Pedro was born in Madrid, Spain.

He has lived in Bloomington since 2000.

He has a Ph.D. in international law and telecommunications engineering.

What is being Latino to you?

“Being Latino is not something that can be defined with words or facts. Being Latino is not a language, is not an ethnic inheritance, being Latino is all that together. Latino is one of those words that the best form to define it is by one word: Latino is Latino. If you begin to put many words, you begin to leave out many more things of which you are able to include in the definition. What I mean is that I am Latino. Why? Basically one is a Latino because you feel Latino. Being Latino is a form of feeling.”

The Latino community

“The Latino community is a concept that I think we must change. Instead of saying the Latino community, shouldn’t we be saying the Latinos of the Bloomington community?…We can be a Latino group in the community of Bloomington. What we must leave clear is that we are part of the community. Bloomington is our community, right? And we are interested in justice, social, economic and political development, working with children and senior citizens. We are not an external part, a community on the side. We are a collective Latino part of the Bloomington community… What I think is that the Latinos that are part of the community of Bloomington can contribute an enormous richness to the community… I do not like the concept Latino community. It separates us of the rest, I prefer to use Latino group.”