Another Party :-)

[Cypress]

While Elba is having her online party, I need to plan a real one. And I need you guys to help me.

I’ll explain more about what I want.

I’ve been studying Spanish for quite a while, but right now I’m not taking Spanish class and don’t have any practice. So I decided to invite some friends who are also learning Spanish and some native speakers (mostly Mexican decedents) and have some kind of “educational/cultural” party. And the main point is that we are going to speak in Spanish only.

And now I need help with the following:

- Music. Does anyone know any websites where I can download songs in Spanish?
- Movie. What are some good Latin American or Spanish movies? I’ve seen a commercial of a movie called “Al Otro Lado” and it seemed interesting. Has anyone seen it?
- Game. It would be nice to play some kind of game to practice vocabulary a little. Something simple yet not too boring for native speakers. Any ideas?
- Food. I hope my Mexican friend can come and cook real Mexican dishes for us, but she lives in a different city and may not be able to make it. In that case, I plan to buy tortilla chips, salsa and guacamole. But what else can I offer my guests without cooking (I’m an awful cook )? And what drinks should I get besides cerveza?
- Presentation. I want to make a power point presentation about Mexico, its people and culture. Does anyone want to check my Spanish grammar on the slides?


Well, any other ideas are very welcomed. I really want my guests to enjoy this fiesta (so they would want to come again and I could practice my Spanish more, he-he-he ). All the Spanish speaking persons from this forum are also invited (though I’m afraid none of you will be able to make it Caramba).

[Dixie]

Wow Cypress, sounds like a really good plan! I wish I could go.

As for music, why don't you choose some songs in Spanish and download them with Emule or another downloading programme?

Same for movies. By the way, I recently downloaded the movie Spanglish, with Adam Sandler and Spanish actress Paz Vega, have you seen it? I can't recommend it because I haven't seen it yet but it's about a Mexican (I think) girl who moves to the States and can't speak a word of English. I will watch it soon.

I can check your grammar in the slides for you if you want.

I know a very simple game that I use with my adult students, but of course they are learning English, not Spanish. Anyway, it's for students with a very elementary or basic level of English and I think it could be done in Spanish too. My students love it and always have a great time when we play it. You need a little piece of paper per student. On each one you write the name of a famous person or character (it's better if they are still alive so they only have to use present tenses, of course if they are in a more advanced level this can be changed). It can be an actor/actress, a politician or a fictional character. Each student, without knowing the name of the person written on their piece of paper, stick it on their forehead, so that everybody sees the name. Then in turns they ask the others questions about their character until they guess:

-Am I a woman? Do I have blond hair?

I assure you it is a very funny game. Just try it and you'll see

[jrkp]

Hi Cypress...

Well, Firstly, regarding the music, as Dixie has written, you could use any program to download music, but that´s not the problem. In my opinion, the problem will be what kind of music your friend like to hear, because there are many, many gender spreading on all Latin America. For example, in Mexico "rancheras" and "musica norteña (nothern music)" are very popular among them. I recommed you first to find out that before choose the music you will play.

About the movie, If I were you, I didn´t show one, because no one have the same taste in movies. Besides, there is a lot of slang in latin americans movies so, it is possible that don´t understand it well and get bored very fast. Instead of that, you should do the party during the broadcast of a match of the Mexican national football (soccer) team, which is playing "La copa de oro (Golden Cup)" in American soil right now. That will be a sure bet because the most of latin americans are crazy about football!!!!. There´s a chance that some of your frieds don´t like footbal, but don`t worry about that, when you watch a football match with a group, drinking beer and eating appetizers, everybody gets a good time, believe me.

Besides beer, you should offer tequila of course which is a very famous drink made in Mexico. Also, if by chance one of your guest is Venezuelan, you should look for a bottle of rum, especially one brand called "Cacique" . Regarding the food, well I´m not a good cook either, so sadly I can´t help you with that.

Finally, I can help you with your presentation too if you want.

Well, that´s all for the moment, if I come up with other idea, I´ll let you know...

P.S: Sorry for the rough traslation of spanish words...

[Elba]

Well Cypress,

About music you can hear, first at all, the broadcasting "exa.com",look for it at Internet, it has music of all kinds. After her decide which do you could use.
I suggest balads, because they are slow and your friends could heard and understand easy.
Drinks: Of course Tequila. Bear is good but only in hot days and not as a drikn but also a beverage for calm the thirsty.
Food: frie beens, cheese, fry "chorizo", something like barbecue. It is usually in the "parrilladas" barbecue; put toguetter with arrachera meat little onions,and eat them with lemmon and salt.
But if your party is at night, only totopos, guacamole, cheese, jam, fries patatoes: Sabritas and too much tequila with "sangrita"

There are too much recipies with tequila:here the link where you can see them:
http://www.acamextequila.com.mx/noflash/cocteleria.html

Ggames: this is to practices vicabulary and the name is "BASTA" = Stop.
one piece of papper for every studen. Everyone musto to dived the papper in sections:
NAME, CITY or COUNTRY, ANIMAL, FRUIT or VEGETABLE, THING.
You begin to say the alfabet in spanish: a,b,d,c,e,f, etc one of them, any, must to say BASTA. then you stop, Which letter was you mentioned in this moment?? R, P,, C??
then every student must to writte in the section NAME, the proper name of men or women that begin with the letter you stop: example if you stop in R, the name in spanish that begin with R: Rosa, Rafael, Rodrigo, etc, they musto to writte too the name of a City, anumal fruir, thing that begin with R. example:
Rosarito, Ratón, Rábano, Ropa, the first studen who finish the names mustto say "Basta", and the rest must to stop even if they miss two or three or all the words.
Every column with a name has a value of 100 points.
At final they musto to get the total points and the winner is who musto points got.

[Oriani]

Wow!! Very nice advise!

[Dixie]

About my note on the movie Spanglish... don't watch it! It's simply boring.

[Cypress]

Hi everybody! Thank you so much for all your advices! I truly appreciate them. The party is on Saturday, and I am so excited about it!

[MissLT]

You can check the recipes here also if you want more easy food. They're claimed to be Mexican dishes, but I don't know since they're in real simple.

Real Simple's recipes

I like the recipes for June issue.

[malakarer]

I know, the solution is here
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[Elba]

Good and delicious recipes Lenny, some of them are a little "americanized", I mean with a grade of USA flavor.

Malakarer: What is Jenniffer doing here????