Why Learn Spanish? Brown Bag Lunch Speaker Says It's Important

July 5, 2002

Why should you learn Spanish? Because it's the fourth most spoken language in the world! Yolima Otalora, director of Interlingua, will discuss "Bilingualism, a Road to Diversity, Productivity and Democracy" at the city of Phoenix Faces of Diversity Brown Bag lunch series from noon to 1 p.m. Friday, July 26, at Phoenix City Council Chambers, 200 W. Jefferson St.

Otalora says that with an increasing number of Latin-Americans immigrating to the United States and the important role of Latin America in the global economy, it is important to learn Spanish to be a more effective communicator in the changing American society.

Otalora came to Phoenix nine years ago to teach Spanish at the University of Phoenix. She arrived from Colombia where, as a lawyer, she specialized in labor, civil and criminal law.

In 1995, she founded Interlingua, a company that provides Spanish language training, using her own method of teaching.

The free series, an outreach of the city's "We're All on the Same Team" campaign, is sponsored by the Phoenix Human Relations Commission and the city's Equal Opportunity Department. It features dynamic people telling their stories about diversity.

Bring your lunch and enjoy a cultural experience. No reservation required. Call 602-261-8242/voice or 602-534-1557/TTY for more information.

Media Contact:

Ron Williams

602-261-8938

Marcie Colpas

602-262-6164

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