Having gotten tired of hearing the same 30 pop songs over and over on all my usual radio preset stations, I've lately been tuning into "Latino 96.3 FM". Usually when I listen to this station, though, I've been keeping the windows rolled up-- or at least turning down the volume enough that no one will hear. Mainly I've been worried that some Latino person will hear what I'm listening to and think, "Who does this gringo think he is, trespassing on our cultural turf?" It feels somehow presumptuous to be listening to music in español.
The other day, though, I stopped at a stop light next to a couple of gringas in a big white van. They were not only listening to the same station, but energetically dancing to the beat. And that's when I had an epiphany. What I realized was that Latino music is the new American music. Once upon a time, it was jazz: that distinctive fusion of African and American styles that symbolized a new era for racial relations. Now we have the Latino stations-- "poco en inglés, poco en español"-- symbolizing a new new era. I'm not ashamed to be a white person embracing the possibility of a bilingual pop culture. I'm proud-- proud of how far we've come, and proud to be a member of a society where this is possible.
Of course, there will continue to be people who resist this new new era for a long time to come. I'm not sure what they're afraid of. That they might be confronted with new ways of living that are unfamiliar and uncomfortable for them? That they might have to quit being so damn lazy and actually learn a few words of Spanish? Contrary to popular belief, there's nothing intrinsically good about the English language or the current shape of American popular culture. So, things are changing. Build a bridge and get over it! The sooner we learn to embrace such changes, the sooner we'll understand what it really means to be Americans!
