Yeah, i get a chuckle out of Vergera having to die her hair black. As an aside,
back to my recent posts on what passes for beauty in mainstream society, I am
amazed that on most (mainstream) lists (Maxim, etc), the likes of Jessica Alba
is put *ahead* of Vergera consistently in terms of beauty. In what universe is
the slim alba finer than the oh-so-Latina Vergera? Damn!!
----- Original Message -----
From: "Kelwyn" <ravena...@yahoo.com>
To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Tuesday, February 2, 2010 1:18:29 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern
Subject: [scifinoir2] Re: OT: Alba Making Effort to Embrace Latina Heritage
This is not unusual. Neither of the two female leads on "Ugly Betty" speak
Spanish. A Hispanic co-worker of mine, who was born in America, likes to tell
the story about his Milwaukee induction into the Army. The drill sergeant came
up to him and asked him for his name. "Jose Hernandez, sir!" "Jose," the
sergeant continued, "I bet you are not from around here." "No, sir!" Jose
affirmed. "I bet you were born SOUTH of here," the sergeant asserted
confidently. "Yes, sir!" "Tell these men where were you born, Mr. Hernandez!"
"Chicago, sir!"
I said all that to say this. Jose did not grow up speaking Spanish but, in the
ten years I have known him he has become more and more Hispanic. He accentuates
his pronunciation of Spanish names and words. For instance, when I met him he
was HO-sey. Now he is ho-SAY.
I thought about this thread when I saw Ashton Kutcher flogging his new movie
"Valentine's Day" and he brought along a clip featuring him and a very blond
Jessica Alba. I thought, "Must be nice to play both sides of the street like
that."
Ironically, race being the conundrum it is, natural blonde Sophia Vergera
("Modern Family"), who speaks fluent Spanish and has a speaks with a noticeable
Spanish accent, had to die her natural hair black in order to get television
and movie roles in America.
So it goes.
~rave!
--- In scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com , Keith Johnson <keithbjohn...@...> wrote:
>
> I guess that's the blessing and curse of living in a heterogeneous society:
> it's easy, perhaps even expected, to succeed without having to hold on to all
> aspects of one's cultural heritage. I went to school with a lot of Mexicans
> back in Texas, and many of them couldn't speak Spanish. (Typically at that
> time it was those who tried very hard to assimilate, only dating white
> people, mispronouncing their Spanish names with Anglicized pronounciations).
> Some even denied they were Mexican when asked. I can recall friends of both
> genders dealing with parents who insisted they not speak Spanish, and who
> pushed them toward marrying whites--or at the least, light-skinned Mexicans
> who also had left that part of their heritage behind. There was a clear
> schism between those Mexicans who embraced their heritage, and those who
> didn't, whom their fellows derided as trying to "be white".
>
> Whether they were or not, it's always made me a little sad at people who can
> no longer speak the language of their ancestors, or who know little about
> their non-white, non-American heritage when those things are there for the
> taking. I guess as a black man whose link to much of my history is severed,
> I've always had a feeling of "How could you *not* embrace your heritage?" I
> can recall many times in high school and college when whites would have long
> discussions about their ancestry, tracing their family lines back to England,
> Scotland, Ireland, etc. I used to hate when they'd turn to me for my
> genealogy. Far as I could get was Louisiana, and mutter some vagueness about
> the general part of West Africa that was my likely origin. How, i've always
> wondered, can people who have such wealth of knowledge right in front of them
> *not* pursue it?
>
> I guess some cynics will say Alba's only doing this for monetary gain: so she
> can access a new stream of movies and stuff, the same way some feel Jennifer
> Lopez started embracing her Latina heritage fully once Latin music became
> popular and lucrative in the States. (Some said the same about Racque Welch
> exploring her Latin roots in recent years). Hopefully she just genuinely
> wants to explore a part of her makeup that's heretofore been neglected.
>
> Maybe she can give Tiger Woods a call. :)
>
> *********************************
> http://blog.taragana.com/e/2010/01/30/alba-gets-serious-about-spanish-85683/
>
>
>
> JESSICA ALBA is taking Spanish lessons , so she can sign up for Latin movies
> and feel more confident when talking about her Mexican heritage.
>
> The actress admits she confused a lot of journalists when she first became a
> star - because she looked Latino but couldn’t speak the language.
>
> Her lack of Spanish led to criticism and suggestions she wasn’t a true
> Latina - something that really upset the Fantastic Four star.
>
> She tells Siempre Mujer magazine, “I didn’t want to misrepresent Latinos
> and I didn’t know how to defend myself. But I went to my room and I cried
> all night. Since then, I’ve preferred not to comment on the subject.
>
> “I tried to explain to them that, in this country (America), I’m
> considered Latina and, thus, I consider myself Latina as well. I grew up
> eating enchiladas… I identify with Mexicans. It’s in my blood whether or
> not I speak Spanish.�
>
> And now she’s a mum, she has decided to sign up for Spanish lessons, so she
> and her daughter Honor can become fluent.
>
> She adds, “I know the basics, but I just hired a professor that specialises
> in Hispanic studies to teach me and Honor. God knows that I wish I was raised
> bilingual. But it wasn’t to be.
>
> “I want to make movies in Spanish… There are so many interesting themes
> and stories that are worth sharing, like the lives of immigrants, for
> example.
>
> “There’s a whole world that hasn’t been sufficiently explored and I
> want to be part of it - the violence on the Mexican borders, the political
> upheaval in Venezuela and Bolivia and the drug trafficking in Colombia.�
>
