Beginner Spanish - The Mountain That Eats Men
This beginner Spanish story is about Cerro Rico, a silver mountain in Bolivia. It was once the richest mountain in the world, and Spain forced enslaved miners to work in its darkness day and night. Many of them, men and children, died inside it. People called it the mountain that eats men.
Written for beginners, the story uses short sentences and six 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 six verbs are:
era - was
trabajaba - worked
murieron - died
había - there was or there were
tomó - took
come - eats
Transcript
Select a Spanish word or phrase for a translation.
La montaña que come a los hombres
The mountain that eats men
In 1545, Spanish conquistadors discovered Cerro Rico,
a mountain in Bolivia containing one of the richest silver deposits in the world.
Spain forced indigenous people to work in the mines.
The conditions were brutal and dark, and millions died.
The mountain became known as "the mountain that eats men".
Vocabulary from the story
oscuridad - darkness
hombres - men
niños - children
rico - rich
esclavo - slave
día y noche - day and night
Verbs from the story
era - was
era la montaña más rica del mundo - it was the richest mountain in the world
trabajaba - worked
trabajaba en la oscuridad - he worked in the darkness
murieron - died
murieron hombres, murieron niños - men died, children died
había - there was or there were
había mucha plata - there was a lot of silver
tomó - took
España tomó las vidas - Spain took the lives
come - eats
la codicia come las mentes - greed eats the minds
Now, the story
La montaña que come a los hombres
En Bolivia había una montaña, Cerro Rico,
la montaña que come a los hombres.
Había mucha plata en la montaña.
Era la montaña más rica del mundo.
El minero era un esclavo.
Trabajaba en la oscuridad.
Trabajaba día y noche.
Muchos murieron dentro de la montaña.
Murieron hombres, murieron niños.
España tomó la plata de Cerro Rico,
y España tomó la vida de los mineros.
La codicia come las mentes,
y la montaña come a los hombres.