Rubio vs Castro: What Makes You Latino?

Now that the political theater of the conventions is over, the commentary keeps plowing on from: who got their message out, who motivated their base the most, and, oh so importantly, which party had the best (read: most) Latino representative.

I’ve complained in the past about demographers insisting that the Latino Vote is a monolith.  Insisting that Latinos swear political allegiance to only one party is just a different way to stereotype, as far as I’m concerned.  And recent polling shows Latinos shifting to become independent voters in droves.

My favorite claim in this comes from the right wing insistence that Rubio is “more Latino” than Castro because he is fluent in Spanish.  Funny how the party that insists we wetbacks learn English would tout the retention of language as a key component to being fully Latino.

My Spanish is terrible.  My parents didn’t prize keeping language and any native language acquisition I would have gained died with my maternal grandmother when I was six years old.  I feel like I would have had more opportunity if I had language beyond a 5 year old.  I insist that my daughters learn Spanish because it will make them better people and better citizens.

But lack of language has not made me less of a Latina.  It has not severed my ties from my family or my culture.  I am a bridge from one world to the other with or without Spanish.  Do I think I might be a more effective bridge with language? Yes.  It’s something I question quite a bit.  Something I struggle with personally.  The thing about a bridge is that it’s not on one side or the other – it is by definition in between, a conduit for movement from one side to the other.

The Latino Vote?

I couldn't be more tired of hearing the term "Latino vote". Who are these amorphous Latinos? Where did they come from?

Just to be clear, here is a little something about my family background:

My mother is an immigrant from Peru. She was educated in a convent school and came here when she was 18 to work as a nanny for a family in Marin County, CA.

My father was born in Upland, CA, the fifth of ten children to a mother from Michoacan who walked across the border in El Paso, TX when she was six years old in 1909.

I check the box marked Hispanic/Latino/Chicano.

I am proud of my heritage and the legacy that has allowed me to earn a college degree.

So, back to my original question: Who are these amorphous Latinos? And when did they start voting with one mind? I don't have to look beyond the confines of my own family to realize how foolish it is to categorize Latinos as some kind of monolith.

I'll spare you the suspense. I voted for Obama. If I had to guess, I'd say my mom voted for Hillary, but to tell you the truth I don't really know. (I'm tempted to call her right now.) My dad probably voted for McCain. I have cousins who are Republicans and uncles and aunts who are dyed-in-the-wool Democrats. My point here is that we are a family. We share grandparents and direct history. We were raised in much the same way with a strict work ethic and a belief in family. My father and two of his brothers are veterans. Between the 25 or so of us who share blood ties across two generations - add another handful for my cousin's kids who are eligible to vote - you probably have a fairly representative scope of the spectrum of politics in this country.

So please, spare me the platitudes and stereotypes of the "Latino vote". Spare me the single voter issue crap about immigration. Spare me the insult of imagining that I am a demographic and not a full-fledged human being.