Our obsession with Latino celebrities

It’s true. Latinos have an obsession with celebrities. And not just any celebrity, but our own. For some odd reason, whenever we see Dra. Ana Maria Polo, Jennifer Lopez or Sofia Vergara in person, we just find a cultural connection and immediately go into “OMG” mode. Why is it so? Just like anything else in our cultural lives, because they are Latino in the U.S. with successful careers, we seem to look at them with a more passionate view as appose to anything else.

Okay sure Justin Bieber is a good performer, but Jennifer Lopez seems to draw a bigger crowd. Not only did she make it “bigger” with the addition to American Idol, but it seems as though Puerto Ricans and other Latinos look at her as inspiration to make it big. With her debut in the movie Selena, it was there where we as Latinos looked at ourselves and said, “She did it. So can we.”

One of my favorite examples of obsession is with Dra. Ana Maria Polo. Out of all the people we look up to it seems as though women find her work the most inspirational. Is it because she helps solve casos de la vida real or because she is a breast cancer survivor? The more real life situations the celebrity has, the more connection we seem to get. I mean it’s not every day when she can talk about how her “people” inspires her right? Like she says, “Por que trabajamos más que nadie.”

It’s true that celebrities are looked at as icons in their own way, but you have to admit nothing is more exciting than meeting someone who has struggled just as you have. Remember that there’s a reason why our parents came to live in the U.S.; to give us an opportunity and it’s that orgullo that keeps us going. When we see an immigrant similar to ourselves make it in the U.S., we immediately draw a bigger connection than to someone who just raps about money.

Even sports cause a huge obsession. The U.S. is one of the few countries where soccer, or futbol, is underappreciated. It’s funny seeing Colombian, Brazilian or other Latin American country players play for MLS teams. We love to yell, hate and love our main players. If they don’t make it to the world cup, all hell breaks loose.

I must admit the only time I would go gaga for anyone would be Shakira. Yes she has good music, but she also cares about the children via her philanthropy Pies Descalzos. I mean really any endorsement involving children gets you extra browning points. So what’s the real difference between our obsession and other cultural obsessions? It will always be our commitment to community and family. We understand struggle, pain and sorrow and at the same time happiness. Our cultural roots to our homeland always brings a smile to our own faces.

Source Eric Cortes

Posted in Dra. Ana Maria Polo , Jennifer Lopez , Latin America , Latin Celebrities , Latinos , shakira