Latinx Communities in The United States
When Latinx individuals
gather together in a community foreign from theirs, they find common grounds
that brings them together. Which was seen in the story of Cafe Bustelo. The
Latinx community came together in New York and the Cafe Bustelo pop up store
and bonded. These individuals were from various Spanish speaking countries.
They shared a story of coming to the U.S and having to adapt to a different
environment. Life is not as easy for The Latinx people here in the U.S. For
starters, the individuals that are undocumented, can’t achieve much when
building a life here. One thing that the Latinx individuals share is the common
goal to reconstruct “Latinidad”. In the United States, the term “Latino”, has
been used to classify those with origins from a country in Latin America. This
label “Latino” used in the U.S. census, includes those from twenty different
Latin American and Caribbean nationalities. These different nationalities that
are part of the Latinx label, contain big differences in their cultural, historical,
and social experiences. However, the consensus or society in the U.S fails to
mention all the different countries that these individuals are from. One
way the Latinx individuals began to reconstruct “Latinidad”, is by using the term
“Latinx” rather than Latino (a), in order to be more inclusive and
gender-neutral term. Society in the U.S. does not see the differences in the Latinx
individuals. However, those who are labeled as “Latinx”, share different
stories, and they see the differences themselves. Latinx individuals have made
the best of it. They have built their own communities in the United States,
which has helped them in adapting to the new society. They knew they weren’t
alone in whatever struggles they may have been facing. As shown in the story
shared by Frances Aparicio and her friends whom are from different countries,
but part of a Latinx community.
Hi Kathlen,
ReplyDeleteWonderful first post. I like how in depth you are about what historical context and implications of the term Latino and Latinx. I'd love to see you engage with the assigned materials more in future posts. Don't forget about our CLOSE-UP questions. They'd definitely help to open your response.