logo
episode-header-image
Feb 2024
15m 54s

El Popol Vuh

SMALL TOWN SPANISH TEACHER
About this episode

In their attempts to convert the native peoples of the Americas to Christianity, Catholic missionaries destroyed many elements of preHispanic cultures, including their books. The mayan culture in particular had hundreds, if not thousands, of books and documents concerning mythology, astronomy, history and religion. Thankfully, one person thought to record this information and hid it. That book, El Popol Vuh, was found and preserved by a sympathetic friar. Today you can even read it online.


This story is told in the third person and the past tense. Important vocabulary in the story includes: “códice” (codex/ancient text), “fray” (friar), “lengua” (language/tongue), and “lo” (it).


No matter where you are in your language journey, stories will help you on your way. You can find a transcript of the story and read along at https://smalltownspanishteacher.com/2024/02/14/simple-stories-in-spanish-el-popol-vuh/ 

Support the show

Up next
Aug 17
Told Faster: El cuaderno mágico
Some students feel that they just don’t know anything, so why even try? Perhaps they just need a little bit of motivation and confidence. Daniel is not the smartest student, but he finds inspiration through a magic notebook. Through his magic notebook, he finds a recipe for succe ... Show More
8m 52s
Jul 28
Told Faster: Las mariposas monarcas
Hannah is a curious girl. When a butterfly lands in her back yard, she wants to learn all about it. After visiting the library, she learns that these butterflies are special and that they fly all the way to Mexico from Canada. What else will she learn about the mariposa monarca?T ... Show More
9m 48s
Jul 18
El sendero
If you follow me on Instagram, you know that I love hiking in nature. At the beginning of July I did a few really difficult hikes in the mountains. While they were hard, they were also stunningly beautiful. Today’s story recounts the poetic beauty I find when hiking on the trail. ... Show More
17m 49s
Recommended Episodes
Jun 2022
The Popol Vuh: Central American epic that survived Spanish conquest
Mythological sagas are often fantastical and push the imagination to the limit but the Popol Vuh, which originates in what is Guatemala today, has a gallery of extraordinary characters both good and bad. They get involved in a series of mind-boggling battles and challenges and th ... Show More
39m 7s
Jun 2021
E09: Leyendas I: La Llorona
This is part 1 of the Leyenda Series Mexico is a country known worldwide for its deep-rooted cultural traditions, and legends, which balance between reality and fiction. The legends of the colonial era are stories that have an important cultural message since they are enriched by ... Show More
28m 10s
Dec 2023
Xavier Luffin, "Another Look at Congolese History: Arabic and Swahili Documents in the Belgian Archives" (Académie Royale des Sciences d’Outre-Mer, 2020)
Another Look at Congolese History: Arabic and Swahili Documents in the Belgian Archives (Académie Royale des Sciences d’Outre-Mer, 2020), edited by Xavier Luffin, unlocks an unprecedented journey through the tapestry of Congo's past in Central Africa and the Indian Ocean world. T ... Show More
1h 9m
Dec 2023
Xavier Luffin, "Another Look at Congolese History: Arabic and Swahili Documents in the Belgian Archives" (Académie Royale des Sciences d’Outre-Mer, 2020)
Another Look at Congolese History: Arabic and Swahili Documents in the Belgian Archives (Académie Royale des Sciences d’Outre-Mer, 2020), edited by Xavier Luffin, unlocks an unprecedented journey through the tapestry of Congo's past in Central Africa and the Indian Ocean world. T ... Show More
1h 9m
Aug 2021
The Aztec: From Empire to AI
August 1521: Spain’s victory over the Aztec launches colonization of Mexico, but Aztec culture will survive for centuries through preservation and practice. Aztec codices—16th-century Rosetta Stones that preserved Aztec language and deeds—laid a foundation that scholars are build ... Show More
33m 35s
Aug 2023
122: Finding Agartha: The Search for the Hidden City in the Center of the Earth
Cultures around the world have myths that speak of a mysterious underground kingdom that exists deep within the earth, hidden away from the primitive and violent surface-dwellers: which is us. Picture a society untouched by time, unscathed by war, and unaffected by natural disast ... Show More
35m 26s
Dec 2022
On "1001 Nights"
Humans love stories. And no collection of stories is more beloved worldwide than the Middle Eastern folk tales known as One Thousand and One Nights. The original collection only contained about 40 stories. It was compiled into a manuscript sometime between the 8th century and the ... Show More
30m 42s
Aug 2023
Gilgamesh, le plus ancien héros de l'histoire ?
Mes chers camarades, bien le bonjour ! Hercule, Jason, Ulysse, Achille, Persée, Roland, Arthur, Merlin, Jeanne d’Arc et Mulan : on en a vu des héros et héroïnes historiques, semi-légendaires voire carrément mythologiques ! Mais si je vous disais qu’il existe une histoire écrite, ... Show More
13m 27s
Feb 2024
Lies We Tell Ourselves about the History of Multilingualism
Ingrid Piller speaks with Aneta Pavlenko about her new book Multilingualism and History (Cambridge UP, 2023).We often hear that our world 'is more multilingual than ever before', but is it true? This book shatters that cliché. It is the first volume to shine light on the millenni ... Show More
56m 36s