-¿Cómo se llama ‘jelly fish’ en español?
-¡Medusa!
-¿Y ‘shark’?
-¡Tiburón!
This could be a conversation you might overhear at the Albuquerque Aquarium on a Saturday morning. Or you might encounter a similar exchange at the museum at Albuquerque’s National Hispanic Cultural Center… or maybe even at the downtown Salsa club. But don’t be alarmed! This is Albuquerque’s Spanish Meetup!
Spanish Meetup is a free local Spanish language and Spanish conversational group organized by Sutter Sugar open to all levels where we meet at different venues throughout Albuquerque to discuss a topic en español without overly stifling people from trying to get their idea across in Spanish. In the past we have done everything from dining together at Spanish-speaking restaurants, receiving tours of the Zoo and Aquarium in Spanish, taking salsa-dancing classes and even hearing a lecture on Day of the Dead. The goal has always been to gain the confidence to speak Spanish and just have fun.
It might seem that Sutter a zealous Realtor® originally from San Francisco might not be the most qualified person to run Albuquerque Spanish Meetup, but his resume really speaks for itself. After receiving a B.A. from the University of Washington in Spanish and then a M.A. also in Spanish from the University of New Mexico, he always felt that he wanted to continue to contribute to lovers of Spanish, whether it be volunteering at the language school Instituto
Cervantes, maintaining ties to his beloved Department of Spanish and Portuguese at the University of New Mexico or simply running Albuquerque Spanish Meetup. If asked he would state it succinctly in three words: “¡Yo quiero español!”
Some Useful Albuquerque Spanish-speaking Links
National Hispanic Cultural Center