Day 114: Sawdust Carpets for Huamantla's Night
In Huamantla, Tlaxcala, old friends Josefa (A) and Filomena (B) are dyeing sawdust for the carpets that cover the streets on the Night Nobody Sleeps, the August night when the procession of the town's Virgin walks over them.
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
Apúrale con el verde, para que se seque antes de que se meta el sol.
Hurry up with the green, so it dries before the sun goes down.
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B
¿Le echo más tinte, para que no quede pálido como el año pasado?
Should I add more dye, so it doesn't come out pale like last year?
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A
Échale otro sobre. Me alegra que hayan venido las nietas: solas no la hacemos.
Add another packet. I'm glad the granddaughters came: we'd never make it on our own.
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B
SÃ, aunque la mÃa lleva una hora tomándole fotos al aserrÃn.
Yes, although mine has spent the last hour taking photos of the sawdust.
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A
Déjala, pero que no se vaya hasta que pase la procesión.
Let her be, but she can't leave until the procession has gone by.
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B
Dice que aguanta toda la noche, pero el año pasado se durmió en la Noche que Nadie Duerme.
She says she'll stay up all night, but last year she fell asleep on the Night Nobody Sleeps.
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