Learning New Words in Pasadena

I was having coffee with a friend of mine in Pasadena, and he mentioned a term I had never heard.

He explained to me how actors and models tend to have good luck at callbacks when people can’t tell which nationality or ethnicity they are. This is known in casting circles as being racially ambiguous.

I love that term!

I had never heard it before, but I knew exactly what he meant because, at times, I have felt racially ambiguous myself.

But not on the outside.

On the outside, it is very clear I’m Latino. If I ever try to deny it and another Latino is present, I would be told I look so Mexican that the only thing missing from my forehead is a painted cactus.

Even though, I’m not Mexican, I’m Colombian.

I still knew what he meant because I often feel racially ambiguous on the inside.

I’ve been living in the United States for more than 20 years now. The only connection to my roots is a WhatsApp group I’m part of with my high school graduating class.

The group started as a way to celebrate each other’s accomplishments and quickly turned into a platform to share porn because boys are disgusting. I felt uncomfortable crowd-sharing and party-watching porn, so I opted out, and I don’t even have that connection anymore.

One time, as part of a corporate icebreaker, I was asked if I was a chocolate bar, which one would I be.