Famed Mexican director, Alfonso Cuarón’s semi-autobiographical story about a year in the life of the maid that helped raise him and his siblings. Cuarón who won the Oscar for Best Director for his 2013 film, Gravity, addresses several timely issues in Roma, including race, class and idiot fathers. Without being too preachy, the film subtly confronts the raw truth of how dark-skinned indigenous people are discriminated and frequently consigned to an existence of servitude in Mexico, the United States and beyond. What I got most from the film was how easy it is to forget that these women, who often dedicate their existence to caring for other people’s families, actually have lives of their own. And those lives are often more difficult and tragic than we can imagine. For Roma, Cuarón is nominated for a record four Oscars and rightfully so. Roma is an unconventional film, but one I believe people will be talking about for years.
I think most Latinos would agree that at our core, we are a generous people. If a member of our family is in need, Latinos as a rule, won’t hesitate to help financially. Family is central to Hispanic culture: our generosity has few limits. Maybe that explains why when it comes to making political donations and writing checks in support of actual philanthropic activities, Latinos come up short….When I interviewed Barack Obama last year at NAHREP at L’ATTITUDE, I pressed him about politicians not prioritizing issues that are important to Latino voters, he politely pushed back by saying…
We hear frequently how Latinos are not a monolithic community. In other words, we are not all the same. We come from different countries, have a variety of political views, and even eat different foods. I get all of that, but I also think focusing constantly on our differences versus our similarities undermines our political and economic power as a community...
This might be my most provocative blog in a while. Let me first state that I am happily married to a beautiful gringa. My kids are half- White and some of my best friends throughout my life have been White, so don’t let the title of this blog throw you.