Intro Post
Buenas. Soy Sharon. Biracial Black Colombian living in the USA! I’m the main curator of this blog. I speak fluent Colombian Spanish and United States English, and am a dual citizen. I've lived my entire life traveling among different parts of Latin America and some parts of Spain. I'm a trained cultural musician, and a professional translator.
Even though my main is @sharonz-arty-corner03, I made this blog because I am interested in researching and exposing the tropes and stereotypes surrounding Hispanic people. I am aware that Hispanic is not a race, and this blog is mostly curated towards the USA (or British) experiences of those living in the countries spanning from Mexico to Argentina, including the Spanish Caribbean. To a lesser extent, I will be including formerly-Spanish Africa, the Philippines, and Latin American diaspora in other countries.
Even so, I warn you I am not the end of your research into experiences.
This blog was inspired by Creating Black Characters, but is not affiliated with her in any way.
I will only invest in politics to research and learn. You’re already gonna get my opinion so don’t make me repeat myself, especially if I say I am not directly affected by a certain issue.
About Askbox
Hispanic, with a capital H since it's a proper name, is a USA term coined to explain anyone from a Spanish-speaking New World country. Spanish is a person from Spain.
When asking questions on this blog, please ask using Hispanic, Latin America, Latino/a/e (only say Latinx if you personally identify as that).
I do not like anons, so if you still want to ask a question that you want to see answered anonymously, DM me and make an emoji pattern I can use for future reference in the post I make about your question.
Unless you preface saying you're Latin American (or diaspora) yourself, I will not hesitate to correct your own Spanish or that of your character.
You may, of course, submit resources or lesson ideas of your own!
FANDOMS I WILL NOT INTERACT WITH:
Hazbin Hotel
Knights of Guinevere
Hamilton
Sonic the Hedgehog (after considerable explanation)
Elena of Avalor (I’ll have a conversation about her eventually)
Shark Tale
Modern Family (or any Americanized version of Jennifer Lopez actually)
Spirit: Riding Free
Genshin Impact
Note: this means I will not analyze these fandoms if I am asked to. If I decide of my own free will that they need a conversation I will engage.
Planned Essays (will eventually be replaced by a list) Se Habla Español: The history of Spanish and the dialectal differences between countries, and why Spain gets uncomfortable when we bring that up.
The Cristobal Colón Problem: Why we celebrate things wildly differently on so called Columbus Day.
Daycare the Culture Away: Specific to the United States and England, but can also be applied to Indigenous languages and Black dialects…how Latino parents in the United States are conned out of their culture by telling them that their children learning English is just an addition instead of a replacement
The Art of Restaurant Spanish: Analyzing why fanfic writers treat their Spanish bilingual characters as stupid when they switch languages.
Argentina: A study of how Argentinians have and HAVE NOT earned th title of Latin America's most obvious racists.
Negra Es Mi Piel (My Skin Is Black): A study into the set of problems faced by Black Latinos.
Where in Mexico Is That?: A masterclass in why not every single Spanish speaker you run into will be from Mexico.
"Invited to the Carne Asada" Syndrome: So you have a character invited to a family gathering who is not of that Latino country. How do you write the faux pas and the inside jokes?
La Vieja Patria (The Old Country): How to write actual Latino-Spanish relations...from someone who survived the Madrid Airport (lighthearted)
No Seas Indio (Don't Be Indian): Anti-Indigenous sentiment in Latin America, the economy, and the story of how this very real white Colombian insult was used on me.
Tomemonos Un Tinto, Seamos Amigos (Let's Have a Black Coffee, Let's Be Friends): Friendship-making among Latinos
¡Ay, Que Rabia! (I'm So Mad!) Strong emotions like anger, sensuality, joy, and sadness in Hispanic people--and in the English-speakers watching
Authentic Versus Autóctono: How do you know your characters are eating "real" Latin American food?
Bilingual Privilege: A study in culture, language, and the antithesis of the daycare problem: what if your fluency does things to set you apart?
The Obligatory Quinceañera Episode: Why do gringos like to make this the only major Latino tradition? Let's find out.
A Thousand Cousins: Family dynamics in Hispanic households.
