From September 15th through October 15th we celebrate the presence of the Latino Culture in the USA. As you read, you will notice how I use the term Latino and Hispanic interchangeably, keep reading and you will find out why. Although a month is not enough to acknowledge the contributions made by the Latinx community, coming from 34 different countries south of the border to the USA, it is a good start to highlight the richness and complexity of all the different cultures.
What makes us Latinos? How about the countries in South America and the Caribbean whose official language is English, are they Latinos too? Does the term Latino-Hispanic exclude Jamaica, Belice, or Trinidad y Tobago because they speak English, a Germanic language? Or Guyana and Suriname because they speak Dutch? How about French Guinea in South America, being a French territory?
All of these countries have a common geographical location and most of them share Romance Languages derived from Latin. Hence the term Latino.
This is a visual that a friend shared a few weeks ago that helps clarify the different terms we use to refer to the people of Central and South America.
Being Latinx-Hispanic is part of my identity. The term refers to the language I speak, it celebrates the Taino heritage (Tainos were the natives that inhabited my country; sadly they were all exterminated). But as a Dominican, being Latina means Merengue, Bachata, Tambora, Güira, Palm and Coconut trees, Sand and Ocean, Rice, Beans and Tostones and, so much more.
But, I’m also an Afro-Latina. To me being Afro-Latina means that you can see the presence of the black slaves brought to our Hispaniola island in my hair, for instance. Nevertheless, I also have to recognize the presence of the colonizers in me, for example, you can see it in my narrow nose.
Celebrating Hispanic Heritage is one way to encourage our students to have conversations, to investigate, and to find more information about their own cultural identity. This is also an opportunity to celebrate those that often are not celebrated or are not represented positively in our society. As we take time to intentionally acknowledge the contributions made by Latinx to this great country, don’t forget that your students and their families are part of that group too. Make it a point to, in addition to mentioning great people like Sonia Soto-Mayor, Zoe Zaldaña, Selena, just to mention a few, highlight people from your own community and even your own classroom.
This year, all my students will be working on a project about the musical identity of their family. This project is excellent for remote or for face-to-face learning that will encourage them to be as specific or broad as they like. This is not a genealogy class, and this information has to be volunteered by the students. It is very important to keep sight that some of our students might be in situations that don't allow them to access this type of information such as children in foster care or adopted children. I offer all my students the option to create a profile that is a product of their imagination if they prefer, but the information presented has to be real, even if it is not about them.
Because my goal is inclusion, all of my students are participants in this project, even if their background is not Hispanic. This is a great opportunity to promote inclusion, equity, and community.
Some of the resources I offer to my students to guide their research include a presentation that takes them on a musical trip through all the different countries in Latin America. I also share short videos that some of my Latinx colleagues and idols made for our students. They have these three websites that they can visit as well.
Thank you for this wonderful playlist! Something happened and I can no longer access it.
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