Caray, Caray!

Awesome topic!
To say that novela watching has changed my life would be an understatement. They have been a part of my life for so many years (more than 20 now), that I don't even remember not watching them anymore.
The most important thing that I can think of that came from novela watching is the fact that I can now speak Spanish. Not as well as I'd like, mainly because I don't get to practice, but my comprehensive level is good enough to never use CC. And to add Spanish to my CV, which is awesome.

I do listen to more latin music because of novelas. Last year I had a huge crush on Mijares' music. And some days I just feel like listening all the novela song hits (thank you, youtube!)
I drank mate, the argentinian tea out of curiosity because everyone used to drink it in Muneca Brava and Perla Negra.
I passed the time while I was home with chicken pox reading Kassandra, the book written after the famous novela, one of my all time favorites.
It was a great way for my mom and I to bond; now we live in different countries so every time we speak on the phone there are many things to share and chat about; but ever so often our talks go to: "Hey, guess who plays the lead in this new novela that is starting soon?"

And last, but not least, I met this amazing group of people, who share my passion for these silly stories and make me feel part of a community that although virtual, is more carrying than many real life people that I met. I guess you all know what community I'm talking about.

Oh, I'm sure there are more things, this is just the stuff that immediately comes to mind.

 

There's things that Novelas can do which change lives: bringing couples together despite tough times.
 

Quickly, more later,
but I find that I pray more since I started watching novelas about 3 years ago; granted my life has turned upside down (for the worse), but I do find that my Catholic faith has been somewhat rejuvenated.
 

I did buy Tostachos after watching whichever novela it was that they figured in so prominently. I now buy Abuelita chocolate. But probably the biggest change for me is that I now watch no primetime network or cable shows during the week.
 

Great topic!

I notice that I use the possessive a lot more. Since in Mexico your dear friend Santiago would be “mi Santi” for instance, I notice myself saying “my this” “my that” much more than I ordinarily would. I worry that it makes me sound in English like I’m self-centered and think everything is just mine, even though I’m married. Of course in Spanish it’s affectionate, a sort of embracing gathering-in.

I also spend a lot of time turning over in my mind the difference between the amount of affection shown by families in the novelas and the much lesser amount shown in WASP families (which is my demographic) in the U.S. Once we got past being little kids, there was almost never any hugging, and certainly no kissing or lavish words of affection, though our family was loving and solid.

I also contemplate the extreme politeness shown in the novelas (well, when they’re not killing each other). I love how everyone says “con permiso” when they leave a conversation, for instance.

I have asked my Mexican friends if families truly show that much affection in Mexico, and I was told many times “Oh, yes. Absolutely.” I also asked about the politeness and was told that Mexicans who live here find Americans a bit rude.

I have also learned from watching all these shows that if you learn to listen and to read the captions, what you end up with is listening and reading skills, but not speaking skills. I should have guessed that when I started out, as it seems so obvious. But still, I was surprised.
 

I've loved music in Spanish and with Latin beats for years. That sort of led me to telenovelas rather than the other way around.

But I can now understand Spanish and speak it somewhat. This has made a huge difference in my comfort and enjoyment traveling in Latin America. Plus I can now eavesdrop on more conversations when I'm out and about ;).

I've also developed greater interest in Mexican cuisine since seeing all the tantalizing dishes the telenovelas display and have eaten lots of yummy things.
 

I get serious kitchen envy every time I see one in a novela. I love the sight of the Andalusian tilework and the beautiful produce on the tables. I'm not a good candidate to own a house, but if I won the lottery I'd have one big enough for such a kitchen.

I love Latin music and have a decent CD collection. My ticket for one of Alejandro's concerts last year cost more than a typical opera ticket I buy.

If you really want to learn Spanish to be able to speak it, turn off the subtitles. It makes you learn things by context rather than provoking a 2-step process that slows you down.
 

Novelas have opened up a whole new world of Latin music for me. I have hundreds of Latin songs (everything from my old favorite Julio Iglesias to Pitbull) on my Spotify playlist and hundreds of Latin music videos on my laptop.

I've even gone back and discovered some of the previous, popular Latin artists my husband recommended such as Jose, Jose.

I find Latin music so much more romantic than the crap being put out today in the US, where one can barely understand the lyrics.

Also, but for three primetime shows, I've completely given up TV and now watch novelas online. I even gave up the Spanish tier of channels on Time Warner because I like the convenience of watching YouTube and can watch a novela nonstop.

Spanish is a second language for me, learned while in college in Mexico and while living in Latin America during the '70's and '80's. Also, after years of neglecting to speak Spanish to my husband and adult children, I'm trying to rekindle the romance of Spanish with my husband (the language we spoke when we were first married and living overseas) and am trying to instill a sense of pride in our adult children with regards to their Latin heritage (they are half Dominican by their father). They are hungry to learn as much as they can about their Latin roots from my mother-in-law before she passes away.

It also helps tremendously not to have the captions turned on (English or Spanish) and to "feel" the essence of a conversation rather than pick everything apart word for word. If I hear a word twice that I don't know, then I go to my Spanish-English app on my cellphone. I keep a list of these words in a Word document and review them periodically, helping to keep my "retired" brain active.

I've even started dreaming once again in Spanish as I did some 40 some odd years ago.
---------
And I totally agree that the majority of Latin families show great affection for each other quite openly. My attitude with the American side of my family is very different than that with my husband's Latin side of the family. Thank goodness our children show their affection for others openly and have learned the value of a loving, close-knit family from my in-laws. Not to say that US families aren't close-knit, just the showing of affection and politeness factor are very high on the Latin scale.

Watching telenovelas since my early retirement has opened up a new phase of my life and helped to keep my brain on the go.



 

Urban:

My post crossed with yours so I would like to reiterate how right you are about turning off the captions if you truly want to learn the language.

My high school Spanish teacher used this concept (something akin to the 'whole language' approach) and I was bilingual within three months of college in Mexico. And I didn't speak Spanish with a 'Southern' hillbilly accent.

By the way, to whom are you referring to when you say Alejandro? Alejandro Fernandez?
 

Si! I adore Alejandro Fernandez and actually had the pleasure to meet him once. Got a backstage pass about 10 years ago and got in with some clients who sponsored his concert tour.

He is every bit as hot as we're told. If sex appeal were a weapon, he'd have to be classified as "nuclear."
 

I’m relying on context too when I’m listening, and I flick my eyes down to the captions when I need to. My problem is the speed the words are coming out. I thought I’d be able to listen at conversational speed by now, but not so. I love the older actors who I think have had stage experience – I can go caption-free when they are on. Wonderful diction!

Where I can go caption-free is the Spanish-language news. I think broadcasters are careful about their diction, but also the vocabulary is so easy. New words are understandable. This came as a surprise to me, being able to understand so easily, but it makes sense. As you know, England had a French-speaking court for a very long time, and a huge amount of our business, political, and other high-level concept vocabulary came from the French and is very often the same in Spanish. And that is what is used in the news, which features more formal language.

When I lived in Germany, the opposite was true – the news was very hard for me to understand; newspapers the same. The high-level concept vocabulary came from German, not Latin roots. But the every-day language had much more in common with English, as English is a Germanic language.
 

Now I can understand spanish! And this mean a lot for me.
Also I became a hacker :))) It's not easy to find episodes with good quality, so I found many ways to get them from official sites. Even if it was almost impossible.
And yes, I found many new interesting songs.
Not far ago I could say, that I found a lot of friends - same latino-novelas fans as me. But politics ruined everything. Anyway, there were interesting few years with memorable talks. I'm happy to have those memories.
And, of course, some novelas changed my thoughts a lot.
Alegria
 

Urban,

Love, love Alejandro Fernandez, especially:

"Hoy Tengo Ganas de Ti"

"Que Voy a Hacer Con Mi Amor"

These songs make me cry almost everytime.

What a voice!



 

Urban

O/T and Trivia

Luis Roberto Guzman (LQLVMR & Alborada) is in two of Alejandro Guzman's music videos -- "Estuve" and "Se Me Va La Voz"!

Sorry totally off topic.
 

Watching novelas has had a definite impact on my life, as has the influence from the Caray Caray community.

I had a love for Latin/Spanish music and culture to start with. Adding TNs to the mix increased that appreciation. Love seeing the various cities and rural areas, some lovely scenery. Have quite a collection of music.

Have gained more detailed knowledge of food; looked up recipes and made my own carnitas, my own tamales totally from scratch, including my own red sauce. Go to the hispanic supermarket an hour away and explore sometimes. I'm willing to buy Mexican brands from the section at the local supermarket as well.

My language skills have lots of room for improvement, but I'm willing to try speaking Spanish to native speakers. Can always ask them if they're watching any TNs.

TNs are the majority of my TV watching, or at least the most consistent part.
 

I was flipping channels and landed on MCET and was hooked. After a couple of episodes I really wanted to learn Spanish. I started watching without subtitles and after a few episodes went to subtitles in Spanish. When I started to be able to understand individual words I went to English subtitles. It's easier for me to pick up the Spanish if I can match it to the English word or phrase. I've added the Spanish for Dummies book to get a more formal handle on grammar and syntax.
 

Just love this topic.

I've noticed that before I found out about English captions I was doing very well learning Spanish. But since I discovered the captions it's slowed me down a lot. I'm going to stop the captions.

I, too, don't look at any American primetime shows, just old movies and the news; I just love the novelas. AND, BOY, DO I LOVE CHILI!!

Ann-NYC

 

Since watching MCET, I notice I understand more of the Spanish language. I have been using Spanish subtitles, which I think helps because I cannot always understand the characters' enunciation. I have actually had a dream in Spanish!

Watching MCET has influenced my wardrobe. For instance, soon after MCET began, I purchased a pair of white, skinny-leg jeans and an outfit that resembles those worn by Jenny: loose, patterned pants with a matching tank top. I love Latin fashion.

Finally, my sons - one speaks Spanish fluently - and I attempted to carry on our dinner conversation in Spanish solamente (at a Japanese steakhouse!). Fun!


 

Thinking about it: no, not really. When I saw an episode of "Amandote" decades ago, I was already living in Tucson, Arizona, which was founded by Spaniards in 1775. So I was already eating the food, hearing the language, going to the festivals.

This weekend they are having one of their biggest festivals of the year, the All Souls Procession.

http://www.visittucson.org/includes/calendar-of-events/25th-Annual-All-Souls-Procession-Weekend/1401/?fromMenu=1014

It's not Day of the Dead. Like a lot of other things in Tucson, it's an American/Mexican hybrid. They had Day of the Dead forever, of course; but this is a whole other thing they got up in the last 25 years.

The US bought Tucson for cash in the Gadsden Purchase in 1853, and we were the last added to the continental US, IIRC.

The city has a paid city-wide rodeo holiday every spring: La Fiesta de los Vaqueros, which claims the longest unmotorized parade.
 

P.S. Thanks for asking! Interesting responses.
 

I wear an eye-patch even though my eye is perfectly fine.
 

Great question and comments. I started watching Alborada right after my mother passed away 7 years ago as a distraction. Many of my ESL students are Spanish speakers, so now Incan speak a bit of Spanish to them.
 

Sara..Loved the eye patch comment.
 

I've loved Mexican food and Latin music long before I started watching telenovelas. I began watching to improve my listening skills, and although I watch with the Spanish subtitles, it seems to be working.

I teach English as a volunteer at a local church, and last Tuesday, one of my students told me, in Spanish, that her family in Mexico City wanted our group to join them in a moment of silence at 8 o'clock for the 43 missing students. Thanks to my telenovela watching, I was able to understand what she was telling me and was then able to translate for the others.
 

MCET is not a good example of how to learn Spanish with or without captions because the slang, especially SN's (Ana) is so hard to understand even for us Latins.
 

Great weekend discussion. I don't know why I just read it as the weekend is over but will throw in my two cents anyway. I live in the Los Angeles area and as most of you know, this is Mexico North.
Mexican markets are normal for me although I have to admit that I don't know a lot of things that are in them. I had never listened the different types of Latin music before that is until I had to work with a large group of Mexicans and a few people from El Salvador. Radio's were allowed and I heard the Latin sound from the time that I came to work until
I left for the night. At first I hated it because it wasn't my culture but as time went by, I really grew to like it. I now have a nice Latin Pop music collection . The songs for me anyway just sound better in Spanish than they do in English.

Pepe---You made me laugh. I few years back I found a novela by accident. I started watching it and now, like you, I only watch novelas--no prime time network shows any more for me.

Ann-NYC---You love chili. I'm a chili fanatic. on a cold day a nice hot and spicy bowl of chili just can't be beat.

Finally---Did any of the product placements in the novelas entice me to buy them? I answered that already. I live in LA so those things are very well known to me.
the gringo



 

Interesting topic. I am Cuban and I remember when I was young I used to laugh at all the old ladies watching novelas. I never dreamed I would be watching them some day. I think my first telenovela was Betty La Fea. At first I only watched one at a time. Then the reality shows took over the regular networks and I really hated them so I started watching more and more telenovelas. Now I am watching 4. I already spoke Spanish and enjoyed salsa music. The biggest change for me is that I love the Mexican ranches. In my next life I want to come back as a rancher in one of those beautiful haciendas. I also enjoy all the beautiful scenery in the different parts of Mexico, which I think is a very beautiful country.

Sue in Miami
 

Sue in Miami:
Yes the haciendas are absolutely gorgeous. I think the most awesome one I remember seeing was the one in "Amor Bravio" with the ceramic tile facade.