Easy Podcast - Pablo Neruda's Death: cancer or murder? - Easy Español
Spanish On the Go! - Improve your listening comprehension skills with our authentic podcasts
Release Date: 06/19/2025
Easy Podcast - The Spanish priest who died in Bolivia fighting for social justice - Easy Español
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Luis Espinal Camps was not an ordinary priest. He was a Spanish Jesuit priest born in Mallorca. Poet, journalist, filmmaker, film critic, and political activist, he dedicated his life to advocating for social justice and equality. After his first TV show was repeatedly censored by Franco's regime, Camps went to Bolivia. There, Camps embraced his role as a human rights defender of the poor and challenger of the status quo, which earned him powerful enemies within the dictatorial government, the Church and the private sector. Click play to learn more about this courageous Spanish-Bolivian...
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Easy Podcast - Tango: Music to heal the mind - Easy Español
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Tango was born in the impoverished areas of Buenos Aires where local, African and European musical styles merged to create a sound full of longing, love and sorrow. Over time, both the music genre and the dance crossed borders and were embraced by people of all classes the world over. In recent years, tango has attracted the attention of neuroscientists battling Parkinson's disease and other neurological disorders with encouraging results. Click play to hear how the tango's characteristic rhythm, pacing, and coordinated physical movements have turned this Argentinean dance into a major...
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Easy Podcast - Pablo Neruda's Death: cancer or murder? - Easy Español
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The Nobel laureate poet Pablo Neruda is without a doubt one of the most important and influential writers in Latin American literature and the world at large. He also had an active role in Chile's political life, serving as diplomat and senator for the Communist Party. In 1973, two years after receiving the Nobel Prize in Literature, Pablo Neruda died. Cancer was the official cause, but the timing of his death -less than two weeks after the coup d'état led by Augusto Pinochet- and other suspicious circumstances have raised serious doubts on its veracity. Click play to learn more about...
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Easy Podcast - María Zambrano, the most brilliant mind of the Spanish-speaking world - Easy Español
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Maria Zambrano is one of the brightest minds in the Spanish-speaking region. She was an essayist and philosopher, originally from Spain. Her life was marked, first, by the Spanish Civil War and then by World War II, conflicts that forced her into exile and strongly influenced her work. She lived in Spain, France, Italy, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Chile and more places, all while constantly writing and publishing her groundbreaking and influential work in politics, the arts, and philosophy. Click play to hear more about the life, work, and legacy of this brilliant and restless woman...
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Easy Podcast - Spirituality or shamanism? How spiritual forces affect health in Latin America - Easy Español
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In Latin America the advancements of modern medicine and science coexist with ancient beliefs that blame different physical ailments on 'spiritual forces'. These evils usually manifest as negative energies found in certain locations (abandoned buildings, crossroads, accident sites, etc) or used by other people to cause harm. Perhaps el mal de ojo (evil eye) is the better known one, but all throughout Latin America we can find different types of spiritual afflictions that can only be cured -according to ancient beliefs- by very specific rituals involving herbs, cleanses, or prayers. Click play...
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Easy Podcast - Pepe Mujica, the Guerilla fighter turned President - Easy Español
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Pepe Mujica was not an ordinary politician. As a young man, his pursuit for equality, social justice, and the defense of human rights, led him to join a guerrilla group. As a consequence, Mujica spent 12 years imprisoned, beaten, tortured, and isolated during the Uruguayan dictatorship, but they could not break his spirit or his principles. Once democracy returned to Uruguay, Mujica dedicated his life to public service holding positions as congressman, senator, minister and president without ever betraying his beliefs and living in the same modest way in which he grew up. Tune in to...
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Easy Podcast - Burundanga, The bewitching flower - Easy Español
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The 'burundanga', better known in English as angel's trumpet, is a cursed flower. This beautiful, delicate, and fragrant flower is extremely toxic and it can cause hallucinations, disorientation, control loss, memory loss, paralysis, induce comas and even death. Historically, this flower was used for medical and shamanistic purposes only. However, in recent times, this toxic flower has gained popularity among criminals in many parts of South America, Mexico and even Europe who use it to easily manipulate their victims. Click play to hear more about the tradition, benefits and dangers of the...
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Easy Podcast - 'Chucho el Roto', The Brilliant Mexican Bandit with a Good Heart - Easy Español
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Jesús Arriaga, better known as 'Chucho el Roto', is a popular figure in Mexican culture. Class inequalities in Mexican society forced him into a life of crime early on, but Chucho el Roto became a bandit with a strict code of honor: steal from the rich, give to the poor, and no use of violence. A true master of disguise and deceit, soon enough the spectacular deeds of this 'Mexican Robin Hood' earned him the admiration of the lower classes and the loathing of the authorities. Click play to learn more about this Mexican folk hero that has inspired countless songs, books, movies, documentaries...
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Easy Podcast - Historietas, comics as a reflection of Mexican society - Easy Español
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In Mexico, las historietas (comics) emerged in the 20th century as the ideal narrative media for the middle and lower classes. Thanks to their low cost, las historietas were able to reach a massive audience serving both as entertainment and as a reflection of the realities of Mexican society. Witty, sarcastic, and full of endearing characters, las historietas used humor to bring attention to important issues facing the nation. Click play to hear about three emblematic historietas and their cultural significance in Mexican society.
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Easy Podcast - Women in Power in Latin America - Easy Español
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For centuries, women had a prominent role in Latin American societies, but the 20th and 21st centuries in particular saw them rise to power to the highest office in Chile, Argentina, Bolivia, Panama, Peru, and other countries in the region. This coming Sunday, April 13th, Ecuador is having a presidential election and Luisa González is a strong candidate to become the next president of Ecuador, adding to the more than a dozen women who have led their countries in the region. Click play to learn about the women in power that have made history and continue breaking new ground.
info_outlineThe Nobel laureate poet Pablo Neruda is without a doubt one of the most important and influential writers in Latin American literature and the world at large. He also had an active role in Chile's political life, serving as diplomat and senator for the Communist Party. In 1973, two years after receiving the Nobel Prize in Literature, Pablo Neruda died. Cancer was the official cause, but the timing of his death -less than two weeks after the coup d'état led by Augusto Pinochet- and other suspicious circumstances have raised serious doubts on its veracity.
Click play to learn more about Neruda's life, political commitment and the ongoing debate about the true nature of his death.