As we all know, “Latino” is a troublesome term for some. It’s not simply a matter of genetics or birth; it involves accepting and celebrating a culture (or actually a spectrum of cultures) and a significant level of self-definition and self-acceptance.
We see lists of “People you didn’t now were Latino” all the time; poor Alexis Bledel (Gilmore Girls, Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants) always seems to be on the list, along with David Blaine and a few others. The whole discussion came up again with comedian Louis C.K. spoke about his own ‘hidden’ Mexican heritage on Conan O’Brien’s talk show. (It was never really ‘hidden’ at all; Louis has talked about it frequently in his act and in interviews, but because his onstage persona and his physical appearance, with the red hair and green eyes, is so aggressively Norte Americano, it comes as a constant surprise.
Still, it puts Louis and his ‘kind’ in a unique place to observe racial and cultural bias, and he speaks to that quite nicely in this recent clip from Conan…
We’ll put him on the ‘people to watch’ list from now on…as long as we don’t have to explain his Mexican/Irish parentage every single time we mention his name. Just remember: he’s Latino. Trust us.
