By DAMIEN CAVE
Published: May 26, 2009



Nathaniel Brooks for The New York Times
"This is a Jackie Robinson moment," said Adriano Espaillat, a New York state assemblyman. More Photos >


MIAMI — The lunch crowd at El Palacio de Los Jugos on Tuesday could not agree on the appropriate level of excitement. Cubans, Colombians, Dominicans — they all said they were pleased to hear Judge Sonia Sotomayor accept her selection for the United States Supreme Court with a speech that included the rolling “r’s” of her Puerto Rican roots.

But do not assume that Judge Sotomayor’s identity will define her, said Luis Home, 35, a Colombian-American technology recruiter. “It’s like saying if you’re Hispanic, you’re going to be a superhero for Hispanics. That’s not true.”

Mr. Home’s friend, Amaury Lendeborg, 30, disagreed, somewhat. “A cultural connection will always win,” said Mr. Lendeborg, a Dominican-American.

And so the debate begins.

In restaurants, homes and offices across the country, Hispanics responded to Judge Sotomayor’s selection with a puff of pride, some gratitude and considerable discussion. In interviews in Miami, Los Angeles and New York, many said this kind of recognition from Washington — Democratic or Republican — was long overdue given the growing size of the Hispanic voting bloc.

The hope, they said, is that her hardscrabble life and accomplishments will add prestige to the public image and self-image of Hispanics.

“This is a Jackie Robinson moment,” said Assemblyman Adriano Espaillat, the first Dominican elected to the New York Legislature. “Puerto Ricans, who have been Hispanic pioneers in so many fields in this country, have broken another barrier for all of us.”

And yet, a defensiveness could also be found. Many Hispanics seemed eager to warn Democrats that a single nomination — of a judge whom most Americans are still getting to know — might not be enough to win unending Hispanic loyalty come Election Day.

Some of those interviewed said Hispanic appointments mattered less than issues affecting them directly, like immigration and the economy.

“There’s not going to be this enormous outpouring of ethnic triumph,” said Roberto Suro, the author of “Strangers Among Us: Latino Lives in a Changing America.”

Rather, Mr. Suro said, Judge Sotomayor’s selection represents one significant step toward recasting the way Hispanics are viewed.

“It’s been easy to connect illegal immigration with Hispanic identity,” he said. ”This puts it in a very different context.”

Judge Sotomayor, in her brief appearance with President Obama, emphasized her poor roots in the Bronx, and praised her mother for working long hours so she could go to private school.

That history lies at the center of her appeal for Carlos A. Cerna, 74, a Salvadoran-American who chatted with fellow retirees from his home country outside a restaurant in Los Angeles. Within hours of her selection, Mr. Cerna had already read up on Judge Sotomayor. He recited the details of her childhood and Ivy League schooling, as if rattling off the qualifications of a sports star.

“Of course, it would have been great to have someone of Central American origin,” Mr. Cerna said. “But she got picked, and I think it’s very good.”

Other Hispanics also lamented that the first Supreme Court justice of Hispanic ancestry did not have roots in their own community. Here in Miami, Ana de Pozo, 24, finished her rice and beans at El Palacio de Los Jugos, and said, “We are waiting now for a Cuban.”

In Los Angeles, Mario Trujillo, president of the Mexican American Bar Association, said he had sent a letter to the Obama administration on behalf of Justice Carlos R. Moreno, a Mexican-American on the California Supreme Court who had been among those considered for the United States Supreme Court.

But the historic moment seemed mostly to temper nationalistic pride. Mr. Trujillo praised Judge Sotomayor’s intellect and accomplishments, then welcomed her point of view.

“She has the true Latino experience, not only in her last name,” he said. “Look at her upbringing back East. It is an emotional story.”

Perhaps not surprisingly given Judge Sotomayor’s Bronx roots, Hispanic New Yorkers were especially emotional. Puerto Ricans — the city’s largest Hispanic group, with 790,000 people — have sometimes clashed with newer arrivals to neighborhoods they long dominated, but that seemed to be forgotten for a moment.

Assemblyman Espaillat said he had stopped by his mother’s home in Washington Heights on his way to Albany, and “the first thing she told me when I walked in the door was that the Latina was nominated for the Supreme Court.”

How much the excitement will benefit Democrats in the scramble for the Hispanic vote remains to be seen. But if recent history is a guide, Republicans are at a disadvantage.

Four years after President George W. Bush reached a historic high for Republicans, winning about 40 percent of the Hispanic vote in his re-election, Mr. Obama won 67 percent of the vote in November to Senator John McCain’s 31 percent. Swing states like Florida and New Mexico tilted to his column in large part because of Latino turnout

Many Hispanics have been expecting a bold thank you from Mr. Obama ever since November, and on Tuesday, many said they wanted more than Judge Sotomayor.

At a table outside Miami Dade College here, a group of mostly Hispanic students said the focus on the judge’s identity felt outdated and obscured more important issues like the economy.

“Maybe at first, you’re like, ‘Oh, she’s Puerto Rican, cool,’ ” said Ozzy Garcia, 23, a computer engineering student born in Cuba and raised in the Dominican Republic. “After that, it doesn’t matter.”

Mr. Suro, a former director of the Pew Hispanic Center, said the selection would buy the president a little bit of “breathing room” on immigration overhaul, an issue that Hispanics desperately want to see addressed.

And Henry Solano, the interim president and general counsel of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund, said the Democrats would need to make even more Hispanic appointments before the community could be relied on for votes.

“I don’t know if any one decision will make or break the relationship an elected official has with any community,” Mr. Solano said.

Still, there were a few early signs of a shift. Mr. Cerna, the Salvadoran-American, said, “Obama has taken into account Latinos, and the other administration did not keep watch.”

Even Mr. Home, the Colombian at El Palacio del Los Jugos, who is a Republican, said the pick probably won Mr. Obama a few votes in the next election.

“He knows by appointing a Latin woman, they’re going to have that nice, fuzzy feeling,” he said.

Randal C. Archibold contributed reporting from Los Angeles; Fernanda Santos from New York; and Yolanne Almanzar from Miami.


Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/27/us/politics/27latino.html?ref=politics

What is not to like ? By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: May 26, 2009

Filed at 8:48 p.m. ET

MAYAGUEZ, Puerto Rico (AP) -- Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor wasn't born in Puerto Rico but she keeps in close touch with family back on the island, relatives said Tuesday.

The 54-year-old federal appeals court judge -- nominated by President Barack Obama to be the first Hispanic justice on the Supreme Court -- calls relatives often and visits whenever she's on the island, said Jose Garcia Baez, one of a number of cousins on Puerto Rico's west coast.

''She is a typical Puerto Rican,'' said Garcia, a lawyer in the western city of Mayaguez. ''She always has kept in touch with Puerto Rico regardless of the job she has had.''

The judge last visited in April, Garcia said, spending time with an elderly aunt who was recovering from surgery. He said she typically comes once or twice a year, visiting a number of ''aunties,'' as she refers to all older female relatives.

Sotomayor's parents left Puerto Rico decades ago. Her father, who died when she was 9, was from the Santurce area of San Juan. Her mother, a nurse, was from the neighborhood of Santa Rosa in Lajas, a still mostly rural area on Puerto Rico's southwest coast.

Barefoot residents chatted on their porches Tuesday evening, abuzz with the news that a descendant of a Lajas native was a Supreme Court nominee.

''It is a huge accomplishment that someone from Puerto Rico and of Lajas descent has triumphed with such a high-ranking position,'' said resident Walter Velez.

In Mayaguez, a half dozen cousins and other relatives gathered in Garcia's law office but declined to provide details about the family's history on the island, saying they were waiting first for the judge's permission.

But they expressed pride at her accomplishment.

''She is not a woman who grew up in opulence,'' said cousin Jose Alberto Baez. ''She comes from struggle and hard work.''

Sorry NY Times but I don't think any Latino of any kind out there is enjoying this quite as much Mr. J Goulet

Pure bull by the bias media.

Nobody i know is proud. Why should they? Unless i was Puerto Rican I could care less. And if I was I would be ashamed.

You need to widen your circle or get out more often because I can assure you many latinos that I've conversated with concerning Ms. Sotomayor, including a few Cubans, were very proud of the fact that one of our own was nominated. You may not see her as such but believe me there are plenty of Cubans that do. Indeed, there are plenty of Cubans that wear the "latino" label proudly and who feel a sense of "hermandad" with other latinos. . You don't speak for your community, that's for damn sure.

Ciby I agree heartily from Tierra del fuego to Tijuana from Havana to Santo Domingo all latinos are proud of this event Tony is a misanthrope Iam sure even in Espana they are smiling and wondering about this

"Iam sure even in Espana they are smiling and wondering about this "

I doubt it. Besides, Spaniards are NOT Latinos, even though when in the States they tend to identify as such when it's in their favor, such as in the entertainment business.

Dont let your resentments get in the way of your heritage Ciby you would be surprised about the Spaniards they are the most wonderful people in the world .. ...as long as they stay in their own country

The Andalusian people put their stamp on the Caribbean Latino personality when they came with Colon unfortunately they stopped coming and we got a bunch of Gallegos and Asturianos thereafrer

Actually the caribbean peoples are more culturally indebted to the Canary Islanders than any other region of Spain. Canarios also accompanied Columbus and if you're familiar with their accent you would notice the undoubtable similarity to caribbean Spanish, even if theirs has been modified somewhat by the godos as of late.