound like /k/ (California, Congo, Cuba), while it will sound like /θ/ with e and i (Cervantes, ciudad [city]). In the second case, the phoneme is the same that we use in English for the th in thief or thought, and it's a sound represented by the Z, z as well, like in Zamora or Zaragoza. 

For the other representations of /k/ we have Q, q and K, k. Q is always followed by a mute u. This letter can only accompany i and e, since we already have the c to use that sound with a, o and u. K, k can be followed by any vowel, but is more common in foreign words adopted by Spanish, such as koala, karate or karaoke.

If a c is followed by an h, it will change it sound to /ʧ/, just like in English (choke, Chile, charming). This dygraph used to be a letter called che, but it is no longer considered like that.

G, g can change its sound depending on the letter that follows it. Followed by an a, o or u (just like the c), it will sound like /g/, the same as in go or gum, but we'll need to ad an u when we want it to sound like that with e and i. Then, we'll get guerra [war] and guía [guide], exactly the same as in English with Guiness, guilty or, again, guide. If we want the u to be pronounced, we'll have to add a special sign: ü. Then, we'll pronounce it in pingüino [penguin] and piragüa [pirogue]. The other sound represented by g is /x/, when it's followed by e or i without the u in the middle. Then, you'll say genio [genie, genious] and gitano [gipsy]. The sound /x/ is also represented by the letter J, j, like in jamón or Jerez. Notice that this sound doesn't exist in English, and don't confuse it with the sound represented by the letter x, which is a different one. Remember also that with foreign words (jazz, Jennifer), it sounds like in its original language.

H, h is the only letter in Spanish that doesn't represent any sound, you can just ignore it while speaking. Huelva, Habana and horno [oven] would sound the same if the h wasn't there. But be careful, take into account that it has a sound when it belongs to the che, as we explained above, and when it comes in a foreign word, such as hamster or hobby. Then, you'll pronounce it as in its original language.

L, l represents the phoneme /l/, like in English. Nevertheless, notice that there's a dygraph formed by two eles called elle, which, like the che, used to be considered a letter. This dygraph theorically represents the sound /ʎ/, but nowadays almost everyone pronounces it as /ʝ̞/, which is found in English words like jazz or joke. The same sound is sometimes represented by the y. So, in the words llover [to rain] and llave [key], the ll will sound like the y in yogur or baya [berry].

Ñ represents the phoneme /ɲ/ and it's a letter that doesn't exist in the common latin alphabet (look at your keyboard, you'll probably miss it). It can be found in words like España [Spain] or Gran Bretaña [Great Britain].

And here it comes! The most difficult phoneme in the Spanish language! The cause of your headache! If you want to pronounce the R, r, you'll have to learn how to roll your tongue. But you're lucky, because there's no need to do it always. If the r is the first letter in the word or you find a double r (like in robar [to steal] or perro [dog]), you'll have to make an effort and roll your tongue. But, if the r appears alone in the middle of a word or at the end, you'll do it softer (/r/), like in every single verb in its infinitive form (cantar [to sing], comer [to eat], escribir [to write]) or in words such as Paraguay and paraguas [umbrella].

The rest of the consonants, i. e., d, f, l, m, n, p, s, t, w and x, sound the same as in English.

Vowels

Here we have the easiest part, in Spanish there are only five vowels, and, unlike in English, each letter represents a phoneme. There are no middle grounds, and that's fantastic!

A, a represents the phoneme /a/, like in tacos, amigo [friend] and antiguo [ancient]. 

E, e represents the sound /e/, like in España.

I, i represents /i/, like in innoncence. It also receives the name of i latina to distinguish it from the y (i griega).

O, o corresponds to the phoneme /o/, like in Orlando, chorizo and tortilla. Be careful, don't pronounce it as in English, that would be ou in Spanish.

U, u is the sound /u/, like in Moscú, Úbeda or huracán [hurricane]. As with the o, take into account that is not pronounced like iu. 

¡Y esto es todo por hoy! [And this is all for today!]. As you may have observed, the Spanish alphabet, called alfabeto or abecedario, isn't very difficult, but there are some differences with the English one that you should take into account while learning the language. Nothing is impossible, so come on, roll your tongue and start speaking!

La película del domingo: La llamada

Directores y actores

Inauguramos esta sección con una película musical de la que todos hablan actualmente en España: La llamada, la obra principal de Javier Ambrossi y Javier Calvo, una pareja sentimental conocida popularmente como los Javis. Acuérdate de sus nombres, porque en los últimos años están en boca de todos gracias a su serie Paquita Salas (muy recomendable, por cierto), su participación como profesores en la academia del programa musical Operación Triunfo (cuyo regreso ha sido todo un fenómeno en España) y, por supuesto, esta película. 

La historia es una adaptación de un musical homónimo estrenado en 2013 en el hall del Teatro Lara de Madrid. El éxito de la obra pidió a gritos que la transportaran a la gran pantalla, y así es como, finalmente, alcanzó la fama de la que goza ahora. 

Antes de pasar a la sinopsis, te contamos que el mundo del cine no pilló de nuevas a los directores. Mientras que Javier Ambrossi había participado ya como actor en series como Sin tetas no hay paraíso y Amar en tiempos revueltos, Javier Calvo era conocido por todos por haber dado vida a Fer, uno de los personajes más entrañables de Física o Química.

Respecto a los actores, nos vemos obligados a nombrar a la magnífica Belén Cuesta, la artista de moda. Aunque llevaba varios años trabajando como actriz, su salto al estrellato comenzó a darlo en películas como Ocho apellidos catalanes (continuación de la famosa Ocho apellidos vascos) y Kiki, el amor se hace. Esta chica vale oro, y no resulta extraño que aparezca involucrada en numerosos proyectos últimamente, pues su capacidad cómica es indiscutible. En la película da vida a la madre Milagros. En el papel protagonista nos encontramos a Macarena García, que encarna a María. Ganadora de un Goya y una Concha de Plata a la mejor actriz, esta joven es uno de los puntos fuertes del musical, junto a Anna Castillo en la piel de Susana, también ganadora de un Goya. Finalmente, como último personaje principal tenemos a la madre Bernarda, interpretada por la fantástica Gracia Olayo.

Sinopsis

La historia se desarrolla en un campamento segoviano llamado La Brújula. María y Susana son dos jóvenes apasionadas del electro latino cuyo sueño es convertirse en cantantes de éxito. De hecho, tienen un grupo llamado Suma Latina, y ya han compuesto una canción. Algunas noches se escapan del campamento para salir de fiesta y, en una de esas ocasiones, Susana consigue un encuentro con un famoso productor. Sin embargo, María, a quién se le está apareciendo un señor cantando por Whitney Houston, acaba discutiendo con Susana y ninguna de las dos se presenta a la cita. 

Mientras tanto, la madre Bernarda, que acaba de llegar al campamento, trata de entretener a los jóvenes con la música, pero Milagros le sugiere que sus canciones están obsoletas. Bernarda, que solo quiere ayudar, habla con María, quien la informa de las apariciones que está teniendo. Entre todas intentarán buscar la manera de que la joven consiga encontrarle un sentido a lo que le está ocurriendo. El mensaje principal es claro: persigue tus sueños.

Valoración

Como ya dijimos, el reparto de esta comedia vale mucho. Eso, unido a la buena mano de los Javis y la pegadiza banda sonora (en la que cuentan con una joya de canción interpretada por Leiva, un famoso artista), hacen que quieras ver la película una y otra vez. No esperes efectos especiales (la historia no los requiere), pero sí una entretenida y amena trama que te arrancará más de una carcajada.

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Directors and actors

We'll open this section with a very popular musical right now in Spain: Holly Camp, the main piece of Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo, a couple commonly known as the Javis. Keep their names in mind, because in the last years everyone's talking about them thanks to their series Paquita Salas (good story, by the way), their participation as teachers in the musical reality Operación Triunfo (which return has totally been a phenomenom in Spain) and, of course, the movie we're talking about.

The story is the adaptation of the homonymous musical released in 2013 in the hall of the Teatro Lara in Madrid. The succes of this work brought it to the cinema, and that's how it finally achieved its current fame.

Before writing about the synopsis, we'll tell you that the directors weren't new at the cinema. Javier Ambrossi had already worked as an actor in popular series such as Sin tetas no hay paraíso and Amar en tiempos revueltos, while Javier Calvo interpreted Fer, one of the most loved characters in Física o Química.

Amongst the actors we should mention the great Belén Cuesta. Although she had been working as an actress for some years, she reached the fame thanks to movies like Spanish Affair 2 (the continuation of Spanish Affair) and Kiki, Love to Love. This woman is fantastic, and it's not a surprise that she's lately involved in many projects, since her comedian skilss are obvious. In this movie she plays Mother Milagros. In the main role we find Macarena García, the winner of prizes like a Goya and a Concha de Plata a la mejor actriz. In the movie she is María, the friend of Susana, played by Anna Castillo, also winner of a Goya. And, to cap it all, in the role of Mother Bernarda we find the great Gracia Olayo.

Synopsis

The story is set in a Segovian camp called La Brújula (the compass), where María and Susana stay. They love electro latino and their main goal is to become famous singers. In fact, they have a group called Suma Latina and a song. Some nights they scape from the camp to party and, in one of those times, Susana gets an appointment with an important productor. Nonetheless, Maria is having some trouble lately: a man who sings Whitney Houston's songs is appearing to her. Finally, the girls have an argument and they decide not to go to the appointment.

In the meantime, Mother Bernarda, who is new in the camp, is trying to connect to the youngs through the music, but Milagros suggest that her songs are a bit old. Bernarda still wants to help people and talks to María, and that's how she gets to know about her problem. All of them will try to help María, who is confused and can't understand what's going on. The main message is clear: follow your dreams.

Valuation

As we already said, the movie's cast is perfect. If we join this fact to the good work of the Javis and the catchying OST (in which they add a song of Leiva, a very famous singer), we get a great result: a movie that you'll want to see again and again. You won't find special effects (they're not required in this case), but if you're looking for a good and enterteining plot that will make you laugh, this is the best choice.