No, no, just another copper child here.
Hispanics aren’t a race.
And technically we are white (ask the Census or any form).
We’re an ethnicity, and like Asians, a lot of us just got here or are reminded our parents recently did.
“No one speaks for us there.”
—My first college art professor and Mexican muralist, gesturing towards Washington DC
I can see how someone would see a demagogue, like Trump, and see something different than a dangerous blowhard.
Everyone wants a Superman type (me especially).
But there’s quiet bravery in mortality and honesty.
Latinos aren’t special. Every one of us just clocks in and does the hard work of living.
Living is work. And individual failure isn’t an option for us.
There’s an anthem of sorts we all know:
El Sol que tu eres (The sun that you are)
Recorded by Daniel Chavez with Linda Ronstadt, he learned it picketing with Cesar Chavez, farm laborers have sung it for centuries.
Theres a line that says:
“The sun is fair to everyone as it spreads its light, you should teach my Boss how to be like you.”
Though some of us may choose to vote white, we all work in the copper sun regardless.
Maybe those Latin votes are a message from the sun.
It’s not an excuse.
I don’t think Trump learned the quiet lessons of the field. I hope it reaches him.
But if you really want an opinion, ask a Latina.
They speak for us.
I mean it. My wife and our women are our avatars.
Otherwise, I just know we’re too stubborn to sway.
—louis hernandez
Flommist Louis Herdandez is obsessed with going Bauhaus and becoming The Machine. Preferably a drill press. Copyright © 2020 Louis Hernandez. Pictured: Diego Rivera, Peasants, 1931, source.
PLEASE SUPPORT FLOMM
TIPS + DONATIONS DISCREETLY ACCEPTED