Learn Spanish with Stories

While capitalism has undoubtedly brought us some of our most impressive advancements as a species, it has also done some pretty terrible stuff to people across the world. Latin America is not an exception.


In the early 20th century, as corporations in the United States began looking outward and started entering poorer countries (under the guise of "foreign investment"), governments across Central and South America would greedily accept them and allow them to do whatever they wanted.


Soon, however, these corporations turned against the people and began the exploitation of land and workers, turning their host countries into "Banana Republics" which depended almost 100% on the profits gained from working with the corporation. But why the name? And how did it affect the nations in the long run?


Well, I guess you're going to have to listen to the latest episode of the Learn Spanish with Stories podcast to find out!


Transcript of this episode is available at: https://podcast.lingomastery.com/listen/1182

When you watch a pirate movie, have you ever asked yourself where most of them are based? Heck, isn't the most famous movie pirate saga based in, precisely, Latin America (the Caribbean)?

And I bet you didn't know that most of those characters, events, and legends are based (loosely) on real stories and treasures - yes, it's not an exaggeration when we're told that reality surpasses fiction.

So... what is it that drove pirates and explorers to venture into the Caribbean and South American continent? Why, treasure, of course! And that's what we're talking about in today's episode of the Learn Spanish with Stories podcast. So, buckle up and bring yer' eyepatch. We be goin' to embark on a fascinatin' treasure-huntin', language learnin' adventure!

Transcript of this episode is available at: https://podcast.lingomastery.com/listen/1181

Did you grow up loving dinosaurs like me? Maybe, maybe not, but you have to admit that it's sad how they disappeared. One day they were out there doing their thing, and then BOOM! A giant asteroid fell from the sky and ended them all.

But where did that asteroid land? To be honest, there are mixed studies, but it is widely believed that the Yucatan extinction event was the cause for the disappearance of dinosaurs and 75% of all animal and plant life on Earth. Its crater, specifically known as The Chicxulub Crater, was discovered relatively recently (in the 1970s) and is still an extremely interesting subject of study.

In this latest episode of the Learn Spanish with Stories podcast, we'll dig deep into the story of this now-hidden crater, the story of the asteroid that caused it, and the fate of the dinosaurs 65-66 million years ago, all while learning Spanish. Enjoy!

Transcript of this episode is available at: https://podcast.lingomastery.com/listen/1180

It may be surprising if you didn't already know this, but back in the late 1980s, a son of first-generation Japanese immigrants rose enough in political power and popularity to become president of a South American nation.

We're talking of the ex-president of Peru, Alberto Fujimori, who was elected in a time of great economic and social struggle in the nation. There was even an ongoing war against the widespread terrorism brought about by Abimael Guzman's Sendero Luminoso (which we talked about in a previous episode) that Fujimori promised to end, which helped him convince voters during his campaign.

But soon, Fujimori's tactics became more bloodthirsty, and his government measures more authoritarian, and such began the most controversial presidency in Peru's history. Discover all about it (while learning Spanish) in the latest episode of the Learn Spanish with Stories podcast!

Transcript of this episode is available at: https://podcast.lingomastery.com/listen/1179

What if I told you that there was a "day in which the mountain rolled into the sea" in Venezuela? What would you think? It sounds almost poetic, but it describes the country's worst natural tragedy in history.

It all began with a week of heavy rain, a storm at the beginning of December 1999, when the whole nation's attention was fixed almost entirely on the shifting political events that would mark the end of an era and the beginning of something revolutionary - the age of a new referendum under Hugo Chavez's government.

But all eyes would certainly soon turn to the events occurring across the coast in Vargas state, as the rain continued to fall and soon turned into something much, much worse.

In this episode of the Learn Spanish with Stories podcast, we’ll delve into Venezuela's scariest natural disaster - one which marked a before and after for disaster prevention techniques and responses worldwide, such was its impact. We will discover... the Vargas Tragedy.

Transcript of this episode is available at: https://podcast.lingomastery.com/listen/1178

Did you know that one of the most influential writers in history is actually from Latin America? Colombia, to be exact – I’m talking of Gabriel García Márquez, of course!

Father of the amazing and refreshing genre known as “Magical Realism”, this Aracataca-born man changed the course of Latin American literature forever with his classic “One Hundred Years of Solitude”.

In this latest episode of the Learn Spanish with Stories podcast, we’ll cover his life, his inspiration, the way he worked and why he grew to become Latin America’s most important writer of the past century. Enjoy!

Transcript of this episode is available at: https://podcast.lingomastery.com/listen/1177

Do you know what’s one of the strangest things in Latin America? The fact that the biggest country in a Spanish-majority region (with a third of the total population in Latin America) speaks a different language: Portuguese.

You’d think that somehow, Brazil would have adopted Spanish like their neighbors, but they never did, and even today, it is a minority language among many others. So… why? Why does Brazil speak Portuguese?

Basically, it has a lot to do with its origins and how the colonized lands were divided when it came to the Portuguese and Spanish kingdoms, who now had practically full control of the South American continent.

…but I won’t go into the historic details here. It’s better if you watch the fascinating latest episode of the Learn Spanish with Stories podcast, instead!

Transcript of this episode is available at: https://podcast.lingomastery.com/listen/1176

Have you ever wondered why Paraguay isn’t really a big, star destination in South America? In fact, it’s actually one of the least talked about locations in all of Latin America despite its size and location.

Well, this might have a lot to do with the fact that it went through a truly terrible war in the 1800s that decimated its infrastructure and even its population (up to HALF of Paraguayans died!), leaving the country more or less in ruins, and in need of serious rebuilding.

And who were the culprits? That would be an interesting alliance between the Empire of Brazil (yes, it was an empire once), Argentina and Uruguay – in other words, what would be known as The Triple Alliance.

But what caused the War of the Triple Alliance, and why did it get so ugly? Find out in today’s episode of the Learn Spanish with Stories podcast!

Transcript of this episode is available at: https://podcast.lingomastery.com/listen/1175

Many of the best heroic stories end in tragedy. Such is the case of Kiki Camarena, the ace DEA agent with a magnificent sixth sense and an ability to sniff out the bad guys unlike any other.

Although his career was centered on U.S. law enforcement, this Mexican-born special agent was transferred to Mexico to keep an eye on the ongoing events of the criminal underworld and soon realized that things were getting really bad, really quickly, way before anyone else did.

Infiltrating himself into the world’s biggest marijuana plantation, thwarting Mexico’s biggest cartel in history at every turn, and even unveiling a massive international government conspiracy were only a few of the things Kiki managed to do within a few years… but this would end up costing him dearly.

Find out more about the life and death of agent Kiki Camarena in the latest episode of the Learn Spanish with Stories podcast!

Transcript of this episode is available at: https://podcast.lingomastery.com/listen/1174

Some people are born different. Talented, special, prodigies… whatever you want to call them, they are able to do things others could only dream of. Gustavo Dudamel is one such man – from a young age, he demonstrated an immense ability in the world of music.

This music conductor not only became the best of his nation, Venezuela, by the age of 18, but also soon dominated South America, Europe, and the entire world with his ability to lead orchestras of all shapes and sizes. 

Discover the story of this man who has not only broken all kinds of records in Venezuela but in music history, and who continues to amaze the world of art and music with his accomplishments, in the latest episode of the Learn Spanish with Stories podcast.

Transcript of this episode is available at: https://podcast.lingomastery.com/listen/1173