🇻🇪 Venezuela, un mes después
Today marks one month since the earthquakes hit my country.
More than 5,000 lives were lost. Thousands of families still in tents in Parque del Este and in shelters across La Guaira. The rescue phase ended weeks ago, and what's left is the slow work of rebuilding, which people there are measuring in years.
I keep thinking about home. Gracias to everyone who has helped so far. If you're able to, these organizations are still working on the ground:
Fuerza, Venezuela. 🇻🇪
¡Bienvenido/a a Master Spanish Weekly! 👋🏻
This email lands every Friday: one clear lesson, real examples, a song, and a few things to help you make Spanish part of your week.
Gracias por estar aquí.
¡Vamos! 🧠
A song to listen to:
🎵 Estrellitas y Duendes by Juan Luis Guerra & Sting
Did you know Sting has a song in Spanish?
Last year he joined Juan Luis Guerra for a new version of "Estrellitas y Duendes," and he sings the whole thing in Spanish. Sting has said his pronunciation is far from perfect, but that he sang it as honestly as he could. That's a good thing to keep in mind the next time you worry about your own accent.
If Juan Luis Guerra is new to you, he's a Dominican singer-songwriter and one of the most important figures in Latin music.
The lyrics for “Estrellitas y Duendes” are poetic and unhurried, which makes it a great one for listening practice.
Lesson of the week
🎯 Lección de la semana: All the meanings of “SACAR”
Sacar is one of those verbs that has a lot of meanings in Spanish. It usually translates to: to take something out, but it goes way beyond.
Here are a few examples on other ways to use SACAR:
Saqué la basura. → I took out the trash. (the literal meaning)
Saqué buena nota en el examen. → I got a good grade on the exam.
Voy a sacar dinero del cajero. → I'm going to withdraw money from the ATM.
¿Me sacas una foto? → Will you take a photo of me?
Tengo que sacar el pasaporte. → I need to get my passport.
La banda sacó un disco nuevo. → The band released a new album.
And a few expressions worth knowing:
Sacar de quicio → to drive someone crazy
Sacar adelante → to move something forward, to support a family or a project
Sacar provecho → to make the most of something
I recorded a short video walking through all of these with more examples.
I also put together a full guide with every meaning + examples.
Download it, keep it nearby.
Let’s test your knowledge
✏️ Mini Quiz: El Verbo SACAR
Choose the best answer.
"¿Me sacas una foto?" is asking someone to:
(a) take a photo of you · (b) show you a photo · (c) send you a photo
Which sentence means "I got a good grade on the exam"?
(a) Tomé buena nota en el examen. · (b) Saqué buena nota en el examen.
"Mi hermano me saca de quicio." means:
(a) My brother drives me crazy. · (b) My brother takes me out. · (c) My brother pulls me aside.
"La banda sacó un disco nuevo." Here, sacar means:
(a) to remove · (b) to withdraw · (c) to release
Which is the correct yo form in the past?
(a) sacé · (b) saqué · (c) sacó
What’s happening in Vokally
📣 Lo que está pasando en Vokally
New classes start the first week of August. That's next week, so if you've been thinking about joining, now is the moment to book.
And Vive Vokally is still on the way. The mission is to help you learn, practice, and live en Español in one place through practical video courses, live conversation sessions, guest-led experiences, and a growing library of replays.
Current students get first access as founding members.
Answer the poll below so I can get an idea of your thoughts.
What do you think of the idea?
¡Gracias por leer mi newsletter!
¡Gracias!
Gracias por estar aquí, por tu curiosidad, y por darle un poco de tu tiempo al español esta semana.
Nos vemos el próximo viernes.
¡Un abrazo!
Alejandro, Founder and Director @ Vokally
