Juan of Words

Our Gorditas: Real Women Have Curves – And We Like It?

¿Quien Dice Que Las Gorditas No Provocan?

Is it gorditas pero sabrosas?

Who says big girls can’t be sexy too?  I mean anything a thinner woman (also known as skinny b*****s to many gorditas) can wear, a thicker woman can probably find in her size as well, what with all the plus size clothing stores and sections now available almost everywhere.  But are we, Latino men, any more or less accepting of our gorditas?

The whole ‘Real Women Have Curves’ phenomenon comes to mind, as does the interpretation of PHAT as pretty hot and tempting as opposed to just F-A-T, which for whatever reason makes the word sound much less harsh.  Like saying ‘Large and in Charge!’ or ‘¡Gordita pero Sabrosa!‘, especially with a little attitude behind it, diminishes the negative stigma of being a few pounds overweight.

As Latino men we like the ‘extra junk in the trunk’, the love handles that give us a little more de donde agarrar, the larger ‘lady lumps’ that come with a few extra pounds, and we don’t mind the fact that you ‘full-figured’ ladies also know how to chow down better than most.  The preparation of our favorite platillos, minus any guilt or reluctance, is a definite plus tambien!  Who wants to be yelled at for eating what we like?  In all honesty, we understand no matter how JLO-esque your figure might be today, it won’t stay that way forever.  We’re okay with that.  It’s not a big deal.

Even if you’ve never had a statuesque figure, as long as you’re Llenas de Amor!

A Dios Rogando Y Con El Mazo Dando: On Immigration Reform

To God Praying And With The Mallet Pounding  

Gente of this United States of America it seems the time to stand up and demand change has finally arrived.  After years of failed attempts to get an immigration reform act approved by the U.S. Congress, broken promises by multiple presidents, and now the introduction of a state law so aggressive it would all but force undocumented immigrants living in Arizona to flee for their safety and freedom, we can officially say diplomacy has failed. 

While Senate bill 1070 sits on the desk of Arizona Governor Jan Brewer (R) awaiting a final decision by her to either approve or veto, President Barrack Obama has yet to indicate any clear position on the passage of this new law.  His promises of bringing millions of illegal immigrants “out of the shadows” through some type of immigration reform now appear to have been only empty words,  evoking in many of us the urge to take part in civil disobedience demonstrations.  Arizona has become our ground zero in this fight to once and for all settle the state of limbo in which an estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants live each and every day of their lives in the Unites States. 

Those nine brave students in Pheonix have the right idea.  Enough of protesting obediently on the streets where we are granted permits and secluded to isolated areas of our own communities so as to not interfere with the hustle and bustle of our cities and towns.  What is the point of protesting to ourselves in our own neighborhoods?  It’s preaching to the choir and achieves nothing.  The time has come to engage in nonviolent civil disobedience to make our voices heard.

We will not stand for this discrimination in Arizona and we demand a path to legalization for our millions of undocumented brothers and sisters living in the shadows of this country now!

A Dios rogando y con el mazo dando we need to all come out in full force on Saturday, May 1, 2010, to take part in the March for Dignity and Respect for ALL.  To make our voices heard, and to demand legislative action from our political leaders.  Now is the time to prove this Hispanic Giant has arisen and is infuriated by the lack of respect and dignity we have been granted until now. 

Census Sense!?

Much ado is being made about the 2010 Census taking place this year.  The Hispanic community in particular is being bombarded with messages that legal status should not prevent us from participating, that if we don’t participate we will lose out on federal funds and programs, that last time around thousands of us were not counted, and that as a result our communities did not receive the help they needed.

At the same time thousands of Latinos are being detained and deported straight from their job sites, employers are being pressured to eliminate undocumented workers from their work staffs, and much debate still remains about what ethnic group we can all be categorized under – even within our own community.  Some prefer the term Hispanic.  Others would rather be called Latino.  Many more favor terms like Mexican, Mexican-American, Chicano, Cuban-American, Puerto Rican, Costa Rican, etc., etc.

And those 10 infamous questions do not even list Hispanic, Latino or Spanish as a valid race option – perhaps because we make so many distinctions about our own demographic.

Lately, for example, I’ve been hearing a lot about how the most recent generations of Hispanics – the ones who speak mostly English and hold college degrees – are the ones that are making the biggest impact on our community.  That they are the ones that are voting, getting better jobs and leading us into new heights of success and acceptance in this country.  That may be true, but why should we denounce who we are in order to gain wider acceptance in this society?  When did speaking Spanish become a bad tag?

I like reading English newspapers and magazines just as much as anyone else.  And yes, sometimes speaking, reading and writing in English is my preference, but that doesn’t mean I don’t think it’s important for non-English speakers to have a voice.  Education and college degrees are important!  So are having pride in our personal backgrounds and standing up for those who can’t stand up for themselves.

I’m not advocating for a revolt against the 2010 U.S. Census.  It is what it is, and we should take the 10 minutes out of our lives to fill it out, regardless of what our legal status or education level is in this country.  Because it may very well impact how our communities evolve over the next decade.  In doing so, however, let’s remember our differences should not be greater than our similarities.

Holding a degree and speaking the language better than others does not make us better than anyone else!

It is in our hands.