First of all: This is the English version of the transcript of one of our "Trocitos de Real Spanish". Un trocito is a little bit of something (usually something to eat). This Trocito is a preview of our online Spanish course “Español con noticias y documentales 2: La historia de tres regiones bilingües de España”. The additional learning materials referred to in the video are available in the complete course. You’ll find a link to this and all our courses below. If you want to push yourself, try reading the Spanish version of this blogpost and video transcript first (just click on “español” in the menu above) — then come back here to check anything you're not sure about.   Hello! I’m Elizabeth, from Real Spanish, and a dedicated student of Spanish. I love learning new expressions in Spanish. As you know, most of them can’t be translated literally because they are based on the culture and history of the Spanish-speaking world. Some are local to a particular country or region. Some are so interesting that they deserve a video all to themselves! If you’ve spent any time with Spanish speakers, you’ve probably heard someone suddenly lower their voice and mutter ¡Moros en la costa! — maybe when the boss walks in, or when a sibling appears at an inconvenient moment. But where does this expression come from, and what do Moors have to do with it? The story takes us back to medieval Spain, a network of coastal watchtowers (torres vigía), and a very real danger that kept entire villages on permanent alert for centuries. The video below explains the origin of ¡Moros en la costa!, one of the most colourful idioms in everyday Spanish, which can be traced back to its historical roots: the constant raids by North African Muslims along the Mediterranean coast, and the very real danger that kept coastal villages on permanent alert. It also touches on a related expression, prometer el oro y el moro, and looks honestly at why both expressions carry some cultural baggage worth knowing about. Wishing you all the best for your adventures in Spanish, Elizabeth from Real Spanish     VIDEO TRANSCRIPT (English translation) Hello and welcome to this Real Spanish mini-lesson! Today we’re going to learn some interesting things about Catalonia. Throughout this lesson, pay attention to the various uses of «se», such a small but so important word in Spanish. We’ll explain them in the grammar sheet.* You probably already know that in Catalonia, Catalan is spoken alongside Spanish. Although both are official languages in this autonomous community, schools teach in Catalan and official bodies tend to use Catalan more than Spanish. In the inland areas of Catalonia, which are less touristy, you tend to hear more Catalan than Spanish, while in Barcelona and the coastal areas you’ll hear more people speaking Spanish, since there are more people from other Spanish regions and from other countries. The early history of Catalonia is very similar to the rest

vc_rowvc_columnvc_column_text css="" Un trocito de Real Spanish: ¡Es una chapuza! This video is one of our “Trocitos de Real Spanish” — short clips from our Spanish lessons to help you get used to real, everyday Spanish. A trocito literally means “a little piece” of something — usually something you can eat, like un trocito de queso (“a little piece of cheese”). In this Trocito, we take a look at part of our full lesson “¡Es una chapuza!” (“What a botched job!”), from our course Spanish with News and Documentaries 1: Interviews and Reports. The lesson is all about Spain’s artistic heritage — and what happens when a restoration goes so badly wrong that it becomes a national embarrassment. Some of these stories were so shocking that they even made the news in other countries. And there’s more! You’ll also come across one of the most famous Spanish “false friends”: embarazada does not mean “embarrassed”... although you probably already knew that! Note: This transcript has been slightly updated to reflect our current courses and resources, so the video may differ slightly from the text.    View or download the transcript (PDF) Links to related articles La leyenda de San Jorge y el dragón How 'Monkey Christ' brought new life to a quiet Spanish town 10 restauraciones de edificios en España que todos lamentan y ya no tienen vuelta atrás Botched Spanish statue that went viral is lovingly unrestored Spain’s latest ‘Ecce Homo’: how a botched restoration made global headlines Spanish statue bodge-up is a new rival to Borja's Monkey Christ Curious about the two works of art that ended up becoming a national embarrassment? All is revealed in the full lesson from our course Spanish with News and Documentaries 1: Interviews and Reports. You’ll also get the grammar worksheet and all the other lesson materials. Try a free lesson today!  Not ready to commit to a full course?  Try a free lesson from Real Spanish for Perfectionists, our new series of ebooks + videos. As Carmen says, “embarazada” and “embarrassed” are a classic example of the many false friends between Spanish and English. Can you think of any others? I’m sure you can—share in the comments! You can also leave us a comment, suggestion, or question. We’d love to hear from you./vc_column_text/vc_column/vc_row