BENTONVILLE, Ark.
Emmanuel Flores says the court-ordered alcohol-safety programs he teaches require some modifications when the students who have been convicted of driving while intoxicated are Hispanic.
“The big difference is that, in many Latin American countries, there aren’t laws mandating a legal drinking age,” Flores says. “And laws about drinking and driving are rarely enforced.”
In the program, Flores explains in Spanish how much alcohol it takes to get a person drunk and that being sick or stressed can get a person drunk faster.
He also explains Arkansas laws on drinking and driving, and tries to dispel cultural myths that he says some Hispanics believe about alcohol.
“They may believe eating an onion will make you sober or that drinking tequila is a cure for a cold,” he says. “Many of these Hispanics started drinking at a young age and, to them, getting a DWI is a sign of an inexperienced drinker. It’s considered a weakness.”
Flores is an instructor for Decision Point, a Bentonville-based rehabilitation center contracted by the state Department of Human Services to provide the program for courts in Washington, Benton, Madison and Carroll counties.
