The Divergent Trilogy

Are you a divergent? Can you think independently? As Tris Prior, every young at 16 must choose a faction to belong to. Are you for "abnegation ", "amity" or "candor"?, or do you prefer"dauntless" or "erudite"? She will have to find out. Meanwhile, as she is leaving childhood behind, she will have to fight against adult authority  and social structure and she will also find love in the character of Four.

Divergent, its sequel Insurgent and Allegiant have succeeded among young adults. No doubt, the dystopian genre is back into the spotlight. Other titles as The Hunger Games by S.Collins, The maze runner by J.Dashner or The fifth wave by R.Yancey are also recommended. However, this is not a new genre, authors have been creating these worlds for years! 1984 by G.Orwell, Fahrenheit 451 by R.Bradbury or Brave new world by A. Huxley are a MUST.

Gringo??? Yankee???

Is it a "gringo" the same as a "Yankee"? What do you think?

Well, if you look up the word "gringo" in the dictionary, you will find out that it is a term mainly used in Spanish speaking countries to refer to foreigners who don't speak Spanish or who speak it poorly.In most Latin American countries the word refers especially to someone from the United States, and it is sometimes used derogatorily.

There are different theories that deal with the etymology of this word, but the most widespread are the ones within folk etymology, which say that the term derives from word coincidences; for example during the Mexican-American war some marching songs , sung by US soldiers, became popular in Mexico, as "Green Grow the Lilacs".Native Spanish speakers had difficulties in pronunciation and they said "green-gos".

Another theory said that the US soldiers wore green uniforms and the locals shouted at them "green go", as they wanted them to leave.

The word "Yankee", spelt "yanqui" in Spanish,refers to people from the USA.However, if you use this word within the States, you mean people from the north, especially the ones from New England.

During and after the American Civil war (1861-65) confederates used the term "Yankee " to refer to their northern enemies.

Nowadays major league  baseball 's New York Yankees has contributed to make the term even more popular!

Wicked, the musical

Wicked: The Untold Story of the Witches of Oz is a musical based on the 1995 Gregory novel Wicked : The life and times of the wicked witch of the west. The plot tells the story of two friends, Elphaba and Glinda , who live in the land of Oz before Dorothy's arrival. Ephaba is an emeral-green  skinned girl who eventually becomes the Wicked Witch of the West, and Glinda, the blonde popular girl who becomes the Good  Witch of the South...I can't tell you any more! But when it comes to Spain, you can't miss it!

Until now it has been the 10th longest running show in the West End in London and it has been seen in Broadway since 2003! In Spain ? We will have to wait!

The Union Jack

The Union Jack is the national flag of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northen Ireland. Its design dates from the union of Great Britain and Ireland in 1801. It consists of the Red Cross of the patron saint of England (Saint George), superimposed on the cross of the patron saint of Ireland (Saint Patrick), which are superimposed on the saltire of the patron saint of Scotland (Saint Andrew).Wales's patron saint, Saint David,is not represented in the Union Jack, as at the time the flag was designed Wales was part of the kingdom of England.