“Why Mexicans Over-Pronounce Spanish Words While Speaking English” from Voice Media Group on Vimeo.
DEAR MEXICAN: I'm in college, taking a class called Latina Pop Culture. I thought it would be educational and informative about the rich Latino/a culture, and I was eager to learn. But the moment I entered the class, it was evident that I, as a white girl, would have to be on the defensive. All we've discussed is how Anglo culture has oppressed Latina women and stereotyped them as curvy and tempestuous and how media whitewashes them. There are many Latinas in the class, and they all say something different, and the white girls seem terrified and continue to be apologetic for no good reason. These Latinas hate that they're stereotyped as sexy, and they and the professor keep telling us Anglos everything we're doing wrong in portraying Latinas in the media. Okay, I see what's wrong. So what's right? What is a real Latina? I would assume they're as different and unique individually as anyone else, but as a collective whole, how do they want to be portrayed? I'm getting mixed signals. Several of the Latinas have denounced Shakira and Jennifer Lopez as sellouts, claiming they dyed their hair to look more white. But the girls who said this all have blond streaks in their hair. Another girl said Salma Hayek was a sellout because she has played stereotyped roles and is oversexualized, but the girl who said this dresses in tight clothes every day.
I don't understand. I thought those women were icons. And furthermore, how can they feel oppressed in a state whose population is predominately Hispanic? Mexicans aren't going to be a minority much longer, and I wasn't taught to discriminate, so who's oppressing who? And what—oh, diós mío, WHAT—is a real Latina?
Gringa In Mañanaland
DEAR GABACHA: A real Latina hates—gabachas first, then one another, but mostly themselves. But that's what Chicano Studies is for: to decolonize their minds so the only hate left is for self-victimizing gabachas such as yourself.
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DEAR MEXICAN: Throughout most of my life, I have called Wisconsin my home. It was a plethora of cows and German people—and just as cold as everyone throughout the rest of the country would expect. However, upon my later years, I chose to move to an apartment in Milwaukee on Lincoln Avenue and 29th Street. Within this area, I found I was one of the few white people in the neighborhood, as the location was full of Mexicans and others from the Latin American community. The thought is that most Mexican people prefer the warmer climates, and yet I can remember my old neighborhood with Mexican people flourishing. I pride myself in knowing that each person has a choice to use free will, so I'm sure most just preferred cooler weather. However, is there something I'm missing in all this? Is there a deeper meaning behind all this?
Schlitzin' It Up
DEAR GABACHO: How did you not know Mexicans were in Milwaukee? There was already a barrio on the South Side by the 1920s. And while the population got decimated by the repatriation movement of the Great Depression, milwauqueños have had enough of a presence since that the Brewers not only once wore jerseys deeming themselves Los Cervezeros, but also a chorizo is a permanent participant in the legendary Sausage Race. Now THAT'S Reconquista!
