'El Bloombito's' Spanish Mocked on Twitter

New York City Mayor Miguel Bloombito is trying really hard, but his lumpy, clunky Spanish just doesn't cut it. The spunky mayor took to repeating some of Hurricane Irene's danger and evacuation warnings in Spanish at his press conferences, but they came out sounding like "El stormo grande is mucho dangeroso, stay awayo para los next few days," and "no looto el bodego" to the offended ears of New Yorker Rachel Figueroa-Levin, 25, who has started a popular Twitter account whose fake missives mock "El Bloombito."

It's "great he wants to speak Spanish," but “it's just so blatantly hilarious," Figueroa-Levin tells the New York Observer. She thinks he should use someone who speaks Spanish fluently to deliver his messages at press conferences. The mayor, meanwhile, is refusing to defend his Spanish. Asked about the Twitter account, he responded: “Tengo 69 años. Es difícil para aprender un nuevo idioma"—which translates roughly to: "You can't teach an old dog new tricks." (More Rachel Figueroa-Levin stories.)