• by Arturo Nava , Columnist, October 29, 2015

Donald Trump’s ignorant and derogatory comments towards the Latino community have insulted Hispanics across the nation and the world. It is mind-boggling and sad to see that such a person is been embraced by millions of people as their best bet for the job of leader of the free world. But Trump’s insults have also had an unintended positive effect: they have woken up the Latino sleeping giant. 

Across the country, Latinos are saying, “Ya Basta” (no more), as we are tired of being disrespected, stereotyped or ignored. We have long been stereotyped in the mainstream media in a way that doesn’t portray the reality of our immense contribution in American society and our progress. According to the Hispanic Influence on America study by Connil Advertising, 73% of Latinos and 68% of non-Latinos feel Latinos are portrayed stereotypically by the mainstream media often. 

Trump’s overt bigotry towards our community has galvanized Hispanics of all stripes who are taking a stand to demand that such bigotry is not tolerated anymore. Latino leaders, celebrities and everyday folks have closed ranks around this like never before. 

We are uniting to stand up for ourselves; we will not put up with those that put us down and insult us. We will also not support the companies and brands that endorse these views explicitly or implicitly. 

The Latino giant has woken up and this means a shift to a mindset of more empowerment and assertiveness in which we speak up forcefully for what we believe in, in which we vote more with our wallets and flex our political muscle to take our well-deserved seat at the American table.

The waking up of the Latino giant will have profound, long-term, positive effects in how Latinos are portrayed in the media and how companies will need to market to them if they want to be successful. 

Latinos seek to be empowered by the strength of their culture and to be recognized authentically and positively by the mainstream. We want to engage in experiences that empower us and that give meaning to our voice. We seek a more positive and more authentic reflection of ourselves in the media. We seek for the mainstream to embrace our cultural roots as sources of strength, not as barriers.

We will embrace brands that respect our heritage and celebrate our accomplishment. We will drop brands that ignore us, belittle us or those who support those that do.

Brands that want to win with Latinos will need to show with their actions that they truly care about our community. They’ll need to show they care by standing up with us against intolerance, they will show they care by embracing the causes that matter to us. 

They will show they care by being courageous and speaking up not by being silent or by endorsing those that attack us. 

They will show they care by recognizing our contributions and empowering us to achieve more. 

The contributions of Hispanics to every aspect of the US economy, culture, arts, and every day life is immense and incredibly positive. 

Our voting power will decide the 2016 presidential election. 

Our $1.5 trillion in spending power sustains the U.S. economy.

The time has come to command the respect that we deserve. This is why we are sending a loud “Ya Basta” to stop the ignorant bigotry spewed against us by bigots like Trump.

The time has come for any corporation that markets to Latinos to listen this call closely and show with their words and actions that they genuinely care about us and that they support us.

Trump represents the worst intolerance and hate that sadly is still alive our society. But he woke up the Latino giant and that will be very good thing for our nation.