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Happy Birthday, Latino Perspectives

Editorial

Shortly after I joined Latino Perspectives Magazine in May, an amiga asked me over coffee at Starbucks if the idea of a Latino themed magazine wasn’t "exclusionary." Her question prompted this reflection on what Latino Perspectives has done and become on its first birthday.

When she queried, I paused in mid sip, but a search of her sky-blue eyes showed no malice, only curiosity. I decided the question was a fair one. It made me remember that throughout my journalistic career, I’ve found myself acting as a bridge between the culture of my home and heart – with warm boyhood memories of waking hungrily to the aroma of mama cooking tortillas de harina, and her humming and swaying to the lush harmonies of Eydie Gorme and Trio Los Panchos – and a chosen industry full of White dominated newsrooms whose publications catered to an audience of White readers. To survive, I had to learn to walk in two worlds simultaneously. That magical quality evolved within me a "bridge" mentality that made me want to tell everyone the stories of my culture. But I usually had to "justify" my Latino story pitches in light of why White readers would care.

So I answered my coffee friend that as a third-generation native born, bicultural/bilingual, Chicano/Yaqui journalist, it is refreshing to be work with publishers that "get it" about the richness of my world. In my career I have covered the equally rich and diverse stories of Puerto Ricans, Cubans, Dominican Republicans, and Mexicans living in Mexico, the border, New York, Miami, and Chicago. Latino Perspectives can never be totally exclusionary because Latino issues touch all parts of U.S. society. The magazine’s targeted readers are English dominant, middle class professionals and their young. These American born Hispanics, not immigrants, accounted for 60 percent of the growth in the Latino population since 2000, according to the census.

So Happy Birthday, Latino Perspectives! Come September, you are one year old. You’ve done what the majority of new start-up magazines can’t do: survive. Magazine industry statistics show that 90 percent of all start-ups fail in their first year. Perhaps you made it because the timing is so right. You are in the forefront of a new wave of magazines that have emerged to offer fresh choices to "acculturated," Latinos like me who prefer their written information in the same language they most use. Your compatriots have names like Urban Latino, Hispanic, Latina Style, and Loft. Some are Latino owned, some are not.

Readers celebrate your first birthday with you. A growing number of reader comments say you’ve become a "must read" publication. You get readers phoning in say thanks and that the whole family enjoys you. You also get criticized. Some articles are called "too negative." "Latinos shouldn’t criticize other Latinos," was another comment. This means people have emotional reactions to your content. Where there is emotion, there is debate. Where there is debate, there is thinking. And where there is thinking, there can be dialogue about issues.

When cutting the anniversary cake, big slices must go to co-publishers Ricardo Torres and James A. Diaz. You are their dream, which was to create a publication that chronicles the Latino journey, legitimizes our community’s struggle without being in a "victimization" mode, and celebrates our proud heritage and bright future. In your first year, they have taken a major step in realizing their vision.

When cutting the anniversary cake, another big slice must go to James E. Garcia, the editor who helped create you. His commitment not to "sugarcoat" the news and to present fairly and accurately the good and bad of Arizona Latino life has served our community well. Because he selected seasoned Latino journalists as freelancers, Latino Perspectives writers won two state press awards. James has moved on to fulltime teaching at Arizona State University West, and to writing plays.

As your current editor, I’m looking forward to this upcoming years. We are improving your Web site and making it more interactive. We will continue the momentum you created in the first year by implementing special journalistic projects that look with an unflinching eye at pressing challenges facing community. And we will tell it from a Latino perspective. And if that is being "exclusionary," than yes, amiga, I guess we are exclusionary…but in a bridging kind of way.