Over the weekend I couldn’t avoid encountering satirical commentary on Ana Botella’s now infamous speech on Saturday, in front of the IOC (International Olympic Committee) in Buenos Aires. I was even receiving Whatsapp messages about it from my friends in Spain, whilst still in the UK. That’s when you know something is buzzworthy.
It was clear to see that Botella had not only embarrassed herself, but the entire Spanish nation too. In fact, “Plaza Mayor” is still a trending topic on Twitter, 2 days after the speech. That’s not to mention the group on Facebook, A relaxing cup of café con leche in la Plaza Mayor, which has 110K likes.
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On Saturday, Ana decided to stand apart from Rajoy, who spoke in Spanish, and address the IOC in English. I would almost always encourage speakers of English as a second language to take every opportunity they get to practice, but not this time. The problem is that you would expect someone with such a status in international politics to have taken the time to work on their English before addressing the world.
It wasn’t just the way that she pretty much spoke in Spanglish that whipped the Spanish population into a social media frenzy. Her remarks about “a relaxing cup of café con leche in Plaza Mayor” have been ridiculed in social media channels, as most Madrileños would advise visiting friends to have a café con leche around the corner, in a cheaper café. News reports have shown Spaniards saying that only her and her colleagues in politics can afford to have their coffee in Plaza Mayor.
Botella had already sparked much discussion in social media with an interesting choice of hairstyle in one public appearance for the Olympic campaign. On twitter, amusing images have been tweeted from the account @DolorsBoatella regarding Botella’s hair. The Mayor also attracted attention in the media when she chose not to listen to interpreters during a round of questions, leading to an embarrassing misunderstanding in which she demonstrated that she clearly had no idea what the question was actually about.
Below are some snapshots of what’s being shared on Twitter.
