“Saludos amigos”
That means “Greetings friends.”
I learned that phrase when I was five years old from a Spanish record for children. It was narrated by Ricardo Montalban – who no doubt voiced it before he was a big star – and included songs about Spanish numbers, geography and even words in English and Spanish that sound ‘the same – “es lo mismo.”
I was reminded of that record this morning, when I was training a group of Latin American doctors in public speaking skills. The class was conducted in English – since I was the one teaching it – but all of the doctors were native Spanish speakers.
I envied their ability to switch back and forth between English and Spanish. The only Spanish I am able to speak with any fluidity are the phrases I learned from Ricardo (and I have to sing them to get them right!).
‘One is uno, two is dos
Three is tres, four is cuatro, yes and
Five is cinco, six is seis
Seven is siete, number eight is ocho.”
There was also a section on Spanish geography; the one song that sticks in my head is:
The Pyrenees are great mountains, great mountains in Spain.
Los Pirineos son grandes montañas , grandes montañas en España.
And, of course, my personal favorite, “It’s the Same,”
It’s the same
Es lo mismo
It’s the same
Es lo mismo
There are so many words that are the same, you know
And except for the fact that the accents are different
The words are the same
The words are the same.
So…all it takes is an accent to speak Spanish?
Well, shiiiiiiitt. I’ve got one of those. I’m set.
