Is "gorros puntiagudos" as funny sounding in Spanish as "pointy hats" is in English? (I suspect this depends how much Terry Pratchett one has read...)
"Semana Santa" has been shared to the blog from the Spanish reading practice section of the learning library where you can find a large selection of interactive texts to help you with your reading skills. This article also has audio for you to practice your Spanish listening skills; you can find many more listening activities in the Spanish listening exercises section.
Spanish online reading and listening practice – level B1/B2
This reading and listening exercise is about the Spanish religious celebration of Semana Santa in Seville. This is suitable for level B1/B2 Spanish students.
Background
Like many Catholic countries, Easter is a very special celebration in Spain; it’s not just a holiday weekend, it’s called Semana Santa – Holy Week. Every town has special Easter processions, but perhaps the most famous are the ones that take place in Seville. For Seville this celebration is second only to that of the Feria de Abril about which more very soon!
The particularity of Seville’s Holy Week are the floats, called pasos, that carry wooden figures representing the Passion of Christ. These pasos are carried by members of the church brotherhoods, known as cofradías. These are accompanied by Nazarenes, the penitents in the highly recognisable pointy hats with eye holes. The processions take place from Domingo de Palma (Palm Sunday), till the morning of Domingo de Resurrección (Easter Sunday). However, the climax of the week is Jueves Santo, Holy (or Maundy) Thursday, when all the processions aim to arrive at the cathedral at dawn of Viernes Santo (Good Friday). This event is known as the madrugada. Depending on how far away the home church of each cofradía is from the cathedral, the procession can last anywhere between 4 and 14 hours! There’s a video below the reader to give you an idea of what happens.
Grammar
This reader has a particular focus on the use of the passive voice, see these two lessons:
Exercise: Semana Santa
The bilingual reader article below was written and recorded by Kwiziq’s Spanish expert, the super Sevillana Inma Sánchez.
Click play to listen to the audio. You can read the transcript at the same time or after. Click any phrase for the translation and links to related grammar lessons which you can add to your Kwiziq notebook to practise later.
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Author info
Shui is Kwiziq's Content and Language Manager and Head of Spanish. She is an experienced technical writer, translator and project manager. Shui grew up bilingual English-Spanish in the UK, completing her studies in London, Madrid and Paris where she now lives. She speaks English, Spanish, French and Italian. Her love of languages and technical knowledge make her a perfect fit for Kwiziq.
