I agree that her pace is good and her pronouncing is clear, but filler words are important, even for beginners because they're very hard to learn intentionally, but easier, in the long run to pick up naturally over time by listening and passively "figuring out" when, why and how to use them. Without filler words we never truly sound native or even fully fluent, especially in Spanish which employs A LOT of filler words that differ based on dialect.
Six months ago, when I first watched this video, I couldn’t understand much of anything without the subtitle. After six months of study, I can now understand it without watching it as a podcast. If you have just started, remember there is no shortcut to language learning. You have to put in the time to learn the grammar and listen to audios every day.
Great topic Alma! I follow several TH-cam channels by Cubans showing current day life in Cuba. It looks fascinating, lively and beautiful, but sad and full of hardship at the same time. Glad that you had a chance to visit. Thanks for reporting what you found.
The reason there is no rice, sugar, beans etc on the shelves in the store is because the citizens have a ration on those items. They have a special store for that. I went on a tour and they explained all that to us while we went to the “ration” store. This was in 2007 so it may be different now.
Man, you really sold me on Cuba. Interesting historical places, people talking to each other in the streets, classic cars, pre-internet life style. Sounds like an awesome place to visit.
REALLY Wish Alma would make more videos. She is the Best because she has a degree in teaching Spanish , and both of her parents were teachers . Her Mother taught Kindergarten . . .my level. :D
I visited Cuba in March, so I wonder if we were there at the same time 😂 Havana is definitely an interesting and unique experience. One thing I would add is how the old city consists of a mix of collapsed ruins and run-down buildings right next to beautifully restored wonderful buildings and plazas.
Es fácil visitar Cuba si tienes ciudadanía o residencía permanente española pero también naciste en los Estados Unidos (y por lo tanto tienes ciudadanía estadounidense también?) Lo único que yo sé es que sería bastante difícil ir a Cuba como estadounidense.
quiero decir que acerca del punto numero 3, los supermercados en cuba no hay muchos productos porque las sanctiones americanas impeden los cubanos para comprar los productos comidas, medicinos, o muchos otras productos. algunas personas piensan que es solamente porque del comunismo, pero la verdad es diferente. ¡gracias por este video! 🙂
@bobleglob162 There are actually many economic sanctions against trading with Venezuela just from US Executive Orders. This isn't even taking into account the numerous congressional sanctions. You can't even work for some US jobs if you have traveled to Venezuela.
They're starving Cuba until they surrender their land and allow US corporations free reign. With failed Invasions, terrorist plots and assassination attempts it seems economic blockade is the chosen weapon.
@@tpipandpop4242 You cant on the one hand acknowledge the "most evil people in the world" imposing a 60 year blockade on a tiny island and then on the other hand blame its government as "the biggest issue", who despite the blockade, has managed to not only function reasonably normal, but achieve what they have with so little, particularly around health care. I would estimate 99% of all the issues stem from the blockade, I dont think one could describe a problem in Cuba without it finding correlation to the blockade.
@@tpipandpop4242 Do you know how many "defectors" are getting paid to lie about the conditions of their "evil communist home country". Also, most Cubans who fled to Florida did so because they lost their slaves so they have every reason to lie and oppose the revolution and the Cuban government.
As an American I believe as long as our biggest trade partner is the Chinese Communist Party, i am 100% for ending travel and trade restrictions on Cuba. HOWEVER i have friends from Cuba that disagree with me. The things they went through and saw were atrocious and they tear up when they talk about it.. I just believe that the direct support ending the embargo would give to the Cuban people is worth the price of supporting the Cuban communist party. Our yearly trading volume with China is in the trillions of USD and our biggest corporations have assets there. The embargo on Cuba is driven purely by right wing political dogma and no other good reason.
I don’t think it’s right wing political propaganda. It’s the US not wanting communism in its back yard. The embargo was started by JFK and no president has lifted it since. Cuba was almost the direct reason there was a nuclear war back during the Cold War. So it makes sense that there were major sanctions placed on a country. But I also do agree to lift sanctions, but not provide funding like many countries expect the US to do.
@blainepatten6203 I agree that it made sense back in the days of the Cold War, but not anymore. I also agree that the U.S. certainly should not directly fund the Cuban communist party either. I just propose that we let U.S citizens spend their dollars where they please. We're willing to let U.S. citizens spend dollars to fuel the Chinese economy via Walmart, Amazon, etc. Its exactly what we do whenever we inevitably buy products made in China. We fund the CCP by default. As long as that's happening, we ought to be able to spend dollars with the cubans if we choose to.
Products shortage is result of illegal sanctions by the world's bully, US. On the other hand, let's see how many homeless people and how many people without health care has the world superpower, ultracapitalist US.... The, second economy in the world (lol). VIVA LA REVOLUCIÓN. VIVA CUBA. HASTA SIEMPRE.
Right you are, no one ever really mentions the US's economic system capitalism, probably because the fact is obvious from the many well-stocked shelves in the markets, the great variety of available products and services, the relatively low prices created by free-market competition, and the overall prosperity in the marketplace.
@@phantomegr Not sure I understand your response. Do you mean to say people can't buy items that have been locked up to prevent theft, or are you saying people can't afford to buy products? In any case, you would be wrong on both accounts.
@@zephrynk9693 as a cuban-american, you're wrong on so many accounts. you don't seem to know any working-class people if you think that people can afford to buy things here in the US, or if you're not familiar with the weird glass cages that have been put in every store in working-class areas over the last few years. Prosperity of the marketplace? Lmao, maybe if you are at the top of the stock market. Thankfully, no matter how hard you try, the capitalist propaganda isn't working on people the way it used to.
you have a super americanized mentality in talking about our Country it is not Communist Cuba update your knowledge as this indeed is disgustingly disrespectful .... poor yes but to keep these cars running we are genusis at utalizaing what we have.... talk to north american sactions if youd like to know who a communist is open your eyes to current events ....while educating others in speaking spanish it is important to properly EDUCATE yourself on true events of Latin American history
@elenadiaz360, I think Alma was trying to make a point that the internet is not widely available and fast like some of us are used to in our home countries (I’m from Canada). I’ve been there twice and the last time was in 2017. I’m sure things have changed since then but we only had internet access in our hotel lobby and we only used it to keep our family updated on what we were doing so we didn’t notice or care how fast we could watch videos etc. There are many good reasons to go to Cuba even if great internet access isn’t one of them. When I go to Cuba it is to relax, explore the country, and talk to the locals. I enjoy practicing my Spanish with the locals as they are so friendly and kind and don’t seem to mind my very beginner level of speaking. Don’t take Alma’s review as critical. She said it was an amazing trip and she can’t wait to go back. I really hope to see (more) Cubans making videos on the culture so we can learn more about it! Viva Cuba 🇨🇺 ❤
Want to see more videos of Alma? Head to drming.es/alma for more, or to drming.es/teachers to meet all our teachers!
I love Alma’s pace, clear pronouncing and no filler words
100 percent agreed.
Estoy de acuerdo.
I agree that her pace is good and her pronouncing is clear, but filler words are important, even for beginners because they're very hard to learn intentionally, but easier, in the long run to pick up naturally over time by listening and passively "figuring out" when, why and how to use them. Without filler words we never truly sound native or even fully fluent, especially in Spanish which employs A LOT of filler words that differ based on dialect.
Alma speaks so clearly. One of my favorite instructors!
Six months ago, when I first watched this video, I couldn’t understand much of anything without the subtitle. After six months of study, I can now understand it without watching it as a podcast. If you have just started, remember there is no shortcut to language learning. You have to put in the time to learn the grammar and listen to audios every day.
Great topic Alma! I follow several TH-cam channels by Cubans showing current day life in Cuba. It looks fascinating, lively and beautiful, but sad and full of hardship at the same time. Glad that you had a chance to visit. Thanks for reporting what you found.
What channels? If be interested in seeing/hearing about the topic.
The reason there is no rice, sugar, beans etc on the shelves in the store is because the citizens have a ration on those items. They have a special store for that. I went on a tour and they explained all that to us while we went to the “ration” store. This was in 2007 so it may be different now.
Remember what appear to be flaws in their system are actually crimes committed by the WRONG.
Ooo! So happy to find this recent Alma video after realizing that her channel stopped uploading.
Alma is a great teacher!
What is her channel?
This is so much better than other Spanish channels 😐
Me encanta este video. Sigue haciendo vídeos como estos
Man, you really sold me on Cuba. Interesting historical places, people talking to each other in the streets, classic cars, pre-internet life style. Sounds like an awesome place to visit.
Aprendí mucho sobre Cuba. ¡Muchísimas gracias! Saludos desde Los Estados Unidos
Muchísimas gracias para tus vídeos y enseñanzas nosotros!
What an interesting topic! Thank you Alma for making this video 🎉👏
fui a Habana tambien en febrero y es verdad lo que has dicho!
Yo no he conocido a Cuba. Comprendi toda tu información. Muy clara! Gracias desde Brasil!
Very nice to listen to. Me gusta mucho. Gracias... :)
Qué interesante!! Me gustaría ir a Cuba algún día
Platicanos más acerca de tu viaje a Cuba por favor. Fuiste con tu familia?
I have been to Cuba two times. Very interesting place.
Thank you! Amazing channel ❤
REALLY Wish Alma would make more videos. She is the Best because she has a degree in teaching Spanish , and both of her parents were teachers . Her Mother taught Kindergarten . . .my level. :D
thanks for the spanish AND history/cuba lesson
¡Es muy interesante! Quiero ir ahí algún día...
Excelente video muy informativo
Muchas gracias! Very clear!
I visited Cuba in March, so I wonder if we were there at the same time 😂 Havana is definitely an interesting and unique experience. One thing I would add is how the old city consists of a mix of collapsed ruins and run-down buildings right next to beautifully restored wonderful buildings and plazas.
Sí, visité la Habana y hay muchos edificios muy grandes.
Great lesson 🎉
Me gusta mucho Gracias!!
gracias por video, muy útil
buen video! lo vi sin subtítulos así que estoy muy orgulloso de mí mismo
¡te olvidaste de mencionar que la música es genial!
Es fácil visitar Cuba si tienes ciudadanía o residencía permanente española pero también naciste en los Estados Unidos (y por lo tanto tienes ciudadanía estadounidense también?) Lo único que yo sé es que sería bastante difícil ir a Cuba como estadounidense.
quiero decir que acerca del punto numero 3, los supermercados en cuba no hay muchos productos porque las sanctiones americanas impeden los cubanos para comprar los productos comidas, medicinos, o muchos otras productos. algunas personas piensan que es solamente porque del comunismo, pero la verdad es diferente. ¡gracias por este video! 🙂
Venezuela doesn't have anything either but they don't have sanctions. Whatever could be the problem I wonder.
@bobleglob162
There are actually many economic sanctions against trading with Venezuela just from US Executive Orders. This isn't even taking into account the numerous congressional sanctions. You can't even work for some US jobs if you have traveled to Venezuela.
Nunca he visitado Cuba pero me gustaría ir allá.
Es Shel Colombiana y
Japonesa?
Alma?? Where did Alma go? Did she leave dreaming Spanish?
No, I’m still here! 🙋🏻♀️🧡
gracias por el video. una cosa: alguien cubano me dijo que debo visitar a Cuba nunca. Hay algunas cosas malas allí que no te gustan tanto?
Quien sabe si Alma lee los comentarios?
Viva Cuba! Viva Che! Viva Fidel! Y viva la revolución!!
Yeah Che was a murderer. Nobody to be proud of.
Viva Cuba! End the Yanki imperialista blockade!
They're starving Cuba until they surrender their land and allow US corporations free reign. With failed Invasions, terrorist plots and assassination attempts it seems economic blockade is the chosen weapon.
@@tpipandpop4242 You cant on the one hand acknowledge the "most evil people in the world" imposing a 60 year blockade on a tiny island and then on the other hand blame its government as "the biggest issue", who despite the blockade, has managed to not only function reasonably normal, but achieve what they have with so little, particularly around health care. I would estimate 99% of all the issues stem from the blockade, I dont think one could describe a problem in Cuba without it finding correlation to the blockade.
@@tpipandpop4242 Do you know how many "defectors" are getting paid to lie about the conditions of their "evil communist home country". Also, most Cubans who fled to Florida did so because they lost their slaves so they have every reason to lie and oppose the revolution and the Cuban government.
Cuba is peak left.... fail miserable because of their policies and blame their problems on other people.
@@tpipandpop4242 Of course, but they are heavily discouraged by the US.
🧸
As an American I believe as long as our biggest trade partner is the Chinese Communist Party, i am 100% for ending travel and trade restrictions on Cuba. HOWEVER i have friends from Cuba that disagree with me. The things they went through and saw were atrocious and they tear up when they talk about it.. I just believe that the direct support ending the embargo would give to the Cuban people is worth the price of supporting the Cuban communist party. Our yearly trading volume with China is in the trillions of USD and our biggest corporations have assets there. The embargo on Cuba is driven purely by right wing political dogma and no other good reason.
I don’t think it’s right wing political propaganda. It’s the US not wanting communism in its back yard. The embargo was started by JFK and no president has lifted it since. Cuba was almost the direct reason there was a nuclear war back during the Cold War. So it makes sense that there were major sanctions placed on a country. But I also do agree to lift sanctions, but not provide funding like many countries expect the US to do.
@blainepatten6203 I agree that it made sense back in the days of the Cold War, but not anymore. I also agree that the U.S. certainly should not directly fund the Cuban communist party either. I just propose that we let U.S citizens spend their dollars where they please. We're willing to let U.S. citizens spend dollars to fuel the Chinese economy via Walmart, Amazon, etc. Its exactly what we do whenever we inevitably buy products made in China. We fund the CCP by default. As long as that's happening, we ought to be able to spend dollars with the cubans if we choose to.
When you go to the United States, do you really say I went to the CAPITALIST United States? You're ridiculous
Products shortage is result of illegal sanctions by the world's bully, US. On the other hand, let's see how many homeless people and how many people without health care has the world superpower, ultracapitalist US.... The, second economy in the world (lol). VIVA LA REVOLUCIÓN. VIVA CUBA. HASTA SIEMPRE.
Right you are, no one ever really mentions the US's economic system capitalism, probably because the fact is obvious from the many well-stocked shelves in the markets, the great variety of available products and services, the relatively low prices created by free-market competition, and the overall prosperity in the marketplace.
@@zephrynk9693 Well stocked shelves that have antitheft on some products like oil cause people can't buy them. Fantastic system....
@@phantomegr Not sure I understand your response. Do you mean to say people can't buy items that have been locked up to prevent theft, or are you saying people can't afford to buy products? In any case, you would be wrong on both accounts.
@@zephrynk9693 as a cuban-american, you're wrong on so many accounts. you don't seem to know any working-class people if you think that people can afford to buy things here in the US, or if you're not familiar with the weird glass cages that have been put in every store in working-class areas over the last few years. Prosperity of the marketplace? Lmao, maybe if you are at the top of the stock market. Thankfully, no matter how hard you try, the capitalist propaganda isn't working on people the way it used to.
a lie smh there of cousrse is internet here
she is horrible in explaining our home
you have a super americanized mentality in talking about our Country it is not Communist Cuba update your knowledge as this indeed is disgustingly disrespectful .... poor yes but to keep these cars running we are genusis at utalizaing what we have.... talk to north american sactions if youd like to know who a communist is open your eyes to current events ....while educating others in speaking spanish it is important to properly EDUCATE yourself on true events of Latin American history
she isn’t saying communist=bad and there’s nobody running america who isn’t a capitalist
communism isn’t just “ideology i don’t like.” plenty of evil capitalists made the decision to blockade cuba
@elenadiaz360, I think Alma was trying to make a point that the internet is not widely available and fast like some of us are used to in our home countries (I’m from Canada). I’ve been there twice and the last time was in 2017. I’m sure things have changed since then but we only had internet access in our hotel lobby and we only used it to keep our family updated on what we were doing so we didn’t notice or care how fast we could watch videos etc. There are many good reasons to go to Cuba even if great internet access isn’t one of them. When I go to Cuba it is to relax, explore the country, and talk to the locals. I enjoy practicing my Spanish with the locals as they are so friendly and kind and don’t seem to mind my very beginner level of speaking. Don’t take Alma’s review as critical. She said it was an amazing trip and she can’t wait to go back. I really hope to see (more) Cubans making videos on the culture so we can learn more about it! Viva Cuba 🇨🇺 ❤
The Partido Comunista de Cuba and its 8th Central Committee would be surprised to hear you say this. Are you sure you're Cuban?
Isn't Cuba communist though? It is what it is
Cuba is a Socialist society, not Communist.
According to Marx, Socialism is the phase before Communism.