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{Back from a Latino Heritage committee meeting...}
1. It has never, ever, started on time.
2. Nobody cares, not even the committee chair, even though s/he may make weak apologies about this occasionally.
3. At least one person shows up fifteen minutes before the meeting ends, and s/he is greeted with a strong round of enthusiastic delight. There's not a judgmental glance in the place.
4. Someone's cell phone goes off repeatedly, all through the meeting. That's OK; it's a cheery salsa tune.
5. Everyone is eating. Either they are currently eating, or they arrive and go immediately to get food, or they just ate something yummy and tell everyone else all about it.
When I was a kid, my mother went to an important Governor's Hispanic Advisory Council gathering, and the governor was a little late. Sadly, the food ran out before he arrived and everyone started to go home. "The cookies are gone," one member shrugged as he left the building.
6. Everyone is talking, often all at once. People frequently talk over each other. No one appears offended by this.
7. There are an unusual number of excited, bubbly people at the table. Everyone is emoting like mad. Many people are using their hands enthusiastically. When they feel sad, they cry---even in public.
8. No one is wearing navy, except the woman in public relations.
9. When people wander over to talk to each other, they stand or sit very close together. Personal space is smaller.
10. When you look around, it looks like a mezcla of every ethnicity under the rainbow: some people are palest white, many are some shade of caramel, and some have dark, dusky skins. This is why you will so often get a blank look when you ask a Latino to identify their race. "I'm Spanish," they'll often say (if you live on the East Coast).
11. Someone is named Jesus.
Feel free to add your own.
1. It has never, ever, started on time.
2. Nobody cares, not even the committee chair, even though s/he may make weak apologies about this occasionally.
3. At least one person shows up fifteen minutes before the meeting ends, and s/he is greeted with a strong round of enthusiastic delight. There's not a judgmental glance in the place.
4. Someone's cell phone goes off repeatedly, all through the meeting. That's OK; it's a cheery salsa tune.
5. Everyone is eating. Either they are currently eating, or they arrive and go immediately to get food, or they just ate something yummy and tell everyone else all about it.
When I was a kid, my mother went to an important Governor's Hispanic Advisory Council gathering, and the governor was a little late. Sadly, the food ran out before he arrived and everyone started to go home. "The cookies are gone," one member shrugged as he left the building.
6. Everyone is talking, often all at once. People frequently talk over each other. No one appears offended by this.
7. There are an unusual number of excited, bubbly people at the table. Everyone is emoting like mad. Many people are using their hands enthusiastically. When they feel sad, they cry---even in public.
8. No one is wearing navy, except the woman in public relations.
9. When people wander over to talk to each other, they stand or sit very close together. Personal space is smaller.
10. When you look around, it looks like a mezcla of every ethnicity under the rainbow: some people are palest white, many are some shade of caramel, and some have dark, dusky skins. This is why you will so often get a blank look when you ask a Latino to identify their race. "I'm Spanish," they'll often say (if you live on the East Coast).
11. Someone is named Jesus.
Feel free to add your own.
