Bad week for Mexico tourism capped by mis-translations
MEXICO CITY: It has been a bad week for Mexican tourism promotion, and it got worse on Friday when the English language version of the country’s tourism website appeared with hilarious mis-translations. Entire states like Hidalgo and Guerrero apparently got machine translated as “Noble” and “Warrior.”
Worse for the VisitMexico.com site, there was systematic and inexplicable re-invention of the names of some fairly well-known tourist towns. The Caribbean resort of Tulum somehow became “Jumpsuit.” The nearby lagoon of Bacalar, on the Caribbean coast, was switched to the Gulf coast state of Tabasco. The snafu came one day after the U.S. State Department cited the high number of COVID-19 cases in Mexico for issuing a “do not travel” advisory for the country, its highest level of warning. Hours earlier, the resort of Acapulco was forced to pull “anything goes” tourism ads that showed people partying without masks and the words “there are no rules.”
But the problems at VisitMexico.com drew howls of hilarity — and anger. The Pacific coast resort of Puerto Escondido became “Hidden Port,” a literal translation, and the northern city of Torreon became “Turret,” which is kind of close.
Some name changes were just inexplicable and appeared to have as much to do with invention as simple translation. The central Mexican town of Aculco somehow became “I Blame,” and the northern Gulf coast city of Ciudad Madero became “Log.” “Stop making Mexico look ridiculous!” former President Felipe Calderón wrote in his Twitter account.
Mexico’s Tourism Department issued a statement apologizing for the apparently out-sourced errors, but then made it sound like something sinister had been involved.
“The Tourism Department expresses its most sincere apologies to the public and users for the effects that have occurred on the website VisitMexico,” the statement said. (AP)
Handbag handed over to cops 16 years after it was reported stolen in Australia
Moree [Australia]: The Moree Police in New South Wales were handed over a handbag this week, which after linking its identifying features, is believed to be the same bag that was reported stolen back in July 2004.
Cited by the publication Moree Champion, the handbag was found at the back of one of the oldest, and largest fashion boutiques in rural New South Wales — Assef’s car park by some building workers in the area.
Found after more than 16 years, the handbag was believed to be stolen from the back of the owner’s car which was parked near the Heber and Auburn Street intersection. Back then, a few days later after the incident, some of the contents of the bag were recovered near the Moree railway station.
However, now, after many years, the handbag and the majority of its contents were located in Assef’s car park.
Moree police officer-in-charge Inspector Martin Burke said this goes to show why it’s so important for people to report lost or stolen items.
“The moral of the story is that it’s important to report this stuff, lost or stolen because there’s a greater opportunity to link it up with you if they’re found later,” Moree Champion quoted Inspector Burke as saying. (ANI)
BBC radio host quits over use of racist term in news report
London: British radio host Sideman quit the BBC on Saturday over the corporation’s decision to include a racial slur in a news report about a racist attack.
Sideman, who appeared on music station Radio 1Xtra, said in an Instagram post that broadcasting the word feels like a slap in the face to our community.
The comedian and broadcaster, whose real name is David Whitely, said that with no apology (from the BBC) I just don’t feel comfortable being aligned with the organization.
The BBC included the word when reporting last month on a violent attack on a young Black man in Bristol, a city in southwest England. The attackers are reported to have yelled the offensive term as they ran into the 21-year-old with a car.
The victim needed hospital treatment for a broken leg and other injuries.
The BBC has defended the decision to use the word, saying it wanted to convey the racist nature of the attack and gave adequate warnings that upsetting images and language would be used. On Thursday the BBC said it had received more than 18,000 complaints about the broadcast. (AP)