Barrio Adentro (Inside the Neighborhood) is a program of free medical clinics that have been established throughout Venezuela. Critics include the Venezuelan Medical Association, who claim that the Cubans who make up most of the doctors are not qualified, though the WHO and UNICEF are generally as enthusiastic as Omar about the program.

Spain has never been a country afraid of divisive politics, and filmmaker Joan Planas has no fear of getting controversial when presenting his views of society, church and state. Note that the older gentleman is not speaking straight Spanish but Catalan, and the Spanish captions reflect not his exact words but are the same as the Spanish subtitles seen in white on the screen.

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.

In Guatemala, people of Mayan descent not only retain various native forms of dress, but they also speak dialects of the Mayan language, a language many people wrongly presume to be long lost to history. Rafael treats us to some examples of words and phrases in this language, and also explains some of the particulars of traditional dress.

When something is distasteful, it’s common to hear qué asco (how disgusting) This is precisely what Marley proclaims as Sebastián chooses a particularly fea cockroach to munch on. Sebastián didn’t in fact, tragar, or swallow, the roach, and we think Marley let him off easy!

Malaga gets over 300 days of sunshine every year, so it’s no surprise that Arume has chosen it for her vacation. She’s been studying hard and learning a lot over the past year, and luckily she’s agreed to fill us in!

It was his father who gave him the nickname “Juanes,” created by combining his first name (Juan) and the beginning of his second name (Esteban). Pops may have realized that it made for a perfect pop idol calling card, as he also taught him to play guitar.

If there was an entry for “trippy” in the English-Spanish dictionary we think there would be a photo of Liquits sitting there next to it. Lyrically, this neat little tune is not as simple as it at first sounds, and is loaded with double meanings and word plays—we’ve tried to point out a few! Have fun (you know you like to sing)—vocab quiz on naked stork firefly poppies first thing Monday.

Carlos Eduardo López Ávila, known to most of the world as Jeremías, (his nombre escénico) was born in London, where his parents were studying, but he returned with them to their native Venezuela at the tender age of two. Billboard describes his music, with its blend of trova, pop, salsa and rock as mestizo (which of course usually refers to a person of mixed blood).

Joselo Rangel is a native of Minatitlan, Puerto de Veracruz. He went to university, however, in Mexico City, at UAM (Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana). It was there that he teamed up with Ruben Albarran to create the legendary Café Tacuba. “Sobriedad” is from his recent solo effort, Lejos.

Me siento parte del rock, aunque el disco sea más pop explains Coti Sorokin (known to his fans simply as “Coti”) in an interview with MTV España. His talent is widely respected, having composed songs for the likes of Alejandro Lerner and Diego Torres, and served as producer for Los Enanitos Verdes.

Polbo used to play sixties cover songs in bars “de mala muerte” in Yabucoa by night, while studying physics at university by day. They began to write their own songs, which the crowds started to demand more than the covers. Keep an ear out for them!

Noruego means “Norwegian,” hence a princesa noruega is a “Norwegian princess.” One arrived in Burgos, Spain on Christmas Eve, in the year 1257. She was to wed Prince Felipe, brother of King Alfonso X of Castile. Marry they did, but Cristina de Noruega fell ill and died at only twenty eight years old.

You know, it’s never the drummer or the bassist that gets the big ego, it’s usually el cantante. In this case one is about to ruin Viole’s big opening party by refusing to play on a small stage. Is this Juan’s big chance for rock and roll stardom, or is he better off sticking to his new job as plomo (roadie)?

The game of brisca uses 40 cards known as the “Spanish deck.” One aspect of play involves using body language to reveal your hand to your partner. This is why the gentleman says “we blink an eye and we do like this…” He is making a joke about this body language/cards relationship when he says “your head aches when you have the ace of oros.”