INTRO ALCALÁ

EL CONTRAHECHO

EL CONTRAHECHO

     Un descuido,
     tan sólo un descuido en la noche del universo.
     Tan sólo una voz en la nada
     y crecimos con la mente tullida
     y las alas enganchadas.
     Tullidos de esperanza,
     vacíos, como flores de penumbra…

     Locos por auscultar el latido de la armonía,
     tañidos por el timbal de la soberbia,
     empujados al desnivel de la envidia,
     accionados por el golpe de la ira,
     cubiertos de la resbalosa escama
     que deja su rastro de lujuria.

     Un descuido,
     tan sólo un descuido
     para nacer con los ojos asombrados y tullidos,
     para alimentar con necedades
     la flor de la esperanza.

     Conciencia de paraguas,
     aire hinchado de humo,
     vanidad de los gatos
     que duermen a cubierto.

     Niños cadavéricos extienden las manos,
     suaves como los copos del invierno,
     mientras las botas aplastan los pies descalzos,
     los ojos abiertos…
     Dedos con olor a pólvora
     que han convertido en hielo la ternura
     en ira la voz del inocente,
     en herida la esperanza…
     Humanos desgarrados,
     cicatrices abiertas en los lomos
     que no curará el tiempo transcurrido.

     Condenados a lamer con el vientre la tierra,
     condenados al abismo por despreciar
     el aliento cálido del paraíso.
     Condenados al uno
     que hace surgir con ardor el egoísmo..

     Volveremos a tratar de escalar las ramas del árbol,
     por ser distintos, por ver el cielo.
     Volveremos, en línea de retroceso,
     al castigo de arrastrarnos por las hojas de los árboles,
     como el perezoso escala, lentamente,
     con sus tres uñas diabólicas,
     los troncos eternos de la selva..

Rocío Oviedo Pérez de Tudela
Del libro "AL encuentro"
     

El salón

Preguntar

ADVERBIOS DE LUGAR

Comienza la aventura

SHOULD WE STANDARDISE SPANISH?

Published: Thursday, 20 August 2015 15:58

Hits: 170

Good morning, dear citizens of the world, how are you? Today we bring you a controversial topic: should be standardise Spanish? In this new post we’re tell you both stances, we will give you our opinion and we will ask about what you think. Let’s start!

As you may know because you have read our posts, because you have been to Spanish speaker countries or because you have been informed by other ways, Spanish is a huge language and has many variations, nearly as many speakers. Many times, mainly while launching a product or in international conferences, we try to standardise Spanish so everybody can understand everything without confussions. However, most of the times it’s not possible, for example, as we already saw in our post “Spanish words with different meaning depending on where we are”, word “concha” in some countries means ‘vagina’, so, how can we do it?

On the one hand, “creating” a common Spanish to all countries would ensure the understanding of all Spanish speakers, no matter their procedence. Production costs would be cut on and products (films, medicins, video-games…) would be launched before. There wouldn’t be missunderstoods either due to linguistic differences because we would speak the same variant and all words would have the same meaning for everybody. Sure all of you have read something or have spoken with a person that doesn’t speak the same variant as you and you had communication problems. That Real Academia Española, that has Spanish experts from all over the world, could carry out this task. It would be wonderful, isn’t it?

However, this standard Spanish would be the lost of centuries and centuries of culture and tradition. If there was only one variant of Spanish, many translators and interpretors would loose their yob, because it would be enough to translate and interprete everything once. It would be necessary to teach all Spanish speakers the common language too, many words would be lost and would dissappear andthey would be just a memory and then, “old Spanish”. Furthermore, who doesn’t think that’s funny to tell some stories about a trip to a country and the problems with a specific word?

In Spanish Language Route (as you know we’re Spanish lovers) we think the standardisation would be an advantage while understanding each others, however, the lost would be much bigger. We think it is worthy to make a small effort while speaking to ther persons, because we can always learn something and the personal enrichment is great, don’t you think?

Well, what do you think? Please, don’t be shy and tell you your opinions, we’re looking forward to know all your opinions. See you soon!

SPANISH EXPRESSIONS RELATED TO BODY PARTS I

Published: Thursday, 03 September 2015 09:34

Hits: 263

Good morning, dear readers! The 11th June we spoke you about Spanish food expressions, so today we’re speaking about Spanish expressions related to body parts. We love these type of constructions in Spanish Language Route, so let’s start!

Hablar por los codos (to talk with the elbows)

It means: to talk a blue streak.

Estar hasta las narices de algo (to be until the nose of something)

It means: to be fed up.

Dormir a pierna suelta (to sleep with unleashed leg)

It means: to sleep very relaxing.

Origin: it is during the time where prisoners were put fetters over their ankles lest they scaped. Sometimes, if someone had a really good behaviour, he could spend the night withouth being attached to any chain or any other prisoner, there comes the expression “dormir a pierna suelta”, that means to sleep very relaxing and to be in a better shape in the morning.

No tener pelos en la lengua (not to have hair on the tongue)

It means: not mince the words of somebody.

Origin: its precise procedence it is unknown, but it can be deduced: when somebody has a hair on his/her tongue, it is more difficult to pronounce and to speak because it bothers us. If there are no hairs, we can speak normally.

Dar el brazo a torcer (to give the arm to turn)

It means: not to budge.

Origin: the expressions comes from the battles with the hands, where the opponents hold onto their right hands and they start stretching to their sides to get the opponent hand to touch the table.

Meter la pata (to put the paw inside something)

It means: to slip-up.

Origin: it’s about an animal o ra person that put the paw in a dirty place or mire.

No dar pie con bola (to give feet with ball)

It means: to get something wrong many times.

Origin: it comes from the cards game. “Pie” was the player who should put the last card on and “bolo” was the moment where the player could win the game.

Costar un ojo de la cara/costar un riñón (to cost an eye of the face/to cost a kidney)

It means: to be something very expensive

Origin: the beginning of these expressions is due to Diego de Almagro, that during the 16th Century begun expeditions in Latin-America. During one at the end of 1524 and 1525 he went to help Francisco Pizarro and he was injured on an eye by a native arrow. Some time later, Diego de Almagro spoke with king Carlos 1^st and he said “El negocio de defender los intereses de la corona me ha costado un ojo de la cara” (the business of defending the crown interests cost me an eye of the face).

Estar con/tener la mosca detrás de la oreja (to be with/to have a fly begind the ear)

It means: to be worried about something

Origin: contrary to what is thought, “mosca” is not about an animal, but the fuse of the arquebus and the musket used to shoot it. The soldier carrying the arm (musketeer), after using and extinguising the fuse it was put behing the ear to have it localised in case of necessity.

Poner el dedo en la llaga (to put the finger on the ulcer)

It means: to finger on the problem.

Origin: the procedence is religious. It makes reference to Saint Thomas, to verify the identity of resurrected Jesus, he touched the wounds and checked if they were real, therefore he put the finger on the ulcer.

Andar con la soga al cuello (to walk with the rope on the neck)

It means: it pretends to describe the extern and anxious situation that experiences somebody.

Origin: it comes from the capital punishment of hanging somebody.

Well, what do you think? We know there are many more expressions. Let your comments and tell us which your favourit are, soon we will write a new post with all of them. See you soon!

Manzanares el Real – Rascafría