Fangirl5002 here you go!

Okay my violation beans, welcome back to my semi-structured rants, except this time it's educational.

When you write Hispanic or Latine characters it can be... overwhelming. The culture goes across so many different regions and as a result there is a lot of ground to cover.

It is also important to note that I am not a huge mix of multiple cultures, I'm Puerto Rican. Obviously my personal experience won't be the same experience to those who are Argentinian or Dominican or Cuban etc.

Which brings me to my first but of advice:

Figure out where your character is from. What is their ethnic background?

For this, take into account where they live or were born. If they're Latin and from Texas or Utah, odds are they're Mexican. Maybe they live in Miami, so they're probably Cuban. Maybe they live in Central Florida so you have the entire playing field there. Or in NY, where they could easily be from a fuck ton of places, but there's a whole sub-culture of people from PR. Or maybe they're an immigrant from Colombia or Spain or Venezuela or something.

Once you figure that out then you need to acknowledge one fact:

You can be pale skin, blue eyes, red haired and still be latine

I will say that again

You can be pale skinned, blue eyed, red haired and still be latine

One more time

You can be pale skinned, blue eyes, red haired and STILL BE LATINE

Ethnicity is your ethnic background

I'm going to take you on over to PR where there are a shit ton of different skin tones ranging from cool toned dark, neutral tawny, and warm white. All of these people are born and raised in PR. Not even the rich part, they live in the outskirts by the mountains and farmland.

I hate the idea that someone needs to have olive skin to be hispanic/latine. Like, look at our lord and saviors Shakira, Bad Bunny, Luis Fonsi, Gloria Esteban. They all have light skin.

THEY ARE ALL LATINE

It really annoys me because
1- My mother is white passing and consistently told she isn't hispanic
2- I once saw a project by someone who was Mexican and had pale skin. She drew Leo with two skin tones and was berated for it. Then she made a video about how she's Mexican and everyone looked fucking stupid

Okay, so this means you can have a latine character who has pale skin. It's okay. We need more light skinned latine rep, please and thank you.

Moving on to more surface level stuff:

Spanish, like English, has a lot of different dialects. However, no one is going to expect you to become fluent in multiple dialects of Spanish.

I don't speak Spanish, I was never taught and I'm currently trying to learn but it's difficult to learn a new language when you can't do it at school since the class was full and you're also learning ASL. I do have a Spanish speaking family and I've picked up a little now that I'm trying to learn. I also have the luxury of a bilingual family who can translate phrases for me.

Not everyone has that luxury, and no one will shame you for using Google Translate. Just make sure you put a disclaimer beforehand, since it isn't always accurate.

Accents: Not everyone has the telenovela accent of Sofia Vergara.

Dont get me wrong, some people do. But not everyone. Most of the time it's much more subtle.

And Latin people made fun of Selena Gomez not because her Spanish was bad, but because her accent wasn't good.

If you speak Spanish, to a native speaker you will sound American. That's just a fact of life. You will also be made fun of for it, but that's because we love you <3

Religion: I have never met a Spanish, Latin, or Hispanic person who was not raised Catholic. I do not know why.

Family size: bestie put families are HUGE. I went to PR over the summer, and there were so many people who knew everything about me, but i had no idea who tf they were

Food Love: if you come to a hispanic household, you will not be able to leave unless you've eaten something.

We do not care if you aren't hungry, take this five course meal home with you.

You have an allergy? Drink three bottles of water. Right now. This is a threat.

I also feed into this, to the point that i have images i send to my friends who refuse to drink water

obviously you want examples

drink water my violation beans <3

Anyway, let's get into specifics!

Because Reyna is from PR this will probably be a dive into PR culture and probably the most in depth because I am Puerto Rican and I know the most about this culture.

First off, a rant:

YOU REALLY WANT ME TO BELIEVE THAT REYNAS FATHER

1- LIVED IN SAN JUAN WHILE BEING POOR

2- OWNED A GUN IN SAN JUAN

E X C U S E / M E

NO

I AM CALLING BS

I DONT THINK THAT PEOPLE REALIZE JUST HOW ANTI-GUN PR IS ESPECIALLY IN SAN JUAN

ok well, yes a lot of us do own guns but 90% were inherited and if you were to use them in a way that wasn't hunting you can bet your ass you would be shunned to eternity.

San Juan is also very expensive, the same when you live near the beach. With the type of house that was described, it makes more sense if they lived somewhere like Aguadilla, which is more rural.

I also think that it is a really fun thing to add that Reyna is genuinely terrified of Hurricanes. They lived in PR, what would you expect?

Like, this girl is the type of person to grab gallons upon gallons of water and stock up on food and batteries because in PR there would be floods and outages and people lose water for weeks.

Reyna also lived in PR for quite some time making English her second language and she probably has an accent.

Now, Reyna has pretty much detached herself from her culture, which is understandable, so allow me to give you a deep dive.

So let's talk about my favorite thing: food

Fish. We love fish. It's a fucking island with fish everywhere and we think they taste amazing. They do. I've eaten them. It's fucking divine.

A lot of dishes are just fish and tostones, the fries of PR.

You take a fish, butter it, salt it, throw on an unholy (not really, it's fucking anazing) amount of garlic, and boom.

However PR is famous for two dishes: rice and beans (with all variations) and Mofongo. There are a lot more famous dishes, but these are my favorites.

Now rice and beans is not, I repeat not, a main dish. That is a side.

Brown rice does not exist to us. In fact, you suggesting it is a sin. Get that shit out of here.

White rice and black or red beans. That's the side dish.

Or you can go to the famous variation: arroz con gandules. Which is literally what it says arroz (rice, specifically yellow rice) and gandules (pigeon peas)

Mofongo, on the other hand, is a main dish. You fry plantains and then mash them, occasionally with maduros and yuca as well depending on where you go. You season it, idk how, and then you press it into this cup or bowl. Traditionally, you would add Carnitas to it and it's amazing. But you can add fish, steaks, chicken, whatever you want.

Another dish is Pasteles. I, personally, hate pasteles. I think they're sinful. However, I've been told it's an acquired taste. No idea how to make them or what is in them, but people love these things.

Empanadillas are Empanadas but from PR, not fully sure what the difference is other than the way it's baked/fried.

Coffee is a pretty big part of life. My 4-year-old cousin drinks it with less milk and sugar than i do and he's vibing. Everyone drinks coffee. Cafe con leche with cheese bread is a favorite (I personally love Colombian pan de bono) but i hate bitter coffee and i drank mine with condensed milk for the longest time, but now I like chocolate creamer because flavor pairings. But, coffee is a huge part of latin culture everywhere and we do not use the little pod things that you poke a hole in.

Nah, get that absolute sin of a beverage away from me.

Cafe Bustelo, a cuban coffee brand (PR doesn't have a specific coffee) is the fan favorite. Especially in FL, which has a large latin population. We also use "Spanish Coffee Makers" as coined by white people. I just call it a stovetop coffeemaker, some other people call them cafetera.

Flan is a dessert made of condensed milk. It's really good, but it has an odd texture. The same with pasteles. If your character is ADHD and has issues with texture, they might not like flan or pasteles.

Now, depending on where you are, food is a love language, as I said before. I'm more rural areas it's because my Abuelita (great grandmother) used to work on farmland, so food was hard earned. Because of that, it's an insult to not eat food.

This creates a possibly toxic environment in regards to expectations to show up in a place where you are shunned, and I've found this in a variety of latin cultures.

The best example I can give you is in Encanto. Abuela is very aware of the problems with the family and actively blamed Mirabel for those issues. However, even though it would have been harrowing (and was harrowing) for Mirabel, she was still expected to show up for dinner.

You can play around with this dynamic in any way you'd like. In a fic I have in the works, I'm using this as a contrast between Shel (who is latina from a fuck ton of different regions), who will always show up for the big family dinners even though she lives out of state, and Piper, whose family isn't that great. I'm also using it to show the distance between Shel's family and her BIL, who we all hate, and he can't make it to any big dinners, not because he's unavailable, but because he doesn't have an appreciation to latin traditions. However, that dynamic only works because duality is a big theme in my wip

If your character is going through a tense moment, you can use an obligatory dinner scene to build up stakes or to have a big blowup like in Encanto. It all depends on what you plan on doing.

It's an island. There are beaches. There are also boats. When I visit Puerto Rico, I always spend at least one day on a boat. Now, my Tio fishes and comes from a long line of boaters, so my family has a variety of boats. No idea what the difference is, but if you are writing about boats remember: yachts are expensive and also huge. Besides, parties on the boat is usually going to some beach made for boats, dropping the anchor and jumping in the water going back and forth to have drinks

Oh, and in PR, legal drinking age is 18. That does not make us alcoholics. I cannot stress that enough.

But, if your character is of age, one drink that I see at every party is coquito, which is just spanish eggnog, except it's not disgusting.

As for clothing, it's hot. Light clothing. People from up north think we wear really revealing clothing, to which I say fuck off, you wear shoes and khakis to the beach.

Which, speaking of white people who think 70 degrees is peak heat, tourist attractions would be Old San Juan, the Forts, Isabela, basically anywhere that pops up on a travel site, that's a tourist attraction.

Something important to understand is that there are two breeds of Puerto Ricans:

-Puerto Ricans

-Puerto Ricans from New York

Listen to me, those people live different.

Obviously, the cultures is very different because New York is very funded and PR is the opposite and I do not blame anyone but the government for having PR as a US territory, yet have 0 voting rights the same way the UK did to the colonies, but God forbid I make that comparison

No, I've not met a puerto rican who isn't pissed at that fact.

Anyway, New York is very busy and it causes a lot of aggression because the culture there is gogogo, you don't catch a break. However, there are a lot of Spanish people in NY. WHy do you think West Side Story was about white people and Puerto Ricans?

The culture in NY is very difficult to describe accurately, but a lot of us live in the City. Particularly around Queens, Upper East Side, Washington Heights. I've found that the community in New York on a singular block or two is very close.

If you want a place to really get the culture, In The Heights is a musical by our lord and savior Lin Manuel Miranda. It was his first musical and is arguably better than both Hamilton and Encanto (my opinion), and it is set in Washington Heights, where he grew up. It displays the culture beautifully.

Now, this musical really pushed the boundaries on both musical theatre and people learning about latin culture.

A bit of history for you, a lot of hip hop was created by latin street performances. By hip hop I mean both the music genre and dance. Along with these salsa-type dances that people typically associate with latin culture. A lot of it is fused together. To see what I mean, look at the first 8 minutes of the In The Heights movie, it's on YouTube for free and shows how close the community is, showcases great music, and shows you beautiful dances.

Now, the reason I add this is because it's a common headcanon that Percy is latino because he lives in Upper East Side and also has the attitude of my titis. However, it is also possible that Gabe was latino.

A thing in the PJO books and fanbase is that, somehow, every single one of them is a man who is abusive and/or sexist and/or addicted to something.

Gabe was all three, Alex is portrayed as abusive to Magnus and does crack (bitch why) in certain parts of the fanbase, Alex's father was abusive, Reyna's father was abusive and alcoholic coded, Leo is sexist asf.

Stop that shit. Listen, our mothers embedded respect into us. I call bs, we all drink our respect women juice. As for abuse... why? Give me an abusive white mother please. That's all I ask.

Okay, speaking of our favorite Mexicans, let's talk about Leo.

Say this with me, I've never met a person who wasn't latine label me correctly. However, latine people have this weird ability to tell when you have hispanic, latin, or spanish blood in you and we'll be able to accurately tell where you are from. It's weird, but I've had people from outside my race call it a superpower.

So, Leo does not look like a Latino elf. Stop that now.

Now, nicknames in Spanish. Mamacita is something I've only heard non-latin people say. Better names would be, mi vida, corazon, mi amor, nena, hermosa, lina/lindo (depends on gender), mi cielo, carnino, and a shit ton more, but mamacita is a no.

It's also important to note that I call my younger cousins nena and neno, it isn't inherently romantic. Context matters.

Anyway, Leo is from Texas, where there is both a large Mexican population and a large racist and anti-immigrant population. Leo was a runaway in foster care, so you know damn well he faced a ton of racism in Texas, since there is no way in hell he got out of there on foot (I've driven through Texas once, and it took so fucking long, it's never happening again).

If you really want to dig into Leo with a character study, you could talk about how it's already hard to be in foster care. What about foster care with performative white fosters? The ones who say they're diverse but pronounce Cinco de Mayo like Cinco day May oh rather than Cinco de Mayo (my oh) and expect Leo to be nothing more than a homeless Mexican, but they were oh-so-charitable and took him in. You can really add depth to Leo there because he would probably prefer that over straight neglect, but it's still a pretty shitty situation.

Speaking of people thinking that Leo would be nothing more than a useless Mexican, friendly reminder that he is incredibly intelligent. And a lot of people don't seem to highlight it in the slightest.

Leo was doing calculus at age 8, I am turning 16 in a few weeks and am currently confused about everything to do with calculus, and I'm smart from a schooling perspective. I'm an honor's student. Man probably understands trig and geometry in general. He's a fucking genius.

Leo also probably won't be a mechanic. I can see where you got the idea from, but in my perspective I feel like Leo wants to be like his mom. However, I've found that he really thrives in engineering and robotics and makes robots just for the fun of it and seems to enjoy the challenge of making something from scratch. That's not something that has to do with latin characters, but I wanted to talk about it for a little before I really get into Leo's character when I analyze his psyche after I finish up Nico's (part two of me taking multiple months for only, like, 3 books worth of content, and that's being generous, to analyze for HoO but only taking a week for Leo who has 4.)

Now, Leo is the cook of the Seven, so let's talk about tacos.

Taco lines are a sin.

In traditional tacos, keep these in mind:

Lettuce is crunchy water, you don't need it

Tomato doesn't go in tacos, even if it his pico de gallo

Guacamole doesn't go in tacos

Beans don't go in tacos

Rice doesn't go in tacos

You are confusing tacos with burritos. If you were making a burrito, all of these would be acceptable and encouraged.

However, this is a taco. There is a difference.

First though, why am I so focused on tacos? There are so many other foods in Mexico.

The reason is because I am sick and tired of seeing people display tacos as lightly seasoned chicken with cheddar cheese and lettuce. Also because tacos can be manipulated in a way that showcases Mexican street food. I will explain the difference in a moment.

Now, in a traditional taco, you will have barbacoa, onion, cilantro, and cheese depending on the person, on a corn tortilla. That's it. That's a traditional taco.

Barbacoa is a slow cooked red meat. I usually use beef, and so do a lot of other people, but I've also had goat and lamb. However, they all tend to taste similar because it's all in the marinade baby. When made correctly, the meat will be tender, flavorful, and grease will drip down your face when you bite into that taco.

After making barbacoa, you make your tortilla. Which, if you can do that, mad respect. That shit's hard. To make a tortilla, you need a tortilla press, which can be hard to come by depending on where you live. I can't find one anywhere, but when I went to Utah, where there are a lot of Mexicans, every store had one. If you don't have a tortilla press, you cannot make tortillas. However, it is a universal experience to heat up the tortilla. I just throw it on a pan and flip it by hand when it starts to puff.

Now, why do I say corn tortillas? It's traditional, cheaper, healthier, more durable when you heat it up, and it honestly tastes better.

Now, when you assemble your taco, you place the cheese (I prefer a cheese similar to Montgomery Jack) on top of the tortilla while you are grilling it. When it melts, put down the barbacoa then cilantro and onion. You would also squeeze some lime if you enjoy it, like myself.

But let's say you want a really really greasy taco. Then you'd get Birria Tacos (my favorite) where you literally use the grease as a dipping sauce and it is divine.

Or maybe you want to use chicken, or fish, or carnitas. They all have their own flavor profiles which need their own toppings.

Let's say you are making vegetarian tacos. I've seen tofu tacos. They're quite self-explanatory. I know there is a specific brand that takes a variety of mushrooms and prepares them in a way that the textures and feelings of meat come through. Problem: probably expensive.

And my favorite option: jackfruit. Listen to me, if you want latin food and you are vegetarian or vegan, get some jackfruit, drain it, rinse it, remove the core, shred it with a fork. It will resemble meat in texture and after the marinade it's amazing.

Now that I've spent a page and a half ranting about fucking tacos, let's get into other dishes and drinks

Jarritos is a soda brand that is probably the best soda I've ever had. They have a very large variety of flavors and they're fairly cheap and they have more soda since it's in a bottle.

Mole (sorry, I'm typing this on my phone and getting accent marks is difficult) is spicy chocolate heaven.

Burritos can literally be anything you want them to be. They are extremely flexible.

I feel that Mexican food is very mainstream, so trying to think of popular food that isn't popular in America is very hard, so I apologize for not having more examples.

Now, Alex is our place to talk about immigration! Yay!

First off, PR is a US territory, so someone moving from PR to FL is not immigration.

Immigration means someone coming in from outside of the territories. So, keep that in mind.

When it comes to Mexico, a lot of people automatically think of jumping the wall. I mean, I guess???

I've found that a lot of the times, they try to come to America legally first, then when that doesn't work, they come illegally. I personally have no problem with that. You wanna come over? Go for it.

However people get real triggered over this shit.

So, let's go over some things

1- they aren't wasting your tax dollars, you guys are just really wanting kids in cages and families separated.

2- they aren't taking jobs. They're undocumented. They can't go to college, opening bank accounts can be risky sometimes, they work and live in poorer areas and they actually fuel the economy.

3- America was Mexico's first, so why don't you leave, you fucking colonizer :)

4- you wouldn't say any of this if someone was undocumented from France or smth, though idk why they'd wanna come here

Okay, so in Alex's case, her father immigrated after her abuelo died. And it seems it was done legally, so not much to comment on.

However, let's say that your character is Cuban and living in the wonderful hellscape that is Miami, Florida. Let's say that your character has an abuela and abuelo who immigrated, legally or not.

They probably did it because of fucking Castro. You can talk about their traumas from that time.

Or maybe they just did it so that their kid has better opportunities, both are valid and both show that immigration is hard. Getting a job is hard. Learning a language is hard. Assimilating is hard. Use that.

Now, let's talk about how Alex loves pottery. So does a lot of latin cultures!

In Colombia and in PR, I've found that quality is favored, especially something crafted by hand. So, I think that Alex truly loves pottery for multiple reasons, one of which being that she can be closer to her culture. Like, think of how great those sangria pitchers probably are. They probably look so pretty.

ALSO YOU ARE NOT AUTOMATICALLY A PART OF THE FUCKING CARTEL BECAUSE YOU'RE MEXICAN

Okay, I think I went over everything I know 100% for sure. If you guys have any questions, please let me know. I will be happy to answer them.

I also deal with lesbianism, being black, and being mixed race, if you want to know my qualifications, lmao.

I hope this was helpful, because it's really hard to describe the culture you're a part of because it's just life for me. But, for my last part I will recommend media that fully shows latin culture

Lin Manuel Miranda. All of his musicals.

West Side Story the 1st because it's a classic and Rita Moreno (an icon) and the 2nd because it's perfect in every way.

Coco really shows Mexican culture

The Father of The Bride remake was really good

Red White and Royal Blue is a fun way to see intersectionality

One Day At A Time features miss Rita Moreno, so you are required by law to watch it

Jane the Virgin is a telenovela in english and also has Rita Moreno so watch it

Carmen Sandeigo the Netflix remake features Jane from jane the virgin and it's great

Not Even Bones is a great book and webcomic that shows so much latin culture and also murder

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo deal with whitewashing

Okay, I am tired. So sorry this took a lot longer than I said it would. Hope it was helpful though.

Love y'all!

(final word count 4282, holy fuck)