Using the present in Spanish to narrate past events

In Spanish, we can use El Presente to narrate events that occured in the past. These are the different situations when we would make this use of El Presente:

When is  El Presente used to narrate the past?

In written literature

This is a technique used in literature, in written texts. It is very common to use the Present tense in biographies or books that talk about historic events, this usage is called "El Presente histórico" or "El Presente narrativo".

Here are some examples:

Using the present tense is a way of making the event feel closer to the present time at the moment of reading.

In newspapers

It is precisely to have this effect of being close in time that means it is also often used in newspapers both in headlines and the actual article. This makes the reader feel as if these events are "new and fresh", despite being in the past. 

For example:

In colloquial narrative

When someone is narrating a story that happened in the past, we sometimes use El Presente in certain parts of the story when we want to make that bit more "interesting" by giving it dramatic effect. 

For example: