WHO’S LATINO?
WHO’S LATINO?
WHO’S LATINO?
DUALITY,
POWER,
SHARED FUTURE.
The term “Latino” first appeared in the US Census in 2000 and while it wasn’t new to those of Latin American descent, this moment marked the first time it was utilized in an official capacity by the US Government. Despite its recent introduction and some viewing it as an imposition, millions have adopted and now identify with this term. Its adoption also brings with it new opportunities for self-definition and belonging, and helps to shape an ever-evolving identity.
Since its origin, the term has created a dialogue among those who do and do not self-identify as Latino. This dialogue revolves around the question of who belongs within the group by working to understand both the individual identities and the shared characteristics that unite us.
“I see Latin(o,x,e) a cultural identity but it is very much a political one, where we create community as a form of resilience in places that does not exist.”
“I don’t think we even understand ourselves - because there is so much diversity! Some of us have internalized the way of thinking of the group that is in “power” aka colonial mentalities…we get in the way of our own understanding (race, gender, social class),”
The richness of the Latino identity offers an opportunity to consider the diverse histories, complexities, and complexions of our Latino community. More importantly, it allows the chance to envision and construct a shared future where all Latinos can thrive.
Through interviews, field research, participatory action, and digital engagement, the aim is to help develop and build this shared future while holding a mirror to ourselves. We are working towards recognizing the dreams we hold individually and together, and to be aware of the methods we use to fulfill them.
“Latino imposter syndrome” – are we Latino enough?”
Because the term is not simply rooted in race, ethnicity, language or any objective singularity, it’s constantly expanding and retracting its lines of inclusion. The identity, as defined by writer Octavio Paz, is moreso the “adolescence of people in a growth trend.” This is the time to ask ourselves, “Who are we? And how will we realize who we are?”
“If identity is a freeform thing, I say I’m Mexican, if its a bubble then it’s Hisapnic … actually it’s White first THEN Hispanic (Speaking of Census)…I think the systems in place have made us hold a blanket name for us and made it hard to say who is latino and who is not”
the duality of latinidad
Orgullo and
Assimilation
Our identity is rooted in shared experiences, cultural bonds, and moments of collective pride far beyond the confines of superficial labels found on governmental forms. It is built through a shared history of migration, colonization, and cultural exchange binding individuals together through shared struggles and triumphs. Cultural connections, spanning language, traditions, food, music, and art are pillars of identity, fostering a sense of belonging and continuity across generations and geographical distances.
Achievements by members of our community like Bad Bunny and Xavi in the music space create collective pride and affirm the shared identity that brings us together. These standout examples pull people towards self-referencing as one group. As Latinos grow in numbers, we evolve over time and are shaped by changing social, political, and cultural landscapes. Yet, amidst this evolution, its core values and cultural connections remain resilient and enduring, reflecting the diversity and richness of Latin American heritage and diaspora.
In our research, participants embraced the idea of pride in their being, heritage and culture. “I’m proud to be Latina every single day,” says one Latina Content Creator, noting the everyday joy felt in their cultural food and music, and the pleasure of sharing these aspects of life with other non-Latino communities. Participants generally shared pride in their heritage and felt a sense of belonging seeing themselves represented on the big screen in popular culture and in the political sphere. Throughout our research, we came across many who both owned their individual power as Latinos and saw themselves as part of this larger group responsible for breaking down barriers and bringing their own seats to the table.
Simultaneously, respondents felt a constant battle of assimilation in places like school or work, and felt a sense of identity loss in spaces that struggled to understand them. Some felt a sense of grief for their home countries/cultures and described situations that made them feel ousted or undeserving of their right to be considered American. They lacked belonging.
“It’s funny because we are feeling more powerful in many ways..but in some ways, I feel like we’re an afterthought…We are not sought out as needing to be central in the story by the gatekeepers who are still dominating in all of those industries.”
“The trick is to keep your head down, do your work, prove yourself reliable, and the big guys at the top will eventually take notice, reach down, and lift you up a few rungs on the ladder…But when it comes to self-advocacy and looking out for ourselves and for our communities in a turbulent economy, the philosophy of Si Dios Quiere does us few favors. We should be willing to ask for more. We should be willing to demand better. And when we get it, we should be willing to lift our whole community up with us.
”
“Joy, particularly joy centered around culture, is resistance.”
“The caregiver role, the hard worker, can be a source of pride for our community, while some of those doing jobs that are exploitive and hard for our community”
A SHARED FUTURE
A common reference made by research participants which included Cumbre Latina attendees, was on Black communities in the United States as a group that has been able to create a collective understanding and analysis of themselves. Many pointed to ideas like “Afro-futurism” and “Black Excellence” and other self-regarding cultural creations. We see this reference as an invitation to look ahead.
Drawing inspiration from the Black community's ability to reimagine their future, the Latinos we interviewed share the desire to forge a new narrative in and around their futures. Participants were eager to utilize the moment, pointing to our population and growing influence. We see this as a unique time in history to harness real political, cultural, and economic power that centers Latinos at the forefront, rather than an afterthought. Across all research platforms, Latinos told us that currently, we do not see ourselves as a community with a shared future and purpose, that we have an opportunity to unshackle our imagination, utilize our complex identities and backgrounds, and imagine a future centered around us, for us, and by us.
To better understand and present this information, we’ve used books such as Elite Capture and The Turnout Gap (recommended by Equis staff), along with the works of contemporary thinkers such as Adrienne Maree Brown and Octavia Butler, to influence how we present these findings.
“At a collective level, this is an invitation to practice the world we wish to see in the current landscape. Yes, resist the onslaught of oppression, but measure our success not just by what we stop but by how many of us feel and can say”
We were also reminded that we must ensure our imagination encompasses all Latinos, with all of our complexities, to take part in envisioning a shared future of liberation and belonging. The lack of vision for this shared future is starting to fracture some of our original alliances. The way anti-immigration language seeps into our language, and the ways Indigenous and Black Latinos show up in the archetypes we accept and promote, are examples of this. These were mentioned as cautionary tales of the power and opportunity we have to shift and create a narrative that works for us all.
“For a different world view, I think of how the Black community was able to imagine a future different than their conditions”
“We need to focus on building and re-building rooms, not regulating traffic between them. This is a world-making project aimed at building and rebuilding architectural structures of social connections and movements, not mere critique of the ones we already have”
“The Roles of Latinos are changing in the entertainment industry much like the reflection in our day-to-day lives”
“When thinking about the future we want to build, We cannot disconnect from the South and the Caribbean.”
SO….
WHO’S LATINO?
STRATEGIC RECOMENDATIONS
Depth of
identity.
The Latino identity is not a one-dimensional "front-of-card” view. It's a multifaceted and deeply personal aspect of selfhood, influenced by factors like geographical roots, ancestry, and family lineage. By recognizing this complexity, individuals can appreciate the richness of Latino identity beyond surface-level labels, fostering a sense of connection and understanding within the community while celebrating diverse backgrounds and achievements. The term Latino serves as shared ownership of pride and joy, allowing individuals to connect with others, while leaving room for a more nuanced understanding of Latino identity based on origin and other traditionally demographic data.
“A singular Latino identity flattens the Latino experience.”
All of the individuals we engaged shared a profound connection to their geographical roots, place of origin, family lineage, and ancestry. For them, these factors weave a more intricate narrative of selfhood than the Latino label can encapsulate, yet, the term still offers the real encompassment of others achievements whose likeness should be recognized. We need to be a “We” when it matters most.
EXPANDING THE Hard Worker Archetype
Though the Hardworker archetype persists as a narrative shaping the perception of Latinos, there is a shift among the emerging generation in how they see themselves. While ambition and resilience are two traits which served as sources of pride for previous generations, we found younger Latinos diverging from historically blue-collar “hardworker” roles, and instead, focusing on shaping a distinct identity for themselves.
Latinos are grappling with their own aspirations, unique experiences, and the desire to be seen as individuals with diverse passions and dreams. Through cultural innovation, activism, grassroots initiatives, art, and the ever-evolving content created by Latinos online, it continues to broaden how Latinos are seen. It's a journey toward reclaiming agency over one's narrative while forging a path towards a more inclusive and liberated expression of Latino identity.
a shadow of Colonial Identity
We also heard opinions that the shadow of colonialism lingers in the Latino narrative, manifesting through language, religion, and customs. While these elements can serve as unifying threads when analyzing our consciousness and the role of history, they also perpetuate stereotypes and limit the community in the eyes of others.
“European Colonialism, U.S. Imperialism. These systems that have contributed have shaped the Latine identity and who belongs here (In the U.S)”
“But when it comes to self-advocacy and looking out for ourselves and for our communities in a turbulent economy, the philosophy of Si Dios Quiere does us few favors. We should be willing to ask for more. We should be willing to demand better. And when we get it, we should be willing to lift our whole community up with us. That last part is of the utmost importance, as to neglect it is to accomplish nothing but perpetuate the status quo.”
COMPLEX AND POWERFUL
DIVERSITY.
We found out participants under 35 often felt ostracized when the Latino identity assumed their use of the Spanish language or the assumption of a Catholic faith. For many of them, this overlooked their uniqueness and the diversity within the community.
Despite these challenges, we learned that Latinos are evolving and finding new ways to create community across these differences. Many participants highlighted their excitement around linguistic diversity, cherishing differences, acknowledging and respecting the multiplicity of religious beliefs, and celebrating the multitude of identities that make up Latinos. We learned that while almost every respondent was proud of their unique heritage and history, many also felt pride and connection to others whose differences were seen as making the Latino identity stronger as a diverse collective.
“The U.S. Latino economy reached $3.2 trillion in 2021, up from $2.8 trillion the year prior ”
There is no denying that Latinos have power whether its purchasing, voting, or cultural influence, and a consistent theme we heard among participants is the desire to translate our power into better material conditions for our people.
Most of the conversations about power were in the context of our economic and purchasing ability–seen as an area dominated by Latinos. However, skepticism was revealed in our ability to unite politically. The doubt was not in our ability to come together as people, but in how to approach politics and towards what aim.
“It’s like we have all this power, but no nos la creemos”
Some of our interviewees highlighted the need for increased investment in developing Latino leaders to occupy positions of power and influence. The intent being a more equitable distribution of power and influence, ensuring that the voices and perspectives of the Latino community are heard and valued at all levels and across sectors.
We also heard about the perceived isolation of Latinos in positions of power–a significant challenge–reflective of broader systemic inequities within society. Diving deeper into this discovery, we recognize that the cultivation of leadership within the Latino community necessitates a strategic approach.
“There is no Latino bench, Latino representation, Latino leadership. There’s no Latino strategy.”
Nunca Solos, Mejor Acompañados
Instead of considering this absence as a deficiency, respondents saw it as an opportunity to develop innovative forms of leadership, establish new roles, and pave a collective path forward for Latinos in the United States. We learned that many of those interviewed felt the need for support systems to grow in their leadership roles and dedicated networks to enable mentorship from those with similar backgrounds.
building on a foundation of duality,power, and shared vision.
This report underscores the complex, ever-evolving nature of Latino identity. As we look forward, it’s crucial that engagement efforts are sustained and adaptively designed to meet the changing needs of the Latino population. The future of Latino identity in the U.S. will undoubtedly be shaped by the continuous interplay of Duality, Power, and the need for a Shared Future.
These three aspects serve as the foundation for future research endeavors. By staying committed to understanding and addressing them, Equis and its partners can help ensure a future where the Latino community not only thrives but also wields significant influence over its own socio-economic conditions and identity, ultimately rooted in a sense of belonging.
Hyper Localized research through art
We propose an art-based public engagement strategy to activate by engaging hyper-local artists in every target state. We recommend a participatory action research approach to engage in conversations with the public through art, allowing for deeper and more grounded research that allows Equis to capture conversations at the root. We found success in doing very local and concentrated efforts in the past as part of the more extensive engagement strategy. Our team wants to ensure we dig deep into communities with whom we are not yet having conversations and who are invaluable to this type of engagement. Still, we also recommend using the following framework to think about how to best remove biases and ensure you are reaching communities in the process of self-realization:
Legacy Communities
These are described as traditionally high Latino population areas, where Latine organizing leaders have historically built political infrastructure and networks through generations of sustained presence in the region. These are regions (mostly cities) that have a robust Latino political infrastructure (ie. Los Angeles, New York, Chicago), and places where our presence is evident in culture, politics and economic centers of gravity.
Emerging Communities
These are areas not conventionally associated with Latino communities, yet they grapple with the same social inequities. Within these regions, emerging Latino populations, often overlooked by national interests, face significant challenges, particularly in areas with sizable immigrant populations. While some of these locales exhibit substantial Latino student populations, they may have a comparatively lower number of eligible voting-age residents of Latino descent, as exemplified in cities like Nashville, Omaha, and Durham. These communities are more isolated, and potentially less connected to the national Latino archetypes, but have deep connections to their geographic identities or places of origin.
Battlegrounds
These are places where large investments are being made during electoral cycles to engage and mobilize Latino voters, presenting unique opportunities for identity crafting moments, but also, places where the political narratives may cause polarization and/or an opportunity for the creation of a shared political identity.
Cultural Shifters.
Another way we propose Equis continues to do this work is to engage with cultural shifters, aka content creators, by giving them creative freedom to engage in conversations with their followers, to create content around the duality of being Latino, the power that lies their unique perspective of Latinos, that make up the broader collective of Latinos who can build new worlds and experiences. Our team found success in segmenting the content creators by the type of content they produced vs. the audience; this allowed us to remove the bias of audience segmentation and allowed for a more organic approach to the content being produced. You can find more information on how we did this in this document.
LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT of mainstream artist.
Lastly, we propose engaging in conversations with mainstream artists to foster awareness and consciousness within their work. By initiating dialogue and building connections with these artists, EQUIS can aim to catalyze a cultural shift in the content of their creations, whether it be movies, songs, or everyday conversations. This initiative can be likened to a leadership development program tailored specifically for Latino artists, similar to the political training programs offered to aspiring elected officials (think Arena but for artists). Through these conversations and interactions, we would hope to empower artists to incorporate diverse perspectives and experiences into their art, thereby contributing to a more inclusive and representative cultural landscape. We cannot continue to think that people will meet us in our political conscious efforts without guiding them, and this includes leadership development with significant figures who have a tremendous influence on culture. We recommend that EQUIS partners with NALAC to do this type of leadership development by adding an additional layering of impact and collaboration.
Another organization that we recommend EQUIS partner with is the Narrative Initiative. It is a project of the New Venture Fund. Through its main projects, the Narrative Initiative supports the emerging field of narrative change practitioners, researchers, and trainers: Word Force, Change Maker Authors Cohort, and Understanding Narrative Research Methodologies.
We are excited about the future of this narrative project, seeing it as a gateway to diverse forms of engagement, ranging from grassroots community involvement to broader mainstream outreach. We eagerly anticipate the potential for future collaboration with Iconico. As a final recommendation, we suggest incorporating three underrepresented populations into the narrative, Latinos in Corporate America, Latinos in Rural Regions, and Politically Conservative Latinos, to enhance the depth of your research.
Methodology
Our methodology?
Our team conducted 1:1 interviews with nine experts, our digital findings with influential content creators with whom we have partnered, and an in-person activation at Cumbre Latina to dig deeper into the already existing work and narrative biases by experts who are leading organizations, along with identifying profiles of Latinos who were missing from the conversation and whom we should target in Phase 2. The following is a synthesis of all notes captured during the Discovery phase, highlighting recurring themes in the responses collected.
Digital Engagement:
During the digital research part of our engagement, we collaborated with seven content creators with a wide range of audiences. By categorizing creators based on their content rather than their audience, we can eliminate any bias in our efforts to reach out to them. Additionally, we have divided content creators into three groups - "Top", "Micro", and "Houses". The strategy was to engage a live audience while having deep conversations while keeping with the content pillars of our research and maximizing budget and time.
Our digital efforts engaged with over 1,000 comments, over 17,000 live video views and reaching all across the country in major Latino markets such as Major parts of California, New York, Chicago, and parts of the South West.
Public Engagement:
Public Art:
We tested an in-person art-based public engagement strategy at a conference where decision-makers were gathered to share and learn more about the upcoming 2024 elections. Our team wanted to ensure that the engagement was not only accessible but that the artist with whom we worked was aligned with our overall objective. We partnered with an artist out of Puerto Rico: (Luis Rivera Jimenez, a multidisciplinary artist and researcher who works with physical and digital materials to create spaces and experiences for possible reconfigurations of Western epistemologies and racial structures.) Building two museum walls wrapped in messaging, questions, and musings about Latinididad and allowing an immersive and interactive art display which some of our deepest data was formed and supported from.
Video:
Our team held video interviews with the conference participants that gave us an insight into the thoughts and perspectives of decision-makers who ultimately tend to drive the conversation; with 31 folks interviewed it allowed us to get an array of perspectives from across the country.
1:1 Interviews
Our team interviewed nine experts in various fields, including Health, Academia, Finance, and Media. In our interviews, we dug deep into our research by having these 1:1 conversations that allowed us to find our most fruitful and engaging data. This research allowed us to define our pillars while adding color to our other efforts listed above.
1:1 Participant Profiles
GENDER: 42% Female, 58% Male
POLITICAL AFFILIATION: 28% Right-Leaning, 72% Left-Leaning
FIELD / INDUSTRY: Federal, Mental Health, Health, Academia, Finance, Communications, Media
Project guiding Questions?
What does Latino joy feel and look like for you? - Give an example.
Has there been a moment when you felt Latinos were powerful?
When do you feel proud of being Latino? Why?
Do you feel like you belong here? In the US? And why or why not?
Who are we as Latinos?
What do you think the current understanding of Latinos is in the United States? .
Project Guiding Pillars
In an effort to make our research more community and user-centered we’ve identified four pillars we’re exploring in our efforts. In the preliminary findings, we will refer back to these guiding pillars as a way of grounding our research.
Joy= Joy is limitless, life-defining, and transformative
Power = Latinos see themselves as powerful, both as individuals and as a collective
Pride = Something that cannot be taken away
Belonging = We are a diverse community, we must coexist and create spaces of belonging with different identities and backgrounds
Additional Research
Elite Capture
The Turnout Gap
PEW Research
Emergence Strategy