by Karina Kosmala

On October 18th, 2018, Dr. Karen Cruz, assistant professor of English, presented her presentation on Latino Invisibility. Her presentation began with the possible assumption of where this notion of invisibility comes from, reading excerpts from Richard Rodriguez, the ‘famous Latino author,’ book titled, Brown. Cruz stated, from Rodriguez’s work, ‘Brown as impurity. I write of a color that is not a singular color, not a stripped recipe, not an unexpected result. I write about a race in America in hopes of undermining race in America.”

Dr. Karen Cruz stressed the racial paradigm conflict where, for some, the perception of skin color conflicts with the culture and heritage of that person. She continued the presentation through the analysis of how Latinas are depicted as both invisible and hyper-visible. Hyper-visible in terms of how they are viewed by the Anglo society, viewing Latinas, as Cruz described, “wild and exotic.” In terms of invisibility, Latinas are presented with this ill-favored attention from Anglo men, crossing the lines of undesired attitudes addressed to Latinas, claiming ‘privilege’ to women.

Encountering this attitude of invisibility came at a young age for Dr. Cruz when she was one of the ten students selected to skip a grade unlike a fellow student who responded to this news by saying, “You’re just a girl and you’re a spic.” Alluding to the idea that a Latina can’t achieve before her counterpart does. Her mother advised her then to hide her Puerto Rican identity with a ‘Spanish’ identity, as a form of ‘protection.’ To counteract these attitudes and perceptions that foster invisibility and hyper-visibility in society, Cruz advises the idea of educating others about this issue, whether it is by reading literary texts about the issues that Latinos face or engaging in conversations that revolve around this issue.