Channel 12 anchor Vanessa Ruiz. (Photo: 12 News) 
 
 News anchor Vanessa Ruiz, who joined Channel 12 (KPNX) this summer, certainly caused a commotion this week. Or should we say, “causó un barullo?” 
 
 Viewers have pointed out that Ruiz pronounces Spanish words “in Spanish.” To put it in plain English, she says words like “Mesa” and "Casa Grande” the way a native Spanish speaker would pronounce them. 
 
 She used some time on the 10 p.m. broadcast on Monday, Aug. 31, to address the situation. She was eloquent and unapologetic. 
 
 “I was lucky enough to grow up speaking two languages,” she said during the broadcast. “I do like to pronounce certain things the way they are meant to be pronounced, and I know that change can be difficult but it’s normal and over time I know that everything falls into place.” 
 
 In other words, take that, haters. The story blew up on the Internet (Buzzfeed picked it up) and pretty soon people who have never set foot in Arizona were chiming in. Of course, many weren't happy with what she said. 
 
 For the most part, however, Ruiz's commentary was greeted with praise. 
 
 @VanessaR12News sorry I'm a day late. Regardless, you're a breath of fresh air & a class act! No need for explanations on pronunciations! — Ed Maldonado (@33maldo) September 2, 2015 
 
 @VanessaR12News I saw your on-air piece about pronunciation. You took a sensitive issue and made it a non-issue. You have a new fan. Grazie! — Hey Bulldog (@swumcc) September 2, 2015 
 
 Ruiz was born in Miami and raised bilingual. She worked for Spanish-language Telemundo as well as English-language KNBC in Los Angeles before coming to the Valley. 
 
 By the way, this isn't new territory for Channel 12. People with long memories will remember anchor Linda Alvarez, who received similar criticism during her run at the station in the '70s and '80s. 
 
 Thank you, @BuzzFeed, for the article. Happy to engage in such an apparently needed conversation with the audience. https://t.co/FRtU8ctwDX — Vanessa Ruiz (@VanessaRuizNews) September 2, 2015 
 
 Reach the reporter at randy.cordova@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-8849. Twitter.com/randy_cordova. 
 
 Read or Share this story: http://azc.cc/1EA5NDG ||||| Donald Trump in the Oval office of the White House. Photo: AFP 
 
 Spain voiced concern Monday over the disappearance of the US White House's Spanish-language website since Donald Trump came to power, saying it was "not a good idea" in a country with millions of Hispanics. 
 
 The White House has not yet clarified whether the Spanish section of the website has been taken down temporarily to be updated, or whether US President Trump's new administration has decided to remove it altogether. 
 
 "We regret that the Spanish version of the website was deleted, it doesn't seem like a good idea," Spanish Foreign Minister Alfonso Dastis told reporters. 
 
 "We believe it is not a good idea to give up on such a communication tool, given that this is a country with 52 million Spanish speakers." 
 
 According to the US Census Bureau, the Hispanic population has actually now reached close to 57 million -- the largest minority living in the 320-million-strong country. 
 
 Many are from Latin America, and around 13 million are thought to have voted in the November election -- a majority for Trump's Democratic Party rival Hillary Clinton. 
 
 Spain's government spokesman Iñigo Mendez de Vigo said "the knowledge and use of different languages in society contributes to propping up a country and demonstrates the cultural wealth of a nation." 
 
 In a statement, he added that Spanish had "helped bring together the multicultural North American society for centuries." 
 
 But he said the website's sudden disappearance would "not stop or put at risk the unstoppable spread of our language in the United States and in the entire world." 
 
 Trump has offended many Latinos with his harsh rhetoric and tough stance on immigration. 
 
 Part of his electoral platform included proposals widely considered anti-Latino. 
 
 These included proposing to deport millions of undocumented migrants in the country, the bulk of whom are from Latin America, and building a wall on the US border with Mexico. 
 
 In September 2015 while still competing for the Republican Party's presidential nomination, Trump famously told his Spanish-speaking rival Jeb Bush "he should really set the example by speaking English while in the United States," in an interview with conservative website Breitbart News. 
 
 Bush broke into Spanish on several occasions on the campaign trail. And for the first time since 1989, Trump's cabinet will feature no Hispanics.
– Donald Trump doesn't think Jeb Bush is setting a very good example for Americans when he speaks Spanish, but a bilingual Arizona news anchor is likely in the Bush camp on this one. Vanessa Ruiz—who was born in Miami, grew up in Colombia, and studied in Spain before jumping into journalism and nabbing a job at 12 News in July—isn't even taking heat for speaking Spanish, but for her non-Anglicized pronunciation of Spanish words, reports the New York Times. The station's news director tells the Times that some viewers have complained about how Ruiz "rolls her R's when pronouncing Spanish words," as well as how she says certain words like "Mesa" ("MESS-uh," like many Spanish speakers say it, instead of "MAY-suh"). As noted by the Times, the criticism of Ruiz underscores the issues some people have with the proliferation of Spanish in the US, which now has the second-largest population of Spanish speakers in the world. As the Arizona Republic puts it, an "eloquent and unapologetic" Ruiz took to the air Monday to address the issue, gently noting, "I do like to pronounce certain things the way they are meant to be pronounced. And I know that change can be difficult, but ... over time I know that everything falls into place." She added, per 12 News: "Certain words just sound better when said in their natural way. It really is that simple. ... My intention has never been to be disrespectful or dismissive." A bilingual mom of three tells the Times when she heard Ruiz on air for the first time that "I kind of pumped my fist and celebrated. Hey, look, she's not afraid of her heritage." Ruiz posted on Facebook Wednesday: "I'm happy it has ignited a dynamic conversation. … I am more proud now than ever to be an American, and also, a Latina. Thank you. Gracias." (For the record, Spanish is considered the happiest language.)