tter, yet we don’t consider ourselves illiterate.Although we may see dusty roads in some rural parts of Mexico (which is typical for developing countries) here in the United States, with all of its technology and wealth, we see dusty roads and downtrodden communities in many areas. How would we like it if these were portrayed abroad as the typical image of the United States? Mexico City alone has a population of over 9 million people. It is the second-largest and most rapidly growing metropolitan area in the world. Mexico City has been, since 1325, a thriving city with pyramids, houses, and temples. In other words, it has existed in a civilized state long before the United States even came into existence! In 1620, when the pilgrims first landed at Plymouth Rock, Mexico City was a thriving center with over 100 million inhabitants. When my father taught school in a mostly Hispanic community in Los Angeles, I would go on campus with him during the summer breaks and I made quite a bit of Latino friends. Despite what I had often heard, the people I met were just the opposite. They were clean (like anybody else), they were not crammed either in a pickup truck nor in their apartment. Most of the children wore American styled clothes- of course there were those with the frilly yellow and pink Sunday dresses at school, but one could hardly say it was typical.One of my father’s students, who is Mexican-American, had a graduation party and invited me and some of her other friends and to her house. On her CD player was, among other music, Montell Jordan’s “This Is How We Do It,” (This was in 1995 when that song was a hit!) not just the traditional mariachi music. Unfortunately, we, ourselves in DeKalb County Schools, don’t learn much about the Latino culture, therefore it’s easy for many to believe any ridiculous stories that are remotely believable. How many of the people promoting the stereotypes have eve...
