I don’t remember the year that I made these two mistakes but I do remember that it was Friday, the 13th, when I made these two mistakes.

I had been studying Spanish at the time for maybe a year or two. And I met this Puerto Rican “muchacha” who worked in a Dominican restaurant not far from where I lived in the Bronx.

She had recently moved to New York City from Puerto Rico and she spoke very little English – which was perfect for me since I was determined to learn how to speak Spanish.

I still remember her name: Jesenia

From head-to-toe, Jesenia could have passed for Jenifer Lopez’s twin.

One day, after having lunch at the restaurant where Jesenia worked, I asked her for her telephone number. I then telephoned her, speaking in Spanish, I invited her out the following Friday – which was Friday, the 13th.

I remember that it was Friday the 13th because my plan was to take Jesenia to see a horror movie for our first “cita” (date).

Jesenia was very “callada” (quiet) during our “cita.” She seemed rather “tímida” (shy).

Although she was very “callada” (quiet), she took advantage of every chance she got to correct my Spanish blunders. So many of them that I could not possibly still remember them all. But there were two mistakes that I distinctly remember . . .

How To Say Horror Movie In Spanish

As I mentioned, my plan was to take her “al cine” (to the movies), to see a horror film. To make sure she liked horror films, I attempted to ask her in Spanish “do you like horror movies?”:

¿Te gustan las películas de horror? (COMMON ERROR).

Jesenia really found my mistakes “divertido” (fun/entertaining).
She playfully laughed every time that I made a mistake before correcting me with the same details that a Spanish instructor would have given me.

The word “horror” is both a Spanish word and an English word. In fact, the Spanish word horror and the English word horror have the same definition.

That’s why I referred to a horror movie as “una película de horror.”

But that’s not the Spanish phrase for horror movie. If you want to say horror movie, then you must say “película de terror.”

So I should have asked her:

¿Te gustan las películas de terror?

In my next blog post, I will tell you about my other mistake that I made on my “cita” (date) with Jesenia.