In the 1993 Argentinian film De eso no se habla (I Don’t Want to Talk About it), writer-director Maria Luisa Bemberg tells the story of Leonor, an uppity widow in the small town of San Juan de los Altares, who spends every waking hour trying to hide what’s on plain sight: That her daughter Charlotte is a dwarf. Leonor goes as far as, under the cover of night, to steal and destroy a neighbor’s front-yard figurines of elves and gnomes, and burn copies of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
With the townfolks’ acquiescence, and a handsome, full-size stranger who falls in love with the girl, the deception succeeds until the day the circus comes to town, and. . .well, go ahead and rent the video. You’ll enjoy it.
I was reminded of this wonderful film by the ongoing revolú about Herman Badillo’s assertion in his book, One Nation, One Standard, that, in so many words, Latino parents don’t care about education. Of course, that is a lie, as all generalizations are.
What is true is that many Latino parents, for various reasons, do not recognize the crucial role education plays in the future success of their children. What is true is that some public school systems fail to deliver the goods.
What is true is that popular culture does not promote love of learning in young people. What is true is that Latino students have the highest school dropout rate. What is true is that Latina adolescents have the highest teenage pregnancy and attempted suicide rates. What is true is that we don’t raise enough hell about it.
Yet, the Latino community has been up in arms for weeks, attacking the messenger and slashing and burning the decorative elves and Blanca Nieve y los siete enanitos. In our culture we do not look kindly on airing our dirty laundry in public.
Many Latino families do have, indeed, issues they do not want to talk about, no matter how minor or unimportant they may be. That is because, that other Latino thing: qué dirá la gente. What will people say.
Our “culture of discretion” is at odds with the current American “culture of confession,” in which people spill their guts about their problems on national television, or write books about their addictions or diseases or sexual abuse. We don’t want to talk about such things.
It’s a fact of life for ethnic and racial minorities to be on the defensive about our public image—of which we have no control.
We are burdened with collective guilt ascribed to us: one Latino does something bad, therefore all Latinos are bad. It’s exhausting to always having to be correcting people, explaining, pointing out that we’re not all criminals, or “illegals,” or ignorant. ¡Ay, ya!
On the other hand, we cannot deny that there are little people in our midst. That yes, they are different but not inferior, nor necessarily victims, that they may need help sitting on the stool at the bar, but that they have the right to sit there and have a drink like anyone else.
Like in the movie, the circus has come to town and we better have a serious discussion—and a plan of action—about the education of Latino kids before a whole generation leaves town.
Published in the New York Daily News/VIVA section
January 17, 2007
Saturday, March 17, 2007
Friday, March 16, 2007
Speaking in Tongues
Xenoglossophobia—fear of foreign languages—is a communicable, but curable, disease.
“Speak American! You’re in America now.” I’ve heard this more than once from total strangers who’ve heard me speak in Spanish to someone else.
The first time it happened, the rudeness and ignorance of such a statement left me speechless. I didn’t know what to say, but by the second time, I had my comeback ready: “Do you mean Navajo? Dakota? Choctaw? Nahualt? Sorry. Wish I could, but I only know two European languages: English and Spanish.” That always leaves them speechless.
In many other countries, speaking more than one language is a matter of fact or necessity, but is always seen as a valuable social and professional asset.
Americans are notorious for their negative or dismissive attitude towards foreign languages. Many think everyone in the whole wide world should speak English, and forget all that other mumbo-jumbo.
This cultural arrogance can be costly. After September 11, I remember reading several newspaper stories about piles of Al-Qaida-related intelligence intercepts waiting to be translated, but the intelligence agencies did not have enough Arabic translators to handle the job.
Six years later, and in the middle of two wars, the shortage of translators continues to be a deadly problem.
Why are monolingual Americans so averse to embracing foreign languages? Some of the reasons, as you can see in the list of Top Ten Clues included here, may be amusing, but in fact fear of foreign languages is a serious matter.
But there is good news. Although xenoglossophobia is an actual disease it can be conquered, according to The Phobia Clinic, which treats 1,300 different kinds of phobias, and whose team of “board-certified experts can help you live free of Fears, Phobias & Anxiety–in just 24 hours."
Go to their website, www.changethatsrightnow.com, look in the phobia list for “xenoglossophobia” and test yourself. Even if you are a bilingual American you may suffer from this ailment. Nobody is immune.
A couple of years ago I was buying my newspaper at a candy store in East Harlem. A Puerto Rican old-timer was ahead of me, waiting to pay for a soft drink. He was growing impatient because the two Pakistani shopkeepers behind the counter were chatting with each other in Urdu.
Finally, he exploded and said in Spanish: “¡Hablen inglés, que están en América!” (Speak English! You are in America.")
And that, I swear is a true story.
TOP 10 CLUES
To Why So Many Americans Are So Paranoid, Confused, Turned-Off
And Generally Discombobulated About Languages
10. They believe it’s necessary to amend the Constitution to know for sure which is their official language
9. They think English is an American language.
8. Whenever they hear people speaking in another language, they fear we are talking about them.
7. They hate foreign films because they can’t read English subtitles fast enough.
6. They think San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, San Jose, Santa Barbara, Colorado, Nevada, Florida and Arizona are just names on a map.
5. They think it’s OK to sell toilet paper and corn flakes to ethnic Americans in their languages of origin, but not OK to have bilingual education or voting ballots in those same languages.
4. They think the American Dream can be dreamt in English only.
3. They believe Pig Latin is a classic language.
2. They say “Pardon My French” after they curse.
And the Number 1 clue to why so many Americans are so paranoid, confused, turned-off and generally discombobulated about languages is:
It is all Greek to them!
doloresprida@aol.com
Published March 14, 2007
New York Daily News/VIVA section
“Speak American! You’re in America now.” I’ve heard this more than once from total strangers who’ve heard me speak in Spanish to someone else.
The first time it happened, the rudeness and ignorance of such a statement left me speechless. I didn’t know what to say, but by the second time, I had my comeback ready: “Do you mean Navajo? Dakota? Choctaw? Nahualt? Sorry. Wish I could, but I only know two European languages: English and Spanish.” That always leaves them speechless.
In many other countries, speaking more than one language is a matter of fact or necessity, but is always seen as a valuable social and professional asset.
Americans are notorious for their negative or dismissive attitude towards foreign languages. Many think everyone in the whole wide world should speak English, and forget all that other mumbo-jumbo.
This cultural arrogance can be costly. After September 11, I remember reading several newspaper stories about piles of Al-Qaida-related intelligence intercepts waiting to be translated, but the intelligence agencies did not have enough Arabic translators to handle the job.
Six years later, and in the middle of two wars, the shortage of translators continues to be a deadly problem.
Why are monolingual Americans so averse to embracing foreign languages? Some of the reasons, as you can see in the list of Top Ten Clues included here, may be amusing, but in fact fear of foreign languages is a serious matter.
But there is good news. Although xenoglossophobia is an actual disease it can be conquered, according to The Phobia Clinic, which treats 1,300 different kinds of phobias, and whose team of “board-certified experts can help you live free of Fears, Phobias & Anxiety–in just 24 hours."
Go to their website, www.changethatsrightnow.com, look in the phobia list for “xenoglossophobia” and test yourself. Even if you are a bilingual American you may suffer from this ailment. Nobody is immune.
A couple of years ago I was buying my newspaper at a candy store in East Harlem. A Puerto Rican old-timer was ahead of me, waiting to pay for a soft drink. He was growing impatient because the two Pakistani shopkeepers behind the counter were chatting with each other in Urdu.
Finally, he exploded and said in Spanish: “¡Hablen inglés, que están en América!” (Speak English! You are in America.")
And that, I swear is a true story.
TOP 10 CLUES
To Why So Many Americans Are So Paranoid, Confused, Turned-Off
And Generally Discombobulated About Languages
10. They believe it’s necessary to amend the Constitution to know for sure which is their official language
9. They think English is an American language.
8. Whenever they hear people speaking in another language, they fear we are talking about them.
7. They hate foreign films because they can’t read English subtitles fast enough.
6. They think San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, San Jose, Santa Barbara, Colorado, Nevada, Florida and Arizona are just names on a map.
5. They think it’s OK to sell toilet paper and corn flakes to ethnic Americans in their languages of origin, but not OK to have bilingual education or voting ballots in those same languages.
4. They think the American Dream can be dreamt in English only.
3. They believe Pig Latin is a classic language.
2. They say “Pardon My French” after they curse.
And the Number 1 clue to why so many Americans are so paranoid, confused, turned-off and generally discombobulated about languages is:
It is all Greek to them!
doloresprida@aol.com
Published March 14, 2007
New York Daily News/VIVA section
Pimp My Wallet
A trillion dollars.
That's what Latino purchasing power, currently at $700 billion, will be in about three more years. That's a lot of dinero to spend and businesses, big and small, are bending over backward to sell us stuff - sometimes our very own stuff, chewed on, regurgitated and repackaged to catch our eye.
From dulce de leche ice cream to piña colada toothpaste to sangría eye shadow and tropical fruit laundry detergent, we're bombarded with products that are familiar, semi-familiar or just plain make-believe familiar.
...to read full column, go to:
http://www.nydailynews.com/latino/2007/03/05/2007-03-05_pimp_my_wallet.html
Published February 14, 2007
New York Daily News/VIVA section
That's what Latino purchasing power, currently at $700 billion, will be in about three more years. That's a lot of dinero to spend and businesses, big and small, are bending over backward to sell us stuff - sometimes our very own stuff, chewed on, regurgitated and repackaged to catch our eye.
From dulce de leche ice cream to piña colada toothpaste to sangría eye shadow and tropical fruit laundry detergent, we're bombarded with products that are familiar, semi-familiar or just plain make-believe familiar.
...to read full column, go to:
http://www.nydailynews.com/latino/2007/03/05/2007-03-05_pimp_my_wallet.html
Published February 14, 2007
New York Daily News/VIVA section
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