Spanish Language Bowl 1
1. What is the capital of Spain?
Madrid
2. What is the capital of Colombia?
Bogotá
3. What is the capital of Argentina?
Buenos Aires
4. What is the capital of Venezuela?
Caracas
5. What is the capital of Honduras?
Tegucigalpa
6. What is the capital of Ecuador?
Quito
7. What is the capital of Peru?
Lima
8. What is the capital of Cuba?
Havana
9. What is the capital of Chile?
Santiago
10. What is the capital of Uruguay?
Montevideo
11. What is the capital of Puerto Rico?
San Juan
12. What is the capital of Costa Rica?
San Jose
13. What is the capital of Paraguay?
Asuncion
14. What is the capital of Bolivia?
La Paz or Sucre
15. Where is the Dominican Republic?
Next to Haiti
16. Where is Spain?
Europe, next to Portugal, south of France
17. Where is Argentina?
South America, east of Chile
18. Where is Venezuela?
South America, east of Colombia
19. Where is Bolivia?
South America, east of Peru and Chile
20. Where is Mexico?
South of the U.S.
21. Where is Panama?
Central America, south of Costa Rica
22. Where is Nicaragua?
Central America, south of Honduras
23. What is the capital of Nicaragua?
Managua
24. Where is El Salvador?
Central America, west of Honduras
25. What is the capital of El Salvador?
San Salvador
26. What is the largest Spanish speaking country? Argentina
27. What does “¡Hola!” mean?
Hello
28. What does “¡Hasta luego!” mean?
See you later
29. How do you say “thanks” in Spanish?
Gracias
30. Who is the George Washington of South America?
Simon Bolivar
31. Why is 1492 such an important date?
Columbus discovered America
32. Where is Spanish spoken?
19 Latin American countries, Spain, parts of
Africa and the Philippines, plus in the U. S.
33. Who sent Columbus on his voyage?
Isabel and Fernando
34. How do Spanish speakers often greet one another? A handshake or a kiss, sometimes
a hug
35. What is the 8th biggest city in the world?
Mexico City
Spanish Language Bowl 2
1. Who is Raúl Castro?
Dictator of Cuba
2. Where is the Pampa?
Argentina
3. Where is the cultural center of the Incas?
Machu Picchu
4. Who wrote Don Quixote de la Mancha? Miguel de Cervantes
5. Which is the longest river in South America?
Amazon
6. Which Spanish painter completed Las Meninas? Diego Velazquez
7. Which Picasso painting is named for a city in Spain?
Guernica
8. Which ingredient is essential in paella? Rice
9. What kind of money do they use in Mexico?
Peso
10. What kind of money do they use in Spain?
Euro
11. What is hora latina?
People are expected to arrive a little late for a party
12. What is a paseo? Taking a stroll through the park, around the plaza, along the streets
13. What is the grading scale in Peru ? 1 to 20, with 11 the lowest passing score
14. What is the grading scale in Mexico? 1 to 10; 6 is passing
15. How do students take as many as 9 different courses? Their schedules vary from
day to day
16. What is the difference between tu and usted? Usted is formal, used for respect for
someone not on a first name basis
17. When is it winter in Argentina? June-August
18. When does summer begin in Argentina? December
19. What are the two seasons in the tropics? Wet and dry
20. What is el compadrazgo?
Relationship between parents and godparents of a
child
21. How does the concept of privacy differ? People spend less time alone
22. When is breakfast in Spanish-speaking countries?
Usually around 7 or 8 a.m.
23. What does someone from Ecuador eat for breakfast? Fruit, sweet roll
24. When is dinner often served in Spanish speaking countries? Around 2 p.m.
25. What is la cena? Light meal usually eaten around 8 p.m.
26. How do Spaniards usually hold their fork? Fork stays in the left hand, knife in the
right
27. Where do Spanish speakers leave the left hand to be polite at meals? Resting on the
table
28. What kind of money do they use in Costa Rica? Colones
29. What kind of money do they use in Ecuador? US Dollar
30. What kind of money do they use in Guatemala? Quetzal
31. What kind of money do they use in Venezuela? Bolivar
32. What is a quinceañera? Fifteenth birthday for Hispanic girls
33. Which famous painter is from Toledo in Spain? El Greco
34. What does salud mean? Health
35. What are the colors of Mexico’s flag? Red., green. White
Spanish Language Bowl 3
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Where does the tango come from? Argentina
Where does the flamenco come from? Spain
Name two ancient Indian tribes from Mexico. Aztecs, Mayans, Toltecs, Olmecs
Name the rebels who fought against the government of Nicaragua. Contras
Who are the king and queen of Spain?
Carlos and Sofia
Who painted “La Vista de Toledo”? El Greco
What is the most famous literature of Spain? Don Quijote de la Mancha
Who wrote Don Quijote?
Cervantes
Who is the lady of Don Quijote? Dulcinea del Toboso
Who is a famous mural painter of Mexico? Diego Rivera
What was the capital of the Incas? Cuzco
What is Mexican Independence Day? September 16, 1810
Who conquered the Aztecs? Cortez
Who conquered the Incas? Pizarro
Who discovered the Pacific Ocean? Balboa
Who discovered the Mississippi River? De Soto
Who discovered Florida? Ponce de Leon
Who is the most famous hero of Spain? El Cid
Who was the liberator of Argentina? San Martin
Who was the liberator of Colombia? Bolivar
Where was Christopher Columbus born? Genoa, Italy
What is the name of the famous museum of Madrid? El Prado
What is mate? Herbal tea popular in Argentina, Paraguay & Uruguay
Who is Gabriel García Márquez? Author of One Hundred Years of Solitude and
Nobel Prize in Literature 1982
Who is Evita? Maria Eva Duarte De Peron, wife of Juan Peron, lst lady of
Argentina, campaigned for women’s suffrage and rights of working class
Who is Jamie Escalante? Educator upon whom they based the move Stand and
Deliver
Who is Pancho Villa? Nickname for Doroteo Arango, outlaw and fighter of
Mexican revolution, assassinated in 1923.
Spanish Language Bowl Levels 4+
1. What is the style of architecture is Antoni Gaudí known for? Modernism (Art
Nouveau)
2. What style of art is Picasso known for? Cubism
3. What ingredients are in a Spanish tortilla? eggs, potatoes, and onions
4. What is the main ingredient of a Mexican tortilla? Masa (corn flour)
5. What is the actual date of Mexico’s Independence Day? September 16
6. What event took place in Mexico to make Cinco de Mayo a holiday? The Battle of
Puebla was won against the French.
7. Where are Angel Falls, the tallest waterfall in the world, located? Venezuela
8. What is the largest river (in volume) in the world? Amazon
9. What ocean does the Amazon flow into? Atlantic Ocean
10. Name two Mexican border towns that cross into the U.S.
Tijuana, Ciudad
Juarez, Nogales, Mexicali
11. What is the highest lake in the world and where is it located? Lake Titicaca, on the
border of Peru and Bolivia
12. Where in Spain can Roman aqueducts still be seen (name two)? Segovia, Tarragona,
Mérida, Almuñécar
13. Where in Central America can ships go from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic?
Panama Canal
14. Who is known as the head of Mexico’s independence movement? Miguel Hidalgo
15. What does mestizo mean? “Mix” – A person who is of European and indigenous
origin from the Americas
16. Name one Mayan ruin that can be see in Guatemala.
Tikal
17. Name two ancient Mexican ruins that are still standing today. Teotihuacan, Chichén
Itzá, Uxmal (pronounced “ooshmal”), Palenque
18. What large metropolis sits on top of Tenochtitlan?
Mexico City
19. What is the main ingredient in menudo? Tripe
20. What is the main ingredient used to make “mole” sauce”? chocolate
21. Besides candy and toys, what is traditionally placed in a piñata? Fruit and sugar cane
22. Name two things that make a plantain different from a banana. A plantain must be
cooked before it is eaten, it is more starchy (potato-like), it is more dense, and it is not
as sweet.
23. What is the Gaudi’s unfinished masterpiece called?
La Sagrada Familia
24. What is the center of the network of Spanish roads?
Puerta del Sol, in Madrid
25. What king of Spain had El Escorial built for him?
Phillip II
26. Who is the current king of Spain?
Juan Carlos II
27. What meat is similar to Italian prosciutto, but Spanish? Serrano ham
28. What expensive spice is added to paella to make it bright yellow?
saffron
29. Where does merengue music come from?
Dominican Republic
30. What region in Spain does flamenco come from?
Andalucía
31. What group of people helped to develop flamenco music and dance? Gypsies
32. What important Spanish event took place in 1492, besides Christopher Columbus?
The Reconquest of Spain was finished with the surrender of Granada to Ferdinand
and Isabella (Fernando and Isabel) and the Jews were expelled from Spain.
33. What language did Spanish come from? Latin
34. What language is used in areas of Northern Spain and Southern France that is not
related to any other language? Basque
35. What is custard called in Spanish?
Flan
How do you say in Spanish
Hello
Hola
Good morning
Buenos dias
Good afternoon
Buenas tardes
Good evening
Buenas noches
Good bye
Adios
How are you?
¿Cómo esta usted?
How old are you?
¿Cuántos anos tienes?
Where are you from? ¿De dónde eres?
Where is the bathroom?
¿Donde está el baño?
Do you speak Spanish?
¿Habla usted español?
German?
alemán
French?
francés
English?
inglés