The fifth panel I attended at #Readercon was "Latinx Authors Tear Down the Wall," with @LabyrinthRat, @omgjulia, and @WriteTeachPlay, moderated by @cafenowhere. I learned a lot, and not just about writing.
As with previous threads, I'm not sure which of my notes are word for word quotes and which are paraphrases. I'll also note that I am not Latinx myself, and this increases the chances that I will misrepresent something/get something wrong. Feel free to correct me if I do!
First, @cafenowhere asked @WriteTeachPlay to give us some background on Cuban immigration. He told us about the wet foot, dry foot policy that used to exist.
From @WriteTeachPlay: Before Castro, Cubans were sen in an exorcized way. Under Castro, they were perceived as freedom fighters.
Also from @WriteTeachPlay: Cubans were privileged among immigrant groups, but still faced racism.
From @LabyrinthRat: Earlier waves of Cuban immigrants looked down on later waves. (He also gave us more info on that, but I don't want to get the information wrong, so I'm not going to go into more detail here.)
From @omgjulia: If people code you as Latinx, where they think you're from will vary by which region of the United States you're in.
From @cafenowhere: Where we settle affects the experience. Not just where we're from.
From @omgjulia: In rural areas, you can find large Latinx populations who are mostly farm workers - working for white farm owners. Urban communities have a greater chance of having cultural movements, events, etc.
From @WriteTeachPlay: We set up micro-walls within the Latinx community.
From @LabyrinthRat: In Miami, there were micro-walls between Cubans and other Latinx; in Clemson, SC, people see all Latinx as the same. So why do we separate ourselves?
From @cafenowhere: Some towns have large minority populations that they rely on for industries such as meatpacking. And the town changes around them.
From @LabyrinthRat: Children of immigrants have the pressure of being stuck between two cultures.
From @LabyrinthRat: It's strange to have a pull/obligation to a land I've never been to, and weird that if I did go, I'd be a tourist there.
From @WriteTeachPlay: You can't just say, "Cubans are." You get more variety the deeper you dig - and that's how you fight walls.
And @omgjulia discussed what it's like to grow up with parents from two different cultures, figuring out where you fit.
From @omgjulia: When you feel powerless, you take what power you can. (For example, lashing out at people who don't speak Spanish.)
From @WriteTeachPlay: The capitalist agenda is two-faced: We want you here, but at the most exploited level.
From @cafenowhere: Physical walls are predicated on psychological walls. How can writers tear those down?
From @omgjulia: You need a variety of voices, showing people as human, and works that engage with current political actions. You need a chorus effect.
From @LabyrinthRat: There's a value to non marginalized readers seeing and identifying with marginalized characters.
From @WriteTeachPlay: Fiction plays the long game. It will stay around, keep talking, reverberate, and inspire more writing. The rewriting of the myth that governs us.
From @omgjulia: Latinx communities have a problem with seeing being like the colonizer as ideal.
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