Learn Spanish with Stories

There have been some wonderful female heroes throughout history, and South America is no exception. Policarpa Salavarrieta (La Pola) is one of the most famous cases of them all: a woman who defied a massive colonizing force to wake the people of Colombia to the desire for freedom and independence, and whose story ended in an ambiguous (positive) way.

In this episode of the Learn Spanish with Stories podcast, we are going to exp...

The US and other international powers have been meddling in Latin America for as long as we can remember, but one of the worst cases of foreign intervention (ever) occurred in Nicaragua, in the mid-19th Century (and may explain Nicaragua's strong apprehension towards the US today).

William Walker. Manifest Destiny. Have you ever heard of these terms? William Walker was a military man with ambitions to rule, who took advant...

The FIFA World Cup is probably the world's biggest sport event, viewed by over 1 BILLION people worldwide, but how did it begin, and why did a tiny South American country, Uruguay, get the honor of hosting its first ever edition?

In this episode of the Learn Spanish with Stories Podcast, we travel all the way back to the late 1920s, when preparations were just starting for the first ever FIFA World Cup, and discover why th...

Though controversial, it would be plausible to say that Venezuela has always had controversial leaders, with some bringing glory to the nation, and others bringing sorrow and pain.

In the case of José Antonio Páez, both things were simultaneously true, and this strongman and farmer-turned-soldier is an often discussed individual in the history not only of Venezuela, but all nations belonging to "La Gran Colombia" (Col...

What makes somebody "Latin American?" (or Latino*?) Is it being born in Latin America? Is it being born to Latino parents? Or is it adopting the culture and actually feeling Latino?

In this special DUAL NARRATOR episode, we go over this frustration that so many Latinos and non-Latinos can go through, especially those who have been born to Latino parents outside of Latin America, or who have left Latin America at a you...

There is a country in South America that is particularly "different" from its neighbors in many ways, but the most interesting is its language and culture: I'm talking about Paraguay.


Not only is the only nation where the most-spoken language is an indigenous language (Guaraní), but it also has a very strong "mestizo" presence (over 93%), making it one of the most homogeneous demographies in L...

Economic crises are nothing new to us, especially in these times of unpredictability and instability, but Latin America took it to a WHOLE new level in the 1970s.


During a particularly wealthy economic period, banks in the US and other rich nations began to lend billions in cash with few conditions (really, all they asked was "pay it later"), with Latin American governments siphoning it all up to modernize t...

Latin America, a region of almost 700 million people, speaks mostly one language (Brazil will have to forgive us for this generalization), but we're not talking of one single Spanish language that everyone understands.

In fact, each country has its own dialects, sayings, and differences that can be as crucial as they can be careful - after all, some completely normal words in one nation could sound rude or weird in others....

We rarely hear about the local wars in South America, but some were just as ugly and crude as the historical wars in Europe and the US - and the Thousand Day War (technically, the 1,130 Day War, but the given name sounds catchier) was no different.

A conflict that initiated when Colombia's Liberals decided that enough was enough, and that they would not stand for the corruption and impoverishment committed by the Conservat...

Spain, just like Latin America, has been a popular place to visit and move to as an expat, due to its beautiful beaches, modern cities, and great food. However, also like Latin America, it is affected by corruption, a lack of opportunities, and overall, bad policies that are making life harder for its citizens.

And while many of its ministers and politicians flock to social media to make claims on how well the country is doing,...

Life in Latin America can be stressful or it can be the most comfortable existence you'll ever have - it all depends on how you look at it.


In today's DUAL NARRATOR episode and Season 4 finale, we fly over to warm, sunny Cali to join Daniel (a Colombian looking to move to Spain) and Sofia (a Spaniard looking to move to Colombia) as they spend a few months together and explore the next step of their lives and...

One of the saddest things about crime in Latin America is that even the worst criminals can benefit from impunity. In the case of Linda Loaiza, this was demonstrated in the most brazen and shameless way possible.

Linda was a young woman from the west of Venezuela who moved to the capital, Caracas, to study and become a veterinarian. But one day, she was kidnapped by a wealthy and well-connected individual who decided to make he...

Guatemala has a Nobel prize winner who you've probably never heard of, but she's one of the most incredible cases of a small voice being powerful enough to topple giants: Rigoberta Menchú.

A poor indigenous woman in a nation where belonging to any of those three conditions reduces you to background noise, Rigoberta lost multiple family members in the terrible events of the 36-year Guatemalan Civil War, and knew t...

Rock music is no longer as popular in the world as it once was (and what a loss THAT has been, am I right?) - but rock "in español" has a very important place in world history.


Not only was it super difficult to produce and promote (thanks to the fact that Latin American dictatorships would read the lyrics with magnifying glasses to ensure it wasn't "inciting violence"), but also because label...

The US has done incredible things in its history, but it has also been involved in some of the most tragic events, too. The El Mozote Massacre that occurred on December 11, 1981, is among the worst of these US-sponsored tragedies.


With communist guerrilla movements spreading across El Salvador, both the American and Salvadoran governments knew that they had to quickly put a stop to this before it got out of their cont...

Today's episode is different. And it's different not because it's a true story (because we always feature those on our podcast), but because your narrator, Anthony, went through the events expressed in the tale.

This is the reality of how Venezuela collapsed, of what led 7 million people to flee the country and seek a better life elsewhere. It's an account of how any average family (in this case, a family th...

The lithium in your phone's battery, maybe the device you're using to read this - it may probably have come from Chile, and the copper in the wires of your charger may have come from Peru... Latin America is and has always been one of the main provider of precious metals in the world.


And this didn't begin with the Spanish and Portuguese colonization, either... the natives had been mining long before th...

The gods of ancient Latin American belief were very interesting and different from what we have to come to know in Asia, Europe, and North America... they were somewhat more human, said to walk among us when they felt like it, and collaborated closely with animals and nature to make things occur.


Quetzalcóatl, the Feathered Serpent, is one such example, perhaps the greatest of them all... disguised as a noble but agin...

Retiring in Latin America as a foreigner = 👍​

Retiring in Latin America as a Latin American = ​☠️​


Let's face it - when you think of the Caribbean, Brazilian beaches, the Angel Falls in Venezuela, Mexican resorts and Argentine plains, there's a feeling of relief and joy that you can spend your final years just exploring the land and living for cheap.

But what does it look like for a native, and how ...