Multicultural Divide By: Ava DeJesus

As a fourth-generation latina coming from Mexican and Puerto Rican heritage, I am part of the Multicultural Divide between the present and the past. According to the article "Hispanic Identity Fades Across Generations as Immigrant Connections Fall Away," the authors express that although "more than 18% of Americans identify as Hispanic or Latino, the nation's second-largest racial or ethnic group. Two trends are arising – a long-standing high intermarriage rate and a decade of declining Latin American immigration – these are distancing some Americans with Hispanic ancestry from the life experiences of earlier generations, reducing the likelihood they call themselves Hispanic or Latino". In an effort to try to connect my past ancestry with my present identity, which is seeped in popular culture, I needed to research my family's history and visit historical sites. In this paper, I will discuss how the intersection between popular culture and Latino immigrant culture is the multicultural divide that affects the examination of one's self-identity, racial ambiguity within the Latino culture, and mainstream media's effect on negative narratives of the Americanized Latino.  

As I researched my own multicultural divide between my Mexican and Puerto Rican culture, I discovered I've never identified with either heritage. I've grown up not knowing much about my culture and what place I belong. Due to this fact, I've been living without any connection to my culture, leaving me to piece together my own identity. Growing up, I felt a lack of connection to others in my Latino community because I do not belong to one culture. This has left me feeling on multiple occasions isolated and constantly questioning my self-identity. 

Part of my research to connect my self-identity with my culture involved visiting the historical site, "Olvera Street," in Downtown Los Angeles. In the article, "Olvera Street: The Fabrication of L.A.'s Mexican Heritage," it is "considered by some to be the heart of Mexican L.A., Olvera Street -- a tourist attraction, Mexican curios marketplace, and home to roving troubadours -- is an alleyway in the 'birthplace of Los Angeles.' Established in 1858, it's one of the oldest streets in the city." Described as a Mecca and even a birthplace of Mexican-American culture, I found myself drawn there in hopes of finding a connection with my own self-identity. With its bright festive colors, heart-warming people, and music trickling up and down the street, I felt a bit of nostalgia for the way my grandparents spoke of their upbringing. But was it enough to connect me to my present-day popular culture? Unfortunately, no. I left Olvera Street feeling withdrawn because it was paying homage to my ancestral roots, but where was room for the Americanized Latino? Maybe somewhere in between the vendor shirts of "Selena" and sombreros being sold. Even then, the only reason I recognized "Selena" was due to the recent show on Netflix since she had already passed by the time I was born. Again, I was left feeling as isolated as before.  

Continuing my search for self-identity within my culture, I went to my father, who is of Puerto Rican descent, to find a connection to my roots. I had the opportunity to interview my dad, view photos, hear stories from his Titis (which are referred to as aunts for Puerto Ricans), as well as read multiple articles on Puerto Rican culture. I found out that my father did not live in Puerto Rico but was related to his culture by his grandmother's food and memories of family holiday gatherings. While reading articles, I found that there was also racism within their own culture where there was a divide between Puerto Ricans who judged each other based on their skin tone of White, Brown, and Black. After hearing these stories, it broadened the multicultural divide for me even deeper. If I don't identify with either my Mexican or Puerto Rican culture--then where do I belong?

Living in Los Angeles, I know that identifying with one culture is no longer the social norm in popular culture. In so many ways, I know what I'm feeling is the new normal, and I shouldn't feel alone. This led me to research why identifying as multicultural can often leave one feeling isolated, and it's due to the racial ambiguity of not being recognized as a mixed race. According to the article "What is Racial Ambiguity" it states, "if a person appears to be racially vague, you might think that they are mixed race, also known as multiracial, but not be able to tell which races are included in their background; Racially ambiguous people may move through society in a whole different manner than people of discernible races. There are both privileges and challenges associated with this." 

Identifying as racially ambiguous has been challenging for me due to being judged for not having the skin color or physical features of those who identify as either Mexican-American or Puerto Rican. To feel the judgment between two Latin cultures on both sides of my family has created a divide and drawn me closer to identifying with the American Culture. Even by being Americanized, I still have conflicting views on my self-identity and how to navigate between my cultures, creating my own multicultural divide. 

I found that the adversity I've faced within my heritage was also an issue in American culture as well. As I began to learn and connect on how people with various cultures get judged based by their own cultures due to their skin, their accent when speaking their native language, what they wear, as well as being an identifiable presence on TV and media. I've learned from various articles that racially ambiguous people have no understanding of their culture and cannot identify with it due to the lack of information about their culture. I reread "What is Racial Ambiguity," which states, "A racially ambiguous person may be perceived differently by different people. Depending on their skin color and other physical features, a racially ambiguous person might be perceived as White by one person but as a person of color (POC) by another." The evidence from the reading shows how being racially ambiguous can lead to inner culture racial discrimination as well as in American culture.   

The adversity as an Americanized fourth-generation Latino has been historically steeped in the stereotypical depiction of Latinos in popular culture as seen in TV and media. In the scholarly article," Stereotypical Depictions of Latino Criminality: U.S. Latinos in the Media during the MAGA Campaign," the author Eduardo Gonzalez examines how "the media plays a fundamental role in fostering and dispersing cultural nationalism across the nation. Nationalist discourses in the U.S. often perpetuate a modern, rational, and individualistic culture, narratives at odds with media representations of Latino identities: Latinos are often depicted as being primitive, highly emotional, uneducated, and tribal." I found this to be an accurate depiction of how the mainstream media portrays Latinos, especially in the television show "Jane The Virgin." 

In the scholarly article, it examined how mainstream media's stereotypes can affect the Americanized Latino. For example, the "six popular media tropes have existed in classic Hollywood cinema and shaped U.S. Latino identity across social and political spheres: the bandit, male buffoon, female clown, Latin lover, dark lady, and the harlot. These are the predominant archetypes that have reproduced Latino imagery across U.S. media for over a century" (Gonzalez, 659). In the show "Jane The Virgin" it's a cross between a television "novela" and present-day Americanized Latinos. Their stereotypes of Latin lovers and male buffoons are highly exaggerated in the characters of Rafael and Rogelio, playing towards a negative stereotype of Latino culture.

 In "Jane The Virgin," the main character's father, Rogelio, plays the prototypical Latino male buffoon due to his over-dramatic nature in expression and for women. As for the Latin lover, he's played by Jane's crush Rafael who is handsome to a fault. Much of his scenes either have him shirtless with glistening abs or smiling with his teeth white as snow, causing women to practically fall to their feet. Rafael acts like a player, and when he is in a relationship, he portrays himself as a control freak. By playing the "control freak" during his relationship with Jane, he plays to the archetype that all Latino men are either control freaks or players that are led by their desires. These types of negative media stereotypes affect many Americanized Latinos due to misrepresentation of our culture. This shows negative imagery to the viewer who is watching and creates a false narrative of how Latinos act or are perceived.

As an Americanized Latina, I've not only felt adversity within my culture but also when trying to identify as an American. In the interview, "Young Latinos: Born in the USA carving their own identity," the interviewee stated that "my family growing up wanted me to stick with my Hispanic roots, but also did not want me to show those roots to the world outside. They knew being Hispanic-American isn't necessarily looked (upon) with a smile in this country. So they were doing that for my safety and protecting me." Evidence from this interview shows that Latinos have a hard time showing their roots and culture in America and being accepted. 

This is also the same for Americanized Latinos who seek to gain acceptance in their own Latino culture. For instance, coming from a multicultural background, I have felt judged by both sides of my heritage, and this is a common occurrence for the Americanized Latino. Many people from the articles I've read have, at one time or another, felt judged regarding how they looked and acted in relation to not being "Latino enough."  

As I researched more about the difficulties of those who are multi-culturally identifying as racially ambiguous Americanized Latinos, it showed the positive aspects of coming from different cultures as well. According to the article "What is Racial Ambiguity," the author Ariana Resnick states that "racially ambiguous people are thought of as the future of humanity, representative of what all people will look like at some point in the potential future when so much global pairing has occurred that mono-racial people are no longer the norm." (Resnick, 2022) As I struggle to identify with my culture and belief system as an Americanized Latina, it is comforting to know that in the future identifying with one set of cultural norms or race won't define my identity since we'll all be a melting pot of different cultures. 

In closing, through my research to try to connect my past ancestry with my present identity that is seeped in popular culture, it is important to identify the fourth generation of Americanized Latinos. The multicultural divide between the intersection between popular culture and Latino immigrant culture is widening as we speak, according to the article "How to Deal with people questioning your race" by Ian Kummato. According to Kummato, ¨As people living in a country that purports to celebrate all people, it's about time we recognize that how we label people limits the possibilities of who we can be¨ (Kummato, 2022). By embracing our multicultural roots, we can understand and learn more from each other, dispel any racial stereotypes and ambiguity, and embrace the Americanization of the fourth-generation Latino. The benefits of embracing our cultural diversity, including learning to have an open mind, taking advantage of opportunities, and being more empathetic and tolerant towards others, helps us grow. Let me leave you with the words of the poet, writer, and actress Maya Angelou: "It is time for parents to teach young people early on that in diversity, there is beauty and strength. We all should know that diversity makes for a rich tapestry, and we must understand that all tapestry threads are equal in value no matter their color; equal in importance no matter their texture".