About Us

Our American Society has become more sensitive to multicultural differences, this has created a greater need for learning a second language; mainly Spanish.  The need for Spanish is of great importance and growing constantly.  By providing this skill HISPALIA is preparing individuals a more diverse educational and life experience.

HISPALIA’s method provides students with an immersion/ linguistic approach to learning Spanish as opposed to the common grammatical approach.  Our goal is to reproduce in each student, the same process of acquiring a language by: listening, understanding, repeating, speaking, creating, reading and writing.  Our Students are encouraged to apply what they are learning to their own lives and in the classroom.  Students learning will be reinforced by various activities, games, open conversations, real-life situations and current events.

Director Profile  

Alvaro Otálora

Former teacher and later partner of Interlingua LLC, He is now the founder of Hispalia Center of Culture and Hispanic Language.

Alvaro Otálora is a native of Bogota, Colombia. He is fluent in three languages: Spanish, French, and English and has been teaching a variety of subjects for his entire career, including Spanish Language and literature, philosophy, and religion. Otalora has had an extended teaching experience into different cultures; African, Latino American and now American culture.

Alvaro Otálora has developed the necessary educational material in order to train teachers for teaching Spanish effectively, at all levels, using a linguistically-oriented method that emphasizes sequential learning: speaking, reading, and writing immerse in a range of learning experiences that reflect the richness of cultures encompassed in the Spanish-speaking world and, particularly, those the students may encounter in their local community.

Otálora has Bachelor's degrees in Philosophy and Theology from La Universidad Santo Tomas in Bogota; three years of graduate level Psychology at La Universidad Javeriana in Bogota, Colombia; and a Master's degree in Education from La Universidad del Valle in Cali. He has lived in Tempe, Arizona since 2001. He is married and has three children.