hispanic

These days, it seems that the terms “Latino,” “Hispanic,” and “Spanish” are interchangeable in colloquial speech. Few people know the difference, including those who fit into these categories. Much like other racial and ethnic terminology, the words we use to describe Spanish speakers and those of Hispanic origin are confusing, inadequate, and often inapplicable. My son, for example, could be categorized as a white Hispanic. Yet, that’s only because he is part white and he looks white like me; inRead More ...

On Monday, I sat down with my 2 boys and read them a copy of “Free at Last! The Story of Martin Luther King, Jr.” I read to them about the bus boycotts and the March on Washington. I tried to explain to my 5-and almost 7-year-old boys that sometimes people are so uncomfortable with a group of people that they will do anything they can to keep them down. My 7-year-old said that Martin Luther King, Jr. lived aRead More ...

A curious thing happened this weekend as I was paying for a sandwich at a local eatery. The cashiers had been cooing at my baby son, marveling at his big, expressive brown eyes when all of a sudden one of them asked me: “What nationality is he?” I was so taken by surprise that it took me a while to respond.”American,” I said, but her puzzled look made me feel it was necessary to explain further. So I added, “HisRead More ...

Hispanic Heritage Month was created to honor the many contributions made by Latinos in our country.  It was a no-brainer, then, for us to recognize José Luis Orozco, a man who for 39 years now has been relentlessly focused on preserving our rich cultural identity through songs and music for children, while at the same time exposing a wider audience to the heritage of the Spanish-speaking world. His name is very familiar and well-respected amongs educators, especially with bilingual (Spanish/English)Read More ...

One of the best things since the creation of SpanglishBaby has been the amount of stuff I have discovered related to anything bilingual and bi-cultural. Although there is not a whole lot out there, I have to admit I’ve been surprised about some of the things I’ve found. As an avid reader, I’ve always complained about the lack of bilingual/Spanish children’s books in both bookstores and public libraries, but lately I’ve discoverd things are not as bad. So I presentRead More ...