Testimonios desde dentro: lo que dicen los soldados
Sep 12, 2026·1 min read·Graded Spanish · word-by-word audio
Read along
Free preview — playback stops here. Full audio comes with Plus.
En el Festival de Venecia se presenta un documental muy fuerte. Se llama Naza. Dos directores israelíes hablan con 24 soldados y miembros de la inteligencia. Todos cuentan lo que hicieron en Gaza. Sus caras no se ven y sus voces son diferentes.
Uno dice que su trabajo es como una fábrica. El objetivo es borrar Gaza. Usan inteligencia artificial para encontrar personas. Pero el software puede equivocarse. No les importa. Atacan cuando la gente está en casa. Dicen que cuantos más mejor. Para ellos, los palestinos son solo un número.
Solo dos soldados se arrepienten. Los demás dicen que solo hacen su trabajo. Uno cuenta que los francotiradores matan a gente que busca comida. Dice: “Gaza está llena de cuerpos. Los perros se comen los cadáveres.” Mientras tanto, en Tel Aviv la gente hace gimnasia y bebe cerveza en la calle.
Go Plus
You've reached the end of the free preview.
Plus unlocks everything on SpanishReadingDaily:
Every article in full — no daily limit
Word-by-word audio read-along
Smart review that brings saved words back until you own them
Free full article every day — see today's. No card needed.
Have a Plus activation code?
Watch out, English speaker
Spanish reflexive verbs like arrepentirse often trip up English speakers because English has no direct equivalent for the reflexive pronoun. In Spanish, you must say me arrepiento, te arrepientes, etc., and the stem changes e→ie. English just says 'I regret' without any pronoun change, so learners forget the reflexive pronoun or the stem shift.
The structure cuantos más... mejor looks odd to English ears because English uses 'the more... the better' with a definite article. Spanish uses cuantos (agreeing with the noun) + más + mejor, and no article. Learners often try to insert 'the' or use cuanto instead of cuantos, or forget to match cuantos to the noun's number and gender.
Vocabulary like cadáver and borrar can be deceptive: cadáver is a noun for a dead body, not an adjective, and borrar means 'to erase' but also 'to wipe' or 'to delete' depending on context. English speakers might confuse borrar with 'to bore' or use cadáver for a living person. Also, equivocarse is reflexive and means 'to make a mistake', not 'to equivocate'.
Key vocabulary
documentalm.
documentary (film)
“En el Festival de Venecia se presenta un documental muy fuerte.”— A very powerful documentary is presented at the Venice Festival.
Pattern un documental sobre... a documentary about...
Compare película f. movie
Plural: documentales
💡 From documento (document); a documentary is a film that records real events.
soldadom.
soldier
“Dos directores israelíes hablan con 24 soldados.”— Two Israeli directors talk with 24 soldiers.
Pattern soldado israelí Israeli soldier
Compare militar m. soldier
Plural: soldados
💡 From Latin solidus (solid), originally referring to a paid soldier.
contarv.
to tell; to count
“Todos cuentan lo que hicieron en Gaza.”— They all tell what they did in Gaza.
Pattern contar algo a alguien to tell something to someone
Compare narrar v. narrate
yo cuento, tú cuentas, él cuenta
💡 o→ue stem-changing verb; pay attention to conjugation.
fábricaf.
factory
“Uno dice que su trabajo es como una fábrica.”— One says his work is like a factory.
Pattern trabajar como una fábrica to work like a factory
Compare factoría f. factory
Plural: fábricas
💡 From Latin fabrica (workshop); English fabric also comes from this.
borrarv.
to erase, delete
“El objetivo es borrar Gaza.”— The goal is to erase Gaza.
Pattern borrar de la memoria to erase from memory
Compare eliminar v. eliminate
yo borro, tú borras, él borra
💡 Common in computer operations, such as borrar un archivo (delete a file).
equivocarsev.
to make a mistake
“Pero el software puede equivocarse.”— But the software can make a mistake.
Pattern equivocarse de persona to mistake someone
Compare errar v. err
yo me equivoco, tú te equivocas
💡 Reflexive verb, often used to mean "to make a mistake".
arrepentirsev.
to regret, repent
“Solo dos soldados se arrepienten.”— Only two soldiers regret it.
Pattern arrepentirse de algo to regret something
Compare lamentar v. regret
yo me arrepiento, tú te arrepientes
💡 e→ie stem-changing, reflexive verb; pay attention to conjugation.
cadáverm.
corpse, dead body
“Los perros se comen los cadáveres.”— The dogs eat the corpses.
Pattern un cadáver a corpse
Compare cuerpo m. body
Plural: cadáveres
💡 From Latin cadere (to fall), referring to a fallen person.
Grammar spotlight
Reflexive verb arrepentirse: conjugation and use
A2
Arrepentirse is a reflexive verb meaning 'to regret.' It requires the reflexive pronouns me/te/se/nos/os/se, and its stem changes from e to ie. For example: yo me arrepiento, tú te arrepientes, él se arrepiente.
“Solo dos soldados se arrepienten.”— Only two soldiers regret it.
⚠️ Don't forget the reflexive pronoun; for example, you can't say 'Solo dos soldados arrepienten.'
Comparative structure cuantos más... mejor
A2
Cuantos más... mejor means 'the more... the better.' Cuantos agrees in gender and number with the following noun, más means 'more,' and mejor means 'better.'
“Dicen que cuantos más mejor.”— They say the more the better.
⚠️ Make sure cuantos agrees in gender and number with the noun it refers to, e.g., cuantas más personas, mejor.
Sentence patterns to steal
Pero hablan con calma de cosas terribles.
But they talk calmly about terrible things.
hablar con calma de + nounYou can replace calma with other adverbs, e.g., hablar con tristeza de... (to talk sadly about...).
Para ellos, los palestinos son solo un número.
For them, Palestinians are just a number.
Para + personal pronoun, + subject + ser + solo + nounYou can replace Para ellos with Para mí/Para nosotros, and un número with other nouns.
Mientras tanto, en Tel Aviv la gente hace gimnasia y bebe cerveza en la calle.
Meanwhile, in Tel Aviv people do gymnastics and drink beer in the street.
Mientras tanto, en + place + la gente + verb + y + verbYou can replace the place and verbs to describe contrasting scenes.
Hannah Arendt and the 'Banality of Evil'
In 1963, after reporting on the trial of Nazi official Adolf Eichmann, philosopher Hannah Arendt introduced the concept of the 'banality of evil.' She pointed out that many ordinary people participate in atrocities simply by following orders and doing their jobs, not because they are inherently evil. This concept reminds us to reflect: within a system, should individuals say 'no' to injustice?
Source: Wikipedia: Hannah Arendt, Eichmann in Jerusalem