Latino in America -Atlanta Dunia -

Latino in America (Celebra books)
By Soledad O’Brien’ with Rosa Marie Arce Penguin Group (USA) 144 Pages

Award winning CNN Anchor, Soledad, after her groundbreaking series ‘Black in America’ in 2008 and ‘Black in America2’this year, has now written a companion to the critically acclaimed TV documentary ‘Latino in America’

which was aired on CNN on two consecutive nights in October. In this enlightening, entertaining and riveting book, Soledad takes an in-depth and exhaustive look at the explosive growth in the Latino community in the U.S.-with on-camera interviews, pictures and travelogues.

Latino is an American identity. It is an ethnicity. It is a diverse and ever changing community of many different origins, history and traditions. There are about 28 million Mexicans, (about 69% of all Latinos) 4 million Puerto Ricans, 1.5 million Cubans. There are also immigrants from Dominican Republic and El Salvador. There are 22 States including California where Latinos are already the majority minority, according to Pew Research Center. It is also interesting to note that the number of Latinos born here now surpasses the number of immigrant Latinos and the average age of this burgeoning community is in the teens.

Like other immigrants, Latinos too are confronted with the problems of identity, assimilation and integration. In general, they have strong family values, respect for the elders, strong work ethic, warm hospitality and warmth of their humanity. They have enriched the mainstream culture through their music, dances, cuisine and sports. Soledad travels to Miami and Orlando in Florida, Pico Rivera in California and Shenandoah, Pennsylvania to meet and interact with the Latinos.

In Cuba, Castro came to power in 1958. Between 1959 and 1962, most of the 178,000 Cuban refugees settled in Miami. According to Soledad, the Cubans have an enormous advantage over other Latinos. They had to leave everything behind. U.S. has helped them to resettle and succeed. They get work permits, which can be converted into legal permanent refugee status one year later. They get job training, immediate economic assistance, welfare, health benefits and even qualify for subsidized housing. In 1980, Castro allowed 125,000 more to leave for the United States.To their credit, Cubans have contributed a lot to the economic growth of Miami. Spanish is more popular than English in Miami. In year 2008, Miamians had third highest purchasing power in the country. Soledad meets with Mel Martinez, the first Cuban-American U.S.Senator ever. And one of just three Latinos currently in the Senate. Latinos need more political clout to improve their lot. In media, just 6% are working in TV news and 4% as newspaper reporters.

Soledad then visits Orlando. Puerto Rico is still a colony of U.S. In 1917, Jones Act granted Puerto Ricans U.S.Citizenship.The Puerto Ricans got a lucky break in employment when Disneyworld opened in 1971. Even those living in New York and Chicago moved to Orlando. The relationship of U.S. to Puerto Ricans is one of love and mutual need. But many in mainstream Americans practice discrimination against them because out of ignorance they consider them Mexicans. The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) reported that “one third of the Latino population in Orlando is under twenty and parents are not in agreement as to whether they want their children immersed in English or taught to be bilingual.” They also get derided for their English accents.LULAC’s study found vast discrepancies in health care between Latinos and Anglos in Orlando.” Barriers in language and communication barriers have resulted in the misdiagnosis of many patients” says the report.

Shenandoah, Pennsylvania is a small town of about 6,000 residents. Because of economic downturn there is a growing resentment by about 97% whites against 2% Latinos, because of the fear that the latter are moving in, buying or renting cheap properties and grabbing all low paid jobs. There is also lack of understanding of different cultures.

Los Angeles is quite the opposite. To quote Soledad,” It is the bright, sunny, vibrant capital of Latinos in America.It is the most Latino country in the nation. There are 4.7 million Latinos in L.A. Here Latinos have real economic and political power, where you have a sense that as a people you might just get a few things done” She meets Eva Longoria Parker(Desperate Housewives), one of whose charities is “Padres Contra El Cancer, the only program in the nation that assists and educates Latino families whose children face cancer.” When she began with the Children’s Hospital, 70% of the patients were Latino yet there were no translators on staff. Eva is not happy with the image of Latinos being reflected in movies, and film and television and music, so she now has her own production company. “She does believe that Latinos have to produce more content to truly increase and improve their image. If more Latinos want to be in Hollywood, then more Latinos have to be the creators behind the camera, then write the Latin stories. then direct the Latin stories , then produce those Latin stories.” Soledad next meets with 67 year old Mexican –American, celebrity actress and philanthropist, Lupe Ontiveros. She played the role of a mother-in-law in Desperate Housewives. Lupe lives in the City of Pico Rivera, California, with almost 92% Latino population. Here they do everything the American way. They celebrate 4^th of July more than Cinco de Mayo, sweet 16 parties as well as quinceanera(15^th birthday) parties, and young Latinos play Little League and Football more than soccer! She calls it her Latino Beverley Hills. She is quite outspoken about the abundance of stereotypical nanny or maid roles for Latinos in Hollywood. Like Eva Lupe also invests her time in several causes, one of which is the Latino Commission on AIDS. There are over 200,000 Latinos in the United States with HIV or AIDS, accounting for 20% of AIDS cases. Many do not know that AIDS is the fourth leading killer of Latinos.

During her interviews with a cross section of the Latino community, Soledad learns of the daunting challenges facing the Latinos. She emphasizes the need for Latinos to be bilingual. The National Campaign to prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy estimates that 53% of Latinas will be pregnant at least once by age 20. Because of high percentage of depression one in six Latina girls end up actually attempting suicide. Because of lack of facilities and oversized classes in portable classrooms, there is an alarming drop out rate among Latino students. Due to ignorance and prejudice there is a tendency to demonize illegal immigrants. There is an ambivalent attitude. On the one hand Latinos are regarded as source of cheap labor but on the other hand they are accused o f stealing jobs, and burdening the social and welfare system. Despite all these challenges, the aspiration to succeed and realize their American dream remains high. So every effort should be made to help them integrate and assimilate in the mainstream America. Latinos like to use this great saying, “Not going backward, not even to gather speed.”

“I’m a mixed race, first generation American” says Soledad. No wonder she has good rapport, trust and credibility with the Latinos. She paints a rich and fascinating portrait of a vibrant and evolving community trying hard to change and be changed by the mainstream America. ‘Latinos in America’ is bound to resonate well with all immigrants who have gone through similar challenges in settling down and being a part of this great nation.

Soledad O’Brien is a CNN anchor and special correspondent. Her awards include the Emmy;Peabody;Hispanic Heritage, and NAACP’s President’s Award among many others. She lives in Manhattan with her husband Brad Raymond and their four children.