Duolingo Spanish Podcast

As the daughter of recent immigrants from Ecuador, Francis Gortaire didn’t get to have a traditional quinceañera when she turned 15. But, for her 30th birthday, she decided to host the quinceañera she never had and shared an important announcement with her community. A transcript of this episode is available at https://bit.ly/3x8n1bc.

Julián Meconetzin Rangel Sosa learned how to craft piñatas when he was a kid. So when he launched his own business, he also taught children in schools how to make them, passing the custom onto the next generation. A transcript of this episode is available at https://bit.ly/3JIGfHV.

An asadora — a woman grill master — in Argentina breaks into the male-dominated field of barbecuing, creating an entire movement. A transcript of this episode is available at https://bit.ly/34V2nzO.

In Quito, entrepreneur Paúl Mendez updates his community’s New Year’s custom — burning effigies, or monigotes — to make it healthier for the environment. A transcript of this episode is available at https://bit.ly/3MELryi.

When a Spanish mayor signs a yearly proclamation requesting everyone respect the hours of the siesta, his small town suddenly makes headlines around the world. A transcript of this episode is available at https://bit.ly/3MkEW3B.

The Duolingo Spanish Podcast is back for a special season, with new episodes on March 3rd. Listen to the trailer now!

For almost a decade, Leydis Lopez put her career in education on hold. Until one day, she finally decided to lean into her native Spanish language to give children the gift of bilingualism. A transcript of this episode is available at https://bit.ly/3HoUG2U.

At eight years old, Margarita Lora Prats left Cuba in a plane full of children, thinking she was headed on a vacation. But she was actually one of thousands of children airlifted to the United States during the Cuban Revolution, in a covert program called “Operación Pedro Pan.” A transcript of this episode is available at https://bit.ly/3rZbDdq.

After fleeing her hometown of Capulhuac, México, Cristina Martínez starts all over in Philadelphia, where she rises to fame as a barbacoa chef. A transcript of this episode is available at https://bit.ly/35xJz9v.

Growing up in Venezuela, identical twin brothers Emilio and Orlando Tovar Gil had to lean on each other to survive. After working hard to pursue an international dance career, will a series of setbacks cause them to break up? A transcript of this episode is available at https://bit.ly/3ufWU0O.