Families and friends participate in this holiday tradition by purchasing tickets individually or pooling their money to purchase parts of a ticket. The average Spaniard spends 70 euros on tickets, known as “décimos,” and tickets can be sold months in advance. Since tickets can be quite expensive, it’s common for coworkers to join forces in hopes of sharing the wealth.

The draw is an elaborate event that lasts several hours. It is broadcast live on television and radio. The event takes place at the Teatro Real in Madrid, and schoolchildren are in charge of singing the winning numbers. It starts with smaller prizes until they reach the largest prize known as “El Gordo,” or the fat one.

Beyond the economic aspect, the Spanish Christmas Lottery serves as the start of the Christmas season. In short, the cultural importance and enduring popularity of this holiday tradition make it a uniquely Spanish experience that resonates far beyond the boundaries of the lottery itself.

Easter Island is a Chilean island in the Pacific Ocean. It is located 3700 km or 2300 miles off the west coast of Chile, making it the most isolated inhabited island in the world. Since 1995 it has been a UNESCO world heritage site and much of the island is within a national park. The island has three names: Easter Island in English, La Isla de Pascua in Spanish and Rapa Nui in the local indigenous language. It is most famous for its giant stone statues which are called moai.

These statues are humanlike figures that were carved by local the indigenous people between the years 1250 and 1500. Most of them have large heads that represent almost half the size of the body and the faces are based on the ancestors of the indigenous people. They were carved from the volcanic ash found on the island. More than 900 of these statues are still located around the island, some in better condition than others. Creating them must have been a difficult task since they weigh an average of 12 tons each!  

Easter island has been inhabited by Polynesian people who arrived in canoes sometime in the early 1200s. They created a prosperous society for hundreds of years and supported thousands of people. The first European visitor to the island was the Dutch explorer Jacob Roggeveen in 1722. As he discovered the island on Easter Sunday he named it Easter Island. In November of the same year, Spanish ships, under the command of Captain Don Felipe a González de Ahedo, made landfall on Easter Island. Unfortunately, many of the local people died of European diseases after first contact. Today the island has a population of approximately 8000 inhabitants and it has become a popular place for tourists looking for a unique experience.

Colombia can be divided into five natural regions: the Andean mountains, the Pacific coast, the Caribbean coast, the Amazon rainforest and the plains or llanos. These regions have come to play a key role in the development of the various dance and music styles of Colombia.While many people around the world are familiar with famous Colombian pop artists such as Shakira and reggaeton stars such as Maluma, the traditional dances such as cumbia are also popular abroad. 

Perhaps the most popular folkloric dance is Cumbia. This dance dates back to the colonial period and is particularly popular on the Caribbean coast. Cumbia is accompanied by music that is played on drums, flutes and other percussion instruments. It has its roots in both the African and indigenous ancestry of this region. While dancing, the women wear long colorful skirts and they make a circle around the men who are also in traditional outfits including a sombrero which they take on and off during the dance. The men’s clothing often features a white ranch style outfit with a red scarf and the dance is often performed barefoot. 

Cinco de Mayo is a date that commemorates the Battle of Puebla, Mexico of 1862 in which the Mexican troops triumphed over the French army. 

To understand this date better it is necessary to understand a little of the history of Mexico.  In 1821 Mexico gained independence from Spain. However, the Mexican government had incurred large debts with France among other European countries during the wars of 1846-48 (with the United States) and 1860 (a civil war). Mexico could not pay its debts immediately and in response, the French government sent its troops to Mexico to establish its own monarchical government.  To reach the city of Mexico the troops had to pass through Puebla, a city two hours east of Mexico City. In Puebla, General Zaragoza and his Mexican troops managed to defeat the French army on May 5th giving rise to the name of this holiday. This was achieved even though the French were much more numerous.  Today Cinco de Mayo is celebrated with military parades called desfiles and a lot of food, songs and dancing. Many traditional Mexican dishes are also served such as tamales. People also wear traditional clothes and at night there are fireworks. In recent years, Cinco de Mayo has become very popular in the United States as a general celebration of democracy, patriotism and latin culture.

This creature was first reported in Puerto Rico in 1995 when eight animals were discovered dead each with three puncture wounds to the chest. The animals were said to have been found with no blood in their bodies. A similar incident happened a few months later, also in Puerto Rico. In the following years similar sightings were reported throughout Latin America and even into the United States. The name comes from the Spanish verb chupar, which means to suck and the Spanish noun cabrawhich means goat, as they reportedly attack and kill goats before drinking their blood! The name was coined by the Puerto Rican comedian Silverio Pérez shortly after the first sighting.

Many scientists believe that the so-called Chupacabra is simply a wild dog or coyote with an infection that makes it look and behave strangely. Nevertheless, the Chupa-cabra has become a popular urban legend around the world and it has featured in many T.V. shows and cartoons. One can also buy Chupacabra T-shirts and toys online!