“Living In The Hyphen” — The New Definition of a Latino Millennial
Latinx comedian and actress Jenny Lorenzo jokingly refers to the bicultural experience as “living in the hyphen.” Rather than letting yourself be muted, she said, “Be who you are.”
“It’s fine to be Cuban and listen to punk rock,” said Lorenzo, the producer of Latinx content for the burgeoning media company, Mitú, who is best known for her online series, “That’s So Abuelita.”
Latinx transcends traditional gender roles, instead referring to the culture as a collective — free of binary constraints.
“It’s fine to be a light-skinned Cuban. It’s fine to be an Afro-Latino Cuban.”
In 2014, the U.S Census Bureau deemed Hispanics the nation’s largest ethnic minority. From there, the demographic continues to grow.
Now more than ever, 17 percent of the population is composed of “bicultural” Latinos — those who have combined attitudes and customs of two nations, peoples or ethnic groups.
That experience has left many young Latinos feeling isolated among their respective cultures. Lorenzo defines this liminal space as, “not American enough to be fully American but not Cuban enough to be fully Cuban.”
Yet media companies like Mitú and Comcast are making strides to meet this audience in the middle by encouraging bicultural Latinos to celebrate their dual heritage. Comcast’s latest release of two bilingual children’s network programs, as well as their on-demand English-to-Spanish translation services, show their commitment.
Similarly, Mitú’s message is to represent “‘the 200 percent’—youth who are 100 percent American and 100 percent Latino.” The company produces content for what they perceive is an untapped market.
Buzzfeed producer Curly Velasquez carries on this message by defying the traditional definitions of what it means to be Latinx.
“I don’t care if you can’t speak the language,” Velasquez said. “If you can say ‘Hola, ¿cómo estás?’ then you are 100 percent one of us.
“If you dance to the music, if you eat the food, if you know what’s up … you’re one of us. But that means that there are a lot of other things you gotta take on too. You gotta take on social responsibility, you gotta move the community forward, you gotta bring light and prominence to our community.”
Lorenzo, a second-generation Cuban-American born in Miami, is a self-proclaimed “geeky Cuban.” She wants Latinos to embrace all facets of their identity beyond the definition of Latino or American.
“There’s no point to try to squeeze yourself in like a broken puzzle piece that you know, doesn’t match,” Lorenzo said.
It’s about embracing the ever-changing definition of our heritage.
“You are the new definition of what a Latino millennial is,” Lorenzo said. “We’re not all supposed to be the same.”
