I’m half hispanic/white. I grew up with my Mexican family and spent most summers in Mexico visiting family. I’m fluent in spanish and mostly identify culturally with my Mexican side. But my dad was a very white guy from northeast Texas, so I look very white.
While in college, I found myself serving and eventually bartending at a popular Colombian restaurant/club. I got called a lot of nasty things by Latino folks who assumed I was appropriating their culture or thought I was mocking them. I’ve also had Latino folks talk shit about me in spanish in front of me - assuming I didn’t understand.
I often find myself playing it down or pretending I don’t know spanish so as not to upset people. It has to be a conscious decision because it’s very different from how I talk with my family.
Wish I had some cool, “I showed them” story, but I was always frustrated and hurt in those situations. It’s like all of my upbringing, experiences, and familial relationships didn’t matter because I don’t look like them.
**I’d just like to add that for as many rude Latino people I’ve met, I’ve met 4x as many wonderful Latino people.
I’m in Florida and it’s amazing to me that people here still seem to think Spanish is a secret code, and will insult people thinking they won’t understand. Never assume. Absolutely ANYONE here can be Spanish of some variety - I have seen genteel white grandmas conversing in Spanish then perfect English too, white looking frat boys, black people, it’s more difficult to “look Hispanic” here. Out west is different I think. I literally had no idea there was racism about Hispanic people until I visited California as a teenager because they were the “white people” in my city - the mayor, the rich people, plenty of them Cuban or other Hispanic.
Everywhere I go they ask me where I am from , when I tell country of my birth and whwre I was raised, they say but what is your origin? They want to hear the nationality of my parent because my skin does not look white enough, THIS IS THE SITUATION IN FRANCE, even if you are fluent in French but does not look white they will ask you whats your origin. FU K EM