Portsmouth Hispanic Society

Don Quixote, here of Spanish culture

¡Bienvenido!

The Portsmouth Hispanic Society offers presentations and discussions on a wide and eclectic range of Hispanic topics.

Something of interest to anyone interested in all aspects of Hispanic culture and life. We welcome visitors to any of our meetings.

The Aims of the Society

  • To further the understanding of all aspects of Hispanic culture and life
  • To provide a meeting point for those interested in the Hispanic world
  • To provide inexpensive tuition in the Spanish language at a range of levels

Society Activities

The main activities of the Society are Spanish language classes and the Monthly Meetings. The meetings are a social evening, with tapas, accompanied a presentation or demonstration followed by discussions.

One or two external social events are also held during the year.

Our Monthly Meetings are conducted in English. Some Spanish may be spoken but will be translated.

Next Meeting

Thursday 2nd May 2024
Fratton Community Centre, 7pm

Birdwatching in Spain a presentation by Keith Betton

Keith has been the County Bird Recorder in Hampshire since 2010 and is currently Chair of the Hampshire Ornithological Society. When not birding locally, Keith is a keen world traveller having seen nearly 8600 species in over 100 countries. Despite having seen 80% of the world's birds he still likes those that he can see in Europe, and he loves Spain. He has made more than 40 birding trips to the country and in this talk he shows us birds from Extremadura, Aragon, Andalucia, Catalonia and Mallorca



Please note that on rare occasions, due to circumstances beyond the society's control, it may be necessary to move the date of, or cancel, a presentation, perhaps at short notice. The society will make every effort to warn it's members via email and update the website in good time. Attendees should consult the website for changes prior to attending the event.

Where we meet

Meetings are held at
The Fratton Community Centre
Trafalgar Place.
Off Clive Rd, Portsmouth
PO1 5JJ
at 7.00pm usually on the first Thursday of the month.
Click here for a MAP There is limited free parking. The Centre is twelve minutes walk from Fratton Railway station.
Busses 14 18 21 and 25 stop at St Mary's Church, about 2 minutes walk away.


Membership

Membership currently runs from September 2023 to August 2024

Current Subscription Rates

  • Adult - £20.00
  • Full-time students - £10.00 on production of a student card.
  • One Full Membership, one Student Membership - £30.00
  • Two Full Memberships - £40.00
  • Two Student Memberships - £20.00
  • Native Spanish Speaker - Honorary Membership £0.00

  • Non‐members are very welcome provided they are at least 18 years of age.

    There is a charge of £3.00 for non-members to attend any meeting.

    You may apply to join the society by using our on-line form, which can be accessed via the drop-down menu.


Society News


Posted: 12th March 2024

Spanish Fiestas

The Spanish culture embraces religious festivals with total abandon. This presentation follows a range of Spanish fiestas experienced by a couple of our members.

To view the presentation click here.


Posted: 12th March 2024

¡Más Elecciones!

This month's News Item delves into the current electoral dynamics on the Iberian Peninsular.

To view the presentation click here.


Posted: 12th March 2024

My Father's Journey

Andres' presentation traced his father's journey from rural Spain through the Spanish Civil War, the French Foreign Legion, and the Second World War.

To view the presentation click here.


Posted: 12th March 2024

Los Pellets, La Igualdad, Y Las Infermas

This month's News Item brought our attention to the scourge of plastic contamination, gender inequality, and industrial relations within the Spanish health sector,

To view the presentation click here.


Posted: 6th March 2024

Guatemala

Jerry delivered a presentation that was part travelogue, part wildlife conservation.

To view the presentation click here.


Posted: 6th March 2024

La Ley de Amnistía

For February's meeting Mike explored the political machinations swirling around the proposed amnesty law aimed at settling the fall out from the 2017 Catalan independence referendum.

To view the presentation click here.


Posted: 29th January 2024

My Travels in Mexico

January's talk followed David's travels through the the landscape and ancient sites of Mexico during a three week visit to this amazing country a few years ago. The presentation includes pictures of the country, buildings, ancient sites, and historic artefacts.

To view David's presentation click here.


Posted: 29th January 2024

January's News Item - The Politics of Spain's Nation Day

This month's news item from the Iberian peninsular explored the politics surrounding Spain's day of national celebration on 12th October.

To view the news item click here.


Posted: 22nd January 2024

AMM in action in the Amazon - News Update 2024

In a remote rural community, located deep in the heart of Bolivian Amazon, a mother takes her young daughter into a small health clinic run by just one nurse. Her baby has a potentially serious infection in the orbit of her eye which if left untreated, could even be life threatening. Twenty minutes later the mother walks out with a diagnosis for her daughter from a top UK ophthalmologist and all the appropriate medicines to treat the infection correctly. All at no cost to the family. A few days later the little girl is doing very well and is out of danger.

A representative from the Andean Medical Mission gave an informative talk to the society a few years ago and we receive yearly updates about their amazing work in the most remote areas of South America. However, the charity is dependant on donations in order to carry on providing medical support to remote and impoverished areas. The cost of saving the sight of the little girl mentioned above was just a few pounds.

Dave Goldsmith's message for the New Year - We are looking forward to 2024 with anticipation. In doing even more to reduce blindness and chasing excellence in what we already do. If you would like to support us, we would love to have your support. Even small amounts add up and make a big difference over time.

If you would like to support AMM's work click here to donate.

Click here for the full AMM News Update for 2024


Posted: 22nd January 2024

Tortilla de Patatas al Microondas

Our dear friend Raphael has forwarded a link to a YouTube video demonstrating how to make a super healthy Tortilla de Patatas using a microwave. Traditionally the potatoes are fried in oil but this recipe softens them in a microwave. The video is in Spanish. Sub-titles can be displayed by clicking on the sub-title icon. Initially in Spanish, the language can be changes via the settings.

Follow the Tortilla de Patatas al Microondas demonstration on YouTube

Raphael has also provided a link to a microwave power conversion chart to help estimate cooking time


Posted: 03rd January 2024

Brexit! Have Your Say

Mark is a PhD researcher from the University of Portsmouth investigating how people feel since the UK left the EU. Mark would like to know how Brexit may have affected you, whether positively or negatively, and how you imagine life in the future.

To do this, he is seeking to conduct interviews and focus groups with people (18 years and over) living in Portsmouth, from all walks of life.

If you are interested in finding out more about Mark's research project and/or want to participate the links below will open relevant documentation in a new tab.

Or you can contact Mark by email using this link mark.kaye@port.ac.uk


Posted: 19th September 2023

Sabor Latino Dance

Sabor Latino is a fun and friendly Latin dance club offering Salsa, Bachata, and Reggaeton classes for social dancing.

The club meets every Tuesday night at the Portsmouth Rail Social Club, opposite Fratton Railway Station on Selbourne Terrace.

Click here for their Facebook page SABORLATINO101 or for email click here
(Please note the society is not responsible for the content of external websites).


Posted: 4th September 2023

Face to Face Classes for New Term

Our Spanish tuition for the 2023/24 season starts this week. The Society runs lessons at all levels of Spanish language competency from complete beginner to advanced. Two new face to face classes have been introduced, with others continuing on Zoom.

The maximum students for face to face lessons is eight, whilst the limit for Zoom classes is five. There is still some availability for both face to face and Zoom classes.

If you are interested in learning Spanish from scratch or in improving your Spanish click here for more information and to express an interest.