Famous People
Topic specific Spanish practice exercises
Some Spanish speakers are famous just in their country, others are globally recognised. Meet and greet Spanish celebrities, sports stars, artists, architects and more while practising and improving your language skills with these exercises.
- A cup of water and a rose
Fabilola is contemplating a stunning masterpiece by Zurbarán. - Alexis Sánchez: a famous soccer player
Learn about Alexis Sánchez, a famous soccer player. - Amelia Valcárcel: a famous Spanish philosopher
Learn about Amelia Valcárcel, a famous Spanish philosopher. - An exhibition by Frida Kahlo
Marcos is going to a Frida Kahlo exhibition. - Chema Madoz
Alma tells us about her favourite photographer. - Edurne Pasaban
Andrea is passionate about mountaineering and tells us about her heroine Edurne Pasaban. - Famous people from Puerto Rico
Discover famous people from Puerto Rico. - Kilian Jornet
Learn about this internationally renowned Spanish sportsman. - Kim Lopez: overcoming adversity, achieving greatness
Learn about the talented Spanish athlete Kim López. - Laura Raffo
Ricardo talks about an empowered Uruguayan woman. - Letizia: queen of Spain
Learn about Letizia, queen of Spain. - Lionel Messi: an Argentinian star
Marco's favourite football player is Lionel Messi. - Mariela Coronel
Victor tells us about this female Argentinian footballer. - My neighbour is famous!
Manuel's neighbour is very famous. - Oscar Mariné
Anabel tells us about her favourite graphic designer. - Rafael Moneo
Javier introduces us to the internationally-renowned Spanish architect Rafael Moneo. - Rafael Nadal
A short introduction to the Spanish tennis player Rafa Nadal. - Raquel Chan: a Latin American scientist
Meet Raquel Chan, a famous Latin American scientist. - Rubén Limardo: fencing champion extraordinaire
Rubén Limardo: carving a legacy with his blade. - Sophia of Greece and Denmark
María tells us about the Spanish queen mother. - Who am I?
Guess who I am! - Who is Gloria Camila?
Do you know who Gloria Camila is? - Penélope Cruz y el Día de la Mujer
Discover why this student admires Spanish actress Penélope Cruz, who as well as being the winner of an Oscar, a British Academy Film Award and many Emmy, Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild nominations, is, above all, a strong independent woman! This exercise can help you practise Muy vs Mucho, using ser to express an essential characteristic, tener in the present tense, stem-changing -ar verbs (o > ue) in the present tense, and preferir in the present tense. - Ainhoa Arteta: a Spanish soprano
Learn about Ainhoa Arteta, a famous Spanish soprano. - An interview with Juanes
Learn about Juanes' music with this interview. - Arguiñano and his set menu
Minerva loves Zarauz and Arguiñano's restaurant. - Armando Barrios
Dario owns a masterpiece by Armando Barrios, the famous cubist Venezuelan artist. - Averroes
Loli talks about one of the most famous medieval hispano-arabic philosophers. - Beatriz Galindo
Brigido introduces the historical character of Beatriz Galindo. - Belén Hostalet
Valeria introduces us an Spanish athleisure designer and influencer. - Diego Velázquez: a Spanish painter
Learn about Miguel's favourite painter, Diego Velázquez. - Donovan Carrillo: a prodigious Mexican figure skater
Learn about Donovan Carrillo, a Mexican figure skater. - Evita
Milagros recounts her exciting visit to the Evita Museum in Buenos Aires. - Francisco de Goya: a Spanish painter
Learn some features about Francisco de Goya. - Francisco Estrada: the Latin American father of electricity
Learn about the inspiring inventor Francisco Estrada. - Gemma Mengual
Lorenzo tells us about one of the most important Spanish synchronized swimmers. - Gloria Fuertes: a famous poetess
Learn some lines from a written poem by Gloria Fuertes. - Isabel the Catholic
Manolo tells us about one of the most important Spanish queens. - Joanna of Castile
Learn about Joanna of Castile, a Spanish queen from the 15th-16th centuries. - Kathrine Switzer
Marta tell us about the first woman in history run in a marathon. - Letter to Melchior, Caspar and Balthasar
This is my cheeky letter to the Three Wise Men this year. Do you think they'll bring me what I'm asking for? - Marc Anthony
Daniel talks about a Puerto Rican super star. - Maria Teresa Ruiz: a Chilean astronomer
Learn about Maria Teresa Ruiz and her work in astronomy. - Maruja Venegas Salinas, Guinness World record holder
Marisa talks about the first female Latin American news presenter. - Ramón Massats
Fátima describes the photographer Ramón Massats. - Ramón y Cajal
A short description of Santiago Ramón y Cajal, the first Spanish Nobel prize for science winner. - Rosario Castellanos: a feminist Mexican poet
Learn about Rosario Castellanos, a feminist Mexican poet. - Shakira's extravagant habits
Discover some of Shakira's extravagant habits. - Xavier Abril
Rosa tells us about one of the most relevant Latin American poets of the 20th Century. - Yulimar Rojas: a Latin American athlete
Learn about Yulimar Rojas, an excellent Latin American athlete. - Zaha Hadid
Did you know that there is a Zaha Hadid-designed bridge in Zaragoza? - ¡HELLO!
Sandra cannot wait to know who this week's ¡HOLA! exclusive is about. - Carolina Marín, Spanish badminton's legend
A brief introduction to Carolina Marín. - Edgar Arandia: Bolivian poet and painter
Learn about Edgar Arandia, a Bolivian poet and painter. - Elisabeth Farnese
Alicia is giving a conference about Elisabeth Farnese. - Facundo Cabral: voice of a generation
Learn about Facundo Cabral's timeless legacy. - Florencio Sanchidrián
Elsa is taking a masterclass from the best jamón cutter in the world. - Frida Kahlo and her monkey
Carmen is taking Frida Kahlo art classes and she is fascinating by one of her paintings. - Ida Holz: an Uruguayan computer scientist
Did you know that Ida Holz is one of the pioneers in computer science in Uruguay? - Love, the Magician
Tomorrow, Carlos's dance company will premiere "Love, the Magician". - María Pita
Raúl recounts the legend of Maria Pita. - María Zambrano
Eliseo talks about one of the most important female philosophers in Spain. - Martín Fiz: a Spanish athlete
Learn about Martín Fiz, a famous Spanish athlete. - Mónica Moro
Silvia talks us about the one of the top professionals in the publicity field. - Pedro Paulet: a Peruvian genius
Discover who Pedro Paulet was. - Pinta, Niña and Santa María
Pinta, Niña and Santa María, Christopher Colombus' famous boats. - Quevedo
Oscar finds out who Quevedo was while travelling to dinner by metro. - Salvador Dalí: a Spanish painter
Learn about Salvador Dalí. - Saúl Craviotto
Nati is a fan of this Spanish olympic champion. - Yalitza Aparicio
Victor tells us about one of the most influential Latin American women of 2019. - La Casa Azul de Frida Kahlo
Immerse yourself in Frida Kahlo's iconic "Casa Azul", where she painted and lived for much of her life. This reading and listening exercise can help you practise "cuando" with the present subjunctive vs the present indicative and written accents. - Blanca Suárez: a Spanish actress
Learn about the famous Spanish actress Blanca Suárez - Che Guevara
Find out how Korda's photo of Che Guevara became an icon and was chosen by Time magazine as one of the most compelling images in history. - Gathering at Café Gijón
Faustino tells us about the famous intellectual gatherings at the Café Gijón in Madrid. - I met Ricky Martin!
Juliana describes a music concert. - Kraus & Carreras
Gabriel tells us about two of the greatest Spanish opera singers. - Manuela Sáenz: a revolutionary heroine
Learn about Manuela Sáenz, a famous Ecuadorian feminist. - Maria de las Mercedes of Orléans
Learn about this Spanish queen from the 19th century. - Montserrat Caballé
Luisa tells us about her dream to become an opera singer like Montserrat Caballé. - Pablo Casals
Paco is reading the memoirs of a famous cellist, composer and conductor. - Rodolfo Kusch and philosophical Americanism
Learn about Rodolfo Kusch and his philosophy. - Scientific women
Estrella tells us about her favourite speaker at a conference she will attend given by the eight most influential women scientists in Spain. - Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz
Fausto discovers one of the greatest Mexican exponents of Golden Age Spanish literature through a Netflix series. - Vicente Ferrer
Cesar tells us about his hero: Vicente Ferrer. - Women with a star
A review of Spanish female chefs with Michelin stars. - Día del Idioma Español y Día Internacional del Libro
23 April book lovers is International Book Day and also United Nations Spanish Language Day - Rosalía cantante revelación
Learn about the young Spanish singer called Rosalía Vila Tobella whose modern take on flamenco music led her to fame. - Antonio Gaudi's architecture
Learn about Gaudí's architecture in Barcelona and practise relative pronouns and the passive voice. - Jose Ortega y Gasset: a Spanish philosopher
Learn about Ortega y Gasset and his philosophy. - Lola Flores
Paco tells us about a Spanish icon and flamenco artist whose legacy is alive and going viral on social media, although she left us 25 years ago her. - Visit of the Three Wise Men to the children in hospital
The children at the hospital received a lovely surprise visit! - ¿Quién es Alejandro Sanz? (A1)
Write the correct form of each verb in El Presente.
- Gisela Pulido (A1)
Fill in the blanks with the right form of El Presente. Pay attention to the hints!
- Javier Bardem y Penélope Cruz (B1)
Learn a bit about these two famous Spanish actors. Choose the right verb from the options given: saber or conocer
- Óscar de la Renta (A1)
Fill in the blanks with the right possessive adjective. Pay attention to the hints!
- Manuel Santana (B1)
Imperfect or preterite? Read this text about Spanish tennis player Manuel Santana and decide which is the correct tense depending on the time marker. Pay attention to the hints!
- José Luis Garci (A1)
Test your Spanish regular adverbs with this fill-in-the-blanks exercise. Pay attention to the hints!
- Antonio López García (B1)
Practise the future tense with this fill-in-the-gaps exercise. Remember: some forms may require a written accent. Pay attention to the hints!
- José Sacristán (C1)
Fill in the blanks with the right relative pronoun. Be careful! Some pronouns also require a preposition. Pay attention to the hints!
- Gabriela Mistral (A2)
Revise your Spanish past tenses (imperfect, present perfect and preterite) with this fill-in-the-blanks exercise. Pay attention to the hints!
- Manolo Cardona y “¿Quién mató a Sara?” (B2)
Fill in the gaps with por or para. Pay attention to the hints!
- Lorena Ochoa: gran golfista mexicana (C1)
Practise different verbal structures called Perífrasis verbal by completing this fill-in-the-gap exercise. Pay attention to the hints!
- El tenista Carlos Alcaraz (B2)
Practise El Pretérito Imperfecto Subjuntivo and El Pretérito Perfecto Subjuntivo with this gapfill exercise about a very successful Spanish tennis player. Pay attention to the hints!
