Read Read Read

Arizona lawmakers banned the Ethnic Studies program in Tucson high schools.   The program helps the large population of Mexican-American students to relate to what they learn. It has worked — the students' graduation rates soared. And now they are fighting against their government to get the program back in their schools. You see a great video from PBS that explains it all.

All of this got me thinking about the amount of Latino and Latin writers I've encountered in my high school career. I can't name a single one. That all changed in college, but it's still not enough. Because in the plethora of white male writers that I've collected on my bookshelves, I can't say that I have had a similar racial experience, for obvious reasons. That's important, right?

I'm pretty mixed about all of this. I understand that we live in the United States — white male writers are gonna happen. But we're establishing our own presence in this country, so shouldn't Latinos also be read in the classroom? The same goes for Asian, Native American, and all types of racial and ethnic groups.

I can't blame it all on the school systems, though. I have to take some responsibility and read Latin and Latino writers on my own. The video I made (up above) shows a small sampling of all my book, most of which are written by white male writers. And unfortunately the only Latin and Latino writers I have on my bookshelves are Isabel Allende and Gabriel Garcia Marquez. And then there's a Jim Morrison poetry book that's in Spanish. I have to start reading more Spanish books, too.  

The school systems will come around. They have to. But in the mean time, I think we should all take it upon ourselves to read more about our cultures from people in our cultures. And in our own languages, too! Any words that can get you thinking should always be welcome — no matter what language they are in.

Things Latinas are Tired of Hearing

I recently stumbled upon this page from Cosmopolitan, and I have to say that I have heard all of these things before. Whether they were said to me, or to someone else, these things can be really racist and sexist. And of course, these are all seemingly innocent remarks, but the truth is that they happen a lot.

I think these remarks are most encountered in a social, flirting scenario which very easily takes it from an innocent remark to a bit of cat calling, only it doesn't just happen on the street, it happens in an up close and personal conversation.

Then there is this page I found, that focuses more on Afro-Latinas. This is not as innocent as the last page Cosmopolitan has. 

All of these unwanted remarks toward Afro-Latinas are racist and even more damaging and disrespectful to one's culture. And the worst part about it is that some of us in the Latino community actually think some of these things are true. 

Darker skin and tighter curls does not make these women, and men, less Latino. They just have  more African roots to them, as other Latinos have more Spanish roots to them. It also astonishes people in our community when a darker-skinned person starts speaking in Spanish. We really have to let go of this notion that darker-skinned Latinos don't speak Spanish.

Here's some proof!

This is Zoe Saldana, Dominican and Puerto Rican, speaking Spanish on Despierta America:

Some of these remarks on the first page are funny, and some are true —like having a big family— but it's still not entirely appropriate to assume these things about a Latina.The page about Afro-Latinas — no! We need to get away from these stereotypical and racists thoughts. Everyone has a different story, so please don't group us together and think we are all the same, or that darker features exclude you from the community. We all have different experiences with our culture, and assumptions are not the way to get to know about it.