A few days ago I attended the first #boricuasonline event at the Centro for Puerto Rican Studies at Hunter College. My buddy Julio Ricardo Varela was one of the speakers. Like me, Julio can really talk—that’s one of his many talents. So, we jokingly nicknamed the event “Julito and friends.”
Julio Ricardo Varela of Latino Rebels was joined by NuriaNet from Fusion, Lynn Ponder of WebcityGirls, online comedian Lejuan James, and last but not least, the Urban Jibaro, George Torres of Sofrito for your soul.
All jokes aside, one of the topics discussed throughout the evening was educating our non-Latino counterparts in the U.S. about Latino culture. Many are not familiar with our traditions and customs, and it is important for us to help increase understanding.
Take, for instance, what happened to me and celebrity makeup artist Karlo Karlo as we walked with a group to a restaurant.
I’m no stranger to ignorance. I have encountered it on many levels throughout my life, whether from individuals I met while serving at Sheppard Air Force Base, or from others in the South Bronx who assumed things about me based on my appearance. I have seen it from many perspectives and no doubt will continue to encounter it. Ignorance doesn’t just disappear. And I’ve been guilty of it myself at times.
So it wasn’t too surprising when a young woman stood right in front of us, staring. Karlo thought I knew her as I said “Hi there,” but I had never seen her before. I was just being polite to this oddly staring woman.
That’s when she shifted her gaze to Karlo, said hi, and complimented his glasses.
Your glasses are so awesome!
At that point, we realized she was pretty intoxicated. Karlo said thank you and mentioned they were from Argentina. She frowned and said:
Oh man, I don’t speak any Spanish, I’ll never be able to get nice glasses like that!
Knowing this, I couldn’t help but respond with a bit of humor.
You do know you don’t need to speak Spanish to wear these glasses, right? The lenses work the same no matter what language you speak!
The woman’s boyfriend looked at me, clearly embarrassed. He tried to pull her away from us to end the awkward conversation. But she kept facing us, continuing to stare.
I like them so much but I don’t speak Spanish! I’m so upset, I wish I spoke Spanish.
I’m sure she didn’t mean any harm, but coming from an event where we spent a good deal of time discussing Latino issues and the importance of education, this moment was just too humorous and lighthearted to pass up.
It was certainly a memorable reminder of why conversations about cultural awareness and education matter so much.
Image credit KarloKarlo.com and Christian Conti.