In Introduction: The Emergence of Latino Panthecity the authors Milagros Ricourt and Ruby Dante discuss the various factors that encourage Latinos to unite under a common identity. The authors state that one of primary reasons that leads to Latino panathecity is the sharing of a common culture and language, a characteristic that sets Latin Americans apart from other ethnic groups.
Being a Latin American woman myself, I can relate to this article. One of the things that I find most fascinating about my ethnicity is the ability to relate to so many other Hispanics, even Hispanics that are not from my country. Sure, each Hispanic carries ties to their own country, a sense of pride that they carry within themselves, an urge to represent their country here in the United States. A tie to their country that the reading calls “trasnationalism”. However, each of us still carries that separate identity of being Costa Rican or Colombian or Dominican etc. and Latin American. I often feel that this is overlooked by some people. While each of us speaks the same language and has faced similar types of discimination in the past, we each come from countries that have different slang, different politics, different accents and different histories.
However, despite this pride that we have of our country we each still share what the reading calls “simpatia”, a recognition of ourselves in others. I feel that this “simpatia” is made even stronger in here in America. For example, I know for a fact that in Costa Rica if a Costa Rican were to meet a Colombian immigrant for example, that same “joy” of meeting someone Hispanic will not be as present. On the other hand, in the United States, with its great diversity, meeting another Hispanic from a different country would instantly provide a feeling of bonding. Even if the Hispanic is from another country, we know that in this sea of so many people of different cultures, this Hispanic has a culture that is very similar to ours.
Coincidentally before writing my Latino Urbanism paper, I was watching an annual music award show on tv called “Premio Lo Nuestro”. While watching this award show, I was thinking how amazing it is that in the audience of the show, and among all the Hispanic celebrities, there were people from completely distinct countries. However, they were all united to celebrate one common thing: how far the Latin American music has managed to make an impact in the United States. However, I feel that Hispanics still have a lot of work to do to overcome the various stereotypes that people place on them. The stereotypes that Hispanics will always work at low-paying jobs, never actually progressing and obtaining higher degrees of education. To be honest, I feel that some of these beliefs are right. While there are the occasional Hispanics that rise above these limitations, the majority are far behind and something must be done about this issue. Sure there are some factors that prevent Hispanics from progressing, factors such as the economy that are not under their control. But when it comes to making the effort to assimilate into the country and learn the language, as well making the effort to teach their children the importance of an education and performing well academically, those are factors that are completely in control of the Hispanic individual. I believe that the government should so what they can to help Hispanics succeed in the United States but I also believe that Hispanics should take advantage of all the opportunities they have before them.
Furthermore in the reading Intimate Strangers: Immigration to Queens by Michael Jones-Correa, the author elaborates on many of the issues the prevents the integration of Hispanics and people of other cultures, mainly Europeans. The authors states that that Hispanics and Whites have differing perception of what comprises a community. To Hispanics, a community is in their memory, a shared sense of home that is combines elements of their homeland and their new neighborhoods in America. To a European, a community is based on physical borders such as streets or familiar landmarks in the neighborhood. An issues that stems from this discrepancy in perceptions is the tendency of Whites to push Hispanics to the “margins” of the neighborhood, and thereafter avoiding those borders because of the association they have of Hispanics with violence, drugs and prostitution. Eventually, many of these Whites decide to leave these communities to live in places that have a lower concentration of Hispanics. It is vital to research these issues today in order to understand not only the future demography of our city but also to facilitate Latinos in integrating into our communities and society so they can benefit themselves and our country.
