I know, it’s been out almost a year now but still……. My current favourite movie: ENCANTO! This is one bandwagon I am proud to be on. I LOVE that Disney movie. Admittedly, I’ve always been a sucker for Disney movies. Can’t say I’m any good at music but the songs get me every time. So it’s little wonder that Encanto, with its amazing soundtrack, still has me entirely charmed. I’m willing to bet several of you feel the same way. While I might have felt a bit dodgy watching the movie on repeat, I had the benefit of having a six year old who has no such qualms. He watched the movie almost ev ..read more

Have you been searching for some birthday greetings for your in-laws in Spanish? I’ve got you covered! Birthdays and special occasions are great opportunities to connect with those we love, with or without language barriers! You don’t need to speak Spanish to be able to show your affection for your Spanish-speaking loved ones. However, expressing your heartfelt sentiments in the language of their heart would be extra special to them! Below you will find several birthday greetings suited for your mother or father-in-law, brother or sister-in-law, and even your daughter or son-in-law. Don’t ..read more

¡Feliz Día de los Reyes Magos!   Happy Three Kings Day! Today marks the official end of the Christmas season and the beginning of Epiphany, which celebrates the Three Wise Men (The Three Kings/ The Three Magi) who followed the star to Bethlehem. On this day, they arrived bearing their gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh for the baby Jesus. Traditions associated with this day were brought from Spain to Latin American during the time of the Bourbons. Across Latin America (and among those of Latin American heritage) many children will have received their gifts from Los Tres Rey ..read more

We’ve done it again. Another year at its close. Adiós 2021. Gracias a mis amigos. Thank you for spending some of  your precious time with me here at Over The Andes. I sincerely appreciate you, and look forward to learning even more with you in 2022! In this short post to close out 2021, I’m sharing with you some simple Spanish greetings you can use to wish your Spanish-speaking loved ones a happy new year. I’ve not put the Over The Andes mark on them so feel free to copy and reuse to your heart’s desire! There’s a loose English translation of the sentiments expressed for you to check ..read more

Día de los Muertos - What does La Catrina represent? Oh my…. How scary, how beautiful, how very Día de los Muertos! If you’re familiar at all with Día de los Muertos, you’ve probably seen this image before (or something similar).  This skull-style face painting has been used for decades in conjunction with Día de los Muertos. But where did it come from? Let’s go back to 1910, right before the outbreak of the Mexican Revolution, and the removal of Porfirio Diaz from power.  José Guadalupe Posada and La Catrina La Calavera Garbancera, (the original name for La Catrina) was a mon ..read more

The monarch butterfly and Día de los Muertos… what’s the connection? Read on… What do insects have to do with Día de los Muertos? Continuing our exploration of Día de los Muertos, we’re on to a discussion about a mighty group of insects. Before we can understand the link between butterflies and a festival that honours our departed loved ones, let’s recap what Día de los Muertos is all about. Día de los Muertos Día de los Muertos centres around the belief that, for this day, the souls of the beloved departed can return. It is a belief steeped in tradition, history, religion and culture and ..read more

I’m still finding ways to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month. At Over The Andes we’ve posted several articles about the benefits of using music in language learning. There are also a couple posts with suggested Spanish songs for various occasions!  Today’s post is yet another one celebrating Spanish songs for language learning. I’ve got three of them for you. Additionally, there are another three, rich in cultural references, perfect for Hispanic Heritage Month!  “Agua” by Jarabe de Palo This is a song about unrequited love. How can they remain only friends when he is clearly in l ..read more

Inside: Traditional Latin American Dishes… Yum! It’s Hispanic Heritage Month again! The celebrations run from September 15 to October 15. One great way to celebrate is with traditional foods.   I love food. I love trying new dishes and experimenting with flavours. One of my favourite things to do for Hispanic Heritage Month, therefore, is to talk about food and to try some new dishes.  On this foodie-train of inspiration I’m sharing some traditional Latin American foods with you today. We’ll visit Perú, México and Cuba! Part of our Beginner Spanish Experience includes gue ..read more

On September 24th, where I’m from, we have a public holiday. Okay, it’s not actually a National Punctuation Day holiday! In Trinidad and Tobago, we celebrate our Republic Day on September 24th. However, when looking at what else is celebrated on that date, I came across this interesting tidbit: In the United States, September 24th is National Punctuation Day… “a celebration of the lowly comma, correctly used quotation marks, and other proper uses of periods, semi-colons, and the ever mysterious ellipsis.” I think it’s also a good day to remind Spanish learners about the i ..read more

Let’s learn about four more women of Mexico’s independence story. One of the parts I love about my job, is researching and disseminating historical perspectives. The role of women in major events has for a long time been under-represented in our history texts. This is the third year I’ll be sharing stories of some of the amazing women who fought for Mexico’s independence. If you’d like more info about the history of the independence battles and the origin of the famous Grito de Dolores, you can check out these articles: ​How did Mexico win it’s independence?​ ​The Women of Mexico’s Inde ..read more