Welcome to our autumn edition. It’s the time of year when our readers in northerly climes look out at the damp and dark and wish they were in Spain or South America. We can at least offer a whiff of the Spanish-speaking world through these pages.
Our 2023 Sixth Form Essay Competition, run in conjunction with the University of Glasgow, drew many enthusiastic responses. We look at the judges’ comments and publish the winning entry [in Spanish] and the runner-up entry – both of which drew inspiration from distant areas of the Spanish-speaking world.
The UK has a long tradition of scholarly adventurers heading to distant parts. George Orwell’s stint with the International Brigades during the Spanish Civil War left a lasting mark on his political outlook and inspired his finest novels. Oxford don Malcolm Deas became such a hero in Colombia over the past half century that he was awarded citizenship. We tell their stories.
With AI in the news, we hear how a new breed of linguist-entrepreneurs brought up on language platforms are pushing the boundaries of what technology can do for languages.
The Instituto Cervantes is also dedicated to promoting language teaching and cultural exchange. We meet the new director of its London office, Víctor Ugarte, to hear how the Instituto is responding to the UK’s surging interest in Spanish. [In Spanish.]
Feeling the pain of events in Israel-Palestine, we reflect on the Moslem/Jewish dimension to Spanish and Latin American history. García Márquez chips in, while Goya and Picasso demonstrate what they think of war waged against civilian populations.
Continuing the theme of inspiring artists, we look at the Frida Kahlo phenomenon and learn where to find her best work.
Our literary focus falls on A-level text Nada: find out how author Carmen Laforet’s stinging critique of Spanish society avoided raising the suspicions of Franco’s censors. [In Spanish.]
Lorca and Almodóvar are perhaps Spain’s foremost dramatists of the past hundred years: we consider whether Almodóvar picked up where Lorca left off.
Good news for those wishing to tap into the Bulletin archive as a resource for teaching, learning and enjoyment: our new Index makes it far easier to find and bring up articles from previous editions, which are now categorised by broad topic headings.
Check out our Roadshow programme if you would like to turn our eclectic approach to Spanish and Spanish American culture into a live Spanish: Connections event at your choice of venue.
The Bulletin of Advanced Spanish is a free resource, read on every continent, written by and for enthusiasts at all stages of their exploration of the language and culture of the Spanish-speaking world. Please see the Guidelines tab if you would like to write for us. The deadline for the next edition is the end of January.
Feliz Navidad a todos,
The BAS editorial team
Bulletin of Advanced Spanish 