Is Pope Francis Latino?

[Apotheoun]

Is Pope Francis Latino? New Catholic Leader Stirs U.S. Debate About Ethnicity

By JESSE WASHINGTON

 

 

-- He is being hailed with pride and wonder as the "first Latino pope," a native Spanish speaker born and raised in the South American nation of Argentina. But for some Latinos in the United States, there's a catch: Pope Francis' parents were born in Italy.

 

Such recent European heritage is reviving debate in the United States about what makes someone a Latino. Those questioning whether their idea of Latino identity applies to Pope Francis acknowledge that he is Latin American, and that he is a special inspiration to Spanish-speaking Catholics around the world. Yet that, in their eyes, does not mean the pope is "Latino."

 

These views seem to be in the minority. But they have become a distinct part of the conversation in the United States as the Latino world contemplates this unique man and moment.

 

_"Are Italians Latino? No," says Eric Cortes, who has been debating the issue with his friends.

 

_"The most European alternative and the closest thing to an Italian," is how Baylor University professor Philip Jenkins described Pope Francis in the Chronicle of Higher Education.

 

_"Does a Latino have to have indigenous blood?" asked the LA Weekly newspaper of Los Angeles beneath the headline, "Is The New Pope Latino?"

 

_"Latinos come in all colors and shades and features," Ivette Baez said in an emotional debate on the "Being Latino" Facebook page.

 

The swirling discussion indicates just how much the man formerly known as Jorge Mario Bergoglio, whatever his ethnicity, means to Catholic Latinos around the world.

 

"The Latino community tends to pride itself on the accomplishments of our own," says Baez, a Puerto Rican who lives in New Jersey. "And a lot of people are hoping that a Latino pope would bring more of a focus on the problems in Latin America."

 

"After the president of the United States, he's probably the most influential person in the world," she says.

 

The conversation about Pope Francis' ethnicity is rooted in history and geography. Latin America is a complex region of deep racial and class narratives. The elites tend to be whites of European ancestry; the poor are often dark-skinned descendants of indigenous or African people.

 

Latinos also can be of any race; many identify themselves as both Latino and white, or Latino and black. So debates were bound to happen with the elevation of a fair-skinned son of Italians born in South America's most European city, a place that has always identified more with Rome and Madrid than Caracas or Mexico City.

 

 

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[4588686]

Most latino Catholics I know, while excited to have a Pope from Latin America, don't consider him Latino.  

[Beati Pacifici]

This debate will never end. I've known Italian and French (yes, French) people who feel that they are the "real Latinos" and the rest are not. The whole debate is stupid.

[mortify]

A person can be whatever they want, perhaps he was born Latino in an Italian body

[Apotheoun]

I think it is interesting, which is why I posted the article, but ultimately not all that important.

[Anastasia13]

Shakira is Lebanese, Macedonian, Catalan, and Italian. Neither of her parents were born in Columbia. I doubt she is THAT much more Latino than Pope Francis, and she is regarded as a Latina at least by many.

[FutureSister2009]

He doesn't look Latino

[FutureSister2009]

He doesn't look Latino

[KnightofChrist]

Latino is a made up word anyway, which is too broadly used.

[dominicansoul]

I wonder why it matters to some people what race he is?  People are so fixated on race.  As long as he isn't Canadian, who cares? :P

[Gabriela]

I wonder why it matters to some people what race he is?  People are so fixated on race.  As long as he isn't Canadian, who cares? :P

 

My thoughts exactly. Why does it matter? Do we (i.e., the media) really have nothing better to talk about? Shouldn't we be batting around ideas about how to solve the poverty problem, cure AIDS, etc.?

[Anastasia13]

He doesn't look Latino

That's what a producer or director or something said about an actor in Florida. The people working on the show/film taught him how to walk like a Latino, dress like a Latino, and a few things like that so he could pass for a Latino. He humbly took their advice so he could do the job well. He was already a Caribbean Latino American.

[cmaD2006]

The pope is from a Latin American country, but how to consider the argument is interesting.

 

It's the same question ... is an american-born child whose parents are from a Latin-american country considered Latino or is he/she considered American?  I consider myself as both.  I have encountered many a parishioner who thinks of me as American because I was born here.  Yet -- as soon as an American reads my name I am assumed to be Latino (I even get junk mail in spanish -- even though I don't let the companies I deal with know that I speak spanish).  Shoot -- early on during my career a company that I worked with actually asked me to do ESL for engineers.  Um.  I'm 100% fluent in English and speak with an American accent.  As I would say -- I get a sort of "racism" from both sides.    I consider myself both Puerto Rican and American (mainland).  But I am neither individually. 

 

As far as our new pope -- I I prefer to think that he is both (although Argentinian culture is interesting in and of itself ... there are a lot of Italian immigrants in the mix, along with the indigenous population, Spanish, and African influences).  He was born and raised in Argentina with both Italian and Argentinian cultural influences.

 

You also have to realize that many Latin Americans have a cultural history (bias) with Argentina.  And well -- Latinos are a mix of countries. (and someone from Spain would not be considered Latino but European, and Argentina is culturally and financially between the two).  This is part of the reason why the discussion will come up.  It has to.

 

Finally this was the 1st thing I thought about when the conclave was being discussed ... that choosing an Argentinian cardinal for pope would be a great compromise between choosing a Latin American cardinal and a European cardinal.  You'd have the best of both worlds in one person.

 

Anyway -- I am glad to have a pope in place that is fluent in Spanish and that maybe (jiji/hee-hee) someday I can enjoy a terere (I prefer terere over mate) with him :).

[Apotheoun]

I thought this sentence in the article was interesting:

 

"Latino is commonly, but not exclusively, used to describe people of Latin American descent in the United States, Pitti said. In Latin America itself, people tend to identify themselves by their native country, such as Argentinian, Panamanian or Mexican."

 

Maybe this is only a concern for people living in the United States.

[cmaD2006]

dos veces es one too many :)

Edited March 28, 2013 by cmariadiaz