Absolute Beginner Spanish - The Bay of Pigs
This absolute beginner Spanish story is about the Bay of Pigs, the CIA-backed invasion of Cuba in 1961 that tried to overthrow Fidel Castro and failed within days.
Written for complete beginners, the story uses very short sentences, lots of repetition, and only three past-tense verbs.
Listen to the audio, follow the full transcript, and click any word for an instant translation. You can also download the full story as a free PDF to study offline.
The three verbs are:
fue - was
había - there was or there were
llegaron - they arrived
Transcript
Select a Spanish word or phrase for a translation.
La Bahía de Cochinos
The Bay of Pigs
In 1961,
Cuban exiles backed by the CIA
landed at the Bay of Pigs to overthrow Fidel Castro.
Castro's army was ready.
The invasion failed.
Vocabulary from the story
bahía - bay
exiliados - exiles
soldados - soldiers
armas - weapons
fracaso - failure
Estados Unidos - United States
Verbs from the story
fue - was
fue un fracaso para Estados Unidos - it was a failure for the United States
había - there was or there were
en Washington había un plan - there was a plan in Washington
llegaron - they arrived
los exiliados llegaron a la Bahía de Cochinos - the exiles arrived at the Bay of Pigs
Now, the story
La Bahía de Cochinos
En 1961, había en Cuba un nuevo líder,
Fidel Castro.
Un problema para Estados Unidos.
En Washington había un plan con exiliados cubanos,
la CIA, soldados y armas.
Los exiliados llegaron a la Bahía de Cochinos.
Allí había fuerzas de Castro.
Fue un desastre.
Fue un fracaso para Estados Unidos.