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What's Here?

If you are looking for the answers to questions that have been sent to Carmen Says or would like to read the informational essays written by Carmen, you have come to the right place! If you don't see a topic that you are interested in, perhaps you would like to suggest a topic or send a question to Carmen. Don't forget that we also have a page where our Amigos friends share their stories and offer comments.

Answers to your Email questions.

Here are questions and answers from the last six months. All questions are answered by Dr. Carmen Guanipa unless otherwise indicated. Older questions can be found in the Answers Archive. Comments and shared stories can be found on the Sharing Multicultural Experiences page.

Q: The Deaf Hispanic Club from Texas School for the Deaf would like to know correspond with other Hispanic clubs high school. Do you know of any places in Texas or other states that we can get in touch with? Thank you, Elena and Marty, Deaf Hispanic Club Sponsors. (Sep 2,1999)
A: We are not aware of any clubs right now. You can try the Keypals, Chats, and links to the Online Community hotlist. You can also try your local public library. Often the reference staff will already be working with the Braille Institute or other groups and may have a contact for you. Either way, the Internet and other forms of electronic communication are providing exciting opportunities for all members of our society to interact and collaborate in new, meaningful ways. Good Luck! Amigos Staff.


Q: I m not sure this is the place to ask the question, but here it is. I teach Spanish at the junior high level. I try very hard to validate each student by meeting the learning styles of each. Some of my wannabee and/or actual gang members are very artistically talented. I would like to more adequately use their skills in our classroom. I would like to have art activities that relate to the study of Spanish culture to promote this. Question: Can you suggest a source for Arts/Crafts relating to the Spanish culture, ie pinatas, flowers, pottery. (Aug 22, 1999)
A: Many places throughout the U.S. are experiencing a growing Hispanic/Latino population. In response, school and public libraries are purchasing books and other materials that are of special interest to Hispanics or are about their cultures. You can call your local public library and find out if they have materials there, or if they can order them through InterLibrary Loan. Here are some Internet resources that you might also find helpful: Hot Internet Sites en Espanol and Algunos Lugares en Espanol. Amigos Staff.


Q: Are all hispanic guys babes? (Aug 22, 1999)
A: Yes! Amigos Staff :)


Q: Carmen, This question may sound a bit strange...but since all my friends are interested in taking those photo stickers, I wanna know why it has become such a trend... (Aug 22, 1999)
A1: Dear Amigo User, I am not sure. The stickers are not my favorites, they have some glue that could be addictive, and do not smell good to my taste. Thus I prefer not to recomend them. Drawing on paper may be more fun. I would like to congratulate you for not following the trend. It is important to reflect upon what this means to you and what are the benefits or limitations of doing what others do. I am glad you are very responsible and look for information and understand that you have choices. We do not have to do what others do. Great job, keep in touch. Carmen.
A2: Dear Amigos User, I like photo stickers. I think they are cute. My daughter exchanges them with her friends and relatives. She also puts them on her notebook and draws around them. She has a special notebook for other stickers. Her teacher puts the photo stickers on bookmarks and other things throughout the year, then I put them on my refrigerator with a magnet. These stickers do not require glue, they have their own adhesive on the back. I noticed that my son never really liked the stickers; but my daughter certainly does. Amigos Staff.


Q: IM NOT TRYING TO BE DISCUSTING BUT YOU SHOLD REALLY TALK ABOUT PUBERTY, SEX, ORGASIMS AND STUFF (Aug 18, 1999)
A1: Thank you very much for your suggestions. We are not sex therapists. There is an organization called "The American Association of Sex Therapists" that specializes on the subject. You may want to contact them. We will write an essay on puberty, following your suggestions. Look for it in the Carmen Says section of the Amigos website soon. Thanks again, Regards, Carmen.
A2: Here are some websites that might interest you:

• Adolescence Directory On-Line (ADOL) includes information and links to conflict, violence, ADHD, eating disorders, depression, adolescent development, and other issues related to the psychological well-being of teens, alcohol and other drugs, obesity, AIDS, sexuality, acne, and Counselor Resources.
• Puberty101 Q&A Question and answer site designed for teens on the following topics: breast size, height, sexual feelings, love, is it normal?, am I gay?, pregnant if...? , underarm hair and more.
• Go Ask Alice from Healthwise, the Health Education and Wellness program of the Columbia University Health Service. Includes resources on fitness and nutrition, alcohol and drugs, sexuality and emotional well-being.
• YAHOO Society_and_Culture/Age_Groups/Teenagers. Includes resources such as Advice, Chat, Girls, Investment Guides, Literature, Magazines, Organizations, Pregnancy, Puberty, Sports,Teen Court and Usenet.

Q: I'm Stephen and I have just admitted that I am GAY. Can you give me any advice? (Jul 1, 1999)
A: Dear Stephen, Thank you very much for sharing your very personal feeling about yourself with me. It is very important for your well-being to be true to yourself and you have taken a big step in that direction. Right now it may be very helpful for you to have someone to share your feelings and questions. By doing this you will receive supoort and validation for being YOU. If you would provide us with your geographic location, we can send you a referral list of persons whom you may be able to see and the contact information for a Lesbian and Gay Center nearest to you. You also can contact the www.apa.org or the www.aamft.org they will be able to provide information about psychologists or family therapists. They can be there to support you. I wish you all the best, and please keep in touch. Dr. Guanipa.


Q: Dear Carmen, I have a boyfriend who is hispanic Ecuador I love him alot but I don't know how his family would respond to a him having a black girlfriendme he wants me to come visit his family but im scared to meet them because im afraid they won t like me because of my race i was told that hispanics where less excepting of interracial relationships between hispanics and blacks is that true? What should do? P.S Im engaged to him. (June 8, 1999)
A: Dear Amigos's User, Thank you for contacting the Amigos. I believe that his family probably wants him to be happy. He is able to accept and love people from different cultures, so I will go with the belief that he may have learned some of this inclusion with his family. He loves you and he is there for you. I will say to you be the wonderful self that I am sure you are and make sure they know that you love him very much and let them know that you would like to know them and love them too.

Many families may have this lack of acceptance but in general there is always someone in the family that is not that way, so enjoy all the people that accept you and have fun with them. Remember, they will be your family too, and part of being a family is showing love. We need to accept who they are and learn to live with them. Try to remember that always for parents It may be difficult to accept anyone who is taking their children away, so do not react to this if this happened.

Love them, have fun, he loves you and he is going to be there for you. Go with a positive and open mind. Do not take things personally. You will have time to develop a good relationship. It is important to be calm and do not expect all at once. Keep loving each other and value and respect his family. Try to remember that you may have different ideas and different levels of education in the issue. You can help them if you work constructively with them. You can learn from each other. I hope this helps, and the best of luck. Keep in touch and let me know how this went. Carmen.


Q: Carmen I have this question that is often asked to me. What is Hispanic. I am a Hispanic teen. I was adopted and would like to know what I should say to answer their question. (June 14, 1999 )
A: Hispanic is any one who speaks Spanish and come from any country who first language is Spanish. Some people depending on their history prefer to have other definitions. For example, Mexican, some prefer to be called Chicanos or Latinos. Hispanic is also a race of multi-ethnicities. They are hard workers, honest, and wonderful people! I hope this is helpful. There is some literature oin the Hispanic culture that may be helpful for you to read. You can do a computer search at your library. Carmen.


Q: Hi. It's nice to find a web like this, I congratulate you. I'm 18 years old and I live in Mexico, but I like to have friend in internert all over the world What can I do? Help me please. (Jun 18, 1999)
A: We get this question all the time. Amigos is not the place to find email buddies or to meet people. We created a list of places that you might try called "Keypals, Chats, and links to the Online Community." Good luck with your Internet adventures and remember to be careful. Amigos Staff.


Q: Hello Carmen, I was just wondering. Where are you from? I just found this place and i would like to know where some people are from.(May 25, 1999)
A: When we started this website, we thought that most of our users would be from California. We have found that our Amigos friends are from all over the world. We actually get more email in Spanish than in English. The thing is, everyone seems to have similar problems and concerns, no matter where they are from. Amigos Staff.


Q: I am interested in the quesiton of ethnic identidy among Latino youth, especially the first and second generations. I have worked in two Latino churches Chicago and Allentown, PA and have noticed that the youth do not speak much Spanish, yet the life of the church is in Spanish. I would like to understand this phenomenon better and its broader cultural consequences and work to make the church a more hospitable place for Latino youth. Thank you very much. Chris, student, Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia (Apr 19, 1999)
A: Dear Chris, Thank you again for contacting us. I hope things are going well with the Hispanic youth you are working with. This is very common. Many reasons exist why this is happening. Acculturation process sometimes limit the full development of the two ethnic identities. You can do a nice project with this group, explore ethnic identity with the adolescent ethnic identity scale and then develop a group activity with self-awareness exercise to solidify their ethnic identities.

Many parents project their fears of not speaking the language well to the children, and do not use Spanish at home, this contributes too. Others are very busy and do not have time to share the culture with the children. Write again and let me know how I can be helpful. Dr. Guanipa


Q: Dear Carmen, My name is Rene and I am doing a paper for a cultural diversity class and I have to explain to a predominantly anglo audience the Hispanic culture and the beliefs, traditions, etc. Do you have any information that can help me. (Feb 1, 1999)

Dear Carmen, Hi, my name is Brian, im a Mexican-Ameican teen, and I have some trouble finding information for my research paper. I have a senior english class research paper to do. My first draft was really bad, and earned a poor grade. The topic of my research paper is Latino Success. It focuses on the Hispanic American community, which includes statistics, history and success stories of Hispanic Americans in this country. I am however, finding it hard to find sources. Could you help me find some resources on the web that I can use as sources to help me in my research paper?? I need at least 6 sources, and they have to relate to the topic of Latino Success in the United States. Thank you for you time, and I hope to hear from you soon. (Feb 10, 1999)

Carmen, I am doing a project on significant events in American pertaining to Latin Americans. It s supposed to be in a time-line. Could you help me out? (May 13, 1999)
A: Here are just a few of the requests for homework help that we receive. Most of the time, we can only refer you back to your school library or public library. We are unable to assist with research or homework help. You might want to try the following websites which will lead you to magazines, newspapers, and other resources for or about Hispanics: Hot Internet Sites en Español and Algunos Lugares en Español. Good Luck. Amigos Staff.


Q:Why don t you spice up your web site a little bit? Thank You. (3 May 1999)
A:We'd love to spice up our website and make it more useful. Do you have a more specific suggestion? If you'd like to send back further comments, we're open to suggestions. Amigos Staff.


Q:i d like to know why there are no famous hispanic models. i d like to be a model but there are no opportunites for teenage hispanic girls. i m 5 4 and 134 but the rules of modeling say i have to be 5 7 and up and weigh 105-125. i don t know what to do since i m really interested in acting and modeling. Please help in any way possible. (8 Apr 1999)
A:The standards for models have changed somewhat over the last few years; but in general they all seem to be tall and thin. There are famous Hispanic models such as Daisy Fuentes (also an MTV-VJ) and the Brazilian volleyball player, Gabrielle Reese. Acting seems to be an entirely different matter altogether. You should make a visit to your local public library and do a search for magazine articles or newspaper articles. The reference librarian will be glad to help you. There may be some reference books that will provide information too. Amigos Staff.


Q: Hi Carmen, I m a 35 yo Latina mother, f/t student, etc, etc. i m doing research on Latino Youth Groups Movement/formerly known as gangs. aka Latin Kings, Young Lords, La Familia, etc. i was wondering if you know where and how i can research the history of such PRESENT day Latino Youth groups? i would use any and all areas of advice on how to approach this topic, esp. in light of the many labels that we use or have been labelled: Hispanic, Latino/a, Latin American, etc. many thanks in advance for for consideration. (2 Apr 1999)
A:This is the kind of question best answered by doing a little research at a library. Your local public library is the best place to start. They will have an index to newspaper and magazine articles. They might also have a guide to Internet sources. Next, you can use the library at a local college or university. You won't be able to check out materials unless you join their "Friends of the Library" group; but you can use the resources there and get free help from the Reference staff. Make sure that you get the names and contact information for some national Hispanic organizations so you can contact them for further information. You might want to look at the web sites lists off of Hot Internet Sites en Español and Algunos Lugares en Español. Both of these sites are in English and list Latino and Hispanic websites. Good Luck! Amigos Staff.


Q: how can i know you answer my question? (31 Mar 1999)
A:Excellent question. Just look at the Answers page and your answer will be posted on it. This response is on the Answers page. Unfortunately, we are unable to answer all of the questions. We do the best that we can. Carmen.


Q: i want to ask you how can i make friend with a person from another culture. (31 Mar 1999)
A: It is very easy, just be yourself and appreciate the other person for who he or she is. It will help if you know something about the other person's culture and language. The most important part of any relationship is appreciation and respect for each other. Carmen.



Q: I been discriminated by many people and i just wanted to know how do you feel about being a hispanic? (2 Mar 1999)
A:I feel very proud to be Hispanic here and anywhere in the world I go. It is a gift that I have and I share with anyone who is willing to include and accept me. Carmen.

note: Answers older than six months can be found on the Answer Archive page.


Send your questions,ideas, suggestions to Amigos!

You can send us suggestions or comments for other topics if you want and view responses that we post on the web site using the forms on the Send to Carmen page. We intend to answer simple questions of a very general nature. We cannot provide counseling or professional advice. Amigos is not meant to replace face to face counseling. If you would like to share stories about problems you have faced and how you overcame them, or have other experiences you would like to share, please do so by using the form on the Sharing Multicultural Experiences page.


Informational Essays.

Periodically, Dr. Carmen Guanipa will be contributing informational essays based on questions and suggestions that have been sent to us. This is just a list of the essays, for more information, see Carmen Says.