 This is St. Tech, Hawaii. Community matters here. Aloha. I'm Marcia Joyner, and today we have come with this series, a new series, Young and Old Life, to take a look at the past, our past, your past, the past that is not seen in the history books. History books are his story, or what we refer to as the mirrors of the past, but we as colonized people, indigenous people, people of color, look into the mirror and do not see ourselves. Each year the United States honors the contributions that Latinos have made to our country with an Hispanic heritage month that runs from September 15 to October 15. In Honolulu, the 28th annual Hispanic heritage will be celebrated October 13 on New Iwanu Avenue in Chinatown from 10 30 in the morning until 5, so you can come and play and dance and have a good time. During this annual celebration, the contributions and achievements of Latino Hispanics in the U.S. are honored as well as their culture and tradition. National Hispanic Heritage Month is observed in the United States, Canada, Latin America, and in September 15 was chosen as the start date in order to coincide with Independence Day celebrations of five Latin American countries. Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and in addition Mexico and Chile observed their Independence Day September 16 and September 18 respectively. Commemorating Hispanic Heritage Month gives people of Hawaii an opportunity to feel proud of our neighbor's roots and to share the richness and diversity of the various indigenous cultures. And so my co-host is indigenous from Brazil. Yes, and she is absolutely the most delightful person you ever want to meet. Beatrice and everybody knows Beatrice because she has a show on Fridays. So thank you for having me as a co-host today. Yes, but I wanted to talk about this issue with Beatrice because I hate to say that I am totally ignorant of the issue of the languaging Hispanic and Latino and what it means and who they are in American style where they lump everybody together. And here this month we are in Hawaii. All of these different cultures will come together. I think she has 22 different people from 22 different areas that are, quote, Latin America. There are Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Uruguay, and Venezuela. And there's a lot of countries and places here in Hawaii. Yes, right here, yes. Well one of the things I find it so particular about the census in Hawaii is that the Latinos, all Latin census purposes in the U.S. classified as Hispanic. We are one of the largest and fastest growing group in Hawaii. We are 12.6 percent, which is even more than native Hawaiians, you know, if you think about the 10 percent. But we do have a lot of Latinos here in Hawaii. Now tell me, what is the difference in Latino and Hispanic? I know there's a sensitive issue between those two. What is? The rules are used interchangeably for several decades now, but they can note certain differences. I think it's already talking about it. So in the 1970s, President Nixon wanted to incorporate Hispanics in the census as a way to identify people from Latin America. So you talk South and Central America. And also, you know, the UN used to use Hispanics as well to define people that come from these regions of the world. And the French in the 1800s, not the 1700s, came with the term Latinos as a way to honor and unify cultures and people that would speak languages that came from Latin roots. So Spanish, French, Portuguese. So part of the beef that I think a lot of people have with whether to use the term Latino or Hispanic. And the preferred term by many people from Central and South America is Latino because it's more inclusive. One of the things that the word Hispanic does not include are the people of Brazil because we are not only... Not only we will colonize by Portuguese and Portuguese is our native language, but also the largest country of Central and South America. So you pretty much, you know... Eliminate a whole lot of people. You don't recognize them. It's not even elimination. You don't even recognize. You don't see them. We have a map of... Let's look at Latin America or Central America because, you know, other than you and me, most people don't know where in the world it is. So we do have maps. So this one, you see how big Brazil is and you see how little North America is. But that is Latin America. And then up in the corner you see the Caribbean and Central America. But this... Brazil is huge. Brazil is a very large country. It is... When you start looking at it, it's like, oh wait, you know... So we have... We have Bolivia and Paraguay and Chile, Argentina, Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela, the French Guiana, right? And the very tall Guianas. Yes, exactly. So when you talk about Hispanics, you also have to think about it originally. Don't we have the Dutch somewhere up here? Oh yeah. When Brazil was discovered, there was one point that Brazil was half Portuguese, the other half Spanish at the territory. But we also had a little part in the northeast of Brazil that was Dutch. The Dutch were in Brazil for 30 years and then they phased out. But Portugal was really the main coloniser of Brazil. But the thing is that if you think about Hispanic, even though the world, you know, and what you're celebrating and what a lot of the movement decided that we need to make amends to history also. No, if you think about Hispanic, it is like what comes from Spain. Spain conquistadors, you know, they came to many countries in Central and South America and just pretty much colonized it. And so, you know, I think part of the politically correct aspect of reclaiming identity and honoring ancestry is to recognize that we really wanted to be, many countries don't want to be associated with that part of history. Even though they have been colonized, you also have to think about the, you know, people of African descent that were brought to these countries as slaves. Where is their representation when you mention Hispanic, you know, heritage? What about the indigenous people who were not only desecrated, decimated, you know, under land was taken away. And to this day there's still struggling and not everybody in Central and South America will speak Spanish. They speak their own indigenous language and have their own culture. And so I think that part of recognizing not only history, but also recognizing, you know, the people who are currently living in these countries that don't want to be associated with, you know, Spanish colonization, but also have their own culture, their own language, their own sovereignty, and they're fighting so hard to retain it. I saw a piece on television on Vice and they were interviewing people, indigenous people, that live along the Amazon and in their own culture and their languages. And it was an incredible lesson for anybody that can speak. Still, the watching this lifestyle, these people that have been for thousands of years and now the government wants to come in and change things. And that's the thing I think it's very important to talk about it is that it's not a lifestyle, it's a way of living. That's the only way they know. And I guess all lords, you know, they still have been able to preserve their cultural traditions, their language. And it's so sad to see, you know, with more urban development and with more greed from government, you know, with privatization and opening doors for private investors that will come into these lands and pretty much not invite people to live. They are really killed and the land is taken away from them. And, you know, so that's how many indigenous cultures have been wiped off from the face of the art. Or they come with promises of progress, progress where, you know, we'll bring schools and, you know, health, access, internet, electricity, your life will be much better. This is progress, except that, you know, the way of subsistence and sustainability that indigenous cultures have have walked for them and for the world for many thousands of years, that is stripped away from them because they can't no longer use the water resources the way they used to because a lot of the water is changed and the dams are created, you know, and so there's a lot of drought in the region. All areas end up being explored for mining and so, you know, everything gets polluted and they have a lot of issues with natural disasters of famine and all of a sudden a perfect ecosystem and a way of subsisting is destroyed and then there are more poverty and there's no progress for them. Okay, we have, we've got to take a break and when we come back, let's look at the other parts of Central America and the Caribbean. This is Think Tech Hawaii, raising public awareness. Truth is, I'm impressed. I haven't been asked such intelligent questions in a long time. Thanks. We are live here every other Thursday at 4 p.m. and we welcome you to join us here at Sister Power. Aloha and thank you. Aloha. I'm Marcia and this is Beatrice. And we are exploring, for me it's a lesson, of Central and South America of what is known as Latin America and we are all on the same continent but you know in the United States they tend to think they are America. They don't think that there's other parts of America. Do we have a map that shows that part? Do we have any of those? Can you tell? Yeah there we are. That's very good. Central America, from the Panama, Costa Rica, El Salvador and then you know like you have Belize, Honduras, Costa Rica, Panama, the Yucatan Peninsula, they're getting beat up today with the hurricane and Cuba, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, yeah. As a side note, you know the largest Chinatown in the world is in Cuba. And now you have to explain to our viewers why. Sugar, the sugar planters, the reason we have so many Chinese in Hawaii and all over the world, wherever they were sugar planters, that was who they wanted for labor. So anyway, let's get back to it. So yeah, so anyway, so to wrap up the concept of Hispanic vassals, Latino definition, I mean they are inter-exchangeable words but really in reality when you think about it, you know perhaps it's more inclusive and more respectful to identify people who come from countries from Central and South America as Latinos. I mean think about in Brazil for example, the largest community of Japanese individuals, migrants that live outside Japan are there and they don't speak any Latin root language but by the virtue of being in Latin America, you know, so there's like the Japanese-Brazilian nationalism. And Peru, there's a Peru as well. Peru is Japanese population, yes. So, you know, we have to think about that. We have to think about also people who come from other countries, you know, we had immigration waves of Germans and Italians. Oh, after World War II, Argentina was full of Nazis. Yes, and Brazil a little bit, but also folks who were fighting fascism and didn't want to be associated with fascism and were persecuted for, you know, fighting the government and so, you know, there's a lot to be said about, you know, running away from that perspective to talk about, you know, like the richness, you know, and the beauty of so many different countries, you know, not only in the continent but here in America. Yes. Because unlike what our president says, that every Latino who is here, you know, is a catholic and a buddhist society, it's quite the opposite. Well, you know, in Hawaii, you know, this is the limit of my knowledge of Latino in Hawaii and that is Francesco Morin, yeah, Morin, and he came here, 1700s maybe, and you know where Vineyard Boulevard is, well, he developed a vineyard, which is why it was called Vineyard and he introduced the coffee plant and so much fruit and vegetables, showing how to grow these things because up to that point, you know, the kinds of things that were grown in Hawaii were totally different than the stuff that he imported and the king loved him, of course. And then I think something happened, I don't know what it was, but he got in some kind of trouble and was exported to California. So Morin County, actually he developed all of the fruit and vegetables there, so Morin County is named after him, but he was originally spent years and years developing crops in Hawaii. So we, but there is a building named for him in Chinatown, you know. And you know, that's one of many examples, you know, we have many farms that have, you know, today they are supported by migrant Latino workers in Hawaii. If you're going to talk about Latino contribution to sports, when you think about surf, Brazilians are always, you know, hand in hand with the native Hawaiians, you know, but we have many renowned Brazilians who have moved here either seasonally or prominently that really, you know, have brought the sport to a new level as well. Without Hispanics, Latinos, there would be no baseball in America. That is their sport. Every team is just full of people from other, from Latin America, South America, and the islands and the Caribbean, all of those baseball teams just full. And what's the world would be like without tacos and burritos and salsa and mariachi dances and all of the traditions that, we joke about it because, you know, it's like that's so trivial, but now it's not. I mean, it's true food that you learn so much about a culture. It's about coming together. It's about integration. It's about acceptance and tolerance and respect. And that's one easy way, I think, for people to start to get curious about a certain region, the people that live in that region. This event on October 13th is an opportunity for just that with all of these different ethnic people who are residents of Hawaii and they bring the music, the dance, the food. You can't have a festival in Hawaii without food. I got that. Got that food. Yeah, you got that food. So that's the similarities. One of the things that I find that's so amazing about cross-cultural education and awareness is that as you start to learn and you start to break those barriers, we also recognize how much we have in common as opposed to our differences, you know, like, like Native Hawaiians, you know, people of Central and South America place huge value on family and on walk, ethics, and on peace, and celebration, you know, and spirituality. And so when you start to really peel the layer, you know, I think that if there is one argument for why, you know, America is so special, and by that we also include Hawaii. The people that come from everywhere, you know, and coexist together and co-create this society together. And so, especially in Hawaii where everybody intermarries and everybody's part this and the other part that, it's, and Rich, this is for you, Rich, the Filipinos are the only culture that I know of, and I love geography, where the Spanish did not take away their language. They still have several indigenous languages, and that's the only place where everybody else, every place else that the Spanish went and the French, they imparted their language and that, and so Rich, that's for you, that's the only place I can think of. Well, there are many villages throughout Central America that does speak still their native language also, and some Spanish, and some areas, you know, if you really look at it, that's, you know, what is the primary language is their native language, not Spanish. So there's more, there's more, like you think about Honduras, in El Salvador, in Peru, in Chile, I believe, in Brazil, you know, we have people out of me language, which unfortunately I wasn't able to learn, but you know, there are, there are, you know, languages that still, you know, they haven't vanished, they haven't disappeared. Now, your mother is indigenous. My mother was, she passed away 10 years ago, and she grew up in the native reservation of Brazil until the age of 12, and with my grandparents on the rest of the family, and overnight the area was misappropriated, it was taken by farmers who decided to come and redevelop the area. So with the help of the military government, militia, that pretty much held everybody a gun point and said that either you live or you die, and I'll never forget, you know, my mother's recollection of that, you know, late afternoon, what that meant for her and her family. Yes. But so she spoke to Piguarani, and then Portuguese also, but she was forbidden from teaching me and my sister to Piguarani because it wasn't civilized language. Oh my. But even though I did not learn the language, my heart is half, you know, the heart of an indigenous Amazonian woman, and you know, someday I'm going to learn it. And I know though, the beautiful thing about this though, I've always wanted to go to the Amazon and to learn more about my indigenous roots. What I have not realized until I moved to Hawaii is how much Polynesian culture, the indigenous culture, has to do with indigenous culture, not only in Brazil, but in many countries of center in South America because of the seafarers of Polynesia who got to these lands, to these areas. And so I think if there is a spiritual force in the universe, I had to come to Hawaii and I have not made that connection with the native Hawaiians, it was actually the families of Micronesian, the first generation families who are still so, you know, walking with their traditional roots, still have that raw indigenous, you know, essence that made me go back, you know, to my childhood and remember, remind me of my grandparents and my own mother, you know, in essence too. And then I got to learn more about native Hawaiian culture, and I said, now it's Osaka, so here we are, you know, celebrating Hispanic heritage month and we're talking about indigenous roots all the way, you know, through Pacific. And the title of the event is One Endless Voice to Enhance Our Traditions. And with that, I have to say, yes! The girls of Brazil from Samba! And anyway, we have to close, but we would love to see all of you on Saturday, on Nuanu Avenue in Chinatown, from 10.30 to 5.00 p.m., and come salsa, and eat, and dance, and learn, and enjoy, and enjoy, and have fun. Yes. Thank you so much, and thank you, Beatrice, this is always a pleasure to be the girls from Brazil. Thank you. I love it. We need to do this more often. Aloha, and we'll see you next time.