Recently a very good childhood friend invited me to his parent’s house for a good old fashion pig roast. Upon accepting his invitation I did what a normal Latino would do, invite a few more family and friends.

You see we grew up thinking if you brought a friend of yours to a party, then by default he was immediately a friend of the host and thus welcomed with hugs and kisses. We brought people home to become friends, it was after we were friends that we went out to dinner etc… Doesn’t that make more sense? How can you can create a greater bond than by sharing your home and as my niece would say “BTW Tio” why would you want to be seen with someone you don’t know! OK, I am getting off point.

I realized that becoming Americanisado has its price!  When bringing guests to an Anglo get together it is necessary to register the guest, pass the background check with both spouses, have a recalculated accounting of the entire menu and arrangements must be made for the gifts that each guest will bring. 

So, when the SIX of us (in two separate cars) arrived, I was a little nervous to say the least.  Immediately I inquired if this was an issue, “is it too many people?” I asked, of course it IS said my friend’s dad, did you bring food or at least a check to cover the expenses?  Like a good Latino American I brought lots of wine, he was satisfied with my answer.

As the afternoon rolled on so did the pig. Food and drink of every sort, the music played, people talked and danced and the kids played. Latinos from many countries shared in what was a great day.

The next day my friend called me and said, “My mom and dad were so happy you brought your family and friends, they were so nice and we had such a good time”. Sometimes you just forget how good it is to be Latino, how our ways REALLY are good!!!  So as we strive to achieve the American dream lets not forget!!!

Argentina to Venezuela and everything in between, I love being Latino, we can enjoy 21 flavors. The people, food, music, language and the individual culture each country has to offer. I guess what I like the most is that we can do it in Spanglish, in America. We can walk into any Latino store or restaurant, wedding or birthday party and have one thing in common, Spanish. We have one more thing in common, English. Most of us (and I’ll spare you the digits) have embraced America. We love this country and the people.

We have contributed greatly to its armed services, work force, economy, culture, and politics and to its diverse development, particularly in the last 40 years. We are lovers of life; we enjoy music and laughter, a joy that is contagious. That is evident in trends throughout the U.S. Restaurants and clubs featuring Latin fusion cuisine and music have sprouted up even in the most unsuspecting communities. The #1 second language everyone wants to speak is Spanish! You cannot call a major company without hearing the press # for Espanol. And yet with all of this, I believe the single most important attribute, is not that we feel comfortable with each other, actually that is quite common, but that we feel comfortable with every American. I have friends or acquaintances from virtually every Latin country, as well as friends from Albanians to African Americans. What a gift, to have the ability to feel at home with such a wide array of people and them with you. I truly feel that this ability to interact (while personal to some degree) is a result of our Latin heritage. A warm, kind and inviting disposition which allows us to appreciate and focus on the positive attributes of a person. So the fusion is not just in food, it’s in the way we greet each other, our dance, and our sense of loyalty, our work ethic and our zest for life. We are having an impact on this country as never seen before. As my niece would say “It’s all good”.

We have all heard of predatory lending. You know what I mean: the mortgage lenders that take advantage of us hard working Latinos when we want to buy a home and realize the American dream. 

We work 16-hour days for years and save diligently so we can pay our friendly mortgage professional incomprehensible fees.  If you haven’t seen them, I’m talking about an application fee, appraisal fee, mortgage insurance, documentation fees, title insurance fees and others too long to list. The fees can be endless if we allow them.  This, by the way does not include the lawyer’s fees, who you should know, receives a commission for writing the title insurance on top of the title insurance fee.

If we are lucky we will receive a good interest rate, but don’t count on that. Most likely we will have a higher rate (due to the fact that we have not had ten active credit cards) or a variable that within a couple of years will make our $200,000 mortgage feel like we have financed Rockefeller Center.

But, have you heard of predatory banking?  Here is how it works; you deposit $1,000 cash into your account at 4pm.  The next day a check hits your account but somehow you do not have the money available, I know what you are thinking: but I deposited cash?!  If you are lucky they do you a favor, pay on the check(s) and charge you $35 for every check.  If this is done with a debit card they allow the charges to go through and charge you $35 for every charge.  In most cases they bounce your checks and still charge you. 

Banks actually put a hold on cash, some say that if you deposit the money into the ATM it is available, but if you hand the teller $1,000 cash it is not. Boy does that makes sense to you?  They see in the system that the deposit was cash, yet they process it as if it is not available then charge us fees galore.  Incidentally that very night the bank is investing that money they have on hold and earning interest on it, multiply this by billions of dollars and you can see why they can continue to report profits for “innovative” sources.

This system is purposely and maliciously structured to pillage the working man/woman or family that lives paycheck to paycheck and cannot afford to keep a substantial cushion in their checking account.  Make no mistake; this is an income stream for the bank.

My advice: Fight for every dollar; do not give the lenders and the banks the opportunity to steal your money.  Until the laws change it may be legal, but don’t be fooled; it is theft.  Be tough, think clearly and without emotion.  Lenders will not spare your emotions and your pain when they start the foreclosure on your home.

Monitor your checking account; be aware of their cut off times, if you can, set up a small savings account to prevent bounced checks. Shop for a bank or credit union that supports you, it is your money and we work damn hard for it!  Pass it on!!!