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One challenge for Spanish learners is distinguishing when to use ser or estar, both of which translate into “to be” in English. Generally, ser is used with adjectives expressing permanent characteristics (including nationality, physical appearance and personality) while estar is used for temporary states or conditions, such as emotions. Sometimes learners believe that a given adjective is always and exclusively used with one or the other, but in fact some adjectives can be paired with both ser AND estar depending on what the speaker is trying to express.
Here are a few examples. Notice the difference in meaning:
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Traditional Mexican flavors are increasingly featured in today’s cultural trends: chipotle in adobo, habanero and jalapeño are spicing up menus across the country, whereas the tortilla is increasingly used as a means of utensil-free eating. It is easy to recognize the south-of-the-border heritage of these ingredients, and yet there are a number of foods we might not identify as originating in Mexico. Take chocolate, for instance. The cacao bean was first introduced to Europe by Hernán Cortés, who first saw it used by the Aztecs. Moctezuma, the Aztec emperor at the time of the conquest, would often indulge in chocolate beverages, deemed a royal privilege, several times a day (although the absence of sugar and milk on the American continent made for a much more bitter, unappetizing substance than what we have today). The early conquistadores were also responsible for bringing foods to Europe that we now strongly associate with their adoptive countries: the potato was exported to Ireland from Peru, while Italy received the tomato from Mexico. Initially shunned because they contained a chemical considered poisonous, thankfully popular opinion shifted and these ingredients were converted into staples of the European diet, and economy.
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On the night of September 15th the main squares, or zócalos, of even the most tranquil Mexican town buzz with energy and activity as people gather to celebrate their most important national holiday: Independence Day. Participants don clothing and face paint and bear flags normally kept hidden during the rest of the year, converging in a sea of red, white and green. Even the food hawked by street vendors gets a new look to commemorate the occasion, served up on patriotically-hued tortillas or striped with red and green salsa.
As clocks strike eleven o`clock, government leaders across the country climb to balconies and rouse the people in spirited cheers of “Viva México! Viva México! Viva México!” This annual event reenacts Miguel Hidalgo’s famous Grito de Independencia, or Cry of Independence, with which the revolutionary priest rallied the public to take arms against the Spanish in 1810. The reenactment is decidedly the climax of the night, an exuberant display of national pride and historical tradition.
Today’s version of the grito is not entirely faithful to the 1810 original, however. The wording is a bit tamer than that uttered in Dolores, Guanajuato (Hidalgo’s cry called for the death of the Spanish, not particularly the message modern-day Mexico wishes to send). The timing has changed as well. Hidalgo’s grito was actually performed in the early morning hours of September 16th. However, a century later the celebration was moved back to it’s current scheduling of eleven p.m. on the 15th. Many people consider this simply a sensible change in tradition to allow families to partake in the festivities together. Historians have a more cynical interpretation, suggesting that in fact the event was shifted to accommodate the wishes of Porfirio Diaz, Mexico’s notorious dictator. Before being overthrown at the start of the Mexican Revolution in 1910, Diaz declared that Independence celebrations should commence on the 15th, merging the holiday with another day of national import: his birthday.
