One of the things we are studying in the current BKN unit (with the song by Maná) is the future tense (used in sentences with the subjunctive). The Spanish poet Federico García Lorca, who spent a year at Columbia University in the early 1930s feeling alienated in the big city, has a famous poem in the future tense in which he looks forward to his upcoming trip to Santiago de Cuba, one of Nicolás Guillén’s settings. He calls it a “son.”
Cuando llegue la luna llena
iré a Santiago de Cuba,
iré a Santiago,
en un coche de agua negra.
Iré a Santiago.
Cantarán los techos de palmera.
Iré a Santiago.
When the moon is full [subjunctive]
I will go to Santiago in Cuba, [future]
I will go to Santiago, [future]
in a dark water car.
The palm tree roofs will sing. [future]
I will go to Santiago. [future]
1. Everyone can miss three hours of class (two class days, including their homework) for ANY reason, but that after that, absences affect your grade. This is because (a) class time is practice time, and participation counts, and (b) this is a skills building course – the reason things are to be turned in on time is that the following activities are intended to build on the previous ones.
2. Those three hours of class are your sick days. The only exceptions are (a) if you are an athlete or another type of university representative, in which case your director will have informed me ahead of time and you will have made arrangements for your absence, and (b) if you have a major emergency, e.g. a hospitalization, in which case the Dean of Students will inform me as soon as it happens so that we can begin to work together on a plan to keep you up to date. That, once again, is because this is a class, not a self-paced study course.
3. The alternative assignments are your way around this, since you can use them to substitute missed work or to make up for missed deadlines. Yes, these alternative and extra credit assignments are more difficult than the regular assignments. I point out that this is still generous. “But I was not feeling well, it isn’t fair!” is not a valid excuse in college!!!
So remember, Thursday, the 28th, we will go over the first four (unnumbered) exercises in the BKN unit OJALA QUE LLUEVA CAFE.
Newly assigned Tuesday in class were the first three numbered ones, and I am not above giving a quiz on these Thursday. They’re just verb forms, but we need to know them cold!
That is pretty easy so if you are a go-getter and would like a doable and useful challenge, now is also a good time to review SER and ESTAR. Cruise around in BKN and in this very website, and you will discover a great deal on SER and ESTAR.
Remember as well that if you are doing the extra credit assignment I need it MONDAY at the very latest!
PLANS
In class tomorrow (Thursday) we will talk about the uses of the subjunctive, and do together the BKN exercises 4, 6, 7, and 8.
As homework for the following Tuesday, you’ll do the BKN exercises 5, 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13. Space it out, there are four days Friday-Monday, don’t do them all at once!
We will look at those in class Tuesday, and then have a small group activity involving subjunctive practice.
Then we’ll start working with the next BKN unit, DONDE JUGARAN LOS NIÑOS. If you would like to get ahead, listen to the song!
El conjunto español de MANU CHAO canta “Me gustas tú.”
Me gustan los aviones, me gustas tú.
Me gusta viajar, me gustas tú.
Me gusta la mañana, me gustas tú.
Me gusta el viento, me gustas tú.
Me gusta soñar, me gustas tú.
Me gusta la mar, me gustas tú.
Qué voy a hacer, je ne sais pas.
Qué voy a hacer, je ne sais plus.
Qué voy a hacer, je suis perdu.
Qué horas son, mi corazón.
Me gusta la moto, me gustas tú.
Me gusta correr, me gustas tú.
Me gusta la lluvia, me gustas tú.
Me gusta volver, me gustas tú.
Me gusta marijuana, me gustas tú.
Me gusta colombiana, me gustas tú.
Me gusta la montaña, me gustas tú.
Me gusta la noche, me gustas tú.
Qué voy a hacer, je ne sais pas.
Qué voy a hacer, je ne sais plus.
Qué voy a hacer, je suis perdu.
Qué horas son, mi corazón.
Me gusta la cena, me gustas tú.
Me gusta la vecina, me gustas tú.
Me gusta su cocina, me gustas tú.
Me gusta camelar, me gustas tú.
Me gusta la guitarra, me gustas tú.
Me gusta el reggae, me gustas tú.
Me gustan los aviones, me gustas tú.
Me gusta viajar, me gustas tú.
Me gusta la mañana, me gustas tú.
Me gusta el viento, me gustas tú.
Me gusta soñar, me gustas tú.
Me gusta la mar, me gustas tú.
Qué voy a hacer, je ne sais pas.
Qué voy a hacer, je ne sais plus.
Qué voy a hacer, je suis perdu.
Qué horas son, mi corazón.
Me gusta la moto me gustas tú.
Me gusta correr, me gustas tú.
Me gusta la lluvia, me gustas tú.
Me gusta volver, me gustas tú.
Me gusta marijuana, me gustas tú.
Me gusta colombiana, me gustas tú.
Me gusta la montaña, me gustas tú.
Me gusta la noche, me gustas tú.
Qué voy a hacer, je ne sais pas.
Qué voy a hacer, je ne sais plus.
Qué voy a hacer, je suis perdu.
Qué horas son, mi corazón.
Me gusta la cena, me gustas tú.
Me gusta la vecina, me gustas tú.
Me gusta su cocina, me gustas tú.
Me gusta camelar, me gustas tú.
Me gusta la guitarra, me gustas tú.
Me gusta el reggae, me gustas tú.
Qué voy a hacer, je ne sais pas.
Qué voy a hacer, je ne sais plus.
Qué voy a hacer, je suis perdu.
Qué horas son, mi corazón.
Me gusta la canela, me gustas tú.
Me gusta el fuego, me gustas tú.
Me gusta menear, me gustas tú.
Me gusta la Coruña, me gustas tú.
Me gusta Malasaña, me gustas tú.
Me gusta la castaña, me gustas tú.
Me gusta Guatemala, me gustas tú.
Qué voy a hacer, je ne sais pas.
Qué voy a hacer, je ne sais plus.
Qué voy a hacer, je suis perdu.
Qué horas son, mi corazón
Qué voy a hacer, je ne sais pas.
Qué voy a hacer, je ne sais plus.
Qué voy a hacer, je suis perdu.
Qué horas son, mi corazón.
Me gusta la canela, me gustas tú.
Me gusta el fuego, me gustas tú.
Me gusta menear, me gustas tú.
Me gusta la Coruña, me gustas tú.
Me gusta Malasaña, me gustas tú.
Me gusta la castaña, me gustas tú.
Me gusta Guatemala, me gustas tú.
Qué voy a hacer, je ne sais pas.
Qué voy a hacer, je ne sais plus.
Qué voy a hacer, je suis perdu.
Qué horas son, mi corazón…
+ el resto de las presentaciones orales
+ comentarios sobre el quiz
+ OJALA QUE LLUEVA CAFE (B. K. Nelson): La canción y los ejercicios en las cuatro primeras líneas de la hoja de ejercicios (the four before the exercise labeled #1 – write and be ready to speak cogently about the song and all of these)
Noticia: Buena Vista Social Club, la película para el ejercicio de crédito extra, está en reserva en la biblioteca.
Consejo:
Y’all! You have to prepare these presentaciones orales! For example: getting up and reading an English translation of a song does not fulfill the requirements in any way! Having a cogent presentation prepared but then giving it in English does not do it either! Look at how Barbara K. Nelson presents the songs: talking about the concept, the origins, annotating hard words. You should really be able to figure this out.
If you need help figuring it out or with any aspect of Spanish, remember that I have office hours and we also have a tutor available, right here in Griffin, just for our very own class (and our musical edification ). She will even be there Monday from 8 to 3. Call her ahead if you’d like at 482-1279.
N.B. Next week’s work involves the BKN unit on “Ojalá que llueva café.” Details forthcoming but if you want to get ahead, you can start working on this song and the related exercises.
Meanwhile, we have an optional extra credit assignment and no, it is not because people did poorly on the quiz – they didn’t – it was planned. It could be a good thing to do, though, for people who have missed class, or who would have liked to do even better on the quiz, or who would just like some more advanced practice.
What: see the film Buena Vista Social Club and write a cogent, typed, 200-225 review, using the present and when appropriate, the past tenses and the present subjunctive correctly, and the verbs like gustar.
Why this movie? Because it has to do with Afro-Cuban music, and because the Spanish in it is very clearly pronounced and relatively easy to understand.
When is this due? Thursday, February 28 or before the following Tuesday class.
Where do we get the film? It is available via all the usual outlets. It will also be at the reserve desk in the library beginning Friday afternoon, one copy for viewing in the library itself, and another on one day reserve.
Point of the oral presentation: practice talking. Show you can talk understandably, using the present and past tenses, and the present subjunctive when necessary, and verbs like gustar. Show that you, as a member of the audience, can ask questions or make comments, and that you, as a presenter, can respond to them.
What is the oral presentation: a discussion of / presentation of an interesting song or poem, in Spanish or English – something you like.
How long it is: 3 minutes per presentation, including questions and comments, so plan on about 2 minutes, which isn’t long.
Is it a solo or a group presentation? It can be solo, or you can do it in pairs. If it is in a pair, both people have to talk, and it is twice as long!
What should we do? Show us the text or perhaps a video / audio clip, tell us something about its context, tell us what it means to others and to you, why you like it (note: you could also decide to present something you think is BAD, and explain why you DON’T like it – of course!).
What should we not do? Print a music review from the Internet and read it to us. The point is to practice speaking Spanish in your OWN words.
How is this going to be graded? 20% each: preparation, sophistication, pronunciation, fluidity, comprehensibility (note: to be really comprehensible you have to have reasonably correct grammar and syntax – not perfect, but good enough).
Lagniappe: here is a song I might present, if it were my presentation. It is by famous Argentine singer Mercedes Sosa. Notice that it comes with lyrics which are fairly easy to read and understand, and that she also talks about her music on the video. She speaks slowly and clearly, so she is comparatively easy to understand.
Piedra y camino
(Letra de Atahualpa Yupanqui)
Del cerro vengo bajando
Camino y piedra
Traigo enredada en el alma, viday
Una tristeza.
Me acusas de no quererte
No digas eso
Tal vez no comprendas nunca, viday
Porque me alejo.
Es mi destino
Piedra y camino
De un sueño lejano y bello, viday
Soy peregrino.
Por más que la dicha busco,
Vivo penando
Y cuando debo quedarme, viday
Me voy andando.
A veces soy como el río
Llego cantando
Y sin que nadie lo sepa, viday
Me voy llorando.
Es mi destino,
Piedra y camino
De un sueño lejano y bello, viday
Soy peregrino.
1. Obituario de Nicolás Guillén (10 minutos / 75 palabras). Incluya información relevante y apropiada para un obituario del conocido poeta. Use correcta y apropiadamente el presente, el pretérito y el imperfecto, y el subjuntivo si es necesario. [25 puntos]
2. Altar para Nicolás Guillén (10 minutos / 75 palabras). Describa el altar que Vd. construiría “para que vuelva” el poeta. ¿Qué pone ( o pondría) en el altar, y por qué? Use correctamente el verbo gustar, y otros verbos semejantes. [25 puntos]
Note: sequence of tenses for this has to be either PRESENT – PAST (e.g. “I am putting a bongo drum on the altar since he has indicated willingness to answer the call of the drum”) or, for the advanced crowd, CONDITIONAL – PAST (e.g. “I would put a bongo drum on the alter since he has indicated willingness. . . .).
3. Preguntas sobre el vocabulario y el contenido de la Balada de los dos abuelos. [N.B. Para alegrarnos la vida hay audio del poema con la voz de N.G.] (49 puntos)
4. One-point mystery question! Hint: if you did the assignment “tell us one fact about Nicolás Guillén,” and now that you have written his obituary, you probably know the answer to this question.
Rules for the quiz: I, Leslie, am your walking dictionary! No other dictionaries allowed! Each person may ask for three words. Questions about vocabulary on the quiz or in Balada de los dos abuelos will not be answered!
Don’t freak out: these are notes, we’ll talk about these in this space! But we have to do a mini-quiz and mini-oral presentation, because it’s in the syllabus, and so we can have feedback. Here are our materials:
TEXTS WE’VE READ or HEARD:
The song in Ofrendas – the interviews on the Day of the Dead – background material of your choice on Guillén – four poems by Guillén. From this page you can hear him reading Tengo.
TEXT FOR PREPARATION OUTSIDE CLASS (YES, you can do this):
Guillén’s famous Balada de los dos abuelos.
GRAMMAR WE HAVE REVIEWED: present tense (mostly), preterit and imperfect (some), present subjunctive (some), and VERBS LIKE GUSTAR. You should be able to use the present very well, and to easily recognize the past tenses and the subjunctive and understand how they are working.
***
Quiz: questions, to answer mostly in the present tense, on the texts we’ve read.
Oral presentation: brief, in pairs. Describe one one of our texts, or an aspect of one of them, and express an opinion. Amor y muerte / música y poesía / biculturalismo.
Thursday in class the first thing we will do is shout out four lines each, perfectly pronounced (and ideally, well memorized), from today’s poem, “La canción del bongó.” I’ll have some comments on written work done today.
Then we’ll read three poems: Sensemayá [see also two audio / video versions of this poem: Sensemayá and Sensemayá con Inti-Illimani]; Si tú supiera [see also video/song; this was later retitled Sóngoro cosongo], and Tengo. I’m choosing the first two because they are so famous and they have words in them that are fun to say, and Tengo because it’s easy to read. It’s from the poet’s ‘revolutionary’ period. The speaker is a campesino who now has the things he needs: “tengo.”
Be ready to talk about these poems – what are they doing, what do they mean – both thematically and in terms of grammar. How are the words working together, how is he using the tenses and pronouns? How many of the words are actually words and how many are there just to sound like drums?
Follow the link to Sensemayá … what is the poem doing, what is it talking about, how many of the words are actually words and how many are there just to sound like drums? Here are two audio / video versions of this poem: Sensemayá | Sensemayá con Inti-Illimani.
Here is Si tú supiera. How is it working, what is it doing, why is it using dialect?
¡Ay, negra
si tú supiera! [supieras]
Anoche te bi pasá [vi pasar]
y no quise que me biera. [vieras]
A é tú le hará como a mí, [a lé tú le harás]
que cuando no tube plata [tuve]
te corrite de bachata, [corriste]
sin acoddadte de mí. [acordarte]
Sóngoro cosongo,
songo be;
sóngoro cosongo
de mamey;
sóngoro, la negra
baila bien;
sóngoro de uno
sóngoro de tre. [tres]
Aé,
bengan a be; [vengan a ver]
aé,
bamo pa be; [vamos para ver]
bengan, sóngoro cosongo, [vengan]
sóngoro cosongo de mamey!
*
Comparación: Paul Lawrence Dunbar (1872-1905) was apparently the first African-American poet to write in dialect (some poems are in classical English, some aren’t). Guillén also wrote non-dialect poetry.
For the advanced / the interested: see this article on Motivos de son by a really famous Cuban-American scholar.
). She will even be there Monday from 8 to 3. Call her ahead if you’d like at 482-1279.