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 open to anyone aged 18 or over and are conducted in English. Some Spanish may be spoken but will be translated.

Non-members are very welcome and pay £2.00 to attend any meeting.

Next Meeting

Thu 3rd Feb 2022 at 7pm,
Fratton Community Centre

Meeting details to be finalised

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 2021 to August 2022

Current Subscription Rates

Adult - £12
Full-time students - £6 on production of a student card.
One Full Membership, one Student Membership - £18
Two Full Memberships - £24
Two Student Memberships - £12

Non-members are very welcome. There is a charge of £2.00 to attend any meeting.

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

Society News

New Spanish Curriculum for 2021/22

Our Spanish teacher Natalia Corcuera is organising lessons for the new season. We are planning to start new sessions at various levels at a variety of different times during the week and at affordable prices. The Society runs lessons at all levels of Spanish from complete beginner to advanced and some may have spaces available. Currently all lessons are taught via Zoom with a maximum of 5 students per session. If you are interested in learning Spanish from scratch or in improving your Spanish.

Click here for more information and to express an interest.

Fiesta de Navidad

The Society's annual Fiesta de Navidad was held on Thursday 6^th December at the Fratton Community Centre. This year members and visitors were entertained by guitar and vocal duo Mike and Hazzell plus a salsa session arranged by Lucy and readings by society members. As always there was a tapas finger buffet with dishes prepared by society members.

Once the buffet had opened and guests had filled their plates the entertainment kicked off with a set of traditional and contemporary songs delivered by Mike and Hazzell. We enjoyed tracks such as La Bamba, Despacito, and Besame Mucho. Next up was the opportunity for members to take the spotlight. Mike and Judith made us laugh with the excruciating Spanglish of The Visit of St. Nick before Roy Downing sang, in English, One For My Baby (And One More For the Road) and, in Spanish, the Mexican song Por un Amor.

Lucy managed to get most of us up for a salsa session before the raffle was drawn, rewarding a lucky few of those who had bought tickets.

The evening closed off with a singalong set from Mike and Hazzell. Lyric sheets had been provided so we could join in with well known classics such as Tamborilero, Noche de Paz, Feliz Navidad, and Campana Sobre Campanana.

My Colombia by Lucy Sanchez

On 7 October 2021 we welcomed Lucy Sanchez to present an illustrated talk about her native country Colombia.

Her presentation covered many aspects of Colombia including geography, history, and politics. Lucy's talk captured the colour and vibrancy of life and culture in Colombia but also introduced attendees to some of the more difficult aspects of modern day living. Overall the presentation was uplifting and fascinating as Lucy conveyed her enthusiasm for her native country and culture. Indeed, Lucy provided insights that we would not have found in any guide book.

Attired in traditional dress Lucy and her son, Mahde, treated us to a demonstration of traditional Colombian folk dance.

Additionally, Lucy provided an extensive array of home cooked traditional dishes including empanadas and a refreshing drink made from fermented pineapple skin and jaggery. Hopefully the menu and recipes will be made available in the near future so keep an eye on the website.

Thanks to Lucy and Mahde for an enjoyable and memorable evening.

Andean Medical Mission

The Andean Medical Mission is well known to the Society having delivered a presentation about its work. Dave Smith, the charity's General Manager has sent an update for our membership.

Milestone reaching and online teaching

I trust you are well and keeping safe in these most extraordinary times. As one of our valued team of volunteers and supporters of our work in Bolivia, I want to update you on our plans for 2021.

Following an amazing 2019 where Andean Medical Mission passed the milestone of successfully operating on our 1,000th blind patient, like much of the world we found ourselves on pause during 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic. As the year progressed it became obvious that whilst our online teaching of management of eye emergencies could continue very successfully, our eye surgery trips would be on hold for some time. We needed to consider our next moves carefully.

Supporting the vaccine roll out

After much thought we have arrived at the conclusion that the best use of our resources in 2021 is to help in the roll out of the Covid19 vaccines to rural villages in El Beni where we have built relationships. Bolivia has purchased several million vials of vaccine and will need help to distribute it outside of the main cities due to the shortage of medical professionals available in these remote locations.

The successful delivery of the vaccine will achieve two things. Firstly, we can save lives by making sure that as many isolated families are vaccinated as possible. Secondly, once sufficient vaccine coverage has been achieved, we can resume our eye care services safely and in the knowledge that we are not bringing differing strains of the virus from outside of Bolivia to these populations.

Whilst we are primarily an eye care organisation, this is the right thing to do at this time.

Spread the word

Now more than ever we need your help to ensure we receive vital funds. As a regular supporter or someone who has seen what we do first-hand and made significant contribution to providing eye care in this forgotten part of the world, you are in a great place to tell others about AMM and help us to grow our network of supporters.

Regular donations change lives

Please share this link https://www.justgiving.com/andeanmedicalmission with friends, family, or anyone who you think might be willing to support our work.

The most impactful way anyone can contribute is with a regular monthly donation. A regular gift allows us to forecast for the future and ensure that we are able to direct our help where it is needed most.

There is no doubt that your support has changed lives. With your continued support we can pursue our aim of eliminating avoidable blindness in Bolivia.

Thank you so much.
Warm regards

Dave Goldsmith,
General Manager.
Andean Medical Mission
WhatsApp: +591 67358221

Arquitecto de tu Casa

Attendees at October's meeting were introduced to Margarita Molina, author of the book "Arquitecto de tu Casa". Written during the pandemic, and published in Spanish, the book aims to help people and families facing isolation during the Covid crisis.

In "Architect of your house" you will find some steps to make your home a happy home and start a new healthy lifestyle that allows you to look and feel good about yourself. My purpose is to provide you with some tools to combat the isolation caused by the pandemic and motivate you to improve and prevent diseases.

She has contacted our Hispanic Society to make us aware of the book's publication and would like to organise a reading club to discuss, in Spanish, the issues it deals with.

Copies of the book can be ordered from Margarita or, if you prefer an E-book format, via Amazon.

Click here to contact Margarita by email or call her on 07884 368409.

Los asistentes al encuentro de octubre conocieron a Margarita Molina, autora del libro "Arquitecto de tu Casa". Escrito durante la pandemia y publicado en español, el libro tiene como objetivo ayudar a las personas y familias que se enfrentan al aislamiento durante la crisis de Covid.

En "Arquitecto de tu casa" encontrarás algunos pasos para hacer de tu hogar un hogar feliz y comenzar un nuevo estilo de vida saludable que le permite verse y sentirse bien consigo mismo. Mi propósito es brindarte algunas herramientas para combatir el aislamiento causada por la pandemia y motivarlo a mejorar y prevenir enfermedades.

Se ha puesto en contacto con nuestra Hispanic Society para informarnos sobre la publicación del libro y le gustaría organizar un club de lectura para discutir, en español, los problemas que trata.

Se pueden pedir copias del libro a Margarita o, si prefiere un formato de libro electrónico, a través de Amazon.

Haga clic aquí para contactar a Margarita por correo electrónico o llamarla 07884 368409.

¡Español de paseo!

Un nuevo grupo de conversación - ¡pero con una diferencia!

We will walk while we speak Spanish. There are many sites in Portsmouth and Southsea that are worth visiting and talking about. We will start with Henry the 8th's Castle, where there is much to see; there is a whole museum to explore. You can also have coffee! If you are interested, it is better to contact me by email or phone and we can arrange a meeting time. For me there is a preference: I am available on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Contact Judith Worley: paseo@spanishportsmouth.org.uk or Tel: 02392 483217

Pasearemos mientras hablamos Español. Hay muchos sitios en Portsmouth y Southsea que merecen la pena visitar y hablar de ellos. Empezaremos por El Castillo de Enrique Octavo, donde hay mucho que ver; hay un museo entero por explorar. ¡También se puede tomar café! Si estás interesado es mejor contactarme por email o teléfono y podemos acordar una hora de reunión. Para mí hay una preferencia: estoy disponible los martes y los jueves.