On Saturday, Andy “The Destroyer” Ruiz Jr. became the unified heavyweight boxing world champion after a stunning 7th round upset against reigning title-holder Anthony Joshua.
Nobody expected Ruiz to win, the odds being 15-1 in favor of Joshua, who had held the title of world champion since September 2018. The stunning victory quickly made the rounds on social media, and Ruiz became an instant star.
First Mexican heavyweight champion of the world!!!!! Andy Ruiz. Incredible. ????
— Tom Marshall (@mexicoworldcup) June 2, 2019
Fans and journalists began to praise the “first Mexican heavyweight champion” in history. And although a large sum of fans reveled on the unexpected victory, some took to Twitter to correct Ruiz’s nationality.
Not A MEXican.
He doesn’t legally live there.
Mexico is a Nation state not an ethnicity.— Sylvia Robles (@sylrobles) June 3, 2019
Mexican-American*
— R. (@RONNYdOiCH) June 2, 2019
He is from California tho lol
— Victor M. Perez ?? (@Mejicano_Americ) June 2, 2019
The comments made sparked a debate on Twitter on nationality and identity, and whether being born in the United States negates one’s nationality.
Although Ruiz was born in Imperial Valley, California —a border town east of San Diego— he has competed under the Mexican flag for years, including in qualification tournaments for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. Most importantly, Ruiz identifies as Mexican.
And for those saying Andy Ruiz is NOT a “Mexican” because he wasn’t born in Mexico doesn’t understand how Mexican parents raise their kids.
— Sergio Mora (@TheLatinSnake_) June 2, 2019
Some Twitter users even brought out the Mexican Constitution to defend Ruiz’s identity, pointing out that Article 30 of the Constitution says that Mexicans by birth are:
“I. Those born in the territory of the Republic, regardless of the nationality of their parents: II. Those born in a foreign country of Mexican parents; of a Mexican father and a foreign mother; or of a Mexican mother and an unknown father; III. Those born on Mexican vessels or airships, either war or merchant vessels.”
So by birthright, Ruiz Jr. is Mexican, and he’s clearly very proud to be representing Mexico.
It’s not up to us to decide who identifies as what, no matter where they were born. A select few cannot be gatekeepers of a culture shared by millions.
As Gustavo Arellano said, “Mexican is Mexican.”
Mexican is Mexican https://t.co/PzFuGJleQ4
— GustavoArellano (@GustavoArellano) June 3, 2019
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Natalia Rodríguez Medina is the 2019 summer correspondent for Latino Rebels. She is a member the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY’s Class of 2019. Natalia tweets from @nataliarodmed.
[…] use that as an example but I know that the same applies to most Mexicans, Cubans, Columbians, Dominicans, etc.. A very small percentage will say that you are not a […]
The blood and heritage of Latinx comes in all shades, shapes, and sizes from the rivers of time infinitude. The ingredients is always greater than the whole. Only those so-called Latinos with a colonized mentality could accuse another Latino as not being an authentic Mexican or Mexicano, regardless of how the Mexican Constitution defines you as such. This notion of a Latinx being pure Puerto Rican, for example, reflects racial innuendos based on social class, the color of your skin, educational attainment, physical characters, and linguistic racism; these elements relate to the lack of cultural awareness and a higher consciousness about the Latinx contributions in art, economics, science, architecture, higher education, media and film; and in creating positive social movements and revolutions that changed how racists viewed us, then and now. As long as one individuals takes the time to berate, undermine or undervalue another Latino because of their claims to being a part of their bloodline, I could only extrapolate this reasoning as plastic and low-minded. It’s what I describe as “the ignorance of arrogance.” Together, we stand strong, while separated, we all lose, Jose Angel Figueroa
Orale! If you have a parent of Mexican blood, then you are Mexican, no matter where you live. It’s time we keep the Hispanic pride going!
I was born in the U S but my mom said ” tu eres Mexicana.” I think it’s time to make Mexican a race.
Mexican is both a nationality (Mexico) and an ethnicity (U.S.). Although it is not a race, it is sometimes used as race, as in a joke where, “There was a white guy, a black guy and a Mexican….”
[…] ““Mexican Is Mexican”: How a Historic Heavyweight Boxing Upset Sparked a Debate on Identity”: Latino Rebels quotes one of my tweets in a post about Andy Ruiz, Jr. […]
Ni de aquí ni de allí.
Pero de allí y de aquí.