I don’t think I’ve mentioned before how obsessed I am with NPR’s podcast Latino USA. It’s produced by The Futuro Media Group, which counts on the leadership of executive producer and award-wining news anchor, Maria Hinojosa. Seriously, I am super obsessed! On the way home from Miami I must have listened to at least half of all of their shows on iTunes.
Everyone in the car was pretty hooked by the time we made it to Houston, jajaja! You’re welcome Latino USA! No, pero en serio, if you haven’t heard the show yet, give them a listen.
This week, as I was listening to one of the show’s latest episodes, Texas’ Poet Laureate Carmen Tafolla uttered the following quote during her interview and stopped me dead in my tracks. It was such a great question, mainly because it’s something we don’t generally discuss out in the open, let alone on a national podcast on NPR! What Tafolla asked was quite simple actually:
How come a French accent is considered cool, and a British accent is considered cool, and a Mexican accent is considered dumb?
The rest of the interview is just as powerful and provocative. If I did this correctly, you should be able to listen to the entire interview below:
But I definitely think it’s a question we should think about individually and really internalize. Why is it that Mexicans as a community continue to be perceived as less than other communities? And how can we change these misconceptions and stereotypes?
