Vela, a word often used for “candle,” or “sail,” can also mean “wakefulness,” as in “vigilance.” It’s related to the verb velar, “to stand watch.” The name of the port city of La Vela de Coro refers not to the “sails” of merchant ships (as many assume) but rather to this town’s role as a “lookout” point for marauding pirates. One-eyed peg-legs are now less common, but the carnivalesque annual festival of Los Locos continues on.

Most English speakers have at some time in their lives heard Donovan sing “The Hurdy Gurdy Man,” but how many knew what such a man did? The woman in this video talks about a musical family that used to play the sinfonía, and indeed this is the Spanish name for the hand-crank organ known as a “hurdy gurdy.”

It’s quite possible that El Día de Los Locos, as celebrated in La Vela de Coro, has its roots as far back as the Roman Empire, which celebrated Saturnalia at the same time of year. Both festivals, historically, involve turning the social order on its head, with slaves dressing like their masters.

La Vela is a small town in the state of Falcón, on the northwest coast of Venezuela, where every December 28th Los Locos [“The Crazy Ones”] arrive wearing colorful and elaborated costumes. The whole town becomes a party, with businesses closing and people dancing in the streets. It’s a tradition that could be in any magical realism novel and that desperately struggles to not fall into oblivion.

Jesús Baz is the Director of Studies at the Don Quijote spanish school in lovely Salamanca, Spain. A true salmantino, Jesús has a real pride for his city, which is home to some of Europe’s oldest universities and has a very strong intellectual tradition. The school itself, in a beautiful old building that was formerly a convent, also houses a popular student café.

A consejo is “a piece of advice” and the verb aconsejar is “to advise.” Here in the Don Quijote classroom, we take a look at the grammar and language involved when doling out recommendations, suggestions, and the like, in Spanish.

Meet José Luis, a twenty-five year padel player who opened his own padel school in Albacete, Spain. Not to be confused with “paddle tennis,” “padel” (or “padel tennis”) is a racket sport played extensively in Spain and Latin America.

Cuban singer-songwriter Ernesto Rodríguez presents us with a song intended to reflect, within the individual, the synthesis of many of the diverse facets of humanity.

The music of Cuban singer-songwriter Ernesto Rodríguez combines traditional Cuban rhythms with international sounds. Enjoy this performance of his poetic song "Aire" (Air).

Listen to the Spanish version of Enrique Iglesias' "Escape," a bonus track from the 2002 reissue of the 2001 chart-topping album with the same name.

Listen to Spanish singer-songwriter, model, and actor, Enrique Iglesias' single, "Mentiroso," or "Liar," from his 2002 album entitled Quizás (Perhaps).

Enrique Iglesias' first single from his compilation album entitled Enrique Iglesias: 95/08 Exitos was "¿Dónde están corazón?" and became his eighteenth hit on the Billboard Hot Latin Tracks chart.

Enrique Iglesias sings about wanting to be his lover's hero in his hit single, "Héroe."

Enrique Iglesias implores his love to "feel the rhythm" with him in his hit single, "Ritmo Total."

Let's watch the intriguing music video for "Así Es La Vida" [That's Life], a 2023 duet by Spanish crooner Enrique Iglesias and Argentinian singer María Becerra, which was released as the first single from Iglesias's album Final (Vol. 2), slated to be the final album of his career.