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El entierro de la Sardina - The end of Carnival season

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Today, as well as being Ash Wednesday - Miércoles de Ceniza - in Spain we celebrate The burial of the Sardine - El entierro de la Sardina. But, what is this exactly, and why do we celebrate it on a day like today? Well, it is important to mention that, for the last five days, Spanish people have been celebrating the festivity of Carnival. People dress up, dance, and take part in parades and fancy dress contests. El entierro de la Sardina  marks the end of the festival and introduces Cuaresma or Lent.  Carnival in the Canary islands. Credit: Radio televisión Canaria The burial of the Sardine consists in a parade where participants pretend to be sad and cry. They accompany a giant sardine generally made of cardboard and walk it around the area. At the end of the parade, the sardine is burnt. In some places, attendees can enjoy some fish that is cooked in the fire and there are bands playing some music.                                               A sardine being burnt. Credits: elplural
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El Roscón de Reyes - The king of the Christmas desserts

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If there is something that Spanish people love about Christmas - apart from spending time with family and friends - is eating. By the 5th of January we can barely eat more food or sweets but we need to leave room in our stomachs for the last dessert of the holidays: the Roscón de Reyes.  The Roscón de Reyes is a large donut-like that we eat to celebrate the arrival of the three Kings or three Wise Men ( Los Reyes Magos ). They can be purchased in supermarkets and bakeries, generally they cost between five and twenty euros and they are filled with cream or chocolate or you can buy them just plain. They are ideal to eat with a nice cup of hot chocolate. On top of the traditional Roscón you can find almonds, sugar and candied fruit ( fruta confitada ) of different colours: red, green and orange. These resemble the jewels of the crowns that the Kings wear on their heads. Did you know that most people take off the fruit and do not even eat them?  What is the origin of the Roscón de Reyes? A
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Christmas party 2023

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Sligo Spanish Society celebrated their traditional Christmas party on Friday 8th December in the Yeats Building, situated in Sligo town. We welcomed our past and present students of Spanish and also native speakers from different parts of the world such as Spain, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador and Argentina. Atendants had the chance to enjoy some Spanish music thanks to the brilliant performance by Felip Carbonell, Paula Riera and Eddie Lynch. Paula and Felip singing villancicos (Christmas carols) The crowd enjoying and dancing around Paula, Felip and Eddie As every year, our chef Juani prepared a beautiful and delicious paella and our friends Patricia and Alejandra made Spanish dishes such as empanada, Spanish omelettes and ensaladilla rusa! Everything was delicious! Sadly, this year we lost one of our dear members, Lorcan McNamee. Lorcan was an active member of the Society in both teaching Spanish lessons and taking part in salsa classes. We remembered him with a beautiful
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AUTUMN SPANISH COURSES, 2023

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We are back with more Spanish courses for the Autumn term. 10 week courses to get you ready for travel to a Spanish-speaking country, all focused on practical, real-life Spanish. c Location Atlantic Technological University (ATU) (formerly Sligo IT). Times and Duration of classes All classes are from 7.30pm to 8.45. All classes are 1 hour and 15 minutes long. All courses are for 10 weeks. Price €130 for 10 weeks. Discount €110 for the unwaged or students. Please email  spanishinsligo@gmail.com  for the discount. (Please note that our prices are exactly the same as pre-pandemic prices. In fact, they have not gone up in 10 years.) COURSE GUIDE We have 5 levels....   1           1 .   Complete Beginners (Tuesday and Wednesday)           2.    Beginners 2              3.   Elementary            4.  Pre-Intermediate            5.  Intermediate 1. BEGINNERS:  For those who are starting from the very basics, a course that covers the basics – personal info, time, days of the week, food, direct
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KIZOMBA WORKSHOP, SLIGO, MAY 20TH

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 Kizomba is a music style and dance that originated in Anglola in Central Africa but which has spread internationally in the last two decades. Now it is often danced in Salsa and Bachata parties, as the K in SBK socials. Year by year it is becoming more and more popular.  Kizomba is a p artner dance  in which the torso and right arm of the leader guides the follower across the dance floor. The goal is to synchronize perfectly as a couple with the music and express it through elegant footwork, smooth body movement, and attitude.  We are delighted to present an afternoon workshop on Saturday, May 20th, from 2.30pm to 5.30 with great Kizomba teachers Ela and Celso from Dublin Trinity School. The workshop is suitable for those who are only starting on their kizomba journey and will cover the basics before going on to teach us more complicated moves.  It takes place in St. John's Hall, John Street, Sligo, beside the Church of Ireland cathedral. The workshop costs €28 and you can book be
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SPRING SPANISH COURSES

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  We are back with more Spanish courses for the Spring term. 8 week courses to get you ready for your holidays to a Spanish-speaking  country, all focused on practical, real-life Spanish.  Location Atlantic Technological University (ATU) (formerly Sligo IT). Times and Duration of classes All classes are from 7.30pm to 8.45. All classes are 1 hour and 15 minutes long. All courses are for 8 weeks. Price €110 for 8 weeks. Discount €90 for the unwaged or students. Please email  spanishinsligo@gmail.com  for the discount. (Please note that our prices are exactly the same as pre-pandemic prices. In fact, they have not gone up in 10 years.) COURSE GUIDE We have six levels....   1.       Complete Beginners 2.      Beginners 2 3.      Beginners 3   4.      Elementary 5.      Pre-Intermediate 6.      Intermediate 1. BEGINNERS:  For those who are starting from the beginning, a course that covers the basics – personal info, time, days of the week,
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