Since I have been writing on HubPages, I thought I should break from the usual routine and bring up an interesting point of interest. As many Americans know or don't seem to know anymore is the fact that there are many cities and towns in the U.S. with Spanish names. There's San Diego, San Antonio, Los Angeles, Sacramento, Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Amarillo, San Angelo, Alamosa, Salida, Conejos, etc.

Many people, especially Arkansans, do not know or never did cross their minds that there are towns and hamlets in Arkansas with Spanish names or appear to have names in Spanish. I thought I would have some fun with this. It's bound to make some folks 'hoppin' mad.' Here are some of them that come to my mind.

El Dorado

Alma

Mena

Monte Ne

Ola

Dora

Havana (La Habana)

Lavaca (La Vaca)

Magnolia

Hernando De Soto may have something to do with this, but of course, the last one, Magnolia, may not be Spanish at all in spite of the fact that the word 'Magnolia' can be found in the Larousse Dictionary of the Spanish Language (El Diccionario de la Lengua Española) referring to that large sweet-smelling flower. This is the city where Southern Arkansas University is located, home of the Mule Riders.

Lavaca is a small town not far from Fort Smith. It is located east from Fort Smith. Of course, this is the name of the town. Not 'The Cow.' If you call it that, you might be asking for a rumble.

Alma means 'soul' in Spanish. It is a town where many good souls dwell. It is located northeast from Van Buren.

El Dorado is "The Gilded One" or "the Golden One." It is a lovely place, but it is not at all golden. It is located in the southern part of Arkansas.

Monte Ne is hardly a town at all. It is one place in Northwest Arkansas that has not experienced growth.

Ola means "Wave" and how did it get that name? Who knows? There's nothing wavy about this place. It has a nice convenience store and that's all there is about this town. This town is located in west central Arkansas.

Mena is a growing town located in west southwest Arkansas and is the home of Rich Mountain Community College. It is also where you go west from there and drive the Talimena Drive to Tallihina, Oklahoma and it is very nice, scenic drive. The word 'Mena' means 'Ore', like in Iron Ore.

Dora is a small hamlet that is part of Van Buren, Arkansas. Dora is somebody's name. There is a short-lived sitcom on ABC Television that was on during the 1980s called "I Married Dora." Dora was Latina. Her husband was Anglo. This show had promises, but somehow it just didn't work out. Nothing can take the place of "I Love Lucy." No one knows why this place was called 'Dora.' I still have many relatives who live there. Dora does sound Spanish but many people living there will deny that it is in any way.