Mexican Like Me

Roberto Suro’s presentation on the demographics of Hispanics in the U.S. resonated with me.  Born in Mexico and raised on the border of Arizona and Mexico in a fairly small town called Nogales, I was interested in hearing what researchers had discovered about folks like me. 

According to Suro, I fall into that category of Hispanics that tend to be the highest achieving.  I was foreign-born but raised in the U.S. and continue to enjoy the benefits of the American school system.  And although I do speak Spanish, English is by far the stronger of the two languages. 

As Suro pointed out, Latinos, or for that matter, anyone with a solid education and, in turn, a healthy income tend to be heavier users of the Internet.  As some folks said at the seminar, what draws people like me to read news on the Web or to advertisers probably isn’t that different from what lures others.

There are, I suppose, incredibly subtle cultural references that may pique a second generation’s interest.  We do, after all, miss the place much of our family calls home.  But the more pressing question, I think, is how to reach those who feel alienated from the mainstream media because they feel it just doesn’t speak to them at all.

Suro mentioned the problem of papers covering only a small percentage of what goes on in the Hispanic community.  The Los Angeles Times, for example, covering gangs without reporting on too much else. 

In that spirit, I wanted to point you to a young Mexican journalist who has noted the problem of underrepresentation in the U.S. media.  He’s reported for both the Los Angeles Times and the L.A. Weekly.  From what I can tell, he is now based in Mexico City.  His blog is worth checking out if for no other reason than that sadly, there aren’t too many other Hispanic journalists who are in the position to speak forcefully for the community from which they stem.

--Lilly Fowler

Comments