Posted on 07/28/2011 5:52:39 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
When Mayor Julián Castro visits Mexico next month, it will come as no surprise to see his chief of staff, Robbie Greenblum, close at hand.
Greenblum has earned the mayor's trust, but there might be another reason to have him nearby: He speaks fluent Spanish; Castro does not.
The mayor, who has taken informal Spanish lessons while in office and understands most of what he hears, represents a generation of Latino elected officials whose parents were discouraged from speaking Spanish in school. Many didn't master it themselves.
In Mexican diplomatic circles, Castro's limitations shouldn't hinder him. Many of those he'll meet went to college in the U.S. But even in San Antonio, he runs into people who assume he's bilingual.
Not being able to communicate with voters poses a dilemma for any politician. Not speaking Spanish can be especially sensitive for Latinos, with the challenge sometimes exacerbated by the need to let voters know that you remember where you came from.
(Excerpt) Read more at mysanantonio.com ...
The Post-Hispanic Hispanic Politician "Julián Castro is the son of Rosie Castro, a well-known ’70s firebrand who was among the leaders of La Raza Unida, the radical movement in Texas that was dedicated to defending the civil rights of Mexican-Americans and promoting a strong “Chicano” identity."
And he’s the mayor of San Antonio? That’s disturbing. If they keep electing people like that, San Antonio will start to look like Detroit.. only in Spanish.
"Julián Castro seems entirely comfortable expressing views on national and international matters normally outside the purview of first-term mayors. He and his identical twin, Joaquín, are scions of the west-side barrio political machine their mother helped build, and they were raised with the expectation that they would be leaders, young men of personal excellence and public spirit. They were the undisputed stars of Jefferson High School, where they played on the tennis team, earned top grades and skipped 10th grade. In their spare time they accompanied their mother to political events and strategy sessions, where they were exposed to her fiery style of radicalism (which, in any case, was softening over time); met the key figures in the Chicano political world; became practiced community organizers on political campaigns; and learned to make the system work for them.
[snip]
A place on the San Antonio City Council doesn’t come with a salary, and the Texas State House of Representatives, which meets only 140 days every two years, pays what averages out to be about $16,000 annually. The Castro brothers already had day jobs at the local branch of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, a major law firm with offices around the world. Later they started their own practice. A celebrated personal-injury case, in which they represented victims of a fatal drunken-driving accident, earned them enough to comfortably continue their political careers."...... Source
It’s normal for second- and third-generation immigrants to only speak English—and in Texas, with a Texas accent!!!!
The problem is the multiculturalists and La Raza types who want to create Spanish-only (and Arabic only?) enclaves in our country, that support anti-American causes like Aztlan and sharia law.
Phooey to that!!!!!
Bump!
If they can't speak English why are they able to vote?
He is the Mayor of an American city and would seem to be a successful fellow. The mayor of L.A. doesn't speak Chinese either. I guess since he has a Hispanic surname he is "supposed" to know Spanish; that's racist
But his aide Robbie Greenblum does.
Too funny.
And I fully expect Julian Castro to run for Texas Governor sometime in the future. Julian was elected mayor of San Antonio with the support of the Anglo north side. He's a liberal Democrat but has been careful to not appear overtly radical.
The NYT article quotes Julian as thinking Joaquin’s path to the White House is through the Texas Gov. mansion.
But I don’t see that in the tea leaves, even for these ambitious fellows.
How many times has this author written similar articles when the Obama clan vacations around the world? As if Mexican government officials can't speak English. No, that's not really what this author is after. Hmm, rather than American voting citizens of Hispanic descent, the author is catering to Mexican illegals or those radical La Raza Viva Mexico hotheads.
This seems to be more and more common. A Hispanic girl I know worked for a while at a fast food place. Hispanic customers would come up to her and start rattling off in Spanish. When she told them she didn't speak Spanish they got all huffy and wanted to know why she was "denying her heritage".
My dad came from Germany in the '20s. One day I asked him to teach me German and he "smacked me up side the haid," saying, "You in America. You don't need it." I had an Italian kid at school tell me his dad (sans smacking) told him the same thing.
My dad took the approach that when an immigrant came to America, he wiped his slate clean. "Nobody here cares who or what you were in the Old Country. Show us what YOU can do."
I’ve heard of public schools flagging kids with Hispanic names for bi-lingual classes.
ANYTHING to keep the $$$$$ flowing to E-D-U-C-A-T-I-O-N.
I wish I had learned Spanish as a child. After all I grew up 200 miles from a Spanish speaking country.
.. oh, and it keeps the help from making fun of you. :)
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