• Home
    • Get the Podcasts
    • About
      • Contact Latinopia.com
      • Copyright Credits
      • Production Credits
      • Research Credits
      • Terms of Use
      • Teachers Guides
  • Art
    • LATINOPIA ART
    • INTERVIEWS
  • Film/TV
    • LATINOPIA CINEMA
    • LATINOPIA SHOWCASE
    • INTERVIEWS
    • FEATURES
  • Food
    • LATINOPIA FOOD
    • COOKING
    • RESTAURANTS
  • History
    • LATINOPIA EVENT
    • LATINOPIA HERO
    • TIMELINES
    • BIOGRAPHY
    • EVENT PROFILE
    • MOMENT IN TIME
    • DOCUMENTS
    • TEACHERS GUIDES
  • Lit
    • LATINOPIA WORD
    • LATINOPIA PLÁTICA
    • LATINOPIA BOOK REVIEW
    • PIONEER AMERICAN LATINA AUTHORS
    • INTERVIEWS
    • FEATURES
  • Music
    • LATINOPIA MUSIC
    • INTERVIEWS
    • FEATURES
  • Theater
    • LATINOPIA TEATRO
    • INTERVIEWS
  • Blogs
    • Angela’s Photo of the Week
    • Arnie & Porfi
    • Bravo Road with Don Felípe
    • Burundanga Boricua
    • Chicano Music Chronicles
    • Fierce Politics by Dr. Alvaro Huerta
    • Mirándolo Bien with Eduado Díaz
    • Political Salsa y Más
    • Mis Pensamientos
    • Latinopia Guest Blogs
    • Tales of Torres
    • Word Vision Harry Gamboa Jr.
    • Julio Medina Serendipity
    • ROMO DE TEJAS
    • Sara Ines Calderon
    • Ricky Luv Video
    • Zombie Mex Diaries
    • Tia Tenopia
  • Podcasts
    • Louie Perez’s Good Morning Aztlán
    • Mark Guerrero’s ELA Music Stories
    • Mark Guerrero’s Chicano Music Chronicles
      • Yoga Talk with Julie Carmen

latinopia.com

Latino arts, history and culture

  • Home
    • Get the Podcasts
    • About
      • Contact Latinopia.com
      • Copyright Credits
      • Production Credits
      • Research Credits
      • Terms of Use
      • Teachers Guides
  • Art
    • LATINOPIA ART
    • INTERVIEWS
  • Film/TV
    • LATINOPIA CINEMA
    • LATINOPIA SHOWCASE
    • INTERVIEWS
    • FEATURES
  • Food
    • LATINOPIA FOOD
    • COOKING
    • RESTAURANTS
  • History
    • LATINOPIA EVENT
    • LATINOPIA HERO
    • TIMELINES
    • BIOGRAPHY
    • EVENT PROFILE
    • MOMENT IN TIME
    • DOCUMENTS
    • TEACHERS GUIDES
  • Lit
    • LATINOPIA WORD
    • LATINOPIA PLÁTICA
    • LATINOPIA BOOK REVIEW
    • PIONEER AMERICAN LATINA AUTHORS
    • INTERVIEWS
    • FEATURES
  • Music
    • LATINOPIA MUSIC
    • INTERVIEWS
    • FEATURES
  • Theater
    • LATINOPIA TEATRO
    • INTERVIEWS
  • Blogs
    • Angela’s Photo of the Week
    • Arnie & Porfi
    • Bravo Road with Don Felípe
    • Burundanga Boricua
    • Chicano Music Chronicles
    • Fierce Politics by Dr. Alvaro Huerta
    • Mirándolo Bien with Eduado Díaz
    • Political Salsa y Más
    • Mis Pensamientos
    • Latinopia Guest Blogs
    • Tales of Torres
    • Word Vision Harry Gamboa Jr.
    • Julio Medina Serendipity
    • ROMO DE TEJAS
    • Sara Ines Calderon
    • Ricky Luv Video
    • Zombie Mex Diaries
    • Tia Tenopia
  • Podcasts
    • Louie Perez’s Good Morning Aztlán
    • Mark Guerrero’s ELA Music Stories
    • Mark Guerrero’s Chicano Music Chronicles
      • Yoga Talk with Julie Carmen
You are here: Home / Blogs / THINKING LATINA with SARA INÉS CALDERÓN 9.10.12

THINKING LATINA with SARA INÉS CALDERÓN 9.10.12

September 10, 2012 by

BEING LATINO IS BEING AMERICAN: WHAT I LEARNED FROM JULIAN CASTRO’S SPEECH.

Like so may others last week, I listened to San Antonio Mayor Julián Castro’s speech to the Democratic National Convention with something of a sense of wonder. As I listened to his speech, I thought of my life, of my parents, my grandparents, of so many friends and acquaintances, of our collective experiences with trying to integrate ourselves into the fabric of this country’s culture. Sometimes these experiences can be painful, and sometimes, they can be rather joyous, and that’s what struck me about Castro’s speech.

He spoke about his family and his experiences, about menudo and abuelitas, and about how all of these experiences are what made him a proud American. I know the feeling.

As a matter of fact, it seems lots of us do. Everyone I have talked to about the speech has essentially shared the same sentiment. That, to them — to see a Latino man on a national platform talking about his culture proudly, like it was normal, and equating that culture with being American — was incredible as it was validating. So many of us have been trying to establish the same thing in our own respective fields, whether it be through media or education, that to see the same message broadcast on national television was almost a relief.

When I was growing up, my father the historian would tell me about the dramatic demographic shifts that were taking place around us. That in my lifetime, by 2050, Latinos would be 1/3 of the population and the majority of Americans will be from minority groups. Growing up in 1990s anti-immigrant California, living in South Texas and witnessing the SB 1070 anti-immigrant surge in Arizona, I would often wonder whether this shift would be pacific, or excruciating.

I think, in a sense, the shift has been both.

Sometimes there are triumphs, and sometimes there are challenges that we all must contribute to overcoming. As someone who has spent years writing about how Latino culture is American culture, and how racism hurts all Americans, Castro’s speech was a powerful contribution to the conversation. Perhaps most importantly because his speech reached many non-Latinos who, maybe for the first time, listened to someone who doesn’t look like them and wasn’t raised as they were talk about why he’s proud to be their countryman.

There’s no doubt in my mind that Arizona, and other states, will continue to try to use the law to exclude Latinos and others from mainstream American life. I know that racism will continue to exist in this country, but that doesn’t invalidate all of the little steps, conversations and contributions to making the U.S. a more inclusive place. Castro wasn’t the first Latino to share his American narrative. But, because he did so with such grace and honesty in a tremendously public way, perhaps more of us will feel safe to talk about our Latino American experiences, or even better, perhaps others will be more ready to hear them.

 

Copyright 2012 Sara Inés Calderón

_____________________________________________________

Sara Inés Calderón
sarainescalderon.com
@SaraChicaD
Skype: SaraChicaD

la vida es dura, pero es bella

Filed Under: Blogs, Sara Ines Calderon Tagged With: 2012 Democatratic National Convention, Julian Castro, Latino politics

RICARDO ROMO’S TEJANO REPORT 7.17.25 ART “QUINCEANERA” AT THE BORDERLANDS

July 17, 2025 By wpengine

An Art “Quinceanera” in the Borderlands. An exhibition featuring large prints by a talented cohort of borderland artists opened last week  [July 12, 2025] at the Centro Cultural Aztlan in San Antonio, Texas.  The Centro press release described the exhibit as a prime example of community artists engaging “in the deeply rooted democratic art form of […]

TALES OF TORRES 7.17.25 DONALD TRUMP- TERROR AND INTIMIDATION

July 17, 2025 By wpengine

Terror and Intimidation Are the Order of the Day The Pendejo-in-Chief got to sign his Big Beautiful Baloney Bill into law. The consequences will be felt for a long time. None of them good, unless you are among the wealthiest folks in the country. They will get permanent tax breaks and other nest-feathering favors. For […]

RICARDO ROMO’S TEJANO REPORT 07.10.25 LUIS LOPEZ BORDERLANDS ARTIST

July 10, 2025 By wpengine

Luis Lopez: Borderlands Artist Looks Forward to His Exhibit in Mexico Borderland artist Luis Lopez moved from Laredo, Texas to San Antonio nearly 50 years ago to pursue his passion for creating art. Over the past five decades, Lopez has received recognition on both sides of the U.S.–Mexico border for his diverse and transformative body […]

BURUNDANGA BORICUA (ENGLISH) 07.10.25 WE WILL CONTINUE TO CONSPIRE

July 10, 2025 By wpengine

We’ve been able to…or not. The signature is on paper and the Big Beautiful Bill (BBB) that dictates the domestic policy for President Trump’s second administration is the current mandate for the United States. The Institute of Taxes and Economic Policy anticipates three options to meet the law: cut investment in health and food assistance, […]

More Posts from this Category

New On Latinopia

LATINOPIA ART SONIA ROMERO 2

By Tia Tenopia on October 20, 2013

Sonia Romero is a graphic artist,muralist and print maker. In this second profile on Sonia and her work, Latinopia explores Sonia’s public murals, in particular the “Urban Oasis” mural at the MacArthur Park Metro Station in Los Angeles, California.

Category: Art, LATINOPIA ART

LATINOPIA WORD JOSÉ MONTOYA “PACHUCO PORTFOLIO”

By Tia Tenopia on June 12, 2011

José Montoya is a renowned poet, artist and activist who has been in the forefront of the Chicano art movement. One of his most celebrated poems is titled “Pachuco Portfolio” which pays homage to the iconic and enduring character of El Pachuco, the 1940s  Mexican American youth who dressed in the stylish Zoot Suit.

Category: LATINOPIA WORD, Literature

LATINOPIA WORD XOCHITL JULISA BERMEJO “OUR LADY OF THE WATER GALLONS”

By Tia Tenopia on May 26, 2013

Xochitl-Julisa Bermejo is a poet and teacher from Asuza, California. She volunteered with No More Deaths, a humanitarian organization providing water bottles in the Arizona desert where immigrants crossing from Mexico often die of exposure. She read her poem, “Our Lady of the Water Gallons” at a Mental Cocido (Mental Stew) gathering of Latino authors […]

Category: LATINOPIA WORD, Literature

© 2025 latinopia.com · Pin It - Genesis - WordPress · Admin