Help wanted: Multicultural Santas needed in S. Florida
Santa can make a lot more kids happy if he speaks Spanish and Creole as well as English

By Georgia East

Sun Sentinel

9:50 p.m. EST, December 5, 2011
Ho, ho, ho is the same in any language. It’s Santa’s other expressions that can pose a challenge in multicultural South Florida.

Although St. Nick is known more for listening than his gift of gab, children can better relate to a Santa who talks like them, advocates say.

“I wish there were more Santas who speak Spanish,’’ said Bob Elkin, of Tampa, who serves as a director of the California-based Fraternal Order of Bearded Santas. “The best I can do is ‘Feliz Navidad.’ ’’

While ethnic Santas are becoming more prevalent at community centers and churches, most are volunteers, and even in South Florida not enough are bilingual, Elkin said. And it’s not just Spanish that’s needed.

On Saturday, for the third year in a row, volunteer Alain Lafontant, of Miramar, will play Papa Noel, as he’s called in the Haitian community.

“It’s such a simple act, but it feels amazing,’’ said Lafontant about his role. He speaks to the kids in English, French or Haitian Creole.

Speaking their language helps “make them comfortable,’’ said Frantz Devilme, who runs the toys for the poor giveaway in Miami’s Little Haiti.

Often Lafontant will say to the pint-sized toddlers, “Papa Noel Renmen ti moun,’’ which means “Santa Claus loves children,’’ to get them to open up.

There are more than 2.4 million South Florida residents who speak a foreign language, about a 7 percent increase since 2000, according to a 2007 census update.

Elkin said to meet the growing need, his group is considering hosting a workshop on how Santas can brush up their foreign language skills.

Wayne Barton, founder of the Wayne Barton Center, a school and community center in Boca Raton, said having a Santa of the same skin color can also make an impression on children.

“When Santa bears the face that kids can connect to, it can raise their self-esteem,’’ he said.

But that is not easy, either.

Even at the Charles J. Howard School, in Midland, Mich., known as the “Harvard of Santa Schools,’’ which has been around for 75 years, staff said they’re not seeing much diversity.

Holly Valent, assistant to the dean, said in the last 25 years they’ve trained thousands of new Santas from across the globe. Of them, about 15 were black and three Hispanic. She said they haven’t had any Asian Santas.

All the Santas receive a list of how to say Merry Christmas in about 25 languages, she said.

“We teach our Santas to be loving to kids,’’ said Valent. “Santa really has to be a good listener.’’

That skill does help to transcend cultures, Barton said. “There’s nothing like speaking one language all people can understand and that’s Santa Claus,’’ he said.

While South Florida’s shopping malls tend to go with a traditional older-looking, heavy-set white man, some hire a Santa who reflects their shoppers’ demographics.

Dolphin Mall in Miami boasts a Hispanic Santa who speaks English and Spanish.

“We have a lot of bilingual people who come to our mall and we felt it was best to give them a Santa different people can communicate with,’’ Madelyn Bello-Calver said.

But make no bones about it, “Our Santa is from the North Pole,’’ she said.

Lauderhill Mall, located in an area with a high concentration of blacks and residents from the Caribbean, has had a black Santa Claus for more than two decades.

But mall manager Cynthia Baker said his hiring had nothing to do with race.

“We had a guy that was overweight and had a twinkle in his eye and he made a great Santa,’’ Baker said. “Kids don’t care if he’s pink or green, to them this is the person who brings a present.’’

Fort Lauderdale businessman Robert McKinzie, a volunteer Santa for various organizations, agreed.

“The kids are just so happy to see Santa, I don’t think they react to me being a black Santa,’’ he said.

And it’s OK if Santa has a language hiccup.

Elkin, who is spending his 19th season as Santa, said he’s learned over the years that children are very forgiving. They will correct him if he misprounces their names or slips up when greeting them in another language.

“Thank goodness Santa is beloved,’’ said Elkin. “The one thing every child understands is a hug.’’


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