Latina Writers on the Vote

Forty percent of Florida Cubans favor Obama?  ¡Hijole!   Never thought I'd see the day.  That is one conservative bunch of voters down there.  I guess even the folks with their yachts pointed toward Havana can see the way the wind's blowing.

Given that the President makes decisions that affect the arts, why is it important that Latino writers—as members of the largest minority in the U.S. and as members of the artistic community—vote on November 4th? 

That's the question Marcela Landres asked several Latina and Latino writers recently.  Here are two of my favorite answers.

The first is by Stephanie Elizondo Griest, whose book Mexican Enough we recently read in our English-Ethnic Studies Chicana/Chicano Literature class and who's been hailed on this blog before here and here.  She responds:

As a travel writer, I live on the road, so have seen firsthand how the Bush Administration has devastated our standing in the international community.  On November 4th, we have a precious opportunity to reverse the terrifying direction our nation has taken. And that is by casting our ballots for Barack Obama. He is beloved throughout the globe: Kenya, Indonesia, Cuba, Venezuela, Jordan, Germany--even France. He alone has the potential to restore people's faith in us. We must vote for him not just as writers or Latinos but as citizens of the world.

The second is from Esmeralda Santiago, the author of the beautiful memoir When I Was Puerto Rican and other books, who dares to be a little intellectually and culturally elitist during a moment when that's a bad word:

This election demonstrates that our government officials and wannabes want us and the world to believe that a typical American is ‘Joe Six Pack’, ‘Joe the Plumber’, and ‘Soccer Mom.’ These stereotypes are meant to counter the terror-induced image of Americans as intellectual, high minded, eloquent. These [L]uddites don't openly say that Joe Six Pack, Joe the Plumber and Soccer Moms don't read, don't go to museums, don't think too much or too deeply about anything beyond the basic necessities. That might be offensive. But they loudly proclaim that the ‘average American’ prefers to drink reality into oblivion through liquor, are obsessed with sewage, and prefer to stand on the sidelines while someone else runs after the ball. It is up to intellectuals and artists to proudly and loudly elevate the discourse and to ennoble and dignify what it means to be an average or typical American. These are not issues of ethnicity or race. They are issues of citizenship.

I had to smile:  her tone ("obsessed with sewage") reminds me so much of my friend Corinne--who is, in fact, French, and who gave up on the United States and academia and went home to France, where she tells me there are decent cheeses, healthcare, and vacation time to be had.

Here's Marcela Landres's own view.  If you like it, check out her website.  The daughter of Ecuadorian immigrants who grew up in the projects in New York, she used to be an editor for Simon & Schuster.  Now she works one-on-one with writers who are trying to get published.  She publishes a helpful e-newsletter, Latinidad, which is the source of these comments. 

Here's her lovely micro-essay, which I'll share with you in full:

Unless you are a political writer, you probably don't consciously think about politics when you write. Yet, the government wields enormous influence over your writing life. Politicians decide how much (or how little) money to allocate towards the arts, libraries, and schools. If art funding is cut, how many non-profit presses and literary journals will disappear? If library budgets decrease, how many of the remaining dollars will be spent on Latino books? If educational resources dwindle, how much time and attention will be devoted to creative writing classes?

Voting is not only a political act; it is a creative one. With your pen or keyboard, you shape future generations of readers and writers, but voting is how you shape your future. You create your art by writing, and you create your country by voting.

On November 4th, put down your pens, walk away from your keyboards, and vote. Don't vote alone. Grab your abuelita, best friend, significant other, boss, staff, preacher, congregation, teacher, class, mentors, and protégées and make sure they vote too. On this election, it is not sufficient for individuals to vote—we must vote as a community.

Here's hoping that as readers, writers, artists, and human beings, we all have a lot to celebrate Tuesday night!  If you need some ginning up, check out this cool short Grey sent.