In their attempts to convert the native peoples of the Americas to Christianity, Catholic missionaries destroyed many elements of preHispanic cultures, including their books. The mayan culture in particular had hundreds, if not thousands, of books and documents concerning mythology, astronomy, history and religion. Thankfully, one person thought to record this information and hid it. That book, El Popol Vuh, was found and preserved by a sympathetic friar. Today you can even read it online.

This story is told in the third person and the past tense. Important vocabulary in the story includes: “códice” (codex/ancient text), “fray” (friar), “lengua” (language/tongue), and “lo” (it).

No matter where you are in your language journey, stories will help you on your way. You can find a transcript of the story and read along at https://smalltownspanishteacher.com/2024/02/14/simple-stories-in-spanish-el-popol-vuh/ 

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