The media is calling him the first "non-European" Pope in 1300 years and the first "Latin American" Pope ever, and Latinos and Hispanics in the U.S. are starting to identify with him as a fellow "minority" and "one of us". His name may be Jorge, he may speak Spanish, and he may have been born in South America, but his ancestry is 100% Italian and the country he's from isn't very representative of the region.
But the first Latin American pope also represents a cultural bridge between two worlds — the son of Italian immigrants in a country regarded by some as the New World colony Italy never had. For many Italians, his heritage makes him the next best thing to the return of an Italian pope.
[...]
It remains unclear whether even Latin Americans will respond with newfound energy to Bergoglio's ascension to the throne of St. Peter. Among many of its neighbors, Argentina is seen as a nation apart — a country that fancies itself more European than Latin American, with many likely to see the rise of an Italian Argentine as largely unrepresentative of the region as a whole.
"Argentina is so secular today, a more Eurocentric Latin country," said Joseph M. Palacios, a specialist in religion and society in Latin America at Georgetown University. "They are Catholic by culture but not by practice. Geopolitically it makes sense in terms of bridging Europe to Latin America or the Third World, but Argentines don't see themselves as being Third World."
Anthony Faiola.
"Jorge Mario Bergoglio, now Pope Francis, known for simplicity and conservatism".
The Washington Post, March 13, 2013.
 | | Pope Francis |
|  | Parents Regina Maria Sivori
and Mario Jose Bergoglio |
|
 | Back: brother Alberto Horacio, Francis, brother Oscar Adrian, and sister Marta Regina.
Front: sister Maria Elena, mother, and father. |
|
6 comments
This part was pretty cool:
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http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20683450,00.html
The Pope is indeed a true Argentinian and a true Latin American. Much more so than hispanic-americans, who were born in an english speaking country and speak english as their first language, wheter they are mixed or not.
U.S. image of what is a latino has no meaning and shouldn't even be considered. In Latin America itself there's no brotherhood between all the laitn american countries and the term has no racial meaning. He is surely an Argentinian way before being an Italian.
I dislike your simplistic way to deal with this issue, and even disrespectful to be honest. No one tries to take away the "americannes" of non-whites in U.S. or non-WASPS, there's no point in opposing europeaness to latin american-ness. Calling him "just another Italian" is to belittle his identity to his country and what he truly is.
And Argenitinians are quite aware they are latin americans, they just try to make it clear they are not part of a fake latino race and are more european in ancestry than anything else.
@ Salmo
"Latin" Americans or "Latinos" are not even Latins or Latinos! Italians are the real Latins!
Mr Salmo has misunderstood.The article was written by a Washington Post reporter not by the blogger.
Pope Francis' mother, Regina Maria Sivori Gogna, was born in Buenos Aires to an Italian immigrant, Maria Gogna (see link below). Regina married Francis' father, Mario Jose Bergoglio, who left Italy for Argentina before the outbreak of WWII to escape Mussolini.
http://www.geni.com/people/Regina-Sivori-Gogna/6000000019818921647
http://www.geni.com/people/Mario-Bergoglio/6000000019818937686
http://www.news.va/en/news/birthplace-of-pope-bergoglios-grandmother-discover
Your blog is subtly racist. But of course you disguise yourself through the "Racial Realist" mantra you both use to try to camouflage your worldview laden with prejudices and an extremely Eurocentric thinking as is common in the minds of many Italians.
Does it mean that Argentina does not look like "Third World"? Or it does not seem to be part of Latin America, right? Of course, for you and your neo-colonialist and racist thinking, this is due to the fact that most of the population is white.But this happened through a cruel process of extermination of the black population that represented a large part of the Argentine population at the beginning of the 20th century. Much blood has been shed for the sake of this "first world" will as you have written.
And another thing, if you do not know, in Uruguay, a third of the population also have Italian ancestry. Are they the first world too because of this? Indeed, in Brazil, a country whose majority of the population is black or mestizo, almost thirty million people also have Italian ancestry, does this make them "first world" as well? In Puerto Rico there are also a large number of descendants of Italians. Are they also "first world"?
Obviously you should not be proud of these facts, for I know how you Italians hate to remember that Latinos are the likeness of the Iberians and how they love to compare with Germanic and Nordic Europeans. After all, his blog is always talking about Italian Americans in the United States and subtly accepts the fact that it is a Latin American nation that owns more than half of its people with Italian blood: Argentina.
You can even defend yourself by saying that it was not you who wrote this article. But I am referring to the passages that you have highlighted in the text and which reinforce my point of view.
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