Latino 2

Of course, just because Latino is a space, an area code, an address, rather than a people doesn't mean that certain forms of solidarity can't occur. Of course, the non-white, Spanish-speaking (or Spanglish-speaking, or Spanish-accent-having) salsa-eating-and-dancing folks who live in the United States and trace the roots back to Latin America will tend to have common experiences, will tend to understand one another, will tend to have common interests and agendas.

But peoplehood can't be taken for granted.

The most recent time I was sharply reminded of this fact when I was at a surprise birthday party (actually half-birthday) for a friend of mine and was introduced to a Peruvian classmate of hers. I guess she introduced us to one another because we would presumably have a little more in common... and we did in the sense that we both spoke Spanish, but on the other hand, he was also a white Jewish man married to a Jewish woman, and we talked about how they were thinking of moving to a new town so they could put their child in a Jewish school. And here I am, an Afro-Hispanic Muslim with a different constellation of concerns and interests.

Even though we were both definitely Latino, there was no real sense of "Latino solidarity" and we shared little beyond a common language our common humanity, and a mutual friend. That didn't mean we had to be enemies. But any friendship would have to be based on some other foundation besides Latin peoplehood.