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I hope you’ve left pan dulce out by the fireplace for Juanga, because it’s officially the eve of Hispanic Heritage Month. And like a real Mexican, I’m celebrating and opening presents on the night before the actual holiday.
But if I’m being honest, it’s not a month I particularly look forward to. I love being Chicano, and I love engaging with Latino history, but Hispanic Heritage Month never really hits like it should.
To me, it mostly looks like restaurant chains issuing tweets like “We’re uplifting Latinx voices with our new spicy margarita,†and having to field questions about why it starts in the middle of September.
I always say it’s because we’re never on time for anything.
In a Vanity Fair cover story, Benito Antonio MartÃnez Ocasio talks about his relationship with fans and what he really felt about the Grammy’s ‘Non-English’ fiasco.
In any case, it got me thinking. What would a successful Hispanic Heritage Month look like for me? What do I want out of the window of time between Sept. 15 and Oct. 15? To answer this, I’ve composed a wish list.
Remember, this is just my list and not a list for everyone.
No More Mr. ‘Niche’ Guy
I’m exhausted by every single Latino story and media project being described as “niche.†It seems like whenever a show, movie or book has a Latino focus, it must mean it’s only for Latinos, and thus, only meant to target a small demographic. I’ve heard it used dozens of times to describe my book and its TV adaption, and it’s starting to sound like a slur.
Aside from Latinos being nearly 20% of this country, I’ve been successfully engaging with content that has zero Latinos in it for most of my natural life. Stories can hold universal appeal and connect with people beyond the individuals presented on screen.
Regardless, if Latino stories must be labeled as “niche,†then we should at least dial it back. When the next Superman movie comes out, I’m going to say how it probably means so much to the white heterosexual community.
In a night that featured performances from Karol G, Peso Pluma and Cardi B, Shakira was the biggest star at the 2023 MTV VMAs.
The Edward James Olmos Renaissance. The Olmos-aissance.
There are many pressing issues affecting our community. Latinos are disproportionately affected by climate change and consistently rank it as an important problem to address. Poverty, draconian immigration laws and voter disenfranchisement are also big ones, but those are extremely difficult to solve.
You know what’s a lot easier to accomplish? Giving Edward James Olmos his flowers.
I am ready to give Edward James Olmos his most ambitious project yet. I want to see him in a David Lynch film where he plays all the characters in different outfits and wigs. I want to see a bloated production of Chicano “Hamlet,†set in Texas, in which he is the king. I want to see theaters in San Antonio doing triple features of his greatest hits (“Selena,†“Stand and Deliver†and “Battlestar Galacticaâ€).
Do it. It’s time.
Embrace Cinco de Mayo for what it’s become
So, you know how Cinco de Mayo is a celebration of a Mexican victory over the French in a larger, more complicated struggle that eventually saw French forces take Mexico City? Yes, well, the whole “actually, Cinco de Mayo isn’t Mexican Independence Day†feels like that. And just to note, Mexican Independence Day is this Saturday, Sept. 16. I think we’ve successfully established one thing that Cinco de Mayo is not, but we have lost the war for what Cinco de Mayo is (Cinco de Drinko).
Latinx and Latin American comic vendors and illustrators gathered at the Museum of Latin American Art in Long Beach for the 11th annual Latino Comics Expo.
This is fine. It’s OK. I don’t think we need to pretend to care about this anymore.
“Actual Mexicans don’t even celebrate it outside of Puebla.†True.
“It’s a fake holiday.†Yeah.
But once you establish a day for discounted margaritas or for bringing chips and salsa into high school Spanish classes in the United States, it’s game over. There’s no going back. I am going to Chili’s this year, and I’m not going to bother telling a single soul about the true meaning of Cinco de Mayo. I think the true meaning of Cinco de Mayo might actually be ‘ritas at Chili’s, and I am at peace with that.
More, More, More
Somewhat related to my “niche†complaint, I’m ready for people to stop pretending that every single Latino thing needs to speak for the entire community. And that if it doesn’t address every last aspect of the Latino experience (impossible), then it has failed in some way. I don’t think the solution is stuffing one big bloated project with absolutely everyone and everything in it. I think the solution is more stories, more perspectives and more opportunities for people to make art on their own terms.
There has never been more of a “wish†on a “wish list†than this item, because I know how difficult this is to accomplish, especially with the scarcity mind-set running rampant and resources being hoarded for a select few at the expense of money.
When a social media post about Mexican food went viral, I realized that a culture’s cuisine is a tender, vulnerable thing. It’s an open love letter to a way of life, one that is available for an international audience to enjoy or reject.
A Moratorium on VapoRub and Chancla Humor
I grew up believing in the healing properties of Vicks VapoRub (vivaporú) the same as you. But I’m getting tired of this small assortment of in-jokes being put in constant rotation.
Yes, abuelita thinks vivaporú can cure cancer. I’m sure she will sing sana, sana, colita de rana and make you some soup after administering it. Then maybe she will open the cookie tin where she keeps her sewing supplies and fix your shirt. But don’t make her mad or she might hit you with la chancla!
I get it. I’ve been getting it since 2012. This is the Latino equivalent of “he’s right behind me, isn’t he?†in Marvel humor.
I’m not saying it never gets a giggle out of me or that it can’t be done well, but we need to take a break. Or maybe we could ration them and directors and screenwriters can go through an application process to be allotted one. After the strike, of course.
Embrace Complexity
If I have an overarching theme that I keep coming back to in my columns, it’s that identity is complex, and the idea of countries, communities and ethnicities is precisely that — an idea.
There is no ontological truth to any of this, which means there is ample space to contest them, to criticize them, to deconstruct them and to put them back together again.
‘Stand and Deliver’ avoids common tropes and proves to be still relevant decades after its cinematic release
It is unlikely for us to land on a definitive answer about the nature of identity in general, within the scope of “Latinidad†or beyond. It would be nice, if we could keep an open mind, to be willing to take in a broad spectrum of perspectives and acknowledge that there are no hard lines to color within here.
In lieu of everything else on this list, though, I suppose I’ll take a discounted michelada. Get your wins where you can, mi gente.
John Paul Brammer is a columnist, author, illustrator and content creator based in Brooklyn, N.Y. He is the author of â€Hola Papi: How to Come Out in a Walmart Parking Lot and Other Life Lessons†based on his advice column. He has written for outlets including the Guardian, NBC News and the Washington Post. He writes a weekly essay for De Los.
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