Day 123: Surviving the Cuesta de Enero
At a live podcast recording in San Luis PotosÃ, the host, Mariano (A), asks two guests how to get through the cuesta de enero, the lean weeks after Christmas: Rebeca (B), a financial advisor, and Isidro (C), a market vendor (the aguinaldo is the Christmas bonus employers must pay by December 20, and a tanda is a savings circle).
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
Rebeca, ya viene la cuesta de enero. ¿Qué nos recomienda para aguantarla?
Rebeca, the cuesta de enero is on its way. What do you recommend to get us through it?
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B
En cuanto les llegue el aguinaldo, aparten lo del predial, y lo que sobre, al banco.
As soon as your aguinaldo comes in, set aside what you need for the property tax, and put whatever's left in the bank.
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A
¿Y usted, Isidro? En el mercado todos hacen tanda, ¿no?
What about you, Isidro? Everyone at the market's in a tanda, aren't they?
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C
Con todo respeto, lo que a mà me salva es la tanda, no el banco.
With all due respect, what saves me is the tanda, not the bank.
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B
Hasta que alguien cobra primero y luego desaparece, ¿no?
Until someone collects first and then vanishes, right?
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C
En la mÃa, la que organiza es mi mamá, y a ella nadie le queda mal.
In mine, my mom's the one who runs it, and nobody lets her down.
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A
Ya lo oyeron: tan pronto como cobren el aguinaldo, todos a la tanda de la mamá de Isidro.
You heard it, folks: as soon as you get your aguinaldo, everyone into Isidro's mom's tanda.
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