In 1999 I saw a movie, Bicentennial Man starring Robin Williams, that struck a chord in me as a Latino in the United States. In the movie robots have become enormously sophisticated; their design includes human along with mechanical anatomy, intermingling and interconnecting. If either human or mechanical elements malfunctioned, the robot would stop working. In the climax of the movie a human robot, played by Williams, goes before a world congress, which debates the dignity and worth of these new hybrid beings and whether they deserve to have the same rights as fully human beings. The film’s most intriguing and underdeveloped aspect involves the portrayal of a society of humans who resist full acceptance of the humanized robots.

The U.S. Latino experience is like this. Those of us who have been born and raised in this country are a new breed of Latinos/Americans in whom both identities are in operation and who struggle for acceptance in both parent cultures. We are not one or the other. We are both. In Living in Spanglish: The Search for Latino Identity in America, Ed Morales puts it this way: “Latino culture, particularly our Spanglish American variation, has never been about choosing affiliation with a particular race—it is a space where multiple levels of identification are possible…. If the postmodern era is characterized by unprecedented heterogeneity and randomness, then Latinos are well prepared to take advantage of it.”1

I have spent much of my life in this space of multiple identifications, fighting not to choose one over the other, but living in the blessings and contradictions of both. I have decided that I love being somewhere in the middle of both my Latino and American worlds. It has been a place of sadness as I have had to face the cultural weaknesses of each, but somehow instead of becoming bitter, I have been filled with God’s comfort and strength as he has come close to me. I have come to realize that my Latino identity in this country—a conjoining of two ethnic identities— is about God designing a new breed he is pleased to use to influence both cultures and the world.

As a follower of Christ, I have chosen a new path of trust. This trust is no longer based on my own instinct, which is frequently distorted with my own fears, but on the reality that God is committed to my well-being. I have chosen courage because it is the thing I lack most. If I can be courageous—and this is where the cutting edge of my faith rests—then my obedience to Christ truly has meaning and his power can be manifest in and through me. I have reasons to pity myself, but my faith in Christ has blocked the natural course of my self-loathing. I know too much about God to sit back and do nothing. I have therefore chosen to walk into the confusion of biculturalism, trusting that God will be in those places waiting for me. The Apostle Paul said it well when he faced his weaknesses and said: “Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakeness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:8-10).

This is why I have chosen to think and write about my experience of growing as a Latino Christian, a journey of knowing more about the multidimensionality God has created in me. Understanding myself in the realm of ethnicity has informed me about the goodness and power of God. And knowing the love of God has led me to embrace who I am as a Latino. I want to share my sorrows and joys with you, hoping that my journey of self-understanding may help you snap together some pieces of the puzzle of your own life.

As a second-generation Latino, I write this book for other second- (and third- and fourth-) generation Latinos who are trying to hold in tension their dual identity. While the media is giving increased recognition to Latino culture in the United States, many young Latinos still do not know how to incorporate their ethnic identity into who they are as people. They often swing to extremes, from totally assimilating into American mainstream culture to believing that the Latino culture is superior to all others.

In this book I argue that most Latinos born in the United States will be happiest somewhere in between. I seek to point us toward a healthy balance as we gain a conceptual understanding of Latino ethnic identity and learn how to practically live out our God-given strengths and gifts.

Here is a brief synopsis of what you can expect. Chapter one tells of my own journey toward ethnic self-discovery. In chapter two I explore a new Latino identity that has less to do with the country of origin— although it starts there—and more to do with the Latino experience in the United States. My goal in this chapter is also to broaden the net of who is “Latino” when many are questioning if they are Latino enough. Please note that for the sake of brevity I am using the term Latino in a way that encompasses Latino males and Latina females in the United States.

Chapter three includes a grid to help you map out where you stand in your own journey of assimilation and identification. Since it is important to understand the roots of the sense of inferiority that continues to plague large portions of the Latino community, chapter four takes a look at the phenomenon of mestizaje, the mixing of races. In chapter five I turn to Scripture to meet biblical characters like Moses, Esther, Mordecai, Jesus and Paul who lived out of their ethnicity and allowed God to use it as a catalyst to accomplish his plans in their lives and his purposes in the world. Chapter six defines culture and describes how our ethnicity and our faith can work hand in hand to shape us into healthy, whole people, able to honor God and love our neighbors.

Chapters seven, eight and nine address very practical issues about how we need to move beyond ourselves. A strong bicultural Latino identity is not just about coming to terms with who we are but also about positioning ourselves to serve others through racial reconciliation. We can no longer remain on the margins of discussions about race, hesitant to contribute our views for fear of rejection or inadequacy. We must believe God has something to say to others through our gifts as a community.

Chapter nine offers ideas for how you can give back and facilitate growth in others who need to grow in their ethnic identity. Years ago a Latina professor, the only one at Colgate University at the time, ingrained in my head and heart that I was not in college just to advance myself; I was there to give back y para enriquecer la comunidad Latina (to enrich the Latino community). This entire book, in fact, is my way of giving something back to my Latino community, a community I love and respect and am proud to be a part of.

Finally, in chapter ten I call on Latinos to step into positions of leadership to contribute to making our communities, our churches and our nation stronger and healthier. I also issue a warning not to make ethnic identity an idol. We must invite God into our ethnic journey so that we give it the appropriate level of attention. In doing so we become healthy and whole people who embrace all we are without falling into idolatry of ethnicity and culture.

I have spent the last sixteen years serving in campus ministry with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. Many of the stories I tell and examples I use come from that context. InterVarsity as a movement has worked very hard at issues of ethnic diversity. Our growth in this area has come from great successes but also difficult failures and painful problems that have felt insurmountable. Multiethnicity is, in fact, complex and messy. Nevertheless, most of what I have learned about Latino ethnic identity has come from dialogue and interaction with fellow campus ministers who are part of LaFe (Latino Fellowship), InterVarsity’s Latino ministry. I am indebted to them for entering into this journey with me, a journey that has elevated and enriched all of us with tears, deep emotions and growth toward wholeness.

Finally, I realize that my experience may be very different from yours, but perhaps there is enough that will ring true and give you greater insight into your experience. This is my journey, and I am inviting you to look into it and see what you can find to help in your own ethnic journey.

I have never hidden my mistakes from my two sons because I want them to be better men than I am myself. As you read this book I hope you will read the lines and between the lines. And after you have read, I...