Literature, Poetry, Theatre
Topic specific Spanish practice exercises
Explore the richness of Spanish language, culture, and traditions by learning about literature, poetry, and theatre through the ages.
- Feria del Libro de Madrid
Gonzalo tells us about the Madrid Book Fair, which he goes to every year with his father. - Fuenteovejuna
Learn about this Spanish play by Lope de Vega. - Leyendo al volante
Sonia is stuck in a traffic jam and is killing time by reading a novel in her car. - Superlopez
Learn about this famous Spanish superhero. - The Hive
Learn about La Colmena, David's favourite book. - Theatrical courtyards
Learn about 16th and 17th-century theatrical courtyards while practising El Presente, "qué", agreement of nouns and adjectives, and "para". - Urueña, la villa del libro
Luisa tells us about a wonderful village in Spain that's famous for its bookshops. - Consultorio de libros
There’s a website, Te receto un libro, where you can consult an expert who “prescribes” the book that suits you best. This reading and listening exercise can help you practise El Presente and El Futuro Próximo. - Mafalda y sus amigos
We'd like to offer this A1 reading and listening exercise about Mafalda and her friends as a tribute to Quino who passed away on 30 September 2020. - ¿Y tú por qué escribes?
Antonio is trying to find out why he wants to do writing therapy. - Club de lectura
Miguel explains how belonging to a book club has lead him to love reading even more. - E-books
What do you think of e-books? - Festival Internacional de Teatro Clásico de Mérida
Beatriz tells us about the Classical Theatre Festival in Mérida (Spain). - Gabriel García Márquez
Lucas tells us about this famous Colombian writer. - Gloria Fuertes
Learn some lines from a written poem by Gloria Fuertes. - Inclusive theatre
Marian and her brother Manuel went to the theatre last night. - La bruja Piruja
Amanda is taking to her granddaughter see the play Piruja the Witch. - Pafman
Do you know who Pafman is? Learn about this Spanish superhero. - Platero y yo
Clara tells us about the book that her father used to read to her at bedtime. - Rabinal Achí
Magdalena tells us about "Rabinal Achí", one of the first prehispanic theater pieces from before America was discovered. - Rosario Castellanos
Learn about Rosario Castellanos, a feminist Mexican poet. - Se equivocó la paloma
Eva talks about a Rafael Alberti poem that her father used to read her when she was a child. - Tartalo
Learn about Tartalo, a famous cyclops from the Basque Country. - Xavier Abril
Rosa tells us about one of the most relevant Latin American poets of the 20th Century. - 40 libros que leer antes de los 40
Tomas accepted the challenge of reading a selection of 40 books before turning 40. - Captain Thunder
Ramiro tells us about Captain Thunder. - Don Juan Tenorio
Amaya explains why everyone in Spain goes to the theatre to watch "Don Juan Tenorio" on the first of November. - Elegy, by Miguel Hernández
Discover a famous poem by Miguel Hernández. - Festival internacional de teatro clásico de Almagro
Sol works for the Almagro International Classical Theater Festival, and will be on a radio show tomorrow to promote it. - La Llorona
Tomás tells us about one of the most popular folk tales in Latin America: "La Llorona". - Like water for chocolate
Sonia tells about the last novel that she and her mother are reading. - María Zambrano
Eliseo talks about one of the most important female philosophers in Spain. - Pablo Neruda
Learn about Pablo Neruda, an extraordinary Chilean poet. - Quevedo
Oscar finds out who Quevedo was while travelling to dinner by metro. - Quiéreme entera
Alma recites a poem written by the Cuban poet Dulce María Loynaz. - Teatro
Tomorrow Gloria will be attending a special theatre course to improve both her professional skills and her self-awareness. - The milkmaid
Learn about the milkmaid's story. - Almudena Grandes
Find out more about her life and work of author Almudena Grandes with this B1 reading and listening exercise that can help you practise the pasiva refleja, El Pretérito indefinido and El Pretérito imperfecto. - La Casa de Bernarda Alba
Federico García Lorca is probably Spain's most famous modern poet and playwright. La Casa de Bernarda Alba is one of his most well-known plays. - Premio Planeta
This reading and listening exercise is about the lucrative and well-respected book prize. It can help you practise El Futuro Simple, plus relative and subordinate clauses. - Festival Internacional Cervantino
Fabiola is excited about the arrival of the Festival Internacional Cervantino in Guanajuato. - Jimena quiere ser actriz
Jimena tells her parents that she wants to be an actress. - Juana de América
Eduardo recommends that his friend read Juana de America's poems. - La fiesta del chivo
Julio tells us his thoughts about the novel he has just finished reading. - Librerías
While buying a book for his granddaughter, Adrián discovers a book on children's emotional education. - Los superpoderes más raros del mundo
Susana is impressed because someone collated the weirdest superpowers from the world of comics. - Neuromante
Alfonso talks about Neuromancer, the novel which introduced the concept of cyberspace. - Rubén Darío
Maria talks about the poet who initiated the Spanish-language literary movement known as "Modernismo". - Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz
Fausto discovers one of the greatest Mexican exponents of Golden Age Spanish literature through a Netflix series. - The legend of Zorro
Learn about the famous legend of Zorro. - The Maiden's Consent
Learn about this literary work written by Moratín in the 19th century. In this exercise you'll practise El Pretérito Imperfecto and El Pretérito Indefinido. - The Sack Man
Learn about this popular Spanish legend. - Trucos para escribir un libro
Marcelo gives us some tips to write a book. - Witches from Galicia
Learn about meigas, Spanish witches from northwest Spain. - Carlos Ruiz Zafón
On Friday 19th June 2020, the Spanish writer Carlos Ruiz Zafón, best known for the novel La Sombra del Viento, passed away. We pay homage with this bilingual reader. - Miguel Delibes
As well as being a famous author, Miguel Delibes was a journalist and newspaper editor. Discover more about his life with this bilingual article. This B2 exercise can help you practise El Pretérito indefinido and El Pretérito Imperfecto - Un crimen perfecto 1
Meet Ramón who thinks he's just going to have breakfast and ends up witnessing a horrible crime! - Un crimen perfecto 2
The police investigate and think there's more to this than meets the eye. - Un crimen perfecto 3
The police have new suspects! - Un crimen perfecto 4
Get closer to finding out who the killer is while practising El Condicional Simple. - Un crimen perfecto 5
Here's the final installment where we finally find out who really killed Pablo and why. - Videomatón de Isabel Allende
Isabel Allende is a Chilean writer, her best known novel is "La casa de los espíritus" (1982) which was turned into an English-language film in 1993 with a star-studded cast. This B2 exercise can help you practise different uses of se: pronominal verbs, dativo de interés, pronouns le / les become se when used with lo, la, los, las. - Bilbao Book Fair
Ready to visit the Bilbao Book Fair? - The desert island
Learn about this Argentinian play. - Bodas de Sangre (A1)
Fill in the gaps with the right form of El Presente. Note that there is one use of the "Present Historic" where in English we would use the simple past.
- La intrigante novela
Blanca is reading a new novel and it's a real page-turner! Complete the exercise with the correct structure given in the hint.
- Juan Ramón Jiménez (A2)
Fill in the gaps with the right form of El Pretérito Indefinido. Pay attention to the hints!
- Festival de teatro de Almagro (B1)
Fill in the blanks with the right form of El Futuro Simple (regular and irregular verbs). Pay attention to the hints!
- El camello cojito (A1)
Fill in the blanks with the right form of the following verbs in the present tense.
- Quiara Alegría (A2)
Fill in the blanks with the right pronoun. Pay attention to the hints!
- Festival de Mérida - Teatro Romano (A2)
A fill-in-the-gap kwiz to practise some uses of por and para. Pay attention to the hints!
