I'm not sure what accents on letters have to do with being proud of one's heritage.

Consider having this as your surname: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Čulo

I was rather startled when I saw the first e-mail from a new colleague, when either our e-mail system thought ASCII was good enough for everyone or, (more likely in this case) the accent got lost earlier due to migration and someone's indifference to ancestral heritage.

I would be intrigued to learn the actual story, but it's not the kind of question to ask casually of slight acquaintances, I think.

Because accents are part of your language and your language is an integral part of your heritage.

You don't really get to tell other people what the right way celebrate their heritage is...

That’s why I said I’ll never understand them, not that they should be put in jail.

I don’t think the a European language is particularly important in the heritage of those from Latin America

Latin is a European language.

Latin America refers to the countries in Central and and South American that were colonized by Spain and Portugal. It has nothing to do with the Latin language.

Yes it has and you said why.

Huh? Where did Spanish come from?

From Spain, the country in Europe? Mexicans weren't speaking Spanish before Spanish colonization.

Culturally, Mexicans are closer to Spanish people than to the natives.

I don't think I know a single latino who accents their Spanish and their name consistently. If I texted my dad asking where the accents in my name are, he might not actually know, lol.

Obvious exception for formal writing.

I want to point out that she mentions Latinos, not Hispanics.

Latinos are people who hail from Latin America - the kind of people that had Hispanic last names forced on them at some point in history.

Makes sense to me why they can't be arsed to write their own names with "proper" accents.

What?

First of all, most of latinos are hispanic. Being Brazilians the largest group of latinos that are not hispanic but ibero-americans.

Second. They were not forced. Isabel of Castille prohibited slavery 500 ago and made marriages between Spanish people and natives legal. Most of the people that went there were men and their kids would inherit their last name.

Thid. There are a lot of latinos that emigrated from Spain and lived there for centuries and they keep their last name.

If they don't want to use accents, that's their decision, but stop making up stuff.

At the same time, what is "latino" what is "hispanic?"

Are they a real identity, or were they created for the US census as a form of red lining?

What is "hailing" from anymore, someone whose born to a south american family, whose an indingious south american family?

But I would say I don't write my name in proper accents and I don't know anyone else that do, but I dont' care about accents, the question of the labeling and who created the label is more interesting.

Dropping accents is just vernacular.