Where Were Y'all? Latin Artists Finally Back Kamala Harris After Racist Trump MSG Rally

As long as I can remember, my beautiful Black life has intertwined with Latin heritage and culture. Thanks to growing up in one of the most culturally rich boroughs in New York City, I have been able to know, bond, and love those many people who have Latin blood running through their veins. My Black late uncle and his former wife, a proud Latina, brought several cousins of mixed race into my family. Similarly, I have strong connections to their relatives, whom I treasure just as fiercely. My best friend is Dominican. The family I often spend Thanksgiving and holidays with are Puerto Rican. The performer who has inspired me more than any other was Mexican-American.

I am Black and proudly so, but my existence has been culturally eclectic. I consider this a true blessing.

Growing up, Momma often joked about how at ease I felt with the Latin community. Though I had plenty of relatives, friends, and acquaintances who were Black, there were times when they, more often than not, excluded me over my eccentricities and quirks. I still recall the many comments and judgments that came my way due to my love of pop music, reading, singing, or even my need to sit in silence sometimes. For years, I grew up believing that I wasn’t wanted or needed in Black spaces, even by those I shared blood with. Though time has healed some wounds, I occasionally find myself still questioning my Blackness and whether I’m worthy enough for other Black people to embrace me as I am.

Not long before Momma passed, I randomly asked her about my ancestry. When she revealed part of my cultural makeup was Haitian, everything I had ever questioned about my attachment to Latin culture and its people clicked into place. For those unaware, Haiti is one of several countries in Latin America; in fact, it was one of the first Latin American countries to gain independence in 1804 and was considered a haven for formerly enslaved Africans. Many moons ago, a friend’s mom shared how her Puerto Rican mother had rich dark skin like mine.

“My mother is just as Black as you are,” she told me. “You’ve always been family, Jonathan. You just didn’t know it.”

On Sunday, October 27, one of the worst human beings currently among us held a rally. Though it wasn’t the first gathering in New York City to push Donald Trump toward a second presidency, it was one of the largest by far, with thousands in attendance at Madison Square Garden to hear the disgraced businessman and potential dictator spew the same vitriolic rhetoric he and his inner circle have been stating for years.

Among the spectators, naturally, were Trump’s Latin supporters, with many of them being of Puerto Rican descent. Sadly, this was no surprise to me. I’ve come across more than a few members of the Puerto Rican community, as well as people from other Latin communities, openly embrace Trump and his racist policies, though said policies would directly target them. I often question if their proximity to whiteness makes them believe they would somehow be exempt from his hatred, but I never openly ask. It hurts too much to even think of.

Before the Republican candidate hit the stage, alleged comedian and podcast host Tony Hinchcliffe attempted to rile up the crowd before the main event. Hinchcliffe, who I’ve never heard of before this and hope to never hear of again, apparently thought it best to share some “jokes” about Latinos, including how they never “pull out” and “love making babies.” Though I pray to any deity in proximity that this waste of space never procreates, that wasn’t all he had to say.

"There's literally a floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean right now," Hinchcliffe expressed. "I think it's called Puerto Rico."

At Madison Square Garden in New York City, where many Puerto Rican people live, during a rally with many Puerto Ricans in attendance, a “comedian” referred to the island of Puerto Rican as “garbage.”

You truly cannot make this shit up.

Immediately after the rally, Trump’s team released a statement claiming Hinchcliffe’s comments did not “reflect the views of President Trump or the campaign.” Anyone who has paid attention for the past eight years knows that’s a bold-faced lie, but let’s move on.

Also following the rally, a trio of the biggest Latin stars currently active in entertainment – actress/singer Jennifer Lopez, actor/singer Ricky Martin, and actor/singer Bad Bunny – all posted a video of Vice President Kamala Harris speaking on the importance of Puerto Rico participating in the upcoming election to their Instagram Stories. This served as a clear, full-fledged endorsement of the Democratic nominee. Fellow Latin music icon Luis Fonsi would follow suit, adding a personal note to his post.

“Are you serious?” Fonsi expressed. “I understand comedy. I’m a big fan of it. But this is far from comedy. Not now, not against my island [or] my people. Hell nah!”

He continued, “We are not OK with this constant hate. It’s abundantly clear that these people have no respect for us, and yet, they want our vote. I purposely wrote this in English, [because] yes, we’re American, too.”

And now, for the million-dollar question that no one seems to be asking: Why did it take a direct hit on Puerto Rico for these big-name Puerto Ricans to back Kamala Harris?

As of this writing, we are eight days away from Election Day. Mind you, Hinchcliffe’s comments at the Trump rally were not the first of their kind, nor were they, dare I say, the worst thing about the Latin community that anyone from Trump’s party – including Trump himself – have said about them.

Trump has called Mexicans “rapists and drug dealers” (more than once), referred to countries in Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean as “shitholes,” said two male supporters who beat up a Latino man were simply “passionate” about America, repeated on a national stage that Haitian immigrants were eating cats and dogs, claimed the mayor of San Juan had “poor leadership ability” in the wake of COVID-19, openly supported migrants seeking asylum to be shot at the U.S./Mexican border, once told the former governor of Puerto Rico that he should be “very proud” of “only” sixteen people dying during Hurricane Maria, and according to one of his former staffers, considered selling the island after the tragedy. And I’m pretty sure I’m missing others. Even if I’m not, though, I don’t know how anyone from the Latin community, Puerto Rico included, could sit idly by and not speak out before this point.

With all the respect I can muster, where the fuck have y’all been?

Why did it take a person Trump most likely paid to be at his rally to get Jennifer Lopez to express her support for Kamala Harris? Has she forgotten the many ways she benefited from Black culture to get where she is now? I know I haven’t, nor have I forgotten how often she shouts out the Bronx when she requires positive media attention. Ms. “Jenny from the Block” should’ve long been rooting for Kamala publicly.

Bad Bunny got his come up as a rap artist. Do I even need to point out what culture helped to mold that genre? What’s up, Benito? Where was this energy before yesterday? I know he’s big on speaking about shady politics and politicians, especially regarding Puerto Rico. What was the difference between Logan Paul taking advantage of tax breaks thanks to Act 22 and Hinchcliffe desecrating the country of Puerto Rico with his words?

Ricky Martin was one of the first Latin stars outside of hip-hop to publicly address the Black Lives Matter movement. That was huge. If nothing else, I appreciate him for knowing what was right without having one of his children tell him of its importance (I’m looking at you, Ms. Lopez). Why would he wait until a little more than a week to speak on the most consequential presidential election in American history?

If I can uplift Black people for a moment – which I will always find time for – we are often the first to be dismissed by racists like Trump and still the loudest to throw our support behind other marginalized communities. Hell, I even see more Black people nowadays threatening to “Bidi Bidi Bop Bop” Yolanda Saldivar the moment she even thinks of stepping outside of prison than Latin people.

(Y’all know I had to bring up Selena. Love you, mi reina.)

While I’m grateful to see Lopez, Bad Bunny, and Martin finally use their platforms for something other than self-promo, I can’t help but feel like they ignored our concerns for this country and our lives until there was undisputable disrespect toward Puerto Rico. Likewise, many of the Latino Trump supporters I’ve come across claim to love this country and all of its humans and want us to come together despite our political differences. While the thought is admirable at best, you cannot claim to love us while actively voting for someone against us. I don’t know how many people of Latin origin finally saw our side of things, but the move feels disingenuous.

If we’re all family, then we need to start acting like family and not just when it suits us.