# What should I be watching to practice my Spanish? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 11, 2009, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-be-watching-to-practice-my-spanish/506110 "2009-08-11T21:21:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![KarlGrenze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/dbc845/32.png) [@KarlGrenze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGrenze)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2009, 9:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-be-watching-to-practice-my-spanish/506110/21 "2009-08-13T09:49:31Z")
Just in case, just so that you don’t act like my ex-roomate (although because you’re a Doper, I’m going to think that wouldn’t be the case)… Diarios de motocicleta deals with Che Guevara’s life before he became Che Guevara (before he went to Cuba). My ex-roomate watched the whole movie and didn’t get that particular piece of information… And I like the soundtrack of that movie… ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2009, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-be-watching-to-practice-my-spanish/506110/22 "2009-08-13T12:29:42Z")
I think Netflix has [Destinos](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Destinos)–an American series designed to teach Spanish. The language starts out simple, with plot-stopping “lessons” interspersed. As you progress, things get more complex & the story takes over. Essentially, it’s a _telenovela._ A Spaniard had moved to Mexico after the Civil War, married & had children–& became wealthy. Now, coming to the end of his life, he receives a letter indicating that his Spanish wife had _not_ died, after all. A female Mexican-American attorney is hired to investigate the delicate matter. This very long process leads her to Spain, Argentina, Puerto Rico & Mexico. You hear many versions of Spanish, although the main characters speak quite clearly. Since this was shot on location, famous sites, music, art & food of the various Hispanic countries are featured. PBS ran this forever & I became quite attached to the large cast of characters. You will see romance, a bit of humor & _many_ dramatic revelations. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2009, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-be-watching-to-practice-my-spanish/506110/23 "2009-08-13T16:10:19Z")
> [@Ruffian](#): > > If you can find it, I recommend “Cien Mexicanos Dijeron”–literally, “100 Mexicans Said,” but you know it as “The Family Feud.” Heh. It’s excellent in my experience for learning vocabulary. Absolutely, and it was later called _¿Qué dice la gente?_. They moved production to Miami and were trying for a more international appeal. Didn’t work, and it was cancelled in November. ☹ I’m sorry it’s no longer on the air. I realized I was starting to make headway when I got one of the host’s jokes. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGrenze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/dbc845/32.png) [@KarlGrenze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGrenze)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2009, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-be-watching-to-practice-my-spanish/506110/24 "2009-08-13T16:41:49Z")
> [@Bridget\_Burke](#): > > I think Netflix has [Destinos](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Destinos)–an American series designed to teach Spanish. The language starts out simple, with plot-stopping “lessons” interspersed. As you progress, things get more complex & the story takes over. > > Essentially, it’s a _telenovela._ A Spaniard had moved to Mexico after the Civil War, married & had children–& became wealthy. Now, coming to the end of his life, he receives a letter indicating that his Spanish wife had _not_ died, after all. A female Mexican-American attorney is hired to investigate the delicate matter. This very long process leads her to Spain, Argentina, Puerto Rico & Mexico. You hear many versions of Spanish, although the main characters speak quite clearly. Since this was shot on location, famous sites, music, art & food of the various Hispanic countries are featured. > > PBS ran this forever & I became quite attached to the large cast of characters. You will see romance, a bit of humor & _many_ dramatic revelations. Oh yea, I loved this program… It ran one summer, when I didn’t have classes or camp, and I was a faithful watcher. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2009, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-be-watching-to-practice-my-spanish/506110/25 "2009-08-13T17:44:54Z")
Destinos doesn’t seem to be available on DVD - it seems the library has it on VHS (although volume 1 is checked out) but I don’t even know if I have a VCR anymore. The boyfriend surely does, though - there has to be SOMETHING useful about living with a video production entrepreneur, right? ETA - there seems to be some sort of [video on demand](http://www.learner.org/resources/series75.html?pop=yes&pid=366) option, FYI, although I can’t really take a look at it here at work. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2009, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-be-watching-to-practice-my-spanish/506110/26 "2009-08-14T03:47:13Z")
Yes, the whole series is available for free (albeit in a little window) through that link. Yay! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-be-watching-to-practice-my-spanish/506110.md?page=1)