Learn Spanish the Novela Way

This just in from the "Why Didn't They Think of This Before Department?": Telemundo is airing their latest prime time soap opera, "Gitanas" with English subtitles available via closed captioning.

Why is this so fabulous for people not fluent in Spanish? Well, first of all you'll be able to join in the daily novela recap sessions at work that you missed out on when everybody was talking about "El Clón" or "Betty La Fea". Second, following a novela is a fun way to learn or brush up on your Spanish.

What makes a novela different than an American soap? First of all, American soaps air for years and years, but Spanish soaps are finite, usually running 3 to 4 months. With the exception of the horror soap "Dark Shadows," American soaps are mostly set in the present day and in the United States. Novelas can be present day, or historical and can be set anywhere in the world. Everything is wonderfully over-the-top and everyone (except the character actors) is gorgeous.

The best way to take advantage of the close-captioning in English is to TiVo or videotape the show. Then you can watch the whole show and listen to the Spanish while you read the English subtitles. Or if you're more advanced you can watch a few scenes without the subtitles and then play them back with the subtitles to see what you missed. Way more fun than your Berlitz tapes! Wouldn't you rather learn how to say "I'm going to kill that lying, cheating husband of mine!" or "What? You're really my brother?" than "Where is the library?" or "How much do these blouses cost?" I know I would.

"Gitanas" started last week, so you haven't missed all that much yet. The story is about star-crossed lovers from a gypsy and a non-gypsy (gayó) family in a fictional small town in Mexico. There's plenty of flamenco music and dancing, forbidden love and lovely gypsy costumes on the girls. More eye candy is provided by the beautiful actresses Ana De la Reguera and Dolores Heredia; the very yummy Manolo Cardona and the mature yet just as sexy Saúl Lisazo. This is veteran actor Lisazo's first novela on Telemundo.

Comments

[ozzy]

hey people i need help here about the movie Gitanas. i used to watch the movie with the closed captioning in english and it worked very well. And somehow one day it showed that the english captioning is in CC3. so I tried CC3 and it didnt work, i even tried another TV but it didnt work either. So what should I do? p.s: I dont even know if its right place to write. thx in advance!

[Little Judy]

Thanks, Naniyah! I think Telemundo is planning on doing English subtitles for future novelas, too.

[Naniyah]

I know I'm so late for this. But thanks, I'm a native speaker, but some words get lost on me and the CC helps SOOOO much in keeping up w/ the drama.

[Diane]

Hi LittleJudy! Wow - that telemundo thing with subtitles sure sounds like fun! As for U.S. soaps, I laughed everytime I saw the commercial for the "Salem Serial Killer" where the character played by Deidre Hall was the culprit. Funny stuff! By the way, thanks SO much for including my blog page in your "interesting weblogs" list. I do greatly appreciate that. (I have to figure out how to do that so I can add you to my list). Also, just FYI, I just added another piece of bright, colorful art (on wood!) to my blog that I think is my best painting ever(!), but alas, I'm probably just still in the proverbial "honeymoon stage" with it, since it's brand new. Please take a look at it, I'd love to know what you think of it -- I call it: "Do Ya Wanna Dance (Ramones-style)" -Yes, I am a Ramones fan (Miss ya, Joey)... Thanks again, and I'll let you know when I've seen the "metallica" movie.... (I think I'm gonna have to "netflix" it). Diane Casey (Caseynrbq)