The Paco de Lucía Legacy Festival in New York

The Paco de Lucía Legacy Foundation has organised a flamenco summit in New York, from the 20th to 24th February, to pay tribute to the guitar maestro where top flamenco singers, dancers, guitarists and other Latin & jazz music stars, have offered concerts in the Carnegie Hall, in the Town Hall and in other venues. The Instituto Cervantes NYC has also collaborated in the Paco de Lucía Legacy Festival with the presentation of Paco de Lucía's Biography and the Puro Flamenco concert, and the Queen Sofia Spanish Institute has also helped to publicize the initiative. 

Alison Stewart, host of All Of It on WNYC, interviewed the artistic director of the festival, Julio Martí, in the segment The Paco de Lucía Legacy Festival Comes to New York, they talked about Paco de Lucía, the history of flamenco etc. whereas budding guitarist Yerai Cortés played a few melodies. Mr. Martí's Spanish accent might make it easier for Spanish learners to understand  this 19 minute interview which, therefore, can be accessible to B2 students even without the support of the script. The vocabulary is quite basic, but you will come across some interesting words like: to kick off, to blend, to perform, a venue, legacy, a god, to accompany, a hit, to approach, incredible,a gypsy, a Jew, a Muslim, a mixture, a lineup, a grand finale, a marvel.

Photojournalist Gabriele Holtermann reported on the concert and opening cocktail hour at the Carnegie Hall for AM New York Metro with the article Carnegie Hall honors the life and legacy of flamenco artist Paco de Lucía and published some photos of the social event. This article is also suitable for B2 students who can find American words and expressions like: to kick off, legacy, to feature, to honor, undeniably, to fuse, stage, to give [his brother] a shot, to surround, to joke [about], humble, a [character] trade, [to be] grateful, [his main] goal, amazing, touching, to pass away, an award, to mourn, to be overwhelmed, super [full of anguish], cheerful, upcoming [events],[de Lucía's] kids, to attend.

Below you can watch a video of Spanish flautist and saxophonist Jorge Pardo's performance in the Carnegie Hall.

And this is the grand finale of the flamenco fiesta to celebrate Paco de Lucía:

Flowers by Miley Cyrus on Valentine's Day

For Valentine's Day 2024 there are a number of texts to read and listen to. Below you can watch the Miley Cyrus Backyard Sessions video of her hit "Flowers", which recently won the Grammy Record of the Year Award, and do a fill-in-the gap task for B2 students and check it with the key. You can try to figure out what the lyrics talk about, and if you need some background information about the personal references included in the song, you can read the Glamour article "Miley Cyrus Opend Up About the Origins of her Hit Song 'Flowers", which can be suitable for B2 students. You will find interesting words like: chart-topping, cover, release, a refresher, the chorus, empowering, to wallow, to fake, to make [it], to rebuff [the idea], [album] rollout, to be littered [with something], clues, the craft, to trick, to set [something] on fire, on the nose, [an] outlandish [theory], alledgedly, a tuxedo.

If you want to find out how Artificial Intelligence is changing dating apps, you can read the Cosmopolitan article "How the AI Revolution is Coming for your Dating Life", which publishes the results of a survey about the attitude that actively dating millenials and Gen Zers have on the use of AI tools for dating. But for a more personal prediction on your own Valentines' Day, you can check out your horoscope in the article Your Valentine's Day Horoscope is Here and learn how your Valentine's Day 2024 is going to unfold today, whether you are single or you are in a relationship. These two articles are suitable for C1 students.  

Happy Valentine!

Lunar New Year 2024: The Year of the Dragon

Lunar New Year starts today, February 10th, 2024.  It is a massive New Year celebration in China and in many Asian countries like Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan and Korea (where it is called "Seollal"). Here you can find a list of links to articles and videos that show how this spring festival is celebrated across Asia.

The Straits Times of Singapore run this story three days ago "Roaring into the Year of the Dragon: S'pore scales up its Chinese New Year splendour", which shows incredibly spectacular photos of street decoration to celebrate Chinese New Year. This photo display is accessible for any level, but the descriptive written language of the captions makes them more suitable for C1 students, who will find interesting words like: to roar, to scale up, to spot, to weave, an animatronic [sculpture], a cloak, striking, an installation, to herald, auspicious, a myriad, ferocious [splendour], reminiscent, to pose [for photos], cute, on display, to bestow, blessing, a beast, to soar [skyward], a roundabout, a lantern, to put up, to share, to grace, to toil, repurposed, an attire, lightbulbs, Styrofoam, to embody, community spirit, a rendition, handcrafted, to debut, an outsize [version], a performance, vibrant, to perch, greetings, formidable, a mid-vault, to leap over, a waterfall, polyfoam, fibreglass, a resort, insta-worthy, to whip out [their phones], to slay, a pairing, to adorn, troops, overhead, to set [Chinatown] aglow, to launch, festive [lights]. larger-than-life, to be fitted, to snap [shots], a showcase.

A very popular tradition on Chinese New Year is giving family and friends a red packet, called "lai see", with money. The South China Morning Post explains this custom in detail in "Lunar New Year red packets: everything you need to know about giving and receiving 'lai see', from who and when to how much", do not miss the video with subtitles! It explains the complex social rules of the gift-giving exchange and a short tale that recounts its legendary origin. The article can be read by B2 students, whereas the video, which basically contains the same information, is problably more suitable for C1 learners.

Shine News reports on the preparations for the Lunar New Year in Qibao Ancient Town in Shanghai, in the article "Spring festivities flourish on Shanghai's streets", which also shows some pictures of local street decorations, lights and food. Shine News also explains "China's fascination with dragons: What's behind it?" with an article and a video. These short articles and the video are recommended for B2 students.

Other parts of the world also celebrate Chinese New Year. Zaragoza held a parade on Sunday 28th January, on the eve of saint Valero's holiday, with a dragon, a tiger and a Chinese folk show on El Pilar square. Sydney (Australia) holds a 4-week-long festival with loads of activities from Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese traditions.  You can check it out on Sydney Lunar Festival 2024. And ABS-CBN News in Manila (Philippines) reports on the culinary feasts in neighbouring countries: in Vietnam the delicacy to eat for Lunar New Year or "Tet" is 'dragon feet' chickens and in Cambodia people flock to markets to buy roasted pigs.

Finally, you can learn how Seollal is celebrated in Korea by watching this short video below  (0:59") with subtitles, which is suitable for C1 students. 

Grammys 2024: Highlights & Lowlights

The major winners of the 2024 Grammy Awards were Taylor Swift for her album Midnigths, Miley Cyrus for her record Flowers, Billie Eilish for her song What Was I Made for?, SZA for her R&B song Snooze and her duo with Phoebe Bridgers in Ghost in the Machine and Boygenius for the best rock song, The Record. 

Mark Savage reports The highs and lows of Grammys 2024 for BBC News, and gives some insights into the world music awards par excellence.

This article is suitable for B2+ students, who will find new words like: a bang, gracious, an even-handed [night], to scoop, the highlights, the lowlights, the takeaways, a feat, hazy, a dream-scrubbed [collection of songs], box office, to boost, to prompt, to stem from, keen, a standing ovation, raw, painfully, an aneurysm, to catch a dusky [vocal tone], laden with [significance], moving, a medley, to shroud, a frisson, a burst, to fizzle out, to fling [around], an escapee, wrestling, off-script, allotted [time], wide-ranging, ramble, off the bat, to reminisce, a sippy cup, to joke, to snub, to embarrass, to stun [the audience], a disorder, stiffness, limbs, to resume, alt-rock, delusional, to pick up, sold out, to step up, thoroughly, soaked, to embroil, [to close] the gap, to figure out, to attend, to put pen to paper, a cave, a caveman, torture, a coup, to duet, to tempt, to cover, a signature [song], haunting, to pick out [the riff], to grin, off-mic, a solo, humbling, to be fond of, a requirement, to beam, insane, a venue, a gig, underwhelming, to put out [a single], a rate, brand new, to gyrate, a scaffolding, a swordfight, rendition, tear-jerking, to ooze, medley, touching, a stirring [rendition], to foil, to steal the show, shimmying, to pose, backstage, to vindicate, a break-up, to sum up, to swing, to let go, parenthical, an aside, a [mic] drop.

Below, you can watch the song "What Was I Made For?" by Billie Eillish.