• 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

TALES OF TORRES 05.25.23 LETS GET RID OF ACTIVE SHOOTER DRILLS

May 26, 2023 By wpengine

Let’s get rid of the presumed need for “active-shooter drills” in our schools Desafortunadamente, we observe a horrifying anniversary this week. A year ago, this country was convulsed by the deadly mass shooting of innocent children at an elementary school in the largely Mexican American town of Uvalde, Texas. Nineteen children and two adults were […]

LATINOPIA GUEST BLOG ANGELA VALENZUELA ON UVALDE 5.26.23 (ORIGINALLY 06.03.22)

June 3, 2022 By wpengine

Reflections on Uvalde by Angela Valenzuela, Ph.D. Note: This article was originally published on June 3, 2022. Because of its relevance it is reprinted now, on the one-year anniversary of the Uvalde mass killings. We just got back from Uvalde, my friends. My husband, Emilio and I, took a quick, weekend trip to pay our […]

RICARDO ROMO’S TEJANO REPORT – CESAR MARTINEZ ART ACQUIRED BY MOMA

May 26, 2023 By wpengine

Cesar Martinez’s Art Acquired By New York Museum of Modern Art The prestigious Museum of Modern Art [MOMA] in New York City, in conjunction with the Ruiz-Healy Art Gallery of New York and San Antonio, recently announced the purchase of three paintings by San Antonio artist Cesar Martinez. Patricia Ruiz Healy noted that the MOMA […]

LATINOPIA HERO GLORIA MOLINA – A CHICANA PIONEER

May 20, 2023 By wpengine

GLORIA MOLINA: A CHICANA PIONEER. Like many, many others, I was saddened to learn of the passing of Gloria Molina. She had battled cancer for three years. Accolades poured in from public officials, civic leaders and just plain folks who admired her and her accomplishments. She was, unmistakably, a pioneer in the civic sphere. She […]

More Posts from this Category

New On Latinopia

LATINOPIA FOOD “JALAPEÑO SODA BREAD” RECIPE

By Tia Tenopia on March 14, 2011

Jalapeño Irish Soda Bread The sweetness of traditional Irish soda bread ingredients—raisins, buttermilk, some sugar—are richly complimented by jalapeño heat. Here’s a soda bread recipe from Ireland brought to the USA from Galway by Mary Patricia Reilly Murray and later transformed  with her blessing by her daughter, Bobbi Murray, who added jalapeño chile.  A real […]

Category: Cooking, Food, LATINOPIA FOOD

LATINOPIA EVENT 1966 UFW PEREGRINACIÓN (PILGRIMAGE) MARCH

By Tia Tenopia on March 19, 2013

The effort to organize farm workers under a union contract has been a long and difficult struggle. In 1965, César Chávez and Dolores Huerta created what would become the United Farm Workers Union. From the onset they  faced many obstacles, not the least of which was how to get dozens of California grape growers to […]

Category: History, LATINOPIA EVENT

LATINOPIA MUSIC ANGELA ROA “TOCO DESAFINADO”

By Tia Tenopia on June 22, 2014

Angela Roa is a Chilean singer and lyricist residing in Los Angeles, California. Her songs are about the Latino experience in the United States and in Latin America. Here she performs an original song, “Toco Desafinado” (Out of Tune). She is accompanied by Fernando Losada, Rich Silva and Thiago Winterstein..

Category: LATINOPIA MUSIC, Music

© 2023 latinopia.com · Pin It - Genesis - WordPress · Admin