"I never really understood what it meant to be Peruvian as a child," says Connie Chavez.
Chavez is a self-taught videographer who works at Latina magazine in New York. Growing up in New York, she didn't really have an opportunity to be around other Peruvian people. Her friends dismissed her background, assuming it was the same as any other Latino culture.
"Nobody understood what Peru was," she says. "It made me really feel bad."
Now that she's older, Chavez has had the opportunity to learn about the rich, unique culture that she is a part of. "I'm Peruvian, and I'm proud," she says. Her parents taught her about the history and culture of their Incan ancestors, and that’s what led her to eventually embrace her heritage. "Because of that knowledge, I feel powerful," she says.
Learning about her background boosted Chavez's confidence in who she is — and it made her want to get others involved. Watch her story below:
It wasn't just as a kid that Chavez faced misunderstandings and mischaracterizations of her culture.
During the 2016 election season, Chavez found herself on the receiving end of xenophobic and racist comments.
"It was last August, and I was feeling really low because I was hearing a lot of xenophobic things, racialized remarks towards me," says Chavez.
She found herself wondering what she could do to start a more productive dialogue around race and culture. Inspired by activist Carmen Perez and her goal of starting "courageous conversations," Chavez wanted to start some courageous conversations of her own.
"It is really hard to talk about race. It's really difficult," she says. "People feel uneasy, but that feeling is what creates progress."
Chavez decided to take an AncestryDNA test as a starting point for these conversations.
As she puts it: "Are you 100% everything? No, you're not, and there's no such thing as a superior race because, essentially, we all have DNA from the entire world."
Chavez's test revealed that she's 59% Native American, 27% European, 2% African, and 3% West Asian.
"After seeing my Ancestry results, I got to admit, I felt really powerful," she says. "I truly felt like a global citizen. It just affirmed what I always believed in, and it really gave me the confidence to reclaim certain parts of myself."
Chavez wanted to share the empowerment she felt with others, so she persuaded her coworkers at Latina to take AncestryDNA tests too.
Chavez worked with AncestryDNA to procure tests for her coworkers, and then the women got together at work to discuss their results. They broadcast the conversation in a Facebook Live video.
Many of Chavez's coworkers felt empowered by their results too.
"I would definitely say I feel a lot more confident in who I am, knowing where I come from," says Barbara Gonzalez, a former staff writer at Latina.
It's not always an easy process; sometimes seeing the results can be emotional and even scary. Chavez says, "It is a deeply profound, sentimental issue for some people, and I understand it. This is a big thing."
But, she says, it's worth it. "It's a beautiful thing to find out who you are."
Chavez's project demonstrates how learning about your ancestry isn't just about the past — it can also help shape the future.
With the help of her coworkers, Chavez used her AncestryDNA results to spark important conversations about race and culture. And she's inspiring others to do the same.
After the Facebook Live broadcast, she says she received numerous emails from people thanking her.
"When I started seeing the responses and the happiness behind every response," says Chavez, "I felt compelled to just continue the work that I'm doing."
"I never really thought of myself as a pioneer for anything, but really, starting this project really made me feel like I had a purpose here."
You've likely read many stories recently pouring out of Washington about health care, Russia, and Supreme Court justices.
You probably haven't, however, read as many about the staggering number of black girls reported missing in D.C. in the past few months.
It'd make sense if you haven't — there's been virtually no news covering it.
— (@)
Just this year, D.C. has 22 unsolved cases of missing youths — most of them involving black and Latinx teens — as of March 22, the Associated Press reported.
Fortunately, alarm bells are beginning to ring far beyond the capital, as people ask the same question many neighborhoods in D.C. have been voicing for a while now: Why doesn't anyone care about this?
Image via iStock.
The news, which is finding viral traction online through the hashtag #MissingDCGirls, was further pushed into the spotlight this week when members of the Congressional Black Caucus called on Attorney General Jeff Sessions and FBI Director James Comey to devote resources to the matter.
"Ten children of color went missing in our nation's capital in a period of two weeks and at first garnered very little media attention," CBC Chairman Cedric Richmond wrote. "That's deeply disturbing."
Emotions boiled over at a March 22 town hall meeting, as one girl asked officials through her tears, "Why?"
“We got to get worried about somebody trying to take us and we can’t even live our life without somebody trying to put their hands on us,” she pled into the microphone, an adult comforting her at her side.
— (@)
The number of young people of color in D.C. vanishing without adequate media coverage is disturbing. But it doesn't quite tell the whole story, according to social justice activist DeRay Mckesson.
“What’s most startling about [the high number of missing black girls] is that this is not a spike," Mckesson explains. "It’s a continued trend.”
D.C. police confirmed Mckesson's assertion. There hasn't been an unusual increase in missing children in Washington in 2017 — what has changed is the police department's new push to publicize information on missing children via social media. Naturally, the move has brought more attention to the issue than in years past.
What's happening in D.C. highlights another disturbing trend happening all over America.
Missing black girls — and missing people of color, in general — are often overlooked by the media.
— (@)
Research shows that a disproportionately high number of black youths go missing, but news coverage devoted to their disappearances is lacking compared to their white peers, Ebony reported. It's even worse when you look solely at black girls and women.
Why the discrepancy? Throughout our society, whiteness has been deemed normal — the standard — while anything non-white becomes the "other" and is therefore seen as less important. Mckesson explains, “That bias exists in the media as well."
In other words, as activist Shaun King wrote for The Daily News, missing people of color "don't get the Elizabeth Smart or Natalee Holloway treatment."
It's just another way institutionalized racism and implicit bias affects our way of life.
Image via iStock.
The fact so many people are suddenly alarmed by what's happening in D.C. reflects, among other things, the persistent lack of awareness around missing black and brown people, Mckesson says. It also points to howmany of us are quick to dismiss the realities of human and sex trafficking here in the U.S. (Although D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser reported no evidence linking the missing girls to trafficking, some advocates, including the Black and Missing Foundation, aren't so sure.)
Reversing institutionalized racism in our media is admittedly a daunting task, but you do have the power to make a difference.
Learn more about why missing people of color are marginalized in our media. Speak out if you see this injustice happening in your own community. And make sure to share the names and faces of those who need our help by using platforms like Facebook and Twitter.
Shining a light on this problem and helping those in need is the best way to ensure progress, Mckesson says. “There’s no better answer than visibility."
'I wanted my Mexican father, with his thick Mexican accent, to experience what it was like to see a hero in a blockbuster film, speak the way he does.'
San Diego native and comic-book lover Perls finally got the chance to take her father to see "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" the Monday after New Year's.
While going to the movies with your dad can be great for a lot of reasons, Perls was particularly excited to share "Rogue One" with her dad because he's Mexican, just like Diego Luna, one of the movie's lead actors.
Diego Luna as Capt. Cassian Andor. Photo via Lucasfilm.
He even got to keep his strong, Mexican accent in the role of Cassian Andor, further representing his culture on screen.
And if you don't understand why the accent matters ...
Perls wasn't sure if her dad was going to like "Rogue One," but when the movie was over, she knew Luna's presence in it had a significant effect on him.
She took to Tumblr to share the unforgettable experience, writing (emphasis mine):
"I took my father to see Rogue One today. I’ve wanted to take him for a while. I wanted my Mexican father, with his thick Mexican accent, to experience what it was like to see a hero in a blockbuster film, speak the way he does. And although I wasn’t sure if it was going to resonate with him, I took him anyway. When Diego Luna’s character came on screen and started speaking, my dad nudged me and said, 'he has a heavy accent.' I was like, 'Yup.' When the film was over and we were walking to the car, he turns to me and says, 'did you notice that he had an accent?' And I said, 'Yeah dad, just like yours.' Then my dad asked me if the film had made a lot of money. I told him it was the second highest grossing film of 2016 despite it only being out for 18 days in 2016 ... . He then asked me if people liked the film, I told him that it had a huge following online and great reviews. He then asked me why Diego Luna hadn’t changed his accent and I told him that Diego has openly talked about keeping his accent and how proud he is of it. And my dad was silent for a while and then he said, 'And he was a main character.' And I said, 'He was.' And my dad was so happy. As we drove home he started telling me about other Mexican actors that he thinks should be in movies in America. Representation matters."
Representation matters. Not just for the young, impressionable generations, but for the generations who saw very little of themselves reflected in media when they were growing up.
The post quickly went viral, eventually reaching Luna himself, who proudly shared it on Twitter.
— (@)
Luna received hundreds of responses, many from Hispanics and Latinxs, thanking him for pushing representation forward in mainstream media.
Another Tumblr user was so inspired by Perls' story that he shared his own story about how seeing Riz Ahmed in "Rogue One" deeply moved him as an Indian man, writing:
"[Riz Ahmed being in "Rogue One"] honestly brought tears to my eyes seeing it. seeing this diversity, in a star wars movie, one of the biggest franchises in the world, and one of my favorite things in the world all through out growing up. representation MATTERS. when I was growing up, if there was an indian superhero, or a pakistani main character in star wars like there is now, maybe I would’ve loved who I was a little bit more. I needed someone like me to look up to as an 8 year old. ive never loved being indian/pakistani more than I do now. over the past couple years, everyday I love my heritage more and more and want to know and learn more about it and be more present in my culture."
Riz Ahmed as Bohdi Rook. Photo via Lucasfilm.
The "Rogue One" cast didn't just feature some token characters of color — the core team of heroes was almost entirely made up of people from minority groups.
"Jyn Erso, played by Felicity Jones, leads the whole movement, with a team consisting of Cassian Andor (played by Mexican actor Diego Luna), Chirrut Imwe, the blind warrior (played by Chinese legend Donnie Yen), Bodhi Rook (played by Riz Ahmed, who is of Pakistani and Indian descent), and Baze Malbus (played by Chinese actor Jiang Wen) after leaving a meeting with another main character, Saw Gerrera (played by African-American Forest Whitaker)."
This is definitely a step in the right direction for representation in movies and TV, and it's good for Hollywood's bottom line, too.
Donnie Yen as Chirrut Imwe. Photo via Lucasfilm.
Not only is diversity having a positive effect on audiences, it's increasing films' profit margins. According to a recent study by UCLA, films that have a 41-50% cast of color do better in the global marketplace. As the second-highest grossing film of 2016, "Rogue One" proves diversity isn't bad stateside either.
Of course, representation goes beyond race. Slowly but surely, we're seeing progress made across the board.
Women of all sizes (not just 0 and 2), the LGBTQ community, and people with disabilities all need lead characters they can look up to on a screen. There's a whole spectrum of stories out there that aren't being told.
Melissa McCarthy. Photo by Mark Davis/Getty Images.
Actresses like Melissa McCarthy are snagging starring roles (andmaking bank). "Speechless," a primetime show, features a character with cerebral palsy played by an actor with cerebral palsy. More and more LGBTQ relationships are popping up on television, like Alex Danvers and Maggie Sawyer on the CW's "Supergirl" and Darryl Whitefeather's bisexual revelation on "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend."
It's important for everyone to see that the spectrum of representation is widening. We can only move forward by looking back and seeing how far we've come.
There's a fair amount of LGBTQ history, but it's predominantly white. Which is why a couple of Latino queer curators got to work building a first-of-its-kind LGBTQ exhibit.
Juliana Delgado Lopera and Ángel Rafael "Ralph" Vázquez-Concepción's new seminal show "Noche de Ambiente" will pay tribute to the Latino LGBTQ movement.
The word "ambiente" means atmosphere or environment in Spanish. It's also a term proudly adopted by the Latino LGBTQ community.
Recently, the term has become a way to celebrate everything that makes the Latino LGBTQ community culturally unique. The word also honors a spirit of resistance against adversity, as Latino culture has traditionally been quite homophobic.
The show shines a spotlight on Latino drag performance and LGBTQ and AIDS activism in San Francisco from the 1970s to the 1990s.
Right now, the exhibit is at the GLBT History Museum in San Francisco. It runs from Oct. 28, 2016, through February 2017. Members of the museum can experience the exhibit for free, while non-members pay $5.
Lopera, a queer woman, decided to launch this show because she wanted to pay tribute to people who played a crucial role in nurturing the queer Latinx community.
"This is my history, my community. The Cubans, Puerto Ricans, Mexicans, Colombians that paved the way for me to exist fully in my queer Latinidad," she says.
Latino queers have not had a place (or a voice) in our history until very recently, and watching that change has been amazing.
The "Ambiente" collection showcases everything from documents to photographs to flyers and certificates. Here are 13 of the most intriguing photographs and documents on display:
1. The exhibit celebrates Cuban transgender activist Adela Vázquez.
Trans performer and activist Adela Vázquez (bottom), Tamara Ching (middle), and a friend in the 1990s. Photo courtesy of Adela Vázquez and Juliana Delgado Lopera.
2. It highlights comedy on the "queer Latino tip" like "Full Frontal Rudity."
Poster for "Full Frontal Rudity" shown at Theatre Rhinoceros in the 1990s. Courtesy of Lito Sandoval.
3. It includes priceless photos like this one taken on New Year's 1994...
New Year's 1994 at Esta Noche by Jim Jess. Courtesy of Augie Robles.
4. ...and a letter from the mayor to gay rights activist George Raya.
A handwritten letter of thanks from San Francisco Mayor-Elect George Moscone to George Raya in 1975. Courtesy of George Raya Papers, GLBT Historical Society.
5. There's also an amazing moment of liberation captured in time.
New Year's 1994 at Esta Noche by Jim Jess. Courtesy of Augie Robles.
6. And "exclusively for Chicana-Latina butches." Why have we never seen these?
A poster from the 1990s of a project to combat AIDS. Courtesy of Adela Vázquez and Juliana Delgado Lopera.
7. This show finally gives queer Latinos a spotlight.
1994 New Year's at Esta Noche. Image by Jim Jess. Courtesy of Augie Robles.
8. You'll also see a flyer for a project to fight AIDS called "Porno, Polaroids & God." Catchy name.
A 1990s poster for "Proyecto Contra SIDA Por Vida's" (Project against AIDS) Porno, Polaroids & God Workshop. Courtesy of Jesse James Johnson.
9. Two words: Simply. Fabulous. This photo is amazing!
Adela Vázquez and Acasio Leon, aka "Tina." Courtesy of Adela Vázquez.
10. This certificate is a hidden gem of inclusivity we're seeing for the first time.
Certificate of Honor given to AGUILAS in 1995 by city Supervisor Susan Leal for the fifth annual Latino Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Visual Arts Show. Courtesy of Juan Alberto Tam.
11. The word "celebration" comes to mind with this photo. And deservedly so, thanks to the "Noche de Ambiente" exhibit.
1994 New Year's at Esta Noche. Image by Jim Jess. Courtesy of Augie Robles.
Most of the items in the exhibit are personal mementos. They were saved in photo albums and boxes by people who played a crucial role in building the LGBTQ community between 1970 and 1990. The curators began collecting them five years ago in preparation for the exhibit.
Lopera says she hopes to shine a light on folks like Adela Vázquez in this exhibit.
Vázquez, a transgender Cuban activist, took Lopera under her wing and introduced her to all things Latinx upon moving to San Francisco.
Lopera says, "Listening to Adela, her friends and people in my chosen family retell their stories of the '70s, '80s, and '90s while, at the same time, seeing no representation of their voices in mainstream queer history, awaken[ed] something in me."
Vázquez-Concepción, the exhibit's other curator, says he is keenly interested in how art exhibitions are apparatuses for brokering identities.
This exhibit helped him find a place in the conversation about queer Latinx visual and performance artists in San Francisco over the last 30 years.
He tells LGBT Weekly he heard the word "ambiente" a lot when he was a kid in the ’80s. "Later I came to understand the shielding effect it has. Like a spell, it turns the space it refers to into Latinx queer domain."
This powerful exhibit is a piece of forgotten history, helping all of us learn about the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and trans AIDS organizations that paved the way for incredible activism today.
"Latinos are an afterthought in all U.S. history, including queer history," Lopera says. "Here, in this exhibit, we're at the center. Our stories are the focal point. And, really, it's past overdue."
When you first meet Julissa Arce, you might assume she's like lots of other ambitious young women just looking for her own slice of humble American pie.
And she is. But she also lived with a huge secret for years.
Julissa was an undocumented immigrant who became a citizen two years ago.
She came to Texas from Taxco, Mexico, when she was 11, in 1994. Her parents got her a tourist visa, but when it expired three years later, she didn't go back to Mexico. Instead, her parents enrolled her in school. As Julissa notes in her book, her parents never addressed the expiration of her visa until it was too late.
Today, Julissa is 33 years old. She became an executive at Goldman Sachs before age 30, which might make her seem like a 100% success story. And she is. But her fight to get to where she is today shows us a lot about living as an illegal immigrant, too.
Her life story will hit home for anyone who says undocumented immigrants are only here to steal U.S. jobs.
"There’s so much that hasn’t been told ... and I really need to tell the whole story," she said about writing her book."I need to tell not just the victories, but also people need to understand the suffering and all the pain that went into getting to where I wanted to get and I couldn’t think of a more timely time to tell the story."
Julissa first realized the severity of her position while in college.
Julissa was a strong student in high school, but she still experienced a roller coaster of emotions when it came to attending college. Because she was an illegal immigrant, it was entirely possible that she wouldn't be able to attend at all.
Then she read about House Bill 1403 and was told to call then Sen. Rick Noriega's office. Her grades earned her a signed letter from the senator to the University of Texas in Austin asking them to consider Julissa's application. She was in.
But it wasn't smooth sailing from there.
She had purchased fraudulent papers with a fake Social Security number because she was so nervous about staying in America without correct documentation. Her parents and younger brother had decided when she was 18 that it made more financial sense for them to go back to Mexico, but because she wanted to go to college, she stayed, alone. How would she pay for her apartment or her tuition or her books? Julissa got a job and got to work. She manned a funnel cake stand, and she worked at a call center, taking any job that would pay the bills.
In her book, Julissa explains her heightened anxiety during college. She couldn't risk presenting any sort of ID at a bar or club, so she rarely went out. Driving meant risking a traffic stop that could potentially lead to deportation because she didn't have a driver's license.
Julissa speaking at The Berkeley Forum. Image by Julissa Arce, featured with permission.
There were also the more obvious sacrifices, like the comfort of family. Julissa couldn't visit her family once they went back to Mexico. She couldn't risk attempting to come back into the U.S. with fake papers. There was too much at stake. That also meant she had to spend holidays (including Christmas) alone.
Julissa's grades in college were stellar, and she also became involved in the Hispanic Business Student Association, serving as president in her final year. Her work ethic and grades were so impressive, she managed to land one of a few coveted internships at Goldman Sachs before her senior year. She left such a positive impression with them that she secured a job as an analyst with the financial firm before graduation.
She met a guy in Manhattan, and they got married. That's what got the ball rolling on her path to becoming a U.S. citizen. But when it came time to take the oath in August 2014, it was an understandably emotional moment for Julissa.
In her book, Julissa writes that as she looked around the courtroom, she knew every person in there had worked hard for this moment. "America is still the shining beacon of the world. I kept wiping away my tears, simply overwhelmed to think that this day was finally here, and that never again would I have to live in fear of being deported from the country I loved. Never again would anyone be able to question that I was American."
What does this once-undocumented immigrant think about immigration reform?
She thinks we need a path to citizenship for the millions of undocumented immigrants who already live in America. But she also points out that much can be done at a state and local level, too. Local governments can give people access to driver's licenses, and they can allow for in-state tuition costs for undocumented students as well.
When it comes to 2016 Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, Julissa admits she's disappointed that we've given him a platform: "The problem is that whether he wins or loses — the damage has already been done, and we have a lot of work to do to repair the damage that he has done over the last 18 months that he’s been running his campaign."
Julissa's future isn't slowing down either, which excites her.
Her father died nine years ago, in 2007. She was climbing her way to the top at Goldman Sachs at the time. She recalls in her book slipping into a conference room to cry before composing herself and walking back out to face her coworkers.
Now that Julissa is a citizen, she can visit her family in Mexico whenever she wants to. But she also says she's found her true calling — and it's not on Wall Street. She wants to help other people like her looking for a path to citizenship. She has come out the other side of her incredible struggles a successful woman and wants to share the wealth of her knowledge with those who need it the most — undocumented immigrants who want to earn their way into the country.
During one week in October 2016, Julissa was in New Orleans on Monday, hosted a talk at Berkeley on Tuesday, was invited to the White House on Wednesday, and pitched a TV show on Friday. She's currently working on a TV show inspired by her book, too. America Ferrera is producing the series, making the rounds with Julissa in L.A. as they pitch the show.
Julissa with America Ferrera. Image by Julissa Arce, featured with permission.
Julissa says talking about her story is cathartic, but it's also incredibly important for other immigrants.
In fact, she has a simple yet powerful message to all the young, undocumented immigrants living here now: There's always a way.
"You can’t give up and that the road is tough but, at the end of the road, is your goals and your dreams," Julissa said. "You just can’t give up. You’ve gotta be really strong in your convictions and you gotta know that all of your sacrifices are … your dreams are worth your sacrifices."
I can't wait to see what Julissa does next, and as a fellow Latina, I'm thankful for her perseverance in chasing her dream in spite of the unimaginable obstacles, for the way she's reached such impressive heights at such a young age, and — most importantly — for how she is coming forward to share her powerful story to help others obtain their American dream. Every story matters.
The word machistameans "a strong exaggerated sense of masculinity placing great value on physical courage, virility, domination of women, and aggressiveness."
It's a dangerous (and outdated) way of thinking that's especially prevalent within the Latino community and Spanish history, probably because the word "macho" in the Spanish language is literally the descriptor of being male.
While many cultures struggle with toxic masculinity problems, Latino culture has been one of the slowest to change and adapt to modern times, when women don't take a backseat to their husbands. I don't know why this mentality has been so pervasive, although I wish I did. As a Latina, I still see it represented everywhere in my community.
Image via iStock.
By now, it's fairly well-acknowledged among forward-thinking people that the machista mentality undermines everything women have worked for when it comes to gender equality.
But despite decades of work, the archetype of this male sentiment hasn't fully disappeared, a la Donald Trump and many prominent men in Latino and American culture. It's a big problem.
That's why the hashtag #EsMachismo (which means "It's machista" in Spanish) started trending on Twitter on Oct. 10, 2016.
It was sparked by this tweet by Liz Cardosa from Guatemala (who posts as "Analista Feminista," which cleverly translates into "Feminist Analyst"). The tweet, written in Spanish, reads: "#ItsMachista — the idea that female bodies are for the pleasure of the male gaze."
— (@)
Other people, both men and women, quickly chimed in using this simple hashtag, too.
The purpose of the hashtag was to spark a discussion so people could vent about what the machismo mentality meant to them and why they wish it would change. I've translated 21 of them from Spanish to English below:
1. @nictechula: "#ItsMachismo to assume that women can't work together in harmony."
2. @marciluu: "#ItsMachismo that there are more men than women in government."
3. @carvasar: "#ItsMachismo to deny an education for little girls in favor of their male siblings. That violates their human rights."
4. @nictechula: "#ItsMachismo to think that sexual harassment on the street is acceptable conduct."
5. @elplacer_de_ser: "#ItsMachismo to assume that every woman dreams of being a mother and a housewife."
6. @carvasar: "#ItsMachismo to think that a woman's place is in the home. And it should be a crime to force her to do that."
7. @avilarenata: "#ItsMachismo to not hire young women because you consider their right to bear children a burden."
8. @kmolinae: "#ItsMachismo to judge a woman for enjoying her sexuality."
9. @galvez_ingridj: "#ItsMachismo when you're told how to act, what to say, where to go and what you should do when you're in a relationship."
10. @JohnDavilM: "#ItsMachismo to deny access to sexual education, reproductive health and access to free contraceptives."
Image via iStock.
11. @WRadioguate: "#ItsMachismo — From childhood on, moms teach sisters that they should tend to their brothers. That's how machismo starts."
12. @LizCardosa: "#ItsMachismo for a man to feel the right to 'correct' a woman."
13. @Nora_PerezM: "#ItsMachismo to say that women victimize themselves over everything."
14. @Ninitarios: "#ItsMachismo to refuse to wear a condom when you are sleeping with more than one person at a time."
15. @Landsmoder: "#ItsMachismo when women are called unbearable or crazy when they get their period. The label of being 'hysterical' is misogynist and violent."
16. @carvasar: "#ItsMachismo, as well, to assume that the entire financial obligation of the home falls exclusively on the man."
17. @Anayancy: "#ItsMachismo — The pink ribbon. To have to pay more for thousands of products just because they're 'for women.'"
18. @GerardoHerro: "#ItsMachismo that men and women perpetuate the idea that men shouldn't cry."
19. @AliciaAlvarezGI: "#ItsMachismo for motherhood to be imposed upon you. If someone doesn't want to have kids, so what?"
20. @Nora_PerezM: "#ItsMachismo to expect for him to pay for the check."
21. @Polaris_GT: #ItsMachista to classify a woman with either Ms./Mrs. based on either her sexuality/motherhood/marriage status referring to her availability."
Image via iStock.
A women should have as much say and as much power as a man. No more, no less.
The ideas of machista has hit even closer to home recently as we've heard Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump's now-infamous "Access Hollywood" bombshell tape. It was machismo behavior to the umpteenth degree — off the charts to the point where I feel even a machista would be offended. And let me tell you: The idea that Trump's words and the actions he boasted about are even offensive to a machista says a lot.
But as a new generation comes of age, young Latino people are standing up against toxic traditions, and things are starting to change.
This makes me proud, and these tweets from young Latinos are proof that someday, we'll have the power to teach our children about what the machismo mentality used to be.
If we stand up against unhelpful traditions and we adapt, we might be able to talk about machista and toxic masculinity much like we talk about how women were once not able to vote or hold office: things of the past.
There's never been a Broadway musical with a bigger impact than "Hamilton" — at least in recent memory.
And there has never been a more crucial presidential election in recent memory either. Marry the two and you get this powerful parody from the show's creator, Lin-Manuel Miranda.
Lin-Manuel Miranda taking a bow after one of his performances. Image by Nicholas Hunt/Getty images.
This summer, Miranda wrote and directed three videos to get out the vote. This is the first one he's released. It's a fun, hopeful, and oh-so-danceable rap inviting all of us to vote in November.
Check out the 30-second music video, featuring Miranda, posted on actor Javier Muñoz's Twitter page.
It's in Spanish, so here's the English translation:
"Come, my people, come, my people It's time to elect a new president Vote, my people, vote, my people Raise your hand and say, "present!" Come, my people, come, my people, Don't let this country not count us all Come, my people, come, my people The 8th of November is at the forefront Vote, vote — America! The time is now Decide who exists"
— (@)
At this point, Miranda's popularity is a massive force to be reckoned with.
We've seen him hanging out everywhere from Broadway to the White House, and he's even hosting "Saturday Night Live" this October. So, yeah, he's kind of a big deal.
And he's also quickly gaining a reputation for using his high-profile status to bring awareness to the social issues that really matter, like voting. On Sept. 28, 2016, four "Hamilton" cast members even sat outside the Richard Rodgers Theatre to register people to vote.
Miranda's video is aimed in particular at the 27.3 million Latinos who are eligible to vote in the next election.
Out of those 27.3 million Latinos eligible to vote, 44% (almost half) are millennials. And because "Hamilton" is to millennials what "Rent" and "Les Miserables" were to theatre-goers of previous generations, Miranda's power is far-reaching.
And as for Miranda's personal views on this election? He's backing Hillary Clinton — even signing on for a star-studded Broadway event in her honor on Oct. 17, 2016. But regardless of who you're voting for, Miranda is determined, telling TIME magazine “Just get out and vote."
Latina staffers discussed their results in a Facebook Live video.