HIDDEN HISPANIC HERITAGE
MENU
  • HOME
  • ABOUT US/QUIENES SOMOS
  • CHAPTERS/CAPITULOS
  • EN ESPAÑOL
  • ON FACEBOOK
  • IN THE NEWS/NOTICIAS
  • ACCOLADES/ELOGIOS
  • VIDEO LECTURES/CHARLAS
  • MY STUDENTS
  • MIGUELPEREZ.COM
  • ABOUT/SOBRE MIGUEL
  • VIDEOS WE LIKE
  • CONTACT US/CONTÁCTENOS
  • TIMELINE/CRONOLOGIA
  • THE HISPANIC AMERICAN HISTORY MUSEUM
  • THE GREAT TOUR/LA GRAN GIRA
  • CALIFORNIA ROAD TRIP
  • NYC HISPANIC LANDMARKS
  • NYC HISPANIC ART
  • LET'S SAVE THE MEDALLIONS
  • SALVEMOS LOS MEDALLONES
  • Media Recognition
  • What People Are Saying ...
  • PRESS RELEASE
  • PETITION TO 'SAVE THE MEDALLIONS'

45. Super Bowl Coke Commercial
   Draws Out Ugly Americans

By Miguel Pérez

​
February 4, 2014 - We are strong, unique and beautiful because of our diversity. We have a long history as a multilingual country — "a nation of immigrants." Many of our states, cities and major American landmarks are named in foreign languages. Our government has published documents in various languages since the time of the Continental Congress.

​
Long before a word of English was spoken in North America, books were already being written here in Spanish.

And yet, a Coca-Cola commercial airing during Sunday's Super Bowl, exquisitely depicting an "America the Beautiful" in multiethnic images and several languages, has drawn out the ugly Americans. The commercial featured Americans of different races and ethnicities enjoying the beauty of our country while "America the Beautiful" was sung in the background in eight different languages.

But on social media, promoters of ignorance, xenophobes and right-wing extremists are throwing tantrums and spewing venom that only serves to illustrate the only part of "America the Beautiful" that remains ugly — even in the 21st century.

"WTF?" asked one outraged Twitter user. "@CocaCola has America the Beautiful being sung in different languages in a #SuperBowl commercial? We speak ENGLISH here, IDIOTS."

Really? Idiots? Here's a person in desperate need of a mirror!


"This pisses me off," a woman wrote. "This is America." Apparently unaware that "America" is a Spanish word, she insisted that, "any one that doesn't have a problem with this, you are whacked."

Really? Whacked? Another mirror, please!

Some people called the commercial offensive, ridiculous, "more crap from the left," and the "worst" and "most un-American" Super Bowl commercial in history. Some vowed to never drink Coca-Cola again.

In fact, some of the comments were so outrageously stupid that, unfortunately, they gave us a mirror reflection of the level of ignorance in America.

"Why didn't the first immigrants learn to speak American?" a woman asked.

Wow! Ignorance is an understatement.

Some comments illustrated just how little Americans know about their own history. "Our forefathers are rolling over in their graves," one person posted, apparently unaware that our forefathers spoke several languages, insisted on government documents in various languages, and encouraged teaching French, Spanish and German in our schools.


They are also apparently unaware that when the Founding Fathers gave us our precious freedom of speech, they never limited that freedom to "English only." Surely, these are people who don't know that even Thomas Jefferson recognized that "the ancient part of American history is written chiefly in Spanish."

But it wasn't ignorance of history that dominated the racist comments. It was mostly xenophobia. Some of the social media comments — from Twitter to YouTube and many other sites — were so repugnant, they readily illustrated just how much hatred some Americans feel for many of their fellow Americans who happen to be immigrants.

"I'm so tired of bending over backwards to accommodate cultural diversity at the expense of our own core tenets," one man wrote. "God Bless America is an American song. Can't we celebrate our own core heritage and sing the damn song in English?"

Damn song? I rest my case. The song is beautiful — precious — and the Coca-Cola rendition was outstanding. It brought out the best of America. It showed all kinds of Americans singing in different languages and expressing their pride and love for this country. How could anyone possibly construe this as un-American?

Amazingly, the level of xenophobia is so strong in this country that another potentially controversial issue in the same commercial went almost unnoticed. Although the commercial also featured the first gay family in a Super Bowl commercial — two dads roller skating with their daughter — all the attention went to the multilingual soundtrack and multiethnic images.


Some people used the commercial to ramble online about all their right-wing paranoia. "Libs are not at all concerned about America losing Her sovereignty," one wrote. "They would rather secede our nationality to illegals if it will assist in imposing their Communist ideology. So to defend that very destructive ideology they call those that love America racists. An old tired race card trick."

I know. It's hard to believe there are people who still think this way, as if they have the exclusive right to love America and dictate the language in which America can be loved.

But they are out there, posting their warp mentality on social media and often making complete fools of themselves. And it's not just foreign languages that seems to upset them; it's also Latino entertainers who are asked to sing the National Anthem — in English! 
Remember the cruel reaction to Sebastian de la Cruz, an 11-year-old Mariachi boy who sang the anthem at an NBA Final? Remember the similar vitriol directed at Marc Anthony? Remember how they were both accused of being illegal immigrants when they are both U.S.-born Americans?

Ironically, these are often the same people who complain that Latinos and other immigrants refuse to assimilate. Yet when — thanks to Coca-Cola — immigrants engage in a huge demonstration of their love for this country, this is the reaction we get.

Of course, when the bigots blew up on social media after they saw the Coca-Cola commercial, many other Americans responded with appropriate sarcasm.

This was my favorite: "America the Totally Not Racist — you know, until a commercial is aired in anything but English."

Let's face it: If you see people of all races and ethnic backgrounds expressing their pride in being American, and you find it offensive, or if you see a celebration of our diversity as unpatriotic and divisive, the next time you look in a mirror, say hello to an ugly American — consumed by ignorance, hatred, bigotry and xenophobia.

But if you could only see, que linda es America , you might not break the mirror.

COPYRIGHT 2014 CREATORS.COM
Picture
Picture
Picture

En español
Comercial de Coca Cola en Super Bowl

Hace Relucir a los Americanos Feos

Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Please share this article with your friends on social media:
next chapter
Tweet
Picture
So what do you think? / ™Entonces, qué piensas?
Please join our dialogue on Facebook / Por favor únete a nuestro diálogo en Facebook
Hidden Hispanic Heritage

​And to share, please click on these buttons:

Y para compartir, por favor haga clic sobre estos botones:

                   CHAPTERS/CAPITULOS

1. Our Pre-Mayflower Thanksgivings
Nuestros Días de Acción de Gracias Pre-Mayflower
               
2. A Tale of Two Cities
                 
3. Our Pre-Hispanic Heritage
              

4. The Black Legend Returns

4. La Leyenda Negra Regresa
                
5. Even on HBO, The Black Legend Lives
                   
6. Our Spanish Heritage
                     
7. Exalted or Offended?
                    
8. We are all 'Americanos'
                  
9. Latinos are Failing
                  
10. Hispanic, Columbus or Indigenous Day?
10. 
™Dia Hispano, De Colon o Indigena?
                   
11. Two Good Places to Rest
11. Dos buenos lugares para descansar
                  
12. Whitman's Prophetic Letter
12. La Carta Profética de Whitman
                  
13. America’s Cradle
13. La Cuna de America
                 
14. Our Quincentennial is Coming!
14. ´Nuestro Quinto Centenario
     Se Avecina!

                   
15. American Discovery Day
(Updated and merged with Chapter 29)
15. Día del Descubrimiento de América
(A
ctualizado y combinado con el capítulo 29)
                
16. A Time To Welcome the Spirits
                  
17. A Hispanic Christmas
17. Una Navidad Hispana
                  
18. JOSE MARTI:
     His Legacy Lives Here
     Su Legado Vive Aquí 
                
19. Hyphenated and Proud!
                   
20. Politicizing Education

21. Speak Any Spanish Lately?
              
22. Happy Three Kings Day!
22. ​
´Feliz Día de Reyes!
               
23. What a Birthday to Forget!

(Updated and merged with Chapter 29)
                 
24. A Long-Overdue Museum
                 
25. America's First Christmas was celebrated in Spanish
25. La Primera Navidad Americana fue celebrada en español

26. The Grand Canyon
and the Bucket List
 Of Hispanic Heritage
26. El Gran Canyon
y la Lista de Lugares de la Herencia Hispana

                  
27. Now That Fiesta Month Is Here,
Can We Talk About Heritage?

27. Ahora que el mes de fiesta hispana esta aquí,

​™Podemos hablar de nuestra herencia?
                  
28. Our Hispanic Heritage:
    On Exhibit and Yet Hidden
28. Nuestra Herencia Hispana:
     En Exhibición y Sin Embargo Oculta

29. Florida's 500th Birthday
     Should Be a National Holiday

29. El Aniversario de la Florida
     Debe Ser una Fiesta Nacional

(Updated and merged, only available in English, for now)
             
30. A Local Celebration that Should be National               
30. La Fuente de Nuestra Herencia Hispana

31. The Re-Conquest Of American History
31. La Reconquista de la Historia de América

32. The Conveniently 'Forgotten War'
32. La Guerra Convenientemente Olvidada

33. Guantanamo Has a History  June 4, 2013

34. Exposing the Social Media Bigots  June 18, 2013
34. Exponiendo a los Intolerantes
     de los Medios Sociales June 18, 2013

35. Thinking of Cusi On the Fourth of July
35. Pensando en Cusi en el Cuatro de Julio

36. The Discovery of White Hispanics
36.  El Descubrimiento de los Hispanos Blancos

37. Let's Build a Timeline
     Of Hispanic-American History

37. Vamos a Construir una Cronología
     De la Historia Hispanoamericana

38. In the Name of Heritage
38. En el Nombre de la Herencia

39. Hispanics or Latinos?
39. ™Hispanos o Latinos?

40.  Hollywood's Hidden Hispanic Heritage
40. La Herencia Hispana Oculta en Hollywood

41. Obliviously Living
        In ‘The Land of Estevan Gomez’
41. Viviendo Inconscientemente
       En la ‘Tierra de Estevan Gómez’

42. Marking America's Birthplace
42. Marcando el Lugar de Nacimiento
       De Estados Unidos

43. Hispanics in Denial Should Be Infamous
43. Los Hispanos en Rechazo Deben Ser Infames

44. 
Gay Marriage's Hidden American History
      Started in Spanish

        CABEZA DE VACA'S JOURNEY
44. La Historia Oculta del Matrimonio Gay
      En América Comenzó en Español
        EL VIAJE DE CABEZA DE VACA​

45. Super Bowl Coke Commercial
       Draws Out Ugly Americans

45. Comercial de Coke en Super Bowl
     Hace Relucir a los Americanos Feos


46. 
The 'Discovery' of Self-Loathing Hispanics
46. El ‘Descubrimiento' de los
     Hispanos que se Auto Desprecian


THE GREAT HISPANIC AMERICAN HISTORY TOUR 
June 2014 - January 2015


47. My Pilgrimage to San Xavier
47. Mi Peregrinaje a San Xavier

48. The Great Hispanic American History Tour
48. La Gran Gira por la Historia Hispanoamericana

49. On the Trail of Conquistadors
49. En el Camino de los Conquistadores

50. Beyond St. Augustine
50. Más Allá de San Agustín

51. A Hidden Hispanic Role Model
51. Un Modelo Hispano Oculto

52. The Hispanic Flank
     Of the American Revolution

52. El Flanco Hispano
     de la Revolucion Americana
​

53. New Orleans Has a Spanish ‘Ne Sais Quoi’
53. Nueva Orleans Tiene Un ‘Ne Sais Quoi’ Español

54. Galveston: Still the Isle of Misfortune?

55. Extracting Compacted History
     Unveils Hidden Hispanic Heritage

56. 'Remember The Alamo'
     Was a Spanish Mission

57. San Antonio: The Showcase
     Of Our Hispanic Heritage

58. There Was Compassion
     On the Spanish Mission Trail


59. A Hidden Latina Role Model

60. Time Portals on the Road

61. The First Thanksgiving
     In the (Southwest) United States

62. The World's Biggest Statue
     Of a Nameless Horseback Rider


63. A River Runs Through
     Our Hispanic Heritage


64. A Beacon of Hope
     On a Border Mountaintop

65. A Mexican-American Town
65. Un Pueblo Mexico-Americano

66. The Crossroads of Conquistadors

67. Hiking In Search of Coronado's Trail

68. The Real American Pioneers

69. Keeping My Pledge to San Xavier

70. If They Knew Arizona's History,
     They Wouldn't Be So Xenophobic

71. 'Tucson' is a Spanish Adaptation

72. Under a Utah Lake, Hispanic Heritage Lives

73. A Hilltop View Of Hispanic Heritage

74. Searching for Coronado's Quivira

75. The Spanish Savior of St. Louis

76. 
Jefferson's Spanish Library

WASHINGTON, D.C.
February-June 2015

77. When Galvez Came to Congress
77. Cuando Gálvez Vino al Congreso


78. A Tour of Our Extraordinarily
     Hispanic U.S. Capitol

79. Searching for Not-S0-Hidden
Hispanic Heritage in Washington, DC


80. Smithsonian Omits Hispanics
     In U.S. History Exhibit

80. Smithsonian Omite a los Hispanos
     en Exhibición de Historia de EE.UU.
MIAMI - August 2015
​
81. Finding Dad in a Museum
81. Encontre a Mi Padre en un Museo


​CALIFORNIA ROAD TRIP - 2018
82. International Friendship Park ​at U.S.-Mexico Border
​- A Jagged Corner of the World


83. Old Town San Diego State Historic Park
​
84. Cabrillo National Monument

85. ​It took more than 2 centuries

86. Presidio Park: The Birthplace
of the Spanish Colonization of California


87. Junípero Serra Museum Transcends
the Story of a Great Man


88. Mission Basilica San Diego de Alcalá:
California's First Spanish Mission


89. Old Mission (Padre) Dam: California's First Aqueduct

90. Even at the beach in San Diego, you can't avoid Spanish history

91. Chicano Park: Mexican-American ​painted under highway ramps

92. Balboa Park: Candy for your eyes amid a painful controversy!

93. San Diego: An American Town
Named After the Saint from Alcalá

93. San Diego: Un Pueblo Americano
Lleva el Nombre del Santo de Alcalá


94. San Luis Rey de Francia: The King of the California Missions
94. San Luis Rey de Francia: ​El Rey de las Misiones de California

95. San Antonio de Pala:
A Sub-Mission to Reach
 the Natives of the Interior
95. San Antonio de Pala:
Una Asistencia para Alcanzar los Nativos del Interior

96. San Juan Capistrano:
The Home of the Mission Swallows
 from Argentina
96. San Juan Capistrano:
El Hogar de las Golondrinas Desaparecidas ​de Argentina

97. San Gabriel Arcángel:
A Mission that Launched Cities

97. San Gabriel Arcángel:
Una Misión Que Lanzó Ciudades


98. El Pueblo de la Reina de Los Ángeles:
Hispanics had to be imported

98. El Pueblo de la Reina de Los Ángeles:
Hispanos tuvieron que sen importados


99. La Plaza de Cultura y Artes:
A Walk through Mexican-American History

99. La Plaza de Cultura y Artes:
Un Paseo por la historia 
​mexicoamericana


100. Strolling the Hispanic Walk of Fame
​100. Caminando por el Paseo Hispano de la Fama

101. San Fernando Rey de España Teaches
California's Colonial History

101. ​​San Fernando Rey de España Enseña
la historia colonial de California


​102. Mission San Buenaventura Survived Earthquakes and Pirates
102. Misión San Buenaventura Sobrevivió Terremotos y Piratas

​103. Father Serra Cross: On a hill, overlooking
​the land he shepherded

​103. La Cruz del Padre Serra: En una colina,
​con vistas a la tierra que pastoreaba


104. The Birthplace of Santa Barbara
104. El Lugar de Nacimiento de Santa Barbara

105. The Queen of the Spanish Missions
105. La Reina de las Misiones Españolas

106. Mission Santa Ines: Built to relieve other overcrowded missions
106. Misión Santa Inés: Construida para aliviar otras misiones superpobladas

107. Mission La Purísima Concepcion:
​Going back in time ​to Spanish California

107. Mision La Purísima Concepción:
Retrocediendo en ​el tiempo a la California española


XXX. Saluting an exile: ​Father Félix Varela
XXX. The Meaning of 'Sotomayor'
SPECIAL SECTIONS
• Great (pro-Hispanic) Americans
​
• 16th Century in the Hispanic American History Timeline
• 17th Century in the Hispanic American History Timeline
• 18th Century in the Hispanic American History Timeline
​
• Spanish-American expeditions before Jamestown
• NYC ​Hispanic Landmarks
• NYC Hispanic Art
• Do You Know/Sabes?
• Garita Art
​
• Do You Speak Spanglish?
HISPANIC AMERICAN HISTORY TIMELINE
​1513 Ponce de Leon Discovers North America, Names Her 'Florida'

April 22, 1513 ​Alaminos discovers the Gulf Stream

1517 De Cordoba, wounded in Yucatan, stops in Florida

1518 Grijalva Reaches Galveston Island

1519 De Pineda confirms Florida ​is not an island​

1521 Ponce de Leon Returns to Florida, Falls Mortally Wounded

1524-25 Estevan Gomez Explores North America's East Coast

1526 Ayllón lands in S.C., settles in Georgia


1528 Narváez expedition succumbs to storms and natives

1528-36 Cabeza de Vaca treks across North America

1537-42 Cabeza de Vaca Returns to Spain, Writes 'La Relación'

1539 De Niza Searches for Golden Cities of Cibola
​

1539-42 De Soto celebrates first American Christmas

1540 Hernando de Alarcon Reaches California

1540-42 Coronado Explores the Southwest,
Cardenas Discovers ​the Grand Canyon


1542-43  ​Cabrillo explores California coast​

1559 De Luna Builds Santa Maria de Ochuse​


1565 Pedro Menendez de Avilés Establishes San Agustin

1566 Santa Elena Built in South Carolina

1598 ​Juan de Oñate Explores New Mexico

1602 Sebastian Vizcaino ​explores the West Coast

1610 Pedro de Peralta establishes Santa Fe

1610-26 The Birth of San Miguel, oldest church in the U.S.A.

1613 Juan Rodriguez becomes the first Manhattan immigrant

1633 Misión San Luis de Apalachee is born in Tallahassee

​1682 San Antonio de la Ysleta becomes first mission in Texas

1691 Father Eusebio Kino builds Tumacácori and Guevavi

1692 ​Father Kino builds San Xavier del Bac 

1692 Diego de Vargas leads ​'Bloodless Reconquest" of Santa Fe

1695 Castillo de San Marcos ​Completed in St. Augustine

1718 Mission San Antonio de Valero is born
​- long before it became The Alamo
​

1738 Runaway slaves establish Fort Mose,
​the first free African-American community​


​1738 Francisco Menendez Leads Fort Mose

1742 Spanish Soldiers ​Open Fort Matanzas

1752 Spanish Soldiers Build Presidio de Tubac

1763 Spanish Florida Goes to England

1765 Juan Antonio Maria de Rivera ​explores ​Colorado and Utah
​
1769 
Father Serra opens ​San Diego de Alcalá,
California's first ​Spanish mission


1771 Father Serra establishes San Gabriel Arcángel

1772 Good hunting determines site
​of ​Misión San Luis Obispo de Tolosa


1775 Captain Hugh O’Connor
​builds Presidio San Agustin del Tucson


​1776-83 Hispanics in the American Revolution

1776 The Birth of San Francisco

1781 Spanish troops defeat the British, capture Pensacola

1781 Pobladores of Los Angeles are imported

1791 ​Alessandro Malaspina Alaska Reaches Alaska

1797 Fermín Francisco de Lasuén
Establishes Misión San Fernando Rey de España


1797 The Birth of Villa de Branciforte

Herencia Hispana Oculta de America:
La Lista de Lugares, Ideas, y Evidencia Historica para Reconectár a los Americanos con sus Raíces Hispanas

Picture
America's Hidden Hispanic Heritage:
The Bucket List of Places, Ideas and Historical Evidence to Reconnect Americans with their  Hispanic Roots
  • HOME
  • ABOUT US/QUIENES SOMOS
  • CHAPTERS/CAPITULOS
  • EN ESPAÑOL
  • ON FACEBOOK
  • IN THE NEWS/NOTICIAS
  • ACCOLADES/ELOGIOS
  • VIDEO LECTURES/CHARLAS
  • MY STUDENTS
  • MIGUELPEREZ.COM
  • ABOUT/SOBRE MIGUEL
  • VIDEOS WE LIKE
  • CONTACT US/CONTÁCTENOS
  • TIMELINE/CRONOLOGIA
  • THE HISPANIC AMERICAN HISTORY MUSEUM
  • THE GREAT TOUR/LA GRAN GIRA
  • CALIFORNIA ROAD TRIP
  • NYC HISPANIC LANDMARKS
  • NYC HISPANIC ART
  • LET'S SAVE THE MEDALLIONS
  • SALVEMOS LOS MEDALLONES
  • Media Recognition
  • What People Are Saying ...
  • PRESS RELEASE
  • PETITION TO 'SAVE THE MEDALLIONS'