Chinese in Spain? Tell Me More.

Hola Meltingpot Readers,

I'm up to my eyeballs in research for another talk I'm doing tomorrow on Spain's Black history and current multicultural reality. But the pressure is on, dear readers, because I have to do the talk, wait for it, in Spanish. Yikes! The audience is going to be made up of local Spanish educators and I just know they are going to be judging my accent and waiting for me to screw up the subjunctive. How do I get myself into these things?

But on the bright side, el esposo will be joining me. After I give my speech, el esposo will be addressing the audience on ways to incorporate culture into the Spanish language classroom. This is the first time we've ever done a conference together. I'm kind of liking it. And I'm hoping if I screw up, he'll jump in and save me! He already translated my entire speech for me. I don't know how to be witty in Spanish in an academic setting.

So, where does the Chinese thing come in? Well, even though I'm speaking mostly about Spain's Black history, I'm also trying to get the audience to recognize that Spain has a significant immigrant population, which makes the country far more diverse than many people realize. So, I was just looking for examples and/or stories about the Chinese experience in Spain and I discovered this post from The Lonely Planet. It's not exactly enlightening, but the comments on the post are fascinating. So many of the experiences shared by Asians living in or traveling to Spain mirrored my own. Take a look and tell me what you think. I'd especially like to hear from other Asians who've had experiences in Spain, either positive or negative.

I'm totally listening.

Peace.

Negro, Negrita, Morena: What is it Like to Be Black in Spain?

Hello Meltingpot Readers,


I need your help. I'm working on a lecture for a university audience about being Black in Spain. Much of the discussion will be about my own experience living in Salamanca, traveling around the country, and of course, visiting my in-laws in Andalucia. I will also discuss my findings of African slaves in the Iberian peninsula. But every time I give this talk, I feel like I'm doing a bit of a disservice.

How can I, one person, speak for the totality of the Black experience in Spain? Obviously, I can not. And I don't pretend to, and yet, invariably people want to take what I say and claim it is The Truth. It is only my Truth. So, I'm asking you today, dear readers, to chime in with your own experiences. If you happen to be Black or Brown, and have travelled to Spain, either recently or many years ago, would you mind telling me in a word or two how was your experience? How were you treated? Did you feel the love or did you feel unwanted? Did you fall in love with the culture? Why or why not? Compared to your experiences traveling to other countries, where does Spain fit?

Clearly, I'm not looking for one answer, I'd just like to pepper my talk with the variety of experiences that I know people have had. Everything helps. Thanks for sharing. And in the meantime, if you'd like to read about the Black experience in Spain, besides my experience, here are some websites and blogs that might be of interest.

Afro-Europe: Black Women in Spain Today
Being Black in Spain: A Current Student's Perspective

And below, check out the video from BlackAtlas.com about Madrid.

Hasta Pronto!

Traveling While Black... in Europe

A couple of days ago, my younger brother announced that he was thinking about traveling to Barcelona this summer. It's been a dream of his for awhile. But my sister-in-law, with a whispered warning over the phone, told him he might want to reconsider.

"It might not be safe for you in Spain this summer," she said.
"Why not?" my brother asked.
"Because of la crisis, the economy."
"What does that have to do with anything?" my brother demanded.
My sister-in-law sighed and answered, "Because there have been some 'incidents' against the immigrants and you might be mistaken for one of them."

Translation. Because of the worsening economy in Spain, violence against immigrants, Africans, South Americans, and/or anyone not visually Spanish, is at risk for feeling the frustration of the out of work Spaniards. This according to my sister-in-law in Spain.

When I heard this, I felt sick and all of my paranoid fears about being Black and unwanted in Spain returned. Fears that I thought I'd exorcised by writing my memoir, Kinky Gazpacho, came hurtling back. And they came with new fears this time. Fears of taking my children to Spain this summer and having them (them who look like Moroccans) be on the receiving end of ignorance and violence. Before my eyes, visions of keeping my sons safely ensconced in the house of my in-laws, never letting them out of the yard...like prisoners in paradise, flashed before me. Am I being ridiculous?

"What do you say we go back to Miami this summer instead?" I suggested to El Esposo?

Dear Meltingpot readers, especially those of you who live in Europe, have you seen an increase in violence or xenophobic behavior since the economy tanked? Is it widespread or isolated? Do you think Black Americans get a free pass from this violence because generally people can smell our "American-ness" a mile away? Should a new warning be issued by the Obama administration. Level Brown, perhaps? Do not travel if your skin color may be mistaken for that of an immigrant?

What do race relations look like in Europe when the economy goes bad? Is it safe to travel while Black these days? Please be candid and honest. This may turn into a bigger story.

Check out this story and this story for some more background on the current immigration situation in Spain.

Peace and Happy Tax Day!

Oops... They Did it Again (in Spain)

Boy do those Spaniards make it hard for a politically correct, socially conscious, Black girl to love them (except my hubby of course.).

In the latest offensive, racist act committed in the name of good fun in the sports arena, Spain's national basketball team posed for an advertisement while making "Asian eyes." (Please note, I don't know what the correct, non-offensive term for this gesture is, but it's when you pull on the corner of your eyes to make them look "Asian.") The ad was for a Spanish courier company and featured the entire team on the way to the Olympics in China, thus the great idea to mock the Chinese (I'm guessing.)

And wouldn't you know, the ad appeared several times in Spain without making the slightest stir. It wasn't until an English reporter saw it and wrote about it in the Guardian newspaper that all hell broke loose. And now, are the Spaniards contrite, embarrassed, or sorry? No, they don't understand what the big deal is!

“We did it because we thought it was going to be something nice, something with no problem. But somebody wants to talk about it. It is too much of a big deal with you guys (the media) and everybody talking about that.” This from Jose Calderon, a member of the Spanish team who plays for the Toronto Raptors.

As woman of color who has lived in Spain, married a Spaniard and continues to spend extended periods of time there, I wish I could offer more insight into this behavior besides, "They just don't get it." But I can't. I can only hope that with the rest of the world shaking a shaming finger at Spain as they continue to make themselves look woefully ignorant on an international stage, they might just begin to understand.

In Peace and Hope.