By Maibort Petit
How is your relationship with the Latin community?". This is a line from the movie, Maid in Manhattan. The spokesperson, a gringo answer this question," It's excellent, he speaks Latin, I mean Spanish".
I am from Venezuela and often wonder about the attitude taught in the United States. Venezuela is a country in South America. I now live in the United States. I became a citizen a few years ago and my neighbors congratulated me on becomes an 'American'.
What was I before? Was I not an American? I always saw myself as an American but in this country I am considered a Latin or Hispanic?
As my Colombian friend told me, Americans calling the U.S. “America” is jingoistic, even imperialist—as if the U.S. owns the whole continent.
But the truth is the term being used in the United States is done with any thought. It was first used in the inaugural speech by John Adams, our second president. We were hardly a country back then and definitely not a super power.
It's strange but all Americans live on the same continent but I will always be an Latina. Being Latin is not a race but the area that I was born. Yet, my good friend who was born in Poland and my friend from Canada are not distinguished in name by their country. When they became citizens, they were called American, fully accepted. Go figure!
How is your relationship with the Latin community?". This is a line from the movie, Maid in Manhattan. The spokesperson, a gringo answer this question," It's excellent, he speaks Latin, I mean Spanish".
What was I before? Was I not an American? I always saw myself as an American but in this country I am considered a Latin or Hispanic?
As my Colombian friend told me, Americans calling the U.S. “America” is jingoistic, even imperialist—as if the U.S. owns the whole continent.
But the truth is the term being used in the United States is done with any thought. It was first used in the inaugural speech by John Adams, our second president. We were hardly a country back then and definitely not a super power.
It's strange but all Americans live on the same continent but I will always be an Latina. Being Latin is not a race but the area that I was born. Yet, my good friend who was born in Poland and my friend from Canada are not distinguished in name by their country. When they became citizens, they were called American, fully accepted. Go figure!
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