A SKELETON IN THE CLOSET...IN OUR LATINO COMMUNITY

Sometimes as Latino’s we must admit to our weaknesses, to our close mind ness, as well as to admit to our own skeleton’s in our closet. The African Americans in the United States have gained many rights that they never had before, such as equal treatment and equal rights and justice. Unfortunately, I must say that in the Latino community throughout South America, Central America, and the Caribbean as well as in Mexico & Puerto Rico, there has not been a coalition building in the makings toward justice, economic and political power for the Latinos of African descendants as well as indigenous people.

The debate on race relations among Latinos has intensified in the last decade. Why have Latinos of African decent and indigenous people been excluded from gaining economic and political power? Why have their presence and their contributions been ignored? Many of the Latino leaders and organizations do not want to acknowledge that racism exists among our people, so they have ignored the issue by subscribing to a national origin strategy. This strategy identifies Latinos as a group comprising different nationalities, thereby creating the false impression that Latinos live in a color-blind society. One only needs to look at the current Novelas (soap operas) in Spanish to see what I am talking about or to travel to any Latin America country.

The gains made by African Americans in the United States to date are way ahead of any made by the Black Latinos in the Latin America culture. Today, many Afro-Latinos face the same dilemma confronted by many in the African American community for decades: not acknowledging the historical and psychological dysfunction created within their own history. Many believe that the “dysfunction” is created as a result of racism and giving accreditation to the contributions made by people of African descent. Conditioning also played a role in this dysfunction where people of African descendants adopted “whiteness” and denounced their dark skin color, i.e. dilemma between light skin and dark skinned Blacks.

It is ironic that here in the United States African American and Latino coalition have protested the lack of minority participation in the film and television industry in Hollywood. Unfortunately, Latino leaders are in no way making similar demands on the Spanish-speaking media. It is rare to see Latinos of African decent on Spanish-speaking television or in movies. It is equally rare to see them advertising products in national Latino magazines. It is a fact that for a very long time, Spanish-speaking television has portrayed Latinos of African descent and indigenous people as uneducated, lazy, sex drive, violent, sloppy, untrustworthy and as servants.

The Euro centric model of a Latino in Spanish television is someone like myself, white, fair skin with blue eyes, and those that look like Ricky Martin, Julio Iglesias and Gloria Estefan. Most of the actors, reporters, and talk show hosts basically resemble those I just listed above. So it is my opinion that this new coalition that is putting so much pressure on Hollywood should start in their own home first, where they are currently excluding Latinos of African descendants in front of the camera, as well as their presence behind the cameras as producers, directors, technicians and executives. At a time when the Latino population is expected to become this country’s largest minority group, Latinos of African decent are not considered an integral part of Latino society. The African American community must be aware that a racial problem does exist within the Latino society, and it will not disappear until the Latino leaders and organizations establish a serious and sincere dialogue to examine the skeleton that is still in their closet and being swept under the rug in their own backyard.

By: Domingo Ivan Casañas