ehuffnsd said:

What's american culture? So far as I can tell we came from a whole bunch of countries. Even hotdogs and BBQ which are eaten on The 4th of July are from other cultures.

So you'd be correct by saying Mexican-American culture. Salsa can't be the most purchased condiment.....maybe in California. I can't even say it is here in Texas.

Where does this "Lazy Mexican" stereotype come from? Most Mexicans seem to be very hard working (if sometimes not exactly legal) individuals. They build the homes, roads, buildings, lawncare, etc. Check out any construction site and you'll usually see a white foreman and about twenty Mexican workers. It looks like very hard work...I wouldn't call that lazy.

dannyd5050 said:

Well you've got your cholos/cholas(gang members) who are usually up to no good, instead of getting an education or working, they definitely don't give us a good name. Then you have many people receiving some kind of gov. assistance which is not seen as right either, instead of working they are getting health insurance, food, money all for free. But I do agree most us work and are very hard working, some doing all those jobs most dont want to do

There alot in The US Media about blacks and whites. They're the subject of talk shows, have their own shows,and habe plenty of musicians.

What do we have incorrect on latinos? Could be old stereotypes or how hispanics are portrayed on TV. I know there's a big change from how old latinos act and young ones. Give your 5 cents..

DexMSR said:

OMG, who?!

We don't ALL speak Spanish and are not all Catholic!

I really have nothing to contribute to this thread...

but I really do thank god that I'm not Mexican...'cause I hate mexican food...

I'd starve...

roodboi said:

woah!

purplewisdom said:

I know...

I think I'm the only person alive who doesn't dig mexican food...

purplewisdom said:

I know...

I think I'm the only person alive who doesn't dig mexican food...

roodboi said:

You can count me in as well. I like the basics: tacos, burritos, enchiladas. That's really it.

thekidsgirl said:

we took her Latina card away a long time ago..

We don't ALL speak Spanish and are not all Catholic!

dannyd5050 said:

and...we're not all cleaning ladies and
landscape workers

IAintTheOne said:

i have heard about latin women being hot tempered, and freaks in bed. this is also another myth.

In Florida, I lived within the Latino community for many years, so for a long time I never had any idea of what people's misconceptions were OUTSIDE of that community. I remember before I went at the end of the 80's, everyone in my little northern enclave was having a fit and questioning why I wanted to go and be around a bunch of Miami Vice wannabe Puerto-Ricans who were playing "Scarface" That was the only thng I had heard in terms of misconceptions for years. I guess they thought that every Latino in Miami was a drug dealer, or Puerto Rican. Outside of Miami Sound Machine, Chico and the Man or The Girl from Ipanema, phrases like "Cuban-American", "Mexican-American",or "Brazilian-American" (as well as others) hadn't even REMOTELY made it into mainstream cultural lexicon yet.

Now that I've moved to Europe,I find that there is a similar lack of understanding in the differences amongst Latino cultures...for example, it always irritaes me to no end when I prepare Mexican or Cuban food and people don't undersand that there's a DIFFERENCE in between the 2 countries in spices, ingredients,preparation, ect...it's like they all think it's only rice, chicken, and beans that you just throw on a plate, they have NO clue on the subtleties of each cuisine whatsoever and that gets under my skin to no end . The same is true regarding music. Ask anyone here to tell the difference between a cumbia, mariachi, rhumba, or bossa nova song, and it's all over. I was listening to an Elis Regina live cd one day, the band was doing a straight up JAZZ VAMP, FUSION for God sakes, and because of her singing (in Portuguese I must add), and they thought I was listening to MARIACHI music....?

One thing that I learned from being within the Latino community though, is that they are NOT a monolithic people, all Latinos are not unified in life experience nor life and political agenda, and it shocked the SHIT out of me to learn that there even is inter-cultural racism in their community. Two of my best girlfriends are 37+ years old Latina with black mothers and white European dads;they have told me stories about their life experiences, and how they view the history and current events regarding latin-American inter-cultural racism that are pretty harsh. Additionally, when I lived in Miami I became very accustomed to hearing Cuban and Puerto-Rican acquaintances bash the hell out of Mexicans and South Americans that were Indian or patial Indian descent. It was like the worst thing you could possibly be was"Indian" or to have "have Indian blood", they got talked about nastily as if they were beasts or aliens from outer space . I didn't understand it at the time, but given my own history as a black woman in the United States where color politics have been part of our cultural DNA for centuries, I should have been quicker to grasp it all, I guess

emilia1 said:

lawdy lawd

http://www.youtube.com/wa...56vwp3r-hE

Christopher said:

The teacher taught those snobs a lesson they won't 4get. LMAO!

raveun2thejoyfantastic said:

G-Lo

emilia1 said:

Whoops, I commented the wrong video LOL. I was talking about this:

Ottensen said:

People of color outside the US are just as colorstruck as African-Americans. As a dark skinned latina I was a victim of this as well.

JessieJ said:

Yes who!!!!

SCNDLS said:

I think this is true everywhere. I find it kinda weird.

MoniGram said:

MIGUELGOMEZ said:

To some degree, I think this colorstruck mentality is worse in the US. I emigrated to the US from Panama at 7 and I swear I had no idea I was black until I came here. Growing up in Panama I knew my skin was a different color but race really didn't come up. I went to private Catholic school and was always the only black kid in my class and I was NEVER, not once, made fun of because I was black.

Cut to 2nd grade in Killen, Texas and there were daily insults and ridicule not because I was black, but because I was dark-skinned. And, of course, it came from other black kids. I was TOTALLY baffled and didn't understand it. Still don't, But back then I had NO frame of reference for this type of thinking.

I find that people in other countries, especially Latino countries, are more nationalistic and classist, rather than race conscious. I mean we're all Panamanians or Mexicans or Spanish. Not, Irish-Panamanian or African-Panamanian or whatever. When you throw race into the equation everything gets all confused.
[Edited 4/22/08 9:59am]

DexMSR said:

He's not talking!