Where Are The SPANISH Speakers In Albuquerque? (Socorro, Cuba: schools, live)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I actually toned down what I really wanted to say. I lost my patience a long time ago with this kind of attitude.
I reread the original post, and I still believe you ambushed somebody who was genuinely curious, and would probably hold similar views to yours once they learned. How you got to wherever you are from "I want to hear Spanish. Where in Albuquerque do people speak Spanish?" is beyond me.
I'd like to point out that most of the Spanish speakers I have known in Albuquerque, Speak perfect English
and the only way you would know that they speak Spanish is to ask them or overhear them speaking it.
I worked at a factory in Albuquerque where most of the line employees lived in the South Valley. As they
explained it, their first language was Spanish. During breaks, they all spoke Spanish to each other.
One other thing: The Spanish "dialect" spoken in New Mexico is said to be closer to the original
Spanish brought over by the Spaniards in the 1500's than is spoken in Spain currently. In the
isolated mountains of New Mexico it changed little.
Also you might want to get out of the city, go to Espanola or Las Vegas up North and you will find what you are looking for, but remember this is 2011 and the Spanish people speak perfect English.
I'd like to point out that most of the Spanish speakers I have known in Albuquerque, Speak perfect English
and the only way you would know that they speak Spanish is to ask them or overhear them speaking it.
That's one thing that has impressed me here. In Philadelphia, a lot of the Puerto Ricans I met who spoke both Spanish and English spoke heavily accented, occasionally incorrect, English. (I think this is due to individuals moving back and forth between Puerto Rico and CONUS.) Here a lot of the bilingual speakers (especially the ones whose families have been in New Mexico for a long time) can go back and forth between speaking English like a native speaker and speaking fluent Spanish. Recent immigrants from Spanish speaking countries can be another matter.
My grandmother (who was born in Socorro) didn't speak any English when she started school. She was "paddled" for not knowing how to speak English, or for not learning it quickly enough.
I live in one of the areas of town where you will encounter Spanish being spoken more frequently, so I hear it almost every day. The suggestions given for venturing into areas of town outside the northeast is a good one. You will find plenty of Hispanics in the northeast part of town but very few who speak Spanish regularly. The ones who do speak Spanish regularly are the recent immigrants from Mexico. They can be found in higher numbers on the southwest mesa, in the South Valley and some parts of central and southeastern Albuquerque. I live in Barelas south of Downtown and many of my neighbors are recent Mexican immigrants.
Travel along Bridge Boulevard just west of the river and you will encounter many businesses and shops run by and geared towards this immigrant population. You will encounter Spanish being spoken in those businesses. Other corridors like this are Gibson Boulevard, Zuni Road and parts of Central east of Nob Hill in the southeast; Broadway south of Coal in the central part of town; west Central, Old Coors Drive, and all along Isleta Boulevard in the southwest part of town.
Of course those sorts of places aren't limited to those areas only. You will plenty of them scattered all around town, these are just areas where they are concentrated and where it's quite easy to find them.
As for Spanish speakers, I myself am descended from both Mexican immigrants and some of the old Spanish families of northern New Mexico. Growing up I spoke Spanish every day with my dad only and English with everybody else. People around me like my grandfather and mother were fluent in both languages and could switch between them very easily and often did in their normal conversations.
People in the younger generations like me mainly used Spanish slang or sayings, but never really held conversations in the language other than with our older relatives. I've lost pretty much all my ability to speak Spanish and most of my ability to understand it. I can't understand most of what gets said on a Spanish newscast, for example, but I can understand and engage in most small conversations with my neighbors in Spanish.
I reread the original post, and I still believe you ambushed somebody who was genuinely curious, and would probably hold similar views to yours once they learned. How you got to wherever you are from "I want to hear Spanish. Where in Albuquerque do people speak Spanish?" is beyond me.
It looks like shooting the messenger from my end.
What I get from the OP and its use of all caps to emphasize certain words is this: "what is WRONG with you hispanics, I moved my arse all the way here to practice Spanish and you have disappointed me, WHY can't you be like the stereotype that I had of you because I was too lazy to read up on the cultural history of New Mexico before I moved here?"
(ok, I'm not even a native New Mexican or a native Spanish speaker, it is my embarrassment reading stuff like that which presses my buttons)
The OP reported elsewhere that he is moving to Seattle, where he will probably be much less culturally confused.
And I am trying to be helpful, I suggested going to a Catholic church instead of Calvary, San Felipe (http://www.sanfelipedeneri.org/services.html - broken link)'s Spanish mass is Sundays at 8:30 am. There are certain protestant churches and evangelical/pentecostal churches with Spanish-speaking congregations or services. There are lots of Mexican and other Latin American restaurants that cater to the immigrant community where you can hear and speak Spanish, too many to mention, try PupuserÃa y Restaurante Salvadoreño (not mentioned is the other location at Gibson and San Mateo). And for entertainment you can go to the Tumbleweed, among others. The International District centered around Louisiana and Central has lots of Spanish-speaking businesses.
But for someone who is not already proficient in Spanish, don't expect Spanish-speaking employees to stand there and be patient with you while you try to put a sentence together just for the sake of practicing for your own personal enrichment. They have a job to do. It would be better for you to take a class or find a tutor.
I have to say, I am at least sympathetic to aries63's take on things. The tone of the original post seemed sort of demanding, and does suggest someone didn't do even minimal research on Albuquerque and New Mexico before moving here.
Quote:
Originally Posted by N8!
If you think that's twisted, read about the Spanish treatment of the Pueblo populations; all in the name of the Prince of Peace.
NM's history is very interesting.
Oh yeah, I've read some of that. I guess this story just feels closer, because it's historically closer. What was done to the Pueblos was obviously far more extreme.
I mean to read a whole lot more about New Mexico, but there's so much to read and so little time.
I have to say, I am at least sympathetic to aries63's take on things. The tone of the original post seemed sort of demanding, and does suggest someone didn't do even minimal research on Albuquerque and New Mexico before moving here.
Interesting. I just chalked it up to some sort of Tourette's variant involving the caps lock. Annoying as all caps can be, I didn't get the sense of DEMAND the rest of you got, just a variant form of nonconforming writing style (just as Germans like to capitalize all nouns). If one sounded out the sentences, it'd come across as an odd speech impediment or perhaps even a foreign accent.
Funny how some of the most annoying habits we have can insulate us from picking up on the annoying habits of others on occasion.
Last edited by Zoidberg; 09-28-2011 at 02:00 PM..
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
