presentation in mexican spanish

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Las Presentaciones: A Vibrant Hispanic Tradition

This principally Mexican tradition of the presenting of a child to God, and to the Church, stems from a strong desire by parents to ask for divine protection for their newborn, and thanksgiving for a safe childbirth, as infant mortality rates are extremely high in developing nations.

During most Spanish Masses that I celebrate on Sundays, there are always a great number of “ presentaciones ” of children, who can be either forty days old or three years old.  Towards the end of Mass after the final prayer, I call the names of the children who are to be presented that day.  Those who are forty-days old are carried into the sanctuary in the arms of their parents or their “ padrinos ” (“godparents”); while the children who are three years old, walk up to me accompanied by their parents and godparents.  Then, I invite the parents and godparents of each child to draw near to the altar, standing before the congregation.

La presentación” consists of three parts: the marking of a child with the sign of the cross, the anointing with the oil of catechumens, and the consecration of the newborn or toddler to Mary. 1   The rite begins by my saying a prayer over the child held in the arms of one of the godparents, or if three years old, next to the godparents and parents:

La vida es el mayor don que hemos recibido de Dios y la vida de los hijos es el signo mayor de la bendición divina para nuestra familia.  Hemos recibido estos dones y por eso presentamos a N________ al Señor.  Queremos que lo bendiga y acepte para que sea un buen cristiano en la vida. 2

Then, I turn to the parents and “ padrinos ” and pray as found in the baptismal rite:

N_____, la comunidad cristiana te recibe con mucha alegría.  En el nombre de Dios yo te marco con la señal de la cruz y, en seguida sus padres y padrinos les marcarán con la misma señal de Cristo, el Salvador.” 3

I then trace a cross on the forehead of the child, and direct the parents and godparents to do the same as directed in the baptism rite.

Next, I anoint the child on the chest with the oil of catechumens as described in the rite for the sacrament of baptism and pray:

Por la unción de este niño, le damos la bienvenida como miembro de la familia de Cristo e iniciamos nuestra jornada unidos a ellos hacia el bautismo.  N____, te ungimos con el aceite de salvación en el nombre de Cristo, nuestro Salvador; que El te fortalezca con su fuerza que vive y reina por los siglos de los siglos. Amen. 4

I conclude by consecrating the young child to Mary.  I hold the child up and pray:

Santísima Virgen María, Madre de Dios y Madre nuestra, te presentamos a este niño que Dios ha dado y confiado a tu cuidado y protección.  Te lo consagramos con todo nuestro corazón y te lo entregamos confiadamente a tu ternura y vigilancia materna.  Para sus padres ayúdales a cumplir fielmente sus obligaciones hacia ellos y el compromiso que han contraído delante de Dios.  Intercede por ellos ante tu Hijo, que vive y reina con el Padre y el Espíritu Santo por los siglos de los siglos.  Amen. 5

This long-established tradition of a presentation is principally Mexican in origin. However, with the intermingling of many Latin American cultures in the United States, more and more Hispanics are celebrating this extraordinary custom.  The presenting of a child to God, and to the Church, stems from a strong desire by parents to ask for divine protection for their newborn, and thanksgiving for a safe childbirth.  As documented in many studies, infant mortality rates are extremely high in many developing nations. Therefore, this custom began because parents wished to give thanks to God, and the Virgin Mary, for the survival, and ongoing good health, of their child.

In addition, this tradition has become an important pastoral opportunity to celebrate God’s gift of life, not only for a family, but also within a larger community, for example a church congregation.  With each “ presentación, ” a family formally announces the birth of a child to the faithful, their brothers and sisters in Christ, with whom they pray at Mass, and socialize with at church events.  This moment is also very significant since it marks the beginning of pre-baptismal formation for the parents.  The ritual first emphasizes the presentation of a newborn infant or child, but it also incorporates the marking of the cross, and the anointing of an infant or child, with the oil of catechumens, which occur during the baptism of a child.  The ultimate goal of all presentations is the baptism of the child.  Unfortunately, many families now wait to baptize their children. So, often children, who are even three years old, also need to be christened.  The rite of “ la presentación ” follows closely a pattern outlined in the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA), where the rites for adults occur in a progressive manner over time, and not in just one specific moment.  If the marking and anointing is done at “ la presentación ” of a child, then there is no need to repeat it again during the actual baptism of the child.  In effect, in the adult catechumenate, many rites are likewise performed separately on different Sundays before the actual Easter Vigil, when one receives the sacraments of initiation.

The source of this tradition of “ la presentación” is, without a doubt, the presentation of our Lord Jesus Christ in the Temple, forty days after Christmas, or on February 2 as noted on the Church calendar.  In Mexico, this special day is an annual holiday as the entire family attends Mass and carries .  These statues are of many different sizes, with the child Jesus lying down as in the manager, or sitting up in a chair.  In almost all cases, “ el ni ño Jes ús” is nicely dressed in elegant clothes, often sewn by the mother of the family.  The bringing of “ el ni ño Jes ús ” to church for a blessing has become a widespread tradition now in the Mexican, and Mexican American, communities in the United States.  However, in the United States this celebration has moved to the closest Sunday to the Feast of the Presentation since it is not celebrated as a national holiday in the United States, and many family members work long hours during the week.  On that Sunday, I often have hundreds of statues of “ el ni ño Jes ús ” in the sanctuary to show the deep love that Mexicans have for “ el ni ño Jes ús ” and the Virgin Mary.

On the Feast of the Presentation, we Catholics commemorate Jesus being carried to the Temple in the arms of Joseph and Mary.  In doing so, the parents of Jesus were merely following the Mosaic Law of that time by giving over their first-born male child to the Lord, as a testimony and remembrance of his Divinity.  As observant Jews, Mary and Joseph knew of this law from the Book of Exodus, when Moses informed his followers that, when the Lord brings you safely into the land of the Canaanites, everyone “must offer every first-born male to the Lord.”(Exodus 13:11).  Moses explains that, as a result of obtaining this freedom, everyone had to “buy back every first born male child” (Exodus 13:13; Numbers 18:15) by going to the Temple, and paying with a lamb, or if one is poor, “with two turtledoves or two young pigeons” (Luke 2:24).  From that moment, the eldest son was fully consecrated to the service of God.

For the Blessed Virgin Mary, the offering of her Son in the temple was not merely a ritual gesture.  The significance of the presentation of her Son was that Mary was offering Jesus up for the redemption and salvation of the world.  In fact, by her very act, Mary was renouncing her maternal rights to Jesus, as she offered her Son fully to the will of the Father.  Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, in the eleventh century, expresses this very clearly in one of his prayers: “Offer your Son, Holy Virgin, and present him to God the Father as the fruit of your womb.  Offer him for our salvation, the sacred victim who is pleasing to God.”

By placing Jesus in the arms of Simeon and Anna, Mary also offers her Son to the world.  In this respect, she is acting as the Mother of the whole human race.  Pope Benedict XVI, in a homily for the liturgical feast of the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple, and for the Day of Consecrated Life on February 2, 2006, explains the singular role of Mary in the temple:  “Carrying her Son to Jerusalem, the Virgin Mother offers him to God as the true Lamb, who takes away the sins of the world; she hands him to Simeon and Anna as an annunciation of redemption; she presents him to all as light for a secure journey on the path of truth and love.”

There is a strong connection between the presentation of Jesus to God, and the saving act of Jesus’ death on the cross. On this joyful occasion of the presentation of Jesus in the temple, we also hear of the impending sadness in the words of Simeon to Mary:

This child is chosen by God for the destruction and the salvation of many in Israel.  He will be a sign from God which many people will speak against and so reveal their secret thoughts.  And sorrow, like a sharp sword, will break your own heart” (Lk2:34-35).

The sword, mentioned by Simeon, represents Mary’s participation in Christ’s suffering, particularly in his passion and death.  In effect, the Mother of Jesus Christ suffers because of the rejection of Christ by men.  This suffering, prophesized by Simeon to Mary, is not limited to solely one particular moment, but assumes dimensions much greater that extend to her entire life.  Every rejection endured by Christ, throughout his life, will pierce his mother’s heart.  This suffering clearly finds its culmination onCalvary, when Christ is crucified and dies.  John Paul II has emphasized the character of the Presentation of Jesus in the temple as a “second annunciation.”  According to the Pope, the first annunciation focuses on the Incarnation and the role of Mary as Virgin Mother; however, the second one centers on Mary’s co-operation in redemption as she witnesses her Son’s passion and death.

The second custom of the presentation in Jewish law was the purification of the mother after giving birth to a son.  This law is spelled out in the first chapter of Leviticus that “if a woman conceives and bears a male child, then she shall be unclean seven days … on the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised … She shall bring to the door of the tent of the priest a lamb a year old for a burnt offering … and if she cannot afford a lamb, then two turtledoves or two pigeons … and the priest will perform this ritual to take away her impurity and she will be ritually clean”(Lev 1:8).  Thus, this feast day is also known as the “Purification of the Virgin Mary.”  However, in truth, Mary did not have to go through this ritual purification since she remained a virgin, even though she had given birth to a child.

Over time, the Mexican tradition of “ la presentación” has changed noticeably.  In the past, Mexican families would follow the custom known as “ sacamisa ,” (“take one to church”), which was a tradition to bring the already baptized child to church in order to hear Mass for the first time.  The parents did this precisely forty days after the birth of the child.  At the end of the Mass, then, the priest would give a special blessing to the child and the mother.  Why has this tradition changed so drastically?  Times have changed.  Catholics no longer baptize their children within the first week of birth.  Perhaps, also due to the lack of catechesis, parents do not feel obliged to baptize their children so quickly.  They often wait to baptize their children when they have enough money for a large gathering or celebration.  As a result, parents first plan to present their child during his first year, and delay the baptism for later.  Surprisingly, “ los padrinos ,” form an important part of “ la presentación” of a child.  They often are the ones who carry the child up to the altar, if he is forty days old, or if three years old, they hold the child’s hand and walk with them to the sanctuary.  In most cases, “ los padrinos” are chosen based on their ability to help pay for the child’s clothes and party, and not especially for their deep faith in God.  Interestingly, parents often ask me if the “ padrinos ” for “ la presentación” have to be married in the church if they are a couple, as required for godparents for the sacrament of baptism.  The Church does not provide any definite rules about “ padrinos” for a presentation, but I try to encourage the parents to choose carefully so as to have the same “ padrinos ” for “ la presentación ” as for baptism.

Even though “ la presentación ” is a wonderful and significant tradition in the Hispanic community, I often reiterate that the truest form of “ la presentación ” of a child is at the sacrament of baptism.  A presentation is no substitute for this sacrament.  In “ la presentación ,” a child is merely presented to God and the Church, and the parents are blessed.  It is not a sacrament instituted by Christ for grace, and entrusted to the Church. In addition, the efficacious sacrament of baptism is the basis for our whole Christian life.  By this sacrament a child is freed from original sin, becomes a member of the Church, and also a child of God.  So, true catechesis is required for the parents, and even the faithful, to learn about the role of “ la presentación ” which leads to baptism.

According to the Old Testament, only the first born son was presented to God for consecration.  However, tradition provides a basis for “ la presentación ” of young girls.  On November 21, the Church celebrates a feast known as the “Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary” in the temple.  This event is based on an ancient tradition of Judaism, which is not found in Sacred Scripture.  This presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary is detailed in a work titled the “ Protoevangelium of James,” from the second century.  However, the true commemoration of this feast of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary did not truly begin until the solemn dedication of a church to the Virgin Mary in Jerusalem in 543 A.D.

According to the proto-Gospel and tradition, the Virgin Mary was carried to the temple at the age of three by her older parents, Saint Ann and Saint Joaquin.  The Blessed Mother was presented to God by her parents, who were also further instructed in the faith on that day.  Even though the Blessed Virgin Mary was consecrated to God on that eventful day, in reality this sanctification had begun much earlier during her infancy when the Holy Spirit bestowed graces on her from the time of her Immaculate Conception.  In the apocryphal gospel, we also learn that lighted torches were carried by the parents of the many girls, who were also to be presented that day.  At the temple, we are told that Mary broke away from the crowd of children, and climbed fifteen steps, in spite of her young years, drawing near to the most sacred place of Judaism, the Holy of Holies.  According to tradition, there she received a special gift of food from the angels above, who were singing psalms to her.  At that moment, Mary was being prepared, in both body and soul, for her unique role to become the Mother of God, and the Church.  Her presentation, of course, points to the similar event of the presentation of the child Jesus in the temple.  Due to the deep love and honor that Mexicans have for the Blessed Virgin Mary in the person of “ La Guadalupe ,” they also began to practice the custom of presenting little girls in the church in order to consecrate them, along with the boys, to the maternal care of Mary.

In the third phase of “ la presentación,” the child is consecrated to the care of “ la Virgen Mar ía.”  Honor is rendered to Mary in a unique way in Catholicism.  She is celebrated for being present in the salvific events in the life of Christ, for example, in the Presentation of Jesus Christ, which points directly to the death and resurrection of her Son, Jesus Christ, and the salvation of all peoples.  All devotion to her is based on a Christological orientation because all of the various forms of piety towards the Mother of God ensure that, while the mother is honored, the Son is always glorified. On December 9, 2010, at the shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico, John Paul II proclaimed the Virgin of Guadalupe as “ la Emperatriz de las Am éricas. ” (“Empress of the Americas”).  Extending from Canada to Patagonia, the Pope entrusted all Americans to the unconditional love and the care of the Blessed Mother.  In “ la presentación, ” the consecration of a child to the Blessed Mother highlights, in a public way, how all of us are children of Mary.

For priests, extra attention needs to be given to the explaining of the wonderful tradition of “ la presentación ” for each family and the faithful.  Many of our faithful are not catechized, and, therefore, they merely believe that the presentation of a child is an excuse to celebrate the birthday of a child with a huge party.  Many families even believe that the certificate given for “ la presentación ” of a child is an important document that they often frame and hang on the living room wall of the house, surrounded by pictures.  However, nowhere in sight is the baptismal certificate.

Therefore, the priest, during the “ presentaciones,” should emphasize the intrinsic value of “ la presentación” since it is a way to catechize the child, the family, and even the faithful.  I often utilize a beautiful stained glass window of the Presentation of Our Lord in the church to help teach about the history and value of a presentation.  This is a teachable moment for all.  Not surprisingly, if the celebrant shows genuine trust and warmth in presenting the child to the congregation, his credibility will be enhanced.  The same is also true if the priest looks for ways to involve all of those present in “ la presentación, ” both family and the faithful.  However, it should never be overlooked that the true objective of this vibrant tradition should always be the baptism of the child.

In fact, the priest should underscore that, from the moment of “ la presentación, ” the child and the family should walk along with Jesus to that special moment of the “ entrega ” (“giving over”) in the sacrament of baptism, when the parents entrust the child to the godparents for the pouring on of water, and the praying of the Trinitarian form by the priest, and, afterwards, the lighting of the candle.  Only then, can we understand how “ la presentación ” is a very special and sacred way for a family to begin to walk with God towards that great sacrament of baptism.

• Mark Francis and Arturo J. Pérez-Rodríguez, Primero Dios:  Hispanic Liturgical Resource (Eldrige, Iowa:  Liturgy Training Publications, 1997), 25. ↩
• Translated by author, “Life is God’s greatest gift to us.  The life of a newborn child is the family’s greatest sign of blessing.  Since we have received the gift of a new life, we come to present N_______ to the Lord our God.  We ask that God bless and welcome him so that he may become a good Christian in this life. ↩
• Translated by author, N____, the Christian community welcomes you with great joy.  In its name I claim you for Christ by the sign of the cross.  I now trace the cross on your forehead and invite your parents and godparents to do the same.” ↩
• Translated by author, “By anointing this child, we welcome him as a member of the family of Christ and we begin our journey with them toward baptism.  N____, we anoint you with the oil of salvation in the name of Christ, our savior, may he strengthen you with his power, who lives and reigns for ever and ever.  Amen.” ↩
• Translated by author, “Most holy Virgin Mary, Mother of God and our Mother, we present to you this child that God has given us and place him in your care and protection.  We consecrate him with our whole heart and we give him over to your tenderness and maternal love.  Help his parents faithfully comply with the obligations they have committed themselves to this day in the presence of God.  Intercede for them before your Son, who lives and reigns with the Father and the Holy Spirit, now and for ever and ever.  Amen.” ↩

Reverend Gus Puleo, a priest of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, holds a Ph.D. in Spanish from the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. He is presently the pastor of St. Patrick Church in Norristown, Pennsylvania, and teaches Pastoral Spanish at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Philadelphia.

Dear Fr. Gus, I believe there is a typo on the fourth to the last paragraph. Was it not in 1999, the year that Blessed John Paul the Great, when he proclaimed. “La Virgen de Guadalupe”, the “The Emperatriz de las Americas”? I enjoyed this article, very much! I witnessed this “presentacion” of a 3 y.o. girl at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Parish in Orange, TX, some few years back. Yours in Christ, Sylvia JD, parishioner of St Paul Catholic Church, San Antonio, TX

[…] Las Presentaciones: A Vibrant Hispanic Tradition – Fr. Gus Puelo, Homiletic & Pstrl Rvw […]

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Prepare a Spanish presentation with our Spanish lessons

Prepare yourself with our Spanish courses to master the language and give a successful Spanish presentation.

Speaking a foreign language in front of a crowd can make you nervous, especially when the Spanish presentation is in front of native speakers. We recommend you to prepare yourself with Spanish courses until you complete your language training and reach a high level. In addition to having the language skills, it is important to show confidence, follow the structure of the information and speak clearly so that the audience understands the topic of your Spanish presentation.

Get all the tools of the Spanish language in one of the best Spanish schools in Cancun . Now, you can increase your language skills with Spanish online Cancun and the following tips for structuring a professional Spanish presentation.

How to prepare a Spanish presentation?

It is essential to structure a framework for your Spanish presentation where you will apply the knowledge and practice from your Spanish lessons . According to public speaking experts, it is recommended to prepare a conference in 3 steps:

• Open with something personal to capture the attention of your audience and announce what the presentation will be about.
• Name three important points and develop them with a story, examples, experience, etc.
• Summarize the key points briefly and concisely, mentioning the personal or audience impact.

The structure of a Spanish presentation is delimited by three phases: introduction, development and conclusion. Preparation is the key so you will need to study a presentation, we recommend you to learn the first 30 seconds verbatim, remember that it is important to have an interesting introduction to capture the audience’s attention from the beginning.

During the development incorporate information with multimedia material and the content that is in another language translate it or add subtitles in Spanish.

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Key phrases for your Spanish presentation

During Spanish lessons you will learn how to communicate effectively in Spanish by developing the skills of reading, listening, writing and speaking in Spanish. Each is an integral part of mastering the language, but we will focus on the last one: speaking. Here are some useful phrases to use during your Spanish presentation:

Phrases to introduce your presentation

• ¡Buenos días/ tardes /noches a todos!
• Bienvenidos a la presentación acerca de…
• Soy ______ de la compañía ____ y el día de hoy les presentaré el tema…
• Mi nombre es______ y hablaré sobre ______.
• Las preguntas al público son una forma de llamar la atención de la audiencia, por lo que son una herramienta interesante y empática que sirve como una introducción ideal a presentaciones en español exitosas.

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Phrases for the development of your conference in Spanish

During the development of the Spanish presentation it is important to pay attention to the correct pronunciation of the words, as well as the tone, rhythm and pauses. Remember that you can practice these aspects in Spanish courses  to improve your Spanish speaking skills.

• Establish contact with the audience

To increase audience interest and engagement, it is important to establish contact with your audience. Use interactive elements such as polls to get them involved and express themselves on the topic, here are some examples. We remind you that you can learn Spanish while living an incredible experience in Mexico or at the Spanish school Bogota . You choose the school, we make sure you learn Spanish in an attractive way.

• Por favor levanten la mano si alguna vez ______…
• Alguien ha pensado en______?
• Por favor pregunten cualquier duda o tema.
• Comparando _____con_____, podemos notar que…
• Claramente, ______ tiene más sentido que______…
• Mientras que la Opción A es______, Option B se refiere a…
• Primeramente ______, en segundo lugar______…
• En la siguiente diapositiva…
• Asimismo, es importante mencionar que…
• Ahora pasaremos al siguiente tema…
• Preparé un video al respecto…
• Esta imagen explica perfectamente el concepto…
• Pongan atención en el video/imagen en donde …
• El promedio es…
• Los resultados demuestran que…
• De acuerdo con este párrafo, la atención debe de estar en…
• I want to stress the importance of…
• This is of high significance because…
• Moreover, it has to be said that…

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Finish your Spanish presentation successfully

In order to close your Spanish presentation correctly, here are some phrases to put your Spanish lessons into practice.

• En conclusión, podemos decir que…
• En resumen, los puntos principales son…
• Teniendo en cuenta los aspectos mencionados, podemos concluir que …
• Fue un honor estar con ustedes el día de hoy.
• Gracias por su tiempo y atención.
• Gracias por asistir al evento el día de hoy.

Remember to adapt body language to the presentation and practice in Spanish classes . Preparing a professional Spanish presentation or for personal purposes is probably one of the tests or objectives you will have when studying the language. Prepare yourself with Spanish lessons to develop your language skills and obtain an international Spanish certificate.

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Spanish Oral Presentation Guide for Beginners

by TruFluency | Featured Spanish Blog , Learn Spanish , Spanish Presentation

The moment to show off your Spanish skills is here, and we’ll teach you how to wow your audience, coworkers, boss, or clients. The way you introduce and close your presentation can have a positive or negative effect on your audience. So, it’s normal that you get nervous about speaking in front of a crowd and communicating your ideas effectively.

Practicing oral presentations in Spanish helps you focus on pronunciation and clarity while broadening your academic, job, and business opportunities . However, what may be even more valuable is that it gives you the chance to take risks, gain confidence, and exercise persuasion in a foreign language.

If you have a presentation soon, and want to blow everyone’s mind, here is your guide to giving oral presentations in Spanish for beginners.

5 Engaging Presentation Openings

The first part of our Spanish oral presentation guide is to help you find the most engaging ways to open your speech.

1. Start with a Reflexive or Engaging Question

For example:

¿Sabían ustedes que la entonación de nuestra voz no es sonido sino emoción? (Did you know that the intonation of our voice is not sound but emotion?)

Starting with a question allows you to keep your audience attentive throughout your message.

2. Tell an Anecdote

55% of our communication stems from non-verbal language ; everything our audience reads through our expressions, mannerisms, tone, etc., while 38% of our communication is vocal and 7% is words.

Hence, the importance of telling a story at the beginning of your presentation, so your audience connects with what you are going to deliver. We are all natural communicators.

At first, you may feel shy about opening yourself to the world, but believe it or not: your story counts, your story inspires, and even more than you think.

3. Utilize Objects

Generate interest with an object that’s relevant to your message. For instance, you can follow a similar script to this one:

Esta cartera que hoy acompaña mi atuendo tiene un significado muy especial. Esta cartera ha sido elaborada, tejida y pensada por gente que cree en sus sueños. ¡Qué gusto estar el día de hoy aquí hablando con emprendedores que creen en construir!

(This purse that matches my outfit today has a very special meaning to me. This purse has been sewn, knitted, and created by people that believe in their dreams. What a pleasure to be here today talking with entrepreneurs that believe in building things!)

Utilizing resources as elements of your speech will help your public to relate and feel part of your speech. Everything has a meaning and a representation. Remember that your public will forget what you said but will always remember how you made them feel. So, make them feel welcome!

4. Statistics

Using statistical data will help give your statement a significant rational weight. Remember that statistics aren’t read, they’re interpreted. This forces you to describe exhaustive research about a topic.

This isn’t about boring your audience with numbers, it’s about using statistics as a tool to make people reflect on your message. An example of an introduction in Spanish with statistics is:

¿Sabían ustedes que el 80% de los consumidores que adquieren sus productos en línea confían más en las recomendaciones de sus amigos o familiares que de las propias empresas?

(Did you know that 80% of consumers that buy your products online trust more in the recommendations of their friends and family than on the ones of companies?)

5. Who are you?

Greet your audience. This is fundamental to bond with them. Say your name, who you are, what your topic is and why it is important to pay attention to you. Let’s put it into practice with this example:

Hoy me encuentro feliz de estar con ustedes compartiendo lo que sé. Mi nombre es Liam Jones, soy periodista y locutor de radio, y hoy quiero que aprendas a utilizar tu voz para hacerte escuchar.

(Today I am very happy to be with you sharing what I know. My name is Liam Jones. I am a journalist and radio host, and I want you to learn to use your voice to make yourself heard.)

Respect your essence, know yourself and regularly practice the above types of introduction.

Verbal and Non-Verbal Presentation Tips

The next part of our Spanish oral presentation guide is divided into verbal and non-verbal language.

Non-Verbal Language Tips

Your gestures can emphasize, substitute or contradict what you express with words.

Use open gestures, like moving your hands, stretching your arms and legs, and opening your shoulders. Additionally, avoid having objects in your way between your body and the audience, such as folders, books, and tables. Your face should be visible all the time.

Choose gestures that ease people’s understanding of your speech. For example, pointing in a direction.

Avoid fidgeting out of nervousness. For instance, touching your hair or glasses.

Distribute your gaze amongst your audience, so everybody feels included. You can divide your audience into different quadrants. Let’s say, four, and choose a person of each quadrant to “talk to”.

Volume and Intonation

Mentally “take measurements” of the room, so the volume you choose to use is enough for both people in the front row and in the back to hear you. Also, avoid monotonous intonation. Highlight with your voice the keywords of your speech.

Rhythm and Pronunciation

Slow down when you need to separate ideas, this reflects confidence and helps you recover people’s attention. Pronunciation should be clear , so be careful with mumbling sounds.

Nobody has the right to tell you how to dress, but it’s recommendable that your attire matches both your personality and the context of your presentation.

Verbal Language Tips

Order and structure.

A presentation that has order and structure is easy to follow, understand, and remember.

Organize your speech in parts. For example: importance, data, chronology, interesting bullet points, zoom in, and zoom out.

Use discourse markers; words that organize and connect ideas. Some examples are:

To Start Interventions El objetivo de esta exposición es… / Hablaré en primer lugar de… / Para comenzar… (The objective of this presentation is… / Firstly, I’ll speak about… / For starters…)

To Introduce Comments or Examples Por ejemplo… / Como es el caso de… / Recordemos, en ese sentido, que… (For example… / As is the case with… / Let’s remember, in this sense, that…)

To Structure the Discourse En primer lugar… / En segundo lugar… / Por un lado,…por otro lado… / Finalmente… (In first place… /In second place… /On the one hand…on the other hand… /Finally…)

To Resume the Subject Volviendo a lo que hemos visto al principio… / Como decía… / Señalaba que… (Going back to what we’ve seen at the beginning… /Like I was saying… / I was pointing out that…)

To Establish Logical Relationships Consecuentemente… / Eso nos demuestra que… / Deducimos, entonces… (Consequently… / That shows us that… / We deduce, then…)

To Conclude Tratemos, finalmente, el último aspecto… / En resumen,… / Para terminar… / En conclusión… (Let’s address, finally, the last aspect… / In summary… / Lastly… / In conclusion…)

You should adapt it to your audience’s knowledge, formality level, and the purpose of your presentation.

Sentences should be short and simple. Avoid the overuse of muletillas (catch phrases).

Oral Presentation Conclusions in Spanish

When you’re giving a presentation in Spanish, do not miss the chance to leave a good impression. The final part of a speech is what we remember the most. So, use it to deliver a message or briefly summarize what you want to convey. You can create a compelling conclusion with a phrase, rhetorical question, quote, or call-to-action.

En conclusión, cualquiera puede padecer de un problema de salud mental. (In conclusion, anyone can have a mental health problem.)

Si las personas más brillantes pueden padecer problemas de salud mental, ¿por qué nosotros no? (If the most brilliant people can have mental health issues, why can’t we?)

La mente es como un paracaídas, si no se abre, no sirve para nada. Muchas gracias, público oyente, por haber abierto su mente a escucharme en esta exposición. (The mind is like a parachute, if it isn’t opened, it doesn’t work. Thank you very much, listening public, for having opened your minds to listen to me in this presentation.)

Ready to be confident in your next Spanish oral presentation?

The key to giving a memorable oral presentation in Spanish is to be original, creative, and do something that’s unusual but true to your essence. Thus, you’ll make the difference.

If after reading our Spanish oral presentation guide, you think you still need help to prepare yourself for your Spanish presentation, count on our top-notch team of Spanish fluency coaches . So, don’t let fear of success hold you back, and book with one of our coaches.

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12 Spanish Presentations to Introduce Vocabulary to Beginners in Your Classroom

Presentations are amazing teaching resources ! We can’t deny it.

No matter your students’ learning style and no matter how much we try to incorporate the use of all the senses in our lessons, having a visual aid that keeps the students’ attention can really improve your instruction.

And let’s be honest, no other class will benefit more from visual aids than a language class full of beginners —especially when introducing vocabulary.

So check out these 12 pre-made presentations that you use in your classes!

What to Remember When Using These Presentations

12 spanish presentations to use in your classroom , 1. el clima/tiempo (the weather), 2. los animales (animals), 3. la familia (the family), 4. los colores (the colors), 5. las partes del cuerpo (parts of the body), 6. la cabeza (the head), 7. descripciones físicas (physical descriptions), 8. qué hora es (telling the time — o’clock).

• 9. Qué hora es? (Telling the time — quarter past, quarter to, half past)

10. Qué hora es? (Telling the time — remaining times)

11. la rutina diaria (daily routine), 12. los cuartos de la casa (the rooms of the house), the power of slides for spanish classes.

Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)

Why reinvent the wheel? Here are 12 presentations already put together that you’re free to adapt to your lessons. If you don’t like a particular slide, just delete it or change it!

Most of these presentations come from a site called ¡Oye! , except for El clima , which comes from a site called Tpduggan . Both sites were created by teachers as resources for other educators.

To access the PowerPoints, click on the Spanish headings. You’ll be directed to the website where you can search for the title of the presentation. You can then choose and download the appropriate file.

You have several useful presentations to choose from, so let me give you a couple of notes before we start:

• ¡Oye! is a site that has presentations and exercises for each learning skill, divided into topics and school years. Many of the exercises can be used with an interactive whiteboard, although they also have a printed version. In order to use this site and download the presentations between the hours of 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. during the week, you need to be registered and pay a monthly fee . The rest of the time, access to the site is free. Keep this in mind when you’re preparing your lesson.
• Tpduggan is exclusively a site that collects PowerPoint presentations of all kinds: vocabulary, grammar, geography, exercises, etc. However, use them with caution because they use English a lot and have lots and lots of text . On the other hand, you can find lots of inspiration and ideas for creating your own presentations.
• Most of these presentations use drawings instead of pictures . Even though this may seem more appealing to children, it doesn’t mean older students or adults will mind them. However, you can always edit the presentations and change the pictures to something you consider more suitable for your class. After all, no one knows your students’ interests and needs better than you.

Description: This presentation teaches the names of the seasons and weather expressions that go with them. It’s perfect for introducing the vocabulary for the first time or reviewing it. Since all the pictures are drawings, it may be more appealing to younger children. If you feel real pictures may be better for older students, you can always edit the presentation and change the pictures.

Suggestions: One thing I do recommend you change is the first slide,  ¿Qué tiempo hace?   (What’s the weather like?), because beginners may get confused and think this is how we ask about the seasons. I’d change it to Las estaciones del año  (The seasons of the year) or ¿Qué estación del año es?  (What is the season?).

Description: This one contains vocabulary for animals (with drawings) and is under the section and title of “Pets.” It goes beyond the word and the picture and introduces structures to ask questions.

For example:

¿Es un gato? (Is it a cat?)

¿Qué es? (What is it?)

¡ Es un perro! (No! It’s a dog!)

In addition to that, it has animal sounds in the drill at the end—a definite plus and more fun for your students.

Suggestions: You can always change the drawings to real pictures or add more animals and questions according to your lesson or students.

Description: The presentation introduces the family members through an example of a family tree. It introduces new vocabulary while at the same time introducing basic sentence structures for discussing relationships.

Alicia es la madre de María. (Alicia is María’s mother.)

Luis es el hijo de Alicia. (Luis is Alicia’s son.)

Suggestions: My only suggestion here would be to ask your students to copy the family tree in their notebooks before you get to the true/false drill that tests their knowledge. Otherwise, they’ll be too focused on remembering who was who to remember the relationship between them. Let’s make it simple for them!

Description: This presentation introduces the colors. In the first slides, your students will learn how to ask  ¿Qué color es? (What color is it?) and learn the correct term for each color. You’ll just need to edit a small mistake here: the word marrón (brown) is missing the accent.

In the last slides, your students will have to tell you which color results from the combination of two given colors.

negro + blanco = gris (black + white = gray)

Suggestions: This last part makes the color introduction a little more interesting since they’ll also have to think about color theory. They’ll love the fact that they’ll get drums as an anticipation sound before giving the answer and applause after giving the correct one. Make sure your computer has the sound on and the volume up.

Description: This one introduces and reviews the main parts of the body through a drawing of a girl. In the first slide, the body will slowly form part by part with each click, and you’ll see the name of the body part along with its proper article. The slides that follow are drills to review what students have learned.

Suggestions: In the first drill, students name the parts of the body that the arrows are pointing to and the answers are revealed with each click. The words are written on the slide to help students remember the correct spelling.

The final drill looks like a puzzle with random parts appearing. If you want to test their memory and spice it up a little bit, you can speed up how fast they appear.

The words won’t appear in this drill, just each part of the body. Because of that, another thing you can do to see if they remember the spelling of each word is to ask them to write down the name of each part as it appears (with their notes closed, of course).

Before this last drill, you have one slide that says: “Name the parts of the body as they appear on the screen.” My suggestion is to erase this English sentence. There’s no need for translated words in a language class, it’ll just distract them from the Spanish words.

Description:  With a similar structure to the previous presentation, the head is formed part by part with each click and the name appears with its article. Afterward, there are a couple of practice drills to review them.

The drills also follow the same structure as with the presentation of the body. In the first drill, the parts of the face are indicated with arrows and the answer appears. In the second drill, the parts randomly appear without names.

Suggestions: Review them in the same way I suggested for the body. 

Description: This presentation focuses on the description of the eyes and the hair. Your students will be able to answer the following questions:

¿De qué color son tus ojos? (What color are your eyes?)

¿Cómo es tu pelo? (What does your hair look like?)

They’ll also be given the proper vocabulary to answer:

Corto, largo, rizado, liso, rubio, pelirrojo (short, long, curly, straight, blond, red)

The first few slides are descriptions of different characters (in drawings) and the last ones are drills that ask your students to describe or answer specific questions about what other characters look like.

The task on the last slide is to draw a character according to the description. Because this last exercise can be really fun for them, you may want to consider adding a few more descriptions. Your students can then draw and compare their pictures.

Suggestions: One thing to consider: before you use this presentation in class, make sure you already taught them noun and adjective agreement. 

And one small piece of advice. In this presentation, they’re referring to straight hair as liso but you could use the opportunity to teach your students about the language variations according to the place in which it is used. Many countries use lacio instead of liso when referring to straight hair. Here is a very interesting discussion on the topic. Hope it helps!

Description: The structures of all these presentations that have to do with time are quite similar: first there are examples on how to tell time, then there’s a drill where examples are mixed up for your students to practice. At the end, there’s the opportunity to add hands to the clock.

This first presentation shows students how to tell time to the hour, plus noon and midnight. You may need to add en punto  (o’clock; sharp) to each slide or just write it on the board to emphasize that it’s another way to say it.

9. Qué hora es?  (Telling the time — quarter past, quarter to, half past)

Description:  This one shows students how to say y cuarto  (quarter past), menos cuarto  (quarter to) and y media  (half past). 

The hands of the clock aren’t always very clear, so you can either try to edit them or clarify to your students where the hands are supposed to be exactly.

Description: Students will learn how to tell times that are not on the hour, quarter-hour or half-hour.

I spotted an error that you’ll have to correct: on the eighth slide, instead of being la una y veinticinco  (1:25) it actually shows la una y veinte  (1:20), so make sure to edit it.

Description: This one shows a basic daily routine, as its name states. You should present it after teaching your students how to tell time since the last part of this presentation combines the activities of the routine with the time at which they happen.

At the end, you have the same activities and a clock next to each one that tells the exact time those activities happen. This allows them to practice the new daily routine vocabulary, telling time and the conjugation of the verbs.

Suggestions:  The first part is the introduction of some basic activities such as despertarse  (waking up),  levantarse  (getting up), vestirse (getting dressed), etc. They’re all in first person, but if you’ve already taught students the verbs in the present tense, ask students to conjugate the verbs in the third person.

So, one example shows a boy having breakfast with the slide saying Desayuno (I’m having breakfast). You’ll ask your students, “ ¿Qué hace él? ” (What is he doing?) They’ll then conjugate the verb correctly by telling you, “ Desayuna. ” (He’s having breakfast.)

Also, when combining the pictures with the times on the 13th slide, the second example may be confusing since the clock looks like it says siete menos veinte (6:40) instead of ocho menos veinte (7:40), so you may want to edit this one.

Description: The first part introduces each room. This will be drilled on the 12th and 13th slides. But on the 11th slide, you have pictures of objects (without their label) that you’ll find in these rooms like a bed, chair, lamp, etc. The question on this slide is ¿En qué habitación se encuentra…?  (In which room is …?)

Suggestions: The goal is to practice the name of the room where these objects are, but since they have no label and your students probably won’t know their names, I suggest you print out the pictures of those objects with their names and distribute them randomly to your students before the lesson (or before the presentation).

Once you reach this slide, you can ask the student that has each object to either say the name, show the card or write it on the board to teach their classmates. This way you’re adding an interactive element in the middle of your presentation.

I’d also suggest you change the title to Los cuartos de la casa  or add the article to En casa  (at home) so that it becomes  En la casa .

Another suggestion would be to either eliminate the last slide of the presentation or at least erase the English translation. I’d just keep the slide’s title ¿Cómo es tu casa?  (What is your house like?) to encourage them to describe their own house (how many rooms, which floor they are on, etc.), but in the presentation, it’s unnecessary to have so much text. Just list any necessary vocabulary on the board.

Even though it’s been on the market for almost 30 years, PowerPoint is still a favorite when it comes to presentations.

It allows you to show pictures, graphics, charts and diagrams, or embed videos , songs and sounds. The possibilities are endless!

How about taking your students on a virtual tour with a photo presentation? Or teaching comparatives and superlatives through a set of slides of something your students can compare? Create a comic book , maybe? Or show them a sequence of events and encourage them to predict what will happen next when you’re teaching the future tense?

Even though it takes some time to create them, they’ll work for you for a very long time. You can easily adapt them to your lesson or to your students’ needs. If you prefer to create your own presentations, you can find plenty of tips and tricks online to make them awesome. 

But don’t worry if you just don’t have the time. The internet has a ton of websites where teachers share their presentations and are free for you to download and use in your classroom. And you can still modify them to add your personal touch.

Now, I’m going to be brutally honest with you. In the world of Spanish presentations, finding good presentations to introduce vocabulary to beginners is not easy.

Here are some of the main problems I’ve encountered with Spanish presentations:

• The use of English to explain Spanish . These presentations may be appropriate for teachers but not for the students. We want them to get used to Spanish, and bombarding them with information in English won’t allow them to immerse themselves in the language we’re trying to teach.
• Lots of text . In any kind of presentation, this decreases the attention of the students and, therefore, the effectiveness of the message; either they listen to you or they read the presentation. But in a language class where you’re presenting new vocabulary, having lots of extra words is even worse.
• Not an absolute necessity. It’s important that you set your learning goals before you decide to use them and not the other way around. It’s important to be purposeful with PowerPoints and make sure it’s not the only way you introduce new vocabulary—the novelty will wear off and your students will get bored.

An ideal PowerPoint presentation for teaching vocabulary must be clear, concise, without paragraphs and with lots and lots of pictures—even more so when you are introducing words to beginners. And most importantly, they should only be in Spanish.

You want your students to associate the new word with an image (and maybe a sound), and you want them to remember it in Spanish.

Speaking of images and sounds, you may find great use in some of the fantastic learning material found on FluentU . With FluentU’s diverse and growing library of authentic content, students learn and live Spanish in an immersive fashion.

FluentU works for you as the educator as well! FluentU’s integrated teaching tools make it simple to monitor your students’ progress as they complete exercises and review the newly learned material. You’re sure to find content that can work wonderfully as a basis for PowerPoint presentations.

I hope you enjoy these resources and ideas for many (school) years to come.

And if at some point you decide to spend some time creating your own presentations, please share them online so you can help other teachers the same way they’re helping you now!

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Stage 1: Greetings and presentations in Spanish

English translation of podcast audio

Spanish Route, episode ONE. Your guided route to Spanish.

Good morning, good afternoon or good evening. Welcome to Spanish Route. The program, the podcast, to learn Spanish in the easiest and most fun way. My name is Sergio and I am your personal Spanish trainer.

This is the first program and it’s going to be very easy, you’ll see.

We will learn to introduce ourselves and to greet us. We will ask some questions and answer them. That way you’ll know me a little better.

But first, I want to remind you that on my website:  SpanishRoute.com   You can read the transcription and English translation of this program. In case there is something you have not understood well. You can download the pdf with the presentation of the class and with a very easy written exercise to help you practice the concepts we have talked about today.

Also, from  spanishRoute.com/contact  , you can write me with questions that we will solve in the program.

And if you want to  access Skype conversation sessions with me , at a very low price.  

Remember SpanishRoute.com. And now Let’s start with the program.

In this first chapter  we will start at the most basic level.  We will learn to introduce ourselves and to greet us.

Remember that this program can be followed from the audio player of my website, or through your favorite podcast player.

And besides, in case you find it difficult to follow me, you can also watch the class through my YouTube channel with the presentation of the sentences in writing.

Do not worry about grammar, writing or punctuation, we will see it little by little in the next classes.

For the moment, the most important thing is to practice your hearing and mentally translate the phrases and expressions of Spanish into your language.

Hola (Hello!)

¡ Hola! (Hello!)

This is the word (the interjection) to greet, draw the attention of another person or introduce ourselves. ¡Hola! = Hello!

¿Cómo te llamas? (What is your name?)

¿Cómo te llamas? (What is your name?)  This is the phrase we use in Spanish to ask the name of the person we are talking to.  ¡Hola! ¿Cómo te llamas? (Hello! What is your name?)

Me llamo Sergio (My name is Sergio)

Me llamo Sergio (My name is Sergio).  With these words I answer the previous question. It’s the way to tell someone what my name is.

You could also say «Yo me llamo Sergio». But in Spanish the subject pronoun of the phrase is usually omitted when in the conjugation of the verb one already understands who the subject is.

Bienvenido (Welcome)

¡Bienvenido! (Welcome!)  . This is the word we use to receive someone in our house, in our place of work, or in any event or situation. Also when someone arrives from a trip, for example.

Do you know how to say” bienvenido ” in your language?

Bienvenido.  This is the masculine form. That is, when the other person is male: A boy, a man or a man.

Bienvenida.  This is the feminine form. When the other person is of the female gender. A girl, a woman or a lady.  Welcome.

¡Encantado de conocerte! (Nice to meet you!)

This is the phrase to say that we are glad to meet someone.  ¡Encantado de conocerte! (Nice to meet you!)

This is the masculine form, but it refers to the subject of the phrase. To the gender of the person who says the phrase.

If I am a boy I say: «¡Encantado de conocerte!»

If I am a girl I say: «¡Encantada de conocerte!».

¿De dónde eres? (Where are you from?)

¿De dónde eres? (Where are you from?)  This is the phrase to ask about the place of origin of the person with whom we are speaking.

Soy de España (I am from Spain)

As you can see, I can omit the subject. Although I could also say:  Yo soy de España.

Soy español (I am Spanish).  It is the way to express my nationality or demonym. It’s the masculine form:  Soy español , when I’m a boy.

Soy española (I am Spanish).  This is the feminine form. When the subject is female. If I were a girl I would say:  I’m Spanish.

¿Y tú? (And you? or What about you?)  This is the way to ask the same question that you just asked us. Or to ask about the same thing that I just affirmed.

¡Hola!, me llamo Sergio, ¿Y tú? (Hello! my name is Sergio, what about you?)

Tengo hambre, ¿y tú? (I am hungry, and you?)  (here it is understood that we ask the other person if he is also hungry).

Demonym (Gentilicios)

There is no rule to form the gentilicios or nationalities of different countries but there are frequent terminations.

Remember that the names and nationality are adjectives and in Spanish they can have a masculine or feminine form. I propose you these examples:

De España>>> español o española (from Spain>>> Spanish)

De Inglaterra >>> inglés o inglesa (from England>>> English)

De Francia >>> francés o francesa (from France>>> French)

De Estados Unidos >>> estadounidense ( From U.S>>> American). In this case,  Estadounidense  would serve for the male or female form of the subject. 

Another country with a similar termination would be Canada. De Canadá>>> canadiense (from Canada, Canadian). Both male and female.

De Italia>>> Italiano o italiana (from Italy: Italian).   

Affirmation and denial

Sí (Yes):  We use the word «sí» to answer affirmatively.

No. We use the word «no» to answer negative form

¿Sabes donde está España? (Do you know where Spain is?)

Sí, España está en el sur de Europa. (Yes, Spain is in southern Europe).

¿Sabes donde está Galicia? (Do you know where Galicia is?)

No, no lo sé (No, I do not know).  In this case, after the first «no», in the following sentence we must repeat the «no» to indicate the negation of the verb.

In the case of the affirmative answer:  Sí, Galicia está en el norte de España  (Yes , I know . Galicia is in the north of Spain) the «sí» should no longer be repeated.

Cardinal points

The cardinal points in Spanish are:   norte, sur, este, oeste  (north, south, east, west).

Suecia está en el norte de Europa (Sweden is in northern Europe)

El sol sale por el este (the sun rises from the east)

Italia está en el sur de Europa (Italy is in southern Europe)

Portugal está al oeste de España (Portugal is west of Spain)

With these example sentences, note that the cardinal points are almost always used with the masculine definite article «El (the)»

In the phrase:  Portugal está al oeste de España (Portugal is to the west of Spain),  the word «a» is the contraction of the preposition «a» (to) and the article «el» (the).

We will see the contractions in Spanish in upcoming programs, do not worry.

We can also observe the use of two different prepositions. In the sentence:  Italia está en el sur de Europa  ( Italy is in the south of Europe),   before «el sur» (the south) we use the preposition «en» (in), because Italy belongs to Europe. While in:  Portugal está al oeste de España  ( Portugal is to the west of Spain),  we use the preposition «a» (to) because Portugal does not belong to Spain. It is another country. If Portugal were a region of Spain, for example, we would say: Portugal está en el oeste de España ( Portugal is in the west of Spain).

Bien (well)  / Malo (wrong)

The words bien (well  / right ) and  mal  (evil /  wrong ) can be nouns or adverbs. As a noun, « el bien » is the abstract entity formed by what is morally good. And « el mal » means the opposite. As substantives, these words carry articles.

La lucha entre el bien y el mal. ( The struggle between good and evil) .

As a noun well also means asset or property.

Yo invierto en bienes inmuebles (I invest in real estate). As an adverb: « Bien»  (right) means what is right or «in the best possible way». and « mal»  (wrong) what is wrong. In expressions to say hallo, it is used with the verb « estar» (be) :

¿Cómo estás? (¿Qué tal estás? (How are you?) / How do you do?) Estoy bien, ¡gracias! (I’m fine thanks).

It would not be correct to say «soy bien». «Bien» it is never used with the verb «ser» in spanish. «Bien» when accompanying the verb «estar» means to be healthy, easy or be comfortable. «Mal» means that something is wrong. When accompanying the verb « estar » can signify that he is sick, sad, uncomfortable or angry. In the next program we will talk again about these words and the differences with «bueno» (good) or «malo» (bad) adjectives. That sometimes can be confusing for Spanish students.

Por favor, (please), disculpa (excuse me), gracias (thank you)

Por favor (Please)

The expression «por favor» in two words: (por + favor) is used to request something or in educated questions

¿Por favor, puedes ayudarme? (Please, can you help me?)

Disculpa (excuseme) 

It is a word that can be used to draw attention before asking a question, or in another context ask for forgiveness or excuses, although in this last case we usually say «lo siento» (i am sorry). 

¡ Disculpa!, ¿puedes venir? ( Excuseme! You can come?

¡Gracias! (Thank you!)  or  ¡Muchas gracias!   (thank you very much!)

It serves to express gratitude. We usually say it after receiving the answer to a question we have asked previously.

¡Gracias! Eres muy amagle. (Thanks, you’re very kind).

Or at the end of a speech, for example.

Gracias por vuestra atención. (Thank you for your attention).

Do you remember how you say «gracias» in your language?

More ways to say hello

¡Hola! (Hello!) 

¡Buenos días! (Good morning!)   We say it in the morning.

¡Buenas tardes! (Good afternoon!)  We say it after noon or after eating.

¡Buenas noches! (Goodnight!)  We say it after sunset, when it is already night.

¿Cómo estás? (How are you? / How do you do?  Courtesy question to be interested in the other person.

¿Y tú (?And you?)  We can use it to not repeat the question again:  ¿ Cómo estás? (How are you?)

¿Cómo te encuentras? (How do you feel?)  It is another way of being interested in the other person.

The question marks and admiration ( in spanish )

¡…!  In written Spanish, unlike English, the exclamation marks are double and one is written at the beginning and another at the end of the sentence. It is the same sign but written backwards, with the point pointing upwards. They are used to signal admiration or exclamation and in interjections such as:    ¡Hola!

¿…?  Question marks are also written at the beginning and end of the sentence. The interrogation opens with the same sign but drawn upside down. With the point at the top.

¿Cómo te llamas?

Say Goodbye

Let’s see now the expressions for the farewells.

¡Adios! (Bye! or goodbye)  It is the most generic and neutral farewell. Surely you know how to translate it into your language

¡Hasta mañana! (See you tomorrow!)   It is said when we expect to see the other person the next day.

¡Hasta luego!  When we expect to see the other person later, without specifying when we will see each other again.

¡Nos vemos! (See you!)  This is a more informal expression.

¡Hasta pronto! (See you soon!)  Similar to the previous ones, it expresses a certain desire to see us soon.

¡Buenas noches! (Goodnight!)  To say goodbye, we can also use:  buenos días, buenas tardes o buenas noches,  depending on the time of day we are. But the most usual thing is to say goodbye at night, when we go to sleep, for example.

And here’s the first program, the first stage of SpanishRoute your guided route to Spanish.

Remember that on the website SpanishRoute.com you can find the transcription and English translation of the class and you can consult your doubts or suggestions. And if you want to practice your pronunciation book a Skype session with me.

Thank you very much for listening to me, for subscribing, for the positive evaluations and «I like it» and see you in the next program. Next stage of your guided route to Spanish.

Spanish version: Transcription (in Spanish)

Spanish Route episodio UNO. Tu ruta guiada al  español.

Buenos días, buenas tardes o buenas noches. Bienvenido a Spanish Route. El programa, el podcast para aprender español de la manera más fácil y divertida.

Me llamo Sergio y soy tu entrenador personal de español.

Este es el primer programa y va a ser muy fácil, ya lo verás. Aprenderemos a presentarnos y a saludarnos. Haremos algunas preguntas y las contestaremos. Así me conocerás un poco mejor.

Pero antes quiero recordarte que en mi página web,  SpanishRoute.com , puedes leer la trascripción y traducción al inglés de este programa. Por si hay algo que no has entendido bien. 

También, desde  spanishRoute.com/contact , puedes escribirme con dudas y preguntas que resolveremos en el programa. 

Y si lo deseas acceder a sesiones de conversación por Skype conmigo, a un precio muy reducido.  

Recuerda SpanishRoute.com

Y ahora sí. Emecemos con el progama.

En esta primer capítulo  empezaremos por el nivel más básico.  Aprenderemos a presentarnos y a saludarnos.

Recuerda que este programa lo puedes seguir desde el reproductor de audio de mi página web, o a través de tu reproductor de podcast favorito. No te preocupes por la gramática, la escritura o los signos de puntuación, lo iremos viendo poco a poco en las próximas clases. De momento, lo más importante es practicar tu oído y traducir mentalmente a tu idioma las frases y expresiones del español.

Esta es la palabra (la interjección) para saludar, llamar la atención de otra persona o presentarnos.  ¡Hola!

¿Cómo te llamas?  Esta es la frase que usamos en español para preguntar el nombre de la persona con la que estamos hablando.  ¡Hola! ¿Cómo te llamas?

Me llamo Sergio

Me llamo Sergio.  Con estas frase yo contesto la pregunta anterior. Es la manera de decirle a alguien cuál es mi nombre. 

También podría decir «yo me llamo Sergio». Pero en español se suele omitir el pronombre sujeto de la frase cuando en la conjugación del verbo ya se entiende quien es el sujeto.

  Bienvenido

Bienvenido . Esta es la palabra que utilizamos para recibir a alguien en nuestra casa, en nuestro lugar de trabajo, o en cualquier evento o situación.  También cuando alguien llega de un viaje, por ejemplo.

¿Sabes como se dice «bienvenido» en tu idioma?

Bienvenido.  Esta es la forma masculina. Es decir, cuando la otra persona es del género masculino: Un chico, un hombre o un señor.

Bienvenida . Es la forma femenina.  Cuando la otra persona es del género femenino. Una chica, una mujer o una señora.  Bienvenida.

¡Encantado de conocerte!

Esta es la frase para decir que nos alegramos de conocer a alguien.  ¡Encantado de conocerte!

Esta es la forma masculina, pero se refiere al sujeto de la frase. Al género de la persona que dice la frase.

Si yo soy un chico digo: “Encantado de conocerte”

Si yo soy una chica digo: “Encantada de conocerte”.

¿De dónde eres?

¿De dónde eres?  Esta es la frase para preguntar por el lugar de origen de la persona con la que estamos hablando. 

Soy de España.  Como ves puedo omitir el sujeto. Aunque también podría decir:  Yo soy de España .

Soy español.  Es la forma de expresar mi nacionalidad o gentilicio. Es la forma masculina:  soy español , cuando yo soy un chico. 

Soy española.  Esta es la forma femenina.  Cuando el sujeto es femenino. Si yo fuese una chica diría:  Soy española.

¿Y tu?  Esta es la forma para realizar la misma pregunta que nos acaban de hacer. O para preguntar sobre lo mismo que acabo de afirmar.

Hola! me llamo Sergio, ¿y tu?

Tengo hambre, ¿y tu?  (aquí se entiende que le preguntamos a la otra persona si también tiene hambre).

Gentilicios

No existe una regla para formar los gentilicios o nacionalidades de los diferentes países pero sí que existen terminaciones frecuentes.

Recuerda que los gentilicios y nacionalidad son adjetivos y en español pueden tener forma masculina o femenina. Te propongo estos ejemplos:

De España >>> español o española

De Inglaterra >>> inglés o inglesa

De Francia >>> francés o francesa

Estados Unidos >>> estadounidense

Een este caso el gentilicio  estadounidense  serviría tanto para la forma masculina como la femenina.

Otro país con una terminación similar sería la de Canadá. De Canadá, canadiense. Tanto masculino como femenino.

De Italia >>> italiano o italiana.   

Afirmación y negación

Sí:  Utilizamos la palabra «sí»para contestar de forma afirmativa.

No:  Utilizamos la palabra «no» para contestar de manera negativa

¿Sabes dónde está España?

Sí, España está en el sur de Europa.

¿Sabes dónde está Galicia?

No, no lo sé.  En este caso, después del primer «no», en la frase siguiente debemos repetir el «no» para indicar la negación del verbo. 

En caso de la respuesta afirmativa:  S í, lo sé .  Galicia está en el norte de España .  Ya no se debe repetir el «sí». 

Puntos Cardinales

Los puntos cardinales en español son:   Norte, sur, este, oeste.

Suecia está en el norte de Europa

El sol sale por el este

Italia está en el sur de Europa

Portugal está al oeste de España

Con estas frases de ejemplo, observa que los puntos cardinales casi siempre se usan con el artículo determinado masculino “el”

En la frase:  Portugal está al oeste de España,  la palabra  «al»  es la contracción de la preposición «a» y el articulo “el”.

Veremos las contracciones en español en próximos programas, no te preocupes.

Podemos observar también el uso de dos preposiciones diferentes. En la frase:  Italia está en el sur de Europa,  antes de “el sur” usamos la preposición «en», porque Italia pertenece a Europa. Mientras que en:  Portugal está al oeste de España,  usamos la preposición «a» porque Portugal no pertenece a España. Es otro país. Si Portugal fuese una región de España, por ejemplo, diríamos:  Portugal está en el oeste de España .

Las palabras « bien»  y « mal » pueden ser sustantivos o adverbios. Como sustantivo, «el bien» es la entidad abstracta formada por lo que es moralmente bueno. Y «el mal» significa lo contrario. 

Como sustantivos, estas palabras llevan artículos. La lucha entre el bien y el mal. Como sustantivo, «bien» también significa activo o propiedad. Yo invierto en bienes inmuebles. Como adverbio, «b ien » significa lo que es correcto o «del mejor modo posible». y « mal » lo que es incorrecto. En las expresiones para saludarse, se usa con el verbo «estar»: ¿Cómo estás? /¿Qué tal estás? Estoy bien, ¡gracias! No sería correcto decir «soy bien». « Bien » nunca se usa con el verbo « ser » en español. « Bien » cuando acompaña el verbo « estar » significa estar sano, estar cómodo o estar a gusto. « M al » significa que algo es incorrecto o erróneo. Cuando acompaña el verbo « estar » puede significar que está enfermo, triste, incómodo o enfadado. En el próximo programa volveremos a hablar sobre estas palabras y las diferencias con los adjetivos «bueno» o «malo». Que en ocasiones puede ser algo confuso para los estudiantes de español.

Por favor, disculpa, gracias

La expresión “ por favor ” en dos palabras: ( por + favor ) se usa para solicitar algo o en preguntas educadas.

¡Por favor!, ¿puedes ayudarme?

Es una palabra que se puede usar para llamar la atención antes de hacer una pregunta, o en otro contexto pedir perdón o excusas, aunque en este último caso solemos decir “lo siento”.  ¡Disculpa!   ¿puedes venir?

¡Gracias!  o  ¡muchas gracias! 

Sirve para expresar gratitud. Solemos decirlo después de recibir la respuesta a una pregunta que hemos hecho con anterioridad.

Gracias, eres muy amable.

O al terminar un discurso, por ejemplo.

Gracias por vuestra atención.

¿Recuerdas como se dice «gracias» en tu idioma?

Más formas para saludar

¡B  uenos días!   Lo decimos por las mañanas.

¡Buenas tardes!  Lo decimos después del medio día o después de comer.

¡Buenas noches!  Lo decimos después de la puesta de sol, cuando ya es de noche.

¿Cómo estás?  Pregunta de cortesía para interesarnos por la otra persona.

¿Y tu?  Lo que podemos usar para no volver a repetir la pregunta:   ¿cómo estás?

¿Cómo te encontramos?  Es otra forma de interesarnos por la otra persona.

Los signos de interrogación y admiración (en español)

¡…! En español escrito, a diferencia del inglés, los signos de exclamación son dobles y se escribe uno al principio y otro al final de la frase. Es el mismo signo pero escrito al revés, con el punto hacia arriba. Se usan para señalar admiración o exclamación y en interjecciones como:    ¡Hola!

¿…? Los signos de interrogación también se escriben al principio y al final de la frase. La interrogación se abre con el mismo signo pero dibujado al revés. Con el punto en la parte superior.

¿Como te llamas?

Veamos ahora las expresiones para las despedidas.

¡Adios!  Es la despedida más genérica y neutra. Seguro que sabes traducirlo a tu idioma.

¡Hasta mañana!   Se dice cuando esperamos ver a la otra persona al día siguiente.

¡Hasta luego!  Cuando esperamos ver a la otra persona más tarde, sin especificar cuándo nos volveremos a ver.

¡Nos vemos!  Esta es una expresión más informal.

¡Hasta pronto!  Parecida a las anteriores, expresa cierto deseo de vernos pronto.

¡Buenas noches!  Para despedirnos, también podemos usar:  buenos días, buenas tardes,  o  buenas noches  , afectar el momento del día en el que nos encontramos. Pero lo más habitual es despedirnos por las noches, cuando nos vamos a dormir, por ejemplo.

Y hasta aquí el primer programa, la primera etapa de Spanish Route, tu ruta guiada al español. 

Recuerda que en la web spanishRoute.com podrás encontrar la transcripción y traducción al inglés de la clase y podrás consultarme tus dudas y sugerencias.

Y si quieres practicar tu pronunciación reserva una sesión por Skype conmigo.

Muchas gracias por escucharme, por suscribirte, por las valoraciones positivas y “me gusta” y nos vemos en el próximo programa. Siguiente etapa de tu ruta guiada al español.

A guide to Mexican Spanish

by Lingoda Team

Published on March 31, 2016 / Updated on November 4, 2022

With close to 500 million native speakers and many more students in the process of acquiring such competency, Spanish is one of the most widely-spoken languages in the world. However, while it originated in Spain many hundreds of years ago, it may surprise you to learn that the largest Spanish-speaking country is actually Mexico. Many Spanish language students have aspirations of travelling to (or working in) Mexico , but it is important to note that Mexican Spanish deviates from the European language in a number of ways. Although a speaker of European Spanish will likely be understood, it can make life much easier to gain an understanding of the key differences. So, with that in mind, we have compiled a guide to Mexican Spanish, placing a particular focus on its distinctive grammatical rules, pronunciation and Spanish dialects in Mexico, vocabulary and slang words, so that you can fit right in.

Learn languages at your pace

Grammatical differences.

Perhaps the most important differences to get right when trying to learn Mexican Spanish are the numerous grammatical deviations from European Spanish, and even from dialects spoken in other Central and Southern American countries . In general, Mexican Spanish follows the same rules, but there are a few notable exceptions.

The most obvious grammatical difference surrounds second person pronouns. In European Spanish, it is common to use the informal word ‘vosotros’ to mean ‘you’ when talking to a group of people. In more formal settings, the word ‘ustedes’ is then used in its place. Yet, in Mexican Spanish, the informal ‘vosotros’ is never used and the formal ‘ustedes’ is used at all times, regardless of the level of familiarity involved.

Meanwhile, unlike in some other parts of Central and South America, Mexican Spanish does not use the word ‘vos’ as a second person singular pronoun in the familiar form, instead using the word ‘tú’.

Another fairly noticeable difference involves verb tenses and you will quickly notice that the present perfect (pretérito perfecto compuesto) is relatively uncommon in Mexican Spanish. Instead, Mexican speakers will generally use the preterite (pretérito perfecto simple) in its place.

You should pay particular attention to second person pronouns, because using the informal versions found in European Spanish may be considered impolite by some Mexican Spanish speakers and it is a guaranteed way to stand out as being a speaker who does not have native speaking capabilities. Aside from these differences, however, Mexican Spanish follows the same basic rules as the Spanish that is spoken in other parts of the world.

Mexican Spanish pronunciation and accent

In addition to the grammatical differences, Mexican Spanish also differs from the Spanish spoken in many other countries in terms of pronunciation. While the Mexican Spanish accent is slightly different in general, one of the most noticeable features is the absence of the ‘lisp’ that is present in European Spanish.

For instance, in European Spanish, the letter ‘z’ is usually pronounced like a voiceless ‘th’ in English. However, in Mexican Spanish, this changes and the letter is generally pronounced like a voiceless ‘s’. This means that, in Mexico, there is no difference in pronunciation between the letters ‘z’ and ‘s’. So the words ‘casa’ and ‘caza’ (meaning ‘house’ and ‘hunt’, respectively) sound the same as each other in Mexico , whereas they would sound different in Spain.

The same rule also applies to the letter ‘c’ when it appears in a word immediately before either an ‘i’ or an ‘e’. To describe this phenomenon, it is said that Mexican Spanish has ‘seseo’.

Mexican Spanish pronunciation also occasionally differs from other dialects in terms of stresses within words. To provide an example of this, the word ‘video’ places a stress on the ‘i’ in Spain, whereas Mexican Spanish speakers tend to stress the ‘e’ sound within the word.

Vocabulary and slang words

A question a lot of people ask is “What is Mexican in Spanish?” – Easy! El mexicano refers to a masculine national and la mexicana to a female Mexican national.

Finally, while most Spanish words are universal, Mexican Spanish does have some of its own vocabulary. As a result, those looking to travel to the country may need to familiarise themselves with some of the Mexican Spanish dialect’s unique words and phrases if they wish to understand the locals clearly.

In particular, Mexican Spanish features a lot of English loan words or Anglicisms. This is likely due to the country’s close proximity to the United States, and the movement of people between the two countries over the years.

Some of these words, like ‘hobby’, are spelled and pronounced exactly the same as in English, while others are similar enough to their English counterparts to be easy to understand. Examples include ’emergencia’ (emergency), ‘marqueta’ (market) and ‘traque’ (track). None of these words are commonly used in European Spanish and generally, the use of Anglicisms becomes more widespread the closer you get to the United States border.

Meanwhile, some Mexican slang is completely unknown in Spain and many slang phrases have different meanings to their literal translations. Although you probably won’t need to use them, you may hear them while in Mexico, so we have provided a list of eight slang words and phrases to get you started:

‘¡Aguas!’ – Literally means “waters!”, but is used to mean “careful!” or “watch out!”

‘Bronca’ – Used to mean “a fight” or “argument”, but in Mexican slang the word has a less concrete meaning and can be used to describe any sort of problem or crisis.

‘Codo’ – Although it is a normal Spanish word meaning “elbow”, this is often used in Mexico to describe somebody who is “cheap” or “stingy” with their money.

‘Estoy crudo’ – Translates to “I’m raw”, but is used to mean “I’m hungover”.

‘Fresa’ – Literally means “strawberry”, but is used by some Mexican speakers as a slang term for a young, obnoxious, materialistic person. Usually used to describe someone from a privileged background.

‘Huevo’ – A normal Spanish word meaning “eggs”. However, in Mexico, it is sometimes used as a vulgar term for “testicles”, much in the same way as the English word “balls”.

‘Naco’ / ‘Naca’ – Used to describe a lower-class or “trashy” person. The last letter of the word changes depending on the gender of the person being described, which is in-keeping with basic Spanish language principles.

‘¡Qué padre!’ – Translates to the rather nonsensical phrase “how father!”, but is commonly used in place of English expressions like “how cool!”, “how awesome!” or ‘that’s great!

Lingoda Team

This article was produced by one of the in-house Lingoda writers.

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Spanish Presentation Challenge: Share Your Story in 10 Minutes!

Master the art of Spanish storytelling with our presentation challenge. Engage your audience with a personal monologue and sprinkle your speech with charming Mexican expressions. No reading, just speaking from the heart!

• Uriel Benitez
• November 6, 2023

Task Description:

Hello, ChidoLingo students! It’s time to dive deeper into the Spanish language by sharing your own story. We’re challenging you to deliver a 5 to 10 minute monologue about yourself—your life, interests, and journey with Spanish. This task is a chance to showcase your linguistic skills and cultural knowledge. Here’s how to make your presentation shine:

Presentation Guidelines:

1. talk about you:.

Tell us simple things about yourself. Where do you live? What do you like? Why are you learning Spanish? Keep it simple and fun!

2. Use Mexican Spanish Words:

Add some local flavor to your presentation with these common Mexican expressions:

• “¡Es muy padre!” – When you like something a lot, say “That’s cool!”
• “Chido/Esta chido” – Another way to say “cool” or “awesome.”
• “¡No manches!” – Use it to express disbelief, like “No way!”
• “La neta” – When you speak the truth or agree with someone, say “Really.”
• “¡Qué onda!” – A casual greeting, like “What’s up?”
• “¡Atareado!” – super busy, like “hectic”

3. Questions to Expand Your Speech:

• Describe your family and friends. How many siblings do you have? Who is your best friend?
• What’s special about where you live? Do you have a favorite place in your city?
• Walk us through your day. What do you usually do from morning to night?
• What are your favorite foods and drinks? Have you tried Mexican food?
• Tell us about your hobbies. What do you enjoy doing in your free time?
• What do you do for work or what are you studying? What’s a typical day like for you there?
• Have you traveled to Spanish-speaking countries? Share any interesting experiences.
• What cultural customs do you find interesting? Are there any Mexican customs you like?
• Why are you learning Spanish? What do you find challenging and rewarding about it?
• What are your goals for the future, both in your personal life and in Spanish?

4. Structure Your Presentation:

• Introduction: Greet everyone with “¡Hola! Me llamo [Your Name].” and use “¡Qué onda!” to start in a friendly way.
• Body: Use the questions above to fill in the details about your life. Include at least 3 Mexican phrases in your talk.
• Conclusion: End with “Mi sueño es…” to share your dreams, and maybe throw in a “¡No manches!” to express your excitement for the future.

5. Use Cue Cards:

• Write short notes to help you remember, but don’t read from them.

6. Practice Your Time:

• Your talk should be close to 5-10 minutes. Try it a few times to get it right.

Remember, the idea is to speak freely without reading, using your cue cards only for brief reminders. Enjoy the process, and don’t worry about perfection. It’s all about practicing and improving your Spanish. We’re excited to hear all about you!

Tutor Virtual

• Remember, if you find this exercise challenging, you can always ask Señor Chip for Help. 

Check out more stories…

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A very cranky language blogger dishing out brutal language tips.

How to Introduce Yourself in Spanish Fluently. 14 Fun Phrases (AUDIO)

Want to introduce yourself in Spanish?

Yes? Good – keep reading.

This is for those that truly want to learn the language. So, here’s how you introduce yourself. You’ll pick up 14 easy lines… and this might take you 2 to 3 minutes or less. With this lesson…

• You get the Spanish phrases and translations.
• Read out loud to practice your speaking.
• Feel free to print this sheet out for extra review.
• Listen to the audio lesson to hear the pronunciation.

So, let’s look at the ways to introduce yourself in Spanish.

1) Mi nombre es (name).

Of all the ways to say introduce yourself in Spanish, this is the most formal way.  To say “my name is” in Spanish, you just need the phrase “ Mi nombre es .” Then say your name. So, leave me a comment below and add your name. That will be your introduction!

• Mi nombre es (name) .
• Meaning: My name is (name) .
• Very formal

By the way, you’ll also want to HEAR Spanish as you read this. So, check out this FREE Spanish Audio Lesson by SpanishPod101.com . Press play below. You will hear “mi nombre es” and “me llamo” in the audio lesson below.

2) Me llamo (name)

This is the most common way to introduce yourself.  “Llamo” comes from the reflexive verb, “llamarse,” which means “to call oneself.”

• Me llamo (name)
• Meaning: My name is… (I call myself/I am called)

3) Soy (name)

This is a much more casual way to introduce yourself in Spanish. You just need the word “soy” which is “I am.”

• Meaning: I am (name)

On top of these basic Spanish phrases, you’ll also want to learn the question, “what’s your name” in Spanish. You’ll definitely be asked that.

4) ¿Cómo te llamas? (informal)

• ¿Cómo te llamas?
• Meaning: What’s your name? (informal)

You’ll want to know this question when dealing with friends and people of your age.  By the way,  note the “upside-down” question mark (¿). You must know that this is used at the beginning of every question in Spanish.

5) ¿Cómo se llamas? (formal)

• ¿Cómo se llamas?
• Meaning: What’s your name? (formal)

This phrase is for if  you’re dealing with older people, of higher status, or just want to be polite. Just change the “te” into a “se.”

6) Hola, es un placer conocerte.

Do you know how to say hello in Spanish ? Use this phrase.

Hello (Hola) and Nice to meet you ( es un placer conocerte) are must-know phrases. And any introduction will probably will use these words.

• Hola, es un placer conocerte.
• Meaning: Hello, It’s nice to meet you.

7) Soy de México.

So, where are you from? America? Europe? Africa? Asia? Just stick the name of your country inside this phrase. We’ll use Mexico as an example.

• I am from (Mexico).
• Soy de México.
• I’m from Mexico.

Here are some common countries that you can stick into this Spanish sentence… and how to say them in Spanish.

• United States – Estados Unidos
• France – Francia
• Spain – España
• Italy – Italia
• China – China
• United Kingdom – Reino Unido
• Germany – Alemania
• Japan – Japón
• Australia – Australia
• Canada – Canadá
• Mexico – México
• Thailand – Tailandia
• Brazil – Brasil
• South Korea – Corea del Sur
• India – India

8) Yo vivo en la Ciudad de México.

What about now – where do you live? Just fill in the blank with the country or city (if famous) into this phrase. I’ll use Mexico City as an example since I used Mexico in the phrase before.

• I live in ______.
• Yo vivo en la Ciudad de México.
• I live in Mexico City

9) He estado aprendiendo español por un año.

Now, how long have you been learning Spanish for? A month? A year?

• He estado aprendiendo español por un año.
• I’ve been learning Spanish for a year.

10) Estoy aprendiendo español en SpanishPod101.com.

Where are you learning Spanish? At school? At home? This would be a great line to know and use when you’re introducing yourself. Here’s my example:

• Estoy aprendiendo español en SpanishPod101.com.
• I’m learning Spanish at SpanishPod101.com .

11) Tengo __ años de edad.

Here’s how to say how old you are in Spanish. You’ll need to know Spanish numbers, which are not that hard, for this.

• Tengo 27 años de edad.
• I’m 27 years old.

Of course, here you’ll need to know Spanish numbers . So, here are some examples. For the rest, check the numbers link above,

12) Soy ____.

What about your position? Are you a student? Yoga teacher? Lawyer for the potato industry? Potato salesman?

Super important question that people like to ask (and judge you about – Hey, I’m just a blogger! ). Just use “soy” meaning “I’m” and add your position.

• Soy maestro.
• I’m a teacher.

Here are some common jobs and occupations in Spanish:

• Estudiante – Student
• Profesor/a – Teacher
• Médico/a – Doctor
• Enfermero/a – Nurse
• Ingeniero/a – Engineer
• Abogado/a – Lawyer
• Cocinero/a – Cook/Chef
• Policía – Police Officer
• Programador/a – Programmer
• Contador/a – Accountant

13) Uno de mis pasatiempos es ___.

Now, let’s move onto personal interests – hobbies! My hobbies are languages, linguajunkieing and such. How about you? You’ll definitely need this line when introducing yourself in Spanish.

Here’s an example to use:

• Uno de mis pasatiempos es leer.
• One of my hobbies is reading.

14) Me gusta escuchar música.

Now, this is just another example line about your hobbies . You can use something else where.

• Me gusta escuchar música.
• I enjoy listening to music.

Now that you know some Spanish self-introduction phrases…

Let’s take a look at Spanish introduction examples.

Spanish Introduction Examples

While the above are just phrases…

Here are some Spanish introduction examples you can use to introduce yourself.

Sample scripts for Spanish introduction that you can use outright, depending on the situation.

Name, Age & Where You’re From

• Hola, mi nombre es [name]. Tengo [number] años y soy de [place].
• Hello, my name is [name]. I am [number] years old and I am from [place].

Longer Introduction & About Yourself

• Hola, soy [name]. Vivo en [place] y estudio/trabajo en [field]. Me encanta [hobby] y siempre estoy listo/a para una buena charla sobre [interest].
• Hi, I’m [name]. I live in [place] and study/work in [field]. I love [hobby] and I’m always up for a good chat about [interest].

Quick 1-Liner

• ¡Hola! Soy [name] y vivo en [place]. Hi! I’m [name] and I live in [place].

Conclusion — Back to You.

So now you know how to introduce yourself in Spanish .

Plus, you got some Spanish introduction examples that you can use for yourself.

I’m sure there’s a ton more you can say – but this is an easy, simple start that any beginner can put to use. It’s all about starting easy.

See if you can introduce yourself below.

Leave me a comment.

I read all comments!

Hope you enjoyed this!

– The Main Junkie

P.S. I highly recommend this for Spanish learners. If you REALLY want to learn to Spanish with effective lessons by real teachers – Sign up for free at SpanishPod101 (click here) and start learning!

[…] Introduce Yourself in Spanish […]

hi use google translator instead of using tons of websites but this one is way more specific and useful

By Molly and Angelina

About the Country

• Mexico is the southern most part of North America.
• It is west of Central America.
• Mexico is about 3 times the size of Texas.
• The capital city is Mexico City.

The Geographic

Regions/Climate Zones

• The northern part of Mexico:

is usually dry and hot, and has many deserts

• The southern part of Mexico

is humid, and has lots of tropical jungles

• There are many mountain ranges surrounding Mexico City.
• 2/3 of the country is covered with mountains or volcanoes.

The Mayan Empire in Mexico

• The Mayan Empire started in about 2000 B.C.
• They built amazing cities in North and Central America.
• Much of Mexico then is now apart of the United States.
• They lost many of their cities and fell in the 10th century. .

Historical Influence:

• Mexico's civilizations sometimes contesting against the civilizations of Egyptians and early Europeans.
• They became independent after the war that lasted through 1810 and ended in 1821.

Sports in Mexico

• Many Mexicans love soccer and watch the World Cup.
• Some boys also play baseball and basketball.
• Bullfighting and wrestling are also fan favorites.
• Kid favorites include hide-and-seek and other easy-to-play games.

Modern Culture

• The population is 113.7 million.
• The air pollution in Mexico is horrible.
• There usually are more than 3 children in each family.
• The oldest male child is sometimes favored in the family.
• Women do the housework while men do the outside work.

Their Housing

• They don't have very big lawns so they hang flowers outside instead.
• There are usually only 1 to 3 bedrooms in one house.
• The multipurpose room can be used for a living room, kitchen, or dining room.
• The bathroom is separated from the main house by a hallway.
• Most homes have electricity, but no indoor plumbing.

Their Economy

• Almost 40 percent of the population is poor.
• A few taxis operate illegally.
• Some rural families don't have home phones.
• Services are too expensive for some families.
• Many people are illiterate and can't pay for schools.
• Some areas in Mexico are very poor, but some are very rich.
• The currency is called peso.
• Mexicans have 4 meals a day which includes a soup or salad, dessert, coffee, or tortillas.
• Mexicans also need to ask to be excused.
• The "actual" Mexican food is usually different to our "Mexican" food.
• The whole meal may take up to two hours.
• In Mexico, they have lots of singing and dancing.
• There are also a variety of instruments.
• They have many different kinds of songs.
• The women dance in big, poofy dresses that twirl around.

Current Events

• On March 14, gray whales became more common/ popular in Baja peninsula.
• On March 15, Mexico was being praised for the economy growth that has been happened.

About the Government

• There are 31 states.
• They have a Federal Government.
• The President can only serve one six-year term.
• The legislator cannot serve 2 terms in a row.

Natural Resources

• In Mexico, they have an abundant supply of gold and oil.
• They do lots of fishing because of the oceans and seas surrounding Mexico.
• The climate is good for crops and farm animals to survive.
• They also produce many minerals by mining.

Mexico's National.......

HUMBLE DAHLIA

CRESTED CARACARA

GOLDEN EAGLE

• Mexico has the largest amount of Spanish speakers in the world.
• The people usually have 2 last names; one from the mother and one from the father, first dad then mom in the name.
• Mexico has one of the largest bullfighting arenas in the world.
• Mexico City is one of the largest cities in the world.
• There are almost 100 indigenous languages in Mexico.

Our Sources

• "About Mexico City." Ask.com . Web. <http://www.ask.com/web?q=About+Mexico+City&qsrc=0&o=0&l=dir>.
• "Air Pollution." Science Online . Facts On File News Services. Web. <http://0-www.fofweb.com.sable.jefferson.lib.co.us/Science/default.asp>.
• Baja Peninsula . Photograph. Gooddive.com . Web. <http://www.gooddive.com/diving-mexico/images/baja-peninsula-map.gif>.
• "Did You Know? Mexico's National Flower Is the Humble Dahlia." : Mexico Living . Web. 20 Mar. 2012. <http://www.mexconnect.com/articles/1239-did-you-know-mexico-s-national-flower-is-the-humble-dahlia>.
• Easybib.com . Web. <http://www.easybib.com/cite/form/website>.
• "List of National Anthems." Wikipedia . Wikimedia Foundation, 18 Mar. 2012. Web. 19 Mar. 2012. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_national_anthems>.

More Sources

• "Mexico's Climate - Farenheit." : Mexico Travel . Web. 19 Mar. 2012. <http://www.mexconnect.com/articles/3222-mexico-s-climate-farenheit>.
• Mexico's National Animal- Chihuahua . Photograph. Blogspot.com . Web. <http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vzMXlfzgosE/SqtbW558ieI/AAAAAAAABik/SZ5TWQ2ehfk/s400/me+Chihuahua+NA.jpg>.
• Mexico's National Animal- Eagle . Photograph. Blurtit.com . Web. <http://www.blurtit.com/var/question/q/q7/q79/q793/q7933/q7933207_3405638_305_.jpg>.
• "Mexico's National Bird: Caracara Means More than 'face Face'" : Mexico Culture & Arts . Web. 20 Mar. 2012. <http://www.mexconnect.com/articles/3704-mexico-s-national-bird-caracara-means-more-than-face-face>.
• Mexico's National Bird . Photograph. Recyclingtheworld.us . Web. <http://recyclingtheworld.us/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/crested_caracara_7c2v4428.jpg>.

Even More Sources

• "Microsoft PowerPoint 2010 - Presentation and Slide Software - Office.com." Offic.microsoft.com . Web. 09 Mar. 2012. <http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/powerpoint/>.
• Nces.ed.gov . Web. <http://nces.ed.gov/nceskids/graphing/classic/>.
• Smith, Elizabeth. "About Mexico City." EHow . 28 Oct. 2008. Web. 19 Mar. 2012. <http://www.ehow.com/about_4571061_mexico-city.html?ref=Track2>.
• What Are Mexico's Natural Resources?" WikiAnswers . Answers. Web. 19 Mar. 2012. <http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_are_Mexico%2527s_natural_resources>.
• Mexico's National Flower . Photograph. Aquaticsportsadventures.com . Web. <http://www.aquaticsportsadventures.com/Manzanillo/Mexico/mexico_national_flower_dahlia.jpg>.
• "What Is Mexico National Animal? - Answers.Ask.com." Ask Answers . Web. 20 Mar. 2012. <http://answers.ask.com/Food_and_Drinks/Food_and_Cooking/what_is_mexico_national_animal>.
• Wind . Photograph. Windenergy-event.com . Web. <http://windenergy-event.com/renewable-energy-wind-egypt/egypt-wind-energy-wind-africa-bg.jpg>.
• Wind Turbines . Photograph. Thedailyrecord.com . Web. <http://thedailyrecord.com/files/2011/03/6a-TURBINES_web.jpg>.

Home Collections Maps Mexico

Mexico Presentation Templates

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Mexican tv outlet accidentally airs man’s testicles during solar eclipse coverage.

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This eclipse coverage was nuts.

A Mexican news outlet is garnering ridicule online because it accidentally aired a man’s testicles when presenting viewer-submitted footage of Monday’s solar eclipse.

RCG Media’s 24/7 news program was covering the eclipse when its three anchors presented clips submitted by fans experiencing the celestial phenomenon — only to fall prey to a well-known prank in Latin America, the local La Vanguardia newspaper reported.

As the male host was listing the cities from where the eclipse could be enjoyed, the clips being presented on the left side of the screen cut to a man blocking out the sun with his testicles.

One of the two female anchors could be heard gasping in shock while her male colleague carried on, ignoring the obscene image.

The clip was quickly taken off the screen, with the male anchor explaining that the clips were submitted by viewers as he admitted that the fervor to include fans’ experiences can lead to embarrassing situations for broadcasters.

It is not uncommon for people to share clips of a so-called “testicular eclipse” online during a solar event, with such images previously shared during the 2019 eclipse in Chile.

Even Motley Crue drummer Tommy Lee has gotten in on the risque gag, posting a similar video on his Instagram page before taking it down, the Mirror said .

But Monday’s incident in Mexico appears to be the first time the image made its way onto television, with many mocking the news outlet for failing to check the video before airing it.

One X user with the handle Rhevolver claimed responsibility for submitting the clip to RCG as he reveled in the successful prank.

“Greetings to all my people from Saltillo who had to watch my eggs on television because those from @rcg_media neglected to review the video of the eclipse carefully,” Rhevolver wrote.

“I love them.”

It remains unclear if the footage submitted was of Rhevolver himself or if it was recycled from previous “testicular eclipse” posts.

RCG media did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment Tuesday.

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History of Mexico Minitheme

History of mexico minitheme presentation, free google slides theme and powerpoint template.

The entire history of Mexico can span hundreds and hundreds of pages! This country has a very interesting culture and lots of different civilizations populated Mexico in the past, from Olmecs to Mayans and Aztecs. Are you an expert on the topic? Share with everyone a brief summary of the history of this nation in this editable template for presentations, whose slides have watercolor spots of green and red over a white background, the three colors of the Mexican flag! Besides, filler text is already in Spanish!

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