Is Latino the new white?

Latinos living in the United States are becoming whiter.\nThese days Latinos are trying too hard to be "American" and disregarding their culture.\nIn the 2000 U.S. census, 48 percent of Latinos identified themselves as white. And 55 percent of those who stated they were white classified themselves as American, as opposed to Cuban or some other national origin, according to a Pew Hispanic Center survey in a Los Angeles Times article. \nThey identified themselves as white not for physical reasons, but for psychological reasons. Light-skin has always been a sign of high class in Latin American countries. The image of white skin goes hand in hand with power, beauty and money. \nLatinos in the United States still seem to have this mindset. From second-generation, third-generation, and so on, American-born Latinos are considered the "elite" of the Hispanic U.S. society. They are the most established and successful of Latinos. Those who identified themselves as white and American tend to have a better educational background, higher incomes and speak English only, according to the article. \nThese Latinos live in a different world compared to newer immigrants, and it's putting a strain on the relationship between the two groups. \nAt Montebello High School in L.A., this is obvious. The Los Angles Times did an article about the cultural divide that exists on campus. The school is 93 percent Latino and mostly Mexican. \nThe campus is divided into two areas. Senior Park is the area where the more Americanized Latinos eat lunch and hang out, speaking in only English and listening to hip hop and rock music. The other side is called TJ, or the Mexican border city of Tijuana. There, Latinos who just arrived speak Spanish and listen to Ranchera music. \nThe groups don't hate each other, but there is definitely competition. The Spanish-speakers think the others are arrogant because they were born in the United States, and the Americanized students put them down and make fun of the way the others speak English.\nYou would think that a school that is 93 percent Latino would be united, but it's just like the rest of the country. Latinos in the United States are not as unified as they should be. \nAmericanized Latinos who lose touch with their culture are disliked by the community because they are seen as betraying their heritage; this includes those who checked white and American on the 2000 census sheet. \nI'm a first-generation U.S. citizen, and I have to admit that I hate the lack of unity in the Latino community. I also don't like seeing a Latino who has forgotten his or her heritage. Many Latino parents want their kids to be Americanized because they think it'll give them a better chance to succeed in this country. I know parents who don't teach their kids Spanish on purpose because they think it'll hold them back in school. My parents didn't employ this strategy on me, and I turned out fine. \nIn order to survive, Latinos must assimilate into American culture, and they are. But it makes me mad when they sell out. \nMinorities in the United States have always been running to catch up to the white majority, and Latinos seem to have adopted the mantra, "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em." But by identifying themselves as white and American, these Latinos are denying who they are just because they think it'll help them get ahead. \nBut it won't. \nI believe that changing who you are means giving up who you were -- and, man, that's a lot to lose.