Jerry Villacrés has become pretty much a joker in the Hispanic community: he is present where the action is, wherever and whenever things are happening to its betterment. Originally a media man —and still active— he has become involved with most initiatives attempting to put Latinos in a better footing respect to mainstream social and cultural currents in the Boston area. We spoke to him in a busy Au Bon Pain café in Harvard Square.
Is it worthwhile to commemorate the Hispanic heritage?
I have mixed feelings about that. On one hand, it helps to bring some self-esteem to our community that is so much in of pride and recognition. On the other hand, I’m wary of the fact that at times celebrations are done in such a way that can be detrimental, many times just a party or a gathering. The celebration also commemorates Columbus’s discovery of America and that in itself has sad and cruel stories.
For some people the role of Hispanics in the U.S. is changing, its influence growing. What are Hispanics’ main contributions to mainstream America?
There are two main valuable aspects. The first is a theme promoted by conservatives in the U.S. that speaks about family values. As a community, we Latinos have true family values: the love, the “calor humano”, what I call the emotional wealth. We tend to be very open, very warm, to identify with others in a very humane way. That is the greatest contribution we can make to this society, which is loosing that side. My kids are in their thirties, and they are still my kids. In a sense I would be very disappointed if they could not take care of themselves. But my greatest accomplishment is that they relate to one another in very close terms. To me, that is an important value helping us to succeed in any society.
The second is work. There is also a lot of hard work in the Latino community that has been widely overlooked. Unfortunately we do work hard but not smart, not everyone goes to college, not everybody recognizes school as the universal equalizer. That is why I insist that we have a lot to learn from the Jewish community. They know how to educate. I wish as a community we could advance more in educating ourselves.
For some people Hispanics are a hindrance for American society. Do you find we have a negative influence? If so, what is the way to overcoming it?
Many people come to the U.S. without the tools –the language, the knowledge of the culture— that undermines their self-esteem and clarity about life. Unfortunately their kids don’t get a good education, they drop out of school (the drop out rate of Latino kids is horrendous!), many are very poor and tend to drown in the system, many don’t even have legal papers. I think that is a terrible, detrimental reality for the Latino community. Even children that go to school, get educated and do well are not able to go to college because they are not able to take advantage of the conditions offered to the native-born. There is a lack of understanding about these people because in order to survive often times they have several jobs and no insurance. It’s a vicious circle. That is a negative part.
Immigration is perhaps the issue in contemporary American society. Is there a silver bullet, a quick fix for this problem if immigration?
We currently have a very dysfunctional dialogue about immigration. You have major anti-immigrant, anti-undocumented radio and TV personalities (Ralph Limbaugh, Lou Dobbs, Bill O’Reilly), who are distorting the reality. In consequence many people blame the immigrants as if it was their fault. It easier to label them: these are undocumented, ignorant people. Instead of understanding the problem of low-paid undocumented, uneducated workers who don’t understand the language, they vilify them and make them scapegoats. If it’s their fault you don’t have to do anything about it, but chase them. I don’t think we have a quick fix. Even McCain who tried to address the situation with a common sense approach has gone back to policies that reflect the prejudice against immigrants.