Spanish lessons

When we took our teenage son to clean up Las Virgenes Creek last weekend, we expected to teach him a lesson in civic duty and volunteerism. We didn't, however, expect him to hear words of cultural insult and disrespect from our civic leaders while doing so.

As a Hispanic living in Calabasas, I find great pride in the Spanish heritage around us. So when I heard a tall blond woman leading the creek restoration first refer to Juan Bautista de Anza Park as "Anza" park, I chalked it up to a use of slang. But when she was asked by a gentleman in the group if she meant de Anza Park, her response was not only insulting but disrespectful to Juan Bautista de Anza and all Hispanics.

The woman responded to the gentleman's question by saying, "No, it's Anza. The 'D' and 'E' was used by the Spanish but it should have been removed before they named the park." Excuse me?

Generations of Hispanics have been bleached of their heritage by people like this who try to convince us that it is best to anglicize our names and give up our culture, heritage and history. The "de" in Juan Bautista de Anza is no less part of his name as the "Mc" in McDonald or the "O" in O'Brien would be in theirs.

De Anza is the namesake of many streets, schools and organizations in California. If it was up to this woman, we would be living on the Virgins Blvd. in the City of Pumpkins. A.A. Palacios-Collins Calabasas