This is What Latinos Look Like

Ronald Beltran- El Salvador

Claudia Vanessa Espinosa- Ecuador and Nicaragua

Ashleyann Bermicilia Sanabria- Puerto Rico

Yorlan Machin- Cuba

Elizabeth Corea Sanders- Nicaragua

Ivonne Amaya- Mexico

I recently read a piece by the Huffington Post Latino Voices  that answered a couple of FAQ regarding Latinos. The questions are mostly related to the idea of race and ethnicity as they relate to the Hispanic vs. Latino issue. The question that intrigued me the most, however, was question number five, which asked why so many Latinos are brown.

This is a loaded question in the Latino community. As in the Black community, lighter skin is sometimes more desirable than darker skin.That goes in a little deeper than what I'm trying at get at here, though.

The point is that whether you are a light skinned or dark skinned Latino, you are still Latino. No amount of color is going to change that—at least it shouldn't.

What does end up happening to many Latinos, however, is that their identity is assumed based on their skin color. Almost every brown Latino is assumed to be Mexican, while almost every light skinned Latino is assumed to be white, or at least half white.

The reality is this: Latinos come in all shades and they comes from a variety of countries. Please don't assume that every brown person is Mexican just because it's the closest non-white country to the U.S. Sometimes these assumptions are completely innocent; some people really don't know about most of the other countries that exist below Mexico. Hopefully this post clears some things up, as obvious as they may seem to some people.

Above are pictures of some great people I know, and they kindly let me use a photo of them to show the variety of skin colors and nationalities/countries that are present in the Latino community.
I'm sure that all of them at one point in their lives have been mistaken to be something they are not. This even happens within the Latino community sometimes. And as annoying as it may be, the only thing to do is to explain and educate.

"Sin papeles y sin miedo" (Without Papers and Without Fear)

I deleted my Facebook account in March because I was sick and tired of posting about social issues and having them be ignored. I'm ashamed to say that most of my "friends" on Facebook only care about what's in front of them; the outside world and all its problems don't exist.

 However, it wasn't until today that I realized I should be ashamed of myself for not caring more, for not being more aware of the social issues out there. Because I didn't have my Facebook account, I was not able to see the many posts from and about Lulú Martínez over the summer months. This is by no means an excuse on part.

 I am only friends with Lulú on Facebook because I had commented on a post about a friend of hers who was facing deportation. She added me, and I honestly cannot remember our small conversation over messaging, but we had both gone to Harold Washington Community College at some point.

 Lulú, along with her fellow Dream 9 activists, courageously crossed into Mexico and attempted to cross back into the U.S. in protest of immigration policies.

photo: National Immigrant Youth Alliance 

This simple act of going in and out of a place wasn't so simple for them because they have no legal documentation allowing them to remain in the U.S. They are all back in their U.S. homes now, but of course they still have a lot of legal things to go through and have sorted out. Dream 9's protest has inspired others, including the Dream 30+ to do the same and call attention to the immigration issues in this country.

photo: National Immigrant Youth Alliance 

Here comes some more shame...

I am a permanent resident. My family and I got lucky in a lot of ways. But it's stories like Lulú's and Jose Antonio Vargas' that make me realize how my life could be completely different right now if I didn't have that "A-number" to put on legal documents that ask for my legality.

Even though I'm not a citizen, I still have more advantages than most of the Dreamers do. And that's unsettling for me. What they are doing makes me feel unworthy of having that "A-number". However, what I can do is to not let these advantages, these privileges go to waste.

 It is because of all this that I feel a personal responsibility to publish this post and encourage others, Latinos and non-Latinos alike, to at least think about this issue with an open mind. Even better, as I plan to do in some way, go out there and try to do something about it, even if it's just informing yourself on what's going on.

 

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Lulú Martínez with Rachel Maddow.

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Help Lizbeth and Lulú pay for college!

To students: 45th Anniversary of the Tlatelolco Massacre

Today marks the 45th anniversary of the massacre. This YouTube video captures the basics of the massacre, but I think it's important for students in particular to take a look at this.
I think it's important to show students how people banded together to fight for a proper education system.
Even though the protests ended in a massacre, the people's determination for change is what should be remembered as well.

La Malinche

photo:.integritymcseo.com

I am a traitor.
I am La Malinche.
La Malinche is the indigenous one that, according to mythology, betrayed the people—her people—by becoming Cortés’ lover.
Today, to be malinchista is to adopt foreign values, to assimilate to another culture—to be a traitor to your culture is what it really means.
I am a traitor to my culture for being an English major.
Mónica Torres is also a traitor for being an English major. In her article, she discusses the complications of being a “colored” person in the world of dead old white guys. She also brings up the complications that the English language, particularly for her as an English major, bring up in the home setting.
We both know what it’s like to be the translator of the family, to be the one in charge when it comes to signing legal documents and even something as simple as ordering food at a restaurant.
It’s a necessity in this country. Part of the reason my parents and I came to the U.S. was for a better life. Some sacrifices had to be made, I think, and the sacrifice was my culture. I immersed myself in the English language as much as I could because I knew, even from a young age, that knowing the language would make me belong.
And the culmination of that thought is in its final year. I graduate in the spring, the first of my family to graduate from college, and with what? An English degree.
Language may not be the sole ingredient in a culture, but for many Latinos, retaining the Spanish language in this country is imperative. It’s what sets you apart from los gueros. Sure, there are Latino people that look Italian or Swedish or even Indian, but as long as the language is there, you are a part of the culture—for the most part.
However, there are those who , like Mónica and I, are stuck in a sort of cultural limbo, neither fully Latino nor fully American. We have to be able to make it in America, to achieve that American Dream that was implanted in our mentality growing up. We have to be able to do everything the white man can because we can. And English is a big part of achieving that in this country.
I suppose the emphasis on retaining Spanish is an effort, a political statement in a way, that we will not let another people change us. First it was the Spaniards that wiped out our people and many of the indigenous languages. A second eradication of our common language is not welcomed now. So we must resist, I guess.
But it’s a hard place to be in. You can be bi-lingual, master both languages and live in both worlds. But you can’t do one more than the other and survive, especially not the English one. This is not exactly the most ideal situation though, especially when you are trying to climb up every social and economic ladder there is.
If we are traitors, then so be it. But it is not our fault. We are merely trying our best to survive in this country where, if our faces and names aren’t “American”, then at least one of our languages is.