Outcry as Spanish councillor uses face mask to 'fake speaking English'

Some have railed against the mandatory use of face masks, attacking them as a muzzle on their civil liberties. Others have civically adopted them without so much as a whimper. And then there are those who have seen the opportunities they present amid the crisis.

Valencia may have lost its bid to become the European Capital of Innovation 2020 – the Belgian city of Leuven claimed the honour – but a councillor from the city in eastern Spain did his hometown proud with a minute-long speech in stunningly fluent English and without the slightest trace of a Spanish accent.

“Valencia and its people are very committed to European innovation and we are at your disposal,” an assured Carlos Galiana told the European commission at the end of his address on Thursday.

The only problem was that, despite the movements of his mouth beneath his mask, the voice was not his and Galiana was being dubbed by a native English speaker.

According to Valencia city council, the move was born of necessity. Sources told the online Spanish newspaper El Español that the commission had asked the mayor to appear, but that he had been in a meeting. So the task fell to Galiana, councillor for education, sport, culture and innovation – and also a trained actor.

The council said it had not opted to have an interpreter stand next to Galiana because of the commission’s instructions: “The rules were very strict: only the mayor or the councillor could appear.”

Galiana made a subtle reference to the episode on Twitter on Friday morning, writing: “Sometimes the worst decisions make the best stories.”

Some of the replies, however, suggested that not everyone had been amused by the episode, and Galiana later deleted the tweet.

“Nothing to say about yesterday’s embarrassment, which was reminiscent of Milli Vanilli?” seethed one poster. “You didn’t just embarrass yourself, you

embarrassed the whole of Spain.”

Others were sardonic and laconic: “Sign me up for English classes.”

Comparisons were also made with the 2013 speech in which the then mayor of Madrid, Ana Botella, tried to sell the capital and its charms to the International Olympic Committee.

Botella’s passionate but muchmocked words in English gave rise to a deathless phrase that was endlessly mimed for memes and remixes: “There is nothing quite like a relaxing cup of café con leche in plaza mayor.”