Learn Hardcore Spanish (Spain): Respiro hondo antes de hablar con la política en la manifestación. - I breathe deeply before talking with the female politician at the demonstration.

Respiro already means I breathe (first person singular).
Adding yo (Yo respiro hondo...) is grammatically correct, but it puts extra emphasis on I, as in I (and not someone else) breathe deeply.

So the normal, neutral version is just Respiro hondo... without yo.

Why is it respiro and not something like me respiro?

Respirar is not reflexive in this meaning. You just breathe, you don’t breathe yourself.

Correct: Respiro hondo. = I breathe deeply / I take a deep breath.
Incorrect: Me respiro hondo.

The reflexive form would only be used in very unusual, metaphorical, or dialectal contexts, not in this normal sense of taking a deep breath.

What exactly does respiro hondo mean? Is hondo an adverb here?

Literally, respiro hondo is I breathe deep(ly).

hondo normally means deep (as an adjective: a deep pool = una piscina honda).
In expressions like respirar hondo, hondo behaves like an adverb: to breathe deeply, take a deep breath.

This is a very common idiomatic expression in Spanish:

Respiro hondo antes de empezar. = I take a deep breath before starting.

Could I say respiro profundamente instead of respiro hondo?

Yes, you can.

Respiro hondo and respiro profundamente both mean I breathe deeply.
Respiro hondo is more colloquial and very frequent in everyday speech.
Respiro profundamente sounds a bit more formal or neutral.

Both are fine in Spain; respiro hondo is especially common in spoken language.

Why is the verb in the present: Respiro hondo? In English we’d often say “I’m taking a deep breath”.

Spanish often uses the simple present where English uses the present continuous.

Respiro hondo antes de hablar… = I take a deep breath before talking… or I’m taking a deep breath before talking…

The focus is on a regular or typical action, or on narrating what you do at that moment. Using estoy respirando hondo would sound more like you are describing the ongoing physical action itself, not the whole situation as a single step you take.

Why is it antes de hablar and not antes de que hablo or antes de que hable?

Because the subject before and after antes de is the same (I in both cases), Spanish uses antes de + infinitive.

Respiro hondo antes de hablar…
I (subject) breathe deeply before I (same subject) talk.

Rules:

Same subject: antes de + infinitive
- Respiro hondo antes de hablar.
Different subject: antes de que + subjunctive
- Respiro hondo antes de que ella hable. = I take a deep breath before she speaks.

So antes de que hablo is incorrect; it would need the subjunctive: antes de que hable when the subject changes.

Why is it hablar con la política and not hablar a la política?

Both hablar con and hablar a exist, but they’re used differently:

hablar con alguien = to talk with / to someone (two-way conversation)
- Voy a hablar con la política. = I’m going to talk with the politician.
hablar a alguien = to speak to someone (more one‑directional, often like addressing someone, scolding, or talking down)
- El profesor habló a los alumnos. = The teacher spoke to the students.

In a normal conversation where you imagine an exchange, hablar con la política is the natural choice.

Does la política mean “the politician” or “politics”?

La política can mean both, depending on context:

the female politician (profession, person)
- la política = the (female) politician
  In your sentence, con la política clearly refers to a person you’re talking to.
politics (the field, in general)
- La política es complicada. = Politics is complicated.

Here, because of hablar con la política, native speakers will automatically understand la política as the female politician, not politics.

If la política is a woman, how do you say “the (male) politician”?

For a male politician, you would say:

el político = the (male) politician
un político = a (male) politician

The word político/política follows regular gender rules:

el político / la política
los políticos / las políticas

Why is it en la manifestación and not a la manifestación?

Because the meaning is at / in the demonstration, not to the demonstration.

en la manifestación = at the demonstration / in the protest (location)
a la manifestación = to the demonstration (direction/movement)

Your sentence:

Respiro hondo antes de hablar con la política en la manifestación.
= I take a deep breath before speaking with the politician at the demonstration.

You’re already there, at that place, so en is the right preposition.

What does manifestación mean here exactly? Is it always “demonstration”?

In this context, la manifestación means a (street) protest / demonstration, where people gather to express their political or social opinions.

Other uses:

It can also mean manifestation in a more abstract sense (a sign, an expression), but in everyday Spanish, when people say la manifestación without extra context, they usually mean a protest in the streets.

Can I change the word order to put the time expression first, like in English?

Yes. Word order is quite flexible in Spanish. You can say:

Antes de hablar con la política en la manifestación, respiro hondo.

This sounds natural and even a bit more typical if you want to set the scene first. The meaning is the same; you’re just emphasizing the “before speaking…” part a bit more.