From where I sit in the Philadelphia area, the Latino community is definitely not losing its identity. If anything, it is gaining it wonderfully.

I am not Latino but felt that I had been adopted by the Latino community when I studied for a year in Bogotá, Colombia and had whatever racial blinders I had taken away by witnessing firsthand that country's incredible cultural diversity and the warmth and generosity of its people. It was like a conversion experience, and one of my overriding goals upon returning to the States was to share my experiences with others.

That conversion continued when I did some part-time ESL teaching in the Latino community of Chester, Pennsylvania, near Philadelphia. The community was predominantly Puerto Rican but I also had the opportunity to meet people from Argentina, Panama, Cuba, Peru and other countries. Later the Latin culture became a permanent part of my life when I married a native of Colombia. Now, 24 happy years later, I am still delighted to have daily exposure to the Spanish language and the multifaceted culture of Latin America, and feel especially good to see our two grown children embrace their bilingual-bicultural heritage.

In order to continue to share my "conversion" with others, in 1991 I founded a nonprofit arts organization called Raíces Culturales Latinoamericanas ("Latin American Cultural Roots"), which today is located in the heart of Philadelphia's Latino community and celebrates the cultures of all Latin countries. The community considers Raíces its cultural home and it has been a pleasure to work alongside Latinos to make the dream of an inclusive cultural space a reality. My role has transitioned to the point that Latinos are leading the organization and ensuring its continuity.

On the contrary, as Latinos we are not only becoming the mainstream, we've managed to redefine it. I grew up in western Arizona, on an Indian reservation where a large portion of the population were first generation Mexican families. We all spoke Spanish as well as English (and some of us picked up a few words of some of the native languages as well), today I see a few of the friends I grew up with and see how connected we are to both worlds- the US and the Mexican/Chicano/Latino world and what our identities are. For many of us, losing our identity has never been an issue, although a friend of mine mentioned that may be strengthened by the fact that we live in a border state and are more connected to Mexico, where our heritage originates. Maybe it's an East Coast/West Coast thing? What about the mid-westerners?

I don't think you lose your ID, you may wander from it, some may run from it but ultimately, it's who you are. From that you are defined.

I am "puerto Rican" 100% from New York and do not speak spanish I love everything about being latino. I love this article because I have 2 sons with my husband who is Italian and Irish. My oldest son is 4 years old and I am teaching him all I can about his Puerto Rican heritage. My one regret is I was not raised speaking spanish. But I try to teach my sons the little words I know. I love being a latina and have also been called a fake Puerto Rican because I can't speak the language. Again I really enjoyed this article and all the comments people left. We must be proud of who we are everyone of us no matter what our heritage,mix or nationality and pass it on to our children.

I can totally relate to the author. Imagine if you don't "look" Latina or have a Latino last name!! That's me. I grew up in NYC when no one knew what a Dominican was. Sounds silly right? Most people didn't meet much Dominicans until the 80's and 90's. Like the author, wasn't raised to speak Spanish but my cousins and other members of my family was. Go figure!!

My parents came to the US from Dominican Republic in 1966. They were already at a disadvantage because they came to the US as Black Latinos in the height of the Civil Rights movement, and although they knew English they didn't consider themselves Black American, but everyone else did.

Big-ups to the author. We will never lose our heritage, we have to embrace it, even if it means being uncomfortable sometimes.

I found this article a bit interesting. I don't know if it's an "East Coast" "West Coast" thing. Having grown up in being a Mexican-American born here in the U.S. raised in Los Angeles, CA, I often find it rather strange when Latino's talk about loosing thier heritage. I have always been bi-lingual, was NEVER in an ESL class and the subject I excelled in most was English, which was even my major in college. I could never escape my heritage, I live in LOS ANGELES, I eat tacos about 3 times a week, my family is very close, and am glad to say that even in the 3rd and 4th generation, we are still very much bi-lingual. Our heritage as latino's has never been lost, some have just never found it! It is everywhere, in our names, the foods we eat, the way we dance, sing, move, and interact with each other. Maybe that is one of the reasons I LOVE my city so much, it engulfs me with my ancestory past and makes me feel more American than any other place. Nice article, however, when it comes to subjects like this, it all depends on what your experience has been.