Despite being American born Dr. Victor Villanueva is proud of his heritage.
Villanueva, an English professor at Washington State University, was the speaker to kick off Hispanic Heritage month at the University of Southern Indiana.
Born in Brooklyn, New York, to Puerto Rican parents, Villanueva said that he is about as American as they come, and he will tell you that with his strong Brooklyn accent.
Before he was an English Professor at WSU and an author, he served in Vietnam.
Villanueva kept the atmosphere fun and humorous throughout the night despite discussing the serious topic of racism toward not just Latinos but other races as well.
“We Latinos are not a race. We’re indigenous, we’re European. Six Latin American presidents have been of Arab origin. The president of Peru was of Asian ancestry,” Villanueva said. “In other words, we are as many races as any other American. We are American from the Americas. Our color is in our name.”