Day 22: A Poem for Mother's Day
In Aguascalientes, three days before the school's Mother's Day festival (Mexico celebrates the day on May 10), Araceli (A) and her husband Ricardo (B) disagree about which poem their nine-year-old daughter Aranza (C) should recite.
How to study this lesson 3 steps
- Read the situation under the title. It says who is talking and how they know each other, which decides how politely they speak.
- Read the dialogue line by line with its translation, until every line makes sense. Point at (or tap) a Spanish word to see what it means.
- Spend at least 30 minutes listening to native Spanish, for example from the Resources page. It doesn't matter if you don't understand it yet.
Dialogue
Audio recordings are on the way. For now, each lesson is the dialogue with its English translation.
Keys: E hide English · ← → previous / next day · point at a word to see its meaning
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A
En el festival del 10 de mayo vas a recitar “El brindis del bohemio”, como yo a tu edad.
At the Mother's Day festival you're going to recite “The Bohemian's Toast,” like I did at your age.
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B
¿El brindis? Araceli, empieza “en torno de una mesa de cantina”, y la niña tiene nueve años.
“The Toast”? Araceli, it opens “around a table in a cantina,” and the girl is nine.
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C
Y está larguĂsimo, ma. Cuanto más lo leo, menos me lo aprendo.
And it's really long, Mom. The more I read it, the less of it I learn.
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A
Porque nomás lo lees, mija. Cuanto más lo repitas en voz alta, mejor te va a salir.
Because you're only reading it, sweetie. The more you say it out loud, the better it'll come out.
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B
Mejor uno chistoso: “Mamá, te quiero más que al wifi, aunque me lo apagues a las nueve”.
Better a funny one: “Mom, I love you more than the Wi-Fi, even though you turn it off at nine.”
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C
Ni el que hace llorar ni el que da risa: mejor escribo uno mĂo, con un refrán de la abuela.
Not the tear-jerker and not the funny one: I'd rather write my own, with one of Grandma's proverbs.
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A
ÂżEn tres dĂas, y además memorizarlo? Mira que el que mucho abarca poco aprieta.
In three days, and learn it by heart as well? Remember, don't bite off more than you can chew.
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C
Escuchen: “Camarón que se duerme se lo lleva la corriente; por eso mi mamá no duerme y siempre está pendiente”.
Listen: “The shrimp that falls asleep gets swept off by the tide; that's why my mom never sleeps and keeps watch at our side.”
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B
Será rima corriente, pero ganó el camarón: tu mamá ya está llorando, y el festival es hasta el viernes.
It may be a cheap rhyme, but the shrimp wins: your mom's already crying, and the festival isn't until Friday.
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