[scifinoir2] Re: OT: Alba Making Effort to Embrace Latina Heritage
This is not unusual. Neither of the two female leads on Ugly Betty speak Spanish. A Hispanic co-worker of mine, who was born in America, likes to tell the story about his Milwaukee induction into the Army. The drill sergeant came up to him and asked him for his name. Jose Hernandez, sir! Jose, the sergeant continued, I bet you are not from around here. No, sir! Jose affirmed. I bet you were born SOUTH of here, the sergeant asserted confidently. Yes, sir! Tell these men where were you born, Mr. Hernandez! Chicago, sir! I said all that to say this. Jose did not grow up speaking Spanish but, in the ten years I have known him he has become more and more Hispanic. He accentuates his pronunciation of Spanish names and words. For instance, when I met him he was HO-sey. Now he is ho-SAY. I thought about this thread when I saw Ashton Kutcher flogging his new movie Valentine's Day and he brought along a clip featuring him and a very blond Jessica Alba. I thought, Must be nice to play both sides of the street like that. Ironically, race being the conundrum it is, natural blonde Sophia Vergera (Modern Family), who speaks fluent Spanish and has a speaks with a noticeable Spanish accent, had to die her natural hair black in order to get television and movie roles in America. So it goes. ~rave! --- In scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com, Keith Johnson keithbjohn...@... wrote: I guess that's the blessing and curse of living in a heterogeneous society: it's easy, perhaps even expected, to succeed without having to hold on to all aspects of one's cultural heritage. I went to school with a lot of Mexicans back in Texas, and many of them couldn't speak Spanish. (Typically at that time it was those who tried very hard to assimilate, only dating white people, mispronouncing their Spanish names with Anglicized pronounciations). Some even denied they were Mexican when asked. I can recall friends of both genders dealing with parents who insisted they not speak Spanish, and who pushed them toward marrying whites--or at the least, light-skinned Mexicans who also had left that part of their heritage behind. There was a clear schism between those Mexicans who embraced their heritage, and those who didn't, whom their fellows derided as trying to be white. Whether they were or not, it's always made me a little sad at people who can no longer speak the language of their ancestors, or who know little about their non-white, non-American heritage when those things are there for the taking. I guess as a black man whose link to much of my history is severed, I've always had a feeling of How could you *not* embrace your heritage? I can recall many times in high school and college when whites would have long discussions about their ancestry, tracing their family lines back to England, Scotland, Ireland, etc. I used to hate when they'd turn to me for my genealogy. Far as I could get was Louisiana, and mutter some vagueness about the general part of West Africa that was my likely origin. How, i've always wondered, can people who have such wealth of knowledge right in front of them *not* pursue it? I guess some cynics will say Alba's only doing this for monetary gain: so she can access a new stream of movies and stuff, the same way some feel Jennifer Lopez started embracing her Latina heritage fully once Latin music became popular and lucrative in the States. (Some said the same about Racque Welch exploring her Latin roots in recent years). Hopefully she just genuinely wants to explore a part of her makeup that's heretofore been neglected. Maybe she can give Tiger Woods a call. :) * http://blog.taragana.com/e/2010/01/30/alba-gets-serious-about-spanish-85683/ JESSICA ALBA is taking Spanish lessons , so she can sign up for Latin movies and feel more confident when talking about her Mexican heritage. The actress admits she confused a lot of journalists when she first became a star - because she looked Latino but couldnât speak the language. Her lack of Spanish led to criticism and suggestions she wasnât a true Latina - something that really upset the Fantastic Four star. She tells Siempre Mujer magazine, âI didnât want to misrepresent Latinos and I didnât know how to defend myself. But I went to my room and I cried all night. Since then, Iâve preferred not to comment on the subject. âI tried to explain to them that, in this country (America), Iâm considered Latina and, thus, I consider myself Latina as well. I grew up eating enchiladas⦠I identify with Mexicans. Itâs in my blood whether or not I speak Spanish.â And now sheâs a mum, she has decided to sign up for Spanish lessons, so she and her daughter Honor can become fluent. She adds, âI know the basics, but I just hired a professor that specialises in Hispanic studies to teach me and
Re: [scifinoir2] Re: OT: Alba Making Effort to Embrace Latina Heritage
Yeah, i get a chuckle out of Vergera having to die her hair black. As an aside, back to my recent posts on what passes for beauty in mainstream society, I am amazed that on most (mainstream) lists (Maxim, etc), the likes of Jessica Alba is put *ahead* of Vergera consistently in terms of beauty. In what universe is the slim alba finer than the oh-so-Latina Vergera? Damn!! - Original Message - From: Kelwyn ravena...@yahoo.com To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Sent: Tuesday, February 2, 2010 1:18:29 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: [scifinoir2] Re: OT: Alba Making Effort to Embrace Latina Heritage This is not unusual. Neither of the two female leads on Ugly Betty speak Spanish. A Hispanic co-worker of mine, who was born in America, likes to tell the story about his Milwaukee induction into the Army. The drill sergeant came up to him and asked him for his name. Jose Hernandez, sir! Jose, the sergeant continued, I bet you are not from around here. No, sir! Jose affirmed. I bet you were born SOUTH of here, the sergeant asserted confidently. Yes, sir! Tell these men where were you born, Mr. Hernandez! Chicago, sir! I said all that to say this. Jose did not grow up speaking Spanish but, in the ten years I have known him he has become more and more Hispanic. He accentuates his pronunciation of Spanish names and words. For instance, when I met him he was HO-sey. Now he is ho-SAY. I thought about this thread when I saw Ashton Kutcher flogging his new movie Valentine's Day and he brought along a clip featuring him and a very blond Jessica Alba. I thought, Must be nice to play both sides of the street like that. Ironically, race being the conundrum it is, natural blonde Sophia Vergera (Modern Family), who speaks fluent Spanish and has a speaks with a noticeable Spanish accent, had to die her natural hair black in order to get television and movie roles in America. So it goes. ~rave! --- In scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com , Keith Johnson keithbjohn...@... wrote: I guess that's the blessing and curse of living in a heterogeneous society: it's easy, perhaps even expected, to succeed without having to hold on to all aspects of one's cultural heritage. I went to school with a lot of Mexicans back in Texas, and many of them couldn't speak Spanish. (Typically at that time it was those who tried very hard to assimilate, only dating white people, mispronouncing their Spanish names with Anglicized pronounciations). Some even denied they were Mexican when asked. I can recall friends of both genders dealing with parents who insisted they not speak Spanish, and who pushed them toward marrying whites--or at the least, light-skinned Mexicans who also had left that part of their heritage behind. There was a clear schism between those Mexicans who embraced their heritage, and those who didn't, whom their fellows derided as trying to be white. Whether they were or not, it's always made me a little sad at people who can no longer speak the language of their ancestors, or who know little about their non-white, non-American heritage when those things are there for the taking. I guess as a black man whose link to much of my history is severed, I've always had a feeling of How could you *not* embrace your heritage? I can recall many times in high school and college when whites would have long discussions about their ancestry, tracing their family lines back to England, Scotland, Ireland, etc. I used to hate when they'd turn to me for my genealogy. Far as I could get was Louisiana, and mutter some vagueness about the general part of West Africa that was my likely origin. How, i've always wondered, can people who have such wealth of knowledge right in front of them *not* pursue it? I guess some cynics will say Alba's only doing this for monetary gain: so she can access a new stream of movies and stuff, the same way some feel Jennifer Lopez started embracing her Latina heritage fully once Latin music became popular and lucrative in the States. (Some said the same about Racque Welch exploring her Latin roots in recent years). Hopefully she just genuinely wants to explore a part of her makeup that's heretofore been neglected. Maybe she can give Tiger Woods a call. :) * http://blog.taragana.com/e/2010/01/30/alba-gets-serious-about-spanish-85683/ JESSICA ALBA is taking Spanish lessons , so she can sign up for Latin movies and feel more confident when talking about her Mexican heritage. The actress admits she confused a lot of journalists when she first became a star - because she looked Latino but couldn’t speak the language. Her lack of Spanish led to criticism and suggestions she wasn’t a true Latina - something that really upset the Fantastic Four star. She tells Siempre Mujer magazine, “I didn’t want to misrepresent Latinos and I didn’t know how
