Indieoma

I’ve always felt like Hispanic Heritage Month was just a weak attempt at glossing over a history of repression and injustice directed at various Latino communities. Even the thought that Latinos would have a homogenized history/heritage that can be surmised by teaching school kids about a couple of labor organizers and entertainers, serving enchiladas at public school lunches and hanging up some posters of Celia Cruz, is kind of insulting. We are as varied as the world, all of us with our own complete histories that have followed us into the barrios, neighborhoods and suburbs of Amerika. To recognize our contributions to this country requires a life long commitment of better education, fair wages and equal representation- not just lip service.

Now, all of that being said, I’m not sure if we’re ready to do away with Hispanic Heritage Month or not. The hard liner in me thinks we should just do away with it as a call for equality, but the pragmatic side of me realizes that there is still a lot of ignorance and stereotypes that exist in a large part of the general population towards the Latino community. Of course, anything that can be done to further educate and tear down these stereotypes should be welcomed and encouraged. I just think that these problems are larger than anything that can be contained within just a few weeks out of the year. I agree with Edson and others, in that we should celebrate our heritage and history every day of the year.

I think it’s greatly important to include our collective histories and heritage into what is taught in today’s schools, especially to our Latino youth. There is a large part of our history that is lacking in our schools; leaders and great spirits like Emma Tenayuca and Willie Velasquez are often over looked in what is taught about nuestra historia. I know there are many others in fellow Puerto Ricano, Colombiano, Cubano and all other Latino communities that are overlooked as well, and in doing so, we’re doing a great disservice to our Latino youth.

One of the main tactics used to subjugate a population is to erase their history, so it is up to us to ensure that our histories and heritage are passed on to future generations all year long, if not by the public school system and the political system, then by us. We are, in the end, responsible for ourselves and thus I encourage us all to make efforts to seek out our own personal and collective histories and teach those around us, in attempts to endure a system that would rather see us all as homogenized consumers, than the diverse and vibrant population that we are.

En lucha,
Roberto Ybañez Livar
Vocalist/Bandleader of Bombasta