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“Latinx was becoming an official term on elite college campuses, popular among academics, progressives, young activists, and LGBTQ groups who wanted gender-neutral terminology. (In Spanish words ending in ‘O’ are masculine and those ending in ‘a’ are feminine. When referring to a mixed-gender group, the plural word ends in the masculine ‘o,’ so substituting that letter for ‘x’ avoids preferencing the men).”

Many Latinos say 'Latinx' offends or bothers them. Here's why. (nbcnews.com)

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“Hispanic Heritage Month initially began as a weeklong celebration in 1968 under President Lyndon Johnson who, at the time said, ‘The people of Hispanic descent are the heirs of missionaries, captains, soldiers, and farmers who are motivated by a young spirit of adventure, and a desire to settle freely in a free land.”

Yes, We're Calling It Hispanic Heritage Month And We Know It Makes Some Of You Cringe : NPR

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“As Hispanic Heritage Month kicks off, Latinos grapple with the decadelong debate on whether or not the pan-ethnic terms that exist to identify their communities truly represent their lived experiences.”

Latinos own and disown 'Hispanic' in journey to harness identity (nbcnews.com)

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“Latin American literature, the national literatures of the Spanish-speaking countries of the Western Hemisphere. Historically, it also includes the literary expression of the highly developed American Indian civilizations conquered by the Spaniards.”

Latin American literature | History, Books, Authors, Classics, Characteristics, & Facts | Britannica

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"While there’s no one group or individual responsible for coining Latinx, its popularity has snowballed in tandem with conversations around gender. Previous terminology forced the speaker to identify as male or female, Latino or Latina, while Latinx gives both speaker and listener the ability to opt out of the gender binary. The term was embraced enthusiastically by progressive entities with a stake in gender-neutral policies. It was added to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary in 2018."

Fuentes:
https://www.bu.edu/articles/2022/why-is-latinx-still-used-if-hispanics-hate-the-term/

- Jua Vang

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All summer long, we'll be reposting stories that originally published during the 2022-2023 academic year-stories about research, BU classes, food, alumni and student profiles, and more.
It seems like there's a new word for Latin American heritage every couple of decades-and it never seems to fit just right. "Hispanic" was brought into common parlance in the early 1970s, but was later challenged by "Latino" and its feminine partner "Latina."

Now comes the rise of the divisive-but gender-neutral-"Latinx," touted by progressives for its supposed modern hipness, yet somewhat reviled by the people it represents.

With Hispanic Heritage Month in full swing, it's time to ask: what's in a name?

"As an immigrant, I found myself being classified as Hispanic upon arrival to the United States, a term I did not know nor had used to call myself before," says Dina Castro, a Wheelock College of Education and Human Development professor of early childhood education and director of the BU Institute for Early Childhood Well-Being. "Then, there was the option of using Latina, which is my preference because it highlights my Latin American origin and not only the fact that I speak Spanish."

While there's no one group or individual responsible for coining Latinx, its popularity has snowballed in tandem with conversations around gender. Previous terminology forced the speaker to identify as male or female, Latino or Latina, while Latinx gives both speaker and listener the ability to opt out of the gender binary. The term was embraced enthusiastically by progressive entities with a stake in gender-neutral policies. It was added to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary in 2018.

According to the Pew Research Center, a thimble-sized portion of people with Latin American ancestry use the term Latinx. In August 2020, the center reported that 3 percent of respondents viewed it favorably; a year later, a Gallup poll increased that to 4 percent. If you were to base your impression on this research-or on various recent think pieces -you'd assume that the term was foisted on an unwilling community who found themselves saddled with it.

Maia Gil'Adí, a College of Arts & Sciences assistant professor of English, says this isn't the case. "You have to ask yourself, who's taking the surveys?" she says.

Gil'Adí, who specializes in Latinx literature and culture, points to a journal article by Nicole M. Guidotti-Hernández, an Emory University professor, who places the term's coinage "around 2004 in queer contexts." It was an organic youth movement, she contends, born of the internet, and rejected by the older generation.

"With the younger generations-with the kids that I teach-I would think that they're much more comfortable using the term Latinx," Gil'Adí says.

The conversation around Latinx often includes reference to its usage in higher education, not by just students, but the institution as well. (BU, for instance, uses the term "Latinx" in its official style guide.) This can be attributed to the fact that college students are leading the national discussion on gender-or that the national population of Latinx college students is on the rise. In 2020, the Postsecondary National Policy Institute reported that at 21.8 percent, Latinx students were the second-largest ethnic group of college enrollees.

At BU, the Latinx community has increased across the board in the past five years: undergraduates by 7 percent, graduates by 23 percent, faculty by 17 percent, and staff by 38 percent.

Not everyone at BU represented by these numbers prefers the term Latinx. Gil'Adí understands, she says, but thinks it's important that people realize that to her and other scholars, the X does not refer solely to gender neutrality. It can represent an unknown value, as in mathematics, and signifies what she refers to as a "categorical impossibility."

"How do you define a population made up of descendants from all the countries in Latin America, people that are white, Black, Asian, and indigenous?" she asks. "Anglo-American culture always wants to define the minoritized other as this one thing, and I think the X pushes back and says, no, we are all these things."

The conscientiousness of Latinx contrasts with its predecessor term, "Hispanic." Popularized under the Nixon administration when it first appeared on the 1970 US Census-also the first time the Latinx population was seen as a separate entity by the government-the term was the result of a decision by an ad-hoc committee convened by the Census Bureau to group people from Latin America together under one mother tongue. It's an arbitrary designation, Gil'Adí says, one that erases indigenous languages and puts a "linguistic belonging and a sort of limitation" on something that's not so easily confined.

And of course, many are opposed to grouping Latinx people together under the language of their colonizers.

"For me, the term Hispanic highlights only the colonial part of my ancestry, and I have indigenous and Afro-Peruvian ancestors as well," Castro says.

In 1992, author Sandra Cisneros told the New York Times: "To say Hispanic means you're so colonized you don't even know for yourself, or someone who named you never bothered to ask what you call yourself. It's a repulsive slave name."

In spite of the pushback, the 2021 Gallup poll reported that "Hispanic" was the favorite out of the terms on offer, at 23 percent. It's possible that those who participated have also filled out their fair share of censuses.

There are plenty of other options for self-identification beside Latino, Latinx, and Hispanic. There's Latin@, popular in the 1990s as a gender-expansive precursor to Latinx. There's Latine, a gender-neutral term championed by detractors of Latinx, primarily for its better adherence to Spanish grammar.

"With regard to the more recent terms proposed to address gender equity, I prefer Latine over Latinx," Castro says.

There's also the option of abandoning racial classification altogether and instead focusing on geography.

Johanna Calderon-Dakin (COM'06), a publicist and bilingual culture consultant born and raised in Mexico City, says she prefers to identify herself as Mexican. "What is most important in my opinion is that whether you use Latino, Latinx, or Hispanic, we all are part of this one great community, yet we are not homogeneous," she says. "The diaspora of the Latino community is immense, so it is difficult to put us all under one blanket."

Gil'Adí wonders if the ideal self-identifying term might not be invented yet. "Think about the different permutations that have led to 'Black': Negro, African American, Afro-American," she says. "Within the past 5 years, this explosion of Latinx has been huge, so what's going to happen 5, 10 years from now?"

Ultimately, while she remains partial to Latinx, Gil'Adí doesn't think that these terms primarily benefit the people they refer to. "When you're in [Latin America] you're Colombian, Brazilian, whatever. Once you come here, you become this other thing that then becomes racialized," she says. "People have a really hard time with things that aren't concrete, that are slippery. It's about learning to sit with that uncomfortableness."

To prove her point, look at the 2021 Gallup poll. When asked their preference between Hispanic, Latino, and Latinx, the overwhelming majority-57 percent-put down, "Does not matter."

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If Hispanics Hate the Term "Latinx", Why is it Still Used?

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Assistant Professor Maia Gil'Adí defends the now-infamous term "Latinx," saying it's more than just a gender-neutral term.

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"The Latino population has had an impact not only on the demography of the U.S. population, but also on other aspects of U.S. society. This can be seen, for example, in the increasing popularity of Latin American food and music and in the prevalence of Spanish-language signage, advertisements, and media. In addition, the business community has discovered the economic clout of the Latino population."

Fuentes:
https://www.prb.org/resources/latinos-and-the-changing-face-of-america/

- Jua Vang

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The following edited excerpt is from the report Latinos and the Changing Face of America, written by Rogelio Saenz and published by the Russell Sage Foundation and Population Reference Bureau. This report is one of several in the new series The American People, which sets the results of Census 2000 in context and collectively provides a portrait of the American people in a new century. Each report is written by an author or team of authors selected for their expertise with the data and their broad understanding of the implications of demographic trends. Reynolds Farley and John Haaga are the series editors.
Over the last 100 years, few racial or ethnic groups have had as great an impact on the demography of the United States as Latinos. In 1900, there were only slightly more than 500,000 Latinos. ¹ Today, the national Latino population numbers more than 35 million and represents one of the most dynamic and diverse racial/ethnic groups in the United States.

The most dramatic impact of the Latino population on the demography of the nation has taken place over the last few decades. The number of Latinos in the United States more than doubled between 1980 and 2000, accounting for 40 percent of the growth in the country's population during that period. And in 2003 the U.S. Census Bureau designated Latinos as the nation's largest minority group, an amazing event given that in 1980 the Latino population was only slightly more than half the size of the African American population.

The Latino population has had an impact not only on the demography of the U.S. population, but also on other aspects of U.S. society. This can be seen, for example, in the increasing popularity of Latin American food and music and in the prevalence of Spanish-language signage, advertisements, and media. In addition, the business community has discovered the economic clout of the Latino population.

The increase in buying power of the Latino population over this 18-year period is expected to be greater than that of the white, African American, American Indian, and Asian populations. Politicians increasingly recognize the political muscle of the Latino population, especially with the group's concentration in the most populous states in the nation.

Their great diversity presents challenges in understanding the rate and extent of Latino groups' integration into mainstream U.S. society. Educators, policymakers, businesspeople, and others in the United States require knowledge about the Latino population and the groups within it to more effectively understand and serve the particular needs of Latino populations. This is particularly true now that the Latino population has expanded geographically beyond its traditional hub areas into places that have historically had few Latinos.

Population Change and Distribution of Latinos in the United States

During the 1990s, the Latino population marked its dominance as the ethnic group most responsible for population growth in the United States. The Latino population expanded from 22.4 million in 1990 to 35.3 million in 2000, a growth rate of 58 percent (see Table 1).

Table 1
Growth of Latino Population by Ethnic Group and of Non-Latino Population by Race, 1990-2000

* Non-Latino groups are single-race groups.
Sources: Author's estimates using Census 1990 Summary Tape File 1 (STF1) and Census 2000 Summary File 1 (SF1).

The growth rate of the Latino population was nearly 4.5 times greater than that of the total U.S. population and more than six times that of the non-Latino population in the country. By 2000 Latinos accounted for one in eight people in the United States, compared with one in 11 people in 1990.

Destination States for Latinos

The Latino population is concentrated in particular states. The 10 states with the largest Latino populations in 2000 were home to slightly more than 80 percent of U.S. Latinos (see Figure 1). These states represent traditional hub areas for Latinos, with all but one (Washington) being among the top-10 most populous Latino states in 1990 as well. California and Texas alone accounted for one of every two Latinos in the United States.

Figure 1
Ten States With the Largest Latino Populations, 2000

Sources: Author's estimates using Census 1990 Summary Tape File 1 (STF1) and Census 2000 Summary File 1 (SF1).

Figure 2
Ten States With the Fastest Growth in Latino Population, 1990-2000

Sources: Author's estimates using Census 1990 Summary Tape File 1(STF1) and Census 2000 Summary File 1 (SF1).

The Latino population has grown quite rapidly in states that have traditionally had relatively few Latinos (see Figure 2). Among the 10 states with the most rapid growth in the Latino population, the percentage increases ranged from a low of 155 percent in Nebraska to 394 percent in North Carolina. This growth has primarily been associated with the restructuring of the meat-processing industry and the expansion of low-wage jobs in the South and the Midwest, ² primarily in nonmetropolitan areas. ³

Nevada stands apart from the other nine states. Drawn by a dynamic economy dominated by service jobs and the gaming industry, Nevada's Latino population tripled between 1990 and 2000.

Latinos and the Future U.S. Population

Over the last several decades, the racial and ethnic composition of the U.S. population has changed markedly. Minorities are increasing their presence in the United States and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. The Latino population is driving these transformations. While today one of every eight residents of the United States is Latino, it is projected that Latinos could account for one of every five residents by 2035, one of every four by 2055, and one of every three by 2100.

Latinos are already having a significant impact on the various societal institutions and on all segments of society in the United States. Although Latinos represented hardly a blip on the national radar screen only a few decades ago, demographic processes have made Latinos critical to the future social and economic direction of the United States.

Ongoing immigration has significantly affected the Latino experience in the United States. The continued flows of Latino immigrants ensure that the Spanish language and diverse Latino cultures will endure in the United States. The combination of established and newcomer Latinos in the United States further enhances the diversity that exists across and within Latino groups.

The growth of the Latino population has also led to a blurring of many boundaries. Transnational migration has blurred international and identity boundaries. Immigration has blurred the boundaries associated with nativity, even within families. The increasing use of Spanish through its dominance in foreign-language instruction in colleges and universities, its entrance into mainstream popular culture, and the bilingual context in which many Latinos operate have also blurred language boundaries.

But the experiences of the various Latino groups in the United States have been quite different, and even the blurring of place and linguistic boundaries has not eliminated one important distinction. Mexicans and Puerto Ricans are the two groups that were initially incorporated into the United States through warfare. They have been viewed as "colonized groups." ⁴ Throughout their long history in the United States, Mexicans and Puerto Ricans have occupied a low position in the nation's social and economic hierarchy. Even U.S.-born Mexicans and mainland-born Puerto Ricans occupy a low socioeconomic position among the various groups that constitute the Latino population.

In contrast, other Latino groups have come to the United States as voluntary immigrants, either escaping political persecution or in search of economic opportunity. By and large, these groups have tended to fare better socially and economically, the exception being Dominicans and foreign-born Central Americans.

The Growing Impact of Latinos - Culturally, Economically, and Politically

The Latino population needs to be seen as a valuable resource for this country. U.S. institutions will increasingly be affected by and dependent on Latinos in the coming decades. For example, the business community will increasingly rely on Latinos as entrepreneurs, employees, investors, and consumers. The bilingual and bicultural nature of the Latino population also makes Latinos a valuable resource as the U.S. business community expands its consumer markets and business operations into Latin America.

The higher education system will increasingly find Latinos among the ranks of potential students and educators. Political institutions will find that Latinos will play an increasingly powerful role in the outcome of elections, both as voters and as political candidates. Additionally, the health care system will increasingly see Latinos as health care recipients and providers. Religious institutions will find that their potential adherents and leaders will increasingly be Latinos.

These trends are well underway in the largest states and at the national level; the rising dispersion of Latinos into parts of the country that traditionally have not had Latino populations suggests that all parts of the country will feel the impact of Latino growth.

Rogelio Saenz is professor and head of the department of sociology at Texas A&M University. He is the author of numerous journal articles, book chapters, and technical reports on the demography of Latinos, immigration, social inequality, and race and ethnicity.

References

1. Brian Gratton and Myron P. Gutmann, "Hispanics in the United States, 1850-1990: Estimates of Population Size and National Origin," Historical Methods 33, no. 3 (2000): 137-53.

2. Lourdes Gouveia and Rogelio Saenz, "Global Forces and Latino Population Growth in the Midwest: A Regional and Subregional Analysis," Great Plains Research 10, no. 2 (2000): 305-28; Ruben Hernandez-Leon and Victor Zuniga, "'Making Carpet by the Mile': The Emergence of a Mexican Immigrant Community in an Industrial Region of the U.S. Historic South," Social Science Quarterly 81, no. 1 (2000): 49-66; and Donald D. Stull, Michael J. Broadway, and David Griffith, eds., Any Way You Cut It: Meat Processing and Small-Town America (Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas, 1995).

3. Rogelio Saenz and Cruz Torres, "Latinos in Rural America," in Challenges to Rural America in the Twenty-First Century, ed. David L. Brown and Louis E. Swanson (University Park, PA: Pennsylvania State University Press, 2003).

4. Robert Blauner, Racial Oppression in America (New York: Harper and Row, 1972).

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Latinos and the Changing Face of America

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The following edited excerpt is from the report Latinos and the Changing Face of America, written by Rogelio Saenz and published by the Russell Sage Foundation and Population Reference Bureau. This report is one of several in the new series The American People, which sets the results of Census 2000 in context and collectively provides a portrait of the American people in a new century.

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"The initial employment shock from the COVID-19 pandemic led to an increase in the Hispanic or Latino seasonally adjusted unemployment rate—from 4 percent in February 2020 to 18.1 percent in April 2020, a 14.2 percentage-point jump.¹⁴ White Americans experienced a 10.8 percentage-point increase in unemployment. Black Americans experienced a similar 10.9 percentage-point increase over this period, but like Hispanics, they have not experienced the employment rebound that white Americans have. In January 2021, the Hispanic unemployment rate was still 4.2 percentage points higher than it was in February 2020,¹⁵ while for Black workers, it was a comparable 3.6 percentage points higher."

Fuentes: https://www.americanprogress.org/article/latinos-face-disproportionate-health-economic-impacts-covid-19/

- Jua Vang

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Latinos Face Disproportionate Health and Economic Impacts From COVID-19

A man waits in line to fill out unemployment forms in Imperial County, California, which is 85 percent Latino and has been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, on July 24, 2020. (Getty/Mario Tama)

How the COVID-19 pandemic has affected Latino employment, earnings, and economic security
Figure 1

Effects of COVID-19 on Latino employment
Figure 2

Latina workers have seen the worst employment data of any racial/ethnic and gender group during the coronavirus-induced recession.¹⁹ Hispanic or Latina women have seen the highest unemployment rate of any group-20.1 percent in April 2020.²⁰ And as of January 2021, more than 1 million fewer Hispanic or Latina women were employed compared with pre-pandemic levels.²¹ Throughout the recession, Hispanic or Latina women's unemployment rate has been consistently higher than that of Hispanic or Latino men. While Hispanic or Latina women workers have seen devastating job losses due to overrepresentation in the hardest-hit industries, they are also leaving the labor force at greater rates than Hispanic or Latino men because they have shouldered more of the increased caregiving responsibilities during the pandemic.²² As of January 2021, there were 633,000 fewer Hispanic or Latina women in the labor force than in February 2019, compared with 241,000 fewer Hispanic or Latino men.²³

The effects of COVID-19 on Latino earnings and economic security

Weakened earnings and higher part-time employment have likewise harmed Latinos' ability to feed themselves and their families. For Latina mothers-41.4 percent of whom were the primary or sole breadwinners for their families in 2018-the disproportionate job losses and lower earnings have harmed their ability to pay for basic necessities for their families.²⁶ Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, 13 percent of Hispanic or Latino households that responded to the U.S. Census Bureau's Household Pulse Survey expressed that they sometimes or often did not have enough to eat in the previous seven days, compared with just 5 percent of non-Hispanic white households.²⁷ And during the week of April 23, 2020, Hispanics or Latinos reported the largest increase in food insufficiency at 2.7 percentage points above their pre-pandemic level. For non-Hispanic white households, food insufficiency increased by 2.1 percentage points.²⁸ As of the week of January 6, 2021, food insufficiency had grown significantly worse in the Hispanic or Latino community, with an 8.1 percentage-point increase above pre-pandemic levels. In comparison, the increase for non-Hispanic white households over the same time period was 0.9 percentage points.²⁹ At the same time, Black Americans experienced consistently high levels of food insufficiency both before and during the pandemic, with insufficiency levels rising slightly from 18 percent prior to the onset of the pandemic to 19 percent during the week of January 6, 2021.

How the federal relief package can provide solutions

Given the unique nature of the pandemic and the resulting recession, the upcoming relief package needs to address several key issues in order to ensure that all communities-especially communities of color, which are most at risk-experience as little harm as possible going forward.

Prioritize a more equitable vaccine rollout

Provide support for struggling renters and homeowners

Extend federal unemployment benefits

Take action to ensure economic equity

Provide support for undocumented immigrants and DACA recipients

This oversight meant that some 5.1 million children-the vast majority of whom are American citizens-were left out, as were the more than 200,000 essential critical infrastructure workers who are Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients.⁴⁵ Scrapping the ITIN requirement would not only aid some of the most vulnerable workers but would also provide ample income to small businesses that have seen their revenues drop as a result of depressed consumer spending. Moreover, President Biden's forthcoming economic recovery and jobs package should build upon provisions contained in the Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions (HEROES) Act-which twice passed the Democratic-controlled U.S. House of Representatives in 2020-to provide permanent protection and a pathway to citizenship for undocumented essential workers and their families, Dreamers, and Temporary Protected Status holders. Such a program would stimulate the economy, create jobs, and raise the average wages of all Americans, as well as strengthen worker power and help advance racial equity in the recovery.

Conclusion

It is hard to say with certainty when the economy will regain a sense of normalcy. This means that workers-especially Latino workers and other workers of color-will continue to face obstacles to maintaining both physical and financial security. Since Latinos have been disproportionately negatively affected in the U.S. labor market with respect to earnings, as well as in terms of COVID-19 deaths, it is imperative that lawmakers take into consideration the needs of the Latino community and what must be done to ensure that Latinos are provided the help they need.

As Congress continues to negotiate the terms of the next COVID-19 relief bill, it should make sure to provide relief to the most at-risk workers and people in the country. A more equitable vaccine rollout, expanded and extended unemployment benefits, boosts to the CTC and EITC, expanded rental assistance, and protections against evictions and foreclosures would go far toward protecting vulnerable Latino households, as would ensuring that undocumented workers are able to benefit from any future relief. As the country learned in the aftermath of the Great Recession, the costs of doing too little far outweigh the costs of not doing enough.⁴⁶ Latino families need help, and Congress and President Biden must act quickly to minimize harm.
Ryan Zamarripa is the associate director of Economic Policy at the Center for American Progress. Lorena Roque is a senior policy analyst for Race and Ethnicity Policy at the Center.

The positions of American Progress, and our policy experts, are independent, and the findings and conclusions presented are those of American Progress alone. A full list of supporters is available here. American Progress would like to acknowledge the many generous supporters who make our work possible.

Ryan Zamarripa

Associate Director

Lorena Roque

Former Senior Policy Analyst

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Latinos Face Disproportionate Health and Economic Impacts From COVID-19

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Latinos Face Disproportionate Health and Economic Impacts From COVID-19 Figure 1 Effects of COVID-19 on Latino employment Figure 2 Latina workers have seen the worst employment data of any racial/ethnic and gender group during the coronavirus-induced recession.19 Hispanic or Latina women have seen the highest unemployment rate of any group-20.1 percent in April 2020.20 And as of January 2021, more than 1 million fewer Hispanic or Latina women were employed compared with pre-pandemic levels.21 Throughout the recession, Hispanic or Latina women's unemployment rate has been consistently higher than that of Hispanic or Latino men.

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"Spanish spoken in Latin American countries shows a lot of similarities to the Spanish spoken in the southern Spanish region of Andalusia and the Canary Islands, because of the predominant role of people from these regions during the conquest of the Americas."

Fuentes:
https://spanish.kwiziq.com/revision/glossary/spanish-dialects-and-regional-variants/espanol-latinoamericano

- Jua Vang

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Latin America Spanish

Influence of Andalusia and the Canary Islands

Spanish spoken in Latin American countries shows a lot of similarities to the Spanish spoken in the southern Spanish region of Andalusia and the Canary Islands, because of the predominant role of people from these regions during the conquest of the Americas. This is evident mainly in words that contain -s-, -c- ("soft c" that precedes -e- and -i-) and -z-, which would all be pronounced as -s-.

For example: caca sa (house) and za (hunt) are both pronounced as "ca sa", with a - s- sound. This is typical of Andalucía and the Canary Islands. In central and northern parts of Spain they make the -z- sound (which sounds like the unvoiced "th" as in "thing" in English).

Omitting the final -s in plural words is something else Latin Americans, Andalusians and people from the Canary Islands share in their pronunciation. For example, when saying "cuatro casa s" (four houses) you will hear "cuatro casa", omitting the last -s marking the plural. This not only happens with the consonant -s but also with other consonants at the end of a word; for example, the word "reloj" (watch) becomes "reló" when spoken.

There is not only a difference in pronunciation but also in vocabulary. For example, many words inherited from the Arabs during their reign in Andalucía, that are part of the daily vocabulary in southern Spain, were also inherited by the Andalusian people who travelled and settled in the Americas. Therefore Arabic words like alhaja (jewel) or alcoba (bedroom) are still used in Latin America.

Anglicisms in Latin American Spanish

In terms of anglicisms, because of the direct influence they receive from the United States, Latin American vocabulary has more English words than Peninsular Spanish does. For example, one common word used in Latin America which is not generally used in Peninsular Spain is "computadora", adopted from the English word "computer", while in Spain the word "ordenador" is widely used. They also talk about "comprarse unos bluejeanes" meaning "to buy some jeans" whereas in Spain the word vaqueros is used for jeans.

And, of course, some words have also been borrowed from the indigenous languages in Latin America, which also vary from region to region.

Voseo and yeísmo rehilado

One of the main differencies between Spanish spoken in Latin America and the Spanish peninsula is the use of voseo in the Latin America; however it only applies to the areas in and around the River Plate (Río de la Plata), i.e., Argentina and Uruguay, Eastern Bolivia, Paraguay, and Central America (El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, southern parts of Chiapas in Mexico). Voseo refers to using vos where peninsular Spanish uses tú (informal "you" singular). It is conjugated exactly the same as tú except in the present tense and in the imperative.

For example:

Another characteristic that is typical in Argentina and Uruguay (but not other Latin American countries or Spain) is "pla"caba"yeísmo rehilado"- this is a specific way of pronouncing the letters y and ll; pronounced similar to the letter combination "sh" in English. For example, the word is pronounced as sha" or the word "caballo" is pronounced sh o". There is no confirmed theory that explains when and why this started but one of the theories is the influence of the Portuguese language from Brazil, their neighbouring country, where they have a similar sound.

See also: Using the pronoun "vos" in Latin America

Ustedes, not vosotros

The other main difference between Spanish from the peninsula and Spanish from Latin America in terms of grammar is the use of where peninsular Spanish uses ("you" plural informal). Their conjugation also varies. Despite both being used as informal pronouns, the pronoun ustedes takes the endings of the third person plural (they), it does not use the endings of vosotros. This is the same conjugation as European Spanish uses for , the only difference is that it uses it in a formal context. So to reiterate, between Spanish American and European Spanish there is no difference in the construction, just in the context they are used in. Let's see some examples:

English: Would you like a drink? ¿¿
Spanish from the peninsula: Vosotros queréis algo de beber?
Spanish from Latin America: Ustedes quieren algo de beber?

Related article: Español peninsular

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Español latinoamericano: Spanish dialects and regional variants. How to use Español latinoamericano in Spanish

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Spanish spoken in Latin American countries shows a lot of similarities to the Spanish spoken in the southern Spanish region of Andalusia and the Canary Islands, because of the predominant role of people from these regions during the conquest of the Americas.

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"People like Daniela Muñoz, who is 25 and a senior at American University in Washington, D.C. She says that Latinx gives people the freedom to identify as they wish, "the "x" in Latinx is a placeholder for whatever you want it to mean," says the communications and culture major."

Latinx Is A Term Many Still Can't Embrace : NPR

-Maria Tristan

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Latinx isn't a new term, and neither are the debates around its use.

According to a recent Pew Research Center national survey of Latinos, Latinx has not caught on. Only 3% say they use the term and it's mostly young people, ages 18 to 29, who have embraced it.

People like Daniela Muñoz, who is 25 and a senior at American University in Washington, D.C. She says that Latinx gives people the freedom to identify as they wish, "the "x" in Latinx is a placeholder for whatever you want it to mean," says the communications and culture major.

"There is a long history of discrimination in our communities, towards women and LGBTQ and Afro-Latinx," says Muñoz. "Are we doing enough or can we do more as a community to be more inclusive?" Muñoz describes herself as heterosexual and uses she/her/hers pronouns.

Muñoz was born in Ecuador and came to the United States when she was four with her Ecuadoran father and Dominican mother, she says. Her parents didn't know the term Latinx until recently and they don't agree with it. "They think that it's not necessary," Muñoz says.

Muñoz's parents are in good company. According to Pew's survey, only 23% of Hispanic adults have heard of the term Latinx.

Mark Hugo Lopez, director of Global Migration and Demography Research at Pew, spoke with NPR's Code Switch about the survey's findings. Lopez said there is evidence that Latinx has been around since 2004, "but it did start to rise in use, especially after the Pulse nightclub shooting," in Orlando, Fla., in 2016.

Merriam-Webster added Latinx to its dictionary in September 2018, and Pew has found that more lawmakers are using Latinx on social media.

For generations, people born or descended from Spanish-speaking nations have been dubbed Hispanic, after the U.S. Census Bureau added the term as an ethnic category in 1970; Latino or Latina are also used, though neither has been fully embraced. Culture experts say the majority of people identify by country of origin.

David Vazquez is a professor of race, gender and culture studies at American University. He teaches the history of Latinx and says his students seem to have consensus on the use of the term. He identifies himself as cis-gendered, heterosexual.

Vazquez says that as Hispanics increasingly identified as Latino in the '80s and '90s, some Chicano and Latina feminists felt uncomfortable with the masculine term. The idea to find a more gender-neutral term took shape, he says.

Latinx was asserted mostly by people who are gender nonconforming, says Vazquez, but today "most people who use the term are open about gender non-conformity, they look for opportunities to be politically progressive and they look for opportunities to be inclusive."

He sees the value of using Latinx in political coalition building, but also in signaling solidarity with historically oppressed groups.

One problem holding back the use of Latinx, he says, is "certain parochialism around the policing of Spanish." Some argue that Latinx is not Spanish enough, but Vazquez says they need to remember that "Spanish...is the original language of colonization."

Ilan Stavans teaches Latin American and Latino Culture at Amherst in Massachusetts. "Eliminating centuries of a structural approach to language seems to me quixotic," he says.

Stavans identifies himself as Jewish Mexican American heterosexual and says he supports political changes connected to gender and sexuality, but he cringes at Latinx. "It is very difficult to, if not impossible, to shake up the structure of a language to reflect changes in such a short period of time."

"We don't all of a sudden decide that we're not going to use such an important feature of the romance languages," says Stavans whose expertise extends to language and words.

Romance languages such as Spanish and French are gender-based. In Spanish a table is feminine and a tree is masculine, for example, "and that's so deeply rooted in the language," Stavans says.

María R. Scharrón-del Río is a psychologist and an associate dean of education at Brooklyn College, they and Alan Aja wrote Latinx: Inclusive Language As Liberation Praxis. Scharrón-del Río identifies herself as queer.

Language is an intervention tool, says Scharrón-del Río, "it saves lives." They say that using the right pronouns and the right names has a positive impact on people.

Scharrón-del Río says that Latinx often "creates discomfort" because it reclaims the history of LGBTQ Latinos and Latinas who have been overlooked and neglected.

Scharrón-del Río says despite the Pew data, they hope Latinx sticks around.

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Latinx Is A Term Many Still Can't Embrace

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Latinx isn't a new term, and neither are the debates around its use. According to a recent Pew Research Center national survey of Latinos, Latinx has not caught on. Only 3% say they use the term and it's mostly young people, ages 18 to 29, who have embraced it.

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"Texas se ha convetido durantas muchos años unas de las cuidades donde habitan mas hispanos en los Estados Unidos, existe una diversidad de nacionalidades latinas."

Trabajos Disponibles en el Paso Texas
Empleos en Español - 2023

-Maria Tristan

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Empleos Disponibles en el paso Texas para Hispanos en el Español

En este articulo conoceras la amplitud de trabajos disponibles que existe en la cuidad del paso de Texas, esta hermosa localidad cuenta en un calido y fresco ambiente y ofrece diversos tipos de trabajos.

Gracias a la influencia de latinos en el paso Texas, se cuenta con grandes industrias en el mercado. Lo cual hace variativo los trabajos disponibles en la cuidad, esto influye de manera positiva al mercado en la zona. Cabe desctar que el paso de Texas es una de las cuidades mas poblada del condado de Texas.

Aquí podrás encontrar las mejores Empleos y Vacantes en El Paso TX, para los hombres y mujeres latinos que buscan establecerse en los Estados Unidos. En la ciudad del Paso en Texas la mayoría de los que trabajan en maquilas son mexicanos y unos que otros ciudadanos centroamericanos. Debido a su cercanía con México.

Los trabajos abudan en esta zoana de los Estados Unidos. En esta ciudad de California a menudo cuentan con mano de obra mexicana para sostener la producción.

Las empresas en El Paso de tx, siempre demanda personal para trabajo generalmente manuales, empacar, trasladar materiales, realizar mantenimiento y cuidar de los materiales que allí se guardan. La hora de trabajo puede variar de 16$ a 20$.

Tecma Group es otra empresa de manufactura que se encarga de los productos más tecnológicos. Una de las filosofías de Tecma Group es brindarle una mayor remuneración a sus empleados y reducir los costos de los fabricantes y sus clientes.

Su cercanía con México desde el Paso ha permitido reunir una fuerza laboral bastante numerosa lo cual ha beneficiado a muchas familias mexicanas ubicadas al otro lado de las frontera.

DATAMARK, Inc es también unas de las mejores y su capacidad de contrato es inmensa, teniendo sedes en varias zonas de El Paso.

No sólo se encarga de la manufactura, ofrece múltiples servicios, hasta call center. Por último, tenemos DataXport.Net LLC, una subcontratista que busca personal sin tomar en cuenta los años de experiencia. Los salarios pueden varia, de 16$ a 20$. Así que estás en El Paso y te gustaría buscar trabajo, esas y otras opciones deberías tomarlas en cuenta.

Comunidad de hispanos en el paso Texas

Texas se ha convetido durantas muchos años unas de las cuidades donde habitan mas hispanos en los Estados Unidos, existe una diversidad de nacionalidades latinas.

Aca podras encontrar grupos de redes sociales para encontrar trabajos disponibles y ayuda con tus compatriotas

Por Donde Comenzar a Buscar Empleo en el Paso Tx

Si estas desempleado, lo primero que debes hacer es buscar los métodos efectivo para conseguir empleo, en la cuidad de texas, existen múltiples empresas, productores de servicios y productos, que requieren de personal calificado, para ellos deberas cumplir con los requisitos pertinente.

Existen oficinas dedicadas a buscar personal, Estas son oficinas privadas, y agencias federales, ambas con el mismo objetivo, reclutar personal calificado para cubrir vacantes existente en la zona.

A continuación te daremos la información sobre agencias de confianzas donde puedes solicitar la información sin compromiso alguno.

Primero conocerás las información sobre las oficinas privadas de empleo en el paso.

Agencias de Trabajo en el paso Texas

Estas agencias tiene empleos en todo momento para la zona del Paso Texas, solo deberás cumplir con los requisitos que exigen cada empresa, que solicita el personal. estas agencias tiene empleo para, personal en restaurante, hoteles, centro comerciales, fabricas, personal de trasporte, personal para áreas de construcción.
Puestos Vacantes En RMPersonnel
Numero de Contacto: +1 915-565-7674
Ver Vacantes Disponibles
Numero de Contacto: 1 915-307-8742

Agencia de Empleos Federales en el Paso

Estas son las agencias de trabajos dedicadas a buscar personal para cubrir empleos en servicios públicos y privadas, Es la manera mas confiable de buscar vacantes, todos esos empleos cuentas con beneficios acordes a la ley, ayudan al personal a crecer, ofreciendo buenos ambientes de trabajo, y practicas profesionales.

Para mas informacion Visitar Sitio Web Oficial

¿Cuanto Gana el Personal en el Paso Texas?

Esta es la primera pregunta que todos los empleados quieren saber, para animarse a cubrir la vacante laboral, En la actualidad la mayoría de los trabajos básicos en el paso son pagados por hora, la hora de trabajo cuenta 8 dolares, Pero debido al buen momento de economía, y las políticas implementada por el gobierno actual, se estima que en el 2021, Todo empleado dentro de estados unidos este ganando en promedio de 15 dolares la hora.

Requisitos para Conseguir Empleo en el Paso

Contar con los requisitos de estatus legal en el paso, es la puerta que te va abrir las mejores oferta de empleo, ofreciéndote todos los beneficios de la ley y que puedas obtar a cargo referente con tu experiencia laboral o estudios académicos personales.

En la pagina oficial de los Estados Unidos hablan de los requisitos primordiales para las personas que son.

✅ Tarjeta de Residente Permanente

✅ Documento de Autorización de Empleo

✅ Antedecente Penales Limpios

Si deseas mayor información visita la pagina oficial de los estados unido Aqui

Trabajos para Jovenes en el Paso TX

La ciudad del Paso es una de las regiones con más presencia de latinos en Estados Unidos debido a su cercanía con México. Muchos de esos hispanos que llegan a esta ciudad tejana son jóvenes que quieren salir adelante e incorporarse al mercado laboral desempeñando todo tipo de oficios o trabajos. Vale mencionar que muchas compañías de esta ciudad suelen contratar mano de obra latina para cumplir con muchas tareas en el área industrial o en el área de los servicios. En esta publicación te mencionaremos algunos de esos trabajos disponibles para esos jóvenes que residen en la ciudad de El Paso en TX.
Trabajar como cajero/a
Este es uno de los trabajos más ofertados para esas jóvenes latinas que llegan al Paso con la intención de incorporarse al mercado laboral estadounidense. Este trabajo consiste en atender a los clientes en las cajas registradores de esos establecimientos comerciales, tiendas de ropa, restaurantes, y negocios similares. La persona candidata para esta labor debe cumplir con estos requerimientos:
Trabajar como mesero/a
Muchos jóvenes hispanos se ganan la vida laborando como meseros en restaurantes, bares, discotecas o establecimientos de comida en esta ciudad tejana. Vale mencionar que esta labor de atender en mesas tiene la ventaja de las propinas, las cuales suelen ser bastante buenas en esos restaurantes conocidos de la ciudad. También este trabajo puede ser desempeñado en cafetines, bares, y otros sitios afines. La persona interesada en este empleo debe cumplir con estos deberes:

Trabajar como personal de construcción o albañilería

Los oficios de construcción suelen ser de esos trabajos que más se ofrecen a esos latinos jóvenes que llegan al Paso con el propósito de incorporarse de manera inmediata al mercado laboral del país. Este empleo requiere de una serie de requerimientos por parte de la persona interesada, los cuales son:

Entre las labores a llevar a cabo como obrero de construcción o albañilería destacan las siguientes: trasladar escombros; cargar piedras, ladrillos, rocas, bolas de cemento; colocar suelo de cerámica o granito; realizar reparaciones en cocinas empotradas; realizar modificaciones en los tejados; emplear taladros para realizar excavaciones.
Trabajar como ayudante de cocina
La ciudad tejana de El Paso es una de las que más ofrecen vacantes en restaurantes y establecimientos de comida donde suelen ofrecer comida típica mexicana o de otros países hispanos. No pocos de esos jóvenes hispanos se dedican a los trabajos de ayudante de cocina en dichos establecimientos de comida. Entre las funciones a desempeñar destacan las siguientes:

Este trabajo exige que la persona candidata pueda cumplir con estos requerimientos o cumpla con el siguiente perfil:

Tener una edad comprendida entre 21 y 45 años

Tener disposición para laborar de pie durante horas

Tener disponibilidad para asumir horarios nocturnos

Tener la capacidad para levantar sacos pesados.

Esos son algunos de los empleos que puedes llevar a cabo como joven hispano que reside en esta ciudad tejana.

Para obtener más información puedes acudir a las oficinas de esas agencias de empleos ubicadas en la ciudad de El Paso

Trabajos de Medio Tiempo en el Paso TX

La ciudad de El Paso es una de las que más alberga ciudadanos hispanos en todo el estado de Texas. Es importante mencionar que esta ciudad tiene una de las mejores plazas en toda la región, lo cual es ventajoso para esos latinos que quieren cruzar la frontera para encontrar mejores alternativas laborales. Muchos de esos extranjeros latinos se ganan la vida desempeñando oficios de medio tiempo, ya sea en turnos de la mañana o en horarios nocturnos. En esta publicación te mencionaremos algunos de esos trabajos disponibles de medio tiempo para ocupar en El Paso en TX.
Trabajar como mesero/a
Esta labor de atender a los clientes en las mesas de los restaurantes, bares, clubes o discotecas suele constituir la lista de esos trabajos que puedes desempeñar a medio tiempo. En algunos de esos establecimientos de comida se requiere de meseros que puedan asumir turnos variados de media jornada. Entre las funciones a desempeñar como camarero o mesero, destacan las siguientes:

Llevar la comida y bebidas en bandeja

Dar la bienvenida a los clientes

Mostrar el menú

Anotar los pedidos de los clientes

Llevar la factura

Ordenar, decorar y limpiar las mesas cuando sea necesario

La persona candidata para este empleo debe tener buena presencia, tener dominio del inglés, ser una persona responsable, tener buenas habilidades para la comunicación, etc.
Trabajar como personal de vigilancia
Este trabajo consiste en brindar servicios como guardia de seguridad en centros comerciales, urbanizaciones, compañías familiares y apartamentos de la ciudad. En varios de esos lugares se ofrecen horarios de medio turno, el cual puedes combinar con otras obligaciones que tengas. La persona interesada en este empleo debe cumplir con estos requerimientos:
Trabajar como bartender
Esta labor consiste en atender a los clientes en barras de discotecas, restaurantes, cafetines y todo tipo de ambientes festivos donde la gente acude a tomar y pasarla bien. En varios de esos clubes se requiere de bartenders que puedan asumir horarios de medio tiempo. Entre las funciones a desempeñar destacan las siguientes:
Trabajar como cajero/a
Este trabajo tal como su nombre lo indica consiste en atender a personas en la caja registradoras en restaurantes, bares, super mercados, tiendas de ropa, etc. Este trabajo también puedes desempeñar a medio tiempo en la ciudad de El Paso. La persona candidata para este empleo debe cumplir con estos requerimientos:

Tener buenas habilidades para comunicarse

Estar disponible para laborar sentado durante horas

Tener mayoría de edad

Esas son algunas de las labores que puedes llevar a cabo a medio tiempo estando en la ciudad de El Paso en Texas.

Trabajos Desde Casa en el Paso TX

El Paso es una de las ciudades más importantes para esos latinos que quiere salir adelante dentro de los Estados Unidos. Durante años esta ciudad ha sido de enorme relevancia para esos mexicanos y centroamericanos que han decidido emprender una mejor vida en América del norte.

También en los últimos tiempos han sido los venezolanos los que se han sumado a ese flujo de inmigrantes que quiere conseguir un mejor empleo en Texas. Los trabajos desde casa han sido una gran oportunidad para ellos, sobre todo para esos que no tienen papeles. En esta publicación te mencionaremos algunos de esos trabajos disponibles para llevar a cabo desde casa estando en el Paso en Texas.

Trabajos desde casa empacando
Muchas compañías manufactureras que operan en la ciudad del Paso suelen ofrecer la oportunidad a esos empleados para que trabajen desde casa empacando. Entre las funciones más comunes a desempeñar destacan las de embolsar los productos, embalarlos, ordenarlos y colocarlos en los empaques. La persona interesada en este empleo debe tener capacidad para cargar objetos pesados y tener mayoría de edad.
Trabajar desde casa realizando manualidades
Muchos hispanos que se encuentran indocumentados en esta ciudad tejana suelen ganarse la vida asumiendo tareas de manualidades desde sus propias residencias. Este tipo de actividades suelen ser beneficiosas ya que estimular áreas del cerebros relacionadas con la motricidad. Entre las obras de manualidades que puedes desempeñar destacan las siguientes:

Osos de peluche

Porta lapiceros

Casitas de papel

Barquitos de madera

Bisutería

Carritos de madera

Trabajar como niñera
Muchas de esas latinas que cruzan la frontera y llegan a Texas se dedican a los cuidados domésticos en distintas áreas de la ciudad. Este trabajo suele ser de los más importantes para esas jóvenes hispanas que quieren incorporarse de manera inmediata. Algunas ellas indocumentadas pero con ganas de dar lo mejor de sí para ganar dinero. La persona interesada en este trabajo debe cumplir con estos requerimientos:
Trabajar como desde casa como creador/a de contenido
El internet ha brindado muchas oportunidades para esas personas que quieren dedicarse a las labores de contenido para páginas webs y redes sociales. La creación de contenido es una de esas ramas con la que muchos jóvenes hispanos que residen en Usa se están ganando la vida. Este trabajo consiste en crear textos, redacciones, imágenes, símbolos y todo tipo de material que puedan servir como elemento publicitario para posicionar marcas específicas o páginas web´s.

La persona interesada en laborar como creadora de contenido o escritor/a Freelance debe cumplir con estas cualidades o requerimientos:

Trabajos en el Paso TX Sin Papeles - Indocumentados

Texas sigue siendo uno de los lugares más importantes para esos latinos que quiere cruzar la frontera frontera mexicana con el propósito de empezar una mejor vida desde cero, ganar dinero y ayudar a las familias que se quedan en Hispanoamérica.

Una de las ciudades tejanas fronterizas donde más viven latinos es el Paso, el cual es la segunda más importante después de San Diego. En esta oportunidad te mencionarnos algunos de esos trabajos disponibles para desempeñar como latinos sin papeles dentro de la ciudad del Paso en Texas.

Trabajar como obrero de construcción o ayudante
Esta es una de las labores que suelen desempeñar muchos de esos hispanos indocumentados que viven en esta ciudad fronteriza. Este empleo consiste en desempeñar labores en el área de la albañilería o la construcción. Cabe destacar que la persona candidata para estos oficios debe cumplir con una serie requerimientos, los cuales son:

Entre las actividades más comunes para desempeñar están las siguientes: trasladar escombros, realizar reparaciones en los baños, realiza modificaciones en los tejados, armar andamios y escaleras, emplear las carretillas para botar escombros, etc.
Trabajar como lavaplatos
En la ciudad del Paso existen establecimientos de comida rápida que suelen ofrecer trabajo a esos hispanos o extranjeros que se encuentran indocumentados. Vale mencionar que para acceder a este empleo la persona interesada debe tener la disponibilidad de trabajar de pie toda la noche. Tal como su nombre lo indica este trabajo consiste en lavar los platos, cristalería, utensilios, cubiertos, etc.
Trabajar como paseador de mascotas
Esta labor es una de las que más han adquirido importancia en los últimos tiempos en lo que a servicios se refiere. En esta ciudad tejana muchas familias o personas de dinero suelen pagar bien a esos trabajadores que estén dispuestos a pasar sus mascotas durante varias horas a la semana. La persona candidata para este trabajo debe tener pasión por los animales, tener disposición para incorporación inmediata, etc.
Trabajar como ayudante de carpintería
Este trabajo también es uno de los más ofrecidos a esos latinos indocumentados que residen en el Paso. Esta labor consiste en ayudar a los carpinteros en los talleres o compañías de construcción. Las actividades más importantes para llevar a cabo son las cortar madera, tener las herramientas a la mano cuando lo pidan los carpinteros, mantener el espacio de trabajo limpio, limpiar las herramientas, realizar la medida de los cortes de madera, etc.

Esos son algunos de los trabajos para llevar a cabo como extranjero latino sin papeles en Texas, específicamente en la ciudad del Paso.

Trabajos en el Paso TX para Mexicanos

Muchos latinos que llegan a esta ciudad tejana suelen ser mexicanos, y la razón es bastante obvia: El Paso es fronteriza con respecto a México. Esa cercanía con el país hispano ha hecho que muchos de esos ciudadanos mexicanos decidan cruzar la frontera para aprovechar esas oportunidades de empleos que brinda el suelo estadounidense.

Vale destacar esos mexicanos forman parte de esa población latinoamericana que más ha contribuido con el crecimiento económico de esa región de USA. En esta publicación te mencionaremos algunos de esos trabajos disponibles para mexicanos que residan en El Paso en Texas.

Trabajar como mesero/a
No pocos mexicanos que residen en esta ciudad fronteriza de Texas se ganan la vida laborando como meseros en restaurantes, discotecas, establecimientos de comida rápida o cafetines. Este es el típico trabajo de atender a la clientela en las mesas de esos lugares, ya sea de día o en bajo horarios nocturnos. Si eres de esas personas interesadas en trabajar como camarero/a en dichos establecimientos debes cumplir con estas responsabilidades:
Trabajar como personal de limpieza
Los empleos de mantenimiento de limpieza forman parte de esa lista de trabajos que puedes ocupar como extranjero en esta ciudad fronteriza. A menudo muchas compañías contratan los servicios de obreros de limpieza que puedan asumir horarios completos o de media jornada. Entre las actividades laborales a desempeñar suelen destacar las siguientes:
Trabajar como lavaplatos
Esta labor consiste en lavar los platos, cubiertos, cristalería, vajillas, y todo tipo de utensilios que puedan ser empleados durante el servicio de comida. No pocos latinos y mexicanos que residen en esta ciudad tejana se dedican a este trabajo. La persona interesada trabajar como lavaplatos o lavavajillas debe cumplir con estos requerimientos:
Trabajar en restaurantes de comida mexicana
No pocos de esos mexicanos aprovechan sus habilidades y talento en la cocina para trabajar en esos restaurantes de comida latina o mexicana que abundan en la ciudad de El Paso. La gastronomía mexicana es una de las más populares, es por eso que se demandan cocineros con experiencia en la preparación de platos típicos de México y otros países de la región.

Esos son algunos de los empleos disponibles para esos mexicanos que llegan al Paso con la intención de incorporarse al mercado laboral de dicha ciudad. Para obtener más información puedes acudir a esas agencias de empleos ubicadas en Texas.

Trabajos en el Paso TX con Visa

Cuando hablando de el paso, se refiere a la frontera entre México y Estados Unidos que está justo en Texas, en esta vía se pueden encontrar empleos de diferentes tipo pero sobre todo de servicios y comercialización donde es indispensable que tengas un buen trato hacia el cliente.

Texas se caracteriza por ser un buen estado con una economía estable y muchas opciones de trabajo para sus habitantes incluso para los extranjeros que residen en ella, por este paso normalmente ingresan hispanos, los más comunes son mexicanos, haitianos, Cubanos y Venezolanos, quienes llegan al país buscando mejores oportunidades salariales.

Para laborar en Texas específicamente en el paso debes contar con una visa mínima temporal de trabajo, para que puedas trabajar de forma legal y además adquirir los beneficios que te otorga la ley como trabajador, generalmente es una zona donde hay vacantes de empleos sobre todo en las tiendas y factorías.

Para laborar en esta área debes tener los siguientes requisitos:
Trabajar en tienda de alimentos en el paso Tx
Las tiendas de alimentos se dedican a comercializar vivieres y diferentes productos alimenticios para los clientes, para poder trabajar en un establecimiento de estos debes conocer los billetes oficiales en el país y sus denominaciones y los cambios entre la moneda Mexicana y Estadounidense, conocer los productos que se venden y ser cordial con los clientes con el fin de brindar un buen servicio.

Estas serían tus responsabilidades:

Mantener las áreas limpias y ordenadas

Abastecer los anaqueles con los productos que falten

Realizar inventario de almacén

Registrar pagos

Ayudar y asesorar a los clientes

Organizar mercancía en la tienda

Las remuneraciones son de 10 $ por hora aproximadamente

Trabajar como cajero en el paso Texas
El empleo de cajero va dirigido también a la atención al cliente y el buen trato a cada cliente y comprador, pero en este caso el cajero o cajera debe conocer muy bien las denominaciones de las monedas tanto estadounidense como mexicana y también tener habilidades numéricas para poder manejar la caja, dar cambios a los clientes, cobrar y demás, también es importante mantener una buena presencia y ser amable y cordial con los clientes.

Estas serían tus responsabilidades:

Las remuneraciones serian de 15 $ por hora aproximadamente

100 Ofertas de Trabajos Disponibles en el Paso Texas a Jornada Completa

El paso de Texas al pasar de los años se ha convetido en una de las plazas mas grande. Por ello cuenta con diversos tipos de trabajos. de acuerdo a tu estatus migratorio, puedes encontrar diversos empleos, a continuacion se los mencionaremos:

En el area de limpieza se cuenta con grandes cadenas de hoteles y turismo lo cual hace una gran posibilidad de encontrar trabajo.

Existen vacante de mensajeria y recepcionista para industrias importantes.

Tambien para chofer de vehiculo y motos.

Entrenadores deportivos

Meseros, cocineros y ayudantes de cocinas en restaurantes y hotetes, entre muchas mas opciones los cuales dependera de tu oficio.

Existen trabajos en obras de construcciones y remodelaciones de apartamentos.

Para personas que tienen conocimientos en gerencia y en numero contables también existe una diversidad de trabajos disponibles lo requisitos que necesitan son mayores.

Esta es una zona de los Estados Unidos donde español se habla con bastante fluidez y naturalidad, vemos hasta mismo norteamericano hablando español con mucha soltura y bien pronunciado.

A continuación te mostraremos las mejores opciones de trabajo en el paso de tx en español, estos empleos son tanto para mujeres, jóvenes y hombres, no importa la edad o nacionalidad.

Ofertas de Empleos en El Paso TX

Sigue estos paso
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Trabajos Disponibles en el Paso Texas Empleos en Español - 2023

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En este articulo conoceras la amplitud de trabajos disponibles que existe en la cuidad del paso de Texas, esta hermosa localidad cuenta en un calido y fresco ambiente y ofrece diversos tipos de trabajos. Gracias a la influencia de latinos en el paso Texas, se cuenta con grandes industrias en el mercado.

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"Hispanic and Latino are often used interchangeably though they actually mean two different things. Hispanic refers to people who speak Spanish or are descended from Spanish-speaking populations, while Latino refers to people who are from or descended from people from Latin America."

The Difference Between Hispanic and Latino (thoughtco.com)

-Maria Tristan

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Hispanic and Latino are often used interchangeably though they actually mean two different things. Hispanic refers to people who speak Spanish or are descended from Spanish-speaking populations, while Latino refers to people who are from or descended from people from Latin America.

In today's United States, these terms are often thought of as racial categories and are often used to describe race, in the way that we also use White, Black, and Asian. However, the populations they describe are actually composed of various racial groups, so using them as racial categories is inaccurate. They work more accurately as descriptors of ethnicity, but even that is a stretch given the diversity of peoples they represent.

That said, they are important as identities for many people and communities, and they are used by the government to study the population, by law enforcement to implement the law, and by researchers of many disciplines to study social, economic, and political trends, as well as social problems. For these reasons, it's important to understand what they mean literally, how they are used by the state in formal ways, and how those ways sometimes differ from how people use them socially.

What Hispanic Means and Where It Came From

In a literal sense, Hispanic refers to people who speak Spanish or who are descended from Spanish speaking lineage. This English word evolved from the Latin word Hispanicus, which is reported to have been used to refer to people living in Hispania-the Iberian Peninsula in today's Spain -during the Roman Empire.

Hispanic refers to people who speak Spanish, but Brazil (Latin America's largest country) speaks mostly Portuguese. Instead, the term centers white people from Spain who have more in common with other Europeans than Latinx people.

Since Hispanic refers to what language people speak or that their ancestors spoke, it refers to an element of culture. This means that, as an identity category, it is closest to the definition of ethnicity, which groups people based on a shared common culture. However, people of many different ethnicities can identify as Hispanic, so it's actually more broad than ethnicity. Consider that people who originate from Mexico, the Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico will have come from very different cultural backgrounds, excepting their language and possibly their religion. Because of this, many people considered Hispanic today equate their ethnicity with their or their ancestors' country of origin, or with an ethnic group within this country.

The word, hispanic, is a misguided attempt by the US government to categorize people of Black, Indigenous, and European descent. "According to the Pew Research Center, census records from 1930 show that in that year, the government counted Latinx people under the catchall category "Mexican." The same reductive reasoning was used to create the blanket term, Hispanic, during the Nixon administration. It's a term created by white people, as such many Latinx folks do not identify as Hispanic.

Self-Reporting as Hispanic in the Census

In today's Census, people self-report their answers and have the option to choose whether or not they are of Hispanic descent. Because the Census Bureau incorrectly considers Hispanic a term that describes ethnicity and not race, people can self-report a variety of racial categories as well as Hispanic origin when they complete the form. However, Hispanic describes Spansh speakers in the same way that Anglophone or Francophone refer to English and French-speaking people.

This is a matter of identity, but also of the structure of the question about race included in the Census. Race options include White, Black, Asian, American Indian, Pacific Islander, or some other race. Some people who identify as Hispanic may also identify with one of these racial categories, but many do not, and as a result, choose to write in Hispanic as their race. Elaborating on this, Pew Research Center wrote in 2015:

"[Our] survey of multiracial Americans finds that, for two-thirds of Hispanics, their Hispanic background is a part of their racial background - not something separate. This suggests that Hispanics have a unique view of race that doesn't necessarily fit within the official U.S. definitions."

So while Hispanic might refer to ethnicity in the dictionary and governmental definition of the term, in practice, it often refers to race.

What Latino Means and Where It Came From

Unlike Hispanic, which refers to language, Latino is a term that more so refers to geography. At its heart, it is used to signify that a person is from or descended from Latin America and has a mix of Black, Indigenous, and European ancestry. It is, in fact, a shortened form of the Spanish phrase latinoamericano -Latin American, in English.

Like Hispanic, Latino does not technically speaking refer to race. Anybody from Central or South America and the Caribbean can be described as Latino. Within that group, like within Hispanic, there are varieties of races. Latinos can be White, Black, Indigenous American, mestizo, mixed, and even of Asian descent.

Latinos can also be Hispanic, but not necessarily. For example, people from Brazil are Latino, but they are not Hispanic, since Portuguese, and not Spanish, is their native language. Similarly, people may be Hispanic, but not Latino, like those from Spain who do not also live in or have lineage in Latin America.

Self-Reporting as Latino in the Census

It was not until the year 2000 that Latino first appeared on the U.S. Census as an option for ethnicity, combined with the response "Other Spanish/Hispanic/Latino." In the 2010 Census, it was included as "Another Hispanic/Latino/Spanish origin."

However, as with Hispanic, common usage and self-reporting on the Census indicates that many people identify their race as Latino. This is especially true in the western United States, where the term is more commonly used, in part because it offers a distinction from the identities of Mexican American and Chicano-terms that specifically refer to descendants of people from Mexico.

Pew Research Center found in 2015 that "69% of young Latino adults ages 18 to 29 say their Latino background is part of their racial background, as does a similar share of those in other age groups, including those 65 and older." Because Latino has come to be identified as a race in practice and associated with brown skin and origin in Latin America, Black Latinos often identify differently. While they are likely to be read simply as Black within U.S. society, due to their skin color, many identify as Afro-Caribbean or Afro-Latino -terms which serve to distinguish them both from brown-skinned Latinos and from descendants of the North American population of formerly enslaved Black people.

So, like with Hispanic, the standard meaning of Latino often differs in practice. Because practice differs from policy, the U.S. Census Bureau is poised to change how it asks about race and ethnicity in the coming 2020 Census. The possible new phrasing of these questions would allow for Hispanic and Latino to be recorded as the respondent's self-identified race.

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What's the Difference Between Hispanic and Latino?

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Hispanic and Latino are often used interchangeably though they actually mean two different things. Hispanic refers to people who speak Spanish or are descended from Spanish-speaking populations, while Latino refers to people who are from or descended from people from Latin America.

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"Latinoamérica o América Latina es el conjunto de las naciones americanas descendientes de las colonias españolas, portuguesas y francesas establecidas a partir del siglo XVI. Incluye los diversos grados de mestizaje producidos en ellas entre las etnias y culturas: europea, aborigen americana y negra africana. Esta última llegó al continente esclavizada por los europeos."

Fuente: https://concepto.de/latinoamerica/#ixzz7tRlX2apE

https://concepto.de/latinoamerica/
-Maria Tristan

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Te explicamos qué es Latinoamérica, cómo es su población, economía y religiones. Además, información sobre salud, pobreza y ciencia.

¿Qué es Latinoamérica?

Latinoamérica o América Latina es el conjunto de las naciones americanas descendientes de las colonias españolas, portuguesas y francesas establecidas a partir del siglo XVI. Incluye los diversos grados de mestizaje producidos en ellas entre las etnias y culturas: europea, aborigen americana y negra africana. Esta última llegó al continente esclavizada por los europeos.

Nos referimos a una de las regiones más diversas geográfica, biológica y culturalmente. Está compuesta por 21 países: Argentina, Bolivia, Brasil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haití, Honduras, México, Nicaragua, Panamá, Paraguay, Perú, Puerto Rico (estado asociado a los Estados Unidos), República Dominicana, Uruguay y Venezuela.

Estas naciones se reparten a lo largo de una superficie de más de veinte millones de kilómetros cuadrados, casi un 13,5% de la superficie emergida del planeta.

En principio, su historia comienza hace más de 4.000 años, con las primeras culturas precolombinas surgidas en Mesoamérica o en la región incaica, y se extiende a lo largo de más de tres mil años hasta su traumático encuentro con los colonos españoles.

En ese momento, en el siglo XV, se inició una larga y sangrienta guerra de conquista, que diezmó la población indígena del continente. También abrió las puertas para el surgimiento de una nueva cultura, que suele llamarse crisol de razas, por sus elevados niveles de mezcla, con la incorporación de los africanos a las colonias, especialmente en la región caribeña.

La independencia de la mayoría de los países latinoamericanos se dio entre el siglo XIX y XX, fruto de las crisis europeas que propiciaron el momento para las Guerras independentistas. Además se dieron diversos proyectos de integración regional, que dieron más o menos resultado.

A lo largo del tiempo, la región se ha ido consolidando como uno de los sitios de mayor interés económico y cultural de Occidente, a pesar de sus enormes discrepancias, desigualdades y su curioso sentido de identidad en medio de lo diverso.

Ver además: Colonialismo

Usos del término "Latinoamérica"

Se trata, en principio, de una región geográfica, cultural y étnica. Sin embargo, incluso así resulta siempre complejo definirla en términos precisos, dada la enorme diversidad racial, cultural, lingüística e histórica de la región.

Por otro lado, puede comprenderse como la unión de varias subregiones, como son el Caribe y las Antillas, los Andes, el Río de la Plata, el Gran Chaco, la Amazonía, Centroamérica y la antigua región mesoamericana.

Por esta razón se emplean a menudo distintos términos para nombrarla, como Hispanoamérica (únicamente aquellas naciones en donde se habla español) o Iberoamérica (para incluir en la categoría anterior a Brasil). De hecho, el término mismo América Latina proviene del francés Amérique latine, para oponer esta región a la América anglosajona, fruto de la colonización inglesa.

A pesar de contar con sus detractores, el término Latinoamérica tiene la ventaja de incluir también a colonias francesas que han tenido poco contacto histórico con el resto de las naciones. Por eso, suele emplearse "América Latina y El Caribe" para referirse a la región geográfica por debajo de los Estados Unidos, incluidas las naciones de habla francesa, inglesa o neerlandesa.

Población de Latinoamérica

En América Latina habitan alrededor de 617.685 millones de personas, en una población mayoritariamente joven y predominantemente urbana. De hecho, un 82% de la población reside en las ciudades.

Especialmente en las grandes regiones metropolitanas de ciudades como Ciudad de México (alrededor de 20 millones de habitantes), Sao Paolo (alrededor de 19 millones de habitantes), Buenos Aires (alrededor de 12 millones de habitantes) o Río de Janeiro (alrededor de 10 millones de habitantes), por nombrar apenas las principales.

La población latinoamericana es étnicamente diversa, con predominancia de cuatro grandes grupos:

Amerindios y descendientes de los pueblos originarios.

Blancos criollos descendientes de europeos.

Afroamericanos descendientes de los esclavos de la colonia.

Una variadísima gama de mestizos, dado que se trató de una región con un intenso sincretismo.

Además, Latinoamérica ha recibido posteriormente migrantes de Europa, Asia y Medio Oriente, siendo uno de los grandes receptores de flujos migratorios del mundo.

Economía de Latinoamérica

La región latinoamericana es dispar en su desempeño económico y en sus políticas económicas, por lo que ha constituido una región inestable desde épocas tempranas. Es posible diferenciar tres grupos económicos latinoamericanos, que son:

Países con economías de libre mercado, que siguen los modelos de Estados Unidos y Europa, por ejemplo: Perú, Chile, México y Colombia, países fundadores de la Liga del Pacífico, junto a Panamá o Costa Rica.

Países con economías mixtas y modelos proteccionistas, enfocados en la Economía social de mercado, como pueden ser Argentina, Brasil, Uruguay, Ecuador, Bolivia y Paraguay.

Países con economías cerradas o semicerradas, generalmente siguiendo el modelo económico marxista, como son Cuba, Venezuela y Nicaragua.

Las economías latinoamericanas suelen depender de la exportación de bienes y servicios, generalmente de la materia prima. Existen países agrícolas, ganaderos y mineros, siendo el perfecto ejemplo de esto último Venezuela, el único país netamente petrolero de la región.

Los países más desarrollados económicamente de acuerdo a su PBI per cápita son Chile (19.474 US$), Argentina (18.709 US$) y Panamá (16.993 US$). Por otro lado, los más altos índices de desarrollo humano (IDH) se registran en Chile (0,843), Argentina (0,825), Uruguay (0,804), Costa Rica (0,793) y Panamá (0,789).

Salud en Latinoamérica

Este es otro rubro en el que América Latina se muestra sumamente desigual, aunque a grandes rasgos puede decirse que existen problemas en la accesibilidad, segmentación y protección social, generalmente derivados de la pobreza.

Por ejemplo, según cifras de CEPAL, en países como Ecuador y Guatemala las clases pudientes absorben un 30% del gasto público en salud, relegando a las pobres a poco más del 12%. Por otro lado, en países como Chile, Costa Rica y Uruguay el 30% del gasto público en salud está dirigido a la protección de los menos favorecidos.

En la mayoría de los países el déficit presupuestario es el principal impedimento en la atención pública de la salud.

Pobreza en Latinoamérica

La pobreza es uno de los grandes problemas de América Latina. En todos los países que la componen existen importantes indicadores de pobreza, siendo los casos más graves los de Honduras (65,7%), México (60,6%) y Argentina (30,3%).

Otros casos particulares, como el de Venezuela, son fruto de debate y polémica, al no contar con cifras oficiales creíbles. Sin embargo, la pobreza en años recientes ha alcanzado niveles de emergencia humanitaria, al elevarse la mortandad infantil, la reincidencia de enfermedades erradicadas y generando un éxodo de alrededor de cuatro millones de personas en menos de cuatro años.

Por otro lado, en el resto del continente latinoamericano, conforme a estimaciones históricas del Banco Mundial, la clase media registró un crecimiento sostenido y significativo que ronda el 50%, alcanzando casi el 30% de la población total de la región.

Otro tanto ocurre con la violencia urbana y la criminalidad, que alcanza en algunos países como Honduras, El Salvador, Venezuela, Guatemala y Brasil cifras astronómicas, mientras que en otros países se asocia más bien a procesos histórico-políticos, como es el caso del paramilitarismo colombiano.

Es decir que tanto la pobreza como la violencia presentan índices desiguales dependiendo del país.

Idiomas de Latinoamérica

En América Latina predominan los idiomas romances llegados de Europa durante la colonia, que son el español (66%), portugués (33%) y francés (1%). Sin embargo, existen también un importante número de lenguas aborígenes vivas, como son:

El quechua. Con 9 a 14 millones de hablantes entre Perú, Bolivia, Chile, Argentina y Ecuador.

El guaraní. Con 7 a 12 millones de hablantes entre Argentina, Paraguay y Bolivia.

El aymara. Con 2 a 3 millones de hablantes entre Argentina, Chile, Bolivia y Perú.

El náhuatl. Con 1,3 a 1,5 millones de hablantes en México.

El maya.. Con 0,9 a 1,2 millones de hablantes entre Guatemala, El Salvador y México.

Religión de Latinoamérica

En esta región, la religión mayoritaria es el cristianismo católico, heredado de la colonia española y portuguesa, y con una importante participación en la historia del continente desde la llegada de los colonizadores europeos. Sin embargo, existe una creciente representación de otras sectas cristianas protestantes, especialmente en los países con mayor proporción de pobreza.

En algunos países de mayoría étnica indígena, se conservan ritos y prácticas religiosas de los tiempos precolombinos, especialmente en Bolivia, El Salvador, Guatemala, México y Perú. Por ejemplo, la celebración del día de los muertos y los ritos de la Pachamama.

En cambio, en la región caribeña la africanidad dejó su huella cultural, conservándose la religión yoruba o de otros pueblos africanos esclavizados, conocida como santería, candomblé, macumba o vudú. Estos ritos tienen menor aceptación formal en la mayoría de los países, aunque son parte del bagaje cultural de países como Cuba, Brasil, Haití, República Dominicana o Venezuela.

Turismo en Latinoamérica

La llamativa cultura latinoamericana es un importante atractivo turístico, a pesar de que las condiciones de vida no siempre acompañen al incentivo. México ha sido el país más visitado por el turismo internacional de América Latina durante varios años, y está entre los 10 países más atractivos del mundo entero para el turismo, recibiendo más de 30 millones de visitantes anuales.

El turismo es una importante fuente de ingresos en la región. Naciones como Argentina, Brasil, Chile, República Dominicana o Colombia invierten importantes recursos en fomentarlo, recibiendo anualmente entre 4 y 6 millones de turistas en sus territorios.

Arte de Latinoamérica

El arte latinoamericano es tan complejo y diverso como su cultura. La constante indagación de estos países en su identidad y su historia ha rendido a menudo frutos en diversas áreas:

Literatura. La región cuenta con varios premios Nobel entre poetas y narradores como Gabriela Mistral, Miguel Ángel Asturias, Pablo Neruda, Octavio Paz, Mario Vargas Llosa y Gabriel García Márquez.

Pintura. Incluye nombres mundialmente reconocidos como Diego Rivera, Frida Kahlo, Armando Reverón, Wilfredo Lam, Fernando Botero, Remedios Varo, Xul Solar, Julio Le Parc o Carlos Cruz-Diez.

Ha alternado entre el clasicismo europeo y la incorporación de ritmos americanos, valiéndose de la influencia popular.

El arte latinoamericano es tan vasto que requeriría un artículo en sí mismo, pero destacan también entre sus talentos el muralismo, el cine (especialmente en Brasil, Argentina, México y Cuba), la arquitectura y el teatro.

La cultura latinoamericana ha atravesado diversas épocas de florecimiento y abundancia. Su historia compleja de conflictos, guerras y contradicciones ha engendrado una de las culturas más singulares de Occidente.

Ciencia y tecnología en Latinoamérica

El campo científico y tecnológico latinoamericano no es desdeñable, a pesar de que sus modelos de desarrollo fueron durante años dependientes de la importación de saberes de Europa y sobre todo de Estados Unidos. La astronomía es un área de gran desarrollo, especialmente en Chile, y en otros centros de observación en Argentina, Brasil, Colombia, Venezuela y México.

De hecho, en Costa Rica se desarrolló desde 2005 un motor a plasma, que permitió nuevas misiones espaciales, dado que este país es, junto a los Estados Unidos, el único en el que se ha podido hacer una descarga de plasma en laboratorio.

Brasil suele ocupar la delantera en inversión tecnológica. Fue el primer país latinoamericano en poner en órbita sus propios satélites en 1985, seguido luego por Argentina en 1990, y luego varios países suramericanos. Entre 2007 y 2008 Brasil experimentó el mayor crecimiento científico del mundo, superando a Rusia y a los Países Bajos y quedando en el 13° puesto a nivel global.

Sigue con: América del Sur

Referencias

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Latinoamérica - Concepto, países, cultura, ciencia y turismo

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Te explicamos qué es Latinoamérica, cómo es su población, economía y religiones. Además, información sobre salud, pobreza y ciencia. Latinoamérica o América Latina es el conjunto de las naciones americanas descendientes de las colonias españolas, portuguesas y francesas establecidas a partir del siglo XVI.

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“Latinx fue claramente una solución que se propuso afuera del mundo hispanohablante”, señaló. - David Pharies

https://www.infobae.com/america/agencias/2023/02/02/propuesta-de-ley-de-connecticut-prohibiria-termino-latinx/

- Anna Siegle

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El Capitolio estatal de Connecticut en Hartford, Connecticut, el 1 de octubre de 2021. (AP Foto/Jessica Hill, Archivo)

HARTFORD, Connecticut, EE.UU. (AP) - Un grupo de legisladores hispanos en Connecticut ha propuesto que el estado siga el ejemplo de Arkansas y prohíba el término "latinx" en documentos oficiales, bajo el argumento de que es ofensivo para los hispanohablantes.

El término es usado como una alternativa de género neutro para "latino" y "latina", y es útil para apoyar a las personas que no se identifican como hombre o como mujer, según los defensores de la palabra.

Pero el representante estatal Geraldo Reyes Jr, el principal patrocinador de la propuesta de ley y uno de los cinco demócratas hispanos que la firmaron, afirma que latinx no es una palabra en español, sino un término "wokeísta" que es ofensivo para la gran población puertorriqueña de Connecticut.

"Soy de ascendencia puertorriqueña y me parece ofensivo", dijo.

El mes pasado, Arkansas prohibió que funcionarios públicos usaran latinx en documentos oficiales como parte de varias órdenes emitidas por la gobernadora republicana, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, a pocas horas de haber asumido el cargo.

Reyes dice que su motivación puede ser diferente a la de Sanders, pero que cree que su decisión fue la correcta.

La Liga de Ciudadanos Latinoamericanos Unidos, el grupo de derechos civiles latinos más antiguo en Estados Unidos, anunció en 2021 que ya no usaría el término latinx.

"En el idioma español, que tiene siglos de antigüedad, por defecto es latino para todos", dijo Reyes. "Incluye a todos. No necesitaron crear una palabra, ya existe".

Pero Maia Gil'Adi, profesora de "Literatura latinx y multiétnica" en la Universidad de Boston, dijo que latinx se remonta a la juventud latino y latina y a la cultura queer de la década de 1990, y que la "x" se usa para reconocer las raíces indígenas de muchas personas.

"La palabra latino es increíblemente excluyente, tanto para las mujeres como para las personas que no se conforman con el género", dijo. "Y el término latinx es muy útil por la forma en que desafía esas concepciones".

David Pharies, profesor de español en la Universidad de Florida, dijo que otro movimiento reemplazaría la "o" y la "a" en muchos sustantivos en español con una "e". Dijo que sería más fácil pronunciar para los hispanohablantes que la palabra latinx.

"Latinx fue claramente una solución que se propuso afuera del mundo hispanohablante", señaló.

No está claro con qué frecuencia el término latinx se ha usado en documentos oficiales. Una búsqueda en el portal del gobierno estatal arrojó 945 enlaces a documentos tales como comunicados de prensa, blogs y reportes. Michelle Dumas Keuler, abogada de la Comisión de Derechos Humanos y Oportunidades, dijo que, cuando se lo solicitan, usa el término en cualquier denuncia que presente sobre vivienda, empleo y otros tipos de discriminación, según Hearst Connecticut Media.

Reyes dijo que espera que haya una audiencia sobre la iniciativa de ley ante la Comisión para la Administración Gubernamental y Elecciones de la legislatura con mayoría demócrata durante el actual periodo de sesiones.

El vocero del gobernador demócrata Ned Lamont, Adam Joseph, dijo que la oficina del gobernador seguirá el debate conforme la propuesta avance por la legislatura.

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Propuesta de ley de Connecticut prohibiría término "latinx"

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El Capitolio estatal de Connecticut en Hartford, Connecticut, el 1 de octubre de 2021. (AP Foto/Jessica Hill, Archivo) HARTFORD, Connecticut, EE.UU. (AP) - Un grupo de legisladores hispanos en Connecticut ha propuesto que el estado siga el ejemplo de Arkansas y prohíba el término "latinx" en documentos oficiales, bajo el argumento de que es ofensivo para los hispanohablantes.

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“Growing up, there wasn’t an exact Hispanic role model that I had. I didn’t realize how big a difference I was making, going to the Olympics and being Hispanic, until I would be in an autograph session, and parents would come up to me and say, ‘You know, our family is so proud of you, you’re really doing Hispanics proud.’”
— Laurie Hernández

https://www.goodgoodgood.co/articles/hispanic-heritage-month-quotes

-Anna Siegle

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“Bolivar prophesied shrewdly that the United States seemed fated by Providence to plague America with woes in the name of liberty. General Motors or IBM will not step graciously into our shoes and raise the old banners of unity and emancipation which fell in battle; nor can heroes betrayed yesterday be redeemed by the traitors of today. It is a big load of rottenness that has to be sent to the bottom of the sea on the march to Latin America's reconstruction. The task lies in the hands of the dispossessed, the humiliated, the accursed. The Latin American cause is above all a social cause: the rebirth of Latin America must start with the overthrow of its masters, country by country. We are entering times of rebellion and change. There are those who believe that destiny rests on the knees of the gods; but the truth is that it confronts the conscience of man with a burning challenge.” - Eduardo Galeano

https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/latin-america

- Anna Siegle

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“The Latino population has become such a presence. We are part of the American tapestry in a very profound way, in every area you can think of, and are very significant in popular culture.” – Jimmy Smits
https://teambuilding.com/blog/hispanic-heritage-month-quotes

https://www.vulture.com/2017/02/jimmy-smits-on-24-legacy-the-get-down.html

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Hablan del fracaso del socialismo, pero ¿dónde está el éxito del capitalismo en África, Asia y América Latina? - Fidel Castro

~Geormani Moore

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No creo que el racismo contra los latinos haya empeorado últimamente, pero su percepción de estar siendo discriminados sí está en aumento. Es un fenómeno alimentado, al menos en parte, por la creciente retórica política antiinmigrantes, y la desafortunada tendencia de asociar a los latinos con los inmigrantes
-Wendy D. Roth, profesora de sociología en la Universidad de Columbia Británica
Latinos en los Estados Unidos: ¿la discriminación aumentó o ahora es más visible? - Infobae

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Dos escenas de discriminación explícita contra empleadas latinas en dos comercios de Estados Unidos

El hombre, de unos 60 años, entró a la hamburguesería ubicada en Houston, Texas, y se acercó al mostrador. Lo atendió María, una de las cajeras. A ella le mostró un cupón que, según él, lo hacía acreedor de una hamburguesa gratis, y solicitó que se la dieran.

Cuando la empleada se negó, el cliente estalló. "¡Vas a ser despedida!", le gritó. Luego de preguntarle su nombre, pasó del maltrato genérico a la xenofobia: "Adiós, María. Te voy a comprar un boleto de regreso a México".

La escena fue registrada por una comensal indignada y se viralizó a comienzos de la semana. Diez días antes, se había producido una situación bastante parecida en un restaurante de Manhattan. El protagonista fue el abogado Aaron Schlossberg, que no toleró escuchar a una mesera pronunciando palabras en otro idioma.

"Tu personal está hablando en español a los clientes cuando debieran estar hablando en inglés. Esto es Estados Unidos", le dijo iracundo al encargado del local, mientras una mujer lo filmaba con su celular. "Si tienen las agallas de venir aquí y vivir de mi dinero, porque yo pago por su seguridad social, pago por su capacidad para estar aquí, lo menos que pueden hacer es hablar inglés", exclamó Schlossberg.

Si estos fueran episodios aislados, no habría que preocuparse demasiado. En todas partes del mundo hay personas intolerantes. Sin embargo, cuando se tiene en cuenta que el 78% de los latinos que viven en Estados Unidos dicen que su comunidad es discriminada, esos casos cobran otra relevancia.

"No estoy seguro de que la discriminación haya empeorado. Pero las actitudes y acciones hostiles contra los latinos se han vuelto ciertamente más visibles y corrientes", dijo a Infobae el politólogo Vladimir E. Medenica, investigador de la Universidad de Chicago.

"Hemos visto tanto a particulares como a agentes gubernamentales, en lugares como Nueva York, Montana y otros, acosando a gente por el solo hecho de hablar en español. Ciudadanos estadounidenses han sido detenidos por el ICE (Servicio de Inmigración)".

Una comunidad cada vez más importante

Según datos de la Oficina del Censo de los Estados Unidos, hay 57,5 millones de latinos viviendo en el país. Es la minoría étnica más numerosa y está en aumento: creció 2% en los últimos dos años y se espera que en 2060 sean 119 millones. Actualmente representan el 17,8% de la población estadounidense y se estima que llegarían al 28,6% en los próximos 50 años.

El 34,2% de los hispanos son inmigrantes y el 65,8% nacieron en territorio norteamericano. Sin diferenciar entre extranjeros y nativos, el 63,2% son de origen mexicano. El 9,5% son de Puerto Rico, el 3,8% de El Salvador, el 3.9% de Cuba, el 3.3% de República Dominicana, y el 2.5% de Guatemala.

Algunos números permiten dimensionar el tipo de inserción que tienen en la sociedad. Por ejemplo, sólo el 9,2% votó en las últimas elecciones presidenciales. Como contrapartida, 1,2 millones de latinos forman o han formado parte de las Fuerzas Armadas.

En enero pasado se conoció un dato alentador: el desempleo entre los miembros de esta comunidad llegó a su mínimo histórico, 4,7%, tras varios años de descenso sostenido. No obstante, un 19,4% está por debajo de la línea de pobreza y el 16% carece de seguro médico.

" La discriminación hacia los latinos, como hacia los afroamericanos, es preponderante en diferentes ámbitos e industrias -dijo Medenica-. Si se miran medidas como el ingreso, la riqueza, la propiedad, la salud y la educación, se encuentran diferencias desproporcionadas entre los distintos grupos raciales. Los blancos cosechan la mayor parte de los beneficios, y los latinos y los afroamericanos están en el fondo".

Las caras de la discriminación

El ámbito donde más discriminados se sienten los latinos es el laboral. El 33% sufrió algún tipo de hostigamiento buscando trabajo, según una encuesta nacional realizada el año pasado por la red de medios NPR, la Robert Wood Johnson Foundation y la Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Un 32% se sintió segregado por el salario percibido y por la falta de oportunidades de ascenso.

"En mis investigaciones encontré que las leyes de Inglés Oficial (están vigentes en 32 estados y obligan a usar sólo el idioma inglés en todos los asuntos públicos) están correlacionadas con inexplicables brechas salariales para los inmigrantes. Además, descubrí que 287 políticas que permiten a las fuerzas de seguridad actuar como agentes migratorios llevan a lo mismo. Creo que esa brecha de ingresos existe por la discriminación que hay contra los inmigrantes, particularmente contra los latinos", explicó a Infobae Danielle Drory, doctora en leyes y economía de la Universidad de Vanderbilt.

El 31% de los consultados en la encuesta dijo haber sentido discriminación tratando de alquilar o de comprar una casa. Un 27% manifestó haber sido víctima de xenofobia interactuando con la Policía, un 20% yendo al médico y un 19% en la universidad.

"Hay discriminación en varias circunstancias de la vida, en las calles, en otros lugares públicos y en el trabajo. También en la política, como se ve en la supresión del voto latino por parte del Partido Republicano, especialmente en el Sudoeste, como en Texas, donde la mitad de los niños que nacen son hispanos. Rara vez son elegidos para ocupar los principales cargos políticos en cualquiera de los partidos", dijo a Infobae el sociólogo Joe Feagin, especialista en estudios raciales y étnicos de la Universidad de Texas A&M.

Cuando se les pregunta por las diferentes manifestaciones de rechazo que padecen, el 37% del total de los hispanos menciona los murmullos. Entre los nativos, la proporción sube a 49%, pero baja a 25% entre los inmigrantes. El dato parece paradójico, ya que serían más discriminados los latinos nacidos en Estados Unidos que los extranjeros. Una hipótesis posible es que, en promedio, llevan muchos más años viviendo en el país, razón por la cual tuvieron mayores oportunidades de enfrentarse al racismo.

La segunda expresión de rechazo son los comentarios ofensivos, destacados por el 33% de los encuestados. El 15% señaló otro tipo de desprecio: enfrentarse con personas que actúan con miedo ante ellos, como si fueran peligrosos. La proporción trepa a 24% entre los nativos y cae a sólo 5% entre los inmigrantes.

Ronald E. Hall, profesor de la Escuela de Trabajo Social de la Universidad Estatal de Michigan, sostuvo que no todos los miembros de la comunidad están igualmente expuestos. "Las percepciones de los latinos siguen las líneas del color de piel. Los más discriminados son los de complexión negra, como los afrocubanos, por ejemplo, que son incluso segregados por otros hispanos", afirmó en diálogo con Infobae.

Razones del rechazo a los latinos

"No hay una sola explicación de las actitudes negativas hacia los latinos en Estados Unidos -dijo Medenica-. Algunas personas, como los miembros del Ku Klux Klan y de otros grupos supremacistas, creen simplemente que son inferiores a los blancos. Pero habitualmente hay gente que cree en estereotipos groseramente equivocados acerca de los latinos, como que son haraganes, poco educados y con bajas calificaciones. Esas imágenes están exacerbadas por una historia y por políticas de las que muchos no son conscientes o prefieren ignorar".

Cuando se les pregunta a los hispanos por qué creen que hay discriminación contra ellos, el 47% dice que es por los prejuicios que tienen los individuos. Pero un 37% acusa a las leyes y a las políticas públicas, y un 14% a ambos componentes por igual. Si bien no existen hoy normas de segregación, como había contra los afroamericanos en algunos estados hace 50 años, lo que muchos ven es que hay un trato diferencial por parte de las instituciones estatales y de algunos de sus agentes.

" No creo que el racismo contra los latinos haya empeorado últimamente, pero su percepción de estar siendo discriminados sí está en aumento. Es un fenómeno alimentado, al menos en parte, por la creciente retórica política antiinmigrantes, y la desafortunada tendencia de asociar a los latinos con los inmigrantes", dijo a Infobae Wendy D. Roth, profesora de sociología en la Universidad de Columbia Británica, en Vancouver, Canadá.

Que gran parte de los hispanos hayan sido víctimas de alguna forma de discriminación a lo largo de su vida no significa que la mayoría de los estadounidenses sean racistas. Está claro. Sobre todo en las grandes ciudades, que son cosmopolitas, prima un ambiente de respeto hacia la diversidad étnica.

Es una porción minoritaria de la sociedad norteamericana la que tiene diversos grados de xenofobia, de rechazo a todo lo que consideran diferente de lo que -en su cabeza- es la esencia étnica y cultural de Estados Unidos. Esa actitud se vuelve especialmente violenta en la medida en que el país acrecienta su perfil pluriétnico y multicultural, lo cual pone en riesgo la preservación de esa identidad originaria que quieren defender.

"Muchos estadounidenses se sienten amenazados por el cambio demográfico y cultural que implica el crecimiento de los inmigrantes y de la población no blanca -continuó Roth-. No pasa sólo con los latinos, pero ellos conforman el mayor grupo migrante. Se habla mucho de que Estados Unidos va a ser una nación de minorías étnicas en menos de 50 años, y eso asusta a las personas que han tenido una posición privilegiada en el pasado, temerosas de que su grupo pierda estatus político y cultural".

Si las tensiones raciales están en aumento es, en gran medida, porque esa mezcla de prejuicios y temores, que ya estaba presente en la mente de muchos, empezó a ser activada políticamente. El tema irrumpió con fuerza en la campaña electoral de 2016 y continúa en el centro de la escena, principalmente por la línea dura que promueve el gobierno de Trump con la inmigración, a la cual considera responsable de una supuesta decadencia del país.

" Algunos investigadores están hablando del 'efecto Trump'. La exposición a su retórica ofensiva hace que algunas personas puedan empezar a decir cosas ofensivas. Cuando el Presidente llama violadores a los mexicanos o se refiere a los inmigrantes como animales, y no recibe ningún tipo de sanción, es más probable que los individuos se expresen de manera discriminatoria. Estamos viendo cada vez más eso", concluyó Medenica.

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Latinos en los Estados Unidos: ¿la discriminación aumentó o ahora es más visible?

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La difusión en las últimas semanas de videos en los que se ve a distintas personas en comercios hostigando a empleados de origen hispano puso la lupa sobre los casos de racismo contra la primera minoría étnica del país. Radiografía económica, política y social de cómo vive la comunidad latina

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Los hispanos y latinos pueden enfrentar discriminación por el simple hecho de ser hispanos - que es racismo - pero esta discriminación puede variar según el tono de piel - que es el colorismo - por ello, la discriminación basada en el color de la piel puede ocurrir entre los hispanos tanto como puede ser dirigida a los hispanos por aquellos no hispanos
-Daniela Barrera, el autor del artículo
Latinos en USA: El grado de discriminación varía según el color de piel - AS USA

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Latinos en USA: El grado de discriminación varía según el color de piel

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Según un estudio realizado por el Pew Research Center, los latinos e hispanos en Estados Unidos sufren mayor discriminación si su piel es más oscura.

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El supuesto de que si eres latino y progresista no tienes posturas racistas pasa por alto la realidad de que el racismo está profundamente enraizado en las culturas mexicana y latinoamericanas
-Gabriela Domenzain
Los ecos del racismo latinoamericano reverberan en EE. UU. - The New York Times (nytimes.com)

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Los ecos del racismo latinoamericano reverberan en EE. UU.

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Los comentarios despectivos sobre los oaxaqueños de la presidenta del Concejo Municipal de Los Ángeles conmocionaron a una ciudad que se enorgullece de su tolerancia. Y también revelaron una historia de racismo dentro de la comunidad latina.

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Es virtualmente imposible imponer el uso del lenguaje. Las palabras y las reglas evolucionan dentro de la comunidad de hablantes. El tiempo dirá si los hablantes generalmente adoptan ‘latinx’, pero lo dudamos.
-Robert Gutiérrez, Alhambra
Why Spanish makes it so hard for 'Latinx' to catch on - Los Angeles Times (latimes.com)

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Al editor: No importa quién esté promoviendo el uso de 'latinx', es poco probable que sea ampliamente aceptado a largo plazo. Hay buenas razones para la falta general de conocimiento del término y la resistencia a su adopción, especialmente entre los hablantes nativos de español.

El impulso para usar 'latinx' aparentemente se debe a la falsa suposición de que la "o" en español denota exclusivamente género masculino. No es así.

Dependiendo del contexto, puede referirse a hombres o a todas y cada una de las personas descritas. De la misma manera en que 'mexicanos' no se refiere solo a los hombres de esa nacionalidad, o que 'ricos' no se refiere solo a los varones adinerados, 'latinos' puede referirse a personas de cualquier género.

Los sustantivos tienen género en español, pero no siempre reflejan el género de las personas a las que pueden referirse. Individuo es siempre un sustantivo masculino, incluso si se refiere a un individuo femenino. Persona es siempre un sustantivo femenino, incluso si se refiere a una persona masculina.

Es virtualmente imposible imponer el uso del lenguaje. Las palabras y las reglas evolucionan dentro de la comunidad de hablantes. El tiempo dirá si los hablantes generalmente adoptan 'latinx', pero lo dudamos.
Ronald M. Harmon y María R. Montaño-Harmon, Brea. Harmon es profesor emérito de español y portugués en Cal State Fullerton, donde Montaño-Harmon es profesora asociada emérita de educación secundaria.
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Al editor: Agradezco la opinión del columnista Jean Guerrero sobre el término 'latinx', pero no estoy de acuerdo.

Guerrero cuestiona la crítica común de que el término fue creado por blancos "despiertos", pero puedo decirle con facilidad que definitivamente no fue creado en los barrios, donde reside la mayoría de la gente, ni en ningún país latinoamericano.

El español, idioma que nos ayuda a los latinos a mantener vivas nuestras costumbres, cultura, ideas y relaciones en un mundo cada vez más dominante en inglés, es una lengua de género. Nos identificamos como latinos, celebramos la cultura mexicana y rendimos homenaje a la patria que se extiende desde Tijuana hasta la Patagonia. Escuchamos la radio, vamos al cine, nos levantamos a la mañana y celebramos en las fiestas.

En un momento en que nos gusta reconocer la diversidad, el idioma español ya tiene diversos términos incorporados para el género y, como resultado, ayuda a fomentar el futuro compasivo y colorido que todos queremos tener. Los latinos y las latinas estamos aquí para allanar el camino.
Robert Gutiérrez, Alhambra.
Para leer esta nota en inglés, haga clic aquí.

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Cartas al editor: Por qué el español complica tanto el uso de 'latinx'

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Al editor: No importa quién esté promoviendo el uso de 'latinx', es poco probable que sea ampliamente aceptado a largo plazo. Hay buenas razones para la falta general de conocimiento del término y la resistencia a su adopción, especialmente entre los hablantes nativos de español.

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Los latinoamericanos, tradicionalmente, hemos tenido cierto fetichismo con respecto a las constituciones políticas y hemos incurrido reiteradamente en la falacia de creer que se puede modificar la realidad política de un país por medio de un cambio de normas en la constitución.
-Arturo Uslar Pietri
https://citas.in/temas/hispano/

Kyleigh McGinnis

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Los jóvenes serán comunistas o fascistas, no lo sabemos, pero sí auténticamente hispanos y actuales.“
-Ramiro Ledesma Ramos
https://citas.in/temas/hispano/

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Acompáñenos en nuestra celebración conociendo más sobre los miembros de nuestro personal y sus pensamientos sobre lo que les hace sentir más orgullosos de ser Latinx, cómo mantienen vivas sus culturas, por qué el acceso a la atención de la salud sexual es esencial para la comunidad Latinx, y más.
-Kind Clinic https://kindclinic.org/es/blog/celebrating-latinx-pride-at-kind-clinic/#pgcSgb-sl-0_1421

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"El virólogo es el único latinoamericano en la lista de este año de "Los 10 de Nature", la selección de 10 individuos que, según la prestigiosa publicación científica británica, "fueron parte de algunos de los mayores eventos en el mundo de la ciencia en 2020" - Alejandra Martins

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Al científico uruguayo Gonzalo Moratorio se le acerca gente en su país a agradecerle lo que ha logrado con su equipo: desarrollar tests nacionales de diagnóstico del virus de la covid-19 que han permitido contener el impacto de la pandemia.

El virólogo es el único latinoamericano en la lista de este año de "Los 10 de Nature", la selección de 10 individuos que, según la prestigiosa publicación científica británica, "fueron parte de algunos de los mayores eventos en el mundo de la ciencia en 2020".

Moratorio, señala Nature, "trabajó con colegas para desarrollar tests de diagnóstico del virus de la covid-19 que ayudaron a su país a evadir una cascada de infecciones y muertes".

El científico es responsable del Laboratorio de Evolución Experimental de Virus en el Institut Pasteur de Montevideo, y es profesor de virología en la Facultad de Ciencias de la Universidad de la República, Udelar.

El investigador de 37 años, a quien Nature describe como un "cazador de coronavirus", no sólo logró con sus colegas que Uruguay tuviera rápidamente sus propios tests de diagnóstico, sino que fueran realizados por una red de laboratorios en el interior del país.

"Desde un principio nos dijimos: la clave es ser independientes y poder testear, testear, testear", dice a BBC Mundo.

Nature aclara que la lista de sus 10 científicos destacados "no es un premio o un ránking, sino una forma de destacar eventos clave en el mundo de la ciencia a través de las historias humanas de los involucrados".

Moratorio habló con BBC Mundo sobre qué lo inspiró a dedicarse a la ciencia, cómo fueron desarrollados los tests de diagnóstico y cuáles son las grandes lecciones de la pandemia.

"Es un Don Quijote"

En febrero de 2020 Moratorio estaba a cargo por primera vez de su propio laboratorio en el Institut Pasteur de Montevideo, luego de haber regresado a Uruguay tras varios años de investigación en el exterior.

Fue entonces que el director del Instituto, Carlos Batthyány, lo llamó a una reunión virtual con directivos de los Institutos Pasteur en diferentes países de América y en París.

"En esa reunión se empezó a hablar del virus (de la covid-19), y de las metodologías diagnósticas y yo me dije: ac á hay que hacer algo", relató.

"Lo bueno del director fue citarme para esa reunión porque lo más increíble es que había entrado a montar mi laboratorio en febrero y prácticamente no tenía ni un mes en el instituto".

En esa etapa temprana de la pandemia, Batthyány, al igual que muchos otros científicos, pensó que Uruguay no se vería muy afectado, tal como había ocurrido con otras epidemias.

"Todos, incluido yo, subestimamos al principio el impacto del virus", dijo Moratorio a BBC Mundo.

En declaraciones citadas por la revista Nature, Batthyány relató que "Gonzalo salió de aquel encuentro y se puso a trabajar. Cuando él está convencido de que algo debe hacerse, derriba montañas".

"Es un Don Quijote en ese sentido".

"Teníamos que ser autónomos"

Moratorio tuvo claro desde un principio que Uruguay debía ser autónomo y generar sus propias herramientas.

"Cuando hablaba con mis colegas en España y en Francia me decían que había un problema: no había tests, capacidades".

"Entonces lo que yo veía era que las fronteras se empezaban a cerrar, que venía un lockdown planetario, y que claramente mercados como los nuestros no iban a ser competitivos".

Al mismo tiempo, " t eníamos un montón de gente con y m á quinas ociosas que podían ser puestas a funcionar".

"Lo perfecto es enemigo de lo bueno. Lo importante fue convencerse de que si abríamos la cancha y poníamos a todo lo que es la academia, en este caso las universidades, los institutos, y les enseñábamos a hacer esto, podíamos montar una red de laboratorios de diagnóstico público. Y eso fue lo que hicimos".

Tests con innovaciones

Los tests de diagnóstico desarrollados por Moratorio y su equipo se basan en la tecnología estándar llamada Q PCR, o reacción en cadena de la polimerasa.

La Q se refiere a cuantificar. La técnica permite amplificar el material genético en una muestra para detectar señales de fluorescencia que indican la cantidad de virus presente.

"Básicamente nosotros nos basamos en protocolos académicos, en información que estaba disponible", señaló.

Pero Moratorio y su equipo desarrollaron innovaciones cruciales.

"Vimos que estos tests de Q PCR necesitaban más de un lugar por paciente en la máquina de Q PCR, lo cual significa que si la máquina permite poner 96 tubos, vos por paciente generalmente usabas tres lugares, tres tubos por paciente".

" Lo que hicimos fue llevar toda esa reacción a un único tubo en donde están los controles internos, los controles de si el test funciona y la detección o no del genoma del SARS-CoV-2".

"Y también utilizamos buffers o soluciones que permitieran acelerar el resultado".

"Pero la clave", señaló el científico utilizando una analogía, "fue en vez de comprar automóviles importados y muy, muy caros, usar esas partes para construir algo a nivel nacional y poder escalarlo para nunca quedarnos sin tests".

"Ni un centavo"

Moratorio destaca especialmente que se trató de un esfuerzo conjunto que los investigadores realizaron sin ningún fin de lucro.

"Quiero mencionar a la Dra. Pilar Moreno quien codirige conmigo, y hay que darle a ella y al equipo entero la importancia que merecen", afirmó.

"Desde el momento que hicimos el test hasta los más de 100.000 tests que venimos entregando, nosotros en ningún momento tomamos un centavo. Esto todo fue cedido al sector de salud pública y mi salario ha permanecido incambiado, de manera que esto pueda agilizarse".

"Nunca tuve una visión desde el punto de vista mercantil, sino de democratizar. Lo único que no se puede comprar en la vida es el tiempo, y nosotros lo pudimos comprar para que hoy Uruguay, luego de diez meses de pandemia, tenga menos de 100 muertos".

Red de laboratorios

Una vez diseñada la técnica en el laboratorio, los científicos del Institut Pasteur se asociaron con una empresa de biotecnología local, ATGen, para la producción de los tests.

En un comienzo los tests de Moratorio eran gran parte de los disponibles. Actualmente hay ofertas de otros laboratorios.

El científico estima que su laboratorio ha aportado en lo que va de la pandemia unos 100.000 tests, cerca de un 20% del medio millón que el país lleva realizados en ese período.

"Algo importante de los tests es que se obtuvieron en parte con fondos del Mercosur, por lo que todos nuestros tests han sido gratis para toda la red de salud pública, cuando todos sabemos que un hisopado sale US$100 más o menos".

Moratorio también impulsó el desarrollo de una red de laboratorios en el interior del país, y para ello viajó a muchos sitios "formando gente, capacitando".

El científico cita especialmente un caso en el departamento de Rocha, conocido por sus playas, donde enseñó a ecólogos microbianos a realizar los tests para la covid-19.

"Es un lugar donde los estudiantes tienen la tabla de surf abajo del brazo y juntan bacterias, pero usan técnicas de biología molecular, y les dije: esto es lo que tienen que hacer. Fue muy lindo".

El impacto de la oveja Dolly

Moratorio tuvo desde niño interés en la biología.

"Desde muy chico siempre me dio por los experimentos y por investigar", relató.

Pero asegura que dos momentos fueron clave para que se decidiera por estudiar la genética de los virus.

"Hubo dos cosas que me marcaron mucho en biología. Una fue la clonación de la oveja Dolly, me acuerdo como si fuera el día de hoy. Dije guau, yo quiero hacer esto".

"Y la otra fue una película que se llama 'Epidemia' de Dustin Hoffman y Rene Russo, de los 90. Cuando la vi dije quiero hacer genética y quiero servir".

Moratorio se graduó en la Facultad de Ciencias de la Universidad de la República e hizo un posgrado en el Institut Pasteur en Montevideo, antes de partir a formarse en el exterior, primero en Brasil y luego en California y en París, donde hizo un posdoctorado en el Instituto Pasteur entre 2012 y 2018.

¿Qué lo llevó a regresar a Uruguay?

"El que me fui para volver, me fui para intentar formarme y ponerle cara a los nombres de los artículos científicos que leía y admiraba y tuve la suerte de trabajar directamente con quien quería trabajar".

Moratorio trabajó en el laboratorio del virólogo argentino Raúl Andino en la Universidad de California en San Francisco.

Y luego en el laboratorio de virología de Marco Vignuzzi, "que fue mi jefe en París y había sido posdoc de Raúl Andino".

Pudo continuar su carrera en el exterior pero decidió regresar.

"Tengo mis raíces en Uruguay y tenía ganas de volver y montar una escuela de virología diferente a lo que había acá, y poder transmitir un poco de todo lo que pasé desde el punto de vista formativo".

Lecciones de la pandemia

Moratorio cree que la pandemia ha dejado muy en claro la importancia de invertir en ciencia y valorar a los científicos.

"De las grandes lecciones yo creo que deberíamos considerar es que la ciencia es tan transversal en todas las actividades que realizamos como lo es la actividad financiera".

"No hay ningún ministerio que pueda funcionar sin que se contemplen los números, los ingresos, etc. Pensemos lo mismo poniendo ciencia, poniendo el pienso, algo que aporte valor agregado, que mejore los procesos, que los haga más sustentables y más beneficiosos".

"Al final del día lo que tiene que hacer la ciencia es mejorar nuestra calidad de vida como especie, y creo que esta pandemia dejó claro que el aporte científico, si fuera pensado desde cada rincón de lo que hace un país, puede ser superlativo".

"Hay que aportar y poner a los científicos a trabajar en toda la red de infraestructura del país para mejorar cada uno de nuestros procesos".

Para ello es fundamental, según el investigador, aumentar el porcentaje del PIB, o Producto Interno Bruto, que se invierte en ciencia.

"En Uruguay anda en el 0,4%, es de los porcentajes más bajos en toda la región, es realmente muy triste, prácticamente es un sistema muy joven, muy mal atendido".

Moratorio cree que es esencial que el porcentaje de inversión en ciencia sea de al menos el 1% del PIB.

"Está demostrado en mucho países, por ejemplo países escandinavos o Corea del Sur, países que tenían otro perfil de países productores de materias, que luego de invertir en ciencia y tecnología en 15 años lo que aumentó en 5 o 10 puntos fue el PIB global, general del país".

"Hay que tener muchísima pasión"

Gonzalo Moratorio es hoy una figura conocida por muchos uruguayos.

Le agradecen su aporte para contener la pandemia incluso cuando realiza algunas de sus actividades fuera de la investigación.

El científico es surfista y además dirige un equipo de fútbol, Arquitectura Juniors, en la Liga Universitaria de su país.

Incluso a veces, cuando come con los miembros del laboratorio en un restaurante, algún comensal les hace llegar de regalo una cerveza.

Son pequeños y valiosos reconocimientos del aporte de quienes dedican su vida a la ciencia.

¿Qué aconsejaría Gonzalo Moratorio a jóvenes que se inician en la investigación?

"Yo creo que si la carrera científica me dio algo fue la lección, y me la sigue dando con estos mimos al alma, de que lo más importante no es ganarle a nadie sino volverse a levantar".

"Hay que tener muchísima pasión, sin pasión no logramos nuestros objetivos. Muchísima pasión y muchísimo compromiso".

"Y hay que tenerle miedo a los sueños de uno, porque si uno no les tiene miedo no son lo suficientemente grandes".
Recuerda que puedes recibir notificaciones de BBC Mundo. Descarg a nuestra app y actívalas para no perderte nuestro mejor contenido.

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Gonzalo Moratorio, el único latinoamericano entre los 10 científicos destacados de Nature (y cómo ayudó a que Uruguay tenga menos de 100 muertos por coronavirus) - La Prensa Gráfica

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El virólogo uruguayo y su equipo diseñaron tests de diagnóstico del virus de la covid-19 que permitieron a su país contener el impacto de la pandemia. El investigador explicó a BBC Mundo el desarrollo de los tests y relató qué lo inspiró a estudiar la genética de los virus.

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"Hay 62.1 millones de hispanos en el país, que representan un 18.7% de la población. " - AP

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El censo confirma el boom poblacional hispano en EUA - La Prensa Gráfica

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"Los hispanos, los asiáticos y las personas de dos o más razas son los únicos sectores menores de edad que crecen", declaró William Frey, del Programa de Políticas MetropolitanasLa población en general aumentó un 7.4% en la última década, el incremento más bajo desde la depresión de 1930.

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"Algunos novatos latinos también ayudaran dar a los Republicanos de la Cámara su mayoría." - Kyle Peterson

(Original Quote:  "Several Latino freshmen also helped give House Republicans their majority. " - Kyle Peterson  )

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Washington

'When I look at the Republican Party right now, yeah, there's still a lot of white guys in there," says Texas Rep. Wesley Hunt, a few weeks after being sworn in as a freshman member of Congress. "But it ain't the party that it was 20 years ago, when I was watching C-Span at West Point."

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Opinion | A Rising Generation of Republicans of Color

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Washington 'When I look at the Republican Party right now, yeah, there's still a lot of white guys in there," says Texas Rep. Wesley Hunt, a few weeks after being sworn in as a freshman member of Congress. "But it ain't the party that it was 20 years ago, when I was watching C-Span at West Point."

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"La gente puede decir a sí misma cualquier maldita tonta cosa que quieren, pero la gente quien crea términos como Latinx no entienden como la lengua desarrolla y evoluciona naturalmente." - Joseph Contreras

Cita Original
"Folks can call themselves any damned fool thing they want, but the people who coin terms like Latinx don’t get how language naturally develops and evolves. " - Joseph Contreras

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When I first saw the word, I thought it must be a typo.

North Bay Village, Fla.

Five Latino members of the Connecticut Legislature co-sponsored a bill last month to ban the word "Latinx" from all state documents. As lawmaker Geraldo Reyes Jr. put it recently, "We don't really use it, and we find it very offensive." Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders has also prohibited official use of the term, which the Associated Press characterizes as a "gender-neutral" alternative to Latino.

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North Bay Village, Fla. Five Latino members of the Connecticut Legislature co-sponsored a bill last month to ban the word "Latinx" from all state documents. As lawmaker Geraldo Reyes Jr. put it recently, "We don't really use it, and we find it very offensive." Arkansas Gov.

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“The Latino population has become such a presence. We are part of the American tapestry in a very profound way, in every area you can think of, and are very significant in popular culture.”
-Jimmy Smits https://teambuilding.com/blog/hispanic-heritage-month-quotes

Kyleigh McGinnis

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“Despite its good intentions, many Latinos, including myself, view it as problematic. Latinx doesn’t work as an ethnic label mainly because it’s not even embraced by the community it describes” -Evan Odegard Pereira
Cita: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/15/learning/for-most-latinos-latinx-does-not-mark-the-spot.html

(Glenda Patterson)

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“Hispanic Heritage Month initially began as a weeklong celebration in 1968 under President Lyndon Johnson who, at the time said”, "The people of Hispanic descent are the heirs of missionaries, captains, soldiers, and farmers who were motivated by a young spirit of adventure, and a desire to settle freely in a free land."
Cita: https://www.npr.org/2021/09/17/1037741009/yes-were-calling-it-hispanic-heritage-month-and-we-know-it-makes-some-of-you-cri

(Glenda Patterson)

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“The word latino is a Spanish word that has entered the English language. In Spanish, it means someone belonging to the people of ancient Latium, in Italy, whose language was Latin” - Dario Fernandez-Morera
Cita: https://www.nas.org/blogs/article/ask_a_scholar_what_is_the_true_definition_of_latino

(Glenda Patterson)

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“By Chevalier’s definition, all American nations that speak a language of “Latin” origin should be defined as “Latin American.” “However, the United States, where Spanish is and was one of the dominant languages, is not technically considered part of Latin America, even though in 1847, Mexico encompassed territories as far north as Oregon and as far east as Utah.”
-  April Ramos, Marissa Del Toro & Emma Turner-Trujillo
Cita: https://www.getty.edu/news/an-overview-of-latino-and-latin-american-identity/

(Glenda Patterson)

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73 Inspiring Hispanic Heritage Month Quotes

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“When I was growing up, my parents insisted that we speak Spanish and read Spanish. I’m so happy they did that, because we developed their culture and their roots.”

– Tito Puente

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September 15th to October 15th marks National Hispanic Heritage Month in the United States. It's a celebration of both famous Latino Leaders, and the everyday contributions woven into the story of our nation.
Hispanic or Latino (or Latinx) generally refers to people with ancestors from a Spanish-speaking country, usually in North America, Central America, or South America.
These quotes are great for any time of year, but this month they are especially meaningful.

The list below is made up of influential Latinx leaders. Some were originally in Spanish and have been translated!
Related: 39 Famous Latino Leaders You Should Know
10 Hispanic Heritage Month Quotes About Culture

1. "Preservation of one's own culture does not require contempt or disrespect for other cultures."
- César Chávez, Activist and Founder of United Farm Workers
2. "You are not lucky to be here. The world needs your perspective. They are lucky to have you."

- Antonio Tijerino, President & CEO of the Hispanic Heritage Foundation

3. "When I was growing up, my parents insisted that we speak Spanish and read Spanish. I'm so happy they did that, because we developed their culture and their roots."

- Tito Puente

4. "It is important for all of us to appreciate where we come from and how that history has really shaped us in ways that we might not understand."

- Sonia Sotomayor, U.S. Supreme Court Judge

5. "The more you speak more languages, the more you understand about yourself."
- Sandra Cisneros
6. "Peace cannot exist without justice, justice cannot exist without fairness, fairness cannot exist without development, development cannot exist without democracy, democracy cannot exist without respect for the identity and worth of cultures and peoples."
- Rigoberta Menchú Tum
7. "Your individuality is important, but so is belonging. Recognize the parts of your culture that have shaped your past, and the parts you want to carry with you into the future."

- Sol Peralta

8. "We need to help students and parents cherish and preserve the ethnic and cultural diversity that nourishes and strengthens this community - and this nation."
- César Chávez
9. "My mother gave me one piece of advice that stuck with me. She said don't forget where you came from."
- Eva Longoria
10. "I know now that he who hopes to be universal in his art must plant in his own soil . . . The secret of my best work is that it is Mexican."

- Diego Rivera

Related: Inspiring Language Learning Quotes
10 Inspirational Quotes from Latino Leaders

1. "Feet, what do I need you for when I have wings to fly?"
- Frida Kahlo
2. "Don't be afraid to reach for the stars. I believe a good education can take you anywhere on Earth and beyond."

- Ellen Ochoa

3. "I don't want an uneventful and safe life, I prefer an adventurous one."
- Isabel Allende
4. "Success is its own reward, but failure is a great teacher too, and not to be feared."

- Sonia Sotomayor

5. "If you have a dream, don't let anybody take it away."
- Selena Quintanilla
6. "You are the storyteller of your own life, and you can create your own legend, or not."
- Isabel Allende
7. "You can cut all the flowers but you cannot keep spring from coming."

- Pablo Neruda

8. "If you have a chance to accomplish something that will make things better for people coming behind you, and you don't do that, you are wasting your time on this earth."

- Roberto Clemente

9. "I have a day. If I know how to make the most of it, I have a treasure."

- Gabriela Mistral

10. "One of the greatest things you have in life is that no one has the authority to tell you what you want to be. You're the one who'll decide what you want to be. Respect yourself and respect the integrity of others as well. The greatest thing you have is your self-image, a positive opinion of yourself. You must never let anyone take it from you."

- Jaime Escalante

10 Hispanic Heritage Month Quotes About Helping Others

1. "I try to be as honest about what I see and to speak rather than be silent, especially if it means I can save lives, or serve humanity."

- Sandra Cisneros

2. "I hope I'll see in my lifetime a growing realization that we are one world. And that no one is going to have quality of life unless we support everyone's quality of life."
- Dr. Helen Rodríguez-Trías
3. "We open doors so others can walk through them."

- Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

4. "We are all individuals; we are all human beings; we are all connected together; and we all have the same rights, the same freedom."

- Sylvia Mendez

5. "We must be impatient for change. Let us remember that our voice is a precious gift and we must use it."

- Claudia Flores

6. "We must use our lives to make the world a better place to live, not just to acquire things. That is what we are put on the earth for."

- Dolores Huerta

7. "The most valuable possession you can own is an open heart. The most powerful weapon you can be is an instrument of peace."

- Carlos Santana

8. "In the end, the American dream is not a sprint, or even a marathon, but a relay. Our families don't always cross the finish line in the span of one generation. But each generation passes on to the next the fruits of their labor."

- Julian Castro

9. "Widen the path of opportunities and continue to leave a powerful and positive legacy in this world."

- Luis Fonsi

10. "We can say, 'Let our grandchildren worry about it.' But it's harder to change later. We invest in their children's education, even though it doesn't pay off for decades.Why not the planet?"

- Mario Molina

10 Quotes About the US-Latinx Experience

1. "I feel very proud to be Mexican. I didn't have the opportunity to learn Spanish when I was a girl, but...it's never too late to get in touch with your roots."

- Selena Quintanilla

2. "As people of color, we have a potent power - and a responsibility - to change events around us, not just professionally, but spiritually and politically as well."

- Michelle Herrera Mulligan

3 "There was nobody that I could look up and say "That's somebody like me". Which is probably why I'm now known in my community as ' La Pionera ', or the Pioneer. I really don't think of myself as a role model. But it turns out that I am to a lot of the Hispanic community. Not just in show business, but in life. But that's what happens when you're first, right?"

- Rita Moreno

"They said you'd really have to be something to be like Babe Ruth. But Babe Ruth was an American player. What we needed was a Puerto Rican player they could say that about, someone to look up to and try to equal."

- Roberto Clemente

4. "How I vote is not relevant . . . I think that as a woman, as a Hispanic, as a member of a minority," as the first surgeon general who is all these, "I bring a lot of sensitivity to the job."
- Antonia Novello
5. "As a young writer, I was on guard against the Latina in me, the Spanish in me because as far as I could see the models that were presented to me did not include my world. In fact, 'I was told by one teacher in college that one could only write poetry in the language in which one first said Mother. That left me out of American literature, for sure."

- Julia Alvarez

6. "As an immigrant, I appreciate, far more than the average American, the liberties we have in this country. Silence is a big enemy of morality. I don't want our blunders in history to get repeated."

- Gloria Estefan

7. "It's a privilege to work as an anchor for Univision, but more important, I am amazed by how Latinos are transforming America."

- Jorge Ramos

8. "I am proud to be born in the USA, but my Mexican roots are my foundation and what make me never give up, always keep fighting and finish the fight till the end."

- Oscar de la Hoya

9. "I was the first Chicano to write in complete sentences."

- Gary Soto

10. "Growing up, there wasn't an exact Hispanic role model that I had. I didn't realize how big a difference I was making, going to the Olympics and being Hispanic, until I would be in an autograph session, and parents would come up to me and say, 'You know, our family is so proud of you, you're really doing Hispanics proud.'"

- Laurie Hernández

Related: Classic Songs in Spanish You Need to Know
10 Hispanic Heritage Month Quotes About Art

One of the things we celebrate are Latinx art, music, poetry, and literature. Here are quotes from some of the great creators and minds.

1. "This is what poetry means-language that surprises and keeps us on our toes."

2. "Doubts may grow as shadows loom,
when you're alone with your thoughts.
Plant music, art, pics of the ones you love
in the darkest corners.
Harvest the fruits of your daydreams and rest.
Water and sunlight to the best in you."
- Lin-Manuel Miranda
3. "When people hear me sing, I want them to be happy, happy, happy. I don't want them thinking about when there's not any money, or when there's fighting at home. My message is always felicidad - happiness."
- Celia Cruz
4. "It is through art that we will prevail and we will endure. It lives on after us and defines us as people."

- Rita Moreno

5. "To sing is to love and affirm,
to fly and to soar,
to coast into the hearts of the people
who listen
to tell them that life is to live,
that love is there,
that nothing is a promise,
but that beauty exists,
and must be hunted for and found."

6. "Fashion is about dressing according to what's fashionable. Style is more about being yourself."

- Oscar De La Renta

7. "The elasticity of imagination and compassion is what writing and reading promote."
- Julia Alvarez
8. "An artist is above all a human being, profoundly human to the core. If the artist can't feel everything that humanity feels, if the artist isn't capable of loving until he forgets himself and sacrifices himself if necessary, if he won't put down his magic brush and head the fight against the oppressor, then he isn't a great artist."
- Diego Rivera
9. "The music is one of the beautiful things that has survived the Castro regime. I have played for audiences all over the world but I've never played for a Cuban audience. For [husband] Emilio and me, the music is the one tie to our homeland."

- Gloria Estefan

10. "I paint flowers so they will not die."
- Frida Kahlo

Related: 22 Famous Latina Leaders
13 Quotes from Latinas

1. "I am obsessed with becoming a woman comfortable in her skin."

- Sandra Cisneros

2. "I want to be remembered not only as an entertainer but as a person who cared a lot, and I gave the best that I could. I tried to be the best role model that I possibly could."

- Selena Quintanilla

3. "I am like a drop of water on a rock. After drip, drip, dripping in the same place, I begin to leave a mark, and I leave my mark in many people's hearts."

- Rigoberta Menchú Tum

4. "We as women should shine light on our accomplishments and not feel egotistical when we do. It's a way to let the world know that we as women can accomplish great things!"
- Dolores Huerta
5. "I want to be able to look back someday and say, 'I did make a difference.' Whether is was to open the minds of people to think that a woman can do a good job, or whether it's the fact that so many kids out there think that they could be like me."
-Antonia Novello
6. "When you sing in English and Spanish, it's two completely different forms of expression and . . . even the people who don't speak Spanish love to hear me sing in Spanish."
- Gloria Estefan
7. "Usually, girls weren't encouraged to go to college and major in math and science. My high school calculus teacher, Ms. Paz Jensen, made math appealing and motivated me to continue studying it in college."
- Ellen Ochoa
8. "Well, I ask a lot of questions, and I'm not just satisfied with glib answers.
- France Córdova
9. My mother says, "Sylvia, don't you realize what we're fighting for?",
"Yes, so we can get to that beautiful school in Westminster."
She said, "No Sylvia, that's not we're fighting, we're fighting because under God we're all equal, you belong at that school just like everybody else belongs to that school, that's what we're fighting for".
- Sylvia Mendez
10. "This was the last astronaut job that was not (yet) done by a woman. Now with this milestone we can focus on the fact that what is important to succeed in life, it does not matter whether you are a man or a woman."
- Ellen Ochoa
11. "People think of Latina women as being fiery and fierce, which is usually true. But I think the quality that so many Latinas possess is strength. I'm very proud to have Latin blood."

- Zoe Saldana

13. "The Latina in me is an ember that blazes forever."

- Sonia Sotomayor

10 Hispanic Heritage Month Quotes About Love

1. "Love is so short, and forgetting so long".

- Pablo Neruda

2. "One learns to love by loving."

- San Francisco de Sales

3. There is so much fear and hate. We must negate it with active, courageous love."
- Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
4. "There are kisses that leave traces on the lips like a field of sunshine between two ice cubes."

- Gabriela Mistral

5. "Do not do with love what a child does with his balloon; when he has it, he ignores it, and when he loses it, he cries."

- Pablo Neruda

6. "I love you more than my own skin."
- Frida Kahlo
7. "Love is love is love is love is love is love is love is love and love cannot be killed or swept aside."

- Lin-Manuel Miranda, 2016 Tony Awards

8. "You must want! You have the right to ask! You must desire."

- Eva Perón

9. "Take a lover who looks at you like maybe you are magic."
- Frida Kahlo
10. "Love is as important as food."

- Gabriel García Márquez

What is Hispanic Heritage Month?

Here is a little more info on the history of Hispanic Heritage Month in the United States:

"Hispanic Heritage Month takes place September 15 to October 15 every year as a time to recognize and celebrate the many contributions, diverse cultures, and extensive histories of the American Latino community. Beginning in 1968, Hispanic Heritage Month was originally observed as "Hispanic Heritage Week" under President Lyndon Johnson, but it was later extended to a month during President Ronald Reagan's term in 1988."
'- U.S. Department of Education

Why do we celebrate September 15th - October 15th?

It may seem odd to stretch the celebration across two months, but dates were chosen to coincide with the independence dates of several Latin American countries.

Hispanic Heritage Month September 15 was chosen as the kickoff because it coincides with the Independence Day celebrations of five "Central American neighbors," as Johnson called them-Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. Those five nations declared their independence from Spain on September 15, 1821.
- History.com

Mexico also celebrates the beginning of its fight for independence September 15th and 16th.

Did I miss one of your favorite quotes? Share with us in the comments below!

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73 Inspiring Hispanic Heritage Month Quotes

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Inside: A collection of meaningful Hispanic Heritage Month quotes from famous Latino leaders. September 15th to October 15th marks National Hispanic Heritage Month in the United States. It's a celebration of both famous Latino Leaders, and the everyday contributions woven into the story of our nation.

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“Central America is a very strong region. In general, Latin America is a very strong region for us. We certainly intend to keep growing in the region.”
- Amy Wyatt

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19 Inspirational Quotes From Latinx Leaders

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“Your individuality is important, but so is belonging. Recognize the parts of your culture that have shaped your past, and the parts you want to carry with you into the future.”

Sol Peralta, audience engagement manager at Jopwell

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In celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, we've compiled some of our favorite insights and inspiration from Latinx luminaries in our community. These quotes come from trailblazers, C-suite executives, students, activists, and celebrities. They are a mix of highlights from The Well; the Jopwell team; red-carpet interviews and memorable moments at the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute and the Hispanic Heritage Awards 2017 galas; and this year's National Association of Latino Professionals For America Convention in Las Vegas.

"We are needed. We have to be engaged and get ourselves elected to school boards and city councils. Sí se puede!"

Dolores Huerta, United Farm Workers cofounder

"Widen the path of opportunities and continue to leave a powerful and positive legacy in this world."

Luis Fonsi, singer/songwriter

"Your individuality is important, but so is belonging. Recognize the parts of your culture that have shaped your past, and the parts you want to carry with you into the future."

Sol Peralta, audience engagement manager at Jopwell

"If I could go back and give myself advice, I would say, 'You deserve to be here because you are a good actor. You know it. Now, let everybody else know.'"

Daniella De Jesús, actress ( Orange Is The New Black) and writer

"You are not lucky to be here. The world needs your perspective. They are lucky to have you."

"As people of color, we have a potent power - and a responsibility - to change events around us, not just professionally, but spiritually and politically as well."

"Make sure to do something that provides you with motivation to get up in the morning and go to work. Whether it's passion for a mission, excitement about creating, or intellectual stimulation, follow a path where you consistently feel engaged."

Nadia Abouzaid, head of campus engagement at Jopwell

"Acknowledge and embrace the person you are, imperfections and all. That's the highest service we can achieve: to give back and give to ourselves in the best way we know."

"Get behind other people's success. Your life was built on other people's dreams, so let's not let them down."

Dionicia Nava, student at California State University, Los Angeles

"The only limitation is self imposed."

Armando Vasquez, student at California State University San Marcos

"We must be impatient for change. Let us remember that our voice is a precious gift and we must use it."

Claudia Flores, Immigration campaign manager, Center for American Progress

"As my mom always said growing up, 'When you do something, do it con ganas.' To her, that phrase extended to the way in which my siblings and I not only pursued our careers, but to how neatly we swept the floor. So whether you're early in your career and have to side hustle as a barista, or have finally made your way to the corner office - do it all con ganas."

"My multicultural sorority taught me how to find my voice and be comfortable using it. I needed to be just as forward and direct as the women around me if I wanted my opinions and ideas to be heard."

"Kids, regardless of race or background, can accomplish anything if we expect great things from them."

"Work at a place where you feel challenged. Stay level-headed and hungry. I'm always looking forward to the next challenge."

"I had to work extra hard. It's not easy for Latinos to get education, but I'm trying to make a difference. I dreamed of being at the top, and I'm not going to give up."

Abigail Rodriguez, MSW and MBA; wife of WWE wrestler Kalisto

"Instead of listening to all of the horrific stuff on the news every single day, every moment of the day, sometimes I just go quiet. I spend some time with myself, and I think about things that are important to me. It sounds simple, but it works."

JW Cortés, actor, singer, speaker, and activist

"There are two forms of power in the world: money and bodies. We didn't have as much money at the time, but we had a lot of bodies."

Juan Sepúlveda, SVP, System Leadership at PBS

"It has been so important for me to embrace what I personally bring to the table. Let your stories inform your voice."

Vivian Nuñez, founder of Too Damn Young

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19 Inspirational Quotes From Latinx Leaders

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In celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, we've compiled some of our favorite insights and inspiration from Latinx luminaries in our community. These quotes come from trailblazers, C-suite executives, students, activists, and celebrities.

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Sotomayor said it: Notable quotes from Supreme Court's 1st Latina justice

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“The Latina in me is an ember that blazes forever.” – Sonia Sotomayor

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Five years ago, Sonia Sotomayor became the first Latina sworn in to the U.S. Supreme Court.

USA TODAY Network shares the story of the justice's rise to the bench, as told in her own words:
Because you only live once
"I savor life. When you have anything that threatens life ... it prods you into stepping back and really appreciating the value of life and taking from it what you can." - 2013 interview with USA TODAY
On her nomination to the Supreme Court
"It was the most electrifying moment of my life ... a moment in which you sit and realize that you've gone further than any dream you ever had, that you've reached something that never seemed possible. It is an overwhelming moment." - Interview with Oprah on March 24, 2013
On character
"Don't mistake politeness for lack of strength." - Sotomayor's 2013 book My Beloved World
On being a proud New Yorker from the Bronx
"I'm a New Yorker, and I jaywalk with the best of them." - Sotomayor's 2013 book My Beloved World

"I am a New Yorker, and 7 a.m. is a civilized hour to finish the day, not to start it." - comments to law students in 1994, as reported by The Washington Post
On affirmative action and her Ivy League education
"I am a product of affirmative action. I am the perfect affirmative action baby. I am Puerto Rican, born and raised in the south Bronx. My test scores were not comparable to my colleagues at Princeton and Yale. Not so far off so that I wasn't able to succeed at those institutions." - A 1990s panel discussion, reported by CNN
On being Latina "The Latina in me is an ember that blazes forever." - speech to Hispanic law students at Hofstra University in 1996, reported by The Washington Post. On dealing with obstacles
"I would warn any minority student today against the temptations of self-segregation: Take support and comfort from your own group as you can, but don't hide within it." -- Sotomayor's 2013 book My Beloved World

Sotomayor's father was an alcoholic who died when she was nine years old. Her mother, a nurse, worked long hours to support Sotomayor and her brother. Sotomayor battled diabetes, including near-death experiences as a child that contributed to her decision not to have children.

"There are uses to adversity, and they don't reveal themselves until tested." - Sotomayor's 2013 book My Beloved World
On being a judge
"In every position that I've been in, there have been naysayers who don't believe I'm qualified or who don't believe I can do the work. And I feel a special responsibility to prove them wrong." - interview Jan. 13 with NPR
Follow @JolieLeeDC on Twitter.
"The job of a judge is to apply the law. And so it's not the heart that compels conclusions in cases. It's the law. The judge applies the law to the facts before that judge." - Confirmation hearing July 16, 2009

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Sotomayor said it: Notable quotes from Supreme Court's 1st Latina justice

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Five years ago, Sonia Sotomayor became the first Latina sworn in to the U.S. Supreme Court. USA TODAY Network shares the story of the justice's rise to the bench, as told in her own words: Because you only live once "I savor life. When you have anything that threatens life ...

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“In the spirit of pride, I wanted to have a note on gender inclusivity in the Spanish language. In the spirit of pride, I wanted to have a note on gender inclusivity in the Spanish language. Gender is fluid, language is fluid, You don’t have to make drama over it.” -  Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

https://nypost.com/2022/06/06/aoc-calls-out-dems-who-wont-say-latinx-despite-backlash/

Kathryn Shangraw

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Far-left Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez defended using the word "Latinx" to describe Hispanic men and women over the weekend and slammed her Democratic colleagues who she said "rail against" it - despite polling data indicating most Hispanics don't use the term or virulently object to it.

"In the spirit of pride, I wanted to have a note on gender inclusivity in the Spanish language," Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) said in a video posted to her Instagram Story. "People sometimes like to make a lot of drama over the term 'Latinx.' But even before 'Latinx,' people were trying to do this, like, use an at [@ symbol] to have the 'A' and the 'O' [in 'Latino' and 'Latina'] together."

"Gender is fluid, language is fluid," Ocasio-Cortez went on. "[You] don't have to make drama over it."

At that point, the "Squad" member took aim at her fellow Democrats in what she called a "mini-rant."

"There are some politicians - including Democratic politicians - that rail against the term 'Latinx.' And they're like, 'This is so bad. This is so bad for the party like, blah, blah blah.' And like, it's almost as though it has not struck some of these folks that another person's identity is not about your re-election prospects," she said. "Like, this is not about you."

The congresswoman, whose father is from the Bronx and mother is from Puerto Rico, told her supporters that if her colleagues are so worried about using the term, they need to rethink their priorities.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez slammed fellow Democrats who refuse to use the term "Latinx."

Steve White

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez defended using the word "Latinx" to describe Hispanic men and women over the weekend and slammed her Democratic colleagues who she said "rail against" it.

Instagram / @aoc

Rep. Ocasio-Cortez went on to claim that while "Latinx" is more convenient in written form, there is another gender-neutral term, "Latine."

Instagram / @aoc

"You need to talk about health care more, you need to raise people's wages, you need to talk more about issues that also matter to people," she said.

Ocasio-Cortez went on to claim that while "Latinx" is more convenient in written form, another gender-neutral term, "Latine," is a better alternative when speaking. She also suggested both terms are comparable to the Spanish word "nosotres," which translates to a gender-neutral "us" or "we."

"That being said, if you don't want to use it, no one's forcing you to," Ocasio-Cortez concluded. "But for people who enjoy trying to figure out language and have it meet the modern age, that's kind of where it's at."

Her rant on inclusivity came just days after fellow New York Democrat Rep. Ritchie Torres blasted the New York Yankees for using the term "Latinx" in a tweet about gun violence.

"I represent the South Bronx, home to the Yankees. Never heard anyone locally use the term 'Latinx.' Does a majority of Hispanics actually use the term 'Latinx'?" Torres posted in a Twitter thread on May 27. "If the answer is 'no', how did 'Latinx' come to be the term to use in government and Corporate America?"

"If you are speaking to a particular person who prefers 'Latinx,' then, by all means, use the term," Torres later clarified. "But if you are referring to the Hispanic community in general, why not use the term that the majority itself predominantly uses?"

"Every community should have the right to label itself, rather than have a label imposed on them by others," Torres continued.

The Instagram rant comes days after Rep. Ritchie Torres used the term to describe himself.

Robert Miller

The lawmaker later cited a 2020 Pew Research poll that found fewer than one in four Hispanics have heard of the term "Latinx" while only 3% use it.

Despite his skepticism of the term, Torres has a history of using "Latinx" on social media, including when describing himself.

"Honored to earn the endorsement @BOLDDems which has been at the forefront of strengthening Latinx representation in Congress. The backing of @BOLDDems is a game-changer in the #SouthBronx, which is home to one of the highest Latinx populations in the US," Torres wrote in December 2019.

"A new generation of Latinx representation is rising," he posted in October 2020, linking to an NBC News tweet promoting the growing number of Hispanic lawmakers.

"Never for a moment did I imagine becoming the first openly #LGBTQ Afro-Latinx member of Congress and joining the ranks of the @outmagazine Out100. #RainbowWave," he tweeted a month later.

In November, a Bendizen and Amandi International survey found that only 2% of Hispanic registered voters refer to themselves as "Latinx." The poll found that the majority - 68% - described themselves as "Hispanic" while 21% used the terms "Latino" or "Latina."

The poll also found that 40% of respondents said the term "Latinx" bothers or offends either a little, somewhat, or a lot.

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AOC calls out Dems who won't say 'Latinx' - despite backlash to term

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Far-left Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez defended using the word "Latinx" to describe Hispanic men and women over the weekend and slammed her Democratic colleagues who she said "rail against" it - despite polling data indicating most Hispanics don't use the term or virulently object to it.

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"I have been a victim of stereotypes. I come from Latin America and to some countries, we are considered 'losers,' drug traffickers, and that is not fair because that is generalizing. " - Ricky Martin

https://www.quotemaster.org/Latin+America

Kathryn Shangraw

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"Look at Hispanic women - they are being paid 42 cents on the dollar - or African-American women. I think it's an issue we have to look at across the board." - Jessica Chastain

https://www.azquotes.com/quotes/topics/hispanic.html?p=8

Kathryn Shangraw

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Enjoy our hispanic quotes collection by famous senators, governors and u.s. representatives. Best hispanic quotes selected by thousands of our users!

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“People think of Latina women as being fiery and fierce, which is usually true. But I think the quality that so many Latinas possess is strength. I’m very proud to have Latin blood.” — Zoe Saldaña

Cita: https://www.today.com/life/holidays/hispanic-heritage-month-quotes-rcna46847

Kathryn Shangraw

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The Latino and Hispanic communities are invaluable, storied and here to stay.

That's why we've rounded up a symphony of diverse voices to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, which is celebrated annually from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15.

No two Latin o or Hispanic experiences are the same. The layers of identity, cultural expression and history are as varied as the shades of skin tones of those with Latino or Hispanic roots.

Find inspiration in these Hispanic Heritage Month quotes from creators, activists, pioneers and other famous figures. May these words from the past and present roast slowly in your soul like pernil, shake you up like música tropical and remind you of what's true every day (not just during Hispanic Heritage Month):

"You cannot uneducate the person who has learned to read. You cannot humiliate the person who feels pride. You cannot oppress the people who are not afraid anymore." - Cesar Chavez

"The Latina in me is an ember that blazes forever." - Sonia Sotomayer

"If we could light up the room with pain, we'd be such a glorious fire." - Ada Limon, "Bright Dead Things"

"While our culture, traditions and religion may differ, we pride ourselves on working hard, educating ourselves as much as possible, striving for better lives for our children, loving our often large and blended families, and sharing as much of our history and customs as we can with anyone who chooses to really see us. We are not so different after all. People simply need to see us for who we are and not who they expect us to be." - Natalie Morales

"It's not about what you wear, but about how you live your life." - Oscar de la Renta

"There is so much fear and hate. We must negate it with active, courageous love." - Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez

"We must use our lives to make the world a better place to live, not just to acquire things. That is what we are put on the earth for." - Dolores Huerta

"If we want to live in love, we must recognize that we already exist in it." - Rich Villodas

"At the end of the day, we can endure much more than we think we can." - Frida Kahlo

"You have to remember the value of your individuality - that you have something special and different to offer that nobody else can." - Jennifer Lopez

"You are perfectly cast in your life. I can't imagine anyone but you in the role. Go play." - Lin-Manuel Miranda

"I don't measure myself by others' expectations or let others define my worth." - Sonia Sotomayor

"It is through art that we will prevail and we will endure. It lives on after us and defines us as people." - Rita Moreno

"When Latino kids don't see themselves represented on stage or film or television or newspapers or history textbooks, what they're told is, 'You don't matter. But when they see themselves represented, then they are told ... 'You are important. You are authors. You are scientists. You are explorers. You are special. You are leaders. You are respected. You are the reason we are here.'" -John Leguizamo

"People think of Latina women as being fiery and fierce, which is usually true. But I think the quality that so many Latinas possess is strength. I'm very proud to have Latin blood." - Zoe Saldaña

"If you have a chance to accomplish something that will make things better for people coming behind you, and you don't do that, you are wasting your time on this Earth." - Roberto Clemente

"I tell students that the opportunities I had were a result of having a good educational background. Education is what allows you to stand out."- Ellen Ochoa

"The point is not to pay back kindness, but to pass it on."- Julia Alvarez

"Forgiving is not forgetting. Forgiving is remembering without pain." - Celia Cruz

"I've put up with too much, too long, and now I'm just too intelligent, too powerful, too beautiful, too sure of who I am finally to deserve anything less."- Sandra Cisneros

"As an immigrant, I appreciate far more than the average American, the liberties we have in this country. Silence is a big enemy of morality." - Gloria Esteban

"It is not true that people stop pursuing dreams because they grow old, they grow old because they stop pursuing dreams." -Gabriel García Márquez

"I realized very early the power of food to evoke memory, to bring people together, to transport you to other places, and I wanted to be a part of that."- José Andrés

"You are not lucky to be here. The world needs your perspective. They are lucky to have you."- Antonio Tijerino

"My weapon has always been language, and I've always used it, but it has changed. Instead of shaping the words like knives now, I think they're flowers or bridges." - Sandra Cisneros

"No particular race is the enemy. Ignorance is the enemy." -George Lopez

"You cannot reap what you have not sown. How are we going to reap love in our community, if we only sow hate?" - Saint Óscar Arnulfo Romero y Galdámez

"My mother gave me one piece of advice that stuck with me. She said 'don't forget where you came from.'" - Eva Longoria

"They are afraid of us because we are not afraid of them." - Berta Cáceres

"I believe that fortitude is key. More than anything, be consistent. Go at it. Go at it. Go at it. When you succeed, don't forget the responsibility of making somebody else succeed with you."- Antonia Novello

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Hispanic Heritage Month quotes to share now and forever

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Read these Hispanic Heritage Month quotes from famous Hispanic and Latino icons, including Eva Longoria, George Lopez and Frida Kahlo.

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“The term Latinx emerged from the Spanish-speaking queer community to challenge the gender binary, explain Aja and Scharrón-del Río.”

https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/life/a33806428/what-latinx-means/

Shewa Hasanzade

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Experts Explain What Latinx Means and How to Use It

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Understand the meaning so you can add this inclusive term to your vocabulary.

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“Hispanics are disproportionately affected by poor conditions of daily life, shaped by structural and social position factors (such as macroeconomics, cultural values, income, education, occupation, and social support systems, including health services), known as social determinants of health (SDH).”

https://publichealthreviews.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40985-016-0043-2

Shewa Hasanzade

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We utilized Arksey and O'Malley's [ 27] scoping methodology to conduct our review. Scoping studies allow reviewing of both scientific and "gray" literature to answer broad research questions. They are useful to "map key concepts underpinning a research area and the main sources and types of evidence available." Scoping studies also serve to identify research gaps and to summarize and disseminate research findings to stakeholders and policymakers who would otherwise have to obtain information from multiple sources [ 28].

We followed the five stages of a scoping study:

1. 1.
Identify the research question. Different from systematic reviews, where research questions are specific and focused on a particular type of study design, scoping studies seek to answer broader questions and collect data from different types of information sources. They also allow iterative rather than linear analytical processes to fine-tune the research focus in a way that the information is useful for decision-making and further research. The research question to pursue in this scoping review is, What are the current priority issues, needs and services germane to the health of Hispanics in the USA?

2. 2.
Identify relevant studies. Guided by our framework, we searched the literature for comprehensive Hispanic health review documents in electronic databases, government websites and agencies, and civil society organizations addressing Hispanic health. The first step was to find out whether there were any recent comprehensive reviews addressing our research question. Figure 2 shows a flowchart of our citation selection process. In PubMed, we used the Boolean search terms " Hispanic OR Hispanics OR Latino OR Latinos OR Latina OR Latinas AND health," restricted to " review" and " 10 years," which yielded 654 citations, too many to review and too many tangential to our research question. After a cursory review of recent titles and abstracts, we added " in title/abstract" as a filter, which produced 381 citations. After eyeballing the references, there were still many tangential to our study questions. After a more targeted approach (Fig. 2), we selected 66 citations (as of September 2016) that were more specific to our research question (see Additional file 1). A thorough review of those citations supported our objective to conduct a scoping study using a unified framework of Hispanic health to answer our research question.

3. 3.
Study selection. A review of the initial reference list containing 66 citations on "Hispanic health reviews" showed that only one comprehensive review had been published in the previous 10 years [ 7], although it focused mostly on health needs and use of health services, not reflecting our more comprehensive conceptual framework and study design. While conducting this scoping review (alerted by peer-reviewers), a special issue on Latino Health was published [ 23], which seemed to supplant content in our review; however, the four papers in that issue refer to specific Hispanic health topics: cancer, cardiovascular disease, health promotion, and health issues in general, with no unifying framework. Upon completion of our literature search, a total of 366 references were included in an EndNote© database. For this paper, we selected only citations pertinent to each of the components of the conceptual framework of Hispanic health presented in Fig. 1, for a total of 179 citations (Fig. 2). All retrieved papers were made available online to the authors in a shared Dropbox file for online remote access.

4. 4.
Charting the data. A review of the first reference dataset containing 66 citations showed-with much overlap-that there were 26 review papers focusing mainly on social determinants of health and health disparities, 20 on health needs and risk factors, and 20 on health services (see Additional file 1) versing on diverse topics. We were able to retrieve 42 of the initial 66 reviews. All other references were added as authors reviewed and retrieved materials from different information sources (PubMed, Internet, books), for each component of the conceptual framework.

5. 5.
Collating, summarizing, and reporting results. We reviewed and selected papers, documents, and websites systematically to develop the sections on social determinants of health and health disparities, health risks, morbidity and mortality, health services, and the Hispanic and Latina paradoxes. Authors discussed and agreed upon references to be added for each section. Table 1 was prepared to show the main organizations addressing Hispanic health.

Table 1 Major Hispanic health agencies and initiatives in the USA

We did not conduct the optional sixth stage of a scoping study: "Consultation."

The following sections present the main components of Hispanic health, as outlined in our conceptual framework: social determinants of health and health inequalities, health risks, morbidity and mortality, health services and the Latina Birth Outcomes and Hispanic Mortality Paradoxes. Special subpopulations are emphasized where information was deemed important.

Social determinants of health and health inequalities

In this section, we present the major SDH of Hispanic health including demography, socioeconomic status, environment, occupation, and mobility. We additionally discuss the significant contributions of culture, language, poverty, and gender to Hispanic health inequalities.

Demography

Hispanics in the USA include people of Mexican (67.9%), Puerto Rican (10.1%), Salvadoran (4.0%), Cuban (3.9%), Dominican (3.4%), Guatemalan (2.6%), and other Hispanic origins (8.0%) [ 1]. In 2010, five US states had the largest Hispanic populations: California (14 million), Texas (9.5 million), Florida (4.2 million), New York (3.4 million), and Illinois (1.2 million). The following states had the highest proportion of Hispanic residents: New Mexico (46.3%), California (37.6%), Texas (37.6%), Arizona (29.6%), and Nevada (26.5%) (Fig. 3).

Environment

About 91% of US Hispanics reside in metropolitan areas [ 35], and 28.3% of them reside near major highways with high traffic volume [ 36]. Living near a major highway is associated with adverse outcomes including acute [ 37] and chronic [ 38, 39] respiratory illnesses, cardiovascular diseases [ 40, 41], obstetrical complications [ 42], and poor pregnancy outcomes [ 43]. Cancer risk pollutants emitted indoors tend to be higher in Hispanic households [ 44].

Despite significant improvements in water availability and quality in the USA, some Hispanic communities still face water quality associated health threats including elevated levels of arsenic [ 45] and nitrates [ 46].

In 2013, 21.5% of US Hispanics were estimated to live near Superfund sites [ 47]. Compared to NHWs, Hispanics are more likely to reside in areas with increased industrial pollution [ 48]. Residence near hazardous waste sites has been positively related to an increase in hospitalization from diabetes [ 49].

Occupation

The employment rate among Hispanics (66.4%) is similar to that of NHWs (64%). Hispanic workers perform a disproportionate amount of unskilled, high-risk jobs (59%) as compared to NHWs (38.1%) in construction, domestic maintenance and repair services, nondurable manufacturing, and personal and household services [ 50]. Hispanics face an increased risk of mortality from some occupational hazards. As compared to NHW, the relative risk (RR) of a heat-related death among Hispanic agricultural workers was 3.4 (95% CI 2.0, 5.8) and among construction workers 1.7 (95% CI 1.1, 2.6); the risk of death from occupational carbon monoxide exposure was 1.4 ( p < 0.05) [ 51, 52].

Mobility

In recent years, the US Hispanic population has disseminated towards Central and Eastern States, with nine of them experiencing increments over 100% (SC, AL, TN, KY, AR, NC, MD, MS, and SD) in search of work and better living conditions (Fig. 4).

Culture and language

Hispanics in the USA have a particular social and cultural identity that characterizes them as an ethnic group. These, together with language, are the main manifestations of their culture. First-generation Hispanics (meaning they themselves were foreign-born) differ from second-generation Hispanics (US-born sons or daughters of at least one foreign-born parent) in language use, acculturation, diet, and other characteristics which exert differential health effects. For example, second- and third-generation Hispanics have an increased frequency of overweight and obesity when compared to first-generation Hispanics [ 53]. Familism is also an important cultural value among Hispanics [ 54] and is a source of emotional and financial support that may exert health risk-mitigating effects [ 17, 55].

In 2014, 68.4% of Hispanics reported they speak English at home or that they speak English "very well" as compared to 59.0% in 1980 [ 56]. Though English proficiency and educational level among Hispanics have increased, educational attainment is still low mainly among foreign-born Hispanics [ 57]. Between 2000 and 2013, the high school dropout rate decreased from 32 to 14%; still, it was nearly three times higher than that of NHWs (5%). Two- and four-year college enrollment increased 201% for Hispanics (versus 14% for NHWs), but in 2013 only 15% of Hispanics had at least a bachelor's degree as compared to 40% of NHWs (34). Hispanics are underrepresented in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) careers [ 58], and there is a growing shortage of Hispanic health care professionals [ 59].

Poverty and household income

In 2014, the median household income of Hispanics (USD $39,600) was 52% lower than that of NHWs (USD $60,300) [ 60]. Between 2000 and 2010, the poverty rate among Hispanics in the USA increased 5.1% as compared to that of NHWs (2.5%) [ 61]. By 2014, 23.6% of Hispanics were living below the poverty level, starkly differing from that of the national population (14.8%) and NHWs (10.1%). Additionally, the income-to-poverty ratio, a measure of depth of poverty, showed that 9.6% of Hispanics had income below one half of their poverty threshold (deep poverty) as compared to 4.6% of NHWs [ 60]. Poverty is high among the youngest and oldest Hispanics. In 2010, 6.1 million Hispanic children were living in poverty, the majority of which (4.1 million) were children of immigrant parents. Among adults 65 years and older, Hispanics have the highest poverty rate (20%) when compared to national estimates of poverty (10%) [ 62].

Poverty and health care

Gender

Health inequalities are heightened among US women, mostly related to social determinants such as unfair paid labor, schooling, and violence. Longitudinal analyses of changes in racial and gender inequality during the last four decades (1970 to 2010) have found important differences in median income by race/ethnicity among those aged 25 to 64 years. For example, in 1970 NHW women's earned income was 20% higher than that for Hispanic women; it was 50% higher in 2009. Lower educational attainment among Hispanic women has worsened over time, from 11% in 1969 to 22% in 2009 [ 66]. Lower educational attainment has been shown to protect against morbidity, mortality, and depression, although recent research has shown that, among US-born Mexican-American women, higher educational attainment was associated with diabetes [ 67].

Hispanic women tend to be more vulnerable to abuse and mistreatment; Hispanic women may suffer lower self-esteem and higher intimate partner violence (IPV), with differential rates by country of origin [ 64]. Those who recently immigrated to the US-who work in bars or cantinas-were found to be at higher risks of experiencing intimate partner violence, including increased sexual risk behaviors from their primary or non-primary sexual partners [ 68].

Migrant seasonal farm workers (MSFW)

The US Hispanic population includes a large number of migrant and temporary workers who are foreign-born. Self-selection of migrant workers may explain some of the apparent health advantages in the US Hispanic population. This is also known as the healthy migrant effect [ 69].

MSFWs are one of the most marginalized populations in the USA. A high proportion of them (68%) were born in Mexico [ 70], 78% are males, 59% are married, and their average age is 36 years.

Given the nature of agricultural work, MSFWs face particular occupational health hazards such as pesticide exposure [ 71, 72], heat exposure [ 73], musculoskeletal injuries [ 74], respiratory illnesses [ 75], skin disorders [ 76], eye injuries [ 77], food insecurity [ 78], and depression [ 79]. Assessment of these and other health risks and outcomes is hampered by MSFWs' highly mobile lifestyle, limited English proficiency, varying levels of citizenship status, and cultural barriers.

Undocumented immigrant workers

Unauthorized immigration is an important demographic phenomenon in the USA; undocumented immigrant workers play an important role in the US economy. Although declining, by 2012 the number of unauthorized immigrants was estimated at 11.2 million, the majority of whom (53%) were Mexican-born [ 80]. Undocumented migrant workers are employed in substandard, high-risk jobs with risky occupational exposures and very limited or no health insurance [ 81].

Risk factors

This section presents some of the main risk factors underlying the most important chronic diseases affecting Hispanics in the USA, namely obesity, tobacco smoking, and alcohol intake.

Obesity

The obesity epidemic underlies multiple health issues among Hispanics; it is a common denominator in the development of metabolic syndrome, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), diabetes, and cardiovascular disease (CVD). In addition, obesity increases the risk for several forms of malignancies [ 53]. The Hispanic population in the USA is disproportionately affected by obesity, with 42.5% [ 82] of adults currently classified as obese. This reflects a significant increase in prevalence since 1999, when approximately 20% of Hispanic adults were classified as obese [ 83]. Additionally, Hispanics have the highest rates of obesity among American youth (ages 2-19 years) at 21.9%, compared with 14.7% in NHWs [ 82], and Hispanic children aged 2-5 years have a fivefold higher prevalence of obesity compared to their NHW counterparts [ 82, 84]. Previous data showed that Hispanic children born outside of the USA were less likely to be obese than those born in the USA to immigrant parents [ 85]. More recent data demonstrate that foreign-born children of Hispanic immigrants are more likely to be overweight than children of more settled Hispanic immigrants and children of US natives [ 86].

Obesity increases the risk for multiple associated health conditions. Obesity indirectly increases the risk of CVD and stroke by increasing the risk of hypertension [ 88] and diabetes [ 91]. The prevalence of diabetes and hypertension has been demonstrated to rise steadily in Hispanics of all ages with an increasingly elevated body mass index (BMI) [ 92]. Obesity also contributes to metabolic syndrome, which is characterized by insulin resistance. In turn, insulin resistance is a major risk factor for the development of diabetes as well as NAFLD [ 93], a condition that disproportionately affects Hispanics and can increase the risk of liver malignancies. Finally, the metabolic syndrome directly promotes the development of atherosclerotic CVD [ 94].

Tobacco

In the USA, second-generation Hispanics have a disproportionately high rate of tobacco use, which increases their risk for CVD, diabetes, and cancer [ 101].

Many prevalent cancers in Hispanics (lung, breast, colorectal, and liver) share preventable risk factors, including, tobacco consumption, sedentary lifestyle, alcohol abuse, obesity, and an unhealthy diet. Additionally, other cancers (gastric, liver, and cervical) are associated with previous preventable or treatable infections, such as Helicobacter pylori, hepatitis B/C virus (HBV/HCV), and human papillomavirus. In the future, cancer mortality rates may decrease by avoiding risk factors that are the outcomes of acculturation, culturally insensitive public health approaches, and limited health care access [ 102].

Alcohol

Consumption of alcohol constitutes a risk factor for cancer, diabetes, CVD, and metabolic syndrome [ 103]. In the USA, Hispanics are less likely to binge-drink (defined as having a blood alcohol concentration greater or equal to 0.08 g/dL after 2 h of intake) when compared with NHWs [ 103]. However, alcohol consumption among Hispanics who already drink is higher than among NHWs. In 2010, the rate of alcohol dependence by country of origin was as follows: Puerto Rico 5.5%, Mexico 4.7%, South/Central America 3.1%, and Cuba 2.4% [ 90]. Binge drinking contributes to the development of fatty liver disease [ 104, 105].

Morbidity and mortality

Social, environmental, and biological forces have modified the epidemiologic profile of Hispanics in the USA, with cancer being the leading cause of mortality, followed by cardiovascular diseases, liver disease, and unintentional injuries. CVD and diabetes share a host of common risk factors. Most specifically, these take the form of the metabolic syndrome, which is diagnosed when an individual meets any three of the following five criteria: elevated waist circumference (central obesity), elevated triglycerides, reduced high-density lipoprotein-C, elevated blood pressure, or elevated fasting glucose [ 94].

Cardiovascular disease

CVD is the second leading cause of death for Hispanics residing in the USA [ 67]. Significant risk factors for CVD include hyperlipidemia, tobacco use, diabetes, obesity, and hypertension [ 87]. Despite having an increased prevalence of several of the risk factors for CVD, Hispanics have a 25% lower death rate from cardiac disease than NHWs [ 7] and a 20% lower age-adjusted prevalence of congestive heart disease than NHWs [ 106]. This seemingly paradoxical finding may be explained by the relatively low median age of Hispanics residing in the USA, or it may represent an extension of the Hispanic Mortality Paradox, as supported by recent publications [ 7, 106, 107].

Diabetes

Percentage of diagnosed diabetes by ethnicity in people aged 20 years or older for the period 2010-2012. *Age-adjusted based on the 2000 US standard population. Source: [ 97]

Percentage of diagnosed diabetes by Hispanic subgroups 2010-2012. *Age-adjusted based on the 2000 US standard population. Source: [ 97]

Cancer

While Hispanics have a 30% lower mortality and 20% lower morbidity due to cancer than NHWs, cancer is now the leading cause of death among Hispanics. In 2015, 125,900 incident cases of cancer were estimated to have occurred among Hispanics, with a case-fatality rate of 30% (37,900 deaths) [ 110, 111]. Consistent with decreasing trends in cancer mortality among NHWs, cancer mortality has also decreased among Hispanic men (1.5% per year) and women (1.0%).

Liver disease

Liver disease is the 11th most common cause of death in Americans, but the sixth most common cause of death in Hispanic individuals residing in the USA. For both Hispanics and NHWs, deaths attributed to chronic liver disease are equally divided between alcohol and other causes [ 7]. Hispanic individuals in the USA have a 48% higher death rate from liver disease and cirrhosis than NHWs. Common causes of liver disease affecting Hispanics in the USA include non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), alcoholic liver disease (ALD), and chronic infections with viral hepatitis.

NAFLD encompasses a variety of liver conditions that are histologically similar to alcoholic liver disease and can culminate in cirrhosis and liver failure [ 93]. Obesity and insulin resistance, two components of the metabolic syndrome, are risk factors for NAFLD and have been found to be correlated with hepatic fat accumulation in Hispanics [ 117]. NAFLD is associated with CVD in all affected populations, and cardiovascular complications are the most common cause of death in persons with NAFLD [ 118, 119]. The worldwide prevalence of NAFLD is estimated at 20%. The prevalence of NAFLD in Hispanics living in the USA is at least 29% [ 120, 121], where the risk is heterogeneous. For instance, Hispanics of Mexican origin maintain a significantly higher risk of NAFLD (33%) than do individuals of Dominican (16%) or Puerto Rican (18%) origin [ 12].

The contribution of viral hepatitis to liver disease in the Hispanic population is similar to that of the general NHW population. The Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos (HCHS/SOL) reported that the overall incidence of active HBV infection was 0.29% [ 126]. However, these results were heterogeneous, with the highest incidence of active infection noted in those born in the Dominican Republic (0.95%) and the USA (0.57%). The HCHS/SOL cohort also demonstrated heterogeneity in HCV infection among Hispanics living in the USA [ 126].

The HCV prevalence among Hispanics 18-74 years of age residing in the USA was reported as 1.5% in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2007-2010 [ 4, 127] and 2.0% in the HCHS/SOL population [ 128]. The HCV seropositivity rates varied from 0.4% among males of South American descent to 11.6% of males of Puerto Rican descent. On average, females had lower rates of HCV than males in all Hispanic subgroups. The rates of HCV also varied by age and current city of residence [ 126]. All of the previously mentioned causes of liver disease increase the risk of liver cancer. US Hispanics are also at higher risk of developing [ 3] and dying from cancer of the liver and bile ducts [ 7, 129].

Unintentional injuries

Mortality from unintentional injuries in 2010 ranked third for the Hispanic population, accounting for 7.3% of deaths after malignant neoplasms (21.5%) and heart disease (20.8%), while deaths from unintentional injuries accounted for 4.8 and 4.2% among NHWs and non-Hispanic blacks, respectively [ 9].

The three leading causes of unintentional injuries were motor vehicle collisions, accidental poisoning, and falls. When combined, these three represented 49.2 and 50.2% of all deaths from intentional and unintentional causes in 2000 and 2009, respectively [ 130]. Furthermore, Hispanics and Blacks had lower motor vehicle traffic crash adjusted mortality rates than did Whites. These are in line with previous findings examining ethnic differences showing declines in unintentional injury deaths among Hispanics as compared to NHWs for the periods 1992-2002 [ 131] and 1999-2005 [ 132]. Lastly, increased pedestrian-related deaths in the Hispanic elderly population contribute to mortality from unintentional injuries in this vulnerable population [ 133].

The Latina Birth Outcomes and the Hispanic Mortality Paradoxes

Despite their socioeconomic disadvantages and burden of disease, all-cause mortality among Hispanics is 24% lower than for NHWs and mortality is also lower for nine out of 15 leading causes of death [ 7]. Hispanics in the USA have a longer life expectancy at birth and experience some better health outcomes than similar socioeconomic groups, a phenomenon described roughly 30 years ago as the "Hispanic Mortality Paradox." Seeming to persist to this date, the Hispanic Mortality Paradox is mostly attributed to a "healthy migrant effect" [ 134- 137] involving cultural mores and health behaviors of first-generation Hispanics in the USA. Additionally, Hispanic women in the USA have birth outcomes similar to those of women with a higher socioeconomic status and access to health services in the USA, a phenomenon known as the "Latina Birth Outcomes Paradox" [ 138, 139], apparently due to acculturation-related behaviors such as diet, smoking, and social support [ 18], although this paradox remains controversial [ 140, 141].

Infant mortality and the Latina Birth Outcomes Paradox

The infant mortality rate is an accurate reflection of a nation's health that proves that social determinants of health are shaped by the economics, social policies, and politics surrounding the circumstances in which people are born, grow up, live, work, and age [ 142].

The CDC states that "the risk of...infant mortality and pregnancy-related complications can be reduced by increasing access to quality...care [because pregnancy provides] an opportunity to identify existing health risks in women and to prevent future health problems for women and their children" [ 150].

Nonetheless, the main reasons for Hispanic women not being able to access care are (1) not being "poor enough" to qualify for Medicaid without any structured perinatal care on which to rely on; (2) unable to afford coverage offered by the ACA; and (3) born outside the USA and may not qualify for Medicaid coverage depending on their legal status and the state they live in, as there are differences in eligibility and perinatal coverage among states [ 153]. It thus begs the question as to how Hispanic women within the gap will be able to afford and obtain quality perinatal care.

The Hispanic Mortality Paradox

The Hispanic Mortality Paradox refers to lower mortality rates and better health outcomes among foreign-born, newly arrived, and thus less acculturated Hispanics as compared to native-born Hispanics or to NHWs. Reasons for this paradox may be that migrants and first-generation Hispanics may represent a self-selected healthier population. Also, undocumented or un-acculturated Hispanics may leave the country if unhealthy or their negative health outcomes may be underreported due to lack of access to health services. Lower rates of smoking seem to be at the heart of the Hispanic Mortality Paradox; however, the obesity and diabetes epidemics, together with higher levels of inflammatory biomarkers and increasing social and environmental stressors, may offset the health advantages of Hispanics in the future [ 106, 107, 135, 136].

Health services

The social response to health needs is implemented through health policy and programs, generically called "health services." Typical health service indicators include access, coverage, utilization, costs and expenditures, and quality and performance. In the case of Hispanics, health literacy and cultural competence play important roles.

The implementation of the ACA has increased access to health care for Hispanics; a recent survey showed that 87% of US-born Hispanics have health insurance, compared to 78% of those born outside the USA [ 154]. The ACA has expanded coverage by 5.3% since it was established, granting access to Medicaid and state and federal health insurance. The uninsured rate has decreased by 11.9% among Hispanics compared to a 6.1% decrease among NHWs [ 155]. However, barriers to access persist: about half of Hispanics who are uninsured have household incomes under 133% of the poverty line (about USD $15,500 a year), which makes them eligible for Medicaid [ 10, 156]. As of December 10, 2015, 25 states had expanded Medicaid while 20 had not and another six are using alternative expansion waivers. By the end of 2014, about a quarter of Hispanics remained uninsured in states that expanded Medicaid eligibility as compared to about a half of Hispanics in states that have not, and still higher percentages remain uninsured in states like Texas and Florida, which have the second and third largest Hispanic populations.

An analysis of four national health surveys reported higher rates (41.5%) of uninsured Hispanics ages 18-64 years (45.3% men, 37.4% women) compared with 15.1% of NHWs of the same age. Moreover, foreign-born Hispanics 18-64 years were over twice as likely to be uninsured than US-born individuals (54.7 vs. 25.9%, respectively). About 15.5% of Hispanics reported delayed or lack of medical care because of cost concerns compared to just 13.6% of NHWs and 12.5% did not obtain needed prescription drugs because of cost compared to just 9.5% of NHWs [ 7].

Hispanics use fewer health screenings, have less follow-up care, and face more economic and cultural barriers to health care. Hispanics are 28% less likely to be screened for colorectal cancer than are NHWs. Hispanic women have less access to breast cancer and cervical cancer screening [ 157, 158].

Hispanics are more likely than NHWs to receive mental health care through emergency departments rather than self-referral or outpatient services [ 159]. They are also more likely than other ethnic groups to discontinue diabetes medications after losing health care coverage [ 160].

The number of Hispanic health care professionals does not mirror the total percentage of Hispanics in the USA (17.4%). Hispanic professionals have been historically underrepresented in the health professions in the USA: pharmacists make up 3.4%, physicians 5%, physician assistants 3.7%, licensed registered nurses 1.7%, and dentists 3.3% of health professionals [ 161]. In 2015-2016, medical enrollment and graduation remains at about 5%.

Hispanics comprise about 14% of the total US workforce in the USA. About 50% of the 22 million Hispanic workers in the USA are immigrants. Immigrant workers are often employed in high-risk jobs where they bear a high burden of occupational injuries, often holding temporary jobs with no health benefits. They are also often geographically mobile, thus unable to have a usual care provider and obtain continuity of care [ 162]. Undocumented Hispanics make up about 5% of the US workforce but they are ineligible for health insurance and thus more likely to advance to severe illness and use emergency care services. A standardized approach to providing emergency care is through the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, a long-standing act of Congress that "imposes specific obligations on Medicare-participating hospitals that offer emergency services to provide a medical screening examination when a request is made for examination or treatment for an emergency medical condition, including active labor, regardless of an individual's ability to pay" [ 163].

Recommendations

This scoping review provides an updated account of the social determinants of health, health inequalities, and risk factors shaping Hispanic morbidity and mortality trends in the one hand and the organized social response by health services in the other. Our review considers recent information on Hispanic subpopulation types: Hispanics born in the USA, foreign-born, undocumented, and migrant and seasonal farm workers (MSFW). The increasing heterogeneity of the Hispanic population in the USA by country of origin is also taken into account. Additionally, we provide brief updates on the Hispanic Mortality Paradox and the Latina Birth Outcomes Paradox.

A multilevel, multifaceted approach, from social policy to health services, is needed to improve the health of Hispanics in the USA. We identified three priority policy and programmatic areas to be pursued.

Adopt a Health in All Policies approach

Initiatives like those proposed by the Social Determinants of Health Work Group at the CDC offer a roadmap to address SDHs and health inequalities through five key domains: (1) economic stability, (2) education, (3) health and health care, (4) neighborhood and built environment, and (5) social community context. They identify national, state, and local resources and point out national experiences of interventions to improve social determinants of health [ 166].

Intersectoral actions are key to address the diversity of social determinants of health and also involve partnering with communities to engage them and increase the pertinence of interventions. The interconnected nature of determinants of health, health inequalities, and risk factors herein presented require equally comprehensive initiatives that would not only target and help Hispanics but other ethnic and vulnerable populations sharing similar contexts, through multidisciplinary, multisectoral programs aiming at generating sustainable local capacities [ 166].

The integrated approach presented in our conceptual framework reflects the opportunity for the different social sectors to share information and collaborate with direct actions targeting the different social determinants of health within their area of responsibility. For example, health authorities can collaborate with housing, urban development counterparts to generate comprehensive programs focusing on improving local housing and the built environment, as well as indoor environmental conditions. Table 1 presents some of the most prominent organizations and initiatives working on improving Hispanic health in the USA.

Increase health care access

Unequal health insurance markets have created a variegated array of health care access for Hispanics in the USA. It is unclear how the final implementation and shape of Medicaid eligibility provided by the ACA will benefit Hispanics. Major obstacles to health care access for Hispanics should be addressed, particularly those originating from substandard employment with limited health benefits, limited number of Hispanic health care providers, cultural sensitivity, geographic mobility, and undocumented status. These barriers result in Hispanics using fewer therapeutic and preventive health services even with increased access to, and utilization of, health services through the ACA [ 167, 168].

The underrepresentation of Hispanic health care workers in health professions programs must be addressed through pipeline education programs, affirmative action admissions, diversity requirements for school accreditation, tuition loan repayment programs and federal, and scholarship funding to support diversity enrichment programs. Similar Hispanic representation must be accomplished at all levels of decision-making and services, following the Health in All Policies framework outlined above, to respond to the changing demographic and health profiles of Hispanics in the USA [ 169].

Migration forces to the USA are diverse; multilateral country collaborations between migrant sender and recipient communities are needed to develop health care programs for Hispanics. Immigrants' access to health services varies among states according to legal status, country of origin, and cultural and linguistic issues. For example, Puerto Ricans have citizenship rights in the USA and refugees and asylees in the USA are granted Medicaid coverage in the USA [ 173]. Undocumented immigrants are banned from purchasing health care services under the ACA. In June 2015, California passed a bill to allow undocumented immigrants to purchase ACA insurance [ 174]. Proponents of access to undocumented workers believe that allowing access to health care would reward this workforce for their contributions to society and advance social justice for this vulnerable population [ 19, 81]. International epidemiologic intelligence information must be shared across borders among migrant sender and recipient communities of migrant workers to prevent and respond to health risks [ 175].

Generate and disseminate knowledge

Efforts should continue to disseminate the results of health disparities research and promotion and risk prevention strategies among Hispanics. Research must capture and interpret the sociocultural factors to explain Hispanic health inequalities by improving the terminology to identify Hispanics [ 176] and increasing participation of Hispanics in health research. To this end, new research paradigms must use multilevel models and implementation science to incorporate the continuum of social determinants of health, health inequalities, and risk factors that modulate the epidemiologic profile of Hispanics in the USA. Research constructs must adapt to the changing dynamics of Hispanic demographics and social conditions, in addition to the effects of policy changes introduced by the ACA for eligible and ineligible Hispanics. Translating research findings into practice will require funding multidisciplinary collaborations between Hispanic community stakeholders, government, and non-governmental organizations [ 177].

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Hispanic health in the USA: a scoping review of the literature - Public Health Reviews

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Hispanics are the largest minority group in the USA. They contribute to the economy, cultural diversity, and health of the nation. Assessing their health status and health needs is key to inform health policy formulation and program implementation.

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“The perceived impact of skin color in the lives of U.S. Latinos is broad. From impacting their ability to get ahead in the country to shaping their daily life experiences to dealing with discrimination, skin color is seen by Latinos as an important factor affecting their lives and life chances.”

https://www.pewresearch.org/hispanic/2021/11/04/majority-of-latinos-say-skin-color-impacts-opportunity-in-america-and-shapes-daily-life/

Shewa Hasanzade

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Pew Research Center's Hispanic Trends Project

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Latinos with darker skin color report more discrimination experiences than Latinos with lighter skin color

The perceived impact of skin color in the lives of U.S. Latinos is broad. From impacting their ability to get ahead in the country to shaping their daily life experiences to dealing with discrimination, skin color is seen by Latinos as an important factor affecting their lives and life chances.

A majority (62%) of Hispanic adults say having a darker skin color hurts Hispanics' ability to get ahead in the United States today at least a little. A similar share (59%) say having a lighter skin color helps Hispanics get ahead. And 57% say skin color shapes their daily life experiences a lot or some, with about half saying discrimination based on race or skin color is a "very big problem" in the U.S. today, according to Pew Research Center's National Survey of Latinos, a bilingual, national survey of 3,375 Hispanic U.S. adults conducted in March 2021.

Colorism is a form of discrimination based on skin color, usually, though not always, favoring lighter skin color over darker skin color within a racial or ethnic group. While it can be tied to racism, it is not necessarily the same. (Racism is prejudice directed at members of a racial or ethnic group because of their origin.) For example, Hispanics in the U.S. may face discrimination because they are Hispanic (a form of racism), but the degree of discrimination may vary based on skin color, with those of darker shades experiencing more incidents (a form of colorism). And because of colorism's deep roots in the histories of Latin America and the United States, discrimination based on skin color can occur among Hispanics just as much as it can be directed at Hispanics by non-Hispanics.

To measure this dimension of Latino identity in the United States, the survey asked respondents to identify the skin color that best resembled their own using a version of the Yadon-Ostfeld skin-color scale. Respondents were shown ten skin colors that ranged from fair to dark (see text box below for the images and scale used). Fully 80% of Latino adults selected a color between one and four, or lighter skin colors, while 15% selected a color between five and ten on the scale, or darker skin colors.

Discrimination and skin color

Colorism in the Americas

Discrimination based on skin color has deep historical roots in Latin America and the Caribbean. Centuries ago, a hierarchical or caste system was established in the Americas, tying privilege, individual worth and access to opportunities to one's skin color, race and birthplace. This was further shaped by the arrival of slaves from Africa across the region and the mixing of Indigenous, European and African populations.

Today, skin color remains an important determinant of outcomes across the region. Individuals with darker skin achieve lower levels of educational attainment or have less access to health care, for example. And those of lighter skin color experience less discrimination than those of darker skin color.

Colorism is present in the U.S. as well and has similarly impacted the lives of Hispanics, Black Americans and Asian Americans, existing alongside racial discrimination. And it is similarly linked to a number of outcomes. For example, racism may impact both Hispanics of lighter skin and darker skin color, but Hispanics with darker skin may experience more discrimination.

Overall, about half (54%) of Hispanic adults experienced at least one of the eight discrimination incidents asked about in the survey, reflecting broader and ongoing experiences with discrimination among U.S. Hispanics no matter their skin color. However, the new survey finds Hispanics with darker skin color are more likely to have experienced at least one discrimination incident than Hispanics with lighter skin color. Nearly two-thirds (64%) of Hispanics with darker skin say they personally experienced at least one of the eight discrimination incidents during the year previous to the survey, while 54% of Hispanics with lighter skin color say the same.

Among the discrimination experiences included in the survey, being treated as if they were not smart is the most reported. Some 42% of Latinos with darker skin say this happened to them, as do 34% of Latinos with lighter skin.

The next most common discrimination experiences were those directed at Hispanics by non-Hispanics and Hispanics alike, with the chances of these incidents happening linked to skin color. Some 42% of Hispanics with darker skin personally experienced discrimination or were treated unfairly by someone who is not Hispanic, while 29% of those with lighter skin say the same happened to them. And 41% of Hispanics with darker skin say they personally experienced discrimination or were treated unfairly by someone who is Hispanic, while 25% of those who have a lighter skin color say they too experienced discrimination by someone who is Hispanic.

Still, no matter their skin color and despite the notable gap, Latinos are experiencing discrimination. About one-third (32%) of Latinos with darker skin say someone told them to go back to their country, for example, as did 20% 0f those with lighter skin. Some 33% of Latinos with darker skin say someone criticized them for speaking Spanish in public, as did 22% of those with lighter skin. And 27% of Latinos with darker skin say they feared for their personal safety while 20% of those with lighter skin say the same.

While Latinos' skin color is linked to discrimination experiences, those with darker skin and lighter skin alike say skin color affects opportunity and life experiences in America. For example, majorities of both groups say skin color shapes their daily life experiences - 62% among Latinos with darker skin and 57% among Latinos with lighter skin. And both groups are just as likely to say darker skin color "hurts" Latinos' ability to get ahead in the U.S. (63% and 64% respectively). About half (49%) of Latinos with lighter skin say discrimination based on race or skin color is a very big problem, as do 41% of those with darker skin.

Impact of race, skin color is a topic of conversation with relatives and friends for Hispanics

Race, skin color and the state of race relations sometimes come up in conversations Latinos have with family and friends. Roughly half (48%) say discrimination based on race or skin color is a topic in conversations at least sometimes with friends and relatives. But these conversations are not happening frequently among all Latinos. About half (51%) say these conversations with relatives and friends happen rarely (30%) or never (21%).

Conversations about racial or skin color discrimination are happening more often among Hispanics with darker skin than those with lighter skin. Six-in-ten Hispanics with darker skin color (60%) say they often or sometimes talk with family and friends about discrimination based on race or skin color, a share that falls to 46% among Hispanics with lighter skin.

And 44% say the topic of U.S. race relations often or sometimes comes up when talking with family and friends. About half (52%) of Hispanics with darker skin say this, as do 43% of Hispanics with lighter skin.

Racial identity and experiences with racism have been a part of some Latinos' experiences growing up as well. About one-in-four Latinos (27%) say their family talked to them at least sometimes about the challenges they might face due to their race or ethnicity when they were growing up. This is more common among Latinos who indicate they have darker skin (41%) than among those who indicate they have lighter skin (25%).

Capturing skin color among U.S. Hispanics

A self-assessed measure of skin color was included in the survey as one of four measures of racial identity. The survey used a version of the Yadon-Ostfeld 10-point skin color scale, where one represents the lightest skin color and 10 the darkest. (The scale used in the survey is reproduced below.) Survey respondents were asked to select the color that most closely matches their own, even if none of them were exactly right.

Responses were distributed mostly toward lighter skin colors. Eight-in-ten Hispanics selected one of the four lightest skin colors, with the second-lightest ranking on top (28%), followed by the third (21%) and fourth lightest colors (17%). By contrast, 15% of Latino respondents selected one of the six darker skin colors, with only 3% in total selecting one of the four darkest skin colors (7-10). For this report, those who indicated their skin color is between one and four are identified as of a lighter skin color, while those who indicated their skin color is between five and 10 are identified as of a darker skin color.

Half of Latinos say there is too little national attention on racial issues concerning Latino people

After nearly a year of national engagement over issues of race following the killing of George Floyd in May of 2020 and subsequent nationwide racial justice protests, Latinos are split over whether there is too much or too little attention paid to race and racial issues in the country today. Overall, 37% say that too little attention is paid to these issues, while 36% say there is too much attention and 25% say the amount of attention given to race and racial issues is about the right amount.

The views of Latinos on this have shifted as the share saying too little attention is paid to race relations has dipped compared with 2019 and 2020, when 50% and 46% of Latinos respectively said the same. At the same time, a growing share say there is too much attention paid to race and racial issues nationally. Some 36% say this today, up from 27% who said the same in 2019.

Even before recent events, Latinos were downbeat about race relations in the U.S. In another 2019 Pew Research Center survey, six-in-ten Latinos (60%) said race relations in the country then were generally bad and getting worse. In the same survey, more Latinos said people not seeing racism where it really does exist was a bigger problem in the country than people seeing racial discrimination where it really does not exist.

Yet, when it comes to how much attention is paid to race and racial issues concerning Hispanic people, about half of all Hispanics (51%) say too little attention is paid to them today. Among Hispanics with darker skin, 57% say too little attention is paid to racial issues concerning Hispanic people, a higher share than the 50% of those with lighter skin color who say the same.

About as many Hispanics hold this view about the level of national attention paid to race and racial issues concerning Asian people. Over half (55%) of Hispanics say too little attention is paid to race issues concerning Asian people in the country today. Meanwhile, 29% of Hispanics say the amount of national attention paid to race issues concerning Asian people is about right and 14% say too much attention is paid to these issues. (The survey was fielded just as the number of hate and violence incidents focused on Asian Americans drew wide national attention.)

At the same time, 30% of Hispanics say too little attention is paid to race and racial issues related to Black people today, while 45% say too much attention is paid to them and 23% say the right amount of attention is paid to these issues.

Hispanics are hearing racially insensitive comments and jokes coming from other Hispanics, according to the survey. Nearly half (48%) of Hispanic adults say they have often or sometimes heard a Hispanic friend or family member make comments or jokes about other Hispanics that might be considered racist or racially insensitive. Similar shares of Hispanics who identify with a lighter skin color (48%) or darker skin color (52%) say they have heard these types of comments or jokes from friends or family at least sometimes.

And 45% of Hispanic adults say the same about hearing a Hispanic friend or family member make racist or racially insensitive comments or jokes about others who are not Hispanic often or at least sometimes. Among Hispanics with darker skin color, 53% say this, a higher share than among Hispanics with lighter skin color (44%).

This is little changed from 2019, when a similar share of Hispanics (47%) said they heard a Hispanic friend or family member make what might be considered a racist comment about people who are not Hispanic. In the same 2019 survey, half of those who heard these comments or jokes from people close to them said they confronted a friend or family member about it.

While Hispanics say skin color affects their ability to get ahead in America, other factors are seen as important as well

While a majority of Latinos say skin color impacts Latinos' opportunity in the U.S. today, education and immigration status are viewed by more as having an impact on the ability to get ahead.

About eight-in-ten Hispanics (82%) say having a college degree helps the ability of Hispanics to get ahead in the U.S. these days. And 78% say the same about living in the U.S. legally. Both are higher than the 59% saying a lighter skin color helps Hispanics get ahead in America and the 62% saying a darker skin color hurts Hispanics.

When asked if gender affects Hispanics' ability to get ahead in the U.S. today, about half (52%) of Hispanics say being a man helps, while 21% say the same about being a woman. Roughly one-in-three say that being a Hispanic man or woman is neither an advantage nor disadvantage in America today.

Latinos' views on topics related to race or skin color differ by their own experiences with discrimination. Those who reported experiencing at least one of eight specific forms of discrimination asked about in the survey were more likely than those who did not report one to say having a lighter skin color helps at least a little in the ability of Hispanics to get ahead - 66% vs. 51% respectively.

About two-thirds (68%) of Latinos who had a discrimination experience in the past year say skin color shapes their daily life experiences a lot or some, compared with 43% of those who had no discrimination experiences that say the same.

In addition, those who had at least one discrimination experience in the past year were more likely than those who did not have such experiences to say discrimination based on race or skin color is a "very big problem" in the U.S., that discrimination based on skin color comes up often or sometimes in conversations with family and friends and that too little attention is paid to race and racial issues in the U.S. these days.

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Luis Noe-Bustamante, Ana Gonzalez-Barrera, Khadijah Edwards, Lauren Mora and Mark Hugo Lopez

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Majority of Latinos Say Skin Color Impacts Opportunity in America and Shapes Daily Life

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Latinos with darker skin color report more discrimination experiences than Latinos with lighter skin color.

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“One of the main characteristics of Latin America is its diversity of cultures, peoples, customs, and ethnicities. This plurality of beings and places is what makes the continent so unique and extraordinary.”

https://www.sherlockcomms.com/blog/culture-latin-influenced-indigenous/

Shewa Hasanzade

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How is culture in Latin America influenced by indigenous cultures?

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The question "How is culture in Latin America influenced by indigenous cultures?" does not have a straightforward answer.

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"In fact, recent national surveys of Hispanics/Latinos show that the term Latinx is highly unpopular. Influential media and advocacy groups have started dropping the term or even arguing against its use to avoid offending those who dislike it. It might have been intended to be more inclusive, but it actually can feel exclusionary to everyday people."
- Luisita Lopez Torregrosa

https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/many-latinos-say-latinx-offends-or-bothers-them-here-s-ncna1285916

Sean Newby Lowery

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“The poetry you read has been written for you, each of you – black, white, Hispanic, man, woman, gay, straight.”
- Maya Angelou
https://www.overallmotivation.com/quotes/hispanic-quotes/

Sean Newby Lowery

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"I think I’m an American writer writing about Latin America, and I’m a Latin American writer who happens to write in English."

-Daniel Alacron
https://www.wisefamousquotes.com/quotes-about-latin-america/

Sean Newby Lowery

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“Yes, I am the first Latino poet laureate in the United States. But I’m also here for everyone and from everyone. My voice is made by everyone’s voices.”

– Juan Felipe Herrera

https://unexpectedvirtualtours.com/hispanic-heritage-month-quotes/

Sean Newby Lowery

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Latin America, for the first time in 500 years, is moving towards a degree of independence. - Noam Chomsky

https://www.quotemaster.org/q982b709a9be3fb1558a76a4438b2da37

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Latin America, for the first time in 500 years, is moving towards a degree of independence. Noam Chomsky

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Noam Chomsky "Latin America, for the first time in 500 years, is moving towards a degree of independence."

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"¿Y América Latina, qué? ¿Participa el pensamiento latinoamericano de lo que aquí me gustaría llamar «conversación global» sobre las crisis civilizatorias?"

Cita: https://nuso.org/articulo/el-pensamiento-latinoamericano-frente-las-crisis-civilizatorias/?utm_source=email&utm_medium=email

Gautam Kumar

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Nueva Sociedad | Democracia y política en América Latina

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I. En el prefacio a su reciente libro The Crises of Civilization. Exploring Global and Planetary Histories [Las crisis de la civilización. Explorar las historias planetaria y global], el reconocido historiador indio Dipesh Chakrabarty sugiere que la noción de civilización, a pesar de ser un concepto gastado y bastardeado ideológicamente, tiene todavía un papel importante por jugar en la actualidad. En un mundo atravesado por violencias de todo tipo y amenazado por regímenes autoritarios de diversa naturaleza, la vieja idea proveniente de la Ilustración de poder gozar de una vida civilizada, ordenada por relaciones basadas en la tolerancia, el intercambio de ideas y el ejercicio público de las facultades de la razón, debería seguir siendo un horizonte deseable para pensar la posibilidad misma de la vida en común. Chakrabarty trae allí a colación un ensayo de 1941 de Rabindranath Tagore titulado precisamente «The Crisis of Civilization» [La crisis de la civilización], en el que, sobre el final de su vida, el célebre escritor también de origen indio lamentaba el modo en que Europa había echado por la borda las promesas iniciales de la utopía civilizatoria. La Segunda Guerra Mundial y la barbarie nazi a la que entonces se asistía no eran las únicas culpables de ese estado de situación; ya el imperialismo y el colonialismo habían sido procesos que, en nombre de esos ideales civilizados, habían esparcido violencia y dominación en todos los rincones del mundo. No obstante, a pesar de esa historia aciaga, Tagore reconocía en la noción ilustrada de civilización un ideal sublime, infelizmente traicionado por el curso posterior de los acontecimientos. Dos décadas después, continúa Chakrabarty, era Frantz Fanon, uno de los máximos exponentes intelectuales del pensamiento anticolonial, quien retomaba el lamento de Tagore. También para él la cultura europea había sembrado promesas emancipatorias dirigidas a erradicar distintas formas de opresión, pero que habían naufragado por el racismo y el colonialismo.

Tagore y Fanon coincidían entonces en ser críticos de la tesis europea de la «misión civilizatoria», que en los hechos había funcionado como cobertura ideológica de procesos que habían impulsado la empresa imperialista europea produciendo injusticias y dolor en el mundo; pero se guardaban de preservar el concepto original de civilización de sus posteriores usos y derivas. Todavía más, llegaban a proclamar que la antorcha del horizonte civilizatorio ilustrado concebido en Europa podía ser retomada en el mundo poscolonial, acaso una mejor vía de realización de sus ideales de igualdad y de libertad1.

¿Y América Latina, qué? ¿Participa el pensamiento latinoamericano de lo que aquí me gustaría llamar «conversación global» sobre las crisis civilizatorias? Tanto el libro de Chakrabarty como mis propios interrogantes sobre esa materia son anteriores a la crisis mundial del covid-19. Si la problemática del cambio climático y la emergencia internacional de una ola de extrema derecha ya otorgaban a la época un perfil sombrío, la pandemia desatada a comienzos de año se posicionó como un «momento global total» (un momento sin antecedentes en cuanto a la sincronicidad planetaria del desafío sanitario que supuso, el tenor de las respuestas epidemiológicas que salieron a su cruce y sus efectos derivados en un rango que va de los factores macroeconómicos a la vida doméstica de comunidades, familias e individuos), que profundizó y dotó de facetas nuevas a la crisis civilizatoria precedente de maneras que recién estamos comenzando a procesar. Casi de inmediato, no obstante, comenzaron a circular elucubraciones sobre la situación excepcional que habitamos y sus posibles derroteros futuros provenientes de algunas figuras consagradas del pensamiento mundial. Por caso, fueron muy comentadas las intervenciones del italiano Giorgio Agamben, el esloveno Slavoj Žižek o el coreano Byung-Chul Han. Las meditaciones latinoamericanas, en cambio, demoraron en llegar, y cuando lo hicieron en general ofrecieron reflexiones más modestas en relación con la escala global de la crisis y los actuales dilemas civilizatorios.

Este ensayo se propone discutir esa presunta dificultad del pensamiento latinoamericano para implicarse en la escena global de las crisis. Lo hace a través de un rodeo histórico que nos sitúa en un momento acaecido hace exactamente un siglo, a la salida de la Primera Guerra Mundial. Es conocido que esa contienda bélica fue vivenciada como un derrumbe civilizatorio que tanto para muchos contemporáneos como luego para los historiadores ofició de clausura del largo siglo xix. Lo interesante es que, junto a los célebres diagnósticos que desde esas circunstancias tematizaban una «crisis del espíritu» –como el francés Paul Valéry– o incluso la «decadencia de Occidente» –como el alemán Oswald Spengler–, desde América Latina algunas importantes figuras asumieron también la tarea de pensar e intervenir sobre las mutaciones globales que se adivinaban en esa coyuntura. El argentino José Ingenieros (1877-1925), el mexicano José Vasconcelos (1882-1959) y el peruano José Carlos Mariátegui (1894-1930) fueron tres de los intelectuales latinoamericanos de mayor peso en la década de 1920. Sus respectivos perfiles, sin embargo, han quedado en general asociados a sus naciones de origen, y a lo sumo son ubicados en un contexto continental. Menos conocidas son sus intervenciones sobre el teatro de la crisis mundial que sobreviene con la Guerra del 14 –y con la Revolución Rusa como borde exterior de salida hacia la nueva era emergente–, un doble acontecimiento que impactó decisivamente en sus itinerarios intelectuales. El ejercicio que propone este texto busca entonces llamar la atención sobre esa faceta que ha recibido menor atención de estas tres figuras de relieve de la historia intelectual del continente, a la vez que alimentar un contrapunto que –sin obviar por supuesto los contextos diferenciales que enmarcan dos situaciones históricas separadas por un siglo de distancia– contribuya a una evaluación de las disposiciones y posibilidades del pensamiento latinoamericano a la hora de afrontar la crisis civilizatoria en curso.

II. Me detengo entonces en primer lugar en José Ingenieros2. Integrante de una familia de migrantes sicilianos, perteneció a los primeros núcleos intelectuales argentinos que no provenían de estratos patricios o de abolengo. Siendo joven frecuentó los círculos del modernismo literario de Ruben Darío, quien entonces vivía en Buenos Aires, y se involucró en el socialismo, que se acababa de constituir en partido. Por entonces abrevaba en sus vertientes de izquierda, que disonaban con el reformismo parlamentarista del líder Juan B. Justo, y desde ese enfoque prohijó en 1897, junto con Leopoldo Lugones, el periódico La Montaña. Pero hacia el cambio de siglo la trayectoria de Ingenieros experimenta importantes cambios. A partir de allí asume una perspectiva resueltamente positivista, desde la que desarrolla una serie de estudios en áreas como la sociología, la psiquiatría y la criminología, dominios en los que se convierte en una figura de primera referencia. La mirada cientificista y evolucionista que despliega entonces a menudo conectaba con una visión darwiniana de lo social, que no lo privó del léxico de la selección natural y hasta de entonaciones abiertamente racistas. A distancia de su socialismo juvenilista, el prestigio que adquirió en su condición de impulsor de saberes especializados lo proyectó a ocupar distintos cargos institucionales en los gobiernos de la República Conservadora. Hacia 1911, sin embargo, la carrera de Ingenieros3 dio un nuevo viraje, luego de que a instancias del propio presidente Roque Sáenz Peña se viera inhibido de ganar un concurso de profesor titular en la Universidad de Buenos Aires para el que era favorito. Abandona entonces Argentina, y en 1913 compone el ensayo El hombre mediocre, un verdadero suceso que, al tiempo que supone una relativización del prisma positivista que hasta entonces profesaba, lo instala como una figura de renombre continental. Allí, retomando un motivo de juventud popularizado luego por el uruguayo José Enrique Rodó, opondrá la noción de ideal –encarnada en individuos o minorías selectas, en general conformadas por jóvenes– a la masa amorfa y mediocre.

La proyección latinoamericana que otorga a Ingenieros este célebre ensayo pronto va a coincidir con la renovada atención que deposita en sucesos de la arena internacional. Es cierto que, como señalara en su momento Oscar Terán, aun en su etapa más acendradamente positivista el pensamiento sobre la realidad nacional argentina fue uno de los motores del pensamiento de Ingenieros. Desde 1915, además, se embarcará en un proyecto editorial que, ya desde su nombre, «La cultura argentina», se propuso intervenir en el diseño del canon de textos que debía informar el debate sobre las tradiciones y rasgos de la cultura nacional (un propósito que sustentó también en una serie de ensayos del periodo)4. Pero en paralelo a ello, Ingenieros será uno de los primeros intelectuales latinoamericanos de renombre en hacerse velozmente eco de los dos grandes procesos que en sucesión conmovieron al mundo: la Primera Guerra Mundial y la Revolución Rusa.

En efecto, apenas desatada la contienda bélica en agosto de 1914, el autor de El hombre mediocre publicaba en la revista Caras y Caretas un resonante artículo titulado «El suicidio de los bárbaros». En ese breve ensayo ubicaba ya el cataclismo que acababa de precipitarse como un acontecimiento de profundas implicancias, que lo llevaban a tomar franca distancia del eurocentrismo del que había hecho gala hasta entonces: «La civilización feudal –comenzaba el texto–, imperante en las naciones bárbaras de Europa, ha resuelto suicidarse, arrojándose al abismo de la guerra (…) Tuvo sus glorias; las admiramos. Tuvo sus héroes; quedan en la historia. Tuvo sus ideales; se cumplieron»5.

En verdad, tal como advertía Terán, la autoridad que Ingenieros le confería a Europa se erosiona solo parcialmente con la guerra6. Pero el ensayo es significativo porque inaugura en la trayectoria del intelectual argentino, y más en general en la del pensamiento latinoamericano, un movimiento análogo al que Chakrabarty percibe en Tagore y Fanon. «Esta crisis marcará el principio de otra era humana», sentenciaba Ingenieros en su texto, y luego: «la actual hecatombe es un puente hacia el porvenir»7. En esa precoz fe en el futuro se entrevé que otras regiones del mundo podían tomar la posta de la marcha civilizatoria que había encallado en Europa. La última etapa del itinerario intelectual de Ingenieros, que lo muestra reconciliado con su izquierdismo de juventud, sería solidaria con esa premisa. Porque mientras despliega allí un antiimperialismo que, invirtiendo sus posturas de la primera década del siglo, lo lleva a simpatizar con movimientos anticoloniales como el de Abd-el-Krim en Marruecos en su conflicto con España y Francia, saludará en la Reforma Universitaria iniciada en Córdoba en 1918, y mirará con entusiasmo en la Revolución Rusa comenzada un año antes, las señales de la nueva era que había entrevisto en 1914.

Que «El suicidio de los bárbaros» hacía las veces para Ingenieros de preludio del fenómeno bolchevique se evidencia en que es el texto que elige para abrir la compilación en la que, bajo el significativo título de Los tiempos nuevos, reúne en 1921 un conjunto de ensayos en los que en años anteriores se había dedicado a escrutar las novedades que llegaban del país de los sóviets. Esa serie se había iniciado también precozmente en 1918. Uno de esos textos estaba dedicado a examinar la economía de la Rusia revolucionaria; otro, a precisar el nuevo tipo de democracia que a su juicio se estaba tejiendo allí8. Pero más allá de esas dimensiones económicas y políticas, a Ingenieros le interesaba subrayar la trascendencia universal del nuevo experimento. En su mirada, la Revolución Rusa había traído aparejado el despertar de lo que denominaba «nuevas fuerzas morales», un plusvalor cultural potencialmente reapropiable en cualquier lugar del globo.

Esa perspectiva es la que preside su ensayo «Significación histórica del movimiento maximalista», un texto que resulta de una conferencia que dicta en el Teatro Nuevo de Buenos Aires en noviembre de 1918. Allí, a un año de haberse producido la toma del Palacio de Invierno, Ingenieros hipotetizaba:

Sin mucho don profético puede preverse que ahora vendrá lo que desde antes de la guerra se miraba como su consecuencia: una transformación profunda de las instituciones en todos los países europeos (…) El resultado será un bien para la humanidad, como el de la precedente Revolución Francesa (…) Los resultados benéficos de esta gran crisis histórica dependerán, en cada pueblo, de la intensidad con que se definan en su conciencia colectiva los anhelos de renovación. Y esa conciencia solo puede formarse en una parte de la sociedad, en los jóvenes, en los innovadores, en los oprimidos, pues son ellos la minoría pensante y actuante de toda la sociedad9.

Así, para Ingenieros, la crisis civilizatoria que sobreviene con la guerra había inaugurado una nueva era que, vista desde América Latina, sin perjuicios inmediatos en términos de víctimas y destrucción material, activaba como posibilidad la emergencia de las minorías portadoras de ideales a las que se había referido en El hombre mediocre. De allí que le resultara natural proclamar que el mensaje de renovación que la Revolución Rusa traía consigo se continuaba en el movimiento de Reforma Universitaria, liderado por los jóvenes idealistas que había mentado con anterioridad, y que estuvieron prestos a concederle el título honorífico de «maestro de la juventud».

III. Ese movimiento de posta y relevo civilizatorio que se anuncia en la estación final de la vida de Ingenieros va a encontrar una propuesta más elaborada y original en el pensamiento del mexicano José Vasconcelos, otro de los grandes intelectuales continentales del periodo. Su itinerario como hombre de ideas se asocia primeramente a su actuación junto a figuras de la talla de Alfonso Reyes, Pedro Henríquez Ureña o Antonio Caso en el grupo que en 1909 funda el Ateneo de la Juventud, una de las instituciones de mayor calibre en la historia cultural mexicana10. A este espacio le cupo un rol de primer orden en el desarrollo de lo que, en un recuento de sus actividades, Henríquez Ureña llamaba «cultura de las humanidades». Los ateneístas, en efecto, desplegaron un amplio abanico de intereses literarios, estéticos y filosóficos, con especial atención a las tradiciones de pensamiento que remitían a la Antigüedad clásica y en particular a Grecia.

Como es conocido, Vasconcelos se distinguió dentro de ese grupo por tener una activa participación política en el proceso de la Revolución Mexicana, en primer lugar dentro de las filas acólitas a Francisco Madero. Ese trajín le deparó la vía del exilio, primero a manos de Porfirio Díaz y luego de Venustiano Carranza. Pero según dejaría constancia tanto en Ulises criollo como en La tormenta –los dos primeros tomos que integran sus voluminosas memorias–, Vasconcelos sacaría provecho de las temporadas de destierro que transcurre en Estados Unidos, en cuyos bien provistos museos y bibliotecas prosiguió la senda formativa que había iniciado en el Ateneo. Al fin, tras navegar azarosamente las aventuras que le deparó la turbulenta década de combates revolucionarios, a la caída de Carranza en 1920 se inicia el capítulo de su itinerario que más nos interesa, cuando es ungido primero rector de la Universidad Nacional y luego cabeza de la Secretaría de Educación Pública (sep), la máxima cartera educativa. Son para Vasconcelos –al decir del historiador Claude Fell en un clásico estudio– «los años del águila», el periodo en el que, imbuido de una mixtura de misticismo pedagógico y voluntarismo estatal, lidera campañas de alfabetización masiva e impulsa programas culturales que dan un rostro nuevo al proceso revolucionario y a él lo proyectan como figura de estatura continental12.

Esa faceta de adalid cultural de la Revolución Mexicana de Vasconcelos es de sobra conocida, así como su decisivo papel en la redefinición de la cultura popular mexicana que se opera entonces. Pero no suele tomarse en consideración del mismo modo el hecho de que su actuación en esos años al frente de la sep coincide con el contexto de crisis mundial que hemos mencionado con anterioridad. En ese sentido, quisiera recordar que la obra de Vasconcelos de esos años no se restringe al escenario nacional en el que lleva a cabo mayormente su desbordante labor cultural, ni tampoco incluso a los marcos latinoamericanos más amplios a los que también se dirige y donde su prédica encuentra amplias resonancias (como demuestra el hecho de que, análogamente a lo sucedido con Ingenieros, los movimientos estudiantiles de países como Colombia o Perú le otorguen también a él el título de «maestro de la juventud»)13. Además de todo ello, varias de las iniciativas que lleva a cabo en ese periodo pueden verse como tentativas de intervenir desde América Latina en el escenario de crisis civilizatoria que tiene lugar a la salida de la Gran Guerra.

En efecto, en sintonía con el espíritu de tintes mesiánicos que animaba su activismo estatal, Vasconcelos impulsa en esos años la idea de que el continente latinoamericano está llamado a liderar un proceso de regeneración a escala global. Como es sabido, esa tesitura encuentra su máxima expresión en su ensayo La raza cósmica, de 1925. Modulada en clave mítico-utópica, pero en atención a elementos de la realidad («no con fantasía de novelista, pero sí con una intuición que se basa en los datos de la historia y la ciencia»), la tesis de ese texto postula que Iberoamérica reúne las mejores condiciones para tomar la posta de la «raza blanca» y conducir a la humanidad a una síntesis cultural virtuosa, «una quinta raza universal, fruto de las anteriores y superación de todo lo pasado»14. Vasconcelos radicalizaba así las expectativas que otros intelectuales latinoamericanos del periodo con los que se hallaba en diálogo cifraban en la temática del mestizaje, al atribuir a esos procesos de mezcla propiciados desde el continente facultades palingésicas de alcance mundial15.

En rigor, esa postura había comenzado a fraguarse en su juventud dentro de los intereses humanísticos de sus compañeros del Ateneo, a los que Vasconcelos añade un interés propio por las culturas orientales. Pero es a la salida de la guerra, sobre los escombros humeantes de la tragedia precipitada por los enconos nacionales, cuando aquilata su visión del mestizaje como vía universal de domesticación de los conflictos culturales. Así podía sugerirlo sobre el cierre del prólogo a su libro Estudios indostánicos –fechado en San Diego en 1919–, en el que se había propuesto sintetizar años de lecturas sobre las tradiciones culturales de la India:

Nuestra especulación metafísica hállase fatigada y necesita el renuevo de las antiguas ideas hindúes (…) Y en ninguna parte ese renacimiento será más fecundo que en la América Latina, y en la raza española, raza siempre alerta para las empresas místicas. Y no solo los pueblos hispanoamericanos, que preparan una nueva cultura: todo el pensamiento occidental está llamado a renovarse con las influencias hindúes. Todo el pensamiento contemporáneo ha de ir a la India en busca de las ideas esenciales que allí han elaborado grandes espíritus. La crítica de todas esas doctrinas y la asimilación a nuestras creencias de todo aquello que sea válido habrá de ir constituyendo una filosofía que todos anhelamos: una filosofía que no sea expresión de una sola raza, ni obra de una sola época, sino resumen y triunfo de toda la experiencia humana: una filosofía mundial 16.

Se observa entonces cómo la línea reflexiva que cuajará en La raza cósmica no surge de una discusión apenas mexicana o americana, como a menudo se piensa, sino que es más bien aguijoneada por situaciones e intereses considerablemente más amplios (lecturas sobre la India desde el exilio en eeuu, con el telón de fondo de la guerra recién concluida). Esa vocación universalista se manifestará incluso en una serie de iniciativas que Vasconcelos despliega desde su puesto de comando en la sep. Por caso, bajo su auspicio en 1921 se lleva a cabo en la ciudad de México el Congreso Internacional de Estudiantes, cita emblemática de las juventudes embanderadas en el proceso de la Reforma Universitaria iniciado en Córdoba tres años antes. También aquí hay que puntualizar que el encuentro convocó no solamente a delegaciones latinoamericanas, sino también de eeuu, Europa y Asia17. En sus resoluciones finales, corolario de debates en los que la imagen ominosa de la Gran Guerra fue reiteradamente evocada, se establecía que los allí reunidos bregarían «por cooperar, en oposición al principio patriótico del nacionalismo, a la integración de los pueblos en una comunidad universal»18. Un año después, Vasconcelos inauguraba el imponente nuevo edificio de la sep, cuyo patio principal se halla flanqueado por cuatro figuras que en conjunto expresaban ese espíritu de convergencia intercultural: Quetzalcóatl, Bartolomé de las Casas, Platón y Buda. A la hora de explicar las razones de esa curiosa elección, el titular de la Secretaría señalaba que con ello quería significarse que «en esta tierra y en esta estirpe indoibérica se han de juntar el Oriente y el Occidente, el norte y el sur, no para chocar y destruirse, sino para combinarse y confundirse en una nueva cultura amorosa y estética»19. Y ese mismo espíritu ecuménico es el que presidió algunas políticas culturales emprendidas desde la sep, como las recomendaciones de aseo y de ejercicios respiratorios destinados a la formación de maestros siguiendo tradiciones de la India, o la selección de clásicos de la literatura de variadas latitudes en las campañas de promoción de la lectura y el libro20.

Al publicarse en 1925, La raza cósmica es entonces el resultado estilizado de esas inclinaciones que ya habitaban en Vasconcelos, a la vez que la reafirmación de que Iberoamérica estaba destinada a ocupar un lugar de vanguardia en esa labor de armonización sintética de todas las culturas del mundo: «La ventaja de nuestra tradición es que posee mayor facilidad de simpatía con los extraños. Esto implica que nuestra civilización, con todos sus defectos, puede ser la elegida para asimilar y convertir a un nuevo tipo a todos los hombres. En ella se prepara de esta suerte la trama, el múltiple y rico plasma de la Humanidad futura»21.

Mesiánico y voluntarista, el ensayo vasconceliano será reeditado numerosas veces y leído por generaciones que acaso hayan encontrado su mensaje etéreo y hasta sospechoso (en vistas sobre todo de los virajes de su autor y de sus ulteriores coqueteos con las derechas fascistas). Pero en lo inmediato, otras voces proseguirían abonando la idea de que, frente a un escenario que comenzaba a desbarrancar nuevamente en el precipicio que conduciría a otra guerra mundial, América Latina podía soñarse como un continente de paz y fraternidad, hospitalario a los influjos de todo el orbe22.

IV. El caso de Mariátegui se ubica en un lugar de un aún mayor traccionamiento hacia las dinámicas abiertas con la crisis civilizatoria que sobreviene con la Gran Guerra. También hay que decir que el grueso de las lecturas de su actuación intelectual ha tendido a soslayar esa colocación, para subrayar en cambio las coordenadas nacionales y a lo sumo latinoamericanas que habrían marcado el pulso de su praxis23. Pero una lectura atenta de su producción revela la centralidad indoblegable que en ella adquiere el acontecimiento doble de la Guerra Mundial y de la Revolución Rusa, parteros ambos de un tiempo nuevo que Mariátegui acomete desde la categoría de época, una noción omnipresente en sus escritos. No resulta abusivo en ese sentido señalar que, luego de haberse formado en su juventud en el ámbito de la prensa (plataforma que tanto lo conecta con los ambientes de la bohemia literaria limeña como lo provee de un entrenamiento como cronista del acontecer noticioso nacional y sobre todo internacional, una de las marcas indelebles en su trayectoria), la entera obra madura de Mariátegui –la que se abre con su viaje a Europa en 1919 y se cierra con su muerte prematura en 1930– se deja aprehender en los términos que él mismo brindó a la hora de presentar los textos que compiló en su primer libro, La escena contemporánea: un espectro de incursiones destinado a ofrecer «los elementos primarios de un bosquejo o un ensayo de interpretación de esta época y sus tormentosos problemas»24.

A los fines de este necesariamente breve avistaje limitémonos a advertir que en Mariátegui ese esquema epocal se halla habitado por dos almas contradictorias: la de la crisis y la de la revolución. Ambos componentes, surgidos en la arena global de la posguerra, tienen una presencia suficiente en sus escritos como para ingresar –a veces inadvertidamente– en sus tematizaciones de cuestiones locales o nacionales. Ambos, además, se desgranan en una serie de términos conexos: decadencia, crepúsculo, tramonto, para nombrar la crisis; el alba, lo matinal, «una nueva intuición de la vida», para referir a todo aquello que emerge, anexado además a la emoción, al mito y aun a una noción resemantizada de religión como modo de aludir a las subjetividades revolucionarias (en la política, pero también en la literatura, las artes y otras zonas de la vida moderna)25. Dentro de ese cuadrante, Mariátegui considera en sucesivos ensayos breves una amplísima galería de aspectos y figuras de la época, a los que inscribe alternativamente dentro de uno de esos dos campos (como elementos vitalmente enlazados con la era de revolución mundial que se ha abierto con el triunfo bolchevique, o como términos caducos por provenir del mundo burgués previo a la guerra que se encuentra en irremisible ocaso)26.

Mariátegui abundó sobre ese diagrama en la serie de 18 conferencias que ofreció en la Universidad Popular González Prada de Lima en 1923 –recién regresado de su estancia de varios años en Europa–, luego agrupadas en un volumen póstumo que recogía el título general del ciclo: Historia de la crisis mundial. Allí, ante un rebosante auditorio de obreros y estudiantes, se propuso escrutar las líneas de conflicto que agitaban el convulsionado mundo de posguerra, en una clave pedagógica que buscaba a la vez formar a sus oyentes e interpelarlos políticamente. En la primera de esas alocuciones, publicada luego en la revista Amauta con el título de «La crisis mundial y el proletariado peruano», Mariátegui señalaba:

En esta gran crisis contemporánea el proletariado no es un espectador; es un actor. Se va a resolver en ella la suerte del proletariado mundial (…) El desarrollo de la crisis debe interesar, pues, por igual, a los trabajadores del Perú que a los trabajadores del Extremo Oriente (…) Presenciamos la disgregación, la agonía de una sociedad caduca, senil, decrépita; y, al mismo tiempo, presenciamos la gestación, la formación, la elaboración lenta e inquieta de la sociedad nueva27.

En esa labor que a partir de allí encaró de distinción de los elementos activos de la contemporaneidad de los perimidos, en una ocasión relevante Mariátegui saldría en rescate de una tradición que, por hundir sus raíces en el siglo xix, a juicio de ciertas miradas se hallaba también agotada. Cuando el belga Henri de Man publicó el sonado ensayo Au-delà du marxisme [Más allá del marxismo], en el que buscaba mostrar el carácter obsoleto de la doctrina inspirada en Marx, la respuesta probablemente más vigorosa que le salió al cruce provino de esa esquina marginal del mundo que era Lima28. Y es que para Mariátegui el marxismo constituía un punto de mira indispensable para afrontar la crisis contemporánea, tanto por su vigencia para el análisis de las transformaciones del capitalismo como por ser un insumo de primer orden para las multitudes revolucionarias que surcaban el globo. También, por exhibir coetáneamente su vitalidad como corriente intelectual. Claro que si todo eso era cierto, era porque el marxismo que interesaba a Mariátegui, y que él mismo estaba contribuyendo a elaborar, se quería en efecto libre de los lastres evolucionistas y racionalistas que había arrastrado desde su proveniencia decimonónica. Y por contraste, se hallaba rejuvenecido gracias a sus conexiones con el psicoanálisis, el surrealismo, la tesis sobre los mitos de Georges Sorel y otros elementos de la cultura intelectual cosmopolita de su tiempo. Solo un marxismo de ese calibre, pensaba Mariátegui mientras colaboraba decisivamente a forjarlo, podía estar a la altura de los combates de su tiempo.

V. De acuerdo con el somero recorrido efectuado, de diversas maneras y con distintas intensidades, Ingenieros, Vasconcelos y Mariátegui coincidieron en situarse dentro de la crisis que se desató con la Primera Guerra Mundial. Aunque el principal escenario de ese cimbronazo se dio en Europa, ya no dudan de que dadas las interconexiones producidas por la llamada primera globalización de fines de siglo xix resulta imposible sustraerse a sus alcances. Ingenieros juzga que la ruina de las viejas elites heredadas del siglo xix es una oportunidad, en el mundo pero también en América Latina, de dar lugar a minorías portadoras de ideales. Así, será partidario entusiasta tanto del ensayo soviético como del proceso de Reforma Universitaria. Vasconcelos considera que la crisis abre la chance de que las culturas latinoamericanas, bajo la fórmula mítica de una «raza cósmica» plástica y hospitalaria, favorezcan la amalgama universal virtuosa y democrática que la vieja Europa no ha podido o no ha querido producir. Mariátegui, finalmente, apuesta con decisión por la revolución mundial que se ha abierto con el triunfo bolchevique, y a tal fin promueve desde la periferia latinoamericana una renovación del marxismo que solo tendrá parangones en intelectuales como Antonio Gramsci o Walter Benjamin.

Volviendo al inicio del texto, el propio Chakrabarty se preguntaba hace unos años si en la actualidad resultaba posible imaginar «la emergencia de un humanismo global enriquecido por numerosas circunstancias particulares»29. En tiempo reciente, desde América Latina fenómenos como el ambientalismo o los nuevos feminismos, resultantes de la praxis entrecruzada de movimientos sociales y figuras intelectuales (como Maristella Svampa, Alberto Acosta, Eduardo Gudynas, Rita Segato o Verónica Gago, por nombrar solo a algunos), han ofrecido indudables aportes en esa dirección. Resta saber si esa senda se prosigue y profundiza ante los nuevos desafíos que la crisis del covid-19 trajo consigo.

Nota del autor: este texto es una reelaboración de una conferencia ofrecida el 4 de marzo de 2020 en la Biblioteca Iberoamericana Octavio Paz de la ciudad de Guadalajara. Forma parte de un proyecto de investigación que comencé a desarrollar en una estancia en esa ciudad como fellow del Center for Advanced Latin American Studies (CALAS).

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El pensamiento latinoamericano frente a las crisis civilizatorias Ingenieros, Vasconcelos, Mariátegui | Nueva Sociedad

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NUEVA SOCIEDAD. Democracia y política en América Latina.

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"“Hispanic” was presented as an English-language parallel to the New Mexican term “Hispano,” one that could be reframed into a catchall to include dozens of nationalities, races and identities. “Hispanic became the imperfect compromise,” and eventually became a census category in 1980, Mora said."

Cita: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/14/style/does-hispanic-heritage-month-need-a-rebrand.htmlhttps://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/14/style/does-hispanic-heritage-month-need-a-rebrand.html

Gautam Kumar

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For starters, why is "Hispanic" still part of the name?

A 2017 Hispanic Heritage Month celebration. Credit... Michael Ainsworth/Associated Press Photo

El Espace is a column dedicated to news and culture relevant to Latinx communities. Expect politics, arts, analysis, personal essays and more. ¿Lo mejor? It'll be in Spanish and English, so you can forward it to your tía, your primo Lalo or anyone else (read: everyone).

It's almost Sept. 15, which means any day now my Instagram stories will be packed with cringe-worthy ads targeted at the Latinx community: references to chanclas and cafecitos, or social media managers of corporate accounts trying to tweet in Spanish. That's what Hispanic Heritage Month has been reduced to in my eyes: a month when brands pander to us, hoping to convince us to spend our last few centavos.

National Hispanic Heritage Month has been around since 1988, when Ronald Reagan signed a bill to extend a weeklong celebration - "National Hispanic Heritage Week" had been introduced two decades earlier - into a full month. Back then, it was viewed as a step toward visibility, named after the new shared label, Hispanic, that had come into use to refer to Spanish and Latin American descendants living in the United States.

But fast forward to 2019, and Hispanic Heritage Month seems to have lost its sheen. Many of us bristle at the persistence of the term "Hispanic," given its connection to Spain and colonization. Those with African and indigenous roots often feel left out of conversations and celebrations under that label. And while the time period, Sept. 15 to Oct. 15, is significant because seven Latin American countries celebrate their independence in that span, this association presents a complication: When dozens of countries' traditions are meant to be represented, are any of them actually getting their due?

These challenges raise the question of what Hispanic Heritage Month should look like in 2019.

First, let's talk about the name. G. Cristina Mora, an associate professor of sociology at the University of California, Berkeley, and author of"Making Hispanics: How Activists, Bureaucrats, and Media Constructed a New American,"said the term Hispanic emerged both as a "fight for recognition" and an "administrative quandary." After the 1970 census severely undercounted Latinx populations, the Census Bureau developed a Spanish Origin Advisory Committee made up of activists, academics and civic leaders to tackle the problem.

Soon, intense debates about how to address the issue emerged: Should the new label focus on commonality of the Spanish language? Should it center race? A shared experience of colonization? Some argued "Latino" too closely resembled "Latin American," and preferred to distinguish themselves from a transient immigrant community. Others felt focusing the label on the Spanish language connected them too closely to their European colonizers. To complicate matters, there were generations of folks in New Mexico who embraced the term "Hispano"; these communities cherished both their Spanish and their Apache, Comanche, Pueblo or other Indigenous ancestry. "Even if they had never set foot in Spain," Mora said, many claimed this part of their heritage as a mechanism to avoid discrimination, particularly during the Jim Crow era.

"Hispanic" was presented as an English-language parallel to the New Mexican term "Hispano," one that could be reframed into a catchall to include dozens of nationalities, races and identities. "Hispanic became the imperfect compromise," and eventually became a census category in 1980, Mora said.

Since then, the word Latino (and, more recently, the gender-inclusive term Latinx) has become more widely adopted, calling into question the continued use of Hispanic in the federally observed commemoration. Janel Martinez, a multimedia journalist who started Ain't I Latina?, an online publication that highlights black Latinas, said she doesn't refer to the month by its official name at all, instead calling it Latinx Heritage Month. But she says the issue goes deeper than terminology.

"Though these 'all-inclusive' terms were designed as umbrella terms to unify and reflect a shared culture, it's clear not everyone is included," Martinez said. "Those of us who often exist on the outskirts of the definition, such as black and/or Indigenous Latinxs, we've created our own safe spaces to celebrate ourselves during the month and beyond." Martinez also added that she'd like to see the month include conversations about "how equitable and inclusive spaces are being created to center" the existence of black and Indigenous Latinos and "issues that disproportionately impact us."

Saudi Garcia, a racial justice activist and facilitator for the conflict resolution organization In Cultured Company, which focuses primarily on Dominican-Haitian relations, said she preferred to identify as an "afrodescendant." When the term Hispanic was introduced, said Garcia, "it came from a space of, 'There isn't room for us in this society.'" But she added that today, the umbrella term erases important differences in race, culture, language and class.

Garcia said she did not know what Hispanic Heritage Month should be called instead, but what was clear to her was that it needed a shift in intent. "Yes, there is something particular about being a Latin American child of immigrants," Garcia said. "The work in the '70s was gaining some visibility as a community of immigrants. Now the work is turning to combat the negative beliefs within our own Latinx communities here," such as colorism and anti-blackness. Hispanic Heritage Month should go beyond mere celebration, she said, and instead focus on intercommunal conversations that will move our communities forward.

Read about the Mexican artist Francisco Toledo, "the prototype of the artist-activist for his region of the world."

Mattel released a Dia de los Muertos Barbie, and people have *thoughts*.

Read all about "Hustlers": why it matters that it's helmed by women, whether J.Lo deserves an Oscar for her performance and an interview in which the actress answers reader questions.

One of the most visible signs of government neglect and environmental catastrophe in Puerto Rico is its disappearing schools. Hundreds have closed over the last three years.

Many are calling for a boycott of ABC after it aired an inflammatory political ad targeting Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York. - Concepción de León

What else do you want to see in El Espace? Let us know: elespace@nytimes.com

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Does Hispanic Heritage Month Need a Rebrand?

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For starters, why is "Hispanic" still part of the name? El Espace is a column dedicated to news and culture relevant to Latinx communities. Expect politics, arts, analysis, personal essays and more. ¿Lo mejor? It'll be in Spanish and English, so you can forward it to your tía, your primo Lalo or anyone else (read: everyone).

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"At 15%, the Bolivian origin population saw the slowest growth rate among other groups with at least 100,000 Latinos in 2021."
-Jens Manuel Krogstad

Cita: https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2022/09/23/key-facts-about-u-s-latinos-for-national-hispanic-heritage-month/

Gautam Kumar

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National Hispanic Heritage Month, which begins each year on Sept. 15, celebrates U.S. Latinos, their culture and their history. Started in 1968 by Congress as Hispanic Heritage Week, it was expanded to a month in 1988. The celebration begins in the middle rather than the start of September because it coincides with national independence days in several Latin American countries: Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Costa Rica celebrate theirs on Sept. 15, followed by Mexico on Sept. 16, Chile on Sept. 18 and Belize on Sept 21.

Here are some key facts about the nation's Latino population by geography, and by characteristics like language use and origin group.

The U.S. Hispanic population reached 62.5 million in 2021, up from 50.5 million in 2010. The 19% increase in the Hispanic population was faster than the nation's 7% growth rate, but slower than the 23% increase in the Asian population. In 2021, Hispanics made up nearly one-in-five people in the U.S. (19%) - the 50 states and the District of Columbia. This is up from 16% in 2010 and just 5% in 1970.

Hispanics have played a major role in driving U.S. population growth over the past decade. The U.S. population grew by 23.1 million from 2010 to 2021, and Hispanics accounted for 52% of this increase - a greater share than any other racial or ethnic group. The number of non-Hispanic people who identify with two or more races increased by 8.3 million during this time, accounting for 36% of the overall U.S. population increase.

The number of Latinos who say they are multiracial has increased dramatically. Almost 28 million Latinos identified with more than one race in 2021, up from just 3 million in 2010. The increase could be due to a number of factors, including changes to the census form that make it easier for people to identify with multiple races and growing racial diversity that results in more Latinos identifying as multiracial.

Growth in multiracial Latinos comes primarily from those who identify as a specific race and "some other race" (i.e., those who write in a response to the race question) - a population that grew from 2.1 million to 25.0 million since 2010. Those who identify as a specific race and "some other race" now represent about 90% of multiracial Latinos. The increase was due almost entirely to growth in the number of those who identified as White and some other race, according to the 2020 census. At the same time, the number of Latinos who identified as White and no other race declined from 26.7 million in 2010 to 10.2 million in 2021.

People of Mexican origin accounted for nearly 60% (or about 37.2 million people) of the nation's overall Hispanic population as of 2021. Those of Puerto Rican origin are the next largest group, at 5.8 million (another roughly 3.1 million Puerto Ricans live on the island as of 2021). Their numbers have been growing partly due to people leaving Puerto Rico and moving to the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Six other Hispanic origin groups in the U.S. have 1 million or more people each: Salvadorans, Cubans, Dominicans, Guatemalans, Colombians and Hondurans. In addition, by 2021, Spaniards accounted for just about 1 million U.S. Latinos.

The fastest population growth among U.S. Latinos has come among those with origins in Venezuela, the Dominican Republic, Honduras and Guatemala. From 2010 to 2021, the Venezuelan-origin population in the U.S. increased 172% to 660,000, by far the fastest growth rate. Three other groups saw growth rates exceeding 50% between 2010 and 2021: Dominicans increased by 59%, followed by Hondurans (57%) and Guatemalans (53%).

By contrast, the number of people of Mexican origin grew only 13% from 2010 to 2021, by far the smallest rate of increase among the top origin groups. At 15%, the Bolivian origin population saw the slowest growth rate among other groups with at least 100,000 Latinos in 2021.

Hispanics have become the largest racial or ethnic group in California and Texas. This demographic milestone in California happened in 2014, and is a first for the state with the nation's largest Hispanic population. In 2021, there were about 15.8 million Hispanics in California, up from 14.0 million in 2010. The non-Hispanic White population, the next largest group in California, declined from 15.0 million to 13.4 million during this time, reflecting a broader national trend. Latinos accounted for 40% of California's population in 2021, among the greatest shares in the country.

In Texas, the state with the next largest Latino population (11.9 million), Latinos also made up 40% of the state's population and inched past the White population by about 230,000 to become Texas' largest racial or ethnic group, according to the 2021 American Community Survey. (In New Mexico, Latinos are not only the largest group, they make up 50% of the state's population in 2021 - the nation's largest share.) In Florida, the state with the third-largest Latino population (5.8 million), Latinos made up 27% of residents.

Rounding out the top five states with the largest Hispanic populations were New York (3.9 million) and Arizona (2.4 million). Eight more states - making 13 overall - had 1 million or more Hispanics: Illinois, New Jersey, Colorado, Georgia, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, New Mexico and Washington.

Vermont had the nation's smallest Latino population (14,000) in 2021, followed by Maine (27,000), West Virginia and North Dakota (34,000 each), and South Dakota (41,000).

Three states saw their Hispanic populations increase by more than 1 million from 2010 to 2021. Texas (2.4 million increase), California (1.7 million) and Florida (1.6 million) together accounted for half of the nation's Hispanic population growth over the past decade. Arizona (456,000 increase) and New York (451,000) had the next-biggest increases. All 50 states and the District of Columbia have seen growth in their Hispanic populations since 2010.

North and South Dakota have seen the fastest rates of growth in their Hispanic populations since 2010. The number of Hispanics in North Dakota more than doubled (155% increase) from 2010 to 2021, while in South Dakota it rose 87%. Even with the high growth rates, each of these states had fewer than 42,000 Hispanics in 2021, among the smallest populations in the country. The slowest growth happened in New Mexico (11% increase) and California (12%), states with significant Hispanic populations.

Newborns, rather than immigrants, have driven the recent growth of the U.S. Hispanic population. During the 2010s, an average of 1 million Hispanic babies were born each year, slightly more than during the 2000s. At the same time, about 350,000 Hispanic immigrants arrived annually, down substantially since the previous two decades. The predominance of new births over immigration as a source of Hispanic population growth in the 21st century is a reversal of historical trends. In the 1980s and 1990s, immigration drove Hispanic population growth as more Hispanic immigrants arrived than Hispanic babies were born.

In 2020 and 2021, virtually all Hispanic population growth has come from births, but immigration is expected to increase with the removal of pandemic-related restrictions.

The share of Latinos in the U.S. who speak English proficiently is growing. In 2021, 72% of Latinos ages 5 and older spoke English proficiently, up from 59% in 2000. U.S.-born Latinos are driving this growth, as their share on this measure has grown from 81% to 91% during the same timespan. By comparison, 37% of Latino immigrants spoke English proficiently in 2021, a percentage that has increased only somewhat since 2000. All told, 41.7 million Latinos in the U.S. spoke English proficiently in 2021.

At the same time, the share of Latinos who speak Spanish at home declined from 78% in 2000 to 68% in 2021. Among the U.S. born, this share has decreased from 66% to 55%. Nearly all Latino immigrants (93% in 2021) say they speak Spanish at home. Even though the share of Latinos who speak Spanish at home has declined, the number who do so has grown from 24.6 million in 2000 to 39.3 million in 2021.

The share of U.S. Hispanics with college experience has increased since 2010. About 44% of U.S. Hispanic adults ages 25 and older had at least some college experience in 2021, up from 36% in 2010. Overall, the share of Hispanics with a bachelor's degree or more education increased during this period, from 13% to 20%. The share with a bachelor's degree or higher increased more among Hispanic women (from 14% in 2010 to 22% in 2021) than Hispanic men (12% to 18%).

The number of Latinos enrolled in college also increased between 2010 and 2021, from 2.9 million to 4.1 million. Among all U.S. college students, the share of Latinos increased from 14% in 2010 to 19% in 2021.

Four in-five Latinos are U.S. citizens. As of 2021, 81% of Latinos living in the country are U.S. citizens, up from 74% in 2010. This includes people born in the U.S. and its territories (including Puerto Rico), people born abroad to American parents, and immigrants who have become naturalized citizens. Virtually all Puerto Ricans living in the country are U.S. citizens. Spaniards (93%), Panamanians (88%) and Mexicans (81%) have some of the highest citizenship rates as of 2019, while Hondurans (51%) and Venezuelans (48%) have the lowest rates. (Data on citizenship rates among specific Hispanic origin groups is as of 2019; 2021 data not yet available.)

The share of U.S. Latinos who are immigrants is on the decline and varies by origin group. From 2007 to 2021, the number of Latino immigrants increased modestly, from 18.0 million to 19.9 million. But immigrants made up a declining share of the Latino population - decreasing from 40% to 32% during this span as the number of U.S.-born Latinos increased and the arrival of new immigrants slowed.

Fewer than a third of Mexican-origin Latinos (29%) are foreign born as of 2019. That's far lower than the shares among the other major groups by population - Hondurans (63%), Colombians (62%), Guatemalans (61%), Salvadorans (57%), Cubans (56%) and Dominicans (53%). Each of these groups saw the immigrant share of their populations decline from 2007 to 2019. By contrast, 77% of Venezuelans are foreign born, the highest of any origin group; this share is up from 73% in 2007. People born in Puerto Rico are U.S. citizens at birth. (Data on nativity for specific Hispanic origin groups in 2021 is not currently available.)
Note: This post has been regularly updated since it was originally published on Sept. 16, 2014.

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Key facts about U.S. Latinos for National Hispanic Heritage Month

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National Hispanic Heritage Month, which begins each year on Sept. 15, celebrates U.S. Latinos, their culture and their history. Started in 1968 by Congress as Hispanic Heritage Week, it was expanded to a month in 1988.

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"Latinx is more commonly used in the LGBTQ community, and in academia, as well as by younger Hispanics. The Pew survey found that although few Hispanics had heard of Latinx, those under 30 used it most, with about 7% doing so."
- Edwin Flores

Cita: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/can-latinos-co-exist-latinx-want-ban-others-are-unbothered-rcna69077

Gautam Kumar

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Cindy Hernandez hadn't heard of the word Latinx until a school class last Thursday, the day after Democratic lawmakers in her home state of Connecticut sought to ban it.

After hearing pros and cons, she didn't change her mind about identifying as Latina, but she saw how the nongendered word Latinx could be useful.

"I feel like it's a perfect way to kind of include other people," Hernandez, 17, told NBC News.

A group of Latino lawmakers in Connecticut are trying to ban the word from the state's government documents because they say it is offensive to Spanish speakers.

Debate over Latinx has intensified as its use has increased, with some saying the word has been imposed on Latinos. Polling by Pew Research Center in 2020 found that more than three-quarters of Hispanics and Latinos surveyed had never heard of the word.

Hernandez is a senior at Henry Abbott Technical High School in Danbury, Connecticut. She said she and the majority of her peers learned about the term for the first time in their African American/Black & Puerto Rican/Latino studies class, an elective every school district in the state must offer. The discussions were kept civil, said Hernandez, who has Mexican and Salvadoran roots.

"I identified as Latina, but I think that using both terms is good. And I think that a lot of people would probably choose to use both," she said.

The school's social studies teacher Adrian Solis made the debate over Latinx part of his course curriculum before the proposed ban. But the legislative proposal made the lesson especially timely for his most recent class.

"It was pure coincidence that I was teaching it," Solis said. "Many of them didn't even know that the word existed. Some of them didn't prefer to use it."

Solis teaches three courses, two of which are honors classes, that include lessons on the topic. At the end of the marking period, after plunging into the pros and cons of the word, its background and context, a number of students said they now preferred to use the word Latinx. Most, however, opted for Latino or Latina.

Out of the 27 combined honors students who studied the issue last September, all of them said they preferred to use Latina/o before the lesson. Afterward, 14.8% said they now preferred Latinx.

Solis said that in an non-honors class that met last Thursday, when Latinx was the topic, just one of the 19 students chose "Latinx" before the discussion, but seven did afterward.

Ashyln Lema, another senior at Henry Abbott, said Connecticut's proposed ban came as a surprise. Despite preferring to use Latina/o, she said a lesson on Latinx last fall in Solis' class was an "eye-opener." She concluded it is a word that is important for those in the LGBTQ community who feel comfortable using it.

"I don't find the term offensive or anything. It's a term that tries to make everybody feel inclusive, but I know it's something that not many Latinos agree on. I guess they see this word more as a label, something that they feel categorized under," said Lema, 17, who is Ecuadorian American.

The word is intended to promote inclusivity and depart from the gender-specific words of Spanish, where those ending in "o" are male and those ending in "a" are female. In plural uses, the male version (Latinos) is used to refer to both genders.

Latinx is more commonly used in the LGBTQ community, and in academia, as well as by younger Hispanics. The Pew survey found that although few Hispanics had heard of Latinx, those under 30 used it most, with about 7% doing so.

Although most people opt for the word "Hispanic," Latino and Latinx are seen as "decolonizing" terms, de-emphasizing the Spanish colonial rule of Latin America. Latine as a gender-neutral term has also come into use, more so in Latin America.

State Rep. Geraldo Reyes Jr., a Democrat who is leading the legislation of the ban proposal, had previously said Spanish language "defaults to Latino" for everybody and is a term that's already all-inclusive. He also said Latinx is not a Spanish word but a "woke" term that is offensive to Connecticut's Puerto Rico population.

A 2021 Bendixen and Amandi poll found 20% of Hispanics surveyed were bothered a lot by the term Latinx and 20% were bothered somewhat or a little. Fifty-nine percent said Latinx did not bother them.

Reyes maintains his motivations for the proposed Connecticut ban differed from those of Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who banned Latinx from from official use in state government within hours of of her swearing-in as governor.

Sanders had said the term was culturally insensitive, but she also cited its limited use among Latinos and that the Real Academia Española, a Spain-based cultural institution that is considered the top authority in Spanish language, rejects it. Critics have said her order was part of an anti-LGBTQ, anti-diversity agenda of the GOP.

The other Democrats who introduced the Connecticut ban alongside Reyes are Rep. Christopher Rosario, Rep. Juan Candelaria, Rep. Juan Sanchez and Rep. Minnie Gonzalez. Rep. Hilda Santiago said in an email she also co-introduced the bill.

Veronica Castañeda, 17, a classmate of Lema, said that after last week's lesson, she would use Latinx more.

Up until then, Castañeda, who is of Guatemalan descent, had rarely used Latinx in her Spanish-speaking home and outside of it. She had heard and seen the term, but preferred to use Latina. She said the lesson made her open to considering using Latinx as an all-inclusive term.

"If I was talking about a group of people, in general, I wouldn't say Latinos, I would say, Latinx. And if somebody were to refer to me, they could call me Latina and that's fine. I think of it as like pronouns," Castañeda said.

Castañeda said she would rather have lawmakers focus on other issues in the state, including health care and education. Schools need more funding and there is a shortage of teachers, she said.

"I don't think that it's worth putting so much energy into banning the term," she said. "More and more states are gonna do the same - new legislation is gonna be incited to be less inclusive and more conservative."

Castañeda said the proposed Latinx ban "negates us because it's negating other people's identity."

"And you can't just worry about yourself, you have to think about everybody as a whole," Castañeda said. "You can't lump Latin American people using a term that's heteronormative. Maybe it hasn't affected them so that's why they're saying that it's a 'woke' term, or that they're offended by it, because of the fact that it's not impacting them."

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Can Latinos co-exist with Latinx? Some want to ban it, others are unbothered

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Cindy Hernandez hadn't heard of the word Latinx until a school class last Thursday, the day after Democratic lawmakers in her home state of Connecticut sought to ban it. After hearing pros and cons, she didn't change her mind about identifying as Latina, but she saw how the nongendered word Latinx could be useful.

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“That’s the irony of ‘Latinx’ — it’s supposed to be inclusive but erases a crucial part of Latin American identity and language, and replaces it with an English word,’’ - Miami Herald

https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/many-latinos-say-latinx-offends-or-bothers-them-here-s-ncna1285916

Katia McCuen

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Americans have a hard time pinning us down. We've been branded with label after label, each tag trying but failing to sum up in a single word the 60 million of us with Latin American and Caribbean ancestry who've made a home here.

In just over half a century, appellations have been applied like stickers. First we were Hispanic, then Latino and, lately, Latinx.

More and more institutions are pushing back against the pressure from small, vocal groups to apply a term of identity that most don't identify with.

The first time I heard that word, in the mid-2000s, I was teaching at a university in New York. I wasn't quite sure I understood and laughed, thinking it was a joke. A colleague far more immersed in Latino issues than I was had used it offhandedly when we were chatting, and I had to ask him to explain it after I did a double take.

It soon became clear it was no joke. Latinx was becoming an official term on elite college campuses, popular among academics, progressives, young activists and LGBTQ groups who wanted gender-neutral terminology. (In Spanish words ending in "O" are masculine and those ending in "a" are feminine. When referring to a mixed-gender group, the plural word ends in the masculine "O," so substituting that letter for "X" avoids preferencing the men.)

When I heard it, my first thought was that it wasn't Spanish - but that it was pretentious. Many Latinos like myself see the 'X' as odd and off-putting because it doesn't follow the traditional structure of Spanish, making it awkward and difficult to pronounce because in Spanish few words end with two consonants.

In fact, recent national surveys of Hispanics/Latinos show that the term Latinx is highly unpopular. Influential media and advocacy groups have started dropping the term or even arguing against its use to avoid offending those who dislike it. It might have been intended to be more inclusive, but it actually can feel exclusionary to everyday people.

"The reality is there is very little to no support for its use and it's sort of seen as something used inside the Beltway or in Ivy League tower settings," said Domingo Garcia, president of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), the oldest Latino civil rights organization in America. He made the comment in announcing the group's decision to drop "Latinx" from its official communications because it's so unliked by most Latinos. "LULAC always rep Jose and Maria on Main Street in the barrio and we need to make sure we talk to them the way we talk to each other."

That decision came last week after a new survey of 800 registered voters of Latin American descent showed that only 2 percent described themselves as Latinx. The poll, conducted in November by Bendixen and Amandi International, a Miami-based Democratic firm, also showed that 68 percent prefer Hispanic and 21 percent favor Latino. A whopping 40 percent found the word Latinx offensive.

"That's the irony of 'Latinx' - it's supposed to be inclusive but erases a crucial part of Latin American identity and language, and replaces it with an English word,'' The Miami Herald said in an editorial reacting to the survey.

The political implications are considerable. Democrats, including President Joe Biden, have been deploying the word Latinx, apparently believing that a gender-neutral word that was born among liberal academics and progressive activists would appeal to Latinos.

"Why are we using a word that is preferred by only 2 percent but offends as many as 40 percent of those voters we want to win?" pollster Fernand Amandi told Politico.

Republicans wasted no time exploiting the survey's results. Jason Miyares, the Republican attorney general-elect of Virginia, who is Cuban American, told Politico that the word offends Latino voters and suggests elitism. He called it an incorrect term and accused progressives of engaging in "a type of cultural Marxism."

Latinx proponent Arnaldo Cruz-Malave, a professor at Fordham University, says the use of Latinx "has only picked up momentum with the struggles for queer and trans rights in the past decade both in Latin America and the U.S."

But Jorge Duany, director and professor at the Cuban Research Institute at Florida International University, counters that "Latinx hasn't become very popular among those it's supposed to designate because it feels alien to them and doesn't make much sense from a linguistic viewpoint."

We want to be identified by our nationalities, each with individual histories, traditions, customs, languages and dialects.

Given the term's lack of wide acceptance, Latinx could thankfully be on the way out. As the data makes clear, more and more institutions are pushing back against the pressure from small, vocal groups to apply a term of identity that most don't identify with.

If there were any doubt that Latinx should be retired, Telemundo and Univision, the nation's largest Spanish-language broadcast networks and experts in what their Spanish-speaking audiences like, have opted for Latino.

What's in that name? Plenty of business considerations. The Latino/Hispanic market is huge and growing. It's important for companies not to offend their consumers - though of course some of them will prefer Latinx for that reason as well. Says a New York-based media executive who has clients who prefer Latinx: "I personally prefer and identify as Latina, but I believe it's a personal choice and should be respected either way."

So how did all these choices - this Babel of labels - come about?

In the mid-1950s, Puerto Ricans activists in New York and Mexican organizers out West, mainly in California, created a united political movement that Washington could not ignore and, eventually in the 1970s, a new Census category was established for people of Latin American descent in the United States.

Hispanic was the designation, echoing the Spanish word "hispanos," as in Spanish descendants. At the time, the Hispanic population was estimated at 9.1 million people, roughly 4.5 percent of the U.S. population.

A couple decades later, that term Hispanic began to lose ground as activists and intellectuals objected to the word's reference to colonialist Spain. So along came Latino. But the term Hispanic didn't go away, and they became synonyms.

While Latinx is now challenging their monopoly, in fact they are all poor substitutes for the way that we members of this large, complex and diverse group want to be characterized.

It's no secret. We've spoken out repeatedly. Pew polling over nearly two decades consistently shows our preference. We want to be identified by our nationalities, each with individual histories, traditions, customs, languages and dialects. We are Mexican Americans, Colombians, Venezuelans, Salvadorans, Puerto Ricans, Brazilians, Hondurans and so on.

In one such example, Duany told me he prefers to use the term "Cuba-Rican" in order to describe "my hybrid background as a Cuban-born person raised in Puerto Rico."

Mark Hugo Lopez, director of race and ethnicity research at Pew Research Center, which found in 2020 that only 3 percent of the population call themselves Latinx, uses even more levels of specificity. He said he describes himself as Chicano with Mexican American audiences in California, but as Mexican American with audiences in Texas, and Hispanic with audiences of Cubans in South Florida. "Finally, if someone who isn't American asks me about my identity. I say I am American."

Admittedly, it would be a messy task for the Census to sort all of us out. It would confuse the media, which already has enough trouble differentiating between ethnicities, and it would be unproductive for ethnic and racial movements that depend on unity in numbers.

Yet we can't always be lumped together under a collective name. We are a blur of colors and languages, histories and faces. No one word can capture that all, especially Latinx.

CORRECTION (Dec. 14, 2021, 4:15 p.m. ET): A previous version of this article misattributed this quotation: "Latinx hasn't become very popular among those it's supposed to designate because it feels alien to them and doesn't make much sense from a linguistic viewpoint." It was said by Jorge Duany, not Arnaldo Cruz-Malave.

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Opinion | I'm Latina. Here's why I won't use the term Latinx.

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Latino and Hispanic are terms more widely accepted the Latinx, according to a new survey by a Democratic polling firm. Here's why.

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"My Hispanic heritage reminds me to think of how I impact the world around me, how I can help be successful together, to thrive on and to celebrate differences and to not let go of the past or where we come from but to use it as impulse to move forward" - Maria Lamas

https://www.mrcooper.com/blog/mr-cooper-group-celebrates-hispanic-heritage-month/

Katia McCuen

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Mr. Cooper Group Celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month

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Join Mr. Cooper Group as we celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month — a perfect time to showcase members of our Hispanic Organization of Leadership & Achievement (HOLA) group and learn what their Hispanic heritage means to them.

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"El problema de la identidad latinoamericana está dado en su propia génesis como resultado del choque entre culturas diversas y en las “identidades” que viven en Latinoamérica forjadas desde el imaginario colectivo de alienación, dominación y adoctrinamiento ideológico del modo superior de vida occidental, provocando el fenómeno de la desculturización y transculturización." - Andrés Santiago Galarza Schoenfeld

http://scielo.sld.cu/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1990-86442020000100116#:~:text=La%20identidad%20latinoamericana%20es%20un,desde%20la%20diversidad%20de%20%C3%A9stos.

Katia McCuen

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"On a national level there is a tendency to portray latino culture as a monolithic entity, which is a really inaccurate way of seeing ourselves.  There is as much diversity and uniqueness in the Latino culture than there is any other American culture." - Benjamin Bratt

https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/nuyorican-slam-a-conversation-with-benjamin-bratt-and-leon-ichaso/

Katia McCuen

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Before Scared Straight there was Short Eyes, Miguel Piñero's play about an alleged child rapist brought to justice by his fellow inmates in the now-defunct "Tombs" prison. Piñero transformed his own jail-time memories of Sing-Sing (he was incarcerated for petty theft and drug-dealing) into Off-Broadway fame. His raw, unflinching worldview was that of the displaced Latino male forced to find country and family in the streets of New York. He was the co-founder of the Nuyorican Poets Café, an ancestor of rap and the spiritual guide for a community of Latino actors trying to carve a niche for themselves in a Hollywood far from color-blind. After landing minor roles in film ( Fort Apache the Bronx) and television ( Miami Vice), Piñero succumbed to the very hell he courted throughout his life. Piñero died of AIDS complications on June 18, 1988 after a lifelong battle with heroin addiction.

Cuban-born Leon Ichaso's melancholic is as uncompromising as the life it heralds. The film's aesthetic pitch-perfectly recreates the musicality and temporal rhythm of Piñero's poetry slamming. There's probably too much Piñero to cover in a mere 94 minutes but Ichaso, director of the haunting Bitter Sugar, gives the spectator enough to go on. The film's unconventional groove is sure to alienate, especially for those unfamiliar with the Nuyorican sound Piñero helped define. Actor Benjamin Bratt first came in contact with Piñero's work as a teenager, when Showtime aired Robert M. Young's film version of Short Eyes. Bratt's turn as a misogynistic druggie in his brother Peter Bratt's Follow Me Home convinced Ichaso that the actor (then starring on NBC's "Law & Order") had what it took to channel Piñero's lifeblood. Indeed, Bratt is electrifying as the poet, unrecognizable below the authentic grit and heartbreaking pathos he brings to the role. Here's hoping Oscar is better to Bratt than it was to Javier Bardem last year.

Slant Magazine spoke with Bratt and Ichaso about the life and times of the famous Nuyorican poet and the challenge of bringing the project to the screen. Miramax opens on December 14 in limited release.
Was it difficult bringing Miguel Piñero's life to the screen?
Leon Ichaso: It's always challenging and difficult when you have a Latino hero and, in this case, not only a Latino hero but a man who is carrying dark baggage and isn't around anymore and not many people know. When I started introducing people to Piñero they started getting interested and everybody remembered. People started coming forward. The validation of Piñero began to happen in the process of selling him as a project. I think this guy is so interesting and his work is so contrasting to his deeds and to what you hear of him. It was important to do this movie; it was a little bit of a mission. I had to resuscitate Piñero. I always felt that when Bruce Weber made Let's Get Lost, Chet Baker was introduced to the world. I knew he existed but he became a bigger thing and I always hoped that Piñero would enjoy that sort of "life after death" or that his work have some sort of revival.
Did you ever meet Piñero?
LI: I met Piñero in 1981, in Central Park. I was there with a fellow actor named Manny Santiago, smoking a joint. This character crawled out from under a bush, scratching: "I just fell asleep on an anthill." He kept directing to my friend, who obviously knew him. He had bug bites all over and he held a little pad in his left hand. I remember Manny passed him the joint and then he passed it to me and I cleaned it with my shirt. He kept talking and scratching and he wore this little Polyester shirt and baby blue bellbottoms when no one wore bellbottoms. He looked horrendous and then he said, "I gotta go to the Public." I said [lowering his voice], "Well, maybe the public bathroom, to take a shower or maybe the welfare department." And then he walked away. He meant the Public Theater. My friend said, "That was Miguel Piñero." That was my brief encounter.
You directed episodes of Miami Vice. Did you ever encounter Piñero on the set?
LI: When I worked on "Vice" I remember odd things would happen, a whole brouhaha or something. "Piñero got into the wardrobe department last night. 100 pairs of shoes have disappeared." You always heard those kinds of stories. I remember the poetry slams but I didn't know his work as much as I got to know it once I decided to make the movie.
Ben, how did you research the role of Piñero?
Benjamin Bratt: My primary concern was to not do an impersonation of the man. I wanted to capture the essence of who he was. The first thing I did was pour over everything he had ever written, everything I could get my hands on. His poetry and the plays are so fraught with the things that aggravated and influenced him and ultimately made his life successful. He took this form and infused it with an urban, Latin lifeblood that had never been used in poetry before. He was remarkable as a writer in terms of never really self-editing himself or censoring himself. He wrote about all the taboos the typical American society widely avoids: incest, sexual abuse, poverty, incarceration, drug addiction. The next thing, of course, was to talk to his surviving family members and his best friend Miguel Algarin. He gave me tremendous personal insight in terms of how to approach [Piñero]. He said, "Do me a favor. It would be so easy to portray Miguel Piñero as a kind of chucking and jiving urban street urchin, jazzy poet. Don't do it. He had a remarkable feminine side he was in touch with. In fact, Mikey was an elegant intellectual."
Can you talk about Piñero's relationship to Algarin?
BB: [Algarin] said to me that they were like a married couple without the sex. It was extremely important for us to get his blessing in terms of my participation in the project. One of my first meetings with him was to go with Ichaso to his apartment-which he still has in the Lower East Side-and chat with him a little bit and feel him out and, rather than ask him directly, just wait for him to offer it up. We were there for about 45 minutes. At one point he went to the bookshelf, from which he took an old rusty coffee can and set it down on the counter. As he began to peel the top back he started a Yuruba poem, an incantation of song. He said: "Now it's time to meet Mikey." He pulled the top off and in the can were Mikey's ashes. He took from the can a pinch of the ashes and took my palms and put the ashes in my palms, closed my hands and said very referentially, "Yes, you have my blessing. But if you fuck this up I will kill you." The tone of that whole experience-the reverence bounced with the frankness of the street-gave true coloration to how this guy operated.
As a Latino actor how important was it for you to play a man of color?
BB: The one thing that I find aggravating as a man of color, but in particular as a man descended of Latino culture, is that I try to avoid labels. On a national level there is a tendency to portray Latino culture as a monolithic entity, which is a really inaccurate way of seeing ourselves. There is as much diversity and uniqueness within the Latino culture as there is in any other kind of American culture. That said, there is a kind of cultural DNA that is imprinted on us that informs a kind of feeling for community, whether it's the language or how we see family. On the one level I can relate to Mikey [and] the tremendous respect and love he has for his mother. I think that really comes through in the film. There is also that sense of not being a part of the establishment, of being culturally marginalized. In Mikey's case, you have a young man ripped away from his country at the age of 7. His father leaves when he gets to New York. In a certain sense, he finds both [country and family] in the streets. Fortunately for me, my early life was very different, there seemed to be more cohesiveness, the glue that kept my family together seemed to be stronger than his. In approaching his poetry, I could empathize with his plight enough to hear that feeling of displacement that drove him. I can identify with that.
Can you talk a little bit about the film's fractured structure?
LI: It was written like that: frenetic, staccato and jazzy. I wanted to come close to the rhythm and to the life and confusion of Piñero himself and that whole lifestyle and, I guess, also the way you read the poetry, the jazzytry [sic] of it. It was a very conscious decision. It was even more confusing on paper, a little bit jumpier. You had to be linear here and there once in a while but it was an unusual structure for a man without a structure, one that suited him. It would have been dangerous to make [the film] a little too pretty. I think the fact that [it] has a little bit of that grit and disorder allows you to get into him a little more.
Ever since Bitter Sugar there is this element of nostalgia in your films, this notion of looking back at the past.
LI: Well, I really don't have an explanation for that except that there's melancholy for stuff that is gone and that Piñero is not around us anymore. These characters-like those in Bitter Sugar-are in the fringes and, to me, are more interesting. I did a character in my first film, El Super, who lived a totally marginal lifestyle. It was a Cuban guy. People would say: "Cubans are so successful, why did you pick this loser?" To me they're more interesting-they're more human. They have more human qualities that I happen to like. I go around life and I don't look at the flowers. I look at the bum on the sidewalk. The things that grab my attention are always depressing. I've never really understood that.
What about in Piñero?
LI: I happen to feel that [Piñero] was a romantic character and there was something about his love for land that was very wonderful, the way he held Puerto Rico, that elusive homeland in the foreground of his thoughts and writing. For all of us who are uprooted and thrown into this city, to keep a semblance of that is always so dignified. That would make it perhaps a bit nostalgic for me because people like that don't seem to be around anymore.
Do you think the East Village of Piñero's time is much different than the East Village of today?
LI: Totally. Before it was an ethnic neighborhood. It was split between the Ukrainians and Puerto Ricans. All the bars that were hosting bands like the New York Dolls were owned by Russian immigrants. I had an apartment on 3rd Street between B and C. It was $60 a month in 1969. In 1972 I got out of it because it was set on fire by some junkies. It was a different world. It belonged to someone. Then the Euro trash began to come in, in the 80s-82, 83. Alphabet City was made into that movie [1984's Alphabet City] and already the place was a little hipper. It began to change, like New York. People began to be moved out. Neighborhoods somehow stopped being neighborhoods. There are still pockets in the Lower East Side where you find that there are roots. Today you go to Avenue A and you see rows of limousines.
Were there any problems recreating the era?
LI: The problem was the cars. There are SUVs everywhere and we didn't have money to have cars from the 70s so we had to avoid a lot of the sidewalk. We painted a mural outside the Nuyurican Poets Café. We did a few little things that our budget would allow. The original Café used to be on 6th street. This one is on 3rd street. We tried to look for those places that haven't changed very much, like the rooftops or the Café itself. We did shoot the spreading of [Pinero's] ashes in the same place where it happened. A lot of it brought attention to the old-timers in the neighborhood. "I was here. Mikey did that." That was nice. Then there was the day Miguel's family came to the shooting of the spreading of the ashes and they saw [Benjamin] and it was like seeing a ghost. That was very flattering for Ben. That was a very important point when we saw Miguel's sister crying and touching him like he was a ghost.
What's your take on Piñero's poetry, Ben?
BB: There's this joy and certainly an electric energy that comes from the poetry even if it's hard-hitting and the subject matter oftentimes covered in darkness. That comes because of its organic form. Poetry, by nature, has an inherent musicality to it. For that very reason he's known as a kind of precursor to rap. Certainly his legacy transformed the downtown New York scene and his influence is still being felt today, most especially in the form of the Nuyorican Poets Café, which is very much alive and part of the downtown community for young artists, particularly young artists of color.
What do you think Piñero's influence and legacy will be?
LI: For a while Luis Guzmán was going to play Algarin. Guzman became an actor because of Miguel Piñero, who sent him to a job one day. "Go see so-and-so, they're looking for real Latinos." That is something Miguel did: pulling out these Latin characters and breaking the stereotypes. At the time, maybe that was too difficult for people to look at because if you get used to a certain Indian that Hollywood sells you maybe when you see the real Indian you say, "That guy doesn't look like an Indian." And Miguel did that with his own work and his own gang of actors he groomed to send to people like Bonnie Timmerman, who discovered some of these guys. Tito Goya was an excellent actor, Miguel was an excellent actor. They were street theater. They knew how it had to be.

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Interview: Benjamin Bratt and Leon Ichaso Talk Piñero - Slant Magazine

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Before Scared Straight there was Short Eyes, Miguel Piñero's play about an alleged child rapist brought to justice by his fellow inmates in the now-defunct "Tombs" prison. Piñero transformed his own jail-time memories of Sing-Sing (he was incarcerated for petty theft and drug-dealing) into Off-Broadway fame.

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"What we consider today as Latin America has been shaped by hundreds of years of European imperialist rule, battles for independence from colonial powers, civil and world wars, and both voluntary and involuntary migration." -April Ramos

https://www.getty.edu/news/an-overview-of-latino-and-latin-american-identity/

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An Overview of Latino and Latin American Identity

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A primer for Pacific Standard Time: LA/LA on the many facets of Latin American and Latino geography, culture, and heritage

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"Every time I witness the complexity of identities in the Latinx community in the United States, I am amazed." -Claudia Ortega-Lukas

https://www.unr.edu/nevada-today/blogs/2020/the-dualities-of-being-latina

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A few days ago, I attended a Zoom presentation organized by ASUN entitled "What does it mean to be Latinx?" Every time I witness the complexity of identities in the Latinx community in the United States, I am amazed. Amazed that we are always perceived as a homogenous group, when in reality, we couldn't come from more different backgrounds, and we couldn't have more different and complex identities. Also, the challenges we face are as different as each of our stories. So, in the spirit of Hispanic Heritage Month, please indulge me in letting me tell you my story.

There is a well-known character in Mexican history that invokes both love and condemnation from most Mexicans. Her name was Malintzin but history knows her as La Malinche. Her story is similar to that of U.S.A.'s Pocahontas; the beautiful indigenous woman who abandons her tribe to help the white man. (The legends omit how she became the property of such White men, but that's another story).

La Malinche was a Nahúatl woman who was given to Hernán Cortés as a slave. Due to her upperclass education, she spoke two languages, an ability that made her very useful to Hernán Cortés in communicating with the indigenous people as he went about conquering Mexico. On one hand, she was intelligent and, clearly, resilient. But on the other hand, she helped Cortés begin the Spanish colonization of the Nuevo Mundo. This duality is what gives her such a complex identity. And this duality is one that follows me.

When I was in high school, several of my classmates would sometimes call me Malinchista. As you can imagine, that was NOT a compliment. By definition, a Malinchista is "a person who denies her own cultural heritage by preferring foreign cultural expressions" (I'm not making it up; look it up).

In my early teens, I discovered American football. While switching channels on the television, I stumbled across a game being played in several feet of snow. I had never seen this! The game was being played in Minnesota. That year, the Dallas Cowboys won the Super Bowl, and I became a die-hard fan of Roger Staubach and "America's Team." This marked the initiation of my love for all things American. I learned about Formula 1, Sports Illustrated and Tiger Beat. Yes, Tiger Beat introduced me to the American darlings of my generation. My bedroom walls were covered with pictures of American teen idols I had never seen before in my life (in the 1970s, Mexican TV programming didn't broadcast many American TV shows; I only remember Dallas and The Partridge Family, which of course, I loved).

I also loved English-language songs. I used to spend my money buying cancioneros, books similar in format and quality to comic books, for people who were learning to play the guitar. The cancioneros had the lyrics of the songs along with the music notes. I literally used these cancioneros to practice my English. I would translate each word of the songs, and then I would play the records over and over until I memorized the lyrics and could actually follow the singer pronouncing the words. Do you know how hard it is to sing at full speed: "Now they know how many holes it takes to fill the Albert Hall?"

By the time I was in college, I had already spent time in the city of Dallas (and yes, I made the pilgrimage to Irving, Texas and the Cowboys' stadium) - and perfected my English. I started studying English when I entered first grade. By middle school, my parents were paying a private tutor. In Mexico, English was accepted as the lingua franca needed to succeed in the world, and my parents were going to make sure I learned it. (My dad had taught himself English, and he shared my enthusiasm for English language magazines, although not for the Dallas Cowboys.) Learning a second language allowed me to learn about, navigate and integrate into a different culture. And, unlike La Malinche, I did this of my own volition.

When I made the decision to come to the United States to study, my father told me, "If you ever decide this is not for you or things don't work out, come back home." But I was not turning back. In my mind, America was the best place in the whole world (my small world, at least). I had spent a semester in an exchange program at the University of Oklahoma, and I knew back then I belonged in the United States. One of the things that caught my attention early on was the fact that people could wear their pajamas to class (I know you've seen it), and nobody blinked an eye. One could wear her hair in blue spikes or wear slippers to the grocery store, and no one would say a thing. To me, that was amazing! People didn't bother you, judge you or care what you wore. I felt America was the place where not only public services worked, but where you could be yourself and you could be free to be whomever you wanted to be. There was a sense of freedom that was refreshing.

However, for a long time I felt like I didn't belong here, and I didn't belong in Mexico, either. Navigating two worlds was not precisely difficult but sometimes unsettling. You spend your time "live switching" from English to Spanish to Spanglish and back again. You mix Cholula with Five Guys hamburgers. You watch American soccer but listen to the Mexican commentators (otherwise it's like listening to golf announcers). And you truly think Mexican soccer fans are like the old Oakland Raiders fans, only worse. Women in Mexico are as rabid fans as many men, but, at least back in my day (I feel ancient now), you didn't see many women go to the stadiums. As a woman, I never felt safe. I only went to a match if my male friends went with me. This is one of the most striking differences between the U.S. and Mexico: American soccer fans are so mild-mannered in comparison!

Another striking difference I noticed when I first came to the U.S. was that I was not getting cat calls out when I was out walking in the streets. In Mexico, everywhere I went (since I was a preteen, for goodness' sake), I would be subjected to cat calls and whistles - and the harassment only got worse the older I got. My experience as a woman was of always being on high alert. But when I came to the U.S., I felt respected. I could exist without being harassed continually. Women here seemed to have a voice and the same opportunities as men to grow and pursue their dreams. I felt free to pursue a career and to not be expected to only dream of marrying and having children. Although, over the years, I've come to realize there still is much room for improvement.

Back in the 1500s La Malinche did what she could to survive (did I say historians think she died before she was 30?). History asked her to do a task she didn't want, and she did her best. I am sure she considered her options and bought time, respect and the right to live in the best way she could. She used her skills to earn a place in history, and although her role continues to be debated, I cannot blame her. Did I turn my back on my country? Or did I look for a better life? My circle of Latina friends in the U.S. is full of intelligent, professional women who left their countries and built a better life - a different life - here in the United States. They all miss their families, and they all support their biological families in many ways. What they can do from here, however, is more than they could have done had they stayed in their countries of origin.

Being Latina in America is both an honor and a challenge. We struggle with the dualities of our worlds. We struggle with the adjectives that define us. We are a complex mix of races, traditions and experiences. We care for our people, and we work tirelessly to do what must be done to help each other. The complexity of our identities can help us create a better world for all of us, a world where our differences are not viewed as a threat but as an asset. A world where we all thrive. ¡Sí, se puede!

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Being Latina and the struggle of the dualities of two worlds | University of Nevada, Reno

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A few days ago, I attended a Zoom presentation organized by ASUN entitled "What does it mean to be Latinx?" Every time I witness the complexity of identities in the Latinx community in the United States, I am amazed.

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"Growing up Latino includes elements of life that all Latinos share and others that are distinct." -María Luisa Paúl

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/interactive/2022/growing-up-latino-hispanic-heritage-month/

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"Being Hispanic myself, I take tremendous pride in representing a culture far greater than myself." -Jordan Coll

https://panthernow.com/2018/09/04/being-hispanic-is-something-to-be-proud-of/

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With Hispanic Heritage Month days away, a feeling of pride and warmth leans towards the
Hispanic-American community.

This national celebration takes into account American citizens whose ancestry can be traced back to Spain, Mexico, Central and South America, including the Caribbean.

Being Hispanic myself, I take tremendous pride in representing a culture far greater than myself.

As a child I remember taking a trip during the summer to Cali, Colombia.

Just hearing the streets being flooded with live salsa and Latin jazz generated a sense of admiration in the Latin roots I carried.

I relate this feeling of ownership in one's culture to Hispanic Heritage Month because it serves as a moment in which Hispanics can show a part of their identity as Latinos.

Hispanic Heritage Month "pays tribute to the generations of Hispanic-Americans who
have positively influenced and enriched our nation and society," according to the official National Hispanic Heritage Month website.

At the moment, almost a fifth of the total U.S. population is Hispanic, according to the PEW Research Center.

At a population of 57 million, they are the second-fastest growing racial or ethnic group behind Asians.

Meaning that they're a force that should not be underestimated.

However, people might question the purpose of this country celebrating a heritage foreign from their own. People might even go out of their way to question the contributions made by Hispanic figures celebrated throughout this month.

The truth is, this nation carries on its shoulders the legacy of immigrants. By celebrating this month, we're collectively acknowledging other ways of living differently from our own. This sets a stance of community, partnership and most importantly, family.

This is everything Hispanic Heritage month inherently stands for.

With so much controversy on immigration, you would assume President Donald Trump would have enacted a law prohibiting the celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month.

But it doesn't seem like this is the case.

The Smithsonian Institute located in Washington., D.C. has already opened up a display
exhibition of Mexican-American entertainer, Selena, showcasing her costumes at the National Museum of American History.

I'm fully convinced that this month will be monumental for Hispanics because of the overwhelming adversity and stigma labeled on Hispanics.

This is a moment in history where instead of responding to these cultural microaggressions
with a level of hate, we show what it truly means to be Hispanic!
DISCLAIMER: The opinions presented within this page do not represent the views of PantherNOW Editorial Board. These views are separate from editorials and reflect individual perspectives of contributing writers and/or members of the University community.
Photo by The COM Library on Flickr.

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Being Hispanic is something to be proud of - PantherNOW

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With Hispanic Heritage Month days away, a feeling of pride and warmth leans towards the Hispanic-American community. This national celebration takes into account American citizens whose ancestry can be traced back to Spain, Mexico, Central and South America, including the Caribbean. Being Hispanic myself, I take tremendous pride in representing a culture far greater than myself.

# data[].attributes.body
"In the early 2000s, queer Latinxs began using the term on message boards and blogs. The trend accelerated after the 2016 massacre of 49 mostly queer Latinx people at Pulse, the Orlando nightclub. It built on the use of the machismo-resisting “Latin@s” or “Latino/a,” which pushed back against the Spanish language’s male-centric gendering. Latinx sought to cast an even wider net."

https://www.latinx4sm.org/whylatinx

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We use language to categorize groups, often failing to effectively — linguistically — describe the people we’re referring to in a single word. People contain multitudes. No one phrase is truly adequate to represent millions of people, especially when so many distinct cultures are lumped together; th…

# data[].attributes.body
“Yes, I am the first Latino poet laureate in the United States. But I’m also here for everyone and from everyone. My voice is made by everyone’s voices.”
— Juan Felipe Herrera

https://www.goodgoodgood.co/articles/hispanic-heritage-month-quotes

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
When I think about what it means to be Hispanic, I think about the love we all share for our mothers' food, the beautiful music that inspires us to dance until sunrise, and the ability to laugh no matter how challenging life can get.

At the same time, I think about the strength it takes to live in some Hispanic countries, and the even greater strength it requires to pack your valuables, kiss your parents goodbye, and move out to an entirely new country to build a better life for yourself and your family. So many of us experienced this firsthand - and many others are just a generation or two from this experience.

The voices of Latinos, as diverse as they may be, come together into a familiar and united chorus; we are resilient, funny, caring, hardworking, and love our families above all else.

We've curated a collection of beautiful quotes about what it means to be Hispanic and Latino - to celebrate during Hispanic Heritage Month and all year long.
Of course, don't forget to explore our guide on ideas for how to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month this year.
‍

The Best Hispanic Heritage Month Quotes

Famous Hispanic Heritage Month Quotes

"You are not lucky to be here. The world needs your perspective. They are lucky to have you."
- Antonio Tijerino, President & CEO of the Hispanic Heritage Foundation

"At the end of the day, we can endure much more than we think we can."
- Frida Kahlo

"Preservation of one's own culture does not require contempt or disrespect for other cultures."
- Cesar Chavez

"The most valuable possession you can own is an open heart. The most powerful weapon you can be is an instrument of peace."
- Carlos Santana

"Your great strength is knowing who you are."
- Oscar de la Renta

"When I was growing up, my parents insisted that we speak Spanish and read Spanish. I'm so happy they did that, because we developed their culture and their roots."
- Tito Puente

"It is important for all of us to appreciate where we come from and how that history has really shaped us in ways that we might not understand."
- Sonia Sotomayor

"The more you speak more languages, the more you understand about yourself."
- Sandra Cisneros

"If you have a dream, don't let anybody take it away."
- Selena Quintanilla

"Forgiving is not forgetting. Forgiving is remembering without pain."
- Celia Cruz

‍

Hispanic Quotes About Life

"What matters in life is not what happens to you, but what you remember and how you remember it."
- Gabriel García Márquez

"We must use our lives to make the world a better place to live, not just to acquire things. That is what we are put on the earth for."
- Dolores Huerta

"If you have an opportunity to make things better and you don't, then you are wasting your time on Earth."
- Roberto Clemente

"Every day begins like a blank chalkboard, on which each one of us can write the poem of our present and our dreams of the future."
- Ricky Martin

"You only have what you give. It's by spending yourself that you become rich."
- Isabel Allende

"We tend to think of meditation in only one way. But life itself is a meditation."
- Raul Julia

"I don't want an uneventful and safe life, I prefer an adventurous one."
- Isabel Allende

‍

Quotes About Being Hispanic

"We have to be visible. We are not ashamed of who we are."
- Sylvia Rivera

"In the end, the American dream is not a sprint, or even a marathon, but a relay. Our families don't always cross the finish line in the span of one generation. But each generation passes on to the next the fruits of their labor."
- Julian Castro

"I am the one thing in life I can control. I am inimitable - I am an original."
- Lin-Manuel Miranda

"Yes, I am the first Latino poet laureate in the United States. But I'm also here for everyone and from everyone. My voice is made by everyone's voices."
- Juan Felipe Herrera

"I know now that he who hopes to be universal in his art must plant in his own soil... The secret of my best work is that it is Mexican."
- Diego Rivera

"There was nobody that I could look up and say '"That's somebody like me'". Which is probably why I'm now known in my community as 'La Pionera', or the Pioneer. I really don't think of myself as a role model. But it turns out that I am to a lot of the Hispanic community. Not just in show business, but in life. But that's what happens when you're first, right?"
- Rita Moreno

"Growing up, there wasn't an exact Hispanic role model that I had. I didn't realize how big a difference I was making, going to the Olympics and being Hispanic, until I would be in an autograph session, and parents would come up to me and say, 'You know, our family is so proud of you, you're really doing Hispanics proud.'"
- Laurie Hernández

"While our culture, traditions and religion may differ, we pride ourselves on working hard, educating ourselves as much as possible, striving for better lives for our children, loving our often large and blended families, and sharing as much of our history and customs as we can with anyone who chooses to really see us. We are not so different after all. People simply need to see us for who we are and not who they expect us to be."
- Natalie Morales

"I'm proud of being Hispanic."
- Lisa Guerrero

‍

Inspirational Quotes by Latinas

"The Latina in me is an ember that blazes forever."
- Sonia Sotomayor

"I don't study to know more, but to ignore less."
- Juana Inés de la Cruz

"They are afraid of us because we are not afraid of them."
- Berta Caceres

"Whatever it is your heart desires, please go for it, it's yours to have."
- Gloria Estefan

"People think of Latina women as being fiery and fierce, which is usually true. But I think the quality that so many Latinas possess is strength. I'm very proud to have Latin blood."
- Zoe Saldana

"As an immigrant, I appreciate, far more than the average American, the liberties we have in this country. Silence is a big enemy of morality. I don't want our blunders in history to get repeated."
- Gloria Estefan

"You have to remember the value of your individuality - that you have something special and different to offer that nobody else can."
- Jennifer Lopez

"My mother gave me one piece of advice that stuck with me. She said don't forget where you came from."
- Eva Longoria

‍

Latino Quotes

"Be proud to be Latino and never lose that pride!"
- Bad Bunny

"I feel very proud to be Mexican. I didn't have the opportunity to learn Spanish when I was a girl, but... it's never too late to get in touch with your roots."
- Selena Quintanilla

"We are all individuals; we are all human beings; we are all connected together; and we all have the same rights, the same freedom."
- Sylvia Mendez

"The Latino population has become such a presence. We are part of the American tapestry in a very profound way, in every area you can think of, and are very significant in popular culture."
- Jimmy Smits

"Many Latino kids should become scientists because we need scientists all over the world from all different backgrounds. We have many tough problems, and we need everybody's help to solve the problems."
- Mario J. Molina

"I feel so much pride to represent my community and be Latino. No doubt about it, above my career and sales being a Latino comes first."
- Daddy Yankee

‍

Chicano Quotes

"I am not Mexican. I am not gringo. I am not Chicano. I am not gringo in the U.S. and Mexican in Mexico. I am Chicano everywhere. I don't have to assimilate to anything. I have my own history."
- Carlos Fuentes

"No Statue of Liberty ever greeted our arrival in this country... we did not, in fact, come to the United States at all. The United States came to us."
- Luis Valdez

"Deslenguadas. Somos las del español deficiente. We are your linguistic nightmare, your linguistic aberration, your linguistic mestizaje, the subject of your burla. Because we speak with tongues of fire we are culturally crucified. Racially, culturally and linguistically somos huérfanos - we speak an orphan tongue."
― Gloria E. Anzaldúa

"I am proud to be born in the USA, but my Mexican roots are my foundation and what make me never give up, always keep fighting and finish the fight till the end."
- Oscar de la Hoya

‍

More Empowering Quotes for Instagram & Beyond
→ Read more quotes about optimism and hope
"Justice is about making sure that being polite is not the same thing as being quiet. In fact, oftentimes, the most righteous thing you can do is shake the table."
- Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

"Action is the antidote to despair."
- Joan Baez
→ Read more quotes about making a difference
"Success is its own reward, but failure is a great teacher too, and not to be feared."
- Sonia Sotomayor

"You can cut all the flowers but you cannot keep spring from coming."
- Pablo Neruda

"Widen the path of opportunities and continue to leave a powerful and positive legacy in this world."
- Luis Fonsi

"I tell students that the opportunities I had were a result of having a good educational background. Education is what allows you to stand out."
- Ellen Ochoa

"I believe that fortitude is key. More than anything, be consistent. Go at it. Go at it. Go at it. When you succeed, don't forget the responsibility of making somebody else succeed with you."
- Antonia Novello

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51 Quotes to Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month (2023)

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When I think about what it means to be Hispanic, I think about the love we all share for our mothers' food, the beautiful music that inspires us to dance until sunrise, and the ability to laugh no matter how challenging life can get.

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"Don’t let anyone call you a minority if you’re black or Hispanic or belong to some other ethnic group. You’re not less than anybody else."
- Gwendolyn Brooks, American Poet

Cita: https://www.xavier.edu/jesuitresource/online-resources/quote-archive1/hispanic-heritage-month

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"One of the hardest parts of life is deciding whether to walk away or try harder."
- Hispanic saying

"I've been put on the planet to serve humanity. I have to remind myself to live simply and not to overindulge, which is a constant battle in a material world."
- Sandra Cisneros

"The Latina in me is an ember that blazes forever."
- Sonia Sotomayor

"There is nothing harder than the softness of indifference."
- Juan Montalvo

"Virtue is the truest nobility."
- Miguel de Cervantes

"The point is not to pay back kindness but to pass it on."
- Julia Alvarez

"But we must feel the pain before the pleasure... Only then can we tell them apart."
- Gloria Estefan

"Preservation of one's own culture does not require contempt or disrespect for other cultures."
- Cesar Chavez

"One of the greatest things you have in life is that no one has the authority to tell you what you want to be. You're the one who'll decide what you want to be. Respect yourself and respect the integrity of others as well. The greatest thing you have is your self image, a positive opinion of yourself. You must never let anyone take it from you."
- Jaime Escalante

"The number one issue in the Hispanic American community is "How do I leave my children better off than myself?""
- Marco Rubio

"Don't be told something is impossible. There's always a way."
- Robert Rodriguez

"We are human beings. And no matter how bad things are and no matter how limiting things are..we can always be creative."
- Luis J. Rodriguez

"My mother gave me one piece of advice that stuck with me. She said don't forget where you came from."
- Eva Longoria

"I am trying to teach my children to feel a responsibility for their fellow human beings and a sense of connection with...the world around them."
- Gloria Estefan

"You are not lucky to be here. The world needs your perspective. They are lucky to have you."
- Antonio Tijerino, President & CEO of the Hispanic Heritage Foundation

"We must be impatient for change. Let us remember that our voice is a precious gift and we must use it."
- Claudia Flores, Associate Clinical Professor of Law, Director, International, Human Rights Clinic

"The Latina in me is an ember that blazes forever."
- Sonia Sotomayor, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States

"Don't let anyone call you a minority if you're black or Hispanic or belong to some other ethnic group. You're not less than anybody else."
- Gwendolyn Brooks, American Poet

To provide feedback, please email: jesuitresource@xavier.edu

Jesuitresource.org is developed by The Center for Mission and Identity at Xavier University with support from the Conway Institute for Jesuit Education. Learn more about Jesuit Resource.

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"One of the hardest parts of life is deciding whether to walk away or try harder." - Hispanic saying "I've been put on the planet to serve humanity. I have to remind myself to live simply and not to overindulge, which is a constant battle in a material world."

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"The importance of Latinx is that it breaks apart from the Spanish language, which is based on gender. It’s become rare for anyone in Latin countries to say that they’re gender neutral. -Ana Pineda

Cita: The Importance of Latinx – El Vaquero

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Cita: https://www.tfhe.org/apps/api/images/615f5e64a9c1a6001268a400/src

# data[].attributes.body
"The voices of Latinos, as diverse as they may be, come together into a familiar and united chorus; we are resilient, funny, caring, hardworking, and love our families above all else." -Genesis Melendez

Cita: 51 Quotes to Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month (2023) (goodgoodgood.co)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
When I think about what it means to be Hispanic, I think about the love we all share for our mothers' food, the beautiful music that inspires us to dance until sunrise, and the ability to laugh no matter how challenging life can get.

At the same time, I think about the strength it takes to live in some Hispanic countries, and the even greater strength it requires to pack your valuables, kiss your parents goodbye, and move out to an entirely new country to build a better life for yourself and your family. So many of us experienced this firsthand - and many others are just a generation or two from this experience.

The voices of Latinos, as diverse as they may be, come together into a familiar and united chorus; we are resilient, funny, caring, hardworking, and love our families above all else.

We've curated a collection of beautiful quotes about what it means to be Hispanic and Latino - to celebrate during Hispanic Heritage Month and all year long.
Of course, don't forget to explore our guide on ideas for how to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month this year.
‍

The Best Hispanic Heritage Month Quotes

Famous Hispanic Heritage Month Quotes

"You are not lucky to be here. The world needs your perspective. They are lucky to have you."
- Antonio Tijerino, President & CEO of the Hispanic Heritage Foundation

"At the end of the day, we can endure much more than we think we can."
- Frida Kahlo

"Preservation of one's own culture does not require contempt or disrespect for other cultures."
- Cesar Chavez

"The most valuable possession you can own is an open heart. The most powerful weapon you can be is an instrument of peace."
- Carlos Santana

"Your great strength is knowing who you are."
- Oscar de la Renta

"When I was growing up, my parents insisted that we speak Spanish and read Spanish. I'm so happy they did that, because we developed their culture and their roots."
- Tito Puente

"It is important for all of us to appreciate where we come from and how that history has really shaped us in ways that we might not understand."
- Sonia Sotomayor

"The more you speak more languages, the more you understand about yourself."
- Sandra Cisneros

"If you have a dream, don't let anybody take it away."
- Selena Quintanilla

"Forgiving is not forgetting. Forgiving is remembering without pain."
- Celia Cruz

‍

Hispanic Quotes About Life

"What matters in life is not what happens to you, but what you remember and how you remember it."
- Gabriel García Márquez

"We must use our lives to make the world a better place to live, not just to acquire things. That is what we are put on the earth for."
- Dolores Huerta

"If you have an opportunity to make things better and you don't, then you are wasting your time on Earth."
- Roberto Clemente

"Every day begins like a blank chalkboard, on which each one of us can write the poem of our present and our dreams of the future."
- Ricky Martin

"You only have what you give. It's by spending yourself that you become rich."
- Isabel Allende

"We tend to think of meditation in only one way. But life itself is a meditation."
- Raul Julia

"I don't want an uneventful and safe life, I prefer an adventurous one."
- Isabel Allende

‍

Quotes About Being Hispanic

"We have to be visible. We are not ashamed of who we are."
- Sylvia Rivera

"In the end, the American dream is not a sprint, or even a marathon, but a relay. Our families don't always cross the finish line in the span of one generation. But each generation passes on to the next the fruits of their labor."
- Julian Castro

"I am the one thing in life I can control. I am inimitable - I am an original."
- Lin-Manuel Miranda

"Yes, I am the first Latino poet laureate in the United States. But I'm also here for everyone and from everyone. My voice is made by everyone's voices."
- Juan Felipe Herrera

"I know now that he who hopes to be universal in his art must plant in his own soil... The secret of my best work is that it is Mexican."
- Diego Rivera

"There was nobody that I could look up and say '"That's somebody like me'". Which is probably why I'm now known in my community as 'La Pionera', or the Pioneer. I really don't think of myself as a role model. But it turns out that I am to a lot of the Hispanic community. Not just in show business, but in life. But that's what happens when you're first, right?"
- Rita Moreno

"Growing up, there wasn't an exact Hispanic role model that I had. I didn't realize how big a difference I was making, going to the Olympics and being Hispanic, until I would be in an autograph session, and parents would come up to me and say, 'You know, our family is so proud of you, you're really doing Hispanics proud.'"
- Laurie Hernández

"While our culture, traditions and religion may differ, we pride ourselves on working hard, educating ourselves as much as possible, striving for better lives for our children, loving our often large and blended families, and sharing as much of our history and customs as we can with anyone who chooses to really see us. We are not so different after all. People simply need to see us for who we are and not who they expect us to be."
- Natalie Morales

"I'm proud of being Hispanic."
- Lisa Guerrero

‍

Inspirational Quotes by Latinas

"The Latina in me is an ember that blazes forever."
- Sonia Sotomayor

"I don't study to know more, but to ignore less."
- Juana Inés de la Cruz

"They are afraid of us because we are not afraid of them."
- Berta Caceres

"Whatever it is your heart desires, please go for it, it's yours to have."
- Gloria Estefan

"People think of Latina women as being fiery and fierce, which is usually true. But I think the quality that so many Latinas possess is strength. I'm very proud to have Latin blood."
- Zoe Saldana

"As an immigrant, I appreciate, far more than the average American, the liberties we have in this country. Silence is a big enemy of morality. I don't want our blunders in history to get repeated."
- Gloria Estefan

"You have to remember the value of your individuality - that you have something special and different to offer that nobody else can."
- Jennifer Lopez

"My mother gave me one piece of advice that stuck with me. She said don't forget where you came from."
- Eva Longoria

‍

Latino Quotes

"Be proud to be Latino and never lose that pride!"
- Bad Bunny

"I feel very proud to be Mexican. I didn't have the opportunity to learn Spanish when I was a girl, but... it's never too late to get in touch with your roots."
- Selena Quintanilla

"We are all individuals; we are all human beings; we are all connected together; and we all have the same rights, the same freedom."
- Sylvia Mendez

"The Latino population has become such a presence. We are part of the American tapestry in a very profound way, in every area you can think of, and are very significant in popular culture."
- Jimmy Smits

"Many Latino kids should become scientists because we need scientists all over the world from all different backgrounds. We have many tough problems, and we need everybody's help to solve the problems."
- Mario J. Molina

"I feel so much pride to represent my community and be Latino. No doubt about it, above my career and sales being a Latino comes first."
- Daddy Yankee

‍

Chicano Quotes

"I am not Mexican. I am not gringo. I am not Chicano. I am not gringo in the U.S. and Mexican in Mexico. I am Chicano everywhere. I don't have to assimilate to anything. I have my own history."
- Carlos Fuentes

"No Statue of Liberty ever greeted our arrival in this country... we did not, in fact, come to the United States at all. The United States came to us."
- Luis Valdez

"Deslenguadas. Somos las del español deficiente. We are your linguistic nightmare, your linguistic aberration, your linguistic mestizaje, the subject of your burla. Because we speak with tongues of fire we are culturally crucified. Racially, culturally and linguistically somos huérfanos - we speak an orphan tongue."
― Gloria E. Anzaldúa

"I am proud to be born in the USA, but my Mexican roots are my foundation and what make me never give up, always keep fighting and finish the fight till the end."
- Oscar de la Hoya

‍

More Empowering Quotes for Instagram & Beyond
→ Read more quotes about optimism and hope
"Justice is about making sure that being polite is not the same thing as being quiet. In fact, oftentimes, the most righteous thing you can do is shake the table."
- Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

"Action is the antidote to despair."
- Joan Baez
→ Read more quotes about making a difference
"Success is its own reward, but failure is a great teacher too, and not to be feared."
- Sonia Sotomayor

"You can cut all the flowers but you cannot keep spring from coming."
- Pablo Neruda

"Widen the path of opportunities and continue to leave a powerful and positive legacy in this world."
- Luis Fonsi

"I tell students that the opportunities I had were a result of having a good educational background. Education is what allows you to stand out."
- Ellen Ochoa

"I believe that fortitude is key. More than anything, be consistent. Go at it. Go at it. Go at it. When you succeed, don't forget the responsibility of making somebody else succeed with you."
- Antonia Novello

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
51 Quotes to Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month (2023)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
When I think about what it means to be Hispanic, I think about the love we all share for our mothers' food, the beautiful music that inspires us to dance until sunrise, and the ability to laugh no matter how challenging life can get.

# data[].attributes.body
"Resulta, imposible pensar que los latinoamericanos tenemos una sola identidad étnica, un solo idioma o una sola manera de ver el mundo. En realidad somos diversos. Pero, por otra parte, todos nos sentimos latinoamericanos." -Enrique Ayala Mora

Cita: Ser latinoamericano - El Comercio