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I‘ve been racking my brain the last few days trying to come up with a definition of what’s a Latino. And, for the life of me, I still don’t have an answer.
I mean, I guess I could look it up in the dictionary, but the word evokes so many different attributes that the truth is there just can not be a sole interpretation. Plus, I’ve found that it really depends on who you ask.
Although it’s no longer news that we are the largest minority group in the country – I actually can’t wait to see the results of next year’s census – I find that we’re still pretty much misunderstood. I see it and feel it especially now that I live in Colorado. Most non-Latinos here assume we are all Mexican, we all eat tacos and we all listen to Los Tigres del Norte. Nothing against Mexicans – half my family on my mom’s side hails from that amazing country – but I’m Peruvian, and a very proud one at that.
I must admit it truly bothers me that many times we’re all just lumped into one homogeneous group when nothing could be further from the truth. I know many times it’s ignorance and I have tried to enlighten some, but for some reason many find it hard to understand Latinos are a diverse group.
Yes, we share the same language, but as we’ve written about before in this blog, we also have our own regional vocabulary. We come in different colors, including white which many find impossible to believe. We are Catholic and Jewish and Muslim. We gave birth to salsa, merengue, tango, samba and reggeaton. Our food is spicy, eclectic and world-renowned. We are passionate about our culture and proud of our heritage. We are first, second and third-generation Americans. We are Latinos.
I think it’s crazy, and I love it, how all-things-Latino have exploded in the last few years, especially the last two. Just do a Google search for ‘being latino’ for example and you’ll be dumbfounded by the results. In fact, there’s a fan group on Facebook called just that: Being Latino and its the fastest growing one with close to 20,000 members! I’ve truly enjoyed some of the discussions posted on this page, including this recent one about whether or not you must speak Spanish to be considered Latino. What do you think?
And, in case you didn’t know it, CNN will soon be airing a two-part series entitled Latino in America hosted by anchor Soledad O’Brien who traveled the country to compile an in-depth look at what it means to be Latino in the U.S. I can’t wait to see it! Oh, yeah, she also wrote a book about it which should be an interesting read… The series airs Oct. 21 and 22 on CNN. Here’s a preview:
So what do you think? What does it mean to you to be a Latino?
I can’t wait to see it!
To be a Latino in America to me, is to not forget my Hispanic roots which include our romance language, foods, music, “costumbres” and the importance of family… take all that and enjoy it with the culture of this country, which is wonderful and rich in opportunities.
I have an article on my site about Latino or Hispanic, technically “authors like Felipe and Betty Ann Korzenny say in their book: “Hispanic Marketing ” that the term Latino “encompasses almost anyone from a culture with Latin roots. That could be Italians, Roumanians, Portuguese, French and so on.”"
.-= Marcela Hede The Hispanic Culture Lover´s last blog ..Latin Food Recipes =-.
Great post! Sometimes people (on the outside) don’t understand what exactly it means to be Latino. A Latino can be Mexican, Colombiano, Puerto Rican, etc. A Latino must be aware of their own culture and be able to educate those around them.
It’s interesting that this seems to be a theme this week amongst many Latinos in the blogosphere. It was on my mind earlier this week too. Here’s my answer as posted on my blog a couple of days ago:
http://www.modernmami.com/puerto-rico/latina-culture-meaning
And it bothers me too that we’re all sometimes lumped into one group. The media does this too. Mostly when a Latino is portrayed they are either Mexican or Cuban. Which is fine, I guess…better than nothing.
.-= Melanie (Modern Mami)´s last blog ..Visually Defining This Space =-.
Wow I can’t believe you wrote on this topic today. I was actually gonna write you that if you were hard up for topics that you should write about who is considered a latina. The reason for this is that within our own community (even within our own bilingual mommy group there is confusion. Someone in our group made reference to if you were born in the us your not latina. I believe that aside from where you were born, wether you speak spanish or not wether you enjoy the foods and customs, if yo are decendant of latins… YOU ARE LATIN.
My sister just recently wrote a series of blog posts about this, and the difficulties of not feeling “latina” enough partially because we don’t have dark skin or grow up poor (since that is what “Latin” seems to mean here in the US). Here are links in case anyone’s interested:
http://blog.crisswrites.com/2009/08/some-thoughts-on-race-ethnicity-and.html
http://blog.crisswrites.com/2009/08/some-thoughts-and-clarifications-on.html
http://blog.crisswrites.com/2009/09/some-thoughts-on-race-ethnicity-and.html
As for me? My “latin-esque” features– my dark hair and eyes– came from my American mother. It is my father– with his pale skin and blue eyes– who is Chilean. I hate spicy food, and never remember having any while growing up in Chile. I’ve gotten quizzical looks when I wear my “Everyone loves a latin girl” t-shirt. My husband takes Spanish lessons, and it is often very amusing to me to hear the differences in connotations of a single word across different “types” of Spanish (I recall my sister’s story of reading a book in Spanish, from Spain, and being appalled at how they mentioned that the girls “culo” hurt when she rode a bike… because to her, a culo was something only boys had…).
It’s tough to find a way to identify with being “Latin” when I do not fit into the stereotype in so many ways. But I still try to be proud of it. MY husband and I went to Chile a few years ago, his first time ever and my first time back since high school. I’m hoping we’ll get another chance to go again in the next few years and introduce our son to my Chilean family and culture.
.-= Marcy´s last blog ..six word sunday: An early appreciation for public transit. =-.