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Let me introduce myself
January 3, 2006 - On the second anniversary of this syndicated column, I think the time has come to introduce myself. After all, not too many people were reading me when the column was first launched and if I asked for help two years ago – as I will in a minute – my pleas could have gone unheard. But now that I have some faithful readers, according to my mail, I figure that after you meet me – more formally – you may want to introduce me and my column to your friends in other parts of the country, so that they’ll request the column from their own local newspaper. I write about Hispanic issues. For the past 30 years, at three major American newspapers, that has been my mission – to present the Hispanic perspective to non-Latinos. As a syndicated columnist, addressing a national audience, I see myself as a bridge builder, creating paths of understanding between non-Hispanic Americans and their 40 million Latino neighbors. It is never my intention to write a protest column – although to some readers it may seem that way. My goal is to dispel the negative myths about Latinos, most of whom are honest, hard-working people who want to assimilate rather than impose their culture on this society. As taxpayers, voters, and contributors to this society, Latinos want their fair share of the entitlements, but they don’t expect them on a silver platter. Most Latinos spend a lot less time demanding their rights than expressing gratitude for the opportunity to live in the greatest country in the world. These are the sentiments I want my column to convey. The mission was eloquently outlined by the nation’s first Hispanic columnist in an English-language newspaper, Cuban writer and patriot Jose Marti – my idol – who wrote for the old New York Sun more than a century ago. "What I want is to demonstrate that we are good people, industrious, and capable,” Marti wrote. “For each offense, a reply . . . and more effective by its moderation. For each false assertion about our countries, an immediate correction. For each defect, apparently just, which is thrown in our faces, the historical explanation which will excuse it, and proof of the capacity to remedy it. It would seem to me that I were being derelict in my duty if I should not realize this thought." Although the growth and impact of the U.S. Hispanic population is not often reflected in American newspapers, my goal is to fill that void, by discussing the wide gamut of issues that concern Latino Americans – from affirmative action to immigration. And to adequately reflect what U.S. Latinos are thinking, it’s also important to cover significant events in Latin America. When there are statehood discussions in Puerto Rico, human rights violations in Cuba, border squabbles in Mexico, drug wars in Colombia, and anti-American movements in Venezuela, Brazil and Bolivia, you can be sure Latinos are talking about it in the United States. This column will tell you what they are saying. But it wouldn’t be a column without a good dose of opinion, and my opinions are formed by my own life experiences. You are what your life makes you. I was born in Havana, Cuba in 1950 and I came to the United States, as a refugee, at the age of 11 in 1962. Spanish was my only language then. I couldn’t speak a word of English. My life has shown me the ruthlessness of a right-wing dictatorship, the repression of a communist regime, the struggles of U.S. immigrants, and the economic, social, and even violent discrimination suffered by minorities. That makes me generally a liberal on domestic issues and a conservative on U.S. foreign policy. And that makes me difficult to read, especially for people who want to cast me into a mold. It happens to all of us. You express an opinion based on one of a trillion issues that concern you, and based on that single remark, you are either a liberal or a conservative. And when you express another opinion that breaks your assigned mold, some people don't know where to place you. But when a columnist expresses many opinions to thousands of readers, it happens practically every day. I'm either supposed to be a liberal or conservative columnist. Some readers want me to be like those predictable talking heads on cable TV – the ones whose opinions we know, even before they express it. Yet I refuse to be defined or limited by the parameters set by those two words. Living under communism, as I did in my native Cuba, taught me not to allow being molded by the party line. When I condemn flag desecration and anti-American sentiments abroad, and when I recognize the need for U.S. Latinos to learn English and accept some personal responsibility for child abuse, domestic violence, drug dealing and other social ills, I break the liberal mold. But when I come out in defense of immigrants and the downtrodden, when I say Latinos also have a right to dream the American dream, it’s hard to peg me as a conservative. So, if you want to know what Latinos are thinking from a not so predictable columnist, tell you friends to ask for this column in their local newspaper. |
The Conveniently 'Forgotten War' 5/14/13
Venezuelan Democracy Is a Farce 4/30/13
Official English Promotes Ignorance 05/10/11
Cuba's Jose Marti: His Legacy Lives Here 01/26/2010
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Hall of Fame!
Lehman Professor Miguel Perez Inducted into the National Association of Hispanic Journalists Hall of Fame
Miguel Perez, an acclaimed award-winning journalist and former chair of the Journalism, Communications, and Theater Department at Lehman College, recently achieved a major career milestone. On September 19, Professor Perez was inducted into the Hall of Fame of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists . . . Read more |
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Illustrious Award!
Lehman Professor Miguel Perez Wins the Illustrious Award for Journalism from the Institute for Latino Studies
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Professor Miguel Perez, who has dedicated his career to covering stories in the Latino community, received the Illustrious Award for Journalism at the Institute for Latino Studies last month in the Rutger’s University’s Paul Robeson Campus Center in Newark, N.J. . . . Read more
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One of the fringe benefits of being a journalist
is that sometimes you rub shoulders with greatness!
To watch videos, click on these photos:
is that sometimes you rub shoulders with greatness!
To watch videos, click on these photos:
Ruben Blades
Miriam Colon
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Pele
Tito Puente and Miriam Colon
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Machito
Mario Vargas Llosa
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When I co-hosted "Tiempo" with Anna Carbonell on WABC-NYC in 1983, I had the privilege to interview: • Cuban bandleader Machito, shortly after he won the Grammy for Latin Music at the age of 74. • Pele, the greatest soccer player of all time. • Tito Puente, the King of Latin Music. • Miriam Colon, the Queen of the NY Hispanic Theatre. • Peruvian writer Mario Vargas Llosa. • Salsa Superstar Ruben Blades.
