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By Daniel Cubias, Being Latino

According to many sources, Dr. Carlos do Amaral Freire can speak more languages than anyone on the planet: 115. But before you feel too intimidated, keep in mind that the professor is fluent in a mere 30 or so.

One has to wonder how balancing all those verb tenses and irregular conjugations has affected his mind (although, as we know, people who speak multiple languages have more agile brains). In fact, there is some evidence that the languages we speak influence the very way we think.

This concept comes from the psycholinguistic branch of psychology. Intellectuals like Piaget, Skinner and Chomsky have spent a lot of effort trying to explain how and why humans use language. But only recently have studies implied that the language “that our culture has instilled in us from infancy shapes our orientation to the world and our emotional responses to the objects we encounter.”

For example, green and blue are separate colors in English but are shades of the same color in some languages, so “our experience of a Chagall painting actually depends to some extent on whether our language has a word for blue.”

Now all this might seem interesting but trivial until one considers how language — particularly the contentious relationship between English and Spanish — is playing out in America. Language is crucial in debates over immigration, assimilation, political power, identity and the future of the country. You can’t even order a pizza in Spanish without infuriating someone.

Now, if English and Spanish speakers think differently at times, what are the consequences? Well, English is known for being complex, even perplexing at times.

Spanish, in contrast, is more poetic and, yes, weaker. Keep in mind the dreaded Mande Mindset, which some experts believe influences Spanish speakers to be more subservient.

The cultural and political consequences of that dynamic are not too hard to figure out.

Psycholinguistic theory holds that English and Spanish speakers may have subtle differences in how they process the same situation. If that sounds far-fetched, remember that a recent study implied that Greeks may have more trouble than Germans when it comes to economic planning, because of how the languages express the future tense. The theory also implies that speakers of Arabic are more susceptible to flowery oration, and that people who use an obscure Australian aboriginal tongue have a better sense of direction. At the very least, psycholinguistics might explain why it’s so hard to be funny in Chinese. 

So, are English speakers predestined to overwhelm Spanish speakers? Not necessarily. But it’s worth considering if our language provokes us to be stronger, friendlier, more thoughtful, more emotional or just plain louder.

Naturally, if these theories are true, they provide an immediate objection to bilingual education. After all, those kids are going to grow up with split personalities.

This article first appeared in Being Latino.

Daniel Cubias is a writer based in Los Angeles. In addition to Being Latino, his work can be found in such publications as the Huffington Post, Change.org, Aqui magazine, and his website, the Hispanic Fanatic. In addition, he has been published in many literary journals and won the occasional writing contest. He is a Wisconsin native who still roots for his hometown Milwaukee Brewers. He is way too much into horror movies, and he is inexplicably still unable to tune his guitar properly.

[Photo by ilco, NewsTaco]

By Victor Landa, NewsTaco

You have to love this kid’s gumption!

His name is Saul Tello, Jr., a high school senior from Orestimba High School, in Newman, California,  who burned the study candle to a stump and became his class’ valedictorian. Congratulations to him for that!

According to a report in Fox News Latino, he was then given the task of delivering the valedictorian address at his school’s graduation – he was the first Latino in his school’s history to attain that honor. He asked if he could deliver part of the speech in Spanish, and was told that it had to be done in one language only.

You know where this is going…

“By being the first Hispanic valedictorian at our school to give my address in Spanish I am showing you that change is possible.”

Not everyone understood what he said, but a translation was provided to WestSideConnect.com.

Prop’s go out as well to the school’s principal, Jessie Ceja, who defended Tello’s right to deliver his speech in Spanish.

[Photo by madame_min]

By Natalia Criollo, Our Tiempo

As I continue to embark on my journey as a single mother and professional writer, I have met an array of people from all walks of life. With individuals ranging in media and corporate America; I interact with an eclectic group of people. Most of my interactions with them are driven by social media, emails or conference calls. I have not met all the people that I am linked up with in a traditional “face-to-face” setting; but when I finally do meet and speak to them (English, that is), people are shocked. Not because of the words that are coming out of my mouth, but because of how they sound when they do. Apparently, I don’t sound Latino enough.

“Excuse me?”… Does losing my accent mean I’ve lost my cultural identity?

Now don’t get me wrong, I am a bi-cultural woman (Italian and Colombian descent) who does speak Spanish; in fact, it was my first language. I just don’t feel like I have to sound like the stereotypical Latina when I do speak it. When I speak Spanish, I have an American accent and when I speak English, I don’t have a Spanish accent.

I began to question my cultural identity this year, after trying out for voice over work for a local radio station in here in Chicago. I was asked to read a script (mostly in English) with Spanish words. And although I tried to emphasize the few Spanish words that were in the script (words such as “Ancho” and “Chile”; which I nailed), I was then told that I did not get the gig because I did not sound “Spanish” enough. Do I have to have an accent in order to prove that I am Latin enough?  Does the fact that I don’t have an accent affect my professional credibility? The answer to both of those questions is “NO!”.

Having to justify whether or not a person is Latino enough is a reality that many Latin Americans of all ages have to face. We are expected to play into these societal-made stereotypes that date back as far back as 1920. We are the books being judged by our covers. After a recent discussion with my ten-year-old daughter, I learned that she is facing some of the same experiences I had, but just in a different context. She told me that she recently had to prove whether or not she was a Latina to her classmates. “The kids at school don’t believe that I am Spanish because I don’t have an accent,” she said. “They think I have tosound Spanish in order to be Spanish.”  I continued to tell her that people will naturally have their own opinions as to how one should look, sound or act; especially if you’re Latino. Just because these ideas exist, that does not make them right; it is what one does when they are faced with these opinions that matters. “You have to educate them,” I continued to tell her. Just because we have assimilated to our environment, does not mean that we are not Latino enough.

So, when I am asked: “Are you Latino enough?,” I simply say: “YES!.” I am proud to say that I am a first generation American who grew up in a bilingual home, and identifies with both cultures. I was blessed to be able to not only watch shows such as “Sabado Gigante” and “El Chapulin Colorado;” but I also enjoyed shows such as “M*A*S*H” and “Saturday Night Live.”

It took my recent conversation with my daughter in order for me to realize that one small comment can shake you to the core. In order for one to be comfortable and confident in their own skin, they have to rise above these out-dated stereotypes in society.

Hailing from Chicago, IL, Natalia is a freelance journalist who has worked for NBC and numbers of online publications. After receiving her degree in Communications from Columbia University, Natalia’s passion for writing would follow her into the community, its culture, and the arts. During her free time, Natalia plans on publishing her first graphic novel which is poetry based later this year. Follow her on twitter @Colomitalia.

This article first appeared in Our Tiempo.

[Photo by ilco, NewsTaco]

By Jose Cruz, Our Tiempo

You know that moment we all have when you check your Facebook or Twitter and everyone is commenting about one thing? This happened to me last week as the Latino world of social media was abuzz, sadly announcing the death of celebrated Mexican author Carlos Fuentes. I had a moment of pause seeing all of my friends post and thought- “Umm, who is Carlos Fuentes?” I quickly read several articles and found out, but was left with a familiar feeling of “not being Latino enough.” All of this brings me to the question of the week, “how much of our culture do we need to know?”

In my defense, I am not Mexican and was raised in the U.S. so my ignorance of a great Latin American author who wrote in Spanish is understandable. But still I received a snarky reply from a younger friend who has a degree in Latin American studies when I mentioned I didn’t know who Carlos was. In a moment of pure verbal retribution I changed subjects and asked them what they knew about the revised Dream Act legislation that Senator Marco Rubio was going to introduce. To which they replied, “I hadn’t heard about it.” This left me with a sense of intellectual validation; but I digress.

Over the years I have done a great deal of public speaking and always make an effort to be funny. As I speak to diverse groups of people I have found that connecting with your audience, especially with humor, is often a matter of affinity. What a 22-year-old Latino male finds funny is not the same as a 65- year-old white suburban grandmother. But there are ways of bridging the gap through affinity and the same rule applies with culture.

I discovered the Mexican rock group Mana three years ago because a friend told me they were the Latin American “U2.” The same was true for Caifanes after someone said they were like “The Cure.” While today “Flan” is served with no other description in many Spanish restaurant, I remember my family telling me it was “caramel custard” to get me to try it; and I’m so glad I did. From food, to music, to literature, often it was points of affinity that were made that introduced me to my Latino culture.

Today we see the growth of a new generation of predominately English-speaking Hispanics who are redefining what it means to be Latino. To judge them on their cultural knowledge would be unfair to their upbringing and a strategic mistake. It’s like making someone feel bad because they haven’t heard of Jay-Z, rather than turning on your iPod to make them understand why they should. So when it comes to cultural knowledge as a test of your Latina/o street cred, there really is no fair level. Rather we should have a simple desire and always try to learn more.

“Oye mi amor”- while culture can be taught; it is best when it is shared.

Jose Cruz is a Puerto Rican/Irish multi-city/multi-hat guru at OurTiempo.com. An online entrepreneur, Jose is the in house editor and writer. With a background in politics and a career that includes a law degree, the Clinton White House and managing and developing websites geared at the Latino community, his tastes are as diverse as his work. Just at home diving into a Chicago Deep Dish Pizza to munching on a Fish Taco in East LA. Twitter: @JoseCruz2000

This article first appeared in Our Tiempo.

[Photo by MDCarchives]

By Paloma Corredor, Voxxi

Being Latina is cool and trendy. Just look at Jennifer Lopez, Penélope Cruz and María Elena Salinas. Latinas are creative, powerful and strong, right?

Not exactly, if we pay attention to the stereotypes that divide Latinas into two categories. On one side we have the sexy, frivolous, striking type, such as Sofia Vergara in Modern Family.

Then, we have the Latina maid. Actress Eva Longoria is producing a series called “Devious Maids,” about four Latina employees that serve rich families in Beverly Hills. Critical voices on the Internet say that these kinds of roles are typecasting Latinas as domestic servants. According to Longoria, that role is a reality. So, why not listen to their stories?

Well, we could ask Lupe Ontiveros, who´s played the role of the maid … over 150 times! She confesses she´d love to play a judge or a lesbian, but Hollywood doesn´t let her do it.

This reminds me that Spanish actors often complain that in the U.S. they only get cast as “Latinos.” Which is funny because, although this sounds politically incorrect, Spaniards living in Spain don´t feel “Latino.”

In the last 15 or 20 years, millions of Latin Americans have migrated to Spain in search of work and quality of life. In 2010, 30% of the nearly 5 million immigrants came from South America, especially Ecuador, Colombia, Peru and Bolivia. Now, many are leaving Spain because of the disastrous economy.

You would think that, by now, Spaniards and Latin Americans in Spain would have become friends, right? Well, they haven’t.

Spaniards and Latinos don´t mix. There is a lot of prejudice and racism in Spain, where Latinos are often referred to as “sudacas” or, even more offensively, “panchitos.” We listen to different music, watch different movies, eat different things. Yes, Latino restaurants are everywhere and there are almost entirely Latino neighborhoods, but they are “for them,” not “for us.”

We appreciate that they clean our houses (Oops, here comes the stereotype again!) and take care of our elders. But that´s it. In my opinion, the prejudice is mutual (Spain is that arrogant nation that devastated their cultures centuries ago) and neither party takes the trouble to get to know the other.

I speak from experience, because Jenny, my sister-in-law, is Peruvian. Therefore, my two nieces, whom I adore, have Latin roots. Jenny´s mother, sisters and cousins also live in Madrid. Her family and mine get along, but we live in different worlds. Our cultures, social background and even food are not the same.

When I was living in London, they considered me “Latina.”

British lump together paella and dancing salsa. My U.K. friends were amazed when I revealed that in Spain salsa is not a popular dance. Salsa is for South Americans! “But it’s the same thing, right? You both speak Spanish!” they would retort.

No. It´s not the same, just as a farmer from Wisconsin and a professor from Oxford are not the same.

In any case, I think it’s a shame that prejudice on both sides has prevented us from joining forces.

Since I began writing for Voxxi I´ve discovered some great Latinas. Neither sex bombs nor maids. Strong, inspiring, entrepreneurs, beautiful women with boundless energy. For instance, Mariela Dabbah, author of  ‘Poder de Mujer’, who encourages us to join her Red Shoes movement. Or Sharon Koenig, who wrote Los ciclos del alma to help us live our true purpose.

For me, getting to know these fabulous Latinas has been a revelation. I still find it difficult to define myself as “Latina” because my background is European, although I speak Spanish. When I share a post on Facebook which I wrote for VOXXI, my Spanish friends skip it because they aren´t used to reading in English. And most of my English-speaking friends are Londoners who are not interested in Latino issues. So, where do I stand in terms of defining myself one way or another?

I have discovered that there is something much more powerful than labels: the power of women. Latina, Hispanic, Spanish… Who cares, as long as we’re fabulous?

Paloma Corredor writes for Voxxi, you may follow Paloma her on Twitter

[Photo by pixelperu]

By Victor Landa

There was a time when the Nielsen Corporation didn’t see Latino consumers at all. This isn’t to pick a bone or re-live stale history, it’s merely a statement of fact, made to gain perspective. It wasn’t too long ago that Spanish language broadcasting was summarily ignored by the Nielsen big boys, regarded as second class broadcasting, not worth the effort to count as a viable market. That was as recently as the early 1980′s, before the days of the Univision boom, when sales people counted the UHF antennae on the rooftops of Latino neighborhoods to gauge their viewership – in those days only Spanish TV lived on the UHF end of the dial.

In those days the Spanish language broadcasting executives  longed to have their product counted along with the mainstream; they petitioned, cajoled and pestered Nielsen to include them in their regular count of television viewership.  But the mainstream (Nielsen was and is the arbiter of who and what is considered mainstream market) would have none of it.

Somewhere along the road a special “Hispanic” Nielsen count was invented – a kind of separate but not equal count, to appease the upstart Spanish people and poke around that market, to see what’s-what. The growth of the Latino market eventually blew that idea and we have what we have today.

Now, Nielsen can’t stop raving about the wonders of the Latino market. Some folks may say it’s about time, I’m wondering what took them so long. Market Watch touts Nielsen as “a leading global provider of information and insights into what consumers watch and buy,” and I’m sure that’s true in many market segments. But they’ve been late to the Latino market party. This week Nielsen released their latest report: The State of the Hispanic Consumer: The Hispanic Market Imperative (you have to admit, they came late but they made a dramatic entrance).

Here’s a line in the report summary that caught my attention:

It has become increasingly important to challenge commonly held misconceptions about the Latino market that undermine the importance of its size, uniqueness, and value.

So Nielsen, who once couldn’t see the Latino market, now defends against misconceptions and raises it to a market imperative? Someone should check the Mayan codexes, this may be a sign of the end of times. It’s a welcomed omen, nonetheless. Nielsen is as revered in the market as are stone tablets from mount Sinai. According to Market Watch;

“The Hispanic community in the United States is large and growing, and businesses must make strides to understand and engage these consumers,” said Susan Whiting, vice chair, Nielsen. “Due to the general youth of this segment, family focus, strong culture and prevalent Spanish-language use, Hispanic consumers are impacting all areas of work and play and helping to redefine American culture in the 21st century.”

Latinos have been saying that for years, but now that Nielsen has said it, it must be true. I guess we should be grateful for that. But a larger part of my brain asks why?

In the Latino market we’ve known we’re mainstream for a long time. Suddenly the emperor stands there, naked, and tells us what we already know. That doesn’t legitimize the Latino market, it only reinforces the short-shortsightedness of the leading global providers of information and insights. We already know we’re legitimate, we’ve know it for a long time.

[Photo by ChazWags]

Once upon a time, I believed what my first grade teacher told me.  I thought I was the descendant of a pilgrim. I took her word for it. I thought I had more in common with the guys with the belt buckle hats rather than the guys with with feather in theirs. They even received the lion’s share of the lines during the Thanksgiving play.

My teacher at the time told us that pilgrims were people from another country who came to this land in order to make a better life for themselves and their families. There I was in my Le Tigre shirt and Payless shoes, looking at a globe wondering what ocean my mom and dad crossed with their turkeys and belt buckle hats. My basic knowledge of geography told me they crossed the Rio Grande, but that was only because my dad told me that he crossed across a big river with his shoes around his neck – and the Mississippi River did not seem right.

I remember bringing my cornucopia project home, and my mom looking at it like it needed to be put out of its misery. She did not know whether to make heads or tails out of it. She was further puzzled by my assumptions that she used to make cornucopias when she was my age at her presumed pilgrim school. I was so ignorant about her experience as a “pilgrim”, I actually thought she grew up baking pumpkin pies with Native Americans.

My mom then told me the story of how she first came to the United States. There was a Niña, and a Pinta, as well as a Maria, but she was no Santa – and instead of a Mayflower, they had a Dodge Challenger. My mom and her friend met with a coyote who was supposed to get them across the line and into the currently occupied Mexican Metropolis known as Los Angeles. Unfortunately, my mother’s weakest suit was always sarcasm. So when she asked the coyote how they would get past immigration officials, he said they would be traveling by plane – my mother failed to read said sarcasm in his travel plans. Thinking she would be flying, she wanted her first flight to be memorable. She bought a whole new outfit: white pants and white high heels to match. Needless to say it was memorable; she ruined her new outfit as she fought off the seedy underbelly of nature.

When she finally got to this side of America she didn’t like anything. She didn’t like the food or the fact that everyone was free to do nothing. Back in Michoacán, she was free to roam the town to her heart’s content, but here she had to be indoors before the sun came down or risk becoming a victim. She wanted nothing more than to find a thousand dollar bill so she could return to Michoacán. She didn’t care too much for San Diego which was her twisted Plymouth Rock – denoting that she had made it. She was finally on the winning side and the only side that mattered. At the same time, she could not turn back. She already had a job waiting for her as a caretaker for an elderly lady battling cancer. She would end up staying in that job until the lady final succumbed to her illness, and then she returned back home disillusioned with the fact that she never found that fabled thousand dollar bill.  However that does not mean she never stopped looking.

[Photo by Bird Brian]

By Ulisses Sanchez, Our Tiempo

Recently, I found myself working out of a local coffee shop in Downtown Los Angeles.  That is something that I do quite often, as I have the flexibility in my day to be productive and not be confined to working solely within the confines of my office.  As I wrapped up my work for the day, walked to my car and turned it on, I was welcomed by the soothing sounds of Josh Groban playing out of my stereo.  Yes, I said Josh Groban.  It was not by mistake that I was listening to his music as he is only one of the many music artists that I have stored in my car’s iPod system.

Apparently, the parking attendant at the lot thought that I might have been listening to his music by mistake, as he looks at me and says “Oye, porque estas oyendo esa musica?” (for those of you who don’t want to go to the translation feature of Google to see what I said, it means “Hey, why are you listening to that music?”).  In the nicest way possible, I responded to him that I enjoy his music and that is why I have it on.

His next comment definitely came to me with a bit of shock.  “Pero que no eres Latino?  Y oyes eso?” (“But you are not Latino? And you listen to that?”)

I am sure that I am not the first and will not be the last person who will have their ethnic credentials questioned as I had that day. But it brings an interesting question to mind: Am I any less “Latino” because I chose to listen to Josh Groban?  Does that mean that I need to always listen to Vicente Fernandez, drink Tecate beer and name one of my children after La Virgen de Guadalupe?

Being Latino is not about being a certain way but rather just being. It does not come with a set of guidelines and instructions by which I need to live my life, despite what others believe.  So whether I am listening to Vicente Fernandez or Josh Groban, whether I am dressed in a guayavera or in a cashmere sweater from Banana Republic (I know, I know… Ay, muy chingon!), it does not change who I am and it does not define who I am.

It is an interesting topic of discussion though when it comes to the entertainment industry, in terms of what entertainment is made available to Latinos and how it is now being marketed to our community.  The community has grown exponentially in terms of its interests and its desires, and technology has contributed to that growth.  It has allowed for various methods of communication to be used to promote events and merchandise in ways that were unimaginable 15 years ago. So from a marketing perspective, it has allowed for most products that are not traditionally perceived to be Latino to garner interests by Latinos.  If you want any evidence of that, you need not look any further than your mom’s kitchen table.  I’m sure many of you reading this have a bottle of Tuong Ot Sriracha hot sauce (it’s the hot sauce in the see-through plastic bottle with a green top and its label being written in Vietnamese, English, Chinese, French and Spanish) either in your family’s home or that of your friend’s home.

So the next time anybody questions why a Latino is doing something that is considered “non-Latino”, make sure to point out the fact that the person is not trying to be Latino, but rather is just being themselves… which by default is being Latino.

Now that I have finished writing this, I need to eat my turkey panini sandwich, my mixed greens salad and drink my green tea before I head home to my apartment in Boyle Heights.  Oh well, at least one thing about me is a bit Latino… for now…

Ulisses Sanchez is a contributing Author to OurTiempo.com. An LA native you can find him on twitter @the_uliverse

[Photo by  Señor Codo]

By D.C. Basset

To name everything, to name it all, is the endless task humankind has endeavored to accomplish since the beginning of language. Flora, fauna, activities, qualities, science, the divine, the earthly… a wonderful way to recall things without having them present. And the namers, humans, ended up having to name themselves, and thus they created words to identify one another: first names, surnames, family names, nicknames, sobriquets, middle names… Let us take a brief tour of the world of surnames in English and Spanish.

Like everything else, names can be classified. For instance: 

Colors:

Mr. White has visited his new neighbor from Chile, whose name is Sr. Blanco. El profesor Pardo has met his colleague Professor Brown. El Dr. Negro es mi médico who studied under Professor Black, in England. Mario Moreno, was known as Cantinflas and my boss, Mr. Brown, liked his movies. Juan Gris was a famous painter and Mr. Gray has some of his paintings in his home.

Physical characteristics:

El Sr. Delgado es gordo, pero el Sr. Gordo es delgado y calvo.El Sr. Pedro Calvo tiene mucho pelo. Michael Strong is a weak man. Mrs. Broadhead is a pigheaded woman. Mr. John Short is ten-feet tall. Miss Small is going steady with her boss, Mr. Gay, who is straight.

Professions:

Me llamo Juan Sastre, pero soy panadero.  My taylor’s name is Baker. Mr. Miller is allergic to gluten. My friend Peter Butler is very rich and has hired two butlers. El Sr. Criado es pobre y no tiene criados. Professor Cook is a terrible cook at home. Mr. Bishop seldom goes to church. Mr. Shoemaker, Zapatero, likes to go barefoot in the summer.

Surnames formed from first names:

William Williams. James James. Richard Richards. Matthew Matthews. David Davies. And in Spanish we have Andrés Andrés, Juan de Juanes, Fernando Lázaro. Mateo Mateo.

Common and animal names:

Street, Calleja. Mata, Bush. Madera, Wood. Pastor, Shepherd. Bull, Toro.

The genuine Spanish names come from Iberian, pre-Roman, languages. The most common name is García which is wrongly thought to be Castilian. It is of Basque origin and spread to the rest of Spain fast, and then on to America.

The endings  -az, -ez, -iz, -oz, -uz are all of Iberian, pre-Roman, origin: Ferraz, Ferriz, Ferrus, Díaz, Muñoz, Sanchiz, González, Pérez, Hernández, Gómez, Martínez, Téllez, Fernández, Ramírez. The meaning is well known: Son of, just as Mc- in Scottish, O’- in Celtic Irish, and son in English: Johnson, Williamson.

The most common names in Spanish are: García, Pérez, Muñoz, González, Fernández.

The most common names in English are: Smith, Jones, Williams and Taylor.

Normally in Spanish-speaking countries women keep their maiden names when they marry. This is becoming a trend in the Anglo-Saxon world also.

Don Juan Fernández Izquierdo must be addressed as Mr. Fernández, his surname. Izquierdo is his mother´s surname. However things are getting complicated. The law in Spain now allows parents to use the mother´s surname first, if they so wish.

Mr. John Taylor Smith, on the contrary, must be addressed as Mr. Smith, Taylor being his middle name, which may be his mother´s maiden name or another.

All a bit confusing but, like everything else in language, names are always in a state of flux and that is why the Bard lets Juliet Capulet say: “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose / By any other name would smell as sweet.” She implies that a name is an artificial and meaningless convention. It is, yet names are used to identify, discriminate and set people apart. Romeo Montague is a case in point.

If I did not like my name I would most certainly change it.

What is your opinion?

[Photo by Henkster and NewsTaco]

You may follow D.C. Basset on Twitter

I’m curious to see exactly how Sesame Street is going to portray Latinos. The iconic children’s television show recently hired an expert to guide them in their effort to accurately include the Latino culture in their cast of characters. The hire is a man named Jaime Naidoo, who according to Huffington Post is “an assistant professor at University of Alabama’s School of Library and Information Studies, who’s research focuses on the representation of minority populations in print and non-print media.” That sounds impressive, especially since he lives in the belly of the anti-immigrant beast – Alabama, where the nastiest of anti-immigration laws have been thought-up. It makes ironic sense that a voice of reason should come from a place that could imagine such awful laws.

But the reason I’m curious about the Sesame Street outcome is because the program has a very good record of character diversity. I’m wondering how they can improve on it. The genius behind their success is their no-holds-barred creativity:  it’s impossible to peg Big Bird, Oscar the Grouch or Elmo to any specific ethnic group, culture or race. But it’s easy to understand the diversity of the group. So you conjure another fuzzy character, give it a Latino sounding name, maybe a hint of an accent, have it talk about its daily life and traditions, add a little Spanish and there you go!

Is it that easy? Of course not. That’s probably why I don’t work at Sesame Workshop (formerly known as the Children’s Television Workshop), and why they’ve hired  Naidoo to lead them by the hand.

The Latino Sesame Street character, or characters, is a work in progress (as is the Latino community in the U.S.). I think it’s about time.

[Photo by Theme Park Mom]

My parents spent more than 40 years in this country; they never felt compelled to learn English. Sometimes I feel that my parents had children in order to have translation services. I should be grateful to the monolingual staff at the DMV who would roll her eyes at my father’s gasping attempts at broken English – otherwise I would not be here today. The other reason why I am grateful is because I had a holiday any time my parents had a doctor’s appointment.

I was far too truthful, in the sense that I would not cover for my parents. In the eyes of America, my parents had no explanation as to why their cholesterol levels were higher than the Gross National Product. In reality, my mother used so much lard that it would eclipse what the food she was cooking was originally supposed to taste like. My father was told that he needed to watch his weight, so naturally he switched over to Bud Light. He had me tell the doctor that he never touched a drop of alcohol — unless it was a social event. (For the record, asking me what Dodger score was on a Friday night totally counted as a social event.)

Consequently, my sister became the official family translator from childhood to adulthood. She would drive my parents to their medical appointments, and sorted through their medical prescriptions. One time, my sister did not want to tell my father he needed a prostate exam. She knew that he was not going to cooperate, so she helped him change into his hospital gown, started holding his hand and did not let go. Then he felt a discomfort he was unfamiliar with. My father always recalled the story with all the anger and remorse of a man who had bitten off more than he could chew. He would never forgive my sister, as if she put the doctor up to it.

My father was a wooden man who worked so hard he could give a donkey an inferiority complex. He never got to enjoy his retirement, because as soon as he stopped working he was diagnosed with renal failure, which in turn became dialysis treatments three times a week. My sister was there with him as he argued with doctors and rejected their advice. He would eventually follow their advice, but I think it made him feel better to send them to hell. It was disheartening to watch the downward spiral, as hospital stays grew longer and longer and came in shorter intervals.

It was inspiring in a kind of way you know you should not be inspiring, but it fills your heart with courage. Throughout the grimace-inducing pain, memory lapses and countless needles, my father still had the time and energy to comment about the nurse’s physical attributes. The nurses always wanted to know what he was saying, but that was something we kept to ourselves, because the meaning was bound to get lost in translation.

[Image Courtesy Stethoscopes]

The last time I spoke to Jesus Javier was about two months ago. It was one of those out of the blue calls that took me by surprise and sent me back to a time filled with possibilities. We had a long conversation — there was a lot to catch up — and somewhere in between he asked if I’d be interested in moving to Burbank, he was looking for a news director. Truth is that I hadn’t spoken to him in years. I had kept up through mutual friends and colleagues; knew he was back in California, but I had known that since 1989, the last time I actually saw him.

It was through a mutual friend that I found out he had died.

The news didn’t come easy. I considered him a friend and I will always be in his debt. In order to explain I have to go back to 1984 — it sounds like a lifetime ago, but in fact it’s been several lifetimes, a lot can happen several times over in almost 30 years. I was 23 years old and recently returned to San Antonio, Texas. I was looking for a job and had some experience in TV news — I’d spent about two years reporting, editing and anchoring at a CBS affiliate in Laredo, Texas.

I was young and filled with the usual take-no-prisoners youthful exuberance. I’m pretty sure I sauntered into KWEX-TV, the first Spanish language television station in the United States, and asked for a job. Back then KWEX was part of the Spanish International Network, the precursor to what is now the Univision Television behemoth. I offered my services as a reporter and was given a polite “We’ll call you.”

About a week or two later I was sitting in front of Jesus Javier. What I remember from that day held true through to the last time we spoke. He was a disarmingly soft spoken man, intelligent to an extreme and quick to laugh. He hired me — but not as a reporter. I was to carry a video camera on one shoulder and a recording deck strapped to the other, shooting news for the local channel 41 newscast. Those were hard-scrabble days when everyone in the newsroom smoked (a cloud always hung over the workstations), cursed freely and kept a bottle of hard liquor in their desk drawer.  The work of putting a daily 30 minute newscast together was a controlled chaos — I felt easily at home and Jesus held court in the calm center of the storm. He was the kind of boss that kept you on your toes out of a fear of letting him down. He never kept praise to himself and his reprimands were swift — in his soft spoken manner he’d say “You messed up, try not to do that again.”

Jesus taught me how to tell community stories that mattered. Those were the days when we were still laying the groundwork of Spanish TV news, the Nielsen ratings company didn’t acknowledge our existence, our sales team counted viewers by counting UHF antennae on the rooftops on the west and south sides of San Antonio.

I’m pretty sure I pestered Jesus to give me an opportunity to be a reporter, but he held back because he didn’t believe my Spanish was good enough for broadcast. That was the motivation I needed to go back to school and finish my degree in Spanish literature. I owe that to him. And with the diploma in hand he gave me my shot. I owe that to him as well. In the years since I became, once again an in a second language, an editor and anchor and eventually moved to the rival Telemundo network where I was news director for 10 years. I like to think I patterned my news management style after several of the journalists who I call boss. Jesus Javier was at the top of that list.

I’m well aware of his many accomplishments — he was a top reporter and anchor in Los Angeles as well as a successful news executive.  But my memory of him is of a man who always seemed a little ahead of the rest.  He was a U.C. Berkeley trained electrical engineer and he approached news in a calm, logical and specific manner. I learned to analyze news by listening to him. I imagine he faced his battle with cancer in the same soft spoken, logical way. That’s how I’ll remember him, analyzing the news, complaining about the fixer-upper house he’d bought on Agarita Street and that he never finished fixing-up. The picture on this post is the picture I’ll keep in my mind, it’s how he looked in the mid 1980s when news was about community and the stories we told were about people and their struggles.

The last time we spoke we talked about how it had all become about ratings and eyeballs and clicks and unique visitors and such. I’m sure I heard him smile when he said, “Don’t give up.”

Rest in peace friend.

[Photo Courtesy Estrella-TV]

The word “chiflada” has followed me around for most of my life. In my family it means “spoiled” or “bratty,” but with an endearing context.

Of course my family is from Northern Mexico, so I thought it was a regional word, but other Mexicans I’ve run into either don’t know it, or have a different connotation for it (it also means “crazy”).

I’ve run into a few folks who know the word, but mostly everyone I know learns the word from me, as it provides a wide spectrum of uses. I use it to describe when people are acting silly or funny usually, but I use it liberally to describe just about anything I find endearing.

Have you heard this word before? If you have suggestions for Hablo Y Hablas, words or phrases from your life, feel free to email us at tips@newstaco.com.

[Video And Screenshot By NewsTaco]

By Hope Gillette

Stress and discrimination may play a role in the declining health of immigrants, however, a recent Stanford University study revealed there are far more factors at work than common sociology would indicate.

Ariela Schachter, a sociology Ph.D student, led new research using data collected from the 2002-2003 National Latino and Asian American Study. Based on the questions asked to participants concerning general health and everyday activities, Schachter and her partners were able to construct a mathematical model explaining the health benefits of being bilingual.

The results indicated that bilingual immigrants do in fact report better overall health.  Another Stanford study also revealed bilingual individuals are less likely to develop early onset Alzheimer’s disease due to being able to switch back and forth between two languages, enabling the ability to use complex pathways within the brain. While Alzheimer’s disease was not preventable, the onset was delayed when compared to monolingual patients.

“What we found out is we need to do more to find what drives this,” sais Schachter, quoted byEGP News. The need to delve deeper into the study is only solidified by doubts from other experts, wondering if being bilingual simply means having the innate ability to excel in all areas.

Ellen Bialystok, Ph.D., a professor at York University in Toronto said to EGP News: “It’s possible that education and socio-economic status are the true underlying cause of the immigrants’ better health and not their language status.”

[Photo By Jason Hargrove]