Yes! We Are Latinos: Poems and Prose About the Latino Experience
Contents What Makes Someone Latino 6 My Name Is Juanita 8 I am Mexican I live in New York I am Latina Our Indigenous Roots 13 My Name Is Mónica 16 I am from El Salvador I live in Houston I am Texan I am Latina Latino Immigration to the United States 21 My Name Is José Miguel not Joe not Mike 24 I am Cuban and Nicaraguan I live in Tampa Florida I am Latino Cuba and the United States 28 My Name Is Gladys 32 I am Puerto Rican I live in Philadelphia I am Latina The Pride of Being Boricua 36 My Name Is Santiago 38 I am Dominican I live in Detroit I am Latino From an Island to a Continent 41 My Name Is Sultana o Susana 42 I am Sephardic I live in San Francisco I am Latina Ladino Language and the Cultural Identity of Sephardic Jews 47 My Name Is Julio 50 I am Zapotec I live in Stockton California I am Latino Migrant Farmworkers 55 4
My Name Is Felipe 58 I am Panamanian and Venezuelan I am black I live in Chicago I am Latino Deep African Roots 62 My Name Is Rocío 64 My grandparents were Spaniards I live in Boston I am Latina The Spanish Civil War A Struggle for Justice 68 My Name Is Lili 72 I am Guatemalan I am Chinese I live in Los Angeles I am Latina My Name Is Michiko I am Peruvian I am Japanese a sansei I live in Los Angeles I am Latina Chinese Presence in Latin America 76 Japanese Presence in Latin America 78 My Name Is Andrés 80 I am both Colombian and Ecuadorian I live in Miami I am Latino Latin America Source of Biodiversity 83 My Name Is Román 84 I am Hispanic Hispano Español Native American I live in New Mexico I am Latino Contributions of the Evolving Latino Culture 88 Acknowledgments 90 Bibliography for Teachers and Parents 93 Additional Resources for Young People 94 Index 96 5
What Makes Someone Latino There are more than fifty million people in the United States who call themselves Latinos or Latinas a population larger than that of many countries Have you ever asked your self what makes someone a Latino Latinos and Latinas come from diverse backgrounds Some are descendants of the first Europeans who settled in what is today the United States Spaniards who created cities like Saint Augustine Florida Santa Fe New Mexico El Paso Texas and Los Angeles California Many descend from fam ilies that lived in Texas Arizona and Colorado when the United States took those territories from Mexico as a war prize Others immigrated to the United States at different times from Spanish-speaking countries Did you know that Latinos and Latinas live in every state They do in both urban and rural areas Some Latinos are highly educated professionals doctors scientists and artists Some are entrepreneurs starting and running their own 6
businesses Others work in farms or factories doing hard manual labor Most Latinos and Latinas have mixed origins they are mestizos whether by blood or by culture Their heritage in cludes roots from indigenous African and Spanish people as well as the many others who have settled in Latin America over centuries This book offers only a sample of what Latinos and Lati nas may look like If you have Latino ancestry it may raise questions about your own rich heritage If you do not have Latino ancestry we hope it will interest you to learn more about Latinas and Latinos May you find wonderful friends among them Whatever your background this book is an invitation to look inside yourself What would your story tell us about you 7
