Horny shepherds’ song within a song

Transhumance is in the air, so here’s a smutty song from a commie from Zaragoza: Los pastores se van, se van, Los pastores lloran, lloran: ¡ay de mí, pobre pastora! ¿con quién follarás tú ahora? Rejigged: The shepherds are going, they’re going again, The shepherds are weeping, they’re wailing this strain: “Alas, alack, oh Phyllis…

Spanish online second hand book prices: Uniliber vs Abe Books/IberLibro

A post by Mr Millán reminds me that a couple of weeks ago I received flyers for the new combine, Uniliber, from a bookseller in Bilbao. Here’s a head-to-head with its competitor, Abe Books/IberLibro, for a few second-hand books I want. I’ve gone for the cheapest each time and have excluded postal costs because, unlike…

The Orotava Valley agricultural workers strike

Of no interest, except to Christian socialists, who may wonder if Mr Jesus was behind the distribution of supplies to strikers: OROTAVA, September 17 1934. (By telegraph.)- The Orotava Valley agricultural organisation continues the general strike begun August 31 past without an accord having been feasible thus far. The civil governor has kept the organisation’s…

Touch wood/iron

Re a reference@Amando de Miguel: that the expressions are interchangeable (“Capulino frotó suavemente el respaldo de una silla; acarició después el metal de un llavero, por expresa recomendación de Juana. Y sonrió.”, or here for the English) suggests that Frazer was wrong to point to iron’s novelty as the source of its taboo status. Intriguingly,…

Of trousersnakes

Did the serpent deflower Eve or merely provide professional consulting services, thus relegating humans to a subsidiary role in creation?

Future of Galician

Cool cartoon, translated by Carlos, who has unfortunately decided that there is no future for him as a professional translator.