Welcome to the Bulletin’s eigth year of celebrating all things Spanish and Spanish American.
This Autumn 2024 edition brings the results of our Sixth Form Essay Competition, run in conjunction with the University of Glasgow. Our judges’ verdict looks at some of the topics chosen by this year’s competitors, and what strategies were – and were not – effective in their entries.
Suitably enough for this season of Hallowe’en / Día de los Muertos, the winning entry in the Competition relates a supernatural mystery from Mexican folklore (in Spanish).
You don’t have to be a Sixth Former to find the Spanish-speaking world inspiring. A British author who has been living out his enjoyment of Spanish for over 50 years assesses the enduring benefits of being a Spanish speaker.
Hispanists of all ages have appreciated the way in which Tambien la lluvia brings together aspects of Spain and Spanish America’s past and present. We analyse its time-bending narrative (in Spanish).
Also relating to film, we conclude our three-part series on lo visual with a sneak preview of new research to devise a globally applicable theory of film studies.
Are Latin America’s supposedly ‘progressive’ left-wing leaders undermining democracy and letting down their people? Our America’s editor offers a personal opinion (in Spanish).
The cultural legacy of both Spain and Latin America infuses the work of Joaquín Sabina. What Spanish language lessons are embedded in his fabled verse, and what can we learn from his writing technique? We look at three particularly effective lyrics.
Sabina is one among many who moved to Spain’s capital to draw on its creative energy. A new ‘biography’ of Madrid gives compelling insights into the city, whether you know it well or not at all.
Meanwhile in Barcelona, a unionist administration has returned to power after 14 years of pro-independence regional government. We assess the new normal in Catalonia seven years on from the illegal referendum, and ask whether this ‘normality’ will last.
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.
Deseándoles felices fiestas,
The BAS editorial team
Bulletin of Advanced Spanish 