CHUBASCO OFF MEXICAN COAST FAST APPROACHING...PAÑA DESCUENTO, PINTA VENADO CON LA BABY DOLL, ESÉ

"The Brownsville office of the National Weather Service will soon begin transmitting emergency alerts in Spanish to provide many Rio Grande Valley households the early warnings necessary to save lives." Jared Janes, The Monitor


By Juan Montoya
Are barrio-friendly hurricane warnings needed?

Way back in 2008, a friend sent us an email from Houston that made fun of then-U.S. Rep. Shirley Jackson Lee’s complaint of the National Hurricane Center’s traditional practice of naming tropical storms and hurricanes with Anglo Saxon names and ignoring names from other ethnic backgrounds.

We suggested something of the sort of what the National Weather Service is putting into effect as the hurricane season starts in June, but apparently it took a while for the thought to register with the federal bureaucracy.

Now, whether Rep. Jackson Lee's criticism will be taken to heart by the folks at the storm center is anyone's guess, but it would be an interesting change of pace to hear the weather forecasters talk about Hurricane Shaquille, DeJuan, or Takeisha.

It would be just as refreshing to hear them warn us of the projected path of Hurricane Panfilo, Lupita, or Juanito.

The missive sent by  Rep. Jackson Lee criticized the wording of the hurricane warnings. She stated that perhaps the conservative (and bland) language that was used in the broadcasts did not convey the seriousness of the situation surrounding these massive storms.

Apparently, she was of the opinion that the NWS warnings do not convey the sense of urgency, or perhaps, passion, that would make the average black listener or viewer take the precautions they need to keep themselves and their families safe.

Mulling over this, I applied the same logic to Hispanic listeners and wondered how we might be able to make the hurricane warnings more, how shall I say, barrio friendly.

For starters, we would have to use some Spanish, Tex-Mex, or even some slang in the messages to get the word out to reach a majority of the people. There are already plenty of sayings (dichos) associated with the weather in South Texas.

These “dichos” are a rich source of folk wisdom that convey a serious message to the listener. For example, “Cuando viene tempestad del sureste, suelta las bestias y vete,” means that when a storm approaches from the southeast, let the livestock loose, and make tracks.

And many rural South Texans are acquainted with sudden swarms of ants that come out just before a bad storm. Likewise, when one saw spiders or other insects climbing the trees, it was a sign that a storm was brewing. Realizing that we have rich and creative diversity of expression in South Texas, we might have to warn our listeners that bad storms are on the way in a way that they would understand.

The average Southmost adult could understand something like, “Hay viene la agua. Paña a la abuela  y los guercos, agarra tus tiliches y patitas pa que son.” A rough translation of this would be something like “A bad storm’s coming. Gather up granny and the kids, a few things, and feets don’t fail me now.”

Or, if you happen to be addressing the younger, hipper, crowd, one could go with, “Hey, homey, hay viene un storm bien bule. Apaña un ropin y la Baby Doll, y ponle en la carrucha, Bro.”

Since recent federal policies by the Department of Homeland Security have singled out the border area for a crackdown on illegal immigration, that adds an extra wrinkle to the mix here. Past stories in the local daily indicates that some community activist groups have sued to have the Border Patrol disclose the extent of their immigration checks if an evacuation would be ordered.

We all know that South Texas is a corridor through which illegal migration occurs. And most of us know someone who has relatives here without proper documentations. Since these people would also be included in the evacuations, perhaps our warning should also be aimed at informing them of the potential for arrest and deportation if they get stopped by the Border Patrol.

You can see how providing this information to potential evacuees is of critical importance. For example, if you are transporting someone who cannot prove he or she is a citizen, this subjects the owner of the vehicle to forfeiture and arrest for harboring an illegal entrant. 

Suddenly, amidst the mass evacuation from South Texas, your kids will be left without transportation and on their own.

Is it any wonder that in case a major storm were to hit the area, a large number of people would chose to weather the storm rather than be arrested and have their car confiscated because they were carrying la tia who doesn’t have any papers?

Aa barrio-friendly warning could go something like this: "Si llevas a alguien en la carrucha que anda de mojrra y no tenga papiros de repente te lo quitan, te suben al Suburban y te arrestan.”

Our homeboy message might sound something like this: “Hay viene un chubasco con mad--. Quiere el bato que le pongan pa’ San Anto, Laredo, o pa’ otras cities lejos de l’agua. Pero wachate con la migra porque van a andar bien perros pidiendo papiros, Bro. Si eres mojarra te van a pescar y tirar pa’ l’otro lado. Y si llevas un homey sin papiruchos de repente te quitan la ranfla y te meten al taris a ti tambien por llevarlo. Aguas porque se te cai el canton.”

There is also, believe it or not, a public health consideration to this message as well. Taking into account that high blood pressure and diabetes plagues the health of Hispanics in higher proportions than other groups, The message might include advice to take along their medication.

The accompanying Spanish message might include an addendum such as: “Y no se les olviden las pildoras pa’ la presión y pa’ la azucar.”

There is a sense of urgency about this now since are well underway into the hurricane season. Will our elected officials and disaster-preparedness administrators get the message and incorporate some of the ideas to warn blacks and other minorities to the gravity of the situation?

If not, then we’re sure some local residents might not heed the warnings of our emergency preparedness because they’re not “barrio friendly.” There is yet another dicho that might come into play here. 

That is the one that says: “Todavia ves que viene la tormenta y no te hincas y te arrepientes.” (Even after you see the approaching tempest, you still don’t kneel and repent).