by Michael Guillén
When MTV first announced their new show ‘Jersey Shore’ I felt compelled to watch. I’ve lived in New Jersey for the past six years, I’ve visited Seaside Heights on numerous occasions and I was eager to watch a reality show train wreck. Fast forward four seasons later, and I’m still in it for the same reasons. I talk to friends about how dumb this show is and talk about cast members as if I know them personally. It’s a program I love to hate.
In a recent episode, cast member Vinny Guadagnino said he comes from a ‘very traditional’ Italian family because extended family members gather around the table of his parent’s home every Sunday to eat a large dinner. In its present season, the cast is whisked away to Italy. This group of proud Italians don’t speak the language (with the exception of Guadagnino who took a stab at learning before the trip) and it seems as no one really knows too much about Italian culture as they keep asking whether every church is the Vatican, even though they’re staying in Florence, not Rome. Other cast members Nicole ‘Snookie’ Polizzi and Jennifer ‘J-WOW’ Farley who aren’t actually Italian (they’re actually Chilean and Irish) defend their infatuation with Italian culture by saying that the ‘guido’ lifestyle isn’t only about nationality, but a way of life. All cast members proudly show their heritage by wearing clothing that say ITALIA.
The Jersey Shore cast also have their critics. UNICO, the national Italian-American service organization, have spoken out against the show and Joy Behar is downright rude to these kids whenever they’ve appeared on The View.
Growing up, I’ve met Latino people that were ashamed that they didn’t know Spanish or too much about their culture. Instead of being proud and advertising their nationality, they withdrew and didn’t bring it up unless you did first. Why is it that these feelings are this way for certain groups and not for others?
I grew up a first generation Mexican-American. My parents came to the U.S. in the 70s. Spanish was my first language and I’ve been to Mexico many times to visit family. I’ve always been proud of who I am but I’ve gotten grief from people who have said that I’m not Latino enough because of my light skin. I expect non-Latinos to be insensitive but it does sting when I get grief from my Latino brothers and sisters who should know better. Latinos comes in all shades from white to black.
There’s a part of me that envies these Jersey Shore kids. I’m not talking about the limitless sex, drinking and partying or the hundreds of thousands of dollars they’ve accumulated during the show, but their acceptance as ‘real’ Italians by their peers even though they know little to nothing about their heritage. Why can’t Latinos be as accepting of their own? Our greatest strength is our diversity but it’s also our greatest weakness.
To learn more about Michael, visit his website.
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Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of
the author and should not be understood to be shared by Being Latino, Inc.
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Well what is also interesting is that Ronnie is half Puerto Rican and Snooki was adopted and raised by Italian parents. I don’t know how connected they are to their Latino heritage. This is a puzzle faced by many people in the US who’s ancestry is rooted in another country/culture. There are many many proud Puerto Ricans who don’t speak Spanish and have never visited Puerto Rico (I’m sure that’s true for other Latinos too). With that said much of this I think is rooted in family and how that pride is instilled in children. I agree with you whole heartedly on how Latinos define themselves and use those definitions to create a hierarchy of Latinicity. We are spending way too much time bickering amongst ourselves that we are not paying attention to the larger issues ALL Latinos are facing in the US. When some of us become white-identified or black-identified to the point where there is no connection to the Latino heritage at all, also contributes to a lack of group identity and empowerment. Thank you bringing up some interesting puzzles for readers to ponder.
I was born in Ensenada, Mexico, when I tell other Mexican born that I’m from their, they say, “Oh that’s Baja California, not Mexico!” I don’t know about that remark because last I knew, you still have to have legal papers to come through Baja California and I still had a green card to live in the U.S. So Michael I feel you on this. I don’t understand why another Latino has a right to want to take away what you feel. Being Latino is a culture not a color.
Well, one thing is for sure, America breeds ignorance unlike any other place on Earth.
i grew up in Chicago, 2nd generation so, I wasnt raised to speak spanish,my family members who did speak only spoke it when they didnt want us to know what they were talking about [or were yelling at us <(:o)] we knew lit'l about our history in MX, there was a stigma attached to any ethnic group that continued their heritage, kept their culture, its only been recently that most americans view bi-lingualism as an asset rather than something shameful…i mean hello? america's cultural foundation IS england, lets face it, so we have many anglophiles who would rather imitate that lifestyle and language [idioms] or sadly, act out towards anyone of color [patriotism, kkk, skinheads] and/or we are beneath them, our pride has been beaten out of us [many ways] my point is, historically that shame around ethnicity has been imposed upon us, a simple question becomes a sentence filled with torment inner struggle and no ancestral loyalty, omg shame! and we will continue until we stop…stop talking about it and do something about it…i dont speak spanish but when it comes up i speak my truth w/o shame, or quickly i say, "teach me what yu said, how'd yu say that?" [whatever they said that i didnt respond to] i live around and shop where only other mexican shop work ask correct pronounciations, sit with elders, we can learn we have to let go of what we have attached to NOT speaking it…that article touched on one guy attempting to learn, thats progress, we need to be around each other and pass that moment where we challenge each other – culturally we are not lost we just have to open our hearts eyes and ears again, we are all still here, how can a race be 'conquered' if we all exist?? !Tlazo's Gracia's Thanx
I only recently learned that I am half Afro Cuban. Growing up, my mom told me that my birth-father was black (soldier in the US Army stationed in Germany). When I actually took steps to locate him and his family in 2008, I learned that his family is first-generation American of Cuban and Indigenous extraction. I was very intentional about exploring what being Latina meant to me. I wasn’t raised in Latin culture nor do I speak Spanish. I was born and raised in Germany, attended German schools, spoke German more than English, etc. I wanted to be respectful of the process as I was figuring out what being Latina and Cubana meant to me. That doesn’t happen in a vacuum. It requires being in community. This proved to be a bit of a challenge as I was often met with skepticism and distrust, as if I was invading space that I had no claim to. It’s a challenge to really feel “a part of” sometimes.
It is the craziest thing and a phenomena that transcends specific Latino backgrounds. As a “Dominican-York” I feel like I am criticized for beng too Domincan and sometimes for not being Dominican enough. To many of my friends raised in DR (despite their birth in the US) I am too american in my thinking and way of life, but then to other American friends I am too Dominican in other aspects of my life. Not to mention the color of my skin, the shape (or lack thereof) of my body, and the way I wear my hair (boy does that create drama!). It’s sad though because we are a people who are so proud of our mixed heritage, but also so judgmental of each other And oír differences. I wonder, when will it end? When will we accept that (as JLG:440 sang) “somos una raza encendida negra, blanca y taína”?
Great article, Michael. As Latinos, we also have to deal with the issue of feeling a connection to our home country and also feeling a connection to the generalized Latino identity we claim here in the United States.
Michael,
You shouldn’t even heed comments from other Latinos who say that you’re not Latino because you are light-skinned. Those people are obviously ignorant and arrogant. What a winning combination! Not all Latinos are Native American, mestizo, black or mulatto. In fact, you’re technically more Latino than they are, since the Latino race started in Europe not in the Americas or Africa. The original Latinos are the Romans. We are Latinos by virtue of Rome conquering Spain and then Spain colonizing the Americas. People need to learn before speaking out of their derriere.
That said, I can understand why some Latinos might be ashamed of being Latino. We live in a country where being Latino means that you are a second class citizen. Look at Hollywood and how Latinos are continuously depicted. We’re almost always characterized as lowlifes: either gang bangers, delinquents, ghetto people or losers. I’ve been in situations where non-Hispanics have told me that they’re offended when they hear anyone speak Spanish as if Spanish were some disgusting language. If I had not had higher self-esteem and were ignorant of my culture, I would have sulked and felt inferior. I’ve reminded these idiots that Spanish is a European and romance language and that some of the greatest literature in the world has been written in that language that they can’t bear to hear, and its not my problem if they are too moronic to recognize that. There’s a lot of bigotry out there against Latinos and that rubs off on anyone. So, it’s understandable why some might try to hide their roots. What they need is to be educated and to learn about their roots.
Great article. I think it hits close to home for many Latinos born and bred in the United States. Being caught between two cultures and not feeling totally 100% accepted by either. When I was much longer it was cause for tensions with me but as an adult I am no longer worried about what others may think I’m acting “too white” or not “Mexican enough” whatever that means. I think it is more an issue with the youth, but like many things (hopefully) they will grow out of it.
Latino is NOT a race! One can be Latino but nit be culturally Latino or deeply raised in that culture. The basis for a person being Latino is having heritage from Spanish speaking countries!
OpenMinded1, what’s your point? Anyone at all can be any type of race or ethnicity and not feel deeply connected to it. And? This whole idea that Latino is “NOT a race!” is silly because what people like you are seemingly trying to do is minimize what Latino means and the oftentimes strong connections that different Latinos have with each other. Call Latino a “race,” an “ethnicity,” an “Identity-in-difference” (the term that I prefer), or whatever. But the fact of the matter is that Latino is a meaningful socio-cultural category to people in the US of Latin American and Caribbean descent. It seems to me that silly knee-jerk reactions like the divisive and reductionist rhetoric that “Latino is not a race” aren’t really ever productive contributions to complex discussions of race, ethnicity, culture, Latinidad, and belonging– but instead attempts to dismiss the idea of “being Latino” as a shared identity.
I completely agree. My mother is Venezuelan and my father is Slovakian. Both my parents are ‘white’ looking; both with light colored eyes/brown hair and naturally so are my brother and I. Although I was raised by my mother, have visited Venezuela 2-3 times a year for the last 20 years, fluent in Spanish, I am still questioned (almost interrogated) by people weather I’m actually Latina, why do I wear a bracelet with the words “Venezuela” with Venezuelan colors and why am I so tall or so white. I don’t go around asking black people why they are so black or why they are so light?? It’s a shame that to most people I’m not white enough to be ‘white’ but not Latina enough to be Latina only because I don’t ‘look Hispanic’ and don’t have a ‘Hispanic’ last name.
I somewhat agree with your view. You don’t quite need to have been born in Latin America to identify yourself as a Latino. However there is still something to be said about those who don’t know anything about the ethnicity and culture they consider to be part of.