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Lesson Transcript

Fernando: Welcome, everybody. I’m here with JP.
JP: Hi Fernando, how’s it going?
Fernando: Good, how are you?
JP: I’m great. And I’m excited about this quiz that you’re going to give me. To all the folks out there listening, you might know the answers to these, or you might learn something from this quiz. So we’re going to talk all about Latin American trivia today.
Fernando: I definitely learned something just by creating this quiz, so, it should be interesting. So JP, what we want to do here is talk about Latin America; culture, travel, economics… a little sports here and there, and some myth busting.
JP: Ok, so let’s hear it; how about a geography question?
Fernando: Question number one: in which of these Latin American countries, is Spanish not the official language… here are your option… a) Uruguay b) Guatemala c) Brazil, d) Peru.
JP: Ok, I think you gave me a clue when you said “Brazil,” because you pronounced it in Portuguese. So Uruguay, Guatemala, Peru… those are all Spanish speaking countries. And Brazil, which is the biggest country in South America, it’s not the official language, right?
Fernando: Wow, I did not know my accent could give away so much. Yes, you are correct. In 1494, during the Treaty of Tordesillas, Spain and Portugal agreed on a line created by Pope Alexander VI, to divide the newly discovered lands across the Atlantic. This effort was mostly pursued by the Spanish in an attempt to contain the seafaring Portuguese. The Pope decreed that all lands west and south of a pole-to-pole line 100 leagues west and south of any of the islands of the Azores or the Cape Verde Islands should belong to Spain. thus, the Portuguese colonized Brazil, leaving that country with Portuguese as their official language.
JP: Ok, so the line was drawn, and part of Brazil sticks out past that line.
Fernando: Exactly, that’s basically what happened.
JP: So the Portuguese got Brazil, and Spain got the rest. And the countries that Spain got became Spanish speaking countries. There are 19 of them. Alright, what’s question number two?
Fernando: Alright, here’s some pop culture. I’m gonna name three people; one is a famous singer; the next, a politician, and finally a sports star. Match the person with their profession. Here are their names: Hugo Chávez, Alejandro Sanz, and Diego Maradona.
JP: Alright, Hugo Chávez is the president of Venezuela. So he would be the politician.
Fernando: That is correct.
JP: He was famous for going to the UN and giving his speeches, and saying that the podium smelled like the devil because George Bush had been there the day before.
Fernando: Yah, that it smelled like sulfer. We have two more people.
JP: Who’s the second one?
Fernando: Alejandro Sanz.
JP: That’s easy, Alejandro Sanz is a singer; he’s from Spain, he lives in Miami now, he’s done duets with Shakira, and with Destiny’s Child… He’s cool.
Fernando: He is cool.
JP: And who’s the third one?
Fernando: It’s Diego Armando Maradona.
JP: Ok, Maradona… that “Diego Armando” stuff might have thrown me, but Maradona is the Argentinian soccer player.
Fernando: That is correct.
JP: So he’s a sports star. So we have Hugo Chávez, the politician; Alejandro Sanz, the singer, and Diego Maradona, who’s the soccer player from Argentina…. and he has big hair.
Fernando: he does have big hair, he has a big ego, he has a big everything. He’s a coach now, he recently qualified the national team to go play in the World Cup in South Africa.
JP: …with just his hair. Can we do another geography question?
Fernando: Out of these countries I’m going to name, which has the most populated city in a Spanish speaking country; a) México, b) Argentina c) Spain, d) Colombia.
JP: Ok, which of those countries has the most populated city? That’s easy. That’s going to be Mexico City… El D.F.
Fernando: Yes, el Distrito Federal. We’re talking over 9 million. it’s a big city, it’s a very impressive city.
JP: You’ve been there, right?
Fernando: Yes I have, many a time. And it is wonderful, especially if you don’t get stuck in traffic.
JP: I always took the Metro.
Fernando: The Metro is a good way of getting around, definitely.
JP: The Metro is a subway. You know what? There’s really good tacos al pastor in Mexico City.
Fernando: There are many good tacos of anything in Mexico City. The food, the restaurants…. everything is just wonderful. My mouth is watering right now.
JP: Alright, what’s the next question, because I’m cleaning up here.
Fernando: In this one, we’re going to be dealing with economics.
JP: Ok… this is my strong suit…
Fernando: What is the name of the free trade agreement between the US and many countries of Central America.
JP: Ok, that would be NAFTA.
Fernando: That would be incorrect.
JP: What? The trade agreement, NAFTA; everybody knows it.
Fernando: But that’s not Central America, that’s between Mexico, Canada, and the US.
JP: well North American…. Ohhhh. So what is it, like Central…. CAFTA?
Fernando: There you go!
JP: See, I knew about it.
Fernando: You were off one letter.
JP: Ok, so tell us about CAFTA.
Fernando: So CAFTA, which stands for Central American Free Trade Agreement; not to be confused with Canadian American Free Trade Agreement.
JP: which became NAFTA, right?
Fernando: Yes.
JP: Ok, now CAFTA and NAFTA are basically the same thing, right?
Fernando: CAFTA is a trade agreement that includes Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. And the Dominican Republic.
JP: But the Dominican Republic is in the Caribbean Sea, right?
Fernando: It is in the Caribbean Sea…
JP: But they signed on to the treaty?
Fernando: but they signed on to the treaty, so if you want to add on the “DR-CAFTA.”
JP: Alright, what’s the last question.
Fernando: Here’s a true-or-false… pretty basic… this may be your strong suit. All pre-Colombian indigenous people’s have died out.
JP: By 2009?
Fernando: Yes, they’ve lived quite a while, is that what you’re trying to say?
JP: Yes, everybody that’s pre- Columbus is now dead. That is the truth.
Fernando: Ok, you seem very confident.
JP: Yah, I’m pretty sure that 500 years ago…. 500 years is too long for any pre-Colombian to have survived.
Fernando: That is correct. Yes. Maybe I should word it differently? All pre-Colombian indigenous cultures have died out; true or false?
JP: Well, depending on the way you look at it, those cultures still exist. All over South America we still have people speaking Quechua, following Inca traditions, the food survives… The culture survives. The same in Mexico; you can still say that there are Nahuatl people, that are still speaking Nahuatl and still living their cultures. Obviously, after colonization and independence, these nations have changed. They’re not the same pre-colombian cultures, but they have developed into modern nation states with those cultures still part of them.
Fernando: Yes, that is true, they still carry those attributes and that history with them. You can see even in the way they dress, they’re still very traditional.
JP: I remember going to Guatemala once, and seeing all the Mayan people. There are dozens of Mayan languages, and the women that are descendents of Mayans wear those very special woven shirts that are very cool.
Fernando: Absolutely. I think you’ve done pretty well here, except for that economics question… I didn’t want you to get a perfect 100%.
JP: Thank you Fernando, thanks for that.
Fernando: Listeners, we’re going to leave it here. JP, again, thank you so much.
JP: Muchas gracias a ti.
Fernando: We’ll catch you on All About number seven. Have a good one!
JP: Hasta luego.

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