We completely understand the following story might be too silly for some, but still… it does reflect yet another example of the cultural ignorance that continues to plague U.S. Latinos. On a night when several prominent Latin Americans were honored with Golden Globes, one tweet from the other side of the world just rubbed us the wrong way. It came from the official Twitter account of MTV Australia, right after actors America Ferrera and Eva Longoria killed it with some very funny banter about how people confuse the two U.S. Latina stars for other Latina women.
America Ferrera And Eva Longoria Joke About Latina Actresses
Eva Longoria and America Ferrera mocked everyone who can’t tell Latina actresses apart.
Posted by HuffPost LatinoVoices on Sunday, January 10, 2016
Then this happened.
FU, @MTVAUSTRALIA #SubtitleThat pic.twitter.com/oKzTi5BUzw
— Latino Rebels (@latinorebels) January 11, 2016
Get it? Because you know, we can’t speak Spanish. As you can imagine, Latino Twitter was not amused, especially since MTV Australia quickly deleted the tweet with no real explanation.
@latinorebels @MTVAUSTRALIA Outrageous, inappropriate, vitriolic, xenophobic and racist statements. a palabras necias, oídos sordos…..
— Pecondebrook (@pecondebrook) January 11, 2016
@latinorebels I think you should spell out "FU". Because clearly @MTVAUSTRALIA is clueless.
— Sergio Quintana (@svqjournalist) January 11, 2016
@latinorebels but @MTVAUSTRALIA thought they could now make any joke at their expense. Oops, you showed what you think of Latinos instead.
— Silvana Banana (@SilvanaRam) January 11, 2016
The MTV profile tried to apologize. Twice.
The first apology was deleted:
@latinorebels @MTVAUSTRALIA Well, this was their "explanation." Now deleted as well: https://t.co/5ThYAQUHHt
— ¡Gabe! Ortíz (@TUSK81) January 11, 2016
This was the second one, which is still live:
This is the "apology" @MTVAUSTRALIA tweeted #GoldenGlobes pic.twitter.com/S5MJgIGvWu
— Latino Rebels (@latinorebels) January 11, 2016
Keep trying, MTV Australia. although we have a great way to get this all squared away:
If they can take back Iggy Azealea all will be forgiven. https://t.co/MwTtFujBd0
— Mifepristone Dealer (@WhoLisaFrm503) January 11, 2016
Here’s the thing: unlike what they might hear on the Internetz, the majority of U.S. Latinos (gasp!) actually speak English. Whoa.
A record 33.2 million Hispanics in the U.S. speak English proficiently, according to a new Pew Research Center analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data.1 In 2013, this group made up 68% of all Hispanics ages 5 and older, up from 59% in 2000.
At the same time that the share of Latinos who speak English proficiently is growing, the share that speaks Spanish at home has been declining over the last 13 years. In 2013, 73% of Latinos ages 5 and older said they speak Spanish at home, down from 78% who said the same in 2000. Despite this decline, a record 35.8 million Hispanics speak Spanish at home, a number that has continued to increase as the nation’s Hispanic population has grown.
And oh yeah, this too:
@MTVAUSTRALIA @latinorebels pic.twitter.com/BkEyEroETe
— carlosvf (@carlosvf) January 11, 2016
Thank you to @meningioma for the tip.
