It is an assumption most of us make, especially if we are not familiar with the Hispanic culture. There is this tendency to think that Latin America is a uniform racial, political, or economic unit. A good example of that was the probably well-intentioned, but uninformed assumption made by our first Lady in a speech made at the annual conference for non-profit organization “Unidos US 2022” in San Antonio, Texas, on July 11, 2022. She said, “Raul helped build this organization with the understanding that the diversity of this community, as distinct as the bodegas of the Bronx, as beautiful as the blossoms of Miami, and as unique as the breakfast tacos here in San Antonio, is your strength.”
Its true that there is diversity in the Latin community in the United States, but what about the comparisons? Are all the Latinos of the Bronx as distinct as the Bodegas? (Bodega: in the US, a small grocery store, especially in a Spanish-speaking neighborhood; in other “Latin Countries, it means something else.) Are bodegas a distinct characteristic of the Bronx? I can attest to the fact that there are many Bodegas in Miami, Hialeah and other cities with significant Hispanic community. But what triggered more adverse reactions from Latinos everywhere, especially in San Antonio, was comparing the uniqueness of the Hispanic community of that city to breakfast tacos.
“We are not tacos,” responded The National Association of Hispanic Journalists in a post to its Twitter. They added, “Using breakfast tacos to try to demonstrate the uniqueness of Latinos in San Antonio demonstrates a lack of cultural knowledge and sensitivity to the diversity of Latinos in the region. NAHJ encourages Dr. Biden and her speech writing team to take the time in the future to better understand the complexities of our people and communities.” The statement continued, “Our heritage as Latinos is shaped by a variety of diasporas, cultures and food traditions, and should not be reduced to a stereotype.”
Others joined in criticizing the blunder. But Dr. Biden later apologized through her press secretary. The apology states, “The First Lady apologizes that her words conveyed anything but pure admiration and love for the Latino community.”
As a producer of radio programs directed to Latin America, and Spanish speaking communities within the USA, part of my job is understanding the complexities and diversity of my audience in order to communicate the message of hope and salvation in Jesus, contextually. I was introduced to this monumental challenge many years ago while being the preaching minister of a Hispanic congregation with more than 20 countries represented. John Stott’s book Between Two Worlds opened my eyes to the need to “build bridges” between the biblical text written thousands of years ago and our current contemporary context. I had to change my natural vocabulary and my accent, in order to communicate with my audience.
The problem that I have with the term “Latin America” is that it might communicate the wrong idea about the people who live in that region, leading us to make false assumptions when we approach them, as was the case of Dr. Biden’s speech writing team.
Maybe one way to describe Latin America is, as a huge melting pot of different cultures, languages, world views and traditions.
Understanding this will takes us a long way if we want to be culturally sensitive and relevant in our communication with them. It is not a one-size-fits-all type of approach. Instead, it is about making a deliberate effort to learn and understand the culture of each country or region, as an individual, separate unit. This is what I am striving to do as I serve my fellow Spanish-speaking “Latinos.”
More about this next month.
Categories: SPANISH
