Portsmouth Hispanic Society

¡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 3rd December 2026
Fratton Community Centre, 7pm

Fiesta de Navidad.

With Christmas just around the corner join us for the society's annual Fiesta de Navidad. This year the society is hosting an evening of eclectic entertainment to celebrate the forthcoming festive season. A tapas buffet, including dishes cooked by society members, will provide sustenance whilst revellers can try their luck with a flutter on the raffle, experience Yamir Gaitero's traditional Colombian music or learn some basic Latin American dance steps under the tutelage of Janneth Rey.

Yamir is a professional artist with more than 20 year's experience in the interpretation and composition of Afro-Caribbean music, especially in the Gaitas and drum format of the Colombian Atlantic coast. He is the founding member of the successful Bogatá Luthiería company "Párajo Cantor" and has made musical tours, recordings, and workshops in Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Panama, and England.

Janneth is a Latin American dance teacher who will give a short workshop teaching some basic steps in the rhythms of Cumbia, Puya, and Colombian Salsa.

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.

View September '26 to June '27 schedule

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 2026 to August 2027

Current Subscription Rates

Adult - £22.00
Full-time students - £11.00 on production of a student card.
One Full Membership, one Student Membership - £33.00
Two Full Memberships - £44.00
Two Student Memberships - £22.00
Native Spanish Speaker - Honorary Membership £0.00
Members joining from February onwards will be charged half the year's subscription.

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.

The society can now accept debit or credit card payments in person at the monthly meetings.

Society News

Posted: 4^th November 2026

Untold Story of the Spanish Armada

Unfortunately we were unable to deliver the scheduled presentation on The Camiño de Santiago. However a documentary titled The Untold Story of the Spanish Armada was shown instead. The documentary from the Our History YouTube channel explores this epic event in British history in great detail, including historical background, Tudor boat building technology, the meteorological impact on the the invasion fleet and the eventual route of the rout.

If you would like to watch the documentary on YouTube click here.

Posted: 4^th November 2026

Tapas y Bebidas

Refreshments add to the pleasure of our meetings at Fratton. However, we can only continue to enjoy them if members come forward to provide them. The Society contributes to the cost of tapas, which can be as simple as 4 or 5 items and plenty of advice and ideas for tapas is available. As we do not have a licence to sell alcohol we can only offer wine if members donate a bottle every so often. If everyone who enjoys wine at our Fratton meetings brings a bottle now and again, the bodega will be in good shape! You don't have to be a member to drink it so you don't have to be a member to give a bottle!

Posted: 27^th September 2026

The History of Flamenco

Mike's talk about the history of Flamenco is now available to view in the video library.

Society members can watch a recording of September's meeting by logging into the Member's Only page and selecting the video. To access the Member's Area click here.

Posted: 28^th August 2026

Spanish Tuition for 2026/27 season

The 2026/7 season starts at the beginning of September with a wide range of educational and recreational activities organised by the society. Spanish language classes, led by a Spanish national with teaching qualifications, range in ability levels from beginner to the very experienced. Classes are delivered in a range of formats including face to face in the Southsea Library and remote learning via Zoom.

The society also offers formal and informal conversation classes and a Spanish literature reading group.

Compared to other language tuition providers the society's range of formal courses and conversation classes are very competitively priced whilst the informal activities may incur a small charges or are free.

Click here to contact the society's Language Coordinator for more information or select Spanish Tuition from the menu to view all course and conversation options.