Lately, there has been a lot of publicly accepted and even celebrated Mexican-bashing going on (yes, Donald Trump I’m lookin’ at you and your BOCOTA). It’s not a beautiful thing, it’s not a unifying thing, and it’s not to be ignored or tolerated. We could all respond with anger or hate, but I think that on a gut level we all know that the only way to respond to those who are trying to rob a group of dignity is with DIGNITY.
Cue the efforts of renowned music producer and legend Emilio Estefan, who used his creativity and dignity to gather Latino artists and supportive non-Latino artists to declare in song and on video that “We’re All Mexican” because:
…we can all become the victims of racism and bigotry at any moment as Mexicans are experiencing in recent times. Mexicans are being vilified in the United States by some of the media and political leaders and in some of the public’s sentiment because they comprise 67% of the Latino population and because their native country shares a direct border with the United States and are the majority of the “Latinos” crossing that particular border. But around the world, different immigrant groups are harassed and made to be scapegoats for the ills of their respective countries of residence. the song, ‘We’re All Mexicans’, celebrates the positive contributions of immigrants in the United States as a balance to the negativity being expressed publicly.
I watched the video and it gave me a huge nudo en la garganta because it is so easy to focus on the negativity, but this is proof that there are so many supportive, enlightened people in the world who will not stand for intolerance and will fight publicly and with creativity.
ALSO READ: 13 Tweets That Perfectly Describe #GrowingUpMexican
Please watch the video and share it widely because, make no mistake about it, we are all Mexican!
Image via Estefan Channel/YouTube
I am Mexican!!!
<3
Traci
Yes, you are!
As a Mexican, I find this video embarrassing. First of all, the production is so cheap and shoddy, with so many stereotypes (a dancing chihuahua? Really? ) it looks like a teenager did it for a class project. Second, it’s not very cohesive. It’s titled We’re All Mexicans, yet during the video they highlight different Latin nationalities, or say We Love America!
I think it should have been We’re All Latinos given they were highlighting different nationalities. Non-Latinos often call every Latino Mexican regardless of nationality, which is incorrect and this video does nothing to help the cause. The erasure of other nationalities does not unify us at all. Not to mention, it’s Latinos who are being targeted by Trump, not just Mexicans.
I respectfully disagree. The point of the video is in fact to have people who are NOT Mexican saying they are because as stated, “we can all become the victims of racism and bigotry at any moment as Mexicans
are experiencing in recent times. Mexicans are being vilified in the United
States by some of the media and political leaders and in some of the public’s
sentiment because they comprise 67% of the Latino population and because their
native country shares a direct border with the United States and are the
majority of the ‘Latinos’crossing that particular border.” The video and song are a message of solidarity regardless of where we come from we all need to stand up and fight bigotry.
Yes, Latinos are all maligned in the U.S., but of late it is in particular Mexicans, not all Latinos who are getting grief from people like Donald Trump. No one is lumping all Latinos together and trying to call them Mexican as is often done. I am of Mexican descent and grew up here and I agree with you that all Latinos get called Mexicans and it is offensive and ignorant. That’s not what is happening in this video. In this video and song, the stance is that we are all Mexican because united we can all fight this.
As for the production value, clearly it was on purpose. Emilio Estefan (who is not Mexican) spearheaded the project and as I’m sure you know, he is no stranger to producing things with a huge budget. That wasn’t the point of this. The point wasn’t to spend tons of money and time to produce a flawless video, it was as he has said instead a “labor of love.”
I don’t find this video in the slightest embarrassing or demeaning or anything less than people coming together and saying ENOUGH with the bashing.
Also, why can’t people chant loudly, “We love America” while saying we’re all Mexican?! I love America very much and so do many Latino immigrants that’s why we are invested in making it a place where intolerance and bigotry are not the norm.
Again, respectfully, I disagree with the criticisms you have made of the song and video and sincerely think that you have gotten stuck on details and missed the big picture.
I have to disagree with your assertion that it’s Mexicans in particular who are getting maligned. All Latinos are. Mr. Trump even specified that his infamous “rapists, drug dealers and criminals” comment was directed at everyone who crossed through the Mexican border, not just Mexicans. When racist people judge Latinos, they don’t bother to distinguish nationality. Not to mention, most of the kids who have been looking for asylum and have faced abuse are Central American. I think it diminishes their struggle to say “We’re All Mexican.” We can be united while acknowledging our plurality.
I fail to see how our plurality is not being acknowledged in this particular song/video. It’s not LITERALLY saying “we’re all Mexican”…it’s a metaphor. It’s a piece of art in the form of music, not an essay. Let’s acknowledge the intelligence and intent of those involved. I’m sure that every single non-Mexican involved in the project is fully aware of the plurality of the Latino experience and I’m also pretty sure they are not assuming all Latinos are Mexican because DUH and let’s consider the source and context. Again, the meaning, significance, sentiment and genuine goodwill that I see in this piece is not what you see. I’m not going to argue against anything you have to say about Trump because his divisive intent is clear to me. I don’t think it was an accident when he chose to name call Mexicans instead of saying Latinos or Hispanics. I believe he used it as an umbrella term to pander to the lowest common denominator of haters who do actually think all Latinos are Mexican. That’s why I think it’s great that this song says “we’re all Mexicans” because it plays against the ignorance. I simply cannot see ill will or ignorance or anything other than solidarity in our plurality in this piece and I would rather focus on critiquing Trump than Estefan and bunch; they aren’t the problem…to me the problem is the disdain, disrespect and scapegoating that Trump has unleashed. Apologies for any mistakes as I’m writing this on my phone. I appreciate the discourse and the voicing of your opinions even when I do not agree. Fundamentally I do not believe we are on opposing sides.
I agree, Trump and his hateful rhetoric are the larger problem. I’m just stating my take on the video. I don’t doubt their intentions were good, but I still believe it was a rather poor execution. Personally I think Calle 13 did it better with their song Latinoamérica. 🙂
This post is more along the lines of how you feel about the video and funny too…https://www.wearemitu.com/mitu-voice/11-things-that-are-just-plain-wrong-in-the-were-all-mexican-video/…Disclosure: I’m a freelance writer for that website.
I have to disagree with you. There’s nothing embarrassing about the video and if you’re judging it based on its quality – then you are missing the entire point of the video.
I am Puerto Rican but to small-minded ignorant folks like Donald, I’m just another “Mexican” or “illegal immigrant” because they will judge me based on how I look and/or my last name.
The message is that no matter what country we are from – it’s critical that we unite because “we can all become the victims of racism and bigotry at any moment as Mexicans are experiencing in recent times.” We cannot afford to have an *I’m not Mexican so they’re not offending me* attitude.
Yup!
I understand, but I thought the “We Are All Mexicans” was a poor title. Mexicans aren’t the only ones being discriminated against, like you stated with your experience. If they wanted to promote unity, “We Are All Latinos” or even “We Are All Immigrants” would be a better title.
Good exchange in the comment section. History shows that many different immigrant groups were marginalized and discriminated against here and elsewhere. The Irish had a tough time and the Chinese too. We are all immigrants except for our native Americans who it is believe now to have come from asia long long ago (last ice age). Actually, if you trace humanity back 100’s of thousands of years we all started out in Africa. Unfortunately, the grouping into tribes also brought tribal fighting. I don’t mention this as an excuse. Really now that we know more about humanity we should rise above this tribal thinking and come together as a world (the only one we have). I do believe as the world becomes more and more a melting pot of different races we will see the common things shared. I am an immigrant.
LOVE the video, the blog, well said!
Hey remember Laurie that had the Honduras Gumbo blog (I think that was the name). Anyway she has a new blog and recently dropped a comment on a post of mine and being a good blogger went over and checked out her latest post. It’s about the immigration issue. I thought of this post when I read it. I’m going to mention this post in my comment over there.
Here’s a link http://agumbopot.com/2015/09/29/gumbo-ya-ya/
Yeah, the posts from her new blog get emailed to me, but I haven’t read the immigration one yet. I’ll check it out shortly.
Claudya, this blog article is wonderful as are the comments. WE ARE ALL MEXICANS! I went to a public market this past weekend, and I loved the diversity represented: Caucasian, black, Costa Rican, Honduran, Korean, Vietnamese, and others were all there selling, buying, eating and enjoying life together. Why do we need a wall? Did Hadrian’s wall stop Scots from become part of England? Did the Great Wall of China separate the Asian continent? Silly people. A wall? Really??
Thank you, Laurie. I think you are spot on about the walls.