Birthday vibes in Spanish
It’s pretty common to celebrate birthdays everywhere, isn’t it? But the ways people do it—and the quirky, charming traditions they follow can vary a lot from one culture to another. Some customs might even seem a bit odd or surprising if you’re not familiar with them. For instance, have you ever heard of a birthday song called Las Mañanitas, sung in Mexico? Or do you know who’s expected to pay when it’s your birthday – do you treat everyone, or is it the opposite, where you’re not even allowed to pay for anything?
Find out in this mini-podcast with Inma and Silvia what usually happens in Spain and Mexico when people celebrate their birthday, and hear about some of their own experiences. Remember to leave your comments about this topic and this mini-podcast in the comments section below!
🎧 Mini-podcast: costumbres de cumpleaños by Inma & Silvia
If you’d like to really get into the birthday theme and do some more practice, we’re including here some extra exercises with interesting grammar points to master:
Gapfills:
A1 Cumpleaños (possessive adjectives)
A2 El cumpleaños de Leo (the imperfect)
Dictation (premium subscribers only):
A1 Mañanitas y piñatas (the near future)
Reading and Listening:
B2 Ojos que no ven, corazón que no siente (idiomatic expressions)
Author info
After working in the travel industry for ten years in Seville, Inma moved to the UK to give a little twist to her life. Since then she's been teaching Spanish as a foreign language to adults for over 15 years in different settings, private lessons, secondary schools and online. Inma is a coffee lover and also loves exploring new places with her family in beautiful Warwickshire, where she lives.