I remember a time when Univision would ban even the smallest word in English language in favor of a Spanish-only policy. But now, as the network prepares to host this Sunday’s first-of-a-kind debate among Democratic presidential candidates, it has asked the only candidate who is fluent in Spanish to forget about it.
According to an ABC story this morning, Univision is asking Mexico-born Bill Richardson to refrain from showing off his Spanish-language skills. Questions will be asked and answered in English, and then translated into Spanish for Univision’s TV, radio and online platforms. (I wonder if the network has some system in place by which a hand would come out slapping he or she who incurs in a language violation.)
Poor Bill. I guess this was his chance to show Latinos that despite being called Richardson, he actually speaks Spanish, has a Mexican mother and was raised in Mexico City. That would help the governor a great deal as currently six in 10 Latinos never heard of him, according to a USA Today/Gallup June poll.
MI BLOG ES TU BLOG 
I met Gov. Richardson and actually have an interview now playing on http://www.calmagazine.com. His position is that he is not running as President of Hispanics, which if I were in his shows I would do the same. The average voter in the U.S. today is conservative, white, and speaks English. That same voter has a hang up about illegal immigrants. Richardson has to show he is a candidate for all Americans. If anything, we should thank Univision for protecting his image.
Adrian
http://www.calmagazine.com
This is America, we speak ENGLISH in this country. If I was in Mexico, we would speak Spanish. In fact, I despise Americans in foreign countries that don’t learn the language.
“I remember a time when Univision would ban even the smallest word in English language in favor of a Spanish-only policy”
—So do I. And as someone who works in hispanic advertising and has to translate legal disclaimers into Spanish, I hate that stupid policy. Legal disclaimers should be in English just like court procedings are in English.
So unless Richardson is speaking ONLY to a hispanic audience in Telemundo, he needs to speak English. How would you feel if Schwartznegger wanted to show off his German? The governor of California does not say “Gutten Tag!” when he debates.
“That same voter has a hang up about illegal immigrants.”
—How ironic. So it’s ok for latinos in Mexico, Venezuela and other countries to hate illegal aliens, but if Americans want to protect their borders, they have a hangup. This is why people get so angry with latinos, it’s the stupid hypocrisy.
Frankly, as a venezuelan legal alien who’s spending plenty of money and time trying to get a greencard, I don’t want someone who violated the law to come to this country to get amnesty.
6 in 10 Latinos have NOT HEARD of him? Wow…sounds like someone needs to spend some of that political campaign money in the community. Mmmm….pitch anyone? After all, there’s a lot of hispanics that will NOT vote for Richardson, even if they know of him, just becasue he is Hispanic. Just like many women won’t automatically vote for Hillary.
That’s also why I think that if he utters a word in spanish here and there, it will not be an unfair advantage. And if the others know a phrase or two in Spanish, then they should be allowed to ingratiate themselves to the audience. Why not? This rigidity about language, taken to the extreme is killing what is beautiful about being multilingual.
Look, we should just acknowledge that this is a network that caters to a very specific Spanish speaking audience. Just let it happen, maybe a quick hello and a point in Spanish, to acknowledge his heritage, then the others can also send a message if they like, and then move on. What harm is there in that? Honestly.
Conchita,
I understand your position. The problem is that speaking spanish and acknowledging your hispanic is a double edge sword in national politics. If Obama decided to speak about his muslim roots, he too would kill his chances to get the presidential nomination. Hispanics still don’t vote in the blocs that have been predicted for the last two decades. If we did, every candidate, Democrat or Republican, liberal or conservative would learn basic Spanish phrases to talk to us. However, again, the average voter is white, conservative and speaks english only. Heck, here in California we had Cruz Bustamante running for Governor against Schwarzenegger and guess what, he failed to seek the Latino vote. That’s in a state whose Latino population is reaching 40 percent very quickly.
Adrian
http://www.calmagazine.com
Adrian, I personally don’t need some politician to say a few Spanish words to get my votes, neither do most latinos. Even though Bush speaks Spanish, that’s not why he carried the latin vote twice.
It’s also idiotic for latinos to vote only for latinos (like Bustamante) and not for the best candidate whatever race he may be.
Jorge,
I’m glad you personally don’t information in Spanish to sway your vote. I guess I’m looking at it from my 82 year-old mother who has been a voting citizen for decades, yet would rather get her messages in Spanish because of her limited English. (This is a comfort zone issue that can’t be argued.) There are many older Latinos in the U.S. like my mother. Plus, there is a growing number of new citizens who also need the information in Spanish to assess who is the best candidate. Then there is the large bloc of U.S. born Latinos who vote for candidates that look and speak like them, nothing wrong with that since that is what a democratic society promotes. By the way, information to assess who is the best candidate is ambiguous at best, due to those who have good marketing and money and those who don’t.
Adrian
http://www.calmagazine.com
You know Adrian, it’s interesting that we’re in a Latino blog talking in English. That alone should say something.
I understand some older latinos need their information in Spanish, which is why they read hispanic newspapers and watch Univision. I do think however that every latino here should make an effort to learn English and speak it well. Lately, some immigrants seem to come to America and expect Americans to accomodate everything to them. No country is like that. Italian-Americans rarely speak Italian, German-Americans hardly speak any German, maybe it’s sad they lost their cultures, but God help us the day I put my card in the ATM and read “For German press 3.” It is even more shocking that some Latinos want Spanish to be the second official language of the USA. What’s the point of leaving Latin America if we turn this country into Latin America? That’s stupid. There’s plenty of Spanish-only countries we can go to, yet we are here. No wonder people are scared of latinos, remember the douchebag who decided to translate the national anthem into Spanish? How would mexicans feel if a bunch of Americans sang their anthem in English?
Very well said Jorge.
There are more issues that afect all of us living in this country than just the inmigration reform.
Perdón, pero realmente esto me resulta tontísimo. Tonta Univision. Tontos los que creen que le da ventaja a Richardson el hablar en Español.
We are becoming a country of fools. We keep dividing, fragmenting. Intolerance does that, not inclusion.
Spanish is the second most spoken language in the US. Deal with that. Sweeping that fact under the proverbial rug only makes matters worse.
This has nothing to do with illegal immigration. Millions of legal residents and citizens in this country speak Spanish and would love to see candidates actually speaking the language their ancestors brought with them.
By the way, have you actually heard Bush speak Spanish? I did and I was praying for him to switch to English, he looked and sound much less foolish (is that possible?) in English. If his command of the Spanish Language is any measure of the concern for that voting bloc, well, estamos fritos (estábamos y estamos)
Please, Spanics, before you continue with the Spanish language consider the following:
It was imposed upon you by the Spaniards.
It’s not your language.
It’s time for you to recognize that you really don’t want to live in any Spanish speaking Country.
That’s why you left and came here because there was nothing there for you.
Look around,looks like you’re winning at making this White-European Country look-like your left-behind Spanish-speaking Countries, (third world).
Fifty years ago,before you invaded us it was beautiful here, now it’s ugly.
Do you really like so much your language,which is not yours?
Do you really like your culture which was pushed upon you by others and that makes each of you here persona non-grata?
Why don’t you shed this baggage and embrace our way of life?
How many of you have a White friend?
And why not?
And why Whites have allowed you to enter their County and Civilization for you to trash them?
No assimilation?. Welfare dependency?, Section 8,food stamp?, government benefits seekers and no work?
Young Spanic women with 6 children and all on welfare?
No good. Look in the mirror.
The Spanish Culture ruined you. Had you been colonized by the British you would be outstanding citizens.
Trash the Spanish language and learn proper English.
That is speak with the proper accent and fluently,which not even those of you born here do.
One more thing:
you call yourselves “LATINOS or LATINAS”. What a laugh!.
By doing so you are insulting the Great Latin language and Latin Culture born in Italy. The ancient Latin language of Italy and the Culture of the Italians. Roman Italy.
Have you ever been told that the Latin(o) comes from Italy and NOT from Spain?
Well, you know it know.