Spanish Radio

Now that I’m starting to understand a little more Spanish, I’m finding some of the Spanish radio ads very funny. The one I like the most is a series of ads for learning English. One of the series starts out with a couple talking in English. The conversation goes something like:

Women: Oh dear, isn’t everything wonderful. It is so nice being able to spend all day together.
Man: I just love being together. I don’t think things could get any more perfect.
Women: Yes, this is just the way it should always be.
Man: We are so lucky that we can live this way.

Then the announcer cuts in and says in Spanish: You too can understand what couples like this are saying. In only 20 weeks you can learn English. Just call 93 739 3434 and you can be on your way to learning English.

Another ad in the series is a man reading the results of the Academy Awards. Followed by the same announcer, same message. A third ad in the series is someone reading Shakespeare’s To Be, or Not To Be passage in English (but with a heavy Spanish accent).

I’m not sure what this says about how Spaniards think about English. Especially the first commercial with the “loving” couple seems completely random to me. I’m not sure whether it is saying that with English your relationships will be better, or just that you will be able to enjoy the joys of American soap operas.

Another funny thing with the Spanish radio is what they do to the songs. When they play “Crazy in Love” they have edited out the man’s part. They also only play about 8 songs over and over. When we arrived we would hear Bon Jovi’s have a nice day about 3 times every hour. This lasted for approximately 4 months. Bon Jovi is on the slow rotation now. The new favorite is black eyed peas.