51st State?

This video discusses the debate about whether or not Puerto Rico should be admitted as one of the United States of America. I was just wonder what you guys think about this issue.

In my opinion, I don't think the U.S. would make Puerto Rico as a state because it seems as if they would benefit from the island whether or not it is a state. We talked about how capitalism has already settled in Puerto Rico and has affected the people and the government of the island. The U.S. has already made its influence on the system and I don't believe that much would change if they admit it as a state. Also, it seems as if the people of Puerto Rico are resistent of becoming a state so they can preserve their "culture". The casitas that were built in New York was supposed to represent the innocent culture of Puerto Rico before it was corrupted by U.S. capitalism.

Reggaeton and Latino Identity

In this past discussion, we talked about the label of "Latino" and how it generalizes a large group of people. It pertains to regions and linguistics. The term Latino assumes spanish speaking. I found this video on youtube that may be a new form of latino identity. Reggaeton is one of the fastest growing genres of music today. It has swept through countries across the world from Europe to Central and South America. Reggaeton has appeared in many Hip Hop singles which are popular in American pop culture.

Many Latino/as feel a kinship with Reggaeton because they feel that it represents who they are somehow. A person in the video talks about how she feels that she can relate to the music because they speak spanish. I think the term Latino has been so enforced on people that they feel that "Latino" corresponds with "Spanish speaking." Especially the young generation, they see Reggaeton as a form of expressing their "Latino-ness".

I see the Reggaeton movement as a parallel to the Hip Hop movement for African Americans. Since Hip Hop is predominantely black, there is a form of kinship for some black people to hip hop. I feel that it will be the same for Reggaeton as it becomes a larger figure in U.S. pop culture.

Obama/Clinton speak on Immigration Solutions

This is a video of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama discussing the immigration issue in the United States. They bring up some "solutions" and ways to reprimand violators of immigration laws in America.

In the beginning of the video, Hillary Clinton talks about the children that come home to no responsible parent. "That is not the 'America' she knows". America is the one that causes these kinds of situations to occur. Like we discussed in class, how can latino parents look after their children at the same time working two or more jobs just to survive. The American system (Cultural bias, discrimination, prejudice, etc.) does not allow for a latino, who may not be documented, to balance their life efficiently. Clinton talks about that it is against "American value". What are American values anyways? I see it as a way of comformity and reformation. When has it been against American value to work as hard as a person can to survive in a society that oppresses one's own people? We have talked about how if success was really based on how hard people worked, the makeup of our workforce and our class system would be completely different. Clinton does not take into consideration the racial and gender factors that these undocumented workers have to deal with. She talks about having some sort of "exception" for "egregious" situations. But, it is the societal system in the United States that creates these egregious situations. She does get it right that it is caused by the failure of the Federal Government.

They both do agree, as do I, that there needs to be some sort of stricter policy to prevent large companies and corporations to utilize undocumented workers as cheap labor. I agree that those undocumented immigrants who do get caught shouldn't be deported, but just thrown to the end of the line for naturalization. Barack Obama also makes a good point that those who have Latino or Hispanic surnames should not be targeted. But my question is, with the nature of our country, how that bias will be overlooked. It is so hard not to target a group of people because that is what this country does best. American culture creates perceptions and projects them onto people via media, and gives birth to prejudice and inequality.

Taco Bell in Mexico?

Take a look at this article I found on MSNBC. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21209104/.

The article points out that Taco Bell has recently re-opened in Mexico City in 15 years. Much like many other developing countries, the United States has swept Mexico over with large corporation chains such as Starbucks, McDonalds, etc. But with Taco Bell, it's a different story. I find it hard to believe that Mexican citizens will enjoy Taco Bell food. To me, it's like Chinese companies coming into the U.S. and start opening Burger joints. Even though Taco Bell claims to be putting an American twist on their food, their main product is "authentic" Mexican food. I feel that Mexican citizens will not receive the "new" Taco Bell well.

This goes back to what we talked about in class about colonization and captialism. I feel that American corporations are in these developing countries for colonization reasons. The U.S. is not only occupying property and land in Mexico but, through these companies (like Taco Bell), there is a form of an Assimilation process.

Stereotypes in Film

Hollywood films are one of the main forms of public outreach in the U.S. and internationally. Hollywood is a place where stereotypes strive and make productions companies money. In the article (http://epcc.edu/nwlibrary/borderlands/15_latinos_change_stereotypes.htm), it talks about how Latinos and Hispanics are forced to play roles that are seen as typical Latinos. Far too often, Latinos are portrayed as gang bangers, drunken fathers, or passive women. After watching many movies in my lifetime, I have seen the same latino or chicano person play the same kind of character in different movies. To counter the stereotypes, many latinos are taking on different kinds of roles. Cheech Marin has moved from playing a "stoner" to a becoming a regular on Nash Bridges. Other people are taking roles with power such as director and producer.

Transnational Adoption

We have studied the immigration and border crossing of families and adult individuals. An aspect of immigration or transnational movement I have been interested in lately is international adoptions. In my CES 492 class, we talk about the effects and the trends in US adoptions internationally. When I first thought about applying it to the Chicano and Latino arena, my first assumption was that there are very few adoptions immediately south of the US border. I was surprised at the numbers.

This link takes you to the Immigrants Visas Issued to Orphans coming to the US.
(http://travel.state.gov/family/adoption/stats/stats_451.html)

What this shows is that currently, Guatemalan children are the second most adopted (China is first). Guatemala has been consistently at the top 5 of adopted children countries since 1992. For Mexico, though, it's a different story. Mexican orphans are consistently at the bottom of the most adopted children. This number doesn't really surprise me much becaues of the close proximity Mexico is to the US.

If you look at the bigger picture of transnational adoption, you might assume that the United States is continuing a colonial project. A perception that is commonly taken is that US families are acting like humanitarians and are just "helping" the orhapns. But in reality, these children are being commodified and literally are bought for by American families. When a child is transnationally adopted, the agency (public or private) issues a new "birth certificate" as if to say that the child is being "born" into their new family. There is also an option to cut off any biological parent or relative from the child's life for good.

So, the orphans coming in from Latin America are being "reborn" and are forced to assimilate to American culture. Though it may seem that the US has good intentions or are acting humanely, they are in fact committing a form of cultural genocide through these children.