The night of San Juan
A short in Spanish text at level A2. The translation sits next to it: reading with a dictionary is still too early at this level, and without support it will not happen at all. On the night of June twenty-fourth my whole village goes down to the beach and lights bonfires on the sand. It is an…
Text
- La noche del veintitrés de junio mi pueblo baja entero a la playa y enciende hogueras en la arena. Es una fiesta antigua, medio religiosa y medio no: se celebra a un santo, pero lo que se hace es saltar el fuego y mojarse los pies en el mar. Cada familia lleva su cena y su mesa, y los que llegan tarde se quedan sin sitio y cenan de pie. Hay puestos de comida callejera, un tiovivo para los pequeños y una banda que toca hasta que se acaba la madera. A las doce, el alcalde lee el pregón, casi nadie lo escucha y todo el mundo aplaude igual. Mi vecina, que tiene ochenta años, escribe un deseo en un papel y lo tira al fuego: dice que así se cumple, y que eso es superstición, no religión. A las seis de la mañana quedan las cenizas, las sillas y tres o cuatro que siguen sentados mirando el agua.On the night of June twenty-fourth my whole village goes down to the beach and lights bonfires on the sand. It is an old festival, half religious and half not: a saint is honored, but what people do is jump over the fire and dip their feet in the sea. Every family brings its dinner and its table, and those who arrive late are left without a place and eat standing. There are street food stalls, a carousel for the little ones and a band that plays until the firewood runs out. At midnight the mayor reads the festival speech, almost nobody listens, but everybody claps all the same. My neighbor, who is eighty, writes a wish on a piece of paper and throws it into the fire: she says it then comes true, and that it is superstition, not religion. By six in the morning there remain the ashes, the chairs and three or four people who keep sitting, looking at the water.
Comprehension questions
The questions are asked in Russian on purpose: we test your understanding of the text, not your ability to read the question.
- When does the festival take place?
- What do they do on the beach?
- What happens at midnight?
- How does the neighbor explain her custom with the piece of paper?
Frequently asked
What level do you need to read this text in Spanish?
A2. That means: you know the letters and have a stock of everyday words — about two or three hundred.
How to read a text in an unfamiliar language usefully?
First all the way through without peeking at the translation — just to catch the familiar words. Then with the translation. Then all the way through again: the second pass brings noticeably more, and that feeling matters more than any rule.