I've had a few thoughts swirling around for some time about things never mentioned on this blog but that need to be addressed--at least here for myself--about, well, race.
Racial tensions. Prejudices. Stereotypes. Micro aggressions against people of color. Everything and anything under the umbrella of racial discourse essentially.
I want to share my experiences, my thoughts, and what keeps me curious about how non-POC view POC in a very personal way, because I can really only discuss how anything relates to me on my own blog, right?
Right.
So to start off I should mention that I am a Hispanic woman. My grandparents on both sides come from Puerto Rico, a common wealth of the United States, though my grandfather on my dad's side is half Cuban.
In lieu of Puerto Rican and Cuban, I prefer the term "Hispanic" because it encompasses all people of Spanish speaking origin (sorry Brazil!). "Latino," however, is used to describe people of Latin American origin like Mexico and South America, but not the Caribbean from where my ancestors originated. Slight differences, but important! In short: Hispanic covers people who speak the language, whereas Latino covers a geographical area.
The most commonly used (and misused) term for those with ancestors south of the border, however, is "Spanish," meaning someone from Spain. It is, thus, a term of nationality AND language like Italian, for example. Spanish people speak Spanish. This was the language taught to Latinos and others in the Caribbean way back when we were being colonized. But Spanish, Latino and Hispanic are not interchangeable, so don't be surprised if you come across some of these disgruntled folk.
You can get a better breakdown of this with Kat Lazo's video here: video
Ironically, I cannot fluently speak Spanish, a fact which I take no pride in and which frequently gets me teased and made fun of by other POC and whites (that's right, not just Hispanic, Latino and Spanish folks, but everyone!). A child of the sixties, my mother, a native Spanish speaker born and raised in the Bronx, NY, was teased because of her accented English all throughout her years at school. She spoke Spanglish to my siblings and I growing up, and while my older sister and I can perfectly understand and even read Spanish, and despite years of language instruction, we are not so adept at speaking the language. Go figure.
So am I a hypocrite because I prefer the moniker "Hispanic" which describes Spanish speaking people, but I cannot speak Spanish? No, I don't think so. I identify with my ancestors, with other Spanish speaking people, and I am proud and so invested in our culture. These terms are still new and imperfect, but one should identify with what they feel most comfortable with realistically (I'm looking at you, Rachel Dolezal. Transracial is not a thing!).
I understand that my mother, not being wholly committed to actively teach us Spanish, was a product of her time and experience. She simply did not want us to go through the same prejudices and judgment that she had. So here I am.
I am Hispanic. I am Puerto Rican and little bit of Cuban. I am American. Like my parents, I was born and raised in the Bronx, NY.
Do all these labels matter? Maybe not. But people in power made them so.
So I say again, here I am.
Until next time.
Until next time.
