A Friday feature on VL, Word en la Calle lets everyday Latinos voice their thoughts and opinions on topics of interest to the community.

Name:
Laureano Ruiz

Age:
33

Location:
Houston, Texas

Profession:
IT Consulting

Roots:
Mexican heritage, born and raised in Mexico.

Time in US:
I have lived in the States for 7 years. Also, when I was 10 years old, I lived near Detroit for about a year.

Languages:
Spanish, English, and French.

Which do you prefer?
For sure French is not my preferred one, between Spanish and English, I’d say it depends on who I am talking to.

What does it mean to you to be Latino?
Latino to me means having a huge cultural heritage that goes from food to music to art to soccer to work. It means enjoying music and dancing continuously until dawn. Sometimes it also means being classified as going late into meetings or as the mean macho figure, when it is not the case. In terms of family and religion, it means the big family union and a big faith in God. And of course, that peculiar sense of humor, although that could just be me!

I strongly oppose the stereotype of Latino as a minority or in the same token any other group.

In your opinion, are Latinos united or divided as a group?
I don’t think Latinos show a common front towards the community. I see Latinos united by their common origin. Like Mexicans tend to group with Mexicans, Colombians with Colombians and so forth. I believe this is because single nationality communities have formed through out different cities in the States.

Politics: (Example:middle ground, far right, far left, etc.)
Middle Ground

Have you ever voted in Mexico / continued voting since you left?
Yes, I have. I had to go to Mexico to vote.

Are you aware that Mexico is accepting absentee ballots for next year’s presidential election? Do you plan to participate?
I had heard about it, but don’t know if it was accepted or not. If they are available I will participate.

Who have been or are your role models?
I would have to say my parents are my biggest role models. They have put so much together in time, dedication, and work to raise my siblings and me. It is a blessing to have them as parents.

What’s your biggest wish /desire:
If everything was as easy as to have a magic wand. I wish that everybody in the world could have the opportunity to fulfill their potential, especially those people that were born in the poorest countries.

Person you would most love to meet:
Several people, among them: Vicente Fox, George Bush, Jack Welch, Donald Trump, Gustavo Cisneros, Lorenzo Zambrano.

When it comes to media, do you tend to listen/watch Spanish-language or English-language programming?
Can go either way, it depends on what interests me the most. I watch Spanish news because they show news from Spanish speaking countries that you don’t always get from English news. During “Primetime” I watch English speaking shows; I have never been a big fan of soaps, which is what they show at that time [on Spanish networks].

As for radio, it depends on the mood I am in; there is no preference between one or the other. There are very good singers and songs in both languages.

Favorite TV Shows:
Spanish speaking: Otro Rollo
English speaking: The Apprentice

Favorite artist in any genre:
I will have to go with several here: U2, Priscila, Luis Miguel.

Favorite musical style:
Pop/Rock (Spanish and English)

Favorite brand names:
GE, Nike, Corona, Bimbo

Describe a normal day for you:
Wake up to the alarm clock, most likely in a hotel room. Do a set of dips, sit-ups, crunches and push-ups. Iron my shirt and my pants for the day. Head to the shower. Go out of the shower, brush my teeth, comb my hair - got you there! Shave. Get dressed. Get my stuff and head to work. Once I am at work, I plan my day and then set to eat some breakfast. I won’t go into detail, but I work all day in front of a monitor. At noon, I head to lunch, which is my main meal of the day. After lunch comes the big push at work, I work probably until 7 or 8 at night. I go to the hotel and call my girlfriend. Change and head to the gym - exercise for about 40 minutes. Go back to the room, take a shower and prepare for the night. Check other business related emails. Call my girlfriend again. Read until I fall asleep…and dream!

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