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So the story goes that when William Shakespeare penned "Romeo and Juliet" back in 1594 he tried to make fun of a rival theatre company. He had his doomed heroine say the following line, "What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet..." as a way to poke fun at The Rose Theatre because they were known to have stinky bathrooms.
Stinky or not, people have issues about how I pronounce my name on the air. This brouhaha has been bubbling for some time but thanks to another blog penned by my good friend Roy Ortega at the El Paso Times (Roy is the all seeing, all knowing, all wise keeper of the 4th Estate here in El Paso), it seems people have used his posting to rise in protest.
Out in Dallas, viewers there (conservative or not) have issues with how a female anchor emphasizes the letter "r" in her last name Izaguirre. Here locally, Oralia Ortega over at Channel 9 beautifully pronounces her name on the air the way they would in her home country. And of course, the classiest news anchor around Estela Casas is able to deliver the news in two languages.
But as for me, I have a double standard. While my co-anchor Noreen Jaramillo notes that I frequently pronounce other people's Spanish last names in their proper pronunciation, I don't do it with mine. As I mentioned in previous discussions, I grew up in El Paso and not once did I, my family (not on the Balderas side I should honestly point out) or my friends ever tried to call me by emphasizing the Spanish part of both "Israel" or "Balderas" whenever they spoke.
I will note that one Fifth Estate posting over at El Paso Times by the name of Julie wrote that, "There’s a difference in not speaking spanish and not being able to even pronounce your own last name! What a shame!" Well, I may not pronounce my last name the way many would prefer but I do speak Spanish. I hope that counts for some. As I told another protesting viewer, I once had management at another cable news organization ask me if I could say my name on the air in its Spanish form. I kindly declined, not because I didn't want to be known as the Latino journalist (after all look at me, I can't hide it) but because I'm more comfortable saying it the way it’s always been said.
So let us end in the same way this began...by quoting Shakespeare in writing me thinks "doth protest too much." After all, Spanish or not, I think it's a beautiful name. But if you do want to protest, do so and write it down here.
Get Your Act Together
1/27/09
Our 33rd President Harry S. Truman is famous for having said, “You want a friend in Washington? Get a dog.” I think a more appropriate Truman quote reflecting Tuesday’s face-off between two County Commissioners and one particular City Council Rep might be, “If you can't convince them, confuse them.”
The issue is quite easy to understand and most appreciate the congeniality behind this requested “meeting of the minds.” County Commissioners Veronica Escobar and the Rookie Anna Perez walked several downtown blocks, to ask the all-knowing and all-seeing City Council to allow their separate staffs to get together, perhaps even over lunch. The issue on the table— try to create some kind of partnership or management arrangement for public parks, like Ascarate.
Now, maybe District 6 Representative Eddie Holguin, Jr. didn’t eat breakfast or maybe he doesn’t like sitting next to Steve Ortega. Whatever was bugging Mr. Holguin, he had an upside down trademark smile and berated his two county colleagues for suggesting such a get together even take place. At one point Mr. Holguin asked the two Commissioners whether the county would agree to pay the expenses associated with having city workers attend such a meeting (maybe he’s unhappy at the pay disparity among El Paso government employees).
At one point, Mr. Holguin suggested that before this partnership can even be considered, the County Court should “get it’s act together” when it comes to the management of these public parks. Most often it’s Commissioners Escobar and Dan Haggerty who speak to each other using such colorful tone, so perhaps that’s why Veronica wasn’t faced much by Holguin’s legislative demeanor. Also, keep in mind that Mr. Holguin was talking down to another County Commissioner who is a few weeks from giving birth.
In the end, I think Mr. Holguin’s pugilistic approach even caused him some votes. In talking with Commissioner Anna Perez afterwards, she thought District 4 Rep Melina Castro also disliked the idea of county and city staff getting together to discuss park management. But I think Castro got a bit confused by Holguin’s comment regarding government business waiting until “everyone get’s their act together.” After all, if that’s the new standard for getting things done around El Paso, then Mr. Holguin can stay home on Tuesdays until he gets his public civility