CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — The City of Corpus Christi recently expanded its Spanish-language communications staff, allowing it to have more tools and resources for people in our community who may not be as comfortable with English.
"We don't want things to get lost in translation, we want people to be informed,” Senior Public Information Officer Gabriela Morrow said. “We don't want people to have misinformation out there. Some people may not understand a word in English and by disseminating information in Spanish, they'll be able to get that information firsthand."
The City sends communication through the City of Corpus Christi government Facebook page, and it now has a second page with all notifications en español.
"We officially launched on Dieciséis de Septiembre, which is Mexican Independence Day, and we have been posting ever since," Internal Communication Specialist Sofia Rodriguez said. "We used Hispanic Heritage Month as the launch, but we want to assure residents that this is not just a temporary profile. This is a long-term Spanish implemented Facebook that we're trying to have to be more accessible to residents."
With Spanish being the second most used language in Corpus Christi, City Director of Communications Cecilia Orozco said the need for its Spanish communications department to grow was obvious.
"We know that thirty percent of residents here locally in Corpus Christi speak Spanish at home as a primary native language, so of course, it's important for us to make sure that we have that information accessible to residents and this Spanish Facebook will do just that,” Orozco said
The City wants Spanish-speaking residents to follow their new Facebook page especially during emergency situations.
"If there's a hurricane, any kind of emergency, any kind of emergency, the information that we will be providing is going to be both English and Spanish," she said.
To follow the City of Corpus Christi en Español click here.