The return of the verbs. Find out how to conjugate and communicate with three categories of verbs: -ar, -er and -ir verbs. They may look difficult at first, but the Standard Deviants show you some tricks of the trade to make them easy to use.

Forced to flee Chile after the military coup in 1973, Ariel Dorfman has focused his writing on the trials of tyranny and exile. This program looks at how he has fought for human rights as a novelist, playwright, essayist, journalist, and professor of literature and Latin American studies. Many of the works of this multi-genre author are examined, including Death and the Maiden, his successful play which was turned into an international film by Academy...

In March of 2006, the Spanish novelist, journalist, and sociologist Francisco Ayala celebrated his 100th birthday. This program provides students of literature with a compelling look at the writer's life and work. Rarely viewed archival photos and footage are combined with insightful commentary from literary scholars, including Antonio Sanchez, professor of literature at the University of Granada; Manuel Angel Vazquez, professor of Spanish literature...

It began in 1968 as a tiny commerce organization based in the Uruguayan capital of Montevideo. Today, Manos del Uruguay is an international business that exports to the U.S., Japan, and Europe. This program looks at the success of the women's garment-making cooperative, and in doing so, weaves together helpful Spanish lessons about day-to-day business practices as well as shopping for clothes and craft objects. Viewers learn how training is an important...

Costa Rica prides itself on being one of the most peaceful and democratic countries in all of Latin America. Now tourism has become the nation's number-one revenue earner-and the country's ecology could be under threat. Looking at ecotourism in Costa Rica, this program helps beginning Spanish speakers learn how to describe and compare things. Viewers are introduced to a biologist and tour guide who wants to see Costa Rica balance economic demands...

An introduction, not only to Goya's work, but to the critical period in Spanish history which he recorded. In a period largely bereft of major literary masterpieces, it is to Goya that we look to find out what Spain was like in the period spanning the decline of neoclassicism, the devastation of the Napoleonic Wars, and the rise of Romanticism and Impressionism.

A poetic and authentic look at the bullfighter and his bull-the importance of bullfighting in Spanish society; the breeding, rearing, and training of the bull; the human side of the matador; and the countryside and people who have provided a home for bullfighting for countless centuries. The program culminates at a bullfight at the Feria de Abril in Seville. Also available in English.

Guiding viewers through a rich mosaic of history and culture, this program evokes the complexities of Mexico as experienced by its own people. The nation's indigenous and Spanish roots are both explored through nuanced discussions of iconic cultural elements-for example, viewers learn how the Day of the Dead reflects the national character by merging Catholic and pre-Columbian traditions. Meanwhile, a look at Mexico's modern urban landscape reveals...

Charles IV succeeded to the Spanish throne in 1788. One year later, the cataclysmic revolution in neighboring France dealt European monarchism a blow of seismic proportions. Focusing on Charles' reign-conducted with extreme passivity and ending in abdication-this program uses film clips, dramatizations, paintings, and architectural landmarks to examine a country caught in the throes of sociopolitical turmoil. Queen Maria Luisa and her lover Manuel...

Cheeses from Spain have recently gained popularity on the international market; with one particular cheese becoming very well known. In this episode, host Will Studd travels to the land of Don Quixote to learn about a rich sheep's milk cheese called Manchego. He then visits a cheese fair in the medieval city of Trujillo to savor another sheep's milk cheese, Queso de la Serena which is set with thistles. Finally, Will drives to the magnificent Picos...