Copyright © 1999 by Michael Segers, All rights reserved
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Ricky Martin, Sammy Sosa, Rita Hayworth, Admiral David Glasgow Farragut… Is this a great ethnic group, or what? Looking at the stage names of the singer and the actress, and considering that there is not a Ricky Ricardo (Desi Arnez) accent in the group, it's easy to forget that these beloved but different figures are all Hispanics. So, lets rave a little in their honor as we rove through the joys and contributions of Hispanic culture in the United States--la vida not so loca, the not so crazy life, in honor of Hispanic Pride Month, commemorated every octubre.
Let's get a few misconceptions and stereotypes out of the way. First of all, the word Hispanic refers to all people of Spanish-speaking descent, whether they are from Spain or Mexico, from Cuba or Argentina. They speak Spanish, but only if they are from Spain is it appropriate to call them Spanish, just as, although I speak English, I am not English. I am from the United States. I am American. To many Spanish speakers, however, someone from Bolivia or Nicaragua is also an American, a citizen of the Americas. In this essay, however, I shall follow the common English (language) usage of limiting the word American to those from the United States of America.
Latino is synonymous with Hispanic, while chicano, refers to Mexican-Americans. And that gets us to a common misperception. While Hispanics are unified by language and culture, they have distinct national traditions. The culture and politics, the food and music of Mexican-Americans are very different from those of Cuban-Americans, for example.
Speaking of food, Mexican food is not Spanish food. Spanish food is not Mexican food. Spain's cuisine has subtle seasonings that are part of its Arabic heritage (as is algebra) and is at least as different from Mexican cooking as French cooking is. Mexican cuisine, meanwhile, is not what you get at Taco Bell (that is, at best, Tex-Mex), any more than French fries are of French origin or Cuban sandwiches of Cuban origin (they were created in Tampa). The rich mole (pronounced mo-lay) sauce, flavored with chocolate and chili peppers, or the delicate fruit flavored concoctions of the Yucatan are world class achievements that are distinctly Mexican. Hispanic, of course, but Spanish, no.
Hispanics are not newcomers to the United States. St. Augustine, Florida, and other Spanish settlements were well-established by the time of the first British settlements. Hispanics have fought in every war in this country's history, including on both sides of the War Between the States (Civil War, to you Yankees). Two of the three American prisoners in the Kosovo conflict were Hispanics.
Hispanics do not all look alike. Consider Ricky Martin and Sammy Sosa. Hispanics come in every shape and size and color--from the red-heads of Argentina to the blacks of Sosa’s Dominican Republic, from the Indians of Guatemala to the Cuban-Chinese. In Los Angeles, you'll find mainly Mexican-Americans; in Miami, mainly Cuban-Americans; in New York, mainly Puerto-Ricans, whose commonwealth has a unique status in or with the United States. In fact, it is said that there are more Puerto-Ricans in New York than on la isla encantada (the enchanted island) itself.
Hispanics do not all believe the same thing. Not all Hispanics are Roman Catholics. Many Hispanics have become evangelical Protestants and Jehovah’s Witnesses. Nor are all Hispanics Democrats (although many Mexican-Americans are) or Republicans (although many Cuban-Americans are).
It is always dangerous to make generalizations, either favorable or unfavorable, about an ethnic group--to say that Alphas have rhythm or Betas score higher on standardized tests. But, a deeply rooted value of Hispanic culture transcending country of origin or country of residence is a very strong, almost obsessive bond to the family. La familia is not just the immediate or nuclear family but the whole range of aunts and uncles, nieces and nephews, and cousins of all degrees and removes. Grandparents are welcomed and honored at the parties of teenagers (although I hear that this is changing). In some countries, the concepts of "baby-sitter" or "nursing home" are almost non-existent, since families take care of their own. While one-room or studio apartments are common in large cities in the United States, they are not so common in Hispanic countries, where it is sometimes hard to find anyone living alone.
Some years ago, when there were three different houses in Sylvester inhabited by folks named Segers, a Mexican friend of mine apologetically asked me about my family. He knew my parents, my brother and my sister-in-law, and me, and he assured me that he thought we were all good people, but he could not understand why we did not all live happily together in one house. While I very much love all the people who would have been involved in such an arrangement, I very much love the idea of not living with any of them. It seemed to most people I know a logical, even natural arrangement. My parents lived in one house, my brother and his family (in the American sense of his wife and daughter) in another, and I, alone, in a third. To my Hispanic friend, however, it seemed as unnatural as a honeybee living alone in its own hive.
Hispanics also, in general, take great pride in their children. Of course, all parents do, but Hispanic parents that I have known or only observed show a little extra pride and concern. I remember so many times in New York City seeing doll-like Puerto-Rican girls dressed in layers of crinolines and gemlike colors while their parents almost faded into the background. Probably la vida (life) is most loca (crazy) for Hispanic children in this country, who have an extremely high dropout rate. Many schools are unable or unwilling to accommodate their linguistic needs; I have known of Hispanic children condemned to sit alone in a conference room with crayons and coloring books for most of a year. Under such circumstances, I also might have dropped out.
But at their best and most resilient, Hispanic kids figure it all out. Once I was standing in the Reptile House of the Bronx Zoo in New York, looking at a particularly ugly toad. (So much for the value of grouping, to have a toad, an amphibian, in the Reptile House.) I was soon joined by a Hispanic family.
In New York City, one of the most commonly heard words is mira, pronounced mEE-rah, which is Spanish for "Look," and which is never heard just once. Excited Puerto-Rican children grab their parents’ hands to voice their enthusiasm by saying, "Mira, mira." That is, "Look, look."
The family's son looked at the frog, tugged his father's hand, and said, "Mira, mira… frog!" At first, it just seemed amusing, the juxtaposition of the cute kid and the ugly toad, the juxtaposition of the two languages. I don't know, but I suspect that while mira was a word from his life at home with his family, the word frog identified something from his life at school. I doubt that in the time I lived in New York City, I ever encountered the word frog or a frog anywhere else (except for one memorable occasion in a French restaurant, but I’ll rave about that later). So, he was sharing his home-grown enthusiasm in the language of his home, while he had to turn to the language of his school to express what he was enthusiastic about--not, for him, a rana but a frog.
That bright chico bridging more than languages and cultures, bridging whole worlds of knowledge and experience, is my favorite image of Hispanics in our country. Given limones, they make limonada. And if la vida is indeed so loca, then they make a song about it. There is such warmth and courtesy embedded in the very language itself that I have remarked, in Spanish and in English, that I am a nicer person when I speak Spanish than when I speak English.
Spanish, of course, is no longer a foreign language. It is the second language of this country. Being able to communicate in Spanish is a valuable aptitude for young people to add to their repertories of marketable job skills. For any job that involves dealing with the public, in a society in which that public is increasingly Hispanic, being able to speak Spanish is a distinct advantage.
As I rove and rave through my life and my worlds, I cherish a Spanish proverb that goes especially well with the dry feet and noble hearts which I commend to my readers: "El que lee mucho y anda mucho sabe mucho y ve mucho." ("He--or she--who reads a lot and walks a lot, knows a lot and sees a lot.")
To learn more about the famous Hispanics to whom I referred at the beginning of this article, here are some starting points. First, for Ricky Martin, then for Sammy Sosa, as well as for the great tradition of Hispanic baseball players, for actress Rita Hayworth, David Glasgow Farragut, the first admiral in the United States Navy and a hero of the War Between the States (on the other side), and for Desi Arnez.
The American History site from About.com has a special list of Hispanics in American history.
A very attractive site is "El PuebloNet." Be sure to click on "Latino Cultures and History," for a breakdown of links by country.
As you rove and rave through your own culture and others, your feet dry and your heart full of noble thoughts, seeing a lot and knowing a lot, look at the faces of many colors around yourself, and know the long lost sisters and brothers behind them. Never forget that la vida is just as loca for them as it is for you, and that especially in this country, we’re all stitched into this crazy patchwork quilt together.