Days of Hispanic Culture back on board!
The event, organised by the Department of Romance and Germanic Studies, ran from 2 to 4 May and offered a rich and colourful programme. The organisers addressed it to students from all primary and secondary schools in Slovakia. As not everyone could make it to Nitra, the first and other days of the DHC were held online, and on 3 May, people came in person to the Student Centre at the bottom of Zobor. The students were welcomed by Dr. Daša Novačiková, the Vice-Dean for International Relations and Development of the Faculty of Arts, Prof. Eva Stranovská, the Head of the Department and Assoc. Magda Kučerková, responsible for the Section of Hispanic Studies. That day we also received a visit from Ambassador J. E. Lorea Arribalzaga Ceballos, which was a great pleasure for all of us.
On 2 and 4 May, Cristina and Carmen Tovar Bayón, from the language school La vida ES in Sevilla, and Andrea Kóňová, Karin Kopasová, Karen Liceth Rey Chacón and Lina Gutiérrez, the students of Romance Studies, organised online activities for high schools in Prievidza, Prešov, Nové Mesto nad Váhom and Nitra. Cristina and Carmen spread students’ knowledge with the song Music Sessions 53 by Shakira and Bizzarap that became very famous in Spain and Latin America. After karaoke and creative work with the lyrics of the song, they took the pupils through the streets of Seville – they made a truly original and inspiring video about the city. In a colourful and very informative presentation Mi planeta y yo (My planet and me), Andrea and Karin introduced the current ecological problems of countries where Spanish is spoken. Lina and Karen presented two quite different regions of Colombia, where they came from, and also introduced the local customs, traditions and attractions.
In the DHC's attendance part, Danuta Dzis and Matej Zorád dazzled the audience with a delightful musical programme, who were singing Spanish songs accompanied by guitar. Pupils worked in two groups, according to their level of Spanish language proficiency. Mgr. Zuzana Hušlová from the Center of Hispanic Culture V. Oleríny of the State Scientific Library in Banská Bystrica prepared a presentation ¿Conoces España? (How do you know Spain?) with a quiz, and in the board game Man, don't be angry! (Človeče, nehnevaj sa!) she revised the selected grammatical and conversational expressions with the students. The activity Cafelito en español (For a cup of coffee in Spanish) was a great success among the pupils with a more advanced level - Colombian students Lina, Karen and Paula, together with Irene from Spain, performed a funny café situation. The scene was "directed" by students Edit Bugata and Petra Ožvoldíková, who were in constant contact with the pupils and were curious about everything they learned about the girls and their countries from this conversation in Spanish. Under the supervision of students Laura Gavroňová and Monika Lašová, pupils developed their own creativity by drawing posters on the theme TU España (Your Spain). Ema Slovinská and Dominika Šumová, first year students in Hispanic Studies, brought great joy to cinema lovers with their presentation of Latin American animated fairy tales. DHC ended with a staged reading of En un lugar de la Mancha ... led by student Rebeka Vlahy, where students of Hispanic Studies performed the story of Don Quijote. For the impressive graphic design of the promotional materials of the DHC we would like to thank student Alexandra Poboriová.
On 2 and 4 May, Cristina and Carmen Tovar Bayón, from the language school La vida ES in Sevilla, and Andrea Kóňová, Karin Kopasová, Karen Liceth Rey Chacón and Lina Gutiérrez, the students of Romance Studies, organised online activities for high schools in Prievidza, Prešov, Nové Mesto nad Váhom and Nitra. Cristina and Carmen spread students’ knowledge with the song Music Sessions 53 by Shakira and Bizzarap that became very famous in Spain and Latin America. After karaoke and creative work with the lyrics of the song, they took the pupils through the streets of Seville – they made a truly original and inspiring video about the city. In a colourful and very informative presentation Mi planeta y yo (My planet and me), Andrea and Karin introduced the current ecological problems of countries where Spanish is spoken. Lina and Karen presented two quite different regions of Colombia, where they came from, and also introduced the local customs, traditions and attractions.
In the DHC's attendance part, Danuta Dzis and Matej Zorád dazzled the audience with a delightful musical programme, who were singing Spanish songs accompanied by guitar. Pupils worked in two groups, according to their level of Spanish language proficiency. Mgr. Zuzana Hušlová from the Center of Hispanic Culture V. Oleríny of the State Scientific Library in Banská Bystrica prepared a presentation ¿Conoces España? (How do you know Spain?) with a quiz, and in the board game Man, don't be angry! (Človeče, nehnevaj sa!) she revised the selected grammatical and conversational expressions with the students. The activity Cafelito en español (For a cup of coffee in Spanish) was a great success among the pupils with a more advanced level - Colombian students Lina, Karen and Paula, together with Irene from Spain, performed a funny café situation. The scene was "directed" by students Edit Bugata and Petra Ožvoldíková, who were in constant contact with the pupils and were curious about everything they learned about the girls and their countries from this conversation in Spanish. Under the supervision of students Laura Gavroňová and Monika Lašová, pupils developed their own creativity by drawing posters on the theme TU España (Your Spain). Ema Slovinská and Dominika Šumová, first year students in Hispanic Studies, brought great joy to cinema lovers with their presentation of Latin American animated fairy tales. DHC ended with a staged reading of En un lugar de la Mancha ... led by student Rebeka Vlahy, where students of Hispanic Studies performed the story of Don Quijote. For the impressive graphic design of the promotional materials of the DHC we would like to thank student Alexandra Poboriová.
A big thank you also goes to the students of the Spanish Language and Literature Department, who collaborated in the preparation of the programme and acted as a supportive team in the different (linguistic and organisational) situations!
Text: Rebeka Vlahy, FF – second-level master's degree student in English Language and Literature Teaching and Romance Language and Literature
Photo: Archive of the organizers of Hispanic Culture Days.
Photo: Archive of the organizers of Hispanic Culture Days.
Posted: May 19, 2023
