Goya's 275th Birthday Brings Aragon into the Spotlight

The 275th anniversary of Goya's birth has become an opportunity to bring the underpopulated county of Campo de Belchite and the village of Fuendetodos back to the map.  

The Guardian recently reported on the "Territorio Goya" project, which aims to exploit the 200th anniversary of Goya's Black Paintings to "stem the decline of a region where there are just 4.8 inhabitants per square kilometre". In this article, which is suitable for C1 students and above, you can come across words like: to summon, to stem [the decline],  to devour, a witches's sabbath, to drown, a printmaker, [to be] appalled, slumber, to cling [to the map], a curator, a resident, [annual] income, a profound pull, to empower, the plight [of Campo de Belchite], the hollowed [Spain], a demographic challenge, [to be] squeezed, to have a project underway, to mark [the 275th anniversary], demolished, [to be] stripped out, canvas, a mock-up [image], to commission, to reintepret, the reworked [paintings], an installation, a casualty, boom-and-bust [cycle], the [perfect] venue, artworks, [to be] displayed, to make the pilgrimage, [the project] is about [ensuring that...], to receive [his] dues, to undertake [a commission], Follies [series], rough [landscape], to be keenly aware of, a lighthouse.

The Metropolitan Museum in New York is currently offering the exhibition Goya's Graphic Imagination, which, according to The New York Times, "offers a vital tonic from an artist with (to our eyes) all the right political commitments: horrified by violence, revolted by unearned priviledge, standing up for freedom and knowledge and rights for all". If you want to read a review of the exhibition catalogue written by Mark MacDonald, you can follow this link to Enfilade, the blog of the Historians of Eighteenth Century Art & Architecture (HECAA) society. This text is suitable for C2 students and above.

Finally, you can also watch this 20':24" video below, which is a virtual tour of the exhibition with subtitles in Spanish, so, it can be accessible to C1 students and above.  The video is a fantastic visual lesson on Goya's artistic production by the curator of the exhibition, Mark MacDonald.

10 Good Friday Traditions in Ireland

 

Good Friday and Christmas were the only days of the year that pubs closed in Ireland until legislation was passed in 2018 to allow pubs to open.  In this The Irish Times story, you will learn about some of the old traditions associated with Good Friday, a text which is recommended for C1 students and above.  

The report also includes a short 2':55" video where some publicans and local customers talk about the closing of pubs on Good Friday in the village of Drumconrath in Co Meath. The video, without subtitles, and with strong local Irish accents is recommended for C2 students.

In the article you will come across words like: to liven it up, uneventful, a foreboding, guilt-ridden [religious observations], the Stations of the Cross, a retreat, repository, a cluster of [interesting observances], to guard against [headaches], to draw [blood], a bald patch, drips, a rafter, disrespectful, to unhook, fltches [of salted bacon], to nail to the timber, blacksmiths, carpenters, idle, a saw, a hammer, to drive a nail, to cleave [cleft], shrubs, bushes, to thrive, to dig [potatoes], seed, to set [their seed potatoes], spud, the cuckoo, cabbages, turnips, to sow, oats, to rot, cattle, tapeworm, to cast off, [to go] barefoot, thorns, bleeding, a sore, clergy, Maundy Thursday, to ward off [sickness], Lenten [fast], [to lay] laid [eggs], to rub, best-before date, to go off, a plea, to have [a plea] granted, the congregation, the altar, black fast, dairy, Lent, cradle, Ash Wednesday, Spy Wednesday, sowens, to soak, oatmeat, mashed potatoes, drab, gruel, nettles, herring, seaweed, shellfish, to carve, carrageen, laver, limpet, droves of [children], the swallow, the heron, the robin, a switch, a remnant, tax returns, to be submitted, liminal, to grab, a spade, verruca, corn, to queue up, a collation, heritage.