Cultura e historia: La Misa en cantidades industriales

Many people say Spain is not an overtly racist country.  Most Spanish people will, in fact, tell you this.  Sometimes, for an outsider, their attitude towards "gitanos" (their term for "travellers" - or those people we still sometimes call "gypsies") seems to border on being an example of racism.  On the other hand, there are very few European countries these days which seem to react positively to the needs of such peoples.

Which is not to excuse the position at all.

Today's text is not about racism exactly - though it is about the clash of cultures and how people from different countries and belief systems see things differently.  The text is titled "Misa nigeriana en una nave industrial" - and describes how a Nigerian pastor preaches in English to his faithful in premises on an industrial estate in Villaverde, Spain.  As always, let's have the comprehension questions in English first - and, as always, do try and predict the possible answers before looking at the text itself.

1. What's the preacher's name?  What does he use to communicate with his faithful?
2. Is the industrial estate busy or empty?
3. What kind of religious community is it?
4. When does it pray?
5. How many churches does it have in Madrid?  How many does it have across Spain?
6. Why do they now choose to hold their Mass on industrial estates?
7. What do they sit on?
8. How many African immigrants are there in Madrid?
9. How old is the pastor?  When did he arrive in Spain?
10. What is Ike's opinion of Holland?  Who has Ike spoken with?

Now the original text.  And please try and get the answers first, before you use Google Translate to clarify more of the text.  Don't forget: it's always good to use your dictionary, because the act of looking for something and writing down its meaning always helps you remember the word much better afterwards.

If you're still having big problems answering the comprehension questions, then click here to go to the Google translation in English.  And if you'd like model answers and helpful vocabulary tomorrow, why not sign up to our newsletter? 

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