Spanish Pronto Reading Practice Welcome to the Spanish Pronto Reading Practice! This and future issues will discuss a real Spanish-language article, then suggest 10 useful words from the article for you to learn, depending on your current level of Spanish (beginning, intermediate, or advanced). You can read the full article, in Spanish, at: http://www.marca.com/2009/09/03/mas_deportes/otros_deportes/1251971744.html. ¡Suerte! (Good luck!)

Sunday October 4, 2009 Today's article: Los mejores 'cowboys' recorrerán España de cabo a rabo Many Europeans are fascinated with the American West, and with cowboys. Imagine how exciting it is, then, that the cowboys have come to them! Yes, "Rodeo Europe Tour 2009" is currently in the middle of its month-long tour throughout Spain. As the ad says, "¡Nunca ocho segundos dieron para tanto!" ("Never has so much been packed into eight seconds!") News articles about the tour so far have emphasized the fact that many of the touring PRCA cowboys come from small towns and have never been outside of the U.S. before. They also mention that one of the barrel riders is originally from Spain, but she fell in love with the rodeo and went to the U.S. to pursue her dreams. There is also an interesting contrast to be made between the American bulls, which get to travel to Spain, then from city to city, then back home, and the Spanish bulls, performing in the same bullrings, who are not so lucky. Personally, I prefer Costa Rican bullfighting, which seems like it is probably a lot more fun for the bull: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OzbKN3aQeH4 Keep in mind this is a highlights reel. The exciting parts are usually more spread out than this. If you are just beginning to learn Spanish, here are a few terms, appearing in today's article, that are common enough for you to learn them already:
la persona the person (personas = people)* lo it los mejores the best (ones) primera first la vez the time (la primera vez = the first time) este this llega a (it) arrives in, (it) is coming to nueve nine las ciudades the cities las sorpresas the surprises
*Keep in mind that "persona" is a feminine noun, regardless of whether the person being discussed is male or female. To say "I am someone who..." both men and women would say "Soy una persona que..." If you are an intermediate student of Spanish, you may not yet know these useful terms from the article:
siguen (they) follow recorrerán (they) will travel around el espectáculo the show, the form of entertainment podrá (it) will be able to disfrutar de to enjoy el estilo the style habrá there will be* la emoción (the) emotion, (the) excitement los sustos "thrills, spills, chills" (at least those last two)** en directo live (as in, not previously recorded)
*Just as "hay" is used for "there is" and for "there are," "habrá" is also used whether "there will be" just one thing or many. **"Sustos" are anything that shocks or scares someone. In Spanish folk medicine, they can even be enough of a blow to the system to cause illness or death. An example of a "susto" occurred on September 23, early in this rodeo tour, when according to one article "Ira McKillip, el cowboy...sufrió ayer un espectacular accidente." After his eight seconds were up on his bronco, he was unable to dismount because his right foot was caught in the stirrup, and so the horse dragged him around the ring for twenty minutes, banging Ira's head against the ring's metal walls. He was unsconscious for more than three minutes and the crowd "feared the worst" ("temieron lo peor"), but was released from the hospital after spending the night there and receiving 30 stitches to his forehead. That's quite a "susto"! Even advanced students of Spanish will find many words in the article that might be new to them:
de cabo a rabo "from head to tail" las descargas the releases incontenible unrestrainable arriesgado risky pondrán los pelos de punta (they) will make your hair stand on end* llanuras the plains, the range ("el llanero solitario" = the Lone Ranger; "Toro" = Tonto)** el salvaje oeste the Wild West encarnaba (he) brought to life, [(he) made flesh] rudo gruff, rugged el vaquero the cowboy***
*Literally "will put your hairs on tiptoe." Notice that where English says "your hairs," "your heart," "your kidneys," Spanish invariably says "the hairs," "the heart," "the kidneys." Although one can theorize about why this is, it is just how it is—different language, different ways of doing (and saying) things. **If you don't already know, look up "tonto," and see why this would not go over very well as a name for someone in Spanish. (I like "Toro" better.) ***"Vaquero" is the source of the English word "buckaroo." There are lots of English words from the "American West" that have their origins in Spanish words used by Spanish-speaking vaqueros: rodeo, lariat, lasso, chaps, bronco,... and probably dozens if not hundreds more.

You can read the full article, in Spanish, at: http://www.marca.com/2009/09/03/mas_deportes/otros_deportes/1251971744.html.

Official Rodeo Europe Tour 2009 website: http://www.rodeoeuropetour.com/index.html

A more or less balanced article, depending on your point of view, on PRCA rodeos and animal rights: http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2004/Dec-09-Thu-2004/sports/25438504.html

PRCA bullriding video shot in Houma, Louisiana: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2GUTjciGPM

Reviews for all of these helpful books (except the 501 Spanish Verbs book) can be found at http://www.spanishpronto.com/spanishpronto/spanishtools.html#bibliography.

The previous reading practices can be read at:
http://www.spanishpronto.com/spanishpronto/readingpractice0004.html,
http://www.spanishpronto.com/spanishpronto/readingpractice0003.html,
http://www.spanishpronto.com/spanishpronto/readingpractice0002.html,
and http://www.spanishpronto.com/spanishpronto/readingpractice0001.html.

For more Spanish information and resources, see the Spanish Pronto main page.