Sara Inés Calderón

Why I Always Have To Make Everything About Race

Posted on April 12, 2011 by sara ines | Comments Off | Latinos, News, NewsTaco, Racism

As a Latina who not only was raised to be aware of these issues, but who’s studied in them in school and written about them professionally for several years, I am occasionally accused of “making everything about race.” Even on News Taco. The funny thing is, I think this accusation is supposed to put me on the defensive, make me feel like I’m doing something wrong, or simply “put me in my place” — oops! There I go again.

I guess what I’m trying to say is that such accusations are really a blatant expression on the part of the speaker that it is they who are uncomfortable talking about race, or even listening to someone else discuss it. Because, if we were to get technical about it, the country was kind of founded on race and the divisions among races; even if we only use the examples of Native Americans and African-Americans, not even venturing into the world of Chinese, Japanese, Italians, Mexicans, etc. Race is a part of our cultural heritage in this country, not talking about it is just silly.

In other words, it is not me who is making anything about race, rather, I’m just pointing out what we all already know is there.

I can imagine that, for someone who is white or does not consider themselves to be of an alternative ethnic group, any discussion of race makes them feel like they are being blamed for racism. Indeed, academic studies I read about last semester in white privilege found that, because whites often do not consider themselves to belong to an ethnic group, any discussion of race often automatically puts them on the defensive. Which, I think, is unfortunate, because I think an honest conversation of race, white privilege and history is something that would do our country good and help us move forward in the 21st century in a healthy, strong and united way.

I personally do not blame all whites for the racism we continue to tolerate in this country. On the contrary, some of the most tolerant and racism-aware people I know are white, but the fact of the matter is that white privilege exists, and part of the privilege is claiming that race doesn’t matter and that other people have to stop talking about it.

Now, before I go too much further, I have to point out that I myself have never been the victim of much blatant racism. There is the occasional drunk guy in a bar who tells me that Mexicans have ruined his life, the stern and disgusted look I get from women at Starbucks when I’m having a cell phone conversation in Spanish, the classmate who makes an ignorant remark about Latinos fully sure that she’s actually very intuitive. These are the types of incidents that mark my experience with racism; personally, sexual harassment and sexism have been much bigger problems in my life — but that’s for another column.

Yet, just because I do not experience it personally, does not mean that it’s okay for other people to. I have family members who are not as light-skinned as I, who have suffered greater scrutiny before the Border Patrol for example, or who have been called racial slurs. I have friends alive today who can recall times when they were not let into restaurants because they were “messcin,” told by fathers they couldn’t date their daughters, told by management that they simply “weren’t qualified,” told to “go back to Mexico” even though their family is from somewhere else. This is, indeed, 2011, and these types of incidents (except for the restaurant example) are still happening.

The truth is, despite what some of our racist commenters on News Taco believe, I am a proud American and I love my country. That’s exactly why I want it to be the best country it can be, and allowing and tolerating racism — even if that means we all bite our tongues and don’t discuss it because it’s uncomfortable — isn’t going to get us there. So there it is, why it is I always have to “make everything about race,” although when you think about it, it’s really not me at all.

Follow Sara Inés Calderón on Twitter @SaraChicaD

[Image By News Taco]

I’m A Guadalupe Memorabilia Addict

Posted on April 12, 2011 by sara ines | Comments Off | Latinos, NewsTaco

[A News Taco post]

I love La Virgen de Guadalupe. Now, don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t call myself an exceptional Catholic by any means, but the image of that lovely lady has been around me my entire life, and I can’t help but feel comforted by her presence. So comforted, in fact, that I can’t help myself but to collect random items — anything really — with her image.

Over time, I’ve collected everything from nail clippers, ties, earrings, t-shirts, candles (obviously), crosses (ditto), watches and clocks, fridge magnets, posters, keychains, pens, bracelets, stickers, car air fresheners and more. It’s insane and what’s even crazier is that I’m never over-saturated. I just like having her around.

And I know I’m not the only one out there that feels this way. It’s not for nothing that she’s known as thePatroness of the Americas. I’ve been witness to more than one abuelita sing the praises of the Guadalupe, tell me that when they felt no one else could be there for them, she was there. Whether or not she actually was there doesn’t really matter to me, it’s the idea that she’s there that counts.

Once I met one abuelita who began to cry to think about the time the tilma with the image of the Guadalupe was the target of a bomb. That was in 1921. The tilma wasn’t damaged, but a brass crucifix melted and bent into a twisted shape. How can people not think it’s real, she asked between tears, and really, there was no way to give her an answer.

Whether it’s because of culture, family or religion, I like the Virgen de Guadalupe and plan to continue to have her around. Having her as a presence in my dwelling gives me a feeling like I’m actually in my home. When people come to visit, they often admire my Guadalupe doohickeys, commenting that you don’t even have to be religious to like them. Yeah, I tell them, you’re absolutely right.

Follow Sara Inés Calderón on Twitter @SaraChicaD

[Photo By News Taco]

Call Me Anything But Mexican

Posted on March 5, 2011 by sara ines | Comments Off | Latinos, NewsTaco, Racism

[A News Taco Post]

“You don’t look Mexican” is something I hear a lot. I hear it from whites, African-Americans, Asians, Mexican nationals, Latinos from Latin America, just about everyone. Of course, in polite company, what I usually respond is, “Oh, yeah, I get that a lot.”

In my head, however, I usually think, “What, exactly does is a Mexican ‘supposed’ to look like?” This is, in turn, followed by some expletives. I find it uncanny that, in 2011 with a country and a world that is increasingly multiracial, that educated people still assume that certain people are “supposed” to look one way or another. Boggles my mind.

So, since I don’t “look” Mexican, I get assigned a variety of other nationalities, ethnicities and races, depending on the particular situation and circumstance. I’ve had people on the phone ask me if I was French. People from Argentina want me to be from there. Some who have travelled through Latin American assume automatically that I’m Chilean or Colombian.

Because my surname has a similar equivalent in Italian, I often get assigned that ethnicity by people on the East Coast. Some people, remarkably considering my obvious border Spanish, even try to make me into a Cuban or a Puerto Rican. Whatever.

It’s not that I’m personally offended by being assigned all these other ethnicities or nationalities, that’s not it at all. I’m just perplexed that people feel the need to play “Let’s Guess The Race” with me so often. I don’t go around doing this with other people; quite frankly if I don’t know where people are from, in most day-to-day activities, it doesn’t really affect my interactions with them. If people want to share a little about their cultural background with me, I’m always eager to learn, but I don’t screen my conversations this way.

And, I guess what bothers me the most is that there’s a very apparent stereotyping (if not prejudice) playing in the background of these conversations. If Mexicans aren’t light-skinned with green eyes, then they’re….what? Dark brown with black hair, a burro and a saguaro cactus? What’s implied in that statement “You don’t look like a Mexican”? Whatever it is, I don’t like it.

I don’t think it’s hatred or racism necessarily that prompts people to engage in these conversations. It could be discomfort, curiosity, interest or a great many other things. But, the probability that it’s happened to me enough times that it prompts me to write this column is an indication that there’s a bigger theme there, too. Maybe people think they’re being sensitive by quizzing me until they “figure out” what my deal is? I don’t know, though, because I’ve never asked.

Follow Sara Inés Calderón on Twitter @SaraChicaD

Budget Cuts May Mean Less Latino College Grads

Posted on March 5, 2011 by sara ines | Comments Off | Latinos, Marketing, News, Newspapers, NewsTaco

[A News Taco Post]

States across the country are slashing budgets left and right in an effort to deal with the recession, one unfortunate outcome may be less Latinos able to attend college. The logic goes: If we cut the budget for higher education, cuts to financial aid will be made, and Latino (and African-American) students who use that financial aid may not be able to attend.

Couple this with the fact that either the Obama Administration’s budget, or the Republican budget, will drastically slashfederal aid programs. Under the Obama plan Pell Grant recipients would no longer be eligible for two in a calendar year, wouldn’t be able to attend school year-round and graduate students would have to start to pay interest on loans while they’re still in school. The Republican budget would slash the Pell grant by $845, end funding for other aid programs for students, like AmeriCorps, as well as cut billions of dollars from academic support institutions.

That’s not even taking into account the certainty that tuition and fees at universities and colleges across the country are probably going to rise. Institutions of higher learning will be getting less state and federal funding, and they’re going to turn to students to make up the difference — all the while these same students will have less financial aid at their fingertips.

And to top it all off, these cuts will come at at time when Latino students are making up bigger portions — or even the majority — of the school-aged students in states around the country. You could easily dismiss California’s majority Latino student population by saying that state has a long history with Latinos, but what aboutOklahoma, a state with a Latino student population of 12%? The story repeats itself across the country.

Perhaps the worst news in all of this is that, by the time the economy begins to right itself, most of these cuts won’t be as quickly re-established. Pell Grants cut, probably won’t be boosted in four years. Student tuition and fees that go up in the fall, more than likely won’t come down in two years. So where does that leave us as a country?

With more than 50 million Latinos expected to be counted in this year’s Census, we’re going to be a country with a significant portion of the population that cannot access higher education institutions. There will be a lot of Latinos in the population, and only a few of them with the access to institutions of money and power. While I’m sure this is a great equation for people who already have, as the rest of the country that has notcontinues to grow, one thing this nation will certainly have is inequality.

Sara Inés Calderón on Twitter @SaraChicaD

[Photo by Tulane PR]

Quelino Ojeda Jimenez And The Cost Of No Immigration Reform

Posted on March 5, 2011 by sara ines | Comments Off | Immigration, Latinos, News, Newspapers, NewsTaco, Racism, Texas

[A News Taco Post]

Okay, this is a really, really sad story that takes us to the extremes of why we all need immigration reform in this country from The Chicago Tribune. Thanks to Graeme for the tip.

Quelino Ojeda Jimenez, 20, an undocumented immigrant from México who fell off a roof four months ago in Illinois, and since lost the ability to speak, breathe or move most of his body. He was then transported to Advocate Christ Medical Center, which spent $650,000 on his medical care. Then, without getting his consent or making sure he’d be cared for, spent $60,000 to deport him to México. Now he’s in an hospital so short on resources that he’s probably going to die.

Let’s take this point-by-point.

1.) Jimenez was in the country illegally — yes, but someone was willing to hire him. And, if he fell off a roof and suffered that much damage, he was either not trained, supervised or working under safe conditions. So yes, he came without papers, but what of the person who hired him and/or condemned him to such an unsafe workplace?

2.) We’re in a recession and the hospital spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on his care. I would say, first, see point 1, isn’t that precisely what OSHA is for? Next, I would say that, in the grand scheme of things with Wall Street bailouts and what-not, $700,000 is not that much money if you’re trying to scapegoat Jimenez for wasting resources. What’s more, if you want to talk about medical care monies wasted, there’s plenty of blame to go around with U.S. citizens.

3.) Deporting him isn’t cruel, it’s just sending him home. I can see that point, but I don’t agree with it. First off, hospitals aren’t in the business of immigration — that’s the federal government’s job. Secondly, as far as I know, Jimenez didn’t go through legal deportation proceedings before getting sent home. Hospital administrators just made that decision. Finally, let’s not forget to mention the ethical obligations of medical providers.

I’m sure not everyone will agree with me, but I think we can all agree this is a tragic, tragic story. Here’s a 20 year-old person who came here under the radar, but somehow managed to find work. He gets sub-contracted out, falls 20 feet, and now can barely move his fingers and speak. And no one wants him or can care for him.

Everyone loses: Jimenez’s youth is gone forever, his family is condemned to even more poverty, the hospitals are out hundreds of thousands of dollars, but there’s one group that’s unaffected. The contracting company, Imperial Roofing, that hired Jimenez has since shut down operations because of the economy. Case closed, huh?

Follow Sara Inés Calderón on Twitter @SaraChicaD

[Photo By NewsTaco]

Do You Have To Speak Spanish To Be A “Real” Latino?

Posted on March 5, 2011 by sara ines | Comments Off | Latinos, NewsTaco, Racism

[A News Taco Post]

You know it, and I know it, even though you may never have heard anyone say it out loud. You’re only a “real” Latino (substitute Chicano, Mexican, Salvadoran, Boricua, etc.) if you speak Spanish. If you don’t, well then, you’re just not down.

Before I launch into my little ditty about my trials with the Spanish language, let me give you some context. My family is from the South Texas border, but through circumstance and what I would argue was serendipity, I grew up in Los Angeles. After my parents were divorced and my father who spoke mostly Spanish to us moved out, my Spanish speaking abilities suffered greatly. It wasn’t until I was in college that I started to take Spanish classes again that I realized I had huge deficits that I needed to make up to be a fluent speaker, so that’s when I decided to go study in Monterrey, México for a few semesters. Although it was hard and I would not say that I am totally fluent by any means (are we ever totally fluent in any language?), I did manage to learn to speak well and read/write pretty good during my time in Monterrey, and for this opportunity I will be forever grateful.

That said, growing up as a güera in Los Angeles — the downest of the down cities — I often felt like I wasn’t Latina “enough.” Then, when I’d go home to the border in the summer and everyone switched between English and Spanish so easily that it would have been one language and I didn’t always understand, I felt even less “enough.” These feelings were only exacerbated when I would sometimes fail to understand what my grandparents were saying in their labored English (which they only spoke to me because they didn’t think I understood Spanish), or, they’d speak Spanish too fast for me to understand. Sigh.

All my past insecurities aside, I’ve learned that speaking Spanish is an excellent addition to my cultural and educational repertoire — but it isn’t the end-all, be-all. I love speaking Spanish, listening to Spanish, music in Spanish, etc., but the language in and of itself doesn’t mean anything without the cultural context in which it’s spoken.

Oddly enough, now that I’m a competent Spanish speaker, I find that I make other Latinos uncomfortable with my language skills — exactly as I used to feel as a youngster! And I don’t mean to try to be superior, or to make anyone feel inadequate for what they don’t know, just as I realize no one ever did that to me. What I will say, though, is that learning to speak Spanish properly, or even to read and write it properly, was one of the best experiences and decisions of my life and I think as Nicholas Kristof said somewhat inarticulately, Spanish is the most important language for people in the U.S. to learn.

You don’t have to go to Monterrey for a year abroad as I did — in fact, having recently spoken with relatives there, I wouldn’t recommend it — but if you really want to learn it, you can. There’s really no excuse these days, since there are Latinos literallyeverywhere; tutor someone in English and they can help you in Spanish, watch Spanish TV, listen to music in Spanish, etc. You can do it if you want to, and having been on both sides, I can assure you that the grass really is greener on the bilingual side.

Follow Sara Inés Calderón on Twitter @SaraChicaD

Latinos Poised To Be Perfect New Media Consumers

Posted on March 5, 2011 by sara ines | Comments Off | Facebook, Inside Facebook, Latinos, Marketing, News, NewsTaco, Social Media, Technology

[A News Taco Post]

Media will not be consumed on TV or computers we know them in the future. Even now, smartphones and tablets are increasingly peoples’ gateways to the Internet, and by extension, the greater world. I would argue that, given Latinos’ proclivity for loving their mobile phones — and smartphones in particular — this segment of the population is set to be the perfect new media consumer.

First, the smartphone penetration rate for Latinos is among the highest of all ethnic groups — 45% — which means almost half of Latinos with cell phones use them for the Internet. As a matter of fact, 47% of these Latino smartphone owners access email with their phones and 36% access Facebook — stats higher than for any other group. In short, Latino smartphone users are all about entertainment, or leisure, when they go online.

One notable example of this is that Latinos use Twitter and other location services (Foursquare, etc.) at really high rates. Latinos use Twitter more than whites or African-Americans, and use other location-based services in English and Spanish higher than these groups, too.

Then, pair the fact that Latinos own, or plan to own, technology at a higher rate than other ethnic groups and that Latinos account for much of the population and economic growth around the country, and you realize that none of this is a coincidence. Latinos use technology, they have the money to buy technology and the motivation to consume it.

This is especially salient in light of the new ways in which media is being delivered. News Corp. just launched its iPad-only news source, The Daily, and The New York Times has said it will be launching its own similar version. Which means, of course, that you’re not going to need a TV or straight-up desktop computer to keep up with the times anymore.

What’s more,Facebook and Twitter are increasingly being used not only as personalized blogs, but more importantly, as the primary and initial source of news information about anything. For example, when the Pittsburg Steelers and Green Bay Packers were advancing to the Super Bowl, Facebook saw 6.5 million related status updates made by 4.6 million people — what other media outlet could boast those numbers during those key moments? And all of this, of course, explains why companies like Google are investing big bucks and resources into figuring out how to make more money on the estimated $5 billion Latino media market.

Exciting stuff, especially since maybe when NewsTaco gets a phone app, my friends will be able to read posts like these!

Follow Sara Inés Calderón on Twitter @SaraChicaD

[Image By Analyn]

Rahm Emanuel And The Blunder Of Ignoring Latino Voters

Posted on March 5, 2011 by sara ines | Comments Off | Latinos, News, NewsTaco, Racism

[A News Taco Post]

Rahm Emanuel was out yesterday, now he’s in, but the truth is he’s only half got it.

Although yesterday a Chicago appellate court ruled that Emanuel did not meet Chicago’s residency requirement to run for mayor, now the Illinois Supreme Court ruled that his name appear on the ballot pending their decision of his appeal. In other words, he pulled a few strings and will get what he wants how he wants it — maybe.

Emanuel has what I would call anincredibly reckless attitude when it comes to Latino voters. One insider-ey person told me that he summed up his position privately like this: Latinos don’t vote and they don’t donate. The proof is in the pudding. As I’ve written before, Emanuel was the spokesperson for putting immigration reform on the back burner (President Barack Obama’s anticipated second term in office), even though he has a Spanish language website, he just came out in favor of the DREAM Act after the fact and now that it doesn’t matter. None of this makes any sense.

Chicago is a big Latino town. There are two Latinos on the mayoral ballot, too. Emanuel is going to have to convince a good number of Latinos to vote for him if he wants to win. Victor Landa wrote this morning that it will be impossible for Obama to be reelected without Latinos — what makes Emanuel think this rule doesn’t apply to him? Obama has 58 votes less than he had in 2008, needs 270 to win reelection in 2012 and so without winning Florida, Colorado, Nevada and New Mexico, he may not be able to pull it off.

I’ve only been to Chicago once — loved it! — and so the only reason I keep writing about Emanuel is because he makes himself an easy symbol. His attitude, his strategy and his actions towards Latino voters are generalizable certainly to most Democratic politicians, but to Republican ones as well. There’s no substance there, it’s all fluffy talk and only when the cameras are on. In all honesty, Emanuel is probably going to win this election — but what about the next one?

Ten years ago 17% of those under the age of 20 were Latino, the most recent Census shows that up to 25% of the U.S.’s population under 20 is Latino. Precisely, that means that every year about 500,000 U.S. citizens who are Latino turn 18 — which means a whole lot of people set to hit voting age soon — got it?

Follow Sara Inés Calderón on Twitter @SaraChicaD

[Photo Courtesy U.S. House]

Playing Dumb For Men — A Latina Thing?

Posted on March 5, 2011 by sara ines | Comments Off | Latinos, NewsTaco

[A News Taco Post]

I know I’m not the only one who does it.

Recently a male friend of mine remarked upon an interaction I had with another, somewhat arrogant Latino male in a professional situation. He wanted me to do something that was dumb, and I quickly realized he wasn’t interested in my explaining this to him. So I responded in kind and played dumb. “I don’t understand what you want me to do,” I said to him in my best frail woman voice. He just looked at me, smiled, and said reassuringly as he patted my shoulder, “ Never mind,” and walked away.

“I like how you handled that,” my friend said to me. “Thanks,” I responded without thinking, “Playing dumb with Latino men works every time!”

It was only after the words escaped my lips that I realized how depressing it was that such a thing was my reality. Really? As an educated professional, the best way I’ve found to deal with men in professional situations is to pretend like I’m stupid? How sad for me, and for everyone else, I thought.

Later, as I was recalling this conversation with a few female friends who are slightly older than I — neither of them Latina — they looked at me and blinked, “No duh Sara.” They proceeded to tell me their own stories that pertained to bankers, to realtors, to co-workers, to professionals that were not Latino, but were just men, and assuring me that they, too, found it easier sometime to fulfill a man’s low expectations of their intellect rather than fight with them about it.

The fact that this phenomenon is not a Latino thing didn’t really make me feel any better. Is this just the way it is? Are women forever condemned to manage mens’ low expectations by fulfilling them, just to avoid having to fight about something inane? Are men ever going to be okay with the fact that some women are smarter than them, that women don’t need men to constantly tell them what to do, that perhaps someone who’s educated and professional might know what they’re doing — even if they were born female?

I’m sure this is an age-old story, but as far as I’m concerned, it doesn’t make it an any less tragic one.

Follow Sara Inés Calderón on Twitter @SaraChicaD

Why I Always Have To Make Everything About Race

I’m A Guadalupe Memorabilia Addict

Call Me Anything But Mexican

Budget Cuts May Mean Less Latino College Grads

Quelino Ojeda Jimenez And The Cost Of No Immigration Reform

Do You Have To Speak Spanish To Be A “Real” Latino?

Rahm Emanuel And The Blunder Of Ignoring Latino Voters

Playing Dumb For Men — A Latina Thing?

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