- Happy Hispanic Heritage Month.
Whew, a whole month of celebrating Latino's contribution
to our great country.
Actually, it's not a month, it's from September 15th
to October 15th.
But that's cool
because Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras,
and Nicaragua celebrate their
independence on September 15th.
And Mexico, Chile, and Belize also celebrate
their independence in late September.
So,
why not just make it September?
It's not entirely clear.
It started as a week, originally,
when LBJ signed off on the legislation,
making it official.
And then, when it became a month under Reagan,
I guess they just didn't think a single month would be good.
But don't worry, this is actually one of the less
confusing aspects of being Latino.
Remember when I said that Hispanic Heritage Month
was for celebrating Latinos?
Well,
I lied.
Kind of.
See, Hispanic denotes people of a common Spanish-speaking
culture, while Latino encompasses people of Latin American
descent, who live in the US.
So, not all Hispanics are Latino,
and not all Latinos are Hispanic.
And a Mexican who lives in Brazil is neither,
but if they had a Spanish-speaking child
that immigrated to the United States,
that person would be both.
See, easy peasy, don't call people Hispanic
that speak Portuguese-sy.
But wait, there's more.
That's just the most widely accepted version
because it can also be a matter of region.
See, the East coast uses Hispanic more often,
while the West tends to use Latino.
Oh, and academics are also having a debate
as the appropriateness of the terms
because they invented mostly as a way to simplify
categories in a large, diverse group of people.
So, some argue that the best way is to refer to us
by our family's country of origin, hyphen American.
But not everyone agrees because if you get someone
like me, you'll have extra hyphens.
I'd be Guatemalan, hyphen, Mexican, hyphen, American.
So, it's probably easier to call me Hispanic or Latino.
Look, whatever it is that you can
remember at this point is fine.
Oh, and because this is the internet,
I'm sure there is some of you that are aware of the term
Latinx.
Which was a term that appears to have originated online,
with the intent of using it for people who don't identify
with gender binary.
Which is good because inclusion is good,
but it's also bad because it's kind of anglicizing Spanish.
See, X in Spanish is pronounced with and English H
sound like in house.
Or with the K-S sound, like in English, fix.
But in English, it can also be pronounced as a Z,
like the first X in xerox.
So is it Latin huh?
Latin (pronouncing consonant)?
Latin Z?
Latin X
men
and
Women...
Look, this joke got away from me.
I'm just gonna use the grammatically correct
in Spanish, Latinos.
Part of the reason for the nationality first attitude
could be because of the fact that the media
and many people treat Hispanic or Latino as a separate
ethnicity entirely.
And surprise, that's both wrong and right again.
Hurray for clarity.
See, on a lot of paperwork, Hispanic or Latino
is considered white.
Which could be true in some circumstances
if you're strictly of European descent.
But when the Spanish and Portuguese colonized
both the Americas, they didn't have hard and fast rules
about who it was acceptable to marry.
Or otherwise,
make
babies with.
Rape, you know.
I didn't wanna say it,
off the bat,
but there was just a lot of rape during colonization.
And
most of history really.
Yeah, history is just full of rape.
And poop death.
Not exactly a good title for a textbook.
More on topic though,
because of fewer restrictions, most Latinos
have some Mestizo, European and Native,
Mulatto, European and African,
or other combination in their ancestry.
Which, of course was used to implement a caste
system where whiter people
were given preferential treatment.
So while Hispanic or Latino has often been considered
a kind of white, and many Latinos would probably
prefer that because of the historical treatment
of nonwhites, really we're mixed more often than not.
As confusing as this all is, I'm glad there's a month
of recognition.
See, even though immigration is likely one of the first
things that comes up when Latinos are mentioned,
we've been a part of the US for just as long as most
Anglo-Americans.
Longer in many cases.
Let's look at a map of North America during colonization.
See that section that's most of the United States?
Yep, Spanish colonies.
And that includes three of the four most populated states.
And yes, this territory was either sold or conquered
during various conflicts, but Latinos laid the groundwork
for much of what would become the Western United States.
And losing those origins stopped certain segments of the
population talking about their heritage
and pride all the time.
So it feels weird, to say the least, when those
same people tend to make us feel like outsiders so often.
So, what does this all mean?
I'm not really sure.
If this video so far has seemed a tad confusing,
it was intentional.
Between the weird mid-month start,
to there being so much debate about just what being
Latino even is.
Confusion is part of many of our identities.
While I recognize how fortunate I am
that my family worked their asses off to be here,
there are plenty of people that let us know
that we're somehow not the same amount of American
as them.
And I wouldn't give up our culture for anything.
Even if it means I don't get called back for job
interviews as often, even though people like me
get imprisoned at a higher rate than
white, not of Hispanic origin people.
Even though we're the largest minority group in
the United States,
but are still the most under represented in
my chosen profession.
And even though it can be lonely by the feeling of
(speaking Spanish)
that comes with being a child of both immigrant
and American culture, I love it.
I love my mixed up family,
the years of celebrating Christmas Eve with tamales.
The fact that I raised speaking English and Spanish
because that makes it easier for me to speak
to my abuelito and abuelita.
The idea that my pursuit of the American Dream
is built on a foundation of hard work that my family laid.
The fact that I'm a Mestizo, Hispanic, Latino
Guatemalan, hyphen, Mexican, hyphen, American
is confusing and beautiful to me.
So for this Hispanic Heritage Month,
go talk to your Latino, Hispanic,
mixed up, whatever hyphen American friends.
Sit down to a meal with them because each of their
stories is as weird and unique as mine.
And even if you can't entirely relate,
you'll at least get some love,
and probably some really good food.
(guitar strumming)