Guatemala has a Nobel prize winner who you've probably never heard of, but she's one of the most incredible cases of a small voice being powerful enough to topple giants: Rigoberta Menchú.

A poor indigenous woman in a nation where belonging to any of those three conditions reduces you to background noise, Rigoberta lost multiple family members in the terrible events of the 36-year Guatemalan Civil War, and knew that she had to speak up if nobody else would.

What followed was a journey of legend, as this woman broke each and every barrier, becoming unstoppable despite the opposition, and eventually leading her to become world-famous and recognized as a true freedom fighter. Discover her story in this week's episode of the Learn Spanish with Stories podcast!

Transcript of this episode is available at: https://podcast.lingomastery.com/listen/3317

Rock music is no longer as popular in the world as it once was (and what a loss THAT has been, am I right?) - but rock "in español" has a very important place in world history.


Not only was it super difficult to produce and promote (thanks to the fact that Latin American dictatorships would read the lyrics with magnifying glasses to ensure it wasn't "inciting violence"), but also because labels looked to fund more traditional Latin American music.

In this episode, we discover how exactly the top Latin American rock bands of all time managed to overcome these endless obstacles, carve their place as musical legends, and remain in the collective memory of global citizens forever. Rock on!


Transcript of this episode is available at: https://podcast.lingomastery.com/listen/3251

The US has done incredible things in its history, but it has also been involved in some of the most tragic events, too. The El Mozote Massacre that occurred on December 11, 1981, is among the worst of these US-sponsored tragedies.


With communist guerrilla movements spreading across El Salvador, both the American and Salvadoran governments knew that they had to quickly put a stop to this before it got out of their control, so they planned "Operación Rescate" (Operation Rescue), a so-called "anti-guerrilla" operation that would end up costing many hundreds of lives of innocents along the way.

But the worst of the operation occurred in a small rural community known as El Mozote, where demons dressed as men (so to speak) committed horrific crimes on men, women, and children. Find out more about this terrible tragedy and how the inhabitants of both El Mozote and El Salvador finally got justice for it recently in this episode of the Learn Spanish with Stories podcast!

Transcript of this episode is available at: https://podcast.lingomastery.com/listen/3185

Today's episode is different. And it's different not because it's a true story (because we always feature those on our podcast), but because your narrator, Anthony, went through the events expressed in the tale.

This is the reality of how Venezuela collapsed, of what led 7 million people to flee the country and seek a better life elsewhere. It's an account of how any average family (in this case, a family that supported the government at its beginning) lost all its net worth and soon struggled to combat starvation.

This is the Learn Spanish with Stories podcast, where we help you learn Spanish while showing you the reality of life in Latin America (both good and bad). So let's dive in, and we hope it helps you understand why so many Venezuelans are now spread across the globe.

Transcript of this episode is available at: https://podcast.lingomastery.com/listen/3086

The lithium in your phone's battery, maybe the device you're using to read this - it may probably have come from Chile, and the copper in the wires of your charger may have come from Peru... Latin America is and has always been one of the main provider of precious metals in the world.


And this didn't begin with the Spanish and Portuguese colonization, either... the natives had been mining long before the arrivals of Europeans, and knew how to keep these operations sustainable (something we struggle with today). However, when these outsiders arrived, production took the main stage, and millions of tons were extracted and taken from the Americas to Europe.

But returning to the present: how does Latin America help keep the world running with its resources, and what is the story behind this? Let's dive in, in this week's episode of the Learn Spanish with Stories podcast!


Transcript of this episode is available at: https://podcast.lingomastery.com/listen/3020

The gods of ancient Latin American belief were very interesting and different from what we have to come to know in Asia, Europe, and North America... they were somewhat more human, said to walk among us when they felt like it, and collaborated closely with animals and nature to make things occur.


Quetzalcóatl, the Feathered Serpent, is one such example, perhaps the greatest of them all... disguised as a noble but aging traveler, he walked among men and taught them the marvels of science and engineering, until he was targeted by Tezcatlipoca, the god of conflict. Today, we tell their stories.

And the coolest thing about this episode of the Learn Spanish with Stories podcast? It's not just about what was going on in Mesoamerica, but also what was happening in the Inca Empire, when Inti (the Sun) and Mama Quilla (the Moon), made their appearance and began to influence life itself. Check it out and enjoy!


Transcript of this episode is available at: https://podcast.lingomastery.com/listen/2888

Retiring in Latin America as a foreigner = 👍​

Retiring in Latin America as a Latin American = ​☠️​


Let's face it - when you think of the Caribbean, Brazilian beaches, the Angel Falls in Venezuela, Mexican resorts and Argentine plains, there's a feeling of relief and joy that you can spend your final years just exploring the land and living for cheap.

But what does it look like for a native, and how they survive while receiving a pension that is probably 30% (on average) of what they used to earn while working?

In this episode, we find out more first-hand from Juan, a new retiree who, after doing his initial paperwork, has just found out the sad reality of being a native retiree in Latin America. Enjoy this week's episode of the Learn Spanish with Stories podcast!


Transcript of this episode is available at: https://podcast.lingomastery.com/listen/2756

There is a Filipino hero who, despite raising his voice and an entire nation against the Spanish colonizers, is so respected globally that he has his own monument in the center of Madrid, Spain's capital.


His name is José Rizal - but what's the story behind this incredible figure, who, unlike Simón Bolívar or José de Martín (among others), never raised his arms against the Spanish and instead led with beautiful words, such as:

"Justice is the foremost virtue of the civilizing races. It subdues the barbarous nations, while injustice arouses the weakest".

And what spark did Rizal light that eventually led him to his untimely and premature end at the hands of a Spanish firing squad? Find out in this week's episode of the Learn Spanish with Stories podcast!


Transcript of this episode is available at: https://podcast.lingomastery.com/listen/2723