Proud Hispanic of the United States

Today on Oct. 12, when we commemorate the arrival of Christopher Columbus on the American continent, it is also a good opportunity to celebrate Hispanic vigor in the most powerful democracy in the world. Contrary to the populist xenophobia that personalities like Donald Trump preach, this energy not only isn’t threatening to destroy America, but it is also the guarantee of a successful, free and integrated society that will last a long time.

The exclusive and derogatory nationalism that travels across Europe has leaked into American political discourse, especially in the hands of Trump, who, with his outbursts and racist and sexist insults, has comfortably stepped into the role of the “infant terrible” of the 2016 presidential primary campaign. But the problem is not only Trump, whom we can credit with attracting the condemnation of Julio Iglesias and Hillary Clinton. In the polls, for the time being, the preference of the majority of Republican Party voters confirms populism’s contagious effect. Prior experience, including Trump’s own of four years ago, argues that this will be a passing phase, although its consequences will be felt in his more moderate rivals and are also equally vulnerable to the short term effect in the polls.

None of this should lead to pessimism, especially when this empty discourse of exclusion and the past compares to serious, strict and vigorous work in favor of themselves, their community of origin, and their adopted society which millions of Hispanics engage in daily in the United States. Two Americans attacked by Trump embody these values: Chef Jose Andres and journalist Jorge Ramos, who were born in two distant places on the map — Spain and Mexico — but are close in their defense of one Hispanic community, which has much to celebrate.