Immerse yourself in the richness of the Spanish language and its cultures! With RUMBOS you'll make the exciting transition from a beginning to an advanced speaker of the Spanish language. Carefully crafted activities start you on your way. The text then leads you to higher levels of communicative competence with vocabulary development, grammar exercises, and engaging readings. Along the way you'll explore a new country or region in every chapter-and with the text's audio CDs you can even listen to realistic interactions. With RUMBOS Alternate Edition, you gain new tools that provide opportunity for even more practice! An Activity File, bound in to the book, features skill-building games, service-learning activities, and additional practice of vocabulary and grammar. New correlations to Heinle iRadio, MP3-ready Spanish-language tutorials, offer you additional help with particularly challenging grammar and pronunciation topics.

Table of Contents:
1. ENVOLVIENDONOS EN EL MUNDO HISPANO, LOS VEINTIUN PAISES DE HABLA HISPANA. Functions: Introduce yourself; describe where you are from, and the geography and weather of that area, explain details of your heritage; discuss Hispanic influences in the U.S.; discuss and describe celebrations and festivals Vocabulary domains: Geography and climate of the Spanish speaking world outside of the U.S., Latino and Latino celebrations in the U.S. Grammar: Uses of present indicative, meaning differences of "ser" & "estar" & "haber" and "tener," Uses of definite and indefinite articles; Agreement and position of adjectives. Readings: Literary selection: Chicano narrative: Selection from "Cajas de carton" de Francisco Jimenez; Journalistic reading: Interview with Francisco Alarcon. Writing: El informe. Espejos: Diversidad racial, Contribuciones de los Hispanos. Video: Los premios Grammys latinos. 2. LA FAMILIA: TRADICIONES Y ALTERNATIVAS, GUATEMALA, NICARAGUA, HONDURAS. Functions: Discuss family members and relationships; narrate in the past; describe family celebrations, rituals and traditions; narrate and comment on specific family moments in the past Vocabulary domains: Family members and relationships, expressions of affection, family traditions, rituals, and celebrations. Grammar: "Haber" + past participle Basic differences between preterit and imperfect tenses, Time expressions that signal either the preterit or the imperfect, More subtle meaning differences preterit/imperfect, verbs that change meaning in the preterit. Readings: Literary selection: "Una Navidad como ninguna otra" / cuento / Gioconda Belli; Journalistic reading: "Corpus Christi: El mico y la paloma, tradicion del pueblo catolico en Guatemala". Writing: La anecdota. Espejos: 'Que es una familia?, Una quinceanera. Video: Dia de los Muertos en Managua. 3. EXPLORANDO EL MUNDO, MEXICO Functions: Discuss opportunities for studying and living abroad; explain the preparations for applying to a program; describe the experience of living abroad; make a telephone call abroad; describe and compare modes of transportation; explain and compare options for touring abroad; inquire about and comment on prices of travel and transportation. Vocabulary domains: Studying abroad, Live abroad: travel and transportation options. Grammar: Prepositions "por/para," reflexive and reciprocal verbs, verbs that change meaning when used reflexively, negative and indefinite expressions, comparatives & superlatives, comparative statements and certain prepositions. Readings: Literary reading: Selection from "Un lugar en el mundo" de Hernan Larra Zavala Journalistic reading: "Aprovechar oportunidades de intercambio: entrevista con el alumno Enrique Acuna de Relaciones Internacionales, desde Rouen, Francia". Writing: La carta personal. Espejos: La UNAM y la UAG, Explorando el mundo precolombino. Video: Protesta de estudiantes. 4. EL OCIO, CUBA, PUERTO RICO, REPUBLICA DOMINICANA. Functions: Describe and discuss leisure activities; make, accept, and decline invitations; Discuss culinary preferences; describe and explain how to prepare meals; offer and accept food and drinks. Vocabulary domains: Leisure activities, Food and recipes. Grammar: Present subjunctive with noun clauses, Subjunctive, indicative or infinitive after certain verbs, Passive voice with "ser" and "estar," Impersonal expressions, no fault "Se." Readings: Literary selection: "La Cucarachita Martina" De Rosario Ferre, Journalistic reading: "Antes que anochezca". Writing: La resena. Espejos: Un concepto diferente del tiempo, !Para chuparse los dedos! Video: Navidad en Puerto Rico. 5. LA IMAGEN: PERCEPCION Y REALIDAD, ESPANA. Functions: Describe physical and personality traits; discuss stereotypes; describe clothing and fashion trends; express opinions and preferences about fashion and trends and stereotypes. Vocabulary domains: Physical and personality traits, clothing and fashion. Grammar: Direct object pronouns, Using direct object pronouns and other pronouns together, Indirect object pronouns, "Gustar" and "gustar-type" verbs, Double object pronouns. Readings: Literary selection: "La gloria de los feos" / cuento/ Rosa Montero, Journalistic reading: Javier Bardem. Writing: La descripcion biografica. Espejos: Nuestra imagen y los piropos, El destape: 'con ropa o sin ropa? Video: Manuel Pertegaz. 6. EXPLORANDO TU FUTURO. COSTA RICA, PANAMA, EL SALVADOR. Functions: discuss the job search and qualifications; describe opportunities for working abroad; express opinions and conjecture about future career plans; manage the conversation during an interview; describe contexts for volunteerism; express preferences about volunteerism; giving instructions about how to carry out tasks; making a formal phone call. Vocabulary domains: Professions and job positions, qualifications, and benefits; job search; volunteerism; needs and types of assignments. Grammar: Uses of the Future tense, Uses of the Conditional tense, Ways to imply the future: "pienso ir a," using present tense etc., Formal commands, Informal commands, Placement of pronouns with commands. Readings: Literary selection:"Flores de volcan"/ poesia/ Claribel Alegria, Journalistic reading: "Un mes inolvidable". Writing: La carta profesional. Espejos: En busca de trabajo, Arzobispo Oscar Romero. Video: Ninos trabajadores en El Salvador. 7. DERECHOS Y JUSTICIA. ECUADOR, PERU, BOLIVIA. Functions: Assert and defend opinions about rights and politics; discuss political problems and solutions; explain laws and how they are enforced; discuss conditions for remedying broken laws; speculating about legal outcomes. Vocabulary domains: Human and civil rights; "indigenismo"; governments and politics; Types of laws; police; courts; lawsuits. Grammar: Subjunctive in adjective clauses, Subjunctive versus indicative after indefinite expressions, Subjunctive in adverbial clauses, Conjunctions requiring the indicative. Readings: Literary Selection: Entre dos luces/ teatro / Cesar Bravo, Journalistic reading: "Creciente poder irrumpe en los Andes". Writing: El reportaje. Espejos: La situacion indigena, Las lineas de Nazca. Video: El caso Berenson. 8. LA EXPRESION ARTISTICA. COLOMBIA Y VENEZUELA. Functions: Describe and compare artistic styles and movements; discuss social implications of art; criticize art; describe major characteristics of literature; discuss pieces of literature; express opinions about literary preferences. Vocabulary domains: Types and styles of art; movements; forms of literature; literary styles; periods and genres. Grammar: Past subjunctive, "Si" clauses, Subjunctive versus indicative in if clauses, Relative pronouns, "Lo que," "lo cual" and "cuyo." Readings: Literary Selection: "El insome"/ poema/ Eduardo Carranza, Journalistic reading: "Fernando Botero retrata la guerra en Colombia en una nueva exposicion". Writing: El poema. Espejos: La arquitectura venezolana, Romulo Gallegos. Video: "Gente Silla" en Colombia. 9. TECNOLOGIA: 'PROGRESO? ARGENTINA, URUGUAY. Functions: Describe and discuss past and present technological advances, speculate about future technology; explain benefits and setbacks of technological advances throughout time; Express opinions about the ethical issues of cloning, transplantation, spy-ware, etc.; speculate about impact of technology on the future. Vocabulary domains: Technological advances, Ethical scientific issues. Grammar: Present perfect subjunctive, Past perfect subjunctive, Distinguishing between present perfect subjunctive and past perfect subjunctive, Future perfect, Conditional perfect, Future and Conditional perfect to express probability. Readings: Literary Selection: Selection from "Zapping" de Beatriz Sarlo, Journalistic reading: "Una encuesta de la Universidad Argentina de la Empresa UADE: realizada en Capital y GEl. Celular estrecha los lazos familiares". Writing: La exposicion. Espejos: Las caceroladas en el internet, Tradicion y tecnologia en la agricultura. Video: Asociacion Nacional de Inventores. 10. RETOS SOCIALES Y AMBIENTALES. CHILE, PARAGUAY. Functions: Describe current social problems; assert and defend opinions about social problems, propose solutions; discuss and explain ecological challenges past, present, and future; speculate about impact of the ecology on the future. Vocabulary domains: Social challenges: Language minorities; multiculturalism; drug abuse, etc., Environmental challenges: deforestation; endangered species, etc. Grammar: Progressive forms, Use of the infinitive and present participle, Sequence of tenses. Readings: Literary Selection: "Un tal Lucas" de Luis Sepulveda, Journalistic reading: "Mapuches, discriminacion y basura". Writing: La argumentacion. Espejos: Paraguay; un pais bilingue, Los cartoneros y el reciclaje en Chile. Video: La contaminacion en Santiago.