interesting points. i myself have always been uncomfortable with the term "hispanic" and even "latino" to an extent. like this whole so-called "latin explosion" in entertainment that seems to cover everyone from jennifer lopez to enrique iglesias (who is from SPAIN, for fuck's sake... that's a whole different culture) to even a brazilian cat like caetano veloso. ultimately, it comes down to "if you speak spanish, you're in." and i don't quite but that.

the cuba thing is interesting, too. i have heard other people voice the same sentiments and i've wondered it myself. but living in america, our perceptions of cuba are so distorted that it's hard to understand. WHY do black cubans like it there and white cubans don't? shed some light!