Page 29 - OctoberSpotlight

Aqui se habla español
Celebrating birthdays. People do sing “Happy Birthday” here, or “Cumpleaños feliz...” but you will also hear this song, usually accompanied with clapping and an embrace at the right moment. It’s very joyful and a bit more interesting.
Written by Dominican Ramón Rafael Casado Soler in 1958
El regalo mejor
Celebro tu cumpleaños
tan pronto vi asomar el sol, y en este día glorioso
pido tu dicha al señor, porque lo he considerado como el Regalo mejor.
Toma un abrazo, que yo te doy, con mucha sinceridad.
Toma mi abrazo, tu amigo soy, y mucha felicidad
https://youtu.be/38bWL4h909M
Dominicanism of the month
Consejo/Tip:
Nobody learns a language just by learning verbs and nouns. Language is alive and changing all the time. Try reading articles from the newspaper. Read through first. I find reading aloud helps me. Then make a note of some of the words you don’t know. Look them up in the dictionary. Preferably the sort you turn pages as using the kind of physical method helps embed learning! ¡Buena suerte!
The best present
I celebrate your birthday
as soon as the sun appears and on this glorious day
I ask God for your happiness because I thought it to be the best present.
Let me give you a hug from me heart.
Have my embrace, I am your friend and be very happy.
Cherchar
To chat, talk. From the English word “church” referring to when the “Cocolos”, [the English speaking workers who came originally from the English speaking islands (Bahamas, Turks & Caicos, St Kitts & Nevis, Dominica, Antigua) to cut cane when the industry was struggling on their islands.] They brought the tradition of meeting after church to catch up with news.