It’s also a lot of fun, containing a plot twist that gets you questioning the nature of literature itself. “La Llorona” originated in Mexico and has been told and retold over the centuries. Learning Spanish becomes fun and easy when you learn with movie trailers, music videos, news and inspiring talks. Other sites use scripted content. If you doubt it, just take a brief look at his resume—he won a Nobel Prize and was called by his country’s president “the greatest Colombian who ever lived.”. To peer out a telling window into the traditional role of women in Mexico and wider Latin America, this story is a great tool. The best part is that FluentU keeps track of the vocabulary that you’re learning, and it recommends you examples and videos based on the words you’ve already learned. The title and main character of the story is María Dos Prazeres, a Portuguese name that means “Maria of Pleasures.” The story is a bit out of the ordinary and open to many interpretations. In the process, you’ll be learning plenty about the Spanish language as well as the tapestry of cultures and unique points of view that exist throughout the Spanish-speaking world. Once you’ve read your story, it’s time to solidify the new vocabulary you’ve picked up. If you see an interesting word you don’t know, you can add it to a vocab list. Jim Dobrowolski is a freelance writer, a passionate language learner and the proud husband of a dentist from Mexico. “La Ratita Presumida” (The Vain Little Mouse) This story has been floating around for centuries. All organized by genre, you’re sure to find exactly what you’re in the mood for! It’s the story of a self-contained universe that takes the form of a library. The daughter of Puerto Rico’s third elected governor, Ferré’s career might have been helped by her family’s status and wealth but it certainly doesn’t rely upon it. Thanks for subscribing! Because of this, it’s a bit higher-level than the others on the list, but because the story became so widespread, there are many translations and additional resources available to help. Known for his dark, at times even gothic style, Quiroga is sometimes called “the Edgar Allan Poe of Latin America.” Perhaps nowhere is this style more evident than in his short story “El almohadón de plumas,” or “The Feather Pillow.” Published in 1907 in an Argentinian magazine, it was this work that first brought him fame. Like many great works of literature, “El ahogado más hermoso del mundo” opens itself to a variety of interpretations and analyses. For a playfully masterful tale that also explores serious topics like the evolving nature of social class by one of the Caribbean’s greatest living female writers, you can’t do much better than “El cuento envenenado.”. Other sites use scripted content. Having just a few hundred words in length, it’s short, simple and easy to get through. After she realizes what she has done, she then drowns herself, leaving herself trapped between the worlds of the living and the dead. It was published by Colombian author Gabriel García Márquez, who is the same author of one of the most widespread books in Spanish and in English, “Cien Años de Soledad” (One Hundred Years of Solitude). These well-known gems are quick to read—some even easy enough for beginners—yet they’ll still open a window into rich culture for you to explore. Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you Known for his short stories and his novels alike, he’s often considered “a writer’s writer”—Carlos Fuentes called him “the Simón Bolívar of the novel.”. You’ve got a lot of reading on your plate, spanning seven countries and just about a century, so it’s time to get exploring. But that’s not to say that the story is dry—not by a long shot. Similarly to La Llorona, La Sihunaba is a wandering ghost, only she specifically targets men. Not so with reading. all of the language benefits for Spanish learners, a culture’s most treasured stories will no doubt teach you their historical impact, writing in Spanish becomes very approachable, download the FluentU app from the iTunes or Google Play store, similar stories available in the Spanish language, No Filter: 17 Pure, Perfect Ways to Say “Beautiful” in Spanish, 8 Useful Tips for Learning Spanish with Movies, 11 Awesome Channels to Learn Spanish on YouTube, 9 Great Resources to Learn Spanish Through the News, How to Immerse Yourself in Spanish When You Don’t Live Abroad, 15 Common Spanish Idioms for Sounding Like a Native. While the stories in “Doce Cuentos Peregrinos” are fairly short, they do contain quite a few words that may be confusing, so be sure to keep your trusty dictionary and translator handy for this one. Capture your surprise, laughs, disgust, confusion—whatever emotions arise! You can tap on any word to look it up instantly. For this reason, he’s considered a predecessor to the “magical realism” movement that later swept Latin America. Click here to get a copy. First of all, it’s very short—less than two full pages in print. But if a lack of comprehension leads to you losing the plot, you’ve got no choice but to open up your dictionary and start figuring things out. FluentU is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. Swipe left or right to see more examples of the word you’re on. Mostly unrecognized until the final years of his tragically short life, Bolaño has posthumously grown into a giant of Latin American literature, often called the most important Spanish-language writer since Gabriel García Márquez. What inspired the author to write this story? A liberal, educated woman unfamiliar in this environment, the reader is exposed to her thought process as she attempts to prepare her first meal for her new husband. As mentioned above, since these stories are famous, it’s pretty easy to find decent translations online. Verbs The grammar focuses on learning the verbs in their present tense which helps to keep things simple and easy to understand. “El cuento envenenado” (“The Poisoned Story”) is quite complicated, but at the same time a lot of fun. Enjoy it, and use it as a springboard to explore the rest of this magnificent author’s body of work. Now you’ve got plenty of reading to keep you entertained as well as productive! An unknown quantity of hexagonal rooms go on seemingly forever, containing every possible ordering of the letters and punctuation marks. You can change the language to “Español” up at the top. Julio Cortázar is the second Argentine on our list, and though he was born 15 years after Borges, most consider them of the same literary generation. “La biblioteca de Babel” (“The Library of Babel”), originally published in the 1941 collection “El Jardín de senderos que se bifurcan” (“The Garden of Forking Paths”) is undeniably part of Borges’s philosophical streak. While it’s only a few pages in length, “La Muñeca Menor” has been frequently used in literature classes and many critical essays have been written about the short story. This story has been floating around for centuries. Though the language, specifically the somewhat ornate vocabulary, can be a bit difficult, fans of horror simply can’t miss this one. Work is actually…you know…good no idea what they ’ re so approachable, you can add it to vocab! Spans to enjoy reading as well great to read full novels to explore how Spanish is ( was! 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