Señorita Sainz

During the month of September in the US, we witnessed a female Mexican reporter by the name of Ines Sainz make the headlines. The actual reporting of the incident that put her on the spotlight will be left to the corresponding media channels. What is of interest here are statements she made to the Spanish media, testimony which was not covered by English publications or broadcasts.

In the US, Ines Sainz was interviewed in all the major news talk shows, from The Early Show to Fox News, and many others. From watching several of these interviews, it's easy to come to the conclusion that her English is rather limited; not only does she have a strong foreign accent, but her vocabulary is monotonous throughout the set of interviews, and more than once, it's obvious she wasn't able to grasp what was being asked. When she was interviewed in her native Spanish in Mexico, however, she was able to express herself much more freely, stating her opinion on the subject, and saying things that she would've liked to clarify more clearly to the English media, as stated by her in one interview.
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On an interview given to Mónica Garza on Historias Engarzadas, Mónica asks Ines what she thinks about the criticism received from the English media; besides her outfit that caused controversy, the criticism regarding Ines's inability to speak English. Ms. Sainz responds by saying that she did her best to communicate her thoughts in a language that wasn't hers, that she would love to see Americans try to speak Spanish, and see what the experience is like for them. This was a topic she felt very strongly about, showcased by an extended reply.

On another interview from a different show, she says that the whole controversy was caused by cultural differences: that in Mexico, it's not uncommon for a woman to receive piropos, or compliments on the way she looks, and for this reason, she didn't think the issue was that grave. She expresses that she is actually used to hearing men tell her things when she's out and about, in particular, when she's in an environment that attracts men, mostly, i.e. a sports venue. Summarizing what she says on this interview, she tells the hosts that she believes Americans exaggerate what happened, and everything was made bigger that it truly was. She says that she then sees a double standard with female reporters wanting to be treated equally within the profession, but, then, that it was the Association for Women in Sports Media, unhappy with the equal treatment they seek and got, who created the whole ordeal, causing the media uproar.