The School of Modern Languages was delighted to host its second Festival of Languages in October 2026. 

The Festival celebrates languages and language study and brings languages research from across the University to a wider audience.

This year, to help share some of those stories, students taking the Department of Spanish module True Stories: Journalism and Literature in Latin America reported on some of the Festival's events. 

Many thanks to students Amélie Didda, Caoimhe Naughton, Clara Pérez del Castillo, Daryl Lamb, Ella Leonard, Isabella Carbonari, Julia García Sancho, Lindsay Greenlees, Maria Ebrahim, Olivia Hamilton, and Victoria Abeijón.

Visit the Festival of Languages website to read their articles and learn more about this year's events.

True Stories: Journalism and Literature in Latin America

It is well known that in Latin America reality is usually stranger than fiction.

From the ancient Spanish conquerors' chronicles to the authors of the Boom and their magical realism, nonfiction has been part of the literary history of the region. Nonetheless, in our post-truth era, fiction and reality are so intertwined that it is hard to believe in a ‘true story’.

On True Stories: Journalism and Literature in Latin America students explore the intersections between journalism and literature in a variety of works by authors ethically committed to represent Latin America today. Considering journalism at the core of contemporary literature, students analyse documentary narratives from Mexico, Argentina, El Salvador, Bolivia, Perú, and Colombia, dealing with important social and political problems, such as migration and environmental and gender issues. The module also offers a creative writing component through three workshop-style sessions in which students experiment with Spanish-language literary and journalistic techniques.

The module is coordinated by Dr Liliana Chávez Díaz, Lecturer in Latin American Studies.

Spanish at St Andrews

St Andrews is 1st in the UK for Iberian languages in The Times/The Sunday Times University Guide 2027.

As well as gaining knowledge and use of the Spanish language, students taking Spanish at St Andrews explore the great continuities and shifts within global Spanish culture, from its early beginnings to the Spain and Latin America of today.

Acquisition of high-level Spanish language skills goes hand-in-hand with studying global Spanish-language literature and culture.

Core language modules build on each other to expand and develop students' Spanish language competence and confidence.

Optional cultural studies modules reflect the Department's contemporary, interdisciplinary, and inclusive approach to Spanish studies - students work across a variety of Spanish and Latin American media including literature, film, and visual culture and explore their historical, social, and political contexts.

Learn more about Spanish at St Andrews.