Tuesday, January 31, 2017

Success is in the eye of the beholder...


“If you kick every Latino out of this country, then who is going to clean our toilets Donald Trump?’

                                                                                                Kelly Osbourne / The View

 
It takes a lot….a whole lot, to ruffle my feathers.

As a Hispanic, I know firsthand what it’s like to be mistreated on account of being Latina. I know what is like to be ignored at restaurants, being paraded around the worst neighborhoods by a realtor that told me inner city living is where I belong, or have my daughter harassed at school for being Latina/American. I also know how to know keep my cool because contrary to popular believe, Latinos know better than to stoop down to some levels.

That said, I will be the first one to admit that cool got real hot this morning when I saw the video of Kelly Osbourne’s statement about Latinos in her show The View.

                  “If you kick every Latino out of this country, who is going to clean our toilets..?”

 Yeah, my twitter answer was as far from my godly Christian nature as it could possibly get.  That was not planned, it just happened. And for the time being I will make absolutely no apologies about it. Why?

Because I have just about had it with those Americans who believe the only things Latinos are good for is cleaning toilets and being nannies and cooks. Nothing wrong with that! Except that when it is portrayed in a demeaning and degrading manner it is bound to upset a whole lot of people! And rightfully so!

Thanks to Hollywood, the only impression Americans have of Latinos is that of the low income, struggling immigrant who can only find work serving the American elite. I would like to find a movie that portrays Puertorricans, Mexicans, Bolivians, Argentinians, Peruvians etc, as something other than the live-in nanny or maid who does not speak English and whose name for some insane reason is always Consuelo! What the heck! 

Well, since so many Americans have apparently missed the memo, let’s have a little history class to  bring them up to date!

LAW & POLITICS 

Luis Munoz Marin – Puerto Rican poet, journalist, politician educated at Georgetown University in Washington, D.D. Founder of the Democratic Party in Puerto Rico.

Luis Munos Rivera – son of Luis Munoz Marin. Poet, journalist, politician and former Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico in Washington, D.C. (1910-1916) who obtained U.S. citizenship for Puerto Ricans. Died just before the Jones Bill was passed, which he fought for.

Mari Carmen Aponte – former Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs under former President Obama.

Sonia Sotomayor - First Hispanic Justice appointed to the Supreme Court of the United States!

SCIENCE & MEDICINE

Mario Molina – Mexican. Received the Nobel Prize in 1995 for his research on the effects of man-made compounds in the ozone layer. 

Severo Ochoa – Spanish-American biochemist and molecular biologist co-awarded the Nobel Prize in Psychology for discovering the enzyme that enables the synthesis of RNA (for those of us with a background in Science you know what that is all about) 

Bernardo Houssay – Argentinian. Another Nobel Prize recipient for his research on the role of the pituitary hormone in regulating blood sugar. (diabetic Americans owe a debt of gratitude to him for figuring out the best way to treat them!) 

James Escalante – Bolivia.  Math educator. If you want to know more about him, watch the movie Stand and Deliver. 

Dr. Helen Rodriguez Trias – Puerto Rican. First Latina president of the American Health Association.

Dr. Jorge Martinez Traval – Puerto Rico. Vascular Surgeon responsible for developing the groundbreaking procedure to treat abdominal aneurysms as ambulatory surgery instead of invasive and more dangerous procedure. I am lucky this will be the Doctor my father will see this week to treat his aneurysms.

THE ARTS
 
Juan Morel Campos – Puerto Rico. Composer. One of the most influential figures of the 19th century.

 Rita Moreno – Puerto Rico. Actress whose credits include West Side Story, Singing in the Rain, Tennessee Williams Summer & Smoke

 Raul Julia – Puerto Rico. Tony Award winner whose credits include Kiss of the Spider Woman, Two Gentlemen of Verona, The Addams Family

Julia de Burgos – Puerto Rico. Poet and journalist. One of the leading 20th century poets influenced by Pablo Neruda among others.

Francisco Oller – Painter. First Latin American impressionist.   

As a side note, I will have everyone know this list does not begin to scratch the surface of the many accomplished Hispanics throughout history. But I do hope it opens the eyes of those who insist in labeling Hispanics as ‘good-for-nothing.’


Read it and weep Kelly.
 

Sincerely,

OLGA HALYARD  (nee Sotomayor Massini)
Puerto Rico. Entrepreneur, co-founder and Chief Operating Officer  Lee S. Halyard & Associates, Realtors®