Being Latino

“What are you? Are you black?”

“No I’m Puerto Rican.”

“Oh you look black I didn’t realize you were Spanish”.

Many of us in the Latino community have either been through or heard this conversation many times. Here we witness a person trying to figure out what to label another, while the other chooses what he prefers to be labeled. This conversation will be broken down further throughout the text.

Society in the United States is one that loves to label people. With these labels come stereotypes. When Americans not of Latino decent, think about the people who belong in this group labeled “Latino”, there are several stereotypes involved. The most common stereotype that we encounter throughout the nation is…you guessed it MEXICAN! I know a lot of Latino’s that cannot stand being asked what part of Mexico their family is from. Now there is nothing wrong with being Mexican, however people do not like being labeled something that they are not. Imagine telling someone that you are Dominican or Colombian, and their response is “I love tacos”. For one that’s a bad stereotype and two it’s not even a stereotype for your own ethnic background. You might even end up saying something like “NO THOSE ARE MEXICANS, IM DOMINICAN, WER’E THE ONES THAT EAT PLATANOS!!!”

Then there is the stereotypical look, which even we as Latinos are guilty of falling for. The most common one is the look that the media has portrayed. This is the olive or brown skinned, dark haired, brown or dark brown eyed, etc, Latino. Stereotypical looks may vary depending on what part of the United States you go too. If you are a Puerto Rican living in New York City, you should probably look something like Daddy Yankee in order to fit your label. If you do not fit these stereotypical looks, then you run the risk of being labeled something else by both the Latino community in the U.S. and the rest of the American population.

Going back to the quote, we can tell that the Puerto Rican being asked if he is black, probably has a lot of visible African features. The other person sees this and wants to give him the label “black”. As a Latino whose roots can be traced back to Africa; what do you do? If you say you are “black”, then you will be labeled with the American definition and stereotype of what “black” is. According to this definition; can you be black while your main diet consists of arroz con pollo, accompanied with a maltita on the side? According to the stereotypes of this label, should Salsa be your music of preference(even though salsa has a heavy African influence)? As a Puerto Rican with visible African features, he knows (or may not) that he is black(or partially). However he chooses not to identify as black because he understands that this label is connected to a different culture/ set of stereotypes that are different to his own. Of course there can be plenty of other reasons why Latino’s may deny there African roots, such as self hate, not knowing their history, etc. However assuming that the Puerto Rican in the quote is denying his blackness, in order to be labeled with the group that he is a part of, he is still denying a part of himself.

As a Puerto Rican with visible black features, I get asked questions similar to the one above. I actually enjoy being asked this question. I take it as an opportunity to educate my fellow Americans on my cultural background. My answer is yes I am mixed with black, because I am Puerto Rican. Puerto Rican is the culture/ ethnic background that I identify with. However this group of people called “Puerto Ricans, are a mixture of many races, thus making us the beautiful people that we are.

This is the same for the Latino community as a whole. Because we are mixed with so many races, we are one of the most diverse and attractive groups in the world. This is why stereotyping us with a certain look is inaccurate. We come in so many colors and different physical attributes or phenotypes that if you label us all with a stereotypical look; where do the rest of us fit in?

If you are Latino take advantage to educate people. Do not feel different than the rest of the Latino community because you are blonde with blue eyes, or black as night. When people say “you don’t look Latino” don’t get upset but rather give them a history lesson. Make them more aware about our community. After all, the knowledge they have of us, may only be what the media has portrayed us to be. Enlighten Them! Also if you don’t know your history, learn it; and overall, BE PROUD OF YOUR ROOTS!!!