Of all the things Hurricane Irene left in its wake, ‘Mayor Miguel Bloombito’ is by far the most humorous.
While speaking at a press conference before Hurricane Irene, Mayor Michael Bloomberg attempted to translate the hurricane warning for his Latino voter base. While his attempt is admirable, the outcome is admittedly funny.
That’s what New Yorker Rachel Figueroa-Levin thought when she set up the Spanglish parody account @ElBloombito. Ten thousand followers tune in for tweets like these:
“El wall streeto financio markets will openo mañana. El trado el stocko por que bueno economyo.”
“Stay awayo para los next few days los parks y los trees. Que fall down. El BOOM!”
Her tweets are so compelling that even the real Mayor Bloomberg has joined the fiesta.
“Me escuchas, @ElBloombito?” Bloomberg’s verified account replied. That’s “You hear me?” in (correct) Spanish.
The tweet links to a clip from the Mayor’s YouTube in which Bloomberg admits his poor Spanish speaking skills.
Figueroa-Levin never expected her account to catch the attention of the Mayor — or anyone else for that matter.
“I’m still in shock that so many people are following an account I created to entertain maybe 15 people,” she told the New York Observer.
The stay-at-home mother, who is fluent in Spanish, told the Observer she thinks the mayor she voted for needs improvement when it comes to foreign languages.
“I think it’s great that he wants to speak Spanish. I also think that in a situation like this, he perhaps should have let someone else do the talking.”
Photo courtesy of Levin’s Facebook page
