A toast to Espanol speakers

Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2005 | 8:45 a.m.

Although they had been warned, speaker after speaker got the word wrong as the night wore on. "Introduce" in English is not the same as "introducir" in Spanish, at least not when you are introducing a person.

Each time a speaker goofed, eyes rolled in the room of 20 people. Not exactly reassuring for the speaker, but that was one purpose of this meeting of Toastmasters en espanol -- the Las Vegas Valley's first Spanish-language branch of an international association devoted to improving speaking skills.

Founded in 1924, Toastmasters is a network of about 10,000 clubs in which members give speeches on assigned topics, critique each other and discuss grammar and vocabulary. The idea is to build leadership and confidence, a quality that seemed to rise and fall on this December night as speakers were met with polite applause and gentle criticism.

The valley is home to about 50 Toastmaster clubs, every last one of them English-speaking -- until Maite Salazar came along. A child of Mexican immigrants born and raised in California's Imperial Valley, Salazar moved to Las Vegas in 2004 and joined an English-speaking Toastmaster club. "Then I thought, 'Why not one in Spanish?' "

Salazar runs a public relations company, Salazar Communications, and many of her clients speak Spanish or want her to reach out to a Spanish-speaking public.

"I truly believe correct and proper English is indispensable," she said. "But we can't ignore that the majority of immigrants are Spanish speakers. They need services, and companies want to do business with them ... and you have to be able to communicate to them."

Although Salazar had lived in Costa Rica for seven years, vastly improving the Spanish she learned growing up, she felt her vocabulary needed help.

Now she's president of the new club. In her speech about Christmas, she occasionally pronounced words with the accent of an English speaker, but also got mercifully little criticism for making mistakes in grammar.

Also absent were the annoying pings of pennies dropped in a can -- the device used by a club member appointed as the "crutch counter." The idea is to register each time a speaker falls back on phrases like, "you know," or "uh..."

Salazar, accustomed to selling ideas, looked polished in front of the room.

The club members include transplants from Guadalajara, Mexico; Cali, Colombia; Lima, Peru; and Phoenix. They are computer programmers, housewives, newspaper reporters, administrators. Some are even "gringos."

Gloria Restrepo was the most-recent arrival to Las Vegas, having moved from Colombia in 2002. She is now taking two English classes and volunteering at a local elementary school.

Even so, she said she can't yet have an intellectual conversation in her second language. "I still can't communicate very well in English," she said. "It was this or nothing."

On the other end of the spectrum, George Cantu, who served as emcee at the meeting, comes from at least three generations of family based in Laredo, Texas.

Though Cantu grew up with Spanish in his house, he has lost most of the language. Cantu signed onto the club because he needed to help Spanish-speaking people in his job as site manager of the CCSN Neighborhood Learning Center at the Latin Chamber of Commerce, where the most popular classes are English as a second language.

"It's embarrassing, since I can't communicate with them," he said. On this night it was easy to see why. He struggled valiantly in front of the room -- and, yes, joined the ranks of those who tried to "introducir" speakers.

Little surprise, then, at his suggestion as the evening drew to a close. Why not have an occasional meeting in English?

"Since I have to try so hard in Spanish," he said, lapsing back into his familiar tongue, "you guys should make the effort in English."

Restrepo, making her own valiant effort, said, "It would be a good practice."

Timothy Pratt can be reached at 259-8828 or at timothy@lasvegasun.com.