Latinos in the U.S.
Rafael Galarza
12/12/12
Latinos In The U.S.
Bezis-Selfa
Latinos, whether American born or immigrants, have a complex relationship with the United States of America. Ever since the acquisition of what is now known as South Western America and the dramatic increase of Latino immigrants within the last 60 years, Latinos have brought profound political, social, and economic change to America. However, despite American being a “land of immigrants”, there are those who believe that this sudden influx and ever growing Latino population upset the established version of American life and threaten to displace and eventually erode American culture. Leo Chavez describes this xenophobia in what he calls the “Latino Threat Narrative” in his aptly titled book Latino Threat. The Latino Threat Narrative consists of several parts, first which is the belief that Latinos will not, or are unable to, assimilate in America, due to the language and the culture which they bring over from their respective homelands, and secondly, that by arriving in huge waves and settling in the United States, that Latinos are on a quest to “reclaim” the country for their own. (Chavez,The Latino Threat,2). This theory proposed by Chavez mainly focuses on Mexican Americans, as they are the largest Latino group in the United states, and also because Mexicans must also unfortunately accept the stereotype of Mexicans as the “ideal illegal alien”. However, the Latino Threat Narrative can and has applied to the other Spanish speaking groups in America, from Puerto Ricans to Dominicans and Cubans. Despite these claims of being unable to assimilate and replacing American culture, Latino migrants are a prime example of trasnantionalism, as they celebrate their homelands and their status as an American citizen. Events such as the Puerto Rican Day Parades and Cinco De Mayo prove that Latinos do not seek to over write American culture with their own, but instead choose to share it and also are able
12/12/12
Latinos In The U.S.
Bezis-Selfa
Latinos, whether American born or immigrants, have a complex relationship with the United States of America. Ever since the acquisition of what is now known as South Western America and the dramatic increase of Latino immigrants within the last 60 years, Latinos have brought profound political, social, and economic change to America. However, despite American being a “land of immigrants”, there are those who believe that this sudden influx and ever growing Latino population upset the established version of American life and threaten to displace and eventually erode American culture. Leo Chavez describes this xenophobia in what he calls the “Latino Threat Narrative” in his aptly titled book Latino Threat. The Latino Threat Narrative consists of several parts, first which is the belief that Latinos will not, or are unable to, assimilate in America, due to the language and the culture which they bring over from their respective homelands, and secondly, that by arriving in huge waves and settling in the United States, that Latinos are on a quest to “reclaim” the country for their own. (Chavez,The Latino Threat,2). This theory proposed by Chavez mainly focuses on Mexican Americans, as they are the largest Latino group in the United states, and also because Mexicans must also unfortunately accept the stereotype of Mexicans as the “ideal illegal alien”. However, the Latino Threat Narrative can and has applied to the other Spanish speaking groups in America, from Puerto Ricans to Dominicans and Cubans. Despite these claims of being unable to assimilate and replacing American culture, Latino migrants are a prime example of trasnantionalism, as they celebrate their homelands and their status as an American citizen. Events such as the Puerto Rican Day Parades and Cinco De Mayo prove that Latinos do not seek to over write American culture with their own, but instead choose to share it and also are able