{"id":10158,"date":"2026-05-30T16:53:30","date_gmt":"2026-05-30T16:53:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.realspanish.eu\/blog\/uncategorized\/un-trocito-de-real-spanish-que-verguenza-transcripcion\/"},"modified":"2026-08-25T17:30:56","modified_gmt":"2026-08-25T17:30:56","slug":"un-trocito-de-real-spanish-que-verguenza-transcripcion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/realspanish.eu\/en\/un-trocito-de-real-spanish-que-verguenza-transcripcion\/","title":{"rendered":"Un trocito de Real Spanish |   \u201c\u00a1Qu\u00e9 verg\u00fcenza!\": A Spanish art disaster"},"content":{"rendered":"<h3><span style=\"color: #008485;\">First of all:<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"color: #008485;\">This video is one of our \u201cTrocitos de Real Spanish\u201d \u2014 short clips from our Spanish lessons to help you get used to real, everyday Spanish. A <em>trocito<\/em> literally means \u201ca little piece\u201d of something \u2014 usually something you can eat, like <em>un trocito de queso<\/em> (\u201ca little piece of cheese\u201d). This particular one is a preview of the full lesson <em>\u00a1Es una chapuza!<\/em>, from our course <em>Espa\u00f1ol con noticias y documentales 1: Entrevistas y reportajes.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Hi there! I'm Elizabeth from Real Spanish, and like you, I'm passionate about learning Spanish.<\/p>\n<p>This video is all about Spain\u2019s artistic heritage \u2014 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.<\/p>\n<p>And there\u2019s more! You\u2019ll also come across one of the most famous Spanish \u201cfalse friends\u201d: <em>embarazada<\/em> does not mean \u201cembarrassed\u201d... although you probably already knew that!<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><strong><span style=\"color: #008080;\">Click on the image to view the video.<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/_UJrE2CqQ0g?si=G4LhCa6F6O3izhRS\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #008485;\">Transcript:<\/span> <a href=\"https:\/\/realspanish.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Verguenza-transcript-final-1.pdf\">Download the PDF<\/a><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"color: #008080;\"><em><strong>Note:<\/strong> This transcript has been slightly updated to reflect our current courses and resources, so the video may differ slightly from the text.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p>We recommend listening to the audio first with the transcript, then without it, until you can make out every word. You can even repeat some sentences after the narrator, then record yourself and compare your pronunciation with hers. Keep going until you really do sound better.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #008485;\"><strong>Bonus: update on this story<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>The world's most famous restoration <em>chapuza<\/em> happened in 2012, in the town of Borja, near Zaragoza. Cecilia Gim\u00e9nez, a local resident, took it upon herself to restore a 19th-century fresco titled <em>Ecce Homo<\/em>, painted by El\u00edas Garc\u00eda Mart\u00ednez, in the Sanctuary of Mercy church. The result \u2014 Christ's face turned into something resembling a hairy monkey \u2014 went viral worldwide under the nickname <em>Mono Cristo<\/em> (\u201cMonkey Christ\u201d).<\/p>\n<p>Cecilia Gim\u00e9nez died on 31 December 2025, at the age of 94. But against all odds, her botched restoration had a happy ending: over 150,000 tourists have visited Borja to see the fresco for themselves, a small museum dedicated to the story opened in 2016, and she herself went on to exhibit 28 of her own paintings in the town. You can read the full story at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theartnewspaper.com\/2025\/12\/31\/woman-whose-botched-jesus-fresco-became-a-viral-sensation-dies-aged-94\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Art Newspaper<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h3><\/h3>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #008080;\"><strong>Links to related articles<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nationalgeographic.com.es\/historia\/actualidad\/leyenda-San-jorge-sant-jordi-y-dragon_12574\/3\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>La leyenda de San Jorge y el drag\u00f3n<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong><a style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2018\/dec\/28\/how-monkey-christ-brought-new-life-to-a-quiet-spanish-town\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">How 'Monkey Christ' brought new life to a quiet Spanish town<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><a style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/elpais.com\/elpais\/2019\/02\/19\/icon_design\/1550585771_852074.html#?id_externo_nwl=newsletter_diaria_manana20190221m\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">10 restauraciones de edificios en Espa\u00f1a que todos lamentan y ya no tienen vuelta atr\u00e1s<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><a style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2019\/jun\/21\/botched-spanish-statue-st-george-lovingly-unrestored\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Botched Spanish statue that went viral is lovingly unrestored<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><a style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/english.elpais.com\/arts\/2020-11-13\/spains-latest-ecce-homo-how-a-botched-restoration-made-global-headlines.html#?sma=newsletter_inenglish20201113m\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Spain\u2019s latest \u2018Ecce Homo\u2019: how a botched restoration made global headlines<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><a style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2020\/nov\/10\/spanish-statue-bodge-up-is-a-new-rival-to-borjas-monkey-christ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Spanish statue bodge-up is a new rival to Borja's Monkey Christ<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<h3><\/h3>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #008485;\"><strong>Frequently asked questions<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><strong>What does <em>una chapuza<\/em> mean?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>It's a colloquial word for a shoddy, badly-done job \u2014 especially building or DIY work. According to the RAE, a <em>chapuza<\/em> is \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/dle.rae.es\/chapuza\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">work done badly and without care<\/a>\u201d (RAE's own gloss, translated here).<\/p>\n<p><strong>Is <em>avergonzado<\/em> the same as <em>embarazada<\/em>?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>No \u2014 and it's one of the most famous false friends in Spanish for English speakers. <em>Avergonzado<\/em> means \u201cembarrassed\u201d: according to the RAE, <em>avergonzar<\/em> means \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/dle.rae.es\/avergonzar\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">to cause shame<\/a>\u201d. <em>Embarazada<\/em>, on the other hand, mainly means \u201cpregnant\u201d: the RAE defines it, said of a woman, as \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/dle.rae.es\/embarazada\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">pregnant<\/a>\u201d. Interestingly, the RAE also records a second sense of <em>embarazada<\/em> close to \u201cembarrassed\u201d (\u201cinhibited or uncomfortable acting naturally\u201d), but almost nobody uses it that way in practice: if you say <em>estoy embarazada<\/em>, everyone will understand that you're expecting a baby.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What's the difference between <em>ser orgulloso<\/em> and <em>estar orgulloso<\/em>?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em>Ser orgulloso<\/em> describes a permanent character trait \u2014 someone arrogant or haughty by nature. <em>Estar orgulloso (de algo)<\/em>, on the other hand, describes a specific, positive feeling, usually tied to an achievement of your own or someone else's. It's another example of the general pattern the RAE describes: \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.rae.es\/gram%C3%A1tica\/sintaxis\/el-atributo-en-las-oraciones-copulativas-con-ser-y-estar-i-aspectos-sem%C3%A1nticos-de-la-distinci%C3%B3n\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">the verb ser combines with attributes that designate permanent characteristics of the subject, while estar takes those that indicate transitory properties<\/a>\u201d (RAE's own gloss, translated here).<\/p>\n<p><strong>What does <em>\u00a1qu\u00e9 verg\u00fcenza!<\/em> mean?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>It's used to express that something (or someone) is humiliating or shameful. It matches one of the senses of <em>verg\u00fcenza<\/em> recorded by the RAE: \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/dle.rae.es\/verg%C3%BCenza\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">something or someone that causes shame or dishonor<\/a>\u201d.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What does <em>salir a la luz<\/em> mean?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>It means for something previously hidden \u2014 like a botched restoration \u2014 to become public or known. According to the RAE, it's used \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/dle.rae.es\/luz\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">said of something hidden: to become apparent<\/a>\u201d.<\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #008485;\"><strong>More questions? Drop us a comment below!<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<h3><\/h3>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #008080;\">Check out these resources:<\/span><\/h3>\n<p>You can find the complete lesson \"\u00a1Es una chapuza!\" in \u00a0our course <em><a href=\"https:\/\/realspanish.eu\/en\/spanish-online-courses\/\">Espa\u00f1ol con noticias y documentales 1: Entrevistas y reportajes<\/a>.<\/em> You\u2019ll also get the grammar worksheet and all the other lesson materials.\u00a0<strong><a style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/realspanish.eu\/en\/spanish-online-courses\/\">Try a free lesson today!\u00a0<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Not ready to commit to a full course?\u00a0 <strong><a style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/realspanish.eu\/en\/spanish-perfectionists\/\">Try a free lesson<\/a> <\/strong>from <em>Real Spanish for Perfectionists<\/em>, our new series of ebooks + videos.<\/p>\n<p>As Carmen says, \u201cembarazada\u201d and \u201cembarrassed\u201d are a classic example of the many false friends between Spanish and English. Can you think of any others? I\u2019m sure you can\u2014<a style=\"color: #0000ff;\" href=\"https:\/\/realspanish.eu\/contact\"><strong>s<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">hare in the comments!<\/span><\/strong><\/a> You can also leave us a comment, suggestion, or question. We\u2019d love to hear from you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>First of all: This video is one of our \u201cTrocitos de Real Spanish\u201d \u2014 short clips from our Spanish lessons &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":10156,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_vibebp_attr":"","_vibebp_dimensions":"","_vibebp_responsive_height":"","_vibebp_accordion_ie_support":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[425,349,484],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10158","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-spanish-expressions","category-hispanic-culture","category-trocitos-de-real-spanish-en"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/realspanish.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10158","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/realspanish.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/realspanish.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/realspanish.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/realspanish.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10158"}],"version-history":[{"count":56,"href":"https:\/\/realspanish.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10158\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11375,"href":"https:\/\/realspanish.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10158\/revisions\/11375"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/realspanish.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10156"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/realspanish.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10158"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/realspanish.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10158"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/realspanish.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10158"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}