The title and subtitle of this article have probably been my answer for as long as I can remember and it’s not fun anymore. It became a sentence needed in order to explain my identity. The stereotypes that surround Latinos today are far too ignorant and are sometimes made with wrong intentions. I’m pretty sure Donald Trump ignored our diversity and opted to label all immigrants as one, unfairly offending the Mexican community when speaking out against newcomers.
While most Latinos speak Spanish, we are not just from one country. Besides the fact that Mexico is a beautiful country with far too many wonderful people, it's not fair for people to assume that we are one nationality- especially when most of the times, the people who label you don’t take a minute to even ask what your nationality is. They sometimes make offensive comments, only because there are far too many people whom just like Mexicans, have pride for their place of origin.
Although Spanish is commonly spoken all over the world, there are only 21 countries around the globe who have ruled Spanish as their official language.
Yes, it’s a fact: Latinos all share a very similar culture, characteristics and share the same language but being all labeled as Mexicans can sometimes be a misrepresentation of Mexicans because we don’t all represent their country or their culture. That’s their pride.
Each and every one of us has a different background which includes mixed cultures and exotic ethnicities that make us unique. We are unique because, though we may use the same language to communicate, we all have different accents that can make it hard, even for Latinos, to identify a nationality. Whether we were born in the United States or somewhere else in the globe, our passports and our birth certificates, include the “origin” section for a reason: to identify us by who we are and where we come from.
Our skin colors and other physical characteristics go farther ahead than for anyone to label us with just one nationality. It goes back to generations that may not even come from a Spanish speaking country- we may not even be “just” Latinos. So why assume and label anyone with being Mexican, when a simple question can clear up any confusion?
We all deserve the time to be acknowledged for who we are and it’s only fair, that if someone is labeling anyone, to take their time and find out exactly who they are and where they are from too. We, also have a little something to share with our cultures and countries that you may not even know yet.
And though I am aware that Mexico is a beautiful country with a lot to offer, with a lot of wonderful people and amazingly delicious food, that is not who I am. I’ll be more than happy to share a little bit from my identity while enjoying a great meal of tacos and a “Jarritos” mandarin soda.
Oh, and by the way, I am from El Salvador- the smallest country in Central America.
